Weekly News November 9th
On Monday everyone was very excited to see the loose parts poppy all put together. It was still a little wet (!!!) so we left it to dry some more by the heater in the hallway. Ms. Mousseau was away but we asked the guest teacher if she wanted to bring the class for a walk with us to the park. We had a quick choices time to get everyone settled in and then took our snacks to the Queen Street park. It was such a beautiful morning! The guest teacher was impressed with our street smarts and she said she'll come with us again! In the afternoon we did some brainstorming and planning for our Remembrance Day assembly on Tuesday. It is a super-solemn event and we needed to front-load behaviour expectations.
Tuesday morning we all got our poppies on before Fine Arts. Miss Wood had some fun songs and games for us to play. Afterwards we had a quick snack and then it was time for the assembly. Each family group presented a wreath and since all the kindergarten students are one family group right now we presented our poppy. The assembly was really long so we were excused after the minute of silence. We went back to our classroom and worked on colouring some poppies until it was time to go outside. In the library after lunch Miss Julie read us The Peace Book by Todd Parr. It was the second time we had read it and it was a good opportunity to think about how peace feels different to everyone.
Wednesday morning we took a walk to the alley before snack. Ms. Mousseau's class came with us and we had a good time taking risks, making observations, and finding interesting things. We brought a few seed pods and leaves back for our classroom collection. After snack we watched a video of the author reading The Peace Book and then for work time we made our "Peace is..." pictures and sentences. They are mounted and on display in the hallway. In the afternoon everyone contributed to a "thank you" card for Tatlo Road Farm. They are the ones who donated the pumpkins we've been exploring and experimenting with. I will be delivering the card on Saturday. The fort-building centre has been getting lots of action lately and I am particularly fond of it for the cooperative play that is required to make it work. Students have been working hard on communicating appropriately to build and play in the forts.
I have noticed lately that many student are choosing to start their day with a snack during choices time. It may have started off as a novelty because one person had skipped breakfast that day but lately it has become a regular routine for many. If you notice that your child is going through more food, it's likely because they are eating three times at school. I'm a big believer of keeping kids fed - I'm not fun when I'm "hangry" and I'm sure it affects everyone! Thursday morning we had our monthly move for health event. We started with a warm up in the gym and then headed outside for a run. It's always a great time to reflect on how lucky we are in our school and community! Not everyone gets to work and play in such a beautiful setting! At the very end of the day we went down to the library for a quick preview of the book fair.
Friday morning Ms. Wood came to our classroom for Fine Arts because the book fair was set up in the library. She introduced some new songs we will learn for the Winter Concert. Don't forget to mark your calendars - Thursday, December 20th there will be two performances - 1:00pm and 6:30pm. At the end of the summer I signed up for an Alphabet Exchange with 25 other teachers across Canada. Each teacher has their class produce 26 copies of their assigned letter and then they mail them out to the other classes on the list. We have been getting mail for a couple of weeks now and have finally started to work on our "Dd" page. We are making the capital D into a duck and covering the lower case d with dots. We have written a letter to the other classes telling about our school and our community. Ms. Mousseau's class helped us work on them and we will put the finishing touches on them on Tuesday. I have noticed a few students beginning to use the bffs for drawings and doodles and I've told them it's just for writing messages and names in so I have given everyone a "do anything" book that they can doodle, draw, and write in. The most exciting part of it for me was to see several of the students using them for drawing stories and engaging with literacy activities during centres. This is why we have so much play time - it's when the students consolidate their learning and take it deeper!
A reminder notice was sent home today regarding the open house on Tuesday afternoon. It is a chance for your child to show you around the classroom and the school, to tell you about the favourite parts of their day, and for us to connect about the ePortfolios. There are still a few people who have not accessed the portfolio yet and I will have some iPads and a computer available to help you connect to your child's FreshGrade portfolio and answer any questions you may have about it. Please feel free to bring your own device if it's portable!
Getting outside is a big priority for me and we will be walking in all kinds of weather - please help your child remember to wear (or bring) appropriate clothing and footwear!
I ran across this post this evening and wanted to share it with you. There have certainly been many changes in the students I've seen coming to school just in the short time (12 years) I've been teaching... (you may have to cut and paste it - for some reason the live link doesn't seem to be working)
https://deeprootsathome.com/kids-friendless-bored-impatient/?fbclid=IwAR2aHBW-fHvGnSxQ5Pz9KHIeQ3yxrNxu-C0ULbms2ide65NN0L6cKF65hzE
NEXT WEEK - November 12th - 16th
Monday - Remembrance Day (observed)
Tuesday - Library Day - please help your child remember their book
- Scholastic book orders are due - please remember to let me know of any surprises!
