Dear Families,
As the school year draws to a close, I just wanted to send one more communication out. Firstly, I want to thank you for all of your dedication and time that you have put forth over the year, especially over the last three and a half months. You were thrusted into the world of working, parenting and teaching from the confines of your home in a matter of no time and I truly appreciate it. I never imagined that I would be inviting you into my dining and living rooms on a daily basis, but I was more than happy to be able to see the faces of the children each day. As I explained yesterday in our last meeting, as much as I got them up and out of bed in the morning for you, they got me up and out of bed to meet them. We all learnt together a whole new net of skills from logging into video sessions, to how to submit assignments, but most of all we learnt the meaning of a community. No matter what happened each day and each week, we were always there for each other. As you move into the summer months, please take time to disconnect from everything online and relax. Enjoying the outdoors in any way you can, read a book, draw, watch the clouds go by. However, please also be careful. We are not out of the woods yet so please act responsibly and according to local medical officials. Lastly, I would like to personally thank you for sending me your child each and every day. It has been my pleasure to guide them this year and help prepare them for their future. As most of you know, I have been granted the opportunity to transfer closer to my home for next year to teach kindergarten (eeek!), therefore I will not be returning to Vimy Ridge. It was a VERY hard decision to make, but as we heard at the beginning of the fireworks yesterday, "Each of us has a dream, a heart’s desire. It calls to us. And when we’re brave enough to listen, and bold enough to pursue, that dream will lead us on a journey to discover who we’re meant to be. All we have to do is look inside our hearts and unlock the magic within." My heart knows I need to be closer to my family, but a part of my heart will always be with all of you in Findlay Creek and Vimy Ridge. I was fortunate enough to be able to open the school doors the very first year and I know that all of you will continue to open those doors and make it the best school community possible. I will hold each and everyone of you in my heart forever and please know that I will miss you all immensely. As it was said at Disney, "And so, our journey comes to an end. But yours continues on. Grab a hold of your dreams and make them come true. For you are the key to unlocking your own magic. Now go. Let your dreams guide you. Reach out and find your Happily Ever After." Please stay in touch, stay safe and follow your dreams! Stephanie :)
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In the last 24 hours I have launched the new home to our classroom in Google Classroom. In this classroom you will find all of the activities and assignments that I will be giving over the remainder of the year. Updates will happen on a very regular basis (daily or weekly), so please make sure you are checking it everyday.
Please watch this 10 minute tutorial video that will help you sign into Google and get into Google Classroom. It is much more thorough than I'd ever be able to explain through an email. https://youtu.be/KSKOHFh9ka4 This is another very good tutorial: https://youtu.be/N5UQ2V3nRp4 Website: www.google.com (sign in in top right corner of Google site) **Individual student login and password will be emailed directly to parents** Inside the classroom you will find two main parts: Steam and Classwork. Steam will have an ongoing list of items that are posted in Classwork as well as announcements or messages from me in regards to school work. While I recognize that this is not the ideal way to learn something new, it is also something very new to me too. Please do not let yourself become frustrated if you are unable to sign in. Send me a message and I can help you out. We've made it through our first week of home learning and I can't say thank you enough for your time and patience. I never thought I would be teaching from my dining room table & that you would be welcoming me into your home via video link. You are truly a rockstar and I appreciate everything you do. Have a fantastic weekend at home with family & I will see you online on Monday morning. Stephanie :) Good afternoon,
As we get further into home learning I would like get a better or more detailed picture of what you as a parent are looking for or wanting for your child to continue learning at home. If you could take a few minutes to answer the questions below it would help me help you better. If you have any questions or comments, please do not hesitate to email me. https://forms.gle/2H9yzS1EBdioT7YB8 I thank you for everything that you are doing through these unprecedented times. Stay strong! Stephanie :) Good evening families I hope that you are doing well given our ongoing social distancing and isolation. I am still planning on doing a morning check in tomorrow (Monday) starting at 9:30 am via Zoom conference. Zoom is a free online platform that will allow us all to chat & see each other. I have attached an information sheet on how to log in and use the platform. Below is the link to the "meeting" along with the id and password. Join Zoom Meeting https://zoom.us/j/689530701?pwd=c3lxWk1FdkFuU2p4OTBRSFV0a0lLZz09 Meeting ID: 689 530 701 Password: 225488 Tomorrow's topic will be very light with just a chat planned. Tuesday I am hoping to do a quick read aloud and send a follow up activity should you wish to complete it. Outside of these videos, I will not be providing or updating any work, tasks or assignments for the next two weeks. The Government of Ontario has provided online learning opportunities should you wish to explore them. After these initial two weeks, I am not sure what will happen, but I will be doing whatever our school board directs us to do. I am looking forward to "seeing" everyone tomorrow morning starting at 9:30 am for a quick 30 minute chat!!! I've already set my alarm clock so I won't be late! Have a good evening! Stephanie :)
Good evening Families,
I am just sending a quick note to check in on each and every one of you. I have been thinking & worrying about everyone from the moment I closed the classroom door last Friday. Next week, once the March Break is officially over, I will be setting up quick (30-35 minute) live video sessions each morning to check in, maybe read a story, do a math problem or do a quick art lesson for those who choose to join me. I will send out the new link each morning so that if you choose to join you may. Everyone still has full access to their online Reflex Math and RAZ Kids accounts. Login and passwords have been sent home multiple times. While I don't typically assign worksheets for homework, I did send home last Friday the math and language practice packages that students do when they have a free moment in class. If there is anything I can do to help, please ask. Stay home. Wash your hands. Take care of each other. See you via video next week! Stephanie :) Please find the March calendar with important dates & reminders for the month. A hard copy will be sent home with students this week.
