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Dear Families,
We can’t believe we’re in the final two weeks of school! These final days will be filled with meaningful learning experiences and plenty of fun. This week, we’re putting the finishing touches on our Ocean and Rainforest projects, and we can hardly wait to share them with you at Open School Night this Thursday evening. Please note that dismissal will be at 12:00 p.m that day. Changemaker Day is coming up next Tuesday, June 9. Please see below for more information about these special events.
Important Dates
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:
A Note From Ms. Robb: It's time to return all library books. The last round of overdue notes will be sent home early next week, but in the meantime, please check shelves, under the beds, and any place library books might be hiding in your home, and send any recovered books back to school ASAP. If you have any questions, please stop by the library or email me at krobb@polyprep.org.
Thanks, and have a great summer, full of books and fun!!
Scranimal Project: Thank you to all who have brought in recycled materials for our scranimal projects!
Open School Night on Thursday, June 4
We dismiss at 12:00 PM on Thursday, June 4, and invite families to join us later that evening for a wonderful celebration of student learning. See student work in core subjects, visit the grade your child will be entering next year, and enjoy mini-recitals from our Lunch Time Lessons. For the evening, we recommend a staggered schedule. Please click here for more information.
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.
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.
Changemaker Day: On Tuesday, June 9, our Pre-K and Kindergarten classes will head to Prospect Park for a special park cleanup day! We’re excited to empower our young learners to care for their community and environment.
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
Word of the week: For the remainder of the year, we’ll be reviewing all the sight words we've learned this year in kindergarten.
Play sight word BINGO
Choose books that contain the sight words your child is learning. Encourage them to find the words as you read together.
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, saw
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
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
June is Pride Month, a time to celebrate the beauty of diversity and the importance of kindness, acceptance, and love. This month, we’ll read many stories including Love Makes a Family by Sophie Beer and And Tango Makes Three by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell. Learning about diverse families and identities builds empathy, respect, and a stronger sense of connection to the world around us.
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
Pride: Celebrate Pride Month by reading books featuring LGBTQ+ characters, talking about different kinds of families, exploring what it means to be yourself, and celebrating the people you love, however your family is made.
Rainforest and Ocean Unit: Explore books about the rainforest (KA students) and the ocean (KB students). Support your child’s curiosity about these exciting topics!
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!
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