As it seems to become our norm, we had busy week last week and have another busy week coming up!

I first want to thank all of the families that attended our student led conferences! The children loved sharing their work and school with you, your support meant so much to them. I have a few families that are coming in over the next little while and I know your children are looking forward to it as well!

As the third term continues to chug along, here is a quick look at some of the content I hope to cover through the rest of the year. If you have any question about this please let me know!

Math:
-understands the operation and process of addition and subtraction to 20 (grade 1) or 100 (grade 2)
-reflects on mathematical thinking, uses mental math strategies, communicates mathematical thinking
-compares and recognizes 2D and 3D shapes

Language Arts:
-story elements (setting, character, events …)
-writing conventions (capitals, periods)
-exploring the oral story telling processes
-continuing to practice our reading and writing strategies

Science:
-surprise classroom visitors 🙂
-light and sound
-patterns and cycles in the local sky

And so much more!

Here is a look at next week!

Monday	-Pro-D day-NO SCHOOL
Tuesday	-Music with Mr. TDS -beginning to write our first book! We each will be writing our own personal narrative! -literacy centres-reviewing: magic “e” and FLoSS+z rules
Wednesday	-Gym with Mr. Lim -Mr. Asham coming to visit-last week we tried different types of indigenous drums, I wonder what we will try this week! -Growth Mindset-the power of yet!
Thursday	-Pizza day-if you ordered -Music with Mr. TDS -Please return library books -planting in the school garden
Friday	–Culture day– students are invited to wear clothes that are meaningful to their home culture. This might be traditional clothing or it could be a team jersey! -continuing to lean subtraction strategies -Library-new books coming home! -Freezies Day!- bring 1$ for a yummy frozen treat!
Upcoming events: -Senior’s tea-May 5th -Star Wars Day-May the 4th -School and class photo day-May 3rd -Sports day-May 19

I am so excited for student led conferences next week! What a wonderful chance for families to come in to school and see our day through the eyes of your child. If you haven’t signed up it is not too late! Please check your email for the NEWEST link. If you are having trouble or the time you would like is full, please email me and we will get it sorted!

This week we went on a spontaneous spring walk! The cherry blossoms were out and we needed to take a look before they all fall. It is amazing how many different colours these beautiful blooms come in!

Here is a look at next week!

Monday	– EARLY DISMISSAL! 1:50 -Student led conferences! -Gym with Mrs. Finlayson -growth mindset-The power of yet!
Tuesday	-Music with Mr. TDS -literacy centres -introduce the “floss rule” for literacy
Wednesday	– EARLY DISMISSAL! 1:50 -Student led conferences! -Gym with Mr. Lim
Thursday	-Music with Mr. TDS -Please return library books -talk about earth day and why it is important -Aneesha Kaur’s birthday!
Friday	-Math games -Library-new books coming home! -Celebrate Earth Day-School wide walk in the afternoon. Students invited to wear earth colours!
Upcoming events: -Pro-d- NO SCHOOL-April 24th -Senior’s tea-May 5th -Popcorn day -May 12th

Have a beautiful week!

I hope that everyone is enjoying their extra long weekend!

We have a few things coming up this month to keep in mind:

1. Tuesday is International day of pink! Students are invited to wear pink shirts to show support! We use this day to continue the conversation about acceptance and anti-bullying
2. Student Led Conferences are coming up soon! On April 17th and 19th we will be having Student Led Conferences! This will be and opportunity for your child to show you around the classroom and share their learning and progress with you. I will be there of course, but this will mainly be about your child taking the lead. Keep in mind that those 2 days will be early dismissal days, at 1:50 to allow for extra time. A sign up will be emailed to you by the school early next week so please keep an eye open for that. 4 families can sign up at a time. I am aiming for 100% family participation so if none of the times available work for you, please let me know and we can arrange something else!
3. Reminder that Tuesday is Summer School Registration at 10:00am. For more information and how to register please see the website.  Please remember that classes tend to fill up fast !

Here is a look at some of the things coming up this week!

Monday	Easter Monday-NO SCHOOL
Tuesday	-International day of pink! -summer school registration -Music with Mr. TDS -begin multimedia art project
Wednesday	-Mr. Asham coming to visit -Gym with Mr. Lim -continuing with how addition and subtraction are connected
Thursday	-Dress like your teacher day-more information to come! -Music with Mr. TDS -Please return library books
Friday	-Popcorn day-bring 1$ for a bag of popcorn -Pizza order forms and money due if you would like to order -Library-new books coming home!
Upcoming events: -Student led conferences-April 17th and 19th-EARLY DISMISSAL! -Seniors Tea-please check your email for more information

April showers are here!

While the “April showers bring May flowers” is a good reminder that the heavy rain is not going anywhere, it has been so lovely having a few of those very sunny days! All I can say is, dress in layers!

Friday was Twin Day! Here are a few snaps of our many “twins” in our class!

