Good afternoon!


We started off the day today with our weekly spelling test.  The marked spelling tests will be coming home with all the children tonight.  I am asking that all incorrectly spelled words (including the bonus word) be re-written ten times each over the weekend.  After the spelling test we moved on to language. During language the children worked on special sounds, root words, and suffixes. After language today the students had their final work period for the summative task that we have been working on all week.  The projects came out GREAT!  I was very impressed with the hard work and the level of creativity that the students showed during this project.  They had a very fun time presenting their work to the class which helped cement the learning and effort that was done.  We had reading buddies today as well which the students enjoyed. IN the afternoon the students all completed the second part of the Ontario Writing Assessment.  This is a standardized test that helps to evaluate the writing level of each student.  The results will be released on the students' report cards.  They also went to P.E and french class today.

Homework: Read for 15 minutes and record in the reading chart, and re-write incorrect spelling words ten times each.
Important information:  On March 7th we are having our St. Patrick's Day Spirit Day. Children are asked to come to school wearing green to help celebrate this holiday!

Pizza forms have gone home with all children for the month of March  Please keep your eye out for them and send in the money and form asap if you are interested in ordering pizza for your child.

On Monday Aziz is bringing in a pizza lunch to share with the class for his birthday.  Students will not need to bring their own lunch to school on Monday because of this kind celebration!

On Monday we are going to be beginning our next IB unit of inquiry.  The central idea for this unit is that 'Communities are organized into different structures with different purposes'.  The lines of inquiry that we will be working on to lead us to the central idea are (1) the impact of structures on people and the environment (2) the similarities and differences of various structures (3) How structures are used in the environment.  I am excited to begin this science based unit with the student next week! 


Have a great weekend!

Mrs. Nelson

Bonjour!

We started off the day today working on sentence writing.  The students were asked to turn 5 of their weekly spelling words into sentences for house points.  I think this is a great way to get in some last minute practice before tomorrow's spelling test.  After the morning routine we moved on to language. During language the children worked on special sounds, suffixes, and cursive. After language the children continued working on their final summative project for our current Unit of Inquiry.  In today's class every child who has completed their good copy began working on their art piece.  The classroom was a flurry of construction paper, paint, glue and sparkles!  I am very excited to see the effort and creativity that is coming along with these art projects, and cannot wait to see them all completed tomorrow in class.  Tomorrow is the final 'finish-up' work period for the summative project.  The rubric will be used to assess the projects tomorrow and sent home tomorrow afternoon. During math today we worked on mental math.  The children were given a range of figures and operations that they had to figure out mentally.  This is a very important skill to work on, and by adding house points as an incentive it makes for a fun afternoon!  They also went to music and french class.

Homework: Read for 15 minutes and record in the reading chart, practice weekly spelling words for tomorrow's test, Letters and Sounds page 136 - 137, cursive pages 142 - 143 and complete story good copy if necessary.

Important information:  On March 7th we are having our St. Patrick's Day Spirit Day. Children are asked to come to school wearing green to help celebrate this holiday!

Pizza forms have gone home with all children for the month of March  Please keep your eye out for them and send in the money and form asap if you are interested in ordering pizza for your child.

Please see a copy of the rubric for the summative assignment that I posted earlier this week.  This is what I am going to be using to assess the story and art piece tomorrow.  I hope that by having the rubric available all week to view and discuss at home and at school, it will help set the students up for success!

Best regards,

Mrs. Nelson

Happy Wednesday!

We started off the day today working in the computer lab on the school laptops. The students were put into pairs and were asked work on their key board skills and once they reached a certain level they were able to celebrate by playing a computer game.  During language the children worked on special sounds, root words, suffixes, and cursive. After language the children continued working on their final summative project for our current Unit of Inquiry.  In today's class all the children worked on turning their edited rough copies into good copies and we also discussed the expectations of the assignment based on the rubric. Tomorrow once all the good copies are completed we are going to begin the art element that follows the stories.  The children will all have to take their story and turn it into either a painting, poem, song, dance, puppet show or diorama.  Please note, if your child has decided to create a puppet show or diorama, please help by sending them in supplies they can use for its construction.  Please speak with your child tonight to find out their preference for the art piece to make sure they have any supplies they need.  During math today the children worked on exploring the sides and corners of various common shapes (grade one) and working with perimeter (grade two). They also went to P.E and french class.

