Chestnut Street Parent Newsletter

The West Hempstead Union Free School District recognizes the unique value of each student. It is dedicated to the success of each student based on the highest standards of excellence in education. Each student will be challenged to achieve mastery in all subject areas in an educational atmosphere that strives to build positive self- esteem, mutual respect for others, and life-long quest for learning.

#RamPride #RamFam #RamResolve

• We will continue to explore the Habit of Mind of Managing Impulsivity this month. Please note that we will also continue to build students' understanding and development of the Habit of Mind persistence as the year goes on. Continue to support your child as he or she develops the habit of persistence and begins to develop their ability to manage impulsivity!
• Thank you all for your diligence with completing the Daily Health Screening every morning by 8:30! It helps us check in all the students quickly and efficiently.

• If your child will be absent, please call Nurse Angela before 8:30 AM at 516-390-3155
• Please see the flowcharts below to help you make a decision about when to keep your child home from school.

• If there will be a change in your child's afternoon transportation, please write a note or email to the teacher. For last-minute changes, please call Mrs. White before 2:00 PM. 516-390-3150

A wonderful alumna of West Hempstead, Kayla Glicker, has invited us to participate in the Movers for Moms Donation Drive to benefit the Bethany House. A box will be in Chestnut Street during the month of March. If you would like to participate, see the requested items below. You can drop it off or send it with your child. Thank you!

We celebrated the 100th day of school on Tuesday, February 23rd. Students created different projects to represent 100! Even our Superintendent, Mr. Rehman, took part in the celebration by completing our Sensory Walk in under 100 seconds!

As you talk to your child about their day, consider asking him or her to explain more about what they learned, why it is important for them to know, and how they know they have mastered it. These questions are part of our Visible Learning work.

What is it? – Thinking before acting

Sounds like – “Just a minute, let me think” “What will happen if I do this?” “What’s the right thing for me to do now?”

Looks like – Looking both ways before crossing the street. Examining directions before beginning a task. Pausing.

Feels like – Slow down. Take a deep breath. Count to ten. Pause to think. This person cares enough to really listen to me. Comforting, Trusting, Vulnerable

Effective problem solvers are deliberate. They think before they act. They plan, set goals, and develop strategies for success. Reflective individuals consider alternatives and consequences of several possible directions before they take action. Often students blurt out the first answer that comes to mind. Sometimes they start to work without fully understanding the directions or lack an organized plan or strategy for approaching a problem or make immediate value judgments about an idea (criticizing or praising it). Students need to consider their alternatives and plan accordingly.

“Goal directed, self-imposed delay of gratification is perhaps the essence of emotional self-regulation: the ability to deny impulse in the service of a goal, whether it be building a business, solving an algebraic equation , getting a college degree, or pursuing the Stanley Cup. “ Daniel Goleman

Egg Hunt: Just in time for spring! You'll need paper (cut into strips), markers, and plastic eggs you can open. Write a sight word on each of the paper strips and place one strip in each egg. Hide the eggs all around your backyard or living room. Have a fun egg hunt with your child. Record one point for each egg found and two points if your child can read the sight word. How many points did your child get? Play again and see if he or she can get more points the next time.

Please be sure to read at home with your child every night

in whatever language you are comfortable with.

We are well on our way as readers! We continue to develop our sight words, decoding, and comprehension skills as the books we read become more challenging. Reading to and with your child is a critical way to support their continued growth as readers! If you need access to books, please reach out to your child's teacher.

Our Opinion books will be published this month! From mid-March through May we will work on How To books! Ask your child to help you with tasks like cooking or baking, making the bed, or creating something. Discuss the steps in the process to help your child notice the order of events. Choose activities that have five or fewer steps so that your child can remember from start to finish! Remember, at this time, students are not expected to spell every word correctly. We do expect them to listen for the sounds they hear and include those. Dog may be spelled as 'dg' and that is alright! Learning vowels takes time- - be patient, your child's letter/sound awareness and spelling skills are growing every day! Remind them to use what they know about letters and sounds and sight words!

The 'Non-Negotiables' that you can expect from your child's writing include:

Quarter 1:

• Use more than one color when drawing

• Use real-life, appropriate colors

• Figures have shapes for body

• Sketch matches the “label” (word, letter, etc.)

Quarter 2:

• Realistic visuals (facial expressions, setting, etc.)

• High frequency (sight words in your classroom

• First name

Quarter 3:

• Spacing

• Awareness of capitals at the beginning of sentences

• Awareness of end mark (periods)

Quarter 4:

• Last name

In March, we are exploring 3-D shapes and then we will move into addition!

Students will answer the essential questions below. Be sure to ask your child these questions!

• How do we describe the shapes we find in our environment?

• How are 2 and 3D shapes different?

Students will work on the following skills:

• Describing, identifying, and comparing 3-D shapes

• Counting and representing quantities

• Composing and decomposing 3-D shapes

We are also using ST Math to support deep conceptual understanding via personalized learning. You must use ClassLink to access ST Math. The link is below.