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Dear Families,
Since we have a shorter week ahead, this update will also cover the week of January 26th. Both weeks are sure to be filled with engaging learning and exciting activities. Below, you’ll find important updates and reminders about what’s coming up, including our annual food drive and used book fair. We appreciate your continued support and participation in our community events!
Important Dates
January 26 - Jammin June & Poly Math Camp Registration Opens
January 26 - Food Drive and Used Book Sale begins
January 29 - Used Book Sale - Parent Shopping Day
January 29 - United Voices 3:45PM - 5:00PM
February 5 - Brooklyn Children’s Museum Field Trip
February 6 - Food Drive Ends
February 6 - Semester 1 reports posted on the portal
February 13 - Valentine’s Family Dance @ 3:45PM
February 16 - School Closed: President’s Day
February 17 - School Closed: Lunar New Year
February 18 - United Voices - 3:45 PM - 5:00 PM
February 21 - Readathon Begins (Feb 21 - Feb 27)
Here are some important reminders for the week:
We warmly invite families to join our classroom in January to celebrate Jewish American Heritage Month. For planning ahead, if more than one family would like to participate, we would be delighted to connect families for a shared presentation so students can hear from multiple perspectives.
Our annual food drive will be from Monday, January 26-Friday, February 6, 2026, to support Grandma’s Love, an organization dedicated to combating childhood hunger in Brooklyn. This year, we are doing a special project with cereal boxes, a highly popular yet costly food item. We encourage families to donate cereal in addition to the other non-perishables on the list. Sign up to volunteer to drop-off by emailing sely@polyprep.org.
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. Register is first-come, first-served.
Send in Gently Used Books for our LS Book Sale by Friday, January 23
We are currently collecting gently used books for our upcoming book sale. We are also collecting used bags/totes so that we can offer our shoppers a bag with purchase! Please drop off books for babies, kids, and adults, as well as used bags, in the library or by the security desks any time before Friday, January 23. Contact Kristen Robb (krobb@polyprep.org) with questions, and thanks for helping to make this annual event such a success! Click here for a printable flyer.
It’s COLD outside, and we will still be going outdoors for recess as our protocols allow. Please be sure your child comes to school with a hat and gloves or mittens so they can spend time outside comfortably and have the opportunity to move their bodies. In addition, please send your child to school with an extra pair of indoor shoes. We may go to the park even in inclement weather, and having a change of shoes helps prevent mud, dirt (and other surprise park finds!) from being tracked back into the building and onto our classroom rugs.
January is Jewish Heritage Month. Throughout the month, students will share their My Story posters, and we’ll engage in learning about Jewish heritage through engaging read-alouds, including The Keeping Quilt by Patricia Polacco and The Very Best Sukkah: A Story from Uganda by Shoshana Nambi.
Please take a moment to read this inspiring article about Ms. Shirley, Head Teacher of Nursery B, and her humanitarian efforts, including her work following Hurricane Melissa.
Please read below for this coming week’s learning goals and a few pointers for what you can do at home:
Social Emotional Learning
What is fairness? What does fairness look like in this space? How can we work together to create a fair community?
Read Alouds:
Fair is Fair by Sonny Varela
It's Not Fair!: A Book About Having Enough by Caryn Rivadeneira
We are focusing on flexibility, learning how to adjust when things don’t go as planned. Through the read-alouds Sky Color by Peter Reynolds and Let’s Go for a Drive! by Mo Willems, students explored how trying new ideas, thinking creatively, and staying calm can help us solve problems and keep going, even when we feel stuck or disappointed.
Reading
Story Elements
We started our work on learning about story elements, the building blocks that help us understand and talk about stories. We will introduce key elements such as characters, setting, problem and solution, and plot. Our focus will be on the problem and solution of a story, identifying what the problem is, how it is solved, and how the solution helps move the story forward.
Word of the week
The sight words for this weekend next will be of and like. Play Sight Word Memory Match. Make pairs of cards with the focus word said and other sight words. Place them face down and play a memory matching game. Each time your child flips a card, they must say the word aloud. Matching words reinforces recognition and recall.
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, -ad, -ap, -ag, -op, -ot, -og, -et, -eg, -en, -ug, -ut, -un
This week, we will be introducing short e word families: -id, -ig, -in, -ip, -it
Syllables
We are learning about syllables. Syllables are the parts of a word, the number of "chunks" or “beats” that a word breaks into when you say it. Students have been taught to segment words into syllables by clapping them out or placing their hand under their chin and counting the times their chin drops when saying a word.
