This Week in A2

Happy Halloween!  We hope you are having a super fun and safe evening!  Thank you to all who helped make Friday so special for the students!  If you have pictures of the festivities and would like to share them with our class, please email them to nglasgo@pacificasd.org.  

A few reminders:

1. We have fun new math centers in the works that support your child's math curriculum!  We are still in need of many "clear, large 8x11 Steralite Click Boxes" to organize these math centers.  Please See Amazon Wishlist for better description of boxes.  Thank you SO much!   

2. Please make sure not to put your child's library book into his/her black book bag...library books go into the basket on the cubbies.

3. There is no school on Wednesday, 11/11, in honor of Veteran's Day.

Our Week: Theme: Attitude of Gratitude

Star Student: Noelle.  We look forward to seeing your poster and learning more about you.

11/2 Monday- Psychomotor (9:20-10:00) , Snack: Noelle

11/3 Tuesday- Mrs. Vazquez is teaching today, Incoming Kinder Parent Tour (10:45), Music (11:00-11:30), Snack:Ruth

11/4 Wednesday- Homework Packet Due, Library Book Due,  Black Book Bag Due, Snack: Richard

11/5 Thursday- Family Day (10:45-11:25), Snack: Shane

11/6 Friday- Mrs. Niehaus subs today, library (9:00-9:30), Computer Lab (10:45-11:25), Snack: Shea

What We're Learning

• Math: A fun game that we have been practicing at school is "War" with a deck of cards (face cards removed).  Play this at home to help your child practice number ID, and concepts such as: more than, less than, equal to.  We continue to practice ID 2D & 3D shapes (circle, square, triangle, rectangle, oval, hexagon, sphere, cylinder, cube, cone), ID colors, days of the week,  patterns, days in school/beginning place value. We are practicing sorting by color, shape, and size, counting 0-5 objects, writing numbers 0-5, counting to 30, counting by 10's, counting by 5's.

• Language Arts: 
• Sight Words: Your child should be able to read, write, and spell the following sight words that we have studied over the past few weeks: a, the, I, see, my, go, to, like, can, look. This week's sight word is 'you'. Please practice reading and spelling these sight words at home as well as writing them in sentences!  
• Writers Workshop: We are working hard on sounding out words phonetically in our stories.  At this time, some children may only hear the beginning and ending sounds in words.  That is okay.  Please do not tell your child how to correctly spell the word.  Instead, encourage them to "say it like a snail, stretch it like a snake, write down the sounds you hear."  Your child may want to practice writing stories at home too...attach them to your homework for extra credit!  Writing is meant to be a fun activity so keep it positive!  

This Week in A2

Hello Families,

Thank you to everyone for attending parent-teacher conferences!  It was wonderful to touch base with you about your child's transition into kindergarten.  Thank you also to all the families who were able to support our school and attend our Fall Fun Fest and Pony Plop on Saturday!  

A few reminders:

1.  Our Kindergarten Halloween Parade will be on Friday, October 30th shortly after drop-off.  If your child would like to participate, he/she should wear his/her costume to school.  We will be having a Halloween Craft morning from 9-10am.  A sign-up is posted in our classroom!  

2. We were unable to send home black book bags this week because not all bags were returned on time.  If you have not done so, please return your black book bag ASAP so we can send them home this week.

3. We would love donations of decks of cards for math games.  Used/New decks of cards are appreciated!  We also need "clear, large 8x11 Steralite Click Boxes" to organize math centers.  Please See Amazon Wishlist for better description of boxes.  Thank you!   

Our Week: Fall Harvest/Halloween Week

Star Student: Ruthie.  We look forward to seeing your poster and learning more about you.

10/26 Monday- Snack: Julian B.

10/27 Tuesday- Music (11:00-11:30), Snack:Keaton

10/28 Wednesday- Homework Packet Due, Library Book Due,  Snack: Kipton

10/29 Thursday- Snack: Luke

10/30 Friday- Halloween Parade (8:35ish), Halloween Crafts (9-10am), No Library Today, Computer Lab (10:45-11:25), Class Party (11:30-12:00), Snack: Mary-Margaret

What We're Learning

• Math: A fun game that we have been practicing at school is "War" with a deck of cards (face cards removed).  Play this at home to help your child practice number ID, and concepts such as: more than, less than, equal to.  We continue to practice ID 2D & 3D shapes (circle, square, triangle, rectangle, oval, hexagon, sphere, cylinder, cube, cone), ID colors, days of the week,  patterns, days in school/beginning place value. We are practicing sorting by color, shape, and size, counting 0-5 objects, writing numbers 0-5, counting to 30, counting by 10's.

