Today is orange shirt day.  Students gathered in the gym to listen to the Welcome Song, an aboriginal welcome song with drums and singing. Then, students watched the video linked above about the meaning behind this day. We left with a focus on positive change, writing positive messages about how children feel good and supported in schools now.

This week:

• We began a science unit about salmon with a focus this week on the salmon life cycle.
• We are continuing to focus on the long a sound as in cake, written using ai as in maison and j’ai.
• We will hear an Aboriginal legend about how the many islands off of the B.C. coast came to be.
• In math, we will focus more on subtraction.
• In language and art, our focus is autumn and Thanksgiving.
• In health, our focus is on nutrition. Last week, we learned about eating fruits and vegetables of many colours. Later this week, we will learn about the cereals group including the importance of whole grains.

Remember!

• Lockdown Drill Tuesday
• Home Reading book exchange and counting our points in Wednesday
• Library books due Thursday
• Bring a water bottle to school Every Day!
• Bring an agenda to school Every Day!

The October calendar was sent home today. Please look in your child’s agenda for it:)

 

 

    This year, students will read in French at home, accumulating points that enable them to travel across Canada and beyond! In this way, we will be combining some of our social studies and science topics with our discussion in class of our home reading goals.

Home reading begins today! You and your child together can choose how many times a week to read for approximately 15 minutes. For some children, this may mean reading a book a day. For others, it may mean reading a chapter in a short novel. You can schedule reading for days when you have fewer extra-curricular activities in your family’s life. Children are encouraged to read daily, with the occasional day off when a child is sick or an evening is very busy.

Once a week, usually Wednesdays, students will choose 3 books. Rather than daily, books will be formally exchanged once a week. Children are welcome to reread the same book more than once during the week. If your child needs more books before a week is up, he/she can see me, no problem!

Each day your child reads at home, he/she needs to write the title of the book on the appropriate day on the right side of the agenda. An adult at home needs to sign beside the title. On Wednesday, we will count how many days your child read that week. One day reading at home = one point. A photocopied agenda page was sent home yesterday, but agendas just arrived at the school and will be coming home soon. We just received new agendas and they look different. Please use the green “communication” section for home reading once agendas come home.

If your child has chosen books that are too easy or too difficult, please write a note to me in the agenda, and I will help guide your child’s choices. Reading at home should be fun, not frustrating! Also, books should provide the opportunity to develop some new vocabulary, so books shouldn’t be too easy all the time either.

In summary:

• Reading in French at home one day = one point
• Accumulate points to travel across Canada
• Write the book title in the agenda, on page to the right of the date when you read
• An adult signs beside the title on the date the book was read
• Have fun reading!

You can also email with any questions: kharmatuk@sd73.bc.ca

This week:

• In math, we used ten frames to support addition.

• In French, our focus was the long a sound as in cake. The letters er can make a in chanter but when we read ver de terre, the er makes the sound like the word air.
• In French, we also built our Terry Fox vocabulary so that we were able to write about Terry Fox in French. Check out children’s yellow Terry Fox shoes on the walls of the library!
• M. Charles, our French moniteur from Quebec, and Mme Magalie, our PREP teacher, will both be leading French activities with the students once a week in order to boost their vocabulary and oral French skills.
• In social studies, students identified B.C. and the Pacific Ocean on their own maps of Canada.
• In reading, we are learning to retell stories.
• In gym, we played parachute games.
• In art, we started a pastel and paint project. This project will also be submitted for a fundraising initiative where a company uses the image to produce items such as cards, puzzles and phone cases that may be purchased. You will probably see ordering information later in November.
• Overviews of what we are learning during the first term are being sent home today.

Upcoming dates:

• Monday 23rd: Professional development at our school for teachers. Students have no school this day.
• Tuesday 24th: Scholastic due.
• Wednesday 25th: Our home reading program begins!
• Thursday 26th: Library. Return books on time and bring a waterproof bag! PHOTO DAY!

Updated Sept. 17. Please note updates in italics. Updated again Sept. 20.

Unfortunately, we are still waiting for student agendas to arrive. Once they do, we will write what is happening in the agenda. For now…

• Thursday is our library day. Please return books by Thursday and sent students with a waterproof book bag.
• There is a bake sale coming up on Thursday. All items will be 1$.
• Friday is our Terry Fox run. Please be aware that students must have completed walking permission forms to participate. Students will have the choice to walk/run in the neighbourhood, or do laps of the school field.
• Scholastic flyers will be handed out for those who wish to buy books. Flyers can be viewed on-line as well. Orders can by placed on-line – search for my name. Orders will be due Tuesday, Sept. 24. Apologies if you could not find my name at Scholastic on-line. The problem should be resolved now. I have received some paper orders:)
  
• Friday our back-to-school bbq begins at 4:30. See you there!

