¡La clase de español!

Kindergarten is off to a great start in Spanish.  They have been learning how to exchange greetings using hola and adiós. Today we created hands with both greetings and students role-played with their classmates using their hands.  Here are some of the finished products:

We've also practiced saying our names using the question, ¿Cómo te llamas?- What is your name, and students respond with Me llamo..., My name is...

Next week, we will explore different greetings depending on the time of day and practice buenos días, good morning; buenas tardes, good afternoon; and buenas noches, good evening/ goodnight. 

Later in the trimester they will begin to express how they are feeling using the question, ¿Cómo estás?, and students will learn to respond with different emotions.

At home, practice greeting your child in Spanish.  Also, have them tell you their name in Spanish using the phrase Me llamo.

Hi Kindergarten Families!

We had such an exciting week here in Kindergarten. Our Circus was such a success! We had lion tamers and tight rope walkers, trapeze artists and acrobats, clowns, snakes, lions, cheetahs...and so much more!

The kids had a great time performing and did a wonderful job. We hope you enjoyed the greatest show on earth.






In math this week we discussed how a graph shows us information in a "snap". We created our own to show how old each child is in our class. Ask your child if we have more 5 year olds or 6 years olds so far in the year!




We had a very exciting addition to our class this week! Ms. Woltmann brought in a class pet for us. We now have two hermit crabs! The kids decided to name them "Crabby" and "Shelly". We got to put together their habitat and learned the things that they need to live a happy and healthy life. Stop by the classroom to see!




We also had our second Mystery Reader this week. Elin's mom came in and read "I Need a Snake" by Lynne Jonell.






On Thursday we celebrated Noa's Super Kid Day. Her mom and dad came in and shared munchkins with the class. Noa's mom read the story "Peanut Butter and Cupcake" by Terry Border.





On Friday, we had another Super Kid Day! This time it was Sarah's turn. Her family came in and brought ice cream sandwiches for the class. Sarah's sister read "The Day the Crayons Came Home" by Drew Dewalt.





Just a reminder that conferences will be held next Thursday from 1pm-8pm and Friday from 8am-1pm. If you have not signed up please follow this link to do so:

https://www.ptcfast.com/schools/North_Park_Elementary

If those times do not work well for you, send me an email and we can schedule another date and time to meet. Thanks so much!

Have a great weekend,
Ms. Ardito

Congratulations on making it through week three!

This week has been filled with circus books, circus toys, circus crafts and more! We can't get enough of it! If you have any questions regarding your child's circus act please let me know. We have started practicing and it is shaping up to be the greatest show on earth! Just as a reminder, the circus is next Tuesday, September 22nd at 8:45am in the gym. All we need from you at home is to provide a costume and perhaps a prop to go along with it. Each child's act will last about 30 seconds and we have been practicing in class so you don't need to worry about planning a routine at home unless you want to.

We have learned many circus songs and energizers this week. Ask your child to sing "I Know a Silly Clown". They can show you how we have been dancing like silly clowns every day.

You can also come by the classroom to see the beautiful clown portraits that we made after studying the many types of clowns there are.

In math we learned a new vocabulary word: attribute. We found ways to sort different objects (and people) and identify attributes. Ask your child how we play the attribute game. This concept was reinforced as we sorted a collection of buttons by size, color, and number of holes. There are a few games you can play at home that focus on attributes, patterns, and geometry: bingo, mazes, Go Fish, and Old Maid. In your child's folder you will find a pocket math book that will give you everyday ideas to practice math in the real world.

We also had our bus evacuation drill to get ready for some of the field trips we will be taking this year. The bus driver taught us about the emergency exits, the safe way to sit on a bus, and how to exit through the back. You can ask your child what steps we have to follow if we ever needed to exit through the back of the bus.

I also want to encourage you to sign up for conferences on Oct. 1st from 1-8pm and Oct. 2nd from 8-1pm. You can follow this link to choose your time: https://www.ptcfast.comschools/North_Park_Elementary

The book fair will also be taking place during conferences in the library. It is a great opportunity to find some new and exciting books to add to your home collection! I hope you have a great weekend.

As you know by now, the dismissal procedure has been changed. This new change will take effect Monday, September 21st.  The Kindergarten through 2nd grade classes will now enter the playlot through the back alley gate to avoid congestion on Montrose Avenue. The classes will line up in the playlot ready for dismissal at 3:10.  The children will remain outside until 3:20.  If your child is not picked up by 3:20, they will be sent to after-care.  We realize that this is a big change, but please keep in mind this decision was made to ensure the safety of our students.  It will also improve the efficiency of the dismissal process.   As a K-2 team, we recognize the importance of extra outdoor movement time. We will continue to incorporate movement as well as added outdoor time as often as we can throughout the day.


Just a reminder there will be no school next Wednesday, September 23rd in honor of Yom Kippur.

See you Tuesday at the Big Top!

