June 28, 2013
Ms. G. here for the last time before summer.
Thank you to all the families who helped make this such a wonderful year.
Thank you also for the lovely end of year gifts.
Have a beautiful summer and see you back in September.
Enjoy the photos from last Friday's picnic.
Thank you to all the families who helped make this such a wonderful year.
Thank you also for the lovely end of year gifts.
Have a beautiful summer and see you back in September.
Enjoy the photos from last Friday's picnic.
Wednesday June 26th, 2013
Hello everyone!
Today we had a wonderful last day of school. This has been a great year and I am thankful for the opportunity we have all had to learn together. I hope you have a happy and healthy summer and hope to see you next fall!
Jennifer Buxton
Today we had a wonderful last day of school. This has been a great year and I am thankful for the opportunity we have all had to learn together. I hope you have a happy and healthy summer and hope to see you next fall!
Jennifer Buxton
Monday June 24, 2013
Hello everyone. I cannot believe this is our last Monday together! The year has gone by so very quickly.
Today we:
- had Quinten as the helper
- worked on a math equation
- had music with Mrs. Thomson
- practiced reading to ourselves
- watched and read along with the story "Splat The Cat"
- practiced reading to a partner
- worked on an "about me" writing activity
- had centres inside our classroom
- went to the grade 3 classroom and watched their plays. There was a lot of hard work put into them and our class really appreciated it!
- had several sharers telling us all about their parents injuries, baseball medals and special collections.
Today we:
- had Quinten as the helper
- worked on a math equation
- had music with Mrs. Thomson
- practiced reading to ourselves
- watched and read along with the story "Splat The Cat"
- practiced reading to a partner
- worked on an "about me" writing activity
- had centres inside our classroom
- went to the grade 3 classroom and watched their plays. There was a lot of hard work put into them and our class really appreciated it!
- had several sharers telling us all about their parents injuries, baseball medals and special collections.
June 20, 2013
Hi All,
Ms. G here. Check out the slideshow of our day with our grade 3 pen pals at Valleycliffe Elementary School.
Tomorrow is our picnic.
Please return overdue books.
Art portfolios went home today.
Bring a big bag on Tuesday as we will take everything else home except one pencil box to use for Wednesday.
Ms. G here. Check out the slideshow of our day with our grade 3 pen pals at Valleycliffe Elementary School.
Tomorrow is our picnic.
Please return overdue books.
Art portfolios went home today.
Bring a big bag on Tuesday as we will take everything else home except one pencil box to use for Wednesday.
June 18, 2013
Ms. G. here,
Today we:
Please check around your house for overdue library books.
Come to the Volunteer tea tomorrow from 3:15 to 3:45
Dates to Remember
June 20—End of year celebration with our Pen Pals at Valleycliffe. We leave the school around 10:30 and return at approximately 2:20.
· June 25th – movie afternoon with treats from Ms. G.
Bring a bag for desk clean out.
· June 27 -- final day from 9:00-10:00 for students, report cards issued and we say our goodbyes
Today we:
- finished the banners for the Volunteer tea
- had sharing.Today Owen, Tenly, Jolly, Kamryn, Charlie, Carter, Graydon, Moze and Sora shared.
- had exploration time
- practiced reading to ourselves for the Daily 5
- had music with Mrs. Thomson
- had DPA in the forest with the kindy classes
Please check around your house for overdue library books.
Come to the Volunteer tea tomorrow from 3:15 to 3:45
Dates to Remember
June 20—End of year celebration with our Pen Pals at Valleycliffe. We leave the school around 10:30 and return at approximately 2:20.
- June 20 - Take home Art Portfolio
· June 25th – movie afternoon with treats from Ms. G.
Bring a bag for desk clean out.
· June 27 -- final day from 9:00-10:00 for students, report cards issued and we say our goodbyes
June 17th, 2013
Hello everyone! Mrs. Buxton here.
Today we:
- worked on two different math equations.
1. Charlie has 6 sticks. He gives one to Auston and one to Dylan. How many sticks does he have left?
2. There are 12 crayons and 4 children. How many crayons can each child have if they share equally?
- has Ms. Knox help us out for the morning
- practiced reading to ourselves in the daily 5
- had a sharing circle where we shared something that we appreciated about the person beside us. We then went the other way around the circle and said something that made the person beside us unique.
- went outside to explore the forest
- worked on math centres - dice game, money sorting, pattern making
- picked a classmates name out of a hat and wrote them a letter about what we appreciated about them. The kids took this activity very seriously and put a lot of effort into deciding what to write to their peer.
- read the letters from our peers and took them home
- had Kamille as the helper and Jolly as the caboose
Today we:
- worked on two different math equations.
1. Charlie has 6 sticks. He gives one to Auston and one to Dylan. How many sticks does he have left?
2. There are 12 crayons and 4 children. How many crayons can each child have if they share equally?
- has Ms. Knox help us out for the morning
- practiced reading to ourselves in the daily 5
- had a sharing circle where we shared something that we appreciated about the person beside us. We then went the other way around the circle and said something that made the person beside us unique.
- went outside to explore the forest
- worked on math centres - dice game, money sorting, pattern making
- picked a classmates name out of a hat and wrote them a letter about what we appreciated about them. The kids took this activity very seriously and put a lot of effort into deciding what to write to their peer.
- read the letters from our peers and took them home
- had Kamille as the helper and Jolly as the caboose
Sports Day, June 14, 2013
June 14, 2013
Hi Families,
Ms. G. here. We had Sports Day today. It was perfect weather and the children really enjoyed the age races, tug of war and activity stations. For the few who stayed in the afternoon, we watched Zooboomafoo and had exploration time. Take a look at the above slide show of the day.
Ms. G. here. We had Sports Day today. It was perfect weather and the children really enjoyed the age races, tug of war and activity stations. For the few who stayed in the afternoon, we watched Zooboomafoo and had exploration time. Take a look at the above slide show of the day.
June 13, 2013
Hi Families,
We have enough volunteers for the 20th now. Thank you for your support.
· June 12 – All books back to Library. No more book exchange.
· June 14—SPORTS DAY & Pancake Breakfast!!!
Ms. G. here. Today we:
· Had P.E. We went to the forest.
· Had Jacob as engine and Graydon as the caboose
· Sent the Father’s Day surprise home. BACKPACK ALERT
· Had sharing
· Said our good byes to Baby Teagan. Her family received three school made books and a big card from us. We shared watermelon together.
· Sent Volunteer Tea invitations home. BACKPACK ALERT
· Created a special banner for the Volunteer Tea. The children created splatter paint paper for flowers and a hand print rainbow. We will finish the banner next Tuesday.
Dates to Remember:
· June 19—Year End and Volunteer Appreciation Assembly 10-10:30 and Volunteer Tea at 3:15 pm in the library
· June 20—End of year celebration with our Pen Pals at Valleycliffe. We leave the school around 10:30 and return at approximately 2:20.
- June 20 - Take home Art Portfolio
· June 25th – movie afternoon with treats from Ms. G.
Bring a bag for desk clean out.
· June 27 -- final day from 9:00-10:00 for students and report cards issued
June 12, 2013
Hello everyone! Mrs. Buxton here.
Today we:
* Said goodbye to Ashton as he takes off for an European adventure
*worked on our daily 5
* went to the gym and played basketball
* worked on a tricky question in math. "There are 14 bears and 2 trees. Draw a picture showing how the bears can fit equally in the 2 trees"
* reviewed our Social Studies unit and made and presented skits on the main topics. Stranger Danger, Bullying, Getting lost from a parent, Being a kind friend and belonging
*wrote in our journals
*had exploration time in the forest
* went to the computer lab and went to a new cool website www.abcya.com
Today we:
* Said goodbye to Ashton as he takes off for an European adventure
*worked on our daily 5
* went to the gym and played basketball
* worked on a tricky question in math. "There are 14 bears and 2 trees. Draw a picture showing how the bears can fit equally in the 2 trees"
* reviewed our Social Studies unit and made and presented skits on the main topics. Stranger Danger, Bullying, Getting lost from a parent, Being a kind friend and belonging
*wrote in our journals
*had exploration time in the forest
* went to the computer lab and went to a new cool website www.abcya.com
June 11, 2013
Hi Families,
We have enough volunteers for the 20th now. Thank you for your support.
· Today– Colour Rally to Prepare for Sports Day
· June 12 – All books back to Library. No more book exchange.
· June 14—SPORTS DAY & Pancake Breakfast!!! Don't forget to wear your team colour !
Ms. G. here. Today we:
· Had library and calendar time. We counted by 5's. We also counted to 20 in sign language.
· Had Hannah as engine and Dylan as the caboose
- got together with Mrs. Riemer's grade 6/7 class to finish our Pen Pal letters. We went to the computer lab to write the letters.
· Had sharing. Today Moze, Kamryn, Auston, Tenly, Zach, Jacob, Charlie and Jolly shared.
· Participated in the Colour Rally
· Released our butterflies in the forest
Dates to Remember:
· June 20—Year End and Volunteer Appreciation Assembly 10-10:30 and VolunteerTea at 3:00 pm in the library
· June 20—End of year celebration with our Pen Pals at Valleycliffe. We leave the school around 10:30 and return at approximately 2:20.
· June 21 – class picnic and party, bring a blanket and some treats to share –(treats are optional, not expected)
· June 25th – movie afternoon with treats from Ms. G.
· June 27 -- final day for students and report cards issued
June 10th, 2013
Hello everyone! Mrs. Buxton here.
Today we:
- arrived to a wonderful surprise of 8 beautiful butterflies
- worked on our daily 5 reading and writing
- read the story "Peace Sounds Like...."
- went to music with Mrs. Thomson
- had Dylan as the helper
- counted by 5's up to 180
- talked about Nouns
- went on a scavenger hunt around the school to find people, places and things
- worked on math centres
- completed dot to dot's to spell words from letters x, y and z
- went to the forest to play with Mrs. Sotham's class
*sports day rally tomorrow
*sports day friday.
Today we:
- arrived to a wonderful surprise of 8 beautiful butterflies
- worked on our daily 5 reading and writing
- read the story "Peace Sounds Like...."
- went to music with Mrs. Thomson
- had Dylan as the helper
- counted by 5's up to 180
- talked about Nouns
- went on a scavenger hunt around the school to find people, places and things
- worked on math centres
- completed dot to dot's to spell words from letters x, y and z
- went to the forest to play with Mrs. Sotham's class
*sports day rally tomorrow
*sports day friday.
Slideshow for June 6th and 7th
June 7, 2013
Hi Families,
Please return the permission forms as soon aspossible. We still need 3 volunteers.
· June 11 – Colour Rally to Prepare for Sports Day. I emailed each of you the colour for your child to wear on both the 11th and 14th next week.
Ms. G. here. Today we:
· Had Twin Day
· Had library and calendar time. Library book exchange will soon be ending. All books will have to be back by June 12th.
· Had Sora as engine and Charlie as the caboose
· Had sharing. Today Sora, Graydon, Kamryn, Tenly and Auston shared.
· Had P.E. outside
· Worked more on our Father’s Day surprise
· Had music with Mrs. Thomson
· Had exploration time
Dates to Remember:
· June 12 – All books back to Library. No more book exchange.
· June 14—SPORTS DAY & Pancake Breakfast!!!
· June 20—Year End and Volunteer Appreciation Assembly 10-10:30 and VolunteerTea at 3:00 pm in the library
· June 20—End of year celebration with our Pen Pals at Valleycliffe. We leave the school around 10:30 and return at approximately 2:20.
· June 21 – class picnic and party
· June 25th – movie afternoon
· June 27 -- final day for students and report cards issued
June 6, 2013
Hi Families,
· Tomorrow - Twin Day
I emailed each of you the colour for your child to wear on both the 11th and 14th next week.
Ms. G. here. Today we:
· Had freezies. Thank you Mrs. Grainger buying freezies for the children who did not order one.
· Had Charlie as engine and Brian as the caboose
· Had sharing. Today Charlie, Tenly, Auston, Mira, Jolly, Kamille, Kamryn and Ashton shared.
· Moved more caterpillars into the butterfly tent
· Had P.E. out in the forest
· Worked more on our Father’s Day surprise with Mrs. Sotham’s class
· Had a special party for Mrs. Grainger in honour of her birthday. We decorated cookies and watched animated versions of several Eric Carle stories including The Very Hungry Caterpillar.
· Had Roots of Empathy with Mrs. Zuckernick. Today we created a “What is important about Baby Teagan” book and each student expressed a wish for Baby Teagan’s future that was put on a “Wishing Tree” for Teagan .
Dates to Remember:
· June 11 – Colour Rally to Prepare for Sports Day
· June 14—SPORTS DAY & Pancake Breakfast!!!
· June 20—Volunteer Appreciation Assembly 10-10:30. and Tea at 3:00 pm in the library
· June 20—End of year celebration with our Pen Pals at Valleycliffe. We leave the school around 10:30 and return at approximately 2:20.
· June 21 – class picnic and party
· June 25th – movie afternoon
· June 27 -- final day for students and report cards issued
June 5th, 2013
Hello everyone, Mrs. Buxton here.
Today we:
- exchanged our library books
- had Brian as the helper and Auston as the caboose
- went to the computer lab and visited a website where we got to put together a map of Canada. http://www.canadiangeographic.ca/kids/games/default.asp
- had big buddies with Mrs. Sherlock's class. They read us their stories and showed us the dolls they made to represent their stories.
- worked on a math shape scavenger hunt and looked for all different shapes around our school
- listened to the story "The Greedy Triangle"
- wrote in our journals
- had our P.E. outside today!
- worked on reading and words during the Daily 5
*Tomorrow is Freezie Day! Please bring 1 dollar if you would like your child
*Scholastic book orders went home today. Due back Monday June 10th!
Today we:
- exchanged our library books
- had Brian as the helper and Auston as the caboose
- went to the computer lab and visited a website where we got to put together a map of Canada. http://www.canadiangeographic.ca/kids/games/default.asp
- had big buddies with Mrs. Sherlock's class. They read us their stories and showed us the dolls they made to represent their stories.
- worked on a math shape scavenger hunt and looked for all different shapes around our school
- listened to the story "The Greedy Triangle"
- wrote in our journals
- had our P.E. outside today!
- worked on reading and words during the Daily 5
*Tomorrow is Freezie Day! Please bring 1 dollar if you would like your child
*Scholastic book orders went home today. Due back Monday June 10th!
Slideshow for June 4th, 2013
June 4, 2013
Hi Families,
We have a field trip scheduled for June 20th so please return the paperwork and send the money as soon as possible.
Hope you got your pancake orders in yesterday!
Ms. G. here. Today we:
· Had Auston as engine and Ashton as the caboose
· Had sharing. Today Carter, Owen, Tenly, Auston, Zach, Jacob, Kamryn, Saphira and Moze shared.
· Moved our caterpillars into a butterfly tent because each formed a chrysalis over the weekend! It won’t be long until we have butterflies.
- Sang a song called Swallowtail to the tune of Skip To My Lou
· Explored Big Equipment in P.E. Mrs. Sotham invited our class to try hockey, baseball, hoops and skipping equipment with her class.
· Began our Father’s Day surprise with Mrs. Sotham's class
· Celebrated the birthdays of Yuan and Mrs. Grainger. Yuan’s family gave an amazing treat bag to each student. Thank you!!!
· Had music with Mrs. Thomson
· Explored magnets in science
- got the paperwork for our last field trip of the year
- Went outside for DPA
Dates to Remember
· June 3—Pathways to Learning parent presentation 7-8 pm
HSSS
· June 7 - Twin Day
· June 14—SPORTS DAY & Pancake Breakfast!!!
· June 20—Volunteer Appreciation Assembly 10-10:30
· June 20—End of year celebration with our Pen Pals at Valleycliffe. We leave the school around 10:30 and return at approximately 2:20.
· June 21 – class picnic and party
· June 27 -- final day for students
Monday June 3rd, 2013
Hello everyone,
Mrs. Buxton here.
Today we:
- exchanged our library books
- worked on reading to ourselves and reading to a partner in Daily 5
- had Ashton as the helper
- changed our calendar over to June
- counted by 5's to 165
- had older students come and talk to us about Twin Day on June 7th
- had Ms. Knox (a future teaching student) help us with all our work
- went to music with Mrs. Thomson
- worked on a math equation. There are 4 red cars and 6 blue cars. Peter wants 3 red cars and 2 blue cars. How many cars will be left for Mary?
- worked on a free write writing activity
- had math centres. Some students chose dice games, puzzles, and money sorting.
- went outside to the forest for D.P.A.
*Friday is twin day "Get a friend and dress the same"
Mrs. Buxton here.
Today we:
- exchanged our library books
- worked on reading to ourselves and reading to a partner in Daily 5
- had Ashton as the helper
- changed our calendar over to June
- counted by 5's to 165
- had older students come and talk to us about Twin Day on June 7th
- had Ms. Knox (a future teaching student) help us with all our work
- went to music with Mrs. Thomson
- worked on a math equation. There are 4 red cars and 6 blue cars. Peter wants 3 red cars and 2 blue cars. How many cars will be left for Mary?
- worked on a free write writing activity
- had math centres. Some students chose dice games, puzzles, and money sorting.
- went outside to the forest for D.P.A.
*Friday is twin day "Get a friend and dress the same"
Check out one of our Three Billy Goats Gruff performances from May 30th
Here's photos from May 31st
May 31, 2013
Hi Families,
Pancake orders due June 3rd
Ms. G. here. Today we:
· Had Carter as engine and Zach as the caboose
· Had sharing. Today Auston, Saphira, Tenly, Kamryn, Sora, Graydon and Charlie shared.
· Had music with Mrs. Thomson
· Played the math game Concentration or Memory
· got boxes from our pen pals at Valleycliffe. Inside each box was a letter.
· Had Hot Lunch
· Continued with our Force and Motion project in science. We tested cars on a variety of surfaces.
Dates to Remember
· June 3—Pathways to Learning parent presentation 7-8 pm
HSSS
· June 7 - Twin Day
· June 14—SPORTS DAY & Pancake Breakfast!!!
· June 20—Volunteer Appreciation Assembly 10-10:30
· June 21 – class picnic and party
· June 27 -- final day for students
May 30, 2013
Hi Families,
· May 31—Hot Lunch Day
Ms. G. here. Today we:
· Had Carter as engine and Zach as the caboose
· Had sharing. Today Ashton, Kamille, Tenly, Graydon, Mira and Kamryn shared.
· Had P.E. The class built large motor skills with scooters, balls and scoops and 6 pin bowling.
· Listened to the telling of the fairy tale The Three Billy Goats Gruff. Then the students got into groups and acted out the story.
Backpack alert: Took home the geometry unit we have finished working on.
Dates to Remember
· June 14 -- Sports Day
· June 21 – class picnic and party
· June 27 -- final day for students
May 29th, 2013
Hello everyone!
Mrs. Buxton here.
Today we:
- got to visit MOMA with our classmates and check out the school artwork
- had Zach as the helper and Yuan as the caboose
- listened to Tenly, Graydon, Austin, Ashton and Carter share
- went to the computer lab and worked on math and reading
- worked on a math problem in our math books
- practiced daily 5
- wrote in our journals
- had P.E. inside and practiced some cool dance moves from our Action Schools DVD (Latin, African and Hip Hop)
- talked about personal safety in Social Studies. We talked about bodies and body parts being private.
*Thank you all for coming out to MOMA last night. It was a great success! :)
Mrs. Buxton here.
Today we:
- got to visit MOMA with our classmates and check out the school artwork
- had Zach as the helper and Yuan as the caboose
- listened to Tenly, Graydon, Austin, Ashton and Carter share
- went to the computer lab and worked on math and reading
- worked on a math problem in our math books
- practiced daily 5
- wrote in our journals
- had P.E. inside and practiced some cool dance moves from our Action Schools DVD (Latin, African and Hip Hop)
- talked about personal safety in Social Studies. We talked about bodies and body parts being private.
*Thank you all for coming out to MOMA last night. It was a great success! :)
May 28, 2013
May 28 - Don’t forget to come by the gym between 3:00 and 7:00 pm to see the amazing art the students of Mamquam have created.
Hi Families,
Ms. G. here. Today the class went off to do activities with Mrs. Shier’s grade 1’s for the morning while I hosted groups of new kindergarten families for next year. Also, we:
- Had Yuan as engine and Tenly as the caboose
- Had sharing. Today Sora, Carter, Moze, Mira, Charlie, Graydon and Auston shared.
- Celebrated Saphira's birthday. We sang Happy Birthday in English, Portugese and Sign Language.
- Met our new caterpillar who we will watch go through metamorphosis
- Watched an insect video with Mrs. Sotham’s class
- Finished the activities for The Three Little Pigs and Little Red Riding Hood
Dates to Remember
- May 29 MOMA - 9:00 am to 3:00pm
- May 31—Hot Lunch Day
- June 7th- Twin Day and Penny Drive
- Hot Lunch Day - June 14 -- Sports Day
- June 27 -- final day for students
May 27th, 2013
Hello everyone!
Mrs. Buxton here.
Today we:
- had Mrs. Dawson teach us in the morning while Mrs. Buxton went to Lions Bay Community School to see an expert school trained in the Daily 5. It was very inspiring to see how another school immerses themselves in this great program.
- had Tenly as the helper
- In the afternoon we worked on emotions in Social Studies. We are also talking about communities and belonging. Children collaborated on posters by drawing how their feelings change with different emotions. My personal favourite is the angry poster covered in a dark scribbles. How accurate!
- We went to the forest for a quick play
- read a story about fairness. Fair is not being equal, fair is everyone getting what they need to be successful.
* Tomorrow is the kindergarten orientation day for new families starting kindergarten next September. Our class will get to spend some time with Mrs. Makenzie outside during this morning visit so they will need to dress for the weather. During this time Mrs. G, Mrs. Southam and myself will host the new kindie families to show them our school. During the time away form the class our class will get to go outside, read with older buddies and play games.
* Tomorrow is the long awaited MOMA! The Museum of Mamquam Art will be open to the public tomorrow May 28th from 3:00pm - 7:00pm. and also May 29th from 9:00am- 3:00pm. Please come by and see your child's art that they worked so hard on!
Mrs. Buxton here.
Today we:
- had Mrs. Dawson teach us in the morning while Mrs. Buxton went to Lions Bay Community School to see an expert school trained in the Daily 5. It was very inspiring to see how another school immerses themselves in this great program.
- had Tenly as the helper
- In the afternoon we worked on emotions in Social Studies. We are also talking about communities and belonging. Children collaborated on posters by drawing how their feelings change with different emotions. My personal favourite is the angry poster covered in a dark scribbles. How accurate!
- We went to the forest for a quick play
- read a story about fairness. Fair is not being equal, fair is everyone getting what they need to be successful.
* Tomorrow is the kindergarten orientation day for new families starting kindergarten next September. Our class will get to spend some time with Mrs. Makenzie outside during this morning visit so they will need to dress for the weather. During this time Mrs. G, Mrs. Southam and myself will host the new kindie families to show them our school. During the time away form the class our class will get to go outside, read with older buddies and play games.
* Tomorrow is the long awaited MOMA! The Museum of Mamquam Art will be open to the public tomorrow May 28th from 3:00pm - 7:00pm. and also May 29th from 9:00am- 3:00pm. Please come by and see your child's art that they worked so hard on!
May 24, 2013
Hi Families,
Ms. G. here. Today we:
- Had Saphira as engine and Quinten as the caboose
- Had library book exchange
- Had P.E. We went outside today.
- Had music with Mrs. Thomson
- Heard the fairy tale Little Red Riding Hood. Today’s literacy focus was the characteristics of good and evil characters. Each child worked on a booklet in which they created the following pages: a title page, a good character, an evil (bad) character and a beginning, middle and end sequence of events. Later the children got into groups again to rehearse and then act out their improvisational interpretation of the fairy tale.
- Had The Three Little Pigs groups go and act out their plays for other classes
Dates to Remember
- May 28—New Kindergarten Family Event 9 - 10:30
- May 28-29—MOMA Museum of Mamquam Art!!!!
- May 31—Hot Lunch Day
- June 14 -- Sports Day
- June 27 -- final day for students
Photos from Ms. G.
May 23, 2013
Hi Families,
Ms. G. here.
Today we:
· Had Quinten as engine and Owen as the caboose
· Had WOW groups and library book exchange
· Had P.E. We went outside today.
· Had a visit from Baby Teagan and her mom as our Roots of Empathy session today. We talked about how Teagan got her name and what she likes to eat. Photos below.
· Read the fairy tale The Three Little Pigs. Then some children sequenced pictures to build event sequencing skills while others read a retell to build reading comprehension skills. Later the class was divided into groups and each group created a little play to perform based on the story. Photos below.
· Had math. We counted to 158, learned about bridging to the next 10 when counting, learned about number patterns and counted by 10's, 100's, 1000's and 1,000,000's! We played bingo to further reinforce number concept.
Dates to Remember
· May 28—New Kindergarten family Event 9 - 10:30
· May 28-29—MOMA Museum of Mamquam Art!!!!
· May 31—Hot Lunch Day
· June 14 - sports day
· June 27 final day for students
May 22nd, 2013
Hello everyone! Mrs. Buxton here.
Today we:
- read the stories "Stuck" and "Bad News Good News" and used them as inspiration for our journal writing
- worked on the daily 5
- went to the computer lab and looked at maps of Canada. We found where we lived and examined the borders between provinces
- students explored math links on Starfall.com . Some students are working on adding and subtracting and some are working on counting or telling time.
- went to the forest with a couple other classes
- talked about how to reach help in emergency situations. We talked about calling 911, and what kind of situations qualify for this. Children had a lot of "what if" questions and may be wanting to follow up with you at home. I answered as many questions as possible before 3:00 came but there was a great deal of sharing going on. :)
- had Owen as the helper
- counted to 135. Wow!
- exchanged our library books
- had a presentation from our librarian Mrs. Sherlock about the new and exciting books we have and also about how to properly handle books
Today we:
- read the stories "Stuck" and "Bad News Good News" and used them as inspiration for our journal writing
- worked on the daily 5
- went to the computer lab and looked at maps of Canada. We found where we lived and examined the borders between provinces
- students explored math links on Starfall.com . Some students are working on adding and subtracting and some are working on counting or telling time.
- went to the forest with a couple other classes
- talked about how to reach help in emergency situations. We talked about calling 911, and what kind of situations qualify for this. Children had a lot of "what if" questions and may be wanting to follow up with you at home. I answered as many questions as possible before 3:00 came but there was a great deal of sharing going on. :)
- had Owen as the helper
- counted to 135. Wow!
- exchanged our library books
- had a presentation from our librarian Mrs. Sherlock about the new and exciting books we have and also about how to properly handle books
May 21, 2013
Hi Families,
Ms. G. here.
I hope you enjoyed your long weekend.
Today we:
· Had Moze as engine and Mira as the caboose
· Had library book exchange
· Read the book Orchestranimals before seeing the band performance. The book introduced the children to many of the instruments played in an orchestra.
· Watched The Don Ross Band perform in the gym
· Had music with Mrs. Thomson
· Engaged in the Daily 5. Today the class listened to the classic fairy tale, The Three Bears. We discussed how sequencing events is important for a story and the children drew and wrote about the most important events in the story. Then we acted out the story.
· Read the story Good-Night Owl by Pat Hutchins
Bike Rodeo: Bike Rodeo was held this past Thursday and it was a great success! The weather was perfect, the students learned about bike safety, and they had fun riding their bike to, from and around school. Mrs. Reimer's class assisted in directing students where their bikes should be parked and ensured the bikes were secure. We are so grateful to her class for their mature and supportive work with the younger grades during the Bike Rodeo event. Mrs. McClements once again organized the event and enough cannot be said for her willingness to atttend the meeting with the Rotary club (7 pm in the morning!) and to plan things so that they ran smoothly on the day of the event. We hope your child enjoyed the event and will ride their bike safely in our community as we head into the warm weather.
Dates to Remember
· May 21—Don Ross Secondary
Band performance 11:20
· May 28—New Kindergarten family
event
· May 28-29—MOMA Museum of
Mamquam Art!!!!
· May 31—Hot Lunch Day
· June 14 - sports day
· June 27 final day for students
·
May 16, 2013
Hi Families,
Ms. G. here.
• No school on May 17 or 20. See you Tuesday.
Today we:
• Had the bike rodeo
• Had Mira as engine and Kamryn as the caboose
• Had WOW groups and library book exchange
• Watched the intermediate slow bike races. They were fun to watch.
• Had Roots of Empathy with Mrs. Zuckernick. We created a book called “Our Important Book”. Each child contributed a page. The book will be a gift for Baby Teagan.
• Engaged in the Daily 5.
Had science. I brought in examples of simple machines: a hammer and nails, a pry bar, screws and a screwdriver. The children studied how they work. Then we did an experiment about Friction.
Backpack Alert: Your child has a book about the experiment we did. Please read it with your child.
• Dates to Remember
· May 21—Don Ross Secondary
Band performance 11:20
· May 28—New Kindergarten family
event
· May 28-29—MOMA Museum of
Mamquam Art!!!!
· May 31—Hot Lunch Day
• June 14 - sports day
June 27 final day for students
Photos from Ms. G.
These gorgeous cards made by our class are suitable for framing. The children worked hard to make them.
Wednesday, May 15th, 2013
Hi Everyone! Mrs. Buxton here.
Today we:
- went to our WOW groups
- practiced reading to ourselves, reading to others, and writing in the daily 5
- talked about stranger danger
- started our second step program where we learn about what kind of emotions we feel and how to stop negative emotions. For example, if we start to feel angry we can take 3 deep breathes, take a step away, or self - talk to calm down.
