We have so much to be thankful for!

First a BIG thank you to Grandma, who brought in an enormous black wasp nest.

We learned a great deal about how the wasps make the nest, where it could be found and where the queen lays the eggs in the nest.  It will be interesting to compare wasps to bees later this week.

Having this nest helped extend our learning.

Look at all these various characters who showed up today, without a single  turkey in the bunch!

Instead of turkeys, we met....

..a snowman

a tree,

Link from the Legend of Zelda,

the lady in red,

a cowgirl.

and a peacock, just to name a few!

October is here!

A HUGE thank you to all of the moms and dads who came out last night to our Grade Two Get Together night.  It was wonderful to share, discuss and plan as a group for your child's successful school year.  Just a reminder that these are the dates to put onto your calendar for October:

October 9 - PD (no school for children)

October 12 - Thanksgiving (no school for children)

October 14 - Field Trip to Prairie Garden Farms - leave school at 11:30 a.m. (two parents have volunteered, room for two more!)

October 22 and October 29 - swimming lessons in the afternoon

October 30 - Kidz Quarterz afternoon!

It is an important part of reading to learn how to search for information.

No, these aren't searching glasses! These cool specs. helped the students to see what a bee, a fly or another insect with compound eyes might see.

Look at all the information that the students were able to share both prior to reading with a partner and then again after reading together with a classmate. The students were using their new knowledge on how to read captions, search for new vocabulary and put information into their memory.

There have been a TON of requests for paperwork of you lately.

Here's what needs to be done asap:

1. Update data verification online as requested by Mrs. Roberts

2. Send back swimming information with level that your child should be registered in

3. Send back green permission paper for Prairie Garden Farms

4. Send back orange permission paper for Kidz Quarterz

5. Icon photography orders were sent home today, due on October 15

6. Tomorrow Mrs. Roberts has asked that teachers send home school fee sheets, please pay online (I think!)

I could add the children in my class!  God's special blessings to your family this Thanksgiving.

Terry Fox Run

On Wednesday, September 30th the students of Madonna Catholic School will be participating in an afternoon run in honour of Terry Fox.  This year is the 35th anniversary of our Canadian hero's attempt to run across Canada to raise funds to fight cancer.

We are asking that we show our Canadian pride that day by dressing in red and white.  The run will be outside so please ensure that your child is dressed for the weather.  They could be outside for upwards of an hour.  Mittens and hats would be a good choice.

We are also asking all students in the school to donate $1.00 to this cause.  Please send in $1.00 to the classroom either before Wednesday or on that day.

You might like to share this youtube video, to let your little ones know that big things can happen if you just believe!

https://youtu.be/f1QOtPDAAeY

Math Ring

In the Kanga Pouch or Reading Folder another evening activity will be added.  The Math Rings will be individualized in that, as the student accomplishes the math facts presented, then new facts will be added to learn.  Entering Grade Two, the addition and subtraction facts to 5 should have been learned.  This means that the student KNOWS them, or he or she might have memorized them.  That supports their potential success in math problems.  If the student is still counting, or needs to touch objects to figure out the quantity, they have a bit more work to do.

The yellow card explains the process and asks for your active assistance to ensure that your child has a solid foundation set.  There are opportunities for assessment weekly in the classroom but I cannot exactly say which day each student will be seen individually, so the reminder is to have the math ring travel back and forth in the same way that the 'Read to Someone' home reading book does.

To start off simply this week, please cut apart the cards, punch a hole in the corner of each card and begin with having your child be able to read the words for the numbers zero to eleven.  

HINT: Don't put them in order, that would be too easy!

I truly appreciate your assistance.  Can you imagine the time it would take for me to do this for 20 students each week?  

Literacy Bags come home!

This weekend was the first time the Grade Two students look home literacy bags.  The directions are not completely specific.  There are games in almost every bag along with a stuffed animal.  Sometimes there is a writing activity involved.  The point is to interact with the story as a family, instilling a love of the fun of reading!  Enjoy this special time, when families are all so busy.  Slow down and spend a half hour seeing the world through the eyes of your child.

There is a laminated sheet in each bag, listing all of the items found inside.  Please double check that everything is returned each Monday morning.

Our first birthday child! Congratulations!

One of the little gifts that I will give each child this year is the opportunity to order a book, up to a $5.00 value, from the Scholastic book clubs.  The children have suggested the when they receive the certificate, I should keep it so that it is ready for the next month's order.

New Week...new learning

What a busy week we are having!  Each and every day, the students are being exposed to new routines, new activities and new learning.

The students are working on building their stamina for each of the five areas of Daily Five.  They were introduced to Word Work, and practised working with others on recognizing colours. They will be expected to be able to spell all of the colour words in their writing, no excuse, for the rest of the school year.

Being able to stay focused on an activity even when working with others is another of their goals.

Watch the Youtube video here:

Tuesday, September 15th, is International Dot Day.  The reason for this wonderful day, in which students are encouraged to "make your mark" is found in this story written and illustrated by Peter Reynolds.

Using watercolour paints, watercolour paper, q tips and their own creativity, the students made their marks in the form of dots.

They are currently on display just outside of our classroom.

Pete the Cat, a favourite of all children, has come into our class to assist in new ideas.

The students have been helping with sorting.  In this activity, the students sorted letters, words and sentences.  They found it very challenging to explain what makes a word or a sentence.  Being able to explain your thinking is an important goal that the children will be working on all year long.

With our 'teacher's pet' as our model, we also learned what a label is.

If something can be touched and labelled, the words that we use for a label, are nouns.

The students labeled two pictures of Pete the Cat using nouns.  There is now an anchor chart up in the class to assist us in remembering that a noun is a person, place or thing.

The students also had two pages of pictures that showed Pete the Cat doing something.

Usually a 'doing word' ends with -ing, such as eating, skipping or driving.

The word that the students heard action words called was verbs.

This is the first exposure to the terms for some new concepts.  These concepts will be worked on throughout the year.  Learning doesn't stick with everyone the first time.  Practise is so very, very important.  Don't get too frustrated if your child takes many, many times before that new learning is truly understood and the child can use it independently.  That's our job, to keep working to help them!

That is also why it is almost impossible to replicate lessons when a child is away.  So much of what we do happens in the moment, in sharing, in discussing and in a variety of ways.  The paper part is rarely the most important part.  It helps with practise and it helps with assessment, but it is not the 'teaching' or the 'learning.'

The 'puppies' got a chance to hear the students retell the story of Pete the Cat I Love My White Shoes

once the students recreated the story in the correct sequence.

Fabulous and Fun Friday!

This afternoon we were blessed with the perfect weather to take our little ones out to enjoy the September sun.  Enjoy all the happy faces and fun activities that they participated in through these photos.  Happy weekend!

Please help your child remember to pack the "poetry" "spelling" and "home folder" back with their Bee Binder on Monday!  Thanks!