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