Chestnut Street Monthly Newsletter

Dear Chestnut Families,

March has arrived, bringing with it the energy of spring and so many meaningful learning experiences at Chestnut Street School. Our classrooms continue to thrive with strong routines, purposeful instruction, and joyful engagement. As evidenced above, it is exciting to see the tremendous growth in our kindergarten writers. At the beginning of the year, many students were drawing pictures and labeling with beginning sounds. Now, they are writing complete sentences, adding meaningful details, and independently stretching out words to record the sounds they hear. This progression reflects not only stronger phonics skills, but also growing confidence and stamina as young authors. We are so proud of the progress they are making as their ideas come to life on the page.

On March 2nd, we will celebrate Read Across America Day, held in honor of beloved children’s author Dr. Seuss. Our faculty has planned a variety of engaging activities to celebrate the joy of reading and inspire a love of books. Be sure to ask your child which stories they enjoyed and what made the day special!

We are so grateful for your continued partnership in supporting early literacy at home. Research consistently shows that reading to children ages 4–5 every day has a significant and lasting impact on their language development, literacy skills, numeracy, and overall cognitive growth. March is also PARP month (Parents as Reading Partners), a wonderful reminder of the powerful role families play in nurturing strong readers. We encourage you to explore the linked article to learn more about how to make family reading time both meaningful and enjoyable. A heartfelt thank you to the West Hempstead PTA for generously sponsoring an author visit this month in celebration of literacy and our shared love of reading. We are especially grateful that, through their support, each student will also receive a book to take home—an investment in nurturing a lifelong love of reading and strengthening literacy beyond the classroom.

In Math, students are exploring how to compose and decompose three-dimensional shapes, as well as describe and compare shapes found in their environment. You can support this learning at home by inviting your child to identify real-world examples — a cone on the street, a cylinder-shaped can, or a rectangular sign — and describe what they notice.

In Science, students will be learning about movement through push and pull forces. As a culminating activity, they will design and build box models to test how a pinball machine works, applying their understanding in a hands-on and engaging way.

As we continue developing our Habits of Mind, we encourage you to celebrate your child when you notice persistence, thoughtful decision-making, or the ability to manage impulsivity. These social-emotional skills are nurtured daily at Chestnut Street and help our youngest Rams build confidence, empathy, and a lifelong enthusiasm for learning.

#WHe are always here to help!

Warm regards,
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.
• 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 down to winter break or and 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 2026, 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: PTA/PTSA/SEPTA Reflections Ceremony SS North Cafe @ 7pm

3/10: BOE Budget Workshop: Overview & Non-Instructional Items @ 7:30 pm VCR Room

3/24: BOE Budget Workshop: Instructional Items @ 7:30 pm VCR Room

3/27: Spring Photos CS

3/30: PTA/SEPTA Mtg. @ 7pm GW 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.