-went to a presentation from Meg Toom about living with wildlife
- had P.E. outside in the warm weather!
- read the story "How full is your bucket" and made our own buckets. We filled them up with everything that made us feel happy.
Took home a booklet on baseball, information from Meg Toom and a bike rodeo notice
* Bike Rodeo tomorrow!
Today we:
- went to our WOW groups
- practiced reading to ourselves, reading to others, and writing in the daily 5
- talked about stranger danger
- started our second step program where we learn about what kind of emotions we feel and how to stop negative emotions. For example, if we start to feel angry we can take 3 deep breathes, take a step away, or self - talk to calm down.
-went to a presentation from Meg Toom about living with wildlife
- had P.E. outside in the warm weather!
- read the story "How full is your bucket" and made our own buckets. We filled them up with everything that made us feel happy.
Took home a booklet on baseball, information from Meg Toom and a bike rodeo notice
* Bike Rodeo tomorrow!
May 10, 2013
Ms. G. here.
May 16 – Bike Rodeo
May 17 - No School
May 20 - No School
Hi Families,
I was away at a District meeting for kindy and grade 1 teachers. Ms. Hoyrup was in for me. The children really liked her.
This afternoon we finished our surprise, cleaned out our desks and enjoyed explorative play with Mrs. Sotham's class. The surprise went home. So did our last two project folders and any personal art that was in the desks of students.
Happy Mother's Day, moms and enjoy your surprise this Sunday.
Dates to Remember:
· May 28 and 29 - MOMA
· June 14 - sports day
· June 27 final day for students
May 9, 2013
Hi Families,
Ms. G. here.
· May 10—De Vry plant delivery
· May 16 – Bike Rodeo
Today we:
· Had Hannah as engine and Graydon as the caboose
· Had WOW groups and library book exchange
· Had P.E. The children tried out big equipment: the bouncy balls, scooters and hockey
· Gathered sticks for our surprise
· Worked on our surprise some more
· Spent time with Mrs. Sotham’s class putting our surprise together
Dates to Remember
· May 17—Pro-D day (in lieu)
· May 20—Victoria Day—No School
· May 28 and 29 - MOMA
· June 14 - sports day
· June 27 final day for students
Click here to edi.
Wednesday May 8th, 2013
Today we:
- went to our WOW groups
- exchange dour library books
- practiced the Daily 5
- had Mrs. Zoo come and teach us about emotions and sign language communication in Roots of Empathy
- went on our fieldtrip to the shoreline. We heard a traditional aboriginal story, found out how an ecosystem worked, learned about photosynthesis, went on a scavenger hunt for different parts of the ecosystem and saw different birds flying above us. Photos posted below.
- went to our WOW groups
- exchange dour library books
- practiced the Daily 5
- had Mrs. Zoo come and teach us about emotions and sign language communication in Roots of Empathy
- went on our fieldtrip to the shoreline. We heard a traditional aboriginal story, found out how an ecosystem worked, learned about photosynthesis, went on a scavenger hunt for different parts of the ecosystem and saw different birds flying above us. Photos posted below.
May 7, 2013
Hi Families,
Ms. G. here. It's great to be back.
Please remember that tomorrow is a field trip to the shoreline. Please have your child wear a hat, proper footwear and sunscreen.
Today we spent a lot of time on s surprise! Below are some pictures of our exploration of creating various green colours. The children loved using various colours to create myriad green tones. This is part of our surprise.
Ms. G. here. It's great to be back.
Please remember that tomorrow is a field trip to the shoreline. Please have your child wear a hat, proper footwear and sunscreen.
Today we spent a lot of time on s surprise! Below are some pictures of our exploration of creating various green colours. The children loved using various colours to create myriad green tones. This is part of our surprise.
April 29th, 2013
Hello everyone,
Mrs. Buxton here.
Today we:
- welcomed our new student Moze
- went o our WOW groups and practiced reading
- worked on the daily 5
- had Zach as the helper
- went to music with Mrs Thomson. I could tell they had a blast today!
- wrote in our journals about something that was important to us. We practiced using capital letters at the beginning of all sentences.
- worked on positive and negative behaviours in relationships. Positive is sharing and welcoming a new student, negative is yelling and excluding our peers
- kindies were invited to the Squamish Public Library this Friday night at 6:30-7:30 for the kindergarten reception
- grade 1's discussed hazardous materials. We know not to touch anything that we do not know what is inside. We also learned that even though medicine can help you feel better, a parent MUST provide it.
- celebrate Carters 7th Birthday!
- had a short play time
* Yellowhouse Dancers perform at 11:00am tomorow
Mrs. Buxton here.
Today we:
- welcomed our new student Moze
- went o our WOW groups and practiced reading
- worked on the daily 5
- had Zach as the helper
- went to music with Mrs Thomson. I could tell they had a blast today!
- wrote in our journals about something that was important to us. We practiced using capital letters at the beginning of all sentences.
- worked on positive and negative behaviours in relationships. Positive is sharing and welcoming a new student, negative is yelling and excluding our peers
- kindies were invited to the Squamish Public Library this Friday night at 6:30-7:30 for the kindergarten reception
- grade 1's discussed hazardous materials. We know not to touch anything that we do not know what is inside. We also learned that even though medicine can help you feel better, a parent MUST provide it.
- celebrate Carters 7th Birthday!
- had a short play time
* Yellowhouse Dancers perform at 11:00am tomorow
April 25, 2013
Important dates will remain on this page as trying to access the tab freezes the classroom computer!
Hi Families,
Ms. G. here.
Kamryn and Dylan were the couch potatoes.
Charlie, Carter and Mira were the tent readers
Tomorrow is hot lunch.
Today we:
· Enjoyed milk and cookies as it was milk and cookie day
· Had Tenly as engine and Saphira as the caboose
· Had WOW groups and library book exchange
· Went to the forest for P.E.
· Read the book Louis the Tiger Who Came From the Sea by Michal Kozlowski. It is the last of our Chocolate Lily books. Each child rated the book in his/her own notebook then illustrated and wrote about a memorable part.
· Engaged in the Daily 5 using our Literacy menus
· Did some true or false questions about the changing season. Then the children were challenged to write their own true or false questions and get classmates to answer them. Did word and picture matching about the seasons as well.
Dates to Remember
· Apr 29—De Vry plant orders due
· April 30 – cultural performance by the Yellowhouse Dancers– 11:00 The Yellowhouse Dancers will provide a 45-minute school-wide presentation that includes flute music, live First Nations drumming, singing and dancing. The group consists of three world champion hoop dancers, including Alex Wells from the Lil'wat Nation in Mt. Currie.
· May 3 – Wacky Hair Day
· May 3- Kindergarten Reception Night at the Public Library – A Message from the library spokesperson: “We invite kindergarten students and their families to come to the library in their pajamas for an hour of stories and refreshments. Library staff and teachers are set up at various stations around the library, and children rotate through in groups, listening to a story at each station. At the end a snack is served, and each child goes home with their own Franklin book to keep. This year, we have the event set for Friday, May 3rd from 6:30-7:30 PM.
Kate Inman
Children’s Librarian
Squamish Public Library
(604) 892-3110, ext. 5301
· May 7—Class and School Panorama photos
· May 8- Our class is participating in the Stawamus Reserve Shoreline study. We will leave Mamquam at 11:40 and return near 3:00. The class will learn about local shoreline environment and ecology.
· May 10—De Vry plant delivery
· May 17—Pro-D day (in lieu)
· May 20—Victoria Day—No School
Ms. G. here.
Kamryn and Dylan were the couch potatoes.
Charlie, Carter and Mira were the tent readers
Tomorrow is hot lunch.
Today we:
· Enjoyed milk and cookies as it was milk and cookie day
· Had Tenly as engine and Saphira as the caboose
· Had WOW groups and library book exchange
· Went to the forest for P.E.
· Read the book Louis the Tiger Who Came From the Sea by Michal Kozlowski. It is the last of our Chocolate Lily books. Each child rated the book in his/her own notebook then illustrated and wrote about a memorable part.
· Engaged in the Daily 5 using our Literacy menus
· Did some true or false questions about the changing season. Then the children were challenged to write their own true or false questions and get classmates to answer them. Did word and picture matching about the seasons as well.
Dates to Remember
· Apr 29—De Vry plant orders due
· April 30 – cultural performance by the Yellowhouse Dancers– 11:00 The Yellowhouse Dancers will provide a 45-minute school-wide presentation that includes flute music, live First Nations drumming, singing and dancing. The group consists of three world champion hoop dancers, including Alex Wells from the Lil'wat Nation in Mt. Currie.
· May 3 – Wacky Hair Day
- May 3 - Story Teller will perform
· May 3- Kindergarten Reception Night at the Public Library – A Message from the library spokesperson: “We invite kindergarten students and their families to come to the library in their pajamas for an hour of stories and refreshments. Library staff and teachers are set up at various stations around the library, and children rotate through in groups, listening to a story at each station. At the end a snack is served, and each child goes home with their own Franklin book to keep. This year, we have the event set for Friday, May 3rd from 6:30-7:30 PM.
Kate Inman
Children’s Librarian
Squamish Public Library
(604) 892-3110, ext. 5301
· May 7—Class and School Panorama photos
· May 8- Our class is participating in the Stawamus Reserve Shoreline study. We will leave Mamquam at 11:40 and return near 3:00. The class will learn about local shoreline environment and ecology.
· May 10—De Vry plant delivery
· May 17—Pro-D day (in lieu)
· May 20—Victoria Day—No School
April 24th, 2013
Hello everyone! Mrs. Buxton here.
Today we:
- read the story "Can Hens Give Milk" and voted on it for our chocolate lily program
- worked on all areas of daily 5. Some students wrote paragraphs and some read to a partner. Favourite choices today included leap from words and bean bag words.
- worked with the letter Z
- went on our Walk for Wildlife with Meg Toom. Thank you to those parents that came out for the beautiful walk in the sunshine. We learned that we have many animals that live in our backyard and that we need to take care to ensure our safety as well as theirs. Pictures are posted below.
- had P.E. outside. We played soccer and invented our own games on the playground.
- read the story "The Rainbow Fish" about a fish who had beautiful scales and didn't want to share them. He found that when he shared with his friends he became happy through the act of giving.
- talked about the 5 W's. Who, What, Where, When and Why
- students wrote in their journals about the story and answered the 5 W's. Some students decided to write their own very interesting stories.
Today we:
- read the story "Can Hens Give Milk" and voted on it for our chocolate lily program
- worked on all areas of daily 5. Some students wrote paragraphs and some read to a partner. Favourite choices today included leap from words and bean bag words.
- worked with the letter Z
- went on our Walk for Wildlife with Meg Toom. Thank you to those parents that came out for the beautiful walk in the sunshine. We learned that we have many animals that live in our backyard and that we need to take care to ensure our safety as well as theirs. Pictures are posted below.
- had P.E. outside. We played soccer and invented our own games on the playground.
- read the story "The Rainbow Fish" about a fish who had beautiful scales and didn't want to share them. He found that when he shared with his friends he became happy through the act of giving.
- talked about the 5 W's. Who, What, Where, When and Why
- students wrote in their journals about the story and answered the 5 W's. Some students decided to write their own very interesting stories.
April 23, 2013
Hi Families,
I’m very excited because today we launched independent choice for the Daily 5. Read about it below and check out the pictures!!
Our Walk for Wildlife day is tomorrow from 10:45 to 11:45. Please make sure your child has proper footwear and is dressed for the weather.
Saphira, Alex and Sora were the couch potatoes
Kamille, Yuan and Jolly were the circus tent readers
Today we:
· Had Lights Out Day as part of Pitch In week
· Had Quinten as engine and Owen as the caboose
· Had WOW groups and library book exchange
· Had science. I showed the class how to make rain gauges. Groups of students made a rain gauge to work with. On the next rainy day, we shall discover how weather experts measure rainfall.
· Read the big book Weather Watch. Then each child made his/her own mini copy to take home and read with you tonight
· Read the book Seal Song by Andrea Spalding. It is another of our Chocolate lily books. Each child rated the book in her/his own notebook then illustrated and wrote about a memorable part.
· Engaged in the Daily 5. The children began using a Literacy Menu today to create independence and accountability for their Daily 5 activities. They also began magnet words and listening to a story on the IPad! What a wonderfully exciting Daily 5 it was. Each child got to choose how s/he would approach doing each component of the Daily 5. The classroom was alive with the hum of children actively engaged in literacy. It was fabulous!
· Went to the computer lab
· Went to music
Dates to Remember
· Apr 24 & 25—Pitch-In week clean up and Walk for Wildlife
Program.
· April 25—Milk & Cookie day
· Apr 26—Hot Lunch Day
· Apr 29—De Vry plant orders due
· April 30 – cultural performance by the Yellowhouse Dancers– 11:00 The Yellowhouse Dancers will provide a 45-minute school-wide presentation that includes flute music, live First Nations drumming, singing and dancing. The group consists of three world champion hoop dancers, including Alex Wells from the Lil'wat Nation in Mt. Currie.
· May 3 – Wacky Hair Day
· May 3-Kindergarten Reception Night at the Public Library – A Message from the library spokesperson: “We invite kindergarten students and their families to come to the library in their pajamas for an hour of stories and refreshments. Library staff and teachers are set up at various stations around the library, and children rotate through in groups, listening to a story at each station. At the end a snack is served, and each child goes home with their own Franklin book to keep. This year, we have the event set for Friday, May 3rd from 6:30-7:30 PM. “
Kate Inman
Children’s Librarian
Squamish Public Library
(604) 892-3110, ext. 5301
· May 7—Class and School Panorama photos
· May 8- Our class is participating in the Stawamus Reserve Shoreline study. We will leave Mamquam at 11:40 and return near 3:00. The class will learn about local shoreline environment and ecology.
· May 10—De Vry plant delivery
· May 17—Pro-D day (in lieu)
· May 20—Victoria Day—No School
April 19, 2013
Hi Families,
Ms. G. here.
· Apr 22—Pro-D Day (in lieu)
- April 24 -- Our Walk for Wildlife - 10:45 to 11:45. Dress for the weather.
Please check the Dates to Remember ( below)carefully each evening for new updates.
Today we:
- Had Owen as engine and Kamryn as the caboose. Ashton, Brian and Tenly were our couch potatoes.
- Had WOW groups and library book exchange
- Had music with Mrs. Thomson
- Engaged in the Daily 5, ‘listen to reading’. Read the book Grandpa’s Girls by Nicola I. Campbell. It is another of our Chocolate Lily books. Again, each child rated the book in her/his own notebook then illustrated and wrote about a memorable part.
- Yesterday the class was also introduced to 2 other Making Words games for the Daily 5 ‘Word Work’ component:
2. Using the letters from a really long word (the example I showed them was ‘friendship’ and challenging yourself to find as many words as possible using just those letters
- Continued on our Favourite Season Poster
- Had P.E. The children continued to work on increasing balancing skills with bench activities.
- Had a surprise birthday party for me! We had treats and a video. It was really fun. Thank you Mrs. Grainger.
Dates to Remember
· Apr 24 & 25—Pitch-In week clean up and Walk for Wildlife
Program.
· April 25—Milk & Cookie day
· Apr 26—Hot Lunch Day
· Apr 29—De Vry plant orders due
- April 30 – cultural performance by the Yellowhouse Dancers – 11:00
- May 3 – Wacky Hair Day
- May 3-Kindergarten Reception Night at the Public Library – A Message from the library spokesperson: “We invite kindergarten students and their families to come to the library in their pajamas for an hour of stories and refreshments.~ Library staff and teachers are set up at various stations around the library, and children rotate through in groups, listening to a story at each station.~ At the end a snack is served, and each child goes home with their own Franklin book to keep. This year, we have the event set for Friday, May 3rd from 6:30-7:30 PM.~“Kate Inman
Squamish Public Library
(604) 892-3110, ext. 5301
· May 7—Class and School Panorama photos
- May 8- Our class is participating in the Stawamus Reserve Shoreline study. We will leave Mamquam at 11:40 and return near 3:00. The class will learn about local shoreline environment and ecology.
· May 17—Pro-D day (in lieu)
· May 20—Victoria Day—No School
April 18, 2013
Hi Families,
Ms. G. here.
· Apr 18—Mac –n– Cheese cook off, has been cancelled until further notice
· Apr 22—Pro-D Day (in lieu)
Please look at the dates to remember closely as they are updated as new events come along.
Today we:
· Had Mira as engine and Kamryn as the caboose
· Had WOW groups and library book exchange
· Had P.E. The children continued to work on increasing balancing skills with bench activities. They not only were walking along the narrow side of the benches adding ball bouncing and bean bag balancing.
· Read the book Sounds of the Ferry by Sara Leach. It is another of our Chocolate lily books. To add personal meaning, each child rated the book in his/her own notebooks then illustrated and wrote about a memorable part.
· Engaged in the Daily 5. Today the class was introduced to more word work ideas: bean bag words (and alphabet letters for the kindies) plus leap frog words. For bean bag words, the student tosses a bean bag and must read the word closest to the bean bag. For leapfrog words, the student lays out a series of lily pads. A word has been written on each lily pad. The student reads the word when he/she jumps and lands on the pad. The words all come from the Dolch word lists. http://bogglesworldesl.com/dolch/preprimer.htm is a great web site. It gives you all the levels of primary Dolch lists and ways you can help your child read the words. Dolch words are the most commonly used words in writing. Your child will come across them repeatedly. So, if you have the time, teaching them these words is very beneficial to building their reading skills.
· Began our Favourite season posters
Dates to Remember
· Apr 24 & 25—Pitch-In week clean up and Walk for Wildlife
Program. Our Walk for Wildlife day is April 24 from
10:45 to 11:45.
· April 25—Milk & Cookie day
· Apr 26—Hot Lunch Day
· Apr 29—De Vry plant orders due
· April 30 – Yellowhouse Dancers, cultural performance
· May 3 - Wacky Hair day
· May 3-Kindergarten Reception Night at the Public Library – A Message from the library spokesperson: “We invite kindergarten students and their families to come to the library in their pajamas for an hour of stories and refreshments. Library staff and teachers are set up at various stations around the library, and children rotate through in groups, listening to a story at each station. At the end a snack is served, and each child goes home with their own Franklin book to keep. This year, we have the event set for Friday, May 3rd from 6:30-7:30 PM. “
Kate Inman
Children’s Librarian
Squamish Public Library
(604) 892-3110, ext. 5301
· May 7—Class and School Panorama photos
· May 8- Our class is participating in the Stawamus Reserve Shoreline study. We will leave Mamquam at 11:40 and return near 3:00. The class will learn about local shoreline environment and ecology.
· May 10—De Vry plant delivery
· May 17—Pro-D day (in lieu)
· May 20—Victoria Day—No School
April 17th, 2013
Hello everyone!
Mrs. Buxton here.
Today we:
- went to our WOW groups and practiced reading
-exchanged library books. A few children have many overdue books and are no longer allowed to take out any more books until these are returned. You will have a notice in your childs backpack if they have overdue books.
- worked with the letter Y
- went to the computer lab and practiced reading and math skills
- had Roots of Empathy with Mrs. Zoo where we talked about safety
- completed a writing activity about personal milestones
- had P.E. Today we had a hockey match and some other stations set up. Students had free choice as to which activity they did.
- watched a cool video on slow motion about bats, butterflies and bees!
- read the story "Pussycat, Pussycat where are you" from the Chocolate Lily collection. We are voting on each book to see which our school enjoys the most.
Video we watched in class today:
Mrs. Buxton here.
Today we:
- went to our WOW groups and practiced reading
-exchanged library books. A few children have many overdue books and are no longer allowed to take out any more books until these are returned. You will have a notice in your childs backpack if they have overdue books.
- worked with the letter Y
- went to the computer lab and practiced reading and math skills
- had Roots of Empathy with Mrs. Zoo where we talked about safety
- completed a writing activity about personal milestones
- had P.E. Today we had a hockey match and some other stations set up. Students had free choice as to which activity they did.
- watched a cool video on slow motion about bats, butterflies and bees!
- read the story "Pussycat, Pussycat where are you" from the Chocolate Lily collection. We are voting on each book to see which our school enjoys the most.
Video we watched in class today:
April 16, 2013
Hi Families,
Ms. G. here.
The children were introduced to Couch Potatoes and Tent Potatoes! We now have a cozy couch and a circus tent in our room. They are for the children to work and read in. Each day a new group of children get an opportunity to enjoy one of our two new learning spaces. Check out the pictures!
Please remember to return the two permission slips as soon as possible.
Don’t forget to bring items for your child’s favourite season poster!
Bring as many 3-D shaped items as you can for our building project.
Today we:
· Had Kamille as engine and Jolly as the caboose
· Had WOW groups and library book exchange
· Engaged in the Daily 5. Some children got to read on the comfy couch and the circus tent!
· Watched a ‘Birds of Prey’ presentation. It was amazing. We saw a hawk, a great horned owl and a golden eagle. We even got to each have a turn petting the eagle’s back!
· Worked our Four Seasons Project. We:
1. Graphed today’s temperature and weather
2. Made observations about our baggy experiment- learned what estimating is then practiced estimating and realing measuring using paper clips
- · Had music with Mrs. Thomson
Put quieting tennis balls on the feet of our chairs
Dates to Remember
· Apr 18—Mac –n– Cheese cook off, 5-7:00 pm
· Apr 22—Pro-D Day (in lieu)
· Apr 24 & 25—Pitch-In week clean up and Walk for Wildlife
Program. Our Walk for Wildlife day is April 24 from
10:45 to 11:45.
· April 25—Milk & Cookie day
· Apr 26—Hot Lunch Day
· Apr 29—De Vry plant orders due
· May 3-Kindergarten Reception Night at the Public Library – A Message from the library spokesperson: “We invite kindergarten students and their families to come to the library in their pajamas for an hour of stories and refreshments. Library staff and teachers are set up at various stations around the library, and children rotate through in groups, listening to a story at each station. At the end a snack is served, and each child goes home with their own Franklin book to keep. This year, we have the event set for Friday, May 3rd from 6:30-7:30 PM. “
Kate Inman
Children’s Librarian
Squamish Public Library
(604) 892-3110, ext. 5301
· May 7—Class and School Panorama photos
· May 8- Our class is participating in the Stawamus Reserve Shoreline study. We will leave Mamquam at 11:40 and return near 3:00. The class will learn about local shoreline environment and ecology.
· May 10—De Vry plant delivery
· May 17—Pro-D day (in lieu)
· May 20—Victoria Day—No School
April 15, 2013
Happy Monday!
Today we:
- went to our WOW groups and worked on reading and writing
- had Jolly as the helper
- went to music and watched a video on STOMP
- handed in our seasons projects. If you still have them at home please bring them tomorrow. :)
- worked on the letter X. Some students practiced printing X, some worked on the sound (ks), and some listed all the x words they could print
- watched videos on the letter X
- practiced number recogniztion and counting money in math
- started a new Socials topic on Canada. Today we talked about provinces and territories and the Canadian Flag
- coloured a Canada flag
- had a brief improptu dance party after lunch
*please send in both permission forms for Amblepath walk and Eelgrass program
* birds of prey assembly tomorrow at 11:00
* hot lunch Friday
Today we:
- went to our WOW groups and worked on reading and writing
- had Jolly as the helper
- went to music and watched a video on STOMP
- handed in our seasons projects. If you still have them at home please bring them tomorrow. :)
- worked on the letter X. Some students practiced printing X, some worked on the sound (ks), and some listed all the x words they could print
- watched videos on the letter X
- practiced number recogniztion and counting money in math
- started a new Socials topic on Canada. Today we talked about provinces and territories and the Canadian Flag
- coloured a Canada flag
- had a brief improptu dance party after lunch
*please send in both permission forms for Amblepath walk and Eelgrass program
* birds of prey assembly tomorrow at 11:00
* hot lunch Friday
April 12, 2013
Hi Families,
Ms. G. here.
On Monday April 15 – bring ideas, objects, magazine pictures, photos, etc. for the Four Seasons Project
Today we:
· Had Jacob as engine and Graydon was the caboose
· Had WOW groups and library book exchange
· Had music with Mrs. Thomson
· Watch a flamenco dance performance called Karen Flamenco
· Had P.E. We continued our bench work practicing walking on the narrow part of the bench in various ways. Then partners walked together on the wide side of the bench. Finally groups used hoops to create walking and balancing sequences.
· Engaged in The Four Seasons Project. We
1. Recorded the weather on two graphs
2. Recorded the temperature
3. Recorded our observations and theories about our baggy experiment
Dates to Remember
· Apr 16—Birds of Prey presentation, 11 am
· Apr 18—Mac –n– Cheese cook off, 5-7:00 pm
· Apr 22—Pro-D Day (in lieu)
· Apr 24 & 25—Pitch-In week clean up and Walk for Wildlife
Program. Our Walk for Wildlife day is April 24 from
10:45 to 11:45.
· April 25—Milk & Cookie day
· Apr 26—Hot Lunch Day
· Apr 29—De Vry plant orders due
· May 3-Kindergarten Reception Night at the Public Library – A Message from the library spokesperson: “We invite kindergarten students and their families to come to the library in their pajamas for an hour of stories and refreshments. Library staff and teachers are set up at various stations around the library, and children rotate through in groups, listening to a story at each station. At the end a snack is served, and each child goes home with their own Franklin book to keep. This year, we have the event set for Friday, May 3rd from 6:30-7:30 PM. “
Kate Inman
Children’s Librarian
Squamish Public Library
(604) 892-3110, ext. 5301
· May 7—Class and School Panorama photos
· May 8- Our class is participating in the Stawamus Reserve Shoreline study. We will leave Mamquam at 11:40 and return near 3:00. The class will learn about local shoreline environment and ecology.
· May 10—De Vry plant delivery
· May 17—Pro-D day (in lieu)
· May 20—Victoria Day—No School
Some photos of our day:
April 11, 2013
Hi Families,
Ms. G. here. Today we:
· Had Graydon as engine and Dylan as caboose
· Had WOW groups and library book exchange
· Had P.E. We had our first gymnastics lesson. The children did a variety of slides, balances and jumps using benches.
· Engaged in many Four Seasons (project based learning) activities:
1. Made anemometers (they measure wind) with the help of our grade 3 and 4 buddies. Then we went outside to try them but there was no wind! Some children tried again at lunch and then we all tried again in the afternoon. There may be a flaw in our anemometers! We've been doing a lot of discussing about what scientists do when inventing and creating. We will look at the measuring tool and try again.
2. Checked and recorded the temperature, weather and the observations of our water cycle (coloured water in baggies) experiment.
3. Did an activity about how to read a calendar
4. Read a book called Weather
- Read the story Don't let the Pigeon Drive the Bus by MO Willems and then made our own pigeon pictures with speech bubbles
Dates to Remember:
Tomorrow - Karen Flamenco performance—11:00 am
On Monday April 15 – bring ideas, objects, magazine pictures, photos, etc. for the Four Seasons Project
· Apr 16—Birds of Prey presentation, 11 am
· Apr 18—Mac –n– Cheese cook off, 5-7:00 pm
· Apr 22—Pro-D Day (in lieu)
· Apr 24 & 25—Pitch-In week clean up and Walk for Wildlife
Program. Our Walk for Wildlife day is April 24 from
10:45 to 11:45.
· April 25—Milk & Cookie day
· Apr 26—Hot Lunch Day
· Apr 29—De Vry plant orders due
· May 3-Kindergarten Reception Night at the Public Library – A Message from the library spokesperson: “We invite kindergarten students and their families to come to the library in their pajamas for an hour of stories and refreshments. Library staff and teachers are set up at various stations around the library, and children rotate through in groups, listening to a story at each station. At the end a snack is served, and each child goes home with their own Franklin book to keep. This year, we have the event set for Friday, May 3rd from 6:30-7:30 PM. “
Kate Inman
Children’s Librarian
Squamish Public Library
(604) 892-3110, ext. 5301
· May 7—Class and School Panorama photos
· May 8- Our class is participating in the Stawamus Reserve Shoreline study. We will leave Mamquam at 11:40 and return near 3:00. The class will learn about local shoreline environment and ecology.
· May 10—De Vry plant delivery
· May 17—Pro-D day (in lieu)
· May 20—Victoria Day—No School
Wednesday, April 10th, 2013
Today we:
- had Dylan as the helper
- went to our WOW groups and worked on reading
- exchanged our library books
- practiced the letter W and wrote W words
- went to the computer lab
- had Roots of Empathy with a baby visit with Teagan! She can now roll over and walk when she is holding onto furniture
- played with our classroom centres
- went to the gym and played basketball and practiced skipping drills
- followed up our exploration in the forest with a jounral write about all the unique things we saw
*Popcorn day tomorrow
*Scholastic orders due Monday April 15th
*Permission forms due back as soon as possible
- had Dylan as the helper
- went to our WOW groups and worked on reading
- exchanged our library books
- practiced the letter W and wrote W words
- went to the computer lab
- had Roots of Empathy with a baby visit with Teagan! She can now roll over and walk when she is holding onto furniture
- played with our classroom centres
- went to the gym and played basketball and practiced skipping drills
- followed up our exploration in the forest with a jounral write about all the unique things we saw
*Popcorn day tomorrow
*Scholastic orders due Monday April 15th
*Permission forms due back as soon as possible
April 9, 2013
Hi Families,
Ms. G. here. Today we:
· Had Sora as engine and Charlie as the caboose
· Had WOW groups and library book exchange
· Finished our ‘Spring Is’ writing
· Looked at the letters from our pen pals and began writing letters back
· Recorded the weather and temperature and made observations on our ‘scientific observations journal’ sheet. Each time we look at our experiment we write down what we observe so we can keep track. We began writing our theories as to why we are seeing things happening in the baggies.
