Thanks again!

Thanks once more for all the beautiful cards, messages and gifts. It was not necessary, but is very kind of you.
I hope the kids enjoy the book I chose for them. They are all invited to come read to the kinders next year. I hope they will!!

Have a great summer,
Tamara

Thank YOU!

Dear Salle 211 families,

We made it! Can't believe another school year has come and gone.

This week students have been bringing home all of their work and belongings, starting with shoes on Monday, work duotangs on Tuesday, their dictionaries and art on Wednesday and finally their portfolios Thursday. Please ensure that you've checked the lost and found, or sent your child to school with a mission to find anything they've lost. All remaining items will be donated after school Thursday. I do hope that you're able to take some time to look through all of the work that we kept at school this year, especially all of the special projects that we've added to our portfolios. We've taken the time, throughout the year, to reflect on why some of those projects are special to us, or what we learned from them. Look for an item from the beginning of the year and compare it to now... it's astounding!
In the portfolio boxes on Thursday, you will also find a couple extra gifts from me...
1. A new book hand-picked for your child to get you started on your summer reading,
2. a package of fun math to keep your child busy on long car trips, and
3. for grade ones, a copy of the book we just made in our last science period together.

I need to take a moment to thank all of you for your contributions to our success this year. I know that family life is busy, but somehow you found time in your busy schedules to check my blog and support your student at home through daily reading, extending on our discussions and helping with homework and projects - not to mention all the in-school volunteering. 

I should tell you that this has been the most successful reading year for me to date. Our students made a tremendous amount of progress in this area and, while they certainly worked hard, I know that much of the credit goes to you. That daily one-on-one practice is something that I wish I could do more of at school, but it's just not realistic (those of you who visited our class know how it is). Thank YOU for all that you do.

This year has seemed extra busy and challenging to me so I am ready for a nice rest. However, I will miss the kids very much (I kinda feel like their school mom) and look forward to catching up with all of them again in September.

Have an amazing summer and don't forget to keep reading!!

Tamara

THIS IS IT!!

Wow, LAST week!! Is it for real??

I'm crossing my fingers that it's not raining Tuesday morning when we have planned to go to the park. Assuming we go, please ensure that students are dressed for the weather and have sunscreen already applied. Hats and water bottles are important, in addition to a regular lunch and snacks.

Students may bring a game, colouring and/or outdoor equipment with them so long as they can manage it on their own during the walk to and from the park. Please do not allow students to bring money, electronics or other valuables.

We will be leaving school shortly after attendance so please be on time for school. We will return just after our picnic lunch.

At the end of the day (still on Tuesday), students will receive their report cards so be sure to look for that. Please celebrate your student's accomplishments first. Everyone has worked hard and made good progress this year - looking at their stories last week, I really can't believe how much their writing has changed since the beginning of the year. It makes me super proud! Later, think about what area you might be able to work on at home over the summer. Learning skills are a very important area that parents can easily help with, no matter which language you speak. I think I've already said enough about how I feel about summer reading.... :)

I think we are still missing some borrow-a-books from our drawers. Please have another look around just in case there are any hiding amongst your own books. Thanks again for all the reading work you've done. This has been a very successful reading year for our class!

Enjoy this last week sans-children!

Tamara

Outdoor working day

Hi parents,
It was so nice being outside all day today. We still did all of our regular work, including reading, working on our stories and an introduction to fractions in math. Thanks for sending students with hats and water, ready to survive out in the wild.

Our next outdoor morning is next Tuesday, when we have planned to go to Dufferin Grove park, however this is conditional upon have at least 2 parents with us all morning (9:00 - 12:30). So far I only have 1 parent absolutely confirmed, so please do let me know if you're able to come. Thanks!

