Communicating Our Learning Goals

Division 13 - Cascade Heights

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  • Home
  • Technology
  • Literacy
  • Math
  • Additional Resources
  • Wish List
  • en English
    af Afrikaanssq Albanianam Amharicar Arabichy Armenianaz Azerbaijanieu Basquebe Belarusianbn Bengalibs Bosnianbg Bulgarianca Catalanceb Cebuanony Chichewazh-CN Chinese (Simplified)zh-TW Chinese (Traditional)co Corsicanhr Croatiancs Czechda Danishnl Dutchen Englisheo Esperantoet Estoniantl Filipinofi Finnishfr Frenchfy Frisiangl Galicianka Georgiande Germanel Greekgu Gujaratiht Haitian Creoleha Hausahaw Hawaiianiw Hebrewhi Hindihmn Hmonghu Hungarianis Icelandicig Igboid Indonesianga Irishit Italianja Japanesejw Javanesekn Kannadakk Kazakhkm Khmerko Koreanku Kurdish (Kurmanji)ky Kyrgyzlo Laola Latinlv Latvianlt Lithuanianlb Luxembourgishmk Macedonianmg Malagasyms Malayml Malayalammt Maltesemi Maorimr Marathimn Mongolianmy Myanmar (Burmese)ne Nepalino Norwegianps Pashtofa Persianpl Polishpt Portuguesepa Punjabiro Romanianru Russiansm Samoangd Scottish Gaelicsr Serbianst Sesothosn Shonasd Sindhisi Sinhalask Slovaksl Slovenianso Somalies Spanishsu Sudanesesw Swahilisv Swedishtg Tajikta Tamilte Teluguth Thaitr Turkishuk Ukrainianur Urduuz Uzbekvi Vietnamesecy Welshxh Xhosayi Yiddishyo Yorubazu Zulu

Month: September 2020

Parents as Partners

September 27, 2020 / / 0 Comments

I look forward to seeing you on either Wednesday or Thursday, even if it is over Zoom.

 

Mr. Yam sent the following message on Friday about booking Parents as Partners conferences:

1.   Go to our school appointments web site:  http://cascade.schoolappointments.com

2.    Register for an account by clicking the “REGISTER” menu tab and filling in the on-line form.

Choose a user id and password for yourself and then click the “Register Now” button.

***  If you registered last year you will still need to create an account as the system does NOT store information from the previous year.  ***

3.    Add your children into the system by clicking the “Add a Student” button.  Click“Insert New” button to add more children.

4.    Click the “date” icon beside each child’s name to schedule appointments.

Select the teacher you wish to book appointments with and the “View Calendars” button.

Use the “Ctrl” or “Command” key to select multiple staff to view at the same time.

5.    Click on available time slots to book your appointments and then click the “Book Appointments” button to save your bookings.

**Online booking will start Friday, Sep 25th, 7:00 p.m. and will be open until Tuesday, Sept. 29, 10:00 pm**

Beautiful Hands

September 27, 2020 / / 0 Comments

I know one of the things I enjoy most about visiting schools is seeing all the beautiful artwork and how children can all start at with the same instructions and have such amazing creativity within their own piece of artwork.  With Covid-19, this is just one more aspect of sharing our school community experience that needs to be reimagined.

As a class, we read the book, Beautiful Hands by Kathryn Otoshi and Bret Baumgarten.  The artwork is beautifully colourful and all done in handprints.  The simple text explores how people can have an impact, be creative, and demonstrate love without needing to touch each other.

After a class discussion, we then went outside and explored painting with our hands, both as handprints and exploring how acrylic paints blend through finger painting.  Once dried we cut out our handprints to make our own beautiful hands, communal artwork.

In case it’s hard to read, the bulletin board reads,

With Covid-19, we can’t hold hands but we can learn, create and play together!

Big Learning Idea:

Creative experiences involve an interplay between exploration, inquiry, and purposeful choice.

Introduction to Words Their Way

September 21, 2020 / / 0 Comments

I am very excited to start our spelling program, Words Their Way.  Your child may already be familiar with the program.  Words Their Way is a research-based program that teaches students to look for sound and letter patterns in words, rather than memorizing words.  There are too many words in the English Language to memorize but students can learn to generalize patterns to help them make logical guesses when they come across unfamiliar words.  Even better, this program teaches students to recognize that there are times when the English Language has exceptions, where these patterns do not hold up.

Your child should have brought home a collection of spelling words that have been introduced in class.  You will take one look at them and complain that they are:

“Too easy for my child.”  

