Tag Archives: reminders

Week 5!

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Happy Thanksgiving Weekend Everyone!

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend with your families and take that extra moment to share something you’re grateful for. I’m looking forward to spending time with my family at our cabin, which is one of the places I am most grateful for. It has allowed for 35 years of amazing memories. It’s also the place where I get to practice my best hygge (the Danish word for creating cozy experiences and enjoying the things you like most, especially when with friends and family)! I’m grateful for a career that I am passionate about. I am grateful for kindness in those I know and those I will never meet. I am grateful for this Earth and will do my best to make choices to promote sustainability. This list could go on and on! What are you grateful for?!

This week in 123!

-I was able to snap a few photos of the Zentangle art covers before I left school (the first five I saw!) so you could get an idea of what we worked on. Maybe the students will take a picture of their own and post it to Seesaw for your enjoyment!

-Today (Friday) was a paint day! I’m excited to see what everyone has created. A big thank you to Kristi Marie and Mrs. Duncan for their help. I hope everyone remembered to thank them for their help and also remembered to take care of the library by cleaning up after themselves.

-We’ve made it page 205 in The Problim Children! My voice was a bit rough for a few days, so listen to reading wasn’t actually possible. I think if we try really hard we can finish by next Friday!

-We have 2 more sessions in our “Common Learning Time” with 122 &126. On Friday we will do a final assessment to see how much we’ve learned. I’m really enjoying my time with my two groups. I hope the kids are enjoying these common learning times as well!

-The kids were so excited to see the snow! Me on the other hand…not quite ready for it! I will admit it was beautiful to play and make yesterday during Friluftsliv because the snow was perfectly sticky and it was warm and sunny out! We also have a few friends in the school who are new to Canada and watching them experience snow for the first time is quite special!

-We started writing some poems this week! So far we’ve written a free verse, a rhyming poem and a haiku. Once we write a few more we will share via Seesaw! Writing poems is a nice way to work on word choice and adding some beautiful and exciting words into our writing!

-We met author Annie Barrows! She was pretty funny. It was so neat how her stories came from her own memories and experiences, then she added her own twists to them!! Thanks for coming to Montrose Annie!!

-We finished our Storybook Engineering projects with Murray! We read After The Fall (a story about Humpty Dumpty) and designed some ways to help poor Humpty back up that wall and conquer his fear of heights!

This definitely helps us learn to make a design plan and then implement the plan, making changes as the piece requires. It’s also great practice of the 4Cs (Communication, Collaboration, Creativity and Critical Thinking).

Whats happening next week?!

-No school on Monday!

-Picture Day on Tuesday!!

-WALK-tober “school bus” starts on Tuesday! Who is joining us?! See your Ask Me question on Seesaw for more details!

-The Montrose School Create-a-Thon assembly is happening next week. It’s the kick off to our school fundraiser. Students will receive their pledge forms and then they will be ready to fundraise! Stay tuned for more details! Murray is asking for some help from families. Please read the message below (which has also been emailed to families earlier this week)

Create-a-Thon
On Thursday, October 18 Montrose School will be having our annual fundraiser to support all the exciting events and field trips that your children will be participating in this year. This year the students will create many exciting projects using a variety of objects, props and household items to help invigorate their creativity. Could you please send all your empty tissue boxes and any other boxes about that size to the library?
Thanks,
Murray Mandzuk
Inquiry and Innovation Support Teacher/Yoga Teacher
Montrose School

I think that’s it for now!

Have a wonderful weekend 🙂

Until next time,

Danielle

Happy Mother’s Day!!!

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Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms, grandmas, aunts, sisters, close friends and anyone who fills a motherly role in your life. I am so lucky to have some of these people around me since my own mom lives in another province. The ladies at work take care of me by giving advice, bringing me homemade treats and even helping take out pesky stains in my clothes. It takes a village to raise a child…even one who is grown up already! We honour, respect and love you…not only today, but EVERYDAY! I hope you all enjoy your homemade gift and can see the thought and care your child has put into making it for you. Enjoy your day! I’m also lucky to be a puppy mama to my fur baby who is so loyal that she lays beside me as I type this blog post!

 

We have a very busy week ahead of us and I hope everyone takes the time to read this and make sure you are “in the know”!

