Skating for Phys. Ed.

We will begin Skating in PE in the New Year.  I will send a letter with expectations and times on January 3 but wanted to let you know ahead of time so you can arrange for skates, helmets, etc.  We do have some small skates and helmets at the school if you need to borrow.

Spelling words

I've had requests for the spelling words.  Remember:  a review test of Units 1-10 on Thursday, January 3, first day back! It will be 50 of the following words.

an, at, and, am, as, in, is, it , big,
did, his, had, sit, six, ran, bit,
pup, bus, but, tub, look, like,
 dig, pat, sun, put, the, with,
that, not, on, dog, the, was,
here, snow, pet, get, let, fed,
 red, said, top, stop, men, fix,
 fox, mix, box, when

Merry Christmas!

Weren't the students great at the concert?!  I was very proud of them!  They really liked the song and they all looked so beautiful and handsome in their outfits!  Thanks for cheering them on!  They are so excited to see their parents, grandparents and aunts and uncles in the audience.

We had a busy morning - washing desks!  They scrubbed like troopers and the inside of the desks are sparkling for the new year!  They offered to come to my house......!

We also made a reindeer craft, enjoyed some treats and wrapped a few gifts for our families!

In the afternoon the elementary SRC had a movie and some activities for us.  They are very excited that there are only 5 sleeps until Santa comes!

Enjoy, enjoy, enjoy your Christmas holiday with your little ones!  This is such a magical time!  Keep the notes to Santa and the stories (I send home a Christmas story and picture today - they are fabulous!).  All too soon, they grow up!  Which is great as well but nothing is more wonderful than Christmas through the eyes of a child.

No 'multi-tasking" this holiday!  Stay in the moment and enjoy!

May everyone have a wonderful Christmas counting the many blessings than we have and remembering those that need our support.  Hillmond is truly a caring community!

See you in 2013!

Some thoughts....

If you get a chance, watch President Obama's address to the community of Newtown, Conn.  A very heart felt commentary from a dad first and a president second.

I reminded me again of how important our Virtues Project is at Hillmond School.  Our responsibility as educators and parents (who are the most important educators!) is to instill in our children a sense of empathy and a positive self-esteem.  We cannot protect our children from all the injusts in the world but we can try to give them a childhood that will prepare them for the world and give them the caring attitude for them to feel compassion towards others.

As we rush around this holiday season, let's all take the time to say a Thank You to hard working clerks, a quick smile to a harassed looking shopper and a kind word to everyone.  A little thoughtfulness goes a long way.  That little act of kindness may make a huge difference in someone's life.

So, congratulate yourself on the wonderful children that you have!  You've been doing a great job teaching them the Virtues at home and we will continue at school as well.

last Friday before Christmas!

Christmas Spirit Week - wear a Christmas hat all week and earn points for your house team!

Monday - dress in PJ's.  You can purchase a candy gram for a friend for $1.00.

Tuesday - SRC will be supplying hot chocolate and cookies.

Wednesday - Ugly sweater day!  Or wear a Christmas hat!

Thursday - quiet morning with a craft or movie.  The SRC has stations for us for the afternoon.

Concert, Wednesday, December 19 @7:00

Come early if you want a good seat!  Students should be in the Grade one room by 6:30 so we can get organized.
Remember:  girls in dresses/shorts and tights so they can wear their sparkly dress over top.  Boys:  a nice shirt with a tie.  Thanks!
See you there!

Monday Update

Unit # 10
1.  top
2.  stop
3.  men
4.  fix
5.  fox
6.  mix
7.  box
8.  when

On Monday, December 17, the Grade One's will receive a Unit #1 to #10 Spelling review unit.  This will review most of the words given in the units.  This test will be weighted as 50% of units #1 to 10.  I will put the review list on the blog this week.

Concert Costumes
Girls need to return the sparkly dresses this week so we can practice in them.

Thank you, everyone, for your heartfelt and generous outpouring of compassion to the Livingston family at this very sad time.  I know that Valorie and the children are touched byyour kindness.  I'd like to thank Jennifer Rutherford for her helpfulness to Valorie at this time.  When you need one most, God sends down an angel.  Thanks, Jennifer, for what you have done and will continue to do.  We will send more information soon about ways the community can continue to help.

