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

The days that students in Cohort A and Cohort B attend school will change on Monday, January 25th! Students in Cohort A will now attend school on even days in the cycle: 2, 4, & 6

Cohort B students will attend school on odd days: 1, 3 & 5

SEE BELOW

• We will be administering mid-year assessments this month. Students will complete the NWEA in math and ELA as well as the F & P benchmark.
• We will be wrapping up our specific focus on persistence this month. 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!
  
• 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 participate in the survey below to assist us with planning for Parent University! Mark your calendars for Monday, January 25th at 6:00 and join us for our Virtual Parent University.

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 Hunt: Look for target words in books or in the newspaper. If using the newspaper, your child can highlight or circle the words that he/she finds.

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

in whatever language you are comfortable with.

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

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.

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

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!

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 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.