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 35 years of teaching! Each grade level I've taught in the past (1st-5th) has been filled with wonderful experiences and happy memories, but I have to admit I am over the moon loving Transitional Kindergarten! This will by my seventh 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:
After teaching a few years out of state, 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!
 

Posts

TK Week of May 31st-June 3rd

We had a great week last week. We were able to release the last of our butterflies out in the garden. Everyone was super excited, but also felt like they were saying good-bye to new friends. Our TKers have loved being scientists and learning all about a butterfly's life cycle. They were shocked/worried when they saw the red at the bottom and sides of the habitat after the butterflies emerged from their chrysalises, and were relieved to learn what it was. Let your little scientist tell you all about it, just ask them what a butterfly's meconium is.
 
We also practiced a special song this last week (so did all the other students at Alta Sierra!) to surprise Mr. Bivens at Rally Around the Flag on Friday to congratulate him for being named, Regional Administrator of the Year! Way to go, Mr. Bivens! Ask your cutie to sing it for you.☺︎
 
LOOKING AHEAD - ON TUESDAY WE GET TO HAVE FUN DAY WITH KINDERGARTEN, FIRST AND SECOND GRADES! IT WILL BE 15 MINUTES OF FUN AT EACH OF OUR NINE DIFFERENT STATIONS. TO HELP THIS BE AN EXTRA FUN DAY, PLEASE MAKE SURE YOUR CUTIE:
*IS WEARING COOL CLOTHES
*HAS SUNSCREEN ON
*HAS A HAT TO WEAR
*HAS A LARGE ENOUGH WATER BOTTLE
YAY! IT WILL BE FUN!
 
DATES TO REMEMBERS:
TUESDAY, JUNE 7TH - FUN DAY! (SEE DETAILS ABOVE)
FRIDAY, JUNE 10TH (LAST DAY OF TK)
TUESDAY, AUGUST 16TH (FIRST DAY OF KINDERGARTEN - p/u at 11:30  until after Labor Day (then day ends at 2:00 for kindergarten)

TK Week of May 16th-20th

Thank you for helping to make Open House such a wonderful night! Your TKers were so excited to sing for you and show you their Eric Carle creations! The Rattler Crew (our camera crew last night) is going to have pictures of our classroom art, the still shots of our slide show, and the performance all on the DVD they are creating for those who would like to order (standard DVD, Blu-Ray, or digital copy). If you are interested please let me know soon, so it can get back to us before the school year is out. (Cash or a check can be attached to your order, and the proceeds go to the media program at Magnolia.)
 
Today was our last day to check out a library book this school year, so that books can be gathered and accounted for before June 10th. (I can't believe we only have 14 school days left!) The good news is that our school library will be open certain days throughout the summer, and a note will be going out soon letting us know the details.
 
I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!
 
DATES TO REMEMBER:
Monday, May 30th - Memorial Day (No School)
Friday, June 10th - Last Day of TK

TK Week of May 9th-13th

Wow! Our TKers are SO excited for Open House next week! They have been so busy creating fabulous things to share with you Thursday evening at 5:30pm. Just a quick reminder that we're meeting in our room at 5:30 (even though the rest of the school starts Open House at 6:00pm), so that we can sing some new, some classic, and some carpet time favorite songs for you!
(Please join us right at 5:30pm. We wouldn't want any TKer to come and find out some of their favorite songs have already been sung!)
 
Next Friday will be our last time to check out a library book this school year, so that Mrs. Alonso has time to gather all the books before the last day of school. I can't believe we only have four more weeks left of TK!
 
ALSO - THERE IS A BMX OUTSIDE ASSEMBLY THIS MONDAY (5/16) AT 1:00pm! It will be on the upper playground, and you are welcome to come back with your cutie to watch it!
 
DATES TO REMEMBER:
Monday, May 16th - BMX Assembly at 1:00pm (if interested in coming back to school)
Thursday, May 19th - OPEN HOUSE! (TK's starts at 5:30pm in Rm K)
Friday, May 20th - Last Time to Check Out a School Library Book this Year.
Monday, May 30th - Memorial Day (No School)
Friday, June 10th - Last Day of TK! (How did that happen so fast?!)
 
