This Week in Room 21....

Hello Everyone! It was another busy week in Gr. 1 & 2. Take a look! 

This week in Language Arts we continued to review and introduce new letter sounds. We also began using our Sound Wall to display the letter sounds we have covered so far. This week we added the /p/ and /l/ sounds and the digraphs /ch/, /sh/ and /th/. We continue to build words using letter cards and then blending them to read the words. Students are now up to almost 30 minutes of sustained silent reading (aka Reading Stamina). Wow! Impressive!

In math we talked about the core of a pattern. The pattern core includes all the terms before it begins to repeat. Students identified and circled the core of many different patterns. 

Students in Gr. 2 also looked at number patterns in the hundred chart. They used counters to cover various numbers on the chart and then looked to see what sort of pattern was formed. For example, they covered all the even numbers, then all the odd numbers, then numbers ending in 5 and 0 etc. and described the various patterns that emerged. 

As well, students in Gr. 1 began their Calendar Booklet. Each month they will fill out a calendar and answer questions using the calendar to help them. This week they had to list all the days of the week in order, tell what month of the year September is, how many days there are in the month etc. They are learning how many days are in a week, months in a year and solving basic math problems based on the calendar. 

In Social Studies, we focused on learning about the origins and meaning of Orange Shirt Day. Students watched some videos and listened to stories about the experiences of First Nations children who attended Residential School. We began to create a page which will go in our visual journal representing our learning. Next week we will finish these up. 

In gym, students had a blast learning to play Ga-Ga Ball. This is a simple and fun game that kind of resembles dodgeball but is played inside a Ga-Ga Ball pit. Students stand inside the "pit" with one had on the side. The teacher drops the ball and says Ga-Ga Ball. Students then rush forward and strike the ball with their hand trying to hit someone in the leg. Students must dodge the ball while trying to get others. As students are hit they leave the pit until only 2 or 3 players are left. Sometimes there is only one winner and sometimes there is more than one. 

Important Information & Reminders:

• Please ensure that your child has both a pair of INDOOR and OUTDOOR running shoes. This helps to keep our school clean and also ensures that students have proper footwear for P.E. whether we are in the gym or outside. 

• Library Day is on Wednesday. If your child misses a Library Day we will try to send them on a different day, however, it will not always be possible to do so. Most times they can simply wait for the following Library Day.

• Picture proofs came home this week. Orders are due by Oct 10th. Orders can be sent in to the school or done online.

• There is NO SCHOOL this Friday. 

Upcoming Events & Dates to Remember:

Sept 30 - National Day for Truth & Reconciliation/No School

Oct 7 - PD Day/No School

Oct. 11 - Thanksgiving/No School

Oct. 28 - PD Day/No School

Nov. 1 - Photo Retakes

Nov. 10 - Remembrance Day Assembly

Nov. 11 - Remembrance Day/No School

Nov. 24 - Parent-Teacher Conferences (pm)

Nov. 25 - Parent-Teacher Conferences/No School 

Dec. 5-8 - Book Fair

Dec. 22 - Last Day of Classes

Dec. 23 - Jan 8 - Winter Break

Jan. 9 - Classes Resume

This Week in Room 21...

Happy Friday, Everyone! I had a wonderful time meeting and connecting with parents and students on Thursday night. Thank you all for coming out! See below for a sneek peek at our work this week : ) 

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This week in Language Arts we continued to work on building our Reading Stamina. We are now up to reading for 15 minutes without breaking stamina. We also worked on reviewing/learning some new letter sounds. We focused on the /s/ and /i/ sounds. Students listened for the target sound in stories and built words using the various letter sounds we have covered so far. 

In writing, we watched a video on Terry Fox and then brainstormed what we learned about his life. Students then had the option of writing a poem using the first letters in his name. This type of poem is called an acrostic poem. Or they could simple write a short paragraph about his life and what he did. Students continue to learn to use invented spelling to sound out words in their writing using their knowledge of letters and sounds. 

In math, we continued to explore patterns using sounds, movements and maniupulatives. They also learned how to label patterns using the letters A, B, C etc. They created patterns to match a given pattern type, such as, AB or ABC etc. They also explored some more complicated repeating patterns such as ABCB, ABCC and so forth. 

In Science, we began to talk about Seasonal Changes and temperature. Students learned that the official first day of fall was on September 22 and why. Ask your child if they can tell you the reason. (Hint: It has to do with the hours of daylight and nighttime). We also discussed and began to graph the weather as well as the temperatures for each day of the week. 

In Social Studies, we began to talk about what it means to be indigenous and who are the Indigenous people of Canada. Ask your child what 'indigenous' means. We also watched a short video explaining what a Land Acknowledgement is and why it is important.

In Health, we talked about what are feelings and learned about the Zones of Regulation.  The students sorted various feelings into either the Red, Blue, Green or Yellow zones. Then they worked on an activity sheet in which they had to colour various Emoji Emotions into the correct group. 

The Terry Fox Run was a huge success. The students had a great time running around the field and sharing in a treat from Parent Council. 

