Family Newsletter

Dear Families,

Here is our week in review:

Social-Emotional Learning:

• This week, the students at ABS celebrated with a schoolwide buzzy celebration for being safe, kind and responsible.  They filled the school hive with buzzies again.  This time, we had a schoolwide “stop, drop what you’re doing, and dance” party together.  The students had so much fun!

• The students also filled our classroom buzzy jar.  We celebrated with a special picnic snack.  

• We celebrated World Kindness Day on Monday.  We read books about kindness and the students at ABS were encouraged to look for acts of kindness in their peers and write down their names (or the act of  kindness) on a strip of paper which we will hang as a paper chain in our school.  They loved this project so much we extended it throughout the entire week.  Ask your child what acts of kindness they discovered!

• Ms. Heather, our ABS School Counselor, is back again.  She led another Guidance lesson this week, teaching the students about safety, the importance of using one’s assertive voice or asking a caring adult for help in different situations.  The students also had the opportunity to sing and dance along to a catchy song while learning about the “never, never rules”.  Ask your child to sing it to you.  They are fantastic singers.

• The students participated in another Restorative Circle with Ms. Nicole this week.  They learned more about how to manage their emotions and how to make positive choices at school while showing respect to other students and adults.

You Can: 

• You can support your child’s social-emotional learning at home too by having conversations and clear expectations around safety.  Sometimes we call them “non-negotiables”.  In other words, there are some things that are dangerous and not up for debate.  For example, playing with the stove or with matches.  There are lots of situations young children encounter every day that are not as clear.  Take running in the hallways, rough-housing or throwing papers, pencils or other school materials for example.  While these things might be acceptable and okay at home, they are not acceptable and okay at school.  At school we must have different routines and rules from those at home.  There are many different reasons for that.  It is important that our young students learn to understand that the classroom and the school has different rules around safety.  You can help your child understand these different norms and expectations by engaging in these conversations at home too.

Reading:

• The students continued reading just right decodable books and choice books this week.  They participated in small groups and had the opportunity to read texts in whole class reading as well.  We read more books about “Library Mouse” by Daniel Kirk too.

You can:

• Your child packed some decodable texts/books for home over the holidays.  They are inside your child’s Home Folder this week.  Please consider reading these books with your child at home.  Repeated reading is encouraged for young children.  Research shows that emerging readers solidify their phonological awareness skills, build confidence and skills when practicing repeated readings.  

• Thank you for helping your child read online at Lexia and/or razkids as well.  Many children have earned special certificates for their efforts and they are placed inside your child’s Home Folders too.

Writing:

• This week, the students continued practicing decoding and encoding CVC words.  Decoding means to look at a word and using strategies to read the word properly while representing all the sounds.  Encoding means to write the word while stretching our each sound and representing it in writing with the corresponding letters.  The students also learned about digraphs.  Digraphs are two letters that make one sound.  This week, they learned about the following digraphs: sh, wh, th, sh, ch, and -ck  With continued practice, the students are expected to be able to read words correctly with these letter combinations/sounds.  The students are also expected to be able to represent these letter combinations/sounds in writing.

You Can:

• There is an informational family letter from Fundations inside your child’s Home Folder this week.  It outlines our new unit on digraphs and other helpful information.  Please consider doing the activities and games included as well as a way to support your child’s emerging spelling and writing skills.  Thank you.

Math:

• First grade mathematicians learned about teen numbers this week.  They learned that anchoring to 10 and finding “some more” help mathematicians solve problems more efficiently.  They played several new games and rotated through stations to explore 10 and some more with rekenreks, unifix cubes and 10 frames.

• This week, first grade mathematicians also participated in a story-problem solving challenge.  They were partnered up and worked on our vertical whiteboards to solve a problem involving ten and more using mathematical representations, equations and labels.  They did an outstanding job collaborating and explaining their thinking.

You can:

• Your child has several games and activities for home use inside the Home Folder.  Please consider playing these games with your child to encourage mathematical thinking at home too.  As always these games/activities are optional and they do not need to come back to school.  Thank you for considering.

News and Reminders:

• There is no school next week due to our Thanksgiving break, 11-20-11/24.  School resumes on Monday 11/27.  I hope you will have a safe and restful holiday with friends and family.  Get some rest too!  Fingers crossed for a healthier return.

