Week of December 16th

We are into the final week before Christmas break and we are all excited! It has been such a privilege and pleasure to work with your beautiful children so far this year. On behalf of Mrs. T, Mme Vida and myself, we wish you the most joyous and blessed Christmas. We hope you are able to find some restful moments to spend with your family along with the fun and celebrations.

The students are busy practicing for the Kinder Christmas Concert on Tuesday, December 17th at 1:30. Please feel free to come to the gym for 1:15 and get settled in. The students are so excited to perform for you! You are invited to come back to the classroom after the performance to make crafts with your child. Feel free to send your child in Christmas colours (red, white, green) or their Sunday best.

This week, we are having a PJ day on Wednesday, December 18th and the children will be treated to a movie in class. They are also welcome to bring a stuffed animal from home for our special PJ day. On Friday, the students are invited to wear their Christmas sweaters (ugly or nice!).

We will be sending home blankets on Friday to be washed over the holiday break and returned in January. Please check your child's backpack as we are also sending home a gift for the children from us. The last day of school is this Friday, December 20th and we return on Monday, January 6th.

We are also so grateful for your generous contributions to our hamper drive. We were able to fill 2 boxes with food and toiletries for each family along with a gift card to purchase fresh food! Truly the season for giving and being grateful!

Week of Dec 9th

Thank you to all who have sent in donations of money, deodorant and toothbrushes for our hamper collection.  We are still collecting these items until Wednesday, December 11th. The hampers will be going to families in need at our sister school, St. Elizabeth.  We are also continuing to collect new hats and mittens for families in need.  Your kindness and generosity is very much appreciated.

On Wednesday, we will be having a lockdown practice.  We will continue to practice and reassure the students that there is nothing to be scared of or worry about.

The students are busy practicing for the Kinder Christmas Concert next Tuesday, December 17th at 1:30.  Please feel free to come to the gym for 1:15 and get settled in.  The students are so excited to perform for you!  You are invited to come back to the classroom after the performance to make crafts with your child.   Feel free to send your child in Christmas colours (red, white, green) or their Sunday best.

We continued to talk about the nativity story.  We read a book that the children loved called "A Child Was Born".  They were inspired to draw pictures of their favourite part of the story.  Their pictures were so beautiful and are now decorating our classroom.

Week of Dec. 2nd

Happy December!! It's hard to believe that Christmas is just around the corner.  December is going to be a busy month filled with fun activities.  Be sure to check the blog each week for important dates and activities.

Today we got our last letter and word until the new year.  We will spend the month practicing our songs for the big Kinder performance on December 17th.  You won't want to miss it!

Our letter this week is "n" and our word is "in".  Please continue to practice these with your child.

Today we lit the first Advent candle and attended our school wide Advent liturgy.  The students did a great job singing and listening to the readings.  As a class, we spoke about the importance of the Advent Season and what we are waiting for during this time.  The children were very excited to put out the nativity scene in the classroom and to learn about the different people depicted in this scene.

We are kicking off our hamper collection and it will run until December 11th.  Please consider donating to this worthy cause.  Our class will be collecting deodorant and adult sized toothbrushes.  Thank you in advance for your kindness and generosity!  Please read the details below.  A hard copy will come home tomorrow.

Dear Parents and Caregivers, 

The Advent season has arrived and Christmas is just around the corner. Each of the classes at St. Gabriel School will be involved in our Advent project to help those in need. Each class, from Kindergarten through grade six, will contribute to allow us to prepare a “hamper” for needy families from our adopted school, St. Elizabeth. 

Each student is being asked to bring in a few specific items for the food hamper. Additionally, a minimum donation of $2.00 for the family would also be most appreciated. Monies collected will go towards the purchase of a grocery store gift card for each family, so the family can purchase a turkey and fresh fruit and vegetables. 

We encourage the students to complete a chore at home to earn their own money, so that they experience the gift of giving. Your child is invited to bring in a stick of deodorant and one adult sized toothbrush. We will be collecting the hamper items and money from Monday,December 2nd until Wednesday, December 11th. 

** Please note we also welcome donations of hats and mittens to send to families in need in our school board.  

Thank you for your generosity and support during the Advent Season.

God Bless, 

St. Gabriel Catholic School Staff

Reminders:

Our Kindergarten Christmas Concert: Tuesday, December 17th at 1:30

Week of Nov. 25th

We are very excited to announce that our Kinder Christmas concert will be held on Tuesday, December 17th at 1:30 pm in the gym.  The students have been busy learning their songs and are thrilled to be presenting them to you in a few weeks.  More details will come home later this week.

With Christmas fast approaching, our school will be collecting items for our Christmas hampers.  The hampers are for families in need at our sister school, St. Elizabeth School.  A letter will be coming home shortly with more information.  Your kindness is much appreciated for this worthy cause.

Our letter of the week is the letter "o" and our word is "to".  Please continue to practice with your child at home.  In Math, we are working on showing our work using pictures and numbers.  The children did a great job showing their thinking for today's problem: How many wheels do 2 cars have?"  We are also looking at shapes this week and incorporating them into art and writing.

