Happy Friday! We had a busy and exciting week in kindergarten!

Our core value for the month is Respect, and during our morning meetings, we have been exploring what respect looks and sounds like in our classroom. We have been practicing being polite, listening when others are speaking, and learning how to solve problems by talking about our feelings and working through challenges together.

In literacy, we continued our investigation of the parts of a story: plot, characters, and setting. We listened to a variety of stories and practiced identifying each of these important story elements.

In math, we have been learning to use our fingers to show numbers and working with partners to identify how many fingers are being shown. We call this activity “Math Fingers,” and the students have been having fun practicing this new skill!

We are also continuing to focus on individual letter sounds. This week, our focus letters were O and C, and we practiced identifying and producing their sounds.

Finally, we introduced the concept of labels and have been busy labeling our bodies and different objects around our classroom. The students have enjoyed noticing all the things we can name and label!​

IMPORTANT PERMISSION SLIP - Please return Monday

I am sending home an information letter and a permission slip with your students today. As you might recall, I am a teaching intern. I am in the process of taking the California Teaching Performance Assessments (CalTPA) which I need to pass in order to get my final credential in December. Part of this assessment requires me to video record a math lesson and an English Language Arts lesson. The videos will only be seen by my mentor at Westlake Charter School and the assessors at the California Teaching Commission. I would like to record the math lesson next week. The ELA lesson will be recorded in November. Please read over the information sent home and return the permission slips in their Friday Folders on Monday. I greatly appreciate your help.

​ Upcoming Dates​

​ Fri, Sept 25 - Spirit Day: Sports Day 

• Dress in sports attire or clothing that represents your favorite sports team. No dangerous accessories (i.e., bats, hockey sticks, metal cleats).

Fri, Sept 25- Olympic Triathlon

Thurs, Oct 1 - Picture Retake Day

Mon, Oct 5- Fri, Oct 9 - Fall Break: NO SCHOOL​

​ Classroom Information 

This week we:

Phonics:

Learned the letters c and o.

Math

Introduced the concepts of more and fewer. 

Writing:

Illustration Unit:

We can label items.

SEL:

Core Value of Respect

The Westlake Way

Strong Choices Vs. Weak Choices

Reading:

Identify characters, setting, and events

Retell story in order

Answer questions about the story

So that next week we can: 

Phonics:

Learn letters a and g.

Math

Continue learning about concepts of more and fewer.

Writing:

We are continuing with the concept of labels. Students are attempting to write their own labels using letter sounds.

SEL:

Core Value of Respect

The Westlake Way

Strong Choices Vs. Weak Choices

Reading:

Identify problems and solutions in a story.

Retell story in order

Answer questions about the story

School Information 

The 19th Annual Olympic Triathlon, our one big fundraising campaign each year, is in full swing! CLICK HERE to watch the video with more information.  CLICK HERE to set up your family donation page on the PledgeStar website. You can customize it with your student’s name, a photo, and a donation goal. It is easy to quickly request sponsors via email or text, explaining why Westlake is amazing and how they can help us meet our goal this year.  The more students who hit the $150 goal, the bigger the celebration for our school community! CLICK HERE to sign up to work a shift on Event Day, Friday, September 25th.

K-12 Picture Retake Day:

Our Picture Retake Day is Thursday, October 1st.  CLICK HERE for the memo.  See below for who should have their picture taken on October 1st:

• Students & staff who are new to our school since the original picture day

• Students & staff who were absent on the original picture day

• Students & staff who would like to retake their photo

• CLICK HERE to order pictures

• 
  

Jibe Walk/Bike to School Challenge:

The first Jibe Walk and Bike to School Challenge of the year is here.  Just walk, bike, or scoot to school and have your Trip Card scanned as many times as you can between now and September 25th for a chance to win. The three classes with the most participation will receive a prize for the entire class! CLICK HERE for the flyer. Don’t have a card yet? No problem, CLICK HERE to register today.

Fall Break:

Both campuses will be closed for Fall Break Monday, October 5th through Friday, October 9th. We look forward to welcoming staff and students back on Monday, October 12th. 

Week 5

Happy Friday, Explorer Families!

We hope you all had a wonderful extended Labor Day weekend! Students continue to grow in the classroom as we learn to be kind and respectful in our school community.  In phonics, we introduced our first vowel letters of  I and U. We are now able to create simple words with the letters we have learned. In math, we practiced counting, number formation, and strategies to help us keep our math counting organized. Students are building their pre-writing skills by learning how to add multiple people, create a setting, and more detail to their drawings. We have also been learning to identify the various parts of a book including the front cover, back cover, spine, author, and illustrator.  This week we also learned how to differentiate between the characters and setting using Goldilocks and the Three Bears.

As we continue through the year, please encourage your child to practice letter sounds at home. A few minutes of practice each day can make a big difference! Please also continue to build those important fine-motor and art skills at home by giving your child opportunities to cut, glue, draw, and create. Soon, we will begin our exciting unit on Community Helpers, where students will learn about the many people who help make our community a wonderful place to live. Your children are doing a fantastic job, and we are so proud of their progress. Thank you for your continued support—we are looking forward to a wonderful year together!

Upcoming Dates

Fri, Sept 25 - Spirit Day: Sports Day 

• Dress in sports attire or clothing that represents your favorite sports team. No dangerous accessories (i.e., bats, hockey sticks, metal cleats).

