Just a reminder that tomorrow is pajama day and please also bring a mug for hot chocolate (thanks again to the PAC!) Thanks also to the following people who I am hoping can bring the food/goodies for our New Years Party - Carter, Rhys, Kamryn, Saga and Steve.
We had our owl presentation today, the kids were very excited and engaged for a full hour and a half! We were so impressed with how much the students recalled about their knowledge of owls. Ask your child what they learned (I know I sure learned a lot!)and what they liked best.
Here are a few pictures of our new exploration stations. The students are measuring the height of different kinds of owls.
Div. 9 students love Kapla and it is amazing what they can create!
Several students still have not brought headphones in, could you please send those in asap.
We use them both in the classroom and in the computer lab. In addition Dr. Saul would like to start using them for music as well but he can't do this until everyone has a set.
All students in Div. 9 received a free Scholastic book for up to $6 for their Christmas present from me this year. Please order online this month or wait for a future order if there isn't anything that appeals to your child. They have until June to use it. Thanks!
Our field trip to Science World is now up on the portal please sign up asap and either pay online or please send in cash. This will be our big field trip of the year, we decided to do it earlier as it supports our body unit and it is often difficult to get buses in June. We have also decided to watch an Omnimax film about Pandas. We want to send out a special thank you to the PAC for augmenting the cost of the bus to make this trip a more affordable outing. I have had several questions about whether parents can come on the bus and I think we will should have room as there are only two classes - once we have the total numbers of parents interested we should know.
Just to let you know that I am now coaching basketball on Tuesdays and Thursdays after school. If you are unable to pick up your child at 2:20 on those days I will be asking them to wait at the office so they would be supervised by an adult. Thanks!
We will be starting our spelling program next week. Students will be writing their words in their planners on Mondays. They will do activities with these words throughout the week to develop their phonetic skills, vocabulary and understanding of the English language (many of the crazy exceptions!) We start with the short vowels and then move to long. We will work on spelling activities during school Monday-Wednesday and then anything that is not complete will be sent home for homework on Wednesday nights. We will have a a small quiz (5 words plus 2 bonus words) on Fridays. Please do not be concerned if the words seem to easy for your child. Research has shown that results of spelling tests do not necessarily transfer to daily writing, our objective is to learn the patterns/rules and give your child the skills to write. There will be the opportunity to try some challenging 'bonus' words that use the same pattern. You can also challenge your child at home by coming up with some more difficult words to 'test' them on. Thank you in advance for your help with this program.
The January dates have been added to the 'Monthly Calendar'.
Hope you all have a great weekend.
