I hope you all had a wonderful Halloween! We had a fun & enjoyable party-- special thanks to Kimia, Michelle, Sara, Katelin, and Jidnyasa for helping with the party centers.
Author Visit
On Tuesday, author Maggie Tokuda-Hall will be on campus for a special presentation of her new book, Bathtime for Snow Monkeys. It has been a while since we've had a children's author come to Alta Vista, so we are very excited for this assembly. There was a quick turnaround on ordering a signed copy of her book (the cutoff was yesterday), but if you are still interested, check out this link and perhaps there is a way to order a book that you can pick up directly at Hicklebees (not sure about this at all, so you'd have to check the website to see if there is any information there about late orders).
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 6th from 5:00-7:00pm! 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 can travel all around the world without leaving the Alta Vista campus! 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 words this week are a and is.
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.
Nutcracker Performance
You will notice in this 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, 12/17 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 5th. Just let me know that you'd like your child to take a make-up picture.
**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 (Aditi & Yishan)
Tuesday: Return library books, Author Visit, Centers (Shereen & Michelle)
Wednesday: Library (Reader: OPEN, Checkout: Sara), dismissal @ 1:15
Thursday: Return Weds. Envelopes, picture day make-ups, Music with Mr. Patrick, Special Turkey Project goes home
Friday: Multicultural Night @ 5:00-7:00pm
Upcoming Events
Wednesday, 11/11: No School: Veteran's Day
11/12-11/20: Parent-Teacher Conferences, dismissal at 1:15 daily
11/23-11/27: Thanksgiving Break
Thursday, 12/17: Kindergarten Nutcracker Performance @ 9:15am
