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Dear Families,
It’s hard to believe there are only four weeks left in the school year! We’re savoring every moment with our kindergarteners during this busy but joyful and exciting time. Although it was disappointing that Carousel Day was canceled, the students showed flexibility and resilience in adapting to the change. The pizza helped as well! We’re looking forward to our field trip to the New York Aquarium this Wednesday! A big thank you to our parent chaperones for joining us. Please remember to pack a lunch for your child on this day, as we’ll be eating lunch at the aquarium.
Our classrooms are slowly transforming into an ocean and a rainforest, and we can’t wait to share our learning with you at Open School Night on June 4th.
Important Dates
May 20 - K Field Trip to the NY Aquarium
May 22 - School Closed: Professional Day
May 25 - School Closed: Memorial Day
May 27 - School Closed: Eid al-Adha
June 3 - Last day of Spring enrichment
June 4 - NOON DISMISSAL - OPEN SCHOOL NIGHT
June 5 - School Closed - Commencement
June 8 - United Voices - 3:45 PM - 5:00 PM
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
Here are some important reminders for the week:
Our field trip to the New York Aquarium is on Wednesday, May 20th. Chaperones will meet us in the lobby at 9:00 am to board the buses. We plan on returning to school around 2:00 pm. All children and chaperones will need to bring their own nut-free lunches. Please note, glass bottles are not allowed.
Please make sure your child has an extra pair of sneakers to keep in their cubbies. We will go to the park when we can and we don’t want to track mud through the building and in our classrooms.
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
We have been exploring the “feelings thermometer," a tool for identifying emotions and how they feel energetically in the body. We’ll explore tools for when we are in the blue, yellow, and red zones to help us get back to the green zone, such as breathing, movement, positive self-talk, and asking for help.
Blue Zone: sad, bored, tired, sick, lonely
Green Zone: happy, calm, proud, focused, confident
Yellow Zone: worried, nervous, embarrassed, irritated, silly
Red Zone: angry, overwhelmed, scared, agitated, jealous
We will also focus on Ubuntu, a powerful idea from parts of Africa that means “I am because we are.” To help students understand this concept, we will read I Am You: A Book About Ubuntu by Refiloe Moahloli. Ubuntu teaches us that we are all connected and that our actions affect others. When one person is kind, it spreads kindness. When someone needs help, we support them because we are part of a community that cares for one another. In simple terms for our classroom, Ubuntu means: we look out for each other, we include everyone, and we work together. By focusing on Ubuntu, we aim to build empathy and a strong sense of belonging, helping students see that each of them plays an important role in making our classroom a kind and connected community.
Throughout the week, we will practice Ubuntu by:
Helping classmates when they need support
Using kind and respectful words
Sharing materials and taking turns
Noticing when someone feels left out and inviting them to join
Celebrating each other’s successes
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 our. 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
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.
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
Addition
Skills your child will practice include:
adding by putting together and adding to
using addition facts to 5 to add
counting on to add numbers to 10
writing and solving addition 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.
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!
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