Seasons Greetings, Tanner families!
The holiday season has arrived and the month of December is already off to a fast start. November marked the start of second quarter and our first round of parent/teacher conferences. I want to thank you for taking the time to come to school and meet with your child's teacher to discuss strengths and areas for continued growth. These conversations are important as we work through each child's educational journey together as a team. In November, we also asked for a number of donations and once again you pulled through for us! All of your donations to the food drive, staff conference meals, and the recent basket raffle were greatly appreciated. I am so thankful to have all of you to work with. Your support for Tanner staff, your child, and our community is incredible! It feels great to know that my family is a part of this Kaukauna Strong community.
Throughout the remaining days of December, we will not only be continuing our work in academic areas, but we will also be focusing on being Caring friends. PBIS and the classroom teachers have a number of fun activities planned. Our 4K toy donations to The Salvation Army and Ronald McDonald House is always one of my favorites!
Enjoy the special moments you have with one another during this holiday season. On behalf of all of us at Tanner Early Learning Center, Happy Holidays!
Liz Thoreson, Principal
Throughout the remaining days of December, we will not only be continuing our work in academic areas, but we will also be focusing on being Caring friends. PBIS and the classroom teachers have a number of fun activities planned. Our 4K toy donations to The Salvation Army and Ronald McDonald House is always one of my favorites!
Enjoy the special moments you have with one another during this holiday season. On behalf of all of us at Tanner Early Learning Center, Happy Holidays!
Liz Thoreson, Principal
Enjoy hearing a little bit about what is happening in our classrooms from these friends:
Community Flyers and Events
Meet our new staff!
Featured new staff member this month: Mrs. Vande Voort
We are excited to have Mrs. Vande Voort teaching 1st grade with us this year! Here is some fun information about Mrs. Vande Voort:
Where did you grow up? - "Kimberly, WI"
Where did you go to college? - "UW-Oshkosh"
What is your favorite food? - "Anything Mexican"
What do you enjoy most about Tanner? - "I love how everyone works together for the kids here at Tanner. It is such a warm and welcoming environment. I couldn't be happier to be part of the Tanner community."
Family Fun - "My husband Jake and I have two daughters Brynley - 4 and Marley - 2. As a family we love to do many activities including boating, doing anything outdoors, going to parks, and visiting Door County."
News from...
Mrs. Sundelius - school nurse
Mrs. Sundelius - school nurse
Teaching your child how to shampoo their own hair...
Although each child may be ready to shampoo their own hair at a different time, it is appropriate to have your child assist you with washing their hair at an early age. This early experience will help them learn how to do it correctly while you are still assisting and supervising them.
Follow these steps to help them develop healthy hair-care habits.
Although each child may be ready to shampoo their own hair at a different time, it is appropriate to have your child assist you with washing their hair at an early age. This early experience will help them learn how to do it correctly while you are still assisting and supervising them.
Follow these steps to help them develop healthy hair-care habits.
- Wet hair and scalp with warm water.
- Pour a quarter-size drop of shampoo in the palm of your child’s hand. Putting the shampoo in the hand first makes it easier to apply.
- Tell your child to massage the shampoo gently into the scalp. When shampooing, it’s important to wash the scalp rather than the entire length of the hair. Washing only the hair often leads to flyaway hair that is dull and coarse.
- Rinse well with warm water until the hair is suds-free. Rinsing well washes away shampoo and dirt.
- Cover hair with a towel. Help your child wrap a towel around the wet hair. This helps to absorb the water. Rubbing hair dry with a towel can damage the hair, causing it to break.
- Comb out damp hair gently. Use a wide-tooth comb, especially on curly hair. Don’t yank or pull the comb through the hair because that can pull out hair or break the hair.
Art news - Mrs. Siegel
Last month students in kindergarten and first grade created 2 ornament projects: one in clay and one out of paper! Students reviewed shapes and patterns while working on their fine motor skills and listening skills. From clay the students cut out a circle from a slab of clay, smoothed the edges with water, and added patterns of textures from a variety of objects (clothespins, marker caps, shells, and more). These were fired in the kiln, painted with two colors of tempera paint, and will decorate the tree in the lobby of school before coming home for a gift! Students added shape patterns to their paper ornament and then colored with markers and added texture rubbings to the background.
Art news - Mr. Theder
Library update - Miss Brown
Kindergarten Artists are in the process of finishing their symmetrical butterfly painting. They are learning about the terms “Symmetric and Asymmetric” while painting their butterfly wings, and attaching them to their painted backgrounds.. Kindergarten will also be starting to make their own Christmas tree ornament. The will be making theirs from popsicle sticks and other various multimedia embellishments to make it their very own.
First Grade artists are just starting to construct their own Christmas tree ornaments. First grade is making theirs from popsicle sticks and other various multimedia embellishments to make it their very own.
Last month Kindergarten students learned about parts of a book, the title, author, and illustrator while listening to Little Scarecrow Boy by Margret Wise Brown and Alfies’s Long Winter by Greg McEvoy. Students also enjoyed creating their own “Fierce Face” and their own “Jumping Alife”!
