This week was a rainy one, but we did our best to get outside between the raindrops! During ECO, we enjoyed a puppet show all about spiders. Those creepy, crawly arachnids are fascinating to learn about! A fun fact we discovered is that many spiders have spinnerets—tiny parts that produce silk for creating webs and helping them move safely through the air. Ask your child to share a fun spider fact with you!

In Math, we played several comparison games that had us determining which amount is greater than or less than. We also talked about the symbols > and < and how we can remember them as an alligator trying to eat the larger number!

Your child also enjoyed this week’s author study on Juanita Havill. She writes stories about a little girl named Jamaica. We discussed the choices Jamaica made and some of the moral dilemmas she faced. Students noticed the setting and characters in the stories and shared thoughtful ideas during our discussions.

It was lovely to meet with you all this week for conferences. What lucky kids to have such wonderful, supportive parents like you all!! ❤

Important Dates:

• October 27th: Recycle Rhonda Visit

• October 27th - October 31st: UCS Book Fair 

• October 27th - October 31st: Bike Week @ UCS 

• November 1st: PTO Fun Run @ Mills Riverside Park

• November 5th: Student 2hr Early Release Day AND Picture Retake Day

Seeds, Measurement, & A Cow!

Greetings!

This week, we kicked things off with a fun visit from Buddy Dubay, a local preschool teacher and musician! Buddy will be visiting us throughout the year to share seasonal songs, and the children loved singing along with him.

We also took some time to recognize Indigenous Peoples’ Day and read a beautiful story by Ria Thundercloud titled Finding My Dance. For our W.O.W. (Word of the Week), we explored the word ancestor. We discussed how someday we will be someone’s ancestor and how it’s our responsibility to care for our Earth and be kind to others.

In Literacy, our author study focused on Ezra Jack Keats. We examined the characters and settings in his stories closely and noticed the special ways he brings everyday moments to life.

In Math, we entered the part of our unit where we compare lengths and quantities. Students played fun counting games and began exploring measurement. They especially enjoyed using rulers to compare different objects around our schoolyard!

We began ABL this week! Action-based Learning incorporates math, reading, and writing skills with movement.  This will happen every other week, just like our guidance class. 

Lastly, have you heard we are adopting a cow?? Yes! We will be participating in a program called Adopt A Cow. This is a year-long virtual educational experience that provides students with an inside look at dairy farming.  We will be paired with a calf from Laggis Farm in Hardwick, VT. Throughout the school year, we will receive progress reports about growth and other fun activities, including photos, video updates, activity sheets, and an interactive virtual farm tour and live chat. 

Reminder:

We are entering conference week!  If you signed up for a virtual link, this should have arrived in your inbox today.  If you wanted one and did not get one, please let me know.  Thank you!

 

What a beautiful weekend, gazing upon colorful leaves and listening to the honking of geese flying overhead!

Thank you all for attending Open House this week. It was wonderful to see so many happy families gathering to celebrate and support their children at UCS! Just hours before, our class worked hard to complete our Citizenship service project — gathering the remaining pumpkins, laying out our freshly painted kindness rocks, and creating a cheerful scarecrow to sit among it all. Watching the children carry the scarecrow while giggling together was absolutely heartwarming!

We started our week with an incredible field trip to Chapin’s Orchard. The staff welcomed us warmly and shared fun facts about apples and farming. Thank you to our chaperones for joining us! Back at school, students enjoyed making apple prints and homemade applesauce to continue our apple theme.

Kindergartners also had their first Tea Time Tuesday and sipped on some lemon balm tea. Tea Time is a lovely opportunity to practice manners like saying “please” and “thank you,” and to learn what to do if we don’t care for something. It’s also a wonderful way to build plant literacy. Later in the week, students had fun baking lemon balm cookies!

In literacy, students explored an author study on Grace Lin. We read several of her beautiful books, discussed their themes, compared them, and wrote about our favorite parts.

We ended our week with an exciting visit from the Underhill Fire Department! It’s always such a treat to learn from our courageous firefighters and see the fire truck up close. A special shout-out to Clara’s dad, Luke, who is one of these skilled and brave firefighters!

A note from our school nurse:

Over the next three weeks, the health office will be conducting hearing and vision screenings for students in Kindergarten, 1st, and 3rd grades, as well as for students receiving special services. Families will be notified if their child does not pass a screening or if additional follow-up is recommended.

Important dates

Oct 13 - Mon Music with Buddy

Oct 20-23 Caregiver Conferences

Oct 27 - Mon Recycle Rhonda visit

Oct 27 - Oct 31 Book Fair in our school library and Bike Week @ UCS

Sorry this is a little on the longer side this week!

Autumn Greetings 🍂🍂🍂

 I have a few announcements below. Have a wonderful long weekend! 

*The field trip to Chapin's apple orchard will take place on Monday, when we return from the long weekend!  Families who have volunteered, please arrive at 8:25. We plan to leave on the bus at 8:30.  We suggest having your student wear boots and dress in layers.

*Please join us for Open House on Thursday from 6-7pm. 

*Conference week will take place from Monday, October 20th, to Thursday, October 23rd.  Here is the sign-up link  Fall conferences are a great opportunity to check in and see how your child is adjusting to kindergarten, as well as discuss any questions or concerns you may have.