· Combined math and science. After doing all of our graphing and observations we did a short activity about the temperature and the seasons in our math booklet.
· Had music but Mrs. Thomson was away
Dates to Remember:
Please remember that Thursday April 11th is Popcorn Day!!!! It is $1.00 a bag
· Apr 12—Karen Flamenco performance—11:00 am
· April 15 – bring ideas, objects, magazine pictures, photos, etc. for the Four Seasons Project
· Apr 16—Birds of Prey presentation, 11 am
· Apr 18—Mac –n– Cheese cook off, 5-7:00 pm
· Apr 22—Pro-D Day (in lieu)
· Apr 24 & 25—Pitch-In week clean up and Walk for Wildlife
Program. Our Walk for Wildlife day is April 24 from
10:45 to 11:45.
· April 25—Milk & Cookie day
· Apr 26—Hot Lunch Day
· Apr 29—De Vry plant orders due
Kindergarten Reception Night at the Public Library – A Message from the library spokesperson: “We invite kindergarten students and their families to come to the library in their pajamas for an hour of stories and refreshments. Library staff and teachers are set up at various stations around the library, and children rotate through in groups, listening to a story at each station. At the end a snack is served, and each child goes home with their own Franklin book to keep. This year, we have the event set for Friday, May 3rd from 6:30-7:30 PM. "
Kate Inman
Children’s Librarian
Squamish Public Library
(604) 892-3110, ext. 5301
· May 7—Class and School Panorama photos
· May 10—De Vry plant delivery
· May 17—Pro-D day (in lieu)
· May 20—Victoria Day—No School
April 8th, 2013
Hi everyone,
Today we:
- went to our WOW groups and practiced reading
- exchange
- had music with Mrs. Thomson where we practiced the cup song
- had calendar led by our helper Charlie
- practiced writing lists of words
- took our daily temperature for Science
- had free play with the classroom toys
- talked about qualities in Social Studies. Today we wrote about one thing that we are each really good at. Students took their work home.
- went to the forest on an exploration hunt to find the 4 most unique objects in the forest
Today we:
- went to our WOW groups and practiced reading
- exchange
- had music with Mrs. Thomson where we practiced the cup song
- had calendar led by our helper Charlie
- practiced writing lists of words
- took our daily temperature for Science
- had free play with the classroom toys
- talked about qualities in Social Studies. Today we wrote about one thing that we are each really good at. Students took their work home.
- went to the forest on an exploration hunt to find the 4 most unique objects in the forest
April 5, 2013
Hi Families,
Ms. G. here. Today we:
· Had Brian as engine and Auston as the caboose
- did calendar. We do the day of the week, month of the year and count how many days we have been in school.
· Had WOW groups and library book exchange
· Had music with Mrs. Thomson
· Began pattern writing about spring called ‘Spring is…’
· Had read to self
· Had P.E. We played tag games.
· Checked and recorded the temperature and the weather on the three graphs we are now keeping.
· Created birds in the style of James Rizzi. He is delightful contemporary artist who created bright vibrant images. You might want to check his work out at http://jamesrizzi.com. You can look at his biography and a gallery of his work. Our class became teachers and showed Mrs. Sotham’s class how to make the birds. Then we all painted them together. The birds will be saved and displayed at the Museum of Mamquam Art (MOMA) event that will be coming up sometime in May. Then the two classes had exploration together.
April 4, 2013
Hi Families,
Ms. G. here. Today we:
· Had Auston as engine and Ashton as the caboose
· Had WOW groups and library book exchange
· Learned about the water cycle and set up our water cycle experiment. Each child filled a baggie 1/3 full of water and added food colouring. Then we taped them to the window. We will observe what happens over the month. The students also did a water cycle activity to add to their orange Seasons folder.
· Read three books:
1. Rain, Rivers and Rain Again about the water cycle
2. The Four Seasons, a funny book featuring the Muppets
3. Oh, The Things You Can Think!, a book Brian brought to share with us.
· Participated in ‘Right to Play ‘activities for P.E. Several students came from Quest and led the class through may tag games. The children loved their energy and enthusiasm.
· Checked the temperature and graphed it
· Did months of the year for math. The class helped divide the months by season as well.
· Went to the library. We are participating in ‘Chocolate Lily’ book club. We get to read several new picture books authored by British Columbians! We learned what a Chocolate Lily is, read the first book and voted on how we liked it. Since the first book was about Neil Armstrong, Ms. Sherlock sang a moon song, led us through an imaginary trip to the moon and showed us the real footage of the first moon landing with Neil Armstrong saying his immortal words. It was a thrilling experience.
Dates to remember:
· Apr 11—Popcorn Sale Day
· Apr 12—Karen Flamenco performance—11:00 am
· April 15 – bring ideas, objects, magazine pictures, photos, etc. for the Four Seasons Project
· Apr 16—Birds of Prey presentation, 11 am
· Apr 18—Mac –n– Cheese cook off, 5-7:00 pm
· Apr 22—Pro-D Day (in lieu)
· Apr 24 & 25—Pitch-In week clean up and Walk for Wildlife
program
· April 25—Milk & Cookie day
· Apr 26—Hot Lunch Day
· Apr 29—De Vry plant orders due
· May 7—Class and School Panorama photos
· May 10—De Vry plant delivery
· May 17—Pro-D day (in lieu)
· May 20—Victoria Day—No School
April 3rd, 2013
Hello everyone! I don't know about you but I am glad to be back with the kids after our 2 week break.
Today we:
- had Ashton as the helper and Alex as the caboose
- went to our new WOW groups and practiced reading books
- worked on the Daily 5 and the children had a lot of interest in writing today
- looked at our calendar for Math. We counted the days in April and calculated how far away all the exciting events were away. Next week we have Popcorn day and Flamenco dancers!
- went to the computer lab. We listened to a Q story with our headphones and played educational games on Starfall.com
- had Roots of Empathy and talked about safety
- Made a goodbye book for our friend Olivia who is moving away this week.
- had P.E. outside where we used sidewalk chalk to make up our own games
- had a class discussion about our rights and responsibilities at home
Today we:
- had Ashton as the helper and Alex as the caboose
- went to our new WOW groups and practiced reading books
- worked on the Daily 5 and the children had a lot of interest in writing today
- looked at our calendar for Math. We counted the days in April and calculated how far away all the exciting events were away. Next week we have Popcorn day and Flamenco dancers!
- went to the computer lab. We listened to a Q story with our headphones and played educational games on Starfall.com
- had Roots of Empathy and talked about safety
- Made a goodbye book for our friend Olivia who is moving away this week.
- had P.E. outside where we used sidewalk chalk to make up our own games
- had a class discussion about our rights and responsibilities at home
April 2, 2013
April 2, 2013
Hi Families,
Ms. G. here. Hope you had a fabulous 2 week holiday. Wasn’t the weather wonderful this last week? Today we:
· Had Alex as helper and Carter as the caboose
· Had WOW groups. We began our new groups and are working with phonemes
· Read the big question for the new project about the weather and seasons. The big question is “What are the four seasons and what are some characteristics that make up each one? We defined what seasons and weather mean.
· Had each student write and draw what they know about the weather and seasons in their science notebook
· Made a knowledge web about the weather and the seasons
· Asked questions about the weather and season (What we wonder)
· Had the Daily 5. We began a Reader’s Theater activity. The students will learn and practice their lines and then they will share a performance with other classes.
· Continued measurement in math. We began our temperature bar graph for the month of April. Today the temperature at Environment Canada website read `12 degrees Celsius. Then we explored the days of the week. First we looked at the calendar and sang a song about them. Then we played a paper game where we unscrambled the letters and wrote them in order.
· Had music with Mrs. Thomson
· Finished the novel Dinosaurs Before Dark
Hi Families,
Ms. G. here. Hope you had a fabulous 2 week holiday. Wasn’t the weather wonderful this last week? Today we:
· Had Alex as helper and Carter as the caboose
· Had WOW groups. We began our new groups and are working with phonemes
· Read the big question for the new project about the weather and seasons. The big question is “What are the four seasons and what are some characteristics that make up each one? We defined what seasons and weather mean.
· Had each student write and draw what they know about the weather and seasons in their science notebook
· Made a knowledge web about the weather and the seasons
· Asked questions about the weather and season (What we wonder)
· Had the Daily 5. We began a Reader’s Theater activity. The students will learn and practice their lines and then they will share a performance with other classes.
· Continued measurement in math. We began our temperature bar graph for the month of April. Today the temperature at Environment Canada website read `12 degrees Celsius. Then we explored the days of the week. First we looked at the calendar and sang a song about them. Then we played a paper game where we unscrambled the letters and wrote them in order.
· Had music with Mrs. Thomson
· Finished the novel Dinosaurs Before Dark
March 15, 2013
Hi Families,
Ms. G. here. Have a wonderful 2 week break. See you April 2nd.
Today we:
· Had Carter as helper and Zach as the caboose
· Had WOW groups and library book exchange. After Spring Break we are switching WOW groups and starting Phoneme awareness. This is teaching the ability to distinguish the different sounds that are in a word.
· Had music with Mrs. Thomson
· Heard a story called Saint Patrick and the Last Snake by Lavinia R. Davis. This gave them a bit of background as to who St. Patrick was and why the Irish celebrate St. Patrick’s Day.
· Played a St. Patrick’s Day board game
· Had P.E. We shared our P.E. time with Mrs. Shier’s class. We had different stations set up to try. After Spring Break, we begin a small apparatus based gymnastics unit.
· Created an exploration plan. Then we had exploration time with Mrs. Shier’s class.
Ms. G. here. Have a wonderful 2 week break. See you April 2nd.
Today we:
· Had Carter as helper and Zach as the caboose
· Had WOW groups and library book exchange. After Spring Break we are switching WOW groups and starting Phoneme awareness. This is teaching the ability to distinguish the different sounds that are in a word.
· Had music with Mrs. Thomson
· Heard a story called Saint Patrick and the Last Snake by Lavinia R. Davis. This gave them a bit of background as to who St. Patrick was and why the Irish celebrate St. Patrick’s Day.
· Played a St. Patrick’s Day board game
· Had P.E. We shared our P.E. time with Mrs. Shier’s class. We had different stations set up to try. After Spring Break, we begin a small apparatus based gymnastics unit.
· Created an exploration plan. Then we had exploration time with Mrs. Shier’s class.
March 14, 2013
Hi Families,
Ms. G. here. Today we
· Had Zach as helper and Yuan as the caboose
· Had WOW groups and library book exchange
· Explored the OUT dance in P.E. Today when the children partnered up, one was the person who made a shape and the other was the explorer who travelled the space by going Over, Under and Through all the spaces they can. The dance progressed to groups using apparatus such as hoops and balls to extend the exploration space.
· Did our final practice for Student Led Conferences
· Made moonsshowing the different phases out of the big cookies that came with our hot lunch. That was a fun connection to science!
· Created a class made book during science. We brainstormed what we do in the day and what we do at night. Then they had to draw a line down the middle of a piece of paper and create a ‘what I do in the day’ side and a ‘what I do at night’ side. Their pages will be bound into a book for them to enjoy.
· Practiced reading using the Daily 5 framework
We had lots of families at the Student Led Conference this morning and afternoon. Thanks for celebrating with your child!
Tomorrow is the last day before spring break. Have a restful holiday. See you April 2nd.
Ms. G. here. Today we
· Had Zach as helper and Yuan as the caboose
· Had WOW groups and library book exchange
· Explored the OUT dance in P.E. Today when the children partnered up, one was the person who made a shape and the other was the explorer who travelled the space by going Over, Under and Through all the spaces they can. The dance progressed to groups using apparatus such as hoops and balls to extend the exploration space.
· Did our final practice for Student Led Conferences
· Made moonsshowing the different phases out of the big cookies that came with our hot lunch. That was a fun connection to science!
· Created a class made book during science. We brainstormed what we do in the day and what we do at night. Then they had to draw a line down the middle of a piece of paper and create a ‘what I do in the day’ side and a ‘what I do at night’ side. Their pages will be bound into a book for them to enjoy.
· Practiced reading using the Daily 5 framework
We had lots of families at the Student Led Conference this morning and afternoon. Thanks for celebrating with your child!
Tomorrow is the last day before spring break. Have a restful holiday. See you April 2nd.
March 13, 2013
Mrs. Buxton here!
Please come to our student led conferences tomorrow! Starting at 8:30 until 9:00 am then starting up again after school at 2:00 until 5:00 pm. Hope to see you there!
Today we:
- went to our WOW groups
- exchanged library and home reading books
- had our helper Yuan lead the calendar
- went to computers and a fun time was had by all
- played outside in the rain for recess
- had Roots of Empathy with Mrs. Zoo and talked about dreams
- completed a page of a book about our most memorable dreams
- got our next level paper reading booklet. Students that completed their reading to me got a sticker
- went to gym and played follow the leader with all different activities. We worked on personal space (especially the children with skipping ropes).
- were invited to a playdate in Mrs. B's room. It was great to get to play with all the new toys.
- cleaned up our classroom for the student led conferences tomorrow!
Please come to our student led conferences tomorrow! Starting at 8:30 until 9:00 am then starting up again after school at 2:00 until 5:00 pm. Hope to see you there!
Today we:
- went to our WOW groups
- exchanged library and home reading books
- had our helper Yuan lead the calendar
- went to computers and a fun time was had by all
- played outside in the rain for recess
- had Roots of Empathy with Mrs. Zoo and talked about dreams
- completed a page of a book about our most memorable dreams
- got our next level paper reading booklet. Students that completed their reading to me got a sticker
- went to gym and played follow the leader with all different activities. We worked on personal space (especially the children with skipping ropes).
- were invited to a playdate in Mrs. B's room. It was great to get to play with all the new toys.
- cleaned up our classroom for the student led conferences tomorrow!
March 12, 2013
March 12, 2013
Hi Families,
Ms. G. here. Today we:
· Had Tenly as helper and Saphira as the caboose
· Had WOW groups and library book exchange
· Had Mrs. Sherlock and Mrs. Lewis’ grade ¾ combined class help us practice for Student Led Conferences
· Made the envelopes for the invitations. They went home today
· Read the book The Dumb Bunnies by Dav Pilkey. The class thought it was quite hilarious!
· Read a chapter from Dinosaurs Before Dark
· Practiced reading and writing using the Daily 5 framework
· Prepared our binders for the Student Led Conference
· Reviewed the agenda for Student Led Conference
· Had music with Mrs. Thomson
· Sang the songs I Am a Pizza, Slippery Fish and Spider on the floor
· Read the book Just in Time for the King’s Birthday by E.B. Chance
Look for a purple envelope in your child’s backpack today. It holds the invitation they made you!
Please sign and return the report card cover and envelope.
Thank you to the families who engaged their child in the moon observations for February and returned the recording sheet to class.
Hi Families,
Ms. G. here. Today we:
· Had Tenly as helper and Saphira as the caboose
· Had WOW groups and library book exchange
· Had Mrs. Sherlock and Mrs. Lewis’ grade ¾ combined class help us practice for Student Led Conferences
· Made the envelopes for the invitations. They went home today
· Read the book The Dumb Bunnies by Dav Pilkey. The class thought it was quite hilarious!
· Read a chapter from Dinosaurs Before Dark
· Practiced reading and writing using the Daily 5 framework
· Prepared our binders for the Student Led Conference
· Reviewed the agenda for Student Led Conference
· Had music with Mrs. Thomson
· Sang the songs I Am a Pizza, Slippery Fish and Spider on the floor
· Read the book Just in Time for the King’s Birthday by E.B. Chance
Look for a purple envelope in your child’s backpack today. It holds the invitation they made you!
Please sign and return the report card cover and envelope.
Thank you to the families who engaged their child in the moon observations for February and returned the recording sheet to class.
- Below is a link to resources about self regulation that can be very useful for parents. Please take a look when you have some time.
- Jessika
- http://www.pearsoncanadaschool.com/index.cfm?locator=PS1vM5&PMDBSUBCATEGORYID=&PMDBSITEID=2621&PMDBSUBSOLUTIONID=&PMDBSOLUTIONID=25862&PMDBSUBJECTAREAID=&PMDBCATEGORYID=25878&PMDbProgramID=94021&element&elementID=Custom%20Bucket%201
March 11, 2013
Hello Parents, Mrs. Buxton here.
Today we:
- talked about daylight savings time and why we were all a bit sleepy
- sent home report cards. Please return envelopes with the top sheet signed.
- sent home overdue library books. If your child has a notice in their backpack please return the library books as soon as you can
- had Saphira as the helper
- went to music with Mrs. Thomson
- counted to 100 during calendar
- worked on long and short vowel sounds
- practiced the letter V and wrote all the words we know that star with V
- read the story "One Love" based on the Bob Marley song
- wrote in our journals. We practiced using capitalization and punctuation.
- went to the forest for free play
- jammed out to some child friendly tunes
* Student led conferences this Thursday March 14th at 8:30 - 8:55am and 2:00 - 5:00 pm. Hope to see you all there!
Today we:
- talked about daylight savings time and why we were all a bit sleepy
- sent home report cards. Please return envelopes with the top sheet signed.
- sent home overdue library books. If your child has a notice in their backpack please return the library books as soon as you can
- had Saphira as the helper
- went to music with Mrs. Thomson
- counted to 100 during calendar
- worked on long and short vowel sounds
- practiced the letter V and wrote all the words we know that star with V
- read the story "One Love" based on the Bob Marley song
- wrote in our journals. We practiced using capitalization and punctuation.
- went to the forest for free play
- jammed out to some child friendly tunes
* Student led conferences this Thursday March 14th at 8:30 - 8:55am and 2:00 - 5:00 pm. Hope to see you all there!
March 8, 2013
March 8, 2013
Hi Families,
Ms. G. here. Today we
· Had Quinten as helper and Owen as the caboose
· Had WOW groups and library book exchange
· Had music with Mrs. Thomson
· Role played how to introduce our families to our teachers for the Student Led Conference. This skill helps build the ability to take turns as well as confidence
· Prepared our next science folder. This time we are exploring the weather, the seasonal cycle an how this affects our lives. We will begin the study after Spring Break.
· Chose the book we would read at the student led conference and practiced reading it
· Went to the playground for P.E.
· started the invitations for the Student Led Conference. Tuesday we will create the purple envelopes.
Hi Families,
Ms. G. here. Today we
· Had Quinten as helper and Owen as the caboose
· Had WOW groups and library book exchange
· Had music with Mrs. Thomson
· Role played how to introduce our families to our teachers for the Student Led Conference. This skill helps build the ability to take turns as well as confidence
· Prepared our next science folder. This time we are exploring the weather, the seasonal cycle an how this affects our lives. We will begin the study after Spring Break.
· Chose the book we would read at the student led conference and practiced reading it
· Went to the playground for P.E.
· started the invitations for the Student Led Conference. Tuesday we will create the purple envelopes.
Informational Items:
Set your clocks ahead this weekend!!
March 14th: Our Student Led Conference times are 8:30-8:55 or 2:00 to 5:00
Scholastic book fair is in May
The Mac and Cheese Night is now April 18th
· Mar 11—Second term report cards issued
· Mar 14—Hot Lunch Day
· Mar 14—EARLY DISMISSAL DAY
· · Mar 18-Apr 1—Spring Break
· Apr 2—School reopens
· Apr 4—Popcorn Sale Day
· Apr 12—Karen Flamenco performance— Time TBA
· Apr 16—Birds of Prey presentation-11 am
· Apr 18—Popcorn Sale Day
· Apr 22—Pro-D Day (in lieu)
· Apr 26—Hot Lunch Day
· May 7—Class photos and School Panorama
March 14th: Our Student Led Conference times are 8:30-8:55 or 2:00 to 5:00
Scholastic book fair is in May
The Mac and Cheese Night is now April 18th
· Mar 11—Second term report cards issued
· Mar 14—Hot Lunch Day
· Mar 14—EARLY DISMISSAL DAY
· · Mar 18-Apr 1—Spring Break
· Apr 2—School reopens
· Apr 4—Popcorn Sale Day
· Apr 12—Karen Flamenco performance— Time TBA
· Apr 16—Birds of Prey presentation-11 am
· Apr 18—Popcorn Sale Day
· Apr 22—Pro-D Day (in lieu)
· Apr 26—Hot Lunch Day
· May 7—Class photos and School Panorama
March 7, 2013
Hi Families,
Ms. G. here. Today we:
· Had Owen as helper
· Had WOW groups and library book exchange
· Had P.E. Today we experienced the dance ‘Sculptures”. Groups formed a circle. As the music played the children would go to the center of the circle one at a time to build a sculpture. When the music went off, the sculpture would dissolve and the children returned to a place in the circle. Then we added a beat and finally hoops.
· Watched the arts presentation, Tap-Co. First we discussed positive behaviours when viewing a tap dance performance.
· Had math. We learned to identify what is a whole, a half, less than a half and more than a half.
· Had science. The children drew how they see day, night, morning and afternoon. Then we worked on the vocabulary of yesterday, today and tomorrow. The children drew images to accompany these measurement of time words.
Ms. G. here. Today we:
· Had Owen as helper
· Had WOW groups and library book exchange
· Had P.E. Today we experienced the dance ‘Sculptures”. Groups formed a circle. As the music played the children would go to the center of the circle one at a time to build a sculpture. When the music went off, the sculpture would dissolve and the children returned to a place in the circle. Then we added a beat and finally hoops.
· Watched the arts presentation, Tap-Co. First we discussed positive behaviours when viewing a tap dance performance.
· Had math. We learned to identify what is a whole, a half, less than a half and more than a half.
· Had science. The children drew how they see day, night, morning and afternoon. Then we worked on the vocabulary of yesterday, today and tomorrow. The children drew images to accompany these measurement of time words.
Wednesday March 6th, 2013
Mrs. Buxton here.
Today we:
- went to our WOW groups
- exchanged our library books
- had our helper Olivia lead our calendar
- worked on the letter U
- read in our reading groups
- practiced the daily 5
- watched a video from a school in Dubai
- had Roots of Empathy with Mrs. Zoo. Today we had a baby visit from baby Teagan.
- had Charlie teach us about his new book about the solar system. He taught us about all the planets, asteroids, and moons.
- went tot he gym and played basketball and soccer
- had social studies and discussed the brain and emotions
- went outside to the forest for play time
Today we:
- went to our WOW groups
- exchanged our library books
- had our helper Olivia lead our calendar
- worked on the letter U
- read in our reading groups
- practiced the daily 5
- watched a video from a school in Dubai
- had Roots of Empathy with Mrs. Zoo. Today we had a baby visit from baby Teagan.
- had Charlie teach us about his new book about the solar system. He taught us about all the planets, asteroids, and moons.
- went tot he gym and played basketball and soccer
- had social studies and discussed the brain and emotions
- went outside to the forest for play time
March 5, 2013
Hi Families,
Ms. G. here. Today we
· Had Mira as helper and Kamryn as the caboose
· Had WOW groups and library book exchange
· Did Mindful Movement, one of our MindUp strategies. We counted our heart rates before and after one minute of exercise. We talked about why our hearts speed up.
· Read the book There’s No Place Like Space! By Tish Rabe. Kamille brought in this book to share. We learned about our solar system.
· Did Word Wheels, sticker stories and partner reading for the Daily 5
· Had math. The children learned the importance of using units of the same length. Then they proceeded to measure things in their desks. It expanded from there to measuring their desks and other objects. Finally, one student decided to figure out the area of his desk!
· Had music with Mrs. Thomson
· Practiced for student led conferences
Read another chapter of Dinosaurs Before Dark
Hi Parents,
Jenn and I will be conducting interviews for the second reporting term in a different way from first term. The primary teachers have chosen to conduct student led conferences. So on Thursday March 14th between 2:00 and 4:00 p.m. you are encouraged to drop in with your child and have them tell you in his or her own words what they have been accomplishing this term. They will also show you their work, play a game and guide you to their favourite classroom activities. Try to get aunts, uncles, grandparents and other family members to come along and celebrate your child’s successful second term. Little ones are always welcome but please remember that they will distract you. It is very important that you really make this your kindy or grade one’s time.
·
Ms. G. here. Today we
· Had Mira as helper and Kamryn as the caboose
· Had WOW groups and library book exchange
· Did Mindful Movement, one of our MindUp strategies. We counted our heart rates before and after one minute of exercise. We talked about why our hearts speed up.
· Read the book There’s No Place Like Space! By Tish Rabe. Kamille brought in this book to share. We learned about our solar system.
· Did Word Wheels, sticker stories and partner reading for the Daily 5
· Had math. The children learned the importance of using units of the same length. Then they proceeded to measure things in their desks. It expanded from there to measuring their desks and other objects. Finally, one student decided to figure out the area of his desk!
· Had music with Mrs. Thomson
· Practiced for student led conferences
Read another chapter of Dinosaurs Before Dark
Hi Parents,
Jenn and I will be conducting interviews for the second reporting term in a different way from first term. The primary teachers have chosen to conduct student led conferences. So on Thursday March 14th between 2:00 and 4:00 p.m. you are encouraged to drop in with your child and have them tell you in his or her own words what they have been accomplishing this term. They will also show you their work, play a game and guide you to their favourite classroom activities. Try to get aunts, uncles, grandparents and other family members to come along and celebrate your child’s successful second term. Little ones are always welcome but please remember that they will distract you. It is very important that you really make this your kindy or grade one’s time.
·
March 1, 2013
Hi Families,
Please have your child bring their ‘phases of the moon’ observation sheet back to school by Friday March 8th. Thank you.
Ms. G.
Today we:
· Had Kamille as helper and Jolly as the caboose
· Had WOW groups and library book exchange
· Had music. Mrs. Thomson was away today.
· Created an exploration time plan. Each child had to think about what he/she would do during Exploring time and who they would do it with.
· Read to partners, read to self and wrote for the Daily 5. We ate popcorn while we read to self and wrote.
· Had P.E. Today’s day was entitled ‘Flocking’. This time we imagine we part of a flock which is on an adventure. In groups, a leader moved their flock through the space of the gym.
· Finished our 100 piece mosaics and our Cityscapes at Night
· Had exploration time
Thank you, Jessica for providing popcorn to the children who did not buy any.
Hi Parents,
Jenn and I will be conducting interviews for the second reporting term in a different way from first term. The primary teachers have chosen to conduct student led conferences. So on Thursday March 14th between 2:00 and 4:00 p.m. you are encouraged to drop in with your child and have them tell you in his or her own words what they have been accomplishing this term. They will also show you their work, play a game and guide you to their favourite classroom activities. Try to get aunts uncles, grandparents and other family members to come along and celebrate your child’s successful second term. Little ones are always welcome but please remember that they will distract you. It is very important that you really make this your kindy or grade one’s time.
Please have your child bring their ‘phases of the moon’ observation sheet back to school by Friday March 8th. Thank you.
Ms. G.
Today we:
· Had Kamille as helper and Jolly as the caboose
· Had WOW groups and library book exchange
· Had music. Mrs. Thomson was away today.
· Created an exploration time plan. Each child had to think about what he/she would do during Exploring time and who they would do it with.
· Read to partners, read to self and wrote for the Daily 5. We ate popcorn while we read to self and wrote.
· Had P.E. Today’s day was entitled ‘Flocking’. This time we imagine we part of a flock which is on an adventure. In groups, a leader moved their flock through the space of the gym.
· Finished our 100 piece mosaics and our Cityscapes at Night
· Had exploration time
Thank you, Jessica for providing popcorn to the children who did not buy any.
Hi Parents,
Jenn and I will be conducting interviews for the second reporting term in a different way from first term. The primary teachers have chosen to conduct student led conferences. So on Thursday March 14th between 2:00 and 4:00 p.m. you are encouraged to drop in with your child and have them tell you in his or her own words what they have been accomplishing this term. They will also show you their work, play a game and guide you to their favourite classroom activities. Try to get aunts uncles, grandparents and other family members to come along and celebrate your child’s successful second term. Little ones are always welcome but please remember that they will distract you. It is very important that you really make this your kindy or grade one’s time.
February 28, 2013
Hi Families,
Ms. G. here. Today we:
· Had Jolly as helper and Hannah as the caboose
· Had WOW groups and library book exchange
· Had P.E. We experienced ‘The Shadow Dance’. This time each student imagined he or she was someone’s shadow. This dance offered opportunities for each partner to lead the movements. Then we varied the dance with ‘The Shadow Wave’. This time three or more were in a line. Everyone follows the lead person. Finally, we performed ‘The Floor Shadow’. In partners, the lead person stands and the shadow person lies on the floor. These dances teach appreciation for how other people move.
· Discussed Habit 5 of the Seven Habits of Happy Kids: ‘Seek first to understand, then be understood’ or ‘Listen first, then talk’. We regularly review and refer to the other 4 habits so far discussed in class and connect them to activities at the moment in class.
· Had the Daily 5. The children got their new ‘Work on Words’ lists. They practiced their words with spinner spelling. It is always a favourite.
· Played a card game called ‘Guesstimate’ in math. It helped us learn and practice the math language ‘greater than’, ‘less than’, and ‘equal to’. We also looked at the symbols that represent the words.
· Read more of our novel Dinosaurs Before Dark by Mary Pope Osborne.
