This is what we look like.

 Here are some more pictures of what's been going on in Area 24...

We practised reading some words with the 'e' sound in them. Here is a picture so that you can review them at home! Does your name have the French 'e' ("put") sound in it?? We are currently working on the sound 'i' (ee).

For our second art project, we went outside to collect some fallen leaves, then we painted them in fall colours and made prints on blank paper. Later, we cut out our leaves and turned them into trees! It makes a beautiful forest just outside our classroom!

Just before our Terry Fox day, we read a book about his life and talked about what he accomplished. We came up with four different sentences about Terry Fox and each student selected one to write on their shoe. You can see an example of each one below. What did your child write??

This is what we look like during independent reading time. We have been at 13 minutes for a few days, and we're working on being even more focused before we attempt 14!

This is what we look like when we play dominoes! This group was really good at taking turns.

This group ended up with a perfect rectangle and started a new game.

 This group was really focused on the game.

This group eventually made up a new game using the dominoes as cards.

Dress for Success

Our gym teacher wanted me to pass on a reminder that all students need to have appropriate footwear (and clothes that they can move comfortably and safely in) in order to participate in gym class. We have gym on days 3, 4 & 5 (after the Thanksgiving holiday this will be Mondays, Tuesdays and Fridays). However, even on non-gym days, I make sure the class has some active time, so it's important for kids to have running shoes at school every day.
If you don't need them at home, runners can be left in our cubbies at school. When we start wearing boots to and from school, we will keep them in our class' shoe bag at school.

Merci!

Scholastic 101

Dear readers,

Every student was super excited to receive the October Scholastic catalogues today. Many told me that they had already spoken to their parents about wanting to order books, and they had lots of questions about how to go about it.

This made me realize that it may be the first year you are participating in a Scholastic program, and it's probably more important for YOU to know how it works (although I did try to explain it to the class today).

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 in the yellow folder 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!