Deck the Schools with Loads of Happy Children

My apologies for not getting this out this weekend as I had planned. There is lots happening this week, so be sure to note everything down!

Tuesday- Christmas Concert (See below for information)
Wednesday- Junior ATB Deposit Day
                  - Library
Thursday- Advent Mass at St. Anthony's at 9:30
Friday- Red and Green Day
          - Advent Sing Along at 1:50
          - Early Release at 2:30

Important Christmas Concert Information:

Our Christmas concert is tomorrow! It starts at 6:30, so your child needs to be at my classroom (BK118) at 6:15pm (not prior as there will be no supervision present). You can pick your child up from BK118 when my concert is over at 7:15. If you are staying to see older brother’s or sister’s concert, you can pick your child up when their concert is over at 8:30. Concert attire for your child is Sunday best and sunglasses, as our number is a rap!

Merci and wishing you a restful holiday!

Mlle Ross

Tis the season for busy days at school!

What a cold snap we had! We may or may not be headed outside in the next couple days, but please ensure your child comes prepared in the case that we do head outside. 

Thanks to all of those who came out to our skating last week. The kids enjoyed themselves so much! 

 Junior ATB: Junior ATB is well on it's way. It is great to see kids at such a young age gaining financial literacy and learning what saving money is all about. If you are interested in opening an savings account for your child please contact me for the application package. Our next deposit day for those of you with accounts in December the 18th.

This week: 

Wednesday- Early Dismissal

Thursday- Christmas PJ Day

              - Bake Sale/Craft Raffle (Email with information will be coming your way in the morning.) 

Friday- Bake Sale/ Craft Raffle

          - Hot Lunch

Have a great week!

Last post of November

I hope you all had a wonderful week with your children during fall break! I was great to come back to my smiling and enthousiastic class! I am sure many of you were watching the Grey Cup yesterday, so here is a picture to show our class celebrating Friday by wearing green!

This week and next week:

Please send in a photo of your family, as we will be presenting our families to each other.

Wednesday: Dr.Seuss Book Exchange Day- Students are encouraged to dress with the theme. Tickets that students have been receiving, we have been sticking in their agenda pocket to save. Students can either exchange their tickets for books or putting them into the draw for a 50$ Coles certificate.

Thursday: Turkey Hot Lunch!
                            Take Home Reading exchange

Monday: Advent Assembly (9:00-9:15)
                         Library

 Wednesday: Junior ATB Deposit Day
                                 Skating at Archie Miller

Skating: We will be heading over to the rink at 1:15 and our skating time is at 1:30 - 2:10 p.m. Please ensure that your child comes prepared with skates and a helmet. Please let me know ahead of this time if your child does not have a helmet, so that I can make necessary arrangements, as without a helmet they may not participate in skating. You are all welcome to come and skate along with your children! If there are any available to help tie skates at around 1:25 please let me know! 

Highlights: Last week we celebrated our 10th L to J All Time Best with a pyjama day. Last week we got All Time Bests in both numbers and spelling. Thanks to all your support from home to help your child learning their numbers and Grade 1 high frequency words!

We have snow!

I think the excitement for snow is one thing that I have in common with most children. I love snow! Just remember with this beautiful white fluffy, wet snow that your child gets wet alot faster! Ensure to be sending labelled snowpants, winter coat, mitts, tuque. An extra set of clothes to leave in their locker is always a nice thing for your child in case they get wet playing in the snow.

Remember that this week is our last week before the fall break:

Tuesday- Saintly Gardens @ 1:05-2:05
Thursday- Library and exchanging Take Home Reading books
Friday- Remembrance Day Assembly @ 2:30 p.m.

L to J: We have been doing great with beating our class All Time Best! This past week we beat our L to J spelling mark by 1 and we miss getting a L to J number All Time Best by 1. Thank you for supporting your child at home with this. If you need ideas of how to work with words contact me and I will send you home a list of ideas.

Scholastics: Due November 20th

We Scare Hunger Campaign:

 Our student council (Ensemble nous pouvons) is headed to Saskatoon for a leadership conference this Wednesday. With them, they are bringing all of the non perishable food items that we can collect at school. These items will be donated to the Saskatoon Food Bank. We have set a school goal for 400 items. We will be collecting Monday and Tuesday. Thanks to all those able to support those in need. 

Here is a look at the students doing Daily 5 in their costumes!

Here is a look at last weeks Pumpkin-Filled afternoon. A huge thanks to all of the parents who helped make this happen. The kids were so engaged and had so much fun!

1) We weighed the pumpkins:

2) We took out the insides of our pumpkin!

3) We counted the seeds:

4) We carved faces into our pumpkins:

If you would like a copy of your student and their pumpkin, please contact me. 

