June Calendar

Dear Salle 101 families,

It's hard to believe that it's June already! This year has gone by so quickly, but I'm happy with all we've accomplished. I think we are ready for grade 1!!

The June calendar has come home and it is jam-packed with fun stuff. A few worth pointing out...

1) Please look for the note next week about the last library trip, and shortly after, about our Dufferin Grove Day. Both walking excursions will not be possible without some parent volunteers, so please consider whether you can join us.

2) On the 13th, before school, Dewson is hosting it's annual 'Volunteer Tea'. This is put on by staff, to thank YOU, the parents who make so many activities, trips and workshops possible. Almost every student in our class has had a parent join us for some sort of trip or workshop, and I'm sure many of you are contributing to our school in ways I'm not even aware of. We have tried to send thank you cards after trips (except this last one, sorry!), but we would like to thank you with FOOD! Please consider yourselves ALL invited before school on the 13th. Thank you from our entire class, but mostly me, and hope to see you there!

3) The 13th is also the final day for Scholastic orders. Below are some great options for French summer reading. If you would like to borrow some classroom games/resources for French practice over the summer, please let me know by June 6th.

June Club de Lecture Catalogue:

- #14F0 "Collection Je lis mes mots-outils Série 4" - this is the appropriate level of book for our beginning readers, and you get a bunch of books for $1 each!!

- #9F0 "Lettres et mots" - A French summer workbook, also great for fine motor. Kids love these things!

- #4F0 "Mon premier livre pour observer la nature" - Likely too hard to read on our own, but we have done a lot of activities using the nature around us, not only when we've planted flowers or looked for leaves, but also looking for letters and numbers and talking about caring for our environment. This book will be great for our nature lovers!

This last week has been spent rehearsing and preparing for last night's concert. I was very proud of all the kids, I thought they did a phenomenal job on their play. I was approached several times today by other parents who thought it was quite amazing what we were able to pull off, or how clever our kids are! My only disppointment was that the gym was so full and noisy, that I worry that perhaps you couldn't hear or see your kids, despite renting extra microphones specifically for the play. I talked to the kids today about potentially inviting you to our classroom for a little reprise, at which time we could also present some of our favourite poems. I know that not everyone will be able to attend during the school day, but even if we just have a small group, it would be fun for us to present our play again, since we worked on it for so long. Stand by as I try to find a time in this busy month...

I'm sure you noticed our home-made backgrounds, which we all had a hand in. I hope you also stopped by our bulletin board to see our marbled flowers. They are just magical! Please ask your student how you might be able to do this again at home!!

Please be sure to check back early next week for information about Festival Day, as dismissal is always complicated.

Thanks! 

Tamara

Concert Reminders

This is TOMORROW!! I am very excited! Here are some reminders coming home today (see blog post from last week for details).

1. Please meet in room 101 @ 4:30 pm (concert begins at 5:00).
2. Please wear PINK and/or PURPLE and/or BLUE and/or GREEN.
3. Please be a respectful performer and audience member.
4. Smile!

Parents, in addition, some reminders just for you:

1. Let me know if I am picking up your daycare kid!

2. Please look for signs in the gym indicating where our class will be performing (NOT on stage!). Please sit as close to us as you can for a good view of our play!

3. If anyone is able to video the play and send it to me, I'd love to see it!

4. Please make eye contact with me after the concert so I know all kids are picked up and safe (I will be late for my own choir rehearsal, so I appreciate a speedy dismissal!). 

5. Please take home your child's Alphabet Soup and 3D Structure!
6. Please check the main lost & found area by the overhang stairs - these items will be donated soon.

Thanks, hope you enjoy!

High Park

Dear Salle 101 families,
We had a fastastic time at the park today! Thanks to our many parent volunteers, and Mlle Jade, who worked really hard to keep eyes on everyone and help us get everyone there and back safely. We appreciate you!

In the morning, we made our way through the park to the zoo, where we saw mountain goats, bison, emu, several peacocks fanning their feathers, capybara, llamas and lots more. We ran into a zoo keeper who let us touch and try on an antler!

