Dear Families,
I hope you had a great snow day this week and had a chance to go outside and enjoy the new wintery weather we got. I wish you all a great Winter Break next week. I will see the kids when we return to school on Monday, March 6th.
Here is our week in review:
Social-Emotional Learning:
This week, we have learned about the importance of mastering certain skills that can improve our sense of control and independence. Young children sometimes feel that there are few things they can control during the day. This can be frustrating and overwhelming. Parents can help navigate these feelings by encouraging their children to take on some developmentally appropriate/age-appropriate tasks at home. For example, parents can help their children develop a sense of control and independence by asking their child to pack library books in preparation for library exchange days, or ask their child to pack and choose healthy snacks for school. Selecting a lunch for the following school day also provides opportunities for young children to practice making responsible choices and develop a sense of control. We have so many lunch options at ABS now that pre-viewing the menu at home with parents/guardians also helps young children manage anxieties related to selecting a healthy lunch option. Learning how to navigate choices and making responsible decisions help children feel empowered and in control. In our classroom, the students are learning to make responsible choices every day in a variety of settings so extending these opportunities to the home would help them develop these skills and accountability in another setting as well.
Spirit Week was a huge success. The students and the teachers loved the daily special activities. Our favorite activity was the snowball activity. Our classroom experienced a blizzard (and we did not even have a snow day!)
Reading:
Mr. Matt has provided daily read alouds from different picture books this week. Thank you Mr. Matt. The students and I have enjoyed all of the books and the conversations that followed.
The students accessed raz kids online as well this week. There seems to be some technical issues with some students’ accounts. If you encounter problems, please let the IT Desk know and open a ticket for assistance. These technical problems are beyond my expertise as I tried everything I can to help solve them (Click here for IT Desk Tickets). Your child has access to raz kids from home and we encourage you to add it to your home platform options. (Other options for at-home reading and math are all linked on the student portal).
We are sending home an optional reading packet for your child to use over our Winter Break. It is packed inside the Home Folder. Please encourage your child to participate in the activities and return the packet when we return to school. Thank you for considering.
Writing:
This week the students finished a variety of writing pieces. They had a chance to revise their pieces and add more details to their words and pictures.
We also spent time organizing writing pieces and the students decided which ones to add to their scrapbooks. They did a great job managing multiple pieces and making responsible choices.
Math:
In math this week, the students had the opportunity to develop their math fluency skills. Math fluency is defined as understanding number relations and equations automatically and with ease. Math fluency is not about speed. It is about making sense of the numbers and seeing connections between a series of equations. We call those connections Number Strings. For example, if a child knows 8+7, then the child knows 18+7 and 28+7 fluently because groups of tens were added.
The students continued to build their understanding of fractions this week too. We primarily focused on the different ways in which wholes can be divided into smaller, equal parts and represented with mathematical symbols.
News and Reminders:
We have no school next week. We return to school again on Monday, March 6th.
Here is a terrific family resource link from Heather Scandale, our fabulous school counselor Family Supports
Have a great weekend,
Maria
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