My name is Sarah Stodolka and I am a proud mom of six children (3 girls & 3 boys ranging from almost 18 to 4). I bring to St. Kateri almost seventeen years of teaching experience at all levels K-12. My St. Kateri Kindergarteners call me Ms. S or Ms. Sarah. 
I have permanent certification in secondary social studies education and have taught both middle and high school for ten years. Additionally, I homeschooled for six years with up to five learners at different levels while always having a baby in the lap. As part of homeschooling, we participated in various area coops with the most number of years spent in the St. Peter's Homeschoolers Coop. Throughout our time in St. Peter's, I taught pre-K/K literacy and religion, elementary American history, elementary writing, and middle/high school writing. On the personal side, I'm one of four children. I'm smack dab in the middle with my identical twin sister, Shannon. I went to college at Niagara University and graduated with my Bachelors in secondary social studies education. I also obtained a Masters in Multicultural Education at Niagara. Outside of school, I coach basketball at the Rotterdam Boys and Girls Club, take pictures for various St. Luke's and Maddie's Mark events, and follow my children's sports and band schedules. My favorite (albeit most time consuming) hobby is taking pictures to capture memories. I'm that mom. The kids complain now, but someday, they'll have a plethora of adventures to share with their own children. I carry that hobby into the classroom and take/share pictures of the class with parents through ClassDojo (if desired). I believe in a strong parent-teacher-student connection to develop authentic and meaningful relationships while fully supporting my students as they learn and grow. 


Welcome to Kindergarten!  This year is a big year for children. 

By the end of the year, most children will be reading, writing and doing simple addition and subtraction.

In ELA, students will be able to:   

Read basic readers
Recall the sequence of events in oral stories
Differentiate between fiction and nonfiction stories
Discuss story elements such as plot, character, events, and setting         
Identify the main idea and details in a story
Print legibly
Write simple sentences
Understand basic punctuation 
Writing and Journal Writing (Writing Process)
Readers Workshop
Phonics (letter sounds, blends, rhyme, beginning and ending word sounds)
Letter/number recognition
Sight Words / Spelling
Poetry
Literature discussion
Reading Buddies
Weekly Periodicals

Math 
Problem Solving 
Recognition of numerals 1-100
Print numbers 1-100
Calendar Skills
Sorting and graphing (bar and pictograph)
Patterns
Gather and organize data
Ordinal Numbers 1-10
Symmetry
Measurement
Sum and Differences
Estimating
Shapes, sizes, direction (above, under, next to)
Skip counting by 5's and 10's
Telling Time on the hour
Money
Social Studies Themes and Units
Social Studies is project based. The following units are taught in Kindergarten.

Manners

Civic and Religious Holidays
Early People of the World
Famous People of the World
Community Helpers
Our World, State and Community

Science Themes and Units
Science is taught using exploration and a hands-on approach using science lab materials, literature, technology, and everyday items. The following units are taught in Kindergarten.

Observing and Exploring scientifically
Exploring our world using our senses
Plants, Animals and Water Cycle
Living vs. Non-living
Safety
Human Body
Seasons (Weather and Animal Behavior)