Weekend Fun

Enjoy your long weekend! Remember we do not have school on Monday.

What are your fun weekend plans? Leave a comment. Can't wait to hear all about it!!

Thank you all so much for leaving a comment! Your child will get to have lunch with me in the classroom one day next week. Can't wait!

Shared Reading

Today, we learned about Shared Reading. What is a Shared Reading? Shared Reading is an interactive reading experience. Students join in the reading as guided by the teacher.

 Our class helped me read the story, Pete the Cat I Love my White Shoes. They loved it!! Ask your little one to tell you their favorite part. Did they like when Pete stepped in strawberries, blueberries, mud, or water?


Visit the following link to watch a video on Pete the Cat:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nUubMSfIs-U

About Ms. Hawas

I loved reading all about your little ones!! Their survey answers were so cute. Below you will find a little more about me. I hope getting to know me will help you to feel completely comfortable as a kindergarten parent and please know that you can always come to me with any questions.

Ms. Hawas in kindergarten (in Louisiana). I knew I always wanted to be a teacher. It is my passion and true love in life!

This is my fiance, Richy. We have been engaged for a year and eight months. We are finally getting married November 3rd...YES, less than 3 months away!!! 

This is a picture of our dog, Alcapone aka Capone. He is a German Shepard and Rotweiller mix. He is only two and was saved from a shelter. I love him so much!!

Go LSU!! This is my favorite football team. I try to go to at least one game a year since it is such a far drive. 

First Day of Kindergarten

Wow!!! What an amazing first day! I'm so excited about this wonderful bunch of little ones I have in my class. I can't wait to see them all bloom.

Meet our class:

Where's David?

We went on a tour of the school today using the book, David Goes to School by David Shannon. It's about a little boy who breaks all of the rules in school. We looked everywhere for David!! We looked in the classroom, media center, office, playground, and cafeteria. We finally found him and enjoyed a snack for all of our hard work. As we looked for David, we discussed what the rules are in all of these places at our school. Ask your little one a rule that they learned today and leave a comment. Enjoy the pictures!!

The book, David Goes to School

Wiggle your ears so that I know you're ready to listen!

 Reading our clue to find David 

Looking everywhere for David

Smiles while looking for David on the playground!

Looking high and low for David...Where could he be?

What can we do to make sure we do not act like David?

Our beautiful art work

'Twas the night before kindergarten...

Don't forget to read your book tonight!! I know I will be putting magic confetti under my pillow to help get rid of my first day jitters. :) I'm so excited to see you all tomorrow. 

Leave a comment and let me know how your little one is feeling about becoming a big boy or girl tomorrow in KINDERGARTEN. Yay!! Remember we don't take naps in kindergarten. We have lots to learn!! Please get lots of rest and be on time tomorrow. Our day begins as soon as the bell rings.

 

                  IT "MINT" SO MUCH TO ME THAT YOU CAME TO ORIENTATION. :)

Wow!!! We had such a great turn out for orientation. Thank you so much for coming to school and taking the time to meet me. I am so excited for Monday. If you have any questions, please contact me at hawass@duvalschools.org.

Thank you to those of you who already brought supplies. If you have not, please bring them on the first day of school. We need these supplies to get our classrooms prepared.

Remember you are more then welcome to come in on the first day and take pictures but at 8:20 am we ask that you leave. We ask this so that your child can get used to the fact that the teacher will be the only adult in the classroom. Don't worry I will be updating you with everything that we are learning in the classroom.

Welcome to Kindergarten

Dear Parents,

            I am excited to start a new school year, and cannot wait to get to know your child.  Kindergarten is a fast-paced and challenging year with lots to learn.  I want you to know some important information to get started.

Prior to the first bell (8:10 a.m.) that starts the school day, my kindergarteners are to come to the classroom, get a book from the book basket and sit in the hall until the bell rings.

On the first day of school, parents are invited in to take pictures and visit the classroom until 8:20 am.  After 8:20 a.m. I will handle any tears or fretfulness your child may have.  Most students who come in a little emotional are fine within a few minutes. As soon as students walk through the door our day begins. We have lots to learn and can't waste any time. Thank you in advance for cooperating. 

The dismissal bell for kindergarten car riders is 2:30 p.m. (on early release days - 1:30 p.m.).  All parents must have a car tag with their child’s name or they will be asked to park and pick up their child from the office.  If your car tag is lost or stolen, it will cost $1.00 to replace it.   If you need to pick up your child any time before the dismissal bell rings, you must check them out in the main building.     

My students will eat lunch from 10:50-11:20 a.m.  You are welcome to eat lunch with your child at school.  Please wait about a month before you come to eat with your child.  This will give them time to become comfortable with eating in the cafeteria.  