Christmas Concert, December 19th
Practicing is going smoothly!  Wow!

Girls - Now, the girls are going to wear 'sparkly' dresses for our piece.  I have these costumes at school from a previous time.  I am going to send these home with the girls today so you can look at them and decide what they need to wear.  They need to wear something under the dress that can't been seen such as shorts, short dress etc.  I'd like them just to be able to pull the dress over their heads at school and then be able to take them off after the concert.  I may use them another year!
  Please send the dress back to school before the concert so we can practice in them. 

Boys need to wear pants, a shirt and a tie. A dress shirt is best but a plain T-shirt or sweatshirt is fine also.  Please don't go to an expense for 3 minutes on stage.   I have some sparkly ties at school so if you don't have one, let me know.  They are supposed to look 'cool'.  They will be wearing hats which I will supply.  They can just wear their school shoes.

They will need to come to my classroom by 6:30 please so we can get organized.  The students will then sit at the front of the gym during the performance.  You will want to come early to get a good seat!

We traditionally hold a dress rehearsal on the morning of the 18th.  So, if you have a grandparent etc that would like to come and can't make the performance, they are welcome to come to dress rehearsal.  I'll make sure to send the Dress rehearsal time closer to the concert date.

I will test on Sight Words tomorrow.

Spelling words Unit #9  - test on Monday, December 10
1.  pet
2.  get
3.  let
4.  fed
5.  red
6.  said
7.  Santa
8.  tree

Did I mention how much I enjoy this class!?  We are writing Christmas 'informational' stories right now and they are so funny!!!!  And impressive at the same time!

Friday Update

Spelling Words this week: 
Unit #8
1.  not
2.  on
3.  dog
4.  got
5.  the
6.  was
7.  here
8.  snow

We are working on writing information stories about Christmas!  Each of the students has chosen a topic like "Cookies", "Santa Claus", "Reindeer" etc.   They are already very interesting!  

Sight  Words

I did not test today.  We decided to just have a fun afternoon

Math

We are working on learning numbers to 100 and the students have been making great progress.  Continue to challenge them to count to 100 by 10's and 5's.

We will be starting our Addition to 9 unit shortly.  They are very excited to start adding!

Christmas Craziness and a Reminder

We have started practicng for the concert and it is going very well!  I will send more info next week.

This is a crazy, busy time of year but today we were all reminded to not get stressed out by the "To Do" lists, gift buying, baking etc.  Instead, I was reminded to go home and tell my family I love them as they are what is truly important in my life.  I am blessed and so fortunate and sometimes I forget that.
 
So, spend time with your delightful children and your families this Christmas season and let the "To Do" list wait!

Thank You!

Thank You so much for coming to Parent Teacher interviews!  I was looking forward to meeting my 'new' parents as well as visiting with my 'old' parents!  It is so easy to see why the students are so lovely - your guys are great parents!  Thank you for all the effort you put into sight words, reading, spelling etc.  Great kids are a lot of work!  Thank you for recognizing this!

Our male staff has been actively supporting Movember (male Cancer awareness month).  They've been great sports but we want them ALL to have to dye their moustaches!
We are hoping that all the students could bring $1-2 tomorrow.  If the whole school does, we will meet our goal!  Friday is the last day!

The students were hilarious today dressing up as teachers!  Lots of fun!

So, we have begun the Christmas concert and I will send info about it next week.

Sight word test tomorrow!

School supplies list as promised!

School Supplies Needed

10 Pencils	3 White erasers	3 Glue sticks	Pencil crayons	Pencil Sharpener	Felt markers	2 Boxes of 16 wax crayons
Hailey S.	Izzy	Hailey W.		Hailey W	Victoria	Everyone!!
James	Caybrie	Jonathan		Keenan
Aiden	Keenan	Izzy		Hailey S.
	Austin	Aiden		Lexi
	Lexi			James
	James
	Hailey S.
	Aiden

School Supplies Update

I've updated the school supplies your child has (excluding Tori and Dyson who were absent).  There is a copy of the supplies needed in the report card and I have listed it here as well.