Classroom Information 

This week we:

Phonics:

Continue our first unit (1.3) learning the letters i and u.

Math

Count groups of up to 10 objects.

Writing:

Illustration Unit:

We can use shapes to draw everyday objects.

SEL:

Core Value of Respect

The Westlake Way

Strong Choices Vs. Weak Choices

Reading:

Identify characters, setting, and events

Retell story in order

Answer questions about the story

Phonics:

Continue our first unit (1.3) learning the letters i and u.

So that next week we can: 

Phonics:

Continue our first unit (1.4) learning the letters c and o.

Math

Count groups of up to 10 objects.

Writing:

Illustration Unit:

We can label a picture.

SEL:

Core Value of Respect

The Westlake Way

Strong Choices Vs. Weak Choices

Reading:

Identify problems and solutions in a story.

Retell story in order

Answer questions about the story

• Friday Folders: These are official communication folders from the school to home. Friday Folders will contain important documents including future report cards, flyers, curriculum resources as well as your children’s work from that week. These folders will be sent home every Friday. Please take time to check your child’s backpack over the weekend, review (and remove) any work or flyers in them then place them back in your child’s backpack to be returned every Monday. I will continue to fill folders every week so please check them often.

• Snack Time: We have snacks in class every day at 1:00 except Wednesday when snack time is 12:30. Please send your child with an afternoon snack in a separate container. It is ok to keep the separate container in their lunch box. If your child does not have a snack, I am always happy to provide them with a snack. The usual snacks I have are Goldfish, Cheez-It's, Pirate's Booty, or Granola Clusters. I do not hand out candy or fruit gummy snacks. I have told the students if they have a snack from home, they must eat their own snack. If they do not have a snack I provide it. If they are still hungry after finishing their home snack, then I also provide an additional snack. Please let me know if you have any questions about snack time.

Olympic Triathlon:

The 19th Annual Olympic Triathlon, our one big fundraising campaign each year, is in full swing! CLICK HERE to watch the video with more information. CLICK HERE to set up your family donation page on the PledgeStar website. You can customize it with your student’s name, a photo, and a donation goal. It is easy to quickly request sponsors via email or text, explaining why Westlake is amazing and how they can help us meet our goal this year.  The more students who hit the $150 goal, the bigger the celebration for our school community!

After School Live - Fall Explorer Enrichment:

Our fall Explorer Enrichment starts soon!  CLICK HERE to see the catalog of Explorer Enrichment course offerings and information about how to sign up. E-mail amayle@westlakecharter.com with scholarship inquiries.

Jibe Walk/Bike to School Challenge:

The first Jibe Walk and Bike to School Challenge of the year is here.  Just walk, bike, or scoot to school and have your Trip Card scanned as many times as you can between September 14th and September 25th for a chance to win. The three classes with the most participation will receive a prize for the entire class! CLICK HERE for the flyer. Don’t have a card yet? No problem, CLICK HERE to register today.

Art - Ascheman

Kindergarten artists will now add tempera paint to their pastel line artworks. We will learn about the colors of the rainbow in order. These colors will be used to paint their line artwork.

HERE is a link for art class songs that are great for review of lessons. We have listened to the line's song and soon we will listen to the rainbow colors song!

PE - Ms. Morales

This week we will play games using scoops working on overhand throw.

Spanish - Grimaldi

Classroom Objects Review: Students are reviewing classroom object vocabulary in Spanish through interactive games, matching activities, and speaking practice. They are practicing recognizing, naming, and using the vocabulary in class.

Week 4

Happy Friday, Explorer Families!

We have officially been in school for four weeks, and we are off to a wonderful start! This week, we enjoyed Picture Day and had the opportunity to capture some special memories of our growing kindergarteners. The students are learning and growing every day as they become more comfortable with our classroom routines and expectations. We are working hard on learning our letter sounds and practicing correct letter formation. The students are also beginning to know their daily routines and are becoming more independent each day. It has been wonderful to watch them make new friends while developing valuable social-emotional skills such as sharing, taking turns, communicating, and working together.

As we continue through the year, please encourage your child to practice letter sounds at home. A few minutes of practice each day can make a big difference! Please also continue to build those important fine-motor and art skills at home by giving your child opportunities to cut, glue, draw, and create. Soon, we will begin our exciting unit on Community Helpers, where students will learn about the many people who help make our community a wonderful place to live. Your children are doing a fantastic job, and we are so proud of their progress. Thank you for your continued support—we are looking forward to a wonderful year together!

📅 Upcoming Dates

🚫 Mon, Sept 7 – Labor Day – No School

🎾 Fri, Sept 25 - Spirit Day: Sports Day 

• Dress in sports attire or clothing that represents your favorite sports team. No dangerous accessories (i.e., bats, hockey sticks, metal cleats).

🍎 Classroom Information 

This week we:

Phonics:

Continues our first unit, practicing letters b, f and t. 

Learn letters m and n. 

Math

One to one correspondence while making groups and determining the number of objects within 10.

Writing:

Continue our illustration unit. Learning how to draw the setting.

SEL:

Core Value of Respect

Kindness

Reading:

Owls at Night

Identifying letters vs. words vs. sentences.

Thematic:

Continue concepts about print 

So that next week we can: 

Phonics:

Continue our first unit (1.3) learning the letters i and u.

Math

Count groups of up to 10 objects.

Writing:

Illustration Unit:

We can use shapes to draw everyday objects.

