Embedded Files
Dear Families,
Thank you for joining us for Back-to-School Night and taking the time to connect as we begin this year together. We are also grateful for all of the Parents as Partners Questionnaires we’ve received. Your engagement and support are so important to us and greatly appreciated. If you haven’t submitted yours yet, we’d love to hear from you.
September has brought a whirlwind of excitement and discovery in our kindergarten classrooms! The first month of school has been a time to build friendships, explore new books, and settle into the routines and rhythms of kindergarten together. On Friday, we visited Prospect Park for the first time this school year, and the students had a wonderful time running, playing, and enjoying nature on a beautiful fall day. It’s hard to believe October is just a few days away! Please read below for the many events we have to look forward to next month.
Important Dates
Thursday, Oct 8: Parents Association October Meeting, 8:45 AM - 10:00 AM
Friday, Oct 9: Kindergarten Apple Picking Field Trip (see details below)
Monday, Oct 12: School Closed: Indigenous Peoples’ Day
Tuesday, Oct 13: School Closed: Professional Day
Thursday, Oct 15: Pre-K/K Parent Social, 7:00 PM
Friday, Oct 16: Crazy Sock Day
Saturday, Oct 17: Pumpkin Patch, 11:00 AM - 1:00 PM. Homecoming is 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Thursday, Oct 22: United Voices, 3:45 PM - 5:00 PM
Friday, Oct 23: El Mes de Herencia Latina Community Time, 8:45 AM
Friday, Oct 23: Snapshots shared in Parent Portal, 4:00 PM
Saturday, Oct 24: Haunted House, 5:45 PM - 7:45 PM
Friday, Oct 30: Dress Up Day and Parade, 8:40 AM COSTUME GUIDELINES
Some important reminders for the week and looking ahead:
Both Kindergarten classes will be going to Dr. Davies Farm in Congers, NY on Friday, October 9th to pick apples, pumpkins, and go on a hayride. This trip is open to all parents (one adult per child). If you are interested in attending, please let us know. If you cannot attend this trip, don’t worry! We hope to have more field trips, so there will be other opportunities during the year. If you are unable to attend, we will pair your child with another student and an adult. All students and chaperones should bring their NUT-FREE lunches from home. Please note that glass containers are not allowed. Chaperones will meet both Kindergarten classes at the front of the school at 8:40 am to board the buses. We plan to be back at school around 2:30. Please email us by Wednesday, September 30, 2026, to let us know whether you and your child will be attending.
Kindergarteners will begin their Family Study soon. Please sign up here for your Family Share! We would love for everyone to participate! Please sign up as soon as possible so your child has the chance to share something special about your family with the class. This is a wonderful opportunity for the kids to learn more about one another and celebrate our diverse classroom community.
If your child completed the summer math workbook, please return it to school for a certificate!
Click here for a note from Ms. Carmen with your child’s specimen share date in science.
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. Additionally, 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.
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.
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.
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.
Blue folders go home with student work on Fridays. Please return the blue folders on Mondays after removing the contents.
Please read below for this coming week’s learning goals:
Social Emotional Learning
Empathy
Read Aloud: The Invisible Boy by Trudy Ludwig
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!”
How to take a picture walk
Before reading a book, look through it from beginning to end using the illustrations to anticipate what the book will be about.
Rhyming
Initial sounds in words
Fundations / Handwriting
Letter i and u
Recognizing lowercase letters i and u
The sounds of short i and short u (“i, itch, /i/”) (“u, up, /u/”)
Writing lowercase letters i and u
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 begin 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.
The writing process: Think, Draw, Label, Write
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
Social Studies
Seasons
Naming seasons and discussing why they change
What happens in nature and in our lives during the four seasons
Apples and Pumpkin Life Cycles
We are celebrating National Hispanic Heritage Month, or Mes Nacional de la Herencia Hispana. Every grade has been assigned a Spanish-speaking country to learn more about. Kindergarten is learning more about Mexico! This year, the lower school's focus for all heritage months will be dance as storytelling.
Read Aloud: I Am Salsa by Jackie Azúa Kramer
Anti-Racist Read Aloud: All the Colors We Are by Katie Kissinger
Shared Vocabulary:
Skin – the layer that covers and protects our body.
Melanin – the part of our skin that gives it color.
Race – a word people use to talk about differences in skin color, but it doesn’t show who a person really is.
Respect – treating people kindly and fairly, no matter what they look like.
Fairness – making sure everyone is treated the same, without judging them based on how they look.
What You Can Do At Home
Read Aloud Your Child’s Favorite Books – Listening to stories helps children hear what fluent reading sounds like and strengthens their language and listening skills.
Feelings Vocabulary: When reading a story to your child, encourage them to use more specific vocabulary to describe how a character is feeling. Maybe they aren’t just sad; maybe they’re lonely. Maybe they aren’t just happy; maybe they’re excited. Maybe they aren’t just mad; maybe they’re frustrated.
Picture Walk: Take a picture walk through a new book before reading the words and guess what the book will be about.
Letter Formation: Use materials like building blocks, connecting cubes, sand, or playdough to form the letters t, f, b, m, n, i, and u. Encourage your child to trace the letters with their finger and say the letter sounds aloud.
Rhyming: Give your child two words and ask, “Do these words rhyme?” Rhyming words have the same middle and ending sounds, like sand and hand (“they both say -and”).
Letter Sky-Writing: Practice writing lowercase u and i in the air with big arm movements. Say the Fundations letter keyword and sound (e.g., “m, man, /m/” and “n, nut, /n/”) as you write. This builds muscle memory before pencil practice.
Roller Coaster: Give your child one-syllable words with either short i or short u in the middle. Ask them to “roller coaster the word” with their hand to hear the sound in the middle, putting an emphasis on the middle vowel sound at the top of the roller coaster (sit, bug, mug, big) etc.
Number Tracing in Sand or Flour: Pour a small amount of sand or flour into a shallow tray. Encourage your child to trace the numbers 1 through 5 using their pointer finger. This tactile activity reinforces number formation and helps with fine motor skills.
Discuss the importance of celebrating Heritage Months: In September, we take time to celebrate the histories, cultures, and contributions of people whose families come from places like Mexico, Puerto Rico, Cuba, Central America, and South America. We celebrate the traditions, stories, foods, music, and ideas that enrich our communities and help us learn about one another. This year, our focus is on dance as a form of storytelling. Talk with your child about how dance shows up in your family or culture, what it means to you, and how people use movement, music, and dance to share stories, celebrate, and express themselves.
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