Theme

Winter Solstice

Dec. 21 will be the first day of winter and is known as the winter solstice, which is the shortest day of the year (and the longest night). We compared the number of daylight hours and darkness from the autumn equinox and the winter solstice.

Term 2 Goals

It is important to set goals for ourselves so that we can improve on our skills and keep growing in all ways. Here are the goals for term 2. It is important to know oneself so we can choose appropriate goals.

Monthly Walk – Dec. 6, 2024

Thoughts

During the week of Dec. 2, we learned that we all have worries, fears, and frustrations. We read the book, When Things Aren’t Going Right, Go Left by Marc Colagiovanni, and learned that it is important not to let those worries, fears, and frustrations get too big by keeping an eye on it.

Objects in the Sky

During the week of Nov. 25, we began our new unit on objects in the sky. We brainstormed what we think we know and what we wonder.

We learned the importance of the sun. The sun is a star and is the centre of our solar system. We learned that the sun does not move but rather the Earth is moving around the sun.

Friendship is Like a Seesaw

During the week of Nov. 25, we talked about how friendship sometimes is like a seesaw and that it goes up and down. We read a book called Friendship is Like a Seesaw by Shona Innes. We brainstormed what makes a good friendship and reflected on how we were as a friend.

Art – Nov. 19, 2024

We learned to draw hot chocolate by following the directions from Art For Kids Hub.

Grand Buddies – Nov. 15, 2024

Remembrance Day

We made a wreath to present at the Remembrance Day assembly. There were many wonderful wreaths presented at the assembly.

Monthly Walk – Nov. 1, 2024

It was raining on our second monthly walk. We saw many interesting things on our walk. We talked about how lucky we are that our school is surrounded by amazing nature.

Halloween – Oct. 31, 2024

We were invited to trick-or-treat at Rideau Residence with our Grand Buddies. We also saw interesting things on our walk to and from Rideau Residence.

Art with our Buddies – Oct. 28, 2024

During our monthly walk on Oct. 28, we picked up leaves and we pressed them to retain the colours. We used those leaves to make pictures after we read the story, If You Find a Leaf by Aimee Sicuro.

Grand Buddies – Oct. 18, 2024

Joining a Group

Sometimes we may want to be included in a game or a group that is already playing. It takes courage to ask if you can join in. These are the steps to consider when joining a group.

Making New Friends

Learning to make new friends takes a few steps. It is important that we learn how to communicate with another person so they know we intend to be being friendly and a desire to interact with them.

Nutrition

During the week of Oct. 15, we also began looking at the different food groups. We began with the fruits and vegetables. Fruits and vegetables help to keep our heart healthy and we learned that it is important to eat a variety of them and a variety of colours.

During the week Oct. 15, we looked at affects of soda on our body by using eggshells. We noticed how the eggshells deteriorated.

  Oct. 15, 2024

  Oct. 18, 2024

During the week of Oct. 7, 2024, we began our unit on nutrition. As we are thinking about making good choices, nutrition is about thinking about what we put into our bodies and make good choices about the food we eat. We did a science experiment and observed an apple. We noticed what it looked like and then we cut it changing it physical appearance (physical change) keeping many of the characteristics. Then we applied heat to it and noticed that it changed completely. Many noticed that we made apple sauce.

Emotions and Feelings

Each one of us experience emotions and feelings. These two words are often interchanged with each other, but they are actually separate words that are closely related to one another. We often use mad, sad, or happy to refer to either emotions or feelings but the thinking process is what separates the two. Emotions come and go quickly, but thinking about what caused the emotions are what leads to the emotions becoming feelings. It is ultimately up to us on how we deal with emotions and feelings.

Monthly Walk – Oct. 4, 2024

We went on our first monthly walk. It was raining as we left but stopped shortly after.

Autumn Leaves – Oct. 1, 2024

After reading the story Fall Leaves Fall by Zoe Hall, we coloured leaves, cut them out, and then glued them to a coloured construction paper.

Environmental Care

We have a part to play in how we treat our planet. As we want to take care of the Earth and ensure that we are being kind to our world, recycling has become an important part of our community. We talked about why there are three arrows in a shape of a circle. The first step is to reduce the amount we use or consume. The second step is to reuse what we can, and finally we recycle things so that new things can be made from it. However, recycling still takes a lot of energy and is polluting the air as it takes place in factories.

Truth and Reconciliation Day/Orange Shirt Day

After reading the story, Shi Shi Etko by Nicola Campbell, we brainstormed ideas of what we would miss if we had to go somewhere else to attend school.

Autumn Equinox

This year, autumn began on September 22 at 5:43 am. The first day of autumn is known as the Autumn Equinox, because the number of daylight hours is almost equal to the number of darkness. The sunrise will be at 6:46 am and the sunset will be 7:02 pm.

Every Child Matters – Orange Shirt Day

Based on the story, Every Child Matters by Phyllis Webstad, we decorated an orange shirt.

Goal Setting

A way to begin continue our growth is though goal setting and having a growth mindset. When we have a closed mindset, there is only one direction we can go. However, if we have a growth mindset, it is like we are standing on the staircase of learning that continues onwards. Each stair is a bit higher indicating that it takes effort and work to get to the next level. If we need to go back, we can go back a stair or two. We have many staircases for all the different things we do where we are at a different level depending on our skills and abilities.

Only One You by Linda Kranz

Appreciating and Being Grateful

Land Acknowledgement and the Indigenous Ways of Knowing

PASS Soccer

During the week of September 16, we used the skills that we learned last week and played a game.

During the week of September 11, we began to learn soccer skills with the coaches from PASS Soccer. Coach Chris and Coach Matt taught the students skills that require the students to maintain control of the ball. We practice attentively listening to the instructions and practicing each skill.

Making Good Choices

An important part of making good choices is to remember that what we do is a choice. After reading the book, I Call My Hand Gentle by Amanda Haan, we brainstormed different things we can do with our hand. This is what we chose to do with our hand.

We also did an activity where we crumpled a red heart thinking about the mean things that have happened to us including behaviours and words that have been said to us. We also talked about how saying unkind words and doing unkind things creates creases in a heart and saying, “I’m sorry” does not remove the creases. Therefore, stopping and taking deep breaths allows us to think and make better choices.