2018-2019Mrs. Puzauskas

• Jaime Puzauskas• 12 years teaching

• 6 years special education• 6 years kindergarten

• Live nearby in Boyertown Area• Husband & 2 children

• Carter- 5 years old- Kindergarten!• Lila- 2 years old

Additional Staff• Teaching Assistant

• Miss Patty Stahley (goes by Miss Patty)• Assists in classroom for most of the day with lessons, centers

and small group work

• Student Teacher• Miss Chelsea Hroch

• Joining us from August 28th -October 19th

• Classroom Volunteer• Mrs. Conard

• Retired teaching assistant, 25+ years experience in the classroom

• Class meeting, calendar time• Read Aloud• Phonics work• Literacy stations• Small groups- skill based / guided reading• Writing • Math Lesson• Math Centers• Special area subjects- every other day• Free play

• We review our 5 classroom rules daily.1. Raise your hand to speak.2. Listen when someone is speaking.3. Follow directions quickly.4. Always do your best work.5. Be a caring friend.

School-wide Positive Behavior• Teaching pro-social behaviors with common language K-5

in all areas of our school• Be safe• Be responsible• Be respectful• Be kind• Be resilient

Specials- AM K• AM Kindergarten

• Days 1, 3, 5 for first half of year• Day 1- Art• Day 3- Music• Day 5- Library

• Days 2, 4, 6 for second half of year• Day 2- Technology (FLITE)• Day 4- Gym• Day 5- book exchange (no library class)• Day 6- Rotating special

Specials- PM K• PM Kindergarten

• Days 2, 4, 6 for first half of year• Day 2- Technology (FLITE)• Day 4- Gym• Day 5- book exchange (no library class)• Day 6- Rotating special

• Days 1, 3, 5 for second half of year• Day 1- Art• Day 3- Music• Day 5- Library

In Kindergarten, students enter the classroom at various levels of exposure and understanding. Therefore a combination of instruction is used- whole group, small group and individualized teaching- to meet the needs of all learners. It will be an exciting year of learning many things- how to be a student, working with others, solving problems independently, developing peer relations, socializing appropriately with peers and adults, as well as all of the academic skills- reading, writing, composing and decomposing numbers and using oral language skills to explain their processes to solve problems and prove their understanding.

• Recognizing lowercase & uppercase letters• Fluently identifying letter sounds• Identifying initial, ending, and medial sounds• Blending sounds

• Consonant/Vowel/Consonant words (Word families)• Automatically identifying sight words

• 92 Pre-primer and primer sight words, additional 8 number/color words• Printing full first & last name• Rhyming• Manipulating sounds to create new words

• Sight Words• Starting in October students will get a pack of 10

sight words to practice at home. Please practice these daily. I will asses each group of 10 once a week. Once those 10 are mastered by testing in school they will get another pack until all 100 words are learned.

• This works at the individual student’s pace. • Some students learn them more quickly than others. It’s

not a race! It’s about learning and retaining them.

• Kid Writing • The teacher models writing and illustrating stories for

students• Students are encouraged to draw and write about topics

of their choice. • There are several stages in Kid Writing.

• Scribble Writing • Letter Strings (ekidkiels)• Inventive or Phonetic Spelling (hom for home)• Conventional Spelling

• Some of these stages may intermingle

Support at home• Many simple books will come home to read together. Keep

them and re-read often• Stretching words:

• Help your child to sound the words out as best as he/she can

• Try not spell things for your child• Encourage your child to create drawings with details• Write in different ways (lists, fiction stories, nonfiction

stories, letters, etc.)

• Counting and Cardinality• Counting to 100, writing numbers 0-20, comparing numbers

• Operations and Algebraic thinking• Addition, subtraction

• Number and operations in base ten• Place value

• Geometry• Identify two & three- dimensional shapes

• Measurement and data• Exploring measurement with non-standard units• Collecting information, organizing and displaying data, discussing and

comparing results

• Weekly Newsletter• Individual behavior plans created as needed-

communication tool will be decided• Conferences-

• November- all students• March- as needed

• Contact me by email, phone or a written note with questions, concerns or information you wish to share

BEE Folder• Bring Everything Everyday

• Please check AND empty right side every night• Newsletter is provided on Monday each week• Homework suggestions on the newsletter will help practice skills we

are learning at school• Send all notes to me in this folder

• Pick-up changes• Questions or informational notes• Paperwork for the office or nurse• **Excuse notes following an absence- please remember to send

• Fall Conferences for ALL students – signupgenius alert will be sent through email and noted on the newsletter in Oct.• Monday, Nov. 19th- 11am-8pm• Tuesday, Nov. 20th- 8am- 12pm

• Spring Conferences- scheduled as needed• Thursday, March 7th- 3 hr. early dismissal• Friday, March 8th- 3 hr. early dismissal

• See my teacher webpage for many other important dates

Parent Support• Read the newsletter each week• Complete homework suggestions as it works for your

family’s schedule• Read to or with your child each day• Re-read and review papers and books that come home• Talk to your child about what he/she did in school

Parent Involvement• Volunteer your time to support student activities

• PTFS- Parents and Teachers for Students• Monthly meetings at Marlborough

• Start the process to obtain clearances to be a volunteer• Clearance information

Snack• We will have a “working” snack each day during our

independent work time. The snack should be able to be eaten in about 5 minutes.

• Examples: pretzels, crackers, popcorn, or fruit (Something simple and mess-free, please!)

• Please inform me if your child has any severe allergies.

**Class-wide snack policies are subject to change based on student needs.

Birthdays• School policy does not allow food treats for birthdays• If you wish to have your child share something for their

birthday, small goody bags are allowed (tokens like toys, pencils, erasers) • Do NOT feel like you have to send something for birthdays.

• We will sing to the birthday boy/girl and celebrate them for the day!

• Please use the classroom directory for distributing birthday invitations.

Transportation Changes• If your child is not riding the bus home on a certain day,

please send a note in the BEE folder• AM parents- you will meet your child in the main office• PM parents- you will follow end of day pick-up procedures by

signing your child out in the lobby and waiting for student pick-ups to come to the cafeteria

• You must have ID EVERY TIME for student pick-up. Please be understanding, as this is a district policy.

• Trimester report cards available December, March, June• Grading indicators for kindergarten

• S= Secure• D= Developing• L= Limited• NE= Not evident

• Grading scale indicators are explained for each category of the report card each trimester

Special AreaStaff• Librarian – Mrs. Avanzato

• Music – Mrs. Goslin

• Art – Mrs. Conway

• Technology – Mr. Lippincott

• Phys. Ed. – Mr. Pinto

• Psychologist – Mrs. Lawrence, Mr. Rutherford

• Guidance – Mrs. Shetler

• Reading Specialist – Mrs. Fitzgerald

• Speech and Language – Mrs. Burns

• Math Support- TBA

Early Dismissal&

Delayed Starts• Check my teacher webpage or the school calendar for

details about start and end times for AM and PM Kindergarten• AM Kindergarten Schedules• PM Kindergarten Schedules

Scholastic Book Club• Order books for your child through the Scholastic Book Club

Website• www.scholastic.com/bookclubs• Class code- MBK4T

• Order books with traditional flyers- Checks only, no cash

Please contact me with any questions or concerns!

Email- jpuzauskas@upsd.orgPhone- 215-541-7256

Teacher Webpage