February 5 - 10

 This week we ventured out into the cold weather with Ms. Yasin's class for our community walk.  We were able to observe so many community helpers and places.  We trash collectors, bus drivers, postal workers, and delivery drivers.  We also walked by F & D Scene Changes, the Dominion Bridge Building, Burns Art Society, Rosso, Alberta Convenience Store, St. Anne's Church/School, and the community garden.  I'm sure they slept well Thursday night because they were definitely tired Thursday afternoon.

I Can Manipulate Objects in Variety of Ways / I Can Demonstrate Spatial Awareness While in the Gym

We have been playing a modified version of badminton in gym for the last two weeks.  Instead of birdies we have been using balloons to help develop our hand-eye coordination.  This has allowed students to successfully use the badminton rackets to volley the balloon with a partner.

I Can Create an Original Composition Using Creative Movement as Inspiration

This week in art we watched a New Year Dragon Dance as inspiration for our paper sculpture dragons.  Students created their own dragon faces by using what they learned about shapes in math (trapezoids, circles, ovals, rectangles).   Students were then asked to think about how they could represent the movement of the dance by arranging their string onto the paper (we related this back to our energy unit where we talked about different lines of movement - zig zag, curved, etc.). 

Music Update:

Grade 1&2

January was an exciting month in music as the grade 1 and 2 students explored the jazz genre. We listened to and watched a number of jazz performances to help us better recognize examples of musical improvisation and scat singing. The grade 1 and 2 students accompanied jazz songs using percussion instruments and syncopated rhythms. We have been working hard to learn the song “Just be Kind” by Stephanie Leavell for our upcoming friendship assembly. I am truly amazed at how quickly the students have been able to memorize the lyrics! We are looking forward to performing “Just be Kind” in our assembly on February 28th.

Literacy:

This week we continued with the digraphs /ch/ and /ng/.   

Our new HFW words were: could, would, should, or, for

 Math:

This week we have been learning how we can use what we know about ten pairs to make adding easier.  We have talked about 1 or 2 more (e.g. 8+3 is the same as 7+3 and one more) and how we can add numbers to get to twenty (e.g. 13 + 7 is like 10 + (3+7)).  This will help us develop mental math skills so we don't need to use objects or a pencil and paper to add.

Reminders:

Monday, February 12, 2024

• Library Book Exchange

Wednesday, February 14, 2024

• Classroom Valentine Exchange **  see note below.

Thursday, February 15, 2024

• Teacher's Convention - NO SCHOOL for students

Friday, February 16, 2024

• Teacher's Convention - NO SCHOOL for students

Monday, February 19, 2024

• Family Day - NO SCHOOL for students

Save the Date:

• Field Trip to Calgary Zoo, May 15, 2024
• Field Trip to Reader Rock Garden, June 11 or 12, 2024

Valentine's Day:

• Valentine's Day cards are optional.  Please do not feel obligated to send in anything with your child.
• If you do choose to send in cards, please bring one for everyone.  We have 26 students in our class.
• If your child cannot read the "to" names on the cards themselves, please just write the "from" portion on the card.
• Names of students in the class can be found in Google classroom.
• Students will not be able to have treats or snacks in the classroom.  Anything that is brought will go into the bag of Valentines and be brought home.

January 29 - February 2

 

This week we had a virtual tour with a dietician from Save-on-Foods.  The dietician taught us about "glow", "grow", and "go" foods.  

Glow foods are fruits and vegetables and help us to look and feel our best.

Grow foods are protiens and they are needed for our bodies to grow strong and healthy.

Go foods give us energy and are things like noodles, bread, and rice.

We also learned how important it was to eat an orange and green fruit/vegetable every single day.

We also had a chance to go out into the community and make some observations of the people, places, and activities that can be found in Ramsay.

Literacy:

This week we worked with the diagraphs /th/ (voiced and unvoiced) and /ch/.

We added the words: were, they, their, talk, walk

Reminders:

Monday, February 5, 2024

• Library Book Exchange

Thursday, February 8, 2024

• Community Walk

Wednesday, February 14, 2024

• Classroom Valentine Exchange **  see note below.

Thursday, February 15, 2024

• Teacher's Convention - NO SCHOOL for students

Friday, February 16, 2024

• Teacher's Convention - NO SCHOOL for students

Monday, February 19, 2024

• Family Day - NO SCHOOL for students

Save the Date:

• Field Trip to Calgary Zoo, May 15, 2024
• Field Trip to Reader Rock Garden, June 11 or 12, 2024

Valentine's Day:

• Valentine's Day cards are optional.  Please do not feel obligated to send in anything with your child.
• If you do choose to send in cards, please bring one for everyone.  We have 26 students in our class.
• If your child cannot read the "to" names on the cards themselves, please just write the "from" portion on the card.
• Names of students in the class can be found in Google classroom.
• Students will not be able to have treats or snacks in the classroom.  Anything that is brought will go into the bag of Valentines and be brought home.

January 22 to 26

This upcoming week we will be participating in a virtual field trip with a Save-on-Foods dietician.  During the tour we will learn about making healthy choices from a wide variety of food groups.  Please check your email for more information.  

I Know Can Demonstrate How Ordering Instructions Affects the Outcome

This week we continued to work on our Computer Science unit.  We worked on programming Botley with a series of instructions that to have him retrieve an object for us.  This involved problem solving, critically thinking about the steps needed, and maintaining a growth mindset when things went wrong.

Literacy:

This week we worked with the sounds /ck/, /sh/, and the voiced /th/.  Ask your child what a digraph is.