Please remember that your child has been coloring with crayons every day for 3 months and they get broken, lost and used up!  Also same applies to glue sticks, PENCILS!, and pencil sharpeners (even great ones don't lost and they also wear out).
We will be using pencil crayons and markers more in Term #2 and #3. 

School supplies make good stocking stuffers!

Unit #7 spelling words

Unit #7
1.  his
2.  dig (watch the reversal of 'd')
3.  pat
4.  sun
5.  put
6.  the
7.  that
8.  with

Lost Number lines - Tuesday homework assignment

I see that a few number lines were left at school!  You and your child can create a new one by cutting apart a 100 chart and gluing it back together in a long strip which is what we did.  I've attached a link to an appropriate 100 chart
100 chart to print

Homework Assignment in Math and Super Spelling!

The grade ones brought home a number strip to 100 in their agenda pouch.  We are beginning a new math unit called Number to 100.  This unit helps the students learn to count to 100 by 1's, 10's, 5's and 2's (in that order).

PLEASE KEEP THIS NUMBER STRIP IN A SAFE PLACE!  We will be using it up until Christmas for a number of homework assignments.

Today we played a math game using the number strip.  This game is also their homework assignmnent for this week.  Please play the game with your child at least 2X.  Please note in the agenda when you played the game.........!

How many to 100?  Game:

Object:  How many turns will it take to get to 100?  (reinforcing counting on)

Materials:  Number line, six-sided dice (or number cards 1-6, playing cards will work), a marker.

Guess:  how many rolls will it take to reach 100?  (It took us 23 today.)

You will need a button or something for a marker.  Place the marker off the number line in the place that 0 would normally be.

Your child rolls the dice or selects a number (face down numbers).  Have your child read the number.

Your child moves the marker that many 'skips' forward on the line.  The first move is easy as the marker will land on the number rolled.  Record the roll by using tally marks, writing down the number, etc.  (adults need to do this part)

Roll the dice again.  This time move AHEAD the number of 'skips' again.  Emphasize that you must 'skip' forward to count so they do not count the space they are already on.  So, if your child rolled a 3 with his or her first roll and then a 4, he or she will be on number 7.

Continue until you reach or pass 100.  How many rolls did it take?

Variation:  You and your child both have a marker.  Take turns rolling and see who reaches 100 first!


Unit #7  Spelling Words

Wow!  The Grade One's did a fabulous job in Spelling today!  100% was Dyson, Lexi, Keenan, Izzy, James, Hailey S, Aiden and Hailey W!  And all the others only got one wrong!  I am proud of them!!!!

Chicken Pox!
Giving you the heads up that one of our Hillmond families has chicken pox!  Grade Ones have most definitely been exposed so if your child seems tired, listless, headachy or feverish - check for spots!  Most often on tummy and back!

Have a good week!  Looking forward to seeing - and meeting- you at Parent/Teacher Interviews next Tuesday and Thursday.  Look for Report Cards on Friday with interview times included.

This and That!

Operation Christmas Child
First, thank you for all the parents and students for showing Caring and Generosity with donating to the Good Samaritian Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes.  We were able to fill 7 shoeboxes.  Thanks to the Shirtliffe, MacDonald and Graham families that donated a whole box! 
Mrs. Sandy Kern-Ali, our piano teacher, traveled to Costa Rica last summer with her daughter Rachel to deliver Shoe boxes.  Shee came to talk to our class and showed us many photos of the children and their homes.  It was great to hear her tell us how much the children treasure and appreciate receiving the boxes.

In each box, we have included a letter from our class and some photos of us playing in the snow!  Won't the students be surprised to see how we play in Canada!

Spelling Unit #6
1.  pup
2.  bus
3.  but
4. tub
5.  I
6.  look
7.  like

You will notice that there are more words.  Each week the words will become a bit harder.  Also, I add 2 bonus words that are sight words they need to know.  This week the bonus words are:  look, like.  Spelling hint:  look  has two 'eyes' in the middle because you look with your eyes!

Have a great week!

