Week of 3/30

We still have one spot left for next Friday's (4/10) Spring Fling. If you are able to join us for some fun Spring-themed indoor/outdoor centers, we'd love to have you! These are all-kindergarten centers that we will be rotating through. If you'd like to join us, please see the Sign-Up Genius. I've also added all remaining Library & Center dates for this school year. Please check it out! 

Language Arts

We will continue to focus on digraphs in Fundations, particularly sh, ch, wh, th, and ck. Our sight words this week are by and why. These sight words both have what Secret Stories calls "sneaky y." The y at the end of the word has the long /i/ sound.

Math

In math this week, we will begin the final topic of this module. In this topic, we will look for and make use of patterns, both geometric patterns and patterns in numbers. 

STEAM

This week in centers, we will have all-STEAM centers and use some of the great materials from our Alta Vista Makerspace. Children will build with Strawbees, create large structures and inventions with the Rigamajig, and do some circuit-making using Snap Circuits. We are looking forward to seeing some great problem solving and creativity!

Field Trip

We have a field trip coming up on Friday, May 1st, to Emma Prusch Farm in San Jose. This is always a fun trip! After we check out the various animals on the farm and go on a hay ride, we then stay for a picnic lunch and play on their wonderful playground. Parent chaperones for this trip are Maria, Taryn, and Eva. Please look out for a permission slip for this trip coming home this week in your child's Wednesday envelope.

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 (Mary & Laura)
Tuesday: Centers @ 12:20  (Eva & Mary)
Wednesday: Library @ 9:10 (Reader: Kay, Checkout: Mary), Dismissal @ 1:15
Thursday:  Music with Mr. Jason

Upcoming Events

Friday, 4/10: Spring Fling

4/13-4/17: Spring Break

Thursday, 4/23: UMS 8th graders come for math centers

Friday, 4/24: Kindergarten Movie Night (Auction Ticket Required)

Friday, 5/1: Field trip to Prusch Farm

Wednesday, 5/20: Alta Vista Open House

Week of 3/23

We return to our regular schedule this week, with dismissal at 1:40 daily except Wednesdays (1:15). This week we also have several school-wide events: the AVHSC auction, the Literati Book Fair, and ice cream sales. 

Book Fair

The Spring book fair is this week, and the special TK/K shopping hour is after school on Tuesday the 24th, from 1:40 to 2:40. This is your chance to take your child to the book fair directly after school (rather than waiting around until the rest of the school gets out at 2:40). This is a Literati Book Fair so the offerings will be a little different than the Scholastic Book Fair we had in the Fall. If you are interested in supporting our classroom library, I have created a wishlist which can be viewed here: literati.com/a/wishlists/nikki-grists-wishlist-x5973 Thank you in advance!

AVHSC Auction

One of the Home & School Club's biggest fundraisers is coming up-- the online auction! The auction will run from 3/23 through 3/27. A wide variety of items are available for you to bid on, but most importantly, we have a kindergarten "teacher adventure." This is an annual favorite, and you will want to be sure to bid on this item. We are auctioning off 12 tickets per kindergarten class for an all-kindergarten movie night. Students will come to school on the evening of April 24th for pizza and a movie with their friends, hosted by the kindergarten teachers. I hope you will check out this item, and many others, when the auction goes live on the 23rd! All proceeds from the auction go to support the wonderful enrichment activities at Alta Vista. 

Ice Cream Sales

The Student Council will again be holding ice cream sales this Wednesday the 25th after school on the primary blacktop. Popsicles are $2 and the line can get very long, so please bring your patience!

Language Arts

We are beginning Unit 4 in Fundations this week. In this unit, we will continue blending sounds to read & spell words. We will also introduce the digraphs sh, th, wh, ch, and ck. We've been talking about these digraphs when they are in sight words that we've introduced, but now, we will have drills & activities in Fundations that will also highlight these digraphs. Our sight words this week are have and give. These words are both short-vowel words that end in -ve, so this is the part that is irregular and should be highlighted with your children when learning these words. 

This week, we will begin studying rainbows. We will read some informational texts about rainbows, and will also enjoy a fiction book called A Rainbow of My Own by Don Freeman. 

Math

We are now on Topic C of our Addition & Subtraction Module. Up to this point, students have worked with either addition or subtraction in isolation. In this topic, they will work with problems that can be solved with either addition OR subtraction or both operations.  

Upcoming Event

Spring Fling: This is a fun event with outdoor activities and STEAM projects. It will be on Friday, April 10th, from 12:20 until 1:40. It is a fun send-off to Spring Break. You can sign up for this event here.

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 (Fatemeh & Laura)
Tuesday: Centers @ 12:20  (Eva & Anda)
Wednesday: Library @ 9:10 (Reader: Kay, Checkout: Ruchi), Dismissal @ 1:15
Thursday:  Music with Mr. Jason

Upcoming Events

Monday, 3/23: Online auction & book fair both begin

Wednesday, 3/25: Ice Cream Sales after school

Friday, 4/10: Spring Fling

4/13-4/17: Spring Break

Friday, 4/24: Kindergarten Movie Night (Auction Ticket Required)

Week of 3/16

I have enjoyed meeting with many of you already for parent-teacher conferences, and I am looking forward to meeting with more of you this week-- it's great to share your child's successes with you. It's hard to believe that we are already in our last trimester of kindergarten. The time will pass quickly in these last 3 months, and before you know it, we will be moving on to first grade! After we meet, please be sure to praise your children for the progress they've made, and also continue to support them in areas where they still need reinforcement to meet end-of-year standards. Remember that the 1:15 dismissal time will continue through Friday the 20th.

