Week of Feb. 3rd

Our letters this week are "th".  We remember the sound these letters make because they tickle our teeth with our tongue when we say "thhhhhhhh".  The word of the week is "the".  The students were challenged to pick a book from home and count how many "the" are in the book.

Today we talked about the groundhog's prediction of an early Spring.  Let's hope the rodent is right!
Many students said they would prefer an early Spring over 6 more weeks of Winter!

We are in need of EMPTY Kleenex boxes for our Valentine's Day craft.  If you have any EMPTY Kleenex boxes at home, we will be happy to take them off your hands!  Please send them in by Feb. 11th.

The school will be closed tomorrow (Tuesday, February 4th).  Pizza day will be bumped to Wednesday, February 5th.

Friday, February 14 is Valentine's Day and the children are excited to exchange Valentine's cards. As this is a PD Day, we will celebrate on Thursday, February 13th. Also on Thursday, the students are welcome to wear red, pink and white. When preparing Valentine's for the class, please do not address each Valentine by the student's first name. Just fill out the "from" portion of the card and encourage your child to write their own name - excellent practice! There are 22 students and it makes it easier to pass them out. Please note that due to the Healthy Schools Act, children are requested not to send in treats.

Week of January 27th

Gong hei fat choy! The children were so eager to learn about the Chinese New Year and all the traditions that go with it! They were very busy making fans, dragon masks and lanterns.  We will send them home this week in their mailbags.

The letter of the week is "G" and the word of the week is "go". Please encourage your child to look for the letter and word when reading stories to them at home, especially the Snuggle folders. Kindly remember to return the Snuggle folders each week on Friday so we can send home a new book each Monday. The day to send back library books is on Tuesday.

Thank you to all who continue to make/buy playdoh for the class each week. The kids have been loving the beautiful colours and even the added glitter! I have included the schedule in this post in case you are unsure of your designated week. 

Parent Council is hosting a movie and pizza night on Friday, February 7th. The movie is Wonder Park. Hope you can make it!

We continue to have lots of wet socks and mittens each day! Please ensure that your child has at least one extra set at school. We have been asking the children to put their wet socks and mittens in their backpacks - but don't always have time to write to each family about it. Please check backpacks daily in case we things need to be replaced. Thanks so much!

Week of January 20th

Our letter of the week is "c" and our word of the week is "can".  The children wrote great sentences about things they "can" do.

We continued to be scientists and observe our eggs.  Today was Day 6 of our egg experiment and we had so much to see!  The students were very observant and enjoyed talking about all the changes in these eggs.

The sk students will be coming home today with their new snuggle books.  Please remember to keep this folder separate from the library book.  We hope you are enjoying this precious snuggle time with your child!

Due to the school closure tomorrow, pizza day will be on Wednesday instead.  Friday is a PD day so there is no school for the children.

Upcoming events:

Movie Night: Council is hosting a movie night on February 7th. The movie is Wonder Park.

Here are some pictures from today:

Week of Jan. 13th - Snuggle Folder Info - Please Read!

Today, the SK students came home with their Snuggle Folders. Please read the information in the front pouch. The idea of this program is not to be stressful for you or your child rather to give you a few minutes to snuggle and enjoy looking at a book together. Please return the folder with the book inside every Friday. These books will be passed on to other students so please ensure that they come back each week. The kids were SO excited to have homework!

On Tuesdays, the kids will continue to bring their library books home.  Please ensure that the library books come back to school every Tuesday. These books should NOT be placed in the snuggle folder.  Please keep the library books separate from the snuggle books.

Information regarding Raz Kids came home as well today.  This is an online reading program for the students to do at home.  We have explored this program at school using our classroom chromebooks and the kids really enjoy it.  Raz Kids will not be monitored at school and more of an at home program with your kids this year.  Feel free to explore the books and have your child read along with them.

Our letter of the week is the letter "d" and our word is "and".  Please continue to practice letter recognition and letter sounds with your child.

In Math, we have been talking about the difference in 2D and 3D shapes and looking at things in the classroom that are cylinders, spheres, cubes etc.  This week, we will be going on a shape hunt and collecting objects that match our 3D models.

Our jk friends made pizzas with 2D shapes today.  They decorated their "crust" with all their preferred toppings!  The goal for this activity was to identify and count 2D shapes. Ask your child what the difference is between 2D and 3D shapes and some examples of each.

If you are planning on placing a January Scholastic order, please do so by Friday, January 17th.

Happy New Year! Week of Jan. 6th

Happy New Year to all! It's hard to believe that it is now 2020! We hope you had a restful holiday season. The kids were so happy to share all about their Christmas break and their adventures over the past few weeks.  It sounds like everyone enjoyed their time with family and friends!

Our letter of the week is "w" and our word of the week is "we". We talked about the letter 'w' and how sometimes it tricks us by thinking it says "d" instead of "w". At this age, it is a common mistake so we will continue to practise! The sk students wrote great sentences in their journals using their sounds independently.  They are becoming quite confident with their free writing and are using the word walls and resources around the room to help them.

We revisited 10 frames today and explored numbers 1-10. The students used the gems to represent the number given. Please continue to explore numbers at home. Make it fun so the kids will want to engage in learning about numbers.

In the afternoon, we reviewed 2D shapes and looked more in depth at 3D shapes. We compared 2D and 3D shapes and talked about what is different and what is similar. We know that 2D shapes are flat and 3D shapes pop out. The students then extended their learning by building with the 3D manipulatives. At another tabletop, the students made objects using tangrams (2D). We will continue exploring shapes over the next little while.

Next week, we will be sending home a weekly reading program for the sk students only.  This is a simple and stress-free program for all!  More details to come next Monday!

Reminders:

• Please send back blankets and spare clothing if you have not done so already.
• We will continue to stay outdoors each morning so please have your child dressed for the weather.
• If a snow day (bus cancellations) occurs on a Tuesday, pizza day is cancelled.  Please ensure that your child has a lunch if they are coming to school. Pizza will be delivered the following day.

Kindergarten Registration: Registration for junior kindergarten takes place during the week of January 13th-17th, at St Gabriel School. Registration will also be accepted anytime during the school year if you happen to miss the official January registration period.

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.