Happy Monday!

It was a great weekend due to the fabulous turnout and performances at the Gala!  I hope everyone had as much fun as I did chatting with SJA families and watching all the children perform.  It seemed like a great time was had by all!
We started off the day today working on spelling.  The children copied down the new weekly spelling words and worked in their spelling workbooks on long 'i' words (grade one) and 'wh' and 'ch' blends (grade two).  In our Unit of Inquiry today we began our second line of inquiry 'the art forms of international cultures both past and present'.  To begin this line of inquiry, the children were introduced to a number of books that allowed them to explore art forms from various countries around the world.  They got into pairs and choose a country and an art form to study further.  The pairs then had to present 2 facts and 1 question they gathered from their reading.  Ask your child tonight to tell you what they presented.  We also spent some time today going over the rubric for the upcoming poetry in-class competition.  There are 5 elements they are going to be graded on during Wednesday's competition (1)  How well they listen to the other presentations (2)  How prepared they are with their poem (3) How clearly they speak (4) Their volume during the presentation (5) Their enthusiasm- body language, expression, facial expression etc.  Please go over these important elements with your children while you are practicing with them at home.  During math today we worked on identifying the masses of various objects (grade one) and length, width and height (grade two). 

Homework:  Read for 15 minutes and record in the spelling chart, practice weekly spelling words, and Spelling workbooks pages 85 - 87 (grade one) 81 - 84 (grade two).

Important information:  Today was the last day to bring in ROM trip forms and money to be able to join us on the school trip.

Thank you to Ninara's family for the pizza lunch that was enjoyed today!

There are a number of exciting and important dates coming up.  Please make a note of the following:

• Tomorrow is the Valentine's Day Spirit Day.  Children may come to school wearing red, white or pink to celebrate the holiday.
• Tomorrow children are welcome to bring in Valentine's Day cards for their peers as well as any treats they would like to share with the class.
• Wednesday is the in-class poetry competition.  Our class is reciting their poems along with Mrs. Haag's class.  This is where the winners from each class will be announced for the whole-school oral presentation competition on February 23rd.
• Thursday is our class ROM trip.  Lunches should be sent with the children.  Backpacks are not allowed to be brought into the ROM.  Lunch bags will be left in a class cubby to be used at lunch time.  The bus is leaving the school at 9am sharp.  Please make sure you are not late on Thursday, as your child will miss the bus.
• Friday is a P.D day.  There is no school on Friday.
• Monday is Family Day.  There is no school on Monday.
• Tuesday, February 21st is the SJA Pancake Eating contest.  All houses will compete to see who can eat their stack of pancakes fastest for house points!
• The whole-school oral presentation contest is on Thursday, February 23rd.  Parents are welcome to attend to watch the children compete.  The judging starts at 9am.
• Gym days are happening on Tuesdays and Wednesdays for the month of February.

Best regards,

Mrs. Nelson


Grade One                     Grade Two
1. five                            1. what
2. mine                          2. such
3. like                            3. where
4. ride                           4. peach
5. time                           5. much
6. kite                            6. when
7. bike                           7. whip
8. dime                           8. arch
9. rise                             9. coach
10. dive                         10. who