September 5, 2012
Dear Parents,
It was so good to see all of you at our Open House yesterday! This is such a nice way to help your child transition into the new and exciting world of kindergarten. It is very important to me that your child feels comfortable and joyful in our classroom. We will focus on establishing feelings of safety, belonging, and community as we learn about each other and the many ways that we can value each person’s own special talents and abilities.
Our first theme is called “All About Me”. Please help your children to find 1-2 treasures to bring in to share with our class! These treasures should be special to your child and help us get to know him/her better. We will begin to share these on Friday and will continue to share next week until all have had an opportunity.
I will be sending notes or telephoning you from time to time to let you know about the neat things that your child is doing in school, to share concerns, or to just touch base. Please feel free to call or email me at school should you have any questions or information to share. Consistent and ongoing communications between home and school will help us (teachers and parents) to work as a team to better meet your child’s emotional, social, and intellectual needs. Our weekly newsletter will be posted online each Saturday. This newsletter will keep you informed about what activities we are doing in the classroom and about upcoming events at school.
Our Kindergarten classroom will be a busy place! The children will be actively involved in lots of exploration and discovery. Children are naturally curious and have an innate desire to learn. Celebrating each success will help to build confidence and will encourage students to seek out new challenges. What a fabulous journey!
So that you will know me better, I am including some information about myself. I live in Lake Orion with my husband Mike, and our two children. Trevor is a senior at Lake Orion High School, and Ian is a freshman. This is my 21st year as a teacher. I have taught 13 years in second grade, 5 years in third grade, and this is my 3rd year teaching Kindergarten. I have a Masters degree in Early Childhood Education and a Bachelors degree in Elementary Education. I look forward to an exciting year and having the opportunity to teach Kindergarten and to learn at Springfield Plains Elementary with such a great team of educators.
We are pleased to welcome Mrs. Kim Mahaney to SPE, as our instructional aide. Mrs. Mahaney grew up in Waterford and has lived there all of her life. She has been married to her husband Mike for 10 years and has three children. Grace is 9, and is in fourth grade, Michael is 7, and is in second grade, and Dylan is a kindergartener! They have three pets named Cisco, Minnie and Max. We are very fortunate to have Mrs. Mahaney assisting us this year!
I look forward to seeing you at Curriculum Night on Thursday, September 13th. That evening you will have the chance to gather more information about the kindergarten curriculum and how learning experiences are structured. What a wonderful year of learning and growing we will all share! Let’s work together to make this a very positive and productive adventure for your child!
Sincerely,
Kristine Simek Kindergarten Teacher Springfield Plains Elementary
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