Looking ahead:

• Friday, March 7: Daddy/Daughter Dance 6:00-8:00pm
• Friday, March 14: Mother/Son Dance 6:00-8:00pm
• Friday, March 14: End Term 3
• Friday, March 21: Dollar Dress Down Day
• Friday, March 28: Spring Picture Day and FREE Dress Down Day
• March 31-April 4: Spring Break NO SCHOOL
• Tuesday, April 1: Final day for yearbook sales. Purchase online through this LINK (Elementary Yearbook ID: 15110625)

Here’s a quick overview of new things we learned this week:

Comprehension strategy/skill: “Make, confirm, and revise predictions” and “cause and effect”. We read different stories to go along with our theme “Where do animals live?”

New High Frequency Words (Power Words): “said” and “want” (know how to spell “said”)

New sound, spelling and handwriting: /v/ Vv and /x/ Xx

Vocabulary: complain, habitat, join, stubborn, wild

Math: Completed Lesson 19 “Compose and Decompose 8 and 9” and started Lesson 20 “Add Within 10”. We’ve also been working on one of our standards to fluently add and subtract within 5 (numbers in the problem and answers are 5 or less). You can help us achieve this goal by practicing these math facts with us. Click here for flashcards you can print at home: Adding/Subtracting Flashcards. To be considered fluent, students need to answer 25 problems within a minute. (Flashcards include adding and subtracting within 10, which is also a standard, but we first practice for fluency within 5).

Science: This week, we learned that plants and animals are alive! We observed that all living things must meet certain needs to stay healthy. You can ask your child to show you how a plant grows bigger and healthier when it gets enough water and sunlight.

Here are the Math Facts Fluency pages we’ve been working on in class. In Kindergarten, students need to be able to solve math facts within 10 and fluently within 5 (1+4, 2+3, 0+4, 5-2, 3-1, etc.). We’ve included facts within 10 in these timings, to help prepare them for first grade. (You’ll find all of them by clicking on the tabs at the bottom).

Some students have shown interest in working on these at home (yay!). Our goal is to complete 25 facts/minute. (The only exception is adding and subtracting 0; they need 30 in a minute). For some students, the hardest part isn’t the facts, but forming/writing the numbers quick enough, so practicing writing numbers might be a good place to start.

Tip:If you slip the timings into a sheet protector and use a dry erase marker, they can practice over and over without making lots of copies.

For flashcards you can print at home click here: Adding/Subtracting Flashcards

*If you’re unable to see the timings, please email me lteichert@questac.org and I will share the google sheet with you directly.

It has been our experience that daylight savings time can be a challenging transition for our young students. The time change can really affect a child’s attention span, appetite, and overall mood.

There are several things you can do now to help:

• Gradually set bedtime a little earlier each night (15 min a night works well)
• Gradually wake them up a little earlier each morning (15 min a morning also)
• Dim lights and turn off electronics 30-60 minutes before bedtime
• In the morning, give them light (turn on lights, open blinds, enjoy breakfast outside, go for a sunrise walk)
• Stick with a bedtime routine (warm bath, read a book together, lights out)
• Be patient (Understand that time change can change their overall mood; they can be grumpy, easily frustrated, and challenging)
• Take care of yourself, get plenty of sleep. If you are tired, you will be sluggish, irritable, and cranky too.

Looking Ahead:

• Friday, March 7: Daddy/Daughter Dance 6:00-8:00pm
• Friday, March 14: Mother/Son Dance 6:00-8:00pm
• Friday, March 14: End Term 3
• Friday, March 21: Dollar Dress Down Day
• Friday, March 28: Spring Picture Day and FREE Dress Down Day
• March 31-April 4: Spring Break NO SCHOOL

Here’s a quick overview of new things we learned this week:

Comprehension strategy/skill: “Make, confirm, and revise predictions”/”Problem and Solution” . We read different stories to go along with our theme “How do you take care of different kinds of pets?”

2 New High Frequency Words (Power Words): “of” and “they” (know how to spell both)

New sound, spelling and handwriting: /g/ Gg and /w/ Ww

Vocabulary: responsibility, train, compared, depend, social

Math: Lesson 19 “Compose and Decompose 8 and 9”

Science: We introduced an anchor phenomenon for our new unit about the needs of plants. We saw a collection of examples of plants that have grown onto other objects without anyone having put the plants there. We wondered how this could happen. Students generated observations and questions about the phenomenon and we created a list of possible explanations for the phenomenon.