I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

TK Week of May 2nd - 6th

Hello Parents!
We have been having so much fun reading books by Eric Carle and enjoying his beautiful art! It's kept us very busy, and we can't wait to show you our "Eric Carle" art at Open House coming soon!
 
I'm so sorry there wasn't a library book in your TKer's backpack today! Mrs. Alonso couldn't be in the library at our regular time, but we can definitely plan on having library next week.
 
I hope everyone has a wonderful Mothers Day weekend!
 
DATES TO REMEMBER:
MAY 16TH (MONDAY) - BMX ASSEMBLY AT 1:00PM. OUR TK DAY IS OVER, BUT YOU ARE MORE THAN WELCOME TO COME BACK TO SCHOOL WITH YOUR CUTIE TO ENJOY THE OUTSIDE ASSEMBLY!
 
MAY 19TH (THURSDAY) - OPEN HOUSE - TK'S WILL START AT 5:30PM, BECAUSE WE HAVE A LITTLE PERFORMANCE WE WOULD LIKE TO SHARE IN OUR ROOM BEFORE THE REST OF THE SCHOOL'S OPEN HOUSE IS FROM 6:00-7:00PM.
 
MAY 30TH (MONDAY) - MEMORIAL DAY (NO SCHOOL)
 
JUNE 10TH (FRIDAY) - THE LAST DAY OF SCHOOL (THIS WAS CHANGED FROM THE 9TH, BECAUSE OF PREVIOUS EMERGENCY DAYS USED.)

TK Week of March 28th-April 1st

BE SURE TO MARK YOUR CALENDAR WITH THE
DATES TO REMEMBER BELOW.☺︎
 
Our little pea plants are now growing in the garden! Your little gardener did a great job finding the perfect "popsicle stick spot" to dig spot to dig a hole, tearing away the bottom of their pot so the roots can keep spreading out, and covering it all up again with some extra good soil. Luckily the rain gave it just the water it needed. It will be fun to go back on Monday to see how they're doing!
 
Thank you to Quincy's mom, Hannah, for donating lots of plastic Easter Eggs for our Hunt next Friday! If you are able to, donations of Easter jelly beans, little chocolate eggs, malt ball eggs, pastel M&Ms or candy corns (or really anything that would be great to fill in plastic eggs) is appreciated! If you can bring it to class by Wednesday, then I can get whatever else might be needed and get them filled and ready by Friday. THANK YOU SO MUCH!
 
Your TKer knows that I will be gone on Monday, so I can see what the specialist thinks about my knee, BUT THE EXCITING NEWS IS THAT MRS. GOBERT GETS TO BE OUR SUBSTITUTE TEACHER!!! Everyone is very excited!
 
DATES TO REMEMBER:
April 11th-15th - SPRING BREAK (NO SCHOOL)
April 25th-30th - BOOK FAIR WEEK (FRIDAY WILL BE OUR CLASS TIME)
April 30th - SCHOOL CARNIVAL (SAT. 12-4)
May 19th - TK PERFORMANCE & OPEN HOUSE  (5:30pm-7:00pm)
May 30th - MEMORIAL DAY (NO SCHOOL)
June 10th - LAST DAY OF SCHOOL

TK Week of March 21st-25th

TK has had another great week! We have been playing with 10 frames and finding so many ways to make ten! Nigel Night owl's N has been a fun letter to practice, and everyone loved putting our sound cards together and realizing they made words!
 
Our TKers definitely have a green thumb, because everyone's pea plants have leaves! Yay! They are learning that leaves are the part of the plant that uses the sun to make their favorite food. Ask your cutie what the name of that food is - chlorophyll.☺︎ 
 
I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!
 
DATES TO REMEMBER
April 11th-15th - Spring Break (No School)
May 19th - TK Performance and Open House! (We'll start at 5:30-Open House                   is officially from 6-7pm.)
 
 

Week of March 14th-18th

We've had another great week in TK! Last week, after our visit to the garden, each TKer planted a pea seed in their own pot to water and take care of so it can go back to the garden to grow delicious peas for us. Well, it was very exciting to see leaves sprouting this week! They all definitely have a green thumb.
 
