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Hispanic/Latino Heritage Month

September 15 - October 15 2025

Hispanic/Latino Heritage Month September 15 - October 15 2025
Hispanic/LatinoHeritage MonthSeptember 15 - October 15 2025
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Let's Get Celebrating! 🪅

Dear Toquam Families,

As we approach National Hispanic Heritage Month, which begins on September 15th, we are excited to celebrate and honor the rich history, culture, and contributions of Americans whose families hail from Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central and South America. This month is a wonderful opportunity to recognize and appreciate the diversity within our own school community.

Our student body is a beautiful tapestry of cultures, languages, and traditions, and we are proud to celebrate the heritage of all our scholars. Throughout the month, we will be highlighting the unique backgrounds of our students, sharing stories, and exploring the traditions and contributions that make our school an inclusive and vibrant family.

We encourage everyone to join in the celebration by participating in the various activities and events we have planned. Whether through music, art, history, or literature, there will be many opportunities to learn about and appreciate the rich cultural heritage that each of our students brings to our school community.

Let’s come together to honor the diverse cultures of our scholars and celebrate the contributions that make our school a place where everyone belongs.


Warm regards,

Principal Brooks



🥁 The 2025 theme is: "Collective Heritage: Honoring the Past, Inspiring the future."

Safety Drills

Last week, our scholars practiced a lockdown. Students followed directions and learning resumed quickly following the drill.

TOQUAM'S...Grade Level Updates...😋😛😜🤪

KINDERGARTEN:

We are so excited to begin this new school year with you and your family. So many new beginnings. We have so many fun things planned.
The beginning weeks of Kindergarten, we will focus on practicing classroom Rituals and Routines! We will also agree upon some classroom rules together.
We are looking forward to a wonderful school year !
Things to work on at home…
Have your child practice writing their name. They can write in sand, with play-doh, in shaving cream or even make their name with cereal. Get creative and have FUN! Try RAINBOW writing !
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PEKAj2HtKaM


Weather: Please check to the weather daily and, dress your child appropriately. Kindergarten goes outside every day, if the weather permits.


FIRST GRADE:

Welcome Back to School! We were so excited to meet and welcome our new first graders into our classroom! You are such an important part of our school community. We welcome your support and involvement to make this school year a huge success! Students are settling into daily routines and are eager to learn. Here is what we have been learning in our classrooms:
Literacy: reviewing the alphabet, practicing letter formation, and learning how to participate in small group activities both independently and with the teacher
Knowledge: listening to fables and stories that teach comprehension skills, valuable lessons and the key elements of a story
Math: counting in various ways during Unit 1 while engaging in games and utilizing our math toolkits
Social Studies: Our focus is on how our classroom is like a family and how we can be good citizens in our school community

A few important reminders/dates:
-open House: join us on 9/26/24 from 5:30 PM to 7:30 PM
-school starts at 8:45 each day
-please check your child's black communication folder
-please update pick up patrol for changes in dismissal

We are excited for the year to come! Please don't hesitate to reach out to us with any questions or concerns.


SECOND GRADE:

Welcome Back to School! We were so excited to meet our new scholars. Students are eager to learn, and are settling into daily routines. We have been busy reviewing math and reading concepts taught in first grade. In Math, we will be reviewing number concepts, such as odd and even numbers, comparing numbers, skip counting, and number combinations. We will be beginning our unit of Fairy Tales and Tale Tales in the next few days for CKLA knowledge. In Social Studies we will be learning about Citizenship and what qualities good citizens possess. Over the next two weeks, we will also be doing some getting to know you and team building activities. Please make sure to pack one small and healthy snack that students may eat at recess, a water bottle for your child, and don't forget to sign up for REMIND so we may send you classroom updates. In addition, please do not forget to make sure to update pickup patrol for dismissal. We look forward to a wonderful year and seeing all of you during Open House on September 26th, 2024!


THIRD GRADE:

Welcome back to school! We were so thrilled to meet our new 3rd graders. The first few days of school were great. We got a chance to get to know each other a little better while building a positive classroom environment. We are busy learning new routines and expectations that will help our scholars have a successful school year! We will soon begin our math, literacy, science, and social studies curriculum. Please make sure to check their homework folder and planner daily for important announcements. These items are to be transported to and from school every day. In addition, please make sure your child's default dismissal plan is put into Pick-up Patrol. We look forward to an exciting school year!


FOURTH GRADE:

Welcome to Fourth Grade! We hope you had a great summer. We are so happy to welcome back our scholars! We will be learning a lot in the first few weeks and going over expectations. A few reminders for parents:
-Make sure you have the Remind app to communicate with your child's homeroom teacher.
-Please review your child's homework folder and student planner daily.
-Parents must sign the planner daily to ensure homework has been completed.
-Please submit any dismissal changes in Pick-Up Patrol as soon as possible
-Make sure you can log in to the parent portal and complete all forms promptly.
We look forward to an amazing successful school year!
In partnership,
Fourth Grade Team


FIFTH GRADE:

**Welcome Back to School!**

Dear 5th Grade Parents and Guardians,

Welcome to a new school year! We are thrilled to have your child in our 5th-grade class and are looking forward to an exciting and productive year ahead.

