Week of April 29

We came back to school today with 7 butterflies in the tank.  The children were so excited to see them and feed them!  We have been busy observing the differences between the butterflies and today the kids noticed that one of the butterflies has one small wing and one big wing.  They were very curious as to how this butterfly was going to fly.  The kids have become expert butterfly artists over the past week!  As soon as the weather gets a bit warmer, we will release the butterflies out into the wild.

Today we looked at the letters p and l and what sound they make when they are put together.  Our word is "play".  Today, the sk students did a great job finding previous popcorn words that they were using to write their sentence.  They are developing a sense of confidence and enjoyment for the free writing process which will be so beneficial for next year.

Next week is Education Week. It is a busy week with many fun things planned.  The school will be sending out a News Flash indicating what will be happening each day of Education Week.  Last week, a permission form was sent home regarding a trip to the church to attend mass.  Please send the signed form back as soon as possible. 

We are doing a very special surprise for Open House next Thursday.  A note was sent home today requesting for a t shirt and a hanger.  Both items will be sent home on Thursday in the same condition that they came to school in.  If you could please send them to school by Friday, May 3rd, it would be much appreciated.


Here are some pictures from today:

Week of April 23

We hope you had a lovely Easter holiday with your family.  The children came to school excited to share about their weekend and ready to learn.   We are eagerly waiting for our cocoons to make their final transformation into beautiful Painted Lady butterflies.  We are so close!!!  You can see the wings through the cocoon.

Last week, a note was sent home asking for all moms to write down their email address.  This is for a special Mother's Day project.  Please send the form back at your earliest convenience.

This week we will not have a letter or word of the week.  Please continue to point out letters and popcorn words at home.  New snuggle books will be coming home tonight with our sk students.

This week is Earth Week.  We will be talking about ways in which we help keep the earth clean and safe.  We are hoping to have waste free lunches for the week.  Wednesday is Water Day.  The students are encouraged to wear blue to school.

On Wednesday evening at 5:45, we will be hosting Welcome to Kindergarten for new students enrolling in junior kindergarten next year.  Please spread the word if you know anyone starting jk next year.

Last Thursday, we washed each other's feet just like Jesus did for his disciples before the Last Supper.  The children really enjoyed washing their friend's feet as well as Ms. Richichi's.

Here are some pictures from today and last week:

Earth Week

On Tuesday, the children are invited to wear earth colours or shirts with earth slogans in order to celebrate Earth Day. Wednesday is Water Day. We will be talking about water conservation. The kids are welcome to wear blue on Wednesday. We are also implementing a waste-free/litterless lunch week. Let’s see if we can meet this challenge!

Happy Easter

Wishing you all a very happy and restful Easter!!!  Enjoy your time with your family!  Just a reminder that the blankets are coming home for a wash.  Please send them back on Tuesday.

Week of April 15th

Today the students were excited to see that our caterpillars have transformed into cocoons.  We were so lucky to watch one transform right before our eyes.  The cocoons are now hanging in our tank and we are eagerly awaiting the final transformation into beautiful butterflies. When the kids found out what type food butterflies eat, they all wanted to donate a piece of their fruit for them!

As we wait for the warmer weather to come, the kids had a blast creating bugs out of toilet paper rolls to give the room a Spring feel.  Their unique bugs now hang on our classroom tree.  If you have empty toilet paper rolls or paper towel rolls, we are always looking for them to create and build with in the classroom.

This week, we will be reviewing the letter "y" again.  I am noticing that some children continue to mix up the sounds that "y" make with the letter "w".  Please review this letter with your child at home as well.  Our word of the week is "yes".  The sk students wrote great sentences with the word "yes".  They have been doing a great job sounding out words independently and remembering how to spell our previous popcorn words.  We are so happy with their progress!
   

As we eagerly await the coming Easter weekend and the joy of Jesus' resurrection, we will be talking about the Last Supper and Jesus' kind act of washing the feet of his disciples.  The children will have the opportunity to wash each other's feet in an act of kindness this Holy Thursday. We will be visiting the Stations of the Cross on Wednesday. Just a reminder that there is no school on Good Friday and Easter Monday. Wishing you and your family a most Holy and Happy Easter!

