This week, we kicked off our study of living things by planting bean seeds. Each student planted a seed in a clear plastic cup. We will be observing and recording the plant's growth over the next few weeks. We will also be planting a classroom garden box with a variety of vegetables in the next two weeks.

We focused on words containing "ay" and "ai" this week. Our five words were play, stay, way, rain, and train.

In Math, we continued working with missing addends, solving subtraction and addition word problems, and working with fact families. Next week, we will focus more on balanced equations using both addition and subtraction equations (3+2 = 10-5).

Thank you to everyone who filled out the "interview" form for our Social Studies focus on Past and Present. I will have the students begin to share these on Monday.

The students all made their mom a special Mother's Day gift with their Grade 4 buddy today. Just in case your child forgets about it, you can give them a gentle reminder that they have two special things for you on Sunday! :)

Our field trip to the zoo is coming up soon - Wednesday, May 27th. We will be sending the consent forms home next week. Please look for these in your child's backpack. They should be ready to be sent home on Tuesday or Wednesday. Thank you to the five parents who have volunteered to join us for this trip.

Happy Mother's Day to all of you wonderful moms. I hope you can find some time to relax and be pampered this weekend! :)

Upcoming Dates

May 12                                     Class Photo Day

May 14                                     Kindergarten Open House for 2026/27 Students - 4:00pm - 6:00pm

May 15                                     Non-Instructional Day - NO SCHOOL

May 18                                     Victoria Day - NO SCHOOL

May 27                                     Fun Lunch - Subway

May 27                                     Grade 1 Field Trip to Calgary Zoo - Carter/Larmer/Burch

June 17                                    Fun Lunch - Coco Brooks

June 25                                    Sports Day

June 26                                    Last Day of School

 With the weather being so nice this week, we were able to go on a Community Walk with Mrs. Burch's class. We walked to the nearby Pirate Park. En route, we spotted ladybugs, leaf buds on trees, tulip leaves coming up, Spring decorations on homes, plus many more signs that we are moving into warmer temperatures!

Today, we went to the back of the school field with our Grade 4 Buddies to do a nature Scavenger Hunt. Once again, the focus was on observing small changes that indicate Spring is here. The students found ants, new grass shoots, loads of ladybugs, and dandelions, etc. They also had a great time visiting with their older buddy.

Our focus words this week were the 5Ws - Who, What, Where, When, and Why. We practiced reading and writing sentences using these words. We also read a book called Manana Iguana and answered each of these W questions to review the characters, setting, and plot of this story.

In Math, we worked on Balancing Equations (3+2 = 4+1), Missing Addends ( 4 +__= 9), and Fact Families. We also did daily practice of listening to word problems and determining how to correctly write the equation, using addition and/or subtraction, to solve the problem.

In Social Studies, we continued learning about the Past and Present. We did a sorting activity using pictures of items used 100 years ago versus those used today. We talked about how things have changed over 100 years and why certain items are no longer used. 

*Please look for a note that I will be sending home with your child on Monday. I have a small homework task for them to do. I had meant to send it home today. I am asking that the students interview an older family member. This could be a grandparent, a great aunt or uncle, or another adult family member - the older the better! :)

Next week, we will begin our study of plants. The students will each get to put a bean seed in wet paper towel in a see-through cup and watch as it develops roots and grows into a plant. Later, we will plant a small garden box (indoors) to observe the growth of a few different vegetables.

I hope you can all spend some time outside this weekend and enjoy the beautiful weather. :)

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

I enjoyed speaking with all of you who attended Parent-Teacher Conferences today and last night. Thank you for taking the time to speak with me about your child's progress.

As I mentioned to most of you, I will be away the week following Spring Break. Mrs. Coleen Wenc will be covering for me for the four days. The children have had Mrs. Wenc as a substitute teacher before.  She is a very familiar face in our school. She has been substitute teaching at MTS for at least 13 years. I told the students yesterday that I will be away and that I will see them again in two weeks.

This week, we had a visit from Firefighter Rebekah from the Chestermere Fire Department. Her daughter was a student of mine last year. She brought in some of her equipment to show the kids and answered the many questions they had about being a firefighter. She also had photos to show them from Firefighter Training. Rebekah explained that she eats, sleeps, and works out at the station (to stay strong) while on her 24 hour shifts. She told the kids that she was excited to be driving the big ladder truck on her next shift following her visit. Here are some photos:

Please remember to encourage your child to dress western on Monday, March 30th for the MTS Pancake Breakfast. The children should eat a regular breakfast before coming to school, however, as we do not know when each class will get their food.

I hope you all enjoy a wonderful Spring Break! :)

Yesterday, we started work on our Leprechaun traps. The students learned how to make pipe cleaner ladders and we talked about how to create a trap door. The kids have started to cover their boxes with green paper and pictures of shamrocks. Thank you to everyone for providing a box for your child. A big thanks as well for all the amazing craft supplies and stickers sent in with your children. Next Monday afternoon is designated as trap building time. The children will put their finished traps on their desk at the end of the day. "Leprechauns" love visiting schools on St. Patrick's Eve. (wink, wink!) The students are very excited to see if they can build the trap that will catch a Leprechaun! The traps will be sent home Tuesday after school.

