October 21 to 24

 

I Can Create Art With a Variety of Materials:

This week we explored the technique of collage.  Students were given a variety of papers to work with.  The tore it small species and used them to fill in the outline of snowy owl that they drew on their own.

I Can Describe How Things Move:

In science, we started to explore the idea of movement in our Energy Unit.  Students worked in small groups to come with and think about ideas for how a tennis ball moved.  'Forwards' and 'backwards' were easy, 'towards' was a little more challenging and brought up an interesting discussion about needing a frame of reference when thinking about things moving towards or away.    We also had an interesting conversation when students were challenged to move their ball up and only up.  Many students were able to reference gravity as an opposing force to moving up.

Literacy:

This week we worked with the letters for the sounds /k/ (c) and /u/ .

We added the heart words: to, do

Reminders:

Wednesday, October 30

- Library Book Exchange

Thursday, October 31

- Halloween 

• Theme Based Learning
• Students can wear costumes ***Please no violent / scary costumes or accessories***
• Whole School Costume Parade at 2:00pm

Friday, November 1

- PJ Day - wear your clean, comfy pajamas or lounge wear

Friday, November 8 

- Non-instructional Day, NO SCHOOL for students

October 15 - 18

     This wee we had a chance to meet up with our Grade 4 buddies to enjoy some time reading picture books.  Buddies help strengthen our school community by promoting relationships between older and younger students.  As the younger buddies we benefit by having older role models, building social skills, and having an opportunity to increase our confidence.

I Can Make Observations in the World Around Me

    This week we had a chance to go out to the community garden with the other grade one class to make some observations.  We spent a few minutes looking at each direction and then sketching what we saw in our visual journals.

    We continued this work in the classroom by looking closely at fallen leaves.  We noticed the shapes, lines, holes, and colouration.  We used sharpies to draw what we saw, paying careful attention of all the details.  Afterwards, we used watercolours to add in the colour.

Literacy:

    This week we worked with the letter d /d/.  

    We have also had home reading folders sent home with decodable passages.  Decodable texts are texts that focus on the phonetic code and allow students to work with the concepts they have been taught.  Students are then able to use the code and their knowledge to successfully, and for the most part, independently read.

    These folders are your child's opportunity to share and practice what they've learned.  Please help support your child's success by returning the folder to school on Thursdays.

Reminders:

Wednesday, October 23

- Library Book Exchange

Thursday, October 24

- Parent Council Halloween Glow-in-the-Dark Dance, 6pm to 7pm

Friday, October 25

- Non-Instructional Day, NO SCHOOL for students

October 7 - 11

 

    This week we read, "The Grateful Book" by Angela Kohler and used it as a stepping off point to talk about what being grateful and having gratitude meant.  We took this to our sharing circle where each student shared something they are grateful for and recorded it on a pumpkin.  As we celebrate the Thanksgiving weekend, I am grateful for the great honor I have in teaching your children for their grade one year.  Happy Thanksgiving!

I Can Appreciate People Who Have Contributed to the Community Over Time

    This week we learned about Terry Fox and the lasting legacy he has had in Canada and the world.  We created a visual journal page to show what we learned and participated in the whole-school Terry Fox Run.  Thank you to all who brought in your Toonie for Terry.

Catch Up Time

This week we introduced some "catch up" time on Friday.  Students were asked to make sure that two learning tasks from the week were completed correctly and with quality before moving on to some free choice time.  This will hopefully help students to begin to take on more responsibility for their own learning, completing quality work, and using their time wisely.

Reminders:

Monday, October 14

- Thanksgiving - NO SCHOOL

Wednesday, October 16

- Library Book Exchange

Thursday, October 17

- Parent Council Meeting, 6:30pm 

Friday, October 25

- Non-Instructional Day, NO SCHOOL for students

October 1 - 4

 

This week we took advantage of the beautiful weather and took our learning out on the land with our buddy class, Ms. Elder and Jamroziak's grade 4s.  We collected fallen leaves and made a fall leaf basket.  Hopefully these made their way home on Thursday.

I Can Learn About My Community in the Past

This week we learned about residential schools and why we have a day off school to recognize the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.  We listened to the stories, "Stolen Words" by Melanie Florence, "When I Was Eight" and "Not My Girl" by Christy Jordan Fenton and Maragret Pokiak Fenton, and "Shi-shi-etko" by Nicola Campbell. 

After reflecting on the stories, students were asked to use colour to paint an abstract page to show how children might have felt at residential schools.  Many students used dark, deep colours like blues, purples, and black.

Afterwards, we as a class shared our thoughts on what we thought children should feel at school.  We then coloured paper feathers with pencil crayons in colours that represented those feelings.  We wrote a word to show what we thought was most important and added that to painted pages.

Literacy:

This week worked with the letters i and n.

Our heart words include: the, I, and, a, is

Reminders:

Monday, October 7

- Terry Fox Run

Tuesday, October 8

- Picture Day

Wednesday, October 9

- Library Book Exchange

Monday, October 14 

- Thanksgiving - NO SCHOOL