Nov. 28- Dec. 1 **

Leader of the week: Dylan (bring your mystery object & 3 clues)
day 2. Mon. Nov. 21- Health, Ms. Furczon away in the PM (Ms. D will be teaching)
day 3. Tues. Nov. 22- Reading Buddies, Physed
day 4. Wed. Nov. 23- Computers, Music
day 5. Thurs. Nov. 24- Physed
Movie Night- Tickets are $5 and can be purchased online at http://tdsb.schoolcashonline.com/

day 1. Fri. Dec. 2- PA Day (no school for students)

News/ Reminders:
- Thank you to our volunteers for helping out during pizza lunch and scientist in the school. We loved having Scientist Zane in our classroom. The students rotated through five hands on centres and learned more about heat, solar, wind, light and sound energy.
- If you have signed up for a special event in our classroom but cannot make it, please make sure to email Samantha as soon as you can so that we can find a replacement. Thank you so much for your understanding. I appreciate your ongoing support and willingness to take part in our events. The students LOVE having family members in the classroom.
- Please ensure your child has indoor and outdoor shoes.
- December 14th: Grade 1 Holiday Concert
- Please ensure that your child brings back their green workbook so that I may place additional practice sheets inside of it.
- Thank you for all your Movember donations. The students and I had a blast wearing mustaches on Friday. My black marker came in handy that day!

Sneak Peak into First Grade
We had a fantastic week! The students have been working cooperatively and doing a much better job at managing their own behaviour. Mrs. Champagne was very proud of everyone on Wednesday. She taught the students four new games which involved active listening and turn taking. On Thursday, the students were so excited to tell me about their amazing day with Mrs. Champagne.

In Math, we have been working on number bonds which involves composing and decomposing various numbers. We mainly focused on number 5 and 10 and discussed different ways of making those numbers. The students used coloured tiles to check their thinking. This is a great introduction to addition and subtraction. I have sent home a number sense package with your child's work. The front page tells you the curriculum expectations which we have been covering in class. Please take a minute to go through your child's package and practice some of the skills mentioned in the rubric. We also started our measurement unit which began with a class discussion about the term "measurement" and what it means to measure. The students had some great answers!

                   Number Bonds


                 

Science
Charley brought in a bees nest which led to wonderful questions and a great class discussion. One of the students was convinced that the nest belonged to hornets so we did some research. He was right! We looked at different types of nests and the difference between bumblebees, hornets, yellowjackets and honey bees. The students also discussed the decrease in bee population and how this affects us in so many ways. They created posters which mostly said, "Do not hurt bees! Keep them alive!" The students thought it was a good idea to tape their posters to our class windows so that people could see them as they walk by the school. We will continue with our inquiry for as long as the students stay interested. It is amazing to see the motivation and eagerness to learn and write when the children are interested in the topic.


     


Art
We have been discussing texture which is one of the elements of design. Last week, the children loved the leaf rubbing activity. This week, they had an opportunity to paint with feathers, sponges and q-tips to create different textures.


 

                     An apple for the teacher!
            Thank you, Li-Na! It was delicious.

November 21- 25

Leader of the week: Charley (don't forget to bring your mystery object and 3 clues)
day 2. Mon. Nov. 21- Scientist in the class (9-11:30), Health
day 3. Tues. Nov. 22- Reading Buddies, Physed
day 4. Wed. Nov. 23- Computers, Music
day 5. Thurs. Nov. 24- Physed

day 1. Fri. Nov. 25- Library

News/ Reminders:
- We need two more volunteers for the Scientist in the classroom on Monday, Nov. 21st. Please sign up on signupgenius or contact Samantha. Thank you to all our wonderful volunteers! Please arrive around 8:30 A.M to help set up and become familiar with your assigned centre. The scientist will have all the instructions and materials ready for you.
- Thank you to everyone for making parent teacher meetings enjoyable. I absolutely loved meeting with all of you, sharing stories and talking about your child's progress. Let's take a minute to remember that it is only November and the transition from Kindergarten to Grade One is a huge one. The class has certainly shown improvement this week. The children and I have been working diligently to build a comfortable classroom environment in which everyone is respected and included. We have been fulfilling our responsibilities and learning to solve our problems with kids words. Ms. McGee (music teacher), along with Ms. Taylor (computers teacher) were both impressed by the sudden change in behaviour. We are becoming better listeners. What great news!
- Please ensure that your child has indoor and outdoor shoes, especially now that the weather is a little messy.
- I will be away on Wednesday and Mrs. Champagne (a regular supply teacher at LKS) will be teaching the class. Mrs. Champagne has a lot of experience under her belt and she is simply incredible!

Math
We have finished Patterning and will be moving onto Measurement and number bonds next week. I will be having one on one conferences with students and all the patterning work will be sent home. The children learned to extend, name and create their own patterns. They have been challenging themselves by adding more colours or shapes to their patterns and finding the core (the part that repeats).

                  Patterning with fruit loops and stickers

 

We continue to practise skip counting by 10s, 5s and 2s. The students cut out three worms and an apple to help them with this skill. The apples were sent home on Friday in everyone's mailbag. Please use this tool as a fun way to practise skip counting at home.

 

Science
We continue to learn about Energy. We read a book called, Energy Makes Things Happen and learned about different types of energy such as: heat, light and sound. We are very excited to welcome the scientist in our class on Monday!



Language
The students rotated through four different literacy centres which included making words with magnetic letters, using dry erase boards and playing sight word games in small groups. It is amazing to observe the students as they create words, share their ideas and take turns playing various games.

We will begin learning about procedural writing (how-to writing). Students will use transitional words such as first, next, then, last to write about their steps. Here is an example:

I have some exciting news to share....
I am officially teaching grade one until the end of the school year! I couldn't be happier. Thank you so much for everyone's support. I absolutely love coming to work and teaching your children.

