Embedded Files
Dear Families,
During Solidarity Week, students listened to and reflected on A Friend Like You by Frank Murphy and I Walk with Vanessa: A Story About a Simple Act of Kindness by Kerascoët. Together, we discussed what it means to be a kind and caring friend, how to stand up for others, and ways to show solidarity and allyship in our classroom and community. On Tuesday, we look forward to joining Middle and Upper School students in wearing purple and helping to assemble and create the Rainbow Flag as a collective show of solidarity and support for the LGBTQ+ community.
Looking ahead, November is a time for the children to reflect on thankfulness and share what they’re grateful for. We’ll also recognize and celebrate Native American Heritage Month, an opportunity for the children and our community to explore the rich traditions, history, and contributions of Native American cultures.
Important Dates
11/3 - 11/11 - Solidarity Week
11/10/25 - Fall Conference Sign-Ups shared in Pulse (New Date)
11/11/25 - Solidarity Week Celebration: Pre-K & Kindergarten wear purple.
11/15/25 - HUGS B&L Friendsgiving, 6:00 PM
11/17/25 - United Voices, 3:45 PM - 5:00 PM (New Date)
11/17/25 - POLY PM Winter Enrichment Registration Opens, 10:30 AM
11/17/25 - Used Coat and Toy Drive Begins
11/20/25 - No After School: In-Person Conferences (3:30 - 6:30)
11/21/25 - Regular Day of School. After School Open.
11/24/25 - School Closed: Virtual Conferences (9:00 - 3:00)
11/25/25 - School Closed: Lower School Professional Day
11/26/25 - 11/28/25 School Closed: Thanksgiving
Here are some important reminders for the week:
As the weather gets cooler, it’s time to swap out the extra set of summer clothes in your child’s cubby for a fall/winter change of clothing. Please include items such as long-sleeved shirts, pants, and socks.
Please click here for an important notice from our nurse team. We have noticed an increase in strep throat, impetigo, and coxsackie virus (hand, foot, and mouth disease) within our Lower School community. Please help us keep our community healthy by letting Nurse Lisa know when your child is out sick, enforcing proper handwashing, guiding students to cough and sneeze into their elbow or a tissue, and ensuring students get enough sleep and water!
Solidarity Day Colors for Tuesday, November 11:
Solidarity Week is an opportunity to learn about and practice being in solidarity with others, especially members of the LGBTQ+ community. This year, Solidarity Week is Monday, November 3 to Tuesday, November 11. Each year during this week, our students learn about difference, respect, and safety for every member of our school community. On Tuesday, November 11, we will join the Middle and Upper School to stand up against bullying, gender stereotypes, and name-calling in schools, engage in meaningful learning and community-building activities, and take a picture in the colors of the rainbow. Students are asked to wear the following colors:
Pre-K, & Kindergarten wear purple.
Grades 1, 2, & 3 wear blue.
Grades 4, 5, & 6 wear green.
We invite you to check out Ms. Penn’s Mathcast! On her website, you’ll find the latest Poly Problem Solvers, videos of KA and KB students exploring what weighs about the same as an apple, and resources for families.
Click here for a message from Ms. Carmen about science shares and to find out which day your child is scheduled for a share. Every student has been assigned a date between now and December.
Please read below for this coming week’s learning goals and a few pointers for what you can do at home:
Social Emotional Learning
Growth Mindset: Persistence
Students will continue to learn what it means to have persistence. Read-alouds will include Everyone Can Learn to Ride a Bicycle by Chris Raschka and The Most Magnificent Thing by Ashley Spires.
Solidarity Week
Solidarity Week is an opportunity to learn about and practice being in solidarity with others, especially members of the LGBTQ+ community. Students will learn about allyship and advocacy as well as when to speak out when something is unfair.
Reading
Word of the week
The sight words of the week will be she and we. Have your child find the words she and we in magazines, newspapers, etc. They can circle, underline or highlight (also good for fine motor) every time they see the word. As you or they are reading books, they can also count the number of times it shows up on the page. Here are a few simple ways to support your child’s reading and writing of these words at home:
Spot them in books: When reading together, invite your child to find trick words on the page.
Play with words: Write trick words on index cards and play matching or memory games.
Use them in real writing: Encourage your child to include trick words in notes, labels, or stories they write.
Arm tap them: Have your child “arm tap” the word the way we do in class. Use your right hand to tap out each letter across your left arm, saying each letter name (not sound, since trick words cannot always be sounded out).
Learned words: and, the, a, I, to, do, he, we
Print Concepts
Distinguishing between letters and words
One-to-one correspondence
Pointing to words as they are read aloud; Using your “pointer power”
“Get your mouth ready.”
Look at the first letter in the word, think about the sound it makes, and then get your mouth ready to make that sound.
Phonemic awareness:
Rhyming
We are learning that words rhyme when the middle and ending sounds are the same.
Rhyming words and word families help children discover many common word patterns.
