Week of 4/30

Dear Parents,

We had a wonderful trip to Emma Prusch Farm last week. The weather was perfect, and we saw many of the different animals we've been studying. Thank you to the chaperones for helping make this trip a success.

We also had fun on Friday when we headed over to the cafeteria to paint life-sized paper dolls. These dolls will be on display in our classroom at Open House on the evening of May 16th. I hope you can attend with your child to see the paper dolls, and many other projects that we will be working on in the upcoming weeks.

We are now getting to that time in the school year where there are several events each week, so please keep your calendar updated & come and enjoy all the school has to offer! This week, we have a school-wide special speaker night, "How to Get Your Kids to Listen" in the cafeteria on Thursday, 5/3 at 6:30. If you're interested, please RSVP. This is a free presentation for Alta Vista parents.

This Friday, we also have the Kindergarten Movie Night for auction winners. This event is in room K1 from 5:00 to 7:00. We will be watching the movie "Ferdinand" and pizza and fruit will be served. I believe there are still a few tickets left for $40 apiece. Please email me if you are interested. All proceeds go to the AVHSC for our enrichment programs.

Next Friday the 11th, in addition to our Mother's Day celebration in the classroom, there is also another great school-wide event, the Fantasy Faire.  This is a super fun school-wide carnival that your child will not want to miss.  I also really encourage you to participate in the cake-making competition that morning (cakes must be submitted by 8:15).  It is really fun to be a part of, and the cakes are so amazing!  Don't be intimidated-- this is definitely a child-friendly competition :) Finally, the Fantasy Fair will need a lot of help, starting with our class booth. We are sharing our booth with Mrs. Barbara's pm class and I know Tanya has sent out an email seeking a coordinator. If you can help with this, I believe the p.m. mom, Sarina, has a lot of ideas, so you will simply be coordinating our class shifts.

Language Arts
We will be studying the word families og and ug this week. Children will be reading and spelling words like fog, log, hog, bug, rug, and hug.  Our new sight words are on and of.  Since of is often confused with off, we are trying to highlight the differences between those words by doing them in the same week we are doing their opposite word. Keep working on those sight words!

Math
We are continuing with Module 5, Numbers 10-20. This unit will cover number names and counting to 100, as well as foundations for place value. Parent tips for this unit can be found here.

Science
In our final weeks of the science unit on Wood & Paper, we will have the chance to make paper mache. We will also see how paper can be woven from strips to make a bigger sheet of paper. Finally, we will take apart boxes and look at how the flat template appears before being folded into a box. Then, we will use the remaining boxes to create structures.

We are also beginning a unit on the life cycle of a butterfly this week. We will be getting caterpillars in the classroom this week to observe as they change into butterflies. This unit is always a highlight for the children.

Upcoming Events
Don't forget to order your child's yearbook if you are interested. The kids usually love having a yearbook, and on the last few days of school, we have time to let them go around and sign each other's books. If you are interested, you must order by May 7th by going to this link.

The Mother's Day celebration is coming right up on Friday, May 11th at 10:00 a.m. Please let me know ahead of time if you have a conflict and are unable to come. If possible, please send another family representative to join your child so that s/he has someone to honor: a grandma, aunt, neighbor, even dads have come in a pinch before! This event is in the classroom, so there is not a lot of extra room. I have occasionally had moms AND grandmas come in the past, but due to space restrictions, this is mostly an event just for one guest. Please email me if you'd like to bring an additional guest so that I can make sure we have enough chairs. I hope moms can all join us!

Speaking of space restrictions, I wanted to give you all a heads-up that the Promotion Ceremony on June 5th at 9:00 is also in the classroom. Space is very limited, since most children have both parents attend. Due to space limitations, this event is really for the child and parents only, and non-school-aged siblings (school-aged siblings cannot be pulled out of class for this). Thank you for your understanding.

This Week's Helpers & Activities:
Monday: Return Blue Bags (Touria), Daily 5, Centers (Anastasia & Celeste)
Tuesday: Daily 5, Centers (Camille/Pauline & Chris)
Wednesday: Cornerstone (Celeste), PE with Coach Sierra is canceled

Thursday: Daily 5, Centers (Tanya & Emily)
Friday: Daily 5, STEAM Centers (Jillian & Celeste)

Upcoming Events:
Thursday, 5/3: Alta Vista Speaker Night: "How to Get Kids to Listen"

Friday, 5/4: Kindergarten Movie Night @ 5:00 for Auction Winners
Friday 5/11: Mother's Day Celebration
Friday 5/11: Alta Vista Fantasy Faire 5:00-8:30pm
Wednesday, 5/16: Open House
Monday, 5/28: Memorial Day Holiday
Thursday, 5/31: Art Vista Art Show
Friday, 6/1: Class Party
Friday 6/1: Alta Vista Variety Show
Tuesday, 6/5: Kindergarten Promotion Ceremony @ 9:00-- please attend!
Wednesday, 6/6: School-wide Olympic Day
Thursday, 6/7: Last Day of School