PERFECT! – That’s exactly what we want for the next two weeks.  Right now, we are focusing on having students learn HOW to do the different daily activities to ensure that these words and the spelling principles they represent are mastered. These activities have been modeled and practiced in school, and it’s your child’s job to be the teacher and teach you how we do these activiites. It is important that they follow the procedure in order to learn the routine for when words become more challenging.

 

When students receive their words, they will need to cut them out.  Each week they will be given “key words” to sort words into categories like we did in school.  Once students have completed the activity for the day, it’s important that these words are kept in a safe place as we will be using them all week.

On Thursdays, students will be asked to into categories like the ones we did in school. Remind them to:

  • See it
  • Say it
  • Touch it (Sort)
  • Match it

In the beginning, your child may want to put the words directly into a category.   I know they can do this with the easy words but they need to practice the procedure so they know how to use these strategies when they receive harder words in two weeks.

Ask your child to sort them a second time as fast as possible. (Speed Sort), this second time, they can place it directly into the correct column if desired. If s/he is feeling confident, they may wish to race against you.

Thank you for your support. Together we can help your child make valuable progress.

Back to School Orientation

September 14, 2020 / / 0 Comments

Welcome back everyone!  We had lots of requests for information shared at the Orientation to be posted.  There is a lot to remember and being able to review it at home may be helpful.

Daily Health Checks

Daily Health Checks need to be completed each day.  Please check our Covid Resources page here and then scroll down for more information.

 

Hand washing Protocols

We will be washing our hands a lot.  Please see this post for further details.

Use of Face Masks

Students are required to wear face masks when travelling in the halls and in learning environments such as music where they are near others that are not in our cohort.  In the classroom, masks are encouraged.

Information about how to put on a face mask can be found here.

I will be wearing a face mask at school at all times.

 

Learning Groups

Division 13 will be working with Division 14, Mrs. Bain’s class.  We will be transitioning for math and possibly reading and writing.

 

Beginning and End of Instructional Day

There are staggered start and dismissal times.

Students in Division 13 are asked to be at school by 9:01am to ready for instruction at 9:06.

School will end at 3:10.  It is important that children are picked up promptly to ensure safe social distancing.

Please let me know if you have another child that does not start and finish school at the same time as Division 13 so special arrangements can be made.

Entry and Exit

Our class will enter and exit from the exterior door closest to the primary playground.

Our classroom is the first classroom on the north side of the primary wing.  A sign has been placed on the window.

Outdoor learning

More information can be found on this post here.

Please get your walking permission forms in as soon as possible.  With construction on the school property, there is not much space for all classes to be outside on the school grounds at the same time.

Lunches

Students are asked to bring a lunch with them or go home for lunch.  Parents are not able to drop off lunches as we are concerned about many students coming to the office at the same time.

 

Washrooms

Handwashing for all transitions (e.g.: entering the school building, before lunch, changing classrooms) will be done in the classroom to keep washroom facilities available as much as possible.

Only 2 students will use the washroom at a time.

If there are 2 students in the washroom already, students are asked to wait at the designated spot outside the washroom.

Drinking Water

Students are recommended to bring a water bottle that can be filled up in the classroom.  All fountains are closed.

 

Food

Students are not able to share food.  This includes not bringing cupcakes or other items for birthdays that are not individually, commercially packaged.

 

Staying Healthy

This year we want to do our best to stay as healthy as possible.

1.) Help your child get lots of sleep.

Students are recommended to go to bed early enough to sleep a minimum 10 hours. Not only does this help keep us healthy but it helps improve our ability to do our schoolwork, manage stress and engage with peers.

2) Be physically active

Try for an hour of exercise a day.  Remember that playing outside is a form of exercise.  We will be engaging in more outside activity at school this year too.

3) Remind your child to wash their hands.

Don’t forget that they are watching us adults to see how often we are washing  and how well!

4) Let’s work on eating healthy foods.

Sometimes getting our children to try new vegetables can be tricky but did you know that the Canadian Food Guide has been updated?  Check out this website about new healthy eating guidelines.  The website includes healthy recipes to try.

5) Manage stress/talk about worries

Let me know if you child is worried or anxious or you notice a change in your child’s behaviour.

 

Thank you to all families that attended the Safety Orientation.  It’s a lot of information to remember.  Students and I will be reviewing this information regularly but it helps if families also have the ability to refresh their memories too.

Hand washing Protocols

September 11, 2020 / / 0 Comments

This year we are going to be working on staying healthy and the best way to prevent spreading germs is to wash our hands properly.

