Search This Blog

Friday, March 9, 2012

Bonjour!

We started off the day today with our weekly spelling tests.  The marked spelling tests will be coming home with the students tonight.  I ask that the students re-write any incorrect spelling words 10 times each in their spelling books (including the bonus word).  After the spelling test we moved on to language.  During language the children were asked to use their journals to write predictions for their upcoming March Break.  Each child was asked to write out three predictions, with each prediction being at least two sentences long. Ask your child tonight to hear their thoughts for the upcoming break!  During our IB Unit of Inquiry today we did a reflection on the Reptile Show that we attended yesterday.  The students were asked to reflect back on various parts, and also identify which learner profile attribute they were displaying through the show.  We also finished reading The Tale of Despereaux today.  This story was one that the students responded to very well, and was enjoyed by us all! In the afternoon we had an early March Break treat with popcorn and a viewing of the movie version of Despereaux.  The students also went to french class.

Homework:  Read for 15 minutes and record in the reading chart, complete journal if necessary, and re-write incorrect spelling words ten times each.

Important Information:  A form went home regarding summer camps being offered at SJA earlier this week  Please keep your eye out for it.

A form also went home regarding a Running Club that is beginning at SJA.  Children must have permission to join the running club as it is taking place after school. 

We will be having our next casual day on Thursday, March 29th.

I hope everyone has a safe and fun-filled March Break. I will look forward to seeing everyone back on the 26th!

Best regards,

Mrs. Nelson

Thursday, March 8, 2012

Good afternoon!

Today was a lot of fun at SJA!  We were treated to a special show by Hamilton Reptiles!  During the show we saw tarantulas, geckos, lizards, pythons and alligators just to name a few.  It was a ton of fun and very interactive for the students. Please check out some pictures of the Reptile Show at the end of this posting.  When we came back to class the students began working on language.  They were asked to turn their weekly spelling words into sentences, worked on contractions and root words, and practiced their cursive writing.  During math today the children worked on identifying various shapes (grade one) and estimating length using meters (grade two).  They also went to french and music classes today.

Homework:  Read for 15 minutes and record in the reading chart, practice weekly spelling words for tomorrow's spelling test,  math pages 165, cursive pages 148 - 149 and Letters and Sounds page 142..

Important Information:  Tomorrow is our last day of school before March Break.  March Break runs from March 12th to the 23rd.

A form went home regarding summer camps being offered at SJA earlier this week  Please keep your eye out for it.

A form also went home regarding a Running Club that is beginning at SJA.  Children must have permission to join the running club as it is taking place after school. 

The SJA Book Drive seems to have been a great success.  Today was the last day to send in books for the SJA Book Drive.  I want to send out a thank you to all the families that spent the time at home sorting through your book collections to help make our library a better place.


Best regards,

Mrs. Nelson




Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Good afternoon!

We had a fun filled morning today celebrating St. Patrick's Day!  Students all came to school wearing green and white to celebrate, we had house games where the students came together to compete for house points, and we also had a St. Patrick's Day themed craft in our classroom.  After the fun and excitement of the morning, we spent some time working on our IB unit of Inquiry.  In today's class the children were given a story about Lenny the Leprechaun who found gold but was missing a pot to carry it home in.  The children all had a list of various materials that Lenny had found.  They were asked to examine the materials and sort through them to find the best ones to make a pot to carry the gold, and then create a set of instructions for making a pot.  This was a good way to practice the skill of writing instructions that we learned yesterday, and also to explore the concept of materials once again.  During math today the children worked on identifying various shapes (grade one) and measuring with meters (grade two).  They also went to french and P.E classes today.

Homework:  Read for 15 minutes and record in the reading chart, practice weekly spelling words,  math pages 164 and complete the Lenny the Leprechaun worksheet that we began in class today.

Important Information:  Tomorrow is our reptile show.  Children are going to have to chance to view, hold and inquire about various reptiles to gain knowledge for an upcoming science unit.

This Friday is our last day of school before March Break.  March Break runs from March 12th to the 23rd.

A form went home regarding summer camps being offered at SJA earlier this week  Please keep your eye out for it.

A form also went home regarding a Running Club that is beginning at SJA.  Children must have permission to join the running club as it is taking place after school. 

