Week of August 21st

We had a great first week reading books and getting to know one another and our classroom. This group is off to a wonderful start!

Handwriting/Name Writing
This week, we will begin focusing on names and letters. One of our kindergarten standards is writing a name with one capital letter and the rest lower-case. I encourage you to reinforce this at home-- we try to drop the all-capital letter name writing as quickly as possible. The faster children can write their names correctly, the easier it is for them to get going on assignments, as we encourage them to write their names first. I appreciate your help with this.

We will also be reading the books, No David! and Chicka Chicka Boom Boom and doing some crafts and a STEAM project following these stories.

Scissor Skills/Fine Motor Tubs
Next week, we will launch our "fine motor tubs," which we work on first thing in the morning. Starting Monday, children will go straight into the classroom (no need to line up after I open the door-- just come right in) and start working on their tubs. Your children will want to come early so that they can get started on these tubs, as these are always very popular! They are a great way for us to sneak in some fine motor strengthening activities while having fun. One skill we will be focusing on is scissor skills, which can be difficult for kindergartners. Continue practicing scissor skills at home by drawing lines on papers to have your children cut on different types of lines.

School Gates
Starting on Monday, all gates into the school will be open from 8:05 to 8:15, and then they will be closed until dismissal time. If you arrive after the gates are closed, you will need to go into the office (that is the only entry point to campus after the gates are closed) for a tardy slip before you can get onto campus. For security reasons, please do not prop the gate open and please ensure that it has fully latched if you leave campus after 8:15. Thank you for your help with this.

CAGE Drive/AVHSC Membership 

Alta Vista Home & School Club membership drive (CAGE drive) is going on right now! The AVHSC funds many of our enrichment activities such as our music classes, Art Vistas, and Clay. We are so thankful that we have these wonderful activities at Alta Vista, and ask for your help to continue supporting them, both financially and as volunteers. If you'd like to sign up to be a volunteer for any of these programs, this is where you do it! Plus, by creating a membership account, you'll be sure to get all the updates on schoolwide activities. Please see this link for further information and to join the AVHSC.