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 a life-long quest for learning.

#RamPride #RamFam #RamCulture

Please be sure to revisit this newsletter throughout the month for updates!

• The UPK Parent Interest survey for the 23-24 school year closes on January 10th and reopens after the lottery is drawn on January 11th.
• We will be administering mid-year assessments this month. Students will complete the NWEA in math and ELA as well as the F & P Reading Benchmark. Information about your child's performance will be sent home in February.
• We will be introducing the next Habit of Mind- Managing Impulsivity! See below for details and examples. Please note that we will 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!
• PTA meeting Monday, January 3oth at 7:30 PM in the Cornwell Avenue cafeteria




If you or someone you know has a child who is eligible for PreK or Kindergarten for September 2023, please call Mrs. Ventura at 516-390-3150 to find out about our upcoming registration. Eligibility requirements: resident of the WHUFSD AND 4 or 5 by 12/1/2023.

See below for more information!

General Things to Remember:

• If your child will be absent, please call Nurse Angela before 8:30 AM at 516-390-3155
• Kindly ensure your child has a full change of clothes in the classroom.

• 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. Ventura or Mrs. White before 2:00 PM. 516-390-3150
• Please select your child's daily lunch order on the printed menu by circling or highlighting the choices and return it to school ASAP. The link for the menus is below. Please note, at times the item listed on the menu may not be available and your child will be offered an alternative option.
• Please do not block the driveways of the homes around our school. Our neighbors have reached out to express concern about their driveways being blocked during drop-off and dismissal. Thank you for your cooperation.

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.

• Word-O: This is played just like BINGO! Use the BINGO Callers Card to call out each word and mark the spaces with coins or markers. The first person with four in a row calls out "WORD-O"! It can be four across, up-and-down, or diagonal.

• Cards are included with this letter.

• Flashlight words - turn off the lights and tape words on the wall or ceiling. Then, use the flashlight to shine on the words and ask your child to read them.

Please be sure to read at home with your child every night in whatever language you are comfortable with.

Your child will be officially benchmarked this month. See below for more information on the Fountas and Pinnell Text Level Gradient. While you will receive information on your child's reading level, it is not something that is meant to be shared with the students. Reading levels are for teachers to develop differentiated lessons based on students' needs. If you have any questions, please reach out to your child's teacher.

Continue to read your books from the library, the sight word readers, and the guided reading books as well as the books your child borrows from the classroom library!

Some strategies to try at home when you are reading with your child:

Fiction - Retell the story in sequence- beginning, middle, and end. Include characters, setting, problem, and solution.

Non-Fiction - Discuss what you learned from the text. Look at pictures, labeled diagrams, maps, bold words, captions, table of contents, and/or the glossary.

• Use a Reader Finger - Point to words and pictures with your finger.
• Read from left to right.
• Use picture clues.
• Make a picture in your head.
• Make predictions about what will happen next.
• Identify letters and sight words you know.
• Find a little word or chunks of letters to make a sound in your bigger words.
• Blend the sounds to figure out an unknown word.
• Get your mouth ready to make the first sound.
• Read it again.
• Find sentence patterns.
• Look at punctuation marks.

Our List/Label books have been published! We are so proud of the students' perseverance and creativity! From January through mid-March we will work on persuasive/opinion writing! Encourage your child to consider their opinions about topics when you are having conversations at home. What is their favorite dinner meal? Why? What TV show do they most enjoy watching? What reasons support their idea? 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!

See below for some big ideas from our writing unit!

Some of the 'Non-Negotiables' that you can expect from your child's writing include:

• Use more than one color when drawing

• Use real-life, appropriate colors

• Figures have shapes for body

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

In December we are exploring making shapes, filling hexagons, and 2-D Geometry!

From the beginning of January through mid-February, we are exploring Collecting, Counting, and Measuring.

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

• What is Addition?

• How do we measure?

• How can we use objects to solve joining and separating problems?

• What is Subtraction?

Students will work on the following skills:

• Understanding Length

• Comparing and ordering quantities

• Understanding, representing, and solving problems involving addition and subtraction

• Counting and representing quantities

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.