Ms. Ardito and Ms. Woltmann

Parent/Teacher Conferences 10/1 and 10/2

Parent/Teacher Conference Sign Up for Kindergarten

You may have noticed that fall conferences will be held in early October this year. The teachers would like to utilize this early time to get to know you and your child and to work with you to set goals for your child for the 2015/2016 school year. This conference will be more a time of collaboration with you and less about giving you an academic picture of your child, as conferences have been in the past. Consider this a time to start conversations that can be continued throughout the year by email, in-person, and at spring parent/teacher conferences. As always, outside of conference times, you are welcome to contact your child’s teacher by email, phone, or to schedule a time to meet together.

Visit the link below to sign up for a conference with your child's teacher. Through this link, you should be able to see schedules for all of your necessary classes (if you have more than 1 child or a middle school student) side-by-side. If you are having trouble signing up, please visit this page for more detailed instructions.

When scheduling, especially for multiple teachers, please keep in mind how long you have for the conference itself and how long it will take you to move to other locations in the school. The time allotted for each conference is as follows:

MS - 10 minute student led conferences for each content teacher (sign up for all 4 teachers);

3-5 - 10 minute student led conferences with 5 minutes for parent only interaction (if needed); and

K-2 - 10 minute conferences.

Contact your child's teacher if you are unable to make any of these scheduled times. Contact Kim Smith with questions pertaining to the sign up system. If you would like to schedule a time with one of the co-curricular teachers, please contact that teacher directly by email.

In addition to the conference sign-up procedures described above, we would also like to share our plans to communicate with NPES K-5 parents on a trimester basis during the school year. This was the reporting system in place three years ago at NPES and feels most appropriate as a complement to our fall and spring student goal setting processes. Middle school reporting systems will remain on a quarterly basis. Please do not hesitate to contact your child's teacher with any questions related to our reporting systems and as always, should you have a question or concern pertaining to your child's learning in school at any point in the year, NPES faculty and staff are always available for further discussion.

Thank you,

Kim Smith

Hi Kindergarten Families,

The kids eased back into this week without a problem. Hopefully it was the same for you at home! Remember, it is very normal for your kids to be extra tired or possibly emotional at home as this transition into a full day of school is exhausting!

We would love to see you on Sunday at 10:00 am at Welles Park for the NPES picnic. If you plan to come, bring your own food and chairs and meet us at the old playground for a great morning together. Then you can go and enjoy some Sunday football!

We had a great start to our math program this week. We began with a lesson on measuring. Each child received a strip of paper and searched the room to find a partner who had a strip the exact same size. Ask your child how we measure two items side by side.


We had our very first Mystery Reader this week! Mili's mom came in and read "The Girl Who Never Made Mistakes" by Mark Pelt. It was so exciting and the kids cannot wait until there is another one.

We also celebrated Amrita's birthday. Her mom and family friend came in and shared Skinny Pop and Fruit Roll Ups with the class. They read "Sick Simon" by Dan Krall.

Ms. Woltmann had a great lesson with the class about patriotism as we geared up to celebrate America at our Patriot Day Assembly. We even learned how to say the Pledge of Allegiance.

 The Patriot Day assembly was very exciting. Police officers and Fire Fighters were there and we got to take a tour of a fire truck and police car!



We wrapped up our brief unit on fire safety this week. Your child can show you how we practiced being able to stop, drop, and roll. Everyone should have an escape plan at home in case of a fire. Show your child how to exit and designate a tree or post where your family can meet if there is a fire. We emphasized how we don't expect there to be a fire, but we want to be prepared just in case.

As we wrapped up our fire safety unit, we have begun to study the Circus. The kids are already excited about performing! I sent home an "act" sign up sheet so that you and your child can pick what circus act they would like to be. There is a list of suggestions on the back, but you can also get creative! Again, the circus will be on Tuesday, September 22nd at 8:45am in the gym. Please send back the sign up sheet by Monday so we can get started on practicing!
I do have one Strongman costume if there is someone who is interested. Please do not hesitate to contact us with any questions.

One last thing, 4 out of 5 days of the week we will have gym. It would be a great idea to send your child to school with a pair of gym shoes to change into if they are wearing other shoes to school. The shoes can even stay here at school. Have a great long weekend.

See you Sunday,
Ms. Ardito and Ms. Woltmann

Welcome to PE!

Welcome back to school and to Mr. Hirsch's PE class everyone! This year I will try to have the kids write down blog entries (maybe with a little help by me).    - Mr. Hirsch

"We practiced dribbling and passing in soccer. We also learned when to be quiet and focus with Hip, Hip, Hooray."   -Lily & Sam

Landscapes and Horizon Lines

Kindergarteners spent today in art learning about landscapes and horizon lines. They painted their own imaginary landscapes using primary colors and learned a lot about color mixing. Most of them knew the primary colors already and they were experts as creating many new colors on the color wheel. If you go on a road trip with your kindergartener ask them to look out the window at the passing scenery and see if they see the horizon line. They should know it is the line where the ground meets the sky.  They should also be able to tell you what the primary colors are and with a little help they should know the secondary colors too. Here are some of their beautiful little landscapes. I like the abstract quality and all the brush strokes.

Next week we will start an art project for the circus. 

