Monthly Archives: March 2025

Hello April!

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Hello PreKPals and Families-

We will be under a two hour delay tomorrow. Please stay weather aware!! You may drop your PreKPal off at the PreK doors at 9:30. If anything changes in the plans for tomorrow, I will let you know via Dojo.

This week in Heggerty phonics we will review the past nursery rhymes we have learned. We will review the letters K and D and their letter sounds this week.  In math we will learn about turning, flipping and sliding shapes. This week we will learn about Zoo Animals! We have some great small group animal activities planned for this week and the dramatic play area has been turned into a zoo! For Science this week, we will go on a safari with our own binoculars and safari hats! So much fun in PreK!

The new calendar for April will come home tomorrow as well as our Egg Hunt flier! Can you believe that it is already April (on Tuesday!)?

Class Needs:

  • Clorox/Lysol Wipes
  • Sidewalk chalk 
  • Small water bottles

Weekly PreK Reminders:

  • Daily: Make sure your child’s little reader is INSIDE their binder! Make sure to record the title of the book so we can try to assure they get a new book each M-Th.
  • Send nap mats please
  • A water cup with a valve, already filled with water (flavored water must be clear!), labeled with your child’s name. Make sure your child can drink from it at home before coming to school. NO OPEN POUR CUPS. NO JUICE!!!
  • Your child’s backpack and lunch box (if they will not eat from the cafeteria). We are not allowed to heat lunches for children so send their things ready to eat, please!
  • PreK Binder (please clean out daily)
  • Wear tennis shoes and socks!
  • Please send a bag with 5 snacks (that do not need to be refrigerated!) labeled with your child’s name. Please do not pack snacks in the lunchboxes.
  • Do Reading Log M-TH! 
  • Coats, jackets, sweaters are a MUST HAVE item for early morning PE. Please label with your child’s name.

NEW Dates to Remember:

April:

4: Put a Cap on Diabetes Day (students may wear silly or fun or regular hats and bring a donation to the Juvenile Diabetes Fund.

10: Send 12 sticker or toy filled eggs for our Egg Hunt!

16: Egg Hunt! Send your child’s basket or bucket today! We will return it at the end of the day! (Make sure your child’s name is located somewhere on the basket)

17: Spring PD day for teachers. No School for Students

18: Planning day for teachers. No School for Students

26: Mayor’s Cup 5K for PreK

30: Tumblebus/Bounce Houses for PreK only

May:

2: PreK Derby Day (more information coming soon!)

5-9: Book Fair (the make-up Literacy Night will be after school one day this week!)

15: Kindergarten Breakfast 9 am in the Cafeteria (all PreKPals and teachers will attend. Parents will meet us in the front foyer of the school)

15: PreK Celebration 10 am in the Multipurpose room (We do not graduate. We celebrate!) All parents need to plan to attend!

15: Kindergarten Breakfast for all students who will attend RQES PreK. ALL PreKPals will attend the breakfast, but parents will only need to attend the breakfast if the student will come to RQ Kindergarten.

16: Field Day/Spring Fling

20: Field Day/Spring Fling Make up day if needed for weather

21: ½ Day Early dismissal

22: ½ Day Early dismissal

23: Teacher Workday (no students!)

NEW fun Links for Home:

  • NEW!! Learn to tie your shoes in one minute!!

https://www.bing.com/videos/riverview/relatedvideo?&q=how+to+teach+tie+shoes+putting+laces+in+the+holes+of+shoes&&mid=35F16B249023C67E1D9935F16B249023C67E1D99&&FORM=VRDGAR

 

 

  • A great resource for letters and sounds is the Letter Factory by Leap Frog. You can find them all on YouTube or in DVD’s. All of the Leap Frog videos are great and the songs stick in your head!

Please email or message on ClassDojo if you have any questions! Thank you for sharing your children with us! They are precious!!

Alicia Jenne: ajenne@tusc.k12.al.us

Brianna Alker: balker@tusc.k12.al.us

Thank you so much for the donations we have received from our wish list! We appreciate every bit!

Here is the link for our class wishlist if you would like to contribute. Participation is optional!

https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/1NIMKDO4OUN7A?ref_=wl_share

We are so happy you are here!