Our new high-frequency words were: goes, says, she, we 

Math:

We've been working on using number lines to represent numbers.

Reminders:

Monday, January 29, 2024

• Library Book Exchange

Tuesday, January 30, 2024

• Community Walk
• Report Cards visible to parents - Check here for details

Wednesday, January 31, 2024

• Virtual Guest Speaker - Save on Foods Dietician

Save the Date:

• Field Trip to Calgary Zoo, May 15, 2024
• Field Trip to Reader Rock Garden, June 11 or 12, 2024

January 16 - 19

 

Brrr!  The cold weather has continued into this week and has meant that we had to get creative with our indoor recess time and our energy levels.  The grade 1s have really enjoyed having some extra time to dance in the classroom this week!

December Music Update:

I hope you all had a wonderful winter break and enjoyed the holidays! December was a fantastic month in our music class, with students working hard to learn new skills for the upcoming year. Throughout December, Grade 1 continued exploring the xylophone by playing as an ensemble and as soloists. We continued to work on “Engine, Engine, Number Nine” and made great progress as we learned to play both the melody and percussion accompaniment. Eventually students were able to play as a two-part ensemble and accompany each other on various instruments.

I Can Develop My Speaking and Listening Skills By Creating Stories

This week we used the Ozobots to help us create a story.  Students were asked to work with a partner to draw a story on a large piece of paper and were then challenged to think about how they could use the Ozobot as character in their story.

Literacy:

This week we learned about the FLSZ rule.  When these letter sounds are at after a short vowel, they are doubled.   For example:  puff, hill, pass, fuzz

We also learned that English is a tricky language and sometimes things don't always follow the rules.  We learned that -all, -ull, -oll at the end of the word can change how we say the vowel sound.  For example:  tall (has an /aw/ sound), pull ( /oo/) sound, troll (long o sound).

Are new High Frequency Words are:  want, your, so, no, go

Reminders:

Monday, January 22, 2024

• Library Book Exchange

Wednesday, January 31, 2024

• Virtual Guest Speaker - Save on Foods Dietician

January 8 - 11

 

Welcome back!  I hope all families enjoyed their winter break and found some time to rest and recharge.  It was an interesting week weather-wise to come back to.  I am sending you all warm thoughts over the weekend!

I Can Create Instructions that Lead to a Desired Outcome

This week we started working on coding as part of the new science curriculum.  Students have been exploring two different types of robots, Botly and Ozobot, and are begin to work towards creating simple codes to complete challenges.  We will be using Botly and Ozobot over the next few weeks.

Literacy:

This week we reviewed short vowels and learned that sometimes the "s" at the end of a word makes a /z/ sound.  This will be very important for us to remember when we are writing so that we can use the correct spelling.

We have also had a lot of time to work on some creative story-telling using oral language, pictures, and writing.

Reminders:

Monday, January 15, 2024

• Non-instructional Day, NO SCHOOL for students

Wednesday, January 17, 2024

• Make-up Library Book Exchange

December 18 - 22

 

We ended our final week of 2023 working on Marble Roller Coasters as a wrap up to our 'Energy' unit in science.  Students were asked to create a marble track where the kinetic energy of allowed the marble to go down and then back up again.  There was a lot of problem solving and reworking of ideas needed in order to be successful.  Partners who weren't successful with the building task were able to talk about what went wrong and what they would change for next time.

Literacy:

We finished our review of all letters in the alphabet and their associated sounds.  When we come back after the break we will begin working with letter pairs.

Reminders:

Monday, January 8, 2024

• First day after winter break
• Library book exchange day

Monday, January 15, 2024

• Non-instructional Day, NO SCHOOL for students

December 11 - 15

We enjoyed some time outdoors this week.  On Monday we went to the top of the hill to do some journalling.  While we were there, we found a little friend hiding in the bushes.  Ask your child about about the note that had a special challenge for everyone.  If they can't remember, you might have to go up to the community garden to see where he's hiding now!

We also managed to get out and enjoy a community walk with Ms. Yasin's class.  We walked down by the river and made some observations about how the river ecosystem has changed with the colder weather and what changes we can anticipate with the arrival of winter next week.

We also said goodbye to our student teacher, Mr. Reimche, this week.  We wish him well as he continues his final semester and practicum on his way to becoming a teacher.  He has promised to come back and visit before the winter break.

I Can Create a Symmetrical Picture

In "mart" (math/art) we created symmetrical winter mittens.  First we drew out our designs.  Then we used wax crayon to trace and fill in some of our designs.  Afterwards we used watercolours to fill in the rest of the mitten.  Finally, students drew symmetrical snowflakes on the background of the picture.

Literacy:

This week we worked with the sounds /ks/ (x), /y/, and /kw/ (q).

We added the HFW: you

Ramsay School Food Drive

This year we will be collecting non-perishable food items for the Calgary Food bank. Our grade 2 & 5 classes are inviting everyone to participate in the Ramsay Food Challenge, where classes will be working to collect the most food for the Calgary Food Bank. If you would like to donate, please have your students bring non-perishable food items to their class before December 22.

Reminders

Monday, December 18

• Library Book Exchange
• Jersey and/or Holiday Hat Day

Tuesday, December 19

• Red/Green Clothing Day

Wednesday, December 20

• Holiday Sweater / Outfit Day

Thursday, December 21

• Winter Solstice - wear blue, white, or silver

Friday, December 22

• Pyjamas and Stuffy Day

December 23 to January 7

Winter Break - No School for Students