Sunday, May 27, 2018

Week 38 - May 27 - 31

Welcome to the last full week of school!



Please click here to read this week's newsletter.

Thank you!

Sunday, May 20, 2018

Sunday, May 13, 2018

Week 36 May 13-16





Here’s to another week of fun, exploring and learning! Our kindergarteners are having a wonderful time with the ABC countdown, thanks to all parents who have been supporting us with this.










Important Lunch Information!!!
Please click here to see the letter shared by Ms. Jackson-Jin


Student Led Conferences!


Please mark your calendars for a very special event. On Monday, May 21st, there will be no school for students as we will have our Student Led Conferences. On this day, you will come in for an hour-long conference session with your child. The main focus of this conference is for students to reflect on their progress and achievements this year. They will share with you what they have learned in Math, Reading and Writing as well as they digital portfolio.

This is a special day for all kindergarteners as they will be leading the entire conference. We will have several centers in the classroom and there will be 4 families engaging at the same time. We ask that only two families work at each center at the time.

We are looking forward to seeing everyone on May 21st! Thanks to those who have already signed up. If you haven’t done so, please be sure to sign up for a conference slot via Skyward.

Here are a few tips for parents as they also prepare for these conferences:

Express positive interest and anticipation about the upcoming conference
  • Be on time
  • Listen and respond to the student (not the teacher)
  • Express pride in growth and progress
  • Ask questions (see below for samples)
  • Be positive, offering to help in areas where improvement is needed
  • Recognize that students need to develop independence in communicating progress – the teacher will be there to facilitate and answer specific questions but will not take charge of the conference
  • Conference can be conducted in the student’s choice of language



Possible Questions to Ask During the Conference:

  • Can you explain this to me?
  • How did you come up with this idea?
  • How have you grown in this area?
  • How can you improve in this area?
  • How can we help you at home?
  • What was important to you about this?
  • If you could do this work over again, how would you change it?
  • What future goals do you have as a student?


Calendar updates


As always, we encourage you to check our KG calendar to find out about lunch options for Monday lunches, special events and activities.

Monday lunch: Koshari - Please remember that lunch cards and cash will not be accepted this week as the online payment trial is taking place.
May 21 - Student Led Conferences (No school for ES Students)
May 22 - ES Assembly - KGS (7:55 am - 8:25 am, ES Hall)
May 29 - Big Splash (7:55 am - 8:25 am, Pool)
June 3 & 4 - End of Year Parties. Information coming soon!
June 5 - Last Day of School for Students (Early Release Day)
June 5 - End of Year Assembly (10:30 am - 11:30 am, ES Hall). Parents welcome
June 5 - Trimester 3 Report Cards issued



Learning This Week


Reading Workshop





Our avid readers are having a blast exploring, reading, and pretending with books! This week they will shift genres and work with nonfiction books in their book bags. Readers react to books by remembering to “Stop and Jot” when something interesting or curious happens in the book. Our readers will learn to talk like experts when they read and learn about nonfiction. They will share what they learn with excited with words like “Look!” “wow!” “huh?” “Why?” Finally, readers will have another Reading Play Date with their book club but this time, play with nonfiction books. What fun!


Writing Workshop



  




As we approach the end of the school year, writers will embark on an independent writing project choosing to write in their favorite genre! We will review the purpose of writing and remind students how we communicate through our books. The goal for this last unit is to boost stamina and independence, and to give our young authors a chance to be creative and write about anything they want!

Our conferring and small group work will focus on the mechanics of writing: handwriting, spelling and punctuation.

Math






This week we will be conducting end of module assessments. While we have one on one meetings with students, they rest will engage in math centers reviewing the concepts and strategies learned throughout Module 5, such as:

  • Counting by tens and some ones
  • Grouping objects to find the 10
  • Saying the numbers the “Say Ten Way”
  • Using Ten-frames to compose teen numbers
  • Using number bonds to decompose teen numbers







Science








The design/build projects are coming along! Students will be reviewing their work this week. Our young scientists are looking forward to showing off their projects during Student-Led Conferences!

The last step in the Super 3 is to look at worked well and what didn’t to write reflections. Scientists will be asked these questions to review their projects:

  • What went well?
  • Did you choose the right materials for your project?
  • Could you have chosen other materials?
  • What was difficult about building your project?
  • What was easy about it?
  • What didn’t go well? Why not?
  • What would you do differently next time?






Thank you again for all your support!
Ms. Ana
Mr. Balazs
Ms. Paola

Sunday, May 6, 2018

Week 35. May 6 - 10

Welcome to a new week of school!


Calendar updates

As always, we encourage you to check our KG calendar to find out about lunch options for Monday lunches, special events and activities.

  • Monday lunch: Pizza!
  • KGB Assembly - this Tuesday!
  • Last Library day - Thursday, May 17th
  • Student Led Conferences - May 21st
  • KGS Assembly - May 22nd
  • KG End of the year celebrations - June 4th (more information will be shared later)
  • Last day of school on June 5th, dismissal will be at 11:30 am


Learning This Week

Reading Workshop


This week’s reading lessons are all about having fun with books! Readers will meet in small groups, or “clubs,” to have what we call “Reading Play Dates.” They will bring books to the group and choose to play school (where students take turns being the teacher) or playing games like Guess the Covered Word or Snap Word Hunt. We will do a lot of pretending, acting, and cooperating. As teachers we strive to nurture a love of reading in every student, and being playful with books is a great way to make reading fun!

Writing Workshop


Writers are eager to publish their stories, and we are eager to read them! This will be the last week of our second narrative unit. Writers will choose a piece to publish and will continue to work on making it the best it can be. Our last two teaching points will be:

How to write a catchy title for my story?
How to illustrate my story?

Each class will celebrate the unit in a very special way. Stay tuned for photos of our published authors!

Math

This week we will cover the last topic in this module, Topic E. In this unit  students will represent teen number decompositions and compositions by writing addition sentences and make bonds with materials and hide one of the parts for their partners, who must figure out what the hidden part is. They will also compare teen numbers by counting and comparing the extra ones as well as counting teen quantities and represent them in various ways.

Here is what this topic includes:

Screen Shot 2017-05-07 at 9.27.19 AM.png

Students will be expected to:

Screen Shot 2017-05-07 at 9.27.37 AM.png

Screen Shot 2017-05-07 at 9.27.47 AM.png

Science


Our scientists have used writing and drawing to make a design for something they would like to build. Students considered the properties of available materials as they planned and this week it’s time to build! As students build they will adjust their design as they encounter obstacles and make changes. This is truly how the design process works! We can’t wait to see what they construct.


Circle Solutions

In circles this week, classes will be reviewing all the CAC core values, reflecting on what each core value entails. Students and teachers will discuss together how this has been manifested throughout the school year, leading up to personal reflections on how we have strived and worked towards personal growth, within the overarching principles of the core values.

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