Dear Chestnut Families,
Happy New Year and welcome back!
#We hope you had a wonderful holiday, and a relaxing break with your families. It is time to settle back into our routines, and continue on our learning journeys. We have lots of fun things happening in January! December was filled with joy as we learned about holiday traditions and customs. We had fun practicing building words using the letter sounds we have studied so far this year and ended December by writing in simple sentences.
Each January, we assess how well our students are doing in reading and math. West Hempstead uses the Northwest Education Association (NWEA) as a benchmark assessment. The word "benchmark" means a standard to measure something. So, when we say we're "benchmarking" the students, we check your child's progress to a standard. In an effort to measure student learning and teacher instructional practice, Chestnut Street administers NWEA during the winter and spring of each school year. NWEA MAP Growth assessments are unique, and it adapts to your student’s responses to measure your student’s skill level. If your student answers a question correctly, the next question is more challenging. If they answer incorrectly, the next one is easier. Kindergarten teachers use this information , as well as other assessment data to determine the next steps for learning to meet your child's needs.
Continue to read your books from the library, the sight word readers, and the guided reading books as well as the books your child(ren) borrows from the classroom library. We encourage students to practice reading each day at home and to read with your child - in the language you are most comfortable with!
While January might be the first month in the calendar year, it is the midpoint of the kindergarten year and our students will be returning to school with some solid skills they have acquired in the fall. During this second half of the year, we will continue to build fluency with these skills, but also provide experiences for children to apply these skills in meaningful, authentic ways.
From January through mid-March we will work on persuasive/opinion writing. Encourage your child to consider their opinions about topics when you are having conversations at home. What is their favorite dinner meal? Why? What TV show do they most enjoy watching? What reasons support their idea? Remember, at this time, students are not expected to spell every word correctly. We do expect them to listen for the sounds they hear and include those. Dog may be spelled as 'dg' and that is alright! Learning vowels takes time- - be patient, your child's letter/sound awareness and spelling skills are growing every day. Remind your child(ren) to use what they know about letters and sounds and sight words.
In math, we continue to explore making shapes, filling hexagons, and 2-D Geometry.
From the beginning of January through mid-February, we are exploring collecting, counting, and measuring.
Students will answer the essential questions below. Be sure to ask your child these questions!
We are counting to 50 by 1’s and 10’s. We have been counting by 10’s when we count the number of days we have been in school. We now will be practicing writing our numbers 11 to 20 in addition to our numbers 1-10. We are playing lots of games that focus on counting “on” strategies. Children will also understand the words fewer, lesser, more and greater.
Thank you to all of our amazing parent volunteers who helped out during the month of December. #Whe loved having you share in our celebrations and appreciated your help with the book and holiday boutique fairs! Thank you to all the parents - #WHe appreciate your partnership.
Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out and call the main office -
#WHe are always here to help!
Dr. Lisa Minicozzi
