This week is exciting!

Hello parents,

There are 3 events this week that I'd like to remind you of:
1. Tomorrow is picture day. We don't have gym so feel free to select fancy clothes!

2. Thursday evening from 6-7pm is curriculum night. As I mentioned, it is like an open-house for parents and students. You can bring your child and have him/her show you around our classroom and look at some of our work. You'll also be able to take home a couple souvenirs!
Teachers are not asked to give a presentation, however, I have a couple initiatives coming up that I feel are much more clearly explained in person. For anyone interested, I will give a very short presentation on how to read a rubric and our upcoming borrow-a-book program at 6:20 and 6:40 (same thing each time in case you have other classrooms to visit). Totally optional, just take a seat at a desk if you want to listen in. The info will also be posted here when relevant.
Hope to see you all Thursday!

3. I am thrilled to tell you that this year, Primary Choir has been built into the 5-day schedule (so it will be run during class time rather than at lunch recess) and that grade 1s are invited to participate!
Choir is optional, but I expect the majority of our class will want to sign up. Because singing is what I do in my other life, I have offered to stay with the choir and Mr. Greene to help out. Any of my students who decide not to participate will be going to the fabulous Mme Droney, who teaches the English grade 1. I will provide appropriate activities for them to take.
Due to the number of primary students at Dewson (and the size of our gym for hosting concerts) the primary classes have been divided into two choirs. Choir number 1 (us) will rehearse once a week from now until December and perform December 12th at 7pm. This concert will feature the choir and also include class performances. We're teaming up with Mme Droney's class and ALL students in both classes will be included in this performance, whether they are in choir or not. Mark this date in your calendar!
Choir number 2, which includes the two other grade 1 classes, will rehearse and perform in the spring. There will also be a music night for all the junior grades in the middle (January sometime). This will all be explained in further detail in a school newsletter. What is important to note is that this is our only chance to take part in school choir. We will not have the opportunity to change our minds and sign up in the spring, so give it a little think. The first rehearsal is this Thursday. Happy Singing!

That's it for now, but check back soon for more on what we're up to in class!

Terry Fox

Salut!

This Thursday is Terry Fox Day at Dewson. We have already done some reading and writing about Terry and are excited to get out to do some walking or running!

We will be outside for most of the morning, so please remember to dress for success (running shoes, appropriate clothing, hat and sunscreen already on). Students are also encouraged to bring a toonie to donate to the cause.

On Wednesday, each student will bring home a small washable Terry tattoo in their communication pocket. They are welcome to come to school Thursday wearing it if that's how they'd like to use it. I imagine they will need help applying it.

On another note, you may be interested in checking out Thursday's edition of the Toronto Star!

A bientôt,
Tamara

International Day of Peace

International Day of Peace was yesterday, September 21st. Here's a picture of the doves we decorated.

In addition, our first art project is done, and looks fantastic! We began by stamping black rings on our paper using cups and paint and being careful to overlap several of them. Then, we used oil pastels to colour each entire circle a different primary colour and watched the secondary colours appear where the circles overlapped. Finally, we decorated the remaining space with smaller colourful circles created by dipping corks in paint and stamping them around our page.

I think that everything looks fantastic in a frame, so every time that we complete a flat art project I will select 2 pieces to feature in our Artist of the Month frames. By the end of the year, everyone will get a turn having their work framed. Here are our first two:

First Volunteer Opportunity!

It's not very exciting, I'm afraid, but I've been dreaming of having a helper come in once a month (or so) to take care of any minor repairs needed to our books and possibly sharpen some pencil crayons to save the kids time. I spent half a day before school started taping up a pile of books that were in need of some love, but it's not something I prioritize doing in the couple hours between dismissal and the school closing.

If you are willing to take this on, or can even just do it once, please email me. Since it doesn't depend on our class schedule at all, you can come in whenever is best for you.

Thank you SO SO much!
Tamara

tamara.mitchell2@tdsb.on.ca

Here's what's happening!

Hello area 24!

It's time for a big update. Hope you're ready!

I have to say, I'm very happy with our class' progress so far. In September, it's important to get the routines right so that we build a good foundation for the year. The whole class is getting used to lining up in the hall when we come and go, cleaning up quickly, pushing in chairs and almost everyone has their pochette every day. Today we made it to 10 solid minutes of focused silent reading, and our class helpers have now rotated and everyone is learning what their new job is. 