Students are going to be reminded to wash their hands:

  • before leaving home
  • on arriving at school
  • before leaving school
  • after using the toilet
  • before transitioning to another school setting (e.g.: moving to music, the library, gym, or another classroom) upon returning from another school setting to the classroom
  • after sneezing or coughing
  • after recess break and outdoor activities
  • before eating any food including snacks
  • before touching their face (nose, eyes or mask)
  • before putting on their masks and after taking off their mask
  • whenever hands are visibly dirty

Below is a video that demonstrates the World Health Organization’s (WHO’s) guide to washing your hands.  The read paint is a great visual on just how much work goes into washing our hands properly.  We will be reviewing hand washing in September but it helps to reinforce the same procedures at home.

Being Prepared Outside

September 4, 2020 / / 0 Comments

We will be adopting an outdoor classroom as much as possible this year.  Students will be spending much of their time learning and playing outside.

Benefits of an Outdoor Classroom:

  • Allows for social distancing and interaction.
  • Reduces anxiety concerning working and learning in a group setting.
  • Provides opportunities for exploration and inquiry.  Children are naturally curious about the world around them.  By working and learning outside we are able to incorporate their wonderings into the curriculum.
  • Helps students develop deeper connections between what they are learning and their their own personal experiences.
  • Helps students develop a greater connection to nature and a sense of personal responsibility towards their community and the world around them.

Being Prepared to Learn Outside:

September can vary widely in terms of what students can expect when outside.  Layers are going to be important.  It can be cold in the morning, so students will need clothing that they can remove as it becomes warmer during the day.

Students must wear running shoes.  Sandals and crocs are tripping hazards and we want to minimize the potential for injury.

It can be very sunny and hot and we have little shade on our school ground.  Please send hats, sunscreen and water bottles.  Water fountains have been turned off so students will be able to refill water bottles from the class tap.

Students need to be prepared to be outside even if it is raining.  Boots, rain pants and waterproof coats are encouraged.  Students will not be able to carry umbrellas as they will need their hands free for learning activities.

More information about learning outside will follow.

Additional Resources about Learning Outside:

To find out more about the benefits of outdoor learning, you can watch this video by Sir Ken Robinson about 5 reasons to teach outside:

School Supplies

September 4, 2020 / / 0 Comments

Students will need to bring all their own supplies.  Unfortunately, we will not be able to share supplies this year. If you are having difficulty with anything on the list by the end of the first week, please let me know.  Be aware that supplies are often much cheaper in September during the sales rather than waiting until later in the year. Due to the unpredictability of this year, you may want to ensure you have pencils, pencil crayons, an eraser, pencil sharpener and blank or lined paper at home to complete assignments if your child is having to stay home or is ill.

Please focus on quality products as they do last longer & save money in the long run.
  • 40 Staedtler Pencils (all sharpened) – They really do last!
  •  4 Sharpie Pens – black
  • 4 Fine Liner Pens – black
  • 4 Expo thin dry erase markers
  • 1 pkg. of 24 Pencil Crayons (Crayola or Laurentian) – all sharpened
  • 1 pkg. of 24 Crayola Washable Markers (medium, instead of thin & unscented)
  • 1 Oil Pastels – pkg. of 12
  • Watercolor Paint Set (good quality-ex: Merangue, Staedtler)
  • 1 Pencil Sharpener small (container type to catch shavings)
  • 4 Erasers – white (No novelty erasers)
  • 1 Pencil Box to hold small items (approx. size 12cm x 20cm x 7cm or 8 in. x 5 in. x 3 in.) Do not send a bigger box!
  • 1 Ruler 30 cm
  • 8 Duo-Tangs Hilroy cardboard (not plastic) unlabeled – (1 of each colour) yellow, orange, red, blue, green, purple, black, grey, pink, etc.
  • 1 Glue All Purpose – Plastic Bottle (white liquid)
  • 2 Glue Sticks – not coloured and large (mini dry out really fast)
  • 1 Metal Scissors (Fiskars recommended) – pointed end
  • 1 box of Kleenex – large
  • 1 Reusable Water Bottle – to brought to school every day
  • 1 small bottle of Dawn or Sunlight
  • Small personal hand sanitizer (please keep refilled from home)
  • Clean Masks for daily use (optional but recommended)
  • 1 Thermometer to check your child’s temperature each morning at home
Please label all supplies except duotangs with your child’s name
(i.e. all individual pencil crayons must be labeled)

Welcome back!

September 3, 2020 / / 1 Comment

 

Welcome back to what looks like will be a very unpredictable year.  For that reason, communication is going to be more important than ever.  This blog is to ensure that all families have a resource to find information to support their student in a timely manner.  The blog will be separate from TEAMS which will be used by students to keep track and hand in assignments if they are away or we switch remote learning.  The blog will be for parent communication and to celebrate our learning with our families.  Please return often and subscribe to our feed so that you receive regular updates.

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