**Communication with Teachers:**
We want to ensure that we stay connected throughout the year. All 5th-grade teachers will be using the **Remind app** to communicate important updates, reminders, and announcements. Please make sure that you have signed up for Remind so you don’t miss any important information. If you haven’t yet signed up, please reach out to your child’s teacher for instructions on how to join.

**AVID Binders and Homework:**
This year, we will be implementing **AVID binders** as part of our organizational strategy to help students stay on top of their work. Your child will be bringing home their homework folder and agenda book each night. It is very important that you review and sign the agenda book every night that homework is assigned. This will help you stay informed about what your child is working on and ensure that they are completing their assignments on time.

**Questions or Concerns:**
We believe that communication between home and school is key to your child’s success. If you have any questions or concerns at any point during the school year, please do not hesitate to reach out to your child’s teacher. We are here to support you and your child every step of the way.

Thank you for your continued support, and we look forward to a wonderful school year together!

Sincerely,
The 5th Grade Team

Picasso ... Master Art Teachers... (Ms Austin & D'Agostino)

https://docs.google.com/document/u/0/d/1HRp63kKb4kEip8YPq13s9ZAc7Tg5-nD-ilOWbsAUiPc/edit

TOQUAM'S COUNSELING TEAM (SOCIAL WORKERS & SCHOOL PSYCHOLGIST)

As your school counseling team, we are excited to welcome back all students and families for the 2023-2024 school year! We look forward to getting to know your family and hope that you had an enjoyable summer break.

We each have a passion for education and will do our utmost to help support your child (ren) throughout our learning community. We are here to ensure that students are mentally, physically, and emotionally present in the classroom and available to learn. We also work with students to develop and maintain positive, constructive, trusting relationships with others.

As school based mental health providers, we continuously advocate for the respect and dignity of all students. We also work collaboratively with local agencies to support the needs of our families. Should you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to reach out and we will do our best to assist you. Let's work together, so that our scholars can BELIEVE, ACHIEVE and SUCCEED here at Toquam!

Dr. Nikimya Ligon-Barnes, School Psychologist
Aemir Lopez Medina, Bilingual School Social Worker
Ryki Pearce, School Social Worker

The Duo is Working on the field... PE Teachers

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1iO2ldsN8VlSB_uCxdl3PqNhcxMM3AuW5Z9dGtA15RO4/edit?usp=sharing

New Arrival Classes... We Have Three New Arrival Classes😘🙂😁

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1T2bFYs6L2u_JluTiAUcdCufCgbOPEyUXz9Y59VkW6Ks/edit?usp=sharing

English Language Team... Is Second to None...

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1HNXn33wdkgjb6VkQzyC8oP8iQzMcrl5k1JoiBIFHvQg/edit

Toquam has the Finest Reading Team.💗💚💛🧡💜💙

Reading Team Updates 9/2/24

Comprehensive Resources Comprehensive Resources

The Ultimate Guide to Hispanic Heritage Month Activities

Inside: A collection of Hispanic Heritage Month activities and ideas for schools or to celebrate at home. National Hispanic Heritage Month occurs every year in the United States, from September 15th to October 15th. It's a month to celebrate the achievements of famous Hispanic Americans, along with everyday people.

launch spanishmama.com

ROSCCO is Here for Before and After School Care...

https://www.roscco.org/forms .

New Arrival Classes

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1T2bFYs6L2u_JluTiAUcdCufCgbOPEyUXz9Y59VkW6Ks/edit?usp=sharing

Toquam's Music Department... Is Melodious..

https://docs.google.com/document/d/14n4cHLPIZQaxO4BHWkXA9PfluFISEgqWkKXQDyo9U1k/edit

Librarians have the best resources.
From websites to periodicals, and even a scavenmger hunt!, this site has great resources for teaching Hispanic Heritage Month, including a worksheet exercise for students to search the database for info about important Hispanic Americans.

Classroom Activities Classroom Activities

Love a creative biography project? Click here! Love a creative biography project? Click here!

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Ellen Ochoa

Learn all about this remarkable astronaut here, and about other notable Hispanic American scientists here.
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Lin-Manuel Miranda

Here's a kid-appropriate bio of this musical theater ⭐️, plus a video of his 8th grade English teacher.
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Sonia Sotomayor

A great video intro to this Supreme Court Justice. For more Hispanic women taking charge today, check out this list.
Literature-based discussion activity.
From Learning for Justice, this activity involves reading a text appropriate for upper MS & HS, and responding to discussion questions.

Maya Math Game

I am Itzamná, Maya Lord of Knowledge and Wisdom. I am here to tell you about my people, who were expert mathematicians. The ancient Maya used mathematics to support many activities in their daily lives, from market transactions to predicting eclipses and making sophisticated calendar calculations.

launch maya.nmai.si.edu
Hispanic Heritage Month & Science
Hispanic students are vastly underrepresented in STEM AP courses and college majors. Shift the equation by exposing students to contributions of Hispanic cultures and Hispanic Americans to the fields of mathematics and science.

Hispanic Heritage Month: The origin of the piñata

The piñata is a beloved tradition for many children. Despite being associated with Hispanic culture, the piñata originates from Asia, according to Spanish Language Arts teachers. “It’s believed the piñata actually derives from Marco Polo way back in the days when he was traveling through Asia,” said Adan Martinez, a Spanish teacher at Socorro High School.

launch kfoxtv.com
postage stamp of hispanic americans
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Principal Brooks
https://www.toquamschool.org/
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