Week of 12/15

This is a very eventful week, so this post is mostly reminders to keep you organized during these hectic final five days! Last week we had our last days of centers & library in 2025. I want to thank you for volunteering your time in our classroom and in the library, and I look forward to seeing some new faces in 2026! Thank you for filling up the Sign-Up Genius so quickly!

Holiday Spirit Week
This is another schoolwide Spirit Week. Participation is always optional, but the children really enjoy seeing each other dressed up. :
Monday: Stuffy Day: Bring your favorite stuffed animal
Tuesday: PJ Day-- Come to school in your pajamas (no slippers allowed)
Wednesday: Vacation Vibe Day-- Dress like a tourist or pick an outfit inspired by your favorite travel spot
Thursday: We won't be able to participate due to needing to wear our Nutcracker clothes, but if your child wants to pack something in their backpack for after the show, the theme is Winter Hat & Scarf Day
Friday: Schoolwide theme is Holiday Sweater Day, but we are having a pajama day again because our class party theme is pjs and breakfast. PJ bottoms and holiday sweater up top might be a solution on this day.

Nutcracker
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 two weeks ago. Children should come to school dressed in these items on Thursday. Girls who are wearing leotards can wear something over the top of their leotards when they arrive and change into their ballet shoes (if wearing those) for the performance. As a reminder, here is the list:

MARIE/FRITZ: Bathrobe/pajamas & slippers
NUTCRACKER/SOLDIERS/TROPAK DANCERS: White Shirt & Dark Pants w/ dark shoes
MICE/MOUSE KING/CHOCOLATE DANCER BOYS: Dark Shirt & Dark Pants & dark shoes
CHOCOLATE DANCER GIRLS: Black leotard or t-shirt, black tights or leggings (skirt provided)
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.
COFFEE DANCERS: Light colored fitted shirt w/ leggings or more form-fitting pants/track pants OR leotard w/ no tutu (we provide the Harem pants)
TEA DANCERS: Shirt doesn't matter so much (will be wearing jacket we provide) dark pants or leggings, dark shoes.

Please borrow whatever you need to borrow-- we don't intend for anyone to have to buy anything. We still have several leotards and ballet slippers in the classroom that are also available-- let me know if you need to borrow. I will send them home with children who want to borrow one on Monday. Please email me to let me know you'd like to borrow one.

Please arrive promptly in the cafeteria for the Nutcracker, as we intend to start the show right at 9:15. Also, please do not try to come early and save seats. We will be keeping the doors locked until about 10 minutes before the performance. If you do not have a visitor's badge from the office, you will need to get one before entering the cafeteria for the performance. As a reminder, you can check in with the office to get a visitor's badge anytime during school hours beginning on Monday. Once you have your badge, everyone will be directed to line up behind the marked cone that will be placed near the front entrance of the school until the doors are open. There are plenty of seats for everyone, so no need to stress!

Photography
We want everyone to enjoy the performance, so please refrain from standing and blocking the aisles. It is no fun to watch a performance with a raised camera in front of you blocking your view, and I ask that you refrain from this behavior. If you want to take pictures, please go to the back row or off to the side.

On another photography note, we will have my daughter at the performance recording a video of it on an iPad. She & I will also be taking photographs of the children in their costumes before the performance. You will have access to these photos & the video, so that you can spend your time on Thursday enjoying the performance. The only tripod that will be set up for videos is ours-- there simply isn't space in the cafeteria for multiple tripods, so please leave your tripods at home.

Front Row Tickets Auction
The auction is now live, and will continue to be through 7:00 pm on Sunday night. There will be eight seats marked in the front row with "Reserved for Auction Winners" signs. The four winners and their guests can sit in any of those eight seats (2 seats for each winner). Remember that all the proceeds from this auction go to support the AVHSC's enrichment activities.

Holiday Party
We will have our holiday party and gift exchange on Friday the 19th. Don't forget to send in one wrapped pair of fun socks with a "From" label on it by Wednesday. The party is a pajama party! Children are encouraged to wear their pajamas as we enjoy a fun breakfast and crafts. If you are helping for this party please come in with the kids and get all the food set up while they are watching a video of their performance from the day before. Thank you!

Curriculum this Week
We have now introduced all letters and sounds in Fundations! In 2026, we will move onto blending sounds to read and spell CVC (consonant-vowel-consonant) words. This week, we will just have a review week in Fundations. In math, we will continue our module on Comparison.

Library
Although we won't go to the library this week due to a Nutcracker rehearsal, please return your child's library book by Tuesday, as usual, so that you don't have to keep track of it over the holidays. Thank you.

Upcoming
When we return from Winter Break on January 5th, we are having a special district-wide few days called "Smart Restart." Basically, it's a couple of days of activities to get children excited about returning to school. We will be making Kool-Aid playdough and doing a collaborative art project, as well as having time to play to ease our way back into school.

Happy Holidays and enjoy your break!

Week of 12/5

Field Trip & UMS Math Tutors

We had some wonderful math centers last week with our collaboration with the UMS math students who came over and ran some great activities. I will send pictures from this activity, as well as the next round of sign-ups for centers and library, in the next few days. 

We are looking forward to our field trip this Friday the 12th to the Center for Performing Arts to see their abbreviated version of The Nutcracker. Children must wear their Grasshopper t-shirts on the field trip-- this is not optional. The t-shirt makes it very easy to see all the children in our group. If your child is wearing layers, please make sure the t-shirt is the top layer and other shirts go underneath. Please also remember that unless you ordered a school snack/lunch for your child, you must pack a snack & lunch that day, as we will not be on campus to go through the snack or lunch line. We will actually eat lunch back at school, but we arrive on campus after the cafeteria is closed. I will send out a list of who ordered lunches when I send the field trip reminder on Thursday. 

Nutcracker

Please let me know if you did not receive the note last week in your child's Wednesday envelope with their Nutcracker role. If you have any difficulty rounding up the "base clothes" that we mentioned in the letter, please let me know. Remember that all costume accessories and many costume pieces are supplied by us. We also have a number of leotards available to borrow that have been donated over the years. Thank you for your help in getting the children prepared for the show on the 18th.

You will be able to start getting visitor's badges to attend the performance, on Monday the 15th. Please bring your driver's license to the office and tell Maura that you'd like a badge for the Nutcracker performance on the 18th. All people attending the show must go through the office first and get a visitor's badge. The show will start promptly at 9:15, so I highly suggest getting the badge in advance. A few other things:

• The cafeteria doors will open at about 9:00. Please do not enter the cafeteria earlier and attempt to save seats. Anything on the seats before the doors open will be moved.
• We will record a video of the performance on an iPad and will share that video with all the families. Our iPad will be set up on a tripod for this purpose, and this is the only tripod that will be allowed in the cafeteria. Please do not bring your own tripod since there simply isn't enough room in the cafeteria for multiple tripods.
• My daughter will also be in the classroom on the morning of the performance taking pictures of the children in their costumes before the show.
• We want everyone to enjoy the performance, so please refrain from standing and blocking the aisles. It is no fun to watch a performance with a raised camera in front of you blocking your view-- I've had this happen to me at several performances, and I ask that you refrain from this behavior. If you want to take pictures during the show, please go to the back row or off to the side. 

Front Row Tickets Auction:
Finally, we wanted to remind you that the Home & School Club will be auctioning off 4 pairs of front-row tickets to the show. I believe the online auction will open on Friday the 12th and close on Sunday the 14th. All money will go to the enrichment programs that HSC supports. It's a win-win! Get front row seats AND support Alta Vista's enrichment programs. Look for the link to the auction on Friday.