SEL:

Core Value of Respect

The Westlake Way

Strong Choices Vs. Weak Choices

Reading:

Identify characters, setting, and events

Retell story in order

Answer questions about the story

• 📂Friday Folders: These are official communication folders from the school to home. Friday Folders will contain important documents including future report cards, flyers, curriculum resources as well as your children’s work from that week. These folders will be sent home every Friday. Please take time to check your child’s backpack over the weekend, review (and remove) any work or flyers in them then place them back in your child’s backpack to be returned every Monday. I will continue to fill folders every week so please check them often. This week, Unit 1 of our math’s family-resource worksheets are available.

Olympic Triathlon:

The 19th Annual Olympic Triathlon, our one big fundraising campaign each year, is in full swing! CLICK HERE to set up your family donation page on the PledgeStar website. You can customize it with your student’s name, a photo, and a donation goal. It is easy to quickly request sponsors via email or text, explaining why Westlake is amazing and how they can help us meet our goal this year.  The more students who hit the $150 goal, the bigger the celebration for our school community!

Labor Day - NO SCHOOL:

Westlake Charter School and our BASE program will be closed on Monday, September 7th for Labor Day.

After School Live - Fall Explorer Enrichment:

Our fall Explorer Enrichment starts soon!  CLICK HERE to see the catalog of Explorer Enrichment course offerings and information about how to sign up. E-mail amayle@westlakecharter.com with scholarship inquiries.

Art - Ascheman

Kindergarten artists will learn all about the element of line! They will make a multimedia artwork with black pastel and watercolors!

PE - Ms. Morales

This week we will work on our underhand toss

Spanish - Grimaldi

This week students reviewed saludos and colores. We introduced new vocabulary, which consisted of classroom objects.

Week 3

Week 

Happy Friday, Explorer Families!

We’ve officially finished our third week of school! I have truly enjoyed watching the students grow and learn together. Thank you so much to all of you who attended Back-to-School Night. I appreciate the time you took to partner with me in your child’s learning journey.

Over the past few weeks, the students have been working hard to learn our classroom routines and procedures. They are becoming more familiar with expectations, which is allowing them to be more independent throughout the day. I’m also noticing that they are becoming more comfortable with one another and developing wonderful new friendships!

At home, please continue to support your child in fostering independence skills—such as taking care of personal belongings, cleaning up after themselves, and completing simple tasks on their own. These skills help build confidence and responsibility both in the classroom and beyond.

📅 Upcoming Dates

📸 Tue, Sept 1 – Picture Day (Uniforms required)

🚫 Mon, Sept 7 – Labor Day – No School

🎾 Fri, Sept 25 - Spirit Day: Sports Day 

• Dress in sports attire or clothing that represents your favorite sports team. No dangerous accessories (i.e., bats, hockey sticks, metal cleats).

🍎 Classroom Information 

This week we:

Phonics:

Learned letters b and f.

Math

Use math manipulatives when counting small groups of objects.

Writing:

Begin our illustration unit. Learning how to draw people.

SEL:

Strong choices VS weak choices

Kindness

Reading:

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom

Thematic:

Concepts about print (parts of a book, author and illustration, reading left to right)

So that next week we can: 

Phonics:

Continue our first unit, learning the letters b and f.

Math

One to one correspondence while making groups and determining the number of objects within 10.

Writing:

Continue our illustration unit. Learning how to draw the setting.

SEL:

Core Value of Respect

Kindness

Reading:

Owls at Night

Identifying letters vs. words vs. sentences.

Thematic:

Continue concepts about print.

• 📂Friday Folders: These are official communication folders from the school to home. Friday Folders will contain important documents including future report cards, flyers, curriculum resources as well as your children’s work from that week. These folders will be sent home every Friday. Please take time to check your child’s backpack over the weekend, review (and remove) any work or flyers in them then place them back in your child’s backpack to be returned every Monday. I will continue to fill folders every week so please check them often. This week, Unit 1 of our math’s family-resource worksheets are available.

🏫 School Information 

Fall Picture Day:

K-8 picture day will be on Tuesday, September 1st. This is a uniform picture day for our K-8 campus. All students will have their picture taken for the yearbook and student IDs, even if they don’t purchase a picture package. CLICK HERE to pre-purchase your pictures online. Group pictures will be taken for Kindergarten through 5th grade classes only. 

Free and Reduced Priced Meals:

Good news! This year, we qualify to complete the SHORT form for Free and Reduced Priced Meals (FRPM). Each year it is incredibly important to our school that we are able to account for every student during this form collection process. We are authorized by the Natomas Unified School District and as a part of our partnership, we commit to collecting these forms from every family. This quick form plays an important role in determining how much funding our schools receive. Every completed form helps ensure Natomas Unified receives the full funding our students deserve. When forms are not submitted, schools can miss out on valuable resources. Even if you believe your family may not qualify, your response still makes a difference.  CLICK HERE to complete the 2026-2027 Educational Benefit Form.

Grade Level Field Lesson & School Supplies Donations Competition:

Kindergarten families: In the first 30 days of school, we’d like to raise at least 50% of our Field Lessons and School Supplies fundraising goal! Every dollar raised goes to pay for our Kindergarten Explorers to engage in Field Lessons and pays for school supplies so you don’t have to run around Target looking for “just the right” glue stick!

