Weekly News April 12th
Monday was a district implementation day. All of the teachers and educational assistants in the district met at the Somina Long house for a day of learning.
Tuesday morning there was much excitement at the beginning of the day as we were looking at some eggs that we will be incubating. There was lots of speculation about what kind of eggs they are and what might be inside them. We ran out of time to do calendar so we did it after fine arts. Afterwards we took our snacks with us and headed for the park where we enjoyed playing in the sunshine. The recent rain brought out tons of worms which were super interesting to most of the students! In the afternoon we went to library where Miss Julie told us about the upcoming Book Fair and then she read us some facts about the hagfish. It is very interesting because it make slime to help it escape from it's enemies. It was still so sunny and nice in the afternoon that I set up for outside centres and ended up with lots of participants!
Wednesday morning we started a new routine for the beginning of the day. Students will now spend the first few minutes working on a white board - either drawing or practicing their letters. We are using Handwriting Heroes (available on youtube) to guide us in our letter formation. Afterwards, as we left for our walk in the alley, we noticed a police car parked in front of the school. When we got close by we saw that there were really TWO police cars - but one was unmarked. The officers showed us the lights and turned on the sirens for us! It was really loud but very cool! We asked a few questions and then continued on to play in the alley. There was clearly an influence from our run-in with the law as the play in the alley was heavily leaning towards bad guys and police officers! Some students were still revisiting the ramp building with the boards they keep finding in the alley - every time they try it the design gets refined a bit more. On the way out of the alley we found a hole that we imagined something small and rodent-like lives in. There was some active poking of it with sticks.
The incubator is an area of great fascination. It is inspiring all kinds of awesome questions - including the one we discussed at the carpet on Thursday morning. There was a great debate over the question of whether or not tigers lay eggs. We split into two groups and discussed our positions and then we started gathering information. By the time we were finished everyone was fairly certain that tigers do not lay eggs. We practiced our new vocabulary words - mammal and oviparous. Your child should be able to tell you what the difference is! We made it outside for some time under the trees (or in the trees!) before snack time. After snack we worked on the jobs for the day - a page in the math booklet and then the start of our KWL book about Oviparous Animals. Some people were able to get their work finished in time to do some small centres before the assembly. Please note! Your children are awesome! They have come so far this year! I sat and listened to a small group playing with the lego and they were kind, inclusive, cooperative, supportive, and encouraging of each other! My heart swells with pride when I hear them taking such good care of each other! These are good moments to hold on to when I'm feeling frazzled! The assembly on Thursday was the launch for our Jump Rope 4 Heart fundraising campaign. The representative from the Heart and Stroke Foundation told us about a Grade 2 boy in Alberta who saved his dad's life after learning about the signs of stroke from a Jump Rope 4 Heart assembly! We learned to look FAST - Face (drooping on one side); Arms (one cannot go as high or falls down faster); Speech (slurred or garbled); and Time - even if you're not sure you should call 911 quickly because the severity of a stroke can be lessened if medical help is accessed in time! We had a lockdown drill on Thursday afternoon and everyone did quite well at staying quiet and still. Just before the end of the day our class was invited to preview the Book Fair! It was very exciting!
Friday morning Fine Arts was in our room because the Book Fair was using the library. After fine arts we did a quick calendar and brainstormed some more about what we already know about oviparous animals. We went out for some playtime on the upper playground before snack and while we were outside some students chose to practice their jump rope skills. I was super impressed by the determination and growth mindset they showed in working to improve their skills! After snack we dug right into our jobs and then moved to small centres for a little while before lunch playtime. In the afternoon it was quite sunny and lovely outside so Ms. Mousseau supervised out there and our room was open for those who didn't want to be outside. We are really looking forward to the nice weather!
I realize that the April book order pages went home at the same time as the book fair was happening so I certainly don't expect that too many people want to order anything but I will be submitting it on Tuesday if there are any burning desires... the May catalogue will come home in a couple of weeks.
Please consider saving your cans and your bottles for the next couple of weeks - the grade 6's and 7's will be doing a bottle drive to raise money for their end of the year events. They will be collecting them the week of April 29th-May 2nd.