Holiday Party
We will have our holiday party and gift exchange (socks) on Friday the 19th. A note went home in last week's Wednesday envelope about the sock gift exchange. Please send a pair of fun/festive wrapped socks by Wednesday the 17th. Remember to label who it is "from" so that your child doesn't get their own sock gift. For the holiday party, look out for an email from Maria, who will be coordinating a pancake breakfast. This is a pajama party! Children are encouraged to wear their pajamas as we enjoy a fun breakfast and crafts. 

Language Arts

This week, we will wrap up the introduction of all letters and sounds with Qq and Zz! If you notice that your child does not recognize all upper & lower case letters, as well as know all letter sounds, please provide additional reinforcement at home. To help your child form this week's letters correctly, please see the Fundations Family Letter. In this week's newsletter, there is also an activity to review all letters and their sounds. Our sight words this week are will and no.  We will continue reading different versions of The Gingerbread Man this week. We have several activities and many more stories to read!

Math

We will continue with our Module on Comparison. This week, students compare the number of objects in a set and describe the comparison by using the terminology more and fewer. Students develop a toolbox of comparison strategies that vary in complexity and precision. As they experience more complicated comparison situations, students find that matching and counting strategies are reliable ways to compare sets. They have opportunities to self-select tools to use for comparison and they evaluate the tools’ effectiveness. Family Math ideas can be found here. 

**Library is every Wednesday. Please return your child's library book by Tuesday each week.

**School spirit days are every Wednesday. Wear your Alta Vista t-shirts or your Grasshopper t-shirts to show your school pride.

This Week's Helpers & Activities

Monday: Centers (Mary & Brian)

Tuesday: Centers (Anda & Kaela)

Wednesday: Library @ 9:10 (Brian: Reader, Mary: Check-out), Dismissal @ 1:15

Thursday: Music w/ Mr. Jason

Friday:  Field Trip: Depart school at 9:00

Upcoming Events

Friday, 12/12: Field trip to Center for Performing Arts

Thursday, 12/18 @ 9:15 am: Nutcracker Performance 

Friday, 12/19: Classroom Holiday Party

12/22-1/4: Winter Break

Monday, 1/5: School resumes

Monday, 1/19: No School: MLK Holiday

Week of 11/17

In the upcoming week, we will continue parent-teacher conferences. I have enjoyed meeting with many of you so far, and have gained some great insights about your children from you. Thank you for meeting with me and being such active participants in your child's education. I look forward to meeting with the rest of you this week. Remember that for afternoon conferences, you will need to enter campus through Gate E (Gate F, where we enter in the morning, is usually locked after school). Gate E is on the other side of the school garden, near the redwood trees. You will enter K2 through the opposite door from where students enter in the morning. For this week, early dismissal at 1:15 continues through Friday.

There will be no classroom centers again this week, due to the early dismissal. Centers will resume on Monday the 1st. 

Field Trip
I have nearly all the permission slips for our trip on December 12th-- thank you! If you have not returned your child's permission slip, please do so by Thursday the 20th at the latest.

Language Arts
This week, we will introduce two "plane line slide" letters: Vv and Ww. Handwriting tips for these letters can be found in the Fundations newsletter. By the end of 2025, we will wrap up the introduction of all letters and will move onto blending sounds to read words in 2026. Our sight words this week are my and was.

Math
We have completed Module 2, and the workbook will come home in this week's Wednesday envelopes. We will begin Module 3 after Thanksgiving.

Nutcracker
Looking ahead on your calendars at this busy time of year, I wanted to make sure that you have all marked your calendars for Thursday, December 18th at 9:15 a.m.-- our performance of The Nutcracker. This is an annual kindergarten favorite. If you are heading out of town that week and your child won't be at school on the 18th, please let me know so that I can plan parts accordingly. I only know of one student at this time who will be missing the Nutcracker performance. Just so you know, all costume pieces (except leotards and pants/shirts) will be provided, and you will hear about your child's part following Thanksgiving.

Also, a reminder as the holidays are approaching, if you are taking a trip that will result in your child missing at least 3 days of school, please see the office ASAP to get an Independent Study Packet. You must notify the office at least 2 weeks in advance of your trip to be eligible. When you take out an Independent Study, your child will get some school work and the school will get credit for your child's attendance, securing ADA money, so it's a win-win. 

**Library is every Wednesday. Please return your child's library book by Tuesday each week.
**School spirit days are every Wednesday. Wear your Alta Vista t-shirts or your Grasshopper t-shirts to show your school pride.

This Week's Helpers & Activities
Monday: Dismissal @ 1:15
Tuesday: Dismissal @ 1:15
Wednesday: Library @ 9:10 (Reader: John, Checkout: Mary), Dismissal @ 1:15
Thursday: Field Trip permission slips due, Dismissal @ 1:15
Friday: Last Day before Thanksgiving Break, Dismissal @ 1:15

Upcoming Events
11/17-11/21: Parent-Teacher Conferences continue
11/24-11/28: Thanksgiving Break
Friday, 12/12: Field Trip to Center for the Performing Arts
Thursday, 12/18: Kindergarten Nutcracker Performance @ 9:15 am
12/22-1/4: Winter Break

Week of 11/10

It was great to see so many families at the Multicultural Fair! That is always one of my favorite Alta Vista events.

I am looking forward to meeting with everyone in the upcoming two weeks. Remember that for the next two weeks (except Monday, 11/10), dismissal will be at 1:15 daily. Please note that the sign-up can no longer be edited. If you need to reschedule your conference, please email me.  

Upcoming Field Trip

We have our first field trip coming up on Friday, December 12th! The kindergarten classes will be going to Center for Performing Arts to watch a live performance of The Nutcracker. Due to the Thanksgiving break, we need to return the permission slips within a week so that school lunches can be ordered in time for our trip (the vendor needs several weeks' notice). We will send the permission slips home with the kids in this week's Wednesday envelope, and we need them back no later than Thursday the 20th, especially if you are ordering a school lunch. If you do not return the permission slip by the 20th, a school lunch will not be ordered, and you will need to pack your child's lunch that day. **We will need three chaperones per class for this trip. Priority will be given to parents who have already helped in the classroom since they are familiar with the students. Please email me if you're interested.

Special Turkey Project                             

I am excited to see all the decorated turkeys this week! You can start sending those in on Monday, but no later than Thursday, when you return your child's Wednesday envelope. Please allow your child to lead this project. We are not looking for Pinterest-perfect turkeys and would much prefer to see child-created projects.

Language Arts

Four days a week, we have literacy centers in the morning. After our Fundations lesson, we switch to small group instruction. Each of the five reading groups in our class meet with me 2-3 times a week for instruction geared to their reading level. While one group is meeting with me, the rest of the class is engaged in literacy centers, which include: an iPad app called Lexia (an adaptive reading app), a writing center, an independent work center (reading worksheets, looking at books, etc), and literacy games. 

In Fundations this week, we will introduce the letters Hh, Kk, and Ll. The sight word this week is see. Did you know that there is a strong link between handwriting and literacy? Studies show that kids who practice handwriting do better at reading and spelling. Forming letters by hand while learning sounds activates brain circuits that promote literacy. If you notice that your child has not yet mastered the 20 letters & sounds we've introduced so far, please print out the letter pages in Fundations that are linked in the weekly update and have your child trace over them with their finger, while repeating their sounds, watching that they are forming them correctly. The pace of kindergarten is very fast, and by the end of 2025, children should know all letters & sounds. When we return from Winter Break, our focus will be sounding out words to read decodable texts.

