Monthly Archives: September 2018

Week 4

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Hello Families!

The final weekend in September…how did it get here so quickly?!

We’ve been pretty busy over the past few weeks. Take a look at some of the things we’ve been working on!

-Read Aloud: We’re about half way through The Problem Children and we are eager to see what happens next!

-ELA: We’ve been focussed on our Letters to Danielle and working with Rooms 122 and 126 for our Common Learning Time. Over the past week we have been working on spelling high frequency words properly. We will continue to meet with our groups this upcoming week and then decide if we want to do one more week before assessing what we have learned.

-Math: We have Common Learning Time with 122 and 126 for Math too! Each group has been focusing on the concept of Place Value. Here is a great video explaining place value…with one exception: it is American and therefore they are using commas. Just ignore that and you’ll find a great explanation! The students have all seen this before, but it’s worth a second or third viewing if students need it.

Mathantics-Place Value Video

-Integrated Inquiry: We have been working with Murray with our “Pre Genius Hour” brainstorming. The kids will finish their sharing with him next week and we will be one step closer to choosing a project! We did a mini Genius Hour session today as we are thinking of ways to get us to Assiniboine Forest more often! We are thinking about the cost of the bus fare and what our alternatives could be. Our driftwood art pieces have been put on hold…just until next week! We have officially completed our Inquiry Log  covers, photos to come soon!

What do you see in these pieces of wood? An animal perhaps?!

-Friluftsliv: We had an amazing morning in the forest! The damp weather did NOT dampen our spirits! I hope you enjoyed the photos on Seesaw. Each student chose their own photos to share with you and recorded their own message about the field trip. We can’t wait to take them back to Assiniboine Forest! We’ve been pretty good about getting out to enjoy nature throughout September! Let’s see what October brings!!

  

 

-Terry Fox Run: We made it back from the forest just in time for our Terry Fox Run! Thank you for sending in your donations. It’s amazing to see Terry’s legacy live on.

-Orange Shirt Day: #EveryChildMatters. Today we read the Orange Shirt book. It is about a young girl named Phyllis and her experience within a Residential School. We had many discussions about Truth and Reconciliation today. Please feel free to continue the conversation at home.

Orange Shirt Day Video

What’s happening this upcoming week/month?!?

-We are calling this month WALK-tober and are asking families to walk to school! We will track how many students arrive at school by ‘foot’ (not by car or bus)! This bulletin board is looking a bit bare! I need your help! If anyone is up for it, can you create something to add to our board? It should ‘match’ the theme, and that’s about my only criteria!

-We will continue to work on our mindfulness practice. Taking a few minutes at 1:00 to resettle, refocus and spend a few moments actually “in the moment” has been great for the students.

-After seeing a neat post on Twitter, we have decided to get a class pumpkin and write the things we are thankful for. We have so many things to be grateful for. It is important to take the time and remember that.

-School picture day is on October 9!

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-On Monday we are going to fill in our October calendar so we are all “in the know”. Please ensure that all purple folders are sent in on Monday so we can add the calendar to them. I think as a class we can do a better job at using our folders each day-you never know when we are going to send a note home. The folders will help us be more organized. IF your child needs a reading log please have them pick one up. Reminder: they can be found in the bottom of the mailboxes!

This week’s Ask Me question is…to talk about 3 highlights of the week. Please leave an oral or written comment on Seesaw below the Ask Me post.

Have a great weekend! Enjoy these last few days of September!

Until next time,

Danielle

Week 2!

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Hello Everyone!

Week 2 is in the books! I hope everyone feels a little more settled in their routines and is finding some time to relax this weekend!

Here is a recap of last week!

-We started our new Question of the Day morning routine! Each day a question is posted for the students to answer. It should only take a few minutes to do, but I feel like it might help with developing a morning routine that prepares us for the school day. Before the students start to answer their question they get unpacked and settled. So far…we have been doing better than ANY other class I have taught with bringing the purple Communication Folders (aka Home Reading). Keep up the good work!! FYI-in case your child has not shared it with you…we have filled out our September calendar. Please check it over for important dates and feel free to add anything you think we may have missed OR something that is important for you as a family to remember!

-We are on a roll with The Problim Children! I love it when students ask if I could read for longer or ask me to read for a second time in the same day! There are so many benefits to reading to your child. These kids are NOT too old to be read to. They love it. It is a great opportunity to model what good readers do, to teach/learn new vocabulary and discuss comprehension 🙂

-We are getting the hang of those Number Puzzles! If you are finding the Puzzle Helpers (at home practice) a challenge, please let me know. I’m here to help!

-Back by popular demand….zentangles (images created by repeated patterns)! Each year I attempt to do something different for the Inquiry Log covers and I am outvoted! I am very excited for these projects to be finished. They are all going to be amazing and unique. BUT you’ll have to wait until Meet the Teacher night to see them!!!

New to zentangles? Here are some examples!

-It is International Dot Day today (Saturday!). They say Dot Day is September 15ish…because it is more important to celebrate the message than to celebrate on the actual day! “Just make a mark and see where it takes you”. I love it! We often talk about Dot Day in the form of art, but it can really be about anything! Take a risk, try something new, test out an idea…see what happens!