This week, students were greeted with new desk places and learning spots on the carpet. Previously, they had been sitting where they liked, so long as they were able to listen. Now that I know them (and they know each other) a bit better, I have attempted to mix them up a bit and place people at desks, and in carpet rows, where they can do their best listening and learning. They are probably not beside their best friend, but hopefully beside a new friend, and someone that they can work well with. No place is ever forever, they change as the need arises. Ask your listener who they sit beside and how they sit to show they are really listening!

I'd like to give you a little peek into what we are working on in each subject area at the moment, in the hopes that you can talk about it, and maybe do a little practise at home. But first - a few reminders and upcoming dates!

1. If you would like to order any books from the Scholastic catalogues distributed the first day of school, please return the orders by TOMORROW (Thursday). Thursday is also library, so please make sure your child has his/her books ready to return or renew.

2. Once again, if your child is able to leave running shoes at school for gym, please let them know that they can do so. We have a bin to keep them in.

3. Picture day is coming up October 1st. I don't think we have gym that day, so feel free to dress up!

4. Curriculum night is Thursday, October 3rd. This is a really neat night where you get to see our classroom and lots of your child's work. You're welcome to bring your student with you and they can be your tour guide. In addition, I will have some up-to-date info on our schedule and other details. Please plan on coming if you can!

5. It might be a good idea to check in with your child about the amount of food they are bringing to school. I think a few kids have been wishing they had something left at afternoon recess. Also, our lunch supervision team has asked if we can all try to be as litterless as possible to help with the smoothness of our dual-track lunch. Thanks! (By the way, thanks for all the snack money - the lunch lady collecting was very impressed with our class!)

Language

In French, we have begun working on the vowel sounds, beginning with 'a' and 'e'. We are pretty good at reading one-syllable words containing these vowels, so when we read the morning message, I let the kids handle any words that have those sounds. We do little activities like finding words with the letter, writing them on post-its and then sounding out all the words together, looking at flashcards that combine one consonant with the vowel (e.g., "ba", "da", "la", "ja", "ma" etc.) and circling, or using a pointing tool to hunt for the letter in the message or little poems. You can do similar activities at home in the French library books your child brings home. Ask your reader to find a word with the sound (or letter) 'a' or 'e' in it, and then help them sound it out. 

We have been introduced to many of our workbooks and how we will be using them. We have a printing book where we are practising our neat letter formation - you can have a look during curriculum night. We have personal dictionaries where children print and draw a picture for high frequency words. We will add words about once a week, and I have explained that children are free to get their dictionary anytime that they would like to spell a word that they have put in there. We also have a journal where we will start writing sentences based on sentence starters and a choice of endings, and eventually try inventing our own French sentences when we are a little more experienced. We did our first entry today and learned all about writing the date at the top and how to use the pink and blue lines to write neatly. Can't wait for you to check this out!

In addition to their personal dictionaries, we have a poster for each sound that we will study this year, and a word wall where children can look to help themselves spell words (in addition to all the posters around the room). The kids will be helping me add words to the word wall as we work our way through the vowel sounds and a lot of the words are on magnets so that the kids can actually take the word to their desk when they need it. That said, what I really want is for each child to begin feeling like a writer, so correct spelling will really take a back seat as we learn our sounds and do our best to use them.

Math

This month we have been focusing on counting skills. We will be working on our French counting regularly throughout the year, but at the moment, we are mostly working on 0-20. We started with lots of counting games, for example, counting different objects in our classroom, passing a bean bag around while counting, playing number bingo and showing off our forwards and backwards and even eyes-closed counting! I want to make sure that we are able to match a number to it's name (e.g., 3 = trois) and that we know how much each number represents. These are good skills to practise at home. You can ask your child to count groups of anything (blocks, spoons, shoes) and tell you how many there are in French as well as write the number to practise making that connection (there are some tricky numbers in the teens).

This week, we have continued counting using coins. We looked carefully at the pictures on all our Canadian coins so that we would be able to identify them and what they're worth. We have begun trying to create different amounts using the various coins, and in some cases, different ways of making the same amount. If you have a jar of coins at home, that's an AMAZING teaching opportunity! Whip it out and ask your child to count out 7 cents, 19 cents, 25 cents, or 10 cents four different ways! (Sometimes what I do is put prices on little toys and ask students to pretend to buy something by making the correct change - they really like that!)