Spelling Words Unit 5

Words this week for spelling test, Tuesday, November 13.
1.  up
2.  us
3.  run
4.  fun
5.  to
6.  said

Reminder to have your child print out the words so there are no reversed and capital letters! Thanks!

November 7 Update

It's been a really busy time with Halloween, Remembrance Day and testing for Term #1  Report cards.  I have tested all the students in reading.  If your child is still reading at the same level it means I 'benchmarked' them and they are still at  a Frustration level on Level 3.  This will improve as their sight word vocabulary improves and their phonic skills improve.

Remembrance Day
The grade one's have been discussing Remembrance Day so ask them what they know!  Keenan was the only student who could tell us about the soldiers fighting for us!  Way to go, Keenan!  Remembrance Day is dear to my heart as my dad was a W.W. II veteran.  He passed on 4 years ago so it's a day my family all stops to remember Dad and Grandpa.  I will miss the Remembrance Day ceremony this year but will definitely still remember.

Parent-Teacher Interview Sheets
Scheduling sheets will go home early next week.  Please look for them.

Have a great November Break!

Operation Christmas Child and Spelling Words

Operation Christmas Child

Dear Parents:

Once again I would like the grade one class to participate in the Operation Christmas Child program for our classroom.    I have copied the information brochure for you and this is the link to Samaritan’s Purse. www.samaritanspurse.ca/Operation-Christmas-Child/default.aspx

Cached

Here is a link to a video that I showed the students.  www.youtube.com/watch?v=CwPosn0ARbce.

 

Also, here is the link to the video on packing a shoebox as it gives good information for the kinds of items to go into the box.  www.youtube.com/watch?v=f0gvnfRoKE0

I would like the students to all participate if possible.

Your child does not need to fill a shoebox.  I am just asking that the students purchase a small toy or crayons or toothbrush, etc to put in a class box. 

However, if your family would like to send a shoebox I will make sure it is delivered.  The cost for shipping boxes is $7.00 so please send the shipping cost as well if you wish to send a whole box.  Please do not seal box as I need to check the containers.  I will seal it securely before I send it.

This is an opportunity for the students to show caring and compassion to other children less fortunate than themselves.  Many children in needy countries are living in poverty due to war in their country.  We have discussed this at school as part of our Thanksgiving and Remembrance Day units.

These items should not be expensive.  Take your child to the Dollar store if you get a chance and let them shop for $1.00-$2.00.  You do not need to purchase more than 1 or 2 items.  If your child is a boy, please purchase a toy for a boy.  Likewise, if your child is a girl, please purchase items for a girl.  I will cover the $7.00 cost per box.  Please read the information for items (not perishable items or war-related items.)  Please return all items before November 14 so we can meet the deadline for delivery.

While at the hairdresser last year, I overheard a woman talking about Operation Christmas Child.  She had spent time as a missionary and had seen firsthand the impact of the shoeboxes.  She told me that the children play with the articles and then put them back in the box and put them in a special place until they have time (which isn’t often) to play with them again.  She said that the items are treated with great reverence.  The family she knew only allowed the children to color one page a month!  Also, if the items are sent in a plastic shoe box, the family can then use the box to store food items that otherwise become infested with insects or mice!  Yuck!  I will try to send the items in a cardboard box with a plastic container inside.  It was really interesting to talk to someone who has actually seen where the boxes go.  She said it is a day of great excitement and celebration.

This year we are very fortunate to have Mrs. Sandy Kern-Ali at our school.  Mrs. Kern-Ali and her daughter Rachel went on a mission this summer and delivered shoeboxes.  I will ask her to talk to our class about her experiences.

Thank you for your assistance and generosity.

Mrs. Burzynski

 

SpellingWe are studying spelling unit #4 this week with the test on Monday, November 5.  The words:  as, had, sit, six, ran, bit.  Again, I mark words wrong if they are spelled with a capital or have reversed letters. 

Dressing for the weather:  Students are expected to go outside at recesses.  Please, it is your responsibility as a parent to make sure they come to school with ski-pants, mitts, a scarf (very important!) and a hat.  My responsibility is to make sure they wear them and they can't wear what they don't have.  Thanks!

Happy Halloween!

