Summer 2026

Kindergarten Orientation is Tuesday, August 11th,  at 11:00

Back-to-School Night is Thursday, August 13th (evening)

Supplies that we usually ask for in kindergarten include glue sticks, white board markers* (*fine line, no chisel tip), liquid hand soap, hand sanitizer, and Clorox Wipes/alcohol wipes. These are not mandatory, but just appreciated donations. Check Back-to-School sales for these items-- we appreciate it!!

School begins on Wednesday, August 12, 2026-- KINDERGARTEN WILL RUN FROM 8:15 to 11:35 FOR THE FIRST THREE DAYS OF SCHOOL ONLY. Beginning Monday, August 17th, kindergarten is dismissed at 1:40, except Wednesdays, when it is dismissed at 1:15. Extended care is available at Union School District Extended Care

You will receive a letter, welcoming you to Alta Vista via email, that will give you more information about the school year.

For kindergarten readiness, the AV kindergarten team recommends that your child comes into kindergarten:

• recognizing most letters
• writing his/her name legibly, using one upper-case & the rest lower-case letters
• recognizing numbers to 10 
• knowing names of basic shapes
• having good cutting/scissor skills
• able to sit attentively for the duration of a picture book

Here is another great list of kindergarten readiness ideas. 

 We look forward to meeting you all in August!  

Final 9 Days

Thank you for coming to Open House last Wednesday. It was wonderful to see the children showing off their work to family members! 

With just nine school days left, we are into the final countdown with lots of fun review activities mixed in with several more events. Keep your calendars updated! 

Paper/Self-Standing Grocery Bags

Please send in a paper grocery bag to collect your child's final projects, papers, and workbooks. Please select a bag that stands on its own, and write your child's name prominently on the bag. Extra bags are always welcome! For the remainder of the year, I will not send home any more Wednesday envelopes. Instead, finished projects will go in these bags, and your child will bring the bag home on the last week of school. Report cards will also go home in this bag-- I will staple those inside.

Last "Buddies" Meet-Up Wednesday

We will meet with our Big Buddies in Ms. Piero's class one last time this Wednesday the 27th.

Family Day

This Thursday, May 28th from 8:15 a.m, to 9:30 a.m., we will have a celebration for moms & dads in our class! This is Mother's Day, Father's Day, and an end-of-year celebration, all rolled into one. We hope that every child will have at least one parent (or grandparent/aunt/uncle) join us on Thursday, with a maximum of two guests per child. Unfortunately, younger siblings cannot join in this event (except babies under 1 year old) due to liability reasons. I haven't heard from anyone that their child won't have a guest there, so I'm assuming all children will have at least one guest. All the kindergarten classes are celebrating Family Day together, using both the indoor and outdoor areas of the Makerspace, so this is a wonderful opportunity to enjoy time with your child, as well as connect with all the kindergarten parents. *All attendees will need to sign in at the office and get a visitor's badge. You can start getting badges on Tuesday to avoid any lines on Thursday. Remember to bring your driver's license!

Caine's Arcade

This Friday the 29th, we will get to be players in a special arcade made by our Alta Vista 5th graders called Caine's Arcade. You can learn more about this activity here. Some of the games the 5th graders create have prizes. If your child comes home with some small toys/prizes on Friday, you will know where those are from.

Olympic Day 6/2

On Tuesday, June 2nd, Alta Vista will have its schoolwide Olympic Day. This is an annual tradition at AV. Children will participate in fun games and activities during this all-outdoor event. We wear our class t-shirts for this event to help us stick together as a "team." Please plan on sending your child in their Grasshopper t-shirt on Tuesday the 2nd. Please also be sure to send your child with a water bottle to stay hydrated during this event. A hat & sunscreen would also be good. Yearbooks will be passed out afterward if you ordered one for your child prior to the cut-off for school delivery. Your child can continue bringing the yearbook back to school for the remainder of the week to get autographs from their friends-- please supply your child with a pen for signatures. 