Math

We will continue with Topic C, which covers constructing both 2D and 3D shapes. By the end of this week, we will have completed Module 2 on shapes. The next module is Comparison, where students will describe and compare measurable attributes.

Kimochis

This week, the Kimochis® Character named Cat will join our classroom to teach children about the feelings curious, cranky, and sorry. Cat is the Kimochis® Character who knows what she wants, when she wants it, and why she wants it! When Cat makes up her mind, there is no stopping her. When the group needs a leader, Cat is always ready to help. She loves to be in charge, but she can be a little bit bossy. Cat may seem mean on the outside, but on the inside, she is very sweet.

Nutcracker Performance

A reminder again to mark your calendars for our performance of The Nutcracker! This is a very improvisational version of the classic ballet. All children have parts in the performance, and it is a must-see event. Please mark your calendars for Thursday, 12/18 at 9:15 am. 

**Library is every Wednesday. Please return your child's library book by Tuesday each week.

**School spirit days are every Wednesday. Wear your Alta Vista t-shirts or your Grasshopper t-shirts to show your school pride.

This Week's Helpers & Activities:

Monday: No centers, dismissal at 1:40

Tuesday: NO SCHOOL

Wednesday: Library (Reader: Mary, Checkout: Eva), dismissal @ 1:15

Thursday: Return Weds. Envelopes, Dismissal @ 1:15

Friday: Dismissal @ 1:15

Upcoming Events
Tuesday, 11/11: No School: Veteran's Day
11/13-11/21: Parent-Teacher Conferences
11/24-11/28: Thanksgiving Break
Friday, 12/12: Field Trip to Center for the Performing Arts
Thursday, 12/18: Kindergarten Nutcracker Performance @ 9:15 am
12/22-1/4: Winter Break

Week of 11/3

I hope you all enjoyed a wonderful Halloween! We had a fun & enjoyable party-- special thanks to Maria, Mary, Laura, John, Meenakshi, and Louise for helping with the party centers. 

Special Family Project

In this week's Wednesday envelope, we will be sending home a turkey for your child to "disguise." This project goes along with a book called Turkey Trouble by Wendi Silvano. In this book, the turkey does not want to become Thanksgiving dinner, so he disguises himself in many different costumes to avoid getting caught. Your children will receive their own turkey to disguise, along with directions for this project, in their envelope. Examples of this project can be found here, here and here, but please let your child lead this project with their ideas on how to disguise the turkey. All writing on the project should be done by your child, and we welcome children attempting to spell on their own as well, as you can see in the second & third examples. We love seeing these projects year after year and look forward to this year's editions!

Please note: the projects are due back in the following week's envelope, which will be 11/12. We will be making this project into a class book to share with all the families, so encourage your children to take their time on the project and have fun with it!

Mulitcultural Night

Mark your calendars for Multicultural Night this Friday, November 7th! This is another hallmark Alta Vista event! Students will be performing in the cultural presentations and dances, and families from our class will be helping sponsor booths. You won't want to miss it!

Language Arts

Our letters this week are Pp and Jj. These are both letters that drop down to the "worm line." To help your child with correct letter formation, please look at the Home Support letter. Our sight word this week is like.

Math

This week, we will wrap up Topic B in math, and then begin Topic C. In Topic C, prior experience with attributes paves the way for building, drawing, and composing shapes. To manipulate materials and successfully construct a shape, students draw from the mental images built in the first two topics. Experiences constructing and composing shapes provide students opportunities to observe how shapes look from multiple perspectives, how parts fit together to make a whole, and how shapes relate to one another. 

At this point in Module 2, students should now recognize the 2D shapes: square, rectangle, circle, triangle, and hexagon and be able to discuss attributes of those shapes. They should also be able to name the 3D shapes: cube, cylinder, cone, sphere, and pyramid and discuss those shapes' attributes. 

Art Vistas

We have our second Art Vista lesson coming up this Thursday at 12:30. Thank you to Anda, Mary, Kay, Fatemeh, and Nadia for presenting our art lessons this year.

Centers

This is our last week of centers until after Thanksgiving. Thank you SO much to our center helpers for making things run so smoothly and enabling me to provide small group instruction.

Nutcracker Performance

You may have noticed in last week's upcoming events that an annual kindergarten favorite is fast approaching-- our performance of The Nutcracker! This is a very improvisational version of the classic ballet. All children have parts in the performance, and it is a must-see event. Please mark your calendars for Thursday, 12/18 at 9:15 am. 

Picture Make-Ups

If you missed Picture Day back in September, or were unhappy with your child's pictures, you can participate in make-ups on Thursday the 6th.

**Library is every Wednesday. Please return your child's library book by Tuesday each week.

**School spirit days are every Wednesday. Wear your Alta Vista t-shirts or your Grasshopper t-shirts to show your school pride.

This Week's Helpers & Activities:

Monday: Centers (Mary & Eva)

Tuesday: Return library books, Centers (Nadia & Eva)

Wednesday: Library (Reader: Laura, Checkout: Mary), dismissal @ 1:15

Thursday: Return Weds. Envelopes, Music w/ Mr. Jason

Friday: Art Vistas @ 12:30 (Anda, Mary, Nadia, Kay, Fatemeh)

Upcoming Events

Thursday, 11/6: Picture Make-Up Day for those who missed it in Sept.

Friday, 11/7: Multicultural Fair

Tuesday, 11/11: No School: Veteran's Day

11/13-11/21: Parent-Teacher Conferences

11/24-11/28: Thanksgiving Break

Thursday, 12/18: Kindergarten Nutcracker Performance @ 9:15 am 

Week of 10/27

Halloween
If you plan on attending the parade on Friday at 9:00, I highly recommend that you go into the office on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday, either before school or after school (until 3:00) to get a visitor's badge ahead of time. If you do not get a visitor's pass prior to Friday morning, you will most likely miss the parade, as the line will be very long. Every adult who plans on attending the parade must have a visitor's badge. Please plan accordingly!

On Friday, children should come to school in their costumes, as we won't have time to get 24 children changed into their costumes for the parade at 9:00. Also, I plan on taking pictures of the children before the parade. After the parade, children will be going straight to recess. At this point, costumes should be removed to avoid spilling on or damaging costumes during recess & lunch, and I encourage you to take costumes home with you if you are on campus for the parade. If you are not coming for the parade, please send your child with a bag for their costume, especially if it won't fit inside their backpack. Please have your children wear a layer under their costume that they will be comfortable wearing for the remainder of the day. Thank you to Maria, Taryn, and Jen for planning a Halloween party for the kids to enjoy following recess on Friday.

Conferences

Conferences are coming right up-- thank you everyone for signing up for a time. During the eight days beginning 11/12 and ending on 11/21, dismissal will be at 1:15 daily.  Please note that the sign-up can no longer be edited. If you need to reschedule your conference, please email me directly.

What We're Learning this Week

Language Arts
We will introduce the letters e and r. Please see the Fundations Family Letter for tips on how to form these letters correctly. We have now introduced 16 letters & sounds: a, b, c, d, e, f, g, i, m, n, o, r, s, t, and u. Our sight words this week are I and go. Our seven sight words so far are: a, and, to, is, the, I, go. Check in with your children to make sure they are retaining all the letter sounds and sight words.