Here is a look at all of our class: 

Have a great week!

Halloween Week

Our class has been watching the fore cast all week for snow. I woke up this morning to no snow, but news that everywhere else got snow! Needless to say it is chilly out now! Please ensure that your child is coming dressed appropriate for the day. Before school and our first recess is usually quite cold. Also a reminder to label all of your child's mitts, touques etc.

Here is a look at this week:

Wednesday- Library
Thursday- Pumpkin filled afternoon
Friday- Hot Lunch

Halloween- Students are welcome to come dressed in non-violent costumes. I am still in need of about 3 pumpkins. If you are able to donate a pumpkin for our Pumpkin filled afternoon Thursday please let me know!

A reminder too that Life Touch retakes are scheduled for November 4th

Here is a few pictures from our Education Week:

A visit from the #15 and #24 from the Bobcats and pyjama day earned from 5 class All Time Bests!

Career Day: 

Education Week

It was great to meet with each and everyone of you at interviews. I love seeing how invested you are in your children's education.

Here is a quick update on this week as it is a busy one!

Monday: Pyjama Day (We have got 5 class All Time Bests!)

Bobcats are coming to read to our class!

Tuesday: Reading with our Grade 3 buddy class

              Library today

Wednesday: Junior ATB Deposit Day 

Thursday: Exchange Take Home Reading books

Friday: St. Thomas Grand Opening from 10:00-11:00

Education Week Author Visit: Ann Campbell

Halloween: Can you donate a pumpkin or your time for our Pumpkin-filled afternoon on the 31st? Just let me know!

Have a great week!

Mlle Ross

No snow yet!

Can you believe that this time last year we had snow to stay? We have been lucky to have a wonderful fall so far, but remember it is still very chilly for our students before school and during the first recess. Be sure your child comes to school with the appropriate attire for our cold mornings! Please ensure your child's mitts and tuque have their name labelled in it. It is much easier to find in the lost and found when they are labelled. Thanks in advance!

A look at this week:

Wednesday and Thursday- Parent Teacher Interviews and Book Fair
Thursday- Take Home Reading exchange
Friday- Prayer service @ 9:30 a.m. in our gym.

Qui suis-je (All About Me)

We are creating a bucket all about me that we will use for a final presentation at the end of this context. If you have any empty coffee cans we are still in need! Also, we will be asking for things from time to time to bring to school and add to our bucket. Keep an eye out for these requests in the agenda!

Star of the Week 
There should be a letter coming home today and this starts next week. Check out the list of dates to find when your child has their week!

L to J
Our ALL TIME BEST in spelling so far is 32. We came really close to a new All Time Best last week, so keep practicing 3-5 words a night with your child! If you have a Pinterest account search "Word Work Ideas". There are oodles of fun ways to practice these words!

In numbers, our ALL TIME BEST is 60! Wow! Again, last week we got very close to a new best! Try to find the numbers around the house and in your child's every day life.

When we get 5 All Time Bests in either number or spelling we will be having a class pyjama party. So far we have 3 All Time Bests in spelling so we are not too far off our goal!

Have a great week!

Welcome to October

Here is a quick update on this week:

Tomorrow: Scholastics are due
Wednesday: Early dismissal at 2:30 p.m.
Thursday: Exchange Take Home Reading books
Friday: Library

New project: We are starting into our unit "Qui suis-je", where we learn more about each other. As we deal with different elements, I will ask students to bring little things from home to put in their bucket. For example, something little (a button, an elastic etc) to represent their favorite color. For this project we are using empty coffee cans. If you have any or know of anybody who has any coffee cans, we would love that you donate them to us! Thanks in advance!

Conferences: Tonight you should have received a white page with your conference time and date. If you need to reschedule, please contact me to do so!

More about your child: At the SCC Family BBQ I had a purple questionnaire that I hope you received. There are a few questions that I ask to learn more about your child in hopes of being a better teacher for them! Please if you did not get one, let me know and I will be sure to send one home. Thanks to all who have returned them already!

Have a great week!

First blog post for the 2013-2014 year!

Can you believe that we have just finished the first month of school. Into October we go! The rain is not scaring away our learning! On the blog I will post events relevant to the week as well as a few pictures usually to highlight what we have been doing! I try to update this on the weekends, so check around Sunday to see if I have made the next post. I try my best to post weekly but forgive me during the times that it is just too busy!

This week :

Tuesday- Drum Workshop (PM)

Thursday- Library (No PhysEd)

Friday- No Physed

          - Drumming Final Presentation 2:20-3:20

Scolastiques- They came out today and are due back the 8th! Remember cheque only! 