The price of lunch is $1.65.  If you are eligible for reduced lunch, the cost is $0.40.  You may pay for lunches in advance and the money will stay in an account for your child and be deducted on days he or she wants to buy school lunch.  I strongly recommend this method of paying for lunch.  Please send cash or checks in an envelope labeled with your child’s name.  You may also go to mylunchmoney.com to manage your child’s lunch account. 

  Sneakers are safest and most appropriate footwear for children at school.  It is my recommendation that your child wear them every day.

 Each child will have a red folder that they are responsible for bringing back and forth between school and home DAILY.  In it you will find daily behavior marked on a calendar along with important days for the month, a reading log, any communication from the school, and homework.  Please review and initial DAILY the calendar to check your child’s daily behavior. Please don’t discard it. 

I am also asking that you check my website, at least, weekly.  Homework, special events, and messages from me will be posted there.  I will send a note home with the website address once it is up and running.

 Please mark September 13^th on your calendar as a very important date.  At 6:30 pm on the evening of the 13^th, Merrill Road Elementary will be having its Open House.  I will be giving a lot of valuable information about kindergarten curriculum, as well as my procedures and expectations.  I feel it is vital that every child be represented by at least one parent/guardian for this important night.  Start planning now!

 If you have any questions and/or concerns.  Feel free to call me at school or email me.  The school number is 904-745-4919.  My extension is 280. I will send a  note home next week hopefully once I get my email.

 I look forward to getting to know both you and your child.  This will be a great year!

Want to Volunteer?

Volunteers are a very important part of our class since we do not have a teacher assistant in the classroom. Volunteers allow me to have more time to work with students, rather than spending time putting homework in folders, preparing craft materials, cutting out laminating, etc.  Volunteers may also help work with children on practicing naming letters, numbers, sight words, and so forth. We have many learning games which work better with a small group of children. 

Please note that I do not recommend parents come in to volunteer for the first month of school, so that children have time to gain some independence in the classroom.  Thank you in advance for your support and cooperation!

If you want to volunteer, you must first be cleared through Duval County. Please fill out the application online by visiting the website www.duvalschools.org. You may not volunteer if you have not filled out this form. Thank you!!

2012-2013 School Supply List

Since each teacher's needs and wants are different, please read the notes in parenthesis. Thank you very much!

• 1 backpack without wheels
• 1 blue plastic folder with prongs (Ms. Hawas' class does not need any folders)
• 5 boxes - 16 skinny Crayola crayons (If you can only find boxes of 8 or 24, that is ok)
• 1 box (20) skinny #2 pencils (Ms. Hawas' class does not need any pencils)
• 12 glue sticks
• 1 box-Ziploc gallon bags (boys)
• 1 box-Ziploc sandwich bags (girls)
• 1 bottle-waterless hand sanitizer (boys)
• 2 bottles-antibacterial soap (girls) (Ms. Hawas' class only needs 1 bottle of soap)
• 2 reams of white copy paper (Ms. Hawas' class only needs 1 ream of white copy paper)
• 4 black dry erase markers
• 1 package baby wipes (boys) (Ms. Hawas' class does not need baby wipes)
• 1 container antibacterial cleaning wipes-Lysol or Clorox
• 1 MEAD PRIMARY journal book (These can be found

MS. HAWAS' WISH LIST

These supplies don't have to be purchased but I do use them in my classroom all year. I truly appreciate your help!!

• Avery labels 5160
• mauvalus tape (can be found at School Aids)
• 1 pack of Crayola markers
• green composition books 





Welcome

Welcome to our classroom blog! On this blog you will find educational games to play with your child, get a peek inside our classroom, and see exactly what we are learning in our class. Please check regularly because I will update with important information.

I hope you all had an amazing summer! I sure did. This summer I went to West Palm Beach, Tampa, and Louisiana.

All About Ms. Hawas

Hi!! I am from Louisiana and love love love the LSU Tigers. I moved to Florida to attend the University of North Florida and majored in Pre K Primary Education. I can't imagine doing anything else. I am very passionate about teaching and love being at Merrill Road Elementary. My favorite place to visit is NYC! I try to go at least twice a year.

I have a HUGE family that includes five brothers and one sister. I have been engaged (for 1 year and 8 months) to the love of my life, Richy. He proposed to me at Merrill Road by putting red solo cups in the fence that spelled out Will You Marry Me. He knows that Merrill Road is my life. We are getting married in November this year!! I'm so excited to share a special part of my life with you all. Richy is a firefighter/paramedic so you most likely see him volunteering during health week.

A few of my favorite things are STARBUCKS, Dunkin Doughnuts coffee, yoga, exercising, LSU, sushi, tacos, hanging out with the amazing kindergarten teachers, drawing, and singing. (I really sing everything! If your child does not sing yet, I promise they will start soon.)