· Listened to Jacob read a book he brought from home called Are You a Horse? by Andy Rash
· Worked on day and night concepts in science
Tomorrow is popcorn day, $1.00 per bag
Ms. G. here. Today we:
· Had Jolly as helper and Hannah as the caboose
· Had WOW groups and library book exchange
· Had P.E. We experienced ‘The Shadow Dance’. This time each student imagined he or she was someone’s shadow. This dance offered opportunities for each partner to lead the movements. Then we varied the dance with ‘The Shadow Wave’. This time three or more were in a line. Everyone follows the lead person. Finally, we performed ‘The Floor Shadow’. In partners, the lead person stands and the shadow person lies on the floor. These dances teach appreciation for how other people move.
· Discussed Habit 5 of the Seven Habits of Happy Kids: ‘Seek first to understand, then be understood’ or ‘Listen first, then talk’. We regularly review and refer to the other 4 habits so far discussed in class and connect them to activities at the moment in class.
· Had the Daily 5. The children got their new ‘Work on Words’ lists. They practiced their words with spinner spelling. It is always a favourite.
· Played a card game called ‘Guesstimate’ in math. It helped us learn and practice the math language ‘greater than’, ‘less than’, and ‘equal to’. We also looked at the symbols that represent the words.
· Read more of our novel Dinosaurs Before Dark by Mary Pope Osborne.
· Listened to Jacob read a book he brought from home called Are You a Horse? by Andy Rash
· Worked on day and night concepts in science
Tomorrow is popcorn day, $1.00 per bag
February 27th, 2013
Hello! Mrs. Buxton here.
Today we:
- went to our WOW groups
- work pink to Stop Bullying!
- exchanged our home reading and library books
- worked on reading to a partner during the daily 5
- wrote as many T letter words as we could
- had Roots of Empathy with Mrs. Zoo. Today we talked about how a baby sleeps safest on their back. Mrs.Zoo read us the story Hush about a mom in Thailand puts her baby to sleep.
- worked on measurment in math
- had P.E. outside in the semi sunshine. It was great to have the full playground and field to ouselves
- talked about anti bullying day and why we worke pink. We discussed what to do if you are being bullied or if you are being a bully yourself.
- emailed photo of kids in pink shirt
Today we:
- went to our WOW groups
- work pink to Stop Bullying!
- exchanged our home reading and library books
- worked on reading to a partner during the daily 5
- wrote as many T letter words as we could
- had Roots of Empathy with Mrs. Zoo. Today we talked about how a baby sleeps safest on their back. Mrs.Zoo read us the story Hush about a mom in Thailand puts her baby to sleep.
- worked on measurment in math
- had P.E. outside in the semi sunshine. It was great to have the full playground and field to ouselves
- talked about anti bullying day and why we worke pink. We discussed what to do if you are being bullied or if you are being a bully yourself.
- emailed photo of kids in pink shirt
February 26, 2013
Hi Families,
Ms. G. here. Today we:
· Had Jacob as helper and Graydon as the caboose
· Had WOW groups and library book exchange
· Saw Sora’s dinosaur costume
· Read the story Armadillo Ray by John Beifuss. It is about a young armadillo’s quest for understanding why the moon seems to change. Thank you for bringing it Owen.
· Played ‘Wheel of Fortune’. The message was: Tomorrow is Pink Day. We talked about the reason for Pink Day.
· Read the rhyme Hickory Dickory Dock. We cut out the strips for the rhyme Hickory Dickory Dock and then had to glue them in order. There were rebus symbols (pictures to help read).We talked about how a title looks different from the rest of a written piece and the children were challenged to discover all the ways the title of their rhyme was different from the body of the poem. The class is taking the rhyme home to read with parents tonight.
· Had the Daily 5. We did Read to Self.
· Had math. We learned about the vocabulary of length (short, shorter, shortest, long, longer, longest) and identified largest numbers. We played a game where I held up an object and each child had to find something else that was shorter or longer. The children also learned the term non-standard unit of measurement. We used paperclips to measure other objects. The clips were our non-standard unit of measurement.
· Had science. The children took turns reading to the class about why we have day and night. Then they did a short cut and paste activity to accompany the reading.
· Had music with Mrs. Thomson
Don’t forget to have your child wear pink tomorrow.
More Important Dates (please see last Friday for the rest)
Friday, March 1st
- Popcorn Day, $1 per bag
Thursday, March 7th
- Tap Co performance @ 11am
Friday, March 8th
- Mac N Cheese Fundraiser 5 - 7 pm.
Ms. G. here. Today we:
· Had Jacob as helper and Graydon as the caboose
· Had WOW groups and library book exchange
· Saw Sora’s dinosaur costume
· Read the story Armadillo Ray by John Beifuss. It is about a young armadillo’s quest for understanding why the moon seems to change. Thank you for bringing it Owen.
· Played ‘Wheel of Fortune’. The message was: Tomorrow is Pink Day. We talked about the reason for Pink Day.
· Read the rhyme Hickory Dickory Dock. We cut out the strips for the rhyme Hickory Dickory Dock and then had to glue them in order. There were rebus symbols (pictures to help read).We talked about how a title looks different from the rest of a written piece and the children were challenged to discover all the ways the title of their rhyme was different from the body of the poem. The class is taking the rhyme home to read with parents tonight.
· Had the Daily 5. We did Read to Self.
· Had math. We learned about the vocabulary of length (short, shorter, shortest, long, longer, longest) and identified largest numbers. We played a game where I held up an object and each child had to find something else that was shorter or longer. The children also learned the term non-standard unit of measurement. We used paperclips to measure other objects. The clips were our non-standard unit of measurement.
· Had science. The children took turns reading to the class about why we have day and night. Then they did a short cut and paste activity to accompany the reading.
· Had music with Mrs. Thomson
Don’t forget to have your child wear pink tomorrow.
More Important Dates (please see last Friday for the rest)
Friday, March 1st
- Popcorn Day, $1 per bag
Thursday, March 7th
- Tap Co performance @ 11am
Friday, March 8th
- Mac N Cheese Fundraiser 5 - 7 pm.
February 25th, 2013
Hello! Mrs. Buxton here.
Today we:
- went to our WOW groups
- we exchanged our library and home reading books
- worked on the daily 5 by reading to ourselves
- had our helper Graydon lead us in our daily calendar
- went to Music with Mrs. Thomson. We danced and learned how to sing "It's a wonderful world"
- worked the letter S
- had lunch recess outside in the sunshine
- worked on the daily 5 again this time reading with a partner
- read a story about families. Their was a lot of great discussion around this. We talked about how every family is has similarities and differences and that is okay.
- wrote a student choice jounal entry and many students made connections to the story and wrote about their families
- had outside play in the forest
Wednesday is pink shirt day! Please help your child dress in pink to support anti bullying.
Scholastic book orders are due Wednesday.
Today we:
- went to our WOW groups
- we exchanged our library and home reading books
- worked on the daily 5 by reading to ourselves
- had our helper Graydon lead us in our daily calendar
- went to Music with Mrs. Thomson. We danced and learned how to sing "It's a wonderful world"
- worked the letter S
- had lunch recess outside in the sunshine
- worked on the daily 5 again this time reading with a partner
- read a story about families. Their was a lot of great discussion around this. We talked about how every family is has similarities and differences and that is okay.
- wrote a student choice jounal entry and many students made connections to the story and wrote about their families
- had outside play in the forest
Wednesday is pink shirt day! Please help your child dress in pink to support anti bullying.
Scholastic book orders are due Wednesday.
February 22, 2013
February 22, 2013
Hi Families,
Ms. G. here. Today we:
· Had Dylan as helper and Sora as the caboose
· Had WOW groups and library book exchange
· Had music with Mrs. Thomson
· Finished our pen pal letters, Day and Night folders and booklets about Night and Day
· Enjoyed Hot Lunch
· Had P.E. Today the class experienced The Mirror Dance. The children were encouraged to image they were dancing with their image in a mirror. They partnered and mirrored slow movements. Then partners sat across from each other and focused on only the movements of the face and facial expressions. Hands and shoulders were then added.
· Had art. We began Skyscrapers at Night with a discussion on what skyscrapers are and how the lit windows stand out at night. We looked at city skylines at night, on Google Images, noting the different heights of buildings and the randomness of the lit windows. First the children splatter painted stars and painted in a moon on black paper. Then children used paper shapes to create their skyscrapers. They will go up in the hall next week.
Important Dates:
· Feb. 27 – Wear Pink to support Anti-bullying
· Mar. 7 – Tap Co performance 11:00
· Mar. 11 – Second term report card goes out
· Mar. 14 – Hot Lunch Day
· Mar. 14 – Early dismissal (2:00)
· Mar. 18 – April 1 – Spring Break
· April 2 – School reopens
Hi Families,
Ms. G. here. Today we:
· Had Dylan as helper and Sora as the caboose
· Had WOW groups and library book exchange
· Had music with Mrs. Thomson
· Finished our pen pal letters, Day and Night folders and booklets about Night and Day
· Enjoyed Hot Lunch
· Had P.E. Today the class experienced The Mirror Dance. The children were encouraged to image they were dancing with their image in a mirror. They partnered and mirrored slow movements. Then partners sat across from each other and focused on only the movements of the face and facial expressions. Hands and shoulders were then added.
· Had art. We began Skyscrapers at Night with a discussion on what skyscrapers are and how the lit windows stand out at night. We looked at city skylines at night, on Google Images, noting the different heights of buildings and the randomness of the lit windows. First the children splatter painted stars and painted in a moon on black paper. Then children used paper shapes to create their skyscrapers. They will go up in the hall next week.
Important Dates:
· Feb. 27 – Wear Pink to support Anti-bullying
· Mar. 7 – Tap Co performance 11:00
· Mar. 11 – Second term report card goes out
· Mar. 14 – Hot Lunch Day
· Mar. 14 – Early dismissal (2:00)
· Mar. 18 – April 1 – Spring Break
· April 2 – School reopens
February 21, 2013
Hi Families,
Ms. G. here.
Today we:
· Had Sora as helper and Charlie as caboose
· Had WOW groups and library book exchange
· Had P.E. Today we began our Dance Unit. Our first dance is the ‘Freeze Dance”. The children moved to music and would freeze in a variety of ways: balancing, low, with partners or groups. Then we played colour tag.
For the Daily 5, we began by listening to the story Weather Watch singing the song ‘I Like the Rain’ and doing a Reading Response with the story Supper for a Troll. The children had to identify the main character, identify what his problem was, identify how the problem was solved and then extend the story to show how they would help the troll solve his problem. All this was done as an oral exercise.
Then we brain stormed ideas for what to write to our pen pals for the writing component of the Daily 5. The children then wrote their letters.
· Had math. I briefly introduced the concept of wide, wider, widest using some children’s hand spans to concretely demonstrate the concept.
· Had science. We began with a demonstration using a blow up Earth and Jacob as the sun. I showed how the Earth spins or rotates around its axis as it orbits around the sun. The rotation is why we have day and night. Then the Kindy’s and grade ones got different booklets about day and night to cut out and work on.
· Read The King’s Pudding
Tomorrow is Hot Lunch
Ms. G. here.
Today we:
· Had Sora as helper and Charlie as caboose
· Had WOW groups and library book exchange
· Had P.E. Today we began our Dance Unit. Our first dance is the ‘Freeze Dance”. The children moved to music and would freeze in a variety of ways: balancing, low, with partners or groups. Then we played colour tag.
For the Daily 5, we began by listening to the story Weather Watch singing the song ‘I Like the Rain’ and doing a Reading Response with the story Supper for a Troll. The children had to identify the main character, identify what his problem was, identify how the problem was solved and then extend the story to show how they would help the troll solve his problem. All this was done as an oral exercise.
Then we brain stormed ideas for what to write to our pen pals for the writing component of the Daily 5. The children then wrote their letters.
· Had math. I briefly introduced the concept of wide, wider, widest using some children’s hand spans to concretely demonstrate the concept.
· Had science. We began with a demonstration using a blow up Earth and Jacob as the sun. I showed how the Earth spins or rotates around its axis as it orbits around the sun. The rotation is why we have day and night. Then the Kindy’s and grade ones got different booklets about day and night to cut out and work on.
· Read The King’s Pudding
Tomorrow is Hot Lunch
February 20th, 2013
Hello! Mrs. Buxton here.
Today we:
- went to our WOW groups
- had to skip the library because it was closed. Library will be open tomorrow.
- worked on the letter R
- went to the computer lab and brought our own headsets to listen to our reading and math
- went outside in the snow!
- had Roots of Empathy with Mrs. Zoo. Today we talked about feelings and emotions and read the story "Recess Queen"
- worked on 1st, 2nd, and 3rd in math. This was difficult for some students as they had to compare short to shortest.
- had P.E. and worked on throwing balls and bean bags at a target.
- listened to 4 grade 3 presenters come and teach us about their solar system project. We leanred about Venus, Mars, Saturn, and Neptune. Their projects were really neat to see.
- had play time. Popular choices today were lego, drawing the solar system, and daily 5.
Today we:
- went to our WOW groups
- had to skip the library because it was closed. Library will be open tomorrow.
- worked on the letter R
- went to the computer lab and brought our own headsets to listen to our reading and math
- went outside in the snow!
- had Roots of Empathy with Mrs. Zoo. Today we talked about feelings and emotions and read the story "Recess Queen"
- worked on 1st, 2nd, and 3rd in math. This was difficult for some students as they had to compare short to shortest.
- had P.E. and worked on throwing balls and bean bags at a target.
- listened to 4 grade 3 presenters come and teach us about their solar system project. We leanred about Venus, Mars, Saturn, and Neptune. Their projects were really neat to see.
- had play time. Popular choices today were lego, drawing the solar system, and daily 5.
February 19, 2013
Hi Families,
Ms. G. here. Today we:
· Had Brian as helper and Auston was the caboose
· Had WOW groups and library book exchange
· Introduced our next Daily 5 Writing idea, poetry. The class learned what a concrete poem is. It is a poem written as a picture shaped with words. The words must describe the picture. Everyone tried writing about the sun in the shape of a sun.
· Continued with other components of the Daily 5
· Went to the computer lab. Each child wrote or stamped there name in Kids Pix and then drew pictures that started with each letter in their name. Backpack Alert: The children are bringing them home tonight.
· Had music with Mrs. Thomson
· Put our new math (Measurement) and our new Winter Words Dictionary into our binders
Ms. G. here. Today we:
· Had Brian as helper and Auston was the caboose
- shared Brian's cool glowing moon.
· Had WOW groups and library book exchange
· Introduced our next Daily 5 Writing idea, poetry. The class learned what a concrete poem is. It is a poem written as a picture shaped with words. The words must describe the picture. Everyone tried writing about the sun in the shape of a sun.
· Continued with other components of the Daily 5
· Went to the computer lab. Each child wrote or stamped there name in Kids Pix and then drew pictures that started with each letter in their name. Backpack Alert: The children are bringing them home tonight.
· Had music with Mrs. Thomson
- listened to the Draw and Tell story called 'Banana Cream Pie'. Draw and tell stories are special because as you tell the story you draw lines that correspond to various parts in the story. At the end of the story the lines form a picture that is part of the story.
· Put our new math (Measurement) and our new Winter Words Dictionary into our binders
February 18th, 2013
Mrs. Buxton here!
Today we:
- went to our WOW groups and worked on begining and ending sounds of words
- exchanged our library books
- worked on reading to ourselves, reading to a partner, and writing words in the daily 5
- went to music with Mrs. Thomson
- talked about communities. We learned that a community is made up of people who share beliefs and values. We talked about our school community and what it means to be a part of it. Each student chose one part of our school community that they wanted to draw. Some drew the playground, the library, the parking lot, Mamquam Max, the class at an assembly, etc. They had some really great ideas.
- worked on the letter Q
- reflected on 100's day
- counted to 100
- had Auston as the helper
- sent home scholastic book orders. They are due back Wednesday February 27th.
Today we:
- went to our WOW groups and worked on begining and ending sounds of words
- exchanged our library books
- worked on reading to ourselves, reading to a partner, and writing words in the daily 5
- went to music with Mrs. Thomson
- talked about communities. We learned that a community is made up of people who share beliefs and values. We talked about our school community and what it means to be a part of it. Each student chose one part of our school community that they wanted to draw. Some drew the playground, the library, the parking lot, Mamquam Max, the class at an assembly, etc. They had some really great ideas.
- worked on the letter Q
- reflected on 100's day
- counted to 100
- had Auston as the helper
- sent home scholastic book orders. They are due back Wednesday February 27th.
February 15, 2013
Happy 100th Day Celebration
Hi Families,
Ms. G. here. Today we
· Had Ashton as helper and Alex as the caboose
· Had WOW groups and library book exchange
· Had Music with Mrs. Thomson
· Made a 100 book. Your child has taken it home to share. The grade ones and some of the kindys have extra pages for homework this weekend.
· Read two poems about 100. Your child has also take the poems home to read with you.
· Made math equations that equal 100
· Learned the term ‘Mosaic’ and created a mosaic with 100 squares of construction paper
· Went to the gym to lay our 100 things out. We created a real world graph in this way to compare lengths of objects. Olivia's was the shortest (macaroni) and Kamille's was the longest (gel pens).
· Made a prediction graph about whether 100 people could fit in our room. Then 100 people came into our room!!!!!! Thank you to the class's of Mrs. Shier, Mr. McKay and Mrs. Reimer for helping is with this activity.
February 14, 2013
Happy Valentine's Day
Hi Families,
Ms. G. here. Today we:
· Had Alex as helper and Carter as the caboose
· Had WOW groups and library book exchange
· Had P.E. The class learned various ways to skip in preparation for Jump Rope for Heart.
· Had our Valentine Exchange and took time to look at them. A BIG THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR WONDERFUL VALENTINES AND GOODIES.
· Read a variety of Valentine poems and reviewed the structure of a letter
· Made pop-up Valentine cards for our families and our pen pals
· Went to the gym and participated in Jump Rope for Heart
· Finger-painted large hearts. The finger paints were in the primary colours. Some of the children chose to explore colour mixing while exploring with the paints.
· Most of the children made Valentine door knob decorations
· Had a party with a cake from Zach and Jacob, cookies from Brian, candies from Mrs. Grainger, juice from Auston and cupcakes from Ashton.
· Iced and decorated sugar cookies Ms. G. baked
Tomorrow is Cookie and Milk Day - $1.00
Hi Families,
Ms. G. here. Today we:
· Had Alex as helper and Carter as the caboose
· Had WOW groups and library book exchange
· Had P.E. The class learned various ways to skip in preparation for Jump Rope for Heart.
· Had our Valentine Exchange and took time to look at them. A BIG THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR WONDERFUL VALENTINES AND GOODIES.
· Read a variety of Valentine poems and reviewed the structure of a letter
· Made pop-up Valentine cards for our families and our pen pals
· Went to the gym and participated in Jump Rope for Heart
· Finger-painted large hearts. The finger paints were in the primary colours. Some of the children chose to explore colour mixing while exploring with the paints.
· Most of the children made Valentine door knob decorations
· Had a party with a cake from Zach and Jacob, cookies from Brian, candies from Mrs. Grainger, juice from Auston and cupcakes from Ashton.
· Iced and decorated sugar cookies Ms. G. baked
Tomorrow is Cookie and Milk Day - $1.00
Wednesday February 13th, 2013
Hello everyone, Mrs. Buxton here.
Today we:
- went to our WOW groups
- exchanged our library and home reading books
- worked on the letter P
- read stories in groups
- challenged ourselves to read new words
- talked about Valentines Day
- had Roots of Empathy with a visit from baby Teagen! Pictures posted below.
- went outside for D.P.A. (daily physical activity)
- had Deanna Lewis come and show our class how to drum traditional first nations songs (pictures posted below)
- worked on numeracy
Today we:
- went to our WOW groups
- exchanged our library and home reading books
- worked on the letter P
- read stories in groups
- challenged ourselves to read new words
- talked about Valentines Day
- had Roots of Empathy with a visit from baby Teagen! Pictures posted below.
- went outside for D.P.A. (daily physical activity)
- had Deanna Lewis come and show our class how to drum traditional first nations songs (pictures posted below)
- worked on numeracy
February 12, 2013
Hi Families,
Ms. G. here.
An enormous thank you to the families who have contributed supplies to the whole class. This was unexpected generosity!!
Today we:
· Had Zach as helper
· Had WOW groups and library book exchange
· Played ‘Wheel of Fortune’
· Made our Valentine’s Day pockets
· Rehearsed for our last presentation
- did 'Read to Self' or 'Writing' for the Daily 5
· Performed for our families. There is a short slide show. I got a few snaps taken before my camera decided to stop working.
· Read a Valentine’s Day story. It was a Paper Story called 'The Wind and the Red Paper Square'. As I told the story I cut paper and in the end the paper changed into a heart.
· Went to the library for special activities. The children heard the story Goldilocks and the Three Dinosaurs. Then they coloured stick puppets to go with the story. The pictures went home with the dinosaur folders today.
- Enjoyed super tasty dino bones covered in dirt cookies. Thank you Brian and Family.
- Took our Dinosaur folders home
Important Dates:
Today we are in school for 100 days. We will be celebrating on Friday due to our final performance and Valentine’s Day. On Friday, please have your child bring 100 things to count and graph on Friday. Keep the items small. Your child could bring dry cereal pieces, lego, paper clips, straws, elastic bands, pennies and so on.
This Wednesday we have our First Nations Cultural Activities with Deanna Lewis at 1 - 2 pm. The title of the activity is Pony beads.
On Thursday we will do a Valentine exchange and decorate cookies.
Also, on Thursday at lunch Jump Rope for Heart skipping will take place from 12:00 to 12:30. Your child can bring a skipping rope and can bring pledges for the Heart Foundation if you wish.
On Thursday your child will be bring home the dino costume they created. Please have a way to help your child get it home as it is quite big.
This Friday is Cookie and Milk day $1 each - PAC fundraiser.
Friday, February 22nd is Hot Lunch Day
February 7, 2013
Hi Families,
Ms. G. here. Today we:
· Had Tenly as helper
· Had WOW groups and library book exchange
· Rehearsed our ‘Trip in a Time Machine’
Weighed the pennies we collected. They weighed in at 11 kilograms (22 pounds). Everyone got to hold the bag. It was really heavy. Thank you to everyone who contributed the pennies.
· Gave four performances for the following classes:
1. Mrs. Sherlock/Mrs. Lewis, grade 3/4
2. Mrs. McClements/Mrs. Zuckernick, grade 1/2
3. Mrs. Buxton/Mrs. Carson, grade 3
4. Mrs. Gilchrist. Grade 2
5. Mrs. Sotham, kindergarten
6. Mrs. Farmer, grade 2/3
· Mrs. Farmer’s class taught our class the order of the planets in our solar system.
Pajama day was soooo relaxing and fun.
Our performance got rave reviews. We were terrific. The battery died on my camera (Murphy's law) so I snapped one picture and got most of one performance.
A big thank you to James Gray, Auston's big brother in Mrs. Reimer's class. He not only filmed our class but chased down another camera to film a full performance. You are awesome, James!
Ms. G. here. Today we:
· Had Tenly as helper
· Had WOW groups and library book exchange
· Rehearsed our ‘Trip in a Time Machine’
Weighed the pennies we collected. They weighed in at 11 kilograms (22 pounds). Everyone got to hold the bag. It was really heavy. Thank you to everyone who contributed the pennies.
· Gave four performances for the following classes:
1. Mrs. Sherlock/Mrs. Lewis, grade 3/4
2. Mrs. McClements/Mrs. Zuckernick, grade 1/2
3. Mrs. Buxton/Mrs. Carson, grade 3
4. Mrs. Gilchrist. Grade 2
5. Mrs. Sotham, kindergarten
6. Mrs. Farmer, grade 2/3
· Mrs. Farmer’s class taught our class the order of the planets in our solar system.
Pajama day was soooo relaxing and fun.
Our performance got rave reviews. We were terrific. The battery died on my camera (Murphy's law) so I snapped one picture and got most of one performance.
A big thank you to James Gray, Auston's big brother in Mrs. Reimer's class. He not only filmed our class but chased down another camera to film a full performance. You are awesome, James!
February 6th, 2013
Mrs. Buxton here.
Today we:
- had Saphira as the helper
- went to our wow groups and talked about syllables
- exchanged library books
- had Roots of Empathy with Mrs. Zoo. Today we talked about reading peoples' emotions. How to tell if someone is crying because they are sad or angry.
- went to the computer lab and worked on writing and numeracy
- talked about how every story has a beginning, middle, and end. Each student then wrote their own beginning, middle, and end to a story and illustrated it.
- went to the gym for P.E.
- had exploration centres
- Pajama Day tomorow! bring your pennies and wear pajamas.
Today we:
- had Saphira as the helper
- went to our wow groups and talked about syllables
- exchanged library books
- had Roots of Empathy with Mrs. Zoo. Today we talked about reading peoples' emotions. How to tell if someone is crying because they are sad or angry.
- went to the computer lab and worked on writing and numeracy
- talked about how every story has a beginning, middle, and end. Each student then wrote their own beginning, middle, and end to a story and illustrated it.
- went to the gym for P.E.
- had exploration centres
- Pajama Day tomorow! bring your pennies and wear pajamas.
February 5, 2013
Hi Families,
Ms. G. here. Today we:
Below are pictures from last Thursday and Friday. Check out what the homework and the invitations look like. Please click on the small images to get the full sized pictures with captions.
Remember:
1. We will perform for the parents Tuesday Feb. 12 at 1:15. If you can’t come that day, drop by at 11:15 or 1:15 on the 7th. We are performing for other classes.
2. Thursday is Pajama Day
3. The following links are for parents. They have a lot of good information. They are from Education.com. It is free to join.
http://www.education.com/grade/first-grade/
http://www.education.com/grade/kindergarten/
Ms. G. here. Today we:
- · Had Quinten as helper
- · Had WOW groups and library book exchange
- · Rehearsed for ‘Trip in a Time Machine'
- · Performed ‘Trip in a Time Machine' for Mrs. Shier’s grade 1 class
- · Saw a Green Thumb Theatre production called Night Light
- had exploration time with Mrs. Sotham's class
Below are pictures from last Thursday and Friday. Check out what the homework and the invitations look like. Please click on the small images to get the full sized pictures with captions.
Remember:
1. We will perform for the parents Tuesday Feb. 12 at 1:15. If you can’t come that day, drop by at 11:15 or 1:15 on the 7th. We are performing for other classes.
2. Thursday is Pajama Day
3. The following links are for parents. They have a lot of good information. They are from Education.com. It is free to join.
http://www.education.com/grade/first-grade/
http://www.education.com/grade/kindergarten/
February 4th, 2013
Hello everyone,
Mrs. Buxton here.
Today we:
- had Owen as the helper
- went to our WOW groups and worked on removing ending sounds. For example, say the word lightbulb, now say it without the b at the end, lightbul
- exchanged library books
- worked on the daily 5. Some students that typically chose to read first have really embraced writing. The excitement in their eyes is contagious!
- went to music with Mrs. Thomson
- counted up to 96. 4 more school days until 100 day of school.
- worked on the letter P. Some students drew pictures and some students praticed printing words with P in it.
- had guided reading groups. Today we checked for tracking and made predictions about what would happen next.
- talked about families in Social Studies. We are going to be making a class cookbook of our favourite family recipes! Please see below for information.
- talked about the importance of self regulation in all things we do. We coloured our Engine charts - Low, Just right, High. Students have their own copy on their desk now and can adjust it to how they are feeling.
- talked about groundhog day
Mrs. Buxton here.
Today we:
- had Owen as the helper
- went to our WOW groups and worked on removing ending sounds. For example, say the word lightbulb, now say it without the b at the end, lightbul
- exchanged library books
- worked on the daily 5. Some students that typically chose to read first have really embraced writing. The excitement in their eyes is contagious!
- went to music with Mrs. Thomson
- counted up to 96. 4 more school days until 100 day of school.
- worked on the letter P. Some students drew pictures and some students praticed printing words with P in it.
- had guided reading groups. Today we checked for tracking and made predictions about what would happen next.
- talked about families in Social Studies. We are going to be making a class cookbook of our favourite family recipes! Please see below for information.
- talked about the importance of self regulation in all things we do. We coloured our Engine charts - Low, Just right, High. Students have their own copy on their desk now and can adjust it to how they are feeling.
- talked about groundhog day
February 1, 2013
Hi Families,
Ms. G. here. Today we:
· Had Olivia as helper and Mira as the caboose
· Had WOW groups and library book exchange
· Had music with Mrs. Thomson
· Wrote invitations to our Dinosaur Presentation
· Were engaged in the Daily 5
· Had P.E. We tried a new game called Swamp tag and then played freeze tag.
· Rehearsed for the presentation
Parents,
The children’s school supplies have really dwindled. The supplies that my daughter Miranda donated are also almost gone. The school will not give our classroom the supplies students need. Teachers do not have the resources to get the supplies. The children get very frustrated when they have not got the supplies they need to do the classroom activities. Please talk to your child about what schools supplies they need. You could also come in and check your child’s desk. Most of the children are in need of:
-Pencils (critical)
-Erasers
-Glue sticks, lots of them! (We are desperate for these)
-Scissors
-Colours: felts, pencil crayons and crayons
-Many children still need a storage box. The baggies we provide are not strong enough.
And please no pens
Ms. G. here. Today we:
· Had Olivia as helper and Mira as the caboose
· Had WOW groups and library book exchange
· Had music with Mrs. Thomson
· Wrote invitations to our Dinosaur Presentation
· Were engaged in the Daily 5
· Had P.E. We tried a new game called Swamp tag and then played freeze tag.
