Alta Sierra Elementary

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Eagles are Kind, Responsible, and Respectful

All about Mrs. Kelley

I feel so happy to say I have loved my last 32 years of teaching! Each grade level I've taught in the past (1st-5th) has filled me with wonderful experiences and happy memories, but I have to admit I am over the moon loving my new teaching experience in Transitional Kindergarten! This is my fourth year working with TKers. Their enthusiasm for life, as well as their eagerness to soak up all the new things around them, make them a joy to be with each day! I am one very lucky teacher!

A little about myself:
I moved to California in 1989, and besides two years teaching in Indonesia, I've been so happy to call Grass Valley home. Education is a family thing, because my husband, Tom, is a school counselor. I have three grown children (Brian, Kyle and Kaity) who have fond memories from the years they also spent at Alta Sierra School!  We love the mountains and being at the ocean as well. Time away from school usually takes us one place or the other. In the winter I love snowboarding, and during the summer time camping and finding trails to walk are some of my favorite things!
 

Recent Posts

Week of January 14th-18th

We were so excited to be able to run outside and play today! We've been busy this week practicing B and thinking of lots of words that begin with that fun sound. Maybe you and your TKer could count how many words you can think of together. We are also getting good at counting how many words are in a syllable (how many tries it takes your mouth to say a word). Two notes went home today explaining what we've been learning to begin doing when we have uncomfortable feelings (frustrated, angry, worried). Have a wonderful three day weekend!
 
Dates to Remember:
Monday, January 21st - Martin L. King Jr. Day (No School)
Friday-Monday, February 15th-18th - Presidents Day (No School)
Thursday, February 28th - Storybook Night at Alta Sierra School!

TK REMINDER

Tomorrow (Wednesday) is library day. If your cutie hasn't turned in their library book yet, tonight is the perfect time to put it in their backpack.

Week of January 8th-11th in TK

We had a great week back together in TK! Some fun news is a new friend joined us. We now have 14 TKers in our class. This week we came up with lots of words that begin with the letter P, and it was fun playing with our stuffed ZooPhonics friends to help us know our alphabet letters and their sounds even better.
 
We're learning that feeling frustrated can be an uncomfortable feeling. This week we talked about trying to change that feeling by first putting our hands on our tummy and saying stop. We'll continue learning more about what we can do to feel better next week.

DONATION DAY

Sorry for a second post in one day! If it wasn't for something that helps others and was an important part of Grass Valley history I would wait for another day. This Friday is Grass Valley's 135th Donation Day Parade. Alta Sierra School is too far away to join in the parade, but we can all be part of the giving. The plan is for each child to bring one can of food on THURDAY that they can "parade" down to the lunchroom with. We have a volunteer who is going to take all the food to the actual parade the next day. I realize you have donated so much for those in need lately. If this is too much everyone completely understands. If you can, though, thank you so much.
 
Here's a little history of Donation Day:
 
Reminders:
December 19th (Wednesday) - TK "Holiday Cheer" at 6:00pm in Room K
December 21st (Friday) - Pajama Day!
December 24th - January 7th - Winter Break
January 8th (Tuesday) - See everyone at school!

TK "Holiday Cheer"

Woohoo! A quick reminder that tomorrow night (Wednesday) is our TK "Holiday Cheer" program at 6:00pm in Room K. Your cutie is excited to come in their holiday best. Thank you for bringing an appetizer or treat to share after our short program. See you soon!

Reminder - Mistletoe Mall/Pancake Breakfast

Tomorrow is TK's time to go to Mistletoe Mall. We'll be in Room 11 from 10:00-10:30 (right next to the library). If you can be there to help our little shoppers, thank you so much! If you are busy, no problem. Just send your cutie to school tomorrow with their shopping list and money in an envelope. Thank you so much!
 
Pancake Breakfast is this Saturday from 8-10:30am. Woohoo! Pre-sale tickets sold online from our school website (or in front of the school Thursday and Friday morning) will be $5. Tickets sold at the door will be $7. Santa and our local firemen are looking forward to seeing everyone!
 
If you can possibly volunteer to help during any of the Pancake Breakfast please check out the following website:

Week of December 3rd-4th in TK

We've been practicing for our Christmas program and are so excited to be performing for you on the 19th. Get ready for so much cuteness! :) We've also been busy practicing the letter S this week and thinking of lots of words that begin that fun sound. Caring about someone who is feeling sad and being a good listener is something else we've been thinking about this week.
 
With winter almost here, it's that time of year when our little school playground is extra cold. When your TKer walks out your door in the morning it's going to be about five degrees colder when they get to school, so please sent your cutie to school with a warm coat and mittens. They'll really appreciate it.
 
There are lots of dates to remember this time of year:
*Giving soup to local families in need is still happening through at least the
          end of next week.
*Mistletoe Mall - December 13th (Thurs.) @ 10:00am - With lots of little
          shoppers we'd love extra help.
*Pancake Breakfast - December 15th (Sat.) 8:00am-10:30am - Yay! Santa and
          our local firemen will be there!
*TK's "Holiday Cheer" program - December 19th (Wed.) @ 6:00 in Room K.
          Bring your cutie in her/his holiday best. TK family and friends social after
          the program. Thank you for bringing an appetizer or treat to share.
*Pajama Day - December 21st (Friday - last day of school before our winter
          break)
 

TK Christmas Program/TK Helping Others with Soup

Mark your calendars! Our TK Christmas Program, "Holiday Cheer" is going to be Wednesday, December 19th at 6:00pm in Room K. Please have your cutie come that night wearing their holiday best. It's also a TK family holiday social, so please bring an appetizer or treat to share, so we can all get to know each other a little better after your cuties are done performing.
 