• Language Arts: 
• Sight Words: Your child should be able to read, write, and spell the following sight words that we have studied over the past few weeks: a, the, I, see, my, go, to, like, can, look. Please practice reading, writing, and spelling these sight words at home!  
• Writers Workshop: we are starting to sound out words phonetically in our stories.  At this time, some children may only hear the beginning and ending sounds in words.  That is okay.  Please do not tell your child how to correctly spell the word.  Instead, encourage them to "say it like a snail, stretch it like a snake, write down the sounds you hear."  Your child may want to practice writing stories at home too...attach them to your homework for extra credit!  Writing is meant to be a fun activity so keep it positive!  Please join us in praising your child for all his/her attempts!

This Week in A2

Hello Families,

A few reminders:

1. Parent Teacher Conferences are this week.  We look forward to meeting with you to discuss your child's transition into kindergarten.  Please CLICK HERE for the conference schedule.  Conferences are 15 minutes in length with a 5 minute transition between conferences.  Please be on time and knock on the door when it is time for your conference.  This helps us stay on schedule!  :)  

2. Our Kindergarten Halloween Parade will be on Friday, October 30th shortly after drop-off.  If your child would like to participate, he/she should wear his/her costume to school.  We will be having a Halloween Craft morning from 9-10am.  A sign-up is posted in our classroom!  

3. Mark your calendar!  Our Fall Fun Fest and Pony Plop is coming up on Saturday, October 24th from 11am-3pm at Vallemar School!  It is a SUPER fun, family event and we hope you can all participate!  This is also one of the biggest fundraisers of the year for our school and we need your help!

• Please make sure you SELL the Pony Plop tickets that went home with your child last week.  If you are able to sell more, please do!  You can get additional tickets in the school office.  Invite family, friends, and neighbors!
• Please sign up to VOLUNTEER at the Fall Fun Fest!  We need you!  This is a great way to meet other parents and have fun while helping our school.  Sign up HERE!

Our Week:

Star Student: Richard.  We look forward to seeing your poster and learning more about you.

10/19 Monday- Snack:Gabriella

10/20 Tuesday- Music (11:00-11:30), Snack:Grayson

10/21 Wednesday- Homework Packet Due, Library Book Due, Black Book Bag Due, Snack: Hawk

10/22 Thursday- Picture Retakes (please let us know if your child is getting retakes), Snack: Teacher

10/23 Friday- Mrs. Niehaus (former K teacher) will be subbing for Mrs. Vazquez today.  Visit School Library (9:00-9:20), Firemen Visit (9:30-10:15), Computer Lab (10:45-11:25), Snack: Julian T.

What We're Learning

• October is Fire Safety Month!  This week we are learning about fire safety, a subject very close to my heart.  I lost a student a few year ago in a house fire.  Please take this week to replace batteries in your smoke detectors and teach your child what to do if there is a fire in your house.  The fire truck will be visiting our school this Friday to give a wonderful presentation on fire safety! 

• Math: ID 2D & 3D shapes (circle, square, triangle, rectangle, oval, hexagon, sphere, cylinder, cube, cone), ID colors, days of the week, ABAB patterns, days in school/beginning place value. We are practicing sorting by color, shape, and size, counting 0-5 objects, writing numbers 0-5, counting to 30, counting by 10's.

• Science: We will be studying bats and other nocturnal animals.   
• The adjective nocturnal comes from the Late Latin nocturnalis, which means “belonging to the night." You've probably heard of nocturnal animals, like bats and fireflies, who sleep during the day and come out to play when the sun goes down
• Language Arts: 
• Our letter/sound of the week is Nn for nocturnal.  Optional- Your child can bring something for sharing on his/her sharing day that begins with the letter N. 
• Sight Words: Your child should be able to read, write, and spell the following sight words that we have studied over the past few weeks: a, the, I, see, my, go, to, like, can. Please practice reading, writing, and spelling these sight words at home!  
• Writers Workshop: we are starting to sound out words phonetically in our stories.  At this time, some children may only hear the beginning and ending sounds in words.  That is okay.  Please do not tell your child how to correctly spell the word.  Instead, encourage them to "say it like a snail, stretch it like a snake, write down the sounds you hear."  Your child may want to practice writing stories at home too...attach them to your homework for extra credit!  Writing is meant to be a fun activity so keep it positive!  Please join us in praising your child for all his/her attempts!
• In Reading this week, we will practice our Reading Superpowers with the book Bat Loves the Night by Nicola Davies.

