Cornell Newsletter
February 2023
Cornell preschool students have been busy engaging in a variety of Creative Curriculum studies
throughout the course of the school year. In January our study focus was the Clothes Study.
During this study we had the chance to read two of Jan Brett’s popular stories, The Mitten and
The Hat. The attached picture shows Mrs. Singletary’s afternoon friends using their problem-
solving skills to all fit into a mitten, just like the characters in the story! Preschool students are
currently engaged in the Building Study in which they will explore concepts related to shelter,
jobs, and the purposes of different structures.
Friendly reminder that outdoor play is part of our daily schedule and we go outside every day.
Please make sure you are sending your child to school with the appropriate outdoor attire.
Please practice having your child put on/take off coat and zip/unzip their coat. These are great
independent skills for your child to be able to do!
Please take time to work on the following skills with your preschool child. The more and more
your child practices these skills, the more confidence learner they will be!
Finding and naming letters
Writing name
Sequencing letters in name
Find, name, and describe shapes
Counting sets of objects and matching it to numbers 1-10
Fine motor strength by cutting with scissors
Sorting objects by category, size, color, shape, weight, etc.
Cooperative play through playing games as a family
This is a great time for growth in Kindergarten! We are working so hard to become better writers, readers, and mathematicians. All of our learning is starting to come together and it is so exciting!
In writing, we are writing how-to books. The chart below shows the things we are looking for in their how-to books. Some how-to topics we are discussing in class that you could also discuss at home are :
How-to brush my teeth
How-to make my bed
How-to ride a bike
Taking time to talk about these things at home can help them to write their books in class!
In reading, we are boosting our powers! We learned about most of our reading powers in our last unit, but now that we are getting into longer words and books, we need to give our powers a boost. Please continue to read with your child at home and encourage them to activate their reading powers!
In math we are beginning teen numbers. We will be counting, writing, and representing numbers 11-20 over the next few weeks.
With the changing weather we would like to remind families to please send some layers with your child. Students do need to wear their coats outside if the weather is below 60. It is often quite windy on the playground so even on warmer days it would be a good idea to send a sweatshirt! Thanks!
First graders have been learning a lot during the months of January and the start of February.
In phonics they continue to learn about strategies to help them solve hard and tricky words independently and automatically. They are remembering to look at the whole word from tip to tail when reading and hearing all the sounds from tip to tail when writing. They continue to look for the parts that they know and then blend them back together to say the word. Please encourage your first grader to continue to look for blends, digraphs, vowels and vowel teams, word parts and endings in words as they are reading and writing at home. We are now starting a new unit called Word Builders. Within this unit the students will learn that they can build words with all the parts they know.
In reading we finished up with our non-fiction reading. They learned that they can read to learn. They discovered that this genre of reading is lots of fun to read about the world and learn facts. They also learned that these books have diagrams, charts, table of contents, a glossary, and picture captions that we can learn from as well as the written words. First graders also learned to study the books they read to learn how authors write nonfiction. They can use those craft moves when they write non fiction books. We have now moved onto to a new unit called Readers have BIG job to do. Within this unit students will learn about the bossy r and many new vowel teams and those special vowels that make a completely different sound. WHEW!!! Reading has so many strategies to be independent. Keep reading at home the more miles on the tongue allows them to practice practice practice!!
In writing your first graders wrote non-fiction books. They wrote to teach others what they are experts on. First grade is full of authors and we have many books in our libraries that others can read that they wrote. First graders know that their writing needs complete sentences, finger spaces, and punctuation. First graders are also learning to reread their work and making sure what they write makes sense. They are also using their phonics skills to write words independently by capturing the sounds they hear from tip to tail. We are now starting our new unit called Opinion Writing. This unit bring a fun was to write to convenience others about our opinions of various things. They will write about their collections, books, movies and restaurants all trying to convenience others of their favorites and why!!
