We have quite a few openings in the upcoming weeks, including this week, for both centers and library. Please see the Sign-Up Genius if you are able to help.
This week, we will hit the half-way mark (90th school day) in our kindergarten year. This is where the kindergarten curriculum really takes off, and your continued support with the curriculum will be especially important at this time. Reading to your children and asking them questions about what they are reading, helping them blend and read/write short vowel words (eg: hop, can, rat, etc.) and reinforcing math facts and sight words is really important at this time.
Ms. Gomathi' Student Teaching
For those of you who haven't heard yet, Ms. Gomathi is now staying for our full kindergarten day as she takes on her semester of student teaching. We are so excited to have her join us all day-- it was amazing last week having her help and support all day long. As part of her program, she will need to video herself teaching some lessons. A permission slip will be coming home in this week's Wednesday envelope which you can review and sign if you give permission for her to record herself teaching in our classroom. I have attached two letters from her with more information about both herself and her credential program, as well as the purpose of these recordings. Please look out for this permission slip on Wednesday. Thank you for supporting Gomathi as she works toward completing her teacher credential program.
Language Arts
This week, we will delve deeper into our study of owls. We will complete some informational writing about owls and do a few owl crafts. Our sight words this week are this and that. Our emphasis in Fundations will continue to be blending sounds to read and write words with fluency. This week, we will also begin instruction on the formation of upper case letters, covering two letters per day. As I said last week, the Fundations Parent Letter has a lot of great tips on ways to encourage blending, as well as guides to correct formation of the upper case letters.
Math
We will continue with Topic B in Module 4 this week. Topic B provides space for students to decompose shapes and numbers in more than one way. Students record their decompositions and analyze them to answer questions such as, How can the same total be made of different parts? Which numbers can be part of 5? Which numbers cannot be part of 5? There will be some new vocabulary for those of you who do not have older students who have done the Eureka math program. Of particular importance are the words "compose" (finding numbers that add up to a given number-- like 3 & 2 compose 5) "decompose" (take apart a number-- like 5 can be 4 & 1 OR 3 & 2) and number bonds (a model to show mathematical thinking).
**Library is every Wednesday. Please return your child's library book by Tuesday each week.
**School spirit days are every Wednesday. Wear your Alta Vista t-shirts or your Grasshopper t-shirts to show your school pride.
This Week's Helpers & Activities
Monday: Centers @ 12:20 (Emily & ????)
Tuesday: Centers @ 12:20 (Meeta & Shelbie)
Wednesday: Library @ 9:10 (Emily & ????), Music, Dismissal @ 1:15
Upcoming Events
Monday, 1/20: No School: MLK Holiday
Wednesday, 1/29: 100th Day of School
Friday, 2/14: Valentines Exchange in Class
2/17-2/21: No School: President's Week
