Weekly News January 18th
We had an amazing morning on Monday! We are starting our days with a morning meeting now, including a story and calendar. Afterwards we got bundled up and headed out into the crisp sunshine! We found lots of black ice on the sidewalk and the side of the road as we headed down to the beach to look for interesting rocks. It was such a beautiful day that we spent almost a full hour near the water - first at the beach and then on the boardwalk. We made good use of the benches under the gazebo for eating snack and then made a quick stop at the bathrooms by the ferry before heading back toward the school - with a short stop at the Queen Street Park. Back at the school we examined some of the rocks we collected and then watched a video that told us about three different classes of rocks - Igneous, Sedimentary, and Metamorphic. We will be learning more about these big words as we delve deeper into our rock inquiry.
Tuesday morning we revisited the story workshop before moving to Fine Arts. The Parent/Child Mother Goose is happening in the library on Tuesday mornings for the next several weeks so Ms. Wood will be doing Fine Arts in the kindergarten rooms for the time being. It was really foggy out on Tuesday which made for a different experience playing outside and almost everyone came in from lunch recess with stories about it! After lunch we did our BFF’s and headed down to the gym for our monthly assembly. Mrs. Calverley showed us a new Mojo video about having a growth mindset and then she told us about the upcoming Read-a-thon fundraiser. We get to make a suggestion for something Mrs. Calverley has to do if we reach the collective reading goal of 100,000 minutes. Last year she was duck-taped to the wall of the gym - but we have to come up with something new for her to do. Please feel free to help your child come up with some ideas.
Wednesday was a crisp, cold morning so we went out to the alley in search of ice to break. Surprisingly, we didn’t find any! We did find evidence of damage from last month’s windstorm though - some downed trees and damaged fences. As always, water is a big draw for your children - please help them remember to wear their boots every day! After we got back Mr. Seymour came to share with us a story about Hummingbird. It was the highlight of the day for several of the students in our end of the day reflections. We had lots of exciting things on Wednesday. I brought the Rig-a-ma-jig kit into the classroom for students to explore with while I invited individuals to work on the growing crystals project with me. Rig-a-ma-jig is an open-ended kit that allows students to plan and build with some over-sized materials. It’s a very expensive kit that is owned by the district and on loan to Crofton School for another few weeks. We will definitely take advantage of it while it’s here! Everyone had an opportunity to measure and stir some Borax into some hot water to make a super-saturated solution that we hope will make crystals on the pipe cleaners we suspended in the jars. In the afternoon some students discovered the hammers and nails I had put out on the stump near the classroom door. It was an invitation they couldn’t ignore and hammering was almost as popular as the Rig-a-ma-jig during centres!
Thursday morning we headed for the woods and found that the ditches on Adelaide were filled with fast-flowing water. We weren’t sure why, because it wasn’t rainy at all, but we enjoyed playing in it! When we turned the corner to the woods we discovered the source of the water - two North Cowichan workers were in the process of flushing the lines and testing the water. They showed us the test kit and how the water turns pink when it mixes with their special powder, which shows that it is clean enough to drink. They also showed us that they put special pucks of something (can’t remember what it’s called) into the flushing lines to neutralize the chlorine so that it doesn’t hurt the fish. I was impressed that the students had the wherewithal to ask about it hurting the fish! In the woods we explored a new path and saw some trees that we determined had been blown down in the storm. The line flushing had finished by the time we left but the ditch was still really full and flowing. We took a few extra minutes to race some sticks down the current before heading back to the school. After snack we joined with all the other kindergarten students during the “family time” to talk about the January theme of “Everyone is Important”. We re-read The Crayon Box That Talked and discussed how each of us brings something unique to our group. We also talked about how together we make a special group. As individuals, everyone worked on decorating a crayon picture and a group we each chose a crayon and added it to a collaborative work of art. Please look out for our display in the front foyer next week! We missed our library period on Tuesday due to the assembly so Miss Melanie invited us to join her library block after lunch. Miss Julie read us a rhyming book called Learning to Ski With Mr. Magee. We are trying to point out rhyming words at every opportunity as hearing and creating rhymes is an important phonological awareness skill.
