Sunday, December 17, 2017

Week 19. December 17 - 21

Welcome to the school last week of 2017!


Please click here to read about our Winter Celebration, including the schedule for the day and the different activities kindergarteners will be participating in. All parents are welcome to come and celebrate with our students! Please send us an email if you would like to volunteer running an activity. Looking forward to celebrating the holidays with you all!

This Tuesday, December 19th we will follow a Thursday schedule. That means that we won’t have an assembly, KGB and KGC won’t have PE and all KG students will have Library class. This will be the last Library class until January, please make sure your children return all books and bring their Library bag for a winter check out!

This week, we will be returning the sets of extra clothes you sent at the beginning of the year. When we return to school in January, please send a new set of clothes to keep in the classrooms.

Learning This Week

Reading Workshop





After a thrilling week of launching out nonfiction unit - complete with book sorting, eye-popping videos, and discussion about our ‘wonders’ - it’s time to dive into some books! This week, students will notice different parts of a book, like the front and back covers, title, and pictures, to see what they can learn about what the nonfiction topic might be.

We will also discuss how reading a nonfiction book is like going on a trip to a new place, where you notice all the little details along the way. Nonfiction readers pay close attention to their books. Each student will read nonfiction texts that are leveled just for them. What an exciting new unit of study!

Writing Workshop





This week marks the end of our first nonfiction writing unit. Students will be revising and making their writing easy to read. We continue to use checklists and other tools to remember to write lowercase letters, add spaces between words and periods at the end of sentences. Kindergarteners will learn that besides being authors, they can also be editors checking their writing and making changes where needed!

The last Bend of this unit is called “How-To books make wonderful Gifts!”. We will have lessons on writing dedications and preparing for publishing. Writers will learn that they often write books for people they care about or for people they would like to teach. Writers write dedications for those people, to let everybody know who the book was written for.

Writers will publish their pieces before the winter break and we’ll celebrate the end of this unit on January 18th. Make sure you’ve added this important date to your calendars!

Math





This week we are ending module 3 “ Comparison of length, weight, capacity, and numbers to 10”. We will be giving end-of-module assessments with the students working at different math centers.

Social Studies





This is the final week of our “Little Me in a Big School” unit and students are finishing up their interviews with CAC workers, completing their Super 3 research packets, and sharing their reflections with their peers. We would like to thank all of the gracious interviewees for sharing their time (and patience!) with us as we completed this fun project.

One of the primary goals of this unit is to help the kindergarteners get to know the people in their school community. To see them greeting our former Mystery Guests by name when we happen to pass in the hallway is a wonderful reminder of how capable these students are. They are such strong learners!

Circles

This week kindergartners will start discussing the CAC core value of integrity. They will be exploring what it means to be honest and what constitutes having integrity. They will be discussing different scenarios in which honesty and integrity have major impacts on friendships.

Thank you for taking the time to read our weekly newsletters!

Ms. Ana, Mr. Balazs, & Ms Paola

Sunday, December 10, 2017

Week 18. December 10 - 14

Welcome to a new week of learning, exploring and having fun!
Thanks to all families for being responsible with our Core Value books and returning them the next day, we hope you’re enjoying having them at home for a night!


Last week Kindergarteners made their teachers proud by showing their reading skills as they read to PreK students. Ms. Trillian was delighted with how well all students are doing, and how much excited they are about being awesome readers! This was the way we celebrated the end of our second Reading Unit “Super Readers use SuperPowers!” Click here to see more photos.

Repeated and important announcements:

Winter Celebrations - December 21st

We are starting to plan for our KG Winter Parties and soon we will be meeting with room parents to get those plans ready for all of you! For the moment, we would like to extend an invitation to all parents that wish to participate and run an activity that day. All parents are welcome to join us, and when parents get involved in the activities we have a lot more fun!

Changes in dismissal plans

We kindly ask that you inform us ahead of time if your child is going home with another adult, as the policy indicates that we can only dismiss students with another adult if we have a written notification from their parents. We truly appreciate your support in keeping all students safe.

Water bottles!