We had a full busy week this week!

Today, students were given a challenge with limited materials, and needed to work creatively and collaboratively in groups to achieve success! Classroom rules were also reinforced: be kind and help others.

The Problem:

Make the longest paper strip that you can using only one sheet of newsprint and scissors. One group achieved a length of 7.5 metres!

Applied Design, Skills and Technologies – ADST

This activity is part of ADST, a curriculum area that students will explore throughout the year. In ADST, students:

• Generate and share ideas
• Use tools and a variety of materials
• Use trial and error
• Problem solve to develop a product
• Share their process
• Develop skills through play

We often think of computers when we think of technology, but basic tools such as scissors or a needle and thread are also technologies! Students had fun and enjoyed today’s challenge.

We also have our first art on the bulletin board in the hallway outside our class if you’d like to have a look. We read Sky Color and Joyeux rêveur by Peter H. Reynolds to inspire our own visions of flying through colourful skies!

Thank-you for Terry Fox donations and for those who brought waterproof library bags on Thursday. We are hoping to receive agendas next week. Scholastic flyers will be handed out. If anyone wishes to order on-line, you can also view flyers there and look up my name for September orders. Lastly, keep your eyes peeled for the start of home reading! Have a great week-end.

In math, students worked in small groups to create calculations that could equal 10 and used mini-whiteboards to record thinking. Then, we began using our windows to practice adding and subtracting. In our classroom this year, we will be using vertical non-permanent surfaces to build a THINKING classroom.

  

This method is based on the work of Peter Liljedahl, a professor at SFU whose research has included the benefits of using vertical non-permanent surfaces. His research demonstrates that when students use a vertical white board (or window) compared to paper or a whiteboard on a desktop, researchers observe:

• less time getting on task
• increased eagerness
• increased discussion
• increased participation

Peter Liljedahl writes:

Our library day will be Thursdays! Please have your child bring a waterproof bag to school to carry library books in. This helps protect books from water damage such as rain or leaky water bottles. Happy reading!

Our Terry Fox run will be on Friday, September 20th at 1:15. Please dress appropriately for running that day! Note that green walking permission forms must also be signed to participate in this run through the neighbourhood.

Lloyd George Elementary will be participating in this year’s Terry Fox School Run for cancer research. We are proud to continue the legacy of one of our country’s greatest heroes. We hope you will join us and support this wonderful cause by donating to our Terry Fox School Run fundraising page at: http://www.terryfox.ca/LloydGeorgeElementary. 

Students may also bring in a “toonie for Terry” if they wish, and put the toonie in our classroom collection jar.

Thank you! The future of cancer research has never looked brighter! #terryfoxliveshere @theterryfoxfoundation #terryfoxschoolruns”

Hi everyone! The rain is here, and it will be raining off and on all week. In our classroom, we use our floor space often! Our room has limited space, so the cleaner and dryer we can keep our floor, the better for learning. If you haven’t already, please send your child to school with:

• indoor running shoes
• a raincoat on a rainy day

Thanks!

We had a great first full day of school! A package of paperwork to complete has been sent home with students. We had many students come in today with water bottles, pencil cases and tissue boxes. Merci!

Please be reminded that students need to wear running shoes to school. Today we went outside for a break to play tag, and often we will be exercising even if it is not official gym time. Please have students avoid wearing boots and open-toed sandals. As the weather gets cooler, children can wear boots but change into indoor shoes at school. Students were assigned lockers today, where they can keep indoor shoes, backpacks, baseball caps and extra clothes if they wish.

Math

In math, students are encouraged to play with numbers and to think creatively to solve mathematical problems. We reviewed the numbers 1-100 in French, and students tackled the following challenge:

What numbers can you find that add up to ten?

Children worked in partners to solve the problem. Everyone could find an answer! Then, children were tasked to see how many solutions they could find.

A couple of students thought outside the box, inspiring the class to come up with even more possibilities!

We also put our two class rules into practice during math work, and during our day:

1. Sois gentil. Be kind.
2. Aide les autres. Help others.

Lloyd George has a S.O.A.R. Matrix that guides student behaviour. I find that most behaviours that we are proud to see our students demonstrate fall under our two classroom rules. Please review these two rules with your child and encourage him or her to do their best to be kind and help others at school:)