S-T-R-E-T-C-H words apart, sounding out each letter (particularly consonant, vowel, consonant 3 letter words) then joining them back together to read the word.
One-to-One Correspondence or Finger Point Reading
One-to-one correspondence is the ability to match written word to spoken word while reading. Pointing, or one-to-one correspondence, helps beginning readers make text-to-word connections. This also helps students with directionality, visual tracking, and keeping their place while reading. We will continue to practice this skill while reading our mini-books.
Fundations / Handwriting
Blending sounds
Tapping out sounds to blend
Review of lowercase letters
Review all of the lowercase letters
Review of uppercase letters A and B
Fundations At Home Pack for Blending sounds and letters for A and B
The Fundations Home Fundations Home Support Pack Unit 2 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
Unit 2: Writing for Readers
Bend 1: Make Writing Easy to Read
Leave spaces between words.
Make pictures that help with the words.
Write a letter for each sound.
Use capital letters to start sentences.
Put a period at the end of every sentence.
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
Measurement
Comparing the lengths of two objects
Measuring length using non-standard units
Comparing the heights of two objects
Measuring height using non-standard units
Comparing the weights of two objects
Compare Numbers to Ten
comparing two sets of objects using the same
comparing two sets of objects using greater than
comparing two sets of objects using less than
comparing two numbers to 10
identifying 1 more or 1 less from a number
Social Studies
We are continuing our Fairness and Justice unit.
Our current focus is Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
In our Fairness and Justice unit, the students learn about Dr. MLK, Jr. and other leaders for equity and equality. They reflect on what fairness and justice means to them and how they could make positive changes in the world.
Anti-Racist Read Aloud
Our school-wide anti-racist read-aloud this month is I Walk With Vanessa by Kerascoët. This powerful, wordless story celebrates empathy, courage, and the impact of standing together as an upstander. Through Vanessa’s experience, students see how small acts of kindness and solidarity can help create safer, more inclusive communities.
Our focus for the month is perspective-taking, understanding what it means and why it matters. Students are encouraged to consider multiple perspectives as they engage with history, literature, and current events, helping them build empathy, deepen understanding, and recognize how our actions can affect others.
What You Can Do At Home
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. - When addressing our students about the life and impact of Dr. King, it's inevitable that questions about his death may come up. It's crucial for us to handle these inquiries with honesty and sensitivity, emphasizing the celebration of his remarkable life and mission. We aim to underscore the significance of his dreams, teachings, and the positive changes he initiated. If your child has questions about Dr. King's passing, we suggest offering truthful and age-appropriate responses, focusing on his enduring legacy rather than delving into the details of his death.
Discuss the importance of celebrating Heritage Months: While January is not officially recognized as Jewish American Heritage Month (May is the official month), it is still a wonderful time to explore and celebrate Jewish culture, traditions, and holidays. In kindergarten, we will be learning about how different families express their identities and traditions, fostering understanding, curiosity, and appreciation for the many ways Jewish people live and celebrate their culture. You can support this learning at home by talking with your child about your own family’s traditions, reading books that highlight Jewish culture and holidays, and encouraging curiosity and respectful questions about how families may be similar to or different from one another.
Jewish American Heritage Month: We will continue to honor Jewish American Heritage in January. At home, you can introduce your child to Jewish American artists, leaders, and storytellers such as Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Naomi Wadler, and Itzhak Perlman. Look at their work together and talk about how they shared their ideas, talents, and voices with the world. Discuss what makes each person unique and how their identities, experiences, and values shaped what they created or stood up for. Encourage your child to ask questions, share what they notice, and reflect on how people can use art, music, storytelling, and leadership to express who they are and make a difference. This is a wonderful way for children to celebrate creativity while learning about the beauty and diversity of Jewish cultures and experiences.
Rainbow Writing: To practice letter and number formation, provide a sheet with letters or numbers lightly outlined. Your child can trace over them multiple times using different colored markers or crayons to create a “rainbow” effect.
Make a Rhyme Chain: Start with a word (e.g., "cake"), and take turns coming up with rhyming words. Keep the chain going as long as possible, adding a silly story or phrase for extra fun.
Spelling: Have your child practice spelling learned sight words in shaving cream or sand: a, the, and, I, to, do, he, me, she, we, you, your, was, said
Measurement: Encourage your child to measure objects around the house using everyday objects such as paper clips, buttons, or building blocks. For example, they can measure the length of a table or the height of a chair using these items - paperclips, connecting cubes, etc.
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.
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