Week of 12/18

We had a great Project Cornerstone lesson last week after reading the story Big by Coleen Paratore. The story's theme was that size isn't what makes you "big," it's the good deeds you do and your kindness toward others. Afterward, Celeste had the children decorate "Kindness Rocks." Children wrote an encouraging phrase on the rocks, then we placed them around Alta Vista. If you happened to find one, we hope it made your day brighter!

This Wednesday the 20th, we will be going to the AV Makerspace again to experiment with Snap Circuits. I could use 1-2 helpers for this activity. If you are available from 10:30 to 11:25, please let me know.

The main business of this week is all things Nutcracker! We will be practicing daily this week, so there will be no centers. There will also be no homework/blue bags this Wednesday.  Enjoy a stress-free week to focus on your holiday preparations!

For the Nutcracker performance, we have Lawrence helping with photography and Mary, Tanya, and Ying helping with make-up and costuming. If costume parents could please come at around 8:45 or so and begin calling kids back individually and get them ready for the stage, that would be great. Thank you!

On Monday this week, you will have an opportunity to bid in an online auction for front-row seating for the Nutcracker. Every Spring, Alta Vista has an Auction fundraiser, and there is always an online auction that offers various goods & services. Since most parents aren't at the school yet who will have children in the Nutcracker, those tickets are put aside for a separate auction in December. Look for an email and start the bidding! All money will go toward supporting the enrichment programs funded by the Alta Vista Home & School Club. The auction will close on Wednesday. Good luck!

Language Arts:
We will continue to focus on Gingerbread Man stories. We will also read some holiday books. Our sight word is is. We will be building and reading sentences with the word is and some of the words from the word families we've been studying.

Math:
We are finishing with Module 2 in Eureka Math: Two Dimensional & Three Dimensional Shapes. We have been studying the attributes of the 2D shapes square, triangle, rectangle, circle, and hexagon. The 3D shapes we are studying are the cube, cylinder, cone, and sphere. Parent tips for this unit can be found here.

This Week's Special Events:
There is a Wacky Wednesday this week for the p.m. class. This means that our class will be leaving backpacks outside along the window wall. Also, dismissal will be from the AV Makerspace.

A reminder about clothing for the Nutcracker: please remember to dress your children in the clothes suggested in the letter sent home in the Wednesday envelope last week. Children should come to school dressed in these items on Friday. Girls can wear something over the top of their leotards when they arrive and change into their ballet shoes for the performance. As a reminder, here is the list:

FRITZ: Bathrobe/pajamas & slippers
NUTCRACKER/SOLDIERS/RUSSIAN DANCERS: White Shirt & Dark Pants w/ dark shoes
MICE/MOUSE KING: Dark Shirt & Dark Pants & dark shoes
SUGAR PLUM, RIBBON CANDY, FLOWERS: Light colored leotard/light colored tights/ballet slippers or light colored shoes-- leotards with tutus attached are fine & encouraged for Sugar Plum Fairies & Flowers, especially. Ribbon tutu provided for Ribbon Candies.
ARABIAN: Light colored fitted shirt w/ leggings OR leotard (we provide the Harem pants)
CHINESE DANCERS: Shirt doesn't matter so much (will be wearing jacket we provide) dark pants.

Please borrow whatever you need to borrow-- we don't intend for anyone to have to buy anything.  I have 2-3 leotards and a few pairs of ballet slippers in the classroom that used to belong to my daughter that are also available-- let me know if you need to borrow.

Please arrive promptly in the cafeteria for the Nutcracker, as we intend to start the show right at 10:00. Also, please do not try to come early and save seats. We will be keeping the doors locked until about 15 minutes before the performance. There are plenty of seats for everyone, so no need to stress. We want everyone to enjoy the performance, so please refrain from standing and blocking the aisles as much as possible. Also remember that school-aged siblings are not to be pulled out of class to watch the performance. Thank you!

Remember to bring your blue bags tomorrow. Starting in January, a journal will be added to the homework bag so that your children can write a response to the book in the bag each week. No blue bags this Wednesday, but there will be Wednesday envelopes. Please return those on Thursday so that they don't get lost over the long holiday.

Upcoming
When we return from Winter Break on January 8th, we are having a special district-wide day called "Smart Start." Basically, it's a fun day of activities to get children excited about returning to school. In  kindergarten, we will be having a center-based day of fun hands-on activities. I am going to start centers earlier on that day at approximately 8:45, and run them until about 10:15. I already have Camille & Lauren scheduled to help on that day, but I could use 1-2 more helpers. If you are interested in coming in for Smart Start, please email me.

Happy Holidays and enjoy your break!

This Week's Helpers & Activities:
Monday: Blue Bags returned (Touria), No centers
Tuesday: Nutcracker practice on stage, no centers
Wednesday: Wacky Weds., Makerspace for Snap Circuits, Recess 101, Weds. envelopes go home

Thursday: Weds. envelopes returned, Nutcracker practice in the cafeteria, No centers
Friday: Nutcracker Performance @ 10:00 followed by Cast Party afterward!

Upcoming Events
Friday 12/22: Kindergarten Nutcracker Performance @ 10:00
12/25-01/07: Winter Break
Monday 01/08: Districtwide Smart Start Day
Monday 01/15: Martin Luther King Holiday
02/19-02/23: President's Week Vacation