Week of 5/29

I hope you are all enjoying this long weekend. With only 8 days to go in kindergarten, this post will mostly just remind you of upcoming special events, and a few "lasts" happening this week.

This is our last week with Coach Sierra and Grandma Gail. Our last Wednesday envelope will also go home this week. Please review the papers, and then keep the envelope-- no need to send it back again. However, please DO send in a paper grocery bag with your child's name on it as soon as possible. I am going to be taking all the art and projects off the walls and would like them to be safely transported home. Thank you!

YSI Presentation
On Tuesday, we will have a special presentation by YSI (Youth Science Institute) called "Life in the Pond." A docent from YSI will come with some pond animals and do a talk on pond life.  I will be at school on Tuesday, but the students will have a substitute. I will be completing the year-end assessments and working on report cards.

Art Vista Show
On Thursday the 31st, please come to the cafeteria any time between 5:30 and 8:00 to enjoy the Art Vista Art show.  Every child in our class will have several pieces on display.  The Art Vista art show is always a sight to behold-- such beautiful artwork from all the grade levels!  It is truly impressive. Thank you again to Tanya, Camille, Jason, and Surbhi for helping with the Art Vista program this year.

Class Party
We have our class party coming up this Friday the 1st. This is a water play day (sprinklers and water table). Please send your children with a towel, a swimsuit under their clothes (or boys just wear their swimsuits as shorts) water shoes or flip flops or old shoes you don't mind having them get wet. We don't like them to go barefoot on the blacktop, so we need them to be wearing shoes that will work with the water. Please coat them in sunscreen before their arrival. Children who are going to daycare after class should have a change of clothes and shoes. Thank you to Jillian & Celeste for coordinating  this party. Heavy snacks & treats will be served, so no need to pack a big lunch if your child is going to daycare.

Next Week
Our last big event (parental attendance strongly encouraged) together is next Tuesday the 5th at 9:00 for our Promotion Day celebration. This should wrap up before class is out (my guess is approximately an hour or so), and then the kids can stay and sign yearbooks, etc. If you want them to leave early that day, please sign them out in the office. Please plan on joining us as we have a small presentation and a video look back on our wonderful year together!

Wednesday the 6th, we have a school-wide Olympic Day. It starts at 10:00. This is another day with a lot of outdoor time, so hats and sunscreen are highly recommended. Thank you to Tanya, Mary, and Samantha for helping with Olympic Day.

There are no events on Thursday the 7th, but all kindergarten classes attend from 8:05 to 11:25. Both the morning class and the afternoon class will be in the room together, cleaning up, signing yearbooks, and wrapping up our year together.

Looking forward to lots of fun & memories in these final weeks!

Upcoming Events:

Monday, 5/28: Memorial Day Holiday
Tuesday, 5/29: In-class YSI Presentation
Thursday, 5/31: Art Vista Art Show
Friday, 6/1: Class Party, "Splash Bash"
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, all kindergartners come from 8:05 to 11:25

Week of 5/21

We are heading into the final stretch here with many year-end events, so keep your calendars updated! This week is actually event-free-- our last "quiet" week before the year-end whirlwind. However, I do need to let you know that I will be out two days this week-- Tuesday & Thursday, for different school events.

Language Arts
We will be covering the ea and ending sound of y this week. Children will be reading and spelling words like read, seal, meal, happy, funny, baby, etc.  Our sight word this week are be and how. You have probably noticed that we are introducing some sight words that were not on our list because the students have done well at mastering the original 40 words. We continue to do a lot of writing in class and will be doing a piece for our memory books this week. We will also be writing an opinion piece for our final writing assessment this week.

"Virtual homework" began last week as the blue bag program is done.  Please take about 15-20 minutes a day to have your child do either Lexia, ixl.com, or raz-kids. If you are not sure how to log into these sites, please email me, as these sites will also be available to your child over most of the summer.

Math
We are continuing with Module 5, Numbers 10-20, as well as further reinforcement on addition and subtraction facts. I have noticed that subtraction will continue to need a lot of review, and encourage you to work with your children at home on subtraction.  I have also been and will continue to be administering the final round of assessments to evaluate your children for the 3rd trimester report cards. Those report cards will come home with your children on the last day of school.

Science
We are continuing our unit on the life cycle of a butterfly. The caterpillars all went into chrysalids last week, so we are awaiting their emergence as butterflies!

