We have a lot going on this week, so bear with me for this long update!
Field Trip
We are so excited for our field trip this Tuesday! Please arrive at 11:15 so that we can be leaving school before 11:30. The play starts at noon, so we need to get right over to Campbell. Thank you for your assistance with this. Please send your children in their Grasshopper t-shirts on Tuesday-- this is mandatory. It helps make your children visible and identifiable as part of our group at all times.
Walkathon
It's Walk-a-thon week!! Right now, we have 14 Grasshoppers participating-- let's make it 21!! Please go to the website, www.altavistawalkathon.org, if you have not already registered so that you can be a part of this fun event. Even if you can't join us, please consider signing up so that your child can receive a t-shirt to wear and you can also help support all the great enrichment programs at Alta Vista. We will be doing one practice lap this week so that the kids have an idea of the lap length and what to expect. On Friday, the kids will receive both their walk-a-thon t-shirt (if they have signed up online & received a pledge of $40 by Wednesday) and their lanyard with the first charm. Please be sure to wear both the t-shirt & lanyard on Saturday. Every 5 laps, the kids get a different plastic foot on the lanyard/necklace. The kindergartners get a special charm already on their necklace for the practice lap that they did. These plastic feet are very motivating for the children! You will see them walk many more laps than you ever thought they could walk, all for a plastic foot! :) There are also treats every five laps and plenty of other fun things on campus like face painting and a crazy hair booth. The walk-a-thon runs from 9:00 to 3:00, but you can arrive and leave any time that fits with your schedule. Don't forget that if you are coming from a soccer game, etc., to mention that at check-in. Even if you can only come for an hour or so, please join in for a fun day that supports all of the enrichment programs at our school!
Another big event is the school book fair starting this Thursday. You may check it out in the morning, at lunch, or after school with your children. There are many great offerings, and a percentage of every dollar you spend there will go toward our school library, so please check that out as well!
Spirit Week
Leading up to the walkathon, we have a whole week of spirit days next week. Remember that participation is entirely optional, but a fun way to show Alta Vista pride. Here is the rundown:
MONDAY: Mustache Monday: Either draw on a mustache or stick one on and join in the fun!
TUESDAY: Kindergartners wear orange, but we won't be able to participate due to the field trip. We will all be wearing our Grasshopper t-shirts (not optional).
WEDNESDAY: Crazy Hair Day: Style your hair in silly pony tails or spikes or whatever makes your hair look a little crazy!
THURSDAY: Look-alike Day: Another good day to wear your Grasshopper shirt and match with all your friends OR if you have other similar clothing items that a friend has, wear that.
FRIDAY: Alta Vista Spirit Wear Day: Break out your Alta Vista t-shirts, past walkathon t-shirts (if you have older siblings) or just wear blue & gold.
Conferences
Thank you for all signing up for a conference time. I think I just need a couple more sign-ups before everyone is on the schedule. The conference schedule can be viewed here. I look forward to meeting with you all in November!
This week's letters are Oo and Pp. Our new sight word is a. We have been incorporating these words in our writing and encouraging the children to begin writing a short sentence. For example, now that we know I, see, my, like, and can, we can write a sentence that starts with "I see...." or "I like..." As kindergarten progresses, the expectation is that the children will write at least two sentences on their own. We will be expecting things like detailed & colorful pictures, the use of some of our high-frequency words, attempts at spelling using phonetic spelling ("kat" for "cat", etc.), proper use of spacing between words, etc. It is very fun to watch their writing progress at this level.
We will be focusing on the author, Mo Willems, this week. Not only is he the author of the book that the play we are seeing is based on, Elephant and Piggie, but he is also the author of Knuffle Bunny, which we will be reading and responding to in class.
Math
We have two weeks left in our first module in Eureka math. We have been learning about numbers to 10, writing those numbers, and learning what one more and one less than a given number would be. We are also learning to recognize the dots on a 10 frame by sight as the number that they represent.