Alicia Jenne’

 

Marching on……..

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Hello PreKPals and Families-

I don’t want to alarm anyone but there are only 9 Monday’s left in PreK! Somehow this year has disappeared! It’s going to go fast so we are going to try to soak in every minute with this little group!

This week in Heggerty phonics we will learn Jack Be Nimblle. We are sending a copy home for you to enjoy with your child. We will review the letters O and I with the long and short vowel sounds this week.  In math we will continue to review plane shapes. This will be our last week to learn about Nursery Rhymes and Fairy Tales! We have some great small group activities planned for this week. It is also library week! So send your child’s library book back so they can check out a new one on Wednesday. On Monday, everyone is bringing home a new book to keep courtesy of Tuscaloosa Reads!

I hope you all enjoyed our first ever Fairy Tale Ball! It was so much fun and I think the teachers had as much fun as the PreKPals! Thanks to all of you for taking time out of your week to bring some magic into the lives of our little learners! They truly felt that they were at a castle! We already have  it on the books for next year, so those of you with littles coming to PreK next year can put March 10th on your calendars!

LAST WEEK TO REGISTER FOR SUMMER LEARNING!

📢TCS Imagine Summer Learning Registration is Open!

We are thrilled to offer TCS Imagine Summer Learning for students in PreK–7th grade this summer! This program will provide hands-on learning, enrichment activities, and academic support to keep students engaged and learning all summer long.

📅 Program Dates and TIme: June 2 – June 27, 8:00 am – 2:45 pm (Closed June 19th)
📍 Location: Tuscaloosa Magnet School
💰 Cost: $850 for the full program or $250 per week
📝 Application Deadline: March 28

⚠️ Important: We must have at least 150 students enrolled by March 28 for the program to operate.

🔗 Register Now: TCS Imagine Summer Learning Registration

For more details, check out our Fee-Based Program FAQ or contact:

Summer Learning District Contact, Andrew Maxey 📧Amaxey@tusc.k12.al.us  📞205-759-3722

Program Coordinator, Patricia Ford 📧 pford@tusc.k12.al.us | 📞 205-759-8347
Program Co-Coordinator, Tiffany Bishop 📧 tbishop@tusc.k12.al.us | 📞 205-759-3538

Class Needs:

  • Clorox/Lysol Wipes
  • Sidewalk chalk 

Weekly PreK Reminders:

  • Coats, jackets, sweaters are a MUST HAVE item for early morning PE. Please label with your child’s name.
  • Daily: Make sure your child’s little reader is INSIDE their binder! Make sure to record the title of the book so we can try to assure they get a new book each M-Th.
  • Send nap mats please
  • A water cup with a valve, already filled with water (flavored water must be clear!), labeled with your child’s name. Make sure your child can drink from it at home before coming to school. NO OPEN POUR CUPS. NO JUICE!!!
  • Your child’s backpack and lunch box (if they will not eat from the cafeteria). We are not allowed to heat lunches for children so send their things ready to eat, please!
  • PreK Binder (please clean out daily)
  • Wear tennis shoes and socks!
  • Please send a bag with 5 snacks (that do not need to be refrigerated!) labeled with your child’s name. Please do not pack snacks in the lunchboxes.
  • Do Reading Log M-TH! 

NEW Dates to Remember:

April:

4: Put a Cap on Diabetes Day (students may wear silly or fun or regular hats and bring a donation to the Juvenile Diabetes Fund.

17: Spring PD day for teachers. No School for Students

18: Planning day for teachers. No School for Students

30: Tumblebus/Bounce Houses for PreK only

May:

2: PreK Derby Day (more information coming soon!)

5-9: Book Fair

15: PreK Celebration (We do not graduate. We celebrate!) All parents need to plan to attend!

15: Kindergarten Breakfast for all students who will attend RQES PreK. ALL PreKPals will attend the breakfast, but parents will only need to attend the breakfast if the student will come to RQ Kindergarten.

16: Field Day/Spring Fling

20: Field Day/Spring Fling Make up day if needed for weather

21: ½ Day Early dismissal

22: ½ Day Early dismissal

23: Teacher Workday (no students!)