Please make sure your child brings a water bottle to school every day. Having a water bottle in the classroom allows students to drink water as they need to without disrupting their learning and the learning of others. Thank you!

Writing Celebration - Save the date!

Kindergarteners will be celebrating the publication of their How-To books on Thursday, January 18th. We will be sharing more information after the break, but for now make sure you mark this day on your calendars! We can’t wait to have parents in our classrooms to see the growth of these amazing writers!

Learning This Week!

Reading Workshop

Now fully powered-up, our Super Readers are ready for something new: Reading for Information! Our nonfiction reading unit begins this week, and students are in for a real treat. To launch the unit, we will flood the classrooms with nonfiction of all kinds. We will examine and sort nonfiction books in our classroom libraries, watch nonfiction videos to pique our interest (travel! animals! how-to!), and much more! Taking the time to build student interest in this brand-new genre is going to be so much fun!


Writing Workshop

Writers continue to revise their “how-to” books making sure they are giving clear directions for readers to follow. One strategy they have been using is to imagine themselves following the steps they write, and ask “Am I using the exact words to follow this step?”. Partners are also providing help to each other, by acting out the steps in their books!


This week we start Bend III called “Keeping Readers in Mind” In this Bend, writers will learn how to:

  • Write books about the things they learn throughout the day and from books (continuing the work of learning from Mentor Texts)
  • Write a collection of series to teach readers even more about a topic.

“I love cooking! I want to write lots of ‘how to’ books about cooking different meals”
“I love soccer! I want to write a bunch of ‘how to’ books about playing soccer, forming teams, kicking a penalty, defending a goal!”

  • Write introductions and conclusions to help their readers.

These mini lessons are always an invitation for students to try something that fits in their writing. Writers are still encouraged to be independent and do what think they need to make their books the best they can be!


Math

This week marks the last topic of our third Math Module. Students will be working on comparing sets of objects in order to establish which has more and which has less objects than the other. They will be using strategies such as lining objects up in front of each other and using one to one correspondence. Besides comparing physical objects, mathematicians will be comparing sounds and actions, such as claps and stomps.  

Social Studies

This week students will visit CAC workers to conduct interviews. Having chosen and rehearsed their questions last week, the kindergarteners are well-prepared. Students will take turns asking questions of their chosen CAC worker, while another student records the interview with an iPad. We are learning more and more about our big, big school!



Circles

This week Kindergarten classes will still be exploring and discussing the core value of compassion. In circles they will be reflecting on the kind things they have said to others and that have been said to them, as well as which actions or words might spoil a friendship and which ones might mend one. They will be making judgments about what makes a class friendly.



Thanks for reading and have a wonderful week!

Ms. Ana, Ms. Paola, and Mr. Balazs

Tuesday, December 5, 2017

Christmas Book Fair

CHRISTMAS BOOK FAIR

This year's Christmas Book Fair begins on Sunday December 10th in the Middle School Back Courtyard! Your child will be visiting the book fair with his or her class between Sunday the 10th and Thursday the 14th - see the schedule below. If you would like your child to shop during this time, please send cash in an envelope with your child’s name (suggested: 300 LE). We are kindly asking for parent volunteers to help our students shop for books, we would need at least 2 parents per class. Please send us an email if you’re willing to help out!

All parents are welcome to come during our scheduled time, but we understand that some of you may not be able to join us. The fair will stay open Sunday-Thursday after school from 3:00-5:00 so you can accompany your child or purchase for yourself. The book fair will feature five local book vendors with English and Arabic books for all age groups. Keep an eye out for posters about our after-school book signing events ('Happy Belly' author Yasmine Nazmy on Wednesday!) On Thursday the 14th, a Mini Christmas Bazaar will open up alongside the book fair and the Booster Club will join us with hot chili from the snack restaurant and CAC gear on Sale!

Day and time for each class to visit the Book Fair:
PreK
KGB
KGC
KGS
Monday, December 11 8:30-9:00
Sunday, December 10
8:00 - 8:30
Sunday, December 10
8:30 - 9:00
Monday, December 11
8:00- 8:30


Sunday, December 3, 2017

Week 17. Dec 3-7

Welcome to week 18. Wow! Time is going by so fast!




