UPCOMING KINDERGARTEN/SCHOOL EVENTS
(SCROLL DOWN FOR: Kindergarten News; Teacher Bio; Curriculum Goals; Corazon news)
Wednesdays: Library (last check-out 5-23-12)
Week of 5-21-12: Last week of clubs; regular dismissal is 3:15
Monday May 28: Memorial Day/No School
Monday-Wednesday June 4-6: All School Cultural Fair
Wednesday June 6: Kindergarten’s Cultural Fair Day
Thursday June 7: Spring Concert
Monday June 11: All School Picnic/Field Day @ Evergreen Park
Wednesday June 13: 8th Grade Graduation & Mass
Friday June 15: Last day of school!
KINDERGARTEN NEWS
May 15, 2012: I cannot believe we’ve been in school for 156 days!!
As you know, we have started the daily Alphabet Journal – we’re already on the letter Rr - which will take us almost to the end of the year. This is more than review. It is handwriting practice, reading practice, practice structuring a sentence, and it gives practice focusing, staying on task and following directions. When your child is tardy or misses school, I will try to have him/her do their journal work when they return, during school time. I really don’t want to send home the journals, as we write in them everyday.
Speaking of following directions, the class has been having quite a bit of difficulty with that for the past few weeks, and some have been quite fussy & grouchy. We have been and continue to be very busy – we still have lots to do before the end of the year, and it won’t get done if children are not coming to school ready to learn and able to focus on the task at hand. Please continue to see that your child has a regular routine, especially bedtime; that he/she comes to school on time, properly nourished and well rested. We will be learning all the way to noon on the last day of school!!
We have begun our last service project of the year: Kindergarten’s 15th annual “Books in Spanish” book drive (a flyer is coming home this week). We are beginning to learn about our neighbors in Mexico, particularly the children. The study of Mexico will be integrated throughout the curriculum and will culminate in the all-school Cultural Fair. I have sent home a volunteer sign up sheet for helpers to work with me on this special day, and also for volunteers to work on our Kindergarten Year book. I usually like a returning parent to be co-coordinator of the Yearbook, as you would know a little more about the project and actually have samples, but this year I don’t have any! It needs to get started on very soon!! Please write me a note if you can coordinate, or just help.
Book orders were sent home Friday ~ this is the last book order of the year, and includes a Club Leo, which is the one for books in Spanish.
I hope you’re enjoying this beautiful weather ~ because we don’t know how long it will last!
~Mrs. Panuco
APRIL NEWS:
Spring has sprung in Kindergarten, even if the weather doesn’t know it yet! We have been looking for signs of spring all around school ~ it keeps raining but we found some anyway! Earlier, in March, Kindergarten celebrated spring with Teddy Bear Day: children brought their teddy bears to school, we did Teddy Bear Math (classifying our bears by color, size, etc.), made a teddy bear from construction paper circles, read stories of spring, learned a teddy bear poem and song, AND ate “bear food” (fish crackers, honeycomb cereal, and blueberry craisins)!
We learned about St. Patrick, and celebrated his day with shamrock activities and the story of how he taught non-Christians about the Blessed Trinity (using the shamrock to symbolize three persons in one God). We also learned about St. Joseph, and how his day is celebrated in Spain and Italy. We have been very busy with Lenten and Holy Week activities and lessons, and now that Easter has arrived, we’re adding another word to our “Big Words” list: resurrection.
In Reading and Language, we are finishing up with the “Letter of the Week” this week with the identification, formation, and sound of “Zz.” Starting next week, April 23rd, we will begin a NEW format: the Letter of the DAY. Please be sure and check the April calendar that I sent home for your child’s Show & Tell homework assignment, as it will be different. We will also begin alphabet journals with the letter of the day.
We’ll still be working on our Healthy Body unit for a little while longer, and I am working on getting a Dr., Dentist or Nurse to make a classroom visit. We are also continuing to work on the Personal Safety unit, and begin a World Mission unit.
