Hello parents,
I hope those pandas got some good rest last night after the walk-a-thon. I know I did!
In case you would like to volunteer in the class, there are some openings for the end of November. I will add dates for 2023 in December before the winter break.
If you read this in time and need something to do later today, check out the Helping Harvest Community Event that Union School District is hosting at Dartmouth Middle School today from 3-6PM. Here is more information about it. My family and I will be there.
We had a great time at the walkathon on Friday and I was so impressed by the walking, running, skipping stamina of our Pandas! Thank you to our room parent Lia for putting together our walkathon banner. You can find photos of our walkers and the banner in the shared google album I emailed Friday after school.
We are looking forward to more fun on Monday at both the all school parade at 11:00 and our class Halloween party at 12:15. Big thank yous to Jennifer, Jedy, and Lia for planning a fun party. Jedy and Jennifer were in the classroom after school on Friday decorating! And thank you to those who have donated items/funds and their time to the party. The pandas will have so much fun! Hopefully, you were all able to register in advance for the parade, because the line may be quite long on Monday. Everyone at the parade must have a visitor's badge, and must come through the office to access campus. Thank you for keeping our campus safe.
More Halloween Info
Children should come to school in their costumes, as we won't have time to get 24 children changed into their costumes for the parade. After the parade, children will be going straight to lunch. At this point, costumes should be removed to avoid spilling on or damaging costumes during lunch, and I encourage you to take costumes home with you if you are on campus for the parade. Please have your children wear a layer under their costume that they will be comfortable wearing for the remainder of the day. I do understand that your child may want o wear their costume all day to be festive for the party. That is ultimately up to you/your child. I would consider wearing some Halloween festive clothing under their costume to wear to the party and maybe just a costume accessory for after the parade.
**Thanks to Olive's family in Mrs. Grist's class in K2, there will be a balloon arch in the kindergarten yard (by the gate where we exit) for Halloween photos. If you'd like to take a photo of your child under the balloon arch, you can do that in the morning before school (I'll extend morning tub time and be lenient with marking students tardy on this day) or you can take pictures right after the parade. I will also take pictures of the children during the party.
Conferences
This is the last week of our regular school schedule before conferences begin on November 7th. During the two weeks beginning 11/7 and ending on 11/18, dismissal will be at 1:15 daily. If you need to check your conference time, you can find it on this document. Please note that this sign-up can no longer be edited. If you need to reschedule your conference, please email me. 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 we will read in class called Turkey Trouble by Wendi Silvano. In this funny tale, 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 and here, but please let your child lead this project with their ideas on how to disguise the turkey. 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 go home on a Tuesday due to the staff development day and holiday on 11/10 & 11/11. Therefore, you will return the project in your child's envelope on WEDNESDAY 11/9.
In Class This Week:
Language Arts:
We will introduce the letters Vv and Ww. To help your child form these letters correctly, please see the Fundations Family Letter. Our sight words this week are be and we.
Math
We will wrap up our module on shapes this week, and we will continue to review all concepts introduced so far as we near the end of the trimester. Children should continue working on counting to 100 by 1s and 10s, writing numbers legibly and correctly to 20, and counting on from any given number (ask your child to sing the I Can Count song that we do in class).
Kimochis
We still need to finish up our introductions of Cat from last week. Then we will move on to learning the first Kimochis® Key to Communication: Get someone’s attention. Your child will learn that when we want to get someone’s attention, it is important to call that person’s name. This alerts the person to look. If your child waits for the person to look or make eye contact before speaking, it increases the odds that the people communicating will really listen to each other. Sometimes calling someone’s name is not enough. Your child will learn to use a gentle tap on the shoulder to get attention. When your child knows that the listener is ready to listen, the likelihood of having a positive connection is increased. These are the three communication habits your child will learn: 1. Call the person by name. 2. Wait for eye contact before speaking. 3. Use a Communication Tap (a gentle tap on the shoulder two or three times) to gain attention or eye contact. Now it’s time to speak because we are both focused on the communication interaction.
**Library is every Wednesday. Please return your child's library book by Tuesday each week.
**Remember to wear shoes and clothes appropriate for fitness on Fridays.
This Week's Helpers & Activities:
Monday: Halloween Parade at 11:00 and party at 12:15 (hosts: Jedy & Jennifer. Center leaders and crowd control specialists: Lia, Mariola, Amy, Chu, Jessica, Antonio)
Tuesday: Long Centers (Danielle & Andrea)
Wednesday: Library (Lia & Apsara), dismissal @ 1:15
Thursday: Return white envelopes, long centers (Jose & Vidya)
Friday: PE with Ms. Amy, wear comfy clothes and shoes!
Upcoming Events
Friday, 11/14: Art Vista Lesson 10:20-11:30 There is still an open slot to help on the sign up genius.
11/7-11/18: Parent-Teacher Conferences, dismissal at 1:15
Tuesday, 11/8: White envelopes sent home a day early
Wednesday, 11/9: Return completed turkey project to school inside white envelope
Thursday 11/10: NO SCHOOL: Staff Development Day
Friday, 11/11: NO SCHOOL: Veteran's Day
Friday, 11/18: Friendship Feast @ 10:30 Families welcome!