There will continue to be no centers this week due to parent-teacher conferences. We do have library (as usual) on Wednesday, and our special leprechaun trap making activity on Monday at 8:30. Thank you to Mary, Maria, Eva, Laura, Fatemeh, and Natharin for helping with the leprechaun traps. 

Language Arts
Our sight words this week are into and do. Both these words have a single "o" that makes an /oo/ sound, so that is good to highlight when learning these two words. This is  our last week of Unit 3 of Fundations. Next week, we will begin introducing the digraphs wh, th, sh, ch, and the ending digraph ck. 

Math

We will continue with Topic B, which introduces subtraction, this week. Subtraction tends to be a more difficult concept for kindergartners to grasp, so any further support you can provide at home would be helpful. 

Buddies

We have another fun project planned this Thursday with our 5th grade buddies. We will be working on a collaborative art project together. 

 

Upcoming Events & Activities
Leprechaun Traps: On Monday, 3/16, children will be designing and creating their own leprechaun traps! Thank you to Eva, Laura, Fatemeh, Mary, Maria, and Natharin for helping with this project. I look forward to seeing the results of their traps on Tuesday morning!

AVHSC Auction: One of the Home & School Club's biggest fundraisers is coming up-- the online auction! The auction will run from 3/23 through 3/27. A wide variety of items are available for you to bid on, but most importantly, we have a kindergarten "teacher adventure." This is an annual favorite, and you will want to be sure to bid on this item. We are auctioning off 12 tickets per kindergarten class for an all-kindergarten movie night. Students will come to school on the evening of April 24th for pizza and a movie with their friends, hosted by the kindergarten teachers. I hope you will check out this item, and many others, when the auction goes live on the 23rd! All proceeds from the auction go to support the wonderful enrichment activities at Alta Vista. 

Book Fair: Also during the week of 3/23 is the second Book Fair of the year. This one is a Literati Book Fair (not Scholastic). There will again be special kindergarten hours, like in the Fall, that will be held on Tuesday 3/24. Come shop at the book fair with your student & help support the AVHSC. If you are interested in supporting our classroom library, I have created a wishlist which can be viewed here: literati.com/a/wishlists/nikki-grists-wishlist-x5973 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: Leprechaun trap building @ 8:30 (Mary, Maria, Eva, Laura, Fatemeh, Natharin), Dismissal @ 1:15, Conferences

Tuesday: Dismissal @ 1:15, Conferences

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

Thursday: Buddies, Music with Mr. Jason, Dismissal @ 1:15, Conferences

Friday: Dismissal @ 1:15, Conferences

Upcoming Events

3/16-3/20: Parent-Teacher Conferences continue, 1:15 dismissal daily

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

Friday, 3/20: Clay project @ 12:15

Monday, 3/23: Online auction & book fair both begin

4/13-4/17: Spring Break

Friday, 4/24: Kindergarten Movie Night (Auction Ticket Required) 

Week of 3/9

 **There is no school on Monday, 3/9, due to a Staff Development Day.

We start conferences on Thursday. I'm looking forward to meeting with you & updating you on your child's progress. If you need to check the schedule, it can be found here. Please note that this is now a "view only" document. If you need to reschedule, please email me. Remember that dismissal will be at 1:15 from Thursday, March 12th through Friday, March 20th.

Language Arts
Our sight word this week is they. We are now in our 5th 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 will begin Topic B of Module 5 this week. In Topic B, we begin subtraction.  Students solve subtraction problems and represent their thinking by using number sentences with mathematical symbols. For example, 5 − 3 = 2. They work with a single problem type, take from with result unknown, to understand subtraction as taking away. Students use familiar story structure (beginning, middle, and end) to write and understand subtraction sentences: “I had 5 watermelon slices. I ate 3 of them. Now there are 2 watermelon slices. 5 minus 3 equals 2.”

Upcoming Events & Activities
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 all students to enjoy it), we will gladly take your donations for our supply of trap "accessories!" Thank you in advance!

AVHSC Auction: One of the Home & School Club's biggest fundraisers is coming up-- the online auction! The auction will run from 3/23 through 3/27. A wide variety of items are available for you to bid on, but most importantly, we have a kindergarten "teacher adventure." This is an annual favorite, and you will want to be sure to bid on this item. We are auctioning off 12 tickets per kindergarten class for an all-kindergarten movie night. Students will come to school on the evening of April 24th for pizza and a movie with their friends, hosted by the kindergarten teachers. I hope you will check out this item, and many others, when the auction goes live on the 23rd! All proceeds from the auction go to support the wonderful enrichment activities at Alta Vista. 

Book Fair: Also during the week of 3/23 is the second Book Fair of the year. This one is a Literati Book Fair (not Scholastic). There will again be special kindergarten hours, like in the Fall, that will be held on Tuesday 3/24. Come shop at the book fair with your student & help support the AVHSC. 

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: No School

Tuesday: Last regular day until 3/23, no centers

Wednesday: Library @ 9:10 (Reader: Mary, Checkout: Laura), Dismissal @ 1:15

Thursday: Music with Mr. Jason, Dismissal @ 1:15, Conferences begin

Friday: Dismissal @ 1:15, Conferences

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 @ 12:15

Monday, 3/23: Online auction & book fair both begin