Ice Cream Sundae Party 6/3

There is not really enough time to enjoy any food at our Foam Crew party on Thursday, so we will have an ice cream sundae bar on Wednesday afternoon, before dismissal.

Foam Crew 6/4

Please send your child in a swimsuit under their clothes on Thursday, or wear swim trunks/board shorts as their outfit on Thursday. Please also pack a beach towel-- they will get wet at this event! The Foam Crew also prefers water shoes/socks or non-slip-on shoes that you're okay with getting wet and soapy. *They DO NOT recommend flip-flops or Crocs for this event because they slip off in the foam and get lost. As with Olympic Day, sunscreen and hats are also recommended.

Last Day 6/5

There are no special events or activities on the last day. We like to keep things calm and quiet in kindergarten since this can be an emotional day for all. Please note that school is dismissed at 12:15 on the last day, and we do not go to lunch on this day. If your child needs a lunch, s/he can pick up a bag lunch at dismissal time from the cafeteria, otherwise, lunch is at home or extended care on this day-- please plan accordingly.

Looking forward to a fun final nine days!

Week of 5/11

I hope all the moms are enjoying a wonderful Mother's Day weekend. Hopefully, you all found your portrait with your child's biography about you in the last Wednesday envelope. They all did a fantastic job writing about one of their favorite subjects-- their moms. :) 

Last week was the last week of classroom centers! I'd like to thank everyone who has volunteered in centers. I could not have done all the projects and small-group instruction without your support. Thank you so much. This is also the last week to check out library books. We will go to the library on 5/20, but we will just listen to a story and return our books. Thank you also for the wonderful support in the library! 

Language Arts 

This week's sight words are want and any. We will continue with our final unit of Fundations, Unit 5. This unit will focus on merging all the skills we've learned so far: spelling, sentence writing, writing conventions, and reading with fluency. 

Our caterpillars grew a lot this week, and the children love checking in on them each day. We will continue integrating our butterfly theme in our classroom with our art, science, reading, and writing. 

Math 

This week, we begin Topic C. In this topic, students master the count to 100 by using pattern and structure. They discover that number words after 20 can be formed by pairing a decade word with a number word one through nine. Students consider efficiency as they organize materials into groups and as they decide when to count by tens or ones. 

Upcoming

 "Out of this World" Fantasy Faire & Art Vista Art Show: This Friday the 15th, from 5:00-8:00, come out for tons of fun at Alta Vista's annual carnival. This is such a great event for the kids. I highly encourage your children to submit a cake for the cake decorating contest as well! The contest is very kid-friendly, and your children just need to decorate the cake or cupcakes with a space theme and bring it to school on Friday morning. It's so fun to see the designs children come up with! The fair has bouncy houses, carnival games, and of course, a cakewalk! Don't miss out on the fun on Friday night. In addition, head over to the cafeteria during the event to see the Art Vista Art Show. Every child will have several pieces of art in the show. It is always a really impressive display. 

Open House: On Wednesday, May 20th at 6:00-7:00 the Alta Vista campus will be hosting Open House. This is a night where you can come check out many projects on display in our classroom. Children are working hard on art, writing, and math projects that will all be on display that night. I hope you will join me in K2 to come and see the amazing work your children have been doing! 

Family Day: On Thursday, May 28th from 8:15 a.m, to 9:30 a.m., we will have a celebration for moms & dads in our class! This is Mother's Day, Father's Day, and an end-of-year celebration, all rolled into one. We hope that every child will have at least one parent (or grandparent/aunt/uncle) join us on the 28th, with a maximum of two guests per child. Unfortunately, younger siblings cannot join in this event (except babies under 1 year old) due to liability reasons. If your child will not have a family member joining for this event, please let me know so that I can make arrangements for your child to have someone as a guest in lieu of a family member. All the kindergarten classes are celebrating Family Day together, using both the indoor and outdoor areas of the Makerspace, so this is a wonderful opportunity to enjoy time with your child, as well as connect with all the kindergarten parents. Please mark your calendars! 