In math we are learning many new strategies to solve addition and subtraction problems through 20. They are also learning that they can solve equations that have a missing number. They are practicing their addition and subtraction strategies and beginning to see the connection between addition and subtraction.
We are learning about our early for of communication using a telegraph and Morse code. The kids love solving written messages with the Morse code symbols. They also had fun creating their own messages for friends and family.
As always we appreciate all that you are doing at home to help your first grader be their best self daily.
RULER Information: We are working hard on having students show the charter at school. Proud, safe, happy, included, and respected.
Reading: Students have been working in their nonfiction books and text sets. Next week, students will move back into a fiction unit. They will be studying different genres of books (fantasy, realistic fiction, and mystery). They determine different traits of each genre, and which one is their favorite to read!
Writing: Students are starting a new unit. They will be writing realistic fiction series books. They get to create a character and take them on an adventure!
Math: 2nd Graders are working on adding numbers in the 100s. They are paying close attention to place value, and becoming more comfortable with regrouping. We’re continuing to work on fact fluency strategies every day as well.
Reminder: We have math homework almost every night!Phonics: 2nd graders are working on strategies for solving long words, part by part. Students will begin to be word collectors. They will collect all types of long, special words and sort them in different ways.
Below are our word wall words for this unit. We want students to be able to read and write these words.
Sometimes, everybody, understand, beautiful, cousin
Donations
If your student has clothing they have outgrown, and you would like to donate to
the school, they can be brought in to the front office and will be very much
appreciated! Ideal items include: Pants size 5 through 12 (greatest need sizes 5-8),
gently used shoes and socks, underwear. A big thank you to all parents and staff
who have already donated!
Kindergarten parents please make sure your child has extra clothes in their locker
or backpack, as accidents do happen.
Plastic sacks from stores are also a need in the office to send dirty clothes home
in. If you have extras at home you’d like to donate as well.
Lost & Found
Our lost and found bin in the vestibule near the main entrance has many items
that need to find their way back home. Our custodial staff will be placing the lost
and found items out on tables for families to easily see and access at conferences.
Please only take items that are yours.
Weather
Spring is coming, but Iowa weather can be unpredictable. Please dress your
student in layers with a coat, hat and gloves as we do go outside for recess.
It would also be a good idea to send an extra pair of pants and socks with all
students each day. As the snow comes and goes, the playground will remain wet,
and I unfortunately do not have enough clothing to provide to everyone for wet
clothes from recess.
HEAD LICE ALERT
We have seen students in all grades with head lice. Please be proactive in
checking your child’s hair frequently. If you find lice, treat your child before
sending them to school. Wash all bed linens, brushes/combs, jackets/hats,
stuffed animals and vacuum well. Unless all lice AND EGGS are eradicated, the lice
infestation will continue. Lice will keep laying eggs and those eggs will hatch to lay
more eggs. If one egg is missed, the cycle doesn’t end. Please reach out with any questions.
February is a big month for ELL! We are taking the ELPA21 Summative Assessment which includes four tests in the domains of Listening, Reading, Speaking, and Writing. We have been working so hard the past month to prepare for this! We also recently had Show & Tell to practice our speaking and questioning skills. Students shared some cool items! The picture below is of a student who brought a Burundi jersey and a student who brought an El Salvador jersey!
After returning from Winter Break, we have loved reading more of our Goldfinch Award-Winners. "The Couch Potato" by Jory John and Pete Oswald was a great reminder to limit our screen time. "A Thousand White Butterflies" by Jessica Betancourt-Perez and Karen Lynn Williams was perfectly timed for our big snowstorm. "Ten Beautiful Things" by Molly Beth Griffin took us on a literary drive across the state of Iowa. The students have also enjoyed unplugging in the library with jigsaw puzzles and games in addition to their books.
As always, please remind your student(s) to return their library books on a weekly basis so they are able to check out a new book when their class visits the library. Reading is a lot more fun when students have access to a variety of books!
