C'est l'Halloween!

Dear families,
I apologize I am sooo late with this post - lots of stuff going on!

First, we are missing several activity bags this week. Please return these tomorrow so that we can complete our exchange!

Second, there are a lot of important dates upcoming, some of which I failed to get on the November calendar. Please consult the TO-DO list, to the left (viewing on a computer screen) for the current and upcoming due dates and event dates. This week alone, picture orders are due (you can do it online), interview time forms are due and information verification sheets should be signed and returned, if you haven't already done so.
I have also sent home a note regarding our next walking trip to the College/Shaw library. It will be next Monday, the 12th. Please return the pink slip if you would like to volunteer. Thanks!

As I'm sure you know, Progress Reports (for us, "Initial Communication of Learning") are coming home next Tuesday. While I put a great deal of effort into writing all my reports, I think it's much more helpful to speak in person. We encourage all parents to sign up for an interview time on the following Thursday evening or Friday morning. On the green form, please select the date that best suits you, and write down a few times (e.g., 4:30, 5:00 or "anything after 6:00") that would work. If you list your other teachers, we will try to coordinate your times so that you don't overlap or have to wait around. I'll send a confirmation of your time home as soon as I receive all the forms - hopefully Friday.

Here are some bits and pieces from last week...

We had a fun Halloween day with our walk around through the school, a few rounds of Halloween charades, decorating our class with patterned garlands, learning the popular song "C'est l'Halloween" and making our own skeletons, counting out how many bones we wanted to use. Here we are in our costumes!

Our Halloween relay race had to wait until the next day when the rain slowed down. This involved keeping a ghost balloon up in the air, tossing some bean bags into the cauldron and then flying around a tree on a witch broom. It was a close race!

Our guided activity was to draw and write about our costume.

Throughout the week, we used our class pumpkin for a few activities. First, we predicted whether we thought it would sink or float in a bucket of water. Lots of us thought that it would sink, since pumpkins are heavy. Ask your scientist what ended up happening!

Another day, we each had a chance to reach in and pull out some gooey seeds. Each student made 2 piles of 10 seeds. We counted all the piles up, and it turned out there were 426 seeds in our pumpkin. Close to some of our medium guesses (which ranged from 15 to 3 million).

When we had counted them all up, I washed and roasted the seeds, and we got to try them at afternoon snack!

Here are some Halloween creatures we read about...

Un squelette

Un fantôme

Un monstre

Une citrouille

Une sorcière

Last Tuesday, we were lucky to participate in a movement edgeucation workshop, organized for our school by Ms. Kowal. We moved and danced to some amazing music, trying a variety of actions and movements, going in different directions.

Rock Star Pose

Stomping

Getting low and swinging arms!

The Lasso

Calm your body

Here are a few neat things that have happened during our indoor centre time...

Magnet families!

Independent writing practise by copying the morning message. 

(Next time they are challenged to use lined paper!)

I met with some students who were regularly self-selecting activities that were too rowdy for indoors. They came up with a great, positive solution to this problem. If they are not selecting an appropriate activity, they would like me to give them a specific challenge. I tested it out by asking them to build a farm and then sort the animals into farm and wild. Not only did they work together to do this, but they ended up making different enclosures for each animal (cows, dogs...). They even cleaned up as soon as I asked them too. I was very pleased with this result. Let's hope this strategy keeps working!

More to come soon!

Amazing Trip!!

Dear families,
We had an amazing day at Downey's Farm today! There is SO much to do there, we didn't even have time to try everything! Each student got to bring home a pumpkin, as well as an activity booklet containing a map of the farm. Hugo and I solved the mazes and the "spot the difference" game on the way home, and he was able to point out, in order, all the things we did at the farm. Maybe your student can show you all the different activities we did on the map!

If I'm not forgetting anything, we started out by stuffing a HUGE scarecrow, which we got to bring back to school (what do I do with this thing??). We learned that scarecrows are important in the spring because they help protect the newly planted crops which are being harvested right now.

Next we learned about different kinds of pumpkins, squash and gourds. We learned the names of at least 3 different kinds of pumpkins and 2 squash (ask your student if they remember!), and even the special name of the stem!

After snack we got to jump in the hay (amazing) and then we went on a wagon ride through the fairy tale forest and saw where the crops grow.

Hehe! Mlle Sicilia!

After lunch, we went into the "Boo Barn" and then visited the animals. There were goats that we could pet, ducks, chickens and the best cow ever.

At end the day, we got to visit the huge play area where my group bounced, went down a huge slide and explored a pirate ship before it was time to go.

It was a great day with no troubles. Thanks for preparing your kids so well, and to our amazing chaperones. We couldn't have done it without you!

Halloween is around the corner. We know many students get excited for this day. A note was sent out from the office a couple weeks ago outlining some Halloween dos and don'ts. In our classroom, we will not be having any food parties, but certainly we will do some fun thematic activities leading up to and on the day. On Wednesday, please do not send food or edible treats to share. If ever you feel compelled to send something for a special occasion, the dollar store is your best friend. Erasers, pencils, stickers or loot bag items are great alternatives and are super cheap. However, there is no need to send anything, the students will all receive a little something from me.

Students may absolutely come in costume to school if they wish. In fact, we are expecting so many students to do so, that we have planned to parade our classes around the school to show them off! We just ask that the costumes be culturally sensitive and school-appropriate. This means, no weapons, props or masks (face paint is fine), and students need to be able to move around and sit in their costumes so that they can participate in their activities. We appreciate your help in ensuring that props stay home.

In the days following Halloween... oh the candy! I know, because I've seen your kids' amazing lunches, that I don't need to tell you this, but can we keep the treats to just 1-2/day during school time?? I encourage the kids to eat something healthy at morning snack and save their dessert for after lunch. If you could reinforce this, that would be great!

We know our vowels! Each morning when we read the morning message, we look for the letters we know and circle them. The kids can help me read those sounds, at least, but many students are already reading some frequently used words with me (e.g., bonjour). I've explained the French sounds that A, E and I make. Here are the new ones:

O - Pretty much the same as English. It can sound like its name ("fantôme") or sound more like "ah", (as in "octobre"). It never makes the oo sound (as in the English "to") on its own. It would need to be combined with U, as in "bonjour". We may not get into combining vowel sounds in kindergarten, but it's handy to know.

U - Its name and sound are quite tight. I've been having the kids scrunch up their lips like a fish to get the right sound. Another trick is to shape your lips as if to say "oh", but then try to say "ee". The resulting sound is what we're going for. The best way to learn this sound, which does not exist in English, would be to ask your student to teach it to you. They all know it well since it occurs right at the beginning of our poem about "La lune...". U alone, also does not make the oo sound, as above, it would need to follow O to do that.

I sent home our November calendars this week. You'll notice that I do not yet have the date for our November trip to the library, but I do think we will be going. You'll also see that I've listed everyone's name on one of the Fridays. This is your show & tell day. On this day, students are invited to bring one item from home to share with us. It could also be a performance, or sharing a special family member. Last year, we had several parents visit us to tell us about their jobs, and do a short activity with the class. If this is what your student would like to share, please contact me to ensure that we will have enough time! Students will be expected to keep their special item in their school bag when it is not time to share it.

When it is not our show & tell day, we need to remember Dewson's home toys stay home rule. Several students have been regularly bringing little stuffed toys, trading cards, or figurines to school. They are quite distracting, and when they have been momentarily misplaced, it has been full panic mode. Save your special items for this or a future show & tell day. Thanks so much for your help with this!

Have a great weekend and don't forget your activity bags!!