Week of 1/9

Dear Parents,

I hope that the journal writing has gone successfully this week. My goal is that the children are excited about writing, not stressed out by it, so please let me know if there were any problems. A few other reminders about the journal page:

• Writing should always be in PENCIL.
• Above the writing, in the blank box, children should draw a neat, (at least) four-color picture.
• Encourage your children to spell high-frequency words that we've introduced correctly. A reference sheet of those words is in the homework folder.
• Please DO NOT copy a sentence from the book.

Blue bags should be returned Monday, with the homework folder and journal inside. They will go home again on Wednesday. Obviously, due to the Martin Luther King holiday, they will not be due back until Tuesday the 17th. Please make sure you send them that day so that we can turn them back around quickly the following Wednesday.

Language Arts:
We will learn two new digraphs this week, ch and sh. This will help your children sound out and spell many words. We will introduce the sight word for.  Please review the "High Frequency Word" tab on the right to learn which words we've introduced.  A good way to practice reading and spelling the sight words is by logging onto http://www.spellingcity.com/k2grist.  "Missing Letter" and "Audio Word Match" are great games for younger players. We will also be doing some writing this week, using a take-off from the book "I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed Some Snow." 

Our sharing this week is Book Share. Please have your child bring a favorite book. They should be prepared to tell the title of the story, a bit about what it's about, and have a favorite page bookmarked.

Math:
We introduced "number bonds" last week as a way of both decomposing and composing numbers. Children were encouraged to take a "whole" (for example, 7) and break it into "parts" (for example, 4 & 3). We will continue with this strategy this week. There are many great iPad apps out there to reinforce this concept. There is a great free app called "Number Bond Blasters." Additionally, take advantage of your subscription to ixl.com, paid for by the school district.  It is a great math reinforcement website.

Science:
We will continue to talk about weather & weather-watching this week. It sounds like it will be a great week for observing weather! We will be putting together a book about different types of weather, as well as making some daily pictorial weather reports.

Social Studies:
We have Martin Luther King's birthday holiday coming up. We will be talking about him in class and reading a "Let's Find Out" newspaper on him. When we discuss MLK, we will discuss some of the discrimination that took place in the past, and how he helped change that. If you hear your children asking questions about that, you will know why. We try to keep it fairly simple in kindergarten in terms that they can understand and relate to.

Please continue donating glue sticks and Clorox wipes. Thank you for your help!

Also-- please take note below at some new events that have been posted.  They are:

• Kindergarten Registration Info Night 1/17 6:00-7:30:  If you have friends with incoming kindergartners who live in the AV attendance area, please let them know about this informational evening about the upcoming 2017-18 school year.
•  Snow Day 1/20: children will dress up in whatever snow gear they have-- hats, mittens, coats, scarves, etc. and we will have a fake snowball fight with K1.  
• 100 Day 2/2-- we celebrate the 100th day of school with some special activities.  Also there will be special homework the week before to help us understand how 100 can look.  
• Alta Vista Family Valentine's Dance 2/10: Come to the Alta Vista Cafeteria from 6:30 to 8:30 pm for this fun family evening. There will be a DJ, photo booth, desserts & drinks. Tickets are on sale now at MySchoolAnywhere for $10/person or $25/family.
• Hawaiian Luau Auction 3/18 6:00-11:00 @ The JCC:  Tickets are on sale now for this fun event--go to MySchoolAnywhere to purchase. It is sure to be a fun evening, raising money for Alta Vista's Enrichment programs. Tickets have sold out very quickly in the past-- don't miss out!  Contact Sarah Ratinoff if you have any questions: swratinoff@gmail.com

This Week's Helpers & Activities:
Monday: Blue Bags returned (Asma), Centers (Anna R. & Annie), Sharing
Tuesday: Centers (Claire L. & Anne-Marie), Sharing
Wednesday: Recess 101, Sharing, Blue Bags go home

Thursday: Centers (Claire K. & Belinda), Cornerstone (Claire K. & Alison), Sharing
Friday: No School: Staff Development Day

Upcoming Events:
Friday 1/13: Staff Development Day, No School
Monday 1/16: Martin Luther King Day, No School
Tuesday 1/17: Incoming Kindergarten Orientation (tell your friends!)
Friday 1/20: Snow Day
Friday 1/27: Lunar New Year Celebration
Thursday 2/2: 100 Day
Friday 2/10: Alta Vista Family Valentine's Dance
2/20-2/24: President's Week Vacation
Saturday 3/18: Alta Vista Hawaiian Luau/Auction