We have three more weeks to go before the Winter Break and for that reason, we would like to ask all parents to let us know if you are planning on traveling before December 21st (last day of school until January). The reason we need this information is to better prepare for our Winter Celebrations, House Event and food catering for that day. We would really appreciate your support!


We are starting to plan for our KG Winter Parties and soon we will be meeting with room parents to get those plans ready for all of you! For the moment, we would like to extend an invitation to all parents that wish to participate and run an activity that day. All parents are welcome to join us, and when parents get involved in the activities we have a lot more fun!


This week we have another half day for teachers to spend time doing community service. Please make sure your child is picked up at 11:30 on Monday, December 4th. Thank you!


Writing Celebration - Save The Date!


Kindergarteners will be celebrating the publication of their How-To books on Thursday, January 18th. We will be sharing more information after the break, but for now make sure you mark this day on your calendars! We can’t wait to have parents in our classrooms to see the growth of these amazing writers!




Learning in Kindergarten


Reading Workshop


It’s celebration time! We have learned so much about Reading Super Powers. Our reading muscles are strong! This week, we will get ready to share our strong reading by reviewing how to talk about books. Retelling is an essential skill to practice throughout the elementary grades and our young readers are no exception! We will learn how to tell all the parts of a book, and also how to highlight the funny/exciting/interesting parts to our reading partners.


This fun reading unit culminates with each class visiting Pre-K and reading some favorite books to them. This celebration builds confidence, fluency, and a love of literature in our KG students. We are really looking forward to it!






Writing Workshop




Students are having a blast writing their “How to” books! This week we start a new Bend in our unit called “Using Mentor Texts for Inspiration: Revising Old How-To Books and Writing New Ones”. Students will engage in mini-inquiry lessons asking themselves:


  • What is that author doing that I could try in my own writing?
  • Why is that author doing those things?
  • How can mentor texts help me set goals?


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One of the ways we will get writers excited about the revision they will be doing is to “graduate” a chart that shows them what how to books are about, replacing this old chart with a new one called “Learning from a Mentor Text”. Writers will remember that they are writing for readers, and that they show this in different ways:


  • Using the word “you”
  • Writing clear steps
  • Adding diagrams and labels
  • Giving warnings or tips


Phonics




We continue to create differentiated sorts for each student or groups of students each week. Kindergarteners have had a full trimester to become independent in the work they do with these sorts, which allows us to have more time for one-on-one and small group instruction of phonics and word study.


Our main goal is to see the transfer from their recognition of letters and sounds to their reading and writing. For this reason, phonics is also included in our literacy stations, shared reading, guided reading, and one-on-one conferences. If you have any questions about phonics and how to support your child, send us an email!


Math


In the coming week, mathematicians will continue comparisons, specifically comparing groups, referred to as sets, of objects. Examples of these tasks will be to color and compare different numbers of objects arranged in two lines, telling which number of objects is more or less than the other number of objects. Students will also count to compare two groups of objects that are scattered about and telling which group has more or fewer objects. Finally they will be asked to draw a set of objects that has 1 more, 1 less, or the same number as the given set.
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Social Studies


We have had such a good time getting to know so many CAC workers as they have joined us as Mystery Guests. We were surprised at many of the facts we learned about these special people. Now that we have a better idea of who works at CAC and makes it a great place to be, we are ready to begin interviewing the people who interest us most. This week, students will begin learning how to conduct an interview and what are the best kinds of questions to ask. They will also practice working with iPads to record the interviews.









Circles


This week, students will continue discussing together what it means to show the Core Value of compassion. In circles we will continue to explore what it looks, sounds, and feels like to be kind, caring, and considerate. They will also be specifically reflecting on how it feels to be the recipient of behaviors that show compassion from others and what impact these acts of kindness can have on self and others.

Thank you again for all your cooperation,


Ms. Ana, Ms. Paola, and Mr. Balazs