This week, we will continue reading our little spot of feelings books so your students can untangle their scribble spots and begin learning how to identify their own spots of feelings. We will also begin our service learning curriculum on Tuesday. For Service Learning, your students will learn about pollinators and help support pollinator populations through small projects. 

Upcoming

-Picture day: September 6th is Individual Student Picture Day. Our class picture date will happen soon.  

-Parent Engagement Night: Mark your calendars for Thursday, September 12th from 6:00pm to 7:30pm at Westgate. Come mingle with other kindergarten families and get to know  your student’s teachers. More information will come soon but please leave your kiddos at home for this adult only event.

Testing: 

This is our opening week of DIBELs testing. DIBELs is our district wide testing platform to measure your students skills in literacy. We will begin on Monday, August 26th, and end Tuesday, September 10th. It is important that our kinders have a big meal before testing so they can demonstrate their abilities to the fullest. If you’d like to know more about DIBELs, please check out this PDF that dives a bit deeper. 

Community helpers: 

We’re excited to learn more about our community and the important roles people play in it. If you or any of your family members are community helpers (any profession that serves the community), we would love to invite them to our class to share what they do and how they help others.

We will be working on our community helpers unit during the week of August 26-September 30th. Our science and social studies time is typically during the time of 12:45-1:30, but if another time works better for you, we can do our best to make that work! Please email me if anyone is interested and available to visit us. You must have a background check in order to join our class, which you can find here. I look forward to hearing from you!

Volunteering: 

I’ve had a few families reach out for opportunities to join our classroom and volunteer! First, thank you! Thank you for wanting to join our class and for your patience as our students get used to our routines. Throughout the year, there will be plenty of times when we will ask families to join us, such as field trips and class parties. However, if you’re interested in joining our day-to-day class by reading a book, preparing materials, or facilitating a center rotation, please complete this short google survey. Please complete the survey a week before your planned visit. IThe survey will also list a few rules I have for family members who join the class. In addition to those rules, you will need to complete a background check, which you can find here. 

Community helpers: 

Hello Kindergarten Families!

We’re excited to learn more about our community and the important roles people play in it. If you or any of your family members are community helpers (any profession that serves the community), we would love to invite them to our class to share what they do and how they help others.

We will be working on our community helpers unit during the week of August 26-September 30th. Our science and social studies time is typically during the time of 12:45-1:30, but if another time works better for you, we can do our best to make that work! Please let me know ([email protected]) if anyone is interested and available to visit us. We look forward to hearing from you!

Welcome to Kindergarten at Westgate! We are so excited to have you! This year we are going to hit the ground running and begin with kindergarten norms, which include sharing (but not germs), hands to ourselves, respect for classmates/material, and all of the engaging routines we have to make a safe classroom. You might have noticed this is an Advocacy page. I am your students' advocacy teacher, which means I am one of your students' advocates. It is my job to have your students back, always look for positive intent, and overall find ways to support their needs. On our advocacy page, I will share updates, important information, and what we will be doing during our social emotional block. For the month of August, we will be taking a closer look at our school wide RISE values (Respect, Integrity, Safety, Empathy). Your students have the opportunity to earn a RISE ticket by showing these values in our classroom. These tickets are intentionally given and when your student receives one please celebrate with them.  

Here are some important reminders for next week: 

• Snack: Bring two healthy nut-free snacks (no candy please). We have a morning snack and an afternoon snack time. 
• Lunch: If you have not ordered a school lunch, please provide a student with a lunch from home. If you would like to start signing up for lunches for the next month, here is the link. 
• Water bottles: while we have a drinking fountain in our pod, it’s helpful for students to have water in the classroom. 
• Show and Share: starting next week, we will begin Show and Share! Students will bring in one item from home that can fit in their backpack to share with our class. Show and Share items must remain in their backpacks throughout the day until it’s time to present. Students will have a specific designated day to bring in their show and share. The schedule will be shared with families on Friday. 
• Extra Clothes: Please provide an extra set of clothes in their backpack in case of accidents. If your student has an accident, their clothes will be returned in their backpack in a plastic bag.