Kennesaw Elementary Back to School Information   Kennesaw Elementary would like to welcome everyone back to the 22-23 school year! Meet and Greet is Thursday, July 28, 2022 Please bring all school supplies, meet your child’s teacher, and find out information regarding PTA, ASP, RSP, Bus Routes, and Lunch/Breakfast.    Last Name A-M please come at 10AM  Last Name N-Z please come at 11AM PK/AU please come at 12PM                Bus Transportation Bus routes may be found at www.cobbk12.org Type “Bus Route Finder” in the search box.  You will enter your home address for pick up and drop-off times.   Kindergarten and First Grade Students may ride the bus as practice on Thursday, July 28, 2022, during the regular morning pick-up time.  Students will ride the bus to school and then return home.   First Day of School Monday, August 1, 2022, is students’ first day of school.  Carpool is 7:10 – 7:50 each day.  Parents will not be allowed to escort children to class for safety and security.  KES staff members will ensure that students arrive at class safely each morning.   Parents wishing to walk students to the hug stop at our main entrance must park in a true parking space before exiting their car.   Open House and PTA Open House is scheduled for Thursday, August 11, 2022, from 6 PM- 7 PM.  PTA meeting will follow at 7 PM. Who is my child’s teacher?  Class placement information may be found in ParentVue on Wednesday, July 27, 2022. Supplies Class supply lists are posted on our school website. Parent Volunteers Parents may volunteer in the classroom by coordinating with their child’s teacher.  Parent Visitors during Lunch and Breakfast Due to limited space in our cafeteria, parents will not be able to join students for lunch or breakfast.   Registration Questions:  Please contact the school at 678-594-8172 or email our school registration clerk at Jennifer.martinez@cobbk12.org Additional Questions– Please email the school principal at James.ward@cobbk12.org

I can’t believe that the school year is almost over! We had a blast this week finishing up a lot of projects and taking home some memories. Each child brought home artwork and writing done this year. It’s fun to look back at their drawings on day one to what they can do now. We had Kona Ice today to kick off a great finish to the school year. We even gave class “candy” awards. Please check your child’s backpack for their award and candy. Some of the candy is chocolate and may need to be refrigerated due to our hot weather days.

Even though we have an early release at @12:20 each day next week, it will be a full-day feeling of fun. I have special activities and snacks planned for each day. On Monday and Tuesday, your child can bring their backpack. On the last day of school, no backpacks are allowed at school. Please continue to send in water bottles and a snack on Monday and Tuesday. We will provide water and snacks on Wednesday.

 

Here is a peek at our events next week:

 

Monday- Celebration Day- We will celebrate Math, Summer Birthdays, and Summer Fun

STEM activities, Birthday Treat for lunch

Coming home: Bucket of Summer fun (gift), journals, STEM created items

Tuesday- Camp Read-a-Lot- We will celebrate Reading with a Camp theme

Camping Escape Room activities, S’mores treat

Coming home: Summer Reading Log, New May Free book of the month, Memory Book, pencil box

Wednesday- Beach Day- We will celebrate Summer Vacations

Variety Show Assembly, Popsicle Treat

Coming home: Beach balls, leis, (maybe a crafty hat)

Hi Everyone! I hope that everyone is a having a great Friday! Our class got to celebrate with Ms. Finnegan and participate in the ribbon cutting of the Little Free Library and Story Walk at school today. We had such a great time. You might see the bright blue pom pom from the ceremony in your child’s backpack.

 

A few of our friends purchased yearbooks and some other friends wondered if there are any left. As of 3:30pm this afternoon there were about 8 left. Here is the link if you are interested in purchasing a yearbook.

https://kennesaw.memberhub.com/store/items/711942

 

No homework next week. We are reviewing our phonic patterns in class. The only homework is to read and turn in reading scoops for our celebration on Friday. We will also have class awards next Friday. I could use a few items for the ice cream celebration and theme days next week if you are interested in helping out. Please send me an email and I will let you know what we still need. A huge thank you goes out to the families that have already reached out to me!

