Literacy:

Our Weekly News - Friday, September 18th

Dear Families, 

Even though these first two weeks of school have been a lot about routines and procedures, we have had such a great time in kindergarten so far!  Each child in this class brings such joy to our room!  It has been so much fun building our classroom community and getting to know each other! Plus... each child posted a picture and a drawing to his/her SeeSaw account today... and they are starting to enter their lunch orders independently....HUGE SUCCESS!                                   (ordering lunch)

Literacy

So far we have focused on the letters Tt, Aa, Bb, Hh, Nn, Mm, Rr, Ll, and Ii.  We have also been using hand signals to help us remember the sounds those letters make. We also learned to read the sight words "I" and "can".                                                                                                 (working in our phonics notebooks)

Each week we will be learning a new poem.  Throughout the week we will be practicing it and creating actions that go with it.  We will be gluing the poem in our poetry notebook as well as reading them in books.  If your child brings home one of these books, see if he/she can point to each word as he/she recalls and reads the poem.

A few of our read alouds have been Chicka Chicka Boom Boom and Chrysanthemum.  With these stories we focused on making predictions,  retelling the story, and understanding what we read.  We were also able to make connections with these stories and tie them to our own names.  

      

Writing

We are learning how to write our names starting with an uppercase letter followed by all lowercase letters.  This can tricky, but we will get better with more practice!  We've also spent each day learning how to draw pictures using shapes and lines as well as how to fill an entire area with the details of one scene.  

    

Math

We have focused on counting 1-10 forwards and backwards and using a ten frame, identifying numbers, and identifying shapes along with their attributes.  Plus we have been doing math with our shoes!  Who knew we could learn to describe, sort, count, graph and identify data from the graph (most, fewest, equal) with our shoes?! 

This week we started Student of the Week with Mrs. Fry and got to know a little more about her.  Please see this tab at the top of this blog so you can see when it will be your child's turn!  If there's a conflict with the week your child has, just let me know, it can be changed.

Welcome to Kindergarten!

 

Welcome to my blog! 

My name is Mrs. Kuck (pronounced cook) and I am so happy to have you in my class! This will be my third year at Thorson! 

I live in Port Washington with my husband, Mr. Kuck, my dog, Bear, and our baby girl, Luna. 

Luna was born on May 29th, 2020 and is 3 months old! She is growing like crazy and we are both enjoying our time together! I am so lucky to have the opportunity to stay home with Luna for a couple more months. I will be on maternity leave until early November! In my absence, Mrs. Fry, will be taking over our classroom! 

On Tuesday, September 1st, I will be sending out an introduction video where you and your child will get to see me and Mrs. Fry and get a peak at our classroom. 

On Wednesday, September 2nd, I am looking forward to seeing everyone at our supply drop off! 

On Thursday, September 3rd, I will send out a link to a google meet where you and your child can meet Mrs. Fry and I and ask us any questions they have! 

If you have any concerns or questions, please feel free to message me!

 akuck@cedarburg.k12.wi.us

School's Out!

The school year has come to an end! I know that this school year has not been easy and has come with new challenges for everyone! I am so incredibly proud of all my students, and they should be so proud too! Kindergarten is such an adjustment and each and every one of my students has grown so much since the very first day of school. 

I wish that our last time together could have been spent differently. I wish I would have hugged them a little tighter that last day.

I will remember the special times we had together and I will remember each of my students for their own special things! I miss them all the time and I will continue to miss them always! 

At any time, you are always welcome to reach out to me and your child is always welcome to reach out to me or come visit me next year! I love to see old students! 

Here are a few of our favorite Kindergarten memories...

Allie: Playing with all my friends

Maris: The whole school

Will: Recess

Max K: Everybody playing with me 

Maisie: The pumpkin farm field trip 

Ethan: The pumpkin farm field trip

Finn: All of the field trips 

Charlotte: When she met the whole class on the first day of school

Elsa: Reading our weekly read aloud

Gigi: Play time at the end of the day

Savannah: Field trips

Claire: Mrs. Kuck

Lucas: Playing together at recess

Jori: Lunch (homemade cheese pizza) 

Maxwell: When I first met Mrs. Kuck at sneak peak night 

Benny: Making new friends

Mitchell: Writing and learning and playing with legos 

Izzy: Making new friends 

Read Aloud Wednesday

Meet Gretchen DeRosa!

May 16, 2020

Dear Families,

I would like to introduce myself!  My name is Gretchen DeRosa, and I am the Literacy Coach at Thorson.  As you have read, I will be your point of contact over the course of the last few weeks of school, while Mrs. Kuck is on maternity leave.  As soon as I’m notified that Mrs. Kuck’s maternity begins, I’ll send an email letting you know.  In addition to being your point of contact, I will also be meeting with Mrs. Kuck’s small groups for reading and I will follow the schedule she has already set into place.  Please note, I will use the same Meet code, “Bear,” to start the Meets so nothing will be different for you.  

I’d like to share a little bit about myself and my background so you don’t feel like a stranger is taking over!  My husband and I live here in Cedarburg and have three children, who all currently attend Thorson - grades 1, 3 and 5.  This is my 7th year at Thorson in this role as Literacy Coach, and previously I taught Kindergarten, 1st grade, and then was a reading specialist after earning my master’s degree in reading back in 2010.  The role I’m in now allows me to work with students and teachers, helping kids become readers and writers!  I love what I do and I love the variety of experiences I get, such as the opportunity to work with your kids in this new virtual environment!  I see myself as a learner, always looking to grow my knowledge and improve what I do.  I look forward to working with you and your children over the next couple of weeks!  

Mrs. Kuck has taken  the time to share information and plans with me as we transition at this time.  I’m confident that I will be able to answer almost any questions you may have, and if not, I will get you the answer!  Please feel free to contact me via email, and I will respond as soon as I can.  I will do my best to be as available as possible during Mrs. Kuck’s office hours.  Please understand that  I do have some meetings scheduled during the 12:30-1:30 time on some of the days but I will respond as soon as I can, certainly by the end of the day.

Sincerely,

Mrs. Gretchen DeRosa

gderosa@cearburg.k12.wi.us

Primary and Intermediate Literacy Coach

Thorson Elementary 

Read Aloud Wednesday

"My Teacher is a Monster" by Peter Brown

Read Aloud Wednesday