Let’s get started:)

-Monday: I am away in the morning and Ms V will be in. In the afternoon it is our “Rooftop Photo”. An email was sent home asking students to wear Jets clothing or white or blue. We encourage everyone to join in on the theme! It is also game day, so I’ll be wearing a jersey! If you are enjoying wearing Jets gear/white/blue on game days please continue to do so!

-Tuesday: It’s Bike Rodeo day. A pink note was sent home last week giving you details about a bike safety presentation from MPI (see below)

On Tuesday the Destination Imagination (DI) group is presenting their challenge project to the school! We will be going with 122 to see their incredible display of the 4Cs first thing in the morning (9:10). This is also a last effort for fundraising. Students are asked to bring in a donation if possible. Thanks!

-Wednesday: It’s Conscious Kindness Day! On this day the United Way is asking people to pay it forward through random acts of kindness to show how compassion for each other in an effort to make healthy communities.

What will you do today?

-Greet people with a good morning or a kind gesture?

-Do something extra (chore, classroom clean up, community clean up, etc.)

-Make someone a card, write a letter, draw a picture?

-Talk or play with someone new or someone you haven’t connected with for awhile?

There are countless ways to be kind. Kindness is free, so everyone can do it! Need some inspiration? Check out this amazing Superhero!

-Thursday: This is our second round of “We Belong Vertical Groups”. On this day the kids from our group (123,124,125 and Nursery) will rotate to another activity and we (the teachers) will do our dance activity with a different group of students.

-Friday: We are becoming an OUTDOOR CLASSROOM today! The students wrote me a letter trying to persuade me to do the all day outdoor class event/plant day combination and they won! Well actually we all win! We did a full day outside last year to celebrate the 30 day challenge and it was great. I am excited to be doing this year’s full day outside with Room 122 and 126!!

Here are some of the planned activities (based on the ideas from the letters)

-Math (we have a scavenger hunt type activity planned)

-Planting (two different stations)

  1. Pumpkins: Each student will take a pumpkin seed home after we plant them at school!
  2. You will plant a seed of your choice! We have talked about this in class and here is what you need to know: Instead of us all planting the same type of seed and watching them grow at school we want the students to each choose something that they are interested in! We will go through the Scientific Method as the seeds grow and learn more about many types of plants instead of just one. *This means that each student will need to bring in the following items BEFORE Friday: a ‘seed’ of their choice. This can be from a package, from a fruit or vegetable (could be part of the vegetable if you want) or from a flower. Please do some research before choosing your seed so you will know if it needs direct sunlight, less sunlight, little water, lots of water, how long it is expected to take to grow, etc. Write down some of these important details (including the name of your plant in your home reading folder) so we can transfer that to our tracking sheets. You will also need to bring in a small Ziploc bag to plant your seed in. We prefer that the bag has been previously used and washed out (but that is not required). We will provide the soil (unless there is something very specific you need!). Students who do not bring in a seed will be given seeds at school, they will just not have as much choice as I will only have a few different types for them to choose from.

-Read to Self/Read to Someone

-Phys Ed (just need to confirm that with Mr Strachan)

-Meditation

-French (just need to confirm that with Madame)

-Community Clean Up (walk through the neighbourhood to pick up trash/recycling). I notice so many straws when I go for my lunchtime walk with Helen….AHHHHH

-Observation Station with your team from 122 and 126

-and…FREE EXPLORATION TIME

How is that for a Friday?! If the forecast looks undesirable we will let families know if our outdoor classroom day will be postponed via Seesaw.

***If you want to spend the day with us please do so! Just let me know, we’d love to have you!!!

 

I think that covers it! I’m looking forward to a really great week!

P.S. Happy Birthday Manitoba!

Until next time,

Danielle

#GoJetsG

 

Be Prepared (aka Track 7)!!

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Hi!

The theme of this week’s blog post is to be prepared (which is also track #7 on the Circle of Life song list 🙂 ). Next week is a busy week and I just want us to all be in the loop! Reading this week’s blog IS the Ask Me question for the weekend. No other action is required (which was well received by the kiddos!).

So…here we go!