Math
We are moving onto Topic B in Module 2. Students continue to focus on defining attributes and extend the list to include features of three-dimensional, or solid, shapes: faces and edges. Through sorting, they discover that some attributes are common to both flat and solid shapes, such as corners. Their spatial thinking evolves as they consider how geometric attributes affect the way a solid shape can be moved or the type of imprint it leaves.

**Library books are due by Tuesday each week
**Grasshopper/AV T-shirt Days are Wednesday each week

This Week's Helpers & Activities
Monday: Centers (Mary & Laura)
Tuesday: Return library books, Centers (Mary & Eva)
Wednesday: Library (Reader: Kaela, Checkout: Laura), dismissal @ 1:15
Thursday: Return Weds. Envelopes
Friday: Halloween Parade & Party beginning at 9:00

Upcoming Events
Friday, 10/31: Halloween Parade @ 9:00
Friday, 11/7: Multicultural Fair
Tuesday, 11/11: No School: Veteran's Day

11/13-11/21: Parent-Teacher Conferences
11/24-11/28: Thanksgiving Break
Thursday, 12/18: Kindergarten Nutcracker Performance @ 9:15 am

Week of 10/20

There are several upcoming October/November events coming up that you should know about, especially if you are new to Alta Vista. Please read carefully for some important information.

Book Fair

The Book Fair begins on Monday! There are special kindergarten hours on Tuesday the 21st at 1:40-2:30. Only kindergartners and TK students will be in the book fair (with parents) at that time, since the rest of the school is still in session. If you can't make it on Tuesday, you'll have to brave the after school crowds on Wednesday, or return to school on Thursday or Friday at 2:40. The children do not go to the fair during class time, since they need to be with a parent to purchase books. 

Conferences

Thank you, everyone, for signing up for a Fall Conference! Just a reminder that conferences are for parent(s) only so that we can talk openly about your child’s progress, and there is one conference per child. My conference schedule has now been converted to "view only." If you need to change your time, please contact me.

Halloween

Alta Vista will be celebrating Halloween with a costume parade that includes ALL of our TK through fifth grade students. The Halloween Parade will be on Friday, October 31st at 9:00 AM. During the school day, all visitors (Grandma and Grandpa too) must check into our office through our Visitor Management System. Safety remains a top priority for our school and district and the check-in process takes a couple of minutes for each guest. The Halloween Parade has always been a popular event and we are expecting quite a crowd. To help expedite the check in process on Halloween, please help us by pre-registering into our Visitor Management System prior to the 31st. It's a simple process:

1. Stop by the office with your driver’s license anytime the week before Halloween, starting on Friday the 24th, between 8:00 and 3:00. Let Mrs. Keenan know that you would like a visitor’s sticker for the Halloween Parade.

2. Keep the sticker in a safe place until the day of the event. You will need to wear the sticker in a visible place on your shirt when you come for the parade on the 31st.

3. There will be two lines on the morning of the event. One will be for those who have pre-registered and have their sticker on. They will have their stickers checked and let in through the gate closest to the office. The other line will be for those that have not pre-registered for the event.

Please note, if you are unable to pre-register and pick up a sticker during the week prior to the parade, we anticipate a long line the morning of the event. It can take up to 2 minutes in some cases to check in each person. We highly suggest you come early so that you don’t miss the fun. No adult will be allowed on campus without a visitor’s sticker from the office. Thank you for your patience and understanding as we prioritize keeping students safe during school-wide events.

In Class this Week

Language Arts:

Our letters this week are Dd and Ss. These are more difficult letters to form in handwriting, and it's really important to form both letters correctly to prevent reversals. Please check the Fundations letter formation guide for these letters, and reinforce this as much as possible at home.

Our sight words this week are and and to. You can find the sight words we've introduced on the classroom website. Go to the tab called "High Frequency Word List."

Math:

You should have received your child's Module 1 workbook in last week's Wednesday envelope. Please look through the workbook and see if there are any areas your child may need additional support. This week, we begin Module 2, Two and Three Dimensional Shapes. In this module, students analyze and describe two and three-dimensional shapes by considering their attributes. This allows students to identify shapes in the world and create their own examples through building and drawing. By the end of this module, students should be able to identify and list attributes of the following shapes: square, triangle, circle, rectangle, hexagon, cube, cone, sphere, and cylinder. Family Math ideas for Topic A can be found here. You may have noticed that the Family Math letters are also in your child's workbook, so you will have hard copies of the letters when your children bring home the completed workbook.

Clay Glazing

We will be glazing our clay pots this Friday at 10:30. Please do not send your children in any favorite clothes, as the clay glaze does stain. Thank you to Fatemeh, Eva, Claudia, Natharin, Kay, Laura and Mary for helping with the Clay program this year.

**Library books are due on Tuesday each week

**School Spirit Days are every Wednesday-- wear your Alta Vista gear OR your class t-shirt (coming soon!) to show your school spirit.

This Week's Helpers & Activities:

Monday: Centers (Tiffany & Eva)

Tuesday: Return library books, Centers (Mary & Nadia)

Wednesday: Library (Reader: Mary, Checkout: Anda), dismissal @ 1:15

Thursday: Return Weds. Envelopes

Friday: Clay Glazing

Upcoming Events

10/20-10/24: Book Fair

Tuesday, 10/21: Special Kindergarten Hours @ Book Fair: 1:40-2:40

Friday, 10/31: Halloween Parade @ 9:00

Tuesday, 11/11: No School: Veteran's Day

11/13-11/21: Parent-Teacher Conferences

11/24-11/28: Thanksgiving Break 

Week of 10/13

 Walkathon

It's walkathon week! This is a great event, and I encourage you all to return with your students after school on the 17th, if you are able. After we walk as a class from 10:30 to 11:30, you can bring your student back anywhere from 3:00 to 6:00 to continue walking and raising funds for Alta Vista's enrichment programs. You won't want to miss it! Register today at this link.

Centers

Thank you so much for a great start to centers last week! It is so nice having extra adults in the room, which allows for small group instruction. There are a few things I forgot to mention last week.  If, for some reason, you are ever unable to join us on your scheduled day (illness in the family, etc.), please email me as soon as possible, or message the class yourself, so that we can get a substitute for you. Please come to campus at about 12:15 so that you can check in at the office. Remember to bring your driver's license so that you can be scanned through the Raptor system to get your visitor's badge. Then head down to K2, and just enter the classroom through the front door (redwood tree side) and wait at the back while I explain the centers to the students (and you). Discuss with your child ahead of time that when you are in the classroom, you are another teacher, and will need to be helping all the students-- in fact, sometimes parents may not even be at a center that their child goes to on that day. We look forward to seeing you on your center day!

A reminder, also, about library time: please try to choose a story that is about 10 minutes in length or less. I know it can be harder to find stories on the shorter side, but I want to allow about 10 minutes for the children to find and check out a book for the week. Thank you!

Conferences

If you haven't had an opportunity to do so yet, please sign up to meet with me for your child's conference. Just a reminder that conferences are for parent(s) only so that we can talk openly about your child’s progress, and there is one conference per child. 