 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

Wednesday: Library @ 9:10 (Reader: Mary Check-out: Laura), Dismissal @ 1:15 

Thursday: Music with Mr. Jason 

Friday: Drop off cakes for the Fantasy Faire at 8:00, Fantasy Faire & Art Show @ 5:00 

Upcoming Events 

Friday, 5/15: Alta Vista's Fantasy Fair & Art Show 

Wednesday, 5/20: Open House 

Thursday, 5/28: Kindergarten Family Day @ 8:15

Week of 5/4

Language Arts

Our sight words this week are come and your. We will continue focusing on digraphs in our final unit of Fundations, Unit 5. This unit will focus on merging all the skills we've learned so far: spelling, sentence writing, writing conventions, and reading with fluency. 

We continue to study butterflies, reading both fiction and non-fiction books about them. Live caterpillars arrived in our classroom last week that we will watch as they transform into butterflies. 

Math

This week, we begin Topic B of our module on place value. Students expand their experience with place value and part–total relationships by representing teen numbers with number bonds and number sentences. Story contexts offer an entry point for students to connect real-life situations to abstract mathematical representations. Each story uses 10 as a part to reinforce the understanding that teen numbers are composed of 10 ones and some more ones. 

Ice Cream Sales

There will be ice cream sales this Wednesday the 6th, after school. Sales are held on the blacktop in front of Rm. 8. Bring your $2 and your patience, as lines can be long!

UPCOMING/REMINDERS

Yearbook Orders

It's time to order your Alta Vista yearbook! Yes, even kindergarteners have yearbooks. Since many of you are new to Alta Vista, I want to make sure you know that there is time in the last week of school for kids to sign each others' yearbooks, and they really enjoy doing this. Year after year, there are some students who are very disappointed when the yearbooks arrive and their parents didn't order one. If you prefer not to order a yearbook, your child can bring in a notebook, etc., for class signatures, but the yearbook does make a nice keepsake. Whatever you decide to do, please keep your child in the loop so that there are no disappointments on the day the yearbooks arrive.

Please order by May 4th so it will arrive in time for the last week of school. If you haven't ordered yet, go to https://store.shopyearbook.com/altavista. 

• Hardcover: $32.00
• Softcover: $23.00

Don't forget that you can customize pages for your student as well for an additional fee. This is where you can add photos of your child in sports, vacations, family events, etc. This is also a great option if you missed the deadline to submit candid photos of your child for the yearbook!

Fantasy Fair & Art Show: Alta Vista's annual school carnival, the Fantasy Fair, will be held on the evening of Friday, May 15th. Come back to school with your child(ren) for an evening of games, prizes, and fun! There is also a cake decorating contest that is part of the Fair-- I encourage you to participate in this event. It is fun & very kid-friendly and it is wonderful to see the cakes on the day of the fair. In addition to all the Fantasy Fair fun, your children will all have art on display at the Art Vistas Art Show! This art show is always a wonder to see-- artwork from all the grade levels will be on display in and around the cafeteria.

Open House: On Wednesday, May 20th, we will have our schoolwide Open House. This is a night to come check out all the learning we've been doing in class. Please mark your calendars and bring the whole family to celebrate all the progress your child has made this year!

Family Day: On Thursday, May 28th from 8:15 a.m, to 9:30 a.m., we will have a celebration for moms & dads in our class! This is Mother's Day, Father's Day, and an end-of-year celebration, all rolled into one. We hope that every child will have at least one parent (or grandparent/aunt/uncle) join us on the 28th, with a maximum of two guests per child. Unfortunately, younger siblings cannot join in this event (except babies under 1 year old) due to liability reasons. If your child will not have a family member joining for this event, please let me know so that I can make arrangements for your child to have someone as a guest in lieu of a family member. All the kindergarten classes are celebrating Family Day together, using both the indoor and outdoor areas of the Makerspace, so this is a wonderful opportunity to enjoy time with your child, as well as connect with all the kindergarten parents. Please mark your calendars!

