The Alta Vista Walkathon is just two weeks away, and you won't want to miss it! Over half our class is already signed up-- Go Grasshoppers! You will be amazed to see how many laps your children will walk. There are special charms for a necklace that they earn each lap, and they are very motivated by these! Every five laps earns a different type of charm, and the kids love wearing their necklaces the following week(s) to show off all their charms. Please come out and support our school's enrichment programs by signing up here.
**Remember that there is no school this Friday the 4th.
Language Arts
This week, we will start rolling out our literacy centers which enable me to provide small group instruction in reading. We will start this week with an app called Lexia Core 5. I will gradually introduce the other centers over the next few weeks, which include "Word Work" (literacy games), a writing center, other independent literacy work, and meeting with me. Once all centers are introduced, a small group of students will be meeting with me each day while the rest of the class is engaged in the other literacy centers. Your children will be receiving lessons targeted for their ability level in a small group instruction setting.
This week, we will start rolling out our literacy centers which enable me to provide small group instruction in reading. We will start this week with an app called Lexia Core 5. I will gradually introduce the other centers over the next few weeks, which include "Word Work" (literacy games), a writing center, other independent literacy work, and meeting with me. Once all centers are introduced, a small group of students will be meeting with me each day while the rest of the class is engaged in the other literacy centers. Your children will be receiving lessons targeted for their ability level in a small group instruction setting.
In Fundations, we will introduce the letters Cc and Oo. The letter c is important in handwriting, because many letters start with the "magic c," as we call it. The letters a, d, g, o, and q are all "Magic C" letters.
We will introduce our first sight words this week! Your children will be exposed to over 40 sight words this year. Using the phonics knowledge they already know, sight words will be taught through "orthographic mapping." This means that children will listen to how many sounds they hear in a word and then apply their phonics skills to "map" out those sounds. Each week, when we introduce new sight words, they will only contain sounds that we've already learned. This week's words are it and in. You can find the sight words we will be introducing on this website. Go to the tab called "High Frequency Word List."
Math
We will begin Topic F this week in math. Topic F provides space to practice counting while students learn to write 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10. Students count things that happen over time, like a person’s jumps or the runs in a baseball game, and see that writing numbers is a good way to record and remember that information
We will introduce our first sight words this week! Your children will be exposed to over 40 sight words this year. Using the phonics knowledge they already know, sight words will be taught through "orthographic mapping." This means that children will listen to how many sounds they hear in a word and then apply their phonics skills to "map" out those sounds. Each week, when we introduce new sight words, they will only contain sounds that we've already learned. This week's words are it and in. You can find the sight words we will be introducing on this website. Go to the tab called "High Frequency Word List."
Math
We will begin Topic F this week in math. Topic F provides space to practice counting while students learn to write 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10. Students count things that happen over time, like a person’s jumps or the runs in a baseball game, and see that writing numbers is a good way to record and remember that information
Art & Clay
We will have our first Clay lesson on Monday. We get to do two clay projects in kindergarten over 4 sessions (two "project creation" lessons, and two glazing lessons). Thank you to Evelyn for leading the clay program this year, and Meeta, Tomoko, and Emily for helping out.
We will also have our first Art Vista lesson on Tuesday. Art Vista lessons start with looking at prints from professional artists, followed by a lesson on some aspect of those prints (foreground, line, color, etc.) Thank you to Emily for coordinating these lessons, and to Kevin, Shelbie, and Mallory, Evelyn (and others!) for helping with Art this year.
*Remember to return your child's library book by Tuesday each week
This Week's Helpers & Activities
Monday: Clay @ 12:20 (Evelyn, Tomoko, Emily)
Tuesday: Art Vista @ 10:25 (Kevin, Shelbie, Emily, Mallory & Evelyn)
Wednesday: Library @ 9:10 (Renuka-Reader & Emily-Checkout)
Friday: NO SCHOOL
Upcoming Events
Friday, 10/4: No School
Tuesday, 10/8: Field Trip to YSI Vasona
Saturday, 10/12: Alta Vista Walkathon
Thursday, 10/31: Halloween Parade & Party
Friday, 11/1: No School
Monday, 11/11: No School: Veteran's Day