Scholastic book orders came home today.  If you would like to place an order, please ensure that you do so before December 3rd.  I have changed the date from the flyer to be sure the books arrive on time before the holidays.

Here are some pictures from today:

Week of Nov. 18th

Happy Monday!  The children had an exciting day with Jungle Sport in the afternoon.  It was cute to watch the kids attempt rock climbing, balancing on wobbly bridges and moving like ninjas through obstacle courses.  If your child did not bring their permission form back, they were not able to participate today.  We will be going to the gym again this week so please sign and return the permission form by tomorrow.  Notes were sent home today if your child did not have their form signed.

It was so nice meeting with you last week to discuss your child's progress thus far.  Please continue to check and send back mailbags daily.  It is a great tool for communicating between home and school.

This week is Bullying Awareness Week at our school.  We read a book called "One" which teaches children about bullying and the importance of standing up for yourself and friends.  We talked about what exactly bullying is and what to do if someone is bullying you (say STOP in a loud voice, tell an adult).  The children extended their learning by making "Stop Bullying Now" posters and posters about kindness.  We talked about the importance of being kind to all and being a good friend.  The children will put up their posters in the hallways throughout the school this week.

Our letter of the week is "s" and our word is "is".  Please continue to practise letter recognition and their associated sounds with your child. In Math, we are looking at different kinds of patterns and creating our own patterns for our Patterning Tree. 

Here are some pictures from today:

Week of November 11th

Today we were privileged to have 2 special guests in our room to speak about the importance of Remembrance Day.  Warrant Officer Mousseau and Major Braden explained their roles in the military and answered many great questions from the students.  The children were still talking about their cool medals and visit at the end of the day.  We were also lucky to listen to Mr. Chan in the assembly about his role in the military.  He popped in for a quick visit which was so nice.  We are so lucky to have parents in our community who serve in the military.  We thank all of you for your service.

Our letter of the week is "t" and our word is "it".  We were a bit short on time today due to our visits and assembly so we didn't spend as much time as we usually do on our journal writing.  We will revisit the letter and word on Wednesday.

Tomorrow you child will be bringing home their Initial Observation report.  We are so proud of each and every student and their progress and growth so far.  Please sign the last page and send it in at your earliest convenience.  We are looking forward to meeting with those of you who have signed up for an interview on Thursday.  Please remember that each interview is only 10 minutes in length.  It is important to stay on time in order to keep the schedule on track.

With the big dump of snow falling tonight, please remember to pack extra socks in your child's backpack.  An extra pair of mitts is always good to have in their backpacks as well.  We do stay out for 30 minutes in the morning and in the afternoon so please ensure that your child comes to school with snow pants, boots, a warm coat, a hat and gloves.


Here are some pictures from today:

Week of Nov. 4th

Our letter of the week is "I, i" and the word of the week is I.  Please continue to practice letter recognition and sound association with your child. 

Today we had a jam packed day!  We used math all day!  The children were challenged to build a fence to hold 5 rats using the materials put out for them.  Once they were successful with their fence, they counted the cubes and sticks used.  We learned that the cubes make the fence very stable which helps to hold the rats on the popsicle sticks.

We also worked on problem solving involving math.  The question posed to the students was how many legs do 2 spiders have.  There was a toy spider on the table to help guide the kids.  Many students were intrigued by this question and showed different ways to solve the question.  They did a great job using pictures, numbers and words on their page.

This week we will be talking about Remembrance Day and how lucky we are to live in such a safe and wonderful country.  We read a story about peace called "What is Peace".  The children were asked what they thought peace was.  Please look at the picture below.  Their examples of peace are absolutely adorable.  We also learned a song today called "I've Got Peace in My Fingers".  The children loved it and learned it quickly!  On Monday, we will be having a visit from one of out parents who is in the Canadian Armed Forces.  We are always so grateful for his visit and are looking forward to seeing him in Room 138!

On Wednesday, November 13th, your child will be bringing home their Initial Observation report.  This is a "progress" type report card based on the first few months of getting to know your child.  Interviews will be held on Thursday, November 14th from 4- 8pm.  You will receive an email with a link to sign up for a time that suits you best.  Each interview is for 10 minutes.  We ask that you stay within your allotted time in order to keep us on track.  We look forward to meeting with you.

Reminders:

Picture Retake/ Sibling Photo - Nov. 6th
Interview Night - Nov. 14th

Week of Oct. 28

This week has been an exciting one and it's only Tuesday!  With Halloween just around the corner, the children have been eager to draw pictures and make creations with Halloween on their minds!  They have been very excited to share about their costumes and what they are hoping to get in their bags on Halloween night!  In the classroom, we have been exploring with many different slimy materials such as spaghetti with eyeballs, slime with bats and orbeez balls with pumpkins.  Tomorrow we will be conducting a science experiment with ice in the shape of brains.  We will be predicting which brain will melt the fastest.  One will have salt one top, one with crayons on top and one with glitter on top.  Stay tuned for our findings!  We will also be working on a STEM challenge with cubes, popsicle sticks and rubber rats.  The goal is to try and make a fence for 5 rats to fit on.  It should be fun!