Language Arts 
After this week, we will have introduced 11 letters and sounds. The letters your child should recognize & know the sounds of are: Aa, Bb, Cc, Ff, Gg, Ii, Mm, Nn, Oo, Tt, and Uu. This week, we are introducing another vowel, Aa, as well as another consonant, Gg. We will also learn two new sight words: is and a. If you notice that your child is having difficulty recognizing letters and knowing letter sounds, please provide additional reinforcement at home. Watching and singing The Better Alphabet Song is a great way to continually review letters and sounds. It is also important to keep checking your child's letter formation in handwriting. Reading the weekly Fundations Family Newsletter is a great way to support your child's learning.

Math

We have just two lessons left in Module 1. Children should now be very familiar with numbers to 10, their value, and how to count objects in different arrangements. This week, we will continue working on counting both backward and forward, as well as further practicing number formation.

**Remember to send in your child's library book by Tuesday each week so that s/he can check out a new book on Wednesday

This Week's Helpers & Activities:

Monday:No School: Federal Holiday

Tuesday: Return library books, Centers (Mary & Eva)

Wednesday: Library (Reader: Laura, Checkout: Mary), dismissal @ 1:15

Thursday:  Return white envelopes, Music with Mr. Jason

Friday: Walkathon (10:30-11:30 AND 3:00-6:00)

Upcoming Events

Friday, 10/17: Walkathon

10/20-10/24: Book Fair

Friday, 10/31: Halloween Parade @ 9:00

Tuesday, 11/11: No School: Veteran's Day

11/13-11/21: Parent-Teacher Conferences

11/24-11/28: Thanksgiving Break

Week of 10/6

The Alta Vista Walkathon is just two weeks away, and you won't want to miss it! This is our largest fundraiser, and it's a win-win. You get to come out and participate in a great community-building event, get some exercise, and raise money for all of Alta Vista's great enrichment programs! You will be amazed to see how many laps your children will walk. There are special charms for a necklace that they earn each lap, and they are very motivated by these! Every five laps earns a different type of charm, and the kids love wearing their necklaces the following week(s) to show off all their charms. Please come out and support our school's enrichment programs by signing up here.

**Remember that there is no school this Friday the 10th and Monday the 13th.

Centers Begin

I am excited to welcome parents into the room this week for classroom centers! Centers begin just after lunch at about 12:20 and go to the end of the kindergarten day. Students will work in small groups of six to do thematic projects and other activities that are better taught in a small group setting. No experience is necessary! I will give you all the directions to the project each week, and you just supervise the children and help them complete the project before they rotate to the next center. There are still several openings, including for next Tuesday the 14th. Check it out here.

Language Arts
This week, I will begin meeting with students in small, differentiated reading groups. I will be working on introducing the Red Word Book. By highlighting these "red words" (words that cannot yet be sounded out with the phonics skills they have) and orthographically mapping them, we are helping students build fluency in their reading. 

We will introduce our first sight word this week, the. Your children will be exposed to almost 50 sight words this year. You can find the sight words we will be introducing here.

In Fundations, we will introduce the letters Cc and Oo. The letter c is important in handwriting, because many letters start with the "magic c," as we call it. The letters a, d, g, o, q  and s are all "Magic C" letters. 
 

Math
We have now introduced all numbers 0-10 and practiced writing those numbers in many different ways. I have noticed that many children need additional reinforcement on correct number formation. All numbers should be written by starting at the top and moving downward. Please work with your children to ensure they are forming their numbers correctly. This week, we will begin Topic G: Analyze the Count Sequence. Students analyze the count sequence focusing on the ideas that each successive number is 1 more when counting forward and 1 less when counting backward. The number stairs model clearly illustrates these patterns. 

Conferences

I sent my parent-teacher conference schedule out yesterday morning. If you haven't signed up for a time yet, you can do so here.

**Remember to send in your child's library book by Tuesday each week so that s/he can check out a new book on Wednesday

This Week's Helpers & Activities:

Monday: Centers (Louise & Sally) 

Tuesday: Return library books, Centers (Fatemeh & Eva)

Wednesday: Library (Reader: Ruchi, Checkout: Eva), dismissal @ 1:15

Thursday:  Return white envelopes, Music with Mr. Jason

Friday: NO SCHOOL

Upcoming Events

Friday, 10/10: No School: Staff Development Day

Monday, 10/13: No School: Federal Holiday

Friday, 10/17: Walkathon

Tuesday, 11/11: No School: Veteran's Day

11/13-11/21: Parent-Teacher Conferences

11/24-11/28: Thanksgiving Break

-- 

Week of 9/29

Language Arts

For the past week-plus, we have been rolling out our literacy centers which enable me to provide small group instruction in reading. We started with an app called Lexia Core 5, which is an adaptive reading program that teaches children concepts until they've mastered them before moving onto the next concept. I have also introduced a center called "Word Work," which are different literacy games and hands-on activities. This week, we will begin going to the writing center, and another center called "independent work" where they will have reading passages or other differentiated seatwork. Once all centers are introduced, a small group of students will be meeting with me each day while the rest of the class is engaged in the other literacy centers. Your children will be receiving lessons targeted for their ability level in a small group instruction setting.

We are beginning the 3rd week of the Fundations program this week. So far, we've introduced the letters and sounds of: Tt, Ff, Bb, Mm, and Nn. This week we will introduce our first vowels: Ii and Uu. This means that we can start blending the sounds we've learned so far to read words like: fun, but, it and in. Please check in with your children and make sure they recognize all the letters we've introduced so far, as well as know their sounds. For helpful resources to reinforce learning at home, please check out the activities mentioned each week in the Fundations Family Letter. In this week's letter, there are some great ideas about how to build print awareness and rhyming skills, which we've also been working on in class.
 
Math
We will begin Topic F this week in math. Topic F provides space to practice counting while students learn to write 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10. Students count things that happen over time, like a person’s jumps or the runs in a baseball game, and see that writing numbers is a good way to record and remember that information. 

Music

Music class has begun! We had our first lesson with Mr. Jason (same music teacher students had in TK) on Thursday, and we will continue to have lessons every week now. Mr. Jason teaches the children songs and talks about basic music theory in a fun and engaging way. Thanks to the Alta Vista Home & School Club for supporting this wonderful enrichment program.

Centers

And...since we have our music schedule now, I can begin scheduling classroom centers! I highly encourage everyone to sign up, even if it is only once, for classroom centers. This is a great way to meet all the children in the class and see your child in the classroom setting. There is no special experience required except a willingness to help students with their center project (usually a craft, game, or activity). You will be working with groups of about 6 students for 15-30 minute rotations. Ideally, two parent helpers are in the room at a time. Kindergarten is definitely the year to help in the classroom-- as your students get older, less and less support is requested in the classroom, so I really encourage you to get involved! Grandparents, nannies, and other family members are also welcome. Just remember to fill out the Volunteer Code of Conduct first!

Centers begin on October 6th and will run on Mondays and Tuesdays from 12:20 to 1:40 (the end of the kindergarten day).

Art Vistas

We will have our first Art Vista lesson on Friday. Art Vista lessons start with looking at prints from classic artists, followed by a lesson on some aspect of those prints (foreground, line, color, etc.) Thank you to Anda for coordinating these lessons, and to Kay, Mary, Nadia, and Fatemeh for supporting the lessons.

