Week of September 30th

Happy Friday Pandas!

General Updates:

1. Please check out the specials classes update here!

2. This week we celebrated a panda birthday! Happy birthday Gregory!

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3. Family Educator Conferences are Thursday, October 10th from 5:00-8:30 pm and Friday, October 11th from 10:00 am-1:30 pm. Please use Meet the Teacher to schedule your 15 minute time slot. Conferences are virtual via Meet the Teacher platform unless otherwise noted. I look forward to speaking with all of you!

4. An update from Mrs. Martinez

   1. Thank you to our PTO for providing an author visit at Willow Grove!  Rekha Rajan is visiting Willow Grove on October 18th.  If you are interested in having a book signed by the author please use the following Amazon links to purchase the book/s and then send the book/s to school with your child by October 14th.  Please write your child’s name and classroom teacher on a post-it note and attach it to the inside cover of the book/s. 

      
      

      This is Music Drums: https://a.co/d/15azmy8

      This is Music Horns: https://a.co/d/6OpZNcR

      This is Music Strings: https://a.co/d/9zrN8KU

      This is Music Voice: https://a.co/d/0N8FdDf

      Can you Dance Like a Peacock?: https://a.co/d/f0bszk0

      Amazing Landmarks: https://a.co/d/ilaxtbO

      
      

      Please also fill out this google form so that we can make sure the books are signed by the author: https://forms.gle/Npvh597ZSN1a8yoT6

      
      

      If you have any questions please email Mrs. Martinez at:mmartinez@kcsd96.org

5.  I would love to extend open arms and welcome families into our classroom! This year we will be welcoming families in to be a "mystery guest"! This is a fifteen minute time slot that you are able to sign up for to either be a mystery reader or to teach us about your beautiful cultures! Please note, there are only two adults over the age of 18 allowed into the building for this volunteer opportunity at a time. 

Some ideas of things you could share related to your culture (but are not limited to) are: photos (holidays, travels, clothing, etc), videos, music, games, stories, puppet show, art project, etc. You are also welcome to bring in any stories and read them to the class for enjoyment! If you are bringing in books, please bring 2-3 books to share during this time.

Cultural connections are totally up to you and what you are comfortable with. We can't wait to welcome you into our classroom this year! If your work schedules are tight and the time slots available do not work for you, please reach out and we are able to plan this over Zoom or you are able to send a video in that we can share with the class!

Please only sign up for one slot per family. If you have any questions, do not hesitate to reach out :)

Click Here For Mystery Guest Sign Up

1. Willow Grove is in the process of creating a MakerSpace library. MakerSpace is a place during play where students can explore, design, and create. Students have the freedom to build and construct during our play. We are so excited to bring MakerSpace to our classroom, but we need your help! In order to have a successful MakerSpace for students to use, we are in need of donations year round. If you are able, we would so appreciate any donation you are willing provide. Below is a list of different items we would love to add to Willow Grove's MakerSpace library.

This week in literacy...

• Phonics: The pandas are continuing to focus on what the sounds look like written down (the letter symbol). We worked to isolate the beginning sound of a word and match that sound to its letter symbol along with sorting pictures by their beginning sound and letter.

Sound Collection: /m/, /s/, /l/, /n/, /f/, /r/, /v/, /z/, /p/, /g/, /d/, /t/, /k/, /b/, /w/, /h/, /kw/, /j/, /y/, /ks/

Letter Collection: m, t, p, a, s, c, h, i

• Reading: This week we began our next cycle of literacy which focuses on understanding life on the farm. Throughout this cycle we will read informational and literature texts that help us understand animals, people, and plants on the farm. Using these texts, we are also going to be word collectors! A word collector looks for "juicy" and interesting words in a text to help us better understand our reading! This week we read, Animals on the Farm.

• Writing: This week in writing the pandas continued practicing the difference between a letter, a word, and a sentence. We also discussed the difference between facts and opinions. Our focus this week was on opinions. The students were encouraged to speak in a full sentence telling their opinion with a reason.

This week in math...

• The pandas learned a new counting strategy called tally marks. Tally marks are lines used to represent a number. The pandas learned the phrase "1,2,3,4,5 close the gate!" to remember that number 5 crosses over the tally marks. We practiced using craft sticks (popsicle sticks) to represent tally marks.

Reminders

• Please label your child's snack daily and pack this separate from the lunchbox.

• Water bottles stay in the classroom, if you want your child to have a drink for lunch, please send a separate drink.

• If you would like your child to buy a drink at lunch, please make sure there is money in the account for the lunch card.

• Extra clothes and PE shoes should be labeled and stored in your child's cubby.

• Please see Mrs. Smith's Principal's Message for further information about Willow Grove: principal's message

Upcoming Dates

Thursday, October 10th- No School/Family Educator Conferences

Friday, October 11th- No School/ Family Educator Conferences

Monday, October 14th- No School

Wednesday, October 16th- Picture Retake Day

Tuesday, October 22nd- Early Release

Thursday, October 24th- Ice Cream Social and Book Fair (Pandas attend in AM)

Thursday, October 31st- Halloween Parade & Party