Friday was a Professional Development Day and I hope that everyone enjoyed the day off. I was part of a group of Kindergarten teachers who were learning about an exciting research-based program to support students social and emotional development. Please look for some information to come home in the next few weeks regarding our social/emotional learning focus.
Lego club will continue on the first and 3rd Thursday's of each month in the basement of the Crofton Community Centre on Musgrave Street from 3:30-4:30. Please mark your calendars! Parents will be required to be in attendance - this is not a drop-off program.
We will continue to walk in all weather - please make sure your child has appropriate footwear and clothing.
REMINDER: As I mentioned last week, over the next two weeks, students in other classes who are still working on a traditional reporting method will bring home a summary of their learning (report card). As I am using alternative means of sharing your child's learning, you will not be receiving one at this time. My goal is to have at least three more samples of your child's learning loaded onto FreshGrade by the second week of February. The FreshGrade portfolios, combined with this blog, the BFF's, face to face conversations, and direct messages and phone calls are all intended to keep you informed of your child's progress at school. If at any time you feel that you need more information, please feel free to contact me. You will receive a formal learning summary (report card) at the end of the school year. Ideally, the learning summary in June will not tell you anything new, as you should already be fully aware of all progress and any areas of concern through the other communication methods.
There are still a few parents who are not accessing the FreshGrade portfolios regularly (I can tell who you are!!!). The students will begin to add their voice to the posts over the next couple of months and if you need support to access them again please feel free to contact me. You are always welcome to add any comments or questions to any of the posts.
NEXT WEEK - January 21st - 25th
Monday - Walk day
Tuesday - Library Day
- Parent-Child Mother Goose - preschool program in the library from 9am - 10am
- PAC Meeting 6:45pm in the library - please come!!!
Wednesday - Walk day
Thursday - There will be a guest teacher as I have an appointment
Friday - Family Literacy Day - please join us from 8:45am - 9:30am for this family reading event
and the launch of our Read-a-thon fundraiser
- Hat Day - students can bring a donation to BC Children's Hospital which will entitle them
to wear their hat in school for the day
Tuesday morning we revisited the story workshop before moving to Fine Arts. The Parent/Child Mother Goose is happening in the library on Tuesday mornings for the next several weeks so Ms. Wood will be doing Fine Arts in the kindergarten rooms for the time being. It was really foggy out on Tuesday which made for a different experience playing outside and almost everyone came in from lunch recess with stories about it! After lunch we did our BFF’s and headed down to the gym for our monthly assembly. Mrs. Calverley showed us a new Mojo video about having a growth mindset and then she told us about the upcoming Read-a-thon fundraiser. We get to make a suggestion for something Mrs. Calverley has to do if we reach the collective reading goal of 100,000 minutes. Last year she was duck-taped to the wall of the gym - but we have to come up with something new for her to do. Please feel free to help your child come up with some ideas.
Wednesday was a crisp, cold morning so we went out to the alley in search of ice to break. Surprisingly, we didn’t find any! We did find evidence of damage from last month’s windstorm though - some downed trees and damaged fences. As always, water is a big draw for your children - please help them remember to wear their boots every day! After we got back Mr. Seymour came to share with us a story about Hummingbird. It was the highlight of the day for several of the students in our end of the day reflections. We had lots of exciting things on Wednesday. I brought the Rig-a-ma-jig kit into the classroom for students to explore with while I invited individuals to work on the growing crystals project with me. Rig-a-ma-jig is an open-ended kit that allows students to plan and build with some over-sized materials. It’s a very expensive kit that is owned by the district and on loan to Crofton School for another few weeks. We will definitely take advantage of it while it’s here! Everyone had an opportunity to measure and stir some Borax into some hot water to make a super-saturated solution that we hope will make crystals on the pipe cleaners we suspended in the jars. In the afternoon some students discovered the hammers and nails I had put out on the stump near the classroom door. It was an invitation they couldn’t ignore and hammering was almost as popular as the Rig-a-ma-jig during centres!
