Jan. 30- Feb. 3

Leader: Sam B.
day 5. Mon. Jan. 30- physed
day 1. Tues. Jan. 31- library, reading with a parent
day 2. Wed. Feb. 1- health, reading with a parent
day 3. Thurs. Feb. 2- physed
day 4. Fri. Feb 3. - computers, music

In Social Studies, we are beginning to learn about our local community.
**** Please send flyers to school from our local restaurants, shops, grocery stores, etc. ****
Examples: Wal-Mart, Pizza shops, Auto repair shops, Mastermind, Magoo's Burgers, Loblaws

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Feb. 13 (day 1)- 100th Day celebration (PM), report cards go home
Feb. 14 (day 2)- Valentine's Day Party (PM)
If interested, please sign up for treats on signupgenius.
No parents needed for this party. We will be making a craft and watching a movie.
Feb. 17- PA Day
Feb. 20- Family Day (no school)
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Our trip to Harbourfront was a great success! I hope you received some of the wonderful photos from Samantha. The children had an opportunity to learn some hip hop dance moves in the morning. We made clay masks in the afternoon. Your child may paint their mark with acrylic paints. We were able to take the leftover clay back to school so we will be making more clay creations this week! Thank you to our volunteer for joining us on the trip.

A huge thank you goes out to Malena's mom and Barbara's mom for signing up for pizza lunch last minute. The children loved having you in the classroom. Thank you for all your help and for doing my dishes! (Oh my goodness...so embarrassing!)

Thank you to our weekly readers :) Thank you for taking the time to volunteer and work with the children!

What did we do all week?
- The children have been learning about different types of media, their purpose and targeted audience. They worked in small groups and created pretend TV commercials. The children did a wonderful job trying to convince the audience to buy various toys and items. We had a lot of fun!
- We finally finished our unit on energy. The children completed their first "test". I also sat with every child, asked them questions and wrote some of their answers on their paper. All your child's work will be going home on Monday.
- In Social Studies, we have started our new unit on Local Community. The children examined maps of our community, discussed street names and other landmarks that they recognized.





                               Literacy Centres:








                   Math Talk and Math Centres:

Jan. 23- Jan. 27

Leader: Kayln
day 5. Mon. Jan. 23- physed
day 1. Tues. Jan. 24- library, reading with a parent
day 2. Wed. Jan. 25- health, reading with a parent
day 3. Thus. Jan. 26- FIELD TRIP (Harbourfront Centre)
day 4. Fri. Jan. 27- computers, music



News/Reminders:
- Due to the wet and muddy playground, please send slush pants/extra pants with your child. We had a lot of muddy pants last week. Please make sure your child has outdoor and indoor shoes.

- Thank you for all the beautiful photos and items from the holiday break. The students did a wonderful job presenting their special items and sharing their stories.

- Our field trip to Harbourfront is on Thursday. We will be leaving the school around 9 a.m. so please ensure that your child comes to school at bell time. We will be taking a school bus and arriving back around 3:00 p.m. All grade one classes will be attending the trip.
What to bring?
 - lunch and a water bottle
- empty shoe box with their name on it
- appropriate footwear for hip hop dancing

- There will be another day available for parents interested in reading one-on-one with the students. Reading takes place from 9:30 until 9:55 right outside of the classroom (day 1 and day 2 of the cycle). Samantha, our grade parent will adding more slots on signupgenius so please feel free to sign up. You do not need to bring any books from home. The children absolutely love reading with our parent volunteers. Thank you so much for your time and willingness to read with the children.

- Please return your child's red poetry book and green work book to school every week. On Fridays, I place a worksheet for your child to complete if they wish. This is not homework and is not mandatory.

- Please continue to read with your child every night. We have been busy practising various reading strategies in class. Although "sounding out" might be the first strategy that comes to mind, please encourage your child to use other strategies when they are stuck on a word. Some words can be quite tricky and sounding them out unfortunately does not work. After you have finished reading with your child, please ask them comprehension questions. It is important for your child to make meaning of the text. Monitor your child's ability to retell what they have read. Are they using details or characters' names from the book? Are they making connections?
You may ask your child the following questions:

- Tell me about the story. What happened at the beginning, in the middle and at the end.
- What did this story make you think of and why?
- What was your favourite part of the book and why?

All about our week:

Literacy Centres- All activities are available to the students, however they are grouped based on their abilities and the skills that they need to work on. So far, students have been working on different groups of sight words, printing and practising spelling. While working in small groups, it is amazing to observe the children as they problem solve, help each other, solve conflicts and clean up as a team.


