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!!