April

Spring has sprung and the students are buzzing with the excitement towards grade 2! The students have blossomed throughout the year and I am so proud of all their accomplishments. They have gained confidence, expanded their learning, become a very caring class towards others, and become more independent every day. Way to go!

This month we begin to learn about what makes a narrative story. We will explore the characteristics of a story through a fairy tale unit. But not just any fairy tales......fractured fairy tales will keep it exciting! This means different versions of the fairy tales we already know. We will also begin to write our own stories.

Thank-you for being so supportive with our home reading program this year. The students have really developed a love for books throughout the year and have been so excited to explore all the ones in our classroom! Students read at least 20 minutes every day in our class and it is so quiet! They love this time! They have gained so much confidence this year in their reading skills! Book orders went home on Friday and will be due Thursday April 11th.  Even with one new book, the students get so excited to be able to read it! Thank-you for allowing your child to get excited to order a new book!

Raz kids is also back up and running. Students can log onto Raz and the username is shefforda .  You can also find the log on information at the front of your child's agenda in the top right corner. These stories can also be put into the log book of your child's reading folder. 

We continue to talk about weather and seasons throughout the year so as spring has arrived, we will discuss all the exciting changes this season brings. We will also continue our discussions about structures in science to become experts on what makes a good structure.  During Mrs. White's science time, she will continue to talk about energy.

We are almost finished our money unit. Your child should be able to recognize and name all coins, tell how much they are worth and how to identify that coin, such as by the picture.  Your child should also be able to show and count different amounts of money up to 20 cents as well as show the same amount more than one way. For example 15 cents can be with 3 nickels, or with a dime and a nickel, or with a dime and 5 pennies. We have been working with all of these tasks over the last 2 weeks. Please take a few minutes at home to see how well your child can do this now! Next we will be learning about time. In grade one students will be required to use both analog and digital clocks, know the minute and hour hands, and be able to tell time to the hour and half hour. As most houses have digital clocks today, using an analog clock can sometimes be a challenge for grade ones.

We are down to 2 boxes of kleenex left in our class as it has been a busy winter of colds! If you are willing to donate one box of kleenex to the classroom, it would be greatly appreciated!

Thank-you for being a great team with your child's learning!

Dates to remember:

April 19 - Pizza day

April 26 - 4 A's assembly, wear blue/green, Popcorn day $2

March

Where has the time gone? After March Break we only have about 15 weeks left of grade one! We are working hard every day towards being ready for grade two.

This month we will be having Scientist in the School come to visit our class. A letter will be coming home after March Break with the details. Our scientist will be coming on Monday March 25th in the pm and we will be looking for 4 volunteers to join us for the afternoon.

For the rest of March we will be working on Procedural writing. This is like a task such as making a snowman, making hot chocolate, putting our outdoor clothes on, and writing it in order in steps. Students are learning the detail they need to add to ensure it makes sense! We also continue our reading every night. All students have grown a lot in their reading skills so far this year. Please remember that grade one is the biggest jump in reading expectations in all primary grades. Reading nightly helps to solidify learning strategies, read fluently, and practise comprehension skills.  Comprehension and retelling a story with a lot of details is a very important part of reading in the early years.  Please ensure that your child tells you about the stories they read regularly.

For math in the next few weeks we will continue working on addition, and subtraction skills and we will also begin money. By the end of March we will be doing minute math (more like 2 minute math!) to help students learn simple facts to be prepared for grade 2.  Counting money can also be a tricky task when they have a variety of coins. These are some areas that can always be practised at home.

Scholastic book orders wil be going home the first week after the break and due back by Friday March 22nd.  Students have been enjoying the book orders they have been receiving!

Please remember that the Easter holiday comes early this year. There will be no school on Friday March 29th and Monday April 1st for the holiday.

It looks like winter weather is back this week! Please be sure your child comes to school dressed to be outside for 40min daily. Many students tell me they are cold when they come in from outdoor lunch time. Please also remind them to put on their outdoor wear daily. It is common for them to go outside without their hat or mitts at lunch even though I remind them daily at the beginning of their eating time. 

Thank-you for your continous support this year! The students are growing, changing, maturing and gaining confidence each month and it is such a delight!

Dates to remember:

March Break - March 8-17

March 22 - Scientist $ due, Book orders due, hot dog $ due

March 25 - Scientist in the school pm

March 27 - hot dog day

March 28 - assembly wear blue/green, popcorn day $2

March 29 and April 1 - Easter holiday