Next week we will complete this unit by working a bit on "de plus" and "de moins" (more than and less than) problems. We will be counting up or down from numbers up to ~10 as an introduction to addition and subtraction, which we will come back to later in the year.

Social Studies

As you know, we have been talking about roles and responsibilities this month. Typically our Social Studies units consist of a lot of read-alouds followed by class discussions, and drawings to show understanding or a personal connection. We have already talked about our roles at school and at home, and we have begun to discuss our roles and responsibilities in the community. We will continue to talk about how our roles change over time as our families change, and we grow up. Clearly, this is an easy unit to connect with at home, as we all have a role and responsibilities within our family and I'm sure you talk about this type of thing all the time anyway. 

In October we will switch over to Science and talk about the days, months and changing seasons.

Art

Our first major art project involves mixing colours. It is coming along nicely and should be ready for the bulletin board this week. We do lots of drawing and colouring in every subject, and since Saturday is the International Day of Peace, we've decorated and written a message on some lovely doves that should hopefully come home Friday.

OK, that's all my subjects. I do have a little info on music though, and that is that we are invited to join primary choir which begins in 2 weeks. It is during the school day (not recess), and will culminate in a lovely performance - more on that later. You may wish to chat with your singer about whether or not they plan on signing up, and what it means to commit to a group. 

Alrighty. Hope that wasn't too long, and I hope I gave you a couple ideas for things you can try at home!

Have a great rest of the week,

Tamara

Bravo!

This is a Bravo note that I'd like to send to every area 24 student for their excellent work and behaviour last Thursday when I was away. Bravo mes amis!

What to do with the math

Dear parents (or at-home teachers if you like),

One reason I was really excited to get back to school this year, was because I've been thinking a lot about what I learned last year, and how I can improve my teaching. I really want to get started with a few of my personal goals for improvement! (Too nerdy??)

Anyway, my biggest goal for myself this year is to send more work home in a timely manner (or after it has finished decorating our class!). Many of you wrote to me that you like to work on stuff at home and that you're willing to be involved. What I am hoping to do is to send work home regularly so that you can not only enjoy it and celebrate your child's achievements, but also so that you can help them improve their future work by talking about little things that you notice. Sometimes I will attach a rubric to their work (I'll explain what that means when it happens), other times, I will just write a little note on the work or on the blog.

Don't worry! I'm not asking you to take over my job! I will, of course, be looking at all of the work that the kids produce and using it to plan future lessons. I am always circulating in the class to help students individually and in groups. All I'm hoping you can do is to have a look at the work that's sent home and review it with your child. Maybe there's something you'd like to review with them, or you can see that with a little more practise, they'll get it!

This piece of math work is a good example. I explained to the mathematicians that I'd like you to look for 2 things.
1. Are all the numbers written correctly? (It is common at this point to write numbers backwards. I ask students to correct this as I circulate in class to help them learn the correct way to write the number.)
2. Is their counting accurate?
Checking these 2 things together should take no more than 5 minutes.

As I send work home throughout the year, see if you start to notice patterns (e.g., still writing a certain number or letter backwards). If so, maybe that is something you can help them practise. Please ask me if you're unclear about anything. I definitely don't want this to add any stress to your day - if you don't like doing it, don't do it.

I realize that you're probably reading this after the mathematicians are in bed for the night. I explained the task to the kids before they left, but if they forgot, you can always do it later. You don't need to send that sheet back, I've already looked them over.

OK. I'm not sure if I explained my goal super clearly, but I'll leave it at that for now.

See you tomorrow at the BBQ hopefully!
Tamara

See you Thursday!

Salut!

First of all, I would like to invite you to Dewson's Welcome BBQ, taking place this Thursday from 5 - 6:30pm in the school yard. This is a great opportunity to meet families and students from the school. I will be there until 5:30 (choir rehearsal later), please come and say hello!

Secondly, a little something to talk about this week: We have just begun our first Social Studies unit of the year on Roles and Responsibilities. This is a great unit to start with since we've already been talking about roles and rules within the school. We have discussed why we have rules and responsibilities at school, and we have also talked about what our responsibilities are at home (e.g., to clean our room, set the table, pack our school bag). Each child is working on a picture of one responsibility that they have at school and at home.
Ask your child what their classroom job is at school and how that helps our class to work well. 
Ask your child what our classroom (or some Dewson) rules are, and why it is important to follow them.
Discuss what each member of your family is responsible for and compare our school rules with your home rules. Are they similar?
Tell your child about rules YOU had to follow when you were growing up!
Bonus! What are some community rules that everyone should follow (e.g., What do we do with our litter?)