· Rehearsed for the presentation
Parents,
The children’s school supplies have really dwindled. The supplies that my daughter Miranda donated are also almost gone. The school will not give our classroom the supplies students need. Teachers do not have the resources to get the supplies. The children get very frustrated when they have not got the supplies they need to do the classroom activities. Please talk to your child about what schools supplies they need. You could also come in and check your child’s desk. Most of the children are in need of:
-Pencils (critical)
-Erasers
-Glue sticks, lots of them! (We are desperate for these)
-Scissors
-Colours: felts, pencil crayons and crayons
-Many children still need a storage box. The baggies we provide are not strong enough.
And please no pens
January 31, 2013
Hi Families,
Ms. G. here. Today we
· Had Mira as helper and Kamryn as the caboose
· Dylan brought his new puppy Pepper for a visit. The children asked a lot of questions and each got to pet Pepper.
· Had WOW groups and library book exchange
· Had P.E. The children were pteranodons. The vocabulary used was centered on bird movements in the air (soaring, gliding, swooping, plunging, grabbing, grasping). The children were born as the flying reptile, and then practiced the various movements using different pathways, speeds and levels. We also played Rainbow tag.
· Played “Wheel of Fortune”. We made all the vowels blue to practice the concept of vowels.
· Had popcorn day
· Shared the finished Dinosaur projects with the class and congratulated the students on their hard work
· Finished our time machine, HURRAY! Each child created a short script based on pattern writing. The children used their home based projects to help them write their scripts. Everyone in class wrote their own script!!! More celebrating!
· Practiced our scripts for the presentation.
We are inviting the parents to come at 1:15 on Tuesday February 12th to check out what we have been doing and take a trip in the time machine.
Today your child is bringing home an activity to do for the month of February. The project accompanies the new Earth and Space unit we are starting soon.
*Pajama day Thursday February 7th. Bring in your pennies to fundraise for clean water around the world.
* Please check for overdue library books at home
January 30th, 2013
Hello everyone, Mrs. Buxton here.
Today we:
- went our WOW groups
- exchanged our library books
- had Kamryn as our helper and Kamille as the caboose
- worked on the letter O. Some students matched upper and lower case letters, some worked on their letter O booklet, and some students worked in a guided reading group.
- had Roots of Empathy with Mrs. Zoo. Today we talked about mixed emotions and what happens when you feel happy and sad at the same time. Today was sad becasue we had to say goodbye to baby Kalia, but it was also happy because we learned that we will get to meet our new baby Teagan. Photo posted below of our new Roots of Empathy bulletin board in the hallway. Come check it out to read about baby Teagan.
- reviewed what makes up a family in Social Studies. We read the story "A surprise family" about a chick that hatches and sees a boy who he believes is his mom. We discussed how all families are different.
- worked on math centres. Some students workes on puzzles, dice games, printing numbers up to 100, and addition.
- we had an assembly about Jump Rope for Heart on February 14th, Self Regulation, Pajama Day, and popcorn day.
*Hot lunch notices went out and not many people have returned yet
*Popcorn fundraiser tomorrow. $1 a bag
*Pajama day Thursday February 7th. Bring in your pennies to fundraise for clean water around the world.
* Please check for overdue library books at home
Today we:
- went our WOW groups
- exchanged our library books
- had Kamryn as our helper and Kamille as the caboose
- worked on the letter O. Some students matched upper and lower case letters, some worked on their letter O booklet, and some students worked in a guided reading group.
- had Roots of Empathy with Mrs. Zoo. Today we talked about mixed emotions and what happens when you feel happy and sad at the same time. Today was sad becasue we had to say goodbye to baby Kalia, but it was also happy because we learned that we will get to meet our new baby Teagan. Photo posted below of our new Roots of Empathy bulletin board in the hallway. Come check it out to read about baby Teagan.
- reviewed what makes up a family in Social Studies. We read the story "A surprise family" about a chick that hatches and sees a boy who he believes is his mom. We discussed how all families are different.
- worked on math centres. Some students workes on puzzles, dice games, printing numbers up to 100, and addition.
- we had an assembly about Jump Rope for Heart on February 14th, Self Regulation, Pajama Day, and popcorn day.
*Hot lunch notices went out and not many people have returned yet
*Popcorn fundraiser tomorrow. $1 a bag
*Pajama day Thursday February 7th. Bring in your pennies to fundraise for clean water around the world.
* Please check for overdue library books at home
January 29, 2013
Hi Families,
Ms. G. here. Today we:
· Had Kamille as helper and Jolly as our caboose
· Had WOW groups and library book exchange
· Learned how to do sticker stories for writing during the Daily 5. The children choose two stickers and then draw a picture around it. This picture becomes the starting point for creating a story. It was a big hit! Pictures are below.
· Added Listening to Reading to the Daily 5. It is the last component. We generated the Anchor Chart (Purpose) and the I-Chart (what does it look like to do this independently). They listened to a classic story Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak. After reading they practiced sequencing events to help fix story structure into their long term memory. I randomly picked popsicle sticks labeled with their names out of a bag to form partners for the ‘after listening to reading’ activity. Each child worked on sequencing using a Graphic Organizer. Pictures follow.
· · Had math. We worked on a counting on strategy for addition and placed a dot game that is really a game about area.
· Worked on our time machine. It is almost finished.
· Had music with Mrs. Thomson
January 28th, 2013
Hello everyone,
Today we:
- went to our WOW groups and worked on ending sounds
- had Jolly as our helper
- exchanged our library books and home reading books
- went to music with Mrs. Thomson where acted out a story called "One"
- played outside in the fresh air
- worked on our family book in Social Studies. Each student drew a picture of their family.
- went skating at Brennan Park and the kids had a blast! Pictures posted below.
Today we:
- went to our WOW groups and worked on ending sounds
- had Jolly as our helper
- exchanged our library books and home reading books
- went to music with Mrs. Thomson where acted out a story called "One"
- played outside in the fresh air
- worked on our family book in Social Studies. Each student drew a picture of their family.
- went skating at Brennan Park and the kids had a blast! Pictures posted below.
January 25, 2013
Hi Families,
Ms. G. here. Mrs. Buxton was sick again yesterday and today too. We hope she will be better soon. Today we:
· Had Jacob as our engine and Hannah as our caboose
· Had WOW groups and library book exchange
· Ate the coconut Ms. G. brought to share with the class
· Had hot lunch
· Had music with Mrs. Thomson
· Created a class made book with the pattern _________ would be a ______________. Before beginning the students generated criteria for an excellent page. They decided the picture must:
· Got started on making our folders for our next science unit, Day and Night
Here are a few important upcoming dates:
Jan. 28 - our class is going skating.
Jan. 31 - the school is having a popcorn sale. Each bag is $1.00
Feb 8—Pro-D day, NO school
Feb 11—Family Day—New Holiday! - NO School
Ms. G. here. Mrs. Buxton was sick again yesterday and today too. We hope she will be better soon. Today we:
· Had Jacob as our engine and Hannah as our caboose
· Had WOW groups and library book exchange
· Ate the coconut Ms. G. brought to share with the class
· Had hot lunch
· Had music with Mrs. Thomson
· Created a class made book with the pattern _________ would be a ______________. Before beginning the students generated criteria for an excellent page. They decided the picture must:
- -be big
- -be colourful
- -have background that goes with the dino time setting
· Got started on making our folders for our next science unit, Day and Night
Here are a few important upcoming dates:
Jan. 28 - our class is going skating.
Jan. 31 - the school is having a popcorn sale. Each bag is $1.00
Feb 8—Pro-D day, NO school
Feb 11—Family Day—New Holiday! - NO School
January 24, 2013
Hi Families,
Ms. G. here. Mrs. Buxton was sick yesterday. We hope she will be better soon. Today we:
· Had Hannah as our engine and Graydon as our caboose
· Had WOW groups and library book exchange
· Had P.E. Today we became T. Rex’s. We were born out of eggs, stretched our muscles and then worked on creative movement around the vocabulary of search (for prey), attack (lunge, jump) and devour. Then focus was on different pathways, levels and body positions. As a finale, the children paired up and created a sequence that had the elements of search, attack and devour. Then half the class watched the other half perform their min-play. We then switched so the other half performed. This is called a half watch half strategy. Afterwards, the children tell each other about the cool moves they saw.
· Continued to introduce Work on Words activities into the Daily 5
· Discovered Iguanodon for our Dinosaur of the Day. We learned facts, and drew it to add to our collection.
· Had science. We worked on developing our costumes for the journey in the time machine.
Tomorrow is Hot Lunch
Ms. G. here. Mrs. Buxton was sick yesterday. We hope she will be better soon. Today we:
· Had Hannah as our engine and Graydon as our caboose
· Had WOW groups and library book exchange
· Had P.E. Today we became T. Rex’s. We were born out of eggs, stretched our muscles and then worked on creative movement around the vocabulary of search (for prey), attack (lunge, jump) and devour. Then focus was on different pathways, levels and body positions. As a finale, the children paired up and created a sequence that had the elements of search, attack and devour. Then half the class watched the other half perform their min-play. We then switched so the other half performed. This is called a half watch half strategy. Afterwards, the children tell each other about the cool moves they saw.
· Continued to introduce Work on Words activities into the Daily 5
· Discovered Iguanodon for our Dinosaur of the Day. We learned facts, and drew it to add to our collection.
· Had science. We worked on developing our costumes for the journey in the time machine.
Tomorrow is Hot Lunch
January 22, 2013
Hi Families,
Ms. G. here. Today we:
· Had Dylan as helper and Sora as our caboose
· Had WOW groups and library book exchange
· Got to know our Dinosaur of the Day, Ichthyosaurus. It was a marine reptile not a true dinosaur. It lived in the water but breathed air. We learned fact, drew it and measured its length in the hallway to compare with the others.
· Created a ‘Take a Dinosaur for Lunch’ book. We brainstormed what dinosaurs might like to eat in enormous quantities and then the children created a booklet.
· Began planning costumes in science
· Sang the rap song ‘The Dinosaur Party’ and chanted the poem ‘What’s For Lunch?’
· Went to music with Mrs. Thomson
· Did addition activities in math
Ms. G. here. Today we:
· Had Dylan as helper and Sora as our caboose
· Had WOW groups and library book exchange
· Got to know our Dinosaur of the Day, Ichthyosaurus. It was a marine reptile not a true dinosaur. It lived in the water but breathed air. We learned fact, drew it and measured its length in the hallway to compare with the others.
· Created a ‘Take a Dinosaur for Lunch’ book. We brainstormed what dinosaurs might like to eat in enormous quantities and then the children created a booklet.
· Began planning costumes in science
· Sang the rap song ‘The Dinosaur Party’ and chanted the poem ‘What’s For Lunch?’
· Went to music with Mrs. Thomson
· Did addition activities in math
January 21st, 2013
Hello! Mrs. Buxton here
Today we:
- had Sora as the helper and Brian as the caboose
- went to our WOW groups and exchanged library books
- worked on our Daily 5 by reading to ourselves and reading to a partner
- exchanged our home reading books
- had Sora lead us in our daily calendar
- went to music with Mrs. Thomson where we did drumming
- reviewed the letter N. Some children wrote out letter N words and others practiced printing the letter N
- read an awesome dinoursaur pop up book that Quinten brought in to share iwth the class. We talked about Carnivores and Herbivores.
- worked on placement and directions in math. For example, circle the 4th square, underline who came in last place.
- had free play where hot topics included dinosaur towns, and city builders. Photos posted below.
- went outside to enjoy a bit of the sunshine
Today we:
- had Sora as the helper and Brian as the caboose
- went to our WOW groups and exchanged library books
- worked on our Daily 5 by reading to ourselves and reading to a partner
- exchanged our home reading books
- had Sora lead us in our daily calendar
- went to music with Mrs. Thomson where we did drumming
- reviewed the letter N. Some children wrote out letter N words and others practiced printing the letter N
- read an awesome dinoursaur pop up book that Quinten brought in to share iwth the class. We talked about Carnivores and Herbivores.
- worked on placement and directions in math. For example, circle the 4th square, underline who came in last place.
- had free play where hot topics included dinosaur towns, and city builders. Photos posted below.
- went outside to enjoy a bit of the sunshine
January 18, 2013
Hi Families,
Ms. G. here. Today we:
· Had Charlie as helper and Brian was the caboose
· Had WOW groups and library book exchange
· Went to the gym for P.E. We used a drum beat to guide us into becoming small light dinosaurs or huge heavy dinosaurs. The children also had to change levels and pathways as they went through a 'jungle'.
· Studied Dimetrodon as our Dinosaur of the Day. We learned facts about it, added his length to our hallway measurements and drew it to add to our collection of dino activities.
· Went to the library for fun activities including stories, some art and songs.
· Began designing our costumes for our trip to the land of the dinosaurs
Check out the website http://www.kidsdinos.com . The site compares the sizes of prehistoric creatures to humans, plots the finds of their remains on a world map and uses a timeline to show when they lived. As well there are many facts to learn.
Ms. G. here. Today we:
· Had Charlie as helper and Brian was the caboose
· Had WOW groups and library book exchange
· Went to the gym for P.E. We used a drum beat to guide us into becoming small light dinosaurs or huge heavy dinosaurs. The children also had to change levels and pathways as they went through a 'jungle'.
· Studied Dimetrodon as our Dinosaur of the Day. We learned facts about it, added his length to our hallway measurements and drew it to add to our collection of dino activities.
· Went to the library for fun activities including stories, some art and songs.
· Began designing our costumes for our trip to the land of the dinosaurs
Check out the website http://www.kidsdinos.com . The site compares the sizes of prehistoric creatures to humans, plots the finds of their remains on a world map and uses a timeline to show when they lived. As well there are many facts to learn.
January 17, 2013
Hi Families,
Ms. G. here.
Thank you to the parents who came on the field trip with us. It was a fabulous experience. We loved getting to go with our big buddy class.
Today we:
· Had Brian as helper and Auston as the caboose
· Missed library book exchange, WOW groups and P.E. due to our eagle viewing trip
· Saw eagles near the Mamquam River
· Had the daily five
· Read letters from our pen pals and began answering them back.
· Worked on a problem of the day: Write 6 different 2-digit numbers on your paper. Then put them in order from least to greatest.
We have also been integrating the math concept of measurement with science. We have been comparing dinosaur lengths by measuring the length of each dinosaur in the hallway and using masking tape on the wall as a place marker. Today we added pterodactyl’s 10 meter wingspan to triceratops' 9 meter length and apatosaurus' 20 meter length!
· Learned about our Dinosaur of the Day: pterodactyl. We studied four facts and drew the flying reptile. We learned a poem about it as well. We also watched a short YouTube video.
· Studied dinosaur skeletal structures in science. They played a matching game and then the children cut out bones. They began gluing them together to make a dinosaur skeleton.
Ms. G. here.
Thank you to the parents who came on the field trip with us. It was a fabulous experience. We loved getting to go with our big buddy class.
Today we:
· Had Brian as helper and Auston as the caboose
· Missed library book exchange, WOW groups and P.E. due to our eagle viewing trip
· Saw eagles near the Mamquam River
· Had the daily five
· Read letters from our pen pals and began answering them back.
· Worked on a problem of the day: Write 6 different 2-digit numbers on your paper. Then put them in order from least to greatest.
We have also been integrating the math concept of measurement with science. We have been comparing dinosaur lengths by measuring the length of each dinosaur in the hallway and using masking tape on the wall as a place marker. Today we added pterodactyl’s 10 meter wingspan to triceratops' 9 meter length and apatosaurus' 20 meter length!
· Learned about our Dinosaur of the Day: pterodactyl. We studied four facts and drew the flying reptile. We learned a poem about it as well. We also watched a short YouTube video.
· Studied dinosaur skeletal structures in science. They played a matching game and then the children cut out bones. They began gluing them together to make a dinosaur skeleton.
January 16th, 2013
Hello, Mrs. Buxton here.
Today we:
- met our new classmate Sora!
- went to our WOW groups
- exchanged our library books and home reading. Your child should have a new book in their backpack to read tonight. Please return the reader to school when you are finished with it.
- continued our work on the letter M
- everyone took home a paper numbered reader. Please have your child read this story to you tonight. I read with each child to make sure that they could read most of the story. They are excited to share it with you tonight.
- had Roots of Empathy with Mrs. Zoo where we talked about how we carry a baby. (ex. Car seat, snuggly)
- many students attended the drumming circle with Mrs. Thomson at lunch hour
- went to P.E. in the gym. We played dinosaur tag and then basketball, scooter boards, and skipping ropes.
Tomorrow is our field trip to see the Eagles. We will be walking so please make sure your child is wearing appropriate gear for the cold! (Hats, gloves, jackets, boots)
Last chance for scholastic book order is tomorrow morning.
Picture from our skating trip below.
Today we:
- met our new classmate Sora!
- went to our WOW groups
- exchanged our library books and home reading. Your child should have a new book in their backpack to read tonight. Please return the reader to school when you are finished with it.
- continued our work on the letter M
- everyone took home a paper numbered reader. Please have your child read this story to you tonight. I read with each child to make sure that they could read most of the story. They are excited to share it with you tonight.
- had Roots of Empathy with Mrs. Zoo where we talked about how we carry a baby. (ex. Car seat, snuggly)
- many students attended the drumming circle with Mrs. Thomson at lunch hour
- went to P.E. in the gym. We played dinosaur tag and then basketball, scooter boards, and skipping ropes.
Tomorrow is our field trip to see the Eagles. We will be walking so please make sure your child is wearing appropriate gear for the cold! (Hats, gloves, jackets, boots)
Last chance for scholastic book order is tomorrow morning.
Picture from our skating trip below.
January 15, 2013
January 15, 2013
Hi Families,
Ms. G. here. Today we:
· Had Ashton as our engine (helper) and Zach was our caboose
· Had WOW groups and library book exchange
· Got to know our Dinosaur of the Day, Apatosaurus. It was formally called Brontosaurus. We learned facts about it, sang a song called Brontosaurus and read a book about it.
· Placed our dinosaur of the day drawings in the hallway. They are clipped so you can look at them flip book style. If you are visiting the school, come take a look.
· Learned new ideas for Word Work in the Daily 5
· Had math. We did calendar, our problem of the day (Kindies: Pick a number between 1 and 20 and represent it in as many ways as you can. Ones: Pick a number between 21 and 99 and represent it in as many ways as you can.) We worked on attributes too.
· classified dinosaurs by features (scientists call them attributes)
We will be going in a different direction for our eagle viewing experience. Rather than the Eagle Run area, we will be going to the dyke by the golf course. At this time there are more eagles in that area. So we will have better vie
Hi Families,
Ms. G. here. Today we:
· Had Ashton as our engine (helper) and Zach was our caboose
· Had WOW groups and library book exchange
· Got to know our Dinosaur of the Day, Apatosaurus. It was formally called Brontosaurus. We learned facts about it, sang a song called Brontosaurus and read a book about it.
· Placed our dinosaur of the day drawings in the hallway. They are clipped so you can look at them flip book style. If you are visiting the school, come take a look.
· Learned new ideas for Word Work in the Daily 5
· Had math. We did calendar, our problem of the day (Kindies: Pick a number between 1 and 20 and represent it in as many ways as you can. Ones: Pick a number between 21 and 99 and represent it in as many ways as you can.) We worked on attributes too.
· classified dinosaurs by features (scientists call them attributes)
We will be going in a different direction for our eagle viewing experience. Rather than the Eagle Run area, we will be going to the dyke by the golf course. At this time there are more eagles in that area. So we will have better vie
January 14th, 2013
Hello everynoe, Mrs. Buxton here today
- Today we:
- went to our WOW
- exchanged our library books. Some students brought home overdue notices. Please return those books as soon as you can.
- had Zach lead our calendary
- went to music with Mrs. Thomson
- worked on the letter M
- read to our self, and to a partner in the daily 5
- went on our class field trip to the ice rink! All the kids tried skating and most kids we had to bribe off the ice after the hour! I am sure many will sleep well tonight.
Scholastic book order is due Wednesday.
Please bring in Eagle field trip forms as soon as you can.
- Today we:
- went to our WOW
- exchanged our library books. Some students brought home overdue notices. Please return those books as soon as you can.
- had Zach lead our calendary
- went to music with Mrs. Thomson
- worked on the letter M
- read to our self, and to a partner in the daily 5
- went on our class field trip to the ice rink! All the kids tried skating and most kids we had to bribe off the ice after the hour! I am sure many will sleep well tonight.
Scholastic book order is due Wednesday.
Please bring in Eagle field trip forms as soon as you can.
January 11, 2013
Hi Families,
Ms. G. here. Today we
· Had Yuan as helper and Tenly as our caboose
· Had WOW groups and library book exchange
· Had music with Mrs. Thomson
· Studied Triceratops as our Dinosaur of the Day. We learned three facts and sang a song called Triceratops. We went into the hallway and used a measuring stick to determine how long and how tall a triceratops was. We watched a 2:36 minute youtube video that told us a lot about the dinosaur including the fact that its head weighed 1000 pounds (454 kilograms)! Check it out below.
· Did the Daily 5 with our new Word Work added.
· Had P.E. We worked on increasing our body awareness through a variety of activities using a ball. They worked on individual activities as well as with partners and in groups.
· Discussed the big questions: What is a time machine?, What does it look like?, What does it do? Then, we generated a list of what we will include in our time machine when we are ready to travel to the land of the dinosaurs!
· Had a special visit from Mrs. Sotham’s class for exploration time.
Your child took home a permission form for our walk to the dyke to observe the eagles. Please return the signed form by Wednesday Jan. 16th.
Thank you,
Ms. G.
Ms. G. here. Today we
· Had Yuan as helper and Tenly as our caboose
· Had WOW groups and library book exchange
· Had music with Mrs. Thomson
· Studied Triceratops as our Dinosaur of the Day. We learned three facts and sang a song called Triceratops. We went into the hallway and used a measuring stick to determine how long and how tall a triceratops was. We watched a 2:36 minute youtube video that told us a lot about the dinosaur including the fact that its head weighed 1000 pounds (454 kilograms)! Check it out below.
· Did the Daily 5 with our new Word Work added.
· Had P.E. We worked on increasing our body awareness through a variety of activities using a ball. They worked on individual activities as well as with partners and in groups.
· Discussed the big questions: What is a time machine?, What does it look like?, What does it do? Then, we generated a list of what we will include in our time machine when we are ready to travel to the land of the dinosaurs!
· Had a special visit from Mrs. Sotham’s class for exploration time.
Your child took home a permission form for our walk to the dyke to observe the eagles. Please return the signed form by Wednesday Jan. 16th.
Thank you,
Ms. G.
January 10, 2013
Hi Families,
Ms. G. here. Today we:
· Had Tenly as helper and Saphira as our ‘caboose’. Our caboose person is the one who was helper the day before and now goes at the back of the line to shut lights and doors behind us.
· Had WOW groups. Library book exchange was cancelled due to the eagle presentations.
Did Dinosaur of the Day, the stegosaurus. We learned three facts, drew the stegosaurus and compared attributes of the stegosaurus with those of the T-Rex. We compared how they walk and became acquainted with the words bipedal and quadrupedal. We talked about their diets (carnivore versus herbivore).
· Had a presentation on eagles by Meg Toom. It was during our P.E. time so we missed P.E. today.
· Were introduced to the fourth of the Daily 5 ‘Working with Words’. The children helped form the anchor chart (the purpose/s of doing word work) and the I-Chart (what does it look like to work independently on words). They became acquainted with Spinner Spelling. They use a spinner to find an interesting way to practice their words.
· Had math. We worked on addition and subtraction activities. They learned how to play Addition War, a card game based on the classic game of War.
· Learned about classification in science. We classified living and non-living things.
We are going to the dyke on the morning of January 17th to observe eagles. We will be going with Mrs. Sherlock/Mrs. Lewis’ class. If you can walk with us please let us know as soon as possible.
Ms. G. here. Today we:
· Had Tenly as helper and Saphira as our ‘caboose’. Our caboose person is the one who was helper the day before and now goes at the back of the line to shut lights and doors behind us.
· Had WOW groups. Library book exchange was cancelled due to the eagle presentations.
Did Dinosaur of the Day, the stegosaurus. We learned three facts, drew the stegosaurus and compared attributes of the stegosaurus with those of the T-Rex. We compared how they walk and became acquainted with the words bipedal and quadrupedal. We talked about their diets (carnivore versus herbivore).
· Had a presentation on eagles by Meg Toom. It was during our P.E. time so we missed P.E. today.
· Were introduced to the fourth of the Daily 5 ‘Working with Words’. The children helped form the anchor chart (the purpose/s of doing word work) and the I-Chart (what does it look like to work independently on words). They became acquainted with Spinner Spelling. They use a spinner to find an interesting way to practice their words.
· Had math. We worked on addition and subtraction activities. They learned how to play Addition War, a card game based on the classic game of War.
· Learned about classification in science. We classified living and non-living things.
We are going to the dyke on the morning of January 17th to observe eagles. We will be going with Mrs. Sherlock/Mrs. Lewis’ class. If you can walk with us please let us know as soon as possible.
January 9th, 2013
Hello everyone, Mrs. Buxton here.
Today we:
- had Saphira as our helper
- went to our WOW groups
-excahnged our library books
- worked on our Daily 5
- went to the compuer lab. Some students practiced telling time while other students worked on addition
- went outside for Recess break
- had Roots of Empathy with Mrs. Zoo where we talked about diaper bags.Baby Kalia will visit next week.
- worked on matching digits to their words in math. Example 6 - six.
- celebrated Kamille's 6th birthday!
- had P.E. where we had balls, ropes, and a soccer game.
- read a story that Owen donated to our classroom about animals in the woods. Thank you Owen!
- sent home scolastic order forms. If you would like help finding developmentally appropriate books for your child please feel free to email me and [email protected] . They are due next Wednesday January 16th.
Today we:
- had Saphira as our helper
- went to our WOW groups
-excahnged our library books
- worked on our Daily 5
- went to the compuer lab. Some students practiced telling time while other students worked on addition
- went outside for Recess break
- had Roots of Empathy with Mrs. Zoo where we talked about diaper bags.Baby Kalia will visit next week.
- worked on matching digits to their words in math. Example 6 - six.
- celebrated Kamille's 6th birthday!
- had P.E. where we had balls, ropes, and a soccer game.
- read a story that Owen donated to our classroom about animals in the woods. Thank you Owen!
- sent home scolastic order forms. If you would like help finding developmentally appropriate books for your child please feel free to email me and [email protected] . They are due next Wednesday January 16th.
January 8, 2013
- Hi Families,
Ms. G. here. Today we:
· Had Quinten as helper
· Had WOW groups - Got our dinosaur folders. Each child has one to place all the activites from their dinosaur experience into.
_
· Had our first Dinosaur of the Day: Tyrannosaurus Rex. We learn three facts and how to draw the dinosaur. The drawings turned out great and are on display in the hallway. We read the book Here Comes Tyrannosaurus Rex by Geoff Peters, recited the poem Tyrannosaurus Rex and read the math book Five Tyrannosaurs.
· Engaged in Daily 5 Read to Self, Read to a Partner and Writing
· Went to the computer lab so each child could look at pictures of the dinosaur he/she studied (if your child has not done a study please do one as soon as possible. It is important.The email about it went out on November 30 with an attachment. The attachment was a Mind Map to help guide you). Those who did not do the research took time to look at images of dinosaurs and chose a dinosaur that interested them. They then were given a piece of white paper that has the name of the dinosaur they would like to learn more about.
· Had math. We explored base ten math manipulatives. - · Participated in a First Nations cultural experience with Deanna Lewis. She taught us a warrior's dance and two other dances. She also sang us a friendship song she wrote.
January 7th, 2013
Hello Parents! I hope you all had a relaxing winter break with your child. We had a great first day back to school. Many children were very excited to share that they were now living in a new year.
Today we:
- went to our WOW groups
- exchanged our library books
- worked on the daily 5 three times. We read to ourselves, read to others, and wrote about whatever we wanted to.
- went to music with Mrs. Thomson
- had short recess outside in the rain
- worked on the letter Ll. Some children worked on their L booklets while some others practiced printing upper and lower case L's.
- introduced an alphabet and numbered dot to dot. The children had to look at the picture and then decide what it was and print the word.
- went to the gym for inside lunch recess
- read the story "Odd Velvet" about a girl who liked different things then her peers did. Velvet's peers began to find all the odd stuff she collected interesting and
- wrote a page in our writing book about our winter break
- had a long free play
Today we sent home a notice for our skating field trips on January 14th, and January 28th. The cost in 8 dollars if your child has skates. If your child does not have skates a charge of 2 dollars per rental is required. The total would then be 12 dollars for both field trips. Parents who are able to skate are more then welcome to join us. :) It is mandatory that each child have a helmet. If you do not have a helmet please let me know as soon as possible so we can look around to try to borrow one. Thank you.
Today we:
- went to our WOW groups
- exchanged our library books
- worked on the daily 5 three times. We read to ourselves, read to others, and wrote about whatever we wanted to.
- went to music with Mrs. Thomson
- had short recess outside in the rain
- worked on the letter Ll. Some children worked on their L booklets while some others practiced printing upper and lower case L's.
- introduced an alphabet and numbered dot to dot. The children had to look at the picture and then decide what it was and print the word.
