Garden, Guitars, and Inventors!

What a fantastic week of learning and growing together!

Students wrapped up our Civics unit with a garden service project. We weeded, harvested some lingering veggies, and, of course, had plenty of fun raking and jumping in leaves! After school, I dropped off some zucchinis at the park's sharing shed down the road.  It felt great to share some of our harvest with the community. 

In Literacy, we are introducing 2–3 letters each week, and we can already spell and read several CV and CVC words using m, s, a, t, and i. We have been spending a lot of time practicing proper letter formation and remembering to start our letters at the top. We are also continuing to build our understanding of print concepts and expand our knowledge about scientists and the work they do. We even took some time to see if we could come up with our own inventions after being inspired by the book Whoosh!: A Story About Lonnie Johnson, a man who invented the Super Soaker as well as did some important work for NASA. It was fun to think like inventors and imagine ways we could create something new!

In Math, we continue to practice number formation, counting quantities, and representing numbers in different ways. We also began working with a 10-frame, a frame that can hold 10 objects and will eventually help us recognize and understand different number combinations that make 10.

Important Dates

• October 7: 2hr Student Early Release Day (dismissal starts @ 12:17 p.m)

• October 8: UCS Open House (6:00 - 7:00 p.m)

• October 12-15: Conferences https://signup.com/go/sfkuUES 

• October 22nd & 23rd: No School for Students

 

Happy Autumn, everyone! 🍂

We were greeted by a young buck on our ECO adventure yesterday! It dashed right out in front of us in the field—what a beautiful shared experience for us all! 🦌

Yesterday, we also started our morning with our SEL time, meeting our new Buddy Class, Mrs. Hockenbury’s second grade. We will meet with them about once a month to build community and connections together. We finished the day with our school’s unique tradition of running around with zucchinis in our annual Zucchini Race! 

Math:
This week in math, students are working on developing strategies for accurately counting and representing quantities. They colored in an apple counting book and participated in a “grab and count” activity.

Literacy:
In literacy, we began our first American Reading Company (ARC) unit. In this first unit, we will dive into letters and sounds, focusing on M and S this past week. In this unit, we will also enjoy many read-alouds with themes centered around scientists. Students are also beginning to build writing routines, with a focus on the fundamentals of drawing and some all about me writing.

Social Studies:
This week, students are close to wrapping up our social studies unit.  This week's focus was on self-portraits. Each student spent time and care creating their self-portrait. They are now proudly displayed on our classroom wall!

One More Special Activity!
The creator behind Bee the Change came to our school to speak with us all about the importance of pollinators—not just bees! We learned about the importance of native plants that grow well here and provide food and habitat for the native insects that live in our area. It was a wonderful learning experience for our students!🐞🪲🦋🦇

Fall Conferences October 12-15

Steps to sign up:

1) Click this link to see our SignUp on SignUp: https://signup.com/go/sfkuUES

2) Review the options listed and choose the spot(s) you like.

3) Sign up! It's Easy - you will NOT need to register an account or keep a password on SignUp.

Important Dates:

• October 7: 2hr Student Early Release Day (dismissal starts @ 12:17 p.m)

• October 8: Bus Evac Drill (8:15 a.m)

• October 8: UCS Open House (6:00 - 7:00 p.m)

• Week of October 12- 15: Fall conferences offered or progress report sent home. Sign up: https://signup.com/go/sfkuUES

• October 22nd & 23rd: No School for Students

What a Great Week of Learning!

What a wonderful week of learning!

We have been diving into our Social Studies unit on Civics, focusing on building a strong classroom community and understanding what it means to be an important citizen and member of a community. We have talked about how we are all unique—and that our differences are what help make a community thrive! We have also been learning about the importance of friendship: taking the time to get to know others, being kind, including everyone, and making sure that others are treated fairly and with respect. These are big topics for kindergartners, but they are getting it! ❤️

In Math, we have been busy counting, using a 5-frame to represent five objects, and sorting manipulatives in lots of different ways. We are learning that there can be many ways to organize and describe the things we see!

In Literacy, we are working hard on developing strong pencil grips and building our stamina for listening to read-alouds. We are also learning that we can use pictures to represent our thinking—and that we can begin adding labels to help share our ideas with others.

We also celebrated International Dot Day! This special day reminds us that we are all creative in our own unique ways and that everyone has something special to share. We had fun exploring our creativity with paint! A cherished moment was when a student later jumped up and grabbed the book, The Dot, to share with an adult who said they weren't very good at art. 💘

On Friday, we ventured out to ECO and explored the Coyote Den! We read I Am Somebody, worked together to weave and create, and even enjoyed our snack outside. It was such a wonderful opportunity to learn, create, and connect with nature! A friendly reminder: Please remember to send your child in warm clothing and layers, especially on Fridays. It is often much cooler in the forest than it is at school, and we want everyone to stay comfortable while we explore! 🍂🌲

A note from our Speech and Language Pathologist

As part of our regular educational screening process, our SLP, Stephanie Claro, will be screening your kindergartener’s communication.  This screening allows us to get a brief snapshot of your child’s articulation (sound production), fluency, vocabulary, grammar, narrative (storytelling) abilities, and listening comprehension. The results of this screening will be used to help our team tailor instruction to the specific language needs of our class.  For questions, please feel free to email: Stephanie.claro@mmuusd.org

Important Dates:

• September 21st: NO SCHOOL -> Yom Kippur

• September 23rd: "Bee the Change" School visit  

• September 24th: Student Picture Day - Send in forms, please!

• September 25th: Zucchini Relays (more info to come)

• September 26th: Harvest Market Parade

Week 2 of Kindergarten!

