Book Club Online

You can now order books from the Scholastic book clubs flyer online using your credit card! To order online, go to the Scholastic website. Our class' username is: MrsPiltzK and our password is: DrSeuss.

By ordering online, it is faster and more convenient for you, and our class earns free books for every order placed online by a parent!

The May book club flyer is available to order from now. Book club orders are due by April 14th.

Reading with your Child

At conferences, a few parents asked me about resources to better help their child read at home. I added some links to the "favorite links" section of this blog that should be helpful for parents. Check out ideas for parents at Read, Write, Think and Parent Links on the Billings Public Schools webpage.

You might also enjoy this brochure which gives strategies for helping your kids as they begin reading.

Thanks again to everyone who came into our classroom and let your kindergartners show you all of the things they are learning!

Student of the Month

March's Student of the Month is Hannah!

It is always hard for me to choose a Student of the Month, because Mrs. Piltz' Kindergarten is full of so many wonderful kids! The three things I look for are: someone who is a good listener, a good friend to others and who always tries their best.

Hannah has been working super hard this year, and has made great gains in kindergarten. She is a super star listener and is such a wonderful friend. Keep up the great work, Hannah!

Hannah got to enjoy a yummy McDonald's lunch with Mrs. McCall and all of the other classes' Student of the Month winners for March. Congratulations, Hannah!

Student-Led Conferences This Week!

Don't forget, student-led conferences are this week, March 24-26th. School will be dismissed at noon each day. Remember to bring your kindergartner with you. He or she will lead the conference. Report cards went home today, and your conference time is listed on the 2nd page. If you are not sure of the time, or need to reschedule, please contact me as soon as possible at 281.6356 or by email at piltzt@billings.k12.mt.us.

I look forward to seeing you!

Kindergartners Sing The Cat in the Hat Song

Dr. Seussy Kindergartners at the Book Fair

Barnes & Noble Book Fair

Fun at Barnes & Noble!

We had such a fun time at the book fair supporting Beartooth Elementary at Barnes & Noble this afternoon! Thank you to all of the parents who brought their kindergartners to read, sing and have fun at the book fair! Mrs. Piltz' kindergarten had an AWESOME turnout of kiddos!! I will post video for you all to enjoy soon!

Barnes & Noble Book Fair Supporting Beartooth Elementary

Saturday, March 20th from 1-4pm is our book fair fundraiser at Barnes & Noble. Below is a list of planned activities:

* First graders sing 1:15pm
* Kindergartners read 2:00pm
* Poetry readers 3:00pm
* Face painting 1-3:00pm
* Prize wheel 2:30-4:00pm
* Barnes & Noble's games 2-4:00pm

If you are planning to come and bring your kindergartner to read, please plan to be at Barnes & Noble by 1:45pm. Please let me know if you plan to attend. Thank you!

Read-a-Thon Results

Beartooth Elementary did an amazing job of reading this year!  The students read a total of over 100,000 minutes and earned over $5,000 for our school!  Mrs. Piltz' Kindergartners did a great job of reading, with 8 kids participating and reading a total of 2,338 minutes.  Great job!

Our Leprechaun Poem

Leprechauns are tricky and small.  They like to leave gold.  You will find a rainbow and a treasure with a leprechaun.  Usually, leprechauns like to wear green.

Leprechaun Traps

We had a fun time building leprechaun traps out of graham crackers and frosting with our 3rd grade buddies from Ms. Armer's room. The kids came up with some creative ways to build their traps, but unfortunately we didn't catch any of those sneaky leprechauns. They did, however, leave behind some gold coins for the kindergartners to discover on St. Patrick's Day! Thanks to all of the parents who brought in supplies for this fun project - you are appreciated!

Alliana's Dance

A huge thank you to Alliana and her parents for showing us her traditional dancing this morning.  Alliana wore her beautiful hand-beaded regalia.  The kindergartners LOVED her dancing and the clothes she wore.  They especially loved the sounds her dress made when she danced.  Thank you!

Guided Reading

Our class has been very busy with our sessions in Guided Reading. All students are put into a reading group with students who are at the same reading level as they are. While all other students are working independently at literacy centers, your child takes turns meeting with me throughout the week in his/her reading group. We reread stories from past lessons, and begin a new story. We find words that we know and use our reading skills to figure out tricky words. A skill or activity is then completed after your students have had the chance to read the story for themselves. The progress since the beginning of the year has been great! I hope you are seeing the changes in your young student academically as well!