We also got to spend a good amount of time at the castle playground. There's so much to do there, we could have stayed even longer!

After our picnic lunch, we had our gardening workshop at the Children's garden. We rotated through three centres. At one centre, we learned about butterflies. Ask your butterfly what they do in the winter! We played a fun game acting this out!

At another centre we learned about composting and earth worms. We looked at the garden's composting centre, where we could see the three stages of food scraps decomposing back into nutrient rich soil. We got to sprinkle some compost into the garden beds ("Where are the pillows?").
At this centre, we also got to look in a bin containing a worm habitat, and even hold some worms, trying to distinguish between the head and the tail. Ask your scientist how many hearts a worm has. Does it have eyes? How does it breathe? Where does it like to live?

At the third centre, we got to do some planting. We learned how to turn over the soil so that it's not too compacted, how to dig a good hole and sprinkle in some compost, and then each student planted either a vegetable or a flower. The Children's Garden is growing almost every vegetable you can name, all planted by kids! Some of us planted Marigold flowers next to the vegetables. They do happen to be an edible flower, but that's not why most people plant them next to their other plants. I wonder if any of our gardeners remember why... At this centre, we also planted a geranium for ourselves (came home today), and watered all the garden beds.

At the end, we worked on a nature scavenger hunt, which we have also brought home (some of us weren't able to find absolutely everything).

Throughout the day, all our students were well-behaved, followed instructions, stayed with their groups, made some interesting and intelligent comments, asked good questions, and were enthusiastic about everything. It was a great day, and I'm sure we will all sleep well!!

Trip Reminders!

Dear parents,

Our High Park trip is tomorrow!! Last week's classes loved their day, so I am very excited. A reminder note is coming home today. It says the following:

1. Please be on time for school. We want to leave promptly after 9:00 attendance.

2. Bring a lunch, snacks and FULL water bottle.

3. Dress for success! We will be outside and on our feet all day. Layers and comfortable footwear are a must.

4. Please remind your child of what is expected of them on the trip. We are expected to respect living things, use tools appropriately and not pick or eat anything. It is crucial that our students pay close attention to instructions from their chaperones, teachers and Nature guides. When waiting for/exiting from the bus/streetcar, students will be asked to keep their back against a wall/fence and stay very close to their chaperone.

In addition, I suggest the kids have a hearty breakfast before school, as we have a long travel and walk up a steep hill before we will be able to have a snack. Thanks!

In case you haven't figured it out, we have completed our green activity bags for this year. Thanks for your support with this routine throughout the year, I hope you enjoyed doing the activities at home! Over the summer, I highly recommend continuing with some French review, be it vocabulary, reading or other activities in French. I am always very happy to loan out materials if it helps make this possible for you. If you would like a summer package, please let me know in the next couple weeks.

Lately, we have been learning about 3D shapes. It is tempting to call a sphere a circle, to call a cube a square, or to call a prism a rectangle. It is great that we can recognize the shapes of the sides, and the similarities between shapes, however we want to learn the mathematical names for some basic 3D forms. We have now pretty much mastered the sphère, cube, cylindre, cône, prisme, and pyramide. We have been playing "Qui suis-je?" as a fun way to identify some characteristics of these forms, without making a busy attributes chart, as we surely will in grade 1. We have learned to recognize which shapes can roll, and what 2D shapes are used to build different 3D forms. For instance, we know that prisms use a lot of rectangles, while pyramids use a lot of triangles. We also know that a pyramid has an obvious sommet on the top (the kids have insisted on learning the word sommet even though I told them to ignore me when I teach them grade 1 stuff). Many students are now able to give the "Qui suis-je?" hints, in French! I wonder if they can play this game with you at home...
For some hands on fun, we have continued to build 3D forms using our magnet toys and Mme Diamond's example sheet (now we can name what we've made), and we also finally used up all my recycling I've been hoarding all year, to build some 3D structures. We will display these at our upcoming concert for you to admire and take home!

