Extra pictures...

 Mme Mitchell!

 Neat stage in the development of a bean plant

 Dancing with guest hip hop artist

 Fathers' Day poetry

 Round Dance for Aboriginal Day

 Reading maps at Riverdale Farm

Bonnes Vacances!!

LAST POST!

Dear families,

Thank you so much for the extremely generous gifts, it's too much. It has been my pleasure teaching your children this year, they are all wonderful and special and I will miss them much more than they will miss me - trust me! Please scroll down if you have not already read my thank you message to YOU, you have made such a difference this year.

Today I have a little gift for the children as well. I'm giving each student a new communication pocket. I thought after the disaster of the paper folders, a fabric (and hopefully waterproof) zipper pocket would be an appropriate gift that they can make good use of next year. In it you will find a new workbook (I was thinking summer journal?) and some extra math and French activities that you might like to do over the summer or take with you on long car trips! I've included some colour-by-numbers (of course involving adding and subtracting), word searches, mazes and money problems. I hope the kids are interested and enjoy showing you what they can do.

I have also included a CD of pictures and movies from this year. I couldn't fit everything on, so I tried to make an album for each child that contains only pictures and movies that feature them! I know many of my pictures from this year have been fuzzy, but the movies are great, and there are some pictures there that didn't make it onto the blog. Hope this provides you with a fond memory of grade 1!

One thing I did not include is reading material. Please visit your public library often and look for French books. Summer is looong and we quickly forget our French! Please keep reading a part of your daily routine!!!

I also wanted to mention that the sound place mat we brought home a couple days ago is a great tool that students can continue to use next year. The grade 2 teachers know we made them and would love for them to bring it to school in September. I laminated them, so feel free to use them as real place mats this summer (you can practise words at dinner!) and then send them to school in September. The name tags can also be re-used next year, so leave them in the backpack so that they're ready to go.

Again, thank you for a wonderful year. I look forward to seeing you all around the school in September.

Have a fantastic summer!

Sincerely,

Tamara



Report Card Etiquette

Hello parents,

I hope you have been enjoying the work that's been coming home! Yesterday, students labelled a map of our school and were able to independently locate our classroom, the gym, the library, the music room and a few other places. Students also brought home their amazing stories (which I was sad to let go of and hope you will read over and over) and their math cahiers which have plenty of undone pages that you can try over the summer!

Today students are bringing home their term 2 report card. Like last time, I will be having a discussion with students about what their report cards mean and some things to remember on report card day. Here is some of what we will discuss:

• Report cards are personal, don't share your marks with anyone. Everybody is good at different things, and it never feels good to compare.
• Only open your envelope once you are with your parent/caregiver. Do not open envelopes alone or on the bus.
• Take learning skills comments seriously. It is hard to make progress in subject areas without strong learning skills.
• Trying your best is the most important thing. In the subject comment boxes, I explain what you've accomplished so far, and what you can try to do next in order to get an even better mark next time. Read these with care and decide what you will try to do better (pick one thing). Parents can also select one thing they'd like to work on over the summer.
• Please take a moment to write your goals on the bottom of the second page and return it to me tomorrow.

Our bean or pea plants are also coming home today. I think we finally managed to get everyone's growing! Yay! Tomorrow we will take care of the last few things left at school, including shoes. If there's anything in particular that you know is missing, please make sure your child comes to school on a mission to find it.

See you soon,

Tamara