NEXT WEEK - April 15th - 19th
Monday - Walk day
Tuesday - Library Day
- PAC Meeting in the library at 6:45pm
- April book orders are due
Wednesday - Walk day
Thursday - Walk day
- 2 hour early dismissal - pick up at 12:13pm
- PAC Fundraiser - Grade A Chicken orders are due
Friday - GOOD FRIDAY - no school
Tuesday morning there was much excitement at the beginning of the day as we were looking at some eggs that we will be incubating. There was lots of speculation about what kind of eggs they are and what might be inside them. We ran out of time to do calendar so we did it after fine arts. Afterwards we took our snacks with us and headed for the park where we enjoyed playing in the sunshine. The recent rain brought out tons of worms which were super interesting to most of the students! In the afternoon we went to library where Miss Julie told us about the upcoming Book Fair and then she read us some facts about the hagfish. It is very interesting because it make slime to help it escape from it's enemies. It was still so sunny and nice in the afternoon that I set up for outside centres and ended up with lots of participants!
Wednesday morning we started a new routine for the beginning of the day. Students will now spend the first few minutes working on a white board - either drawing or practicing their letters. We are using Handwriting Heroes (available on youtube) to guide us in our letter formation. Afterwards, as we left for our walk in the alley, we noticed a police car parked in front of the school. When we got close by we saw that there were really TWO police cars - but one was unmarked. The officers showed us the lights and turned on the sirens for us! It was really loud but very cool! We asked a few questions and then continued on to play in the alley. There was clearly an influence from our run-in with the law as the play in the alley was heavily leaning towards bad guys and police officers! Some students were still revisiting the ramp building with the boards they keep finding in the alley - every time they try it the design gets refined a bit more. On the way out of the alley we found a hole that we imagined something small and rodent-like lives in. There was some active poking of it with sticks.
The incubator is an area of great fascination. It is inspiring all kinds of awesome questions - including the one we discussed at the carpet on Thursday morning. There was a great debate over the question of whether or not tigers lay eggs. We split into two groups and discussed our positions and then we started gathering information. By the time we were finished everyone was fairly certain that tigers do not lay eggs. We practiced our new vocabulary words - mammal and oviparous. Your child should be able to tell you what the difference is! We made it outside for some time under the trees (or in the trees!) before snack time. After snack we worked on the jobs for the day - a page in the math booklet and then the start of our KWL book about Oviparous Animals. Some people were able to get their work finished in time to do some small centres before the assembly. Please note! Your children are awesome! They have come so far this year! I sat and listened to a small group playing with the lego and they were kind, inclusive, cooperative, supportive, and encouraging of each other! My heart swells with pride when I hear them taking such good care of each other! These are good moments to hold on to when I'm feeling frazzled! The assembly on Thursday was the launch for our Jump Rope 4 Heart fundraising campaign. The representative from the Heart and Stroke Foundation told us about a Grade 2 boy in Alberta who saved his dad's life after learning about the signs of stroke from a Jump Rope 4 Heart assembly! We learned to look FAST - Face (drooping on one side); Arms (one cannot go as high or falls down faster); Speech (slurred or garbled); and Time - even if you're not sure you should call 911 quickly because the severity of a stroke can be lessened if medical help is accessed in time! We had a lockdown drill on Thursday afternoon and everyone did quite well at staying quiet and still. Just before the end of the day our class was invited to preview the Book Fair! It was very exciting!
Friday morning Fine Arts was in our room because the Book Fair was using the library. After fine arts we did a quick calendar and brainstormed some more about what we already know about oviparous animals. We went out for some playtime on the upper playground before snack and while we were outside some students chose to practice their jump rope skills. I was super impressed by the determination and growth mindset they showed in working to improve their skills! After snack we dug right into our jobs and then moved to small centres for a little while before lunch playtime. In the afternoon it was quite sunny and lovely outside so Ms. Mousseau supervised out there and our room was open for those who didn't want to be outside. We are really looking forward to the nice weather!
I realize that the April book order pages went home at the same time as the book fair was happening so I certainly don't expect that too many people want to order anything but I will be submitting it on Tuesday if there are any burning desires... the May catalogue will come home in a couple of weeks.
Please consider saving your cans and your bottles for the next couple of weeks - the grade 6's and 7's will be doing a bottle drive to raise money for their end of the year events. They will be collecting them the week of April 29th-May 2nd.
NEXT WEEK - April 15th - 19th
Monday - Walk day
Tuesday - Library Day
- PAC Meeting in the library at 6:45pm
- April book orders are due
Wednesday - Walk day
Thursday - Walk day
- 2 hour early dismissal - pick up at 12:13pm
- PAC Fundraiser - Grade A Chicken orders are due
Friday - GOOD FRIDAY - no school