Thank you to everyone who came for a Parent-Teacher Conference over the past two days. I always enjoy having this opportunity to speak with you about your child and their progress at school.

Our week began with a messy classroom as we arrived back to school to find that the leprechauns had visited and had been up to some mischief. Unfortunately, none of the traps were successful in catching a leprechaun but the chocolate coins the leprechauns left behind seemed to keep everyone from being disappointed! :)

This week's words focused on the blend "wh". We worked with when, why, where, what, and who.

As part of our learning about different types of communities, the students created their own paper-art urban communities. These art pieces included roads, high-rise buildings, homes, vehicles, as well as some vegetation.

We also learned about another of the Seven Grandfather Teachings this week - Wisdom. Wisdom is represented by the beaver and is explained as being smart and having good judgment. We watched a video of beavers in Algonquin Park in Ontario using their intelligence to fell trees and build lodges and dams.

A friendly reminder that we return to school on Tuesday, April 2nd. 

For those students who returned their Home Reading book bags yesterday, new books will be given on Tuesday. If your child did not return their books this week, please have them bring them back on Tuesday to receive new ones.

I hope you all enjoy a wonderful Spring Break and a Happy Easter!

The students had a great time tapping into their imaginations and creativity to create leprechaun traps on Wednesday and Thursday. Thank you very much for generously supplying materials for this project! Today, our Grade 4 buddies came for a visit and the Grade 1s had to explain how they designed their traps to catch a leprechaun. We will have to wait until Monday morning to see the results! :)

The traps will get sent home at conferences as this will be the easiest way to ensure they make it home in one piece. I also have a lot of student artwork to send home next week. Can you please have your child bring in a shopping bag for this purpose? Thank you. Once again, I will keep the art until I meet with you at conferences and give it to you then. If you are not booking a conference, please let me know and I can send home everything with your child.

This week, the students were given a photograph of a double rainbow in a field and were asked to write about 4 things they would love to find at the end of the rainbows. Some children got right to work, knowing exactly what they'd want while others were surprisingly challenged to come up with ideas!

In Math, we continue to look at reverse and equivalent equations. An example of this is, the reverse equation of 3+4 is 4+3. Equivalent equations can use any operation. An example of this would be 5+3 = 10-2. We also did a number talk where the students were challenged to think of as many equations as they could that would give the answer 11. Below is a photo of the SmartBoard with equations students wrote. Number/Math Talks are fantastic for eliciting diverse thinking. The students benefit from sharing with and listening to their classmates share multiple ways to reach the same answer.

This week in Word Work, we focused on words ending in "ng" and talked about how the sound of the vowel preceding "ng" changes from its short or long sound when it combines with these two letters. Every day, the students practiced reading sentences containing the following words; rang, sang, stung, swing, and long.

Next week:

Parent-Teacher Conferences can be booked starting next Saturday, March 16. Please see our MTS website for more information.

Conferences will be held from 4 - 8pm Thursday, March 21 and 8am - 12pm Friday, March 22. I hope to meet with all of you to share your child's progress. 

The Book Fair will be held in the library during these same times. We will be viewing the Book Fair offerings on Tuesday and the children will have a chance to purchase on Wednesday.

Spring Break is March 25 - April 1. Students return to school on Tuesday, April 2.

We have been keenly observing the eagle live cam from Big Bear Valley in Southern California again this week. The three eggs have not hatched yet but we are hoping to see eaglets soon!

This week, in Social Studies we began to learn about maps and parts of a map. We did a tour of our school to locate landmarks on our school's map (each student had a map to reference). We learned how to orient the map and looked at symbols on the map that represented doorways, stairs, and large furniture pieces i.e. the reception desk in the office. We learned about a compass rose and the names of the four cardinal directions. The students also created their own maps using a template on which they needed to include specific symbols.

Our focus words this week all ended in double consonants. They were: pass, tell, sniff, buzz, and still.

We read the book Some Things Are Scary and then had a discussion about some of the things that scare us. Each student created a page for a class book based on this story. I will share the class book with you at Parent-Teacher Conferences.

In Math, we did three different addition "store" problems. The students had to figure out how to spend set amounts of money at a shape store, a pet store, and a candy store by choosing a variety of items. They were asked to find as many different combinations of items as possible. Here is an example of one of the "stores" that Mrs. Webber created and shared with us.

Thank you to those of you who sent a box in with your child for next week's Leprechaun trap building project. I hope you all received the green note I sent home on Thursday with a list of suggested items you may wish to send in for communal use next week. Please let me know if you have any questions about this project. This is always an exciting creative project that elicits many imaginative writing and storytelling opportunities. Thank you for your support. :)

Please return Home Reading by Monday. This is the day I have set for exchanging reading materials and do not usually have time on other days to do so. I appreciate your cooperation.

Parent-Teacher Conferences can be booked starting next Saturday, March 16. Please see our MTS website for more information.

Conferences will be held from 4 - 8pm Thursday, March 21 and 8am - 12pm Friday, March 22. I hope to meet with all of you to share your child's progress. The Book Fair will be held in the library during these times.

Spring Break is March 25 - April 1. Students return to school on Tuesday, April 2.

This week we focused on consonant blends with the letter "l". Our focus words were: black, clap, slip, glad, and flat.

In Math, we learned about fact families and how addition and subtraction equations are connected. We practiced listening carefully for key vocabulary in word problems to determine which operation is needed to achieve the correct answer.

In Science, we learned how to take jot notes about Polar Bears to complete a fact page that included information about a Polar bear's habitat, food, life cycle, appearance, and adaptations.

In Social Studies, we began to discuss what defines a community and we learned about three main communities: urban, suburban, and rural.

On Pink Shirt Day, we read the book The Invisible Boy and discussed how being kind and caring towards others can make a person feel a sense of belonging. The students designed their own paper pink shirts and wrote one thing they can do and/or already do to show kindness to others at school.

Recently, we have started to observe a male and female eagle who are tending their nest with three eggs in Big Bear Valley, California. The students are excited to witness the hatching of the eggs. At this point, there hasn't been any indication that they will start to hatch soon but we're checking in daily. If you are interested in doing the same, here is the link to the live cam: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B4-L2nfGcuE

The students will be building leprechaun traps beginning the week of March 11th. Please have your child bring in one shoe box or cereal box next week, if possible for this project.

Please remember that Home Reading books are exchanged every Monday. If you prefer to have your child keep their books over the weekend, this is fine but please ensure they bring them back on Monday to receive new ones. Thanks, as always, for your support with Home Reading.