Newsletter #12

 November 27th Edition of

The Kindergarten/1 Class News

Hello Everyone!

We had a wet but exciting week. Thanks to those who have retuned the borrowed rain gear. It is a must these days as the kids are not shy to get wet!

 

We are nearing the end of the term, and I am noticing so much growth in all our learners. We continue to practice reading and writing skills and have begun learning about rhyming words in our Oral Language Groups. You can easily reinforce this skill at home by playing rhyming I-Spy! 

 

Our class was very excited to be the winners of the weekly school challenge! The challenge was to see which class was the best at greeting others or responding to being greeted. We won the cup and got a special reward. 

 

You may have noticed “pet rocks” come home. These were part of a fun art project inspired by the book, “Ishi: Simple Tips from a Solid Friend” by Akiko Yabuki. This is a story about sharing happiness and turning a hard situation into a good one. We had a lot of fun making our own book with these rocks!

 

Please remember to bring in any lightly used items for the Re-gift Fest by Monday, Dec. 8th. We encourage families to donate the same number of items as the number of people in their immediate family. On the 10^th, the classes will all get to go and choose a gift to wrap and bring home to give to immediate family members on Christmas (or other special time if you don’t participate in Christmas). It’s a nice lesson on giving that we all enjoy every year. If any of you would like to help wrap presents on the 10th, please contact PAC.

 

Important Dates to Remember:

December 8 Re-gift Fest donations brought in

December 10 Re-gift Fest “shop”

December 18 Christmas Concert 

December 19 Winter Break begins 

 

Enjoy your weekend!

Warmly,

Ara Van Riel

avanriel@sd64.org

 

 

 

Newsletter #11

 November 20^th Edition of

The Kindergarten/1 Class News

Greetings Everyone. Another week goes by! Here is a bit about our week:

 

We started our week off with the book fair! It was a fun event and thank you to whoever purchased the books for the classroom! We will enjoy them. 

We continue working hard on our literacy skills and everyone is making good progress. T

his week we reviewed ways to make 5 and 10 and continued working on counting on from a starting number.

 

The class finished up wonderful art inspired by “The Dot” by Peter H. Reynolds. 

 

We have begun working on rhyming in our oral language groups and made canoes with “Mr. Cucumber”. 

 

Next week is ‘Ii’ week in Show and Tell. 

 

Important Dates to Remember:

Nov. 18 Book Fair

Dec. 10 Re-gift Fest

Dec. 18 Winter Concert at 1:30pm 

Dec. 19 Winter break begins

 

Enjoy your weekend!

 

Ara Van Riel

avanriel@sd64.org

 

 

 

Newsletter #10

 November 14^th Edition of

The K/1 Class News

Hello Everyone! What a mixed-up week!

 

We gathered as a school for Remembrance Day on Monday and our class decorated the library with peace art. 

 

We have started “counting on” in math with the K’s while the grade 1’s started simple subtraction. We also had fun reading with our big buddy class. We also learned a bit about mushrooms and found a variety of types in the forest.

In art, we are focusing on colour mixing.

 

Our school has started a fun challenge that focusses on good behaviour and keeping our school clean. The tasks change every week. One class will win the Challenge Cup and get an extra reward. The weekly challenge is kept a secret, and the adults vote each week. Fun!

 

We have a busy season coming up! Please be sure to keep an eye on the dates. As you were told from the PAC email, the book fair is next week, and Re-Gift Fest is coming up fast! This is such a special school tradition. If you want more info, check the email sent from PAC. 

 

Our class has been busy practicing an “elfy” song and dance for the Winter Concert! It should be pretty cute.

 

We are on to the letter H for show and tell.

 

Important Dates to Remember:

Nov. 18 Book Fair

Dec. 10 Re-gift Fest

Dec. 18 Winter Concert at 1:30pm 

Dec. 19 Winter break begins

 

Have a nice weekend!

Warmly,

Ara Van Riel

avanriel@sd64.org

 

 

 

Newsletter #9

 November 6^th Edition of

The Kindergarten/1 Class News

Hello once again!

 

We had another eventful week! The rains are here, and I send a big thanks to all of you for sending good rain gear to school. I’ll do my best to make sure these little ones are bundled up for our outdoor learning. Good rain boots are also essential, as the forest pathways are flooded. You can help at home by encouraging independence when dressing/undressing for outside as it can take a long time to help everyone zip and get boots on and off.

 

We continue learning about letter sounds and are moving our way through the alphabet using a program called UFLI. The kids are doing great and I am noticing a lot of progress across the class. We are also building up writing stamina when we write in our journals. The grade 1’s are working on adding more sentences using their letter sound knowledge, while the K’s continue to work on adding details to their pictures. Please encourage proper pencil grip when your child is drawing at home. The earlier the hand learns to hold a pencil properly, the easier it will be to remember. We also started practicing underhand throwing in the gym and made beautiful poppy art for Remembrance Day.

 

We will hold our Remembrance Day assembly on Monday as Tuesday there is no school. Friday will be a Tuesday schedule (show and tell). 

 

We have begun practicing our song/dance that we will perform in the Winter Concert! This is on December 18th at 1:30pm so mark your calendars!

 

Important Dates to remember:

Nov. 11 School closed for Remembrance Day Holiday 

Nov. 14 School in session

Dec. 10 Re-Gift Fest

Dec. 18 Last day before the break

Dec. 18 Winter concert at 1:30pm

 

Have a great weekend!

Ara Van Riel

avanriel@sd64.org