Week of 3/2

With conferences coming up, I wanted to give some information about "sight words" or "high frequency words" (these terms are used somewhat interchangeably). With this week's words, we have now introduced 29 words. For a full list of these words, please see the website. Helping your children see the spelling chunks/"secrets" in the words help them to read and spell words more successfully. Here is a great article to read so that you can better understand how words become instantly recognizable and the importance of mapping words so that they can become "sight words." We have about 20 words left to learn in kindergarten-- please check in with your student to see how they are progressing on instantly recognizing these high frequency words.

Language Arts
Our sight words this week are as and has. We purposely chose these words together this week since they are rhyming words that both have the "s" making the /z/ sound. 
We are now in our 4th week of Unit 3 in Fundations. Blending sounds to read and spell words is now the main focus in our reading curriculum. There are some great resources in the Unit 3 Fundations Home Support letter.

Math
We are continuing with Module 5: Addition and Subtraction. In Topic A, students make an important transition in how they say number sentences. In previous modules, they used familiar language to describe part-total relationships, such as, “7 and 2 make 9” or “9 is 7 and 2.” In topic A, they begin to read number sentences using mathematical language, “7 plus 2 equals 9” and “9 equals 7 plus 2.” They also write number sentences using math symbols. Students compare the structure of number bonds and number sentences to better understand how to find the parts and total in an addition sentence.

Art Vistas

We will have our next Art Vista lesson this Friday the 6th. This lesson will be on portraits. Thank you to Eva, Kay, Fatemeh, Anda, and Nadia for supporting our Art Vista lessons this year. 

Upcoming Events & Activities

Parent-Teacher Conferences: These optional conferences begin on 3/12. They are available to anyone who would like an update on their child's progress. If you cannot meet at this time, report cards will be sent home on 3/18 in the Wednesday envelope. 
Leprechaun Traps: On Monday, 3/16, children will be designing and creating their own leprechaun traps! Most of the materials for this activity are provided by the AVHSC funds, but if you are out and about and see something that looks like a fun addition to our leprechaun traps, (enough for the whole class to enjoy) we will gladly take your donations for our supply of trap "accessories!" Thank you in advance!

Reminders
**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 @ 12:20 (Michelle M. & Karen H.)

Tuesday: Return library books, Centers @ 12:20 (Anda & Laura)

Wednesday: Library @ 9:10 (Reader: Brian, Checkout: Tomas), Dismissal @ 1:15

Thursday: Music with Mr. Jason @ 12:50

Friday: Art Vistas @ 12:20

Upcoming Events

Monday, 3/9: No School: Professional Development Day

3/12-3/20: Parent-Teacher Conferences

Monday 3/16: Leprechaun Trap making activity 8:30-10:00

Friday, 3/20: Clay project @ 12:20

Week of 2/23

I hope you are all enjoying some nice family time this week. 

I've added a few new dates on the Sign-Up Genius. One special event to note is that on Monday, March 16th, we will be doing a STEAM activity that is an annual favorite: designing and creating leprechaun traps. I hope some of you can join us that morning from 8:30 to 10:00!

I'm looking forward to meeting many of you at the optional conferences beginning Thursday, March 12th. For those who prefer to just receive a report card for this trimester, those will be sent home in the Wednesday envelope on March 18th.

Language Arts

Our sight words this week are are and his. We will continue with the 3rd week of Unit 3 of Fundations. Blending sounds to read and spell words is now the main focus in our reading curriculum. There are some great resources in the Unit 3 Fundations Home Support letter. 

Math

We will begin Module 5: Addition & Subtraction this week. In Topic A of this Module, Students make a major leap forward in their understanding of number sentences. They represent addition stories by using number sentences with mathematical symbols, such as 4 + 2 = 6, and read their work by using mathematical language, “4 plus 2 equals 6.” They also recontextualize the number sentence by using it to retell the story. Students work with three problem types in this topic: add to with result unknown, put together with total unknown, and take apart with both addends unknown. By the end of the topic, students can find the total of an addition sentence without a story context.

Upcoming Events & Activities

Leprechaun Traps: In class on Monday, 3/16, children will be designing and creating their own leprechaun traps! Most of the materials for this activity are provided by our grade level money from the Home & School Club, but if you are out and about and see something that looks like a fun addition to our leprechaun traps, we will gladly take your donations for our supply of trap "accessories!" Thank you in advance!

Reminders

**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 @ 12:20 (Karen & Tiffany)

Tuesday: Return Library Books, Centers @ 12:20  (Eva & Anda)
Wednesday: Library @ 9:10 (Laura: Reader & Mary: Check-Out) Dismissal @ 1:15

Thursday: Music w/ Mr. Jason @ 12:50
 

Upcoming Events

2/16-2/20: No School: President's Week

Wednesday, 2/25: Ice Cream Sales after school

Monday, 3/9: No School: Professional Development Day

3/12-3/20: Parent-Teacher Conferences

Monday 3/16: Leprechaun Trap making activity 8:30-10:00

Friday, 3/20: Clay project @ 12:15

Week of 2/9

We have another fun week ahead as we have projects around Valentine's Day and Lunar New Year. We're also looking forward to popsicle sales on Wednesday and a visit with our 5th grade buddies on Friday. It will be a great send-off week to our President's Week vacation the following week. 

Valentines Day

A final reminder about Valentines Day this Friday:

1. Please send in a card for each child. There are 24 total students in our class. It is fine for you to start sending your child's valentines in as soon as Monday, if you would like to. I will keep them safely in the classroom until we pass them out on Friday.
2. Please ONLY sign the card & put nothing in the TO box. It is challenging enough for kindergartners to pass out valentines to all their classmates. Having the "to" part filled out makes this extremely challenging and it takes far too long. Thank you for your help with this!
3. Please try to purchase valentines that do not have candy attached. I know those can sometimes be hard to find, but there are good choices with stickers, play tattoos, and other non-food goodies.

Language Arts

Our sight words this week are from and off. We will read books around the valentines theme and learn more about Lunar New Year.

We will continue with Unit 3 of Fundations this week. Blending sounds to read and spell words is now the main focus in our reading curriculum. There are some great resources in the Unit 3 Fundations Home Support letter. 

Math

We will begin the final topic of Module 4 this week, wrapping it up by Friday. Topic C represents a transition in part–total thinking. Students move from decomposition

based on sorting attributes and concrete game play to decomposition and composition
through story contexts. 

Ice Cream Sales

Student Council will be selling popsicles after school on Wednesday the 11th. Popsicles are $2, and the ice cream sales start right after the bell rings, in front of rooms 7, 8, and 9 (primary blacktop).

Spring Conferences: Spring parent-teacher conferences are coming up on March 12 through March 20. These are optional conferences, but are available to anyone who would like an update on their child's progress. However, if your child had several areas marked with a "B," I would like to meet with you to ensure that your child is making good progress toward year-end standards. 

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

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

This Week's Helpers & Activities
Monday: Centers @ 12:20 (Brian & Mary)
Tuesday: Centers @ 12:20  (Eva & Laura)
Wednesday: Library @ 9:10 (Reader: Mary, Checkout: Laura), Dismissal @ 1:15

Thursday: Music with Mr. Jason

Friday: Buddies, Valentines exchange @ 12:30

Upcoming Events

Wednesday, 2/11: Ice Cream Sales after school

Friday, 2/13: Valentines exchange in class

2/16-2/20: No School: President's Week

Monday, 3/9: No School: Professional Development Day

3/12-3/20: Parent-Teacher Conferences