Hello Families,
I can’t believe November is here already! October went by in a blur with visits from the fire department, the school bus, building a new vehicle for traveling, fall explorations and then Halloween. I hope you all got a chance to view your child’s group creation for the Transportation design challenge while they were on display in the front of the office. I will be sending home their individual design plans this week. They were truly amazing!
We have been exploring nursery rhymes for the last two weeks, looking at patterns in the rhymes and using the rhymes as stepping off points for other explorations. The first week we focused on farms while exploring the rhymes Mary Had a Little Lamb, Baa Baa Black Sheep, and the story of Little Bo Peep. We had gourds to plant and a barn to keep the animals in. In time for Halloween, we studied the rhymes in Itsy Bitsy Spider and Little Miss Muffet. There are some spooky spiders crawling towards the bulletin board! This week we are soaring off into space with Twinkle Twinkle, Hey Diddle DIddle, and Star Light Star Bright. Next week we will be experimenting with gravity while we read about Jack and Jill and then try to help Humpty Dumpty stay in one piece when he falls.
Our class stuffed animal is beginning to visit homes! Pounce will be coming home to one student per week to spend some time with your child. He is visiting students in order of their first names, beginning in the middle of the alphabet. He comes home on Monday and then returns to school on Wednesday. Pounce has a journal retelling his adventures. If your child (with your help) could write or dictate some sentences telling what he or she did with Pounce and include a picture (photo or drawing), your student will get to share their story on Thursday. Don’t worry about entertaining Pounce – he likes to snuggle, read books, and play much the way your child does! Please help your child keep track of him – I don’t have another Pounce to replace him if he gets lost. If you have any questions about Pounce, please send me an email.
Looking ahead, we are finishing up our first classroom exposure to each letter. After the Thanksgiving break we will begin a second rotation, focusing more on sounds as well as recognition. We will also be starting a STEM unit on Health and Nutrition right after the break. Also, I know a number of you are interested in volunteering here at Spark! While I don’t have any final information to release yet, I do want to let you know that I have heard it should be coming very soon, probably after the break.
Please read on for important information about library, parenting classes, the canned food drive, the holiday break, and of course our fun Chick-Fil-A fundraiser tomorrow night!
Library News
I apparently got off track with the library schedule, forgetting that October had 5 Tuesdays. We have library on the 2nd and 4th Tuesdays each month which means we do NOT have library tomorrow. Instead we will be going to Makerspace this week (to build rocket ships!) and then to library next week. I am sorry for the confusion and will explain to the students tomorrow.
Canned Food Drive
We are having a canned food drive from November 1st through November 17th to support the Carbon Valley Help Center in Frederick. If you are able, please send in non-perishable foods that have not expired. Ongoing needs include: Beans, Macaroni & Cheese, Canned Fruit, Pasta & Rice, Canned Meat, Canned Soup & Stews, Canned Vegetables, Peanut Butter, Cereal…etc.
We will be loading this up on the 18th to take to the Help Center, located at 150 Buchanan Ave, Firestone, CO. If you are in need, you can call Robin, the program manager at 303-833-6626, or you can email her at info@carbonvalleyhelpcenter.
Nuts & Bolts:
Remember to say goodbye to your child before they come into the cubby. For safety reasons, we cannot allow them to run out to you after they’ve been checked in.
Please be sure to send in your child dressed for the outdoor weather. We will be going out even when the temperatures are in the low 20’s.
Be sure to have your child’s name on their homework when it gets turned in.
Tuition payments need to be turned into the office, not left in your child’s folder.
Dates to know:
November 7: We will be going to Makerspace instead of library
November 7: Spark! Discovery Preschool Fundraiser at Chick-Fil-A on Highway 119 in Longmont.
November 9: Parenting Class with Cheryl Hamilton (the Family Whisperer) from 6:30-7:45. The class is free
(sponsored by Spark) and so is childcare (sponsored by PTO).
November 14: Library – Please be sure your child has turned in their library book.
November 15: PTO-sponsored Stuffed Animal Day. Bring a $1 donation for PTO and share your preschool day with a favorite stuffed animal.
November 18-26: Thanksgiving Break. No school. Classes begin again on Monday, November 27 at the usual time.
From the Office:
Community Resources: We have information to connect families with local agencies regarding mental health, child nutrition, physical fitness, food bank, child find, medical and dental resources, in several locations:
1) In a notebook in the front office,
2) In our parent flyer stand at the front entrance
3) On our school website at http://sdpk.svvsd.org/
4) The black table at the front of the school also has activity packets for parents to take in English and Spanish (when possible)
Use of Interpreters for Families Speaking a language other than English
Spark! Discovery Preschool takes reasonable steps to ensure families with limited English proficiency have meaningful access and an equal opportunity to participate in their child’s education, activities, and programs. Our district uses district-approved language translation services for translation of written communications, such as newsletters, Individual Education Plans, and so on.
Interpreters at Spark! Discovery Preschool will provide support for parents who may need this. An interpreter is available daily in our school’s front office. Additional interpreters are available for:
● Child Development parent classes (when requested)
● Parenting classes (when requested)
● Special Education meetings
● Child-Find Meetings
● Parent-Teacher Conferences
Referral Processes: If families would like to make a referral to a specialist, please discuss this with the School Special Education Facilitator. We host a Child Find satellite office at Spark! Discovery Preschool, to handle questions or concerns about child development, behavior, or mental health. If you have questions about your child’s health, you should call our health clerk. She will answer your questions or forward you to a SVVSD nurse.
Child Find at Spark! Discovery Preschool: For children ages birth to five (who are not attending a district preschool already), developmental screenings and evaluations are provided by a District Child Find Assessment Team at Spark! Discovery Preschool (555 8th St., Frederick). This Child Find Assessment Team may be comprised of School Psychologists, Speech and Language Pathologists, Occupational Therapists, Physical Therapists, a School Nurse, and Early Childhood Special Education Teachers. Autism and Culturally/Linguistically Diverse Specialists consult as needed.
Other Plans for Academic or Behavioral Assistance: A Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) is a systemic, continuous improvement framework in which data-based problem-solving and decision making is practiced across all levels of the educational system for supporting students. A Multi-Tiered System of Supports helps our school to organize resources through alignment of academic standards and behavioral expectations, implemented with fidelity and sustained over time, in order to accelerate the performance of every student to achieve.
Learning Extensions
This week we are focusing on the letters Aa and Vv as well as the number 9, trapezoids, and the color purple. Some students have trouble making that diagonal line when writing letters like A and V. Help them recognize diagonals by talking about ones you see: slides, slanted roofs, and triangles all have that diagonal line. If your child is needing extra practice with this stroke, encourage them to draw pictures with these shapes.
Next week we will be learning Nn and Mm, the number 10, reviewing triangles, and finding things that are blue. Our work with triangles will be helping to reinforce the diagonal lines of our letters. When discussing triangles, be sure to show them lots of different types – ones with same size lines, large angles and right (square) angles are all good. Give them a challenge – put one ‘upside down’ and see if they can recognize it. Triangles don’t actually have an up or a down but if students only see the triangles with the point up they start to think they do. So switch it around!.
Thank you again for sharing your children with us!
Sincerely,
Ms. Kiersten and Ms. Toni