Week of 10/23

It was GREAT to see so many of you Saturday at the walk-a-thon! It looked like much fun was had by all for their first walkathon outing. Thanks for coming out and supporting the school, and hopefully, it was the beginning of many walkathons to come for all of you!

If you didn't have a chance to check out the Book Fair at the walkathon, it runs through Wednesday of this week, closing at 2:00 on the 25th. Check it out!

Here's what's going on in the classroom this week:

Field Trip
We are so excited for our first field trip to Spina Farms Pumpkin Patch this Wednesday, October 25th!  Please send your children in their Grasshopper t-shirts (mandatory for easy spotting of children) and a disposable snack. We don't want to lose lunch bags or water bottles at the farm, so please just pack the snack in a paper bag with your child's name on it. Please send students in close-toed shoes that are comfortable for walking. The weather for Wednesday is showing sunny & warm right now, but it's always good to dress your child in layers. A long-sleeved shirt under the grasshopper shirt is a good idea so that I can still see that "grasshopper green." Thank you to Lynda, Mary, Tanya, Camille, Pauline, and Elena for chaperoning this trip.

Language Arts
Our letters this week are Ss and Tt. Our sight word is to. We will read a variety of both pumpkin-themed and Halloween-themed books this week.

Math
We are wrapping up our module on numbers to 10. Some kindergarten year-end standards that you should be aware of are:

• Children should be able to count to 100
• Children should be able to count on from any given number between 1 and 100. For example: 49, 50, 51, 52, 53.
• Children should be able to write numbers to 20
• Children should be able to recognize numbers to 20 and count out objects to 20, no matter what the arrangement of those objects (in a line, scattered, in a circle)

Science/STEAM
We will continue reading non-fiction books about pumpkins. At the end of the week, we will end our pumpkin unit with some pumpkin STEAM activities to further explore pumpkins. We will even be dissecting a pumpkin to check out all the different parts of a pumpkin that we've been studying!

Upcoming
Halloween:
The Halloween Party & parade is on Tuesday, October 31st. Children are encouraged to wear costumes to school. If your child goes to daycare afterward, s/he may want to bring a change of clothes for comfort. Just a reminder that Halloween costumes worn at school cannot have any weapons as accessories. Also, fake blood or masks that prevent children from being able to see are not allowed. The school-wide parade (which a.m. kindergarten will be a part of) is at 8:30, on the primary blacktop (near rooms 7, 8, and 9.) Come out and watch the fun! Our classroom party will follow at 9:00. It will be center-style, with four party stations.

Conferences:
I am looking forward to meeting with each of you beginning Monday, November 6th for your child's conference. All conferences will be held in the office conference room, except for the 7:30 am time slot, which will be held in the classroom. The conference room is located in the main office, 2nd door to the right after you walk through the swinging half-door.  To confirm your conference time, please click here. Please note that you can no longer edit this form. If you need to change your conference time, please email me.

Friendship Feast:

To give you an opportunity to plan ahead, the Friendship Feast will be on Friday, November 17th at 10:00. If you can take some time off work to join us, this is a pretty fun and special event.  We ask each family to send in a dish for the event-- either a traditional Thanksgiving dish or a dish from your family's cultural background.  We always enjoy the wonderful mix of foods that we get.  Both K1 & K2 kindergartners come together for this event, and sing some songs at the beginning. The children from our class will be dressed as Native Americans, and the children in K1 will be dressed as Pilgrims.  No need to provide any costumes-- those are what parents in our class will be busy cutting in the next few weeks. This event is definitely a great photo-op!

This Week's Helpers & Activities:
Monday: Return Blue Bags (Touria), Daily 5, Centers (Camille & Ying)
Tuesday: Daily 5, Centers (Josie & Celeste)
Wednesday: Field Trip to Spina Farms Pumpkin Patch
Thursday: Daily 5, Centers (Tanya & Elena)
Friday: Daily 5, STEAM Centers (Mary & Jackie), Story time with Grandma Gail

Upcoming Events:
Saturday 10/21: Alta Vista Walkathon
Through Wednesday, 10/25: Alta Vista Book Fair
Wednesday 10/25: Field trip to Spina Farms Pumpkin Patch
Tuesday 10/31: Halloween Parade & Party
Monday 11/6: Parent-Teacher Conferences begin
Thursday 11/9: No School: Staff Development Day
Friday 11/10: No School: Veteran's Day
Friday 11/17: Friendship Feast
Friday 12/22: Kindergarten Nutcracker Performances