Mrs. Campanella                                                                 Mrs. Uko

Religion

The religion program is a readiness program, which introduces children to the Catholic faith.  We use the Sadlier, We Believe God Made the World.  It consists of four basic units:  God gives us many gifts, God is our Creator, Jesus shows us God’s love, and Jesus wants us to share God’s love.  We celebrate feast days as well as special biblical events.  The children learn about God and His gifts to us by experiencing the familiar elements in their lives in a prayerful way.  The program encourages the children to express feelings through art, dialogue, movement and music.  The children learn the Sign of the Cross, Our Father, Hail Mary and other formal and informal prayers.  Students gain an understanding of God’s presence in their lives.

Language Arts

              The Houghton Mifflin Reading series for kindergarten provides multi-level opportunities for students in preparation to learn to read and write.  The applications and materials are research based and make it possible for a teacher to differentiate instruction, reaching all children in the classroom.  Clear-cut objectives and benchmarks guide a teacher’s thinking and planning.  The teacher is provided with materials to monitor student progress, make home-school connections and guide classroom management.  The teacher also has the latitude and support to choose activities and materials to meet the needs of the class.

Math

The Kindergarten program uses a “hands on” approach to the introduction of basic skills.  We use the Everyday Mathematics program to associate basic everyday situations.  The following skills are introduced: exploring data, chance, geometry, special sense, measurement, money, numeration, order, counting, operations, patterns, functions, sequences, and time.  Mathematical games are very important in our program.

Social Studies

The Kindergarten social studies program is integrated with the language arts program whenever possible.  We use the Harcourt social studies series, Our World Now and Long Ago.  Topics include: being a good citizen, my country, workers, where we live, time goes by, and stories of the past.  Holiday activities are an important part of our curriculum.

Science

Sensory observations, class discussions and arts and crafts activities are the tools through which the mysteries of nature, the seasons, holidays, current events and God’s world and universe are explored.  The science program is integrated with the language arts program whenever possible.

*In our kindergarten curriculum all of the Archdiocese and State standards are met. 

BOOKS, BOOKS, BOOKS!!!

              During the year, your child will bring home books to read with you.  Please listen and help your child with the book.  Once your child is comfortable reading the book, he or she should return it to school so that it can be read to me, a parent helper or a small group.

Birthdays

If you wish for your child to celebrate his/her birthday in school please let us know the day before and we will set a special time aside.  You are welcome to bring a simple treat for the class on birthdays.  Please be aware of classroom allergies.  If your child has a summer birthday, you might consider having him or her celebrate an “unbirthday” in school.

Special Interests

If you have special interests, hobbies or skills that you wish to share with us, please let us know so we can take advantage of these wonderful opportunities.  It is working together that is most beneficial to the children.  Also, if you are aware of a community resource, which would provide an enriching experience, please let us know.

Student of the Week

Every Friday, we will pick a new student to be the Special Person for the week.  This student will receive special privileges for the next week.  The student may bring a poster with family photographs to hang in the classroom.  A parent or other family member is invited to read a favorite story to the class.   A note will be sent home with the child the Friday before his or her special week.

Newsletter

Every Friday, we will post a new newsletter on the Kindergarten Website.  The major purpose of the newsletter is to inform you of the topics, words, discussions and extra activities of the week.  While trying as much as possible to relate the experiences in the classroom to activities outside the classroom, some of the ideas are reinforced best in outside situations.  For example, if we are studying birds, we will see pictures of various birds in class.  However, the same bird in your backyard becomes very real to a child.  So, keep our activities in mind and watch for reinforcing opportunities.

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Last Updated: February 3, 2008