Newsletter Archive - 11/17/25

Dear Families,

Our culminating Solidarity Week celebration on the Upper Campus was truly something special. Our photo recreating the rainbow flag was more than just symbolic. It captured a community standing proudly in unity and support of its LGBTQ+ members. Our students reflected on what it means to be an ally, an upstander, celebrated the importance of inclusion, and demonstrated how even small acts of kindness can make a big difference. The joy, collaboration, and empathy students showed throughout the week were inspiring reminders of the community we’re building together.

Family Shares have also begun, and students have been learning about what a family is, exploring the many different family structures in our classroom, and celebrating what makes each family unique. We’ve been emphasizing the most important message: love makes a family, and students have been eager to share the people, pets, traditions, and moments that make theirs feel special.

We’re grateful for the openness, curiosity, and pride students bring to these conversations, and we look forward to continuing this meaningful learning together.

Important Dates

• 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 (Class Descriptions)

• 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 

• 12/05/25 - Crazy Hat Day

• 12/12/25 - Kindergarten Celebration of Learning

• 12/12/25 - POLY PM: Last Day of Fall Enrichment

• 12/12/25 - December Drive Ends (Used Coats and New Toys)

• 12/15/25 - POLY PM: MakeUp Week for Fall Enrichment Courses (12/15 - 12/18)

• 12/15/25 - United Voices - 3:45 PM - 5:00 PM 

Here are some important reminders for the week:

1. We wanted to make you aware of some recent recess play that has become a concern. A game students are calling “battles,” where children choose teams such as “naughty,” has been leading to rough and unsafe interactions. We will be addressing safe play, recess expectations, and appropriate behavior with both kindergarten classes this week. We kindly ask that you also talk with your child at home about playing safely, using gentle bodies, and choosing games that help everyone feel included and comfortable. Thank you for your support as we work together to keep recess fun and safe for all.

2. We are in need of adult-sized shoe boxes for a project in our family unit. If you have one at home, please send a shoe box in with your child as soon as possible.

3. 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. 

4. Donations Requested for Hurricane Melissa Relief by Friday, November 21

Please help us donate items for Hurricane Melissa relief in Jamaica. If you plan to donate, we kindly ask that you stick to the list of requested items, as they are specifically tailored to the needs of the people in Jamaica. Order online and ship to NB Head Teacher Shirley Dayes here at 50 Prospect Park West, Brooklyn NY 11215, by Friday, November 21.

Letter from Ms. Dayes and Lower School Spanish Teacher Ms. Ely:

The recent devastation of Hurricane Melissa has left many families in Jamaica without access to food and much-needed supplies as they begin to repair their homes and communities from the destruction. Shirley Dayes has begun a collection of food and essential items to help her community in Jamaica. Items will be packed here at Poly in barrels for shipment and delivered to churches in Jamaica for distribution. We will be collecting essential items on this list at the school by Friday, November 21. 

We recommend that you order online and ship it to the school. Places like Costco, Sam’s Club, and Amazon offer fast shipping of larger items. Our mailing address is 50 Prospect Park West, Brooklyn NY 11215. Address items to Shirley Dayes please.

If you have any questions please reach out to Shirley Dayes or Sarah Ely. 

3. 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. 

4. 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: Embracing Mistakes

  • kindergarteners will be exploring embracing mistakes. Through our read-aloud Beautiful Oops! by Barney Saltzberg, students will discover that mistakes can lead to creativity, problem-solving, and new ideas. Another wonderful picture book we may use to support this learning is The Magical Yet by Angela DiTerlizzi, which helps children see challenges as steps toward growth.

Reading

• Word of the week

  • The sight words of the week will be my. 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. 

    • Learned words: and, the, a, I, to, do, he, me, she, 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 l

  • Recognizing lowercase letter l

  • The sounds of l 

  • Writing lowercase letters l 

  • Review: t, b, f, m, n, i, u, c, o, a, g, d, s, e, r, p, j

• Fundations At Home Support Pack for letters “l”

  • 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

Flat and Solid Shapes

• MIF School-to-Home Connections 

• Name and identify flat and solid shapes by their specific attributes

• Compare the similarities and differences between flat shapes and solid shapes

• Use position words such as “above” and “below” to name the relative positions of shapes

• Use attribute blocks to create new shapes and use pictures to create new flat shapes 

• Identify a sequence of shapes that form a pattern 

• Determine the similarities and differences when observing patterns formed using flat shapes and solid shapes    

Social Studies

• Family Study: We will continue our family unit with an exploration of our own families and what we like to do together: special traditions, food we like to eat, holidays we celebrate, etc. Read-Alouds will include: We Are All Family by Patricia Hegarty and Love is a Family by Roma Downy. During our read-alouds, we will notice the diverse range of family structures, including same-sex and different-sex parents, mixed-race families, adopted children, and more. 

• Native American Heritage Month: Native American Heritage Month learning will continue with read alouds including We Are Grateful: Otsaliheliga and We Are Still Here by Traci Sorell, and Keepunumuk: Weeâchumun's Thanksgiving Story by Danielle Greendeer.

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 /l/. Think of a word that ends with the sound of /l/.

• Letter Formation: Using sand, flour or sugar, have kids use their index finger of their writing hand and form lowercase letters and numbers.

• 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, she, we

• Shapes Hunt: Go on a "shape hunt" around your home or neighborhood. Encourage your child to identify and name flat shapes (like circles, squares, triangles, and rectangles) they see in everyday objects (e.g., a clock for a circle or a window for a rectangle).

• Roll and Make 10: Roll one die. The number rolled is your starting number. Ask, “How many more do I need to make 10?” and count out the needed counters. Repeat until all combinations are covered. (Scaffold - play the game with various sums up to 10 to build fluency and confidence.)

• 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.