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 (Ruchi & Yonit)
Tuesday: Centers @ 12:20  (Eva & Laura)
Wednesday: Library @ 9:10 (Reader: Laura, Check-out: Mary), Dismissal @ 1:15, Ice Cream Sales after School

Thursday: Music with Mr. Jason

Upcoming Events

Friday, 5/15: Alta Vista's Fantasy Fair & Art Show

Wednesday, 5/20: Open House

Thursday, 5/28: Kindergarten Family Day @ 8:15

Week of 4/20

I hope you all have been enjoying a nice week off with your children.  As I mentioned before break, we are now into the "final stretch" of kindergarten, and the time will fly by very quickly! I am looking forward to some great fun and learning in the weeks ahead. 

Language Arts

We will continue reading books about farms and farm animals this week in preparation for our trip to Prusch Farm on May 1st. We have many great fiction and non-fiction books that are still on the list! We will also be talking about oviparous and viviparous animals after reading the book, Chickens Aren't the Only Ones. Our sight words this week are who and here.

We will continue to focus on digraphs in Fundations. Ask your children to point out digraphs in the stories you read together. In Fundations, we focus on the digraphs sh, th, ch, wh, and ck. 

Math

This week, we will begin our final math module, Module 6: Place Value Foundations.

In Topic A, students dive into place value concepts as they count and write numbers 11 to 20. They learn that each teen number, 11 to 19, is composed of 10 ones and some more ones and that the digit 1 in a teen number represents 10 ones. Throughout the topic, students use and discuss tools that highlight the structure of ten in our number system such as Hide Zero® cards, fingers, 10-frames, and rekenreks. They use the tens and ones structure to organize objects. This helps them count a group of 11 to 20 objects efficiently and accurately. 

This Thursday the 23rd, students from UMS will again be coming over to run math centers with the kindergartners. This was a fun collaboration in the winter, and we are looking forward to their centers again this week. 

STEAM

We have been adding some of the STEAM materials that are over in the Makerspace to our center time. This week, we will again use a building tool called the Rigamajig. A big part of STEAM activities is collaboration. This is often hard for kindergartners, as they want the project to be exactly what they want, instead of compromising with group members. We will continue to encourage cooperation & collaboration with various STEAM activities. 

Clay Glazing

This Friday the 24th, the students will be glazing their final clay project of this year. Thank you to Mary, Fatemeh, Claudia, Laura, Natharin and Eva for your help with Clay this year.

Movie Night

Our auction event, the kindergarten movie night, is happening this Friday the 24th from 5:00 to 7:30. More details will be sent out to those who purchased tickets later this week.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

Fantasy Fair & Art Show: Alta Vista's annual school carnival, the Fantasy Fair, will be held on the evening of Friday, May 15th. Come back to school with your child(ren) for an evening of games, prizes, and fun! There is also a cake decorating contest that is part of the Fair-- I encourage you to participate in this event. It is fun & very kid-friendly and it is wonderful to see the cakes on the day of the fair. In addition to all the Fantasy Fair fun, your children will all have art on display at the Art Vistas Art Show! This art show is always a wonder to see-- artwork from all the grade levels will be on display in and around the cafeteria.

Open House: On Wednesday, May 20th, we will have our schoolwide Open House. This is a night to come check out all the learning we've been doing in class. Please mark your calendars and bring the whole family to celebrate all the progress your child has made this year!

Family Day: On Thursday, May 28th from 8:15 a.m, to 9:30 a.m., we will have a celebration for moms & dads in our class! This is Mother's Day, Father's Day, and an end-of-year celebration, all rolled into one. We hope that every child will have at least one parent (or grandparent/aunt/uncle) join us on the 28th, with a maximum of two guests per child. Unfortunately, younger siblings cannot join in this event (except babies under 1 year old) due to liability reasons. If your child will not have a family member joining for this event, please let me know so that I can make arrangements for your child to have someone as a guest in lieu of a family member. All the kindergarten classes are celebrating Family Day together, using both the indoor and outdoor areas of the Makerspace, so this is a wonderful opportunity to enjoy time with your child, as well as connect with all the kindergarten parents. Please mark your calendars!