Upcoming
Halloween: Just a reminder that we will be celebrating Halloween on Wednesday the 31st. The school-wide parade is at 10:00, when we arrive at school, and our class party will follow at about 11:45, after our pizza lunch. Did I share with you that the kindergarten classes were the top classes in participation in the Home & School Club Membership drive? Thank you so much for your participation-- the Grasshoppers have won a pizza party again! We have decided to serve that pizza at the Halloween party, so no need to pack a lunch on that day. Thank you to Claire, Ruby, Mary, and Erika for coordinating the Halloween party.
**Please send in your child's Blue Bag on Monday, and your child's envelope if you haven't already.
This Week's Helpers & Activities:
Monday: Return Blue Bags (Hiromi), Daily 5, Centers (Jenny & Barry)
Tuesday: FIELD TRIP: Please arrive @ 11:15, wearing Grasshopper shirts
Wednesday: Clay, Recess 101, Cornerstone, Blue Bags go home
Thursday: Daily 5, Centers (Belinda & Ellen)
Friday: Story time with Grandma Gail, Daily 5, STEAM Centers (Pablo & Claire)
Upcoming Events:
Tuesday 10/9: PM Class attends "Elephant & Piggie" Play
Saturday 10/13: Alta Vista Walkathon
Friday 10/19: No School: Professional Development Day
Wednesday 10/31: Halloween Parade & Party
11/5-11/15: Parent-Teacher Conferences
Monday 11/12: No School: Veteran's Day
Friday 11/16: Friendship Feast
11/19-11/23: Thanksgiving Break
Thursday 12/20: Nutcracker Performance
12/21-01/04: Winter Break
Field Trip
We are so excited for our field trip this Tuesday! Please arrive at 11:15 so that we can be leaving school before 11:30. The play starts at noon, so we need to get right over to Campbell. Thank you for your assistance with this. Please send your children in their Grasshopper t-shirts on Tuesday-- this is mandatory. It helps make your children visible and identifiable as part of our group at all times.
Walkathon
It's Walk-a-thon week!! Right now, we have 14 Grasshoppers participating-- let's make it 21!! Please go to the website, www.altavistawalkathon.org, if you have not already registered so that you can be a part of this fun event. Even if you can't join us, please consider signing up so that your child can receive a t-shirt to wear and you can also help support all the great enrichment programs at Alta Vista. We will be doing one practice lap this week so that the kids have an idea of the lap length and what to expect. On Friday, the kids will receive both their walk-a-thon t-shirt (if they have signed up online & received a pledge of $40 by Wednesday) and their lanyard with the first charm. Please be sure to wear both the t-shirt & lanyard on Saturday. Every 5 laps, the kids get a different plastic foot on the lanyard/necklace. The kindergartners get a special charm already on their necklace for the practice lap that they did. These plastic feet are very motivating for the children! You will see them walk many more laps than you ever thought they could walk, all for a plastic foot! :) There are also treats every five laps and plenty of other fun things on campus like face painting and a crazy hair booth. The walk-a-thon runs from 9:00 to 3:00, but you can arrive and leave any time that fits with your schedule. Don't forget that if you are coming from a soccer game, etc., to mention that at check-in. Even if you can only come for an hour or so, please join in for a fun day that supports all of the enrichment programs at our school!
Another big event is the school book fair starting this Thursday. You may check it out in the morning, at lunch, or after school with your children. There are many great offerings, and a percentage of every dollar you spend there will go toward our school library, so please check that out as well!
Spirit Week
Leading up to the walkathon, we have a whole week of spirit days next week. Remember that participation is entirely optional, but a fun way to show Alta Vista pride. Here is the rundown:
MONDAY: Mustache Monday: Either draw on a mustache or stick one on and join in the fun!
TUESDAY: Kindergartners wear orange, but we won't be able to participate due to the field trip. We will all be wearing our Grasshopper t-shirts (not optional).
WEDNESDAY: Crazy Hair Day: Style your hair in silly pony tails or spikes or whatever makes your hair look a little crazy!
THURSDAY: Look-alike Day: Another good day to wear your Grasshopper shirt and match with all your friends OR if you have other similar clothing items that a friend has, wear that.