Monday: Day 2

-Today is a pretty normal day! It is Genius Hour from 2:30-3:30! Please be prepared to work on your project and check in with me to talk about what your next steps are. That way I can update any information that I need to about projects, offer suggestions if students need that and also get materials that we might be lacking in the room

-We are also sending home the shirt that students need to wear for the WSD production of the Circle of Life. It is super important that ALL students wear this shirt to school on Tuesday (for more information on the Circle of Life read the “Tuesday” section of this post 😉

Tuesday: Day 3

-Students must arrive to school at 8:40 because we are being picked up for the Concert Hall at 9:00

-What to wear: dark bottoms, black Circle of Life/Wildebeest shirt (provided by the school and sent home on Monday), dark shoes. *Girls are asked to wear their hair in a high ponytail so we can see the back of the shirt during the “Stampede” song. Please use some sort of hair product that helps keep the hair up all day

-Students will be at the Concert Hall all day and will return to Montrose to be dismissed at 3:30 as per usual

-Please send a lunch that your child can easily eat while at the Concert Hall. There is NO access to a microwave nor will there be extra cutlery, etc. Students all need to bring a refillable water container as well. (*Students will bring their backpacks with them to hold lunch bags *Litterless lunches are best)

-There are NO tickets available for the dress rehearsal and afternoon performance. The audience will consist of students from schools around the division

-There are NO extra tickets for the evening performance. Each student has been given 2 tickets to be used as you choose, but everyone in the audience needs their own ticket (no holding small children in your lap, etc.). It is rush seating (doors open at 6:30). Please refer to the map you received in your info packet when dropping your child off at 6:15. It is a stop, drop and go zone! Teacher volunteers (like myself) will be wearing orange shirts and will guide the students into the building and to where they need to be. Outfits are the same as the earlier shows

-The kids have been practicing for months and are ready for the show! I can’t wait to see how it has all come together 🙂

Wednesday: Happy Valentine’s Day! (Day 4)

 

-We are going to be tired today! The plan is to keep the day pretty low key!

-We will do a mini maker activity in the morning where students can create their own Valentine card holder. Please bring your own supplies (including a box if you need one) to make the holder. We have the “standard” supplies like glue, tape, paper, markers, etc. But we do NOT have any boxes collected or special Valentine themed decorations. I’d like students to work from a plan, so at some point between now and Wednesday please create a plan. I know I said you don’t have to write anything for the Ask Me question, but it’s an option to sketch there if you’d like. There may be some time on Monday to plan, but if you want to get that done this weekend I think that would be a great idea! CARDHOLDER “MUST HAVES” 1) an opening for cards 2) your name that is easily noticed

-Yoga and Music are happening as per usual

-We will also each make a “kindness card” for someone in the class (like we did in December). It makes us feel so good to be kind!!! On Monday each student will choose a random name and make a card for that person which they will give on Wednesday

-We’ve talked about using random supplies and making cards or using all the random leftover cards from throughout the years as valentine cards this year. This is NOT a requirement, but an alternative to purchasing new cards. It’s up to you! I’m just always up for promoting ways of reducing and reusing!

-We’ve also talked about making sure we know all the kids names in our class. All students have assured me that they a) still have the name sheet a student sent home to each student with their name in Hawaiian or b) can remember each student and will not forget that we have 25 students in the class. 3 students are going to be absent but I’m sure they’d love a card when they return!

-I’ve suggested that students sign their name in handwriting/cursive if they are able to. We’ve started to do some handwriting in class and doing a signature 24+ times is great practice! This is NOT mandatory…just a suggestion

-Some students have asked if they HAVE to hand out cards. The answer is no, but if you decide to hand out cards then you must to ALL students

-We will hand out cards in the afternoon and watch some Planet Earth videos to see what we can learn about animals and their habitats!

-Treats…we are keeping things really simple, so if you’d like to bring something please let it be healthy and easy. I’d appreciate knowing if you are planning on sending a snack so I can see what is coming in. Thanks in advance!

-We are also going to be doing some writing about our favourite foods THEN using that for something fun with that with Murray on Friday. Start thinking about your favourite food AND how you could describe it in a way to make someone else want to eat it!!!

Thursday: Day 5

-Art with 122 in the morning (FYI: Grade 4s will be painting)

-Winter Fun Day in the afternoon (as far as I know and will confirm this later on next week)

Friday: Day 6

-Phew…at this point we might be exhausted! Today will be pretty “normal” except our surprise fun activity with Murray 😉 Then you’ll get a long weekend to recover!

