Today and tomorrow, the grade one students will have the
opportunity to celebrate together. We will have the movie, "The
Polar Express" playing in the project room, games and activities in
another grade one room and crafts in a third room. Today students for an 1 hour and on Friday, December 16th for 45 minutes, students will have
the choice of rotating through these activities. The grade one teachers
have language arts activities to follow up on The Polar Express on both days.
Please note that students will be served a small 5oz serving of Hot
Chocolate made with hot chocolate powder and water on Friday. Teachers
will ensure it is a safe temperature for the students. Please make sure
to let me know if you would not like your child to receive hot chocolate.
Students can bring a special snack for themselves for Friday as well.
Please do not send treats in for other children.
- PJ Day - students can wear their PJs to school and bring a small teddy
- Caroling at 8:30 - all families welcome
- Early Dismissal - students are off at 11:30
- Report Cards - I have thoroughly enjoyed writing report cards for each child. It is amazing how much students have grown over the last few months. I am looking forward to them continuing this growth in the new year. Report cards will be in students backpacks tomorrow. Please review them together. We will be meeting Feb 2 and 3 for Parent/Student/Teacher conferences.
Report Cards:
Please note that report card indictors changed in recent years and that the number indicators "1-4" may have a different meaning than an older family member may have received.
Two years ago, "1" and "2" were not meeting grade level expectations and "3", "4" and "5" were considered meeting grade level expectations from basic to excellent.
Now, "1" is not yet meeting grade level expectations and "2", "3" and "4" are considered meeting grade level expectations are varying degrees. There is no "above grade level."
Please click on the link below to view a blank version of the report card your child will be bringing home in December. The first page gives an explanation of the indicators "1-4."
Please also note, although the report card template will be similar to the report card that your child brought home last year in Kindergarten, that the academic expectations have increased significantly since Kindergarten and will continue to do so throughout this year.
Students will be assessed in Music and Physical Education by Mrs. Buonomo and Mrs. Fraser.
Students are receiving comments on the report card related to reading, writing, mathematics, and science or social studies. Comments also include information about your child's personal development, citizenship and character in learning.
Please feel free to contact me with any questions regarding report cards. E-mail is the best avenue for these questions.
Here is a breakdown of where we are at in our subject
areas:
Literacy:
Students have been continuing to practice and use their
Power Words. We will continue to have new words in the new year.
When practicing our words, we do some of the following:
-complete word work activities such as; unscramble,
fill in missing letters, fit their words into word shape boxes,
circle the correct words, etc...
-practice writing them on whiteboards
-in partners, practice reading them together
-build the words with PlayDo and other materials
-practice writing sentences with our Power Words
-we also search for our Power Words in poems and songs
-use Power Words in our morning messages
Writing:
-Students are beginning to write more decodable
("readable") sentences that include an uppercase letter at the
beginning and period at the end. Students are using kids-spelling
(phonetic) of unfamiliar words and accurate usage of familiar
words (Power Words).
-We are working towards adding more detail to our sentences
as well as writing more than one related sentences.
Reading:
-Students took part in intense literacy practice each
morning for 30 minutes. These were small groups that were focused on
the individual student's current level of literacy development.
-Students in Ms. Bakkan’s class as well as ours are
currently working with Mr. Dyck (Principal), Mrs. Tuttle (Assistant Principal),
Mrs. Rempel (Resource Teacher); Miss Aneela (Early Childhood Practioner); Ms.
Bakkan and myself during this time. We were very lucky to have this
support and we saw the children's literacy skills develop and grow!
-Guided reading is a great way to teach students the skills
they may need for reading. During this time, the other students are doing
literacy centres.
-Keep it up with the Raz-Kids Home Reading Program. Great
work!
Numeracy:
-We have moved on from Patterning and Sorting and are moving
towards developing Number Sense.
-Students have been working on: doubles; place value;
counting to 100; counting on from a given number; skip counting
forward by 2s to 20; forward by 5s to 50; forward by 10s to 100;
backwards from 20; filling in missing numbers on a 100 chart; creating
and solving basic word problems as a class; math games focusing on place value
and counting; using mental math strategies to answer math questions;
representing numbers to 20 in various ways; and adding with answers to 10.
-We will be continuing to practice these concepts while
focusing on adding with answers up to 20 and their corresponding subtraction
facts. We will be developing our mental math strategies and will be
further developing our problem solving skills.
Science:
-We have completed most of our Creating Colour unit and
continue to learn about the Needs of Plants and Animals, and Seasons.
-In the new year, we will be doing more work with the Senses
unit.
Social Studies:
-Students have been working on developing a sense of who
they are and what groups they belong to.
-Students also have looked at comparing rural and urban
communities.
-We are working towards looking more closely at our families
and connecting the past with the present.
Art is ongoing and connected to all subject
areas.
Health is focusing on positive
relationships and staying healthy.