 

NEW fun Links for Home:

  • NEW!! Learn to tie your shoes in one minute!!

https://www.bing.com/videos/riverview/relatedvideo?&q=how+to+teach+tie+shoes+putting+laces+in+the+holes+of+shoes&&mid=35F16B249023C67E1D9935F16B249023C67E1D99&&FORM=VRDGAR

 

 

  • A great resource for letters and sounds is the Letter Factory by Leap Frog. You can find them all on YouTube or in DVD’s. All of the Leap Frog videos are great and the songs stick in your head!

Please email or message on ClassDojo if you have any questions! Thank you for sharing your children with us! They are precious!!

Alicia Jenne: ajenne@tusc.k12.al.us

Brianna Alker: balker@tusc.k12.al.us

Thank you so much for the donations we have received from our wish list! We appreciate every bit!

Here is the link for our class wishlist if you would like to contribute. Participation is optional!

https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/1NIMKDO4OUN7A?ref_=wl_share

We are so happy you are here!

Alicia Jenne’

 

Nursery Rhymes and Fairy Tales

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Hello PreKPals and Families-

Did you have an amazing spring break? All of the teachers in #226 did and we cannot wait to see everyone tomorrow! Wear GREEN! We are going to do a STEM activity tomorrow and Dr.  Dennis is coming to help! It is going to be so much fun and there may be some shenanigans going on!!

We had an amazing time at International Day the last Friday before Spring Break. I hope you got to see the pictures on Dojo! We have such an amazing school and we have so many languages and cultures. It’s great to be at Rock Quarry!

The new PreK letters have been sent out! Some of your friends will be asking your advice about PreK in the TCS. I hope you will give them a good review! We are a bit biased but we love what we do for PreKPals and we think they love it too! Soon, this little class will be getting ready to be KinderFriends!! I cannot believe it!

This week in Heggerty phonics we will learn Hickory Dickory Dock. We are sending a copy home for you to enjoy with your child. We will review the letter A with the long and short vowel sounds this week.  In math we will focus on plane shapes and we will use those shapes to build a name castle. This week we will be learning about Nursery Rhymes and Fairy Tales! The dramatic play area has been turned into a castle! We have lots of amazing things in every center and on every shelf related to Nursery Rhymes and Fairy Tales. At the painting easel this week we will be painting frogs with crowns and we have a new Tonie for our Tonie Box. It’s Princess Tiana!

Our Fairy Tale Ball is TUESDAY night. PreKPals may wear their favorite princess dress, prince or knight costume, or they may wear their nice “church clothes”. The teachers will also be dressed up and we will have a magical time making memories together. We hope everyone can join us! It’s going to be so much fun! (Parents are welcome to dress in royal attire – but it is not required!) The festivities will begin promptly at 5:30 so allow travel time to get to North River to park and come in.

📢TCS Imagine Summer Learning Registration is Open!

We are thrilled to offer TCS Imagine Summer Learning for students in PreK–7th grade this summer! This program will provide hands-on learning, enrichment activities, and academic support to keep students engaged and learning all summer long.

📅 Program Dates and TIme: June 2 – June 27, 8:00 am – 2:45 pm (Closed June 19th)
📍 Location: Tuscaloosa Magnet School
💰 Cost: $850 for the full program or $250 per week
📝 Application Deadline: March 28

⚠️ Important: We must have at least 150 students enrolled by March 28 for the program to operate.

🔗 Register Now: TCS Imagine Summer Learning Registration 

For more details, check out our Fee-Based Program FAQ or contact:

Summer Learning District Contact, Andrew Maxey 📧Amaxey@tusc.k12.al.us  📞205-759-3722

Program Coordinator, Patricia Ford 📧 pford@tusc.k12.al.us | 📞 205-759-8347
Program Co-Coordinator, Tiffany Bishop 📧 tbishop@tusc.k12.al.us | 📞 205-759-3538

Class Needs:

  • Large bottled water
  • Sidewalk chalk 

Weekly PreK Reminders:

  • Coats, jackets, sweaters are a MUST HAVE item for early morning PE. Please label with your child’s name.
  • Daily: Make sure your child’s little reader is INSIDE their binder! Make sure to record the title of the book so we can try to assure they get a new book each M-Th.
  • Send nap mats please
  • A water cup with a valve, already filled with water (flavored water must be clear!), labeled with your child’s name. Make sure your child can drink from it at home before coming to school. NO OPEN POUR CUPS. NO JUICE!!!
  • Your child’s backpack and lunch box (if they will not eat from the cafeteria). We are not allowed to heat lunches for children so send their things ready to eat, please!
  • PreK Binder (please clean out daily)
  • Wear tennis shoes and socks!
  • Please send a bag with 5 snacks (that do not need to be refrigerated!) labeled with your child’s name. Please do not pack snacks in the lunchboxes.
  • Do Reading Log M-TH! 

