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CLASSROOMS - Preschool Kindergarten 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th Computer Art Choir / Band / Music P.E.
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3 Year Old Class
Music Study We have continued to enjoy our Music Study the last 2 weeks. We finished our study by exploring jobs related to music. After we read the story, Never Play Music Next to the Zoo, we discussed if we would rather lead the orchestra as a conductor or play as a musician. We had many conductors in the group! |
Thank You As our year comes to an end, I want to say thank you for choosing St. Mary's School! I appreciate all your support this year as we faced the challenges presented to us this year. Your children have all grown so much this year, and I am so proud of all that they have accomplished. |
End of Year Celebration Wednesday, June 2 - 9:00 - 10:30 - Spring Lake Central Park - Family Playdate. Families will come together at the park to celebrate a great year! There will be no class on Thursday, June 3. Childcare will be available in the Extension Room. Please schedule accordingly. |
End of Year Countdown We will continue our end of year countdown next week. Here's a list of what we will be doing: Tues June 1 - Extra Play Time Outside |
Highlights for week of 6/01/2021
- Study: End of Year Fun
- Focus: How does music make us feel?
- Books: Some Pets; Dog v. Cat
- Songs: Slippery Fish
- Paper Bag Puppets
- Easel Painting - Free Choice Art
- Guided Drawing - Children will listen to directions to complete a drawing.
4 Year Old Am Class
Hello 4 AM Preschool Families
It has been awhile since our last website update so this one may be a doozie. Firstly welcome back and we hope you had a wonderful time during break celebrating the birth of our newborn King Jesus and catching up on what was sure to be well earned rest and relaxation.
Returning to school and routine after break can be challenging for everyone. Getting back into the swing of things can be rough, which is why we take the first 2 weeks back at school to revise classroom rules and expectations. We work on cooperation and kind interactions. The children receive their new weekly job and are quick to let us know if we forget something or do not proceed in the right order. :) Yes all the adult staff in the room answer to 15 tiny bosses.
During this Christmas season you would not have found an elf on the shelf anywhere in our classroom. What your children got to experience was so much more than that and helped with the explanation and extension of the Christmas celebration past Christmas Day. Each day during Advent the children would come into the classroom searching for the Three Magi. They know that they travelled a great distance to honor the newborn king and brought with them gifts that reflected their belief that Jesus was a King. The excitement and joy we saw on the children’s faces as they searched for the Magi was heartwarming. Our job is a blessing as we are able to witness these new discoveries and joyous interactions daily. It is because of this extension of the Nativity story that the lesson of the Epiphany was so easily comprehended and understood by the children. We looked at the season as a time to give of our treasures, time and talent. We discussed if we were able to bring a gift to Jesus what would it be? Unlike the kings we didn’t have precious gold or oils but much like the Drummer Boy we could give the gift of a talent or of love. After this discussion baby Jesus still was offered a peanut butter sandwich, baby toys and a Twilight Sparkle my little pony among other things.
Between all the fun and excitement we did manage to squeeze in letter writing at our new writing center as well as count the number of marshmallows in our hot chocolates. We also counted the number of candies we put on out Graham Cracker nativity scene made at our Christmas party before playing some reindeer games and pass the parcel.
Phew that was a lot and we aren’t even scratching the surface of this year. Like I said above we celebrated the Epiphany this week which included the tradition of blessing the school’s doorways and all that enter. Earlier in the week I had put together a take home house blessing kit and as it happens great minds think alike and Ms. Doyle had them put together for the rest of the school also. They came home with instructions on Friday. Please feel free to share a photo of your family with a door that you’ve blessed via email or on our Facebook group. We would love to see them.
This week we will continue reviewing our expectations and procedures. We will also look at what it looks like, sounds like and feels like to be a good friend and build friendships. We will focus on giving them the vocabulary they need to be able to successfully and concisely communicate how they are feeling and encourage them to resolve any issues or conflicts on their own using their words, whilst also letting them know when it is appropriate to seek an adults help.
These coming weeks will also include assessment work and work sample activities which will allow me to individualize my lesson planning to support the children’s development where they are at. It will also provide me with updated progress data to share with you in a little over a month at parent teacher conferences.
This month we will be focusing on the virtue of self control. Often a challenging virtue for this age group but one I am confident they are capable of (at school any way. Just remember I’m a Mum too so I know they totally lose it at home because you are their safe place.) Our bible story for the month is the baptism of Jesus. To aid our discussion, if possible please send in a picture via email or a hard copy of your child's baptism. We will share these photos in class on Friday.