Using the links below, you can, 

1. Donate to our grade level using this link!
   
   

2. Fundraise by posting our grade level link on Social Media, or send the link to friends and family asking for contributions to your students’ grade level!
   
   

3. New Way to Contribute: CLICK HERE to refer a business that may be interested in sponsoring an Explorer! Our Explorer Partners team will reach out to every business that is referred by a family member and help the business to sponsor an Explorer! When they do, they will become a part of our Explorer Partners Program!

We’ve now reached 32.24% of our goal. Let’s go families, let’s make sure Kindergarten wins big by hitting 50% of our goal!

WEEK 2

Week 2

Happy Friday, Explorer Families!

We have accomplished a huge Kindergarten milestone-the first full week of school! This is a huge change for many of our youngest Explorers. Big changes like this can lead to your kindergartener being extra tired, hungry, and/or emotional. Some students may need more physical contact and affection from their trusted adults. You might even experience some regression in areas like bed wetting, potty accidents, thumb sucking, emotional  outbursts, and more. Each child is different, but please reach out if you are still seeing changes like this in a few weeks.

This week we began our new social-emotional curriculum, Character Strong! Each Monday across our K-8, students will participate in a Character Strong lesson during Morning Meeting as we build skills around kindness, relationships, self-awareness, and responsible decision-making. We are also excited to partner with families in this work. CLICK HERE for a video from Character Strong. 

We’re excited to kick off the new school year by talking about Kindness. Our definition of Kindness is acting with understanding, generosity, and care. We believe developing skills around Kindness will help us build a strong foundation for a great year of learning, connecting, and growing together. CLICK HERE to check out our Family Letter for more information about PurposeFull People and some fun ways you can join us in kicking off our most Kind year yet! 

📅 Upcoming Dates

🏫 Wed, Aug 26 – Back to School Night
📸 Tue, Sept 1- Picture Day (Uniforms required) 

🚫 Mon, Sept 7 – Labor Day – No School

🍎 Classroom Information 

This week we:

Phonics:

Started our Fundations phonics orientation unit and learned the letter t.

Math

Began math manipulatives exploration.

Writing:

Practiced pencil strokes and name writing.

SEL:

Practiced being kind and responsible.

Learned  our friends’ names.

Practiced classroom routines and procedures. 

Reading:

Listened to books about school

Thematic:

Explored new learning tools such as whiteboard markers and glue.

So that next week we can: 

Phonics:

Continue our first unit, learning the letters b and f.

Math

Use math manipulatives when counting small groups of objects.

Writing:

Begin our illustration unit.

SEL:

Strong choices VS weak choices

Kindness

Reading:

Read Chicka Chicka Boom Boom

Thematic:

Concepts about print (parts of a book, author and illustration, reading left to right)

• 🥨Snack Time: We will eat snack every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday afternoon in kindergarten. Please provide a healthy snack in your child’s backpacks every day. Be sure to pack snacks in a separate bag, or pocket in your kinder’s backpack. Help your kindergartener at home to understand whether they are putting “lunch” in their backpack, or “snack”. There has been some confusion about which food is lunch and which are snacks.

• 📂Friday Folders: These are official communication folders from the school to home. Friday Folders will contain important documents including future report cards, flyers, curriculum resources as well as your children’s work from that week. These folders will be sent home every Friday. Please take time to check your child’s backpack over the weekend, review (and remove) any work or flyers in them then place them back in your child’s backpack to be returned every Monday. I will continue to fill folders every week so please check them often. This week, Unit 1 of our math’s family-resource worksheets are available.

• 🏫Back to School Night: Please plan to attend this evening event on Wednesday, August 26th to get updated information about kindergarten academics, online academic platforms we are using this year, and pro tips on how to help your kindergarten scholar be successful this school year. Please read the School Wide Information provided below for more information regarding this event.

• 🏷Name Labels: It is very helpful to me and the kindergarteners if all of their items are labeled clearly with their names. Some items you may consider labeling are lunch boxes, water bottles, sweaters/jackets, snack bags, and even lunch containers. 

🏫 School Information 

Grade Level Field Lesson & School Supplies Donations Competition: Kindergarten families: In the first 30 days of school, we’d like to raise at least 50% of our Field Lessons and School Supplies fundraising goal! Every dollar raised goes to pay for our Kindergarten Explorers to engage in Field Lessons and pays for school supplies so you don’t have to run around Target looking for “just the right” glue stick!

Using the links below, you can, 

1. Donate to our grade level using this link!

2. Fundraise by posting our grade level link on Social Media, or send the link to friends and family asking for contributions to your students’ grade level! 

3. New Way to Contribute: CLICK HERE to refer a business that may be interested in sponsoring an Explorer! Our Explorer Partners team will reach out to every business that is referred by a family member and help the business to sponsor an Explorer! When they do, they will become a part of our Explorer Partners Program!

We’ve now reached 28.13% of our goal. This week the grade level with the most business referrals will win a prize! Let’s go families, let’s make sure Kindergarten wins big!

K-8 Back to School Night: Our K-8 Back to School Night is on Wednesday, August 26th. To the best of our ability, we would like to keep this event distraction free by encouraging families to make this a non-student event. This will allow for teachers and families to connect in a distraction-free environment. For families that need supervision, our BASE program will be available to help, however, space is potentially limited. If you know that you will need childcare to attend this event, please CLICK HERE to RSVP for BASE as soon as possible so that we can properly prepare. 