What another great week with such a wonderful group of kindergartners! We are continuing to settle into our routines, get to know one another, and explore all that kindergarten has to offer.

This week, we continued practicing how to use a variety of classroom materials. We worked with scissors, Unifix cubes, and wooden pieces that are helping us begin to notice the shapes and forms within letters. We also drew Mat Man, who helps us remember to include all of the important body parts when we draw a person. These activities are all part of building those important early skills while having fun and creating!

At the start of kindergarten, children are learning many new social skills, including how to navigate being close to others and keep their hands to themselves. We are gently reminding children to use their words when they don't like something, when someone is too close, or when someone is touching them. If they have used their words and the behavior continues, we encourage them to find a teacher for help.

The beginning of kindergarten brings so many teachable moments as we learn how to be kind friends, respect one another's space, solve little problems, and safely navigate being part of a busy classroom community. Thank you for helping reinforce these important skills at home! 

A little note about next week: This Thursday and Friday, we will have a guest teacher in the classroom while I take a couple of days away for my daughter's wedding on Saturday. Thank you so much for your understanding! In the blink of an eye, my baby girl is off on her own journey. ❤️ 

Important dates:

9/7  Labor Day

9/9  Early Release 

9/10-11 Guest Teacher

9/14 Scholastic book order due!

9/21 No School

9/24 Picture Day

9/25 Zucchini Run

Hello and Welcome to Kindergarten!

We had a wonderful three days together this week! Thank you for all of your encouragement and positivity as we begin this new school year. By day two or three, I was already hearing your children express so much love and excitement about our new class—and that gives any teacher a very warm heart! ❤️

This week, we began introducing classroom routines and exploring the materials and spaces in our classroom. We will continue practicing and learning these routines throughout the first few weeks of school. The first six weeks are especially important as we focus on building connections, relationships, and a strong classroom community.

As part of building our community, we talked about Whole Body Listening and what it means to Follow the Group Plan. Being part of a classroom community means learning how to work together, listen to one another, cooperate, and make choices that help our whole group.

Snack & Lunch

It may be helpful to chat with your child before they leave for school about snack and lunch—especially if they are bringing food from home or eating school-provided meals.

Please know that there may be times when the Chef needs to change a food item from what is listed on the menu. Talking with your child about the importance of being flexible can be helpful. You may also want to pack an extra snack or a lunch as a backup.

Volunteers

There may be a few volunteer opportunities throughout the school year, including classroom activities and field trips. If you think you might like to join us, we encourage you to complete the volunteer form. One important reminder: the cutoff for completing the volunteer form this year is December!  Volunteer Sign-Up Form     Volunteer Expectations

Thank you for helping us make such a wonderful beginning to our kindergarten year. I am so excited about all that is ahead! 🌿

  

                                                          A note from the PTO

Our first 3 days together!

This blog will arrive in your inbox weekly or biweekly!

Thank you,

Amy

 

***Summer read-aloud here!***

Last Blog of The Year

This post is always met with mixed emotions—joy for all the summer fun ahead, but also sadness as our group prepares to go their separate ways. I have no doubt that each of these students will continue to be successful as they move forward!

Your child came home with quite a bit in their envelope yesterday, including a Father's Day card, a report card, a book of our class adventures, and, for many students, some high-frequency word practice ideas.

It has been an absolutely wonderful year together! Thank you for supporting your child throughout the school year. I know firsthand what a big job it is to wake your child up, make lunches, read through everything that comes home, pick out outfits, and get them ready for school each day. It is no small task, and I truly appreciate all that you do to help make your child's success possible.

Thank you for a fantastic year, and I wish you and your family a fun and relaxing summer!

❤

Field Day Fun

 Greetings,

Enjoy a peek into our last full week! 

• June 15th: Music with Buddy in the Classrooms

• June 17th: Move-Up Day (8:30-9:00 a.m.)

• June 17th: Student Last Day of School

Cave Reading, Insect Masks, & Writing, Oh My!!

Students had a wonderful week exploring why the world needs insects! Insects are an important food source for many animals, and without them, food webs around the world would be disrupted. So, the next time someone says, “Why do we have to have so many bugs?” (probably a direct quote from many of us!), we can remember that insects play a very special role in our ecosystem.

Students also had so much fun creating glowing insect masks this week! On Friday, Ms. Neeson brought in her black light. We viewed them under it, and the room was filled with laughter, cheers, and excitement as everyone admired their creations.

Our kindergarteners are doing an amazing job with their writing. They are working hard to use uppercase and lowercase letters appropriately, tap out words to hear all of the sounds, and add details to their writing. On Friday, students wrote lovely poems outdoors, inspired by the world around them.

In math, we continue to build teamwork skills through partner games. Students especially enjoyed playing Going to Boston, where they practiced adding multiple dice and comparing their totals.

• June 8 Biking in PE

• June 11 Field Day!

• June 15th: Music with Buddy in the Classrooms

• June 17th: Move-Up Day (8:30-9:00 a.m.)

• June 17th: Student Last Day of School

Calling All 2026-2027 Kindergarten Students

Hello Incoming Kindergarten Families! 

We are thrilled to welcome all incoming Kindergarten students and their families. We look forward to seeing you on Monday, June 8th, for our Family "Meet & Greet" event from 8:15-9:00a. We will start in the multipurpose room (by the main entrance) and then make our way down to the classrooms to visit both spaces and allow you to meet both Amy Poor and Kathy Cowan (our two amazing Kindergarten teachers).

To help you get to know UCS and meet some of the wonderful members of our Kindergarten team, please enjoy this introductory video. 

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to reach out! Enjoy your week. 

David Marlow