Dear Families,
Welcome to Kindergarten! We’re so excited to begin this new adventure with your children and to get to know each of you along the way. Each Sunday, you’ll receive an email with a link to our Weekly Newsletter. It’s a quick, easy way to stay up to date on important dates, reminders, and upcoming events in our classroom. Be sure to also check out the Photos page on our class website. It’s a great peek into our days together and a wonderful conversation starter at home!
This week, we’ll keep getting to know one another, explore our classroom, and practice our routines. Through fun activities like read-alouds, art projects, and morning meeting games, we’re building friendships and helping our classroom feel like home. We can already tell it’s going to be a wonderful year filled with learning, growing, and discovering!
Important Dates
Monday, Sep 14: Nursery Regular Schedule Begins
Monday, Sep 14: Poly PM Begins
Monday, Sep 14: School Pictures Day
Monday, Sep 21: Yom Kippur (School Closed)
Tuesday, Sep 22: Enrichment & LS Music Conservatory Begins
Tuesday, Sep 22: Back to School Night & Reception (Adults Only), 5:45 PM to 8:30 PM
Thursday, Sep 24: United Voices Sep Meetings, 3:45 PM - 5:00 PM
Friday, Sep 25: Blue Devil Night (SAVE THE DATE)
Friday, Sep 25: Admissions Open House
Friday, Oct 9: Kindergarten Apple Picking Field Trip, Dr. Davies Farm
Some important reminders for the week and looking ahead:
Please email both KA teachers, Kim Davis at kdavis@polyprep.org and Emily Fornof at efornof@polyprep.org, with any questions, issues, or concerns regarding your children, specifically with any changes to your child’s dismissal plans. Please make all dismissal plan changes on Parent Patrol before 1:15 pm.
Please take a moment to complete the Parents as Partners Questionnaire so that we can plan for a fruitful and productive year for your children. Please complete the form as soon as possible.
Please notify the school of your child’s absences by sending an email to lsabsences@polyprep.org as well as your child’s teachers at the email addresses listed above.
Students may only ride their assigned bus and may not switch buses for after-school activities or other reasons. The only exception is playdates. Students may ride a friend’s bus for a playdate, provided there is space available. Requests to ride the bus for a playdate must be made in advance via email to lsbus@polyprep.org. Please also notify your child’s teachers if they will be riding a different bus.
Please send 2 or 3 pictures for your child’s cubby, if you haven't already done so.
Children should bring a water bottle every day.
Every student should keep an extra set of clothes in the classroom for accidents, water spills, or similar situations.
This is a friendly reminder that Poly provides daily snacks for your children. If your child brings a snack from home, we may ask them to keep it in their backpack until lunch or after school due to potential food allergies among classmates. Also, please ensure that any snacks in your child’s backpack DO NOT contain peanuts, tree nuts, or any products made from them, as these foods can be touched and spread to classroom surfaces. Parents who send lunches for their children should also strictly follow the food allergy guidelines.
Please send your children with clothing that is easy for them to handle independently. Practice the necessary skills at home, such as lacing shoes, doing and undoing buttons, and zipping jackets.
PE for KA is on Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays. Dance for KA is on Tuesdays. Children should wear shoes that they can run around in with ease. Crocs are NOT recommended for PE and recess. Shoes that are easy for your child to take off and put on by themselves would help ease the transition at the beginning and end of class.
Blue folders go home with student work on Fridays. Please return the folders on Mondays after removing the contents.
Throughout the year, we will select one student each week to be our “Star of the Week.” You will know your child has been chosen if they bring home their “Overall Me” poster (usually sent home on Thursdays). Please help your child select printed pictures or draw pictures and write words to complete their posters and return them by the following Monday.
Please read below for this coming week’s learning goals:
Social Emotional Learning
Feelings/Emotions
Empathy
Friendship
Reading
Print Concepts
Directionality
Understanding that text is read from left to right and top to bottom on a page
Distinguishing between letters and words
One-to-one correspondence
Pointing to words as they are read aloud
“Use your pointer power!”
Fundations / Handwriting
Letter t, b and f
Recognizing lowercase letter t, b and f
The sounds of t, b and f
Writing lowercase letter t, b and f
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.
Math
Counting up to 5 objects using one-to-one correspondence
Practicing writing numbers with the correct formation
Distinguishing between same and different characteristics of objects and pictures
Sorting and classifying
Vocabulary: same, not the same, different, match, sort
What You Can Do At Home
Emotion Charades: Take turns acting out a feeling (happy, sad, tired, surprised) while the other person guesses. This helps children practice naming and recognizing emotions in themselves and others.
Pointer Power: When reading together, encourage your child to point under each word as you read. Ask: “Where do I start reading?” or “Can you show me a word?” to reinforce directionality and print concepts.
Letter Sky-Writing: Practice writing lowercase t, b, and f in the air with big arm movements. Say the Fundations letter keyword and sound (e.g., “t, top, /t/”) as you write. This builds muscle memory before pencil practice.
Sound Hunt: Go on a “sound hunt” around the house: look for things that start with t, b, or f (table, book, fork). Have your child name the item and say the beginning sound.
Snack Sort: Use snack items like crackers, fruit, or cereal pieces. Ask your child to sort them into groups (same/different, by shape, color, or size). Extend by counting how many are in each group.
Number Walk: As you walk around your home or outside, find groups of objects (3 chairs, 4 leaves, 5 steps). Have your child count each item out loud, touching or pointing to each object to practice one-to-one correspondence.
Family Photo Talk: Once you’ve sent in cubby photos, let your child choose a favorite photo at home and share a story about it. This builds oral language, connection, and supports the “Star Student” project later.