**Please CLICK HERE to view our Amazon Class Wishlist.  We greatly appreciate your donations.

Scholastic Book Orders

Scholastic Book Orders Arrived Today!  The books you ordered are in your child's cubby and can be picked up in the morning or your child may take them home at the end of the day tomorrow.

Bat Study

Today we read books about bats, charted facts we have learned, and leaned how to draw bats.  Some of our favorite bat facts are:

1. Bats are the only mammals that can fly.

2. Bats have four fingers and a thumb.

3. Bats are nocturnal; they are awake at night and sleep during the day.

Friday Computer Lab

This Week in A2

Hello Families,

A few reminders:

1. There is no school on Monday; it is a teacher in-service day.

2. Black Book Bags will go home this Friday.  Thank you for your patience!  They will be due on Wednesday.

3. Our Kindergarten Halloween Parade will be on Friday, October 30th shortly after drop-off.  If your child would like to participate, he/she should wear his/her costume to school.  We will be having a Halloween Craft morning from 9-10am.  A sign-up is posted in our classroom!  

4. Mark your calendar!  Our Fall Fun Fest and Pony Plop is coming up on Saturday, October 24th from 11am-3pm at Vallemar School!  It is a SUPER fun, family event and we hope you can all participate!  This is also one of the biggest fundraisers of the year for our school and we need your help!

• Please make sure you SELL the Pony Plop tickets that went home with your child last week.  If you are able to sell more, please do!  You can get additional tickets in the school office.  Invite family, friends, and neighbors!
• Please sign up to VOLUNTEER at the Fall Fun Fest!  We need you!  This is a great way to meet other parents and have fun while helping our school.  Sign up HERE!

Our Week:

10/12 Monday- No School; teacher in-service day

10/13 Tuesday- Mrs. Glasgo will be out today; there will be a sub, Music (11:00-11:30), Snack:Bryn

10/14 Wednesday- Homework Packet Due, Library Book Due, Snack:Charlotte

10/15 Thursday- Emergency Drill, Snack:Donovan

10/16 Friday- Visit School Library (9:00-9:30), Computer Lab (10:45-11:25), Snack:Gabby

What We're Learning

• Math: ID 2D & 3D shapes (circle, square, triangle, rectangle, oval, hexagon, sphere, cylinder, cube, cone), ID colors, days of the week, ABAB patterns, days in school/beginning place value. We are practicing sorting by color, shape, and size, counting 0-5 objects, writing numbers 0-5, counting to 30, counting by 10's.
• Science: We will be studying BATS this week.  
• We will learn that bats are mammals; they are warm blooded, have fur, and nurse their babies with milk.  
• Bats are the only mammals that can fly.  
• Bats have a thumb and four fingers, just like humans. 
• Some bats drink blood.  Other bats eat fruit, insects, frogs, and small animals.  
• Bats are nocturnal; they sleep during the day and hunt for food at night.  
• Bats hang upside down when they sleep.  
• Bats smell, hear, taste, feel, and see just like people do.  Most bats use echolocation; they make rapid, high-pitched squeaks through their mouth or nose, and if the sounds hit something, they bounce back and let the bat know how far away the object is. 
• Bats have the best hearing of all land mammals.
• Language Arts: 
• Our letter/sound of the week is B.  Optional- Your child can bring something for sharing on his/her sharing day that begins with the letter B. We will be doing a bat craft this week!
• Your child should be able to read, write, and spell the following sight words that we have studied over the past few weeks: a, the, I, see, my, go, to, like.  This week we are learning the sight word: can.  Please practice reading, writing, and spelling these sight words at home!  One of my favorite home spelling activities is back tracing!  Take turns writing one letter at a time on a partners back and have them say each letter as you go...and then guess the word.
• In Writers Workshop we are starting to sound out words phonetically in our stories.  At this time, some children may only hear the beginning and ending sounds in words.  That is okay.  Please do not tell your child how to correctly spell the word.  Instead, encourage them to "say it like a snail, stretch it like a snake, write down the sounds you hear."  Your child may want to practice writing stories at home too...attach them to your homework for extra credit!  Writing is meant to be a fun activity so keep it positive!  Please join us in praising your child for all his/her attempts!
• In Reading this week, we will focus on characters in stories.