Kindergartners Jam Out to the Problem Solving Song

Safety Reminder

Please remember that the turn out in front of the school is for daycares and buses only.  Earlier this week we came very close to having a child hurt because of the traffic problems in the turn out.  Daycares pick up children at many different schools, and the drivers cannot leave children in the van to walk over and pick up other children.  Your cooperation in following this simple rule to help keep our children safe is greatly appreciated.

Barnes & Noble Book Fair

Saturday, March 20th from 1-4pm is our book fair fundraiser at Barnes & Noble. Below is a list of planned activities:

* First graders sing 1:15pm

* Kindergartners read 2:00pm

* Poetry readers 3:00pm

* Face painting 1-3:00pm

* Prize wheel 2:30-4:00pm

* Barnes & Noble's games 2-4:00pm

If you are planning to come and bring your kindergartner to read, please plan to be at Barnes & Noble by 1:45pm. Please let me know if you plan to attend. Thank you!

March comes in like a lion, and out like a lamb

Dr. Seuss artwork

After we read a book by Dr. Seuss, we added it to our list of "Dr. Seuss Books We Love".

We wrote "Do you like green eggs and ham?", then graphed the students who responded "Yes, I do." and the students who responded "No, I do not."

Dr. Seussy Kindergartners

Mrs. Piltz' Kindergartners were very Dr. Seussy last week, eating green eggs and ham and doing LOTS of rhyming! We wrote our own "One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish"-style poems, and a variation on "Green Eggs and Ham". To hear your child read her poems, plan to come to Beartooth's Book Fair at Barnes & Noble on Saturday, March 20th. Click here for more information.

Kindergartners eating green eggs and ham

Student Led Conferences

Parent-teacher conferences will be held March 24-26th. School will be dismissed at noon each of these days, to accommodate for conferences from noon-4:00pm. Please watch for a note that will come home with your family's conference day and time. These conferences are unique - your kindergartner should come with you, and will lead the conference by showing you things he has learned in school. This should be a fun time of celebrating all the things your kindergartner has accomplished this year!

Kindergarten Registration

If you or someone you know has a child that will be attending kindergarten next year, now is the time to get them registered!  Early registration helps with proper planning for class sizes and adequate number of teachers at our school.  To register, please stop by Beartooth and pick up a registration packet, or click here to find registration materials online.

Teacher Requests

If you plan to request a teacher for next year, all requests must be submitted in writing to Mrs. Cheryl McCall by Friday, May 14th.  We have three wonderful 1st grade teachers and your child would be lucky to have any one of them next year!

Parent Helper SOS

I apologize that I have not been very diligent in sending home student poem books each Friday.  It takes a lot of time to sort through the students' poems and get them put into their binders.  So I am sending out an SOS for parent helpers: if there is anyone who would be willing to come in every Thursday afternoon or Friday morning to put together poem books for the kindergartners, it would be VERY appreciated!

We can use parent helpers at other times of the day, as well, so if you're interested in helping but can't come during those times, just let me know.  Also, if you'd like to help but can't come into our classroom, there are sometimes "take home" projects (cutting, stapling, book making, etc.) that I need help with.  Just let me know if/when you are available.

Thanks!

February art projects

Barnes & Noble Book Fair for Beartooth Elementary

On Saturday, March 20th from 1-4pm Beartooth Elementary will be hosting a Book Fair fundraiser at Barnes & Noble.  In addition to other activities such as face painting, a scavenger hunt, and a clown, the kindergartners from our class will be writing Dr. Seuss-style stories and poems, and will be featured readers at the Book Fair.  Please plan to attend the Book Fair, and bring your kindergartner so she can participate by reading her story.  Click here for more information.

Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss!

http://www.seussville.com/

Dr. Seuss’s birthday is March 2^nd, and we are celebrating by reading many of his books this week.  Some favorites have been The Cat in the Hat, Green Eggs and Ham and One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish.  We will participate in many fun reading, writing and math activities this week that incorporate Dr. Seuss characters. 

On Friday we will make green eggs and ham in class, and create a graph showing who likes them and who does not.  This is always a fun activity for the kindergartners!