*Remember to return your child's library book by Tuesday each week

This Week's Helpers & Activities

Wednesday: Library @ 9:10 (Brian--Reader & Natharin--Checkout)

Friday: Art Vistas @ 12:20 (Anda, Mary, Fatemeh, Kay, Nadia)

Upcoming Events

Friday, 10/10: No School: Staff Development Day

Monday, 10/13: No School: Federal Holiday

Friday, 10/17: Walkathon

Tuesday, 11/11: No School: Veteran's Day

11/13-11/21: Parent-Teacher Conferences

Week of 9/23

This week, we have Picture Day on Tuesday. If you wish to order pictures of your child, you will be able to see a proof first before deciding if you'd like to order. Our picture day time is 9:00, so children will take pictures before any recesses or snack, so hopefully they will stay tidy!

Walk & Roll

Next week is an event at Alta Vista that encourages families to find other ways of coming to school than just by car.  "Walk & Roll" week is an annual week where we encourage children to try and walk to school or ride a scooter/bike/something with wheels. Obviously, this encourages fitness in the children as well as reducing congestion around the school.  Even if you normally drive, if you just park a few blocks further away next week to encourage some walking, that would be great. There are prizes involved with this event, so make sure you find the parents out at the front of the school who will be distributing different prizes each day.

Language Arts

In language arts, we continue introducing letters and letter sounds, along with the handwriting of those letters, using the Fundations program. We have introduced Tt, Bb, and Ff, which are all "sky-line letters" and this week, we will introduce Mm and Nn, which are "plane-line letters." If you'd like more information about the formation of these letters to support your student at home, as well as posters that are similar to the ones we use in the classroom, please read this week's home support letter. 

We will wrap up our Drawing Unit this week as well. Children are ending the unit by drawing a character with a setting. We will share these picture stories at the end of the week. Our next step will be adding labels and eventually sentences to our drawings.   

Math
This week, we will begin Topic E: Counting Up to 10 Objects. Topic E builds on the work of topic B as students apply number core concepts to sets of 6 to 10 objects. As the size of the group gets larger, tracking the count becomes more challenging. Students consider how to choose an accurate counting strategy. Here is this week's Family Math ideas.

Kimochis                                     

This week, the Kimochis® Character named Huggtopus will join our classroom to teach your child about the feelings silly, frustrated, excited, and proud. Huggtopus (or Huggs) is our Kimochis® Character who is strong and affectionate, but she sometimes gets a little carried away with her big, friendly personality. She might hug too tightly or play too roughly, which upsets her friends. This can be confusing and frustrating to Huggs because she doesn’t know why her friends say, “Don’t bother me.” With Huggtopus, your child is learning to read social cues, such as facial expressions, body language, and sounds from peers. Huggtopus also teaches children how to celebrate our differences. Huggs is a six-legged octopus and is proud that she is so unique!

 

Clay

We have our first clay shaping lesson this Friday! Children will get to work with clay to mold a pinch pot. Thank you to Fatemeh, Eva, Natharin, Kay, Laura, and Mary for helping with this activity.

CAGE Drive Update

It's still not too late to donate to the CAGE drive! The CAGE drive helps fund things like the crossing guards, our art, music, and clay programs, field trips, and for 1st graders and beyond, p.e. and recess programs. We are still quite short of our goal to continue funding all these programs. Please help spread the word and encourage others to make their donations-- we truly couldn't have all the programs that make Alta Vista so great without the support of parents like you. Please login to MTK and go to the C.A.G.E Donation Link. Thank you!!

Classroom Center Update

I wanted to update you that we still don't have the primary music schedule from our music program, The Music Place. I am hoping to start classroom centers on the week of 10/6, and they will be two days per week. I like to have two parent helpers each day that I run centers. Unfortunately, I can't start the sign-ups yet until I know which day we have music (we likely wouldn't be able to have centers on the same day as music). I will push out the sign ups for centers as soon as the schedule is in place for music. Thank you for your patience!

This Week's Helpers

Wednesday: Library: Kay (Reader), Mary (Check-out)

Upcoming Events

Week of 9/22: Walk & Roll Week: Walk/bike/scooter to school for special prizes!

Tuesday, 9/23: Picture Day

Friday, 10/10: No School: Staff Development Day

Monday, 10/13: No School: Federal Holiday

Friday, 10/17: Walkathon 

Week of 9/15

 I hope many of you were able to get out and enjoy another great AVHSC community-building event on Friday, Movie Night. While we're on the subject of AVHSC, please, please consider contributing to the C.A.G.E. Drive! The drive has been extended through this Friday the 19th, and we really need your help. The CAGE drive helps fund things like the crossing guards, our art, music, and clay programs, field trips, and for 1st graders and beyond, p.e. and recess programs. Currently, we are $110,000 short of our goal to continue funding all these programs. Please help spread the word and encourage others to make their donations-- we truly couldn't have all the programs that make Alta Vista so great without the support of parents like you. Please login to MTK and go to the C.A.G.E Donation Link. Thank you!!

Language Arts

We launched the Fundations program last week, and the children are doing so well with learning the routines and language of Fundations. 

We used our Fundations whiteboards and notebooks last week to practice correct formation of the letter t. This week, we will be introducing b and f. Check that your children are holding their pencils correctly, as well as forming their letters correctly, by looking at the resources in this week's Fundations Home Support letter. 

We will also continue with our drawing unit. This week we will be making a bus, boat, and then putting it all together by drawing a picture with a character and a setting.

Math

This week we will begin Topic D: Decompose Numbers. Students explore number relationships. This begins with the familiar context of sorting and then moves to story problems. Students begin to use number sentences like 5 is 2 and 3. These early experiences with problem solving set the stage for work with addition and subtraction concepts in modules 4 and 5. 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                

Buddies

This week, we will have our first meeting with our 5th grade buddies on Thursday! Each kindergarten student will have one or two 5th grade buddies. A couple of times per month, we will get together with our buddies for an activity and a story. We are looking forward to meeting our buddies this week!

Kimochis

This week, the Kimochis® Character named Cloud will join our classroom to teach your child about the feelings happy, sad, and mad. Cloud is the Kimochis® Character who can be moody, so sometimes it is hard for him to get along with his friends. When Cloud is happy, he spreads sunshine everywhere, which makes everyone feel fantastic! But when Cloud feels mad or sad, he might snap or yell. Because he has a hard time controlling his anger, he might do things that hurt feelings, even though he doesn’t mean to. Cloud helps children develop patience, tolerance, and understanding for friends who are still learning how to express upset feelings in positive, healthy ways.

Library Books

Our first trip to the library was a success! Thank you to Mary for reading a story & Eva for helping with check-out. Remember to return your child's library book by Tuesday at the latest, so that they can check out a new book when we go to the library again on Wednesday. 

Class T-Shirts

Don't forget to submit your child's t-shirt size so that they can get our "Grist's Grasshoppers" t-shirt ordered! For those of you who have older siblings who were Grasshoppers, we try to keep the t-shirt design the same so that you can use your older child's shirt if you still have it. :) 

This Week's Helpers

Wednesday: Library: Brian (Reader), Mary (Check-out)

Upcoming Events

Week of 9/22: Walk & Roll Week: Walk/bike/scooter to school for special prizes!

Tuesday, 9/23: Picture Day

Friday, 10/10: No School: Staff Development Day

Monday, 10/13: No School: Federal Holiday

Friday, 10/17: Walkathon

Week of 9/8

T-shirt Sizes Needed

It is an Alta Vista tradition to have class shirts for each classroom with their class mascot on the shirt. These shirts are worn for spirit days (Wednesdays), field trips, and other special events. These shirts are paid for and provided by the Home & School Club. So that we order the correct size for your child, please go to this link to order your child's class t-shirt. **Class t-shirts are mandatory for field trips, so please fill out this form ASAP so that we can get the shirts ordered in time for our first field trip, and in a size that is comfortable for your child. Thank you! 