In Spanish we are working on body parts and currently using the song “Cabezas, hombros, rodillas y pies” - Heads, shoulders, knees and toes, to assist us. Click here if you would like to practice at home.
Well I knew this would be long and there a ton of photos to check out too.
Enjoy!
Highlights for Week of 1/11/2021
It has been awhile since our last website update so this one may be a doozie. Firstly welcome back and we hope you had a wonderful time during break celebrating the birth of our newborn King Jesus and catching up on what was sure to be well earned rest and relaxation.
Returning to school and routine after break can be challenging for everyone. Getting back into the swing of things can be rough, which is why we take the first 2 weeks back at school to revise classroom rules and expectations. We work on cooperation and kind interactions. The children receive their new weekly job and are quick to let us know if we forget something or do not proceed in the right order. :) Yes all the adult staff in the room answer to 15 tiny bosses.
During this Christmas season you would not have found an elf on the shelf anywhere in our classroom. What your children got to experience was so much more than that and helped with the explanation and extension of the Christmas celebration past Christmas Day. Each day during Advent the children would come into the classroom searching for the Three Magi. They know that they travelled a great distance to honor the newborn king and brought with them gifts that reflected their belief that Jesus was a King. The excitement and joy we saw on the children’s faces as they searched for the Magi was heartwarming. Our job is a blessing as we are able to witness these new discoveries and joyous interactions daily. It is because of this extension of the Nativity story that the lesson of the Epiphany was so easily comprehended and understood by the children. We looked at the season as a time to give of our treasures, time and talent. We discussed if we were able to bring a gift to Jesus what would it be? Unlike the kings we didn’t have precious gold or oils but much like the Drummer Boy we could give the gift of a talent or of love. After this discussion baby Jesus still was offered a peanut butter sandwich, baby toys and a Twilight Sparkle my little pony among other things.
Between all the fun and excitement we did manage to squeeze in letter writing at our new writing center as well as count the number of marshmallows in our hot chocolates. We also counted the number of candies we put on out Graham Cracker nativity scene made at our Christmas party before playing some reindeer games and pass the parcel.
Phew that was a lot and we aren’t even scratching the surface of this year. Like I said above we celebrated the Epiphany this week which included the tradition of blessing the school’s doorways and all that enter. Earlier in the week I had put together a take home house blessing kit and as it happens great minds think alike and Ms. Doyle had them put together for the rest of the school also. They came home with instructions on Friday. Please feel free to share a photo of your family with a door that you’ve blessed via email or on our Facebook group. We would love to see them.
This week we will continue reviewing our expectations and procedures. We will also look at what it looks like, sounds like and feels like to be a good friend and build friendships. We will focus on giving them the vocabulary they need to be able to successfully and concisely communicate how they are feeling and encourage them to resolve any issues or conflicts on their own using their words, whilst also letting them know when it is appropriate to seek an adults help.
These coming weeks will also include assessment work and work sample activities which will allow me to individualize my lesson planning to support the children’s development where they are at. It will also provide me with updated progress data to share with you in a little over a month at parent teacher conferences.
This month we will be focusing on the virtue of self control. Often a challenging virtue for this age group but one I am confident they are capable of (at school any way. Just remember I’m a Mum too so I know they totally lose it at home because you are their safe place.) Our bible story for the month is the baptism of Jesus. To aid our discussion, if possible please send in a picture via email or a hard copy of your child's baptism. We will share these photos in class on Friday.
In Spanish we are working on body parts and currently using the song “Cabezas, hombros, rodillas y pies” - Heads, shoulders, knees and toes, to assist us. Click here if you would like to practice at home.
Well I knew this would be long and there a ton of photos to check out too.
Enjoy!
Highlights for Week of 1/11/2021
- Books: My mouth is a volcano; Howard Wiggle Bottom learns to listen; Those shoes; Jesus Calling: The Baptism of Jesus
- Virtue Focus - Self Control
- Painting - Snowflake Prints
- Catch the Snowball - Children will use eye/hand coordination's to catch the falling snowballs (ping pong balls) in a bucket.
- Shape Song - Children will learn the shapes songs that describe the attributes of a shape.