Next Thursday, May 30 (5 pm), is our Kindergarten Concert. It is very un-Mlle Mitchell-like to not prepare a song, however, we have been working on our play for quite some time, and are very hopeful that we can pull it off for you! On May 30, I would like to have all students back to the classroom at 4:30 for last minute preparations, at which point you should grab a seat in the gym (look for signs so that you sit close to where our class will perform, as we will be setting things up differently in the gym). If your child goes to daycare and you will not be picking up before the concert, please communicate to both the daycare teachers and myself that I should pick up. I don't mind going to the daycare rooms at 4:25 if that helps you out. The concert should be over by 6:00, and I will try to keep the kids in our corner of the gym until a caregiver makes eye contact with me. Please take home your child's sculpture and artwork as you leave. It would be great if the kids could wear pink and/or purple and/or green and/or blue for the concert! This will help us look the part for our play, as I don't have quite enough aprons of each colour to go around.
In advance of the concert, please remind your performer of what is expected during the performances (their own, as well as their friend's classes). We need to make sure we are silent and respectful during others' performances, as well as engaged and participating during our own. It is easy to get distracted, and it would be a shame to take away from what we/others have worked hard on. We talk about this at school during each rehearsal. Can't wait!!

Reminders

Hello families,
First of all, a big thank you to the parents who got a little wet with us today. It was worth walking over to the library in the drizzle to hear some funny takes on fairy tales, watch a puppet show, and watch some of our own students act out Goldilocks and the Three Bears!

Our next trip is Friday the 24th, to High Park. Forms were due last Friday and I am still missing quite a number. Please send back the form ASAP, even if you have not yet been able to pay online. I need to know our numbers and confirm our volunteers. Thanks!

This Thursday is Walk & Roll to school day. A big group will be meeting at Dufferin Grove park at 8am and then walking/riding to school together around 8:30. Hope you can be a part of this!

Scholastic orders for May are also due Thursday. I encourage everyone to look at the May and June catalogues and think about whether there is anything that may be useful for summer French reading practice. Many of us are starting to sound out, recognize high frequency words and even read in French. This is very exciting, and beyond what we were aiming for this year. I would hate to see us lose speed over the summer. Here are a few items from May Club de Lecture that I would recommend:
- 20F9 "Collection Je lis! Animaux" - these are a great deal at $1/book and it's the right level.
- 21F9 "Mes petits livres - Série 6" - also $1/book
- 16F9 "Trio famille" - these books are a little more substantial, but still very affordable and have lots of words that we will know.
- 30F9 "Moi, le soleil" - likely not a book that we can read on our own, but it appears to touch on some of the inquiry questions our class had.

Happy belated Mother's Day to all our moms, grandmas, and others that are like moms to us! I hope you loved your little gift. We worked hard over the week to paint our pots, write out our poem and put it all together. Of course, we have been caring for our sunflowers at school for about a month, and they are now ready for a bigger pot, so I hope that is something you can do at home. We appreciate you!

Last week, my mom, Madame Mitchell, visited again, and brought over a special visitor - my dog Sadie!! I tell the class about her ALL the time, so they feel that they know her and were SO excited to meet her! She's not sure what children are (aliens??) so she's not looking too enthusiastic, but she was very sweet and let everyone give her a little pet if they wanted.

This week, Mme Diamond is with us Monday-Wednesday. She has long completed her placement hours, but has chosen to continue volunteering with us for the rest of the year which is great for us, and for her. This week, Mme Diamond will be the lead teacher. It is great practice for her to manage the transitions, plan the day and do all the behaviour support, which is often the hardest part of teaching. Today, she planned an excellent activity around 3-D geometry: building shapes with marshmallows and toothpicks. All students successfully built one or more of the shapes presented. We will continue to work on 3-D shapes this week, and we aim to learn the difference between a cube, prisme and pyramide. Ask tomorrow what the difference is!

Here are some 3D shape words to work on:

Un cube

Un cylindre

Une sphère

Un prisme

Une pyramide

This group is playing house - see the different bedrooms?

This group built a bouncy castle, and everyone got a turn.

Some of us played bean bag toss and added up our score.

Some of us had such fun playing golf. I'm no expert, but I think we have a driver, a chipper thing and a putter. I was the caddie and we learned how to use each club semi-properly!