SVES Weekly Newsletter
School News
🍎 Family Learning Connection:
What We’re Learning in October:
October is an exciting month of learning at SVES! Each month, we’ll share a quick look at what students are learning in English Language Arts and Math, along with simple ways you can support that learning at home.
You don’t need special materials or worksheets. Reading together, talking about learning, playing with numbers, and asking your child to explain their thinking can make a big difference!
🍎 KINDERGARTEN
📚 Literacy: Building Early Reading Skills
This month, kindergarten students are learning concepts of print, identifying letters, and connecting letters with their sounds. Students are also practicing writing their names with an uppercase first letter followed by lowercase letters.
🏠 Try This at Home:
While reading together, ask your child to identify the front and back covers and talk about the jobs of the author and illustrator. Point to the words as you read to reinforce reading from left to right and top to bottom. Practice letter names and sounds with flashcards, and encourage your child to write their name using an uppercase first letter and lowercase letters for the rest.
🔢 Math: Building Number Sense to 10
Kindergarten students have been building a strong understanding of numbers to 5 by identifying numerals, recognizing quantities, and counting forward and backward. In October, students will extend this learning to numbers through 10.
🏠 Try This at Home:
Count toys, snacks, steps, or other objects together. Ask, “How many do we have?” Then add one more or take one away and ask your child how the amount changed.
✏️ GRADE 1
📚 Literacy: Growing Phonics & Reading Skills
This month, first graders will continue reviewing how to read and write words with short vowels. Students will identify important story elements, create story maps, and plan and write narrative paragraphs.
🏠 Try This at Home:
Say a short-vowel word aloud and have your child repeat it, count the sounds, and write the word. As you read together, ask about the characters, setting, problem, and solution.
➕ Math: Adding & Subtracting to 10
First graders are learning and practicing different strategies for addition and subtraction. They are also applying these skills to solve addition and subtraction story problems.
🏠 Try This at Home:
Practice addition facts to 10 using flashcards or quick games. As your child becomes more fluent, encourage them to recall facts without relying on fingers, number lines, or manipulatives.
📖 GRADE 2
📚 Literacy: From Decoding to Fluent Reading
This month, second graders will continue developing reading fluency. Students will practice reading with appropriate phrasing by grouping words into meaningful chunks and pausing at punctuation.
🏠 Try This at Home:
Choose a short passage and lightly draw curved “swoops” under groups of words that belong together. Have your child practice reading each phrase smoothly rather than word by word. You can also record your child reading a short passage, listen together, and try it again to make the reading even smoother.
🔢 Math: Addition to 1,000
In Chapter 2 of Math in Focus, second graders will learn to add numbers up to 1,000 with and without regrouping and apply these skills to real-world problems.
🏠 Try This at Home:
Play “Roll to 1,000.” Roll three dice and use the digits to create a three-digit number. Write it down, roll again, and add the new number to the previous total. Continue until you reach or pass 1,000. Ask your child to explain how they added the numbers.
🌊 GRADE 3
📚 Literacy: Reading to Learn
This month, third graders will continue exploring texts about people who explore the sea while strengthening comprehension skills. Students will identify main ideas and supporting details, analyze text features and illustrations, sequence events, categorize details, and discuss central ideas. In writing, students will continue organizing ideas for informative essays using the Painted Essay structure and gradually work toward completing all parts of an essay.
🏠 Try This at Home:
When reading informational texts, encourage your child to pay attention to headings, captions, photographs, diagrams, and other text features. Ask, “What did you learn from this feature that you didn’t learn from the words alone?”
➕ Math: Addition & Subtraction Within 10,000
In Chapters 2 and 3 of Math in Focus, third graders will build fluency with addition and subtraction using mental math, estimation, and place-value strategies. Students will add and subtract numbers up to 10,000 and apply these skills to real-world problems.
🏠 Try This at Home:
Use everyday situations to practice addition and subtraction. Have your child add prices while shopping, estimate totals, compare amounts, or calculate how much is left. Ask your child to explain the strategy used to solve the problem.
❤️ GRADE 4
📚 Literacy: Exploring What It Means to Have a “Great Heart”
This month, fourth graders will explore the figurative meaning of having a “great heart” as they learn about real individuals who demonstrate these qualities and begin their first novel, Love That Dog. Students will continue strengthening their comprehension skills by identifying character traits, determining central ideas and themes, analyzing important text details, and citing specific evidence to support their thinking.
In writing, students will continue developing informative essays by using specific details from texts to support their ideas and adding elaboration to make their thinking clear to the reader.
🏠 Try This at Home:
While watching a movie or TV show, reading a book, or exploring the world around you, ask your child to identify examples of individuals who possess a “great heart.” Encourage your child to describe the individual’s character traits and support their thinking with specific examples:
“___ (character name) is ___ (trait). I know this because ___ (specific words/actions).”
✖️➗ Math: Multiplication, Division & Fractions
Fourth graders will build their understanding of multi-digit multiplication and long division before moving into fractions and mixed numbers. Strong multiplication-fact fluency will continue to support students as they work with these more complex concepts.
🏠 Try This at Home:
Bring fractions into the kitchen! While cooking, ask your child to identify the fractions used in measuring. For example, if a recipe calls for 2/3 cup of milk, ask, “How much more would we need to make one whole cup?” Encourage your child to explain how they know.
❤️ Small Moments Make a Big Difference
Supporting learning at home does not have to mean extra worksheets or long practice sessions. Read together. Count together. Notice numbers. Talk about new learning. Ask your child how they know.
Those everyday conversations help children see that learning doesn’t stop when they leave school.
Thank you for partnering with us!
📚 Building Readers: Helping Your Child Grow as a Reader
Reading success grows through the little things families do every day! This month’s Building Readers newsletter is filled with simple ways to strengthen literacy at home ~ from building vocabulary through everyday conversations to making reading routines more engaging. You’ll also find fall-themed literacy activities, tips for supporting reading during math, and ideas for encouraging a lifelong love of books.
Take a few minutes to explore the October edition and find an idea to try with your child! 📖🍂
For more information please contact your child's teacher or one of our Reading Specialists: Mrs. Borger, Mrs. Heffelfinger or Ms. Mickey.
Panther Preview
- September 28-October 2: Homecoming Spirit Week (See Below for More Information)
- October 12: In-Service for Teachers ~ No School for SVSD Students
- October 27: Quarter 1 Ends
- October 28: Quarter 2 Begins
- October 30: Halloween Parade (See Below for More Information)
- November 6: Quarter 1 Report Cards are Distributed
🎃 SVES 2026 Halloween Parade Information 🎃
Please click on the Halloween Button to access our special Halloween Newsletter and learn more about our upcoming Halloween festivities, including parade details, costumes, classroom celebrations, and other important information for families. 👻🍬🎃
