with Ms. Lai & Ms. Loungsay
September 29th was our school’s Terry Fox Run, as well as Orange Shirt Day. Ms. Price, our Aboriginal Resource Teacher, visited our classroom to tell us the story about Phyllis’ experience at a residential school.
Having Orange Shirt Day on the same day as the Terry Fox Run was a good opportunity to talk about Terry Fox’s Métis ancestry. Thank you Parents for your donations to the Terry Fox Foundation. As a school, we surpassed our goal and raised…
More photos from the run:
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At the beginning of the year when students are learning how to write their names, we always have fun reading the book, Chicka Chicka Boom Boom. All the letters climb up the coconut tree until the tree bends… “Will there be enough room?” No, because all the letters fall out! The book has a great rhythm and there’s even a song that goes with it. See YouTube video below.
Students made coconut trees and added the letters of their names. They learned how to use scissors and managed to cut out tree trunks (any size they wanted) and tree leaves!
The coconut trees are displayed on the hallway bulletin board outside our classroom! Please come and take a look.
Introducing… Chip and Salsa at 5 days old!
Students’ drawings of Chip and Salsa in their observation journals:
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The students were so excited today! We saw cracks on the eggs this morning, and by this afternoon, one little guy had pecked his way out! More to follow…
Division 7 and 8 are studying a new theme this month. We are little scientists and we are learning about oviparous animals. Last week, three eggs arrived at our school. We will get to see how these eggs hatch! The eggs are slightly larger than the ones we usually eat at home. They will take approximately three weeks to hatch. The eggs are safely stored in an incubator in Ms. Gourlay’s classroom. We will visit them every 2-3 days to make an observation about the eggs and write down some notes in our observation booklets, as scientists do.
Ms. Gourlay and I are keeping it a secret. What animal do you think is inside? “Hopefully not a dinosaur,” said a kindergarten student.
For those who celebrate this festival, I wish you a happy, healthy and prosperous lunar new year! Gung xi fa cai! The kids enjoyed a variety of activities, including making lanterns and writing the Chinese numeral characters.
Happy New Year! I hope you all had a restful winter break. There is something about January. The kids seem to bounce right back into the school routine with renewed energy for the new year.
Every so often, we have older buddies come into our class to read with our kids. Today during our kindergarten literacy time, we had grade 2 and 3 buddies come to read with us.
Reading is a necessity in any classroom, and getting some extra time to share a story with someone is a gift. We have all heard about reading being the secret to success. Students gain access to rich vocabulary and even simple stories contain complex aspects of relationships and events. While being read to, students are able to just relax and concentrate on what the story is about. They gain by listening to critical language and enunciation skills. There is no pressure to sound out words or memorize any information. For the older kids, the more they read to their little buddies, the more confidence they gain in their own reading skills. The benefits are just too many to list. Plus, it’s fun and the kids love having buddies!
Most of these buddies were in my class for kindergarten and/or grade 1. It’s always so nice when they come back to visit their old classroom!
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