Super Reader Party! (date change)

We have been working very hard to learn some strategies to become Super Readers! To celebrate all of our hard work, we are going to have a super-hero party! Please have your child come to school as a super hero (just a cape or a mask is fine - or a full costume, if they are comfortable!) on Wednesday the 22nd. I plan to have juice, popcorn, and fruit for the students. You are welcome to join us also! 

When?     Wednesday, January 22nd ~2:00pm
Where?    Preschool classroom

The students can share a book with you or a friend to show their reading powers, then we will have snacks and watch a show to celebrate!

Yoga!

Please have your child bring a towel to use as a yoga mat on Monday (the 13th) as we will be exploring balanced and healthy habits through yoga!

Thank you and Have a Great Weekend!

Happy New Year

Hello Preschool Families!

Hope you enjoyed the winter break and are excited to come back to school tomorrow! I am so excited to see your smiles, hear about your adventures, and start learning again with you!

Remember: tomorrow is Library day! Please bring back your readers AND library books.

Also, tomorrow is PE! Please come dressed in clothing that is easy to move in and with warm layers for when/if you are outside.

Lastly, please bring the winter break journal you created to help you tell us about your adventures.

See you tomorrow!

Ms. Shirai

Happy Holidays!

Thank you to all the parents yesterday for making the last day of school a special celebration! The students loved making, selling, and buying goods at the Christmas Market and were so excited to perform AND receive a gift from Santa! Thank you again for all you do for our students and school. 

News:

We just got word that Preschool will have 2 new students starting in January! I would usually prepare the students for this, but as we are on break, if you could let your child know to please be extra welcoming and a good model showing our routines to the students, that would be very helpful. 

Library Books and Oxford Reading Tree Books:

Please read and reread as much as you like over the break. We will have library the first day back: Thursday, Janauary 9th so please bring the books to return then.  

What can we do to help us remember our learning over the holiday?

Over the Winter Break, please continue to talk about healthy habits, choices and consequences. 

Also, please have your child create a journal about their winter break. The only requirements are:

1. they do their best to write words using their knowledge of letters and sounds, and
2. there are pictures (photographs or hand-drawn).

It is most helpful if they do this a little at a time rather than all at once at the end so maybe writing a page every other or every two days. We will share these journals when we return in January so please have them read them to you a day or so before coming to school to be sure they remember what they wrote.

Other ways to practice writing: A letter to Santa! Thank you notes for gifts!

Finally, (of course) READ READ READ! They were given a short book for independent reading (Santa's Workshop) yesterday. Being read to, reading with you, and independently reading are all the best things they can do!

Thank you again and always and wishing you and yours a very Happy Holiday!

Half Week & Christmas Market!

Have you been tracking your daily health habits? Please be sure to bring back the tracking sheet you got last Tuesday this Tuesday so we can reflect on our habits.

This week in Preschool we begin to explore what "balanced" means. We will also be getting ready for the Christmas Market by making our items to sell and decorations for our booth. We hope you will come see all of our hard work on Wednesday! Don't forget your child will have a 15 minute selling time at the Preschool booth with me then have a chance to wander the market with you from 10-11am. The schedule was sent in a previous email as I don't publish student names on the blog. The schedule is as follows:

9:-00 - 9:30  Ground floor hallway  Market Set-up PTA Set up for Breakfast Buffet

9:30 - 9:50 Classroom  Snack Time / Play 

9:50 - 10:00 Playground Welcome and Choir: Opening Song

10:00 - 11:00 Ground floor hallway Market open PTA Breakfast Buffet Opens

11:00 - 11:15 Ground floor hallway Pack up 

11:15-11:30 Transition / Break 

11:30 - 12:45 Multi-purpose Room PROGRAMME

Presentation:

   Grade 4 - Deck the Halls (5 mins)

   Pre Kindergarten (Anita) - Snowflake (5 mins)

   Kindergarten (Azusa) - Nikolaus Song / Jingle Bell (7 mins)

   Preschool - The Ha! Ha! Holiday Song (5 mins)

   Grade 1 - 10 Little Elves / S-A-N-T-A  (7 mins)

   Grade 2 (Lance) - Bell (5 mins)

   Grade 3/4 - (5 mins) 

   We Wish You A Merry Christmas (Everyone)

   Santa gift giving 

   12:45 - 1:00 Dismissal

Don't forget we will be offering the Flu Vaccination Tuesday at school!