First Week

Salut tout le monde!

I've been wanting to share some details of our first week at school, but I decided to give you some time to make your way through all of the first day blog posts. I know there was a lot! If you haven't yet had a chance, don't worry. Nothing gets deleted, you just need to click on Archives if a post has disappeared. There is some good stuff down there, so please check it out if you haven't already.

We've gotten off to a great start in Area 24. Thank you for all the mail - I've enjoyed reading all of your thoughtful letters. As soon as I have all the media forms back (part of the thick white package), I can start taking the occasional picture of the kids in action, to post here for you!

So far, the children have shown me their pencil grip, they have practised tracing some letters on our erasable place mats, they have told me about their family, in French of course, and are almost done drawing beautiful pictures of you.

They have all been measured so that we have a record of how tall they were at the beginning of grade 1, they have shown me that they can play nicely together both inside and outside, we have even discussed things that we often need help with (e.g., tying shoes), and we have been making lists of things that each of us is able to help with so that we know who to ask!

But that's not all! Area 24 students are excellent French counters. We are working on 1 - 20 right now and have practised this forwards, backwards, with our eyes closed, and in partners we have counted up all our boys, girls, rulers, chairs and desks.
The class is getting used to the routines, such as lining up against the wall when we are coming and going, signing out to use the washroom (or going at recess), hanging their belongings up neatly and placing their pocket in their mailbox. We have also practised what to do in the case of a fire alarm, and it only took us 5 seconds yesterday to get from our desks into a super straight, quiet line.
Every morning, we have some silent reading time, and the number of minutes will increase as we get better at it. So far, we're at 6 perfect minutes. Students know that Mlle likes the class to be neat and tidy and are doing a great job of putting books back where they found them, or keeping them safe in their own book box to come back to later.
I have been very impressed with how the kids have been walking through the halls at Dewson (I have already had a nice comment about their behaviour in gym class), and how willing they are to help with their assigned job in the classroom (and that they remind me when I forget who the right helpers are)!

As you may have expected, a lot of notes have come home this week. Here are a few things that I'd like to highlight:
1. Students need running shoes for gym. They will not be permitted to participate without them. Area 24 has a shoe bin where everyone can leave their indoor/gym shoes. For right now, many students are just wearing them to school, which is just fine. However, if your athlete is coming to school wearing sandals, or when they start wearing boots, please make sure they bring their running shoes in their bag. Let them know if they are allowed to leave their running shoes at school so that they are always prepared! (On rainy days, an extra pair of socks - or even 2 - is an excellent idea!)
2. You have received an envelope for contributing to the snack program. Snack can't exist without support from the parents, and this year it's even MORE important that we contribute what we can, since our lunch is a bit later, and the kids need that mid-morning snack. Snack program starts Monday!
3. Thank you for embracing the pocket routine! Please try to make sure it comes back to school each day - even if you haven't filled out a form - in case there is new mail to come home. I will do my best to make sure the pockets come home every day - even if it's empty - just so that you aren't wondering, and to maintain the routine.

OK, I think that's it for now. I'd love to get all those forms back by Monday if at all possible - but in the meantime, here are a couple pictures of what our class looked like to start off the year. Let's see how long we can keep it this way!

See you soon,
Tamara

Tomorrow's Entry

Dear families,

Every day 3 and day 4 (currently Thursdays & Fridays), Area 24 students begin the day with a specialty subject. On day 3, we begin with Library time so the class will be picked up by Mme Gaudreault. On day 4, we begin with Drama & Dance so the class will be picked up by Mr. Lee.
On these days students will go directly with their specialty teacher to their classroom. They will not hang up their belongings in Area 24. I will pick up the children at the beginning of period 2 and we will bring our things back to our classroom at that time.

As always, if you are late arriving at school, please go to the office to get a late slip and then proceed to class.

Merci!
Mlle

Welcome Grade 1s!

Happy September!

I am very excited to be teaching grade 1 again at Dewson this year, and I can't wait to get to know my new students!

I have found this blog to be a great way of staying in touch with parents and students at home. I update often, so sign up for emails or check frequently for the most up-to-date information! I hope you find this to be a very useful tool.