Language Arts 

We will launch the Fundations program this week! Fundations’ multimodal approach to reading, spelling, and handwriting makes learning to read fun for students. It lays the groundwork for lifelong literacy through a proven approach to Structured Literacy that is aligned with the science of reading. We will use our Fundations whiteboards and notebooks to practice correct formation of the letter t. You can learn a bit more about the Fundations program and what we are covering each week in the Fundations Home Support letter. We will share these home support letters weekly with you-- they are definitely worth checking out. 

We will also continue with our drawing unit. This week, we will be working on drawing a house, a car, and even a park. 

Math 

This week, we will wrap up Topic B and move onto Topic C.  In Topic C, students begin to write numerals and experience more complex counting situations, like counting sounds and words that can be heard but not seen. They count out objects to match a given number. They also count to find out whether they have enough of something. 

Kimochis 

This week, we will introduce our first Kimochi (Kimochi means "Feeling" in Japanese), Lovey Dove, who will teach your child about the feelings proud, kind, and friendly. Lovey is the Character who is sweet and nurturing. She is very wise and calm. She likes to cuddle and make everyone feel better when they are upset. But sometimes Lovey Dove worries. Children who have a temperament like Lovey’s can benefit from staying compassionate and learning to worry less. Lovey will teach your child how important it is to greet people using their name and a “Friendly Signal.” Friendly Signals are communication tools, such as a smile, wave, head nod, or saying hello. Being friendly is a rewarding habit that children can learn to develop and use throughout their lifetime. 

Classroom Help Update 

Last week, I sent out the sign-up for library readers & check-out desk helpers. There are still a few openings left for this trimester, if you'd like to join us in the library.  

Thank you so much to the many parents who have volunteered to help with schoolwide programs such as Art Vista, Garden Club, and Clay. The training schedule for these programs can be found here. These great school enrichment programs are funded by your generous donations to AVHSC through the CAGE drive. it's not too late to donate! Your donations help make these extra programs possible at Alta Vista, and any amount is greatly appreciated. Please consider donating here if you haven't already. 

Be Seen & Heard Assemblies 

As you have heard in communications from Union School District, the district will be hosting the "Be Seen & Heard" assembly virtually (we will view the livestream in the classroom) this Thursday, 9/11. Here is a brief summary about the K/1st grade content: This assembly will address the dangers of child sexual abuse, the differences between a safe and unsafe touch and a safe and unsafe secret, strategies to stay safe, and how to identify trusted adults. The phrase “sexual abuse” is not used. Please refer to the message sent through ParentSquare if you have any further questions about this assembly. 

Library 

This week your children will visit the school library for the first time! They will check out one book, which they will bring home on Wednesday. This book is due back by the following Wednesday. Children must bring back their book to check out a new book the following week, so please make sure you send back your child's book each week-- they get very disappointed when they can't check out a new book. 

This Week's Helpers 

Wednesday: Library: Mary (Reader), Eva (Check-Out) 

Upcoming Events

Thursday, 9/11: Be Seen & Heard Assembly

Friday, 9/12: Alta Vista Movie Night

Friday, 10/10: No School: Staff Development Day

Monday, 10/13: No School: Federal Holiday

Week of 9/3

 I hope you are enjoying a nice long weekend. We had a lot of fun this past week with a few STEAM activities around some fairy tales and nursery rhymes. 

Language Arts
We will begin launching the Fundations program in the upcoming weeks, which is a language arts program that we've been using for the past few years.  A big focus of this program is learning the correct formation of letters, hand-in-hand with learning their sounds. Handwriting serves to link visual processing with motor experience, facilitating subsequent letter recognition skills. The expectation is that by the end of the first trimester (early November) students know all their letters & sounds. Every week, I will link a parent support letter with ideas on how to reinforce what we're learning at school at home.

We will also continue with our drawing unit this week. The kindergarten team started using this program a few years ago, and we found that by teaching students how to draw, their written stories for the entire year were so much better. Often, we ask children to map out their stories first by drawing. If they get stuck in the drawing step, they can't fully express themselves in writing. Studies show that explicitly teaching drawing in conjunction with writing contributes to better literacy skills.

Math

Last week, we started Module 1: Counting and Cardinality. This module includes counting experiences that integrate the four parts of the number core: number sequence, cardinality, one-to-one correspondence, and written number symbols. Students connect sorting a group into parts and decomposing numbers. A "Family Math" letter accompanies each topic in the module, and these will be sent home each time we start a new topic. Here are links to both Topic A and Topic B Family Math letters.

Wednesday Envelopes

This Wednesday, you will receive your child's first "Wednesday Envelope." Since most communications from the school are now online, and most work in the classroom is hands-on, this will often only contain a few items of completed work from the classroom. Please look over the items and work in the envelope to see any areas where your child may need additional support. Every Thursday, please return the empty envelope to school so that we can send their work home each Wednesday in that envelope. There will be a basket on the picnic table on Thursday morning where your children can return their envelopes each week. 

Classroom Help Update 

The AVHSC has set the dates for the trainings for the wonderful enrichment programs we have at the school. If you'd like to help out with Art Vistas, Clay, Garden Club, or Dad's Club, the training dates can be found here. 

Soon, I will also send out a Sign Up Genius for library helpers. Library visits start on Wednesday the 10th. Our library time is every Wednesday, from 9:10 to 9:30.  We will have sign-ups for both a check-out person and a story reader. I hope to see many of you in the library! It's a fun way to help out with a very small time commitment. For library check-out: you will first scan in the books that children checked out the previous week. Then you will scan the new books the children select for the week. You will also assist children in finding books that they'd like. For library reader: please bring or select a book from the library ahead of time to read to the students. The book should take about 5 or so minutes to read, leaving the rest of the time for children to select a book to check out, which you will also assist with.

Remember that if you plan on helping at all this year, the Volunteer Code of Conduct must be filled out at least a week in advance of the first time you help. It is best to just fill it out right away so that you are all set for the year, since this only needs to be filled out once per school year. 

Thank you also for your continued donations to the C.A.G.E. drive to support our enrichment programs. If you haven't had a chance to donate yet, please consider donating by going to this link: https://altavistahsc.membershiptoolkit.com/home

Upcoming Events

Monday, 9/1: No School: Labor Day

Tuesday, 9/2: No School: Teacher Work Day

Thursday, 9/11: Be Seen & Heard Assembly

Friday, 9/12: Alta Vista Movie Night Under the Stars

Week of 8/25

We made it through our first 5-day week in kindergarten!  Everyone is adjusting to the new routines well and making new friends.

A reminder again that Back-to-School Night is this Wednesday the 27th. This is a night for parents only (too much talking for the little ones) and is important to attend so that you know what the expectations are this school year. The schedule is: 

• 6:30-7:00: Home & School Club Presentation in the cafeteria
• 7:00-7:30: My presentation in K2

We will be talking about all the classroom and schoolwide volunteering opportunities on Wednesday, but one position that's been filled for our class is the room parent position. Thanks to Maria (Lukas' mom) and Taryn (Frankie's mom), we already have the ball rolling on getting everyone connected. They have asked me to send out this form to give your permission to be added to their communications about class parties and other schoolwide social events and activities. Please make sure to fill this out if you'd like to stay in the loop!

