Week of 12/10

We were excited to participate in Hour of Code last week, and we got to use some familiar activities, as well as some new ones. We will continue to bring back these activities throughout the year, as Computer Science Education is critical to developing logical thinking and problem solving. This week, we will do more creating & problem solving in the MakerSpace by building with the Rigamajig.

This is the last week for parent helpers in 2018! Thank you for making centers run so smoothly and volunteering your time in our classroom. The Sign-Up Genius for early 2019 is filling up fast! There are still about 10 spots left for those who are interested in joining us for centers. Please see the Sign-Up Genius (link in email) to sign up.

Language Arts
This week, we will be reading different versions of The Gingerbread Man, which we will continue enjoying next week as well. We will be comparing two different versions in particular: The Gingerbread Boy by Paul Galdone and The Gingerbread Girl by Lisa Campbell Ernst. We have some fun activities and art projects surrounding all of these stories. Other stories we will be reading include The Ninjabread Man, Gingerbread Baby, Gingerbread Man Loose in the School and many more. We will follow up with several Gingerbread Man writing and art activities. Our Daily Five literacy centers have also been including many fun Gingerbread-themed activities, and will continue to do so this week as well. Our sight words for the week are look and up, and our word families will be ap and ad. 

In this week's Wednesday envelope, I will be sending home information on how to log onto two online reading programs, Kids A-Z and Lexia. These programs are paid for by the district and are great tools to work on various reading skills. They are both available as either an iPad app or via a website. It is important to have your child work independently on these programs, especially Lexia. Lexia adjusts the skills it presents depending on your child's needs. For example, if your child is struggling with medial sounds but has mastered beginning sounds, Lexia will stop presenting beginning sounds and focus on the medial ones. If your child receives too much help, Lexia may stop presenting a skill that your child actually needs to continue working on. Since we use Lexia in class, it is important that children can work independently on this program. Having access to both Lexia and Kids A-Z will be useful over the holidays when your child needs something to do :)


Math
We are continuing with Module 3 in Eureka Math: Comparison of Weight, Length, Capacity, and Numbers to 10. We will be looking at weight this week, as well as comparing numbers using <, >, =. Parent tips for this unit can be found here.

Upcoming

Your child should have received his/her part assignment for the Nutcracker in last week's Wednesday envelope. Please let me know if there are any problems gathering the clothes we've asked them to wear. I do have several leotards that my daughter outgrew from her dance days in the classroom, as well as a few pairs of ballet slippers. We do not intend for you to have to buy anything. We are looking forward to a memorable performance on the 20th at 1:45!

Be Seen & Heard Assemblies
On Thursday, December 13th, Alta Vista will host a series of Be Seen and Heard© assemblies. They are presented in the interest of student safety and will address the dangers of child sexual abuse, the differences between a safe and unsafe touch and a safe and unsafe secret, the importance of voice, and identifying trusted adults. The topics are scaled to be appropriate for each grade level. If you do not want your child to participate, please turn in the opt-out form in the office.

**Please return your child's Blue Bag on Monday. The last Blue Bag for 2018 will go home this Wednesday.

This Week's Helpers & Activities:
Monday: Return Blue Bags (Yvonne), Daily 5, Centers (Elena & Nisha)
Tuesday: Daily 5, Centers (Sarah & Hiromi)
Wednesday: PE with Coach Sierra, Trip to the MakerSpace, Blue Bags Go Home
Thursday: Daily 5, Be Seen & Heard Assembly (Centers canceled)
Friday: Story time with Grandma Gail, Daily 5, STEAM Centers (Claire & Steve S.)

Upcoming Events
Thursday 12/13: Be Seen & Heard Assembly
Thursday 12/20: Nutcracker Performance @ 1:45
12/21-01/04: Winter Break
Monday 01/07: School Resumes
Friday 01/18: Professional Development Day: No School
Monday 01/21: Martin Luther King Day, No School
Thursday 01/31: 100 Day
02/18-02/22: President's Week Vacation