Here are the word families we have taught thus far: -an, -at
Identifying beginning sounds
Identifying ending sounds
Breaking words into syllables
Fundations / Handwriting
Letters p and j
Recognizing lowercase letters p and j
The sounds of p and j
Writing lowercase letters p and j
Review: t, b, f, m, n, i, u, c, o, a, g, d, s, e, r
Fundations At Home Pack for letters “p and j”
The Fundations Home Support Pack provides you with the “why” and the “what” regarding our reading program, Fundations. The Fundations Home Packet also provides you with the language that the teachers use when forming their letters. Please use the same language when instructing and practicing with your child at home.
Writing Workshop
We will continue with our first writing unit called "We are all Writers!" This unit introduces children to writing by exploring both informational pieces and true stories. Students are encouraged to think, draw, label, and write about their pictures in their own way. It's an exciting step in developing their storytelling skills.
This week, our young authors are learning to write small moment stories from their own lives. They’re practicing how to think, draw, label, and write to tell about something that really happened to them. Students are adding details to make their stories come alive, like what they did, how they felt, and who was there.
Writers will use booklets to stretch a story about their lives across three pages. We will practice:
THINK: something that happened to you, or something you did
PRACTICE: telling with a storyteller’s voice (touch each page as you say aloud how it might go)
PICTURES and WORDS tell: who, where, what
Use speech bubbles to say more
We will continue to practice the rhyme, When you think you’re done, you’ve only just begun. Children often say they are done, but we ask them to add more details to drawing, labeling, and writing.
Math
Numbers to 10
Count, read, and write numbers from 6 to 10
Use ordinal numbers to tell order by naming the position of objects in a small ordered collection
Order numbers to 10 in both increasing and decreasing order
Students will learn how numbers work together and take numbers apart through purposeful activities
Social Studies
Family Study: We plan to start our unit on Families. Our family study will focus on structures, relationships, customs, and the importance of supporting one another.
Our Family Share presentations have begun and the children are very excited for their turn to share family traditions, stories, and books with their classmates!
Read-Alouds will include: All Families Are Special by Norma Simon and All Kinds of Families! by Mary Ann Hoberman
Native American Heritage Month: In November, we take time to celebrate Native American Heritage Month, a time to honor the rich histories, cultures, and contributions of Native and Indigenous peoples. We celebrate because Native Americans have shared so many important traditions, stories, inventions, art forms, and ideas that continue to shape our communities today.
Anti-Racist Read Aloud:
Our school-wide anti-racist read-aloud this month is Amazing Grace by Mary Hoffman. This story celebrates imagination, confidence, and courage while reminding children that everyone deserves the chance to try new things and follow their dreams.
Our focus for the month is on fairness, understanding what it means and why it matters. We talk about fairness as treating people with kindness and respect, giving everyone what they need to be successful, and making sure everyone has a turn and a voice. We’ll explore fairness through classroom discussions, stories, and play, helping children notice when things are or aren’t fair and how they can take action to make things right. By practicing fairness, we build a classroom community where every child feels seen, included, and valued.
What You Can Do At Home
Letter Sound Identification: Play word games at home or in the car. Think of a word that begins with the sound of /p/ and /j/. Think of a word that ends with the sound of /p/ and /j/ eg. cage, page, edge.
Letter Formation: Using playdough, have kids roll out “snakes” and shape them into lowercase letters.
Rhyming: Say two words aloud and ask your child if the words rhyme or not. Remind them that the middle and ending sounds have to be the same for the words to rhyme (hat and bat rhyme because they both end with /at/.
Spelling: Have your child practice spelling learned sight words in shaving cream or sand: a, the, and, I, to, do, he, me
Domino Match: Play with a set of dominoes and focus on finding pairs that add up to 10. Discuss the different combinations that make 10. (Play with different sums up to 10)
Number Matching Game: Make pairs of cards with numbers that add up to 10. Spread them out face down and take turns flipping over two cards at a time to find matching pairs. (Play with different sums up to 10)
Rainbow Writing with Dry Erase Markers: On dry-erase boards, write a letter or number and then trace over it several times with different colors reinforcing letter formation through repetition and creating a beautiful, colorful result. (This can also be done on paper with crayons, markers, and colored pencils.)
Fine Motor Skills: Practice fine motor skills with exercises like beading, buttoning, zipping. Foster independence and build confidence at home by encouraging your children to peel their own oranges, open a snack, clean up after themselves when they eat, and practice tying their own shoes and zipping their own jackets.
Discuss the importance of celebrating Heritage Months: November is a special time to learn about the many different Native nations that have lived on this land for thousands of years, each with their own unique languages, customs, and ways of life. By learning and celebrating together, we show respect, build understanding, and recognize the importance of Native voices and stories in our shared history.
Native American Heritage Month: Introduce your child to Native American artists and storytellers, such as Jaune Quick-to-See Smith, Kay WalkingStick, or T.C. Cannon. Look at their artwork together and talk about the shapes, patterns, and colors they use to tell stories and share traditions. Encourage your child to create their own artwork inspired by these artists using crayons, markers, or paints. You can also explore traditional crafts like beadwork patterns, woven designs, or nature-inspired art using leaves, sticks, and natural colors. This is a wonderful way for your children to celebrate creativity while learning about the beauty and diversity of Native cultures.
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