A few highlights so far this year: 

Today's workshop: 

Some places the kids like to read during Daily 5:

The Terry Fox obstacle course: Thanks for those who donated!

Welcome to June!

Wow! I cannot believe we are already into June! We have a busy month ahead of us, so please keep the June newsletter close at hand!

We have a busy  week ahead of us!

Tuesday, June 4- Please return ALL library books excluding Take Home Reading, as our library is being moved to the new school on June 6th.

Wednesday, June 5- Our last session with our french monitrice Mlle Fannie

- SCC Family Picnic and Hot Lunch 11:45 a.m.

Thursday, June 6- Frenchman's Butte permission form due

Friday, June 7- Play day! Ensure your child comes enquipped with sunscreen, hat, swim suit, towel and lifejacket.

L to J- Please continue to practice the L to J words, as we are moving from word quizzes to sentence quizzes!

What has been alot going on in our class this past while:

1) We really had fun watching our butterflies complete their life cycle. Thanks to all the parents and grandparents who came to watch us say a sad goodbye to our flying friends.

 

 

2) We have also had a few presentations! We learned from U of A pharmacy students about germs and medicine safety. As well, Mme Skanes payed a visit to help us understand how we all have the responsible to take care of God's world he has given us! Mme Skanes has such a big part of keeping our school clean and it was fun to think of some ways we can help her!



 3) Finally here are a few pictures from our Grade 1 Celebration picnic outside of St. Anthony's! Thanks to all the parents who came out!

Grade One Funners!

Upon learning that I would be teaching Grade 1 last year, my friend told me she calls her little ones the Grade Funners! We have been having so much fun lately as we learn all there is to learn in grade 1. I have several photos to share, that shows you some of our fun!

But before I do, here is a look at next week:

Tuesday- Stone Tool Making Presentation for Aboriginal Awareness
Thursday- Grade 1 Celebration at St. Anthony`s starting at 10:20.
Friday- Library, Hot Lunch AND Pharmacy student presenting about Medication Safety

We are learning what it is to be a scientist and learning how to document our observations, as we watch our Mr. Grasshead men/women grow! It is amazing how fast they grow!

In Art we learned a little about abstract art. Here is a look of what wonderful paintings the students did to represent spring! These have been sent to the division office to beautify their building.

Here are our new friends that joined our classroom! Today the students went home with the task to tell you all they know so far about "Les papillon". We will be observing the stages of life as the caterpillars turn into beautiful butterflies.

Mr. Vince has implemented Fun Fridays. Here the students are playing a game learning terms they use on ships, while being active. It is fun to watch the students commmunicate in French with older peers.

Last Monday, Les Bucherons came by and treated us to a last dose of "La tire". How fitting that it decided to snow that day!

 

 

Extracurricular sports-A lot of students are starting up spring sports. I told them to let me know when they play, as I will try my best to stop by before the end of school! If you can write in there agenda when and where they play that would be great!

 

 

 

Enjoy the sunny weekend and HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!

 



Spring is Here ! ?

This blog will include some news about tomorrow and next week, as well as a look at some fun last week!

Tomorrow: - Last day to vote at www.majesta.com
                   - Hot Lunch- Quiznos
                   - Junior ATB Deposit Day
                   - CRAZY HAT AND HAIR DAY!!!

Next week: It looks like not much will be on the go next week except Library is on Wednesday!

Last week: Here is a few pictures to show some fun we had at the Agricultural Days last week!

Smelling the wonderful smell of menure!

Petting a calf!

Learning about how milk cows are milked!

Learning the difference between a work horse and a riding horse.

Math- Something I have noticed that some students could use practice on is counting backwards from 20. We are currently working on our addition and subtraction using numbers up to 20. Being able to count backwards in our head is a big advantage when learning to subtract!

L to J- Keep practicing those words! 3- 5 a week in different ways if the perfect plan. If students write the letters backwards it is now considered an error in our L to J spelling, so that is something you can check over, when practicing with your child.

Thanks for all you do at home! Enjoy the nice sunny weekend!

Mlle Ross

Welcome back!

I hope you all had an enjoyable Easter Break! With a record low temperature at this time of year, please ensure your children are still coming to school bundled up for the weather!

This week:

Monday-Friday- Keep voting and recruiting new voters! www.majesta.com
Wednesday- Early Dismissal at 2:30 p.m.
Friday- Junior ATB Deposit Day

Don't forget to return Hot Lunch forms on the dates requested on the forms!

The last day before spring break as well as our first day back, we took advantage of our Majesta Forest and did some Daily 5 around the trees! We also had a little fun creating a promo video in the forest! I will share that with you once it is ready to be released.

Have a great week!