In first grade students focused on finishing their squirrel research projects! Next, students will be learning about the author and illustrator Lois Ehlert. You can check out her video interview here: http://www.readingrockets.org/books/interviews/ehlert
In November our Kindergartners sang a number of fun and familiar songs. You may have heard songs like Bingo, Do Your Ears Hang Low, I’m a little Teapot and Do Your Ears Hang Low. We’re getting really good at keeping a steady beat while we listen, sing and move!
In 1st grade we started learning the Italian music words for fast, slow, loud and soft. (Presto, Largo, Forte and Piano). We worked on listening and making rhythms out of craft sticks. Our composer of the month was Aaron Copland. We listened to his composition Hoedown from his ballet, Rodeo. If you remember the Where’s the beef commercials – that’s Hoedown! Much of Copland’s music had a unique American flair to it. He sometimes incorporated cowboy songs and instrumentation that sounded like the old American West.
Gym news - Mrs. Wells
In November we worked on our soccer skills. We practiced dribbling, trapping, passing, and kicking the ball. We also learned about the goalie position and how the goalie is the only player that can use hands in soccer. During the game 4 goal soccer, everyone had the chance to be a goalie. We also had a chance to kick on goal and try to score. On our word wall, we added the following words: foot dribble, trap, kick, pass, goal, and goalie.
For Thanksgiving,we played turkey in the haystack. The objective was to catch the most turkeys as they switched from haystack to haystack.
Guidance corner - Mrs. Charneski
CLASSROOM GUIDANCE LESSON
During the month of December, I will be visiting all of the 4K-1 classrooms and talking with students about Celebrating Differences! In each grade level we will discuss the importance of respecting each other’s differences and getting to know people on the inside…not judging by the outside. Each class will have a project or activity that displays the concept of diversity. Students in 4K will hear the story It’s OK to be Different and talk about what makes them special and unique. Kindergarten students will hear the story The Crayon Box that Talked by Shane Derolf and create their own crayon box of many colors. Finally, first grade students will share a story that encourages respect for everyone and celebrates uniqueness…titled Elmer, along with a color by number Elmer activity. As always, feel free to call me at 766-6150 Ext. 3817with any questions or concerns.
INDIVIDUAL COUNSELING
Provided on an as needed basis for short term social/emotional concerns. Students may be referred by self, teacher or parent.
SMALL GROUP COUNSELING
Our Super Trooper groups are in full swing and we are focusing on specific school skills such as: Listening, Following Directions, Body Basics and Self-Control. After the holidays, I will also be offering Friendship/Social Skills groups and Family Change groups. If you would like to refer your child for a small group counseling opportunity, please contact me at charneskik@kaukaunasd.org or 920-766-6150.
PBIS update...
November was focused on being Responsible while at school. We have noticed the students throwing out a lot of food at the end of the lunch period. We challenged the student to do their job in the lunch room - "eat". We weighed the waste every other day and made a graph to show our waste in pounds. The students did a great job trying hard to fill their bellies so they were ready for learning in the afternoon.
For the month of December, Tanner students will be learning and be practicing the character trait of caring in multiple ways. Students will be writing about someone and something that they care about. We will be making a caring chain around the school. Let’s see how far we can make it!
We will also be showing random acts of kindness. Students will be filling out a slip and putting it in a kindness box. Some ideas that students might do would be to hold a door open for someone, help someone carry something, etc. Some of these will be read during the morning announcements.
We will also be meeting with our classroom buddies to do an activity together that focuses on caring. December is a busy and fun month at Tanner!
Summer school
KASD is already busy planning for summer school! Thank you to all the parents who responded to the survey following Summer School 2017. The combination of parent and staff feedback as well as a large amount of maintenance work to be done within the district this summer, the following decisions have been made regarding Summer School 2018:
For the month of December, Tanner students will be learning and be practicing the character trait of caring in multiple ways. Students will be writing about someone and something that they care about. We will be making a caring chain around the school. Let’s see how far we can make it!
We will also be showing random acts of kindness. Students will be filling out a slip and putting it in a kindness box. Some ideas that students might do would be to hold a door open for someone, help someone carry something, etc. Some of these will be read during the morning announcements.
We will also be meeting with our classroom buddies to do an activity together that focuses on caring. December is a busy and fun month at Tanner!
Summer school
KASD is already busy planning for summer school! Thank you to all the parents who responded to the survey following Summer School 2017. The combination of parent and staff feedback as well as a large amount of maintenance work to be done within the district this summer, the following decisions have been made regarding Summer School 2018:
- Location - Classes will continue to be held at Kaukauna High School.
- Dates - All courses will be offered in one session, Tuesday June 12 - Friday June 29, Monday - Friday.
- Strength and Conditioning and Music Lessons/Band Camp will also be held in July.
- Other Valuable Information:
- We will again offer an Open House prior to the start of summer school for families to become familiar with the location and rooms that classes will be taking place in.
- Busing/transportation will continue to be an option for families for a fee.
The parent portal is a valuable tool that contains information about your student in the Kaukauna Area School District.
If you have not yet set up your parent portal account please follow the directions below.
Go to the district website and go to the Family Resources > Need A Parent Portal Account and click on the "Click here to complete the request form" or click here for the direct link.
Complete the form and submit. Your account information will be emailed to you.
