This Week in Room 21....

 Hello Parents! Happy Friday : )  I'm hoping that this cold weather moves off soon especially before our field trip! This is a reminder that if your child has not handed in their field trip forms yet they will need to do so by Monday. Students without signed forms will not be able to attend the field trip. 

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This week in reading we have been reviewing consonant blends (sn, cr, pl etc.). The students have been building words and identifying the blends in various words. They also created some fun Flower Blends which we will be putting up in the classroom.

In writing, the students began working on a new Small Moment about a time they played in the snow. They could write about a time they went sledding, skating, made a snowman etc. The students did a 5 Finger Touch & Tell with a partner outlining their small moment. Then they drew pictures to represent each part of their small moment and began writing a short sentence to go with each part. Today they added some dialogue to add interest to their stories. They are using our Success Criteria to make sure that they don't miss any important elements in their writing. 

In math, we continued to look at math strategies for addition. The students learned how to look for pairs of numbers that add to 5 or 10 and also how to Make 10 when adding two numbers.  These are important mental math strategies that will help students with solving more challenging math problems. 

In Science, we began a new STEM project. STEM stands for: Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics.  In a STEM project, students learn about the steps builders go through when designing and creating structures-- identify the problem, ask questions, imagine, create and improve. The students began creating a log cabin. They first had to answer the question: What is a log cabin? Then they designed-- drew a picture of what their log cabin would look like. Next they began to build their log cabins. This is a lead up to our field trip on Tuesday where students will engage in more building activities. 

This week was also Pink Shirt Day. We learned the history of Pink Shirt Day and why it is important. The students listened to several stories about kindness, friendhship and bullying. We will continue to learn about bullying-- what it is and what is ins't-- and how we can stand up for ourselves and others. Students listened to the story "The Kindness Quilt" and then created their own "quilt square" depicting a way we can show kindness to others. 

In gym,  the students participated in our Lacrosse Residency. They learned what Lacrosse is, how to hold a lacrosse stick and performed a number of different tricks. They also got to compete in a couple fun relay races as teams! They learned a lot and had fun.

• Continue with Home Reading. If you are finding the books too easy or too hard please let me know so that we can adjust the level. 

• Please have your child return their Spelling Booklet each Monday. This week's spelling words were: come, into, from, old, who, what

• Please ensure your child has proper clothing for the weather. While we may not be going out for recess and lunch on really cold days there is always the possibility of an unexpected fire alarm, late busses or other events in which warm clothing is necessary. 

• FIELD TRIP forms are due Monday!!!

• Our Google Classroom is up and running! This is a resource for students to use at home to support learning here at school. You can log into your child's classroom by following the steps below:

1. Go to Google. com.
2. Click the blue "Sign In" icon near the top right of screen.
3. Click on the "waffle" icon and select the chalkboard icon from the drop down menu.
4. Enter your child's email address. (this can be found in your MyCBE parent account or you can ask me and I can email it to you.)
5. Enter your child's password. (All students have the same password. It is: 12345678 )
6. Click on "Mrs. V's Classroom")
7. Go to "Classwork" tab for links to games and activities.

*Note: If you have any trouble logging in let me know.

 

Upcoming Events & Dates to Remember:

Feb. 28 - Telus Spark field trip

Mar. 1 - Vaccination

Mar. 9 - Parent-Teacher conferences (4-8pm)

Mar. 10 - Parent-Teacher conferences (8-1pm)

Mar. 17-23 - Spring Showcase

Mar. 27 - Spring Break begins

Apr. 3 - School resumes

Apr. 3 - Gymnastics unit begins

Apr. 7 - Good Friday/No School

Apr. 10 - PD Day/No school

Apr. 26 - Last day with our Student Teacher

May 5 - No School

This Week in Room 21...

Hello Everyone! Here's a look at our work this week. Also, please note the important information about our upcoming field trip which is posted below. Thanks!

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In reading we have been learning about 'King ed' or the 'silent e'. We learned that when a word has a 'silent e' at the end of it the vowel has to say its name. We practiced making words using our moveable alphabet with 'silent e' in them. We also read some books in our reading groups that had 'silent e' words. 

In writing, we continued to add to our 'Small Moment' story. This week we talked about 3 different techniques that author's use to bring their stories to life. For example: talking (dialogue) and movement (action).

We also learned that author's "Take Small Steps" in their stories to build suspense and create pictures in their reader's minds. 

Link: https://youtu.be/8jOzhiACB68

In math, we learned two new strategies to help adding numbers. We learned about  Doubles Facts (2+2, 4+4 etc.) and played a fun game to practice. We also learned how to use the "Doubles +1" or "Near Doubles" strategy to solve those trickier addition facts such as 6+7 or 8+9.  

In social studies we learned about the roles of men and women in First Nations societies. We learned that women had the responsibility of cooking, taking care of the children, making clothes and building/taking down the tipi each time they had to move. The men were responsible to do the hunting, trading, making decisions and sometimes going to war. 

In science, we have begun learning about types of builders as part of our unit on Building Things. We learned about architects, engineers, construction workers and carpenters. We also began a STEM project in which the students get to be the builders! They will get to design and construct a number of different structures using a variety of materials. They also learned about the process (steps) builders go through when designing and creating projects. This week they began designing and constructing a tepee.