In Math we continue to work on counting on, 0-6 addition, counting by 5′s and 10′s, and finishing up our introduction to money concepts.
April calendars and Read-Alouds were sent home at the beginning of the month. The Pizza Hut “Book It!” program was over in March, but we’ll continue with the Read-Alouds until the end of May. Our Reading Chain is over half-way around the room!
I hope you had a Blessed Easter, and a restful break ~ Mrs. Panuco
Mrs. Teri Panuco
Mrs. Panuco has taught elementary education since 1993. Prior to that, she taught preschool and parent and toddler programs for 13 years. She began at Our Lady Star of the Sea School in 1997, teaching the first full day kindergarten there.
Born in San Francisco, her family moved to Washington State when she was 12. She received her A.A. in Early Childhood Education from Pierce College; her B.A. from Pacific Oaks; and Teaching Certificate from City University’s School of Education. She completed her M.Ed. in Curriculum and Instruction, with an emphasis on Early Childhood Education, from Lesley University in 2002.
Mrs. Panuco and her husband have been married for over 39 years. They reside in Gig Harbor and have two grown sons, who currently live and work in Seattle.
In her spare time, Mrs. Panuco likes to read mysteries, travel, and garden. She has been a member of St. Nicholas Parish and the Contemporary Choir there since 1982. In past years, she has also volunteered with religious education classes, and the youth group’s Mission Mexico, which has assisted with the Corazon organization in helping to build houses, repair schools, and work with families in Baja Mexico. She introduced Corazon to the kindergarten children, and since 1997, depending on the need, has had two annual service projects, collecting coats, blankets, medicines, and/or books in Spanish for extremely poor families in Baja, Mexico. Scroll down to see pictures of some of the families we have helped with our “Helping Hands” Service Projects!
Helpful Documents
Curriculum Goals Framework
- Positive, developmentally appropriate environment; many opportunities to be active learners.
- Religion: Prayer and reference to God, and the three persons in one God (Holy Trinity) are integrated throughout the day. The goal/expectation is to foster in children a sense of respect for God, all of God’s creations, and traditions of the Catholic Church.
- Reading and Language: Students develop pre-reading and reading skills by participating in a language experience approach: speaking, listening, reading and writing are integrated throughout the curriculum.
- Mathematics: Students will develop skills and practice a hands-on approach using concrete objects to identify and solve mathematical problems: sorting, classifying, learning to recognize and develop patterns, counting, measuring, and graphing concrete objects that are meaningful to the world of kindergarten students.
- Social Studies: Students will explore their relationship to others, their country, and their world, integrated throughout the curriculum using a theme approach.
- Science: Students will find out about themselves and the world by asking questions, observing, experimenting, organizing information, and drawing conclusions using a theme approach.
- Art: Students will have opportunities to observe and create using a variety of art materials, which will include exploration of color, texture, form, and expression of ideas, integrated with other subjects.
- Music: Students will have formal music instruction twice weekly with a Music Specialist. In addition, the curriculum and classroom themes will be enhanced with musical experiences, including religious and secular music.
- Physical Education: Students will have formal instruction twice weekly with a P.E. Specialist. In class and during recess, students will also be expected to participate in activities involving motor skills, teamwork and sportsmanship.
Service Project News, below:
Familia Corazon kids below, after receiving books from Kindergarten’s 13th Annual “Books in Spanish for Corazon” service project. Corazon wrote, “On behalf of the Corazon Summer Camp kids, we would like to thank you and Star of the Sea Kindergarten class for the box of Spanish books you donated. The kids who received a book were extremely happy!”
Dear Mrs. Panuco & the students of Our Lady Star of the Sea Catholic School:
We would like to thank you and your Kindergarten students for the generous Spanish book collection. The box of books went to the community center of Pedregal located in Tijuana. We can’t thank you enough for supporting our academic endeavors among our communities and the little Corazóners!
Your assistance means so much to us, but even more to all of our friends and families across the border. Thank you from all of us. We hope you enjoy the pictures.
Regards,
Julissa Espinoza