Important Information & Reminders:

• Please ensure that your child has both a pair of INDOOR and OUTDOOR running shoes. This helps to keep our school clean and also ensures that students have proper footwear for P.E. whether we are in the gym or outside. 

• Library Day is on Wednesday. If your child misses a Library Day we will try to send them on a different day, however, it will not always be possible to do so. Most times they can simply wait for the following Library Day.

• This week is TRC Week. We will be learning about residential schools. Students are welcome to wear an orange shirt to school any or all days this week. 

• Please note that there is No School on Friday.

Upcoming Events & Dates to Remember:

Sept 20 - Terry Fox Run @ 10:00 am

Sept 22 - Meet the Teacher @ 4:00-7:30pm

Sept 23 - P.D. Day/No School

Sept 26- 30 - TRC Week

Sept. 29 - Orange Shirt Day

Sept 30 - National Day for Truth & Reconciliation/No School

Oct 7 - PD Day/No School

Oct. 11 - Thanksgiving/No School

Oct. 28 - PD Day/No School

Nov. 1 - Photo Retakes

Nov. 10 - Remembrance Day Assembly

Nov. 11 - Remembrance Day/No School

Nov. 24 - Parent-Teacher Conferences (pm)

Nov. 25 - Parent-Teacher Conferences/No School

This Week in Room 21...

Hello Parents & Students! Welcome to our Classroom Blog! Each week I will be posting information about the learning and activities that students are engaged in as well as photos of what we have been doing. I will also list important dates and information for upcoming events in the school. 

We have been busy these first few weeks getting to know each other, establishing relationships with each other and building our classroom community. Check out the photos below to see what we have been up to : ) 

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TERRY FOX RUN

Ethel M. Johnson school is participating in the Terry Fox Run on Tuesday, September 20th. Students will run with their designated colour groups that they will learn about on Monday.

One of the goals of observing the life of Terry Fox and participating in this Canada-wide event is to raise money for the Terry Fox Foundation. The run demonstrates generosity and determination of those who participate in it.

‘Toonies for Terry’ will be collected from student classrooms during the week of September 19-23th, as well donations are accepted on-line at https://schools.terryfox.ca/EthelMJohnson

On the day of our run, please remember to dress for the weather, wear your running shoes and each student is also encouraged to wear either their EMJ shirt or their colour group's colour.

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Week 3: Sept 12-16

This week students began learning about patterns in math. They reviewed what a pattern is and what a pattern isn't. They looked for patterns in the classroom, created patterns using movement and sound and also used coloured tiles to make a variety of patterns. 

They also listened to a story about patterns and began to create a picture based on the story using pattern in their work. Can you spot our patterns? We will finish these next week. 

The students have also been working very hard on developing their reading stamina. They first selected books from the classroom library to keep in their Book Boxes. Each day they have been working at reading for longer periods of time without breaking stamina. So far we are up to 11 minutes! 

 

In writing, we brainstormed topics to write about in our Journals and wrote them down in our Brain Pocket. Our Brain Pocket is a collection of memories, topics and creative writing ideas that we can draw on when we are writing in our Journals. There is a Memory Pocket, Fact Pocket and an Imagination Pocket. We also spent some time sharing our writing in our 'Author's Chair'. Ask your child what he/she wrote about this week.

This week we began to review various alphabet sounds and high frequency words. Students listened for a target sound in a story and built words using the target sound to develop their decoding skills.  

In gym we began "training" for the Terry Fox Run. Students practiced in the gym and on the field running (or walking if needed) as many laps as possible. They also watched a video about Terry Fox's life and began decorating a shoe print.

In health, we are nearly done sharing our 'All About Me' collages we started on the second week of school. The students have demonstrated active listening and interest in learning about their peers.  They have learned many new things about their classmates and things that they have in common.

Important Information & Reminders:

• Please ensure that your child has both a pair of INDOOR and OUTDOOR running shoes. This helps to keep our school clean and also ensures that students have proper footwear for P.E. whether we are in the gym or outside. 

• Library Day is on Wednesday. If your child misses a Library Day we will try to send them on a different day, however, it will not always be possible to do so. Most times they can simply wait for the following Library Day.

• This coming Thursday is 'Meet the Teacher'. We are excited to welcome parents and their children into the school to see their classrooms and some of the work they have been doing so far. It is also an opportunity for parents to ask questions and learn more about their child's program. Further information about the format will be sent home next week.

Upcoming Events & Dates to Remember:

Sept 20 - Terry Fox Run @ 10:00 am

Sept 22 - Meet the Teacher @ 4:00-7:30pm

Sept 23 - P.D. Day/No School

Sept 26- 30 - TRC Week

Sept. 29 - Orange Shirt Day

Sept 30 - National Day for Truth & Reconciliation/No School

Oct 7 - PD Day/No School

Oct. 11 - Thanksgiving/No School

Oct. 28 - PD Day/No School

Nov. 1 - Photo Retakes

Nov. 10 - Remembrance Day Assembly

Nov. 11 - Remembrance Day/No School

Nov. 24 - Parent-Teacher Conferences (pm)

Nov. 25 - Parent-Teacher Conferences/No School