- went to the gym for inside lunch recess
- read the story "Odd Velvet" about a girl who liked different things then her peers did. Velvet's peers began to find all the odd stuff she collected interesting and
- wrote a page in our writing book about our winter break
- had a long free play
Today we sent home a notice for our skating field trips on January 14th, and January 28th. The cost in 8 dollars if your child has skates. If your child does not have skates a charge of 2 dollars per rental is required. The total would then be 12 dollars for both field trips. Parents who are able to skate are more then welcome to join us. :) It is mandatory that each child have a helmet. If you do not have a helmet please let me know as soon as possible so we can look around to try to borrow one. Thank you.
December 21, 2012
Hi Families,
This is our last update until January 7th, 2013. Have a very Joyous and restful Christmas break.
Merry Christmas
Ms. G. here. Today we:
· Had Olivia, Kamryn and Mira as helpers
Had music with Mrs. Thomson
· Played Wheel of Fortune
· Did library book return. We will not get new books until our return in January.
· Had calendar
· Had exploration time with Mrs. Shier's grade one class
· Watched a movie and ate lots of fun food Ms. G. brought
This is our last update until January 7th, 2013. Have a very Joyous and restful Christmas break.
Merry Christmas
Ms. G. here. Today we:
· Had Olivia, Kamryn and Mira as helpers
Had music with Mrs. Thomson
· Played Wheel of Fortune
· Did library book return. We will not get new books until our return in January.
· Had calendar
· Had exploration time with Mrs. Shier's grade one class
· Watched a movie and ate lots of fun food Ms. G. brought
December 20, 2012
Hi Families,
Ms. G. here. Today we:
· Had Kamille as helper
· library book return. We will not get new books until our return in January.
· Finished our little book “The 5 Senses of Christmas
· Made a class book called Christmas Wishes about what we most want for Christmas
· Read a mini Christmas book and designed a cover for it
· Had calendar
· Saw the second Christmas concert
· Had exploration time
Ms. G. here. Today we:
· Had Kamille as helper
· library book return. We will not get new books until our return in January.
· Finished our little book “The 5 Senses of Christmas
· Made a class book called Christmas Wishes about what we most want for Christmas
· Read a mini Christmas book and designed a cover for it
· Had calendar
· Saw the second Christmas concert
· Had exploration time
December 19th, 2012
Hello, Mrs. Buxton here.
Today we:
- cancelled WOW groups for a concert practice
- worked on our daily 5. Some students are getting really interested in writing letter to each other.
- gave Cohen our autograph for him to keep while he is at his new school in January
- built snow forts and made snow angels in the fresh snow today
- worked on the letter K. Some students practices printing the letter K and other students worked in their K booklet
- had our holiday concert for some parents and the rest of the school to watch.
Holiday Concert TONIGHT! Our evening performance is at 7:00pm. I will be at the school to open up my classroom door at 6:40. Please find a seat in the gym and then bring your child to the classroom between 6:40 and 6:55. We also ask that you remain at the concert until the show has completed and then come pick your child up after. Our class will be performing around the middle and then again at the finale. Students are to wear a white shirt and black pants/bottoms.
Today we:
- cancelled WOW groups for a concert practice
- worked on our daily 5. Some students are getting really interested in writing letter to each other.
- gave Cohen our autograph for him to keep while he is at his new school in January
- built snow forts and made snow angels in the fresh snow today
- worked on the letter K. Some students practices printing the letter K and other students worked in their K booklet
- had our holiday concert for some parents and the rest of the school to watch.
Holiday Concert TONIGHT! Our evening performance is at 7:00pm. I will be at the school to open up my classroom door at 6:40. Please find a seat in the gym and then bring your child to the classroom between 6:40 and 6:55. We also ask that you remain at the concert until the show has completed and then come pick your child up after. Our class will be performing around the middle and then again at the finale. Students are to wear a white shirt and black pants/bottoms.
December 17th, 2012
Hello, Mrs. Buxton here.
Today we:
- went to our WOW groups
- exchanged our library books and sent home overdue notices. Please return library books to the school as soon as possible.
- had Jacob as the helper
- went to music and practiced our holiday concert songs. We also practices getting on and off the stage safely.
- worked on our 5 senses of Christmas book
- worked on the daily 5 and wrote, read to a partner, and read to self
- had Timothy help us from the grade 3 class
- worked on problem solving in math. Maggie has 13 pumpkins and Tim has 19. How many more does Tim have then Maggie. Children drew a picture to represent the problem
- had free play in the afternoon
* A student is missing his MEC black rain pants. Please check your childs backpack and see if they have gone home accidently.
*The Christmas concert is THIS WEDNESDAY. We have a rehearsal show at 1:30 and an evening performance at 7:00. I will be at the school to open up my classroom door at 6:40. Please find a seat in the gym and then bring your child to the classroom between 6:40 and 6:55. We also ask that you remain at the concert until the show has completed and then come pick your child up after. Our class will be performing around the middle and then again at the finale. Students are to wear a white shirt and black pants/bottoms. Email me at [email protected] if you have any questiosn. See you there!
Today we:
- went to our WOW groups
- exchanged our library books and sent home overdue notices. Please return library books to the school as soon as possible.
- had Jacob as the helper
- went to music and practiced our holiday concert songs. We also practices getting on and off the stage safely.
- worked on our 5 senses of Christmas book
- worked on the daily 5 and wrote, read to a partner, and read to self
- had Timothy help us from the grade 3 class
- worked on problem solving in math. Maggie has 13 pumpkins and Tim has 19. How many more does Tim have then Maggie. Children drew a picture to represent the problem
- had free play in the afternoon
* A student is missing his MEC black rain pants. Please check your childs backpack and see if they have gone home accidently.
*The Christmas concert is THIS WEDNESDAY. We have a rehearsal show at 1:30 and an evening performance at 7:00. I will be at the school to open up my classroom door at 6:40. Please find a seat in the gym and then bring your child to the classroom between 6:40 and 6:55. We also ask that you remain at the concert until the show has completed and then come pick your child up after. Our class will be performing around the middle and then again at the finale. Students are to wear a white shirt and black pants/bottoms. Email me at [email protected] if you have any questiosn. See you there!
December 14, 2012
Hi Families,
Ms. G. here. Today we:
· Had Jolly as helper
· Had WOW groups and library book exchange
· Had music with Mrs. Thomson. The class rehearsed in the gym.
Read the story Mooseltoe by Margie Palatini
· Engaged in mindful thinking about Christmas. We brainstormed ideas about Christmas using our 5 senses and then began creating a book about this called The Five Senses of Christmas.
· Made Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer
· Had exploring time
·
Ms. G. here. Today we:
· Had Jolly as helper
· Had WOW groups and library book exchange
· Had music with Mrs. Thomson. The class rehearsed in the gym.
Read the story Mooseltoe by Margie Palatini
· Engaged in mindful thinking about Christmas. We brainstormed ideas about Christmas using our 5 senses and then began creating a book about this called The Five Senses of Christmas.
· Made Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer
· Had exploring time
·
December 13, 2012
December 13, 2012
Hi Families,
Ms. G. here. Today we:
· Had Hannah as helper
· Had WOW groups. The library was closed.
· Learned the song S A N T A, a song about Santa sung to the tune of BINGO.
· Danced to Christmas music again
· Finished our cards for our pen pals and family. The cards to the pen pals were sent off today along with the letters we wrote!
· Had Roots of Empathy with Mrs. Zuckernick. She read the book Lost and Found by Oliver Jeffers.
· Engaged in the Daily 5. A group practiced the I PICK method of choosing books while another group practiced reading by creating a small take home book.
· Had math. We played a one to one correspondence game and then the children were challenged to link the role playing game to math activity pages.
· Made discoveries during exploration times
Hi Families,
Ms. G. here. Today we:
· Had Hannah as helper
· Had WOW groups. The library was closed.
· Learned the song S A N T A, a song about Santa sung to the tune of BINGO.
· Danced to Christmas music again
· Finished our cards for our pen pals and family. The cards to the pen pals were sent off today along with the letters we wrote!
· Had Roots of Empathy with Mrs. Zuckernick. She read the book Lost and Found by Oliver Jeffers.
· Engaged in the Daily 5. A group practiced the I PICK method of choosing books while another group practiced reading by creating a small take home book.
· Had math. We played a one to one correspondence game and then the children were challenged to link the role playing game to math activity pages.
· Made discoveries during exploration times
12/12/12!
Mrs. Buxton here.
Hello parents! Today we had a very exciting day. We had Alayna come and visit our class and teach us about deaf and hard of hearing people. We learned that in the deaf culture you speak to the deaf person not the interpreter (everyone caught on quickly). We learned how deaf people wake up, answer their doorbells, talk on the phone and order in restaurants. It was very exciting to see a deaf adult in our classroom. The children were very interested and really enjoyed the game she brought. We hope to see her again soon!
After Alayna's visit we went on our field trip to North Vancouver Outdoor School to learn about the salmon life cycle. We rode in a school bus and met our teacher "Hawk". We first went on a walk around the River to see all the dead and dying salmon and where they lay their eggs. We met one of their natural predators the dipper bird. We also learned that other predators include eagles, bears, people, and other fish. After our nature walk we got to go into the learning centre where we retrieved 2 female and 2 male fish. Some lucky students got to extract the eggs from the female salmon while others got to help fertilize them. We learned that the salmon we helped fertilize will be in our school in February. Pictures are posted below.
Hello parents! Today we had a very exciting day. We had Alayna come and visit our class and teach us about deaf and hard of hearing people. We learned that in the deaf culture you speak to the deaf person not the interpreter (everyone caught on quickly). We learned how deaf people wake up, answer their doorbells, talk on the phone and order in restaurants. It was very exciting to see a deaf adult in our classroom. The children were very interested and really enjoyed the game she brought. We hope to see her again soon!
After Alayna's visit we went on our field trip to North Vancouver Outdoor School to learn about the salmon life cycle. We rode in a school bus and met our teacher "Hawk". We first went on a walk around the River to see all the dead and dying salmon and where they lay their eggs. We met one of their natural predators the dipper bird. We also learned that other predators include eagles, bears, people, and other fish. After our nature walk we got to go into the learning centre where we retrieved 2 female and 2 male fish. Some lucky students got to extract the eggs from the female salmon while others got to help fertilize them. We learned that the salmon we helped fertilize will be in our school in February. Pictures are posted below.
December 11, 2012
Ms. G. here. Today we:
· Had Dylan as helper
· Had WOW groups
· Discovered Mindful Tasting in MindUp. We linked this to the role of neurotransmitters ( dopamine, serotonin, norepinephrine) in the brain. Each child received a piece of cookie. They used all five senses to gain awareness of their food.
· Learned about postcard writing for the writing component of the Daily Five. The children decided on the place and image for the picture side. On the reverse side they made up an address, created a stamp and wrote a note to someone.
· Read the stories If You Take a Mouse to the Movies by Laura Numeroff and Space Elf Sam by Audrey Wood
· Had music with Mrs. Thomson
· Went to the computer lab
· Did graphing for math. We each got a gingerbread cookie. The children were asked to just eat one part of the boy. We graphed the part they chose to eat first. Then, we created questions and strategies for answering the questions. After, the children iced and decorated their cookie. It was a yummy end to our Mindful tasting day!
Some children began experimenting with writing sticker stories.
Please Remember. Tomorrow is our field trip. Have your child dress for the weather. It will be cold and damp.
• Movie night - Through the Junior Achievement initiative, Marjorie Riemer and Ted McKay’s classes have made arrangements for a movie night, this Friday, November 14th beginning at 5:30. The movie is Madagascar and all proceeds will go to the Cancer Society.
A Note from Mrs. Thomson:
Celebrations of Light
Costume Information for Mamquam Winter Concert 2012
Hello Mamquam families! Here is the information for costumes for your child. Please do not go out and buy anything for the concert. We can always find a way to make a costume work. Sometimes, turning a t shirt inside out or backwards can transform a patterned t shirt into a plain one. Dark blue or brown can always substitute for black. And something that belongs to an adult can always be rolled up, pinned or belted to work for your little one. If you have any questions, concerns or suggestions, please drop me a line by email or give me a call. You are going to be thrilled with your child’ performance! See you at the concert!
Mrs. Anne Thomson [email protected] 604-898-3601
Mrs. Gagnon/Mrs. Buxton & Mrs. Shier (Kindergarten/Grade 1)
“Hanukkah”
· White top (any style)
· Dark bottoms (pants, skirt, leggings, etc – doesn’t have to be black, just dark.)
· Had Dylan as helper
· Had WOW groups
· Discovered Mindful Tasting in MindUp. We linked this to the role of neurotransmitters ( dopamine, serotonin, norepinephrine) in the brain. Each child received a piece of cookie. They used all five senses to gain awareness of their food.
· Learned about postcard writing for the writing component of the Daily Five. The children decided on the place and image for the picture side. On the reverse side they made up an address, created a stamp and wrote a note to someone.
· Read the stories If You Take a Mouse to the Movies by Laura Numeroff and Space Elf Sam by Audrey Wood
· Had music with Mrs. Thomson
· Went to the computer lab
· Did graphing for math. We each got a gingerbread cookie. The children were asked to just eat one part of the boy. We graphed the part they chose to eat first. Then, we created questions and strategies for answering the questions. After, the children iced and decorated their cookie. It was a yummy end to our Mindful tasting day!
Some children began experimenting with writing sticker stories.
Please Remember. Tomorrow is our field trip. Have your child dress for the weather. It will be cold and damp.
• Movie night - Through the Junior Achievement initiative, Marjorie Riemer and Ted McKay’s classes have made arrangements for a movie night, this Friday, November 14th beginning at 5:30. The movie is Madagascar and all proceeds will go to the Cancer Society.
A Note from Mrs. Thomson:
Celebrations of Light
Costume Information for Mamquam Winter Concert 2012
Hello Mamquam families! Here is the information for costumes for your child. Please do not go out and buy anything for the concert. We can always find a way to make a costume work. Sometimes, turning a t shirt inside out or backwards can transform a patterned t shirt into a plain one. Dark blue or brown can always substitute for black. And something that belongs to an adult can always be rolled up, pinned or belted to work for your little one. If you have any questions, concerns or suggestions, please drop me a line by email or give me a call. You are going to be thrilled with your child’ performance! See you at the concert!
Mrs. Anne Thomson [email protected] 604-898-3601
Mrs. Gagnon/Mrs. Buxton & Mrs. Shier (Kindergarten/Grade 1)
“Hanukkah”
· White top (any style)
· Dark bottoms (pants, skirt, leggings, etc – doesn’t have to be black, just dark.)
December 10th, 2012
Hello! Mrs. Buxton here
Today we:
- had Cohen as the helper
- went to our WOW groups
- worked on our Daily 5
- practiced spelling words like they sound
- introduced salmon and talked about the salmon life cycle in preparation of our field trip Wednesday
- read a couple stories about salmon
- went to music with Mrs. Thomson
- had D.P.A. by watching a video of differnet exercises and dance moves. Some moves were athletic, some were Aftican and some were Hop Hop. The kids really enjoyed this.
- had free play and played with dinosaur toys that Quinten brought in for us to borrow for the day. Thank you Quinten!
- exchanged our home reading
- sent home a new paper book for students to read to you and colour at home
- worked on matching in Math. We would match objects and then count how many are left.
Field trip to NVOS in Wednesday. Please make sure that you child is dressed for the weather. We will be outside for most of our trip.
Today we:
- had Cohen as the helper
- went to our WOW groups
- worked on our Daily 5
- practiced spelling words like they sound
- introduced salmon and talked about the salmon life cycle in preparation of our field trip Wednesday
- read a couple stories about salmon
- went to music with Mrs. Thomson
- had D.P.A. by watching a video of differnet exercises and dance moves. Some moves were athletic, some were Aftican and some were Hop Hop. The kids really enjoyed this.
- had free play and played with dinosaur toys that Quinten brought in for us to borrow for the day. Thank you Quinten!
- exchanged our home reading
- sent home a new paper book for students to read to you and colour at home
- worked on matching in Math. We would match objects and then count how many are left.
Field trip to NVOS in Wednesday. Please make sure that you child is dressed for the weather. We will be outside for most of our trip.
December 7, 2012
December 7, 2012
Hi Families,
Ms. G. here. Today we
· Had Brian as helper
· Had WOW groups and library book exchange
· Had music with Mrs. Thomson
· · Worked on finishing our letters to our pen pals, our menorahs, shooting stars, candles and poems for the concert. We began making a dove of peace hanging decoration, a Santa paper bag puppet and Christmas book marks.
· Had hot lunch
· Created Christmas cards for our family and pen pals. There is no picture because it is a surprise.
Hi Families,
Ms. G. here. Today we
· Had Brian as helper
· Had WOW groups and library book exchange
· Had music with Mrs. Thomson
· · Worked on finishing our letters to our pen pals, our menorahs, shooting stars, candles and poems for the concert. We began making a dove of peace hanging decoration, a Santa paper bag puppet and Christmas book marks.
· Had hot lunch
· Created Christmas cards for our family and pen pals. There is no picture because it is a surprise.
December 6, 2012
Hi Families.
Ms. G. here. Today we:
Ms. G. here. Today we:
- · Had WOW groups and library book exchange
- · Created a personal dictionary for words to spell and a poetry duo tang to read simple poems from
- · Had P.E.
- · Learned about mindful smelling in MindUp. We talked about how and why dopamine is released in the brain and how it gives us a good feeling. This was connected to how their sense of smell can sharpen their focus. Also scents can help build and recall memories. The children smelled a variety of scents (pine needles, orange rinds, vinegar, cinnamon, baby powder and vanilla).
- · Had Roots of Empathy with Mrs. Zuckernick. Baby Kalia visited.
- · Read the story Olive, the Other Reindeer by J. Otto Seibold and Vivian Walsh
- · made candles and copied a poem about a candle to continue our Christmas Concert theme of ‘Celebration of Light’. The poem goes:
- See my candle's little light
- Just for Christmas
- Burning bright.
- · Mandy Chapman visited with her baby Seth
December 5th, 2012
Mrs. Buxton here
Today we
- went to our WOW group and worked on sentence structure
- worked on very difficult math where we had to decide between which is the biggest and which is the most
- had computers and worked on starfall
- had the daily 5 three different times. We worked on reading to our selves, reading to a partner and writing/printing. Students were very engaged and are really getting into the grove of daily 5.
- had P.E. where we invented our own games
- worked on the letter J
- put out all out dinosaur resources and the children read some new dinosaur books from our library
- had free play at the end of the day!
Today we
- went to our WOW group and worked on sentence structure
- worked on very difficult math where we had to decide between which is the biggest and which is the most
- had computers and worked on starfall
- had the daily 5 three different times. We worked on reading to our selves, reading to a partner and writing/printing. Students were very engaged and are really getting into the grove of daily 5.
- had P.E. where we invented our own games
- worked on the letter J
- put out all out dinosaur resources and the children read some new dinosaur books from our library
- had free play at the end of the day!
December 4, 2012
Hi Families. Ms. G. here. Today we:
- Had WOW groups and library
- Had music with Mrs. Thomson
- Worked on some shooting star and menorah decorations for the concert
- Practiced the Daily 5
- Logged on the computers
- Had math. The problem of the day was : Make a bar graph to show that:
2 children like applesauce
5 children like apple pie
3 children like apple cider
Write a question you could ask someone about the graph you made.
- Had exploration time
-
-
December 3rd, 2012
Hello everyone, Mrs. Buxton here.
Today we:
- had Zach as the helper
- welcomed December
- had Zach lead calendar
- went to our WOW groups
- had music with Mrs. Thomson
- worked on reading to ourselves and reading to a partner for our Daily 5
- read the OKAY BOOK by Todd Parr from our Fin's Friends program
- exchanged our home reading books. Please read with your child this evening and return the book tomorrow morning.
- charted okay/not okay (pictured below)
- had exploration play in the forest
- library books that are overdue need to be returned ASAP. Some students are not able to take out any more books because they have too many at home.
Today we:
- had Zach as the helper
- welcomed December
- had Zach lead calendar
- went to our WOW groups
- had music with Mrs. Thomson
- worked on reading to ourselves and reading to a partner for our Daily 5
- read the OKAY BOOK by Todd Parr from our Fin's Friends program
- exchanged our home reading books. Please read with your child this evening and return the book tomorrow morning.
- charted okay/not okay (pictured below)
- had exploration play in the forest
- library books that are overdue need to be returned ASAP. Some students are not able to take out any more books because they have too many at home.
November 30, 2012
Hi Families. Ms. G. here. Today we:
· Had WOW and library book exchange.
· Had music with Mrs. Thomson
· Learned about how to use a word wall and how a word wall can help us with our reading and writing growth
· Worked on the Daily 5. We began with writing with a partner. The class was excited to use the word wall because it is covered with Christmas words and pictures! Then we did read to self.
· Partnered up with parents and big buddies to enjoy writing day.
· Had exploration time
Parents,
Please check your email for an exciting opportunity to become involved with our Project Based Learning. Here’s the steps to follow:
1. Choose a dinosaur
2. Go online to dinosaur websites to find information
3. Go to the library to find books about the dinosaur chosen
4. Use other resources you can think of to find facts
5. Help your child understand the fact by using simple wording so the ideas make sense to him/her
6. Help your child do the thinking web that is attached to the email
7. Return the project by Dec 21st
8. Celebrate your achievement. Your child has just gained more background knowledge for success in working on the project at school and being a successful learner.
The mind map I have provided is just a guide. It will most likely need to be adapted for your child.
· Had WOW and library book exchange.
· Had music with Mrs. Thomson
· Learned about how to use a word wall and how a word wall can help us with our reading and writing growth
· Worked on the Daily 5. We began with writing with a partner. The class was excited to use the word wall because it is covered with Christmas words and pictures! Then we did read to self.
· Partnered up with parents and big buddies to enjoy writing day.
· Had exploration time
Parents,
Please check your email for an exciting opportunity to become involved with our Project Based Learning. Here’s the steps to follow:
1. Choose a dinosaur
2. Go online to dinosaur websites to find information
3. Go to the library to find books about the dinosaur chosen
4. Use other resources you can think of to find facts
5. Help your child understand the fact by using simple wording so the ideas make sense to him/her
6. Help your child do the thinking web that is attached to the email
7. Return the project by Dec 21st
8. Celebrate your achievement. Your child has just gained more background knowledge for success in working on the project at school and being a successful learner.
The mind map I have provided is just a guide. It will most likely need to be adapted for your child.
Nov. 29, 2012
Hi Families, Ms. G. here.
Today we received a lovely surprise. Our Pen pals wrote us for the first time. They are Ms. Booth’s grade 3 class at Valleycliffe Elementary. So we changed some plans and learned:
· What a pen pal is
· How to read a pen pal letter
· What to say to a pen pal
Each student was given the name of their pen pal. Three of our students even took 2 pen pals! We worked on creating pattern sentences to write to our pen pals. Some students wrote their own sentences, some copied pattern sentences and some filled in the blanks of pre – made sentences.
We also,
· Had WOW and library book exchanged
· Played Duck, Duck, Goose in P.E.
· Discussed why babies cry during Roots of Empathy
· Enjoyed an orchestra concert in the gym
· And had exploration time.
Today we received a lovely surprise. Our Pen pals wrote us for the first time. They are Ms. Booth’s grade 3 class at Valleycliffe Elementary. So we changed some plans and learned:
· What a pen pal is
· How to read a pen pal letter
· What to say to a pen pal
Each student was given the name of their pen pal. Three of our students even took 2 pen pals! We worked on creating pattern sentences to write to our pen pals. Some students wrote their own sentences, some copied pattern sentences and some filled in the blanks of pre – made sentences.
We also,
· Had WOW and library book exchanged
· Played Duck, Duck, Goose in P.E.
· Discussed why babies cry during Roots of Empathy
· Enjoyed an orchestra concert in the gym
· And had exploration time.
November 28th, 2012
Hello!
Mrs Buxton here.
Today we:
- went to our WOW groups to work on sentence structure
- exchanged our library books
- celebrated Hannah's birthday with snowman cupcakes (photo below)
- had the birthday girl Hannah lead calendar
- went to the computer lab and logged on to our very own computers. Each student got to explore the starfall website. Click on the word starfall if you would like to visit the site at home.
- worked on our letter I booklets
- exchanged our home reading
- worked on our Daily 5 by reading to ourselves and writing a mock letter to any person of our choice
-had P.E. in the gym where each child got to choose one prop to use for their play. Student's could join with other students or trade their object for another one if both partners agreed. This went over really well as many new games and activities were created and new relationships between peers were formed.
- Had Big Buddies with the grade 3 class. The grade 3's had invented board games to play with our class. Another great adventure.
Tomorrow is the craft fair and WEE clinic
Friday is Writing Day
Please send in permission forms and $6 as soon as possible
Mrs Buxton here.
Today we:
- went to our WOW groups to work on sentence structure
- exchanged our library books
- celebrated Hannah's birthday with snowman cupcakes (photo below)
- had the birthday girl Hannah lead calendar
- went to the computer lab and logged on to our very own computers. Each student got to explore the starfall website. Click on the word starfall if you would like to visit the site at home.
- worked on our letter I booklets
- exchanged our home reading
- worked on our Daily 5 by reading to ourselves and writing a mock letter to any person of our choice
-had P.E. in the gym where each child got to choose one prop to use for their play. Student's could join with other students or trade their object for another one if both partners agreed. This went over really well as many new games and activities were created and new relationships between peers were formed.
- Had Big Buddies with the grade 3 class. The grade 3's had invented board games to play with our class. Another great adventure.
Tomorrow is the craft fair and WEE clinic
Friday is Writing Day
Please send in permission forms and $6 as soon as possible
November 27, 2012
Hi Families,
Ms. G. here. Hope you got out and enjoyed the fabulous weather this weekend. Today we:
· Had WOW groups and library book exchange
· Learned about how our brain passes messages through the neurons. Each child became a neuron, their left had represented the dendrites (message receivers), their torso was the cell body, the right arm the axon, and the right fingers the nerve ending that pass the message to the dendrites of the next neuron’s dendrites. We then took that new information and did an experiment called Magic Water. We watched food coloring descend through water and made observations like scientists do. This was our Mind Up lesson called Mindful Seeing. See the photo below.
· Worked on Daily 5 Writing. We brainstormed all the different kinds of lists we could make and how we can challenge our thinking through list making by expanding our ideas beyond a few easy ideas.
· Had the Daily 5
· Went to the computer lab
· Did a volcano experiment. We connected volcanos with dinosaurs, experiments and potions. There's a photo to see.
· Had music with Mrs. Thomson
· Learned some dinosaur names
NOTES
· Our PBL Big Question sheets on now up and on display in the hallway. The pictures are below.
· Permission slips for the Salmon Study field trip went home today. Please return as soon as possible. We will need 4 volunteers to help us on Dec. 12.
· Please return the front page of the report card and the envelope to school if you have not already done so.
· A letter about writing day also went home today.
November 26th, 2012
Hello, Mrs. Buxton here today
Today we:
- went to our WOW groups
- exchanged our library books
- had music with Mrs. Thomson
- worked on our daily 5 by reading to ourselves for 9 minutes and reading to a partner for 10 minutes!
- completed 3 pages in our math book. We worked on finding out which number meant the most.
- got a numbered book that we coloured and read. Please read this with your child tonight. They can keep the paper book.
- sent home a seperate home reading program. Each student has one book in their ziplock bag and can exchange it for another one when they are finished reading it. Please take the time to read with your child each night.
- had the grade 7's come in and talk about a movie night on December 14th at 5:15 pm. Tickets are 5 dollars each and 7 dollars for VIP seating (front row with snack and beverage). They will be showing the movie madagascar and all money will go to the Canadian Cancer Society.
- went to the forest to play in the cold sunshine
* Friday is writing day. Tomorrow a notice will go home outlining the event.
Today we:
- went to our WOW groups
- exchanged our library books
- had music with Mrs. Thomson
- worked on our daily 5 by reading to ourselves for 9 minutes and reading to a partner for 10 minutes!
- completed 3 pages in our math book. We worked on finding out which number meant the most.
- got a numbered book that we coloured and read. Please read this with your child tonight. They can keep the paper book.
- sent home a seperate home reading program. Each student has one book in their ziplock bag and can exchange it for another one when they are finished reading it. Please take the time to read with your child each night.
- had the grade 7's come in and talk about a movie night on December 14th at 5:15 pm. Tickets are 5 dollars each and 7 dollars for VIP seating (front row with snack and beverage). They will be showing the movie madagascar and all money will go to the Canadian Cancer Society.
- went to the forest to play in the cold sunshine
* Friday is writing day. Tomorrow a notice will go home outlining the event.
November 23, 2012
Hi Families. Ms.G. here. Today we:
Had WOW and library
Had music with Mrs. Thomsom
explored the types of writing people do and the purposes of writing. We also explored types of paper and how different types and qualities of paper are used for different writing activities.
added writing as our third component of the Daily 5. Here is the anchor chart we generated for creating positive urgency for writing:
1. Become a better reader
2. Become a better writer
3. We care about writing and the people who read it
4. We get smarter
5. We can do harder writing
6. It is fun
7. We have choice
8. Helps develop fluency in writing
Had a visit from the Wee Clinic coordinators. The kindys got to sport their new clinic headbands for a photo op.
Had art. We made shooting stars as part of our Celebration of Light for the Christmas concert.
For parents of kindergarten students,
Your child took home their Wee Clinic headband today. Please make sure your child brings it to the craft fair on Nov. 29th IF you have booked a time for your child at the clinic. Your child can enjoy the headband at home if you did not sign him/her up.
