Good evening,
It may not officially winter according to the calendar, but with the first snowstorm behind us I think it is really winter. We were all excited this morning when everyone came prepared to play outside in appropriate clothing. This week will be another short, yet busy one for students. Parent Teacher meetings will be held this Thursday evening and Friday morning, therefore students have Friday off. Thank you to everyone who took the time to help fill in the homework questions last week regarding family origins and cultural celebrations. We will be sharing this information in class this week and "packing our bags" and "grabbing our passports" as we travel the world over the next 4-weeks learning about celebrations around the world. We continue to solidify our work with using number lines in math and how we can use them to show our ability to add, subtract and skip count/number patterns. New this week, we will be using it to learn about the measurement of time. In grade 2, students are expected to be able to tell time on a digital and analogue (traditional) clock to the quarter, half and three quarters of the hour. A few reminders for this week: - School (Parent) Council meeting TUESDAY at 6:30 pm in the school Makerspace. Everyone is welcome. - Popcorn day will be on THURSDAY this week. $1.50 per bag - School council magazine & cookie dough fundraiser due WEDNESDAY - School spirit wear/clothing orders due online by MONDAY - December Scholastic book orders due NEXT FRIDAY to ensure arrival in time for Christmas . Order right online and send me a quick note to let me know it's a Christmas gift and I will make sure that it secretly gets home in time for the holidays. https://canadaclubs.scholastic.ca As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to communicate with me. Have a great week!
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Good evening families,
We are off to another week of fantastic learning. Thank you to everyone who was able to join us for our Remembrance Day ceremony on Monday morning. The students were on their upmost best behaviour. Similarly, they have been very engaged in learning about the significance of Remembrance Day, poppies and the various stories that have come out of World War I and World War II. Our poppy art is proudly displayed in the front lobby of the school. Students have been working on establishing the horizon line and accurately placing images within their work based on the location of the horizon (i.e.: no floating houses or people!). Report cards were sent home last week and I hope you have taken time to read and review the comments. Parent/Teacher conferences are coming up next week on Thursday and Friday. Please book an appointment if you have not already done so. A few reminders for this week: 1. Appropriate clothing for outside: Now that the cold and snowy weather is here, please make sure to send your child with the appropriate clothing to be playing outside. Students should be wearing snow pants, boots, hats and mittens/gloves. It is also a good idea to pack a couple pairs of extra mitts/gloves and socks because students are outside several times a day and their wet mitts/gloves do not have appropriate time to dry. 2. Popcorn sales on Friday! Popcorn is available to purchase for $1.50 per bag this Friday. Students can choose from 7 different flavours. All orders must be submitted before 9:30 am. 3. Student Activity Fee: Outlined on the pink notice are a variety of activities that staff have begun to arrange for students this year. You will have noticed that a majority of the activities are at no charge and a few require a small fee. All Grade 1-3 students are asked for $20 to cover the costs of the activities that incur a small participation fee. Please sign and return the bottom portion of the pink notice along with the $20 so that staff can continue to make plans accordingly. If you are unable to contribute to the Student Activity Fee, please contact the office administration directly. 4. Homework: Last week's homework is of significant importance to our upcoming social studies lessons. It is important that all students complete and return the two page task in regards to their family origin and celebrations and traditions within in their family in order for authentic learning to be had. If you have difficulty completing either page of homework, please communicate with me. Thank you for your continued support towards the learning in and out of the classroom. It truly takes a team effort. Have a great week! Good evening families,
Just a last minute message to invite everyone to the Vimy Ridge Remembrance Day ceremony happening tomorrow at 9:45 am in the gym for kindergarten to grade 3 students. The ceremony is expected to be no longer than 30 minutes. If you wish to attend, please make sure to stop by the office to sign in and receive a visitor sticker. Also of note, our class has created a beautiful display of Flanders Field paintings just inside the main doors. Following the ceremony, students will be returning to regular programming in the classroom. Thanks Good evening,
On evening of Thursday, November 22 and the morning of Friday, November 23 we will be holding Parent Teacher conferences. Conferences will be 15 minutes in length and will focus on your child's learning progress thus far into the school year. Below is the link for online booking. Once a time slot has been filled, it will no longer show as available https://goo.gl/forms/yowfEeozA9p9OkKE2 If you feel that you do not need to meet at this time, please let me know (so that I don't hound you to pick a time). Otherwise, I look forward to meeting with you on the 22nd or 23rd. Good evening Parents,