There have been some VERY excited children this week!  Have a wonderful and safe trick or treating night.  Too bad it's so cold.

Report Card Assessment

I am beginning assessment this week as Report Cards are due November 16.  Please note that the report card will reflect your child's level from November 1 to November 7 in most areas.  Grade One assessment is done primarily on a one-to-one basis so it takes a long time to assess.

Continue to work hard on Sight words, spelling and Home REading as these are reflected in the assessment.

Update

Spelling Unit #3 

The words this week are:  can, pan, man, cat, sat, mat.  Please note that I am expecting correct letter formation for all the letters.  When your child is practicing, please make sure that the letters are formed from 'the top down' except for 'd' which begins with 'magic C'.  I will expect all students to take the spelling tests regardless of whether or not they have been at school.  The words are posted on the blog.  Next test:  Monday, Oct. 29 at 9:00.

Halloween

We will celebrate Halloween on Wednesday, of course.  The students in the elementary classes will need to bring their costumes to school with them and will change into their costumes at lunch time.

Please do not send make up for me to do as it’s impossible with the class.   The students need to be able to put on their costumes independently.  I would also suggest not sending lots of accessories as they will be very excited about trick or treating and may forget these accessories at school.

We will spend the morning working on Halloween related activities and stories.  Parents are invited to join us for the afternoon.   

It will be quite quiet, I hope!   In the afternoon, we will parade through the classes with the other elementary grades.  Then we will play some games and have some centers to work through.  We will also enjoy a snack around 1:30.  At 2:00 the SRC has set up a Sock-Hop in the gym for the students.

Girls will bring snack for Halloween and boys will bring for Christmas.  There are a total of 14 students in the class.  I would like the following girls to bring:

Fruit or veggies – Caybrie, Lexi
Cake/cookies – Victoria, Izzy, Hailey W
Juice(2 litres each) – Tori, Hailey S

Of course, if there is anyone that wants to bring something special, please do.

Attendance

 Please try to ensure that your child does not miss too many days of school or comes late.  Missing a day of school each week quickly adds up!  Also, we do very important Daily Language Review, Spelling and Spelling tests first thing in the morning and students fall behind if they miss.  Thanks!

Have a good weekend!

Jolly Phonics Duotang

Today the Grade One's will be bringing home their Jolly Phonics duotangs.  I would appreciate it if these were put in a safe place because I would like the students to review the sounds with you occasionally.  Randomly turn to a page in the booklet and ask the students the letter, the sound and the action.  These are all review from Kindergarten and I will be testing on their knowledge for the November Report card.  Of course, many students will know all of the letters and sounds.  However, if your child is having difficulty, use the booklet to help practice.

Tomorrow we will be beginning Digraphs - two letters which make one sound.  Our first digraphs will be:  sh, ch, th, wh and ng.

Have a good day!

Tuesday Update

Spelling Unit #1  Results
I was very proud of the Grade Ones' first spelling test!  The following students achieved 100%!  Caybrie, Dyson, Lexi, Keenan, Izzy, Jonathan, James, Aiden, and Austin. Well Done!

Spelling Unit #2  Words - in, is, it, big, did, his.
All of the students have the words written in the agenda.  Please do not write in the numbered space as this is where we will always put our spelling words.  Please note that the next spelling test will be Wednesday, October 24 due to Teachers' Convention on Monday and Tuesday next week.

Report Cards in November

I will begin assessing for the report card next week and the first week of November.  Areas I will be testing are:
Math:  counting to 100 by 1's, counting backwards from 10, counting to 100 by 10, number identification to 20, basic patterning
Phonics:  all letter sounds both dicated recognition and producing the sounds when shown a letter.
Printing:  correct formation of letters in name, using 'magic C', correct pencil grip.
Reading:  All Apple words will be the standard for Report #1 or above.  Students should be reading at Level 4 or above by Report #1.

I am pleased with the students progress and I think all students can easily achieve these levels.  Take a few minutes to review these concepts with your child.  Note the areas they are having difficulty with and spend a few minutes each week reviewing them.  We will also be reviewing these concepts at school.