- Spanish Lesson - Review Spanish greetings: Hola - Hello; Adios - Good Bye; Me Llamo - My name is; Como estas? - How are you?; muy bien - very good; bien - good; maso menos - so, so; mal - bad; por favor - please; gracias - thank you; you're welcome - de nada; Sign of the Cross - Padre, Hijo, Espiritu Santos; family words: madre - mother; padre - father; hermano - brother; hermana - sister; abuelo - grandfather; abuela - grandmother; buenos dias - good morning; buenas tardes - good afternoon; buenos noches - good night.
- Review body parts: head - cabeza; shoulders - hombros; knees - rodillas; toes - pies; eyes - ojos; ears - orejas; mouth - boca; nose - nariz.
- Review body parts: head - cabeza; shoulders - hombros; knees - rodillas; toes - pies; eyes - ojos; ears - orejas; mouth - boca; nose - nariz.
- Our Baptisms - Children will be introduced to the concept of baptism and the different elements used to celebrate it. They will learn how Jesus was baptized and will also learn what it means to be baptized. Children's will share pictures from their baptism
Kindergarten Prep PM class
Exercise Study We wrapped up our Exercise Study this week. We focused on how to keep our bodies safe while exercising. We discussed all the different sports that require special equipment to keep us safe such as pads and helmets. |
Thank You We made it to the end of the year! Thank you so much for honoring all our requests big and small to make this year a success! Your children have grown and learned so much this year! I am so proud of them! |
End of Year Celebration Wednesday, June 2 - 1:30 - 3:00 - Spring Lake Central Park - Family Playdate. Families will come together at the park to celebrate a great year! There will be no class on Wednesday, June 2 or Thursday, June 3. Childcare will be available in the Extension Room. Please schedule accordingly. |
A to Z Countdown to Summer! This week we did activities U - X U - USA Day - We wore red, white, and blue and learned to sing, God Bless America. V - Volcano Day - We used vinegar and baking soda to explode a volcano. W - Water Day - We played with 4 different water tables in the classroom. Outside we had fun with a game like Duck, Duck, Goose called Drip, Drip, Splat. Then we used sponges to spray each other with water. X - Xtra time outside - We enjoyed extra time on the playground! Next Week: Monday - No School, Memorial Day Tuesday - Y - Yummy Treat Day - Mrs. Polega will bring in a yummy treat. Wednesday - Z - Zoom Out of School - End of Year Family Celebration at Spring Lake Central Park - Children can wear class tie-dye shirts! |
Highlights for the week of 6/1/2021
- Study: End of Year Fun
- Focus:
- Virtue: Respect
- Books: H is for Hook; What I Saw In the Teacher's Lounge
- Song: God Bless America
- What's Missing Guessing Game
- Letter Stepping Stones
Preschool PLus
05/17/2021
Monday:
P.E. We did our warm up of skipping, hopping, and galloping. We played Turtle Tag and Spaghetti and Meatballs.
Spaghetti and Meatballs is where half the kids got short pool noodles. Mr. R. had hula hoops on the floor as plates and on each plate had a meatball (ball). The kids with the noodles had to hit the ball off the plate and the other kids had to put the meatball back on the plate.
S.T.E.M. We watched the story “Unicorn” on Vooks. We watched Dinosaur Train’s “Dinosaurs A to Z’s Song.” Then, we sorted dinosaurs by height and put them in the house that fits them. We also colored pictures of dinosaurs.
Tuesday:
Story: “If Dinosaurs Came Back” by Bernard Most
We made our own pet dinosaurs.
Bible Lesson: We read “Daniel and the Lion Den”
We made lion pillows from felt.
Wednesday:
Story: “Pete the Kitty and the Unicorn’s Missing Colors” by Kimberly and James Dean
We made unicorns.
“While We Can’t Hug” by Eoin Mclaughlin
We talked about how, right now, we can’t hug our friends, but we can show them we still care in other ways. We then made pictures/cards for our friends or family.
Thursday:
Story: “Not Quite Narwhal” by Jessie Sims
We made a narwhal out of a toilet paper roll.
Science: We watched SciKids “Narwhal: Unicorns of the Sea!”
We built dinosaur bone puzzles.
The students brought home their lima bean plants that we have been watching grow for the last few months.
Next week, we'll be learning all about Michigan.
Preschool Plus
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Inspired by Saint Mary and rooted in our Catholic faith, St. Mary's School fosters spiritual development, academic excellence,
responsibility to self, and service to others in order that the Gospel of Christ may be known in the world. |