ALSO - Parents are organizing a food drive for any of our own school community in need. Each grade has been given a food to help provide. TK has been asked to bring in soup. If you can help your kiddo feel a part of this opportunity to give by bringing in a can or two of soup, thank you so much!

TK THANKSGIVING FEAST

Yay! TK has been busy getting ready for our special Thankful Feast this coming Tuesday (11/20). We made adorable turkey hats already, and our want-to-keep-forever-they're-so-cute placemats are just getting finished tomorrow.
 
On this special day we are going to prepare a Friendship Fruit Salad. If every TKer brings one or two pieces of their favorite fruit to share, we'll be able to cut it up and share it with all our friends. So we're ready on Tuesday, please send your cutie with one or two pieces of their favorite fruit on Monday (11/19).
 
Here are some other things we need donated on Monday as well (so we're ready for Tuesday):
12 juice boxes
12 forks
12 Thanksgiving napkins
1 quart heavy whipping cream (to make butter)
1pumpkin pie
1 can whipped cream (makes pie and salad extra delicious)
2 boxes Marie Calendar or Krusteaz cornbread mix
2-3 bags microwave popcorn
 
THANK YOU SO MUCH!

Lots of Reminders

*Library is tomorrow (Wednesday)
 
*There are three days left of our Kids Kan food drive.
 
*Check backpacks for book orders if interested and white half sheet.
 
*Did you miss out on the Square One Art deadline? Great news! The deadline has been extended to November 16, 2018 for ON-LINE and PHONE orders ONLY, Order now @ www.square1art.com/shop or Call 888-332-3294 to order.
 
Have a great evening!

Week of November 5th-9th

We had another great week in TK. We worked on writing the letter O and all the words that have start with the /o/ sound. We discovered three animals that start with that sound. If you can't think of them, hopefully your TKer can help you out. We've been getting good at a-b-c patterns and are having fun getting ready for Thanksgiving.
 
A Kids Kan food drive note went home in backpacks last week. If you are still planning on having your cutie donate non-parishable food items to families in need there is still plenty of time.
 
DATES TO REMEMBER:
Monday, November 12th - Veteran's Day (no school)
Wednesday-Friday, November 21st-23rd - Thanksgiving Break (no school)
 

Farm to School Media Release

Hello Parents,
A Farm to School media release came home yesterday. If you sign it it means your TKer can be in a picture in our garden for Sierra Harvest. They are the farm that provides us with our monthly produce tastings and the seedlings that we plant in our garden, where we visit each week. Thanks so much!

Square One Fundraiser Reminder

Hello Everyone!
We had a great week in TK! The parade was cold, but so much fun. We also got to help carve pumpkins, make our own BIG GREEN MONSTERS, and enjoy a treat of apple juice, donut hole and cheese stick ghosts. The day after Halloween we roasted our own pumpkin seeds and almost everyone decided they were delicious!
 
Here is the reminder about our SQUARE ONE ARTWORK FUNDRAISER (the sun and blue sky artwork):
 
The deadline for Square One is rapidly approaching! Don't miss the opportunity to purchase great gifts for your family with your child's art! You can choose from mugs, hot pads, tiles, water bottles, key chains, or art to hang on the wall. The funds raised through this fundraiser help support your child's school! Purchase items at http://www.square1art.com/shop using your child's code, by calling 888.332.3294, or sending your order form in with your child.  DEADLINE is Novemebr 9th! Lost your order form, e-mail susanneyoho@gmail.com to get your code.
Thank you! Susie Yoho, Square One Coordinator

 

TK Halloween Fun

We love costumes in TK! If your cutie wants to wear his/her costume all day on Halloween that's great, and she/he just wants to wear it for the school parade that's great too!
 
Our school-wide Halloween Parade will be at 8:15 am up on the upper playground. If you can be there, you'll love it! Our class will be the first to begin the parade, so it won't take very long to see them show off their costumes to all the other students. (Life is busy and if you can't be there, no worries at all.)
 
I blew it! We've never had October Break so close to Halloween, so asking for a few donations after break for our Halloween activities was never a problem, but (yikes!) we are only two days away! SO, I am looking for parents willing to bring in these items:
*Small carvable pumpkin
*Small carvable pumpkin
*Small carvable pumpkin (Yes, I need three, but didn't want one parent thinking
               they needed to be responsible for three pumpkins.)
*"Ghost" cheese sticks (cheese stick cut in half with cut ends frayed to look like
               ghosts - 12 cheese sticks cut in half to make 24 little ghosts)
*Juice boxes - 12
*Donut holes - Thank you, Heidi, for bringing in the donut holes!
 
IF YOU CAN DONATE ANY OF THE ABOVE ITEMS PLEASE EMAIL ME (kkelley@prsd.us). THANK YOU SO MUCH!