• Town Hall Sessions: We have three identical sessions,  you only need to attend one. Session One is 5:30 - 5:50 PM, Session Two is 6:45 - 7:05 PM, Session Three is 7:15 - 7:35 PM. Dr. Eick will share our vision for the year and engage our community in some exciting announcements about our future. 

• Kindergarten through 5th Grade Families: We have two identical sessions, you only need to attend one. Session One is 6:00 - 6:30 PM, Session Two is 6:40 - 7:10 PM. A video from your child's specialty teacher(s) will be available.

• 6th-8th Grade Families: We have two identical sessions, you only need to attend one. Session One is 5:00 - 5:40 PM, Session Two is 6:00 - 6:40 PM. During these sessions, you will meet with your student’s core teachers and specialty teachers. Your students are creating your schedule for the evening.

Fall Picture Day: K-8 picture day will be on Tuesday, September 1st. This is a uniform picture day for our K-8 campus. All students will have their picture taken for the yearbook and student IDs, even if they don’t purchase a picture package. CLICK HERE to pre-purchase your pictures online. Group pictures will be taken for Kindergarten through 5th grade classes only. 

Free and Reduced Priced Meals: Good news! This year, we qualify to complete the SHORT form for Free and Reduced Priced Meals (FRPM). Each year it is incredibly important to our school that we are able to account for every student during this form collection process. We are authorized by the Natomas Unified School District and as a part of our partnership, we commit to collecting these forms from every family. This quick form plays an important role in determining how much funding our schools receive. Every completed form helps ensure Natomas Unified receives the full funding our students deserve. When forms are not submitted, schools can miss out on valuable resources. Even if you believe your family may not qualify, your response still makes a difference.  CLICK HERE to complete the 2026-2027 Educational Benefit Form.

Learning Lab: The Learning Lab is now open to Middle School Explorers after school on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays from 3:15 - 3:45 PM. The Learning Lab is staffed by an Instructional Aide to assist Middle School students with their classwork and homework.  Families should sign up their Middle School student(s) using School Dismissal Manager.

Jibe Walk and Bike to School Program: The Jibe Walk and Bike to School Program is back! Students earn prizes and rewards for walking, biking, or scooting to school while parents skip the drop-off line and gain peace of mind knowing they will be notified when their student is scanned in at the school’s entrance. If your student already has a card, they can simply find an adult in an orange apron when arriving on campus to get scanned in. Need a card? Please CLICK HERE to register.

8/24/2026

Weekly Focus

Upcoming Assessments

Resources for Practice at Home

Art - Ascheman

Kinder artists learned about how we play, build, and imagine using our classroom art centers this week. Next week we will learn about whole body listening. We will use crayons to color a whole body listening kid, and identify the parts of whole body listening.

HERE is a song to help your artists remember what it looks like to show, respect, responsibility, and stewardship during learning time in the art classroom.

PE - Ms. Morales

Spanish - Grimaldi

This week, I reviewed colors and common Spanish greetings, including good morning (buenos días), good afternoon (buenas tardes), and good night (buenas noches). I also went over class expectations and classroom rules with students.

WEEK 1

Week 1

Happy Friday, Explorer Families! 

I hope the first week of kindergarten treated you well!  Our classroom has been full of excitement as we’ve learned each other’s names, explored our new classroom, and practiced routines for a great year ahead. 

I really appreciate having the chance to meet so many of you this week! Please let me know if you have any questions or need any clarification. I am looking forward to working with you. 

📅 Upcoming Dates

✨ Mon, Aug 17 – Kindergarten Specialty Rotations Begin
🏫 Wed, Aug 26 – Back to School Night
📸 Tue, Sept 21 – Picture Day (Uniforms required)

🚫 Mon, Sept 7 – Labor Day – No School

🍎 Classroom Information 

This week we:

Learned routines and procedures

Learned how to be safe at school and in our classroom 

Learned where to find materials in the classroom.

Learned our classmates' names and practiced recognizing our own names.

Learned recess rules and routines.

Learned cafeteria rules and routines.

So that next week we can: 

Phonics:

Begin our Fundations phonics orientation unit

Math

Begin math manipulatives exploration

Writing:

Practice pencil strokes and name writing

SEL:

Be responsible in shared spaces 

Reading:

Listen to books about school

Thematic:

Explore new learning tools such as scissors and glue

🎨 🇪🇸🏃 Specialties: Kindergarten will be starting our specialties rotations next week. Please make sure your students are wearing PE appropriate shoes and have a labeled water bottle. Our schedule is below:

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

No Specialties

Early Dismissal

🕒 Dismissal: Beginning Monday 8/17, dismissal will be at 2:45.  Please be sure that you update your school dismissal manager on how you will be picking up your child: carline, classroom door, or BASE. 

📂 Friday Folders: These school-to-home folders will be sent home every Friday with important papers—such as report cards, flyers, curriculum resources, and your child’s work. Please empty the folder over the weekend and return it every Monday so I can refill it. If folders aren’t returned, papers will be placed directly in backpacks.

🥨 Snack Time Next week, we’ll begin having an afternoon snack! Please send a snack that is clearly separate from your child’s lunch. A separate container or paper bag with a name on it works well. Please practice with your child how to let the teacher know if they are having school lunch. In my class, students move a picture of themselves on the white board and place it under the label of cold lunch or hot lunch.   

