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

Week of March 25th

Sorry for the late blog post.  The flu had other plans for me over the past few days!

Our letters of the week are "th" and our word of the week is "the".  We are teaching the students that when they see a t and an h together, not to sound them out individually and to remember to tickle their teeth with their tongue to make the "thhhhhhhhhhhh" sound.

Today we read a story about what to do when we feel angry.  We talked about taking deep breaths, walking away from what is making them angry, going to a quiet place, riding a bike or getting some exercise.  We also talked about how it is ok to be angry but it's how we handle our anger.

The school yard is getting pretty wet which means LOTS of soakers on the kid's feet.  Please send in extra pants and socks in case your child needs to change into dry clothes.

Last week we learned about Persian New Year and the students loved hearing about all the traditions for this special day.  They had a blast decorating eggs and making the 7 special things to put on table on our bulletin board.  We always love to learn about different cultures and special occasions.  Please feel free to let us know if you have a special day or celebration in your culture that you would like us to talk about.

VIP Project-
I have received some selfies but am hoping to get more.  It's such a fun project for the kids!  Looking for moms and dads to send in their workplace selfie with a brief, kid friendly description of their job.

Here are some pictures from today:

Week of March 18th

Welcome back!  We hope everyone had a wonderful March Break!  The children shared their adventures with us during our morning discussion.  There were many children who went to warmer places and had a blast!

Our letter of the week is "Hh" and our word of the week is "he".  We learned that there are more "shes" in the class than "hes".  The sk students are enjoying writing in their journals and are adding more detail and taking more risks in their writing.

The students visited the library this morning and will be bringing home a new book.  Please ensure that library books come back each week in their mailbags.  The sk students will also be bringing a new snuggle book home today.

With the warmer temperatures in our near future, please ensure that your child has a spare pair of socks, pants and underwear.

VIP Project - We are hoping to get a workplace selfie from all parents by the end of March.  Last year, we had a lot of the dads participate.  This year, we are hoping to get our moms involved too!  We are looking forward to showing the children your selfies and have them guess what you do at work!

Here are some pictures from today:

Week of March 4th

Today we had a blast learning about leprechauns and doing leprechaun dances!  The classroom has a lot of new green activities for the kids.  They had fun exploring the sensory table with coins, plastic shamrocks and green rice, creating with green playdoh as well as colouring pattered shamrocks.  The kids are hoping to get a special visit from a little leprechaun again this year!  Fingers crossed!  We will be making leprechaun traps on Wednesday so if you have any empty paper towel rolls or empty toilet paper rolls, feel free to send them in.

On Wednesday, we will be joining the whole school in the gym for our Lenten mass.  The students will be receiving ashes on their foreheads.  Today we spoke about Ash Wednesday and Lent.  We talked about giving prayers for people, alms giving as well as "fasting".  We also spoke about how we don't have to necessarily give up something - we can do something kind or caring instead of giving up a bad habit or giving up junk food etc.   

On Thursday, the Kindergarten students will be having an outdoor play day.  We will be outside for a longer period of time in the morning so please dress your child for the weather.  It is going to be a fun day for the children.

Our letters of the week are "sh" and our word of the week is "she". Check out the pictures below for awesome writing samples from the sk students.

In the afternoon, we read a story called "The Wonky Donkey".  If you have 6 minutes to spare, check out the music video on YouTube which was created for the story.  It is absolutely adorable and the kids LOVED it so much!  It is a catchy little tune too!  The students were inspired by the book and decided to make up their own versions of the story such as "The Wonky Kitty".


On Friday, we will be sending blankets home again for a wash. Please send them back on the Monday following the March Break.

Week of Feb 25th

Our letter of the week is "d" and our word of the week is "do".  The students loved singing our poem "Do You Like Broccoli" and finding all the 'do's in the poem. 

Last week we finally cut into our eggs and were amazed and grossed out at what came out of them.  Some friends were very disappointed that a baby chick never popped out!  The kids made amazing observations before cutting into the 2 eggs.  See the pictures below.  Many wanted to touch the hardened yoke and were very interested in looking at the eggs with the magnifying glasses. 

Today we worked on measurement and counting with dinosaurs and cubes.  The kids drew pictures of their dinosaur and added numbers and words to their work.  Their job was to measure and count how long their dinosaur was using cubes.

In the afternoon, we looked at 4 snowmen and wrote down what was different between them.  It was our version of a "Spot the Difference" activity.  The children were so good at finding everything and they seemed to really enjoy doing it.

Please ensure that your child continues to bring their winter gear (snow pants, hat, gloves) as we still go out for 30 minutes in the morning and 20 minutes at lunch.

Week of Feb 19th

We hope you all had a lovely long weekend with your family.  It was an amazing weekend to be outside!

Due to the short week, we will not have a letter or word of the week.  Instead, we will review the words on our word wall and practice letter sounds.  The children are coming home today with a new library book and the sk students have a new snuggle book.

Last week the kids were so excited to bring home their love monsters filled with valentines from their classmates.  They all did a wonderful job decorating their boxes.  

We will continue to talk about ways we can be kind and caring to all.  I will be in Rm 138 tomorrow to read a good story about things that make us smile.  Stay tuned for pictures of the kids hard at work in the classroom.

This week we will wrap up our egg experiment and cut into the egg in vinegar.  It's going to be so exciting and gross all in one!!  Pictures to follow!

Reminders:

• We are running low on kleenex in the classroom.  If you have a box to spare, we would be very grateful!
• The blankets were sent home last Thursday for a wash. Please send them back with your child.  They like to snuggle with them during quiet time.

Week of Feb 11th

Our letter of the week is "L" and our word of the week is "love".  Ask your child to sing you our special love song! 

We went to the library today so the children will be bringing new library books home.  Mrs. Baker is very impressed with the children and how responsible they have been with bringing their books back each week.

This afternoon we read a book about loving ourselves.  The children loved listening to the story and writing and drawing about things they love about themselves.  They worked so hard on making their pictures colourful and detailed to look like themselves.

On Thursday, we will be celebrating Valentine's Day.  We will be making our love monsters and passing out our Valentine's cards.  We have 21 students in our class. Due to the severe allergies in our classroom, please do not send in any treats with your child.  If you plan on sending cards, please fill out the "from" portion only.  It makes it easier and quicker for the children to pass them out this way.

Your child will be coming home with their Communication of Learning (report card) on Thursday.  Please sign them and return the signed portion next week. We are so proud of everyone's progress so far!  There are no formal interviews this term but if you have any questions or concerns, please write a note in the communication book and we can arrange a meeting.

We are running low on Kleenex and markers in the classroom.  If you would like to donate either of these items, we would be very grateful!

Reminders:

• If the buses are canceled tomorrow, pizza day will be on Wednesday.
• Friday is a PD Day so there is no school for the children.  We will be sending home their blankets on Thursday for a wash.