Have you been asking your child “How was school today? What did you do?” and all you have been getting is “fine” and “I don’t know”? Part of the reason I post some of the things we are doing throughout the week here is so that you can use that information to ask questions that might jog their memory “What did you write about in journals today?” or “I hear you have a new student in class!” I have also come across this nice list of questions you could ask your child to learn about their day as well as finding a little time to connect with your child. Here is the link if you are interested!

Here is a look at what we are up to next week!

Monday	-New student joining our class- Welcome Ronal! -Gym with Mrs. Finlayson -continue with silent e- long u soon -math review-place value
Tuesday	-Music with Mr. TDS -Final Safe Bodies, Safe Kids lesson with Ms. Tan -literacy centres
Wednesday	-subtraction-how do addition and subtraction work together? -Gym with Mr. Lim -introduce Growth Mindset -library tomorrow-please return your books!
Thursday	-library-new books coming home -Music with Mr. TDS -Hold and secure drill -Journals
Friday	-Good Friday-NO SCHOOL!
Upcoming events: -Easter Monday-No school -April 17 and 19-Student Led Conferences -1:50 DISMISSAL

Spring is here!

And so is third term! I am an amazed with how fast this year has gone by… only 13 weeks left of school! That being said, we are hitting the ground running.

Please remember to return your child’s inside shoes and change of clothes, the spring is very wet and muddy and we will need both right away.

Friday is twin day! (where you dress in matching clothes and pretend to be twins with someone for the day) Some of our students have said that they would like to organize being twins with someone in our class/another class/older brothers or sisters, that’s great! If you child doesn’t have someone to twin with or is just really excited to be my twin I will be wearing an orange shirt (I figure most students have one from orange shirt day) and jeans! Your child is welcome to join me in the orange top/dark bottom team if they would like!

Here is a look at some of the things we will be up to next week!

Monday	-Gym with Mrs. Finlayson -brain storm ideas of our favourite things we did during spring break -punctuation review -introduce “silent e” (aka: magic e) -long a
Tuesday	-Music with Mr. TDS -write spring break class book -literacy centres -library tomorrow, please return your books
Wednesday	-Gym with Mr. Lim -Mr. Asham coming to visit -review place value -introduce subtraction -LIBRARY
Thursday	-Ali’s birthday-happy birthday! -grade 2s- Saleema Noon presentation -Music with Mr. TDS -silent e-long i
Friday	-TWIN DAY! -grade 1s-Saleem Noon presentation -math games -Indigenous virtual teachings- Tsleil-Waututh “Story of Creation” -silent e- long o
Upcoming events: -Easter long weekend -no school April 7th-10th

Well, I hope your first few hours of spring break have been going well! 🙂

While it is VERY important that you spend time as a family relaxing over the break, here are a few things to keep in mind if you are working away over the break!

Pencil grip
-when writing with your child take a look at their pencil grip. While you child is getting older, it is not too late to change their grip! Chances are your child isn’t going to like to change how they hold a pencil but it is important for their future writing. If you would like to read more about it, click here!

Number reversal
-there are some numbers and letters that are just trickier than others! Under the age of 7 it is still normal for children to write some of their numbers and letters backwards. At this age, however, we are ready to really focus on correcting this. I found this article with some good information about letter and number reversals as well as a few ideas of fun ways to practice writing them correctly!

Skip counting
-While you are going about your business over the it is a wonderful time to practice skip counting with your child! Having good mastery of skip counting by 2, 5, 10, and 25 will help your child with addition and subtraction this year as well as new math strategies in the years to come. Our class enjoys Scratch Garden and Number Blocks videos on YouTube! They both have skip counting videos.

Addition
-continue to practice single (grade 1) and double (grade 2) digit addition over the break. Make it fun! There are so many online math games and apps. Also take a look as some of these fun math card games! We will be learning many of these after the break. While using our fingers is a great first strategy for addition, it can be slow and what happens when you run out of fingers? Encourage your child to use different math strategies to help them with their addition fluency.

And finally, read, read, read! (and write 🙂 )
-research shows that just 15 mins day of reading has a huge impact on children’s reading ability. It is also beneficial for you to read to them! The neat part is you can read to them in any language and it is still beneficial to your child. So if you are not comfortable reading in English, pick a story in a language that you are comfortable with! A trip to the library always sparks an interest in books and don’t forget about your child’s Raz-Kids account!

Have a wonderful break!

Hello Everyone!

5 days to go! While I know parents are not always as excited about spring break as the kids, I often find that students come back taller, wiser, and ready to dive back into it!

This week, we decided lean into the surprise snow and we experimented with some snow art! I learnt that I need more spray bottles, defiantly the most popular way to paint the snow!

Please supply a reusable or plastic bag by FRIDAY for your child to bring home their inside shoes (to check for sizing) and extra clothes (adjust for the season/check sizing). Please return a full set of spare clothes in a large Ziplock bag and indoor shoes to school after spring break.

On March 7, Second Street is hosting Primary Days of Music. This is a choir event for students in grades 2 and 3. Since we are a 1/2 class our grade 2s will attend for sure but we are still waiting to hear from Mr. TDS if the fire code (and floor space) will allow for our grade 1s to attend as well. Mr. TDS will be sending out an email this weekend with more information.

