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