For everyone’s safety, no peanuts, peanut butter, or tree nuts in lunches or snacks. Thank you!

🏷 Name Labels It is very helpful to me and the kindergarteners if all of their items are labeled clearly with their names. Some items you may consider labeling are lunch boxes, water bottles, sweaters/jackets, snack bags, and even lunch containers. 

• The outside of lunch boxes 🥪

• Water bottles 💧

• Sweaters/jackets 🧥

• Snack bags 🍎

• Lunch containers 🍱

🎒 Kindergarten Gear If you have not yet sent in your extra change of clothes and family picture, please do so next week. If these items are still in your child’s backpack, please remind them to give them to me at the beginning of the day. I am happy to print a picture if you email it to me. 

🏫 School Information 

Grade Level Field Lesson & School Supplies Donations Competition: Kindergarten families: In the first 30 days of school, we’d like to raise at least 50% of our Field Lessons and School Supplies fundraising goal! Every dollar raised goes to pay for our Kindergarten Explorers to engage in Field Lessons and pays for school supplies so you don’t have to run around Target looking for “just the right” glue stick!

Using the links below, you can, 

1. Donate to our grade level using this link!
   
   

2. Fundraise by posting our grade level link on Social Media, or send the link to friends and family asking for contributions to your students’ grade level!
   
   

3. New Way to Contribute: CLICK HERE to refer a business that may be interested in sponsoring an Explorer! Our Explorer Partners team will reach out to every business that is referred by a family member and help the business to sponsor an Explorer! When they do, they will become a part of our Explorer Partners Program!

Our Grade Level is off to a great start! School just started and we are already at 12.69% of our goal. This week the grade level with the highest growth over last week  will win a prize! Let’s go families, let’s make sure Kindergarten wins big!

K-8 Back to School Night: Our K-8 Back to School Night is on Wednesday, August 26th. To the best of our ability, we would like to keep this event distraction free by encouraging families to make this a non-student event. This will allow for teachers and families to connect in a distraction-free environment. For families that need supervision, our BASE program will be available to help, however, space is potentially limited. If you know that you will need childcare to attend this event, please CLICK HERE to RSVP for BASE as soon as possible so that we can properly prepare. 

• Kindergarten through 5th Grade Families: We have two identical sessions, you only need to attend one. Session one is 6:00 - 6:30 PM, session two is 6:40 - 7:10 PM. A video from your child's specialty teacher(s) will be available.

• 6th-8th Grade Families: We have two identical sessions, you only need to attend one. Session one is 5:00 - 5:40 PM, session two is 6:00 - 6:40 PM. During these sessions, you will meet with your student’s core teachers and specialty teachers. Your students are creating your schedule for the evening.

Fall Picture Day: K-8 picture day will be on Tuesday, September 1st. This is a uniform picture day for our K-8 campus. All students will have their picture taken for the yearbook and student IDs, even if they don’t purchase a picture package. CLICK HERE to pre-purchase your pictures online. Group pictures will be taken for Kindergarten through 5th grade classes only. 

Free and Reduced Priced Meals: Good news! This year, we qualify to complete the SHORT form for Free and Reduced Priced Meals (FRPM). Each year it is incredibly important to our school that we are able to account for every student during this form collection process. We are authorized by the Natomas Unified School District and as a part of our partnership, we commit to collecting these forms from every family. This quick form plays an important role in determining how much funding our schools receive. Every completed form helps ensure Natomas Unified receives the full funding our students deserve. When forms are not submitted, schools can miss out on valuable resources. Even if you believe your family may not qualify, your response still makes a difference.  CLICK HERE to complete the 2026-2027 Educational Benefit Form.

Learning Lab:The Learning Lab will open to Middle School Explorers after school on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays from 3:15 - 3:45 PM beginning Monday, August 17th. The Learning Lab is staffed by an Instructional Aide to assist Middle School students with their classwork and homework.  Families should sign up their Middle School student(s) using School Dismissal Manager.

Jibe Walk and Bike to School Program: The Jibe Walk and Bike to School Program is back! Students earn prizes and rewards for walking, biking, or scooting to school while parents skip the drop-off line and gain peace of mind knowing they will be notified when their student is scanned in at the school’s entrance. If your student already has a card, they can simply find an adult in an orange apron when arriving on campus to get scanned in. Need a card? Please CLICK HERE to register.

Specialties Information🎨🏃📚

Art - Ascheman

This week artists will play and EXPLORE with creative toys that help them with imaginative play, fine motor skills, and building relationships with their peers. They will also sign an agreement that tools and toys stay in our art classroom. Following these activities, we will learn about our classroom expectations through song and color.

PE - Ms. Morales

Welcome back PE explorers! This week we are going over policies and procedures for our PE class.

Spanish - Grimaldi

¡Hola, Spanish explorers! This week we’ll get to know our Spanish classroom and our teacher. We’ll practice classroom routines and expectations. See you soon!

WWeek 37

Week 38 - 

Hello Explorer Families!

We are 3 days away from wrapping up a very successful year of Kindergarten! This last full week of the school year has been packed with games, activities, and time spent with all of our new Westlake friends. 

Our class has been practicing daily for our Aloha Celebration. The students are so excited to perform this evening, and we hope all families will be able to join us for this special event!

We have asked students to dress up in their favorite outfit for the celebration. It will be such a fun way for them to show their personality and celebrate all they have accomplished this year.

