Gamma Newsletter 2026-2027
We had an amazing week in the Gamma room! Our classroom was busy learning and had lots of great conversations. A special thank you to Jolene’s mom, Kyle, and Mark’s mom, Victoria, for volunteering their time to help us check out books in the library. Your help made the whole process go so smoothly. We also want to thank D.C.’s mom, Savannah, for coming in to speak with us about her volunteer work with “Our Friends Who Sleep Under the Stars.” She helped us kick off our class donation drive to support unhoused members of our community. We are excited to see how our Gammas come together to make a difference!
Math
In math, the Gamma Ones wrapped up our place value unit with a check-in and jumped right into addition! We had fun exploring the commutative, associative, and zero properties of addition and practiced using number lines to find sums. They are doing a great job. Next week, we’ll build on what we’ve learned as we practice the standard algorithm and begin representing addition with strip diagrams as well as word problems.
Gamma Twos continued practicing estimation to find larger sums and began exploring subtraction with regrouping using larger numbers, including numbers with lots of zeros on top. Most of the Gammas already had a good understanding of the concept and just needed a little review and practice to get comfortable with the process. They did a great job jumping back in and building their confidence! Next week, we’ll continue working with addition and subtraction while applying these skills to real-life situations and word problems.
ELA
In writing, the Gammas had some fun building bigger and better sentences! We practiced writing sentences with compound subjects and/or compound predicates and learned that sometimes, two sentences are better off becoming one. We talked about how combining sentences can help us avoid repetition and make our writing smoother and more interesting to read.
Reading
In reading, we’ve been getting to know characters a little better by exploring the different types of conflict they face. We talked about internal conflicts—those battles that happen inside a character’s thoughts and feelings—and external conflicts, which involve challenges with people, places, or situations around them. The Gammas were able to share examples of conflicts they’ve experienced in their own lives. Both classes read several stories and put on their “character detective” hats as they decided whether each conflict was internal or external.
Theme
In Theme, we began the week by reflecting on the anniversary of 9/11 and discussing the everyday heroes who showed incredible courage by helping others and, in many cases, giving their own lives to save others. It was a meaningful opportunity to talk about what it means to be a hero and the many different ways people can show courage and compassion.
We also learned about Dolores Huerta, a brave leader who worked alongside farm workers to stand up for fair pay, safer working conditions, and better treatment. She helped co-found the National Farm Workers Association and used peaceful protests and boycotts to help create change. The Gammas had some wonderful conversations about standing up for what is right and using our voices to help others.
SEL💛
This week, we took a deeper dive into self-awareness by exploring our emotions and recognizing that we all experience LOTS of different feelings—and that’s okay. We had some great conversations about their own emotions and brainstormed ways to handle big feelings. They each created their very own personal book of emotions, complete with creative illustrations to represent each feeling. We’ve been so impressed by how thoughtful and introspective our Gammas are becoming. They are learning so much about themselves and how to navigate the many emotions that come with being human!