New Schedule

Dear parents,
So much to say and so little time!
As expected, our schedule has undergone some massive changes. This was necessary as our movement/gym teacher has changed. As I try to wrap my mind around our new routines, there are some silver linings for the kids. First, we are thrilled to welcome Mlle Sharma, who teaches dance to the rest of the school, to the kindergarten team. Our students will now receive lots of dance/movement time with her during the time that used to be allotted to drama/dance/visual arts. Students should have gym shoes at school each day, as even if our classes are not in the gym, we have dance/movement with Mlle Sharma 6 days out of 10. In addition, we will get to see our school's music teacher, the amazing Mr. Greene, every week. Our first class was today and we loved it!
The changes to our schedule mean that we sometimes have other classes pretty early in the day. On day 4, we will likely come into the school right away, and have our outdoor play later. On days 6 and 10, either Mlle Sharma or Mr. Greene will be picking up the kids, and may or may not stay outside with them. If you are dropping off late on a day 4, 6 or 10, please make sure that your student has found us before you leave.

The next two weeks before the winter break are jam packed. Next Thursday, those students who registered for the hearing/vision clinic will have their check ups first thing in the morning. In the afternoon, we will be walking to College/Shaw library. The following Tuesday (Dec. 18), you are invited to our Kindergarten Art Hour. Please plan to stop by the gym between 3:30-4:30 pm to admire art work by all the kindergarten classes. There will also be art activities for the kids to try, and hot chocolate to enjoy as you mingle. Finally, this coming Monday, Dec. 10, our Scientist-in-School workshop begins at 9 am sharp. Please be on time for school!

This month, we are doing a little introduction to geometry. This week, our guided activity was to make a picture out of shapes, trace them and label them. We have found some shapes in our classroom, for example the clock, the windows, we even have a cool hexagon storage bin. Ask your student to point out the shapes they see at home and in the community.

Here are the shape we labeled in our drawings this week:

Un cercle

Un carré

Un triangle

Un rectangle

Un hexagone

We have continued exploring the sounds and French names of consonants. We have reviewed c, s, j, g, m, n, r and t. This week, we went on a letter hunt outside, at first just looking for sticks shaped like letters, but eventually we found that we could see letter shapes in the bark of trees, objects in our yard, and even the trees themselves are often shaped like Ys. Here are some examples of what we spotted...

It is the holiday season. This week, we read about Hanukkah and made some menorahs. Teddy very kindly brought in some latkes for us to taste. Merci!

At this time of year, we think of peace, giving and caring for others. In keeping with this, our class is trying to focus on doing one kind act each day for the month of December. Every morning, we pull a card out of our kindness calendar and read the task. So far, we have made a card for Mme Diamond on her last day, focused on saying "s'il te plaît" and "merci", held the door for others, and we sang two songs for Mr. Greene to start off our first music class. 

Don't forget that this Friday is a PA day. Please return your green activity bags on Monday. You will receive one last activity in 2018.

Have a great weekend!

(Above: a leaf pattern on a bracelet!)