Washington Family Connection
September 2026
Mrs. Roland’s School Counselor News
How I Support the Needs of All Students: As a school counselor, my goal is to help every student feel safe, supported, and ready to learn. I work with students, families, and staff in a variety of ways to support students’ academic, social, emotional, and behavioral needs.
Some of the ways I support our students include:
PBIS (Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports): I serve as our internal PBIS coach, helping promote positive behaviors and a supportive school environment.
Second Step: I provide the Second Step social-emotional learning curriculum in our Kindergarten and 1st grade classrooms.
Al’s Pals: I provide the Al’s Pals curriculum in our PreK classrooms to help students develop social and emotional skills.
Family Communication: I communicate with families through phone calls, email, and Remind to provide support, share information, and work together to meet students’ needs.
Small-Group Support: I provide supplemental lessons and small-group support for students who are referred by parents, teachers, or other school staff.
Individual Student Support: I work with students to help them develop skills for managing emotions, building positive relationships, solving problems, and navigating challenges at school.
I believe that supporting students is a team effort, and I value working together with families and staff to help each child succeed.
If you would like to learn more about how I can support your child, please feel free to contact me. I am always happy to partner with families!
You can reach me by phone or email. The phone number is 641-472-2110. My email address is kelsie.roland@fairfieldsfuture.org
Instructional News
An important way to help your child learn to read is to help them with two essential skills: learn to recognize the letter and make the sound. Here are some ways you can help your child at home:
A simple 5-minute routine
Show 2–3 letters: “This is M. M says /m/.”
Have your child repeat: “What letter? What sound?”
Connect to a picture: “M says /m/. Moon starts with /m/.”
Find another word: “Can you think of something else that starts with /m/?”
Write or trace it: Have the child form M/m while saying the letter name and sound.
Review yesterday's letters: Mix old and new letters together.
The IRRC's current Spark Early Literacy Hub provides free letter-sound cards, videos, games, printable activities, and an eLearning module for caregivers.
IRRC.(2026). Spark Early Literacy Hub. https://irrc.education.uiowa.edu/spark-early-literacy
If you have any questions, feel free to contact me at (641) 472-2110 or rebecca.wells@fairfieldsfuture.org
Preschool News
Preschool students have had a great first few days! We have been working hard on classroom routines and learning our new schedules. Each student is working so hard at mastering these!
In the month of September we will be focusing on classroom routines, colors, shapes, and learning more about our classmates. Students will be starting to practice writing their name and working on different writing strokes.
Our literacy focus will be on identifying our names in print, identifying the first letter of our name, and starting to recognize our peers’ names. We will be reading books about school and being self-aware. We will also be reading books about being good friends and what that looks like.
We will be sure to go outside each day, so as the weather begins to cool, please be sure to pack sweatshirts or jackets for your child. To help build independence, please be sure to show them how to zip or button their coat.
We look forward to building relationships with each of our preschool students!
Begindergarten News
Begindergarten is off to a wonderful start! We are continuing to focus on learning and practicing routines both inside and outside of the classroom. Establishing these routines helps students feel comfortable, confident, and ready to learn.
During the month of September, we will begin building number sense with numbers 1–10. Students will practice counting, identifying and writing numbers, and developing a strong understanding of numbers through a variety of hands-on activities.
In literacy, we will focus on learning letter names and sounds. Students will also work on writing their names using correct letter formation. Handwriting will be a major focus as we learn how to properly form our letters and develop good writing habits.
As the weather begins to cool, please encourage your child to practice zipping their coat independently. This is a great skill for them to work on at home and will help them become more independent at school.
As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me. I am looking forward to a wonderful year of learning and growing together!
Kindergarten News
Hi Families!
We are so happy to be back at school and are looking forward to a wonderful year with your student! We love getting to know each child and are already making great connections and building relationships with our students.
During the month of September, we will continue learning and reviewing our school and classroom language, routines, and procedures. Along with this, we are focusing on building positive relationships with our students and helping students build positive relationships with one another. It is exciting to hear our students talk about filling each other’s “buckets” and see them working together and encouraging one another!
We will also continue introducing our Leader in Me (LIM) curriculum and the 7 Habits. This month, we will focus on Habit 1: Be Proactive. Students will learn what it means to be in charge of themselves and explore what being proactive looks like in the classroom and throughout the school day.
In literacy, students will learn the “Pinch and Pocket” technique during handwriting and become familiar with proper handwriting techniques, including how to hold a pencil correctly.
We will begin our CKLA Skills curriculum this month. In Unit 1, students will practice pre-writing strokes, learn spatial words, and begin learning letter sounds using Visual Phonics. Students will also work hard to learn how to write their names and begin practicing correct letter formation.
Through our CKLA Knowledge curriculum, students will learn about nursery rhymes and fables. These stories will help students develop an understanding of rhyming words, build vocabulary, and learn about different parts of a story, including characters, main events, and moral lessons.
In math, we will begin Number Sense, starting with numbers 0–5 so students can develop a strong understanding of these foundational numbers. Students will practice counting, identifying numbers 0–5, making numbers, and learning correct number formation.
We will also begin our Illustrative Mathematics (IM) Math curriculum with Unit 1. Students will explore different math tools, begin recognizing numbers and quantities, and practice answering “how many?” questions.
As we get closer to fall weather, please encourage your child to practice zipping their coat independently. This is a great skill to practice at home and will help your child become more independent at school!
We are looking forward to celebrating Apple Day in Kindergarten at the end of the month! We can't wait for a fun day of learning and celebrating together.
Thank you for such a wonderful start to the school year! We are so excited for all that this year will bring!
The Kindergarten Team
First Grade News
In first grade we have been working on Fables and Short Stories. We have been learning that these stories were told by Aesop and each fable had a lesson to teach.
In Skills we are reviewing letter formations and the phonemes. We are also making words with our letters and chaining them together by changing one letter in each word to make a new one.
In math we are reviewing and introducing some math games that we will be utilizing throughout the year.
We are also reviewing and practicing our school and classroom expectations. We are still going through the First 8 Days in Leader in Me and reviewing the 7 Habits.
Please reach out to your child’s teacher if you have any questions.