FRIDAY: Alta Vista Spirit Wear Day: Break out your Alta Vista t-shirts, past walkathon t-shirts (if you have older siblings) or just wear blue & gold.
Conferences
Thank you for all signing up for a conference time. I think I just need a couple more sign-ups before everyone is on the schedule. The conference schedule can be viewed here. I look forward to meeting with you all in November!
Clay
We have our first clay project coming up this Wednesday the 10th. Alta Vista is one of the few schools in USD that have a clay program. Children get to do two clay projects per year and glaze those projects. On Wednesday, they will be making pinch pots. Thank you to Brandie for being our clay lead, and everyone who is helping out. I believe she now has enough helpers-- thanks for the quick response!
Cornerstone
We will also have our fist Cornerstone lesson this Wednesday. Project Cornerstone is a program that helps develop respect and positive messages toward others. Thank you to the MANY people we have helping with Cornerstone, and to Nisha Parson for leading the upcoming lesson.
Language ArtsWe have our first clay project coming up this Wednesday the 10th. Alta Vista is one of the few schools in USD that have a clay program. Children get to do two clay projects per year and glaze those projects. On Wednesday, they will be making pinch pots. Thank you to Brandie for being our clay lead, and everyone who is helping out. I believe she now has enough helpers-- thanks for the quick response!
Cornerstone
We will also have our fist Cornerstone lesson this Wednesday. Project Cornerstone is a program that helps develop respect and positive messages toward others. Thank you to the MANY people we have helping with Cornerstone, and to Nisha Parson for leading the upcoming lesson.
This week's letters are Oo and Pp. Our new sight word is a. We have been incorporating these words in our writing and encouraging the children to begin writing a short sentence. For example, now that we know I, see, my, like, and can, we can write a sentence that starts with "I see...." or "I like..." As kindergarten progresses, the expectation is that the children will write at least two sentences on their own. We will be expecting things like detailed & colorful pictures, the use of some of our high-frequency words, attempts at spelling using phonetic spelling ("kat" for "cat", etc.), proper use of spacing between words, etc. It is very fun to watch their writing progress at this level.
We will be focusing on the author, Mo Willems, this week. Not only is he the author of the book that the play we are seeing is based on, Elephant and Piggie, but he is also the author of Knuffle Bunny, which we will be reading and responding to in class.
Math
We have two weeks left in our first module in Eureka math. We have been learning about numbers to 10, writing those numbers, and learning what one more and one less than a given number would be. We are also learning to recognize the dots on a 10 frame by sight as the number that they represent.
Upcoming
Halloween: Just a reminder that we will be celebrating Halloween on Wednesday the 31st. The school-wide parade is at 10:00, when we arrive at school, and our class party will follow at about 11:45, after our pizza lunch. Did I share with you that the kindergarten classes were the top classes in participation in the Home & School Club Membership drive? Thank you so much for your participation-- the Grasshoppers have won a pizza party again! We have decided to serve that pizza at the Halloween party, so no need to pack a lunch on that day. Thank you to Claire, Ruby, Mary, and Erika for coordinating the Halloween party.
**Please send in your child's Blue Bag on Monday, and your child's envelope if you haven't already.
This Week's Helpers & Activities:
Monday: Return Blue Bags (Hiromi), Daily 5, Centers (Jenny & Barry)
Tuesday: FIELD TRIP: Please arrive @ 11:15, wearing Grasshopper shirts
Wednesday: Clay, Recess 101, Cornerstone, Blue Bags go home
Thursday: Daily 5, Centers (Belinda & Ellen)
Friday: Story time with Grandma Gail, Daily 5, STEAM Centers (Pablo & Claire)
Upcoming Events:
Tuesday 10/9: PM Class attends "Elephant & Piggie" Play
Saturday 10/13: Alta Vista Walkathon
Friday 10/19: No School: Professional Development Day
Wednesday 10/31: Halloween Parade & Party
11/5-11/15: Parent-Teacher Conferences
Monday 11/12: No School: Veteran's Day
Friday 11/16: Friendship Feast
11/19-11/23: Thanksgiving Break
Thursday 12/20: Nutcracker Performance
12/21-01/04: Winter Break
