Kindergarten A

Dear Families,

Whether you traveled to visit family and friends, stayed local and relaxed, or took time to remember loved ones on Memorial Day, we hope you had a wonderful and restful long weekend. We had a fantastic time at the NY Aquarium last week! The students were thrilled to see, up close, many of the animals they’ve been researching in school over the past few weeks. A big thank-you to our chaperones for joining us and helping make the trip a success. 

Looking ahead, Open School Night is just around the corner! We’re very excited to celebrate an incredible year of learning with you at this special community event. Get ready to be amazed by our classroom transformations and the incredible rainforest and ocean projects our students have created. Your child can’t wait to share their knowledge and teach you all about these fascinating habitats!

Important Dates

• May 27 - School Closed: Eid al-Adha

• June 3 - Last day of Spring enrichment

• June 4 - OPEN SCHOOL NIGHT - NOON DISMISSAL

• June 5 - School Closed - Commencement

• June 8 - United  Voices - 3:45 PM - 5:00 PM

• June 9 - Changemaker Day

• June 9 - Lost and Found Recovery Day

• June 10 - Poly PM: Last day of regular after school & Lost and Found Recovery Day

• June 12 - LAST DAY OF SCHOOL - NOON DISMISSAL 

• June 23 - LS Reports Posted 12:00 PM

Here are some important reminders for the week:

1. Scranimal Project: Thank you for bringing in recycled materials at home that could be useful for this creative project. Construction of our “scranimals” will begin this week. We appreciate your help with this special project!

2. Bring Backpacks: Please make sure your child brings their backpack every day! We’ll be sending home lots of their work, projects, and supplies as we wrap up the school year. 

3. Register for Jammin’ June and Math Camp: Registration for June Camp programs at Poly Lower will open on Monday, January 26, at 10:00 AM. Learn more here about Jammin June, Robochef, and Math and Motion! Space is limited. Registration is first-come, first-served.

Please read below for this coming week’s learning goals and a few pointers for what you can do at home:

Social Emotional Learning

• For the remainder of the school year, our social-emotional learning will focus on reflecting on our growth—both socially and academically—throughout this year in kindergarten.

Reading

•  Nonfiction Text Features:

  • Purpose: Non-fiction books teach us and give us information 

  • Nonfiction text features help locate important information in a text

    • table of contents, headings, photographs, captions, diagrams, labels

• Comprehension skills:

  • Reading with fluency and expression

    • For kindergarteners, fluency means that children are developing the ability to read smoothly and effortlessly, by rereading and “scooping words or phrases together.”  This skill is foundational for comprehension, allowing them to understand the meaning of the words and the story they're exploring.

    • Expression in reading adds a special touch to the storytelling experience. When kindergarteners are reading with expression, it means they are infusing their voices with different tones, pitches, and emotions. It's like bringing the characters and events to life through their voice.

• Word of the week

  • The sight word of the week is saw. Play Sight Word Memory. Choose 6-8 sight words and write each word on two index cards to create pairs. Arrange all cards face down in an array for a game of memory.

• Learned sight words: and, the, a, I, to, do, he, me, she, we, my, you, your, was, said, of, like, have, how, are, has, her, his, see, what, who, all, they, or, for, our

Fundations / Handwriting 

• We’ve made our way through all of the lowercase and uppercase letters! We’ll continue to practice and review for the rest of the school year. 

Writing Workshop

• As children learn to identify and describe common nonfiction text features such as headings, labels, and captions, they will begin to create their own text features to accompany their writing. This could involve drawing a picture and adding a simple label or caption to describe it.

• The children will also be introduced to the concept of “taking notes” by encouraging students to jot down keywords or phrases while reading non-fiction texts or listening to information about ocean animals. They will learn how to focus on important facts or details. After taking notes, students will transform at least one note or sentence fragment into a complete sentence during each writing activity. These pieces of writing will become nonfiction books about the students’ ocean animals of interest.

Math

Subtraction 

• School-to-Home Connections  

• In this chapter, your child will learn about subtraction. Skills your child will practice include:

  • subtracting by taking from and taking apart

  • using subtraction facts to 5 to subtract

  • counting back to subtract numbers to 10

  • writing and solving subtraction sentences

Social Studies

• May is Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. This month, we’ll read Eyes that Kiss in the Corners by Joanna Ho and I am Golden by Eva Chen. AAPI Heritage Month is a time to celebrate the rich cultures, histories, and contributions of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. In our classroom, we will explore themes of identity, belonging, family, and community, helping students understand and appreciate both similarities and differences among people. Learning about diverse cultures builds empathy, respect, and a stronger sense of connection to the world around us.

• May is also Mental Health Awareness Month, and in kindergarten, we approach this important topic in ways that feel safe, simple, and empowering. Just like we talk about taking care of our bodies by exercising, eating healthy foods, and getting enough sleep, we also talk about ways we can take care of our minds and brains. We introduce ideas like sharing our feelings with people we trust, taking deep breaths when we feel upset, practicing kindness to ourselves and others, and making time to rest and play. Our goal is to help children understand that caring for our mental health is just as important as caring for our physical health, and that there are many small, everyday things we can do to feel strong, calm, and connected.

Anti-Racist Read Aloud

• Our anti-racist read-aloud this month is We Are Water Protectors by Carole Lindstrom, a powerful story about Indigenous communities protecting the earth's water from pollution. The book connects beautifully to our current theme of agency—the idea that we all have the power to make a difference and stand up for what matters. Through this story, we will discuss how the young protagonist takes action to protect something precious, and we'll talk about ways we can use our voices and actions to care for our earth and our communities. We're excited to hear the children's ideas about how they can be protectors of the environment!

What You Can Do at Home

• AAPI Heritage Month: Read books or watch shows that feature Asian American and Pacific Islander characters and stories; Look at a map and find countries in Asia and the Pacific Islands; Talk about your family's traditions and what makes your family special; Explore different foods together and discuss where they come from; Encourage conversations about names, identity, and what makes each person unique.

• Domino Addition: Pick a domino, count the dots on each side, and write or say the addition sentence it makes.

• Story Retelling: After reading a book together, ask your child to retell the story using the Five Finger Retell strategy. Hold up each finger as a guide: 👍 Thumb = Characters, ☝️ Index finger = Setting, 🖕 Middle finger = Beginning, 💍 Ring finger = Middle, 🤙 Pinky = End. Try acting it out with stuffed animals or drawing a quick picture for each part!

• Fluency: When your child reads aloud at home, encourage them to use their voice to match the punctuation and the mood of the story — whispering during a suspenseful part, speeding up during an exciting chase, or pausing at a period. Take turns reading pages together and model expressive reading yourself.

• Rainbow Writing Sight Words: Write a sight word in pencil, then trace over it again and again in different crayon colors to build memory through repetition. Words to practice: a, the, and, I, to, do, he, me, she, we, you, your, was, said, like, have, how, are, has, of, her, his, see, what, who, all, they, or, for, our.

• Identify the Vowel: Give your child a short word (like hat, big, or cup) and ask them to "roller coaster it" — slowly stretching the word out to hear the vowel sound in the middle, at the top of the roller coaster. You can use your hand to physically ride the roller coaster sound up and down as you say each part of the word together.

• Fine Motor Skills: Build hand strength and independence at home through fun, purposeful activities! Try beading bracelets, buttoning shirts, lacing shoes, or zipping up a jacket. Encourage your child to peel their own orange, open their own snack bag, and clean up after themselves at mealtimes. When they're ready, practice tying their own shoes — a big milestone worth celebrating!