HCS CREED
Hillmond School follows our CREED of Caring, Respect, Excellence, Enthusiasm and Determination.  Today we discussed what these virtues would look like in our classroom.  We decided that:
Caring - be kind and helpful
Respect - Listen and look at adults.  Take responsibility
Excellence - Do our best
Enthusiasm - Smile and make it fun!
Determination - Try our hardest.

At home you can encourage your child to follow our CREED by practicing excellence (Do our Best) and Determination (try even when it's hard).  This will go a long way to helping them foster great work habits!  When students and parents make the commitment to practice sight words, spelling words and read daily it really helps foster Excellence because then they really are doing the best they are capable of!  I know you are busy but try not to miss practicing too often!

If you have concerns or questions, please email me and I will get back to you quickly I promise!
Have a good week!

Remember:  No School Monday or Tuesday!

Important Question!

Sorry, our file server wasn't allowing access to our webpage yesterday.  However, some of the students did remember the 'important" question.

Social Studies
The important question is "What country did your ancestors come from?"
This year we will be studying about First Nations people.  We will be discussing the settling of Canada by Europeans, how the First Nations and European settlers helped each other and some of the beliefs and culture of the First Nations people.

Spelling
Spelling words are written in the agenda.  Spelling test will be first thing Monday morning.

Halloween
We traditionally have a Halloween party in the afternoon but students can dress up for the day.  Please do not send make-up for me to apply!  I am not able to do that, sorry!  The SRC might also be having a Sock-up for an hour in the afternoon.  I'll send details later.

Have a good weekend!
Ellen B.

Grade One Spelling etc!

Hope everyone had a Great Thanksgiving!  We were blessed with great weather for most of the weekend!

Photo Day - tomorrow, October 10 am
If you have not returned your photo sheet, please send it tomorrow.  If you do not return a sheet you do not have a choice in pose or background color.  If you wish me to touch up your child's hair before the photo, I'm happy to do so but please send a comb or brush for health reasons.

SpellingThe Grade One's began our Formal Spelling unit today.  Please look for the spelling words printed in the agenda.
Unit One words are:  an, at, and, am, a, as.  Please take a few minutes to practice these with your child.  Dictate the words to them and have them print them. DO NOT ACCEPT SLOPPY PRINTING!  I will not mark backwards letters or sloppy work as correct on their tests.

Spelling tests are always Monday morning or the first day of the school week.

Dressing for the Weather
Students are expected to be outside so please ensure your child has mittens and a toque as the weather becomes colder.  Thanks!

Scholastic Book orders
If you are interested in ordering books, the sheets came home today.  Please send orders for Friday.  No cash - cheques only made out to Scholastic Canada.

Have a great week!

Happy Thanksgiving!

A big Thank You to Mr. Betker and Mrs. Shirtliffe for being the chief organizers for another fabulous Thanksgiving Dinner at HCS! 
A big Thank You as well to all the Junior High and Senior High students who worked so hard as well preparing the food and setting up the gym!
And, of course, our Thanksgiving turkey centerpieces made by the Grade one's were a big hit.  Look for some Thanksgiving art work coming home today.

Keep practicing Apple Words! 

Congratulations to Jonathan who is on his next level - Sun Words!  Great job, Jonathan!

On Monday, we are beginning our Spelling Program!

Have a happy Thanksgiving!

Home Reading Program information

Grade One Home Reading Program

October 2, 2012

Dear Parents:

It is now time to begin the Individualized Home Reading Program for Grade One.  Each day your child will be bringing home a Leveled Book to read to you.  The books are quite repetitious and simple and most children will only need a little help to read the whole book.  Please reread several times.

If your child is in Early Reading Intervention (ERI), he or she will be receiving his or her book from the ERI teacher.  We will let you know if your child will be involved in ERI shortly.  This will be in place of the classroom Home Reading Program.  Both programs follow the same procedure however. 

I have sent the Leveled book home for your child to read to you.  He or she should be quite capable of reading the book fluently with a little assistance from you. Make sure to read the book with your child, sign the sheet in the bag and send the sheet, bag and book back tomorrow.  If they do not bring their book back or it is not signed that they read it to an adult, I will not send a new book with them.  I realize that you will miss a few nights because we are all busy but try not to miss very often.