Thursday morning we headed for the woods and found that the ditches on Adelaide were filled with fast-flowing water. We weren’t sure why, because it wasn’t rainy at all, but we enjoyed playing in it! When we turned the corner to the woods we discovered the source of the water - two North Cowichan workers were in the process of flushing the lines and testing the water. They showed us the test kit and how the water turns pink when it mixes with their special powder, which shows that it is clean enough to drink. They also showed us that they put special pucks of something (can’t remember what it’s called) into the flushing lines to neutralize the chlorine so that it doesn’t hurt the fish. I was impressed that the students had the wherewithal to ask about it hurting the fish! In the woods we explored a new path and saw some trees that we determined had been blown down in the storm. The line flushing had finished by the time we left but the ditch was still really full and flowing. We took a few extra minutes to race some sticks down the current before heading back to the school. After snack we joined with all the other kindergarten students during the “family time” to talk about the January theme of “Everyone is Important”. We re-read The Crayon Box That Talked and discussed how each of us brings something unique to our group. We also talked about how together we make a special group. As individuals, everyone worked on decorating a crayon picture and a group we each chose a crayon and added it to a collaborative work of art. Please look out for our display in the front foyer next week! We missed our library period on Tuesday due to the assembly so Miss Melanie invited us to join her library block after lunch. Miss Julie read us a rhyming book called Learning to Ski With Mr. Magee. We are trying to point out rhyming words at every opportunity as hearing and creating rhymes is an important phonological awareness skill.
Friday was a Professional Development Day and I hope that everyone enjoyed the day off. I was part of a group of Kindergarten teachers who were learning about an exciting research-based program to support students social and emotional development. Please look for some information to come home in the next few weeks regarding our social/emotional learning focus.
Lego club will continue on the first and 3rd Thursday's of each month in the basement of the Crofton Community Centre on Musgrave Street from 3:30-4:30. Please mark your calendars! Parents will be required to be in attendance - this is not a drop-off program.
We will continue to walk in all weather - please make sure your child has appropriate footwear and clothing.
REMINDER: As I mentioned last week, over the next two weeks, students in other classes who are still working on a traditional reporting method will bring home a summary of their learning (report card). As I am using alternative means of sharing your child's learning, you will not be receiving one at this time. My goal is to have at least three more samples of your child's learning loaded onto FreshGrade by the second week of February. The FreshGrade portfolios, combined with this blog, the BFF's, face to face conversations, and direct messages and phone calls are all intended to keep you informed of your child's progress at school. If at any time you feel that you need more information, please feel free to contact me. You will receive a formal learning summary (report card) at the end of the school year. Ideally, the learning summary in June will not tell you anything new, as you should already be fully aware of all progress and any areas of concern through the other communication methods.
There are still a few parents who are not accessing the FreshGrade portfolios regularly (I can tell who you are!!!). The students will begin to add their voice to the posts over the next couple of months and if you need support to access them again please feel free to contact me. You are always welcome to add any comments or questions to any of the posts.
NEXT WEEK - January 21st - 25th
Monday - Walk day
Tuesday - Library Day
- Parent-Child Mother Goose - preschool program in the library from 9am - 10am
- PAC Meeting 6:45pm in the library - please come!!!
Wednesday - Walk day
Thursday - There will be a guest teacher as I have an appointment
Friday - Family Literacy Day - please join us from 8:45am - 9:30am for this family reading event
and the launch of our Read-a-thon fundraiser
- Hat Day - students can bring a donation to BC Children's Hospital which will entitle them
to wear their hat in school for the day