Flashlight Friday Was Fantastic!!

Mrs. Holman and Mrs. Wacker were so impressed with the excellent focus students showed during Flashlight Friday!  We did such a good job, that we practiced reading with a buddy as well.  

Students also worked on leave rubbings.  They were tricky!  Students persevered trying different techniques to get the right pressure to make a clear rubbing. The students thought about their use of colour and their composition; including their choice of leaf shape and size, orientation and placement.

Have a look at the leaves in your neighbourhood on this beautiful weekend ahead of us and talk about their different attributes.

Crazy Dressed Teachers

Rooms 4 & 5 raised $139! Mrs. Wacker and Mrs. Holman were very dressed up for the occasion. We will find out how much the school raised in the next few days. You are welcome to send in your donation tomorrow if you forgot.

Please send flashlights for Flashlight Friday tomorrow.

Flashlight Friday

WE DID IT! We have reached our goal of 20 minutes of "Read to Self". In celebration of this important milestone we will have our first "Flashlight Friday" this Friday. Students are encouraged to bring a flashlight to school and we will use them to read in the morning.

Today we used our five senses! Here are two students Learning Journal pages on how they used their senses.

Thursday afternoon is our Terry Fox Run - please bring in a toonie for Terry to donate to the Terry Fox Foundation.

Communication Folder

Today we started our communication folder. This folder should be coming back and forth between school and home EVERY day. In this folder, your child has selected 2 books that he/she will read to you. You should be reading 10-15 minutes every day; when your child has read his/her books please send them back so he/she can choose new books to bring home.
In this folder there are many important notes. Please fill out the School Opening Info and send back the applicable forms in this folder. If you have questions about anything, please contact one of the teachers
- Mrs. Holman & Mrs. Halsall/Mrs. Wacker

Curriculum Newsletter

Curriculum Newsletter

September 2017-January 2018

GRADE ONE and TWO

Mrs. Halsall, Mrs. Holman, Mrs. Hoogers, Ms. McCullough, Mrs. Ross,

 Mrs. Taylor-Schryvers & Mrs. Wacker

Montessori students will be introduced to and work with a variety of Montessori Materials as they pertain to their learning.

Language Arts Language learning takes place in and across all subject areas. Oral language and listening skills are developed through: Classroom discussion Partner sharing Following instructions Songs, stories, poems and rhymes Reading skills will be developed through: Independent reading Reading with a partner Guided reading (reading with teacher guidance) Reading with older buddies Class read-alouds and discussions Reading strategies Writing skills will be developed through: Using pictures, words and sentences to represent ideas Personal stories and journal entries Creating collaborative classroom books Printing practice (top to bottom, left to right) Word study Phonics  review (letter sounds) Instruction on decoding/segmenting (sounding out words) Spelling practice Word families (rhymes)

Math Patterns and Relations Identify, create, describe and compare patterns Sorting according to various attributes and rules (size, shape, colour, etc.) Number Sense Counting with one-to-one correspondence Number arrangements to 10 Represent numbers using pictures, words and symbols Compare and order numbers Exploring place value Counting forwards and backwards by 1s, 2s, 5s, and 10s Number Operations Adding and subtracting numbers to 10 (grade 1) Adding and subtracting two digit numbers without regrouping (grade 2) Technology The use of technology will be integrated across the curriculum.

Social Studies Moving Forward From the Past Students will explore their personal and family histories by: Observing how they have changed and stayed the same through time (losing teeth, growing, learning new skills, new responsibilities) Observing how their families have changed and stayed the same through time (new members, moving, new experiences) Students will be introduced to historical thinking using key words such as: past, a long time ago and present	Science Students will learn about the 5 senses: Awareness of senses and how they are used to provide information Function of senses and how they are cared for Describe adaptations to limited sensory abilities Students will learn building skills through: Construct objects and models of objects using a variety of materials Identify the purpose of different components Problem solve
Physical Education Students will be work on fundamental movement and health skills through: Cooperative Games Scoops and Balls Ball Skills Volleyball Floor Hockey Students will have use of the gymnasium for Physical Education 3 times each week. In addition to going to the gymnasium students will have movement activities in the classroom each day.	Health and Life Skills Students will: ·       Learn about the importance of following rules and routines Develop self-awareness Learn to communicate and solving problems – Peace Education Exploring their feelings and work on developing empathy Introduce the Zone of Regulations, green zone in control and ready to learn, yellow zone lose of some control and difficult to learn, red zone you have lost control and unable to learn and blue zone not feeling our best.
Music -Mrs. Schulz & Miss Nair Students will: ·       Learn a variety of songs and singing games that give opportunities for developing in-tune singing, and exploring the musical elements of beat, rhythm and pitch.  ·       Be introduced to musical notation through rhythmic values (ta, or quarter note and titi, or eighth note), and through visually representing high/low pitches.   ·       Respond to music through movement, beginning with moving in place and progressing to dances and games that involve moving through space.  ·       Participate in direct listening activities, through movement and playing along on non-pitched percussion.	Art Students will explore elements of art such as: ·       Line ·       Colour ·       Composition Students will work with a variety of medium ·       Markers ·       Crayons ·       Pencil Crayons ·       Watercolours ·       Oil pastels Students will begin to analyzes, evaluates and responds critically to art works by looking critically at: ·       Their own art ·       Art of classmates ·       Art of professionals

Word Work

Today students completed Day 3 of Word Work during the Montessori Work Period. Students may make their words using Montessori Moveable Alphabet, magnetic letters, rainbow writing, stringing letters, or stamps. This is a student's word work using Wiki Sticks.

No school tomorrow. We are looking forward to seeing everyone tomorrow at conferences.

We're building up our stamina so we can work for a full work period. Here a student is practicing the Montessori Short Bead Stair.
Today was a very exciting day! We had our First Great Lesson! On Thursday, you can come and see our bulletin board where some of our work following the First Great Lesson is displayed!

Student Interviews

Today we started our student interviews - two students were interviewed. Please look back at the posts to review the list of questions. Talk with your child about all the questions, specifically where they were born and when their birth date so they're ready to share!

Straight Lines & Curved Lines

Today we learned about straight and curved lines and created two pages in our Learning Journals using different types of lines.

We met our Grade 3/4 Buddies today! Ask me what my buddy's name is.

Special Guest

Today Ms. Sharpe our Assistant Principal came to our class so we could interview her. The students were very polite and articulate. After we interviewed Ms. Sharpe and Mrs. Wacker students wrote about one of the interviews.

Please send in spoons and forks when required for lunches or snacks.

Classroom Interview

As part of our Social Studies program we are learning about our history and our community. Here is a list of questions we brainstormed. We will use these to interview our friends.