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.
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.
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 Conferences11/24-11/28: Thanksgiving Break
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