The week is off to another great start! We've been so busy each day, that I'm exhausted just thinking about it. Today we had our first lockdown practice and the students were amazing. They understood the importance of moving quickly and quietly into our designated area and respected the directions that followed to remain in the classroom. We will have 2 more practices before the end of the school year. We have been super engaged working on a variety of writing and reading pieces. We have just wrapped up writing a repetitive text piece that focused on nouns and verbs. This week we will be focusing on the theme of Remembrance Day and peace. We will explore writing and reading a variety print materials such as picture books, newspaper articles and pamphlets. Students came up with many touching ideas as to what peace is as our kick off to this focus. In math, we have been deep into number patterns and how we count number patterns. Many students can count a number pattern (skip count), but don't understand what skip counting/number patters are or why skip counting is useful. Students are beginning to understand skip counting as counting groups of items and that it is more efficient to count groups of items rather than items one by one. Ask your child to skip count a variety of items around the house such as socks, shoes, forks and knives etc., and prompt them to not always start at 2. Grade 2 students are expected to skip count number patterns of 2, 5, 10, 25 up to 200. Starting next week we will be looking at the variety of celebrations each of our families participate in and how they may have changed over generations. This week's homework task will be centered upon this topic and is essential for students to be able to participate in the class discussion. Please take the time to help your child gather and record the information about your family celebrations. Other reminders: 1. Remembrance Day ceremony: Vimy Ridge will be hosting a Remembrance Day ceremony in the school gym on Monday, November 12th. Please feel free to join us at 9:45 am. 2. Library is this week! We will be visiting the library on Friday morning to exchange our books. Please ensure that your child returns their book to school if they have taken it home. 3. Popcorn Days: Popcorn is sold each Friday for $1.50 per bag. Students can choose from 7 different flavours. All orders must be submitted and paid for by 9:30 am on Friday. 4. Outdoor Clothes: Please ensure that your child is dressed appropriately to be playing outside. Students should have a warm jacket, hat and mitts/gloves. Appropriate footwear is also recommended as the weather changes each day. 5. Scholastic Book orders are due this Friday. Thank you to those families who have placed an order through the Scholastic book flyers. Each order provides the class with free books and materials that directly impact student learning. If you need any recommendations or suggestions for your child, please do not hesitate to ask. 6. Student Activity Fee is due! A few weeks back a pink letter was sent home outlining a variety of activities that are planned for students to participate in this year. While a great deal of the activities outlined are at no cost, a few activities have nominal costs associated with them. Each student from Kindergarten to Grade 3 is asked for $20 to cover the participation fees related to these activities. If you have not yet returned the signed portion of the pink form and the $20 activity fee, please do so as soon as possible. 7. Report Cards this week... Progress reports are being sent home this Thursday. While this is the first formal report of the year, it is still only a snapshot of the first 8 weeks of school. We will have an opportunity to sit down and discuss your child's report card during the upcoming interview days on November 22nd & 23rd. Availability and scheduling will be sent home in the coming days. As you can see, we are very busy with a wide variety of things. Please do not hesitate to reach out if you have any questions. As always, your child is a good first step in finding out what's happening in the classroom. Have a great week! Good afternoon Parents,
Time is getting away from me quicker than I can catch up on things! It's a great thing to be so busy and immersed in the learning happening in the classroom. Not a lot to update this week. Language Update: We have been reading and writing about the signs of fall and some of our favourite things we like to do in the fall. We have been reading "When the Leaf Blew In" as a mentor text for repetitive text features. Students are using this model to create their own versions of the story. They are currently working on writing their rough drafts and will be moving into the publishing phase by mid week. Math Update: We are continuing our focus on addition and subtraction strategies of numbers less than 20. We have learnt strategies of making benchmarks of 5 & 10 and how those benchmarks help us solve other problems. Students have been exposed to a number of representations of the numbers in regards to using tools such as the 5 & 10 frame, open number lines and the standard equation. These multiple representations help students visualize and make connections beyond just the standard algorithm. Other Updates: 1. Winter is coming! Please ensure your child is dressed appropriately to be playing outside for each recess of 20-25 minutes. Jackets, hats, mits/gloves are highly recommended. Our schoolyard is particularly windy, therefore feels colder than it actually is outside. 