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