Homework: Read for 15 minutes and record in the reading chart, practice weekly spelling words, math pages 156 - 157, Letters and Sounds page 134 - 135, cursive pages 140 - 141 and locate art supplies if necessary.

Important information:  Tomorrow is the next casual day.  If your child has paid their $2 they may come to school dressed in any casual clothing they would like.

Tomorrow, each child is going to begin creating the art piece to accompany the stories that they have written in class.  Your child has the choice of creating a song, poem, painting, play, puppet show or diorama.  If your child has chosen to make a puppet show or diorama, please help by sending in supplies for them to use.

On March 7th we are having our St. Patrick's Day Spirit Day. Children are asked to come to school wearing green to help celebrate this holiday!

Pizza forms have gone home with all children last night  Please keep your eye out for them.

All children have brought home a permission form regarding an upcoming Reptile Show that is taking place at SJA on March 8th.  The event will give the children great information that will be used in an upcoming 'Charcteristics of Animals' unit.  Please make sure the signed permission form and $5 are brought into school by tomorrow.

Please see a copy of the rubric that I posted last night.  This is what I am going to be using to assess the story and art piece the students are currently working on in our Unit of Inquiry.  Both items will be completed and assessed by this Friday.  I hope that by having the rubric available, it will help set the students up for success!

Best regards,

Mrs. Nelson

Good afternoon!

We started off the day today working on a writing activity. The students were asked to compare the differences between a note and a letter. Once the differences were understood, the students were asked to write their own notes to someone either, thanking them for something, or offering them best wishes.  A lot of creative ideas came out in that activity!  We continued on with language where the children worked on special sounds, compound words, opposites, and cursive. After language the children continued working on their final summative project for our current Unit of Inquiry.  The students all came to school today with their rough copies of their stories begun.  In today's class the children continued working on their rough copies, and some even had theirs edited and began working on their good copies.  Tonight for homework, the children have been asked to complete their rough copy versions of their stories.  Once the good copies are completed, there is an art elements that follows the stories.  The children will all have to take their story and turn it into either a painting, poem, song, dance, puppet show or diorama.  The art element will begin on Thursday.  If your child has decided to create a puppet show or diorama, please help by sending them in supplies they can use for its construction.  During math today the children worked on exploring the difference in common shapes (grade one) and working with perimeter (grade two). They also went to music, P.E and french class.

Homework: Read for 15 minutes and record in the reading chart, practice weekly spelling words, math pages 154 - 155, cursive pages 138 - 139 and complete rough copy of the story.

Important information:  Tomorrow is a gym day again.  The week of March 5th, we will see gym days return to Monday and Wednesday as usual.

Thursday, March 1st is the next casual day.  If your child has paid their $2 they may come to school dressed in any casual clothing they would like.

On Thursday each child is going to begin creating the art piece to accompany the stories that they have written in class.  Your child has the choice of creating a song, poem, painting, play, puppet show or diorama.  If your child has chosen to make a puppet show or diorama, please help by sending in supplies for them to use.

On March 7th we are having our St. Patrick's Day Spirit Day. Children are asked to come to school wearing green to help celebrate this holiday!

Pizza forms have gone home with all children last night  Please keep your eye out for them.

All children have brought home a permission form regarding an upcoming Reptile Show that is taking place at SJA on March 8th.  The event will give the children great information that will be used in an upcoming 'Charcteristics of Animals' unit.  Please make sure the signed permission form and $5 are brought into school by March 1st.

Please see a copy of the rubric I am going to be using to assess the story and art piece the students are currently working on.  Both items will be completed and assessed by this Friday.  I hope that by having the rubric available, it will help set the students up for success!