We also had a wonderful day on Thursday celebrating St. Patrick's Day. When we came to school we found out the leprechauns had taken out all of our green toys to play with! To thank us, though, they left us their very favorite deseret - rainbow sherbet! We also filled our day with graphing rainbow fish, playing shamrock roll and cover, going in on a rainbow hunt, and making some fabulous pot of gold crowns. We also need to thank Cruz (and Mom!) for some darling and delicious gold coin leprechaun-size rainbow cupcakes!
 
WE WOULD LOVE TO HAVE VOLUNTEERS WHO WOULD BE WILLING TO HELP UP WEEKLY (OR BI-WEEKLY) FROM 8:00-9:20. WE NEED HELP MONDAY, TUESDAY, AND WEDNESDAY. IT WOULD BE DURING GROUP TIME. PLEASE LET ME KNOW IF THIS WOULD WORK FOR YOU. THANK YOU SO MUCH!
 
Have a wonderful weekend!
 
DATES TO REMEMBER:
3/25 - Teddy Bear Picnic (this coming Friday) at 1:00pm on the field. Bring a blanket and enjoy some fun storytime books.
 
4/11-15 - Spring Break (No School)

TK Week of February 22nd-25th

Hello Parents!
We had another great TK week! We've been thinking a lot about more and less than, as well as recognizing those tricky but fun teen numbers! Robby Rabbit was our first diagonal letter we've practice. That's usually a hard direction for five year olds, but our TKers made R's like champs!
 
Next week is a fun one! We will be celebrating Dr. Seuss Week, with Wednesday being an extra special day - Dr. Suess's birthday! Here's how we can have extra fun:
  • Monday 2/28: Fox in Socks - Wear crazy/mis-matched socks
  • Tuesday 3/1: Green Eggs & Ham/The Lorax: Wear green
  • Wednesday 3/2: Cat in the Hat:/Wacky Wednesday: Wear stripes or crazy hat or clothes backwards
  • Thursday 3/3: One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish: Wear red and blue or things with numbers on them
  • Friday 3/4: There's a Wocket in My Pocket: We'll make little "critters" for our pocket
It should be fun!!
 
Dates to Remember (Some Date Changes Because of Used Emergency Days):
March 18th - Regular School Day (Professional Development Day was changed to June 13th)
April 11th-15th - Spring Break (No School)
May 30th - Memorial Day (No School)
June 10th - Last Day of School
 
Have a wonderful weekend!
 

TK Week of January 31st - February 4th

This has been another wonderful TK week!
 
We spent time talking about what we can do if we have an uncomfortable feeling, like being worried. We learned to recognize this feeling (a tummy that hurts and/or a heart that may be pumping fast) and our puppets, storybooks, and group discussions helped us learn that talking to a grown-up about our worry really helps.
 
This Tuesday (four days away) is our 100 DAYS OF TK CELEBRATION! It would be wonderful if each TKer brought a collection of 100 things she/he counted with Mom or Dad at home and could show and tell the class about on Tuesday. It's a great way to visualize 100, with so many different sizes and weights that make up 100.
 
Mark your calendar! Next Friday  (Feb. 11th) is another school spirit day! This time it is going to be WEAR RED, PINK & WHITE DAY.
 
I HOPE YOU ALL HAVE A FABULOUS WEEKEND!

TK Calendar Updates - January 21st

What a surprise this week has been! I’m so glad most of us were able to be together today, but we are missing our TK friends who are still out. If I didn’t get to see your cutie today, please give them a big hello and let them know how much I miss them!
 
Dates to Remember:
Presidents Day Holiday - February 18th-21sth (no school)
Teacher Professional Development Day - March 18th (no school)
Spring Break - April 11th-15th (no school)
Back to School - April 18th (emergency day was used this week)
Memorial Day - May 30th (no school)
New Last Day of School - Monday, June 13th (all our emergency days were used)
 

TK Week of December December 13th-17th

TK had another wonderful week! Although it was disappointing yesterday seeing the rain come down (again) and knowing we wouldn't be able to have the Rattler Pit come with all their big cameras to film our holiday program, we made the best of it today by having our own video photographer - Mrs. Gobert!
By the time you get this email tonight there will be another email in your inbox with a YouTube link, so you can all enjoy some cute songs and poems filled with Holiday Cheer!
 