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 (Eva & Anda)
Tuesday: Centers @ 12:20  (Eva & Anda)
Wednesday: Library @ 9:10 (Reader: Anda, Check-out: Nadia, Music @ 12:15) Dismissal @ 1:15

Thursday: UMS Math Centers
Friday:  Music w/ Mr. Jason @ 11:00, Clay Glazing @ 12:30 (Natharin, Claudia, Mary, Fatemeh, Laura & Eva)

Upcoming Events

Thursday, 4/23: UMS Student-Run Math Centers

Friday, 4/24: Clay Glazing

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

Friday, 5/1: Field Trip to Prusch Farm

Friday, 5/15: Alta Vista's Fantasy Fair & Art Show

Wednesday, 5/20: Open House

Thursday, 5/28: Kindergarten Family Day @ 8:15

Week of 4/6

We are heading into our last week before Spring Break. I always feel like after we return from Spring Break, the weeks just fly by. We have a lot to pack in during our remaining 39 school days, so keep supporting your children at home by reinforcing concepts and doing lots of reading & writing. 

Keep sending in those permission slips for our field trip on May 1st, especially if you plan on ordering a school lunch. Lunch orders must be placed by Friday. 

Spirit Week

We have another Spirit Week coming up this week! Participation in these daily themes is totally optional, but it is always fun for the kids to see everyone dressing up to the theme. Here are the daily themes:

Monday: Mismatched Color Day: mix up your outfit to make it totally mismatched!

Tuesday: Twin Day: find a friend or two to match with at school. Break out those Alta Vista t-shirts or walkathon shirts and match with a bunch of friends!

Wednesday: Class T-Shirt Day: that's easy-- we always wear class t-shirts on Weds.

Thursday: Sports Day: wear your favorite sports attire!

Friday: Crazy Hair Day: wacky braids, color, etc.

Spring Fling

This Friday the 10th we have a special event called Spring Fling. We will use both the indoors and outdoors for the activities. Children will do STEAM projects, planting, and

various crafts and activities. Parent helpers for this event are Kaela, Eva, Mary, and Laura. Please arrive at 12:20, just like at center time. Thank you!

Language Arts

Our sight words this week are what and where. We will begin reading books with a farm theme this week to prepare us for our field trip to Prusch Farm on the May 1st.

We will also continue to focus on digraphs in Fundations, particularly sh, ch, wh, th, and ck. Parent tips for this unit can be found here. 

Math

This week, we will wrap up Module 5. This module has covered addition, subtraction, and fact families to 10. After Spring Break, we will begin our final math module for the year, which covers place value.

Upcoming

Open House: On Wednesday, May 20th, we will have our schoolwide Open House. This is a night to come check out all the learning we've been doing in class. Please mark your calendars and bring the whole family to celebrate all the progress your child has made this year!

Family Day: On Thursday, May 28th from 8:15 a.m, to 9:30 a.m., we will have a celebration for moms & dads in our class! This is Mother's Day, Father's Day, and an end-of-year celebration, all rolled into one. We hope that every child will have at least one parent (or grandparent/aunt/uncle) join us on the 28th, with a maximum of two guests per child. Unfortunately, younger siblings cannot join in this event (except babies under 1 year old) due to liability reasons. If your child will not have a family member joining for this event, please let me know so that I can make arrangements for your child to have someone as a guest in lieu of a family member. All the kindergarten classes are celebrating Family Day together, using both the indoor and outdoor areas of the Makerspace, so this is a wonderful opportunity to enjoy time with your child, as well as connect with all the kindergarten parents. Please mark your calendars!

