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Friday, April 27, 2012

Bonjour!

I wanted to give a big 'thank you' to all the families that came out to watch The 12th Night last night.  It was a wonderful show and the 4 - 8s did a great job!  


The students started off today by having their weekly spelling tests.  The marked spelling tests will be coming home with them tonight.  I ask that all misspelled words (including the bonus word) be written out 10 times each in their spelling books. During language today the students worked on  special sounds, finishing words and cursive.  In our IB unit of inquiry today the children completed their good copies of their structures books.  The books turned out wonderfully and I was very proud to see all the hard work and knowledge that the students displayed.  In the afternoon the students all had a chance to present their books to the class which was a lot of fun.  The students then completed a self reflection of their book, a friend's book and the learning that they accomplished in this unit.  Way to go!  The students are all bringing home their marked rubrics with them tonight.   During math today the children worked on deciphering the differences in data (grade one) and exploring the characteristics of polygons (grade two).   They also went to French and P.E classes.


Homework:  Read for 15 minutes and record in the reading chart, re-write incorrect spelling words ten times each (including bonus),  Jump Math page 186 - 187 and cursive page 187.

Important information:  Invitations for the French Cafe have gone home with all children and have also been sent out electronically.  The French Cafe is taking place on May 4th from 12 - 3pm at SJA.  All friends and family are welcome to attend this event.  Grandparents are especially welcome to attend, as this event is taking the place of the traditional Grandparent's Day concert.  Families are asked to RSVP to me in your child's agenda as soon as possible so that food preparations for the light lunch can be made accordingly.  Details for the children's costumes can be found on Mme. Stella's blog.


Information for SJA Summer Camps are now available.  SJA offers a range of camps over the summer months with a variety of themes ranging from karate camps, to writing camps to traditional summer camps programs.  Please contact the school for more information about these exciting programs.


If your child is part of the SJA choir, please make sure they are practicing the choir song at home.  You can find the song lyrics athttp://www.stlyrics.com/lyrics/theparenttrap/doyoubelieveinmagic.htm and play the song for them at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GKyGyH9mWHk.

On Monday we will be starting our final IB Unit of Inquiry for this school year.  The theme of this unit is 'Sharing the Planet'.  The central idea that we will be focusing on during this unit is 'Our planet is made up of living things with varying needs and characteristics'.  We will have three lines of inquiry that will help us real our central idea.  The 3 lines of inquiry are (1) The needs and characteristics of living things (2) How the environment provides for all living things (3) How we maintain a healthy environment.  I am really looking forward to this unit!


Have a great weekend,

Mrs. Nelson 

Thursday, April 26, 2012

Good afternoon!

The students started off today by working on story writing.  The students were asked to choose 3 of their weekly spelling words and use them to write a fictional story.  A number of great stories were turned in about mermaids, princesses, CSI workers, etc.  Very creative! During language today the students worked on suffixes, special sounds, root words and cursive.  In our IB unit of inquiry today the children continued working on their rough copies of their structures stories and most children began working on their good copies as well.  These stories are coming along very well!  Ask your child tonight to tell you about their progress with this important assignment.  In tomorrow's class they are going to complete their good copies and all students are going to have a chance to read their books to the class in an oral presentation.  I have the rubric that is going to be used to assess the book attached at the end of Tuesday's posting for you to review.  During math today the children worked on organizing different types of data (grade one) and exploring the characteristics of various types of triangles (grade two).   They also went to French class and we got a chance to watch the dress rehearsal of The 12th Night.


Homework:  Read for 15 minutes and record in the reading chart, practice weekly spelling words, complete Bell Work story if needed and cursive page 185.

Important information:  Tomorrow SJA's upper class is holding a hot dog sale!  Hot dogs will be on sale during 1st recess for $2.00 each.  The class is hoping to raise money for their trip to Ottawa.  If you would like your child to have a hot dog for lunch that day please send money with them.  There will be all beef or halal chicken hot dogs available both at $2.00.  

Invitations for the French Cafe have gone home with all children and have also been sent out electronically.  The French Cafe is taking place on May 4th from 12 - 3pm at SJA.  All friends and family are welcome to attend this event.  Grandparents are especially welcome to attend, as this event is taking the place of the traditional Grandparent's Day concert.  Families are asked to RSVP to me in your child's agenda as soon as possible so that food preparations for the light lunch can be made accordingly.  Details for the children's costumes can be found on Mme. Stella's blog.

 The 12th Night tomorrow production is happening tonight at 7pm!  I hope to see lots of students, families and friends there.   Any students that attend the concert will receive 1,000 house points for coming and the house that has the most students attending wins a big prize from Mr. Sawatsky!

Information for SJA Summer Camps are now available.  SJA offers a range of camps over the summer months with a variety of themes ranging from karate camps, to writing camps to traditional summer camps programs.  Please contact the school for more information about these exciting programs.


If your child is part of the SJA choir, please make sure they are practicing the choir song at home.  You can find the song lyrics athttp://www.stlyrics.com/lyrics/theparenttrap/doyoubelieveinmagic.htm and play the song for them at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GKyGyH9mWHk.


Best regards,

Mrs. Nelson 

Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Bonjour!

The students started off today by having some time in the computer lab.  They were asked to practice their keyboard and mouse skills which is a very handy skill to have! During language today the students worked on suffixes, special sounds, completing sentences and cursive.  In our IB unit of inquiry today the children began working on their structures books.  As a class we had a discussion of all the elements that go into a proper non-fiction book (cover page, table of contents, page numbers, etc.) and the children had a chance to create their book's cover page.  They also began writing their rough copies of information to be included in the book.  Ask your child tonight to tell you about their progress with this important assignment.  I have the rubric that is going to be used to assess the book attached at the end of yesterday's posting.  During math today the children worked on sorting data into groups (grade one) and sorting and recognizing shapes based on their characteristics (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 and cursive page 183.

