TOQUAM'S PARENT NEWSLETTER
Week of Monday, October 20 , 2025
📣 From the Principal's Desk...😃🤩😘
Dear Toquam Families,
Thank you to everyone who attended our recent parent conferences! We truly appreciate you taking the time to meet with us and learn more about your child’s progress. Your support makes a big difference in your child’s success.
Today, we held our first PAWS Assembly of the year! Our focus was on the importance of being respectful to yourself, respectful to others, and respectful to the environment. Students will receive a ROAR Matrix to hang on their refrigerator to remind them to be upright citizens.
During the assembly, we recognized one student from each classroom for demonstrating outstanding citizenship and effort with their academics...Congratulations to all of our student leaders!
We are so fortunate to have a dedicated, knowledgeable staff who go the extra mile every day to differentiate instruction and support every child’s learning journey. Their commitment helps create a positive and inclusive school community.
We’re excited to invite all families to two upcoming events:
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Trunk or Treat – Thursday, October 24
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Math Games & Fun Night – Wednesday, October 30
During Math Night, our amazing PTO will have pizza for sale, and students and staff are welcome to wear positive-themed costumes while enjoying games and treats.
We hope to see you there for both fun and learning!
Warm regards,
Principal Brooks
ART...MUSIC...PHYSICAL EDUCATION (gym)... LET'S GET ACTIVE
GRADE LEVEL UPDATES...🍏🍎🍏🍎
KINDERGARTEN:
FIRST GRADE:
Dear Families,
We’ve been having so much fun learning this fall! As always, we encourage you to get involved and stay connected. Your support truly makes a difference in helping Toquam be the best it can be!
Literacy: This month, students are deepening their understanding of the five vowel sounds and learning the most common spelling for each. They are also continuing to build their knowledge of nouns and how to use them in sentences.
Math: We are jumping into Unit 3, focusing on patterns and counting. Students are identifying and creating patterns using objects and numbers, while continuing to strengthen their counting skills.
Knowledge: Different Lands and Similar Stories is a unit that explores how people from different parts of the world share similar stories even though their location, cultures and traditions may be different. Students will identify common themes as well as comparing and contrasting the similarities and differences.
Important Dates:
- Field Trip: We are thrilled for our upcoming trip to SoundWaters on 10/28 and 10/31! Please ensure your child dresses in weather-appropriate attire and dressed to mess! Students may pack a lunch or order one from school. Please send in a water bottle. We can't wait for this exciting adventure!
- Diwali: 10/31 – Happy Diwali to those who celebrate!
- Halloween: 10/31 – Please note, no costumes in school.
Warm regards,
The First Grade Team 🙂
SECOND GRADE:
Dear Families,
Happy Fall! 🍂 Just like the changes in nature, our classrooms are full of growth and excitement as we dive into new learning adventures together. We’re so grateful for your continued support in making Toquam a wonderful place to learn and grow!
🌟 What We’re Learning
📚 Magnetic Reading – Making Art
Students are practicing comprehension skills while exploring how artists express creativity and ideas through art.
📖 CKLA Knowledge – Ancient Greek Civilization
After finishing our unit on Early Asian Civilizations, we are moving into Ancient Greece, where students will learn about myths, important leaders, and contributions that shaped history.
➗ Math (i-Ready) – Unit 1: Numbers within 20
We are continuing to build number sense while practicing addition and subtraction strategies within 20 to strengthen problem-solving skills.
🌍 Science – Physical Science: Changes
Students are discovering how matter can change; through heating, cooling, mixing, and other processes while making real-world connections.
📅 Dates to Remember
Oct. 15–17: Early Release—Parent-Teacher Conferences
Oct. 22: Early Release
Nov. 4: Election Day—No School
We’re excited for another month filled with learning, curiosity, and growth!
With warm regards,
The Second Grade Team
THIRD GRADE:
Grade 3 October Newsletter # 2
FOURTH GRADE:
🙋Hello 4th Grade Families! We had a crisp morning on Friday for our 🏃Jog-A-Thon🏃 and the students jogged and walked to exercise their muscles and support Toquam! We are continuing our work in Reading/Writing with a continued focus on the components of writing a well developed 📝personal narrative, including character traits, cause and effect, sensory details, dialogue, transition words, supporting details, and conclusions. We are starting Chapter 2 in Every Day Math which will focus on square arrays, factors, multiples, prime/composite numbers, symmetry, and categorizing quadrilaterals. EM Games Online offers a wide range of math games to reinforce those skills learned in the classroom and the kids LOVE to play them! Study, Study, study those times tables so your child knows them automatically! The students have enjoyed playing the Every Day Math game Factor Captor which reinforces factor pairs. A simple ten minute a night practice session of multiplication facts is so important and helps greatly with understanding current math skills! We are continuing our 💡Energy Works Science unit and the students have been experimenting with ping pong balls and how potential energy is affected when the distance from the ground is increased. In addition, the students are using marbles to record what happens when two objects collide and how that energy is transformed. 🎃October tips: Please remember to ask your child about their daily homework assignments and to check them over each night. Our classrooms would appreciate any donations of Kleenex boxes as the colder months are right around the corner and hand soaps to keep us all healthy. Miles of smiles from the 4th grade team.😊
FIFTH GRADE:
Hello Fifth Grade Families!