Upcoming Events

Next week, on Thursday the 31st, please come to the cafeteria any time between 5:30 and 8:00 to enjoy the Art Vista Art show. Every child in our class will have several pieces on display. The Art Vista art show is always a sight to behold-- such beautiful artwork from all the grade levels!  It is truly impressive.

We have our "Splash Bash"/class party coming up on Friday the 1st. We will have snacks and some fun in the sun!  Please send your children with a towel, a swimsuit under their clothes (or boys just wear their swimsuits as shorts) water shoes or flip flops or old shoes you don't mind having them get wet. We don't let children go barefoot on the blacktop, so we need them to be wearing shoes that will work with the water. Please coat them in sunblock before their arrival. Children who are going to daycare after class should have a change of clothes and shoes.

The following week, on Wednesday the 6th, we have a school-wide Olympic Day. Children will participate in different fun fitness challenges throughout the event. We will be outside for over an hour-- please plan accordingly with sunscreen and hats. Grasshopper shirts are our team t-shirt that day! It starts at 10:00, and I could use a few parent helpers to walk around with us & help organize the kids. Please email me if you can help with that event.

Our last big event altogether is Tuesday the 5th for our Promotion Day celebration. This event is at 9:00. Please plan on joining us as we have a small presentation and will look back on our wonderful year together! This should wrap up before class is out, and then the kids can stay and sign yearbooks, etc. If you want them to leave early that day, please sign them out in the office. We are trying to keep this event to immediate family (parents) only due to space limitations, as it is in our classroom. Also, school-aged siblings are not to be pulled out of class to attend. Thank you for your understanding.

There are no events on Thursday the 7th, but all kindergarten classes attend from 8:05 to 11:25. Both the morning class and the afternoon class will be in the room together, cleaning up, signing yearbooks, and wrapping up our year together.

Upcoming Events:

Monday, 5/28: Memorial Day Holiday
Tuesday, 5/29: In-class YSI Presentation
Thursday, 5/31: Art Vista Art Show
Friday, 6/1: Class Party, "Splash Bash"
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, all kindergartners come from 8:05 to 11:25

Week of 5/14

First of all, I'd like to thank everyone for the wonderful Teacher Appreciation Week.  From the door poster to the beautiful flowers, all the delicious fruits, and the touching notes-- thank you so much for your thoughtfulness and for entrusting me with your wonderful children. A special thanks to Tanya & Camille for coordinating the effort. I was truly so touched.

Thank you also to all the moms for joining us on Friday. It was great to see you all and celebrate. Please let me know if you weren't able to open the video. Happy Mother's Day weekend!

Another thanks to all of you who came out for the Fantasy Faire. It looked like a great time was had by all at their first Faire as AV students. Thanks to all those who helped with our class booth. Congratulations again to Alecia for her cake decorating win!

This is our last week of centers, and we actually only have centers on Monday due to Open House preparations.  I'd like to thank all of the volunteers for their commitment to coming in weekly to help us in the classroom.  This was an amazing year for classroom help-- whenever somebody was unable to come in, someone else stepped right up as a sub.  That small-group instruction time is so important, and without all of the helpers, it would not have been possible. Thank you, thank you!

This is also our last week of Daily 5/Guided Reading. This program was new for us in kindergarten this year, and we were very happy with the results. We believe it really encouraged a love of literacy in the children and they have all greatly improved in their reading skills.

Language Arts
We will introduce two more sight words, it and went. The link to the first grade list of words for those who want to get a jump-start on those, can be found here.We will also introduce the er and aw sounds. We will be finishing our own version of The Very Hungry Caterpillar, which will be on display at Open House this Wednesday the 16th at 7:00.

Math
We are continuing with Module 5, Numbers 10-20. This unit covers number names and counting to 100, as well as foundations for place value. Parent tips for this unit can be found here. I have also been and will continue to be administering the final round of assessments to evaluate your children for the 3rd trimester report cards. Those report cards will come home with your children on the last day of school.

Science
We are continuing our unit on the life cycle of a butterfly. The caterpillars have all gone into their chrysalises, so we are eagerly awaiting butterflies!

