This week students started a Science unit on Organisms.  This unit focuses on Heredity. Organisms (plants & animals) have traits you can often see in their offspring.  Students listened to the 1960 classic story Are You My Mother? Afterward, they played a matching animal game and chatted about similarities and differences in their pair of animals. 

With just a couple lessons remaining in our Civics unit, we discussed the importance of being a great leader.  We also brainstormed all of the adults who are leaders in our school who help keep our school running smoothly every day.  On Friday, Principal Marlow came in for a visit and shared about his job and his responsibilities.  Next, we will be talking about people in our community/town who are great leaders (police, firefighters, town managers, farmers, store owners, etc) who help keep Underhill running smoothly!  If you feel that you are one of these please reach out and we would love to make time for you to visit our class to share!

First Grade Math -First graders started a new mini-unit on shapes.  Students will be describing, identifying, and comparing attributes of 2-D shapes as well as composing and decomposing these shapes.  

Kindergarten Math - Students enjoyed comparing lengths and quantities.  One of our activities was playing the game Compare which was a lot of fun!  This game can be played with a deck of playing cards, this is similar to the game of war.  As time goes on and your student needs more of a challenge each player can add another card!

The W.O.W. was Invincible! We read a story where a raccoon discovers he can be invincible when he stands up for a friend. 

 

Greetings!

This week we began our week giving honor to Indigenous People's Day. We briefly discussed the important shift of calling it Indigenous People's Day vs. Columbus Day.  Students shared thoughtful responses towards this topic.  Storytelling is a very important tradition in many Native American and First Nations. Students listened to the story of The 7 Sacred Teachings aka The 7 Grandfathers.  Students created a mural with the animals that help us remember these special teachings. Students also loved acting this story out in the woods on Wednesday.  

We had several special events these last couple of weeks!

*The amazing Recycle Rhonda from The Chittenden Solid Waste District came in to teach us about the importance of recycling, reusing, and reducing our waste!

*Buddy Dubay a preschool teacher from Poker Hill and entertainer extraordinaire came in for a sing-a-long!

*The wonderful Kolb family came in and shared about the farms they help run in Illinois.  Thank you for sharing a bit about working on a farm and all of the important aspects that go into harvesting. 

*Students got a chance to harvest potatoes in our UCS garden - what a fun experience it was getting down in the dirt and searching for treasure!

*Conferences - Thank you families for taking the time to meet and chat!  Many of you asked about things to do at home: I will not be sending homework home usually in Kindergarten and First Grade but here are some options to consider:

• keeping a special journal/diary at home for your child to write in 
• Writing books, comics, and jokes and then bring them in to share with the class.
• Writing letters to family members & friends
• Reading to themselves, reading to a family member or pet, or being read to.
• Digital games and learning:  ABC'ya, Happy Numbers (I will send home passwords this week)
• Bake something - reading a recipe includes reading, math, and includes quality time together!
• Counting collections (legos, shells, stuffies, cheerios)
  
  

Greetings,

This week students discovered there are more than 100 seeds in a marigold flower - what a super producer ensuring the life cycle continues of its species!  Next spring we plan to spread this colorful plant all over the school grounds!

In Literacy, Kindergarten and First graders continue to explore stories and retell them in all sorts of exciting ways.  Students are noticing the sequence of a story and the characters. This week we prepared masks for a show we put on in the woods. Students were thrilled to put on this performance together.

Ask your child about this week's Word of the Week!  It was contemplate, to carefully think about something.  We read a silly story where the characters contemplated various things, one being how to get a banana from a tall tree when you have the neck of a turtle.  

First grade Math:  This week students learned subtraction strategies. We focused on the meaning of these signs and how to write an equation.  In addition, students worked to solve subtraction problems using a number line, modeling, and counting backwards.  We will continue working with subtraction next week. 

K Math:  Students participated in counting games and activities. Students have been introduced to the iPads, please know this time is limited. They are getting used to navigating these tools and soon will begin using them for Happy Numbers and Lalilo, our district math and literacy programs.

A note from Nurse Tara:  Head lice are tiny, crawling insects that live in the human hair. They do not fly or jump. The females lay eggs called nits on the hair shaft close to the scalp, often at the nape of the neck and behind the ears. The nits are small, oval-shaped specks that can vary from whitish to brownish in color, and are firmly cemented in place and cannot be brushed or flicked away. Persistent itching of the head and back of the neck can indicate head lice. Most important is examining the hair and scalp, especially the nape of the neck and behind the ears, for nits.Lice outbreaks are common in school-aged children. Even the cleanest child can become infested. It is not a sign of poor health habits or being dirty.  If you discover lice or nits, ask your pharmacist or healthcare provider about treatment options. School nurses can also answer questions about head lice

A note from Mrs. Auctor: Over the course of this year, I will be working in small groups with all kindergarten students on focused fine motor activities. Children ages 5-6 are at a formative stage in their fine motor development. In other words, some extra practice can go a long way! The goal is to further strengthen your child’s fine motor abilities (cutting, drawing, writing) through fun and engaging art projects and activities. Feel free to contact me with any questions at kim.aucter@mmuusd.org