**Please CLICK HERE to view our Amazon Class Wishlist.  We greatly appreciate your donations.

Quiet Reading Time

Today was our first day of quiet reading time. Students read sight word books from their reading boxes, pointing to the words with their "reading fingers" as they read. When they came to tricky words, they practiced using picture clues and beginning letters to help them figure out the words! So proud of them! We will be doing this daily after recess. Just like basketball players, readers need daily practice to become great!

S for Seaweed and Sticks (of cheese)

This Week in A2

Hello Families,

A few reminders:

1. Tomorrow is Stomp Out Bullying Day!  Please join me in wearing BLUE!  All kids who wear blue will receive a pom pom.

2. This Wednesday is our first field trip to Lemos Farm in Half Moon Bay. Thank you for all of your donations to off-set the cost of the field trip.  I drove down with my own family this weekend to pick up the wristbands.  Please don't forget to bring your child's booster seat labeled with his/her first and last name.  Also, your child will need to wear comfortable walking shoes that can get dirty and a sweater or jacket. Just a reminder...if you would like to bring a young child and have not done so already, please talk to me tomorrow.  If you are responsible for other children in your group, you may not bring additional children; you are responsible for the supervision of your carpool.  

3. My apologies that our October Calendar was not sent home this week.  I thought it was in the copy pile.  A link to our October Calendar is HERE and will be sent home with your child tomorrow, Monday.  Please check your child's backpack.

4. Our Kindergarten Halloween Parade will be on Friday, October 30th shortly after drop-off.  If your child would like to participate, he/she should wear his/her costume to school.  We will be having a Halloween Craft morning from 9-10am.  A sign-up will be posted in our classroom shortly.

Our Week:

STAR STUDENT: Shane (We can't wait to see your poster and learn more about you!)

10/5 Monday- Psychomotor (9:20-10:00), Snack: Angelina

10/6 Tuesday- Music (11:00-11:30), Snack:Angelo

10/7 Wednesday- Family Day (10:45-11:30), Homework Packet Due, Library Book Due, Book Order, Snack:Lemo's Farm (cookie and juice)

10/8 Thursday- Snack:Anthony

10/9 Friday- Visit School Library (9:00-9:30), Computer Lab (10:45-11:25), Snack:Brooke

**No school for students on MONDAY.  It is a teacher work day.

What We're Learning

• Math: Calendar Math: Counting to 30, counting by 10's, ID 2D & 3D shapes, ID colors, days of the week, patterning, days in school/beginning place value. We are practicing sorting by color, shape, and size, counting 0-5 objects, writing numbers 0-5.  
• Science: We will be studying spiders this week.  We will learn that spiders are arachnids (not insects).  Spiders have two body parts, eight legs, many have eight eyes.
• Language Arts: 
• Our letter/sound of the week is S.  Optional- Your child can bring something for sharing on his/her sharing day that begins with the letter S. We will be watercoloring a spider web and coloring a spider this week.
• Your child should be able to read, write, and spell the following sight words that we have studied over the past few weeks: a, the, I, see, my, go, to.  This week we are learning the sight word: like.  Please practice reading, writing, and spelling these sight words at home!  
• In Writers Workshop we are working on personal narratives/ small moments.  Please help your child think of ideas for great stories in the car on the way to school or at night before bed!  In class we will be drawing pictures and adding details and labels to tell a story. This week we will begin trying to sound out words: Say it like a snail, stretch it like a snake, write down the sounds you hear. Join us in praising your child for his/her attempts!  This is how writers are made!  
• In Reading this week, we will continue focusing on making connections to the stories we read. 

**Please CLICK HERE to view our Amazon Class Wishlist.  We greatly appreciate your donations.

Reading Superheroes!

Thank you Tina Peterson, Luke's Mom, for making awesome Super Reader capes for our class! They are so fun!!! 

P is for Pumpkin

On Thursday we all tried a spoonful of pumpkin.