On the first day of school, I will send home a detailed letter outlining some of the subject areas and routines for the year (copied below). You are also invited to write me a letter so that I can get to know your child better and faster! From now on, I will do most of my communicating via this blog in order to save paper.

Throughout the year, please let me know if you have any questions or concerns so that I can do the best job possible!

I look forward to meeting with you all very soon,

Sincerely,
Tamara
tamara.mitchell2@tdsb.on.ca  (don't forget the '2')


Here's the First Day Online Newsletter - please keep scrolling to other posts containing tons of other information that may be helpful as we get started.

A Day in the Life of a First Grader in Area 24

Welcome parents and students of area 24,

My name is Tamara Mitchell, and I will be your child’s teacher this year at Dewson Public School. I started my education, like your child, in a French Immersion program in Bowmanville, Ontario. I also participated in an exchange trip to France. As well, I come from a very musical family and look forward to sharing my experiences with the class. I’m looking forward to learning about each of my students and creating a community of learners in our classroom. 

Our school day will contain several components that are outlined in the following pages. In addition, we will be establishing a few routines in our classroom, which are discussed later in this letter. I thank you for taking the time to read and discuss this information with your child. Please feel free to contact me at the school if you have questions or concerns at 416-393-9120. I welcome your communication and will return your call as soon as I can.

This newsletter and more will be posted on our class blog (see communication). Please inform me if you cannot access the blog as I will try to limit my use of paper newsletters after today!

Yours in sharing the caring of our children,

Tamara Mitchell, B. Mus. (Hon), M. Ed., B. Ed. (OISE)

Subject Components

Français

All instruction will take place in French. Each day we will devote a large block of time to our literacy components (these include reading, writing and oral communication, with an emphasis on developing French vocabulary). We will use elements of a program called ‘The Daily 5’ or ‘Les 5 au quotidien’. The Daily 5 is a structured language program that helps students develop the daily habits of reading, writing, and working with peers that will lead to a lifetime of independent literacy. The 5 elements of the program are are: Read to Self, Read with Someone (buddy reading), Listen to Reading, Work on Writing and Word Work. In September, we will begin establishing each of these components.

Once the components are established, students will be able to work independently or in small groups on an activity while I work with a small group on their particular learning needs. Conferences enable me to assess students’ understanding and abilities and give students more focused instruction. 

Math

Our math periods will include the following components:

Before the Problem Solving (Introduction to today’s work)

The class gathers and engages in an activity or solves a sample problem that will help them recall prior learning related to the concept being taught. 

Once students are ‘warmed up,’ they are given a problem to solve or an activity designed to build their knowledge related to the unit of study. Before leaving the carpet area, students discuss the problem or activity, paraphrase instructions and ensure that they understand the task at hand and their responsibilities. They may begin to orally plan the strategies that they will use to solve the problem or predict outcomes.

During the Problem Solving

Students work with a partner or in a small group to solve the problem or complete the activity. During this time, I may confer with individuals to assess their skills, knowledge and needs, or I may support small groups of students with similar learning needs. 

Students who complete the activity early are provided with an extension to the day’s work. For example, they may be asked to:

try to find another possible way to solve the problem;

draw or write a sentence explaining what they did.

After Problem Solving

Students gather to share and discuss their solutions and approaches to the problem/activity. Students learn to evaluate critically (and kindly) the validity and efficiency of the range of approaches demonstrated by their peers. Together we summarize the main points of the discussion and ensure that everyone understands what was agreed upon. I may demonstrate a particular strategy at the end of the lesson and give students another opportunity to apply their learning the following day. As we progress through the year and develop our writing skills, some practice work in the math cahier my be assigned in class.

Science and Social Studies

Students work on Science or Social Studies activities related to the current unit of study. Both Science and Social Studies will be highly linked to our literacy component. I will make an effort to provide a wide selection of books related to our current unit of study for students’ use during literacy periods. There will be a great deal of hands-on exploration in science in particular. It is always beneficial to have some parents in to help with these activities!

The Arts & Physical Education

Visual art will be integrated into every unit of study this year. Students will have opportunities to show feelings and understanding through art, and work independently on their own creative pieces. Music will be taught by Mr. Stephen Greene, Drama and Dance by Mr. Michael Lee and Health and Phys. Ed. by Mme Mary Ann Kowal.  We will supplement our fantastic specialty programs with lots of singing and drama games in class and 20 minutes of daily physical activity (DPA or APQ) on non-gym/dance days. 