2. Homework routines have started up again. Students are assigned 2 questions per week specifically related to topics and ideas we have been studying and practicing in class. Students are to return their homework book (regardless if they have completed the questions) on or before Wednesdays. 3. Library visit this week. This Friday is our regular library visit. Students are asked to return their book for Friday so that they can choose a new book. 4. Family movie night is this week! School council is presenting "Sherlock Gnomes" on Friday night in the school gym. Doors open at 6:30 and the movie starts at 7. 5. Popcorn, Popcorn, Popcorn! Students have the opportunity to purchase a bag of popcorn every Friday for $1.50. Popcorn orders are submitted no later than 9:30 on Popcorn days- no late orders can be accepted. All funds raised help to offset costs for workshops for students. 6. Upcoming Halloween activities- All grade 1-3 students will be participating in Halloween Math Spooktacular next Wednesday morning from 9:30-11:10 am. Students will be put into groups to rotate through stations focusing on different math expectations. Students are invited to wear their costumes, however accessories (i.e.: swords, shields, etc.) or masks are not permitted at school. Have a fabulous week! Good evening,
What a weekend! I was leaving the school Friday evening just as the storm was staring to roll into the community and somehow out drove it as I live 30km east of the school and made it home before it hit there. I was keeping a close eye on things all weekend and communicating with families I knew in the neighbourhood to offer assistance if needed. From my understanding, everyone in our Vimy Ridge family is safe and sound and everyone is back connected to electricity. If there is anything I can do to help your family in the coming days and weeks recover from this weekend's events, please do not hesitate to reach out. Last Friday you should have noticed that your child brought home their first week of homework. There are 2 questions that will be sent home on a weekly basis that is a continuation of the activities we have been doing in class. The premiss behind the homework is to connect and engage home to the classroom through discussion with your child. On the inside cover of their homework notebook you will find further details and instructions. Homework will be sent home each Friday (or Thursday in case of a holiday or PD Day) and is due back to school on or before the following Wednesday. This week we will be continuing and extending a lot of last week's learning. Week Ahead Monday: School closed Tuesday: School reopens Wednesday: School spirit day- Grade 2s wear YELLOW; Homework is due today Thursday: Friday: Orange day in awareness to the Residential School system; Homework is sent home today Language Update : We are continuing on working on our reading comprehension skills such as retelling key information from texts and segmenting text into beginning/middle/end. We are also continuing to build our writing stamina by connecting our ideas with a minimum of 3 sentences. Punctuation marks will be a focus this week. We have our first library visit scheduled for this Friday morning. Students will have the option to bring their book home or leave it at school in their book bin to read during the day. Math Update: Last week we worked on composing and decomposing the number 5. We also learnt how to use a counting tool called a rekenrek. Students had the opportunity to use the rekenreks to model numbers as well as to compose the number 5. This week we will be making the jump to the number 10. Composing and decomposing the numbers 5 & 10 are extremely important as benchmark and friendly numbers for understanding and manipulating larger numbers. We will be exploring the use of the 10 frame and how to count and record using tally marks as well. Science: What is Science?, Living & Non-Living Things Phys Ed: Team games, throwing accurately Arts: Dance activities, visual art connection to math & composing 10 Other Reminders: 1. Scholastic Book Orders: Thank you to everyone who placed an order this month. I will be able to add a few new books to our classroom library thanks to your orders. October orders will be sent home on Friday & are due back by October 10th. 2. Indoor Shoes: With the temperatures changing, we are asking that everyone have a dedicated pair of indoor shoes that are left at school each day. This helps keep our floors and carpets clean so that students can sit comfortably on the floor for many activities in the classroom and gym 3. Spirit Day: This Wednesday is our first spirit day of the year and it will be Rainbow Day. Each grade has been assigned a colour and grade 2 is YELLOW. The class that shows the most spirit will win an undisclosed prize. 4. Orange Day: Friday we will be recognizing Orange Shirt Day that "was designed to educate people and promote awareness about the Indian residential school system and the impact this system had on Indigenous communities for more than a century in Canada." Here's to a great week of learning! Stephanie :) Welcome back to school!
