Week of 11/13

 I hope you all enjoyed the long weekend with your family. In the upcoming week, we will continue parent-teacher conferences. I have enjoyed meeting with many of you so far, and have gained some great insights about your children from you. Thank you for meeting with me and being such active participants in your child's education. I look forward to meeting with the rest of you this week. For this week, early dismissal at 1:15 continues through Friday.

There will be no classroom centers again this week, due to the early dismissal. Centers will resume on Monday the 27th.

Ruby Bridges Walk to School Day
Tuesday, 11/14 is Ruby Bridges Walk to School Day. This is a schoolwide event. Please join Alta Vista in recognizing this historic event by wearing purple and walking to school on Tuesday. I don't own a lot of purple so I'm going to wear out class shirt on Tuesday this week!

Language Arts

This week's letters are Ll, Hh, and Kk. Parent tips for helping with the formation of these letters can be found here. Did you know that there is a strong link between handwriting and literacy? Studies show that kids who practice handwriting do better at reading and spelling. Forming letters by hand while learning sounds activates brain circuits that promote literacy. If you notice that your child has not yet mastered the 20 letters & sounds we've introduced so far, please print out the letter pages in Fundations that are linked in the weekly update and have your child trace over them with their finger, while repeating their sounds, watching that they are forming them correctly. The pace of kindergarten is very fast, and by the end of 2023, children should know all letters & sounds. When we return from Winter Break, we will be moving onto sounding out words to read decodable texts.

Our sight words this week are he and no.. For a list of the 15 sight words (also called high frequency words) we've introduced so far, as well as all words we'll be studying this year, please see the class website, under the tab "High Frequency Word List." Again, if you notice that your child is not able to read these sight words, please continue working on them at home.

We will continue our labeling unit in writing this week. Children will work on stretching out sounds in words to label a person, and things in a setting. 

This week, children will be sharing the turkeys that they disguised. They will each get to present their turkeys in front of the class. After Thanksgiving, we will begin circulating a book of all the turkey projects so that you can enjoy them at home with your child.

Math
In math this week, we will continue reviewing all concepts we've covered so far. We will begin a new unit on measurement after Thanksgiving.

Kimochis

This week, your child will learn 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 learned 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.

Nutcracker
Looking ahead on your calendars at this busy time of year, I wanted to make sure that you all mark your calendars for Tuesday, December 19th at 9:15 a.m.-- our performance of The Nutcracker. This is an annual kindergarten favorite. If you are heading out of town that week and your child won't be at school on the 19th, please let me know so that I can plan parts accordingly. 

Also, a reminder as the holidays are approaching, if you are taking a trip that will result in your child missing at least 3 days of school, please see the office ASAP to get an Independent Study Packet. You must notify the office at least 2 weeks in advance of your trip to be eligible. When you take out an Independent Study, your child will get some school work and the school will get credit for your child's attendance, securing ADA money, so it's a win-win. It's also helpful and courteous to let your child's teacher know if your child is going to miss school, even if it's just a day or 2, especially with all of the events before a holiday break. It really helps with planning!

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

 

This Week's Helpers & Activities
Monday: Dismissal at 1:15
Tuesday: Ruby Bridges Walk to School Day, Dismissal at 1:15
Wednesday: Library @ 9:30 (Nima & Lydia), Dismissal @ 1:15
Thursday:  Art Vista at 10:30-11:30, Dismissal at 1:15
Friday: Dismissal at 1:15.

Upcoming Events

11/7-11/17: Parent-Teacher Conferences-- dismissal @ 1:15 daily

Tuesday, 11/14: Ruby Bridges Walk to School Day-- wear purple

11/20-11/24: Thanksgiving Break

Tuesday, 12/19 @ 9:15 am: Nutcracker Performance

12/21-1/3: Winter Break