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Kindergarten |
| Welcome to Kindergarten at St. Dennis | ||
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A good kindergarten program blends and integrates all components of a young child's learning. The teacher makes connections for the child, so that the child can learn to make them independently as learning becomes more complex.
Kindergarten at St. Dennis is a half-day program, held during the morning. (Our on-site Extended Care program is available for students needing care during the afternoons.)
At right is a drawing of our Kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Jansen, as drawn by Anna, one of her students.
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| Themes: |
Many subject areas are integrated within a kindergarten program. Throughout the year, specific themes will incorporate religion, the language arts (reading, writing, speaking), math, science, social studies, art and music. Some of the monthly themes for this year include:
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| Field Trips and Special Events: |
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Religion: Religion and prayer are essential parts of our kindergarten program. Religion is taught every day and will consist of daily prayer, Bible stories, Primary prayer services, monthly Mass attendance and lessons from our religion book. Our religion book's title is Coming to God's World and consists of four main themes:
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Language Arts: The language arts program will be based on the Houghton, Mifflin reading series. The series consists of twelve themes. Skills developed around each theme include comprehension skills and strategies, phonemic awareness (the fact that letters make sounds), phonic/decoding skills, vocabulary, listening, oral language and writing. Kindergartners will be writing and drawing in a weekly/bi-weekly journal. This journal will be an on-going project throughout the year and will stay in school until year's end. We will also work on our word wall to brainstorm words that have the beginning sound of the letters of the alphabet. |
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Mathematics: Math is integrated in the seasonal themes and is supplemented with the Silver Burdett Ginn math series. Areas to be covered are:
We will be conting by 10's up to 100 by putting a straw into a cup for every day we attend school. We will also be estimating objects and practicing writing numbers 1-20 weekly using Mr. Monkey's estimating jar. |
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Science: The science curriculum is also integrated into seasonal themes. We will study our five senses, feelings, body parts, nutrition, dinosaurs, and much more. The Houghton, Mifflin Science Series Discovery Works supplements our science program. Discovery Works covers three main science areas: life science, physical science, and earth science. Science skills such as observing, classifying, measuring, using numbers, communicating, inferring, predicting, making hypotheses, experimenting, and collecting data are developed throughout the year. In addition, we have been fortunate to have a visiting pet program sponsored by Animal Adventures in Monona. Andrew Bills, a St. Dennis Alumnus, has agreed to visit our classroom monthly to teach us how to care for a variety of pets. |
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Social Studies: The Weekly Reader news magazines make up the core of the social studies program. The topics covered on a weekly basis are integrated into themes being studied. Community support is also used to augment the program. |
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| Thoughts from our Kindergarten Teacher: |
| "I believe each child possesses numerous unique, God-given talents that he or she brings to the classroom... Both students and teachers are life-long learners... When provided with a Christian, loving, respectful and motivating atmosphere, children recognize their individual abilities and desires to develop spiritually, intellectually, emotionally, physically and socially.
"...In partnership with the parents, teachers and school administrators, work together to provide a productive, trusting and safe environment for learning. "...I will help the children to work together cooperatively and compassionately with one another. I will work toward guiding them to take responsibility for their personal choices and to develop trust in themselves and others. Along with families, I will help to develop a deep love for God within the guidelines of our Catholic faith... "Each child is an individual and learns in his/her own unique way. Therefore, children need to be offered chances to express their learning in different ways... We learn best when we feel that what we are learning is relevant and important to us... "My goal as a kindergarten teacher is to make my classroom a place where I can provide spiritual and academic opportunities for children to achieve individual excellence and develop skills for life-long learning." |
| Mrs. Jansen and Mrs. Spelsberg, , Kindergarten Teachers |