Sunday, November 24, 2019

Newsletter for November 18th



Upcoming Events
*November 27 – Half Day of School
*November 28-29 – No school, Happy Thanksgiving

Lexia Online Access
I have noticed that some families are having trouble accessing Lexia Core 5 online. The easiest way is to go to our Lincoln Symbaloo (I have included the link below) and click on Clever in the top row. You can log into Clever using your child's student ID number that was sent home and the password Bears123. From there they should be able to click on Core 5 and practice their skills!

Lincoln Symbaloo

Thanksgiving Lunch
Our annual Thanksgiving Lunch was on Thursday.  The Kindergarten classes did a terrific job of providing the entertainment for all three lunches! We also had a great time enjoying wonderful food, served by amazing volunteers, with our awesome buddies! I have posted a link to a video of one of the performances below.

Thanksgiving Lunch Performance

Cold Weather Clothing
The weather has started turning colder and will be snowier, especially in the morning.  Please make sure your child is dressed appropriately for the conditions. Practice zipping coats, putting on snow pants, hats, and mittens, and tying shoes at home.  The children are required to wear boots and snow pants in order to play in the snow at recess.  Please remember, we expect the children to be able to dress themselves in their outerwear.  When your child wears boots to school, you need to put a pair of inside shoes (that they can get on and off themselves) in their backpack.  They are not allowed to wear their wet boots in the classroom.  If you would like to send in a pair for them to keep in their locker, that would be fine. We will be happy to help with shoe tying and zipping until the winter break.  After that, they are expected to take care of these things on their own.  Of course we will still untie knots and unstick stuck zippers!  Thank you for your help and support at home. Also, please label ALL of your child's belongings. We are finding quite a few things in the lost and found already!

Conferences
Thank you so much to ALL of the parents that made it a priority to come to their child’s conference. I enjoyed meeting with you and discussing your child’s progress in kindergarten.  It is amazing how much they have already learned and will continue to learn this year!

This Cycle
Our 50th day centers were GREAT!  Thank you to all of the moms that were able to help us practice recognizing, counting, and writing to 50!
Our handwriting focus this past week was uppercase and lower case Dd, and reviewing uppercase and lowercase Oo and Aa.  Please practice writing these letters correctly at home. Our strategy with language arts this week was determining sequence of events and determining text importance.
We worked with many posters about growing plants to sequence the information and determine its importance. We learned about signal words like first, next, then, and last. We have started our new writing unit, Pattern Books. We are practicing writing books that have similar words on each page, are all about one topic, and use sight words and simple words! These are this kind of books we are practicing reading by ourselves too!

Christmas Trees
Coming home this week is our next (and last) take home project this year.  We are decorating Christmas trees to hang in our hallways this holiday season. Please work with your child to decorate your tree and return it to school by December 2nd. 
Thank you and have fun!
Gingerbread Houses
We are going to be decorating our gingerbread houses the week of December 9th. I will email the exact dates and times later this week or early next week.  We will need help getting supplies ready, supervising the decorating process, and cleaning up after.  We would love to have you.  ALSO, we need some help before preparing the houses for decorating.  This involves hot gluing graham crackers to a small milk carton and then onto a plate.  I have a couple of glue guns.  If you would like to help with this important prep work, I would LOVE to have you. Please email me!

School Store
Our student council runs a school store during lunch on some Wednesdays (there will be one this Wednesday the 20th).  They sell pencils, erasers, and other little trinkets.  Most things cost less than a dollar.  Your children are welcome to bring money (only a dollar at most please) and purchase items during their lunch.  I am not sure of specific days, but I will try to let you know when I find out.  These days are usually announced on our morning school news and in Mr. Hubble's blog. 

Monday, August 26, 2019

Welcome!

Welcome to Kindergarten!


Dear families,


My name is Andrea Confer and I am so happy to welcome you to kindergarten at Lincoln! 
This year will be one of many changes for you and your child. As their academic career
begins, they will have a lot of fun and meet many challenges.  I am looking forward to a
busy, productive, and exciting year for your child!


I am a graduate of DePaul University in Chicago and hold a BS in Early Childhood
Education.   I received a Masters in Early Childhood Special Education from Columbia
University Teachers College in New York.  I have taught in the Early Childhood field
in Chicago Public School and Benton Harbor Area School. I have been in the
teaching profession since 1993.  I have previously taught at Lincoln as a long
term substitute and am excited for my first year there as a full time staff member.
time with my family and friends.
 
My husband, Scott, and I live here in this neighborhood and have had 3 girls
graduated from Lincoln.  We have a 15 year old named Sophia, who is a
Sophomore at the high school, a 13 year old named Bridget in 8th grade at Upton
and an 11 year old daughter, Charlotte in 6th grade also at Upton. 
We also have 2 dogs and 3 cats. I enjoy bargain shopping and spending


My goals for your child this year include: learning appropriate social skills,
developing learning skills and strategies, and beginning a love of learning. 
I realize that each child has strengths and needs. I will do my best to utilize your
child’s strengths and meet his/her needs.


I believe that our partnership in your child’s education is key to their
educational success.  We both have your child’s best interests in mind and
we want them to be successful and develop a love of school that will last forever. 
No one knows your child better than you. As your child’s teacher, it is
important for me to get to know him/her as well.  


I will be letting you know more about my plans for the school year
on our special kindergarten night.   On this night I will discuss my expectations
for the year and how you can help your child. I may also have sign-up sheets
for field trips, parties, and help in the classroom.  


If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to call me here at
Lincoln or on my cell, 773-968-9657.  You can email me at aconfer@sjschools.org
You may also send a note to school with your child and I will contact you as soon
as possible.  I look forward to working with you to make this school year fun
and successful for your child. We are going to have a wonderful year!

Sincerely,kids clip art.png

Andrea Confer