Welcome to Spring

A huge thank you to all parents for helping your child prepare for Concours. The students really were proud to present to all the parents who came in!

A look at next week:

Wednesday- Stations of the Cross presented by 1B and 1C at 10:45 in the gym
Thursday- Library and Hot Lunch Day
Friday- No School

Majesta Trees of Knowledge Competition:

Please continue to vote daily at www.majesta.com. Remember anybody over 6 can vote so get your children voting too!! Please try to get everybody you know involved. A school in Quebec jumped from 6th place to 4th yesterday and we don't want to lose our spot at third. All the same we would really like to move up to 1st or 2nd! I myself send a reminder text to all my family and friends daily and am continually thinking of who else I can get on board. Thanks for all your commitment to our competition! Here are a few pics of the fun we had in the Majesta Forest so far! I am planning to take the kids to the forest next week for Daily 5 time!

 

 

It was great to see all the green around our school last Friday. Here was my favorite couple!

 

 

Finally, here is some of what Daily 5 looks like. Students find a comfy spot to read, write, work with words or listen to reading. It is really fun to watch the students hard at their! Most days we get to listen to what the Writing students have written!

 

Have a great weekend with all this snow! Hopefully some sunshine?!

A look at this week so far and preview for next week

Class Positive Behaviour Plan- We work towards getting 10 points. The class can get 2 points if everyone has completed their morning routine and are on the carpet ready for our daily O Canada and prayer. The class also receives points when they come quickly to the carpet during our transitions, or work really hard during a period of time. We celebrated another 10 points by a pajama day last Tuesday! It was so much fun that I forgot to take a picture!

What is coming up-

Tomorrow- Hot Lunch- Boston Pizza
                 - Wear Green Day
                 - Junior ATB Deposit Day
Next week:

Monday- START VOTING DAILY FOR OUR MAJESTA TREES OF KNOWLEDGE COMPETITION!!!

Wednesday- Saintly Gardens- Shortened lunch

Thursday- Concours presentation in 1C - 9:15-10:00

Wednesday- Friday- Bake Sale put on by SRC during lunch. Each item is 25 cents and the proceeds are going to our Lent Charity Project.

Other important items:

Majesta Trees of Knowledge Competition:

École St. Thomas Needs Your Votes to Win $20,000 for our Outdoor Classroom in the Majesta Trees of Knowledge Competition!

v  With one week to go before voting begins on March 18, we are asking for your help to spread the word to family and friends to vote for École St. Thomas every day until April 26^th.   Any Canadian 6 years of age and older can visit www.majesta.com and vote every day.  A random draw of $10,000 will be awarded to one Canadian 18 years or older. 

v  Please join us on Saturday, March 16^th for coffee and muffins at 9:30 AM, followed by a community blitz, where we will be hanging posters, passing out tent cards, and going door to door with business cards.  Many hands will make light work!

v  Stay tuned to our facebook page for lots of video clips and updates about the competition.  Stop in if you want to pick up business cards or posters for your place of employment. 

v  We have activities planned for students throughout the competition that will continue to build school spirit, and provide knowledge about their environment.   Also, there’s a Family Tree Hugger Challenge to send in, or e-mail to iandroschuk@lcsd.ca,  a picture hugging your favourite tree!

Please get everyone you know voting so we can get our Outdoor Classroom! I will be putting a daily reminder on my phone to remind myself to vote! Maybe stick the sticker you received onto your fridge or somewhere visible. If you own an Apple device you can get the actual website as an icon on your home screen. This makes it super easy to just click and vote!


Chalice Lent Charity Project- Today we received our first donation from 1C! The money donated by St. Thomas will be going to the people in need in Tanzania by providing them with chicks, goats etc. This will be going on until the Spring Break.

Happy Friday!

Math Centers

I have been fortunate to be part of such a great team! Together the Grade 1 team has made Math  Center bins to go with each strand of our Grade 1 curriculum. This is a great way to introduce new concepts and a fantastic way to revise and improve concepts already covered. These bins will be rotated through the different classrooms, so we will always have something new to try!

Today was out first time using these bins and I wanted to share some pictures with you! I was exhilerated by watching the high level of collaboration happening between all pairs.

Skip counting with frogs:

 

Ice cream cone center: Ordering numbers in an increasing or decreasing fashion: 

 

 

Ordering numbers on a number line: 

 

 

 



 Creating creatures with 2 dimensional objects:

 

 

Finding mistakes in patterns: 

 

 

L à J Spelling:   We have broken the 100 mark in L to J Spelling this week with our newest all time best! Thanks for all the work you do in this area with your child! Between L to J Spelling and L to J Numbers this week we had 7 students with personal all time bests!!!!

 

 

 

 

 

Bonne longue fin de semain! :)