What a great start we are having to the new school year! Thank you for being so patient as we work on establishing routines and expectations in the classroom and towards myself as I get the home connections set up. Also, thank you for reading, signing and returning the number of notes and information pages that were sent home over the last week. If you have not yet returned these important pages, please include them in your child's yellow communication folder and I will be sure to get them. Over the next 9.5 months we will be embarking on a learning journey that will be full of discoveries, excitement, set backs and most of all FUN that will hopefully allow each and every student in the class to build their capacity to be the leaders of the future. Not only are the students on this journey together, but you as parents play a vital role. In part, I will be sharing on a weekly, or at times, bi-weekly emails detailing what we are embarking on in class so that you can support your child at home. I try to communicate all information in a timely manner, understanding that all families have activities and events outside of school. The weekly update will also be posted on my website at: www.stephanieranger.weebly.com If at any time you have any questions or concerns about your child's learning, please do not hesitate to contact me. I am available to set up meeting appointments by request (based on availability) to discuss any concerns. Week Ahead Monday: All milk orders and payment are due. Tuesday: Wednesday: Talk Like A Pirate Day- wear your favourite pirate hat/shirt/eye patch (no other props-hooks/swords etc) Thursday: Meet the Teacher Open House 430-630; Scholastic Orders are due Friday: Learning Path Ahead Language: We are working on reading comprehension skills such as retell and Beginning/Middle/End. Students are focusing on beginning letter sounds and blends and implementing them in their writing. Basic sentence structure and ending punctuation is our focus. Read alouds this week will all have a pirate theme. Math: Building benchmarks of 5&10, including adding and subtracting to/from 5&10. Patterning- basic repeating patterns Science: Living & non-living things; changes in the seasons (comparing & contrasting) Phys Ed: Cooperative games; throwing & catching Other Reminders 1. Indoor Shoes: Students are asked to have a clean pair of running shoes to wear indoors. Proper footwear is required for participation in phys ed classes in order to ensure the safety of every one. Each student has a basket to keep their indoor shoes in when they are not wearing them. Please label BOTH shoes because students often have the same ones as another classmate. 2. Library Books: We will be visiting the library starting next Friday. Students will be able to borrow 1 book every visit. 3. Lunch & Snacks: As mentioned in my initial letter sent home last week, students have 2 dedicated eating periods each day. We had been trialing 2 additional snack times (one in the morning and one in the afternoon) over the past 2 weeks. Starting this week, we will no longer be having the additional snack times because students were not hungry/eating come the 2 dedicated eating times. We will be sticking with the eating times of 11:15-11:40 and 2:25-2:45 each day. Please ensure your child has a sufficient breakfast in the morning so that they are ready to learn starting at 9:15. Once again, thank you for such a fantastic return to school and trusting me with your lovely children. Everyday is a new challenge and that is what I love best with my job! See you all on Thursday evening for Meet the Teacher night! Stephanie :) Happy New Year!
