Full Week of School is Done!

Hello!

Room 5 figured out this was our first full week of school! Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday! Wow!

We read a book called "Leaves" which was about a bear who tried to catch all the leaves. He even tried to put the leaves back on the tree! He got tired of catching all the leaves so he made...well, I'll let your son or daughter tell you the rest!

At the end of the day (sorry, I forgot to take the camera), we walked outside and collected leaves. On Monday we are going to create some cool leaf art!

We tried our best to make words out of the six letters (Ss, Aa, Tt, Ii, Pp, Nn) we have been practicing. Some of the words included: in, a, sap, past, naps, tap, sip. 

The students continue to practice routines and demonstrate the expectations we have as a classroom. This is so important for our Pillars of Care.

Have a great weekend!

Ms. Cokar

Orange Shirt Day

Orange Shirt Day

Tomorrow is Orange Shirt Day. Orange Shirt Day is a legacy of the St. Joseph Mission residential school commemoration event held in Williams Lake, BC, in the spring of 2013. It grew out of Phyllis' story of having her shiny new orange shirt taken away on her first day of school at the Mission. September 30th has been declared Orange Shirt Day annually, in recognition of the harm the residential school system did to children's sense of self-esteem and wellbeing, and as an affirmation of our commitment to ensure that everyone around us matters.

This date is significant because it is the time of year in which children were taken from their homes to residential schools, and because it is an opportunity to set the stage for anti-racism and anti-bullying policies for the coming school year. Orange Shirt Day is an opportunity for First Nations, local governments, schools and communities across Canada to come together in the spirit of reconciliation. 

Please visit http://www.orangeshirtday.org/ for more information. I hope to see a sea of orange tomorrow as we show Pillars of Care.

September 28, 2016

Good afternoon,

Today was library day! Based on our current schedule, the students will be signing out books on Wednesdays. This means books should be returned the day before if possible. If library day is missed, not to worry as I will make sure a book comes home the next day. Hopefully you child will have the library book in his or her backpack.

Today I introduced how to partner read – EEEK – which is Elbow to Elbow and Knee to Knee. The students learned that when reading with a partner, two students sit next to each other, not across from each other. One partner reads and the other listens. We talked about how knees and elbows do not actually have to be touching. I think it would be great if you did some partner reading with the library book. Have your son or daughter “read the pictures” and you can retell the story. Then you “read the words” and they can retell the story. Don’t forget to “check for understanding” along the way.

I posed the question “Why do Grade 1s need math?” and had some interesting responses. Ahmed said he needs math so he can “learn how to do the things I want to do.” Ally said that others can learn “2+2 and 3+3…this is called calculating.” Matty shared some books have numbers which help him count. Cassidee is ambitious and feels Grade 1s need math so they can multiply big numbers, and Carman feels math is needed to help her in Grade 2. Why do you think we need math?

Sorry I forgot to send home the Home Folders L

Ms. Cokar

Hello Everybody!

Hello!

In gym we played Scrambled Eggs with a twist! Every time we heard three whistles we had to run to a hoop in 10 seconds. Some hoops had more than 5 students in it. If we did not make it to a hoop in 10 seconds, we were "out".

Here are the song lyrics for “Hello Everybody” if you’re interested to sing along. Have your son or daughter show you the actions:

Hello everybody and how do you do? 

How do you do? How do you do?

Hello everybody and how do you do?

Pleased to meet you! 

We continue to practice letter sounds and letter writing for: Ss, Aa, Tt, Ii, Pp, and Nn. I tried to print these letters but did not do a very good job. Some students showed me how to do print the proper way. The students feel we all have some more brain cells because we know the names of the letters and the sounds. We also tried to make words out of these 6 letters. Do you see any words you can make?

We had Reading Buddies today, too.

Room 5 feels like our day was "good!"

Ms. Cokar

Awesome Monday

Good afternoon!

I hope you had a great weekend. This is a full week of learning, yay!

In Phys. Ed (gym) we practiced using the scoops and tossing a ball to ourselves. When we get better at this, we will try to pass with a partner. 

We have been learning about patterns. Patterns can be ABAB or ABB or ABC, etc. We got to draw and colour patterns on to paper shirts or paper walls. There were some very interesting patterns. We also reviewed what does not make a pattern. 

We had another fire drill right before recess. This was a planned drill. Students need to remember to stay in line with the class and to keep their voices off. 

The students Read to Self for 4 minutes! Wow! Great job.

Some of us showed Pillars of Care when caring for place and others. Thank you so much.

Lastly, we continue with learning sounds. Ask your child what songs they can sing and the actions to go with the sounds.

Ms. Cokar

No School Tomorrow!

Last week we made our own coat hook tags. We wrote our names, coloured and decorated them nicely. Today we put string through the hole and tied a knot, then hung it on our very own coat hook! Here is Ms. Cokar’s example:

Tamika today was demonstrating how to Read the Pictures. She did a fantastic job!

All the students were given an index card to write an uppercase and lowercase letter. These index cards will go on our whiteboard for our Word Wall. Once we are finished, we will show you a picture.

We had a very important discussion about Pillars of Care. We decided that sometimes we show care in different ways and need to always try our best.

A reminder that there is no school tomorrow!

Alphabet Art

Hello!

I imagine you are curious to know how the “stuff” you sent in for Alphabet Art turned out. Have a look at the pictures I took while the students were working on their letters, with a little help from our reading buddies. Before students glued they made sure they had enough material to create their letter. Tomorrow you might see a picture of our entire Alphabet Art Wall if I can reach high enough!

In gym the students played Scrambled Eggs. Essentially they are running in all directions and then listening for a certain number of whistles. Ask your son or daughter if he or she remembers what to do when 1, 2, or 3 whistles are heard. 

We already know what sound an Ss makes and today we talked about the sound of letter Aa. We learned a chant and action to go with the sound:

/a/-/a/! Ants on my arm.

/a/-/a/! Ants on my arm.

/a/-/a/! Ants on my arm.

They’re causing me alarm!

Can you think of words that start with the is sound?

Have an amazing day!

J

Ms. Cokar