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: Mismatch Day, Centers @ 12:20 (Mary & Tomas)
Tuesday: Twin Day, Centers @ 12:20  (Eva & Mary)
Wednesday: Class T-shirt Day, Library @ 9:10 (Reader: Mary, Checkout: Laura), Dismissal @ 1:15
Thursday: Sports Day, Music @ 12:50
Friday: Crazy Hair Day, Spring Fling @ 12:20 (Eva, Laura, Mary, Kaela)

Upcoming Events

Friday, 4/10: Spring Fling

4/13-4/17: Spring Break

Thursday, 4/23: UMS Student-Run Math Centers

Friday, 4/24: Clay Glazing

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

Friday, 5/1: Field Trip to Prusch Farm

Friday, 5/15: Alta Vista's Fantasy Fair

Wednesday, 5/20: Open House

Thursday, 5/28: Kindergarten Family Day @ 8:15 

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

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 

Week of 2/2

It was great hearing about all the kind acts of our Grasshoppers during Kindness Week last week. I was so impressed with the things students were doing to be kind! It was wonderful emphasizing kind acts in the classroom, as well as at home. I hope you benefitted from plenty of kind acts in your home last week! I told the kids that I'm going to keep the kindness chain going this upcoming week as well. Keep encouraging your children to tell me about their kind acts at home.

Language Arts

Last week, we finished our "Cat Book" in Fundations, and I sent it home with your children. We have now instructed the formation of all lower & upper case letters! We will begin 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. Our sight words this week are you and or.

This week, we will return to the snow theme with our literature, reading a few snowy classics, Sneezy the Snowman and Snowmen at Night. We will do some writing activities with crafts to go with each of these stories. 

Math

We will wrap up Topic B of Module 4 this week. There will be some new vocabulary for those of you who do not have older students who have done the Eureka math program. Of particular importance are the words "compose" (finding numbers that add up to a given number-- like 3 & 2 compose 5) "decompose" (take apart a number-- like 5 can be 4 & 1 OR 3  & 2) and number bonds (a model to show mathematical thinking). Family Math ideas can be found here. (Please note that this is the same as last week, since this was a longer topic).

Art Vistas

We have an Art Vista lesson on Friday at 12:30. This time, we will be looking at houses and designing our own "dream house." Thank you to Eva, Kay, Nadia, Anda, and Fatemeh for your help with Art Vistas.

Upcoming Events

Valentines Day: We will exchange cards in class on February 14th, but this is not a "party." We have a fun celebration of friendship, exchange valentines, and take them home to show our families. So that you can prepare for this event, I wanted to share some information:

1. Please send in a card for each child. There are 24 total students in our class.
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.

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 (Karen & Anda)
Tuesday: Centers @ 12:20  (Eva & Mary)
Wednesday: Library @ 9:10 (Reader: Kay, Checkout: Mary), Dismissal @ 1:15

Thursday: Music with Mr. Jason

Friday: Art Vistas @ 12:30 (Eva, Anda, Kay, Nadia, Fatemeh)

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 

Week of 1/26

We have a couple of events going on at school this week: The Great Kindness Challenge, and 100 Day. We are looking forward to celebrating the number 100 all week with our center activities and favorite stories around the number 100.

Great Kindness Challenge

Union School District participates annually in a weeklong event called "The Great Kindness Challenge." This is an opportunity to really focus as a family on how our kind acts can help make everyone's day a little better. In kindergarten, we will be keeping track of kind acts with a "kindness chain." Children can come in each morning and tell me about a kind act they did at home, and we will also celebrate kind acts done at school. When children tell me about a kind act, they will receive a loop for our kindness chain. They write their name on the loop, and we will add it to our classroom chain. We are hoping that by the end of the week, our chain gets all the way across the classroom! You can support children at home by reminding them to tell me about a kind act you saw them do and brainstorming ways that they can be kind & helpful, both at home and at school. You can find a list of some simple ideas here. 

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. 

100 Day

This Wednesday is 100 Day! This is a fun celebration of the number 100 and being at school together for 100 days. 

Language Arts

We have many fun stories to read and center activities to do in honor of 100 Day- it will be an all week celebration. Our sight words this week are with and said. This is the last week of Unit 2 in Fundations. We will finish upper case letter instruction, covering letters Qq through Zz this week.

A big emphasis right now is using our knowledge of letter sounds, word families, and sight words to write simple sentences. Children need to be able to put together a readable sentence on their own by the end of kindergarten. Encourage your children to write and spell phonetically as often as possible to build their abilities as independent writers. Try to resist the temptation to spell words for them if they ask, rather, encourage them to "stretch the word out" and put down all the sounds they hear themselves. They can write notes to you, grocery lists, cards for family members, etc. 

