This week our Word Work focus was "s blends". We worked with the words swing, sleep, stop, and spoon during our daily Shared Reading and did other work that had us reading and writing with many different s blend words.

This week in Science, the students created two different "creatures"/beings using a ball of playdough, pipe cleaners, googly eyes, and beads. They had to use the exact same materials both times but were allowed to manipulate the pipe cleaners by cutting, twisting, and/or bending them. Here is an example of this "Shapeshifter" work.

In Math, we have started to do "Math Minutes" twice a week. I give the students 20 addition equations with sums no higher than 10. This week, I gave them two minutes to complete the problems but we will be working towards a one minute time limit soon. If you are interested in doing these types of "speed drills" with your child at home, there are free sheets available of TPT   - Teachers Pay Teachers. Being able to answer easier adddition questions like these quickly benefits the students when working with harder Math equations and problem soving.

** I have repeated some of the information regarding 100th Day and Leprechaun traps that was provided in last week's blog, in case you did not have a chance to read it. I also sent home a green note yesterday that provided more information about materials for the Leprechaun traps. Thanks to everyone who has already sent in a box with your child.

Mrs. Burch and I were not able to take the students on a community walk this past week. We hope to be able to do this one day next, weather dependent. We will be looking for natural and manmade landmarks in the community as part of our Social Studies work. 

Some children have been asking me about Field Trips this year. We will be going to The Confluence (formerly known as Fort Calgary) on Wednesday, April 22 and to the Zoo on Wednesday, May 27. If you have a CBE police check and would like to volunteer, please let me know at jllarmer@cbe.ab.ca. I would love to have you join us! If you would like to get a police clearance done, please contact Tara Robinson, our school's Admin Secretary at 403-777-6185 and she can help you with this.

The Grade 1 classes will be celebrating our 100th Day of School on Thursday, March 12. I would like the students to each bring in a sandwich-sized Ziploc bag with 100 small items. Examples are: Lego pieces, paperclips, popcorn kernels, beads, hair elastics, etc. Please have your child count these items with you. We have been learning how to count by 5s and 10s to 100. Please put your child's name on the bag so that it can be returned to them afterward. We will be displaying the bags on a bulletin board in our classroom for a week or so. This is a fantastic way to compare and contrast what "100" can look like! Thank you in advance for your help with this. :)

As St. Patrick's Day is coming up on March 17th, we will be doing a little engineering project! :) The students will be challenged to create a Leprechaun trap. Please send in a shoebox or a shoebox-sized box with by Thursday, March 12th. I will be sending home a note requesting a few extra supplies closer to the date.

Mr. van Sluys has started a gymnastics-based unit in Phys. Ed. This will continue for the next two weeks. Please ensure your child is dressed in clothing appropriate for this type of movement. Please see his blog for more detailed information.

Parent-Teacher Conferences will be held after school on Thursday, March 19 and on the morning of Friday, March 20. Please watch your email/Messenger for more information from the office.