Had WOW and library
Had music with Mrs. Thomsom
explored the types of writing people do and the purposes of writing. We also explored types of paper and how different types and qualities of paper are used for different writing activities.
added writing as our third component of the Daily 5. Here is the anchor chart we generated for creating positive urgency for writing:
1. Become a better reader
2. Become a better writer
3. We care about writing and the people who read it
4. We get smarter
5. We can do harder writing
6. It is fun
7. We have choice
8. Helps develop fluency in writing
Had a visit from the Wee Clinic coordinators. The kindys got to sport their new clinic headbands for a photo op.
Had art. We made shooting stars as part of our Celebration of Light for the Christmas concert.
For parents of kindergarten students,
Your child took home their Wee Clinic headband today. Please make sure your child brings it to the craft fair on Nov. 29th IF you have booked a time for your child at the clinic. Your child can enjoy the headband at home if you did not sign him/her up.
November 22, 2012
Hello Families. Ms. G. here. Today was a 2:00 dismissal day. We:
Had WOW groups and library book exchange
Had Olivia as our helper
Had P.E. Today we worked on increasing our space awareness and motor skill development with a series of activities with skipping ropes.
read a story in our book The Seven Habit of Happy Kids called ‘Lily plants a Garden’ and learned about another good habit Think Win-Win: Everyone can win.
Had a visit from our Roots of Empathy family Jamie, baby Kalia and the coordinator Carol Zuckernick. Ms. Zuckernick also teaches the grade 1 and 2 combined class in our school on Fridays. She taught us
Practiced building our reading and learning stamina with the Daily 5.
Worked on a Christmas craft. We made Circle Santas to be used for decorations at the craft fair and the Christmas concert
Had three of Mrs. Farmer’s students,+
Owen, Carter and Callie put on a reader’s theater for us.
Had WOW groups and library book exchange
Had Olivia as our helper
Had P.E. Today we worked on increasing our space awareness and motor skill development with a series of activities with skipping ropes.
read a story in our book The Seven Habit of Happy Kids called ‘Lily plants a Garden’ and learned about another good habit Think Win-Win: Everyone can win.
Had a visit from our Roots of Empathy family Jamie, baby Kalia and the coordinator Carol Zuckernick. Ms. Zuckernick also teaches the grade 1 and 2 combined class in our school on Fridays. She taught us
Practiced building our reading and learning stamina with the Daily 5.
Worked on a Christmas craft. We made Circle Santas to be used for decorations at the craft fair and the Christmas concert
Had three of Mrs. Farmer’s students,+
Owen, Carter and Callie put on a reader’s theater for us.
November 21st, 2012
Hello Mrs. Buxton here.
Today we:
- went to our new WOW groups to work on sentence segmentation
- exchanged our library books
- had calendar led by our helper Owen
- wroked further on the letter H. Some students worked on matching the letter H to words that start with H while other students brainstormed a list of H words and then wrote a story using at least 3 words that began with H.
- went outside for a rainy recess
- worked on in math and worked on number orders. For example, circle the number that is larger 3,6,5.
- had P.E. where we played with basketballs, hula hoops, and a giant skipping rope.
- early dismissal at 2:00 pm followed by parent teacher interviews.
Please return the first page of your report cards along with the envelopes to school if you have not already. Thank you to all the parents who came out tonight for parent teacher interviews. See the rest of you tomorrow.
Today we:
- went to our new WOW groups to work on sentence segmentation
- exchanged our library books
- had calendar led by our helper Owen
- wroked further on the letter H. Some students worked on matching the letter H to words that start with H while other students brainstormed a list of H words and then wrote a story using at least 3 words that began with H.
- went outside for a rainy recess
- worked on in math and worked on number orders. For example, circle the number that is larger 3,6,5.
- had P.E. where we played with basketballs, hula hoops, and a giant skipping rope.
- early dismissal at 2:00 pm followed by parent teacher interviews.
Please return the first page of your report cards along with the envelopes to school if you have not already. Thank you to all the parents who came out tonight for parent teacher interviews. See the rest of you tomorrow.
November 20, 2012
Hi Families,
Ms. G, here. Today we:
Ms. G, here. Today we:
- had our new WOW groups. The children are now working on sentence segmentation.
- had Mira as our helper. She also led calendar with Kamryn to help her.
- went to the library
- worked on writing in our writing and spelling books. We talked about the purposes of writing and how to make writing personally fun. After writing many of the children shared their writing with the class.
- had the Daily 5. Today we made an anchor chart for how to choose a partner for 'reading with a partner'. The children read to a partner and to themselves,
- had the kindergartens make their doctor headbands for the WEE clinic happening during the craft fair next Thursday night. They will take home the headbands on Friday. Your child will need to bring it back for the WEE Clinic on the 29th ONLY IF your child is participating.
- had math
- had music with Mrs. Thomson
- read a big book called Dinosaur Trivia and began learning the song 'Triceratops'.
- took our pictures for our Project on Dinosaurs. The first part will soon be on display in the hallway.
November 19th, 2012
Hello, Mrs. Buxton here.
Today we:
- had our last WOW group for rhyming. Tomorrow we start new groups.
- went to the library
- practiced reading to our self as part of the daily 5
- had calendar led by our helper Kamryn
- worked on grouping in math
- worked on differentiating numbers and letters
- went to the gym for rainy lunchtime
- worked on the letter H. Some students practiced printing while other students praticed printing H words.
- organized our binders for our parents to see
- talked about stranger danger and how it is importantt to never walk or play alone
- sent home report cards. Please return the reports signed and in the original envelope
- Wednesday and Thursday school gets out early at 2:00pm for parent teacher meetings. Please contact Mrs. Smillie to book a time in with us to talk about your childs report.
Today we:
- had our last WOW group for rhyming. Tomorrow we start new groups.
- went to the library
- practiced reading to our self as part of the daily 5
- had calendar led by our helper Kamryn
- worked on grouping in math
- worked on differentiating numbers and letters
- went to the gym for rainy lunchtime
- worked on the letter H. Some students practiced printing while other students praticed printing H words.
- organized our binders for our parents to see
- talked about stranger danger and how it is importantt to never walk or play alone
- sent home report cards. Please return the reports signed and in the original envelope
- Wednesday and Thursday school gets out early at 2:00pm for parent teacher meetings. Please contact Mrs. Smillie to book a time in with us to talk about your childs report.
November 16, 2012
Hi Families. Ms. G. here. Today we:
- Had WOW groups and library book exchange
Had Kamille as our helper
Had music with Mrs. Thomson
Had math centres. The children circulated through the problem of the day, the game Roll and Write, the game Bats in the Cave (a number recognition game ) and Dinosaur patterns and a dinosaur dot to dot. A fourth year student from Quest University came to observe and take part in our math session.
Made head bands for the Christmas concert and coloured our Report Card envelopes.
Had exploration time
November 15, 2012
Hi Families. Ms. G. here. Today we:
- Had WOW groups and library book exchange
- Had Jolly as helper
- Had P.E. We played a cooperative game with hoops similar to musical chairs.
- Began reading the story illustrating the 4th habit in the book The Seven Habits of Happy Kids.
- Read a book Ms. Gagnon wrote called Dinosaur Facts
- Had baby Kalia and her mother Jamie visit us for our next Roots of Empathy session. Kalia measured 32 unifix cubes long! We will see them again in about 3 weeks. The batteries died on my camera so I have no pictures!!!!
- engaged in reading through the Daily 5
- Had math. We did the calendar and solved the following problem: Draw 12 apples. Make half of them green. How did you know how many half of the group was? We drew pictures and used objects as strategies to solve the problem. We explored the concepts of fair shares, equal and dividing.
- Had exploration time
- Explored how to form a big question. Each student thought of a big question to explore for our project based learning about dinosaurs. The children generated very profound questions. I will be posting the questions in the hallway as a display.
November 14th, 2012
Hello everyone, Mrs. Buxton here
Today we
Today we
- had Jacob as the helper
- went to our WOW groups and exchanged our library books
- practiced our daily 5 with Read to Self
- worked on the letter G. Some students practiced the sounds and printing while other students created letter G booklets
- worked on 4 pages of math work. This group is really into math!
- had the kindergarten students attend a talk about the WeeCare clinic. A notice went home for parents to read and return.
- went to P.E. and played scooter soccer, basketball, hula hoops and skipping
- reviewed our story "Mean Jean the Recess Queen" and created a friendly fox to hang in the classroom. Together we brainstormed ideas on creating new friendships and how to be a good friend.
November 13, 2012
12
Hi Families,
Ms. G. here to tell you about our day. We:
Had WOW groups
Had MindUp. We learned about the Reticular Activating System in the brain and practiced mindful listening. We then played a game called “What’s that sound?” The children closed their eyes and listened to the sound an everyday object makes. Then, they had to try and guess the object. They listened to a pen clicking, scissors cutting, a timer ticking and the pages turning on books with different thicknesses of paper.
Had music with Mrs. Thomson
Had a visit from our big buddies. They helped each member of our class create a ‘What I know about dinosaurs’ page and a ‘What I wonder about dinosaurs’ page. Then each little buddy drew a picture of a dinosaur. This was done in the purple science notebook each member of our class has. This is the first step in our Project Based learning project about Dinosaurs.
Had calendar and math. The problem of the day was: There are 5 book baskets on the shelf. Each basket has 2 books. How many are there in all? Our mathematicians explored the strategies of ‘draw a picture’ and ‘use objects’ to solve the problem.
Had Exploration time
Hi Families,
Ms. G. here to tell you about our day. We:
Had WOW groups
Had MindUp. We learned about the Reticular Activating System in the brain and practiced mindful listening. We then played a game called “What’s that sound?” The children closed their eyes and listened to the sound an everyday object makes. Then, they had to try and guess the object. They listened to a pen clicking, scissors cutting, a timer ticking and the pages turning on books with different thicknesses of paper.
Had music with Mrs. Thomson
Had a visit from our big buddies. They helped each member of our class create a ‘What I know about dinosaurs’ page and a ‘What I wonder about dinosaurs’ page. Then each little buddy drew a picture of a dinosaur. This was done in the purple science notebook each member of our class has. This is the first step in our Project Based learning project about Dinosaurs.
Had calendar and math. The problem of the day was: There are 5 book baskets on the shelf. Each basket has 2 books. How many are there in all? Our mathematicians explored the strategies of ‘draw a picture’ and ‘use objects’ to solve the problem.
Had Exploration time
November 9, 2012
Hi Families. Ms. G. here again. Today we:
· Had Graydon as our helper
· Had WOW groups
· Had library book exchange
· Recited the poem Poppy, Poppy again and put a copy of it into our binders
· Had music with Mrs. Thomson
· attended the Remembrance Day assembly
· explored in the forest
· read the story What Does Peace Feel Like? By V. Radunsky and children just like you from around the world
· had P.E.
· had exploration time on our own and with Mrs. Sotham’s class
Please remember there is no school on Monday.
· Had Graydon as our helper
· Had WOW groups
· Had library book exchange
· Recited the poem Poppy, Poppy again and put a copy of it into our binders
· Had music with Mrs. Thomson
· attended the Remembrance Day assembly
· explored in the forest
· read the story What Does Peace Feel Like? By V. Radunsky and children just like you from around the world
· had P.E.
· had exploration time on our own and with Mrs. Sotham’s class
Please remember there is no school on Monday.
November 8, 2012
Hi Families. Ms. G. here. Today we:
A message from Vancouver Coastal Health Authority
We are offering another evening KG clinic for children that have not received their kindergarten boosters and chickenpox boosters on Wednesday, January 16, 2013 from 3:00 - 6:00 pm at the Health Unit (1140 Hunter Place). No appointment necessary. Parents/guardians that have any questions are welcome to call us at 604-892-2293 and ask for the school nurse for your child’s particular school.
Thank you so much!
Lee-Anne Chinapen
Program Support for Public Health Nursing
Vancouver Coastal Health Authority
604-892-2293
More important dates in November.
· November 29 – Mamquam Christmas Craft Fair
· November 30 – Writing Day. Please come and scribe for, encourage and have fun with the students. We need you.
Please remember the Community Christmas Care.
- Had WOW groups and library book exchange
- Had Dylan as our helper
- Had P.E.. Today we explored three stations, scooters, scoops and balls and skipping ropes and skip its.
- discussed the big question How do we form good habits? by finishing the next story in 7 Habits of Happy Kids. The habit we discussed is Work first, play later. We learned a new vocabulary word, procrastinate.
- Worked on the daily 5. The grade ones traveled through ‘read to self ‘and ‘read to a partner’ while the kindergartens practiced the ‘I Pick” method of choosing books.
- Had hot lunch
- Read the book A Poppy is to Remember by Heather Patterson and Ron Lightburn
- Made a wreath for Remembrance Day.
- Discussed the purpose of writing and ways of writing.
A message from Vancouver Coastal Health Authority
We are offering another evening KG clinic for children that have not received their kindergarten boosters and chickenpox boosters on Wednesday, January 16, 2013 from 3:00 - 6:00 pm at the Health Unit (1140 Hunter Place). No appointment necessary. Parents/guardians that have any questions are welcome to call us at 604-892-2293 and ask for the school nurse for your child’s particular school.
Thank you so much!
Lee-Anne Chinapen
Program Support for Public Health Nursing
Vancouver Coastal Health Authority
604-892-2293
More important dates in November.
· November 29 – Mamquam Christmas Craft Fair
· November 30 – Writing Day. Please come and scribe for, encourage and have fun with the students. We need you.
Please remember the Community Christmas Care.
Wednesday November 7th, 2012
Mrs. Buxton here today :)
Today we:
- went to our WOW groups
- exchanged our library books
- had Cohen as the helper
- continued our work on the letter F
-practiced reading to self from our Daily 5. Today we read for 8 minutes.
- made a F fish with fins and colourful scales
- had our first Roots of Empathy visit. Mrs. Zoo talked to the children about what to expect next week at the first baby visit! Please visit the Roots of Empathy website to learn more. :) Please return the form sent home with your child as soon as you can.
- had P.E. in the gym with stations. We also played dinosaur freeze tag (touching on our new project based learning) and had bouncy races. Children worked on being good spectators (new word for some) and good sportsmanship.
- counted up to 42 as a class. Today was the 42nd day in school.
- looked closer at the month of November. 2 more birthdays and report cards this month.
- went to the forest for exploration time in the rain. Mud pies and bear food were made.
- had a MAJOR desk clean out. We are working on independant organization of desks. This is a new concept for the children. Work in progress.
*Hot lunch day tomorrow*
A note from Public Health
We are offering another evening KG clinic for children that have not received their kindergarten boosters and chickenpox boosters on Wednesday, January 16, 2013 from 3:00 - 6:00 pm at the Health Unit (1140 Hunter Place). No appointment necessary. We are hoping you can add this information to your daily/weekly or monthly newsletters that get sent home to your families. Parents/guardians that have any questions are welcome to call us at 604-892-2293 and ask for the school nurse for their childs particular school.
Thank you so much!
Lee-Anne Chinapen
Program Support for Public Health Nursing
Vancouver Coastal Health Authority
604-892-2293
Today we:
- went to our WOW groups
- exchanged our library books
- had Cohen as the helper
- continued our work on the letter F
-practiced reading to self from our Daily 5. Today we read for 8 minutes.
- made a F fish with fins and colourful scales
- had our first Roots of Empathy visit. Mrs. Zoo talked to the children about what to expect next week at the first baby visit! Please visit the Roots of Empathy website to learn more. :) Please return the form sent home with your child as soon as you can.
- had P.E. in the gym with stations. We also played dinosaur freeze tag (touching on our new project based learning) and had bouncy races. Children worked on being good spectators (new word for some) and good sportsmanship.
- counted up to 42 as a class. Today was the 42nd day in school.
- looked closer at the month of November. 2 more birthdays and report cards this month.
- went to the forest for exploration time in the rain. Mud pies and bear food were made.
- had a MAJOR desk clean out. We are working on independant organization of desks. This is a new concept for the children. Work in progress.
*Hot lunch day tomorrow*
A note from Public Health
We are offering another evening KG clinic for children that have not received their kindergarten boosters and chickenpox boosters on Wednesday, January 16, 2013 from 3:00 - 6:00 pm at the Health Unit (1140 Hunter Place). No appointment necessary. We are hoping you can add this information to your daily/weekly or monthly newsletters that get sent home to your families. Parents/guardians that have any questions are welcome to call us at 604-892-2293 and ask for the school nurse for their childs particular school.
Thank you so much!
Lee-Anne Chinapen
Program Support for Public Health Nursing
Vancouver Coastal Health Authority
604-892-2293
November 6, 2012
Hi Families. Ms. G. here. Today we:
v Had WOW groups
v Did not have book exchange. The library was closed.
v practiced mindful breathing with our breathing buddies
v Played our 'Wheel of Fortune' game
v Began the process for our first Project Based Learning. The class brainstormed and then voted on their first research topic, which will be dinosaurs. There is a photo showing the brainstorming and voting results. The votes were displayed as a graph and we solved some math questions using it (e.g How many more dinosaur than experiment votes?)
v Disco danced to the song We Are Family by Sister Sledge.
v Had the daily 5. In the first round we practiced ‘read to self’. In the second round we practiced ‘read with partner’. We did extensive role modeling of how to ‘check for understanding ‘when reading with a partner.
v Had math. We did calendar and problem solving (problem of the day: Nick has 16 pumpkin muffins he wants to share equally with 3 friends. How many muffins will each person gets? Use, words, numbers, and pictures to explain your thinking.) Check out some of the ways of recording the solutions. The variety is fantastic.
v Read a favourite story, Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?
v Had music
v Had WOW groups
v Did not have book exchange. The library was closed.
v practiced mindful breathing with our breathing buddies
v Played our 'Wheel of Fortune' game
v Began the process for our first Project Based Learning. The class brainstormed and then voted on their first research topic, which will be dinosaurs. There is a photo showing the brainstorming and voting results. The votes were displayed as a graph and we solved some math questions using it (e.g How many more dinosaur than experiment votes?)
v Disco danced to the song We Are Family by Sister Sledge.
v Had the daily 5. In the first round we practiced ‘read to self’. In the second round we practiced ‘read with partner’. We did extensive role modeling of how to ‘check for understanding ‘when reading with a partner.
v Had math. We did calendar and problem solving (problem of the day: Nick has 16 pumpkin muffins he wants to share equally with 3 friends. How many muffins will each person gets? Use, words, numbers, and pictures to explain your thinking.) Check out some of the ways of recording the solutions. The variety is fantastic.
v Read a favourite story, Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?
v Had music
Monday November 5th, 2012
Today we:
- went to our WOW groups
- had music with Mrs. Thomson
- practiced reading to ourselves for 8 minutes
- read to a partner for 5 minutes
- introduced the letter f. Some students practiced printing f and other students worked on their F books
- solved a math problem by finding the missing number on a number line
- read the story Wocket in my Pocket by Dr. Suess. Thank you Kamille for bringing in such a cool rhyming book.
- worked on our Fin's Friends program. Today we read the story The Recess Queen. It is about mean Jean who everyone at school is scared of.
- created Stop, Think, Act stop lights. Students are encouraged to stop when a situation they are in gets uncomfortable. Think about how they want to respond. Then act on it. For example, when a dispute arises on the playground and students are about the get physical they should STOP. Then THINK how could I better handle this (ie. walk away, use my words). Then ACT on the way they have chosen.
- went outside in the beautiful sun for D.P.A. in the forest
- sent home a sholastic book ordered to be returned by Wednesday November 14th.
Important dates for November
Fri., Nov. 2 Pro-D (school not in session)
Thurs., Nov. 8 Hot lunch
Fri., Nov. 9 Remembrance Day Assembly
Mon., Nov. 12 Remembrance Day (school not in session)
Mon., Nov. 19 Report cards go home
Wed., Nov. 21 Parent/Teacher Interviews 2:00 dismissal
Thurs., Nov. 22 Parent/Teacher Interviews 2:00 dismissal
Thurs., Nov. 8 Hot lunch
Fri., Nov. 9 Remembrance Day Assembly
Mon., Nov. 12 Remembrance Day (school not in session)
Mon., Nov. 19 Report cards go home
Wed., Nov. 21 Parent/Teacher Interviews 2:00 dismissal
Thurs., Nov. 22 Parent/Teacher Interviews 2:00 dismissal
November 1, 2012
- Hello Families. Ms. G. here. Today we:
- Had Brian as helper
- Had library book exchange
- Developed movement in space using hoops. We practiced movements that go under, over, through, in and out. The children jumped and crawled in a variety of ways using their hoops. They practiced their moves individually and in partners.
- Practiced Mindful breathing lying down with our breathing buddies on our tummies. Several children do not have a breathing buddy yet. The children really benefit from having one so could you send one if you have not done so yet.
- Had Daily 5. One group coloured and practice reading an early literacy book called My Backpack. They have taken it home to share. Also, they each contributed to our first class made book called My Backpack. The book will now become part of our class library until June. The second group practiced the “I Pick” method of choosing books to read. They then practiced ‘Read to Self’ and ‘Read to a Partner’.
- Had math. We did calendar, created a graph of what we were for Halloween and explored our problem of the day : There are 30 pumpkins at school. 10 of them are carved. How many are not carved? Use numbers, words and pictures to explain your thinking.
- Had exploration time
Reminder:
There is no school tomorrow.
October 31st, 2012
Happy Halloween everyone! Mrs. Buxton here today.
Today we went on a long bus ride to North Arm Farm in Pemberton. It was chilly and bumpy but all in all we had a great first field trip! We got to go on a horse carriage ride to pick out our own perfect pumpkin. We got to explore the farm and check out the different vegetables that grow. We also got to play on the giant tire swing, double wooden swings, and hay maze. Some of us got to check on the animals too. Picture to follow shortly. Have a safe and happy Halloween.
Today we went on a long bus ride to North Arm Farm in Pemberton. It was chilly and bumpy but all in all we had a great first field trip! We got to go on a horse carriage ride to pick out our own perfect pumpkin. We got to explore the farm and check out the different vegetables that grow. We also got to play on the giant tire swing, double wooden swings, and hay maze. Some of us got to check on the animals too. Picture to follow shortly. Have a safe and happy Halloween.
October 30, 2012
Happy Halloween Eve families. Ms. G. here to tell you about our spooktacular day.
A little Halloween book called Trick or Treat went home today. Please help your child to try to read it to you.
REMINDERS:
1. Tomorrow is our field trip to North Arm Farm. The forecast is for rain. Please dress your child for the weather.
2. Friday is a Professional Development day. There is no school.
3. Please refrain from sending Halloween candy in your child’s lunch. It is very hard for the children to concentrate when they have eaten candy.
- · We had WOW groups
- Auston was our helper
- · We finished our sugar skulls and glittered them up. They look fabulous in the hallway
- · We got our secondary colours art up in the hallway too
- · We played Halloween Tic-tac-toe and made lollipop ghosts
- · Constable Zonderland gave a Halloween safety talk. The Constable gave each child a reflector. Your child has taken it home today.
- · In the afternoon, the class watched Scooby Doo and the Witch’s Ghost. They ate chips, popcorn twists and gummy tarantulas. They drank Kool Aid Jammers.
- · Ms. Thomson took our class for music
A little Halloween book called Trick or Treat went home today. Please help your child to try to read it to you.
REMINDERS:
1. Tomorrow is our field trip to North Arm Farm. The forecast is for rain. Please dress your child for the weather.
2. Friday is a Professional Development day. There is no school.
3. Please refrain from sending Halloween candy in your child’s lunch. It is very hard for the children to concentrate when they have eaten candy.
Monday October 29th, 2012
Mrs. Buxton here
Today we:
Please remember that Wednesday is our field trip and students should be at school early! I will open my door BEFORE the bell to get students organized and ready to go. Please pack a backpack to go on our childs back with a LARGE lunch and change of clothes. It is also mandatory that each child have a rain jacket with a hat and boots. It would be ideal if your child has rain pants that go over their pants to wear them. We will be outside in the rain/mud/snow(just kidding- i hope) and children will get wet! Each student is responsible for carrying their own backpack. If you have any extra plastic bags at home please send them with your child tomorrow or Wednesday as each child will bring home a pumpkin and need to carry it on the bus. We will not be wearing costumes. Please dress your child in warm clothes under their rain gear.
* Please send me an email ASAP if your child gets car sick* I want to be prepared... :)
Today we:
- went to our WOW groups and worked on rhyming groups
- exchanged our library books
- worked on a math problem. Jill has 15 halloween stickers and Sam has 2 more then her. How many are there all together. We drew the problem our as a group and students solved the problem on their own.
- had a fun time at the library Halloween stations. Some children worked with the smart board while others made scary monsters
- introduced a new self regulation topic of "Being interested and curious"
- created an E elephant and brought it home
- went to music with Mrs. Thomson
- counted the days to Halloween. Had a discussion around if it was 2 days away or 3. Do we count today as a day or not? This was interesting to facilitate
Please remember that Wednesday is our field trip and students should be at school early! I will open my door BEFORE the bell to get students organized and ready to go. Please pack a backpack to go on our childs back with a LARGE lunch and change of clothes. It is also mandatory that each child have a rain jacket with a hat and boots. It would be ideal if your child has rain pants that go over their pants to wear them. We will be outside in the rain/mud/snow(just kidding- i hope) and children will get wet! Each student is responsible for carrying their own backpack. If you have any extra plastic bags at home please send them with your child tomorrow or Wednesday as each child will bring home a pumpkin and need to carry it on the bus. We will not be wearing costumes. Please dress your child in warm clothes under their rain gear.
* Please send me an email ASAP if your child gets car sick* I want to be prepared... :)
Friday October 26, 2012
Ms. G. here.
Today we:
Message from the playground supervisors:
Please encourage your children to keep toys at home. The toys are not supposed to be on the playground and are causing conflicts
Message from the library:
Many of the children in our class have several books out. Please check around your house and return the books as soon as possible.
Message from the office:
The photo retake orders are due by Nov. 1.
Information items:
Today we:
- had WOW and library book exchange
- Ashton was the helper
- had music with Ms. Thomson
- explored the math problem: How many ways can you show the number 10?
- practiced choosing books to read using the I PICK strategy. This was our Daily 5 session today.
- played "King of the Hill" again in P.E.
- created with the secondary colour papers we painted last Friday. Some students made jack-o'lanterns while other created monsters, aliens or even monster trucks. The creations are wonderful. I will be making a display in the hall with them.
Message from the playground supervisors:
Please encourage your children to keep toys at home. The toys are not supposed to be on the playground and are causing conflicts
Message from the library:
Many of the children in our class have several books out. Please check around your house and return the books as soon as possible.
Message from the office:
The photo retake orders are due by Nov. 1.
Information items:
- next Wednesday, October 31st, is our class field trip
- There is no school next Friday, Nov. 2nd
Thursday October 25, 2012
Hi Families,
Ms. G. was teaching today.
· This morning we began with doing WOW groups and library book exchange.
· In P.E. class we played a game in the dark called “King of the Hill”. The children loved the game.
· We reviewed the first two habits of The Seven Habits of Happy Kids and began discussion of the third habit; Put First Things First: Work First, Play Later.
· The children practiced "read to self" for 8 minutes 48 seconds in our first daily 5 session. This is fabulous stamina building! Then we created the anchor chart and I-chart for "read with a partner".
This is what we brainstormed together:
Purposes for reading with a partner (Anchor Chart)
1. To become a better, smarter reader and learner
2. To work on fluency
3. Practice reading skills
4. It is fun
For the I(ndependent)-Chart (what reading with a partner looks like):
1. Read sitting EEKK (elbow, elbow, knee, knee)
2. Partner checks for understanding by asking who (are you reading about) and what (are you reading about)
· We went to the library to enjoy our first two Monster stations created by Ms. Sherlock
· Read the Halloween book It was Halloween Night: A Scary Math Story with Tangrams. The book is filled with animals created out of tangram pieces. The children were challenged with trying to make each of the animals out of their own tangram sets. Here's some pictures:
Ms. G. was teaching today.
· This morning we began with doing WOW groups and library book exchange.
· In P.E. class we played a game in the dark called “King of the Hill”. The children loved the game.
· We reviewed the first two habits of The Seven Habits of Happy Kids and began discussion of the third habit; Put First Things First: Work First, Play Later.
· The children practiced "read to self" for 8 minutes 48 seconds in our first daily 5 session. This is fabulous stamina building! Then we created the anchor chart and I-chart for "read with a partner".
This is what we brainstormed together:
Purposes for reading with a partner (Anchor Chart)
1. To become a better, smarter reader and learner
2. To work on fluency
3. Practice reading skills
4. It is fun
For the I(ndependent)-Chart (what reading with a partner looks like):
1. Read sitting EEKK (elbow, elbow, knee, knee)
2. Partner checks for understanding by asking who (are you reading about) and what (are you reading about)
· We went to the library to enjoy our first two Monster stations created by Ms. Sherlock
· Read the Halloween book It was Halloween Night: A Scary Math Story with Tangrams. The book is filled with animals created out of tangram pieces. The children were challenged with trying to make each of the animals out of their own tangram sets. Here's some pictures:
Wednesday October 24th, 2012
Mrs. Buxton here :)
Today we:
Today we:
- went to our WOW groups and continued to work on rhyming
- exchanged our library books
- some students practiced printing the letter E
- some students were introduced to long and short E sounds. Children cut up and pasted a different words with E's in them. They had to investigate to see if the word had a long E sound (Bee) or a short e sound (bed). The children are getting really skilled at finding the answers to their questions without directly asking me for each word. One student began grouping the pictures that had similar sounds then surveyed the rest of the class to see what they knew about E sounds. They then asked me to come and check their hard work. I love to see this self motivation!