Welcome back! I hope that you had a wonderful break that was spent with family and friends. We are well underway in our learning as we charge towards the end of the first term. We have talked a lot about how the train has left the station and that everyone needs to be onboard in terms of wanting to learn and being prepared to work hard each and every day. Thus far we have been focusing hard on our writing skills and in particular sounding out words to spell what we are trying to say. Perseverance and a lot of effort is being demanded from the students as we work towards becoming more independent in our work. In Math, we are continuing forward in addition to 10 and 10 plus X (10 + 3, 10 + 5 etc). We continuously visit the strategies we have developed and practiced in class (e.g.: making 5, making 10, doubles, doubles +1 etc.). It is so very important for students to be practicing these foundational math facts (making 5, making 10, doubles, doubles +1) in order to be able to apply the strategies to the problem solving in the classroom. We will be exploring additional ideas in geometry and measurement over the next couple of weeks as well. As in the past, I will be contacting families in regard to student progress, specifically students who are struggling academically. Report cards are beginning to be drafted (to be sent home February 14th), and I want to be as transparent with all learning challenges as I can. Reminders: 1. Popcorn Days: Popcorn is sold each Friday (Thursday when Friday is a PD Day or holiday) for $1.50 per bag. Students can choose from 7 different flavours and enjoy it for snack at second nutrition break. 2. Library: We will be visiting the school library for the first time this Wednesday. Students will be able to borrow 1 book for one week. Once the book is returned to the school library, a new book may be borrowed. 3. Student Activity Fee: If you have not submitted the $20 student activity fee, we are looking to wrap up our planning based on funds received. If you have any questions about the activity fee or require assistance, please do not hesitate to contact the school office. 4. Lunches: Just a reminder to keep special treats to a minimum in your child's lunch. We are respectful to each child's tastes, we are also promoting healthy and active lifestyles including healthy food options. 5. Movie Night: A flyer was sent home last week in regards to the Parent Council movie night for January 19th in the school gym. Please check your child's green communication book for more details. Movie: Boss Baby I receive many messages and talk with many parents on a weekly basis asking about what we are learning in the classroom. Your child is the best source of information as to what we are learning about. I encourage you to not only ask them what they are learning about, but to have them draw or write about what they are learning about. A lot of times, students at this age do not have the vocabulary to describe their learning, but are able to provide a picture/drawing that can provide a discussion point. The grade 1 train has officially left the station and I thank you for your continued support. We have lots of ground left to cover, but we will take it at the pace the students are able to handle. Have a great week (and stay warm!) Brrrr!!
Although I hate to admit it, I think we are into the cold, winter weather! We were so thankful that the sun was shining today and the temperatures were not so bone chilling. Thank you to everyone who was able to make it to the Parent Teacher meetings held last week. I hope it provided you with a brief window into your son or daughter's learning and the path as to which we are trying to take through Grade 1. If you would like to follow up your meeting with any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact us at any time. I try to keep Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday mornings before school available for parent meetings as well as the occasional Wednesday or Thursday immediately after school, should you wish to meet in person. Please note that this is NOT a drop in meeting time, but times that can be pre-booked to meet with me (based on availability).; If you had requested a phone meeting, I am in the process of scheduling appropriate times to conduct them. Big Ideas for this week: Math: wrapping up patterning (repeating patterns, identifying core of a pattern, extending patterns, naming patterns); 2D geometry (naming shapes, number of sides, number of vertices), number talks (addition) Language: reading sight word poem, building full and complete sentences, retell and summarizing stories, phonemic awareness (letter recognition and sounds) Science: animals in the seasons (migration, hibernation, adaptation, burrow), nocturnal & diurnal animals Health: Keeping our bodies healthy (mentally, physically, emotionally) Music: Making music with our bodies, connecting music to patterning in math Other Reminders: 1. Family Photo: Please do not forget to send a framed (small) family photo to school as a part of our social studies unit on family, community and responsibility. Students will be sharing their photo with the class as they describe their family (naming people & their position in the family i.e. My dad is Jim, my mom is Jackie etc). This is an important task for students to participate in as it is their first oral communication presentation to the larger group of students. All family photos and frames will be returned to you once we are moving on from this topic. 2. Popcorn Day: Popcorn day is every Friday (or Thursday if Friday is a holiday). Students can choose from 7 different flavours to enjoy at second snack time (afternoon snack time). Each bag sells for $1.50 and all monies raised goes back to student programming and workshops. Exact money only as we are unable track down change. 3. Extra Mittens: Please include an extra (or several extra) pairs of mittens or gloves in your child's backpack. There is no where for us to dry the wet mittens between recesses and it is imperative that each child be dressed for the elements outside. Also, please label BOTH mittens/gloves in each set as it is easier to return stay mittens than to try and find a stray mitten. 4. Holiday Celebration: The tentative date for the holiday celebration is Wednesday, December 20th at 9:30 am in the gym. Once the date and time is confirmed I will communicate that further. We are practicing another piece of sign language to perform during the celebration. 5. Extended Holidays: If you know you will be on extended holidays (or any holidays during regular school days), please let us know as soon as possible. Students missing more than 5 consecutive school days must provide WRITTEN notice to the school indicating the departure date and return date. Hard to believe that December is right at our doorstep at the end of this week! Where has time gone?! Have a great week! |
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February 2020
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