17th December 2.30pm - 3.30pm

Dr. Adachi from Dr. Masatoki Adachi Clinic at Shin-Kobe will come to DSKI to administer flu vaccinations to interested people. The cost of the vaccination is 4,000 yen. 

To sign up: Flu Vaccination at DSKI Google Form

Have a great week!

Week 14

Greetings!

The Preschool was so excited to get some treats in remembrance of Saint Nicholas and his spirit of giving last week! We also started practicing a song to sing at the Christmas Market next week. If possible, it would look really nice if Preschool came dressed in something red, white, and/or black (for example: a red or white top and black pants or skirt OR a black top with red or white pants or skirt) on Wednesday the 18th. Thank you!

This week in Preschool we will learn the sight words: we, will, go, to. We will continue to strengthen our reading super powers by stretching out words to sound them out, chunking longer words into parts, and skipping words we don't know to see if we can figure them out after finishing the sentence.

In maths we will continue with 3D shapes exploration and begin to think about measurement.

We have begun thinking about healthy choices and students will bring home the Health Habits Tracking sheet today. Please just start with Tuesday and return the completed chart next Tuesday the 17th for us to reflect on.

Please note that we have started Term 2 PE schedule this week so PE will be on Thursday and Friday from now until Spring Break.

Also, please don't forget to check the DSKI Blog for important dates and sign-ups like the Parent's Cafe tomorrow and flu vaccinations offered conveniently here at DSKI.

Lastly, the last day before Winter Break is next Wednesday (the 18th) and we will be hosting our Christmas Market. The students will do 15 minute rotations selling goods at our table and will browse the market with their parents the rest of the time. I will email the schedules to you. You can find the day's schedule again at our DSKI Blog. Please plan to be at school for the full schedule by 9:50am.

Have a great week!

Upcoming
Wednesday, December 11th: No PE - PE will be Thursday and Friday until Spring Break
Wednesday, December 18th: Christmas Market; School Finishes at 1:00pm
Thursday, December 19th-Wednesday, January 8th: Winter Break

Week 13

Greetings!

Last week we wrapped up our How We Organize Ourselves unit on Transportation with a trip to the Kobe Airport and reflected on our learning. This week we will begin thinking about Who We Are: Balanced Choices and Healthy Lifestyles unit. The students will begin bringing home a journal to track their habits at the beginning of the unit and at the end of the unit to compare any differences in their choices based on their learning. Please help your child fill this out - this is not to make judgements on but for them to reflect and learn from.

This week week in Literacy we will learn the sight words we, will, see, big and practice two-letter blends. In Readers Workshop we will practice two new superpowers: Lips the Fish (readers make the first sound of the word) and Eagle Eye (readers look at the pictures). Ask students to show you their super powers when reading at home!

In maths, we will continue to explore 3D shapes.

As always, don't forget to check the pictures link for all that the students were doing and learning last week!

Other news:

Scholastic Book Club
Our new Scholastic Book Club is up and running!
Click here to browse the latest books and order online. 
For every $1 you spend on this month’s Book Club, our school will earn 20¢ in Scholastic Rewards.
Please place your order online by December 3rd, 2019.

Upcoming
Tuesday, December 3rd: Tulip Planting
Friday, December 6th: St. Nicolas
Wednesday, December 11th: No PE - PE will be Thursday and Friday until Spring Break
Wednesday, December 18th: Christmas Market; School Finishes at 1:00pm
Thursday, December 19th-Wednesday, January 8th: Winter Break