UCS Kindergarten Newsletter
January 30, 2026
January 30, 2026
We enjoyed our first Snow Motion day yesterday! Everyone did a great job snowboarding and skiing even though the temps were cold. I was so impressed that everyone stayed focused and did not give up even when things felt a little challenging. It was so much fun to see the older friends ski and board with us. I remember watching many of them learn during Snow Motion in kindergarten and now they are totally independent!
Thank you to Amanda Cowan for organizing this each year and to all the parents who were able to volunteer!
Important Dates
Jan 31st ~ Book Orders Due
Feb 4th ~ Flynn Trip
Feb 5th ~ Snow Motion
Feb 11th ~ Early Release Day
Feb 12th ~ Snow Motion
Feb 19th ~ Snow Motion
Feb 23rd - Mar 3rd ~ Winter Break
Learning Highlights from the Week
We started Unit 6: How Many Now? Please notice the math family letters in the home/school folder today. We practiced finding different combinations of numbers this week. One day the children played Toss the Chips to notice number combinations. They dropped chips that were red on one side and yellow on the other. They counted the total number of each color and recorded the combination. They practiced reading and writing teen numbers on the morning message. We have also been keeping track of our number of days in school and our 100th day is just about a week away now!
This week we learned about grasslands. We read books about how animals have special features that help them survive in grasslands. These adaptations can be something special about the animal's body or something special the animal does. We learned how they find water since it is very hot and dry in those places. We also learned how trees like baobab trees store water in their trunks to use during dry times.
We completed the Scat and Tracks program from VT Fish and Wildlife. This week we learned about wild turkeys. We learned about their habitat, food, and fun facts. We did not see any turkey tracks on our final walk but it was fun to get outside in the woods!
During Reading Workshop, the children practiced:
reviewing letters and sounds
sounding out words from left to right
decoding words with initial blends (pl, cl, st, sn)
paying close attention to vowels
rereading after decoding
listening to books about grasslands
During Writing Workshop, the kindergarten students practiced:
writing about grasslands
drawing and writing information about turkeys
adding labels to pictures
using spaces when writing sentences
adding ending punctuation
Reminders
Please remember our 2nd Snow Motion day is on Thursday, February 5th. Students need to bring equipment that morning if they are using their own.
Please remind your child to pack a water bottle each day.
Email: kathleen.cowan@mmuusd.org
Location: 6 Irish Settlement Rd, Underhill, VT 05489
Phone: 802.899.4676