Math

We will continue with Topic B in Module 4 this week. Topic B provides space for students to decompose shapes and numbers in more than one way. Students record their decompositions and analyze them to answer questions such as, How can the same total be made of different parts? Which numbers can be part of 5? Which numbers cannot be part of 5? There will be some new vocabulary for those of you who do not have older students who have done the Eureka math program. Of particular importance are the words "compose" (finding numbers that add up to a given number-- like 3 & 2 compose 5) "decompose" (take apart a number-- like 5 can be 4 & 1 OR 3  & 2) and number bonds (a model to show mathematical thinking). 

We will also have lots of number & counting fun this week in celebration of 100 Day.

Upcoming Events

Valentines Day: I know that valentines are now available in most stores, and children will be asking about our celebration. We will exchange cards in class on February 14th, but this is not a "party." We have a fun celebration of friendship, exchange valentines, and take them home to show our families. So that you can prepare for this event, I wanted to share some information:

1. Please send in a card for each child. There are 24 total students in our class: 15 boys and 9 girls.
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.

**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 (Brian & Mary)
Tuesday: Centers @ 12:20  (Anda & Eva)
Wednesday: 100 Day! Library @ 9:10 (Reader: Mary, Checkout: Louise), Dismissal @ 1:15

Thursday: Music with Mr. Jason

Upcoming Events

Wednesday, 1/28: 100 Day

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 

Week of 1/20

I hope you are all enjoying the long weekend. Remember that on Tuesday the 20th, we will have Snow Day. Children should wear any snow gear they have (hats, scarves, jackets, gloves/mittens, etc.) and we will do our best to pretend it is a snowy day in Los Gatos! Please bring an extra bag for all the gear as kids take it off, as it is supposed to be quite warm on Tuesday. If their items fit in their backpack, that's fine too. We will enjoy snow-themed centers on that day and have a pretend snowball fight with the other kindergarten classes.

Language Arts

Going along with our snow day, we will read snow-themed stories this week. Our sight words this week are me and we. 

Our emphasis in Fundations will continue to be blending sounds to read and write words with fluency. We also continue to work on the formation of upper case letters, covering two letters per day. This week, we will cover letters Kk through Pp. As I said last week, the Fundations Parent Letter has a lot of great tips on ways to encourage blending, as well as guides to correct formation of the upper case letters.

Math

We will begin Module 4 this week: Composition and Decomposition. In this module, students explore part-total relationships as they compose and decompose shapes and numbers in more than one way. They represent the quantities and relationships in story problems with objects, fingers, drawings, and number bonds. This week, we will begin Topic A, where we will be decomposing shapes. For example, we will see that a hexagon can be made of 6 triangles or two rhombuses. This one is worth taking a look at for those of you who are new to Common Core math, as it defines a few of the terms you'll be seeing throughout your child's years in elementary school and beyond. 

Vision Screening

The district's vision screening has been moved from Thursday to Tuesday the 20th. If your child wears glasses, please ensure they are wearing them on Tuesday for the screening. In addition to vision screening, boys will also be tested for color blindness (much more common in boys than girls).

Multitudes

Multitudes Reading Difficulty Screener will be administered this Wednesday the 21st. More information about it can be found by watching this video. 

Upcoming Events

100 Day: We will be celebrating our 100th day of school on January 28th. Next week, our center activities will be around the number 100. The 100th day celebration is just a fun way to celebrate 100 days of school after we've been counting up to this day during calendar time. 

Valentines Day: I know that valentines are now available in most stores, and children will be asking about our celebration. We will exchange cards in class on February 13th, but this is not a "party." We have a fun celebration of friendship, exchange valentines, and take them home to show our families. So that you can prepare for this event, I wanted to share some information:

1. Please send in a card for each child. There are 24 total students in our class: 15 boys and 9 girls.
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.

**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.