Perfect Attendance!

Aloha D2 Ohana!

What a packed week of learning and achievements we had this week!

You may have read in our school newsletter on Thursday that our class won Perfect Attendance for Kindergarten! Our class had 98% attendance last week! Great job getting to school every day and on time!

In math this week we have been working with numbers 1-5. We discovered different combinations to make 5!

We also practiced ordering our numbers 1-5. 

Our librarian Mrs. Chock had foot surgery this week. So, our class made get well cards for her to help encourage her as she recovers!

We were all so excited to finally have Ms. Josie with us this week! She will now be student teaching in our classroom every Tuesday and Thursday this semester. On Tuesday she did an art lesson with the kids on different types of lines used in art. 

After the lesson the kids got to try out the different styles themselves. 

This October we will be having our first field trip, which will be to the Aloha Theater. To help pay for the cost of the field trip I wrote up a proposal to help fundraise on a website called PledgeCents. My brother is part of an online live broadcast show, and mentioned my cause to his viewers. Within 1 hour over $160 was raised. This will hopefully cover the cost of the field trip for our entire class! To thank the viewers we made a poster to show our appreciation. 

As a reminder: We will be having our class picture day this Thursday, September 3rd. Order forms for pictures went home in last week's Thursday envelope. 

Have a great weekend!

Mrs. Kawai

Who Is In Our Family?

Aloha All!

This week in D2 we learned all about family! We talked about who is in our families, and how those people are special. Here are some illustrations that the kids drew to show who is in their family. 

We also talked about all the different activities we can do with our families. There were lots of great ideas! After we brainstormed didn't ways we can spend time with our families the kids wrote about one thing they can do with family.

Earlier in the week we did some "shared writing". The kids came up with the ideas of different things we can do as a class. I wrote their ideas down on chart paper. When it was finished we all read it together. We have some great authors and readers in our class!

We started Social Studies this week, and learned about our own state of Hawai'i. After learning some facts about Hawaii, we located and labeled it on a map of North America. For the next few weeks we will be learning more about the different states as well as the other countries in North America. If you or someone in your family would like to be a "guest speaker" about a particular state or North American country please let me know! We would love to hear from an expert!

As students are learning to write, proper pencil grip is very important to help them be successful. Here is a song we learned this week to help us remember how to hold our pencils. You can use it at home too to encourage your child when drawing or writing. Be careful though, the song it quite catchy!



I would like to give a big MAHALO to the Silva and Anderson-Malagon families for donating snacks for our class this month! They kids have really been enjoying them!

Hope you all have a wonderful three day weekend! Happy Statehood Day!
Mrs. Kawai

Our First Kindergarten Writing

Aloha Family and Friends!

This week we had our first trip to the computer lab! The kids were all able to use a program called Tux Paint. It is a fun program where kids can be creative and practice their computer skills. 

On Tuesday the kids did an art project where they ripped up bits of construction and glued them inside the outline of a fish. Each one was unique and special!

Writing began this week. The kids really focused when we do our writing time and are very engaged. They love it! Here are some samples of their very first writing pieces. 

Next week "Book Bags" will be added to homework folders. It is just a ziploc bag with 1 or 2 books for your child to read at home. Please continue to read personal books with your child at home as well. Reading with your child every day is vital to their academic success!

Just a reminder that every Tuesday and Thursday there is the Million Miles Campaign. Students, Parents, and Teacher can earn tickets for each lap they walk on the D field. The class with the most tickets in each grade level wins a class party! 

See you all on Monday!

Mrs. Kawai

First Days of Kindergarten

Aloha Family and Friends of the D2 Ohana!

The first week of Kindergarten is now behind us. What a whirlwind of a week this has been! We have been focusing a lot on the basics of rituals and routines. 

We began with how to use our tools in school. We practiced tracing straight lines by helping the firefighters slide down the poles!

We also practiced using our glue properly with the mantra "dot dot not a lot". 

For math we practiced using pattern blocks. The kids got really creative!

One of our favorite parts of the day is reading stations. At one center the kids used stamps to spell out their names and other words. 

In another station they worked as a group to put together an ABC puzzle. 

A favorite station is reading buddies! Kids get to read books to different stuffed animals. 

To help gets the kids active and moving we have been doing a lot of "GoNoodle". It is a fantastic website with lots of great dance, song, and exercise videos for kids. And the best part is that it is free so you can do it at home too! After just one day all the kids had a favorite video... Pop See Ko! It is really catchy. 

You can check out GoNoodle at www.gonoodle.com

Monday we will have our first trip to the library as well as our first trip to the computer lab! If they haven't already, please have your child turn in their library contract as well as the release form for them to use the computers at school.

Happy weekend!

Mrs. Kawai