New Garden Parent Communication
🍂October 2, 2026🍂
First Grade
We are loving first grade! We are building classroom community, getting to know each other, and learning our school-wide rules to earn BARK bucks. In math we are adding and subtracting to ten. In ELA we are reading and writing CVC words with short a, short i, and short o. To celebrate Hispanic Hertiage Month, we learned about the holiday Día de los Muertos and created colorful sugar skulls that are hanging in the main hallway. We are looking forward to learning about fall in our new learning lab, as well as doing a scavenger hunt of our school as we learn about the important members of our school community.
Second Grade
Second grade is off to a wonderful start! We are building our classroom community through fun activities like the Cup Stacking Team Challenge and a Book Tasting in the Learning Lab.
In math, students are practicing addition and subtraction within 20. We are also becoming young geographers by creating island maps with titles, map keys, and compass roses.
To celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month, we are learning about the inspiring contributions of Hispanic and Latine individuals using Bold, Brilliant, and Latine. We are excited to continue learning, growing, and celebrating together!
Third Grade
Third grade is off to a fantastic start! We’ve loved exploring our beautiful new building and trying out the exciting new playground equipment! In math, we’ve been putting our thinking skills to work as we add and subtract three-digit numbers using base-ten blocks, place value, number lines, and the standard algorithms. In reading, we’ve become nonfiction detectives, using repeated readings and think marks to spot text features, uncover main ideas, and find supporting details.We’ll also use the RACE strategy to respond to reading across the curriculum. October will bring even more fun with string instrument lessons, a field trip to the Kennett Library, and our annual Pumpkin Math Day!
Fourth Grade
September has been fantastic in fourth grade! Our students have been busy learning new fourth-grade routines and expectations, building classroom community, and showing great BARK behavior. We are so proud of how they have settled into the school year and are becoming more independent, responsible learners.In WIN, we have been having fun exploring figurative language! Students have been learning about different types of figurative language and even creating examples of their own.In reading, we have been learning about the characteristics of drama. Students have enjoyed bringing characters to life by acting out scenes and exploring how characters think, feel, speak, and act. We have also been practicing identifying character traits and finding text evidence to support our thinking. Our students are learning that strong readers don't just make a claim—they can prove their thinking with evidence from the text!In math, we have been working hard on place value and whole numbers. Students have been comparing and rounding numbers and have been practicing adding and subtracting multi-digit numbers. We have worked hard to build strong number sense and develop strategies that will help us tackle more challenging math concepts throughout the year.
Looking Ahead to October
October is just around the corner, and we have so much to look forward to!We are excited for our class trip to Longwood Gardens, where we will have the opportunity to learn and explore together outside of our classroom.We will also continue celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month by learning about the characteristics of a biography and conducting research about inspiring Hispanic and Latino individuals. Students will use their research to learn more about the lives, accomplishments, and contributions of others.And in math... multiplication, here we come! Students will be learning and practicing their multiplication facts while building fluency and confidence. These facts will become an important foundation as we begin exploring factors and multiples of numbers.We are so excited to see all that our fourth graders will accomplish in October! It is going to be another wonderful month of learning, growing, and having fun together.
Fifth Grade
Our 5th grade year is off to a great start! The beginning of 5th grade has been an exciting adventure, especially as we started the year together in our brand new school! We jumped right into learning, creating, collaborating, and making memories. We began by creating a time capsule, filling it with thoughts, hopes, and memories from the beginning of our 5th grade year. We can’t wait to open it on the last day of school and see how much we’ve grown and changed! As creative thinkers, we worked collaboratively to create a poster that showcased our ideas and reminded us that great things happen when we work together. In math, we started exploring both algebra and geometry, stretching our thinking and tackling new challenges. In ELA, we got to know ourselves and our classmates better by writing Bio Poems and kicked off our 40 Book Challenge, setting reading goals and getting excited about the books ahead. In science, we learned about scientific practices and put our observation and inference skills to the test during The Great Pencil Caper. It’s only the beginning, but our 5th graders are already showing that this is going to be a year filled with learning, collaboration, and lots of great memories!
Related Arts- Library
Book exchanges are underway in the library! The students are getting used to the new library and finding their favorite (or soon to be favorite) books! We have been talking about taking care of books and being responsible for them while they are at home. This includes: keeping books in their backpack unless they are reading them, keeping the books away from pets, younger siblings, food and drink as these all damage the books, and bringing them back to the library on time. Thank you so much for reinforcing this at home and please reach out to Ms. Pizzini (kpizzini@kcsd.org) with any questions.
Nurse Giunta
This month was all about orientation. Settling into my bigger, new fabulous office, learning our new schedules, processes, routines & getting familiar with new student medications, there has been so much to learn & embrace. As we head into October, I'm looking forward to feeling a little more organized and settled within my nurses office and personal school schedule.
Counseling- Mrs. Solon & Mr. Bill
It has been an exciting start to the school year! This year, our school introduced a new Social Emotional Learning program called Wayfinder, which has been a wonderful addition to our morning time with students. Through Wayfinder, we are building skills in self-awareness, adaptability, empathy, collaboration, agency, and purpose while strengthening our school community.
We have also started Tier 2 SEL groups to provide additional support for students. We are excited to welcome our new part-time counselor, Bill Walleekendeh, who will be an important part of supporting our students and families.
Please do not hesitate to reach out if we can provide support. We are here to partner with you and help make this the best school year yet!
ELD
September was all about getting to know our students, building relationships, and collaborating with grade-level teachers and specialists to support student success. We celebrated Hispanic Heritage Month with Spirit Week and a Hispanic Heritage Assembly featuring “Who’s Who?” trivia and a fun dance lesson! Thanks to our KEF grant. In October, We looking forward to continuing to build relationships, strengthen language skills, and collaborate with teachers to meet our students’ individual needs.