Best regards,

Mrs. Nelson

Work habits	Excellent. Worked very well with no interruptions.	Very good.  Worked well with few interruptions.	Fair.  Worked with many interruptions	Poor. Was not able to work due to interruptions.
Quality of the story.	Excellent.  The story showed thought and made sense.  There were little to no errors. Evidence of effort always showed. Proofreading was evident.	Very good. The story showed some thought and often made sense.  There were a few errors that did not distract. Evidence of effort usually showed. Proofreading was almost always evident.	Fair. The story sometimes showed thought and made some sense.  There were many errors. Some evidence of effort was shown. Proofreading needs improvement.	Poor. The story showed no thought and did not make sense.  There were many errors that distracted. No effort was shown. Proofreading needs great improvement.
Creativity	Excellent. The story was extremely creative and showed ‘out of the box’ thinking.  The story did was full of interesting ideas and passion.	Very good. The story was creative and had interesting ideas.  The story showed some passion for writing.	Fair. The story did not show a lot of creativity or passion for writing.  The ideas were standard.	Poor.  Little to no creativity was shown in the story writing.  There was no passion shown.  The story ideas were basic.
Quality of art piece.	Excellent. The art piece showed tremendous effort and completely reflected the story.  A great deal of effort was shown in its creation.	Very good. The art piece showed good effort and mostly reflected the story.  Effort was shown in its creation.	Fair. The art piece showed little effort and did not seem to reflect the story.  Little effort was shown in its creation.	Poor The art piece showed no effort and did at all reflect the story.  No effort was shown in its creation.

Happy Monday!

We had a great day back today after a weekend away.  The students started off their day copying down their weekly spelling words and working in their spelling books.  They worked on long 'e' words (grade one) and vowels paired with 'r' (grade two).  After spelling the children began their final summative project for our current Unit of Inquiry.  The students have been asked to write a story where they are the main character.  The story can be a real event that has happened in their lives, or can be completely fictional.  In today's class the students brainstormed a list of possible story topics, and then the students had to choose their favourite topic to write their story about.  It was important to choose a topic they have lots of ideas for, as the story needs to be about a page long double spaced.  Tonight's homework task is to brainstorm ideas for their story now that they all know their topic.  I have also asked that students get started on their rough copy.  The rough copy doesn't have to be completed tonight, but I wanted some ideas recorded.  During our IB Unit of Inquiry today the students also spent some time reflecting on how they have grown as students so far this year.  They spent some time reflecting on the work they have completed, and designed plans for improvement.  In the afternoon the children got a chance to paint their own landscapes of a Canadian spring just like we saw with The Group of Seven.  We all felt spring in the air today, so it seemed like a great time to get our creative juices flowing!  Ask your child tonight to tell you about their paintings.  They also went to french class.

Homework: Read for 15 minutes and record in the reading chart, practice weekly spelling words, Spelling Workbook pages 93 - 96 (grade one) pages 89 - 92 (grade two), and complete rough copy brainstorm.

Important information:  Tomorrow and Wednesday are gym days.  The week of March 5th, we will see gym days return to Monday and Wednesday as usual.

I have sent home envelopes with most students today containing some work that has been completed throughout the school year so far.  Some of this work goes way back to our first unit!  Each student had a conference with me today and we discussed the work, and reflected on how the student has improved so far this school year.  The students each picked out 3 pieces of work and we created a portfolio for them with the titles 'My Best Work', 'The Piece I Worked Hardest On' and 'Something I Would Like to Improve On'.  Please keep en eye out for the envelope of work.  It does not need to come back to school and can be added into your records at home.

Thursday, March 1st is the next casual day.  If your child has paid their $2 they may come to school dressed in any casual clothing they would like.

Pizza forms have gone home with all children tonight.  Please keep your eye out for them.

All children have brought home a permission form regarding an upcoming Reptile Show that is taking place at SJA on March 8th.  The event will give the children great information that will be used in an upcoming 'Charcteristics of Animals' unit.  Please make sure the signed permission form and $5 are brought into school by March 1st.

Best regards,

Mrs. Nelson

Grade One              Grade Two

1. we                       1. farm
2. eat                       2. corn
3. meal                    3. hard
4. tree                     4. park
5. three                   5. part
6. feet                     6. horse
7. heat                    7. more
8. neat                    8. far
9. glee                    9. floor
10. really               10. warm