Category: Class News

We Are Thankful For …

Last Friday we spent the day doing things all about being thankful.  We read about the history of Thanksgiving in Canada.  Students learned that the first Thanksgiving in North America was in Canada in 1578 (in Newfoundland) with Martin Frobisher and other immigrants from England.  They were celebrating being thankful for surviving the long journey and the bounty of foods grown in the ‘New World’.  After being celebrated on many different dates over the years, the Parliament of Canada declared (in 1957) that the second Monday of October would be the recognized day of thanks in Canada.

We discussed traditions and modern celebrations.  Students enjoyed a sample, or two, of pumpkin pie!

After a class brainstorming of things that we are thankful for, students were paired and set to work writing their own things to be thankful for.  These are posted on the bulletin board in the hallway.

These ‘thankful’ posters are intermingled with the tissue papered turkeys that the students worked on during Art on Friday afternoon.

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The Lorax

We have wrapped up our Seuss unit with reading and having a class discussion on The Lorax.  Some students were aware of the story from the movie version.  After our discussion the students brainstormed things that the Lorax would say to the Once-ler if he were given the chance.

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Students then chose one of these sentences – or created their own – and wrote it on a Truffula tree.  These were then decorated, cut out, and are posted on the bulletin board above their ‘What’s Happening in Whoville’ designs.

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All in all, I think that the students have enjoyed our time with Dr. Seuss.  There are a few more books that I will read (tomorrow or early next week) as a final goodbye.

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If I Ran the Zoo – Seuss

We enjoyed the book, “If I Ran the Zoo”, which is about a young boy who finds the typical animals in the zoo just a little too boring for him.  He uses his imagination and creates a variety of very Seuss-like animals for his zoo – if he was to have one of his own.

Students made flip books which had 6 typical animal pages and 2 pages where they could create their own outlandish animals.  Some students were very innovative with the animals they produced.

These books are pinned to the small bulletin board outside of our hallway door.  Check them out if you get by the school!

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Schedule Update

We have our finalized weekly schedule and there are a few updates for you:

P.E. – Mondays and Fridays.  Please ensure that your child is wearing running shoes these days.  Also, it would be preferable if the girls were not in dresses or skirts for our gym times.

Computer Lab – Thursdays – 11:15 – 12:00.  30 minutes will be dedicated to DreamBox (Math) once we get it set up and then 15 minutes for other activities.

Library – Tuesdays 1:30 – 2:00.  Please help your child remember to bring their books back each week so that they can check out two new ones.

Reading Groups – Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays from 9:15 – 10:00 a.m.   These groups are starting next week.  Students in our class are divided into leveled groups.  I will be sending a letter home on Friday with your child’s Reading Group teacher’s name.

Music – Wednesdays and Thursdays.

Daily Read Aloud – We have been enjoying Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. Ask your child to tell you about what happens each day.  It will help the development of their listening skills and abilities to re-tell events.

Additional reminders:

  • please ensure that your child has indoor shoes so they don’t have wet boots/shoes on our carpet (sitting) area
  • please ensure that your child brings his/her planner to school each day as we write a daily message

We have had a great start to the school year!  I am looking forward to continuing our journey together.

Horton Hears a Who

We will be wrapping up our Seuss unit this week as Reading Groups will begin next week.

Today we read Horton Hears a Who.  We discussed the main idea which is that everyone deserves to be happy and live a safe and happy life.  “A Person’s a Person, No Matter How Small”.  After we discussed the story students filled in cards answering specific questions about things they like or would like.

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Autumn Time

After a very sunny, and warm-ish September, we are definitely now into the Fall weather.  We have a few Autumn visitors, and decorations, in the classroom now.

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Please join me in reminding your children that jackets are a good idea for outdoor times at Recess and Lunchtime.

We will be doing activities to do with the changing season in our classroom, along with our look at Thanksgiving and our upcoming trip to the Pumpkin Patch (please see the notice that went home today).  We will also be enjoying the vibrant colours in the changing of the leaves and be discussing the harvest.

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Terry Fox Run and Corn Boil

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What a rainy day!!!

We started our day by shucking our class set of corn on the cob.  We did this in the undercover area outside.  We then finished our ‘shoes’ for Terry. These were placed around the gym with those from the other classes. We had spent lots of time yesterday learning about Terry, his life, and his Marathon of Hope.  We also discussed cancer and people we know who have had it and who may or may not have survived.

At 2:00 all classes met in the gym for the Assembly put on by Division 1 students. After the emotional video about Terry we followed Division 1’s lead for warming up our muscles before we headed out for our run.  The heavy rain had stopped before our Assembly but it came back to a lesser degree for the run.  Students did a great job showing their spirit and support for Terry who ran a marathon every day in all sorts of weather – including heavy rain.

We headed back in to our classrooms and were treated to the cooked and buttered corn, compliments of our wonderful parents who came in to cook it for us.  Lots of students even had seconds!!

I hope you have a chance to speak with your child about Terry, his legacy, and his influence on our Canadian culture. He was a truly inspirational young man, and national hero.

On a Rainy Day We Like to …

In The Cat in the Hat, Sally and Nick are stuck inside their house on a rainy day when the Cat shows up to create some havoc in their lives.  As part of our Seuss study we brainstormed a list of things that we like to do when the weather makes it not so much fun to be outside.  Students then wrote out two of their ideas on paper umbrellas and decorated them.  These are in our classroom on our back bulletin board.

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Check them out when you come by for Intake Interviews this week.

Seuss!!!

While we are awaiting the onset of our Reading groups (in a few weeks) we are going to be doing a literary study of the books by Theodore Seuss Geisel – also known as, Dr. Seuss.  We will do all sorts of activities around some of his books: writing, predictions, extensions, and artwork.  Some activities will be individual and others will be group based.

This week we have begun with the iconic classic, The Cat in the Hat.

We had an extended directed drawing lesson on facial features.  Students then created their own faces through their drawing.  Hats, in the style of The Cat in the Hat, were made and added to their portraits.  These are on our main bulletin in the hallway.

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Make sure you check them out when you come by for our Intake Interviews next week!