 

All Library books are due back to KES. All baggy books are due next Friday to me! Thank you!

 

Remember- The last 3 days of school (5/23, 5/24, 5/25) are ½ days and we will dismiss @12:30. We will have learning activities each day and many school items will be sent home on Monday and Tuesday. Wednesday is a “no backpack” day.

 

Academic Focus next week:

Reading- Inferencing

Writing- Memory Book

Math- Review

Phonics- Review

Health- Safety

Happy Friday!

Thank you so much for all the sweet treats, gifts, flowers, and cards! I really felt the love this week! We had a blast with centers for Star Wars Day and celebrated Aaliyah and Stella’s birthdays on Thursday! Next week we will have another celebration as we recognize Ms. Finnegan’s Library becoming a Certified Learning Commons and my son’s Eagle Project here at KES on Friday. We will get to see the ribbon cutting up close. I hear the Mayor of Kennesaw might even stop by!

 

Note: Due to being very busy getting Mother’s Day items ready, Sight words, Spelling words and Vocabulary work did not get sent home. Look for it on Monday. Thank you!

 

Next week is a regularly scheduled week with only minor changes-

ALL library books are due back on Tuesday. No more library checkouts for the year.

 

Academic focus:

 

Reading: Story Elements, Comparing and Contrasting

Math: End of the Year Review

Grammar: Conjunctions

Writing: Opinion

Phonics: Unit 31- Silent letters

Health- Safety

 

Happy Mother’s Day to all!

Happy “almost” May day! I can’t believe we only have a few weeks left. I talked to the students and told them that there are still a lot of school days left for learning new things! We can do it! This week we had library check out and field day. Next week we also have some special days too.

 

Monday-Friday Teacher appreciation week

Tuesday- LAST Library check-out of the year! Pizza for lunch* change

Wednesday- Star Wars Day! May the Fourth be with YOU! If you have a Star Wars shirt, please wear it on Wednesday.

Thursday- Cinco de Mayo (Nachos for Lunch* change), Double birthday celebration (Aaliyah & Stella)

Friday- Baggy books and “Ice Cream” Reading scoops are due

 

Next week’s academic focus:

Reading: Grammar focus week

Author focus: H. A. Rey- Curious George books

Writing: Narrative

Math: Year-end review- place value, word problems

Phonics: Hard and Soft c and g Unit 30

 

If you get a chance- please look for the white envelope that contains Aaliyah’s birthday invitation. Everyone got one last week. The RSVP deadline is this Wednesday, May 4^th. Thank you!

 

Also, Mr. Ward sent out a blast about the Story Walk and Little Free Library. The Little Free Library “Finnegan Express” engine is now up in front of the school. Take a drive-by and give it a look! We will be attending the ribbon-cutting ceremony on May 13^th as a class.

Hi Everyone!

Happy Sunday! I’m sorry that this update did not go out on Friday. My son installed a permanent Story Walk around the bus port at KES for his Boy Scout Eagle Project! I’m so excited that the whole school will get to use this! This week he will also install a Little Free Library for the whole community to enjoy! Stay tuned.

 

This past week we were busy getting reading for the Math Inventory online test and we showed great growth. This week we will take the Reading Inventory and I expect that we will have similar results. We will be taking that on Tuesday, so it is very important that your child gets a great night’s rest!

 

This week we will have changes in our schedule due to Field Days. We will not have regular specials on Tuesday, Wednesday (our field day), and Thursday. We will have other activities during our usual block of time. On our field day we will be doing activities in the morning outside and then our normal activities in the afternoon (lunch, etc…). On Wednesday, I will need your child to wear their team color. I will let you know your child’s team color on Monday. It will either be red, yellow, blue or green. Since we will be outside, please apply sunscreen on your child before they come to school and send in a water bottle. 😊

 

Read your way to a Sundae has started this week for homework. Please read the pink letter for more information.