WOW, here we find ourselves at the end of February already!! This week we are going to be treated to some fantastic weather as well as an anticipated return of winter.
We are continuing our conversations around animals through an integrated approach to Science into Language Arts. Below are some key words we have discussed: - hibernate - camouflage - coverings (i.e.: feathers, scales, skin, fur, shell) - migrate - gather - classifications - adapt - burrow Ask your child about these key words and what we have been discovering about the variety of animals this week. In Math, we have moved from common 2 and 3D shapes to starting to classify them as prisms or pyramids. Ask your child the characteristics of a prism vs pyramid! Our spelling and geometry quizzes have been moved from Friday to Monday (March 2) due to job action on Friday. I had posted a link to the spelling words last week, but here is it is again. We have only worked with words in weeks 1-16. These words are from the pre-primer, primer and grade 1 list of common sight words. For the geometry quiz, students will be expected to name/identify common 2 & 3-D shapes, the number of sides or faces, vertices, and edges. These shapes include: circle, square, rectangle, pentagon, hexagon, trapezoid, rhombus, oval, cube, rectangular prism, triangular prism, pyramids, sphere, cylinder, and cone. A reminder that there is no school on Friday due to job action taking place. Have a good week! Stephanie :) Happy Family Day!!
I hope that you are spending this day with family and friends and enjoying the beautiful weather. Looks like this week is going to be a mix of everything out, so take advantage of it now! I don't need to tell you how busy we have been in the classroom. Like I explained to the kids, we are on a fast moving train travelling through our grade 2 expectations. We have bumps and bruises from our adventures, but there certainly isn't any lack of learning happening here! Language Update: I sent home all Term 1 Language tasks and notebooks a few weeks ago. Students started new notebooks and fresh handouts for Term 2. We are integrating our Science into our daily Language expectations and looking at animals as living things. This week is about concepts such as hibernation, adaptation, migration, gathering and burrowing. Our book of the week is "Bear Snores On". As your child about the main character and what the problem was that he faced. We have also been updating our weekly sight words and adding them to our class word wall. There will be a spelling quiz next Friday on all of the sight words we have focused on to date. You can find the word list here. We will have completed weeks 1-16 by the time the test date comes. Math Update: We are loving our discoveries in Geometry. We started with 2D shapes and have jumped right into 3D shapes. We are learning about the names and properties of these shapes. There will be a small quiz on 2 & 3D shapes next Friday. Students will be expected to name the shape and indicate how many side or faces, number of vertices, edges the shape has. Other Updates & Reminders 1. Job Action- As announced in the media, there will be a province wide day of job action by all education workers on Friday, February 21. All schools will be closed to students. We thank you for your support and understanding throughout this process. 2. Toys- Please keep all toys and distractions at home. We are trying to capture the attention of students the best we can at school and if we can eliminate the distractions of toys and other very interesting objects that would Stephanie :) Please find below a copy of the February calendar with important dates listed. A hard copy was sent home with students this week.
Here we are, the last week before the holidays and it feels like the slowest mad dash to the finish.
We have been so fortunate to have two amazing future teacher candidates with us since the first day of school and this week marks our first time back on our own without them. As I explained to the students, we all have to adjust our habits and regain some patience and waiting our turn as there is just one adult in the room at all times now. So far, so good and I have been unbelievably grateful for their effort thus far this week. This week we are wrapping up a number of things including our travels around the world. We will finish up looking at the celebration of Hanukah. We are also wrapping up our first look at the measurement of time, in particular telling time to the hour and half hour and the days of the week. We will be revisiting these concepts again later in the new year. Just a few reminders for this week: 1. Library: We visit the library every Tuesday morning. Students must return their book in order to have the opportunity to borrow another one. A number of students now have books overdue by several weeks. Please have a look around your home for these missing books and return them as soon as possible. 2. Holiday Concert: Students have been practicing two songs for the holiday concert that will take place on Wednesday, December 18th at 9:30 am in the gym. Everyone is welcome to join us. 3. Pyjama Day: Thursday, December 19th will be a school wide pyjama day. Students are invited to wear a clean and fresh pair of pyjamas to school that day. Please note, NO STUFFIES OR BLANKETS are permitted. 4. Festive Sweater Day: Friday, December 20th will be festive sweater day. Students are invited to wear a holiday sweater. I would like to take this opportunity to say thank you for being an active partner in your child's education. Whether you are celebrating during the holiday break, travelling or spending quality time as a family, I wish you a Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and most certainly a Happy New Year. I consider it a real privilege to get to walk into the classroom each day, and I look forward to many more exciting learning days ahead. See you in 2020! Stephanie :) |
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February 2020
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