Please drop off your child at their classroom this evening at 5:15pm!

📅 Upcoming Dates

🌺 June 5th: Aloha to Kinder at 5:30 PM 

🎽June 9th: Field Day (Students Wear Red)

☀️🎉 June 10th: Last Day of School (12pm dismissal)

This week we:

Phonics:

Tap words with  digraphs

Sentence reading and dictation

Sight Words: 

one

Math:

Review 

Writing:

Writing conventions 

SEL:

Explore the Core Value:  Perseverance

Reading

Literature review

So that next week we can:

Phonics:

Tap words with  digraphs

Sentence reading and dictation

Sight Words: Review

Math:

Review 

Writing:

Writing conventions

SEL:

Explore the Core Value:  Perseverance

Reading

Literature review

🏫 School Information:

Family Survey:

The Family Survey is taken three times a year. CLICK HERE to answer six questions to rate your family's experience at Westlake Charter School during the 2025-26 school year. The deadline is THIS Sunday, June 7th.

K-8 Field Day:

Mark your calendars for our K-8 Field Day!  Field Day will take place on campus for Kindergarten - Fifth grades and at Valley Oak Park for Middle School. Help us end an amazing year by signing up to volunteer or make a donation for Field Day. CLICK HERE to volunteer or make donations for Field Day.

• K-5 -  Tuesday, June 9th, 9:00 AM - 12: 00 PM (on the blacktop and field)

• 6-8 - Tuesday, June 9th, 8:30 - 10:00 AM (Valley Oak Park)

This will be a free dress day and each grade level will represent their grade level by wearing a different colored t-shirt. Please see below for what color shirt to have your child wear that day!

• Kinder - Red

• 1st - Orange

• 2nd - Yellow

• 3rd - Green

• 4th - Blue

• 5th - Purple

• 6th - Black

• 7th - Blue

• 8th - Tie-Dye

NUSD Summer Meals Program:

Natomas Unified School District is proud to participate in the Summer Meals Program, ensuring that youth in our community have access to nutritious meals during the summer break. From June 3rd through July 31st, 2026, free breakfast and lunch will be available to all children 18 and younger.  CLICK HERE for more information.

Summer BASE Registration - Open Now!!

We're getting ready for an exciting Summer BASE Program and would love to get a head start on planning! If your family is interested in attending Summer BASE, please CLICK HERE for more information and CLICK HERE to fill out our 2026-2027 BASE Registration Form. We have lots of fun in store with weekly themed activities, including STEM Week, Carnival Week, Art & Creativity Week, and more!

Yearbooks:

The 2025-26 Westlake Charter School yearbooks are still available to order! CLICK HERE to order your K-8 yearbook through TreeRing and have it shipped directly to your home! Use code 101667583471473.

Specialties Information: 🎨🏃📚

6/8/2026

Weekly Focus

Art - Ascheman

In kindergarten next week students will be printmaking!

PE - Ms. T

Greetings Movers! We will be celebrating our final class together next week. I would also like to thank you, the parents/guardians, for a wonderful year here at Westlake Charter. Your kiddos have been memorable and fun to teach!

Spanish - Santos

This week we will highlight the special moments from Spanish Class. It's been a great year.

Week 36

Week 37

Hello Explorer Families!

We are starting to wrap up our wonderful school year together! These last few weeks have been filled with so much learning, laughter, and special memories.

Our class has been working very hard practicing our songs for the Aloha Celebration on June 5th. The students are so excited to perform, and we hope all families will be able to join us for this special event!

We have asked students to dress up in their favorite outfit for the celebration. It will be such a fun way for them to show their personality and celebrate all they have accomplished this year.

It has truly been such a joy spending these last few weeks together and watching how much your children have grown throughout kindergarten. Thank you for all of your support this year!

📅 Upcoming Dates

🌺 June 5th: Aloha to Kinder at 5:30 PM 

☀️🎉 June 10th: Last Day of School (12pm dismissal)

This week we:

Phonics:

Tap words with  digraphs

Sentence reading and dictation

Sight Words: do

Math:

Review 

Writing:

Writing conventions 

SEL:

Explore the Core Value:  Perseverance

Reading

Literature review

So that next week we can:

Phonics:

Tap words with  digraphs

Sentence reading and dictation

Sight Words: one

Math:

Review 

Writing:

Writing conventions

SEL:

Explore the Core Value:  Perseverance

Reading

Literature review

🏫 School Information:

K-8 Field Day:

Mark your calendars for our K-8 Field Day!  Field Day will take place on campus for Kindergarten - Fifth grades and at Valley Oak Park for Middle School. Help us end an amazing year by signing up to volunteer or make a donation for Field Day. CLICK HERE to volunteer or make donations for Field Day.

• K-5 -  Tuesday, June 9th, 9:00 AM - 12: 00 PM (on the blacktop and field)

• 6-8 - Tuesday, June 9th, 8:30 - 10:00 AM (Valley Oak Park)

This will be a free dress day and each grade level will represent their grade level by wearing a different colored t-shirt. Please see below for what color shirt to have your child wear that day!

• Kinder - Red

• 1st - Orange

• 2nd - Yellow

• 3rd - Green

• 4th - Blue

• 5th - Purple

• 6th - Black

• 7th - Blue

• 8th - Tie-Dye

Family Survey:

The Family Survey is taken three times a year. CLICK HERE to answer six questions to rate your family's experience at Westlake Charter School during the 2025-26 school year. The deadline is Sunday, June 7th.