The following schedule may help you pack for school each day, but know that our schedule may change if classes need to be rearranged. A complete and updated daily schedule will be provided at Curriculum Night. Please ensure that your child has running shoes at school every day (even on non-gym days). These can be left in Area 24’s shoe bin unless you need them to be brought home. 

Day 1 - Music & DPA     Day 2 - Gym     Day 3 - Library & DPA     Day 4 - Drama & Dance     Day 5 - Gym

If you are interested in learning more about specific curriculum expectations, please visit the Ministry of Education’s Website: http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/curriculum/elementary/

Other Routines & Information

Community Circle

Everyone in area 24, including myself, is part of a community of learners. It takes time to build a community that is inclusive, supportive and appreciative, but this is our goal. Throughout the first term we will be participating in many fun community-building activities as a class; however, Community Circle is one activity that we will use regularly for the entire year. Community Circle is an opportunity for us to share how we are feeling, discuss class agreements, solve problems as a group and celebrate successes. In grade 1 it is particularly important for children to become comfortable speaking French with their classmates. Community Circle is a great opportunity for this.

Expectations

On the first day of school, we co-created our own set of classroom agreements and signed a class contract that we will refer to throughout the coming weeks and school year. Our agreements center around the following principles:

attentive listening (on écoute)

active participation (on participe)

mutual respect (yourself, others, things) (on est respectueux)

appreciation (on dit merci)

I would appreciate you taking the time to review these agreements with your child.

At-home-work

While there will be no “homework” in the traditional sense this year, it is crucial that all students develop a consistent reading routine at home. Students are welcome and encouraged to take a book home everyday to read with a parent or guardian. Reading at home makes a huge difference in a child’s development as a reader, and reading together with a loved one helps children develop an enjoyment and love of reading! There are tips for establishing a reading routine, as well as a link to the TDSB Homework Policy, posted on the class blog.

In addition to reading, I think it is very valuable to talk to your child about what they have done at school. You may  want to expand on what we have done, or review it. I hope that you will find my blog to be an excellent tool for keeping up with the class. I will make every effort to give you conversation starters and specific questions you can ask to get your child talking!

Library Exchange

Our book exchange period will occur with Mme Gaudreault every Day 3 (starting Thursday, September 5th), but books may be returned to our class bin at any time during the week. Students are encouraged to sign out 2 books on their library card. One book must be French. I appreciate your help in reminding your children to have their books ready to return or renew each week! 

Bravo!

I believe in recognizing students for the good things they do at school. The Bravo! note gives me an opportunity to write a short note to students to thank them for an act of kindness or particularly good behaviour (for example, helping a friend or helping to tidy up even when it wasn’t their work area). I will send these notes home, and I hope you enjoy reading them with your child!

Class Blog & Communication

I have created a blog for area 24. This will enable me to provide parents with current information on what we are working on in class, special events happening at Dewson, and other reminders! You can access the blog at http://aire24.blogspot.com/ 

Another valuable form of communication between yourself, your child and me, is the communication pocket. I have provided each child with a zipper pocket that they can keep and hopefully reuse in grade 2. All I ask is that you replace it should it ever get lost (they are available for $1 at the dollar store). Any notes, forms or work will be sent home in the pocket, size permitting. Please return forms or send notes to me via the pocket - I will check them every afternoon (if I need to receive a note earlier in the day, please make sure your child knows to give it to me). This is a great way to start teaching your child how to stay organized. Try to make it his/her responsibility to unpack his/her pocket every evening and put it in his/her bag for the next day. 

Aside from written notes, the best way to reach me is via email at tamara.mitchell2@tdsb.on.ca (don’t forget the 2). I will return emails as soon as I have a minute during school days.

I will be in touch when we are in need of volunteers for trips or special classroom events. If you know that you are interested in volunteering in our classroom, or supervising on a field trip, please let me know by checking the appropriate box on the attached letter. You can also let me know how best to reach you. 

Allergies

All students are to refrain from bringing any products containing peanuts to school. Some children in our class and school have severe allergies to these products. Thank you in advance.

