Wallace Quarterly Newsletter Vol. 2
February 18th, 2025
Overall, I couldn’t be prouder of my preschoolers. Academically, there has been so much growth and improvement since the first day of school. For example, my students are attending and sitting for longer periods of the day, especially during circle time. Their fine motor skills have improved tremendously. They can transition gracefully from one activity to another. They are able to recognize their names, letters, shapes, and numbers.
Our key focus is learning how to interact and make new friends. We continue to follow our classroom rules by sharing, making sure we have listening ears, quiet voices, helping hands, and walking feet to ensure we are always safe. While we are so busy working and playing inside on these cold winter days, we also have lots of opportunities to move our bodies during gross motor and music.
In the second quarter of the school year, kindergarteners make significant progress in foundational skills across various subjects, including English Language Arts (ELA), math, and social studies. In ELA, students build on their phonemic awareness by blending and segmenting sounds, mastering letter-sound correspondence, and beginning to read simple decodable texts. They also expand their vocabulary and comprehension skills by engaging with rich, age-appropriate literature. Writing activities become more structured as students practice forming sentences with proper spacing and punctuation, often inspired by classroom discussions or stories they've read.
In math, students deepen their understanding of number sense by working with numbers up to 20, learning to count forward and backward, compare quantities, and understand the concepts of "more than" and "less than." They begin exploring basic addition and subtraction through hands-on activities such as using manipulatives and visual aids. Shapes, patterns, and measurement concepts are also introduced, helping students recognize and describe their physical world mathematically. In social studies, the focus shifts to understanding community roles and responsibilities. Students learn about the importance of rules, the roles of community helpers, and basic geography concepts, such as identifying their town, state, and country on a map. These lessons foster a sense of identity, responsibility, and connection to the broader community, preparing them for their role as active and caring.
Mrs. Reading’s class has been actively learning new words using our blending board and sight words. They have mastered words like I, can, we, the, see, a, like, to, and go, do, and you. They also use letter sounds to aid their writing. The reading/writing companions have been instrumental in helping them practice writing about our stories. The Wildcats enjoy discussing and retelling parts of the stories, often asking a buddy for help. Visual aids assist them in recalling specific parts and refreshing their memory of the stories. They are learning valuable lessons from these stories.
In Math, the Wildcats continue to impress their teachers and themselves by recalling numbers without counting and adding one. Filling in missing numbers with and without visuals is becoming routine for them. Their progress in writing numbers is remarkable, using verbal prompts like "down around stop" for number 6 and a "snowman" for number 8. Taking their time with this has been rewarding for these amazing Wildcats.
In Social Studies, the Wildcats discussed holidays around the world and the ones they celebrate. They talked about the foods they make and eat for their respective holidays, comparing similarities and differences in celebrations and the delicious food. They made New Year resolutions, ranging from eating wontons to learning new words.
The discussion on the roles of each family member at home and the roles of our Principal and Vice Principal at school was enlightening. The Wildcats shared their thoughts on what Mr. Shannon and Ms. Palmer do, such as playing games and talking on the phone.
The Wildcats continue to discuss how they are feeling and why. They also are getting a better understanding of how others feel and how to help them if they are sad, give a hug or when they are happy and want to feel the same. Wildcats are always changing and growing, and it is great to see and hear.
The scholars are excited for 2025 and all the new adventures ahead, and so are the teachers.
November - Jonathan Cruz (Grade 4)
Jonathan contributes outstanding qualities and positive interactions daily to our school community. Jonathan consistently demonstrates kindness, respect, and a strong work ethic. He comes to class every day with a positive attitude and a willingness to help others, whether it’s working with peers on group assignments or offering encouragement to other wildcats.
Jonathan also displays a dedication to learning that is truly inspiring. He approaches each task with curiosity and focus, working diligently to understand new concepts and always striving to do his best. In addition to excelling academically, Jonathan sets an example for others through his responsibility and good citizenship. He follows classroom rules, respects school property, and is always polite to both teachers and classmates.
December - Alessia Shami (Grade 3)
Alessia is a third grade student who has joined our Wildcat community this school year, yet quickly demonstrated what it means to ROAR both in and out of the classroom. Her homeroom teacher, Ms. McDonald was pleased to nominate Alessia to be the December student of the month for her consistent determination and positivity. Alessia embodies the A in ROAR, achievement, by consistently demonstrating exceptional effort and has shown an unwavering commitment to her work. Alessia comes to school every day with a smile and excitement for learning. Her intellectual curiosity and eagerness to learn are evident in everything she does. Not only does Alessia take great pride in the quality of her work, but she also advocates for help when needed. She is knowledgeable of her expectations and follows them independently.
January: Adelaide Mok (Grade 2)
Adelaide Mok is in second grade and she is in Mrs. Pukash’s class. Adelaide was nominated because she is a hard worker and always does her best. She is an excellent student! She demonstrates a strong work ethic and dedication to her studies. She is a leader by helping her friends, she is a great problem solver and she is proud of her work. Adelaide always has a positive attitude and it is contagious to her classmates. She treats everyone with kindness and respect and is a wonderful asset to her class and Wallace School. Adelaide is very helpful to her teacher too! Adelaide exemplifies the values of respect, kindness and integrity. Adelaide is extremely responsible and is very dedicated to her school work. Adelaide is very creative and loves art. Adelaide likes to play the piano and play with her friends. She wants to be an artist when she gets older. She loves rainbows and likes to draw flowers.
World Language
Wallace's English Language Learners
Wallace English Language Learners are doing a wonderful job learning and growing! In Quarter 2, our 3rd and 4th grade Expanding learners learned about the major winter holidays in the United States, then used evidence and explanation to write about which holiday they liked best by using the OREO Opinion Writing strategy. Now, they are focusing on another important holiday - Lunar New Year! Grade 2 students focused on comparing and contrasting short films by sharing what is similar and different in each one! Our Newcomers in 1st and 5th grade are using sentence frames to speak about which activities they like and don't like in school, and our Kindergarteners are learning how to talk about members of their family. No matter what our ELL Wildcats are doing, they are working hard and learning so much!
