Dear Chestnut Families,

As we head into Spring, many exciting things will be happening here at Chestnut Street School. Today we celebrated Read Across America Day. This day occurs on children’s book author Dr. Seuss' birthday. Our faculty planned many activities for the day to help us celebrate the joy of reading. Please ask your child(ren) this afternoon which books they read today in school. We appreciate your continued partnership in supporting early literacy at home. Research shows that reading to children at ages 4-5, every day, has a significant positive effect on their reading skills and cognitive skills (language and literacy, numeracy and cognition) later in life. Take a look at the article, linked below, to learn more about how you can enjoy family reading together and how parents can act as reading partners (PARP). A big thank you to the WH’s PTA for sponsoring an author visit for this month to honor the importance of reading and our shared love of literacy!

In Math, students are exploring how to compose and decompose 3-D shapes in their environment and describe and compare the shapes they find. Have fun helping your child recognize and identify real world examples of shapes by asking them about what they see (a cone in the street, a rock on the sidewalk, or a stop sign). In science students will be learning about movement (push & pull). As a culminating activity they build box models to test how a pinball machine works.

As we continue to develop our Habits of Minds, please celebrate your child(ren) when you observe him or her persisting or managing impulsivity. Throughout our days together at Chestnut Street, we routinely nurture these social-emotional skills so that our youngest Rams have a positive sense of themselves, respect for others, and enthusiasm for learning!

Please do not hesitate to reach out and call the main office -

#WHe are always here to help!

Dr. Lisa Minicozzi

• Play board games with your child(ren) to practice taking turns.
• When reading you can ask your student to guess the word by looking at the first sound and using the picture to help.
• Ask your child to identify sight words in the texts they see.
• Pay a visit to the WH Public Library to read a book together!
• When listening to music with your child, ask them to listen for rhyming words.
• Use a family calendar and show your child the date. Practice counting to an upcoming family event.

• If your child will be absent, please call Nurse Angela before 8:30 AM at 516-390-3155
• Kindly ensure your child has a full change of clothes in the classroom.
• If there will be a change in your child's afternoon transportation, please write a note or email to the teacher. For last-minute changes, please call Mrs. Ventura or Mrs. White before 2:00 PM. 516-390-3150
• Please select your child's daily lunch order on the printed menu by circling or highlighting the choices and return it to school ASAP. The link for the menus is below. Please note, at times the item listed on the menu may not be available and your child will be offered an alternative option.
• Please do not block the driveways of the homes around our school. Our neighbors have reached out to express concern about their driveways being blocked during drop-off and dismissal. Thank you for your cooperation.

If you or someone you know has a child who is eligible for PreK or Kindergarten for 2025, please call Mrs. Ventura today at 516-390-3150 to find out about our upcoming registration. We still have some remaining spots for this year open. Eligibility requirements: resident of the WHUFSD and born between 12/2/2019 and 12/1/2020.

3/4: BOE Mtg. @ 7:30pm SS VCR Room

3/11: BOE Mtg. @ 7:30 pm SS VCR Room

3/18: BOE Mtg. @ 7:30 pm SS VCR Room

3/28: Spring Photos CS

3/31: PTA/SEPTA Mtg. @ 7pm CA Cafe

The Habits of Mind are an identified set of 16 problem solving, life related skills, which contribute to creating a healthier learning environment. The habits are cross-curricular and applied throughout the West Hempstead UFSD, in all grades and levels. Currently in kindergarten, we are focusing on Managing Impulsivity.

This Habit of Mind is important for students to understand because it helps students recognize the control they have over their bodies and actions- and provides them with skills and solutions to help regulate some of their impulsive behaviors. Whether it be impulsive decisions or impulsive body movements, students benefit from explicit instruction in this Habit of Mind to ensure that they develop a deeper understanding of the fact that they are in control of their bodies and the decisions they make.

Impulse control is such an important self-management skill to teach children. Many kids need practice with these life skills. Linked below are some of my favorite videos for teaching self-control to kids. In this list, you'll find interactive activity and freeze dance videos, explainer videos, animated videos, videos with songs about self-control, and read aloud books for self-control.