The National Junior Honor Society is organizing a book drive! If you have any gently used or new books to donate, it would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

Dear Parents and Guardians,

We would like to tell you of an opportunity that can help your child get ready for kindergarten: the Waterford UPSTART program, a resource designed to support your child is prepared for school success.

Current Eligible Students: If your child is enrolled in preschool or not, and they are attending kindergarten in 2025 with a birthday between September 2, 2019, and September 1, 2020, they qualify for this program. Registration is still open for the current year and can still provide several months of resources. Deadline for this year is February 28, 2025.

2025-2026 Eligible Students: Registration has begun for those who are preschool age during the 2025-2026 school year.  Students with a birthday between September 2, 2020 and September 1, 2021 qualify for this registration year. 

Kindergarten readiness sets a strong foundation for your child’s future learning. With Waterford UPSTART, your child will have access to the curriculum, a personal virtual coach, and may be eligible to receive a computer and a WiFi hotspot to support their learning.

Looking Ahead:

• Friday, February 28: Dollar Dress Down Day
• Friday, March 7: Daddy/Daughter Dance 6:00-8:00pm
• Friday, March 14: Mother/Son Dance 6:00-8:00pm
• Friday, March 14: End Term 3
• Friday, March 21: Dollar Dress Down Day
• Friday, March 28: Spring Picture Day and FREE Dress Down Day
• March 31-April 4: Spring Break NO SCHOOL

Here’s a quick overview of new things we learned this week:

Comprehension strategy/skill: “Reread”/”Fact & Opinion” . We read different stories to go along with our theme “How are some animals alike and how are they different?”

2 New High Frequency Words (Power Words): “for” and “have“

New sound, spelling and handwriting: /u/ Uu

Vocabulary: appearance, behavior, exercise, plenty, wander

Math: Lesson 18: “Compose and Decompose 6 and 7”. We’ve also been working on one of our standards to fluently add and subtract within 5 (numbers in the problem and answers are 5 or less). You can help us achieve this goal by practicing these math facts with us. Click here for flashcards you can print at home: Adding/Subtracting Flashcards. To be considered fluent, students need to answer 25 problems within a minute. (Flashcards include adding and subtracting within 10, which is also a standard, but we first practice for fluency within 5).

Science: We practiced identifying the relationships of the needs of animals and the places in which they live. After a review of the animals we’ve observed throughout the unit, students used observations of three new places to determine which of those places best meet the needs of each animal.

We are now beginning Unit 7 in Language Arts. Here are the sight words, oral vocabulary words, letters, and sounds we will be mastering during the next 3 weeks. In addition, we continue to read decodable books and passages. You can listen to us read on SeeSaw and encourage us to read the passages we bring home each week. We are also working on writing sentences. We ask ourselves…Does it have a capital? Does it have a space? Does it have punctation in its place? Don’t forget the rest are lowercase!

We had a great day of giving and celebrating our friendships. Thanks so much for all the thoughtful Valentine’s! What a sweet class we have! -Ms. Lisa and Ms. Becky

Looking Ahead:

• Monday, February 17: No School- President’s Day
• Friday, February 28: Dollar Dress Down Day
• Friday, March 7: Daddy/Daughter Dance 6:00-8:00pm
• Friday, March 14: Mother/Son Dance 6:00-8:00pm

Here’s a quick overview of new things we learned this week:

Comprehension strategy/skill: “Visualize”/”Events: Sequence”. We read different stories to go along with our theme “How can you stay safe in bad weather?”

Review High Frequency Words: “my”, “are”, “he”, “with”, “is”, “little”, “she”, and “was”

Review sound/spelling of the vowels: a, e, i, o and /k/ Cc, Kk, and _ck (spelling for /k/ at the end of words).

Vocabulary: safe, prepare, celebration, notice, enough

Math: Finished Lesson 15 “Number Partners for 10” and started Lesson 18 “Compose and Decompose 6 and 7”. We’ve also been working on one of our standards to fluently add and subtract within 5 (numbers in the problem and answers are 5 or less). You can help us achieve this goal by practicing these math facts with us. Click here for flashcards you can print at home: Adding/Subtracting Flashcards. To be considered fluent, students need to answer 25 problems within a minute. (Flashcards include adding and subtracting within 10, which is also a standard, but we first practice for fluency within 5).