- 2:30 - 5pm Open House - please come and let your child show you around!
Wednesday - possible walk day
- orders for Spirit Wear (school shirts) are due
Thursday - walk day - please be sure students are appropriately dressed for the weather
- hot lunch orders due
Friday - possible walk day
Tuesday morning we all got our poppies on before Fine Arts. Miss Wood had some fun songs and games for us to play. Afterwards we had a quick snack and then it was time for the assembly. Each family group presented a wreath and since all the kindergarten students are one family group right now we presented our poppy. The assembly was really long so we were excused after the minute of silence. We went back to our classroom and worked on colouring some poppies until it was time to go outside. In the library after lunch Miss Julie read us The Peace Book by Todd Parr. It was the second time we had read it and it was a good opportunity to think about how peace feels different to everyone.
Wednesday morning we took a walk to the alley before snack. Ms. Mousseau's class came with us and we had a good time taking risks, making observations, and finding interesting things. We brought a few seed pods and leaves back for our classroom collection. After snack we watched a video of the author reading The Peace Book and then for work time we made our "Peace is..." pictures and sentences. They are mounted and on display in the hallway. In the afternoon everyone contributed to a "thank you" card for Tatlo Road Farm. They are the ones who donated the pumpkins we've been exploring and experimenting with. I will be delivering the card on Saturday. The fort-building centre has been getting lots of action lately and I am particularly fond of it for the cooperative play that is required to make it work. Students have been working hard on communicating appropriately to build and play in the forts.
I have noticed lately that many student are choosing to start their day with a snack during choices time. It may have started off as a novelty because one person had skipped breakfast that day but lately it has become a regular routine for many. If you notice that your child is going through more food, it's likely because they are eating three times at school. I'm a big believer of keeping kids fed - I'm not fun when I'm "hangry" and I'm sure it affects everyone! Thursday morning we had our monthly move for health event. We started with a warm up in the gym and then headed outside for a run. It's always a great time to reflect on how lucky we are in our school and community! Not everyone gets to work and play in such a beautiful setting! At the very end of the day we went down to the library for a quick preview of the book fair.
Friday morning Ms. Wood came to our classroom for Fine Arts because the book fair was set up in the library. She introduced some new songs we will learn for the Winter Concert. Don't forget to mark your calendars - Thursday, December 20th there will be two performances - 1:00pm and 6:30pm. At the end of the summer I signed up for an Alphabet Exchange with 25 other teachers across Canada. Each teacher has their class produce 26 copies of their assigned letter and then they mail them out to the other classes on the list. We have been getting mail for a couple of weeks now and have finally started to work on our "Dd" page. We are making the capital D into a duck and covering the lower case d with dots. We have written a letter to the other classes telling about our school and our community. Ms. Mousseau's class helped us work on them and we will put the finishing touches on them on Tuesday. I have noticed a few students beginning to use the bffs for drawings and doodles and I've told them it's just for writing messages and names in so I have given everyone a "do anything" book that they can doodle, draw, and write in. The most exciting part of it for me was to see several of the students using them for drawing stories and engaging with literacy activities during centres. This is why we have so much play time - it's when the students consolidate their learning and take it deeper!
A reminder notice was sent home today regarding the open house on Tuesday afternoon. It is a chance for your child to show you around the classroom and the school, to tell you about the favourite parts of their day, and for us to connect about the ePortfolios. There are still a few people who have not accessed the portfolio yet and I will have some iPads and a computer available to help you connect to your child's FreshGrade portfolio and answer any questions you may have about it. Please feel free to bring your own device if it's portable!
Getting outside is a big priority for me and we will be walking in all kinds of weather - please help your child remember to wear (or bring) appropriate clothing and footwear!
I ran across this post this evening and wanted to share it with you. There have certainly been many changes in the students I've seen coming to school just in the short time (12 years) I've been teaching... (you may have to cut and paste it - for some reason the live link doesn't seem to be working)
https://deeprootsathome.com/kids-friendless-bored-impatient/?fbclid=IwAR2aHBW-fHvGnSxQ5Pz9KHIeQ3yxrNxu-C0ULbms2ide65NN0L6cKF65hzE
NEXT WEEK - November 12th - 16th
Monday - Remembrance Day (observed)
Tuesday - Library Day - please help your child remember their book
- Scholastic book orders are due - please remember to let me know of any surprises!
- 2:30 - 5pm Open House - please come and let your child show you around!
Wednesday - possible walk day
- orders for Spirit Wear (school shirts) are due
Thursday - walk day - please be sure students are appropriately dressed for the weather
- hot lunch orders due
Friday - possible walk day