- read the story "There was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Book". The kids get a kick out of these.
- reviewed our three self regulation posters we created
- worked on sorting in math. Some students sorted a single attribute (ex. colour) and other students sorted using multiple attributes (ex. colour and type)
- went to a Halloween assembly and saw a dance from the grade 6/7 students. We also watched a video on Unicef and heard the boys choir sing. The school students also unveiled their new Mamquam song that they have been created in music with Mrs. Thomson.
- went to the forest for exploratory learning
Tuesday Oct. 23, 2012
Hi Parents,
Ms. G. here to tell you about our very busy day.
Ms. G. here to tell you about our very busy day.
- · Zach was our helper
- · We had WOW groups and library book exchange
- · We began making sugar skulls so the children could learn about celebrations from other countries. Sugar skulls are part of Dia de los Muertos. It is a Mexican holiday that honors deceased loved ones on November 2nd. Traditions include decorating alters with sugar skulls and marigolds as well as food and pictures. The art itself is vibrant, detailed and rich in history. The sugar skulls aren’t meant to be scary, but rather fun and celebratory. We will need another session to finish them. Take a look at the pictures.
- · I demonstrated how to check for understanding as a book is read. We discussed how you can think about who (the characters), where(the setting) and what(is happening) to help you understand and remember what you are reading.
- · We learned the poem ‘Black Cat’
- For MindUp, we talked about how the brain behaves differently when engaged in mindful versus unmindful acts. Then the children were given examples of acts and they had to vote on whether the act was mindful or unmindful
- · Disco danced to a Boney M song. I photographed a couple of good moves.
- · We read the books The Berenstain bears: Trick or Treat by Stan and Jan Berenstain and Big Pumpkin by Erica Silverman
- · The class got into 5 groups. Each group hollowed out a pumpkin and created a jack-o'lantern. The pumpkins were donated by the West Coast Railway Park for displaying at their annual Spooky Train Ride. Anna, Cyparis, Miles, James, and Jayse from Mrs. Reimer's class took leadership roles for the project. Check out the pictures.
- · We had music with Mrs. Thomson. She showed a Halloween film.
Monday October 22nd, 2012
- Today we:
- worked on the numter 5 and 10 and saw how many different ways we could make these numbers. Ex. 2+3=5 , 4+6 = 10. Some students challenged themselves and created groupings of 3. Ex. 1 +1+3= 5.
- went to music with Mrs. Thomson
- did morning calendar and learned that today was the 31st day of school
- introduced the letter E. Some of us practiced matching letters A,B,C,D,E with the lower a,b,c,d,e and other students worked in an E booklet where they wrote words that started with E. We also talked about E having two sounds.
- didn't get to exchange our library books because the computers were down
- Read the Story "Please Louise" and talked about thre 3 self regulation goals of 1. Taking Safe Physical Risks, 2. Managing Powerful Emotions, 3. Waiting for a Turn.
- Created posters for the classroom with pictures of these goals
- Played in the forest
- hired movers (Owen,Saphira, and Alex) to move our desks for the day
- celebrated Dylan's birthday with zombie cupcakes! Happy Birthday Dylan
October 18, 2012
Today we:
There is no school tomorrow.
- Had WOW groups
- Had Yuan as our helper
- Had library book exchange
- Practiced for the Earthquake drill and had the drill
- Had P.E.
- Did the Daily 5 “Read to self”. The class read long than ever. They are really building their stamina!
- Performed ‘5 Little Pumpkins’ again so the rest of the class could have a turn being one of the pumpkins. Check out the pictures.
- Spent the afternoon investigating colour mixing. The children were given the three primary colours and mixed to create, orange, green and purple. The classroom was alive with discussion about what they were discovering. Comments such as “they (the colours) are all different” and “they’re (the colours are) getting darker(as they mixed more of one colour into the other) could be heard throughout the room as they made their discoveries. There are some photos to look at.
- Read the story The Cat Sat on the Mat by Brian Wildsmith
There is no school tomorrow.
October 17th, 2012
Hello - Mrs. Buxton here today!
Today we
- did morning calendar
- went to a train safety presentation in the library. Stop Look and Listen for trains.
- worked on the letter D
- created a D dinosaur and took it home
- read our class book about the old lady who swallowed a fly
- explored the forest with two other classes
- took home a railway safety booklet to keep at home
- went to P.E. where we had bowling, basketball, skipping ropes, scoop ball and balance beams
Please return your permission for for our Halloween field trip to the pumpkin patch. :)
Today we
- did morning calendar
- went to a train safety presentation in the library. Stop Look and Listen for trains.
- worked on the letter D
- created a D dinosaur and took it home
- read our class book about the old lady who swallowed a fly
- explored the forest with two other classes
- took home a railway safety booklet to keep at home
- went to P.E. where we had bowling, basketball, skipping ropes, scoop ball and balance beams
Please return your permission for for our Halloween field trip to the pumpkin patch. :)
October 16, 2012
Hi Families,
Ms. G is back!
Today we:
Information Items:
Tomorrow is our rail safety presentation.
There is no school on Friday.
Ms. G is back!
Today we:
- Did WOW groups
- had Tenly as our our helper
- Had photo retakes
- Played ‘Wheel of Fortune, Classroom Edition’. The secret message was “Good Morning! Today we will read a story about pumpkins.”
- Read the story I Like Pumpkins by Jerry Smath.
- Created pumpkins by drawing an oval and radiating segments out from the oval.
- Practiced our Daily 5: Read to Self. The class is really keen to read and are very serious about doing read to self.
- Acted out the poem 5 Little Pumpkins and put a copy of it into our binders. I've include some photos of the actors below.
- Had calendar
- Did a math number maze counting from 1 to 100
- Had music with Mrs. Thomson
- Acted out Halloween characters
Information Items:
Tomorrow is our rail safety presentation.
There is no school on Friday.
October 15th, 2012
Hello! Mrs. Buxton here
today we:
Please send your permission form in for our October 31st field trip. As of now we have 4 parent volunteers so we are good to go! Thank you.
today we:
- started our WOW (work on word groups) where students went to different classes to work on different parts of phonological awareness
- exchanged our library books
- worked on the letter D. Some students practiced printing upper and lower case D's while other students read a D story and worked in their D book.
- went to music with Mrs. Thomson
- created a Halloween spider out of our handprints to hang from our ceiling to decorate our classroom
- started our Fin's Friend's program and read a story about playing catch. The story was about two animals playing catch when another animal (worm) asked to play catch with them. The worm could not catch the ball because he had no arms so the three of them had to investigate new ways to play catch so that all three animals could be involved. We talked about letting different people play with you and the importance of sharing. Students drew a picture of a time that they had a new friend join a group or their favourite part of the story and took those home. Some of you may have been wondering why your child drew a picture of a worm getting hit in the head with a baseball.....
- went to the forest in the rain. Please make sure that your child had appropriate clothing for the rain as we will still be going outside at least 2 times a day.
- worked on patterns in math. Students created a pattern from around the room and then drew it in their math book.
Please send your permission form in for our October 31st field trip. As of now we have 4 parent volunteers so we are good to go! Thank you.
For your information Oct. 15, 2012
Science Spooktacular at SFU
On Saturday, October 27, 2012 there will be a free afternoon of spooky science fun for kids in grades K-6 and their families presented by the Faculty of Science and Radiation Safety. Come out and see some Creepy Creatures and play with some Halloween-y hands-on science activities in the south concourse of the Academic Quadrangle, just outside Shrum Science Centre lecture hall B9200. We will present the Phantom Physics and Cryptic Chemistry show twice at 1:00 PM and 3:00 PM.
For more information please see the Spooktacular website:
http://www.physics.sfu.ca/about/outreach/spook
Sarah
Sarah D Johnson Ph.D.
Senior Lecturer
Dept of Physics
Simon Fraser University
[email protected]
On Saturday, October 27, 2012 there will be a free afternoon of spooky science fun for kids in grades K-6 and their families presented by the Faculty of Science and Radiation Safety. Come out and see some Creepy Creatures and play with some Halloween-y hands-on science activities in the south concourse of the Academic Quadrangle, just outside Shrum Science Centre lecture hall B9200. We will present the Phantom Physics and Cryptic Chemistry show twice at 1:00 PM and 3:00 PM.
For more information please see the Spooktacular website:
http://www.physics.sfu.ca/about/outreach/spook
Sarah
Sarah D Johnson Ph.D.
Senior Lecturer
Dept of Physics
Simon Fraser University
[email protected]
October 12, 2012
Ms. Gagnon had a Teaching Teacher on Call replace her today.
October 11, 2012
Ms. Gagnon had a Teaching Teacher on Call replace her today.
October 10th, 2012
Hello! Mrs. Buxton here today.
Today we:
Today we:
- exchanged our library books
- read independantly
- talked about the possibility of an emergency occuring at school (earthquake,fire, etc.) and practiced lining up for the fire drill.
- went to an exciting assembly about fire safety where we had 3 firefighters and Sparky the Fire Dog presenting to us. We learned about Stop, Drop, and Roll and we also talked about the importance about knowing where the exits are in every building. Students were asked to check their home smoke detector tonight with their parents.
- had our first fire drill of the year. We did EXCELLENT! Children lined up quietly and were very patient.
- worked on patterns in math. we worked on ABABAB patterns and went as difficult as ABBCBBA. Some children really connected with the difficult patterns and began creating their own later in the day.
- had exploration time in the forest
- read the story "There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly" and then created our own class book. Some students drew a picture and wrote out one word while others created their own page with full sentences.
- sent home a permission form for our Halloween field trip. Please send this back as soon as possible.
- sent a fire escape route plan to fill out with your family at home.
Oct. 9, 2012
Hi Familes,
Ms.G. here:
Today we:
Things to remember:
Ms.G. here:
Today we:
- Had Saphira as our helper
- Celebrated Graydon’s birthday
- Drew an anchor, an ear, a desk and a clock for DAP
- Went to the library for book exchange
- Brainstormed ideas for the ‘Five Senses of Thanksgiving’ and started writing using the pattern 'I remember the sound (sight, taste, smell) of _______.' The children worked in partners on this activity.
- Learned about the functions of three key players in our limbic system: the amygdale, the hippocampus and the prefrontal cortex. This is part of our Mind Up curriculum.
- Worked on building our reading to self stamina
- Tried solving a math problem with a partner. We used manipulatives, acting out and drawing pictures to work toward a solution
- Had music with Mrs. Thomson
- Read Mmm, Cookies by Robert Munch and a fun Alphabet book called Applebet Story
Things to remember:
- Picture order forms are due on Oct. 11
- Photo retakes are on Oct. 16
- Tomorrow is Fire Safety and Fire drill day. Please talk to your child about what a fire drill is and why we have them. This will help prepare your child for tomorrow.
Friday Oct. 4, 2012
Hi Families:
Ms. G here to tell you about our first hot lunch Friday!!
We:
Please remember there is no school on Monday
Ms. G here to tell you about our first hot lunch Friday!!
We:
- drew a monster truck for DAP
- played ‘Wheel of Fortune, classroom edition’ to discover the secret message on the board. There’s a picture of the secret message below. The children were very engaged in the game.
- finished our colour books today. Hooray. They went home at the end of the day.
- had music with Mrs. Thomson
- wrote out the bubble gum blowing steps and created a display in the hallway
- had a special treat at snack time in honour of Mira’s birthday on Sunday
- finished our I(ndependent)-Chart for how to read to self and practiced reading to self. A picture of the completed Read to Self, I-Chart is below.
- had hot lunch and a special Thanksgiving treat from Brian
- created an ‘I Am Thankful For’ quilt with our big buddies. It will be on display next the the library.
- had three students from Mrs. Farmer's class do a Reader's Theatre sketch for us and our big buddies.
- Photo proofs went home today.
Please remember there is no school on Monday
Thursday Oct. 4, 2012
Ms. G here. Today we:
Important information
Oct.10 is a fire drill day
Oct. 18 is an Earthquake drill day
Please discuss what this means with your child the day before each practice so they are not frightened on the day.
- drew a turkey feast for DAP
- had library book exchange
- had P.E. We threw bean bags to ourselves and to a partner to build our hand to eye coordination. Then we played rainbow tag. The children like that game!
- discussed the big question 'What is a habit?' and reviewed the first habit from the book The Seven Habits of Happy Kids. The first habit is Be Proactive: You are in charge. We then read the second story which talks about the second habit, Begin with the end in mind: Have a plan.
- had buddy reading in the library with Ms. Sherlock/Ms. Lewis' multiaged 3/4 class. Our class loved meeting them and vice versa. A few snaps are included below. The two gorgeous teachers are Tina Sherlock and yours truly.
- continued to chart the purpose for and ways to 'Read to Self'' as our first stage in the Daily 5 for building reading stamina and skills
Important information
Oct.10 is a fire drill day
Oct. 18 is an Earthquake drill day
Please discuss what this means with your child the day before each practice so they are not frightened on the day.
Wednesday October 3rd, 2012
Mrs Buxton here :)
Today we:
Today we:
- read to a partner
- exchanged our library books
- worked on our calendar. We found out we have 4 birthdays this month, Thanksgiving, Halloween and field trip!
- worked on patterns. Some children focused on ABAB patterns while others focused on ABCABC or ABBABBA patterns. We will continue this next week.
- made a C crab craft and charted our C words. Some students wrote full sentences and others practiced printing C
- went to the forest and pretended we were in a jungle
- had P.E. where we practiced ball skills and jump rope
- practiced tracing and cuting (great fine motor skills)
- worked on deep breathing with our MindUp chime
Important dates for October
- Oct. 5 - Hot Lunch. Please remember that your child still needs water and a snack for recess break.
- Oct. 8 - No school
- Oct. 10 - Fire safety presentation in the morning
- Oct. 12 - bring up to two fall leaves to school for scientific observation. We will study the veins and colour design and then create our own leaf vein and colour design for a crayon resist art project.
- Oct. 19 - No School
- Oct. 30 - special movie day for our class.
- Oct. 31 - Field trip to the Pumpkin patch in Pemberton
Tuesday October 2, 2012
Hello Families,
Ms. G. here.
Today we:
Ms. G. here.
Today we:
- drew a fat turkey and spider in its web for DAP
- had book exchange in the library
- read 'Black is a witch's hat.' and worked in the song and colour books.
- learned what intrinsic and extrinsic motivation are and why we choose to do well in school
- learned the poem '5 Fat Turkeys'. Then we took on roles as one of the turkeys or a member of the chorus and turned the poem into a readers' theatre activity
- brainstormed ways each child can practice 'reading to self'. We came up with:
- read and look at the pictures
- read the words
- retell a story already read
- discussed why we would want to practice 'reading to self'. The class brainstormed the following:
- to read harder books
- to get stronger at reading
- to learn
- to get smarter
- role modelled how to 'read to self'. The class noticed the following:
- we sit in one spot
- find a place where we will read rather than chat
- look at all the pages of a book
- continued on the Colour, Shape and Line art we started on Friday. Today we went over the lines using chalk or oil pastels. If your child used the chalk pastels s/he will probably look extra 'sooty' today. The children turned the pastel use into a full kinesthetic experience. You should have seen the classroom when we were done! Then, they chose the colour for their frame and glued it on. We will individualize the frames on Thursday.
- did not have music as Mrs. Thompson was aways. The children got to draw with a different teacher.
- sang the song 'Old T. Turkey' and played a 'sequencing events of the song' game
- read the story Pigs by Robert Munch. We had lots of fun doing the pig sound effects and yelling like the angry adults in the book!
- received a fund raiser envelop to show our familes
Monday October 1st, 2012
Mrs. Buxton here,
Today we:
Today we:
- had to decode a secret message on our board (photo below)
- welcomed Anne G. as our new interpreter. Mrs. Chapman is off now waiting for the arrival of her new baby!
- talked about the month of October. Children rearranged the calendar to October and we found out we have 4 birthdays this month.
- had reading with a partner time
- had some of us read with Mrs. Buxton and we tried reading some really tricky books
- went to music with Mrs. Thomson
- did not get to exchange our library books (please send for tomorrow)
- worked on our colour book - Blue is the sky. Some children cut out and rearranged sentences while other students worked on printing the words.
- worked on the letter C. Some learned about the sound and practiced printing C while other students wrote sentences about the letter C and compiled a list of all the C words they know.
- had exploration time where some students built a house with lego (below) other students made mini mail boxes and some chose to draw independantly.
- H
- had our first Substitute teacher of the year. Mrs. P will be in this afternoon as Mrs. Buxton has a meeting to attend.
Friday September 28, 2012
Art day with Ms. G.!!!!!! Hooray for art day!
WE:
Below the art photos are a few pictures from our intermediate playground exploration on Thursday.
WE:
- drew a car key and falling leaves for DAP
- had SNIB time
- went to the library for book exchange
- had music with Mrs. Thompson
- read 'Green is the Grass' for the next installment of our colour song book. The kindergarten students practiced writing the word 'green'
- practiced the alphabet song
- read the book Chick Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin, Jr. and John Archambault, which is a favourite with children
- played a game using the book Would You Rather... by John Burningham. Through the game we practiced concepts of more, less, explored people graphing and practiced one to one correspondence counting.
- played in the forest with two other classes
- shared P.E. time with the grade one/two multiage class
- explored colour, shape and line in art. We drew a circle on our paper, then we radiated a variety of, zig zag, curvy, wavy, rounded lines out from the circle. Finally, we finger painted the colour in. Next week we will go over our lines with black, and create unique frames for them. There are a couple of pictures below that you can look at.
- had a short exploration time
Below the art photos are a few pictures from our intermediate playground exploration on Thursday.
THURSDAY September 27, 2012
We had a very active day with Ms. G. today. We:
This week we began to determine how to pick the right book to read. I showed them the I PIck chart:
I look at a book
Purpose
Interest
Comprehension
Know all the words
To aid understanding of using and understanding I Pick, I brought in a variety of shoes and showed them how shoes have a purpose (soccer cleats, snow boots, hiking boots, etc.), show our interests (motorcycle boots indicate interest in motorcycling, soccer cleats an interest in soccer and so on) and fit our feet specifically(we can't wear shoes that are too small or big for our feet, other people's shoes don't fit us well). This last part equates to comprehension and knowing the words. We choose books to fit our abilities, not too easy (so we are uninterested) or hard (so that we don't understand what we are reading).
We also studied book conventions (directionality, title, cover picture, main idea) and made predictions.
Tomorrow the children are studying, shape, line and colour with paint so have your child wear something they can get paint all over. Another option is to provide your child with a paint smock to keep at school for the year. Please label it with your child's name.
- drew Terry Fox run ideas for DAP (Draw a Picture) and had SNIB(Stick Nose in Book) time. SNIB gave us another opportunity to use our class library system of placing a clothes peg with the child's name on the bin s/he picks a book from and moving the peg as s/he replaces and chooses a new book.
- went to the gym and played a Freeze game as well as Rainbow and Freeze tag
- learned more about how the amygdala and prefrontal cortex work in our brains
- got to explore on the intermediate playground equipment with two other classes
- sped around the outer edge of the field for the Terry Fox Run. We also learned that the outer edge we ran is called the PERIMETER of the field. Wow, a cool new math word!
- explored patterns and recorded our patterns in our math notebooks
- had exploration time. This time before we began we thought out a plan for exploring time and shared it with a partner and then with the class.
This week we began to determine how to pick the right book to read. I showed them the I PIck chart:
I look at a book
Purpose
Interest
Comprehension
Know all the words
To aid understanding of using and understanding I Pick, I brought in a variety of shoes and showed them how shoes have a purpose (soccer cleats, snow boots, hiking boots, etc.), show our interests (motorcycle boots indicate interest in motorcycling, soccer cleats an interest in soccer and so on) and fit our feet specifically(we can't wear shoes that are too small or big for our feet, other people's shoes don't fit us well). This last part equates to comprehension and knowing the words. We choose books to fit our abilities, not too easy (so we are uninterested) or hard (so that we don't understand what we are reading).
We also studied book conventions (directionality, title, cover picture, main idea) and made predictions.
Tomorrow the children are studying, shape, line and colour with paint so have your child wear something they can get paint all over. Another option is to provide your child with a paint smock to keep at school for the year. Please label it with your child's name.
Wednesday September 26th, 2012
Mrs. Buxton here :)
Today we:
We hope to see you tonight for meet the teacher at 7:00pm!
Tomorrow is the Terry Fox run at 1:00pm. Please send in your envelopes and donations tomorrow. Hot Lunch orders are due Friday.
Today we:
- had our pictures taken (this took a lot of patience and the children were wonderful)
- some of us worked on the letter B and some of us worked on reading
- created a brown bear out of the letter B
- talked about Terry Fox and the run tomorrow
- had P.E. where we played builders and bulldozers with bowling pins
- went to the forest for afternoon recess. Some children are forming bonds with students in other classes and creating their own games in the forest.
- organized our binders with some of our school work so far this year
- finished up our 4 seasons poster
We hope to see you tonight for meet the teacher at 7:00pm!
Tomorrow is the Terry Fox run at 1:00pm. Please send in your envelopes and donations tomorrow. Hot Lunch orders are due Friday.
Tuesday September 25, 2012
With Ms. G. today, we
A note from Coastal Health:
We have found it hard to immunize the new Kindy students because of all day classes. So…the Public Health nurses have scheduled a drop in clinic for the Kindergarten students on October 11th from 3:30 until 6pm at the Health Unit. I’ve put together a small blurb that I hope can be added into your weekly/bi weekly newsletters. We would appreciate it repeated as many times as possible.
Thank you for your help.
Drop In Kindergarten booster clinic on October 11th
1140 Hunter Place, Health Unit
3:30-6pm
Please bring your child’s carecard and immunization records
Any questions? Please contact your school nurse at 604-892-2293
Laura Godfrey
Health Unit Aide
Squamish, BC
604-892-2293
- went to preview books at the Book Fair. There were so many books to interest the children.
- received our first two hot lunch notices. Please fill out and return by this Friday if you are participating
- went and waved at the train. I don't know who had more fun, us or the passengers who waved back!
- read the words 'And brown is a bear" as the next installment of our song book.
- took our envelopes home to work on our Terry Fox Run connection. Please bring back Thursday
- read the story The Bear is Scared which Olivia kindly donated to us from the book fair
- practiced using our classroom library and did shared or personal reading
- went to music with Mrs. Thompson
A note from Coastal Health:
We have found it hard to immunize the new Kindy students because of all day classes. So…the Public Health nurses have scheduled a drop in clinic for the Kindergarten students on October 11th from 3:30 until 6pm at the Health Unit. I’ve put together a small blurb that I hope can be added into your weekly/bi weekly newsletters. We would appreciate it repeated as many times as possible.
Thank you for your help.
Drop In Kindergarten booster clinic on October 11th
1140 Hunter Place, Health Unit
3:30-6pm
Please bring your child’s carecard and immunization records
Any questions? Please contact your school nurse at 604-892-2293
Laura Godfrey
Health Unit Aide
Squamish, BC
604-892-2293
Monday September 24th, 2012
Hello everyone, Mrs. Buxton here.
Today we:
Today we:
- had some students practice printing the letter B and some students created a book about the letter B. We found many words that started with B from around our room.
- had music with Mrs. Thomson
- worked on speaking in front of the class by sharing with everyone a high and low of the weekend. (A lot of lows about the mandatory bed time imposed by parents!)
- worked on numeracy with our calendar. We noticed the days were colour coded in a pattern. We also practiced counting forwards and backwards from 24.
- went to the forest for D.P.A. (Daily physical activity)
- talked about the seasons changing. We created a season chart of how an apple tree looks in all 4 seasons. The children's finished product is displayed in the hall.
- went to the library to exchange our books
- had 15 minute quiet reading time
Important Dates for the Week of September 24-28
- Sept 25-27- the Scholastic Book Fair. Also, our class really needs a parent who can help to do our own Scholastic book club orders. We get many free resources for the classroom when we participate in the book club.
- Sept. 25 - Your child will be given an envelope to bring home for the Terry Fox Run. Please help your child draw a picture on the envelope. It might be of someone that they know personally who has had cancer or Terry Fox himself. You can help and encourage your child to write a short sentence about the picture. This provides your child with an opportunity to make a personal connection with the event. Please return the envelope by Sept. 27. You and your child can include a donation in it if you wish. The envelope will then be displayed in the hallway in honour of the event.
- Sept. 26 - Individual Photo Day so come with your best smile!
- Sept. 27- the Terry Fox Run in the afternoon. Please discuss with your child the importance of their best behaviour during the run.
Thursday September 20, 2012
Ms. G here to tell you about another busy and exciting day in our multiage classroom.
- Today:
- we continued creating our "Orange is a Carrot" book. The grade ones read the sentence "Purple is a plum" and many chose to write their own words rather than cut and paste. When challenged to use their own purple ideas many did and were encouraged to write the words (or letters they heard) in their own ideas. The kindergartens practiced the colour word "purple".
- we read the book called Officer Buckle and Gloria. This led us into a discussion about safety.
- the children had an opportunity to engage in artistic exploration of various materials such as laminating film, odd shaped paper and envelopes. Some created fashion belts, others attempted to create a usable umbrella out of the film and sticks!
- the children's art portfolios were completed. One side has a personal image painted by the child, the other side has painted hand prints. The children loved doing the hand prints!
- in math we continued our math stations:
- Geoboards
- Pattern Blocks
- Problem of the Day (writing the numbers in sequence)
- dice game - Roll and Write
- your child is bringing home a permission slip for a field trip to wave at the train going by next Tuesday. Please return the slip by Monday Setptember 24th.
- There is no school Friday September 21st. It is a Professional Development day for teachers.
I'll be back on Tuesday.
Wednesday September 19th, 2012
- _Hello, Mrs. Buxton here!
Today we: - had morning meeting and introduced the calendar
- read stories with a partner
- went to the library to exchange our library books. Please send your child with their library book when you are finished reading it together.
- worked on our letter A books where we wrote out all the words we know that begin with A
- made an alligator out of the letter A
- went to the gym where we played freeze tag and then soccer
- celebrated Olivia's 6th birthday. Thank you to Olivia for bringing the class cupcakes.
- worked on our colour book and some students practiced writing sentences about the colour yellow
- practiced counting up and over 20
- watched the dump trucks and bobcats fill our playground with new sawdust
- had time to explore the visit with two other classes
Tuesday Sept. 18th, 2012
Hi All. Ms. G here. Today we:
Orange is a carrot
Yellow is a pear
Purple is a plum
And brown is a bear
Green is the grass
Blue is the sky
Black is a witch's hat
And red is cherry pie.
- went to the library for book exchange. Please have your child bring their special book bag to school. The class will exchange books every Tuesday and Thursday with Ms. G.
- had Brian as helper
- had an assembly
- learned a silly song called "Black Socks"
- used the pocket chart to read the song "Orange is a Carrot"
Orange is a carrot
Yellow is a pear
Purple is a plum
And brown is a bear
Green is the grass
Blue is the sky
Black is a witch's hat
And red is cherry pie.
- had the kindergarten students practice printing the word orange
- had the grade one class began their "My Colour Book". Each line of the song "Orange is a Carrot" is cut up. The students unscramble the words and glue them down in their book. They then illustrate the page. Today the students did the first line. The grade 1's are gradually being encouraged to insert their own ideas for colour examples to make their individual books a personal expression of their creativity and interests.
- had math stations. They were:
- geoboards
- pattern blocks
- problem of the day (we started math journals today)
- a dice game call "Roll and Write"
- read The Grouchy Ladybug by Eric Carle and discussed friendship.
- investigated the essential question "What are Habits? "and read the first story in the book The Seven Habits of Happy Kids.
- Please email me anytime at [email protected]. I will be teaching every Tuesday, Thursday and Friday.
Monday Sept. 17th, 2012
Hello Everyone - Mrs. Buxton Here today
Today we:
Please feel free to email me at [email protected] with any questions or concerns. I will be teaching class on Monday and Wednesdays throughout this school year.
Today we:
- worked on the letter A. Some students practiced printing and perfecting the A sound and some students worked on a letter A booklet where they investigate words with the a sound in the middle . We will continue working on A on Wednesday. We will introduce words that begin with A as well as short A and long A vowel sounds.
- went to the gym for P.E. We had skipping ropes, basketballs, hula hoops and scoop ball.
- had music with Mrs. Thomson. She introduced drums and had the children create rain and thunder sounds.
- Read the story "Panda Bear What Do You See". Students drew a picture of their favourite animal from the story and some children labelled their pictures and brought them home.
- went to the forest for a free play with another class.
- exchanged our library books. Please send library books back when you are done reading them as we have opportunity to exchange books almost everyday.
- stressed the importance of drinking a lot of water on hot days. Please make sure you send a water bottle to school every day with your child. We have a designated table for students to leave their bottles at each day and access throughout the day when they need it.
Please feel free to email me at [email protected] with any questions or concerns. I will be teaching class on Monday and Wednesdays throughout this school year.
Welcome to our class website
Hello Parents/Guardians
We now have a class website up and running. Ms. Gagnon and I (Mrs. Buxton) will be updating this website regularly. This is an opportunity for you to be more involved in your child's education experience. I will post daily activities and well as important events coming up throughout the year. Please feel free to contact me at [email protected] if you have any questions or concerns.
We now have a class website up and running. Ms. Gagnon and I (Mrs. Buxton) will be updating this website regularly. This is an opportunity for you to be more involved in your child's education experience. I will post daily activities and well as important events coming up throughout the year. Please feel free to contact me at [email protected] if you have any questions or concerns.