NEW Dates to Remember:

March:

17: Wear green for St. Patrick’s Day

18: Fairy Tale Ball after school

21: Silly Sock Day for Down Syndrome Awareness. We are more alike than different!

April:

4: Put a Cap on Diabetes Day (students may wear silly or fun or regular hats and bring a donation to the Juvenile Diabetes Fund.

17: Spring PD day for teachers. No School for Students

18: Planning day for teachers. No School for Students

30: Tumblebus/Bounce Houses for PreK only

May:

2: PreK Derby Day (more information coming soon!)

5-9: Book Fair

15: PreK Celebration (We do not graduate. We celebrate!) All parents need to plan to attend!

15: Kindergarten Breakfast for all students who will attend RQES PreK. ALL PreKPals will attend the breakfast, but parents will only need to attend the breakfast if the student will come to RQ Kindergarten.

16: Field Day/Spring Fling

20: Field Day/Spring Fling Make up day if needed for weather

21: ½ Day Early dismissal

22: ½ Day Early dismissal

23: Teacher Workday (no students!)

 

NEW fun Links for Home:

  • NEW!! Learn to tie your shoes in one minute!!

https://www.bing.com/videos/riverview/relatedvideo?&q=how+to+teach+tie+shoes+putting+laces+in+the+holes+of+shoes&&mid=35F16B249023C67E1D9935F16B249023C67E1D99&&FORM=VRDGAR

 

 

  • A great resource for letters and sounds is the Letter Factory by Leap Frog. You can find them all on YouTube or in DVD’s. All of the Leap Frog videos are great and the songs stick in your head!

 

Please email or message on ClassDojo if you have any questions! Thank you for sharing your children with us! They are precious!!

Alicia Jenne: ajenne@tusc.k12.al.us

Brianna Alker: balker@tusc.k12.al.us

Thank you so much for the donations we have received from our wish list! We appreciate every bit!

Here is the link for our class wishlist if you would like to contribute. Participation is optional!

https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/1NIMKDO4OUN7A?ref_=wl_share

We are so happy you are here!

Alicia Jenne’

 

Construction Week

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Hello PreKPals and Families-

This week in Heggerty phonics we will learn Rain Rain Go Away. We are sending a copy home for you to enjoy with your child. We will still be trying to identify words that have the same ENDING sound. We will review the letters P and L this week.  In math we will focus sharing items equally, making equal sets and dividing things in half. This week we will be learning about building and construction! For science this week, we will have a visit from the Big Bad Wolf and he’s going to try to huff and puff and blow our houses down!! We will work with partners to build houses that will try to keep our piggies safe!!

This week is the PreK drawing for the 2025-26 PreKPals! Can you believe it?! The drawing is on March 5 at 9 am in the Regions Room at the Tuscaloosa City Board of Education and it is open to the public. Families whose children are selected will get a letter during Sprin Break and there will be a period of time to accept the placement. This year has flown by so quickly and we cannot believe it’s winding down for this sweet class!

Our Fairy Tale Ball is quickly approaching! Please RSVP by March 5. PreKPals may wear their favorite princess dress, prince or knight costume, or they may wear their nice “church clothes”. The teachers will also be dressed up and we will have a magical time making memories together. We hope everyone can join us! It’s going to be so much fun!

📢TCS Imagine Summer Learning Registration is Open!

We are thrilled to offer TCS Imagine Summer Learning for students in PreK–7th grade this summer! This program will provide hands-on learning, enrichment activities, and academic support to keep students engaged and learning all summer long.