The SJA Book Drive has been going very well so far!  SJA is still collecting books until the end of this week.  If you have any books or magazines that your family no longer needs, please send them to become a part of the SJA library.  Every child that brings in a book get 1000 house points per book!

I have a picture of our St. Patrick's day craft included at the end of this posting.  Enjoy!


Best regards,

Mrs. Nelson

Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Good afternoon!

We started off the day today working on a writing activity.  The students were introduced to a new form of writing- instructions.  As a class we read instructions for the game Hide and Seek, and we discussed the important elements involved in creating a good set of instructions.  The children then went and made their own set of instructions for a game of their choosing.  In language we also worked on special sounds, suffixes, homophones and cursive. During math today the children were very excited to participate in another mental math challenge.  The student were broken into two teams and competed against each other for house points.  They all seemed to have a lot of fun with this activity.  After the mental math challenge we moved on to working with circles (grade one) and measuring with centimeters (grade two).  They also went to french and music classes today.

Homework:  Read for 15 minutes and record in the reading chart, practice weekly spelling words, Letters and Sounds pages 140 - 141, math pages 162 - 163 and cursive pages 146 - 147.

Important Information:  Gym days have gone back to normal starting this week.  Gym days are on Mondays and Wednesday as usual.

Tomorrow is our St. Patrick's Day spirit day.  Children are asked to come to school wearing green and white to help celebrate the holiday!

This Thursday is our reptile show.  Children are going to have to chance to view, hold and inquire about various reptiles to gain knowledge for an upcoming science unit.

This Friday is our last day of school before March Break.  March Break runs from March 12th to the 23rd.

A form went home regarding summer camps being offered at SJA this summer last night.  Please keep your eye out for it.

A form also went home regarding a Running Club that is beginning at SJA.  Children must have permission to join the running club as it is taking place after school.  Please keep an eye out for this form tonight.

The SJA Book Drive has been going very well so far!  SJA is still collecting books until the end of this week.  if you have any books or magazines that your family no longer needs, please send them to become a part of the SJA library.  Every child that brings in a book get 1000 house points per book!


Best regards,

Mrs. Nelson

Monday, March 5, 2012

Happy Monday!

We started off the day today copying down the new weekly spelling words and working in the spelling workbooks.  The children worked on 'ou' and 'ow' words (grade one) and contractions (grade two).  We also had a lot of fun starting our new IB Unit of Inquiry this morning!  The central idea for this new unit is that "Communities are organized into different structures with different purposes'.  And the lines of inquiry to guide us through this unit are (1) the impact of structures on people and the environment (2) the purpose and characteristic of structures (3) international versus local structures.  In today's class we began discussing structures and spoke about how something is defined as a structure (It is made with a purpose and can support a load), and the importance of materials.  The students then worked on an exercise where they had to compare and contrast the use and materials of various objects.  Ask your child tonight to tell you what they learned!  During math today the children worked on exploring triangles (grade one) and continued working on measurement (grade two).  They also went to french and P.E classes.

Homework:  Read for 15 minutes and record in the reading chart, practice weekly spelling words, Spelling Workbooks pages 97 - 100 (grade one) pages 93 - 96 (grade two), and complete materials worksheet.

Important Information:  Gym days have gone back to normal starting this week.  Gym days are on Mondays and Wednesday as usual.

This Wednesday is our St. Patrick's Day spirit day.  Children are asked to come to school wearing green and white to help celebrate the holiday!

This Thursday is our reptile show.  Children are going to have to chance to view, hold and inquire about various reptiles to gain knowledge for an upcoming science unit.

This Friday is our last day of school before March Break.  March Break runs from March 12th to the 23rd.

A form went home regarding summer camps being offered at SJA this summer.  Please keep your eye out for it.

A form also went home regarding a Running Club that is beginning at SJA.  Children must have permission to join the running club as it is taking place after school.  Please keep an eye out for this form tonight.

Thank you very much to Aziz's family for the pizza lunch and cupcakes they brought in today to celebrate his birthday! It was a great lunch today for everyone!

Best regards,

Mrs. Nelson

Grade One                         Grade Two

1. out                               1. you'll
2. our                               2. they're
3. down                            3. it's
4. how                              4. we've
5. found                            5. isn't
6. house                            6. let's
7. mouse                          7. aren't
8. around                          8. I'm
9. sound                           9. can't
10. frown                        10. we're