🏫It was so wonderful to meet with all of our families last week during Parent Conferences to share your child's strengths and areas of focus! Please contact your child’s teacher if you still need to schedule a parent conference.
☺️We’re excited to update you on what your children have been working on in class! Here’s a quick overview of our current learning:
🧮Math: Whole Number Place Value and Operations
In math, students are exploring whole number place values and operations. They’re strengthening their skills in addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division and understanding how large numbers work in different contexts.
🌎Social Studies: Learning About the First Settlers
For this part of the year, we are transitioning from science to social studies. Our focus will be on the First Settlers, where students will learn about the early groups that shaped the foundations of our country.
📕📝CKLA: Moving to Early American Civilizations
We’ve just wrapped up our unit on personal narratives in CKLA. Now, we’re shifting gears to study Early American Civilizations, where students will explore the fascinating histories of the Maya, Aztec, and Inca cultures.
If you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to reach out to your child’s teacher. Your support is greatly appreciated as we continue our learning journey!
Warm regards,
The Fifth Grade Team🥰
TOQUAM'S COUNSELING TEAM... WE'RE HERE FOR YOU!🥰🤐🤔😷😵
Social emotional learning (SEL) isn’t just something that should be practiced and taught at school. SEL skills are life skills, of course! These include skills like empathy, self-control, and decision-making. It’s important to mention that you don’t have to be an expert with social emotional skills to teach and practice them with children. Even small activities, like reading books and playing games, can strengthen social skills and teach children important skills along the way. This matters!
To teach your child empathy and perspective taking, spend some time watching a show or movie together. At any given time, pause and discuss how the characters are feeling. You might ask: “How are they feeling?” and “How would you feel if that happened to you?” Use this conversation to build on considering how others feel, discussing social cues, and caring about their emotions.
Enter Updates here
TOQUAM'S MULTI-LUNGUAL TEAM
📚 Multilingual Learner Students
October 16, 2025
Dear Parents,
By the middle of October, students are becoming more confident with classroom routines and participating more actively in lessons. ML teachers continue to provide instruction matched to each student’s language proficiency, supporting their growth in English and their understanding of classroom content.
In Native Language Support, we are …
continuing to learn about our five senses
speaking in complete sentences
practicing name writing
In Kindergarten, we are …
reviewing sounds and names of letters: Mm, Tt, Aa, Ss, Bb and Ii
practicing letter formations
practice writing simple CVC words such as: man, tap, can, sit, bib, hat, etc.
In First Grade, we are …
focusing on counting syllables
Identifying initial /s/, introducing and forming letter Ss
using the following High-Frequency Words in sentences: the, see, and, to
In Second Grade, we are …
learning there are many different ways to create art
reading longer words with final e
using the following High Frequency Words in sentences: by, down, my, said
In Third through Fifth Grades,
Level A students are …
Focusing on short vowel o
Reading longer, multisyllabic words
Using tapping strategies to sound out letters to read a word
using the following High-frequency Words in sentences: after, from, to, was, with, my, her, see, no, water, you, some, put
Level B students are …
vowel teams: ee, ea (long e words→wheat, freeze, feed, need, leaf, tree, week)
past tense verbs ending in -ed (ex: needed, hailed, claimed, pleaded, sneezed)
using the following High Frequency Words in sentences: things, little, water, there, people, they, after, put, saw, from
speaking and writing in complete sentences using familiar words and sentences frames
Level C students are …
Adjectives and descriptive sentences
Adjectives for size, color, number, and feelings: big, small, red, three, happy, tired
Combining adjectives with nouns: (e.g., big tree, red car, happy teacher, small dog)
Using adjectives with prepositions in phrases: behind, between, over, across
(e.g., The big dog is behind the mailbox.)
Writing longer sentences with conjunctions: and, but, because, so
(e.g., The red car is fast, and it is parked across the street.)
Using high-frequency words in sentences: their, about, could, then, when
(e.g., I told them about the small green frog that jumped into their garden.)
Tips for Home Practice
Read together daily and point out sounds/letters
Practice writing, speaking, and typing sentences with new words
Practice blending sounds to read words
Review high-frequency words in short, fun sessions
We are excited about the progress students are making and look forward to continuing to support their growth in reading, writing, and speaking. Thank you for partnering with us in your child’s learning!
Sincerely,
ML Team
EL Newsletter #5
TOQUAM HAS TWO NEW ARRIVAL CLASSROOMS...
1. IMPORTANT DATES 📆
Thursday, October 30: Math-Tastic Boooo...👻👻👻
Students can come in positive costumes. Parents order pizza and enjoy dinner with our PTO.
- Place: Toquam Cafeteria/Gym
- Time: 5:30-7:30pm
- Please wear socks to participate