Some reminders:
- If you would like to borrow a package of books for the summer, please let me know by Friday the 23rd.
- We are wrapping up our borrow-a-book system. Please send in any white books that you have at home by Friday the 23rd. Please search high and low so that we have a full set for next year.
- Same goes for any other school books. Please send them in ASAP!
- Report cards are coming home on the 27th. If you would like to chat with me once more either in person or on the phone, please get in touch soon so that we can make that happen! I expect that we will include next year's placement on the report card, but please keep in mind that sometimes changes to classes and teachers happen over the summer or even in the fall.

Summer Reading & Outdoor Days

Dear parents,

Thanks SO much for coming to our open-house and concert last Friday. It was great to watch the kids lead your around their class, proudly showing off their work. I was so happy with the kids' performance. They really pulled it together quickly. I hope you enjoyed it! If you have pictures, I'd love to see them. Please send them to me at tamara.mitchell2@tdsb.on.ca. Thanks!

 

It's hard to believe that an entire school year has gone by. We have accomplished so much this year. It always astounds me to recall that only 10 months ago we were learning what sound 'a' makes in French, and now we are reading books and writing 3-part stories! Watching the kids develop from day to day is my favourite thing about teaching the early grades.

We have learned a lot very quickly, but unfortunately we will forget quickly too without regular review. In order to return to school in September in good shape for the coming year, it is essential that you continue some sort of regular French routine. You have our words of the week that you can keep reviewing (make a memory game, play hangman, play wheel of fortune, do a speed round, make cards and put them in categories according to number of syllables or alphabetize...), you can set up some French play dates or have a French day each week in your home, you can listen to French music or watch movies or videos in French, but most importantly, we need to keep reading.
The public library is a great resource, as is this blog, for finding online resources. I also have links to a number of stores that carry French books. However, if you would like a bit more support finding reading materials in French, I would be very happy to loan out some of our classroom books over the summer. Let me know by June 23 if you would like a reading package and I will choose some appropriately leveled books for your child. Just make sure they come back to me promptly in September. I will be in Room 202 trying out Kindergarten for the first time!!

Thanks for supporting our borrow-a-book routine this year. Your participation and support with this has been a HUGE part of our success in reading. Please scour your home for those white paper books and ensure they are ALL returned to me by Friday. I need to box everything up and leave the class stocked for the new room 211 teacher. Thanks!

You may have noticed on our wall, a chart where many readers had listed books they read during class time. For over-filling our reading log, we have earned the prize of a full day spent doing our work outside. It looks like Wednesday will be a good day for this. Please ensure that your student has plenty of water, sunscreen already applied and a hat. We will try to stay in the shade, but sunscreen is very important for this full day outside.
You will also receive a note about another non-work day outside next week. On Tuesday, June 27th, many primary classes will spend the morning at Dufferin Grove park to enjoy some outdoor time together. The kids are welcome to bring games or outdoor equipment to play with, so long as they are able to manage it on their own. We will also bring our lunches and have a picnic in the park before returning to school just before the end of lunch recess.
There is no limit on how many parents we can bring - the more the merrier! Please let me know if you can join us, even if only for part of the time. We do need at least 2 parents to be with us all morning to ensure that we are well supervized. Thanks!

Words of the Week

Thank you for supporting our words of the week routine this year. This will be our last week of words. Please keep your cahiers and use them to review these high frequency words over the summer!!

This week we are formally being introduced to the present of the verb être (to be). Like avoir, we use this verb every day and know what it should sound like. We’ve talked about some similarities between the two verbs that can be helpful for learning the spelling rules.

1.  For tu, the verb ends with s - only one letter changes between the two verbs

2.  Il, elle & on are always the same

3.  For ils & elles, they are always the same as each other and you just add an s to the beginning of what it was for avoir

Again, try making up sentences that begin this way. E.g., Tu es très jolie maman!

je suis

tu es

il est, elle est, on est

nous sommes

vous êtes

ils sont, elles sont

Open-House

Hi parents and friends,
Just a reminder that our open-house is taking place Friday morning, from 10:45 until around 11:30. If you arrive early, please wait until 10:45 to come upstairs, as the halls will be very busy with recess entry until that time.
If you have not RSVP'd and know that your student will not have a guest in attendance, please let me know and I'll see that they are occupied for the first half of our time.