Upcoming Events
For your future planning-- please review all dates in the "Upcoming Events" section below. Critical dates (where I'd really like a parent to try to come) are: Open House (May 16th @ 7:00), and the Promotion Ceremony (June 5th @ 9:00). The Promotion Ceremony is our big last "hurrah" together, where we look back on our year & celebrate the children. Also, please be aware that the last day of school, Thursday the 7th, all K classes are on a morning schedule (8:05-11:25)-- there are no celebrations or parties as we will have 44 kids in the classroom and don't have room for any extra bodies!  

Please send in your Blue Bags tomorrow.  This was the last Blue Bag! Please use the extra time in the remaining weeks to do "virtual homework assignments."  I would like to see the children spending at least 15 minutes a day on either Lexia, ixl.com , or raz-kids for the next few weeks. I would also encourage using the extra time to read, read, read!

This Week's Helpers & Activities:
Monday: Return Blue Bags (Ying), Daily 5, Centers (Lynda & Celeste)
Tuesday: Daily 5
Wednesday: PE with Coach Sierra, Open House 7:00-8:00

Thursday: Daily 5
Friday: Last Daily 5

Upcoming Events:
Wednesday, 5/16: Open House

Monday, 5/28: Memorial Day Holiday
Thursday, 5/31: Art Vista Art Show
Friday, 6/1: Class Party, "Splash Bash"
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, all kindergartners come from 8:05 to 11:25

Week of 5/7

I hope to see all the moms at our Mother's Day celebration this Friday the 11th. We are looking forward to celebrating with all the moms or other "representatives" at 10:00. We have a short presentation of a mini-play and a few songs, and then you can enjoy some treats with your child. This is an event the kindergartners always look forward to sharing with their moms/someone special, so please try to have someone come. Let me know if there are any problems. Thank you!

This Friday is also the Alta Vista Fantasy Faire, and you won't want to miss it! This is a very fun school-wide carnival with game booths and bouncy houses, a cake walk, food, face painting, and a balloon twister. The Faire is from 5:00 to 8:00. Be sure to stop by for some fun! On another Fantasy Faire note, if your child enjoys baking, I encourage you to participate in the cake decorating contest. Bring your cakes or cupcakes to school on Friday morning before 8:15 for the contest. It is really fun to see the cakes and participate in this!

We are busily preparing for Open House, on the night of May 16th.  We will have much on display in our room that night, and the kids are very excited to show off their work. Please plan on attending with your child!  There is a Home & School club meeting that evening in the cafeteria at 6:30, followed by the classrooms being open between 7:00 and 8:00.  Stop by any time during that hour to have your child show off all of his/her projects to you!

Language Arts
We will be studying the word endings ed and id this week. We will be reading and spelling words such as red, bed, led, and hid, bid, did. Our new sight words are where and do. 

Our stories for the next few weeks will center around butterflies as we continue our unit on caterpillars and butterflies. This week, we will focus on The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle and begin making our own version of this book in class, which will be on display at Open House.

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

Science
We are continuing our unit on the life cycle of a butterfly. We had some real caterpillars arrive in class last week, and we will watch the metamorphosis from caterpillar to butterfly.

Upcoming Events
One final reminder 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.

For your future planning-- please review all dates in the "Upcoming Events" section below. Critical dates (where I'd really like a parent to try to come) are: Mother's Day (Friday the 11th @ 10:00), Open House (May 16th @ 7:00), and the Promotion Ceremony (June 5th @ 9:00). The Promotion Ceremony is our big last "hurrah" together, where we look back on our year & celebrate the children. Also, please be aware that the last day of school, Thursday the 7th, all K classes are on a morning schedule (8:05-11:25)-- there are no celebrations or parties as we will have 44 kids in the classroom and don't have room for any extra bodies!  

Please return your blue bags tomorrow-- the final blue bag will go home this Wednesday the 9th!! After that, please take advantage of our online programs: IXL, Lexia, and RazKids for learning reinforcement.

This Week's Helpers & Activities:
Monday: Return Blue Bags (Jillian), Daily 5, Centers (Anastasia & Mary)
Tuesday: Daily 5, Centers (Pauline & Susan H.)
Wednesday: PE with Coach Sierra

Thursday: Daily 5, Centers (Tanya & Jillian)
Friday: Daily 5, Mother's Day Celebration @ 10:00, Fantasy Faire @ 5:00

Upcoming Events:
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