Spring Break

Good morning!

My apologies for not posting this blog yesterday; it got busy with conferences!

I wanted to share some pictures with you to show you how creative our students can be when given simple 3D shapes. Before handing them these objects we discussed the differences between 2D and 3D shapes, and the similarities. So, we were "comparing" and "contrasting". Did you know that a cylinder has circles, and that rectangular prisms have a square? Fascinating! Can you tell what these creations are supposed to be?

I hope everyone saw our April calendar and are aware we are on Spring Break! After the break, our Artist in Resident, Ms. Jennifer Stables, will be in our classrooms as we explore Art and its connection to Math, Literacy, Social Studies, and Science. As part of this residency program, we will be searching for natural materials including: small twigs, red/orange/yellow leaves, fresh or flat dried flowers, potpourri, small shells, and wheat. Nothing sentimental, though, as these items will not be returned! This information is on a bright orange sheet that should have gone home.

Have a fabulous break and I will see everyone Monday, April 3. You may get a couple of blog notifications through the break. 

Thank you,

Ms. Cokar

March 21

Good afternoon,

Today went by so quickly! Ms. Mesheau set up an interesting course in the gym which allowed students to practice their stick and "puck" handling skills, as well as trying their hand at scoring a goal into the net. Ask your son or daughter if they felt it was easy or hard to weave in between the coloured pylons.

This morning Constable George Kovacs visited our classroom. One of the first things he talked about was Community! It is almost like he has been learning in our classroom (I had not mentioned this was our focus in Social Studies)! He asked us the feelings we feel when we see him or other police officers in the school or community. Students shared they felt happy, love, scared, safe, nervous. Constable George said his number one job is keeping people safe. He spoke a lot about safety and how important it is to let people know where we are at all times. Did you know he has to tell his dispatcher where he is, too? He talked about his special tools, and again it was almost like he's been in our class because he talked about using his senses! He says he uses his mouth not for tasting but using his words, his ears to listen to what people are saying, his eyes are watchful, and his hands are for helping. He said we have these tools also. He shared a little about his "in case" tool belt, things that he could not take out to show us like pepper spray. Constable George ended his time with us answering questions and reading a story.

Questions students had prepared before Constable George arrived.

Constable George talking to students about safety.

Constable George reading a story.

Important Dates:
Wednesday, March 22: Beddington Heights T-shirts, hoodies, sweatpants order forms are due!

Wednesday, March 22: Student Involved Conferences 3:30 - 7:30

Thursday, March 23: Student Involved Conferences 8:00 - 12:00, no school for students

Friday, March 24: Professional Development day, no school for students

March 27 - March 31: Spring Break

Please sign up for conferences if you have not already done so!

Have a great evening!

Ms. Cokar

March 20 - Happy Spring!

Good afternoon!

I hope everyone had a great weekend. Today is the first day of Spring. Did you hear any birds chirping?

It is a short week of learning and today has flown by so quickly! Students were focused today on learning about community and citizenship. Ask your son or daughter what it means to be a citizen, and what the word "diverse" or "diversity" mean.

Tomorrow we have a guest visitor from the Calgary Police Service who will be speaking to all Grade 1 students; he will present to Room 5 in the morning.

Ms. Binks will be hosting a club in April called Math Potatoes. It is for Grade 1 and 2 students who want to think about, learn and do math differently through games. Capacity is limited which means if there are many students interested, Ms. Binks will have to randomly select names. This club will run during the entire lunch hour (students will eat with Ms. Binks) so if you do not stay for lunch, you are more than welcome to bring one with you. The dates are: April 4, 7, 11, 18, 25, 28. I have a limited number of forms so please either email me nmcokar@cbe.ab.ca or send a note with your son or daughter.

Did you sign up for conferences? If you are available during the day, please consider booking for Thursday so those who do not have a flexible schedule are able to meet me Wednesday. Please schedule a time as soon as possible using the "My CBE Account" link found here:
https://webapps.cbe.ab.ca/MyAccount/Account/LogOn?ReturnUrl=%2fmyaccount

Important Dates:

Tuesday, March 21: Constable George Kovacs from Calgary Police Services will be a guest in our classroom @ 9:00.

Wednesday, March 22: Student Involved Conferences 3:30 - 7:30

Thursday, March 23: Student Involved Conferences 8:00 - 12:00, no school for students

Friday, March 24: Professional Development day, no school for students

March 27 - March 31: Spring Break

Have a great evening!

Ms. Cokar

March 17

Good afternoon,

Thank you to everyone who did some fundraising for Jump Rope for Heart! If you happened to forget to return the envelope, please do so by Monday.

Pillars of Care winners were recognized at this morning's assembly. Our room honoured:

Cohen - Care for Self
Elizaveta - Care for Others
Fransen - Care for Learning
Leara - Care for Place

Congratulations! I am proud of all my students who continually demonstrate all Pillars.

Maker Space! What can you do with Solo cups and Popsicle sticks? With the support of Ms. Mesheau, Mr. Sadowsky, and Mrs. Viani, all the Grade 1 students collaborated to build the tallest structure in the gym. This was a great exercise in using many skills, such as problem solving, team work and motor skills!

Important Dates:

March 21: Constable George Kovacs from Calgary Police Services will be a guest in our classroom @ 9:00.

March 22: Student Involved Conferences 3:30 - 7:30

March 23: Student Involved Conferences 8:00 - 12:00, no school for students

March 24: Professional Development day, no school for students

March 27 - March 31: Spring Break

Have a great weekend!

Ms. Cokar

March 16

Good afternoon!

In gym we continued to practice hockey skills by passing with a partner. When we returned to our room we briefly discussed that people have different skills and sometimes it takes extra practice because they are not quite there "yet", and that is absolutely okay!

We had some fabulous leprechaun traps brought in that I know will capture a leprechaun or two! As the students were very excited about their creations I thought it would be a great idea to have the creators sit at their desk and have others come around to discuss their traps. I thought I would wear green today to lure the leprechauns out. The students have been worried about the sparkly shoes I usually wear, suggesting I hide them.

Here are some leprechaun traps:

I think students feel leprechauns may be tempted if there is more than one trap in one area.

My attempt at a guided drawing, coloured in by students. If you look closely, you will see many 2D shapes:

And, to encourage the leprechauns to visit Room 5:

Tomorrow is an early dismissal day so that means school ends at 11:00! The Pillars of Care assembly begins at 8:15 until approximately 9:00. After the assembly the grade 1s have Maker Space time to explore and create!

Please read this important message from Parent Council (please note the notices were placed in each student's mailbox earlier this week...I remind them it is their responsibility to check mailboxes every day!):

Our school Parent Council has sent out order forms for school apparel.  They are offering t-shirts, hoodies and sweatpants for all staff, students and family members of Beddington Heights to purchase.  Purchase of school apparel is not a requirement, but offered for those interested.  Sample sizes are available to try on at the school office, and will also be available during Student Involved Conferences, next Wednesday and Thursday.  Please note, there is a small pricing error on the order forms. The prices on the front of the notice are correct.  Thank you.

Have a fabulous evening and don't forget to wear green tomorrow!

Ms. Cokar