Yesterday, one of our students' (Paige) mom, Danica, visited our classroom to speak to us and to Mrs. Burch's students about her job as an Animal Technician/Nurse. The kids loved seeing some dog teeth that had been extracted as well as porcupine quills that had been removed from dogs' faces. Danica explained all the fascinating things she gets to do in her role. She had many x-rays to show the students on our Smartboard as well. The kids were really engaged and had many questions to ask her and stories to share! :)

Next Monday morning (March 16), we will have another parent, the mom of one of my students from last year, also come to visit. She is a firefighter in Chestermere. The kids love seeing her outfit and equipment. She does a fantastic job teaching fire safety.

If you have a job that you would be willing talk to the students about, I would love to hear from you! The "Parent Presentations" are always a hit with the kids. Not only does your child love that you are coming into the classroom, the other students love meeting someone new and hearing about what they do for work. Please email me at jllarmer@cbe.ab.ca, if you would like to come in to do a presentation. You could also let me know at Parent-Teacher conferences.

The students enjoyed going to a couple of the other Grade One classrooms on Thursday to take part in 100th Day celebration activities. We made our bulletin board to show what 100 looks like, represented by many different things. See the picture below. I will send home the bags on Tuesday as I know there is much-beloved Lego in some of them. :)

We will not have our regular book exchange time at the library this week due to the Book Fair. Your child can keep their book until after Spring Break.

Have a wonderful, snowy weekend! :)

Please read the following reminders from the office:

During Parent-Teacher Conferences on Thursday, March 19 and Friday, March 20, we invite families to place a colourful push pin on our world map located in our Learning Commons to show where their family comes from. Together, we’ll create a vibrant picture celebrating the diverse backgrounds that make up our school community!

Parent/Teacher Conferences

Parent/Teacher Conferences will take place in person at the school on Thursday, March 19 from 3:30pm - 7:30pm and Friday, March 20 from 8:00am to 12:00pm.

Parents will book conference times through their CBE account. Conference bookings will open on Saturday, March 14 at 8:00am and closes on Thursday, March 19 at 2:00pm. 

Kindergarten Conferences will be held at the times above as well as Thursday, March 19 from 8am-12pm. There are no kindergarten classes on either Thursday the 19 or Friday the 20. There is no school for students in grades 1-4 on Friday, March 20 due to conferences. 

Pancake Breakfast

On Monday March 30, MTS will be hosting a Pancake Breakfast for all students and staff.

To make this a successful event, we are requesting some Parent Volunteers for the morning.

If you are able to assist, please click on the link below.

PANCAKE BREAKFAST VOLUNTEER

Scholastic Book Fair

The Scholastic Book Fair is coming the week of March 16th.

Students will have the opportunity to preview the fair on Tuesday March 17 and will be able to shop during class time on Thursday March 19.

Family Shopping Hours:

• Thursday March19: 3:30pm-7:30pm
• Friday March 20: 8:00am-12:00pm

Don't miss this exciting opportunity to discover new books and support our school.

We can't wait to see you there!

Fun Lunch

The next Fun Lunch will be held on Wednesday March 18.

Fun Lunch is only for grades 1-4 and our EES students. 

• Go to healthyhunger.ca
• Log into you existing account or create a new one.
• Add your child’s information in the “add child” box – name, province, city, school, grade and class.
• All Fun Lunches will then populate – select the order now button!

Please make sure to send a morning snack with your child on Fun Lunch Days. Orders must be placed by the Friday before the day.

Food Support

Did you know that the Breakfast Club of Canada has shared research demonstrating that 40% of Alberta’s children experience food insecurity?  This means that 4 out of 10 children do not have access to food when they are hungry. 

If your family is experiencing challenges with providing food for your children you can find help at Brown Bagging Calgary. 

Complete this form for support and they can deliver lunches to McKenzie Towne School for your children. https://go.bb4ck.org/l/858913/2024-01-15/38fdbw You can also find out more information on their website https://bb4ck.org/

Brown Bagging for Calgary's Kids

Year Book Pictures

If you have any pictures from any school events (ie, first day of school, Terry Fox Run, Halloween) that you would like to share with the Yearbook Committee, please click on the link below.

Once you log in, please enter this code. ADD-PICTURES-TO-YEARBOOK-26

YEARBOOK PICTURES

More information will be shared on purchasing at a later date.

Upcoming Dates

March 16-20                             Book Fair 

March 17                                  Wear Green for St. Patrick's Day

March 18                                  Fun Lunch - Subway

March 19 & 20                          Parent/Teacher Conferences

March 19                                  NO SCHOOL for Kindergarten

March 20                                  Parent/Teacher Conferences - NO SCHOOL

March 23-27                             Spring Break - NO SCHOOL

March 30                                  Pancake Breakfast

April 3                                       Good Friday - NO SCHOOL

April 16                                     Grade 1 Celebration (More Information to come)

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 24                                     Non-Instructional Day - NO SCHOOL

April 29                                     Fun Lunch - Coco Brooks

Please make sure to visit your teacher's blog for classroom updates. Simply click on their name to access the blog.

For more information, please visit our website.

MTS Traditional Calendar 2025-26.pdf