Reminders:

• We continue to accept donations of jam and ham for the North of 60 project.  
• If you are aware of any students that will be starting Kindergarten this fall, please let them know that they are invited to our Welcome to Kindergarten evening which will be on April 24th.  Registration is at 5:45.

Week of April 8th

Our word of the week is the word "no".  We learned a little chant that the kids might sing to you before bedtime tonight!  We will continue to look at many letters this week and their associated sounds.  Please continue to read with your child.  It is so beneficial for them.

This afternoon, we started to inquire about rainbows and how they are made.  The students were very interested in our rainbow experiment and many drew their observations and talked about their predictions.  Our experiment was to see how the different coloured water moves through the paper towel.  We talked about colour mixing as well and learned how to make secondary colours using primary colours. See the pictures below.

Our caterpillars have grown so much since last week.  The students were amazed at how big they have gotten and drew detailed pictures.  They are now moving around in their containers and their legs and little hairs are visible.  The students are very curious about what is going to happen next with these little creatures!

In Math, we worked on using ten frames to help solve number sentences.  The students were really engaged and noticed the difference between addition and subtraction really quickly! They were able to explain their thinking and show how they solved the problem using the cubes as a manipulative on the ten frame.

Thank you to everyone who has submitted their VIP project.  It's still not too late if you want to send in your selfie!  My email is andrea.rocco@ocsb.ca

North of 60 Project

Help St Gabriel Students GATHER and SHARE.  In the spirit of Alms Giving, the families, students and staff of St Gabriel School are asked to help support the North of 60 project this Lenten Season.  The North of 60 is an organization that is dedicated to helping Canada’s most northern communities by sending non perishable food items by large sea containers.  Items collected by students at St Gabriel will directly help and support the families living in the community of Rankin Inlet, Nunavut. Thank you so much for helping our school community support the families of Rankin Inlet by collecting the following 2 items:

• Jam (any flavour) - 500 ml jars
• Canned Cooked Ham (Maple Leaf or similar brand) 454 grams

We believe in the importance of education all our students about Canada’s Indigenous peoples and providing opportunity for helping others in need.

Thank you for your continued support helping St Gabriel to gather and share!

Please see the following for more information:  North of 60 Project and Slide Show

Here are some pictures from today:

Week of April 1st

We are all anxiously waiting for Spring but Mother Nature doesn't seem to be in a rush to bring it to us!  The children are ready to ditch their winter boots and snow pants for rain boots and splash pants as well as jump in puddles!  Fingers crossed that this will happen soon!

Our letter of the week is "p" and our word of the week is "spring".  We learned that spring has another word in it - ring!  We also learned that when we see the letters "ing" together, we do not have to sound each letter out.  It always makes the sound ing.  We learned a song called "King the ing" and every time we saw an "ing" in our poem, we sang our song and put a crown on top of the "ing".  It is a fun way help the kids when sounding out words or even when they are browsing a book.  They were very excited to find "ing"s in their books today.

Tomorrow we will be getting our classroom pets - caterpillars!  Over the next few weeks, oyur focus will be to observe how these caterpillars grow and transform into beautiful Painted Lady butterflies.  This is a wonderful learning opportunity for the children.  We will incorporate science, math, religion and literacy all while watching these creatures grow!  Stay tuned for pictures over the next few weeks.

Important Dates:

Friday, April 5th - Pj and stuffy day!  The students in kindergarten are invited to wear their pj's and bring in their stuffy to snuggle.

VIP Project:  Please send in your workplace selfie! Over the past few days, I have received so many amazing selfies.  The kids were so excited to hear that their moms and dads had sent in their homework! tee hee!  If you have not emailed me a picture and brief description of your job and would like to, please email it to me at andrea.rocco@ocsb.ca.

All of the kinder classes will be going on a field trip to the Bill Mason Outdoor Learning Center on Thursday, June 6th.  We will be looking for volunteers to join us.  Each volunteer will need to have done a criminal reference check as per our board policy.  They will also need to arrange their own transportation to the location as the bus will be full with the children and educators.  We will be sending home permissions forms closer to the date.

St. Gabriel is embarking on a social justice initiative to assist communities in the North with food provisions.  We are asking for donations of jam (500 ml) and canned ham to be sent to Nunavut.  Please read all the details in the link below.  Thank you for your generosity!

North of 60 Project