Penny Drive!

The Me To We club at Dewson has organized a penny drive. We have already started collecting.

Here is a bit of information from Me To We:

The penny is going out of circulation! Help provide clean water for one person for their WHOLE LIFE by bringing in your pennies.
Each class has be given a special penny bag. Each bag can hold 25$ (or 2500 pennies) which is enough to provide clean drinking water to one person for THEIR WHOLE LIFE! Free the Children has Adopt a Village towns all over the world (i.e. Kenya, Haiti, India) where our money will be going to provide clean water for those who do not have clean water.

If you would like to know more, click here.

Today, every Area 24 reader is bringing home a brand new book to keep! The book is called "J'ai perdu mon chat", and it is a gift from the Canadian Children's Book Centre. We have read the book together so we know what it's about, and hopefully you can have fun reading it over and over at home too!

I'd also like to let you know that I updated the link to Stories with Sam, so that it immediately goes into my account. You should see "Bonjour Tamara!" in the speech bubble when you click on the link. Then, click on Histoires, and select one of the movie stories from either side of the screen. They are quite short, but nicely animated. There's a cute Christmas one up there right now! Enjoy!

Safe & Sound

We're back!

We had a great day at the Nature Centre. We had amazing weather and excellent two-by-two lines walking to and from the streetcar. Thanks to all the fabulous moms who made this trip possible.

With our guides, we went on a hike and looked for animals and their homes. During the walk, we collected ingredients for our pizzas, which we left outside for the animals. Each student made a pizza with ingredients for a specific animal, for example a squirrel or a bird. We also got to see a real turtle and touch a corn snake! I'll let your scientist tell you a bit more about the trip. Here are some good questions to ask:

What kind of animal did you make a pizza for?
What does this animal eat?
Do leaves help keep animals warm in the winter? How do you know?
Where do chipmunks, squirrels, groundhogs and birds live in the winter?
What was the turtle's name?
Can turtles come out of their shells?
What did the snake feel like?
What was the signal to stop and listen at the nature centre?
What did we have to pretend to be when a dog walked by us on the trail?


Pictures coming soon!

Field Trip Reminders!

Dear parents,

Unfortunately I must share with you that today was not a great listening day in Area 24. Many children, struggled throughout the day to follow instructions, stop look and listen when I clapped, and face me. This was especially worrisome when we were discussing the safety rules for tomorrow. Tomorrow we need to be on our best behaviour so that we can earn the priviledge of a second field trip later in the year. We need to be quiet enough to hear our chaperones and guides at all times, especially while travelling to and from the park. I appreciate you taking the time to discuss your expectations for your student's behaviour tomorrow, and review the rules on the pink sheet (also copied below). Thanks so much!

Tomorrow is Area 24’s first field trip! Please keep the following in mind when packing for tomorrow.

We will eat lunch at school at 11:05 in our classroom.

I will bring our school snack with us for later in the day so that children will not need to bring their bag or lunch on the streetcar. They may wish to bring a juice box or water bottle. Perhaps their parent chaperone can carry the bottles for their group so that we don’t need to carry bags with us in the park.

Please dress for the weather. The forecast is showing a lovely day, so running shoes a fall or winter jacket and gloves would be appropriate. Better safe than sorry.

Do not send money, electronics or other valuables.

I’d also appreciate you taking the time to review the following safety rules and park rules with your child. These are things we discussed today and will review tomorrow. Thanks!

• Stay with your partner and parent chaperone at all times.
• When getting off the streetcar, go immediately to the sidewalk and line up with your partner.
• At the park, stay on the path and stay with the group.
• Be respectful of nature - do not disturb living things (plants or animals)
• Follow instructions from Nature Guides and parent chaperones right away.
• Have fun!

See you tomorrow!

Mlle