Have a great weekend and week off,

Maria

Family Newsletter

 Dear Families,

Here is our week in review:

Social-Emotional Learning:

• This week, we had another Guidance class with Ms. Nancy.  The students learned about how they can use their assertive voices when they feel unsafe or distracted by other people.  They had the chance to practice different scenarios.  They learned how they can use their assertive voices to say no, rather than getting influenced by other students when unexpected things happen and how they can stay focused on the group plan.  This is a skill we will continue to work on in the weeks ahead.

• The students are making positive relationships in class and play well together.  If you are interested in scheduling additional time for your child to play with a peer from our classroom, please use the student contact information list I emailed you and placed inside your child's Home Folder.).  The list is based upon permissions granted and information provided in PowerSchool so please let me know if any information needs to be updated or changed.  Thank you and have fun playing together outside of school!

• This week we started restorative circle time with Ms. Nicole.  Ms. Nicole is our SEL Coach and she will join our classroom weekly for the next few weeks.  Restorative circles provide opportunities for students to share their thoughts on different topics and everyone has a chance to speak.   We always start our circles with a “zone check-in”.  A “zone check-in” is a quick check-in about how everyone is feeling.  At ABS, we follow the Zones of Regulation approach which teaches our young learners self-regulation and identification of feelings based on a color-coded system.  Here is a picture to explain the approach:

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You Can: 

• You can support your child’s social-emotional learning at home too.  If you want to, try to introduce the above color-labeled emotions at home too.  This is particularly powerful when young children start to feel strong emotions.  The zones help the children label and identify their feelings; the first step in accessing self-regulatory practices and techniques that reflect prosocial and productive solutions.  Try sharing your own feelings too in different situations.  Young children benefit from seeing the adult in their lives model how they self-regulate when they experience strong  emotions.  For example, share that you feel frustrated (on the yellow) and tell your child why.  Share with your child that you will manage this emotion by doing something productive and helpful (so you can get back to feeling calm; on the green).  Share with your child that you might choose to take some deep breaths, use positive self-talk, go and get some water, or count back quietly from 10, or any other strategy that works for you.  Young children benefit from seeing the adults in their lives model this because many times they do not necessarily know that adults experience the same emotional range as the children.

Reading:

• This week, we continued to read multiple books during our read aloud times and in our small groups.  A new favorite book is “If you ever want to bring a piano to the beach-don’t” by Elise Parsley. Ask your child to tell you what happened and why it is not a good idea to bring a piano to the beach.  Also ask your child to share what other famous book this reminded us of.

You can:

• The students read decodable readers too.  Some students brought home smaller books/texts for additional practice at home.  Please read these at home and keep them in a safe place for future repeated practice.

• Thank you for supporting your child’s growth in reading by using Lexia and razkids at home!

Writing:

• This week, first grade authors continued to build stamina and independence.  They learned new skills for sounding out each phoneme when spelling CVC words.  (CVC words are consonant-vowel-consonant words such as map, pit, hat, etc).  They created word strings to represent the different sounds heard in spoken language as they represented these sounds by the proper letters.  We are so proud of them all!  

• We reviewed our heart words this week.  They are: sure, because, said and you

You Can:

• You can support your child’s enthusiasm and joy of writing at home by reading/doing the activities in last  week’s Home Folder from Fundations, our spelling program.  The parent newsletters from Fundations always include many valuable resources, games and activities for families to have at home.  

Math:

• We welcome Mrs. Singh to our math classroom.  Mrs. Singh will join our math class every day for our explorations and investigations into the world of numbers and patterns!  Mrs. Singh is our new math interventionist at ABS.  Welcome!

• This week, first grade mathematicians continued to build a deeper understanding of the relationships between part-part-whole and the connections between addition and subtraction in this regard.  They used number bonds and written equations to show their understanding of parts of numbers to 10, such as 9-2=7 because 7+2=9, etc

• This week, our amazing mathematicians had a chance to practice their facts to 10 while playing two new games; “Yogurt” and “Drop the Beans”.  Ask your child to explain these two games.

You can:

• While solving math problems this week, we learned more about the importance of having a positive attitude and mindset towards math.  Having a growth mindset helps all learners manage their emotions while working through increasingly complex problems and situations.  They did an outstanding job in class showing a growth mindset and recognizing this in others.  Consider recognizing each other at home for having a growth mindset when basic tasks are completed and dealt with.  Young children thrive on positive feedback and if they see caring adults in their lives using these strategies too, the connections between school and home become more powerful.