Most of our TKers checked out a library book today to enjoy over our Winter Break. When your cutie is finished with it, please have them put it in their backpack, so that s/he will be able to check out a new book early on Tuesday when we come back from our break. (Our librarian, Mrs. Alonso will be gone on our regular library Friday, so she said we could come Tuesday instead!)
 
I hope everyone has a wonderful time together with family over the break. I'll be thinking of you all! Let your TKer know I can't wait to see them in the new year!
 
DATES TO REMEMBER
December 20th-December 31st - Winter Break (NO SCHOOL)
January 3rd - Back to School! :)
January 17th - Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday (NO SCHOOL)
February 18th-21st - Presidents Day Four Day Weekend!

TK Week of 6th-10th

We've had another wonderful TK week! It was a little disappointing that rain kept us from being able to film our Holiday Cheer performance outside this week, BUT we were able to reschedule it for next week! I'm sorry that won't give Magnolia's tech crew enough time to make a DVD before our Winter Break, but it will definitely be cute to see and have as a fun keepsake when we get it in January.
 
So far four DVDs have been ordered. If you haven't turned in your order form yet (but would still like to) there is plenty of time next week. Just hand it to me, and I can give it to the film crew advisor when they come next week.
 
Santa came to see us on Thursday! Our TKers were so excited, and assured him they've been very good this year. They each had a cute conversation with Santa, and had some great ideas of things he could bring them:)
 
NEXT FRIDAY IS PAJAMA DAY AT SCHOOL! YAY!
I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!
 
DATES TO REMEMBER
Friday, December 17th - Pajama Day
December 20th-December 31st - Winter Break (No School)
January 3rd - No school IF we don't use an emergency day for snow this week.
January 4th - Back to School (If an emergency day was used then Jan. 3rd is the first day back to school.)

TK Week of November 29th-December 3rd

TK has had another great week. There's a chance your cutie been singing fun Christmas Songs and reciting some cute poems, because we have been getting ready for a special Holiday Cheer DVD we get to make next Thursday, so it can come home to you before the holidays. A note about ordering these DVDs went home in your TKer's folder last night.
 
I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!
 
DATES TO REMEMBER:
December 19th-January 2nd - WINTER BREAK (No School)
December 3rd - No School IF we don't use an emergency day before Winter Break.
 

TK Week of November 15th-19th

We had another great TK week! We practiced our first letter with a big curve - Catina Cat's C, thought about different ways to show a number (fingers, tallies, ten frames, and objects), and spent a lot of time thinking of things we are thankful for.
 
We're all excited for our TK Thanksgiving celebration this coming Tuesday. A Sign-up Genius is coming to your email tonight with things we need for our cornbread muffins,we'll be mixing and baking,  butter we'll get to make ourselves, as well as popcorn and delicious pumpkin pie. We are also hoping each child can bring (Monday or Tuesday) a piece of their favorite fruit to share in our FRIENDSHIP FRUIT SALAD.
 
One last reminder that our food drive is ending on MONDAY. If you and your TKer would like to help donate to our local food bank, please have your cutie bring their cans (they are requesting pull-off lids) and/or other non-perishable food in on Monday, so they can put it in our TK food donation box before it gets picked up to share with those in need in our community.
 
I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!
 
DATES TO REMEMBER
November 24th-26th - THANKSGIVING BREAK (No School)
December 20th-January *3rd - WINTER BREAK (No School)
December 4th - Back to School (Tuesday)
*January 3rd is actually an Emergency Day. If we don't use an Emergency Day from now to December 17th, then we won't have school on January 3rd. If we do, then we will return to school on Monday, January 3rd.
 

Library Tomorrow (Wednesday)!

With no school this Thursday and Friday, Mrs. Alonso said we could go to the library tomorrow. Yay! Please have your TKer put their library book in their backpack tonight. Thanks so much!