Summer BASE Registration - Open Now!!

We're getting ready for an exciting Summer BASE Program and would love to get a head start on planning! If your family is interested in attending Summer BASE, please CLICK HERE for more information and CLICK HERE to fill out our 2026-2027 BASE Registration Form. We have lots of fun in store with weekly themed activities, including STEM Week, Carnival Week, Art & Creativity Week, and more!

Yearbooks:

The 2025-26 Westlake Charter School yearbooks are still available to order! CLICK HERE to order your K-8 yearbook through TreeRing and have it shipped directly to your home! Use code 101667583471473.

Specialties Information: 🎨🏃📚

Week 35

Week 

Wee

Wee

Week 36

Happy Friday, Explorer Families!!

As we near the end of the school year, it has been so wonderful to see how much the students have grown! They have worked hard not only in academics, but also in learning the importance of kindness, being a good friend, and making strong choices each day. I am so proud of all the progress they have made this year. The students continue to work very hard as we finish up our end-of-year assessments, and their effort and perseverance have truly shown. Thank you for all of your support throughout the year! Please remember that there will be no school on Monday in observance of Memorial Day.

📅 Upcoming Dates

📖 May 22nd: K–8 Spirit Day (Book Character Day)

🇺🇲 May 25th: Memorial Day- Campus Closed

🌺 June 5th: Aloha to Kinder at 5:30 PM 

☀️🎉 June 10th: Last Day of School (12pm dismissal)

Sorry to Bug You 🐞

Please remind your students they are not allowed to bring live insects into the classrooms. Many students have been bringing in beetles, rolly-pollies, bees, spiders and ants into the classrooms. Students have been reminded at school multiple times. Please help enforce this by reminding students they are not allowed to play with or capture insects at school. While we absolutely love the enthusiasm about nature and science, we would appreciate keeping our classrooms bug free. Thank you for your help!

🍎 Classroom Information

👀Sight Words👀: As our kindergarten year is wrapping up, don’t forget to go back and review our sight words. This will help your child build their confidence as readers. Remember these are words that students should know from memory and should be able to identify quickly. Putting them on flashcards and playing games can make sight words engaging and enjoyable when you are practicing at home! Here is a list of our kindergarten sight words: 

🌺 Save the Date: Aloha Kindergarten Performance! 

The end of the year is quickly approaching, and we’re excited to celebrate with a special Aloha Kindergarten performance! Students will sing songs and enjoy a sweet treat to mark this wonderful milestone. We invite all students to wear bright summer clothes or Hawaiian-themed outfits for the occasion.

📅 Friday, June 5th, 2026 at 5:30 PM

📍 In the Gym

This week we:

Phonics:

Tap words with  digraphs

Sentence reading and dictation

Sight Words: do 

Math:

Review 

Writing:

Writing Conventions 

Naming Parts and Telling Parts of Sentences. 

SEL:

Explore the Core Value:  Perseverance

Science

Plants and Animals: Plants

Reading

Reading informational text. 

Literature review

So that next week we can:

Phonics:

Tap words with  digraphs

Sentence reading and dictation

Sight Words: one

Math:

Review 

Writing:

Sentence Structure practice

SEL:

Explore the Core Value:  Perseverance

Science

Plants and Animals: Plants

Reading

Reading informational text. 

Literature review

Art - Ascheman

Next week kindergarten artists will be read the book Monsters Love Colors and then create an artwork based on the story.

PE - Ms. T

Greetings Movers! As we near the last couple weeks of school we will be reviewing all of our learned movement concepts from this year.

Spanish - Santos

Hola, familias. This week we will continue learning the vocabulary and activities related to Summer in Spanish.

K-8 Field Day:

Mark your calendars for our K-8 Field Day!  Field Day will take place on campus for Kindergarten - Fifth grades and at Valley Oak Park for Middle School. Help us end an amazing year by signing up to volunteer or make a donation for Field Day. CLICK HERE to volunteer or make donations for Field Day.

• K-5 -  Tuesday, June 9th, 9:00 AM - 12: 00 PM (on the blacktop and field)

• 6-8 - Tuesday, June 9th, 8:30 - 10:00 AM (Valley Oak Park)

This will be a free dress day and each grade level will represent their grade level by wearing a different colored t-shirt. Please see below for what color shirt to have your child wear that day!

• Kinder - Red

• 1st - Orange

• 2nd - Yellow

• 3rd - Green

• 4th - Blue

• 5th - Purple

• 6th - Black

• 7th - Blue

• 8th - Tie-Dye

Family Survey:

The Family Survey is taken three times a year. CLICK HERE to answer six questions to rate your family's experience at Westlake Charter School during the 2025-26 school year. The deadline is Sunday, June 7th.

Summer BASE Registration - Open Now!!

We're getting ready for an exciting Summer BASE Program and would love to get a head start on planning! If your family is interested in attending Summer BASE, please CLICK HERE for more information and CLICK HERE to fill out our 2026-2027 BASE Registration Form. We have lots of fun in store with weekly themed activities, including STEM Week, Carnival Week, Art & Creativity Week, and more!

Yearbooks:

The 2025-26 Westlake Charter School yearbooks are still available to order! CLICK HERE to order your K-8 yearbook through TreeRing and have it shipped directly to your home! Use code 101667583471473.