Dot Day Song

-I attended the Manitoba Nature Summit with Lori on Friday/Saturday. We had the BEST time learning about the importance of outdoor play, free play, even ‘risky’ play. We heard from some excellent keynote speakers and even participated in a mini forest school session. We have so many ideas to bring to Montrose…stay tuned for exciting news!

         

What’s Happening This Week?!

-It’s the Terry Fox Run @Assiniboine Park this Sunday (tomorrow). Registration begins at 8:30 and the walk/run begins at 9:30. Since I am already registered I won’t be there too early, but Hudson and I will be there rain or shine. We’d love to see you there too!!!

-No School on Monday

-We are beginning some common work times with 122 & 126 this week. During these common working times students will be in mixed groupings and may or may not be working in 123 (with em). We really enjoy working together as a 3/4 team and find that the students create a great bond with one another when we use this approach. Each term we change the groupings so the students can work with a variety of other students and teachers too!

-We will finish our zentangles and start another art project as well! Earlier this week I had asked for driftwood for our next project. If you were able to find any, could you please send it in on Tuesday for us? Thanks!!

-On Tuesday we have a special presentation from Ms Mary! Mary is from the Green Action Centre. She will be doing about 8 presentations for us throughout the year. Each presentation has an environmental focus to help us become more aware and more educated to make more environmentally friendly choices! Our first talk will be about Littlerless Lunches!

-The 21 students (7 from each room) that were randomly selected for the farm field trip will be away on Wednesday, September 19. Please dress for the weather and pack a lunch. Again, if your child is not coming to the farm, he/she will be going on a different field trip later this year. Once details have been finalized I will let you know what we will be doing/where we are going! Lori and I are going to the farm with the kids. The rest of the 3/4 students will be doing something fun too…any guesses?!

-Book orders will be submitted on Thursday. Thanks for the orders so far! Once I order it will take 1-2 weeks for the books to arrive. *Is anyone interested in being my book order helper? The task consists of putting together the orders once a month. It is an “at home” job. Let me know if you want to help us out with that!

-Monday, September 24 is Meet the Teacher night! Order forms for pizza were sent home on Friday (with the oldest sibling). I am looking forward to chatting with you whether you are new or returning to the 123 community!

-The Ask Me question is now up! Please let me know via typed or oral comment what you have done to connect with nature this weekend! Haven’t been outside yet?! There is still lots of time 🙂

Until next time,

Danielle

First Week of the 2018-2019 School Year!

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Hello Families of Room 123!

If you have been part of the Summer Book Club and are not in Room 123 you may want to unsubscribe from the blog now! You are more than welcome to stay part of our community, just know that most of what is posted will be about what is happening in 123! I will be in communication with families of students who have read the book about an upcoming celebration:)

Well we made it through the first few days of school! It’s hard to believe that I’m back to blogging for a new school year! As I type I have my sidekick sitting with me…I’m thinking about changing my name to Blog With My Dog! I guess she just wants in on the action!

Here is a little overview of our first week!

-We got used to our new classroom community, including welcoming 3 new friends to our school

-We started our first read aloud book!

-We learned a new word ‘friluftsliv’…it’s a Norwegian term for “open air living”. More to come about friluftsliv…it’s going to be great! We are going to see how many days we can spend time outside throughout the school year and track that! Any predictions?!

-The Communication Folders were sent home. Please send the folders back each day. If there is a note for me, students will place their folder in the “Hand In Bin” and if not, they will put the folders straight in their personal mailbox. If there are notes to go home we will put them in the mailbox and the students will add them to the communication folder before they go home. It is an attempt to keep everything a little more organized! Also-due to a lack in full class participation of book logging we are asking students/families to let us know if you want the logging sheets. Students are asked to write a book recommendation each time they finish reading a book. We will add the recommendations to our classroom book recommendation binder for the kids to use when they are stuck on what they should read next. Need an example of a recommendation? Let me know!

-The Number Puzzle Helper books have been sent home. We have similar books at school that we will work on, so these books are just for at home practice as you see fit. Try to do one per week. These puzzles may be new to your child. The grade 3s did an example with me on Friday and we will do another one together this upcoming week. The new grade 4s worked with a buddy on Friday and can do this again or see me with their next puzzle

-We have completed our first 3 writing assessments and our spelling inventory! The students were troopers during this assessment time!

-The September book order has been sent home. Orders are due by September 20. Ordering online is the easiest method for me, but I am more than willing to submit your order for you as well

-Ask Me question is up on Seesaw! The question is: “Ask me to comment about the first week of school!” You can have your child comment using your parent account. He/she can type a comment or record a comment. I love reading/hearing the comments. Great job! Aren’t on Seesaw yet? Please see me for your personalized QR code and an overview of how it works! Please note that the QR code works for more than one family member.

 

What’s Happening Next Week?

-More reading, more writing, more math, more friluftsliv, more fun!

-Information about an upcoming field trip will be sent home

-I will be away on Friday to attend the MB Nature Summit (Friday and Saturday)

-Sunday is the Terry Fox run! Hudson and I will be there! Let me know if you and your family plan on attending. It would be awesome to get a group picture taken before the walk/run!

Terry Fox Run Assiniboine Park

I hope you all are ready for a really great year in Room 123!

Until next time,

Danielle