We enjoyed a great day of learning at The Confluence on Wednesday. Thank you to the five parent volunteers who spent the day with us. Their support was greatly appreciated.

The children participated in many interactive and hands-on activities at The Confluence. They worked together to build a map of Calgary and surrounding area from before the Settlers came to present day. We learned how the land and its uses have changed over time. We also learned about the impact the European Settlers had on the Indigenous People - how the land was divided into farms and the buffalo numbers were impacted by over-hunting by the Eurpoeans. See picture below:

The students also really enjoyed being able to see and hold artifacts from the Northwest Mounted Police, the Settlers, the Indigenous, and the Metis. They also learned how to build a log cabin with a sod roof!

We also had Barrett's mom, Tammy, come to speak to us this week about her job as the Director of Workforce Strategies with The Calgary Construction Association. She spoke to the students about the important role welders, electricians, plumbers, and heavy machinery operators play in the development and maintenance of our city. This was a great tie-in to our Social Studies curriculum about Communities. She also highlighted that many of these jobs are now performed by women.

* With our weather being all over the place these days, please send extra pants and socks with your child. We have had some messy times with mud recently!

IMPORTANT: A friendly reminder that children are not to bring toys, stickers or jewellry to school. Often these items get lost or damaged, and the children get very upset. Toys and stickers can also become a distraction for the students. Thank you very much for your support. :)

I hope you all enjoy a relaxing weekend or an invigorating one, shovelling snow and building snowmen!?! :)

Thanks so much to everyone who was able to attend our Sharing Assembly on Thursday. The students did an amazing job learning their cheer. They were very excited to share it with you! It's always great to see their faces light up when they hear the applause! :)

This week, we were focusing on words that include the letters "ow". Our daily words were: now, down, town, and clown.

In Math, we were working with fact families to learn how addition and subtraction facts can be related. Here is an example of a Fact Family:

Every couple of days, we work together to answer the questions on a literacy/numeracy slide on our Smartboard. To get a feel for this work, here is an example:

As you know, our field trip to The Confluence will be this Wednesday, April 22nd. I will be sending a note home with the students on Monday. It will provide a reminder of what they need to bring for this full-day trip.

Upcoming Dates

April 22                                     Grade 1 Field Trip to Confluence Historic Site - Carter/Burch/Larmer

April 23                                     Grade 1 Field Trip to Confluence Historic Site - Watson/Fell

April 23                                     Grade 2 & 3 Spring Concert

April 24                                     Non-Instructional Day - NO SCHOOL

April 29                                     Fun Lunch - Coco Brooks

 

This week we were learning the FLSZ ("Floss" rule). This is the rule for doubling the letters F, L, S, and Z at the end of a word. Our focus words were sniff, bell, mess, and buzz. We practiced reading and spelling these and other FLSZ words throughout the week during a variety of Language Arts activities.

We are getting excited to share a "Recycling Cheer" with you at our upcoming Sharing Assembly next week (Thursday, April 16 at 1:30pm). We have been learning about the importance of recycling and which materials can be recycled in Calgary. We have also been talking about reducing what we use and even reusing some materials to keep our Earth healthy.

I sent home a copy of our Recycling Cheer on yellow paper yesterday. Can you please take some time this weekend to help your child practice the lines? I am hoping everyone will know it by heart by Monday. We have practiced a few times in class but extra help would be much appreciated. Thank you! :)

In Math, we have been focusing on subtraction. The students are doing very well with understanding how to use a number line, moveable objects, and simple drawings to help them solve subtraction problems. We are subtracting from numbers up to 20.

It has been very exciting for us to check in on Jackie and Shadow, the two bald eagles in Northern California. We watch them on the Big Bear Bald Eagle Live Cam Youtube channel. Last weekend, their two eggs hatched. It is fascinating to watch these little eaglets get fed and tended to by their parents. Here is the link, if you would like to take a peek. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B4-L2nfGcuE

Thank you to everyone who has sent back the yellow permission form for our field trip to The Confluence on April 22. If you have not yet done so, please have your child return this form as soon as possible. Thank you to the parents who have volunteered to join us for this full-day trip.

Upcoming Dates

April 16                                     Grade 1 Celebration @1:30 PM

April 22                                     Grade 1 Field Trip to Confluence Historic Site - Carter/Burch/Larmer

April 24                                     Non-Instructional Day - NO SCHOOL

April 29                                     Fun Lunch - Coco Brooks