September 4, 2015

You did it! You survived the first week of Kindergarten! Each week I will be sending out a blog to inform you of some of the activities that went on that week as well as information that will help you along the way. Please email me back with any questions you may have.

We have had a wonderful first week of school. The kids have had an extremely smooth transition into the classroom. They all seem to be adjusting and are quickly making friends. This week has been full of learning routines, systems, rules (both in our class and in the specials classes too) and the kids are taking it all in. They have been able to meet all of their specials teachers and also got a chance to meet their 5th grade reading buddies. 

Some important concepts we have been working on this week are raising our hands to speak in the group, respecting our class materials (toys, books, supplies) and respecting the teachers. They are all catching on quickly! We have had a chance to explore the room, do some fun art, and drew our hopes and dreams for Kindergarten.

Ms. Woltmann even shared a book about Labor Day to explain the long weekend to the kids! 

We practiced a fire drill earlier this week just as a class to prepare for a whole school fire drill next week. The key points we talked about are that it is just a practice that we do together as a team, keep your eyes on the teachers, and use your walking feet as we follow the teacher to our safety spot. You can continue this conversation at home to prepare them for our drill next week. 

We have a lot of August birthdays this year. We are excited to celebrate many of them this September along with the other birthdays this month. Families will be invited to the classroom for a 30 minute celebration. This can include a "treat" (of course, nut free), a favorite book, and a funny story of your child when they were a baby. Your child will come home with a poster to decorate and will present it to the class so we can get to know them better. 

Feel free to start dropping your child off in the play lot between 8:15-8:30am for the start of the day. Ms. Woltmann will pick them up from there and lead them to the classroom. 

Continue filling out your hopes and dreams for your child and send them in as soon as you are done. 

I know this is a lot of information, but hang in there! We are excited about this year and our wonderful class. 

Have a nice three day weekend and see you Tuesday.

Ms. Ardito and Ms. Woltmann 

CREATIVE DRAMA: We approach Creative Drama as a team sport. #1 priority in our classroom is to create a comfortable environment in which the students are encouraged to fully participate while feeling safe to take chances expressing themselves. We do this using a variety of games, improvisations and creative activities.

 

It's a pleasure meeting you.

I’m excited to introduce myself as the new music teacher at North Park Elementary School.  I’d been a music teacher in the Chicago Public Schools since 2004 where I had developed my curriculum to include a variety of folk instruments including recorders, ukuleles and guitars, as well as an extra curricular band program.  I look forward to bringing some of the experiences I’ve gained in my former school as well as taking advantage of the many resources available at NPES.  

This year we will put extra emphasis on the music of Chicago. In addition to developing the basic concepts such as rhythm, pitch, dynamics, and notation covered in the general music classroom, we will be looking at the musicians and the rich musical history and influence of one of the world’s greatest cities, Chicago.  

I really look forward to getting to know and making some great music with your children throughout the year.

-Ben Saltz

Welcome to NPES Kindergarten!

Welcome back to school! We had a great start to our year. We look forward to seeing you at Curriculum Night on Wednesday, September 2nd at 6:30pm. 

NPES Art 2015-2016, Welcome to the Year of the Human and "Humans of Chicago"

This year I am excited to focus on all aspects of humans and the human body as it pertains to art. We will be looking at art that explores the human form and learning what it means to be a human, especially a "human of Chicago". Along with a wide variety of new lessons and old favorites, we will take time this year to do more figure drawing and portraiture, in an effort to learn how to draw human proportions and faces.

One or more elements and principles of art are addressed with each project. They include:

Balance, emphasis, contrast, unity/harmony, movement,/rhythm, proportion, line, shape, form, value, texture, space, and color. 

Students practice:

Looking at and talking about art

Following directions and sequential steps in a process

Creative problem solving

Craftsmanship and technique with new and familiar mediums

Philosophy and Objectives

Art students learn how to be engaged fully in the artistic process and gain skill and confidence by learning to work in the following two and three dimensional mediums: drawing, painting, photography, sculpture, ceramics, print-making, collage, fiber, and computer arts. Drawing receives the greatest emphasis because it provides the basis for all other creative activities. Drawing is the single most accessible form of art available and provides a direct link between reading, writing, and math.

  The art program is integrated with the core curriculum in order to establish historic relevance and offer students the opportunity to create and do in all subject areas. The program nurtures inventiveness as it engages students in a process that aids in the development of self-esteem, self-discipline, cooperation, and self-motivation. The program is spiraled to allow for building on and practicing prior knowledge and skills at every grade level, while adding more complex techniques, critical thinking opportunities and higher expectations of craft as the student matures.

The goals of the visual art program at NPES are to provide students with the tools to understand human experience; to learn to adapt to and respect others way of thinking; to learn creative methods of problem solving; understand the historical and cultural influences of art; to make decisions in situations where there are no standard answers; to analyze non-verbal communication; and to communicate thoughts and feelings using a practiced and highly developed visual vocabulary.

Student Assessment

Effort 

Participation (including clean-up) 

Creativity and meeting project criteria 

Following directions 

Office Hours

Tuesdays 3:30 - 4:30