In gym we have been learning about Cup Stacking. We have attempted the 3 stack, double 3 stack and 6 stack. 

On Thursday, we went for our Winter Walk and looked for 'Signs of Winter'. We saw berries on a mountain ash tree, bunny droppings (yuck!), heard chickadees singing in the trees and even saw the remains of a snowman (may he rest in peace). Ha, ha, ha! It was beautiful weather and the students had a great time : ) 

As we prepare for Valentine's Day and Pink shirt Day (Feb. 22) we have begun talking about KINDNESS. We have started a 'Kindness Tree' where we keep track of random acts of kindness in our classroom. 

Important Information & Reminders:

• Continue with Home Reading. If you are finding the books to easy or to hard please let me know so that we can adjust the level. 

• Please have your child return their Spelling Booklet each Monday. This week's spelling words were: come, into, from, old, who, what

• Please ensure your child has proper clothing for the weather. While we may not be going out for recess and lunch on really cold days there is always the possibility of an unexpected fire alarm, late busses or other events in which warm clothing is necessary. 

• FIELD TRIP forms were sent home today. Please sign and return ASAP! There is no charge for this field trip.

• Our Google Classroom is up and running! This is a resource for students to use at home to support learning here at school. You can log into your child's classroom by following the steps below:

1. Go to Google. com.
2. Click the blue "Sign In" icon near the top right of screen.
3. Click on the "waffle" icon and select the chalkboard icon from the drop down menu.
4. Enter your child's email address. (this can be found in your MyCBE parent account or you can ask me and I can email it to you.)
5. Enter your child's password. (All students have the same password. It is: 12345678 )
6. Click on "Mrs. V's Classroom")
7. Go to "Classwork" tab for links to games and activities.

*Note: If you have any trouble logging in let me know.

 

Upcoming Events & Dates to Remember:

Feb. 14 - Valentine's Day

Feb. 15 - 100th day of School Celebration

Feb. 16-17 - Teachers Convention/No School

Feb. 17 - Field Trip forms due!!!

Feb. 20 - Family Day/No School

Feb. 22 - Pink Shirt Day

Feb. 22 & 23 - Lacrosse residency

Feb. 28 - Telus Spark field trip

This Week in Room 21...

Hello Families! We have had an interesting week! The cold weather was an unwelcome surprise but we got through it! Take a peek to see what we have been up to this week.

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In Language Arts, we continued to work on our Small Moment writing. We also learned about Groundhog Day and its origins in Europe. Students then wrote facts in their journals explaining the significance of this holiday. 

We also checked in with a couple of these furry prognosticators (a.k.a. groundhogs : ) to see what they are predicting this year. It appears we have a 50/50 chance of either an early spring (according to Balzac Billy) or six more weeks of winter (according to Punxsutawney Phil)! About as accurate as the actual weather report! 

We also had fun completing a Making Words Mystery Word sheet. The students are given the letters to a word but they are all scrambled up. They use the letters to create as many words as they can and try to figure out what word uses all the letters (i.e. the Mystery Word). Today's mystery word was 'shadow'. Do you know why?

In math, we learned how to use number lines and counting on as strategies to solve addition problems. Students continued to play a variety of games to practice their basic facts as well. As it was the end of the month, the students also completed their February calendar and used it to do some calendar math.

In social studies, we began to learn about the ways in which the First Nations people used the bison. Students created a page in their Visual Journal that outlined examples of how every part of the bison was used for a multitude of purposes. 

We were unfortunately not able to go outside for our Winter Walk due to the inclement weather. We will hopefully try again next week. 

Important Information & Reminders:

• Continue with Home Reading. If you are finding the books to easy or to hard please let me know so that we can adjust the level. 

• Please have your child return their Spelling Booklet each Monday. This week's spelling words were: my, by, day, you, with, have.

• Please ensure your child has proper clothing for the weather. While we may not be going out for recess and lunch on really cold days there is always the possibility of an unexpected fire alarm, late busses or other events in which warm clothing is necessary. 

•  Winter Walk reschedule - TBA

• Field trip forms will be coming home next week. Please sign and return asap.

• Our Google Classroom is up and running! Last week we had a chance to go into our Google Classroom with our Buddies. This is a resource for students to use at home to support learning here at school. You can log into your child's classroom by following the steps below:

1. Go to Google. com.
2. Click the blue "Sign In" icon near the top right of screen.
3. Click on the "waffle" icon and select the chalkboard icon from the drop down menu.
4. Enter your child's email address. (this can be found in your MyCBE parent account or you can ask me and I can email it to you.)
5. Enter your child's password. (All students have the same password. It is: 12345678 )
6. Click on "Mrs. V's Classroom")
7. Go to "Classwork" tab for links to games and activities.

*Note: If you have any trouble logging in let me know.

 

Upcoming Events & Dates to Remember:

Jan. 30 - Report Cards go live in Powerschool

Feb 2 - Winter Walk/Groundog Day

Feb. 3 - No School

Feb. 14 - Valentine's Day

Feb. 16-17 - Teachers Convention/No School

Feb. 20 - Family Day/No School

Feb. 22 - Pink Shirt Day

Feb. 22 & 23 - Lacrosse residency

Feb. 28 - Telus Spark field trip