Library check-out will be on Tuesday.

Baggy books are due on Friday.

 

Academic Focus:

Reading: Assessments, Comparing and Contrasting Texts

Writing: Narrative Assessment

Math: Adding and Subtracting Strategies

Grammar: Verb Tenses

Social Studies: Ruby Bridges

Phonics: Unit 29 /oi/

Happy Easter and Happy Passover to everyone who might be celebrating this weekend. We had a great first week back. The homework for next week went home today. If you were not at school today, the homework is available on my blog.

This week we celebrated College and Careers. We got to see Maggie the Dairy cow and learned about Dairy farming. As a class, we earned “Show and Tell” this week. PLEASE let your child bring something in to share on Monday. A few rules for show and tell- please make sure it is not a live animal but is something that can fit in your child’s backpack, not easily broken, or expensive. 😊

 

Academic Focus:

Reading: Comparing Texts and Pictures

Math: Data

Writing: Narrative

Phonics: Unit 28 /ow/

Social Studies: George Washington Carver (finish)

Ruby Bridges

 

If you forgot to send in your baggy books, please send them in on Monday to be changed out. Library Check out will be on Tuesday. We will also be taking a very important Math Inventory Test in the computer lab on Monday.

I hope everyone has a great weekend!

This week was great! We celebrated Jon’s birthday today and saw Dave Holland (drummer extraordinaire) perform on Thursday. I hope everyone has a great spring break. We will return to school on April 11^th. I sent home potted sunflower seeds that can stay in their cup or can be repotted into another vessel. If your child has time and wants to keep a journal on its growth, I’ve sent that home too. I also sent home our “greenhouse” with our lima beans. Tape this to a sunny window and you can watch it grow some more. Most of our seeds have sprouted. (These can also be replanted into soil).

I did not send regular homework home. I will send the phonics list the Monday we get back. I did send home a writing organizer that I need to be returned on April 11^th. Please help your child write 4 things they did over Spring Break. We are going to write a Narrative book about their break. The paper is bright pink and hard to miss in their blue folders. 😊Thank you for your support of this project.

 

Academic Focus when we return

 

Reading- Comparing and contrasting texts

Writing- Narratives

Math- 3D shapes

Phonics- List 27 /oo/ sound

Social Studies- George Washington Carver

Hi Everyone!

I hope this email finds that everyone is planning to have a great weekend. Next week is our last week before Spring Break. Schools will be closed April 4^th – 8^th .

A couple of reminders:

Tuesday- Library Check out

Friday- Baggy books and Homework are due.

 

Next week’s academic focus:

Reading- Comparing and contrasting 2 texts on similar topics

Writing- Informational and Narrative

Phonics- Unit 27 /aw/ sound

Math- Partitioning shapes (fractions)

Social Studies: George Washington Carver

This week was a long week. We had a lot of assessments and not everyone did as well as they have in the past. As report cards become available online next Wednesday, it is good to remember that each quarter gets progressively more challenging as new material is introduced. Not everyone learns at the same rate and progressing on a standard is great. We are moving into Quarter 4 and we will be reviewing and adding to old standards and learning some new ones too. I am very proud of our class for hanging in there and working so hard this week. Due to assessments and time, students who usually take a Spelling test on sight words will have their test on Monday instead of today.

 

Next week on Tuesday we will have the opportunity to purchase books from Ms. Finnegan’s Book Fair. Please see previous posts and emails regarding purchasing this day. If you miss our day, Ms. Finnegan will still be able to fulfill orders during the rest of the week. So, we will not have Library Check-out again next week. Keep holding onto your books or you can send them in and we can hold them in our classroom.

 

Our class picture and spring student pictures will be on Friday. Smile!

 

Here is a look at our next academic focus:

Reading: Text Evidence

Author Focus: Eric Carle

Math: 2D shapes

Writing: Informational

Phonics: Unit 25

Science: Plants