📅 Program Dates and TIme: June 2 – June 27, 8:00 am – 2:45 pm (Closed June 19th)
📍 Location: Tuscaloosa Magnet School
💰 Cost: $850 for the full program or $250 per week
📝 Application Deadline: March 28

⚠️ Important: We must have at least 150 students enrolled by March 28 for the program to operate.

🔗 Register Now: TCS Imagine Summer Learning Registration

For more details, check out our Fee-Based Program FAQ or contact:

Summer Learning District Contact, Andrew Maxey 📧Amaxey@tusc.k12.al.us  📞205-759-3722

Program Coordinator, Patricia Ford 📧 pford@tusc.k12.al.us | 📞 205-759-8347
Program Co-Coordinator, Tiffany Bishop 📧 tbishop@tusc.k12.al.us | 📞 205-759-3538

Class Needs:

  • Large bottled water
  • Sidewalk chalk 

Weekly PreK Reminders:

  • Coats, jackets, sweaters are a MUST HAVE item for early morning PE. Please label with your child’s name.
  • Daily: Make sure your child’s little reader is INSIDE their binder! Make sure to record the title of the book so we can try to assure they get a new book each M-Th.
  • Send nap mats please
  • A water cup with a valve, already filled with water (flavored water must be clear!), labeled with your child’s name. Make sure your child can drink from it at home before coming to school. NO OPEN POUR CUPS. NO JUICE!!!
  • Your child’s backpack and lunch box (if they will not eat from the cafeteria). We are not allowed to heat lunches for children so send their things ready to eat, please!
  • PreK Binder (please clean out daily)
  • Wear tennis shoes and socks!
  • Please send a bag with 5 snacks (that do not need to be refrigerated!) labeled with your child’s name. Please do not pack snacks in the lunchboxes.
  • Do Reading Log M-TH! 

NEW Dates to Remember:

March:

3-7: Read Across America Week

3: Wear something with buttons

4: Wear your favorite shoes

4: LITERACY NIGHT 4:30-6:30 Food trucks, free books, Local Authors, Literacy Fair Expo

5: Wear blue

5: Return RSVP to Fairy Tale Ball and TUMBLEBUS/Bounce House Permission slip

6: Wear your coolest outfit

7: Wear sunglasses

7: International Day

10-14 SPRING BREAK – No School

17: Wear green for St. Patrick’s Day

18: Fairy Tale Ball after school

21: Silly Sock Day for Down Syndrome Awareness. We are more alike than different!

April:

4: Put a Cap on Diabetes Day (students may wear silly or fun or regular hats and bring a donation to the Juvenile Diabetes Fund.

17: Spring PD day for teachers. No School for Students

18: Planning day for teachers. No School for Students

30: Tumblebus/Bounce Houses for PreK only

May:

2: PreK Derby Day (more information coming soon!)

5-9: Book Fair

15: PreK Celebration (We do not graduate. We celebrate!) All parents need to plan to attend!

15: Kindergarten Breakfast for all students who will attend RQES PreK. ALL PreKPals will attend the breakfast, but parents will only need to attend the breakfast if the student will come to RQ Kindergarten.

16: Field Day/Spring Fling

20: Field Day/Spring Fling Make up day if needed for weather

21: ½ Day Early dismissal

22: ½ Day Early dismissal

23: Teacher Workday (no students!)

NEW fun Links for Home:

  • NEW!! Learn to tie your shoes in one minute!!

https://www.bing.com/videos/riverview/relatedvideo?&q=how+to+teach+tie+shoes+putting+laces+in+the+holes+of+shoes&&mid=35F16B249023C67E1D9935F16B249023C67E1D99&&FORM=VRDGAR

 

 

  • A great resource for letters and sounds is the Letter Factory by Leap Frog. You can find them all on YouTube or in DVD’s. All of the Leap Frog videos are great and the songs stick in your head!

Please email or message on ClassDojo if you have any questions! Thank you for sharing your children with us! They are precious!!

Alicia Jenne: ajenne@tusc.k12.al.us

Brianna Alker: balker@tusc.k12.al.us

Thank you so much for the donations we have received from our wish list! We appreciate every bit!

Here is the link for our class wishlist if you would like to contribute. Participation is optional!

https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/1NIMKDO4OUN7A?ref_=wl_share

We are so happy you are here!

Alicia Jenne’