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Elevate News | December 4, 2025

Posted Date: 12/04/25 (09:00 AM)
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Kindergarten with Mr. Gillingham

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Welcome back! In Kindergarten, one of the main goals is the importance of “Task Completion.” For the first conference of the year my main focus is to ask students, “Are you getting your work finished?” This is important as they prepare for the rigors of the upper grades. Coupled with the task completion goal is, “Are the students attending to precision.” While this is more of a standard for mathematical practice, we stress the importance of doing the work across the subject matters and then improving on the work each week. If we can throw some joy into the mix, then we have some well rounded students working toward first grade. Kindergarten can be some serious business.   

Next, we finished our deep dive into Unit 2, our character unit. We have explored the many facets of character traits and how the various traits create wonderful story lines in the many books we read. Themes such as honesty, fairness, and doing the right thing are mainstays of the unit. The students connect their own character traits to those of the stories and it is fascinating to hear those connections.   

Illustrative math has come to Kindergarten with great results. “I.M.” puts the focus on student conversations of math rather than teacher guided lessons. Students are given many hands-on activities through a problem based curriculum. It is fascinating to listen to these math conversations as well. For example, for one lesson, I drew three dots in the shape of an “L”  (: .). I called on the students and asked, “What do you wonder?” and “What do you notice?” I got three responses that were very unique. The first student said, “It looks like an arrow.” The next student said, “It looks like a triangle.” The last student said, “It looks like a square cut diagonally.” Quite the statements from Kindergarteners!!! But that’s the point of Illustrative math.

Lastly, the Kinders are heading around the world on the most epic of field trips filled with wonder, hands-on activities, and a bit of jet lag! Every holiday season, both Kinder classes take a virtual trip recreating the many crafts that are made in many countries for the Holiday/Christmas season. We travel to England, China, Mexico, Philippines, Sweden, and a host of others. While the amount of preparation for the crafts is unrivaled, the result is amazing artwork and a greater appreciation for how Christmas is celebrated around the world. Students will recognize many of the various crafts, such as gingerbread people from Germany, Chinese lanterns, and Poinsettia flowers from Mexico to name a few. Despite the downside of jet lag, it’s all fun and crafts in Kinder!  

Have a great Holiday season!

Mr. Gillingham and the Merry Students of Room 103
Kindergarten Teacher


DATES AT A GLANCE

Fri, Dec 5 Last day of the Toy Drive!

SM Leader of the Month Assembly

ELAC Meeting

Outdoor Family Movie Night
Thurs, Dec 11 EMS Community Meeting
Thurs, Dec 18 Winter Exhibition Night
Fri, Dec 19 Whole School Spirit Day: PJs / Ugly Sweater

SM Leader of the Month Assembly

TS Assembly

Minimum Day
Dec 22-23 ELO-P Winter Program
Dec 22 - Jan 2 Winter Break
Mon, Jan 5 No School (Staff Development Day)
Wed, Jan 7 Heavenly Yogurt Dine-out


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TOY DRIVE
Ends this Friday, December 5! This holiday season, let’s come together to share joy and kindness! Donate a new, unwrapped toy to help brighten the holidays for a military family in need. All gifts will go to S.T.E.P. (Support the Enlisted Project), supporting local enlisted service members and their families. Simply drop off your donations in your classroom or the school office. 

ELAC MEETING
This Friday, 9 AM, SM Campus - This is a wonderful opportunity for parents of multi-lingual students to meet the ELD (English Language Development) staff and other parents of multi-lingual students. gain understanding about Elevate’s support services for English language growth and academic success, and discover resources available to help your child at home.

FAMILY MOVIE NIGHT
This Friday! All Elevate families are invited to our annual free Outdoor Family Movie Night! Bundle up, bring your blankets/pillows for the kids and folding chairs for the adults, and join us for a festive evening under the stars. Come as early as 5:30 PM to find the perfect spot and grab a warm treat from the Hot Chocolate Stand! Movie begins promptly at 6:00 PM. SM Campus Blacktop.

OPEN ENROLLMENT
2026-2027 Open Enrollment is here - re-enroll your current student, complete a lottery application for any siblings, and learn about our new TK class starting next year! Click here for details.

ELO-P WINTER PROGRAM
Elevate's ELO-P Winter Program will take place on Monday, December 22 and Tuesday, December 23 for Grades Kindergarten - 6th Grade. Read up on the details here!

ELEVATE SCHOOL ON INSTAGRAM
Elevate has an Instagram account - check out our recent posts and follow us here! 
Do have photos from school assemblies, special events, sports games or the like? Email them to socialmedia@elevateschool.com and they might make it on our Instagram account or in the school yearbook. 

PARENTSQUARE UPDATE
You will receive less notifications from ParentSquare with a new update rolling out this month! No action is required, but you can read the details here.

LOST & FOUND
Please stop by or have your student stop by the Lost of Found. It's brimming with jackets, sweatshirts, water bottles and more! Any unclaimed items will be donated during the Winter Break.

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Come on out for Elevate's Winter Student Exhibition Night: Thursday, December 18, 5:00-6:30 pm!

It's always a super fun time for our students to share their projects from Unit 1. Additionally, our 5th graders will be hosting a Hot Chocolate Sale at the Middle School Campus - enjoy a cozy treat and support a worthy cause - the San Diego Food Bank.

Grades K-3 Exhibition will be held at the Serra Mesa Campus. 
Grades 4-8 Exhibition will be held at the Middle School Campus.

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Get ready to get cozy, Elevate! On Friday, December 19, students, staff, and volunteers are invited to show their spirit in Pajamas or Ugly Sweaters! Whether you rock comfy PJs or the wackiest sweater you can find, let’s have some festive fun together! 

Just remember — keep outfits school-appropriate and wear shoes that are playground/PE-ready. 

Please note: This is also an additional minimum day for all students!

HABIT OF THE WEEK
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"Synergy is not just teamwork or cooperation. Synergy is creative teamwork, creative cooperation. Something new is created that was not there before.” - Stephen R. Covey

⭐ Learn how to create a Family Synergy Action Plan in this week's Habit #6 Family Worksheet!

ELEVATE SPIRIT STORE
Grab some Elevate gear today! The Elevate School Foundation (TESF) has set up an awesome online Spirit Store with branded attire, reusable water bottles, hats, and more! Ten percent of each purchase will go directly to the foundation which supports Elevate's Mission.

QUICK LINKS

Elevate School cultivates leaders and positive changemakers by inspiring students to be excellent in academics, exceptional in leadership, expansive in creativity, and engaged in community.
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