Initially, I should be able to listen to all the students read each day.  However, as the Leveled books become longer I will only be listening to 3-5 students read each day.  I will send a new book with your child anyway.

When your child has reached mastery on 5 consecutive books at Level Three etc.  I will send a note in the agenda informing you that he or she has moved to the next level of books.  For some children, this will happen quickly while others will take longer to move through the levels.  Please remember that this is an individualized reading program, which moves each child through the levels at his or her own pace.  As the levels become more difficult, it will take longer for the children to achieve mastery.

So, please review the books with your child, as this will help them recognize sight words and use his or her phonetic skills to sound out words.

HAVE FUN LEARNING TO READ!

Mrs. Burzynski

Monday Update

Today was the Kick Off to the QSP magazine and product sales.  Please check your child's backpack for the information and order forms.  Tomorrow is 'double' points day!  For every order turned in tomorrow your child will receive double the credit for prize points.  So if you plan on ordering, send it in tomorrow if you can!

Home Reading - sorry, didn't get the Home Reading books ready due to the QSP assembly last class.  Tomorrow!

I will be sending a few letters tomorrow regarding Early Reading Intervention.  Please return ASAP so we can begin the program.  It is an EXCELLENT opportunity for your child to have some individualized reading time at school!

Remember:  Thanksgiving Meal on Friday!  YUM!

Friday, September 28

Well, September's a wrap!  What a great month!  I am so pleased with the progress the students are making!  They have grown so much already!

Terry Fox - an absolutely beautiful day for our annual Terry Fox walk.  Each year we keep Terry's dream alive!  It is our responsibility to continue to teach our children the heroic legacy of Terry Fox.  It was wonderful to see the whole school, big ones partnering with the little ones, all walking together in the spirit of Terry Fox.  I will try to attach some photos to view!

Apple Words - again, kudos to kids and parents for practicing!  I am so thrilled to say that ALL the grade one's improved!!!  That's what we are working for so keep up the practicing! 

Thank you to Tracy Wenger for helping in the classroom today!  She did a wonderful job testing the students on Apple Words!

Thanksgiving - our annual Thanksgiving meal is on Friday, October 5.  We hope you can come.  The Grade one's will eat a bit early at 11:30.  We will be introducing our new staff members at 12:00.  You are welcome to come and eat at 11:30, if you'd like to eat with your child.

Operation Christmas Child - each year, with the Thanksgiving and Remembrance Day themes, I discuss supporting Operation Christmas child.  Here is a link to the website and I will send more info next week.  I like to discuss Operation Christmas Child at Thanksgiving to remind the students how fortunate we are to live in Canada.  Also, it helps the students to understand the concept of war and again, how fortunate we are.http://www.samaritanspurse.ca/operation-christmas-child

Have a great weekend!

Tuesday, September 25

Terry Fox Pledge sheets - these sheets actually went home the first week of school but very few were returned.  The sheets have been sent again.  Please return by Thursday.

The students watched a video about Terry Fox today.  If you would like to view it, here's the link. Terry Fox ESPN  I'll be showing again tomorrow as a number of students were out during that class.  This is an excellent, short video that gives a simple overview of Terry and the Marathon of Hope.
Ask your child about Terry - I was pleased that some of the students knew about him.  Of course, he's our greatest Canadian hero.
We also practiced running like Terry - ask your child to show you.

Remember that you are welcome to join us for the Terry Fox Walk @ 10:45 on Friday.

Monday, September 24

A beautiful autumn weekend!  I hope you got a chance to get outside and enjoy it!  It was so beautiful I had no excuse and washed my windows!!!!

Terry Fox Walk is on Friday.  Please make sure your child has outdoor running shoes that day  (no Crocs, flip flops or cowby boots, please).  Also a warm jacket.   We will be selling hot dogs for lunch at $1.00.  Please note in agenda if your child brings money for hot dogs.

One final week with the Book bags and then we will begin the Home Reading Program next Monday.  Please make sure to have the Book Bags back for Monday, October 1.

A reminder to note in agendas if your child is going anywhere else beside home.  This includes babysitters, Canskate, a friend's house, etc.  Thank you!