News and Reminders:

• I will be out of school next Thursday and Friday (11/9 and 11/10).  The students will have a guest teacher for these two days.  As a result, I will not send a newsletter next week. Please consider talking to your child about the importance of listening to the guest teacher’s directions too.  Consider talking to your child about how he/she can be a role model and show what is expected every day by making safe, kind and responsible choices so everyone can access learning.  I am sure the students will have wonderful days with the guest teacher.

Have a great weekend,

Maria

 Dear Families,

Here is our week in review:

Social-Emotional Learning:

• This week, we had another buzzy celebration because the students filled the classroom buzzy jar again for being safe, kind, and responsible.  This time, the students voted for pajama and stuffy day.  We had a terrific day learning and playing with our stuffed animals!

• The students continued to learn more strategies and skills for focusing their attention this week.  In previous weeks, they have learned about whole body listening skills and how using the “attent-o-scope” can help them.  They have also learned different mindful breathing activities and how taking a break can help us get refocused on the task at hand.  This week, the students practiced another strategy.  They learned about the power of repeating the directions quietly to themselves as a way to focus and remember what to do.  The students practiced this individually but also in small groups and partner settings as they practiced revoicing what other friends had shared.  They did great.  They realized that being “brain in” helps us understand our surroundings better.

You Can: 

• You can support this learning at home by engaging in the conversations suggested in this week’s Second Step HomeLink assignment.  As always, this is optional but we encourage parents to try these strategies as a way to embed self-regulatory techniques at home too.

Reading:

• This week in reading the students rotated through several different reading stations.  They practiced reading skills reflecting their own individual needs and they were encouraged to reread the texts and books independently after meeting with the teacher.

• The students also learned about two new heart-words this week.  Heart words are words that cannot be “sounded out” in English and thus need to be memorized.  This week, they learned the following new words: sure and you.  They are encouraged to find these words in the books they read.  

You can:

• The students also accessed a new online reading platform called razkids.  Razkids is an outstanding reading program that you can access from home too.  It is linked on the student portal on the school website.  The students are encouraged to listen and read the stories online. You can encourage your child to access razkids at home too.  Since we have introduced two online reading programs already, it might be helpful for you and your family to design a schedule for your child to follow (if you access these programs at home).  The weeks go by quickly and the evenings are busy with sports and activities. In the past, some families have shared that they use different reading platforms on different days.  Let me know if I can help.

Writing:

• The students continued to learn more about phonological skills this week in our spelling and writing classes.  It is so wonderful to see their progress and joy of writing!  

• We read the book “Library Mouse” by Daniel Kirk this week.  In this book, a little mouse is writing tiny books that he secretly shares in the school library.  All the children at the school are curious who this amazing author is, so the little mouse places a little box with a mirror inside it for the children to meet the author.  When the children look inside to meet the author, they see themselves!  They are the authors!  We have the exact same box in our classroom. The students are encouraged to look inside the box and remind themselves of their own awesome power as authors, while writing tiny mini-books, using tiny mini-pencils, just like the mouse in the story.

You Can:

• You can support your child’s enthusiasm and joy of writing at home by checking out the parenting letters I included in this week’s Home Folder from Fundations, our spelling program.  These newsletters include many valuable resources, games and activities for families to have at home.  

Math:

• This week, first grade mathematicians continued to explore groups of numbers using our Number Bond models.  This week we included the subtraction strategies and equations as well as the students learned about parts of numbers/quantities.  For example, if we know that 3+7=10, we also know that 10-3=7 and 10-7=3.  The students played games with math partners and explored our other workplace options too.

• This week, first grade mathematicians also had an opportunity to participate in open-ended problem-solving to deepen their collaborative skills while also practicing having a growth mindset in math class.  They were randomly partnered up by our special “buzzy bag” match-up system (ask your child to explain more)  The students worked on vertical whiteboards to find multiple combinations and possibilities for the same problem.  They are outstanding mathematicians and are learning to work together nicely.

You can:

• You can encourage your child to develop a positive mindset about math by engaging in conversations about numbers and math around us.  Ask your child “keep thinking” questions rather than “stop thinking/find the answer” questions.  In other words, emphasize the process and the strategy your child used to solve a particular problem.  Ask your child to explain his/her thinking another way, or tell you why something is true or not true.  Have fun talking about numbers and math!

News and Reminders:

• School picture retakes will be on Monday, October 30th.  If you are interested in participating in this, please contact the front office for the guidelines. 

Have a great weekend,

Maria