We also did some art inside recently! This collaborative project is made out of 42 individual squares that students coloured. It came together beautifully!

Monday	Gym with Mrs. Finlayson Place value addition!
Tuesday	Mrs.  Finlayson away in the AM Create a “In The Spring” class book Literacy centres-exploring some new literacy apps Music with Mr. TDS Primary days of music 12:45-2:00
Wednesday	Mrs. Finlayson away in the AM Gym with Mr. Lim math talk create a math flower! report cards available online
Thursday	Music with Mr. TDS create spring art Please return library books
Friday	Remember a to bring bag to bring clothes and inside shoes home Popcorn day-1$ per bag Library-new books coming home! Loose parts-what kind of story can we create? Celebrate Levi’s birthday!
Upcoming events: -March 7th-primary days of music -March 8th-report cards available online -March 11-26-spring break

 

Edit: I’m not sure what happened, this was supposed to post on Friday! Oh technology….

Welcome March!

Wednesday will be the first official day of March! This gives me hope that winter will someday end and spring is on its way!

Tuesday this week we have a spirit day happening in the school. It’s going to be “Anything but a Backpack Day!”. Students are invited to bring their lunch and other school supplies to school in anything other than a backpack! This is a great opportunity for students to get creative and maybe a little silly!

Next week in Div. 13!

Monday	Gym with Mrs. Finlayson Journals-What is your favourite thing to do in the snow? What to do if you get stuck while reading?
Tuesday	Anything but a backpack day! Music with Mr. TDS continue talking about Safe Bodies with Ms. Tan introduce out final digraph “ph” Visit student created museum of black excellence
Wednesday	Gym with Mr. Lim Mr. Asham coming to visit! He has been sharing some beautiful indigenous singing with us over the last few weeks! Connecting with Ms. Merwin’s class to learn some new math games. math games
Thursday	Music with Mr. TDS Please return library books Lock down drill
Friday	Library-new books coming home! cardboard fair Story workshop
Upcoming events: Mach 7th-grade 2’s participating in Primary Days of Music March 8th-report cards available online March 10th-popcorn day March 11-March 26- spring break! No school

Hello!

What an amazing week!

The class had an amazing time with our family day gathering today! Thank  you so much for your support!

 

Over the last 3 weeks we have enjoyed CORE in our local park. The class has learnt so much and I know I have too!

I would like to congratulate Caden and Tenzin for their wonderful performance today in the school talent show! It takes a lot of courage to get up on stage in front of that many people!

Here is a little video of there performance!

Next Week in Division 13!

Monday	Family Day-NO SCHOOL
Tuesday	introducing consonant blends Music with Mr. TDS creating hearts for pink shirt day-“we lift each other up by…”
Wednesday	Pink Shirt day-Wear your pink shirt! Gym with Mr. Lim
Thursday	Pizza day (if you pre-ordered) Music with Mr. TDS Art inspired by Alma Thomas
Friday	Professional Day-NO SCHOOL Ali Sina’s birthday!
Upcoming events: March!! Spring Break – March 13-24

It’s not everyday that kids yell “BEST DAY EVER!’ as they walk out the door but this week had one of those days! To say that the kids had a good time at our camping day celebration might be a bit of an understatement. Tents, blankets, flashlights, pretending to be Canadian Geese, writing about s’mores and then eating s’mores, what else could make a day better! I grabbed a few snaps of the day for everyone to enjoy!

Next week will also be an exciting week!

Tuesday is Valentine’s Day! Students are invited to wear pink, white and red for the occasion. For this occasion a group of students at Second Street decided they wanted to organize a Friendship dance! The school is broken up into smaller groups and will take turns attending the dance. We will be there with our big buddies!

Friday is going to be. EXTRA busy!

We will start off the day  by welcoming all of you into our classroom at the morning bell so that we can celebrate Family Day together! We will have a few different actives that you will be able to do with your children. The world is full of divers families and we would like to celebrate them all! In recognition of this we will be honouring family instead of Mother’s Day and Father’s Day.
After recess, we will be enjoying our last day of CORE. Please make sure that your child is dressed for the weather!
After lunch, we will be joining the whole school in the gym to enjoy the annual talent show!

What a big day!

Monday	Gym with Mrs. Finlayson Esti-mystery -can the class make a reasonable estimation given the clues? tattling vs reporting
Tuesday	Valentine’s Day! Wear pink, white, and red! Friendship dance with our big buddies Music with Mr. TDS
Wednesday	Mr. Asham coming to visit finish animals in winter unit Gym with Mr. Lim
Thursday	Getting ready for out Family Day celebration on Friday Music with Mr. TDS Please return library books
Friday	Family Day celebration in class-everyone welcome! Join us with the morning bell! talent show! We will get to watch many talented students in our school preform (including 2 of our own!) CORE-wilderness walk-dress for the weather!
Upcoming events: Feb 20-Family Day-no school Feb 22-Pink Shirt day Feb 24-Pro-D-no school