Today we had 2 special presentations. The animal handler - totally worth it! The lemur walked across our laps!! Our presenter was super knowledgeable and told us so much about all the animals we met. Definitely ask your child about this presentation and what all the animals felt like!

We also had a wonderful storytelling performance. We heard 2 stories and 2 songs, all interactive and very funny. Ask your student to tell you their favourite story. Mme Morgenstern has challenged all students to create a dance for one of the stories for their next class with her.

This Week...

Hi Salle 211 families,

Thanks again to all of our wonderful volunteers this year - I hope you received our cards and thank-you plants! Thanks in particular to everyone who helped with the Festival and to all the picker-uppers - that was by far the smoothest it's ever gone for me!

Though our time is quickly running out, we still have lots going on at school. In fact, we will have to put a pause on finishing our current projects in language, math and science in order to spend extra time this week preparing to welcome you to our open-house this Friday morning.
I haven't received RSVPs from a handful of kids. I do hope that every student will have someone in attendance (even if it's your caregiver). The first half of the time will be spent touring the classroom, so it would be lovely for everyone to have a guest.

In addition to our open-house, don't forget about the extra special top secret presentation that we have this Thursday at 12:45. You are welcome to join us for this.

While we may not get to our stories or math this week, we will continue with our words of the week and borrow-a-book routine for two more weeks. Please do your best to keep these things going, even into summer!
On the other hand, our Library has begun the process of collecting all books and packing up for the summer. Many students recently received a very small, white, slip of paper listing their overdue books. Please have a look for this paper and search all your bookcases at home to see if you have any school books to return. Many thanks!

Words of the Week 

The last two word lists will be the same for both grades, but should be a review for grade 2s.

This week we are formally being introduced to the present of the verb avoir (to have). We use this verb every day and know what it should sound like. For example, students know that “Nous a du travail à faire” sounds weird, and that it should be “Nous avons...”. This week, work on spelling the verb correctly and making up sentences that start with each person. You can substitute proper names for il and elle. E.g., Elle a les cheveux bruns. Tamara a les cheveux bruns.

j’ai

tu as 

il a, elle a, on a 

nous avons 

vous avez 

ils ont, elles ont

Festival Pick-Up

Hi parents,

This Thursday is the big Festival! I'm looking forward to it and I'm sure that we will have a ton of fun. The one tricky part of the day for me is pick-up. I am still obliged, as I am everyday, to make sure that each child has been safely collected by a caregiver. On Thursday, this will not be able to take place under the overhang and it's always a bit confusing with the Festival going on around us. Here's what needs to happen:
1. If your child normally takes the bus and will not be, please write me a note. Without a note, bus kids will get on the bus!
2. If someone else (someone other than the people I see everyday) is picking up your child at 3:30, please send me a note.
3. The kids will be allowed to start enjoying the Festival at 2:30. There will be plenty of teachers on duty outside, but we will not attempt to keep classes together. I will clearly explain that when students hear the 3:30 bell, they must stop what they're doing and run to our meeting spot in the basketball court area to meet me, and you.
- Please reinforce the importance of listening for this bell and coming to the meeting spot right away. We always end up having to search through the Festival for those 2 kids that didn't come, and it can be stressful until we find them. Let's try to avoid this.
- Please plan to meet us at 3:30 in the basketball court area rather than under the overhang, and pass this on to anyone else who is picking up for you.
4. If you are at Dewson sooner than 3:30 and are happy to be responsible for the care of your child, you can certainly let me know earlier than 3:30. Please find me outside (I'll be wearing a very snazzy orange duty vest) and let me know that you've found and assumed care of your child so that I don't worry about him/her at 3:30. (It's a good idea to do this if you will be manning a game station at 3:30 and are happy to let your child continue to play.)
5. Unclaimed children will be brought to the office at 3:45 like always. Unclaimed backpacks will be at our meeting spot - don't forget to pick these up before you leave!!