Labeling & Supplies

To limit lost items at school, please remember to label your child’s belongings (e.g., lunch bag, hat, boots & shoes). Thank you! In Area 24, all students share classroom supplies (pencils, erasers, markers etc.). Students are not required to bring their own materials, but may do so if they are prepared and willing to share with others.

Getting ready for school

In grade 1 we expect students to prepare themselves for recess with very minimal assistance. Please practice shoe-tying and zippering skills at home. This will help your child, and our class, get to recess and gym on time. Thanks!

Scholastic

Area 24 participates in monthly Scholastic book orders. I encourage you to participate in this program whenever possible. The first order form is attached to this newsletter. If your family has French books at home that you are no longer using, we will gladly accept them as donations to our classroom library!

More on reading!

Dear at-home-teachers,

In the first day newsletter, I stress the importance of developing an at-home reading routine. I’m sure that many families already have some routines in place, such as reading to your child before bed. If I may, I’d like to share some tips that I’ve learned in the last couple years - many of these come from experienced teachers and other experts in the area of literacy. 

• I suggest 5-10 minutes a day to begin. You can adjust the length of time as your child grows as a reader, or as you settle into a school-day routine.
• Pick a time when your child can focus. Every child loves to be cuddled and read to before bed - don’t turn this lovely time into work. Pick first thing in the morning, or as dinner is cooking, for example. 
• Do it everyday! Sometimes your child won’t want to, and sometimes you won’t want to. Sometimes you will be very busy and it will seem like an impossible task. Try to be consistent with the time of day and treat it with the same importance as eating a meal or brushing your teeth.
• At first, it will be you doing the bulk of the reading while you help your child review the sounds we are working on at school. Make sure they are involved in the reading as much as they can be, for example, ask them to look for letters or sounds (e.g., “a”). Ask them to tell you what’s happening in the pictures, or guess what will happen next or how the story will end. Ask them to look for words of the week before you begin reading.
• You can read in English too! You don’t need my permission to read to your kids in English, or whatever language you speak at home. Kids can learn multiple languages simultaneously. Because reading is the only at-home-work that I assign, I would love for every family to read at least 1 short French book everyday, but what you read in other languages will also contribute to your child’s growth as a reader.
• But I don’t speak French! Neither did my parents. I think that you’ll find that you are able to follow along and learn along with your child for at least the first few years. I’ll try to explain what I’m teaching the children via the blog so that you can be their “at-home” teacher. Without knowing a syllable of French, you can still work on letter names, holding a pencil properly, tracing letters neatly and in the lines and discuss the pictures in French books.
• Above all, make sure it’s manageable for you and your family. Working with your child is important, but it should always be enjoyable. If it becomes overwhelming, shorten the amount of time, do a few shorter segments, play reading games, take turns reading or talk to me and we can brainstorm solutions together.

I thank you in advance for all your amazing help and dedication this year. Your efforts at home will go a long way and contribute greatly to your child’s success!

Scholastic 101

Dear readers,

Last year I realized that grade 1 might be the first time you ever get to do Scholastic. Ordering from Scholastic is completely optional, but I have found that it gets kids really excited about reading, so I provide the forms every month. Here's an explanation of how it works and how to interpret the French catalogue.

Here's what you do:

1. Look through the catalogues and decide what you would like to purchase. Note the item number.

2. Turn to the order form at the back of each catalogue. Find the items you wanted using the item number, and make sure the titles match up. In the box beside the title, write the quantity that you would like to order (usually 1).

3. There are about 5 different columns showing different prices. The pink one is for Ontario, so we always use the price in that middle column. Note the price in the empty box to the right.

4. Add up the total cost and the total number of items (this really helps me know that I haven't missed anything when reading your order) and write them in the two boxes at the bottom.

5. Write a cheque, made out to Scholastic Canada Ltd., for the total amount of all orders OR find exact change.

6. Send in the order form with your payment by the due date (see to-do list). An envelope or zip lock bag is perfect.

The books usually arrive within 2 weeks, and I will distribute them at the end of the day with the original order forms.

I have found Scholastic prices to be very reasonable, often cheaper than in stores. Plus, when our class order is large enough, we sometimes earn free books for our class library! 

The Club de Lecture catalogue is the only French book catalogue, and it serves a very large age range. If you look closely, you will see that each book has a level (Niveau) - look for the coloured circle at the bottom of the picture. Of course, you are welcome to purchase whatever you like - there's no harm in children looking at books they cannot yet read. However, if you are looking for books with words that your grade 1 student can start to sound out or read with your help, you will want to look for Niveau 1 books. By the end of the year, hopefully we will be closer to Niveau 2. There are always books that fit the theme of the season, and audio-books, that are great for any age.

