Week of 5/1

We have many exciting events coming up in May-- please keep your calendars updated! On Friday, you should have received a flyer about this Friday's Fantasy Fair-- the "Alta Vista Hoe Down" on May 5th. This event is back for the first time in four years! We are excited to have this school-wide carnival back-- it is a great family event. Please, please, please consider volunteering some of your time to make this event possible, either at our TK/K game booth, or at the many other areas that need support that night. To volunteer in the TK/K booth, please sign up here. To volunteer in other areas that night, please click here. And finally, to buy tickets or wristbands to attend this event, please click here. I hope to see you there!

Thank you SO much for filling all the slots for our final weeks of centers, library, and the Makerspace! We are all set for May!

Baby Guessing Book

I've already received several pages for the Baby Guessing book, and they are so adorable! Please send in your child's page by Thursday, May 4th at the latest. We will turn these pages into our final class book, which will be on display at Open House on May 24th. 

Language Arts
This week, we will continue focusing on vowel teams such as ai, oa, ea, and ui. Our sight word this week is your. We will also continue with our final unit of Fundations, Unit 5. This unit will focus on merging all the skills we've learned so far: spelling, sentence writing, writing conventions, and reading with fluency. Parent tips for this unit can be found here.

We are beginning to study caterpillars! In a few weeks, we will have live caterpillars in our classroom that we will watch as they transform into butterflies. We will kick off this unit this week by reading The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle, and making our own take-off of this book. 

Math

We will continue working on story problems this week in math. Students will be exposed to problems that will require both addition and subtraction skills to solve the story problem. Students are taught to listen for phrases such as "how many altogether or in all?" and "how many are left?" 

STEAM

This week, we will go to the Makerspace to use a wonderful building tool called the Rigamajig. Children will work in small groups to build something together. This is always a favorite activity because of the size of these projects-- children can build very large projects together.

Multicultural Fair & Art Vista Show

Mark your calendars for the Multicultural Fair and Art Vista art show on Friday, May 19th. The Multicultural Fair is another hallmark Alta Vista event! Several students in our class will be performing in the cultural presentations and dances, and helping sponsor booths. The art show is alwo that night, where every student will have art on display in the cafeteria. You won't want to miss it!

New Event: Family Day

Keep marking your calendars, as the upcoming weeks are packed with activities! On Friday, May 26th from 8:15 a.m, to 9:30 a.m., we will have a celebration for moms & dads in our class! In the past, we've had a Mother's Day event, but have not been able to squeeze in a Father's Day event with the busy end-of-year calendar. This year, we will celebrate all parents with one event, Family Day. We hope that every child will have at least one parent (or grandparent/aunt/uncle) join us on the 26th, with a maximum of two guests per child. All the kindergarten classes are celebrating Family Day together, using both the indoor and outdoor areas of the Makerspace, so this is a wonderful opportunity to enjoy time with your child, as well as connect with all the kindergarten parents. 

Reminders

**P.E. is every Monday-- please send your children in shoes & clothes appropriate for fitness. This week we have indoor PE in the OT room. Please send your children in shoes they can take on & off independently.

**Library is every Wednesday. Please send your child's book back to school by Tuesday each week.

**Grasshopper t-shirt day is Friday each week.

This Week's Helpers & Activities:

Monday: PE in the OT room

Tuesday: Centers @ 12:25 (Fadime & Shereen)

Wednesday:  Makerspace at 8:30 (Uygar & Srivatsan), Library @ 9:10 (Bora & Brittny), dismissal @ 1:15

Thursday: Return Weds. envelopes, Centers (Shereen & Mike M.)

Friday: Music

Upcoming Events 

Friday, 5/5: Fantasy Fair: Alta Vista Hoedown 5:00-8:00 pm

Friday, 5/19: Multicultural Night & Art Show

Wednesday, 5/24: Alta Vista Open House

Friday, 5/26: Family Day @ 8:15

Wednesday, 5/31: Volunteer Appreciation Social