Apple words test will be Friday afternoon.  I will test students on either the 1st ten words or 20 words depending on the level they have achieved. 
Our goal is to know all the apple words before the end of October so remember to practise!

Also, a reminder that school begins at 9:00.  When your child is frequently late, he or she misses important phonics lessons.  Of course, occasionally lates happen but try to keep them to a minimum.  Missed work needs to be finished at recess and the students' don't like that very much!

Enjoy the lovely fall weather...... we know what's coming!

Friday, September 21

Today the Grade One's enjoyed the beautiful 'summer' weather and went on a walk with Mrs. Clark for science.  Ask them what they say, heard, and touched.  Tomorrow is officially fall!

Today was our first Word test of many!  The students tried their best.  They are tested on a 3 second timed Power Point.  Now, I know that many parents will say, "He/she knows them at home."  however, I am looking for mastery - no sounding out at all. They must give me the word within the 3 seconds.

Congratulations to Jonathan, Tori, Hailey W., Austin and Victoria who have moved to the next group of Apple Words.  For next Friday they need to practice all 20 Apple words.

Congratulations to Jonathan Rolleiser for achieving 100%!  Tori Rutherford and Hailey Wenger both recognized 12/13.

If your child did not move on, please study the same 10 words for next Friday.  Remind the students to really look at the beginning sound as some were guessing.

Next week we will begin our Thanksgiving unit already!  Happy harvesting!

Wednesday!

Another busy day!
Today we added the sound for 'h'.  Check to see if you child can show you the action, tell you the sound and print you both the upper and lowercase letter.  Remember, letters start at the top!

Homework:  For most of your children, it's reading My Yellow Book 3x.  A few have both the Red and Yellow book as they weren't finished their red books yesterday.  Really try to practice these little reading books as it helps to foster sight word recognition and left to right reading and writing.  Note that your children are trying to spell the words themselves!  I am proud of their attempts!

The students had both Health and Library today with Mrs. Hunter so most have library books.  If they did not receive a book, their books must be overdue.  I'll note this in the agenda tomorrow.

PRACTICE THOSE APPLE WORDS!!!!!!!!

Tuesday Update

Today we reviewed the letter sounds of 'a, s, t, p, i, n, c, k,' and introduced 'e'.  Review these sounds at home as well.  They should be able to tell you the letters and sounds.  If not, practice these often so your child doesn't fall behind.  We will move quickly past letter review and into vowels, blends, etc.

I hope you are having fun with the book bags.  Thank you for noting in the agendas items that are damaged or need replacing.  I appreciate the good care taken with the bags.  After Thanksgiving we will begin our actual Home Reading Program.

Printing - we are focusing on a few key printing skills and you can help reinforce this at home.

1.  Pencil grip - old habits are hard to break but the correct pencil/crayon grip is:  pencil pinched between the tips of the thumb and first finger with the other fingers underneath supporting the pencil.  Please correct your child's grip if they are 'finger wrapping' (not holding the pencil with the tips of the finger). 
2.  Letters start at the top!  We will begin really focusing on the correct formation of letters in your child's name so....... time to break the old habits!  ALL letters start at the top!   The only exception is lowercase 'e'.  We teach this letter by:  start in the middle, bat the ball out straight, run around the bases almost back to home.  Get your child to show you!

Apple Words
I was very pleased to see that all the Apple words were out of the agendas!  I assume this means they made it home.  Remember to practice for 5-10 minutes each night this week.  The children were very excited to tell me how many words they knew!

School Supplies
If you haven't sent them - please do!  We go through pencils and crayons quickly!  Also, please send extra clothes and a paint shirt.

I am really enjoying the students!  They are very eager to learn and quite cooperative.  We have had some minor incidents between some of the boys.  I don't always hear of things that happen on the playground so please remember your child to make sure to tell ME about incident they are involved in (but not tattling on others).  I can't really address issues that happen last week if I don't know about them and, days later, the students don't even remember what happened.  I try to deal with minor incidents at school but I will contact you if I think it's necessary.
Finally, if you have any questions, give me an email and I usually can get back to you right away in the morning.