Other FYIs:

-No WTW tests this week since we actually won’t be even meeting in our WTW groups! Tests will take place the following week

-Some students have chosen to bring their animal/habitat inquiry projects home to work on. This is okay with me, but please bring in the information recording booklet on Monday. I am asking students to write point form notes that we will use to write an informational piece after we complete our research. I am also asking that they write down the name of the websites they are using so we know who to give credit to. Today was our first research day! There was a buzz of excitement in the air for sure. One thing to note is that if a student chose an animal like “bear”, they need to decide what kind of “bear” they are going to research because there are many types of “bears” and they have different types of habitats. I tried to check in with everyone, but if you notice that your child’s topic is not specific, please continue that conversation at home 🙂

-The February book order has been sent in and should arrive next week!

-Olympic themed bulletin board!

It’s a blank canvas! Students have volunteered to do some work on the bulletin board from home! The vision so far is…the sport symbols in Olympic colours, the mascots, the rings, a podium, gold, silver and bronze medals (to keep track of our medal count). Some things that no one has volunteered to make are: a big Canadian flag, flags from countries who are competing, any info on athletes, a schedule of events, the torch or info on Pyeongchang! If you’d like to create something for the board…please do!!

-I hope there were excited kids after Global School Play Day on Wednesday. We are working through getting all our reflections posted on Seesaw! If you get a chance to comment on your child’s Seesaw posts please do! We all love to hear what parents have to say about what we do and learn at school. It’s a great way to build that home/school connection

I think that’s it!! If not…we’ll be in touch!

Enjoy your weekend….Go Jets Go!

Until next time,

Danielle

One More Week Until Holidays!!

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We are in the home stretch!!! One more week until everyone is hopefully able to take some time to rest and rejuvenate!

Here is what you need to know for the upcoming week!

Monday- Concert rehearsal is at 1:00. Please send your child in their concert clothes. Girls-white top and dark bottoms…Boys-white collared shirt, long neck tie (preferably-unless you only have a bow tie) and dark bottoms. No one has let me know that they don’t have a tie, so I have high hopes that we are all “good to go”. This was actually the Ask Me Question for the weekend. Your only task is to be ready for the rehearsal. No written response is required. If you’d like to leave me a note, feel free! I’ll still be checking the Home Reading folders!

Tuesday- Teija is having her bake sale to raise money for the Kiwi bird! (An email reminder was sent on Friday I believe)

Wednesday- Concert Day! Show times are 10:00, 1:30 and 7:00. Time is running out…get your ticket order forms in before it’s too late!!! I will not be in the classroom until 6:30 (before the evening show) so please don’t send your child until then

Thursday- It’s our final Sing-A-Long of the season! We meet at 1:00 in the gym…join us if you’d like!

Friday- PJ and movie day!! The 3/4 classes as well as Room 125 will be watching The Lion King to help prepare for the Circle of Life performance we are doing in February. Many kids aren’t familiar with the movie. I am super excited to watch it with them!!! Who am I kidding…I am also very excited to wear my PJs to school!!! It’ll be a great way to send us off into the holiday break!

Other things to note!

-Thank you again for being so generous with the Holiday Hampers and the Santa for a Senior initiatives. The families in our community who receive the hampers are overwhelmed with the generosity of the school. This weekend I spoke with a friend who volunteers sorting gifts for Santa to a Senior. She raves about the program and how much the gifts mean to the seniors. Even if the kids will never meet the seniors the truly make an impact with their cards, letters and gifts.

-I hope the kids told you about the Art that we purchased from the Painting for a Purpose program. They each wrote a letter to Kristi-Marie (who works for the CanU organization as well as bring an EA at our school). She was blown away with the kindness of your children. When I read the letters I was close to tears. These kids are such wonderful little humans and are going to change the world one day! They want to make the world a better place, whether it’s from giving food to those who need it, gifts and letters to people who are often feeling lonely or by encouraging me to make a donation in lieu of buying them a class gift. You should all be so proud!

-We are going to be making some kindness cards for each other this week. This is something we did last year and the kids were so excited to make a card and surprise one of their classmates!  I can’t wait to do this again! We will try to post the final products on See Saw!

Here we go! One more week! It’ll be busy…but wonderful!

Have a safe and happy holiday.

Until 2018!

Danielle