Nov. 14- 18 *

Leader of the week: Samuel W. (don't forget to bring your mystery object)
day 3. Mon. Nov. 14.- reading buddies, physed, progress reports go home at the end of the day
day 4. Tues. Nov. 15- computers, music
day 5. Wed. Nov. 16- physed
day 1. Thurs. Nov. 17- library

day 2. Fri. Nov. 18- PA Day (no school for students)

Reminders/News
- Scientist in the classroom: Nov. 21st
- Movie Night: December 1
- Winter Concert: December 14 (students are to dress as a pirates)
- Please ensure that your child brings back their library book on day 1
- Please return your child's red poetry book to school by Thursday
- Please return your child's green work duotang by Thursday. I often send practice sheets home and it is much easier to keep everything in one place. Just a reminder that these worksheets are not homework. Do not feel pressured to complete the work.
- The Remembrance Day Assembly was absolutely beautiful. Thank you to everyone who came out. Matthew did a fantastic job carrying our wreath!
- Here are some videos to help your child practise counting by 5s, 2s and counting backwards from 20. We have watched these videos in class.
Skip counting by 5s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EemjeA2Djjw
Skip counting by 2s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GvTcpfSnOMQ
Counting backwards
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ShqXL-zfLxY

Sneak Peek into 1D
  We finger painted poppies for Remembrance Day.
   

We continued to learn about sorting and patterning during math class.





We began writing about small moments in our lives.





We learned about the "sh" and "ch" sounds and loved the bee activity on the SmartBoard.



We continue to learn about energy in science class. The children knew more than I thought!



Unfortunately, some of the children were misbehaving during music class last week and Ms. McGee had a very difficult time teaching. Several children refused to sing the words to a new song and decided to disturb others around them. Ms. McGee had a very long chat with them and we continued to talk about their behaviour in our classroom. The rest of the week was MUCH better. The second the children arrive in the classroom, I tell them that I have a good feeling about today. I tell them that we are going to have a fantastic day and get them ready to think positively. Ms. Furczon has also become more strict. I have been using a reward system for those that have been doing an amazing job and I have been following through with consequences. Before dismissal, I ask the class to take a minute to think about their day. Were you responsible? Were you respectful? Were you a good listener? I choose a couple of children, ask them to tell me about their day and they choose special felt stickers.



The students brainstormed what "responsibility" is all about.

Spelling

In order to save paper, I will no longer print and staple spelling lists into students' spelling journals. Please refer to your child's agenda for weekly spelling words. I have been changing some of the words as I have noticed that some of them are pretty challenging for first graders. Thank you for your understanding! :)

Nov. 7-11

Leader of the week: Malena (don't forget to bring your mystery object)
day 3. Mon. Nov. 7.- reading buddies, physed
day 4. Tues. Nov. 8- computers, music, watching drama skits in Ms. Zappi's grade two class
day 5. Wed. Nov. 9- physed
day 1. Thurs. Nov. 10- library

day 2. Fri. Nov. 11- Remembrance Day Assembly 10:30, health

News/Reminders
- Congratulations to Barbara and Dylan for receiving the responsibility award this week! We have been talking a lot about responsibility (i.e. listening during class time, cleaning up after yourself, taking care of your belongings, completing class work, etc). The children and I have created a responsibility anchor chart which the children have been referring to throughout the day. Several children tend to leave their belongings in the classroom and around their hook area before dismissal. I have been picking a lot of lunch bags, jackets and agendas and reminding students that it is their responsibility to check and pack up all their things before getting into line. Please continue to speak to your child about taking care of their belongings.
- The green work book duotangs were sent home last week. I will place various worksheets  into the duotang which you may complete with your child at home. Please send it back to school by Thursday.
- Primary/Junior Holiday concert will take place on December 14th. You may find more information in the email sent out by our grade parent, Samantha. Thank you so much for all your emails.
- Willow Dawson, a Canadian cartoonist and illustrator visited us last week. She read her new book called The Wolf Birds. - We have been discussing the importance of eating healthy snacks during morning snack and leaving treats for the afternoon. The children are learning to eat their fruit, veggies, yogurt or cheese in the morning before taking out their chips or chocolate bars. Please speak to your child about choosing a healthy snack first. Just a reminder- due to allergies in the school, your child cannot bring in snacks that say "may contain nuts..." on the label. Please check all labels carefully- Parent Teacher interviews will take place from Nov. 14 to Nov. 17. The online booking closes on Tuesday. Please check the bulletin for instructions.- Thank you to Ella's mom for reading with the children on Friday morning.
- Our Halloween/Fall party was a great hit. Thank you so much to Ella's mom, Hudson's dad and Santino's mom for bringing in crafts and games. 



  

Sneak Peak into 1D
- We have started a unit on patterning and algebra in Math. Since patterns are all around us, the children and I decided to walk around the school and look for patterns. The children had an opportunity to use a camera to snap photos of various patterns.
- The children cut out apples with worms and practised counting by 10's. They will make two more worms to help with skip count by 5's and 2's. We read a story called, "How Many Seeds in a pumpkin?" and counted our pumpkin seeds in small groups. They counted and glued the seeds in groups of 10, 5 and 2.









- This week, we will begin learning about energy in Science. The children will be prepared and ready for our Scientist in the classroom on November 21st. We are very excited!

Writer's Workshop



Slap the sight word game
One child calls out a word and two children race to find and slap that word. The child that slaps the word first gets a point. The class keeps score on their fingers and we race up to 5 points. The children are learning how to be a good sport when they lose and shake hands after each game is over.