Children are welcome to bring their French books to school for reading time, or for moments when they finish their task a little early.

Hope this helps you navigate the Scholastic catalogues a little bit. I have also posted two links to Scholastic sites in the language section to the right.

Happy reading!

On this blog...

Just by way of introduction...

In the column to your left, you will see the To-Do List (friendly reminders of what's coming up or needs to be returned) followed by my "Wish List". I am always collecting things that I think could be useful at school. Most often, these things would otherwise be garbage, so it’s nice to be able to recycle them and use them in our learning. If at any point you are getting rid of any of the listed items, please send them to school with your child instead and I will store them and put them to good use! Merci!

In the column to the right, you will see several link lists organized by subject area. Please explore the online resources available to us at your leisure, and if you find any others, please send me the address so I can check it out! In particular, I have added many sites that allow you and your child to listen to French words and stories. If you ever have trouble navigating a page or finding the actual thing you're supposed to listen to, please just ask! I have also posted an overview of a few of the sites just below. It might help you get started using them.

If you would like to receive an email notification each time I update the blog, simply enter your email address in the box at the top. The emails seem to be a bit delayed - sometimes they come in the middle of the night after I write them, but I think people have still found it helpful.

Hope you enjoy!

Tamara

Online options for beginning French readers!

Here are a few details on some of the language links... hopefully this helps you get started. Please ask me if you have any questions. I will get the kids using these sites later in the year, but if you'd like to start using them now, feel free. Sometimes it's a great way to fill up 10 minutes while you're making dinner!

Centre Soleil http://www.tfo.org/emissions/carmen/

When you click on Centre Soleil, you immediately meet Carmen who sings an introductory song. She speaks to you using fairly simple language, and not too fast. I think many children will understand her instructions, but if not, it's an easy site to navigate. You can colour, play games, or read stories. When you click on the bookshelf, you then have the choice of 3 books to read with Carmen. Once you've clicked on the book you want, she asks you if you want her to read you the story, or, if you want to play with the pictures and the words. If you ask her to read to you, the words light up, karaoke-style, so you can follow along. If you ask to play with the words, you can click on underlined words to hear them, or click on the pictures to hear the associated word. This is an amazing site!

Themed Dictionary http://www.julliard.ps.yrdsb.edu.on.ca/PARaudio.htm

When you click on Themed Dictionary, you get a list of themes (e.g., l'école, l'hiver, l'alphabet etc.). When you select a theme, there are pictures of commonly used words for that theme. As you run the mouse over them, it will say the name of the object to you. This is very simple for learning vocabulary at home.

Grade 1 Vocab (with audio) http://www.learninghelper.ca/Lessons.html

When you click on Grade 1 Vocab (with audio) you see a user-friendly menu with choices like songs, sight-words, the sounds of the alphabet and much more. Click on the image beside the choice to continue. If you select sight-words, the numbers, or the alphabet (possibly others), you just scroll over the word Écoute, and it will speak to you. Click Prochain to move on to the next word. If you select songs and poems, it will give you another list of choices to listen to. Again, this sight is great for beginners, and children can probably use it independently after they know how to get on.

BBC French http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/primaryfrench/en_france_all_flash.shtml

When you click on BBC French, you are taken to a visual menu where you can select what you want to hear, they have the numbers from 0 - 21, and other key phrases, such as "Quel âge as-tu?" What I like about this site is that it is children speaking, and each bit of spoken text is accompanied by a little animation which makes it fun to watch and understand.

Sam Sam http://www.samsam.fr/

This site is super fun for kids. There are videos with French narration, and games to play. The only drawback is that there is no written text with the videos, so you can't follow the words while you listen. Still fun though, and there is more variety of stories on this site than any other. You need to subscribe to use most features of this site. It’s free, just click where it says ‘Inscris-toi ici’.

Chansons et Comptines http://comptines.tv/

This is a good alternative to YouTube as all the videos are in French and many have words so you can follow along and sing familiar songs and nursery rhymes karaoke-style. Use the list on the left to see which songs have videos and music.

Finally, check out the Toronto Public Library site. They have a "Hear a Story" section, and if you follow the prompts, you can find French stories on there too!