🍎 Making Every Day Count as we close out November!

Dear Lynhaven Families,

As the days grow shorter, our school is buzzing with energy and incredible learning opportunities! November is a crucial month for building foundational skills, and we want to encourage you to continue to prioritize regular and on-time school attendance for your child.

Every day in the classroom counts. Consistent attendance ensures your child doesn't miss out on important lessons, collaborative activities, and the joyful connections that make learning stick.

Here is a glimpse of the exciting and enriching curriculum completed, in process, and planned for November: 

TK: Building the Foundation 🧱

Our youngest learners in Transitional Kindergarten (TK) are fully immersed in foundational skill development:

TK is all about school readiness! We blend social-emotional learning with academic foundations. 

• SEL: Students are mastering self-regulation (sharing, taking turns, and managing emotions) and independence (self-help skills)

• Fine Motor Skills: We focus on strengthening fine motor skills through hands-on activities. 

• Pre-literacy skills: Academically, students are building pre-literacy skills like alphabet knowledge, phonological awareness, and vocabulary. 

• Number Sense:  Students are exploring math concepts like counting, geometry, and measurement to build core problem-solving abilities.

Kindergarten: Exploring Our World 🌎

Kindergarteners are becoming amazing writers and observers!

• Writing & Vocabulary: We're engaging all five senses to describe the world around us.

• Science: We'll explore the natural world, focusing on plants, animals, and people.

• Math: Students are learning new ways to count by mastering counting by 2's and doubling!

• Art: Our artists will create beautiful pastel fall pumpkin art.

• SEL & Activity: We're focusing on gratitude, continuing to build skills in respectful listening and responsibility, and practicing friendships and boundaries. We have had a great transition to the big yard!

1st Grade: Building Literacy and Math Foundations ✍️

First graders are solidifying essential skills that support all future learning.

• Writing: We are mastering the mechanics of writing, focusing on using complete sentences, proper letter formation, finger spaces, punctuation, and capitalization.

• Math: We're developing strong number sense by exploring different strategies for adding and subtracting within the teen families.

• Science & Art: Students will study the life cycles of pumpkins and learn about primary and secondary colors through Art Vistas. We will also explore the themes of The First Thanksgiving and use lines and color/shading to create fall pumpkins.

• SEL: We are developing empathy and understanding how to be good friends.

2nd Grade: Developing Deep Comprehension and Fluency 🧠

Second graders are deepening their reading and problem-solving abilities.

• Literacy: Students will write personal narratives, read about characters who face challenges, and practice reading fluency and note-taking for reading comprehension.

• Science & Math: We'll be learning about different landforms. In Math, students are building addition/subtraction fact fluency using XtraMath.

• SEL: We are focusing on cultivating gratitude.

3rd Grade: Research, Data, and Adaptation 📈

Third graders are becoming excellent researchers and scientists.

• Writing & Math: We're concentrating on informational writing and understanding data through graphing.

• Science: Students will learn about animal adaptations and observe the plant life cycle by growing plants in the classroom.

• Math Fluency: A major focus is mastering multiplication fact fluency.

• Art & SEL: Art Vistas lessons will explore portraits using warm and cool colors, and our SEL focus is on gratitude and cultural appreciation through Los Dichos.

4th Grade: California History and Advanced Math 🗺️

Fourth graders are launching into a fascinating study of our state.

• Social Studies & Writing: We are starting Unit 1, focusing on the Regions of California, which will involve intensive informational writing.

• Math: Students are diving into our double-digit multiplication unit and early division concepts.

• SEL & Literacy: We are cultivating gratitude and reading and writing seasonal poems.

5th Grade: Exploring History and Decimals 📚

Fifth graders are engaging with complex literature and mathematical concepts.

• Writing & Social Studies: Students are working on narrative writing and learning about Early Explorers in History-Social Studies.

• Math: We are focusing on adding, subtracting, and rounding decimals.

• Novel Study & Art: Students will engage with the powerful themes in our novel study: Esperanza Rising. Art Vistas will explore “American Artists.”

• SEL & Literacy: We are working on Gratitude Writing and engaging with the ABC Reader/Los Dichos Reader.

By supporting excellent attendance, you are providing the foundation for their best possible learning experience.

We look forward to wrapping up this fantastic month of growth as we celebrate the great learning we have achieved throughout November!

In partnership, 

Ms. Callaway-Wilson