October 16-19

Hello families, 

We had a great week filled with lots of time outdoors! 

Science & Social Studies

I of course have to start with our first field trip to Fish Creek park! We had a blast on Wednesday at Bebo Grove. Students enjoyed a few activities together in the morning including some sketching routines and a beaver dam building STEM challenge. We enjoyed exploring the park in small groups in the afternoon and several groups completed a scavenger hunt. 



Up, Down, All Around sketching routine!





Symmetry in nature!




In science we've also been learning about pumpkins! Students worked on a KWL chart to share what they already know about pumpkins and what they want to learn. Each table has a pumpkin that they helped to clean and name! (It's just water and dish soap in an old bottle - not Resolve!)




Late next week or Monday we are hoping to carve our pumpkins! Monday would be ideal if our pumpkins last that long. If anyone is interested in volunteering in the classroom to help with carving, please send me an email! 

We also learned a little more about why leaves change colour in the fall! We enjoyed reading the story "Lief and the Fall!"


Math

We've been a little all over the place with math concepts this week! On Monday we went for a walk around the schoolyard and collected leaves of different colours! Students then sorted the leaves based on their colours and completed a tally chart to record this data. On Tuesday we learned a bit about bar graphs and graphed this data as well! 





On Thursday we learned a little bit about non-standard measurement (we love Scratch Garden!) Students then made predictions about how many Unifix cubes tall their pumpkins are. They worked in table groups to measure the height of the pumpkins! Ask your child what strategy they used to make a good prediction! 




Literacy
This week we reviewed the letters K, H and R. The characters are Kimmy Kangaroo, Hippy Hippo, and Rosie Racoon & Rhino Ralph. Students are working at their just right level to brainstorm words that start with each letter. 




A seasonal activity for "Work on Writing" during Daily LA rotations.

High-Frequency Words

Did you know that grade 1 students should be able to read and write 125 high frequency words automatically by the end of the year and grade 2 students should be able to read 175 high frequency words, and write 300 high frequency words by the end of the year. During our opening task we've been practicing some of these high-frequency words! This week grade 1s practiced the first 5 words and grade 2s practiced the first 10 words. 




This week we've talked about responsibility quite a bit! I've been using the term "learning friend" to mean someone that you are friendly with but can work well with in the classroom. We discussed that sometimes our learning friends are different from our recess friends and that's ok! Students are learning to make responsible choices about who they sit beside and work with in the classroom. 

During our work period, students are also taking on more responsibility to keep track of what work has been finished and what they still need to work on. Ask your child how the checklist works! 

On Thursday we enjoyed the beautiful weather with our buddies! 


Upcoming Dates
  • Friday, October 20th - PD Day (no school)
  • Thursday, October 26th - Coco Brooks Fun Lunch
  • Monday, October 30th - Zoo Field Trip Forms Due
  • Tuesday, October 31st - Halloween at LBS
  • Wednesday, November 1st - School Wide PJ Day
  • Monday, November 6th - Zoo Field Trip Penguin Palooza
  • Thursday, November 9th - PD Day 
  • November 10-14 - Fall Break
  • Wednesday, November 15th - School Resumes 
  • Thursday, November 16th - A&W Fun Lunch
  • Thursday, November 23rd - Parent Teacher Conferences (PM)
  • Friday, November 24th - Parent Teacher Conferences (AM)
  • Thursday, November 30th - The Saucy Bread Company Fun Lunch

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