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

• Parent-Teacher Conferences (PTC) will be held virtually on Monday, November 2nd from 8:30-2:30 and 5:30-9:00. Please check TeacherReacher for the appointment time that you scheduled. TeacherReacher appointments will be strictly followed. You will log in to your child's Google Classroom to access the meeting link for your conference.
• We are using SeeSaw as a tool to complete schoolwork. SeeSaw works on any device- even your cellular phone! See the helpful website links below for more information about SeeSaw!
• Picture Day for Cohort A and Distance Learning students has been scheduled for Monday, November 9th.
• We will be learning about persistence over the next few months. You might hear your child use phrases like, “I think I can, hang in there, keep at it, you can do it!” Please encourage them at home and check out Mrs. Tripp & Mrs. Birnbaum's Google Classrooms for more information on our work with the Habits of Mind.
• There is no school for students on Monday, November 2nd for PTC, Tuesday, November 3rd for Election Day, Wednesday, November 11th for Veteran's Day, and Thursday, November 26th and Friday November 27th for Thanksgiving.
• 1st Quarter Report Cards will be distributed on Friday, November 13th.
• 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

• 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. Butler before 2:00 PM. 516-390-3150

Please see the top five thoughts that were shared and reviewed below. Thank you for your feedback. We are taking your suggestions into consideration and exploring ways to implement them moving forward!

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.

• Concentration: Make two sets of word cards and play “Concentration.”
  

• Go Fish: Make two sets of word cards and play “Go Fish.”
• Make the words using play-dough or clay.

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

We will continue our We Are Readers Unit and Interactive Read Alouds will model and reinforce good reading habits, concepts of print, and academic vocabulary development.

Guided Reading groups are in full swing! Your child will come home with books to read with you.

Your child will also bring home books from the classroom library every Monday. Please return the classroom library books every Friday. Please be sure to practice reading those books with your child and then return them to school.

The paper books from Reading A-Z from our weekly Sight Word study can remain in your home. Practice reading and rereading those as well!

Use RazKids to find a digital library of age-appropriate books for your child to read at home! The links to both are below.

From mid-October through December we will officially launch Writer's Workshop and begin our List/Label Unit! Students will begin to put pencil to paper and use their knowledge of letter sounds to begin to label illustrations! Please be patient with your child! Encourage them to listen for the beginning sound of the word they want to write. They are not expected to spell words correctly. Phonemic awareness is the goal- matching letters to their sounds.

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.)

From mid-October through the end of November we are exploring Counting Quantities, Comparing Lengths, and Measurement.

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

• What is counting and how can it be used?
• How do we measure things?
• Why do we measure things?

Students will work on the following skills:

• Counting and representing quantities
• Comparing and ordering quantities
• Understanding length

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.