Language Arts

We had several projects and games last week around learning each other's names. Continue to encourage your children to write their name using only one upper-case letter. We also did several projects and crafts around the book Chicka Chicka Boom Boom. We ended the week with a STEAM challenge, building a "coconut tree" that could hold their set of eraser letters. 

Next week, our focus will be on nursery rhymes and fairy tales. We will read many versions of popular favorites such as The Three Pigs, The Three Bears, Humpty Dumpty, and The Three Billy Goats Gruff. We will have more STEAM challenges next week as well around some fairy tales and nursery rhymes.

Drawing & Writing Unit

One of the steps in becoming an independent writer is expressing yourself through your illustrations. To that end, the kindergarten teachers will begin working on explicit instruction on how to draw some basic things such as people, buildings, vehicles and animals. This week, we will begin our drawing unit, which also goes hand in hand with our math topic on shapes. Much of our drawing unit uses shapes as a way to make basic illustrations. 

Math
Over the next couple of weeks, we will introduce 2D (flat) shapes. Our focus in kindergarten is on the circle, square, rectangle, triangle, and hexagon. Not only do we learn to identify them, but we also learn about their attributes (a triangle has three sides and three corners). Last year, the district updated our math program to one called Eureka 2. The kindergarten team found that this program really helped establish a great math foundation for all the students. 

Snacks and Lunch

I am noticing several students with too many snack items to manage during our 10 minute snack time. This week, we will start really tightening up our timeline, so please pack a snack that can be consumed in 10 minutes. Some children are staying at the snack table for our entire recess, missing out on play time because they want to finish their whole snack.

Our first week of lunches at school went quite well! Some children are still a bit confused about what is for lunch and what is for snack-- make sure you explain this to your children or pack these items in separate bags or boxes. Even using different pouches of their backpacks can be helpful to differentiate which is which. For those getting school lunch, please be sure to go over the menu with your children so that they know what they are getting, especially if your children have any allergies or special dietary considerations. Thank you for your support with making snack time and lunch time successful!

AVHSC CAGE Drive

You will hear more about this at Back-to-School Night, but the Alta Vista Home & School Club needs you! All the enrichment programs at our school need parent volunteers, as well as financial support. The kindergarten classes have a long-standing tradition of winning the CAGE Drive competition by getting the most families to join & support the AVHSC. Please support the wonderful enrichment programs at our school by going to this link.  

We will start having parents in the classroom for classroom centers beginning the week of September 29th, and we'll need readers and check-out assistants in the library beginning 9/10. Before you can do any volunteering at Alta Vista, you must fill out the Volunteer Code of Conduct at least a week before you first volunteer. I always suggest to parents that they do that right away so that they are set for the school year. 

I coordinate classroom and library helpers using Sign Up Genius-- these slots are not on the AVHSC website. Look out for a separate sign-up for classroom centers & library helpers when we get closer to that time. 

Class Book

We have started circulating our first class book, where each child contributed a page in a Chicka Boom Boom-themed book. When your child brings it home, it will be in a large white envelope. Please read the book with your child, write a short comment in the back of the book, and return it to school the next school day so that every child can have a turn with the book as soon as possible. 

Upcoming Events

Monday, 9/1: No School: Labor Day

Tuesday, 9/2: No School: Staff Development Day

Thursday, 9/11: Be Seen & Heard Assembly

Friday, 9/12: Alta Vista Movie Night Under the Stars

Week of 8/18

We had a great first week reading books and getting to know one another and our classroom. This group is off to a wonderful start!

Handwriting/Name Writing
This week, we will begin focusing on names and letters. One of our kindergarten standards is writing a name with one capital letter and the rest lower-case. I encourage you to reinforce this at home-- we try to drop the all-capital letter name writing as quickly as possible. The faster children can write their names correctly, the easier it is for them to get going on assignments, as we encourage them to write their names first. I appreciate your help with this.

We will also be reading the books, No David! and Chika Chika Boom Boom and doing some crafts and a STEAM project following these stories.

Scissor Skills/Fine Motor Tubs
Next week, we will launch our "fine motor tubs," which we work on first thing in the morning. Your children will want to come right on time so that they can get started on these tubs, as these are always very popular! They are a great way for us to sneak in some fine motor strengthening activities while having fun. One skill we will be focusing on is scissor skills, which can be difficult for kindergartners. Continue practicing scissor skills at home by drawing lines on papers to have your children cut on different types of lines.

School Gates
All gates into the school will be open from 8:05 to 8:15, and then they will be closed until dismissal time. If you arrive after the gates are closed, you will need to go into the office (that is the only entry point to campus after the gates are closed) for a tardy slip before you can get onto campus. Even if children are able to get onto campus after 8:15 without going through the office, they will still be marked tardy if they are not in the classroom by 8:15. For security reasons, please do not prop the gate open and please ensure that it has fully latched if you leave campus after 8:15. Thank you for your help with this.

Back-to-School Night
Back-to-School Night will be Wednesday, August 27th in the evening. As soon as we have an exact time, I will let you know, but please start rounding up those babysitters & plan on being there to hear about our kindergarten program and I am looking forward to another fun week with your children!

Week of 8/12

Thank you for coming to the Kindergarten Orientation today.  We hope that this will help your child be ready for Wednesday morning.  We have an exciting school year ahead of us, and we look forward to working with your children!  

Arrival: (on the first day & going forward)

• If you arrive before 8:05, you should wait outside the school gates until they are opened. 

• Mrs. Barbara’s and Mrs. Grist’s classes should wait outside Gate F. 

• Mrs. Pugliese’s class should wait by Gate E. 

• When the gates are opened, please line up by your student’s classroom door. 

• We will all say goodbye to our parents at the door. We know this will be difficult for some of you, but if you say goodbye and leave quickly, any tears will disappear shortly.  

• The children should be in the room by 8:15

Dismissal:

• For the first three days of school dismissal is 11:35

• Beginning 8/18 dismissal is 1:40 with the exception of Wednesdays, when we are dismissed with the entire school at 1:15. 

• Mrs. Pugliese & Mrs. Barbara’s classes dismiss at Gate F

• Mrs. Grist’s class dismisses at the unlabeled school gate to the right of the mural (Grist). 

Parking: 

• Please be aware that the parking lot closest to kindergarten/extended care is for staff only any time before school, and only opens to the public at 3:00. 

• The exit gate to the parking lot is closed until 3:00, and you will be unable to leave the lot if you enter it. 

• Parking is extremely limited, especially in the mornings and Wednesday 1:15 dismissal . You should plan on walking at least a block to avoid traffic.

Back-to-School Night:

• Wednesday, August 27th (Time TBD)  This is a night only for parents and is very important. Please make every effort to attend.

Helpful Information:

• Please have your child eat a hearty breakfast before coming to school, as hungry children have a much harder time learning.  

• Snack recess is 10:00 Please try and send a small nutritious snack, such as fruits, vegetables, crackers, cheese, etc., which will tie them over until lunch (starting 8/18)

• A water bottle is also a necessity.

• Each child should have a standard-sized backpack to carry things to and from school for bringing future communication and classwork.

• Include a spare change of clothes for your child to keep in their backpack.

• Be sure to label backpacks, waterbottles, lunch boxes, sweatshirts, and sweaters so that I can get those back to your child when they are left behind. 

**Please note: all pencils, crayons, markers, etc. are provided for your children & there is no need to bring additional supplies. 

We are looking forward to working with you and your child this year!

Sincerely,

Nikki Grist, Christine Barbara, and Julia Pugliese