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.

We are now beginning Unit 8 in Language Arts. Below 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 encourage us to read the passages we bring home each week.

As a class in math, we will be solving addition and subtraction word problems to 10. Individually, the students are working to master their current selected math standard and pass their math fluency level.

In science and STEM, we will be exploring plants and the things they need to survive. We will grow and care for our own plant.

The Utah State Board of Education is gifting each of our students 4 FREE books to be sent to your home this summer. Watch for a postcard coming soon and follow the steps to select your books. Happy Reading!

Click here for additional details: Kids Read Now

If you want to opt out of participating in the program, please contact Susan Goldsberry at sgoldsberry@questac.org by March 8, 2024.

Spring pictures will be taken on Friday, March 15. Thus, uniforms are not required on this day. Please note that students should still follow dress down day guidelines by wearing appropriate attire. 

Pre-order on mylifetouch.com and using Picture day ID: T72H4JTVE

Looking ahead:

• March 15- Spring Pictures
• March 15- Daddy/Daughter Dance 6-8 pm
• March 15- 3rd Term Ends- Report Cards available online in Aspire
• March 22- Mother/Son Dance 6-8 pm
• March 29- $1 Dress Down Day
• March 29- Yearbook Sales Deadline (Yearbook sales are still open. All purchases are online only and may be made through this link HERE.  Elementary ID code: 15110624)
• April 1-5- Spring Break- NO SCHOOL

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”

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

Vocabulary: complain, habitat, join, stubborn, wild

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

Science: In our Read-Along lesson, a young girl notices all the holes in the trees around her house and sets out to discover how they got there, and why they matter. We explored how animals change their environments.

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.

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

Looking Ahead:

• March 1- Dr. Seuss Day (Students are invited to wear Dr. Seuss inspired clothing or dress as their favorite Dr. Seuss character)
• March 15- Spring Pictures (Students will be allowed to wear the clothing of their choice for photos, so this will be a free dress down day for all students.) 
• March 15- Daddy/Daughter Dance 6-8 pm
• March 15- 3rd Term Ends- Report Cards available online in Aspire
• March 22- Mother/Son Dance 6-8 pm
• March 29- Yearbook Sales Deadline (Yearbook sales are still open. All purchases are online only and may be made through this link HERE.  Elementary ID code: 15110624)
• April 1-5- 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”

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

Vocabulary: responsibility, train, compared, depend, social

Math: Lesson 18 Compose and Decompose 6 and 7

Science: This week, our lesson was called, “How can you find animals in the woods?” We learned how every animal has the need to seek safety. When we see animals in the wild, very often they are seeking safety.

Looking Ahead:

• February 19- NO SCHOOL (President’s Day)
• February 23- $1 Dress Down Day
• March 15- Spring Pictures (Students will be allowed to wear the clothing of their choice for photos, so this will be a free dress down day for all students.) 
• March 15- Daddy/Daughter Dance 6-8 pm
• March 15- 3rd Term Ends- Report Cards available online in Aspire
• March 22- Mother/Son Dance 6-8 pm
• March 29- Yearbook Sales Deadline (Yearbook sales are still open. All purchases are online only and may be made through this link HERE.  Elementary ID code: 15110624)
• April 1-5- 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.

Science: Animal Needs: Shelter. This week we read about a girl, Sofia, who wonders where animals live and goes for a walk in the woods to find out. She finds a squirrel and learns about their habitat. We explored other animal homes as well.

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. Olya