Sound like a plan? Questions? Just email me or call the office.

At school we are busily writing our rough drafts of our stories, learning to measure surface area and getting ready for our open-house. Last week with our reading buddies, 9 of us had the chance to use our new iPads. We tried out a few apps that support French literacy: Lire-Tôt, Jeux pour lire and A+ Spelling Tests (with high frequency word lists that I created). Ask your student if they've had their first turn yet!

The grade 1 scientists have been looking deeper into living things. We've identified the main parts of the human body, sorted our food into the food groups and discussed which groups we need more or less of, we've considered where animals, plants and humans fall in the food chain, we've talked about why animals can become endangered, and we are watching eagerly as our bean seeds turn into quickly growing plants. Just a little more to cover in science this year... We're almost done!

Words of the Week

Grade 1: This week we are learning how to conjugate regular -er verbs in the present tense, focusing on the first person only (je). This is one of the structures that our students use regularly. I’m not going into a lot of detail with students (e.g., which verbs this rule does and does not apply to) - as they learn more about conjugating, they will learn when this rule does not apply. For now, we will begin simply by trying to remember that when you say (and write) “Je [fill in action word here]...”, that action word usually ends with an e, even though we don’t really hear it.

A fun game this week might be a Wheel of Fortune or Hangman style game. Let your student be in charge of making up short sentences beginning with these words, and you guess the letters - making sure they remembered the final e!

E.g.: _ _   _ _ _ _ _ _ _   _ _ _   _ _ _ _ _ _ .

         J e    c h e r c h e   m o n   c r a y o n.

je marche, je cherche, je chasse, je me lave, 

je nage, je parle, je regarde, je vole, 

je donne, je joue

Grade 2: We are extending on the grade 1 challenge and adding ALL of the "people" (not just "je") for regular verbs that end in -er (e.g. parler, sauter, écouter). I am highlighting the endings of each verb because they stay the same for most verbs with the -er ending. What I'd like grade 2s to do is write out the verbs Sauter, Travailler and Écouter in the format that I have used for Parler, using the correct ending for each person. That's 1 verb/night.
PARLER               SAUTER                 TRAVAILLER              ÉCOUTER
 je parle
tu parles
il/elle/on parle
nous parlons
vous parlez
ils/elles parlent

LIVE Animal Alert

Dear parents,
Thanks to Mlle Boukas, our live animal demo is going ahead during the afternoon of June 15th.
The cost is $7/child. We ask that you please send in payment by June 8th (cash only please).
You are welcome to join our class for this event from 12:45 - 1:25 on the 15th.
We're still attempting to keep this as a surprise for our classes, so please try to send the money without giving too much away!!

This adds to the many things that are coming due on the 8th. Here's a little review:
1. Scholastic orders
2. RSVP for our open-house
3. Animal Money
4. It's Festival day! (possibly involving more $$ and a very complicated pick-up, which we will talk about later)

Thank YOU Volunteers!!

Hi Parents,
Many of you - in fact I think members from every family - have at some point contributed to our school life in tremendously important ways from coming on outings to reading with children on a weekly basis. In fact, there have been so many volunteers this year that I haven't been keeping up with sending home thank you notes, but know that we are very grateful.

Dewson will be hosting a Volunteer Tea next Wednesday morning (June 7th) from 7:45 - 8:45 am in the gym. Everyone who has volunteered in our class is invited to attend. 

I promise that by then we will have written cards to properly thank you for your time and energy.

We're not done with you yet!!!
As the end of the year approaches, there are a few behind the scenes jobs that are mindless, but time consuming that I would very much appreciate help with. If you feel able to help with any of the following, please get in touch. Thanks SO much!
- repairing books that are in our book hospital (it's overflowing!!)
- cleaning and refilling glue bottles