Our letter this week is the letter "m" and our word is "am".  Please continue to practice letter recognition and sounds with your child.  Make it fun!

This afternoon, we talked about our feeling and the things that make us feel happy and sad.  The students did a great job illustrating how they were feeling today.  We had many feelings going on in our classroom today!

On Thursday, the children are invited to wear orange and black.  Please do not send your child to school wearing a costume.  We will also be playing in a school wide bingo game.  We are asking for a $2 donation for United Way. 

On November 1st, Progress Reports for grades 1-6 will be going home.  Kindergarten students will be receiving their Initial Observation Report on Wednesday, November 13th.  Interviews for grades K-6 will be held on November 14th from 4 pm -8 pm.  More information will be sent home soon on how to book a time for an interview.  We look forward to chatting with you!

Important Dates:
Picture Retake Day- Nov. 6th

WEEK OF October. 21st - Important -Please read!

Today we started our word and letter exploration.  Each week, we will be looking at a letter and a word of the week.  The intent is that the letter of the week is for the jk students and the word of the week is for the sk students.  The word of the week is a high frequency word that we call a "popcorn" word.  These popcorn words are words that are found in simple books which are easy to sound out for the children.  We will get a new letter and word every Monday.  Our activities on Monday will involve this letter/word at some of our tabletops.  I would encourage you to check the blog at the beginning of the week so that you can ask your child to point the word out during nightly reading (sk's), practise printing the letter/word with their magic finger, think of words that have the letter sound in them, etc.  Make it fun! 

Our letter of the week is the letter "a".  We learned that this letter makes 2 sounds ("ahh' and it says it's own name "a").  We had lots of fun with the letter a.  All the children with an "a" in their name stood up.  We noticed that most of the kids in the class have an "a" in their name so it must be an important letter!  We also came up with a list of words that have an "a" in them.  

Our word of the week is "a".  We read a poem about pumpkins and the children had fun "buttering" the popcorn word!  We will do this every Monday.  We will read a poem together and keep an eye out for the word of the week.  The children will take turns "buttering" the word of the week.  This means they will colour the word in yellow. See the pictures below from today.

The sk students then went on to write a sentence or a thought using the word "a".  We are working on building their confidence and independence.  They did a fantastic job today and we are so proud of their work! See pictures of their work below.

We also explored a variety of pumpkins today.  There were small, medium and large pumpkins on display.  The students became scientists by exploring them using magnifying glasses.  They drew detailed pictures and described their work with words.  The walls in the classroom are filled with these bright and gorgeous pictures!

The students experimented with different tools at the art table today and had a blast.  We put out sticks, twigs and paint and they got creative.  Many students painted Halloween pictures and Fall pictures.  They are all really cute!

Every Friday, we will be meeting up with our Grade 2 reading buddies from Ms. Clouthier's class.  Last week the kids LOVED sitting with their buddies and listening to them read.  There were many familiar faces and even a few siblings in the class!

Thank you to all the parents who volunteered on our walk to the Beaver Pond.  We really appreciate all the support from volunteers.  Without you, field trips would not be possible. The kids had a great time and were excited to come back and look at the treasures they found on the walk.

Reminders:

Photo Retake Day - Nov 6
Halloween Dance -Fri. Oct 25th from 6-8 pm

Week of October 16th

We hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving with their family.  Hopefully the turkeys made it home in one piece and decorated your Thanksgiving table! The kids were so excited to bring them home and show them off.

Today we went out on a leaf hunt and found gorgeous leaves in a variety of fall colours.  The children searched for different types, sizes and colours.  We read a story called "The Leaf Man" and were inspired to make beautiful creations with the leaves we collected.  Some of the leaves from the morning were laminated so we can do leaf rubbing and leaf exploration on Friday.

We have been practising our printing using proper pencil grip and proper letter formation with the jk students.  They are doing a great job with printing their name using an uppercase letter followed by lowercase letters.  Our sk students have been using their knowledge of letter sounds in their free writing.  Today, they wrote about what they are most thankful for.  We noticed that we are very blessed and have so much to be thankful for.  Our goal is to make the students feel confident when writing and to know that it is always okay to make mistakes.

On Monday, we will be starting our letter and "popcorn" word routine.  The blog post on Monday will explain what exactly this routine is and how you can support your child with their learning.  Please continue to check the blog each week for important information regarding our classroom community.

We are excited about our plans to walk to the Beaver Pond on this Friday, October 18th! A gentle reminder that you must have a criminal reference check done in order to assist as a volunteer. So far, the weather looks promising! Please be sure to send your child dressed appropriately for the outing including suitable footwear.  Volunteers are asked to join us right away at the 9AM bell. We will organize ourselves to leave right after attendance and bathroom visits.

Here are some pictures from today: