Valentine’s Day and 100th Day of School

Through these special days this week, we have been able to particiapte in meaningful and fun learning experiences.

On Valentine’s Day, the students sorted their valentine cards into their friends’ mailboxes and everyone worked on weaving their mailboxes-they turned out very well!

We have arrived at 100 days of school today! There was a lot of excitement and many opportunities for math throughout the day.  Making 100th day hats (10 groups of 10 stickers), sorting collections of 100 things, and our skip counting song kept us busy today.

Reminders:

No school on Monday Feb. 17

Pink shirt day on Wed. Feb. 22

Assembly on Thursday Feb. 23

Pro – D on Friday Feb. 24.

Have a lovely long weekend spending some time together for Family Day!

February is a busy month!

I hope that you have had a chance to read the letter that I sent home last week on the reverse of the February calendar. Key points from that letter include:

–Tuesday February 14 – Valentine’s Day – students are welcome to give Valentine cards to their classmates. We will distribute the cards in the morning and open them later in the afternoon. I encourage all students to write the names of their friends independently. Treats/goodies are not necessary to hand out to classmates. There will also be a PAC Bake Sale so students can bring $1 or $2 to buy a snack that day.

–Friday February 17 – 100th Day of School – students are welcome to bring a collection on 100 small items in a bag on Friday. We will be glueing these items so please do not send items that you want returned. Suggested items include: stickers, cheerios, pasta, paperclips, buttons, etc.

-Monday – February 20 – Family Day – School closed

-Wednesday February 22 – Students are welcome to wear pink for Pink Shirt Day

-Friday February 24 – School Closed for students. District pro d day. I will be at Burnaby Mountain Secondary attending a “Mind-up” workshop to further my learning around social/emotional learning.

What have we been working on in class?

We have been learning about the artist “Kandinsky” while focusing on colour and line.

Place value in math. We have been building numbers using 10s and 1s.

Weaving heart mailboxes for our Valentine cards.

Writing stories about our stuffies during “story workshop” today.

Where do we live? Students have brought home this booklet to complete this weekend. Please encourage your child to learn their address as very few children were able to complete the page for their address.

Home reading books

Please read and re-read the home reading books. Then return the books every Monday. I allocate time every Monday to exchange the books.

Have a beautiful weekend!

Our Community and Buildings 

Many of our weekly activities focused on our community around Brantford School. We focused on “structures” and buildings that we need as a part of our community.

Many thanks to the PAC for funding an inclass workshop provided by the Burnaby Art Gallery. The focus was “Structures and Buildings.” After learning about different types of architecture that are evident throughout Burnaby, we compared older and newer buildings. We then created our own structures using a variety of materials. Your child brought this structure home on Wednesday.

Have a look at the students working on their structures:

Dates to remember:

Tuesday February 14 – Valentine’s Day (I will send more info about Valentine cards next week)

Monday February 20 – Family Day – School Closed

Wednesday February 22 – Pink Shirt Day – We will perform at the assembly.

Friday February 24 – Pro-D Day – school closed for students.

***Please return Home Reading Book Bags on Monday.

Reading, making stories, and Lunar New Year!

The students’ reading skills are developing with every week that passes.  Thank you for reading with your child at home. I am definitely seeing the results. More reading and repetition increases fluency.

One of the most profound statistics in support of reading with children at home is from a 2019 study from Ohio State University. “Kids who are read even one book a day will hear about 290,000 more words by age 5 than those who don’t regularly read books with a parent or caregiver.” Imagine the vocabulary and letter knowledge a child that is read to has by the time they arrive at Gr. 1! Please continue to read and have conversations with your children.

Independent reading

Here we are working on “independent reading”. They are encouraged to “read the pictures” and “read the words you know”. These are their book boxes. They change their books every week.

Rolling and Ramps

I was lucky to borrow these cool ramps and wooden balls from our District LEarning Library. The kids are having so much fun creating ramps and courses for the balls.

Story Workshop

In story workshop, the students create a “story” with loose parts (small objects that can be used for open ended purposes). They are then encouraged to document their story through words and pictures.

Gung Hay Fat Choy to all the families who will be celebrating Lunar and Chinese New Year this weekend.

We learned a lot through stories and videos this week. Check out our cool dragon dancing down the hallway!

Gung Hay Fat Choy!

Skating and a bus ride!

I am VERY proud of the students for showing determination and perseverance while skating today! They were patient (waiting in a long line to get rentals), enthusiatic, and encouraging to their peers! I missed getting a photo of everyone on their skates but here are some photos for you to enjoy!

I am sure they will sleep well tonight!

Report Cards

Report cards went home yesterday. Please keep all the papers from inside the envelope then return the envelope to school so we can reuse it for Term 2 Report Cards.  Please reach out to me if you would like to meet to discuss their progress further.

Home reading bags – return on Monday please!

Extra clothing to keep at school – please ensure that any extra clothes that go home make their way back to school so we always have a set of dry clothing available.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Happy New Year!

I hope you all had a lovely break. We are right back into the swing of school this week. We talked about some activities that we did over the holidays and made some “resolutions’ for the new year.

A few reminders:

-Extra clothing – please return extra clothing to keep at school especially considering the wet weather season ahead of us

-Library – please return library books every Wednesday in order to check out new books. Mrs. Dias is not here on Thursdays and Fridays so students cannot check out new books even if they are only one day late.

-Home reading bags – please return every Monday. I allocate time on Mondays to read with every student and give them new books for the upcoming week.

Reading Online Program (RAZ kids or Reading AtoZ)

In your child’s planner, you will see information on how to access an online reading program. I do not like to promote screen time but I thought you may appreciate having access to a greater number of reading materials for your child at home. The books on RAZ Kids are age appropriate and your child can progress through the levels with practice. I have inlcuded a separate paper in the front pouch of the planner with their password.

Skating Field Trip on Jan. 13

I hope you all received information about the upcoming skating field trip. I would appreciate some parent helpers to join us at Bill Copeland Skating Arena from 9:30 to 11. We will need LOTS of help with changing our shoes, tying skates, and on-ice support. Even if you are not comfortable going onto the ice, I would appreciate help with tying skates. We will have some spots on the bus or you can drive yourself and meet us at the arena. Please email me to let me know if you can join us to help at jennifer.capitanio@burnabyschools.ca

Each student should bring the following items for skating (please label everything with their name):

• winter clothing (snow pants, jacket, thick winter gloves/mittens, extra socks)

Please ALSO bring the following if you have your own:

• ski or skate helmet (rentals are available) – no bike helmets please
• skates (rentals will be provided otherwise)

Our outline for Friday:

• 8:45 – arrive at school as usual
• 9:15 – school bus pick up
• 9:30 – arrive at arena, put on skates
• 9:45 – 10:45 – skate
• 10:30/10:45 – get ready for bus pick up
• 11:00 – bus leaves to return us to school

Please ensure your child has a substantial breakfast since we will not be eating a snack before we go skating.

Report cards

Report cards will be sent home next Thursday. Thank you for your patience.

Have a wonderful weekend!

–

Happy holidays!

Thank you for all of your holiday wishes! I truly appreciate all of your support this term.  The students have grown in so many ways which are especially evident in their kindness to one another and dedication to learning activities.

From candy cane science experiments to buddy reading and sweater day to pancake breakfast, we enjoyed a fun filled week, but now we are all ready for some special time with our families.

You will notice that your child has brought home their extra clothing bag.  Please ensure that their clothing still fits them! You can return extra clothing (shirt, pants, socks, and underwear) on January 3.

Any work that they have brought home can stay at home.

Ms. Aujla has been very ill in December and has therefore not been able to read the report cards. Once she is feeling better she will have all of our report cards proofread and ready to hand out in January.

Enjoy these next two weeks with your little ones! Wishing you a Merry Christmas and happy holidays. Looking forward to seeing you all again in 2023! xo Jennifer Capitanio

One more week until holiday break!

We are sure to have a busy but fun week at school next week (and I will try to mix in some learning too!).

The Spirit Club has organized some special days next week. Dressing up for the days is not required. Please do not feel you need to buy items for these days.

Monday – gratitude day -we will be writing cards of gratitude to those that support us

Tuesday – Christmas hat or winter hat

Wednesday – ugly Christmas sweater or any sweater

Thrusday – Christmas clothing – wear red, green, and/or white

Friday – PJ’s and Pancake Breakfast

Reminders:

Last day of school is Friday Dec. 16

School re-opens on TUESDAY Jan. 3.

December has arrived!

Mistletoe Market

We had a great time looking at all of the amazing products that some older students were selling. It was a very good activity for the students to learn about cash economy and do some math while figuring out their change when purchasing a product.

Gingerbread Bakery

We have transformed our dramatic play area into a Gingerbread Bakery for December. The kids are having fun baking and serving each other.

Nap time!

Some students were so tired from all the excitement that they decided to “nap” instead of play! haha!

Clothing for Recording

Ms. Loo has requested that our class wear black bottoms and red or white tops when they sing/record their concert song on Wednesday, Dec. 7. Instead of an “in person” Christmas Concert, Ms. Loo will record every class and combine the footage into one video. She will send the link during the last week of school.

Donations for upcoming crafts/projects

We will be creating Christmas Tree Cones so we are still in need of left over Halloween candy like smarties, skittles, or licorice. We are also in need of glass jars (600mL to 750 ml) for a special project. Thank you for the doantions that have already arrived!

Have a lovely weekend!

PS Remember to return the home reading book bag on Monday in order to receive new books.

Some happenings from the past week:

World Cup Soccer

With the start of World Cup, we practiced some soccer skills like dribbling and kicking into a net. We also had the opportunity to watch a bit of Canada’s first game on the big screen in the gym.

Jingle Bell Walk

We embarked on our annual JINGLE BELL WALK on Thursday. The students were quite excited to hand out flyers to homes along Brantford Ave. The flyers were asking neighbours to donate food or new toys for less fortunate families. Hopefully the donations will start arriving next week! Thank you Monica for walking with us!

Reader’s Theatre of Good Night Owl

Thank you to all the families that were able to attend our performance. It means so much to the students to have an audience to perform for.

Fast words and home reading bags

We have new fast words: CAN, LIKE, TO, ARE, BE.

Your child can look for these fast words in their home reading books.

Please try to read the home reading books a few times before returning the bag of books on Monday. I will send home a new book bag on Monday.

TD Bank book donation

Every year TD Bank donates a new book to every Gr. 1 student. This year your child is receiving “Fast Friends”. This is their book to keep. 

Pro-D Day on Friday

Please remember that school is closed to students on Friday.

Snow next week

Hard to believe, but snow is in the forecast for next week! Let’s pull out those winter clothing so we are prepared! Please also replenish your child’s extra clothing at school if you know they brought some home especially dry socks.

Thank you! Have a lovely weekend!