Math- We have been learning to use different strategies when we are adding or subtracting. The children have been explaining their thinking and sharing their strategies with each other. Some children are counting up using their fingers, others are beginning to use their double facts knowledge to solve problems.


Science- We have been discussing ways to conserve energy at home and school.
Here is a video that we watched at school. The children really enjoyed it.
How to save energy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ycdke8MTSCI


In order to prepare for our Inquiry Fair in April, the children and I discussed the following topics:
- What does it mean to be curious?
- Why do we ask questions? Why is is important to ask questions?
- How can we find out answers to our questions?



I showed this photo to the students and simply told them to look at it. They came up a lot of interesting questions and wonderings. The children began with what they saw and then moved onto what they thought and wondered. This is a classroom in Vietnam.
Here are examples of their thinking:
- "I see a teacher teaching"
- "I see bars on the window"
- "I see that the door is open so they can leave"
- "I see kids"

- "I think this is jail for kids"
- "I think it looks scary"
- "I think the kids are learning"

- "I wonder why there aren't a lot of kids there"
- "I wonder why the teacher has a stick"
- "I wonder why there are bars on the window"
- "I wonder why it looks so dark"

The children have been making forts during free time so I decided to help them out a little. Doesn't that look cozy? I would love to read a book in there.

Jan. 16-20

Leader: Justin

Mon. Jan. 16- library

Tues. Jan. 17- health, parent volunteer for reading

Wed. Jan. 18- physed

Thurs. Jan. 19- computers, music
Fri. Jan. 20- physed

News:
The first week back to school was a success! The students enjoyed sharing stories, photos and items from their holiday break. It was truly a pleasure listening to every child as they presented their special object. If your child has not brought in a photo or an item, please ensure that they bring it next week. Thank you so much!

* Please ensure that your child comes to school with waterproof boots and extra socks, pants and mittens. Also, please ensure that they have a pair of comfy shoes that can be worn to gym class. Boots are not acceptable for gym class.

We have started word work centres which consist of various literacy activities. The children have been rotating daily and practising their skills through hands on activities.


bubble gum sight word game


I have____, who has_____? sight word game
 
- using clay and dry erase markers to make words
- creating three letter words and writing sentences

In Math, we have been working on composing and decomposing numbers which had led into subtraction and addition. The students worked in small groups and came up with different ways to make number 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10. They have been learning to use various strategies to subtract numbers. Some children use their fingers, their number line or hands on manipulatives. I have also taught them the counting up strategy. Example: 12- 9= ? (start with the number after 9 and count up to 12).







We learned the Doubles Rap and came up with some fun actions to go along with the song. Adding doubles is an important strategy for learning addition facts. Learning these doubles will eventually help students add numbers like 22+ 22 with no problem. Knowing the doubles will also help students learn the "doubles neighbour" facts such as 3+ 4 or 7+ 6 which will help them add much faster.

In Science, we are continuing our unit on energy. We have been discussing various ways to conserve energy at school and at home. We will be creating posters and educating others about this important topic.



We love writer's workshop!
- We created stories with our friends.
- We made board games with instructions.
- We made literacy games.



Thank you to Victoria for bringing in her Twister game for her holiday sharing. I may have to purchase one for the class! :)

Happy New Year!!

 Leader: Amelia
day 1. Mon. Jan. 9- library
day 2. Tues. Jan. 10- health
day 3. Wed. Jan. 11- physed
day 4. Thurs. Jan 12- computers, music
day 5. Fri. Jan 13- physed







Happy 2017! I hope everyone had a fantastic holiday break. I would like to thank everyone for the incredible gift given to me right before the break. I have been busy shopping with my gift card and I cannot wait to use my Tassimo at school on Monday. The coffee will be much needed after the break.....You are all so generous and I am so grateful to be teaching in such a supportive community.

Please have your child bring in a photo taken during the holidays or a special object from the break. Example: a photo from a family trip, a photo with friends or family, seashells from the beach, special rocks, new hat, Christmas card, etc. Although your child may wish to bring in their favourite toy from Santa, please remind them that it is best to bring in something that is small and less likely to get broken or lost. We certainly don't want any tears! Every child will have an opportunity to share their item throughout the week. Please practise with your child as I will be taking notes on their oral presentation skills.

1) Introduction: Hi. My name is.....
2) What item did you bring?
3) Why did you bring this item?
4) Why is it special? (make sure it is from the holiday break)
5) End: Thank you