Important information:  This Friday SJA's upper class is holding a hot dog sale!  Hot dogs will be on sale during 1st recess for $2.00 each.  The class is hoping to raise money for their trip to Ottawa.  If you would like your child to have a hot dog for lunch that day please send money with them.  There will be all beef or halal chicken hot dogs available both at $2.00.  Veggie dogs are available as well upon request for $2.00.    Please send in the money and order forms to Mrs. Brasil by tomorrow.


Invitations for the French Cafe have gone home with all children and have also been sent out electronically.  The French Cafe is taking place on May 4th from 12 - 3pm at SJA.  All friends and family are welcome to attend this event.  Grandparents are especially welcome to attend, as this event is taking the place of the traditional Grandparent's Day concert.  Families are asked to RSVP to me in your child's agenda as soon as possible so that food preparations for the light lunch can be made accordingly.  Details for the children's costumes can be found on Mme. Stella's blog.

Tomorrow is the next casual day at SJA.  Students may come to school dressed in any casual clothing they wish.

The upper year students are having a production of The 12th Night tomorrow night!  All students from SJA are welcomed and encouraged to attend this free production with their friends and families.  The production begins at 7pm in the SJA auditorium.  Any students that attend the concert will receive 1,000 house points for coming!

Information for SJA Summer Camps are now available.  SJA offers a range of camps over the summer months with a variety of themes ranging from karate camps, to writing camps to traditional summer camps programs.  Please contact the school for more information about these exciting programs.


If your child is part of the SJA choir, please make sure they are practicing the choir song at home.  You can find the song lyrics athttp://www.stlyrics.com/lyrics/theparenttrap/doyoubelieveinmagic.htm and play the song for them at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GKyGyH9mWHk.


Best regards,

Mrs. Nelson 

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Good afternoon!

The students started off today by working on a writing activity that focuses on paragraphs.  We had a discussion as a class about the proper elements of a paragraph (one topic, opening/closing sentences, the body, etc.) and as a class we wrote a proper paragraph about my dog Duke.  The children then had to go back and write their own paragraphs about either a real or fictional pet in their lives.  Ask your child tonight to tell you what they wrote about.  In our IB unit of inquiry the students watched a Bill Nye the Science Guy clip all about structures.  The children collected interesting facts from the video that they are going to use in their structures books that we are creating tomorrow.  In tomorrow's class the children are going to be asked to turn all the facts they have learned in this unit into a book.   They are going to create, write, illustrate and present their to the class.  This project is going to be marked with a rubric that I have posted at this end of today's blog for you to review.  Help your child tonight by practising interesting facts with them from our structures unit.  During math today the children worked on sorting data into groups (grade one) and problems and sides and vertexes (grade two).   They also went to french class.


Homework:  Read for 15 minutes and record in the reading chart, practice weekly spelling words and cursive page 181.

Important information:  This Friday SJA's upper class is holding a hot dog sale!  Hot dogs will be on sale during 1st recess for $2.00 each.  The class is hoping to raise money for their trip to Ottawa.  If you would like your child to have a hot dog for lunch that day please send money with them.  There will be all beef or halal chicken hot dogs available both at $2.00.


Invitations for the French Cafe have gone home with all children and have also been sent out electronically.  The French Cafe is taking place on May 4th from 12 - 3pm at SJA.  All friends and family are welcome to attend this event.  Grandparents are especially welcome to attend, as this event is taking the place of the traditional Grandparent's Day concert.  Families are asked to RSVP to me in your child's agenda as soon as possible so that food preparations for the light lunch can be made accordingly.  Details for the children's costumes can be found on Mme. Stella's blog.

This Thursday is the next casual day at SJA.  Students may come to school dressed in any casual clothing they wish.

The upper year students are having a production of The 12th Night on this Thursday!  All students from SJA are welcomed and encouraged to attend this free production with their friends and families.  The production begins at 7pm in the SJA auditorium.  Any students that attend the concert will receive 1,000 house points for coming!

Information for SJA Summer Camps are now available.  SJA offers a range of camps over the summer months with a variety of themes ranging from karate camps, to writing camps to traditional summer camps programs.  Please contact the school for more information about these exciting programs.

I am still waiting for report cards to be completed and returned to me from a few students.  Please complete the 'Parent's Comments' section of the report card and return to school as soon as possible.  I am looking to get returned copies from the following students: Ninara and Seanna.

If your child is part of the SJA choir, please make sure they are practicing the choir song at home.  You can find the song lyrics athttp://www.stlyrics.com/lyrics/theparenttrap/doyoubelieveinmagic.htm and play the song for them at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GKyGyH9mWHk.


Best regards,

Mrs. Nelson



Quality of oral presentation.
Excellent.
Presentation was always clear and easy to follow.  The information always made sense.  The presentation consistently provided relevant information.
Very good.
Presentation was clear and mostly easy to follow.  The information usually made sense.  The presentation provided relevant information.
Fair.
Presentation was sometimes easy to follow.  The information sometimes made sense.  The presentation provided some relevant information.
Poor
Presentation was unclear and hard to follow.  The information did not make sense.  The presentation did not provide any relevant information.
Use of work periods.
Excellent. 
Worked well at all times.  Consistently participated well in the class no distractions.
Very good.  Worked well most of the time.  Usually participated well in the class with little distractions.
Fair.
Sometimes worked well.  Participation needs improvement.  Often was distracted.
Poor.
Was not able to work well.  Did not participate well and was consistently distracted.

Quality of written work.
Excellent. 
Showed excellent cursive. No errors throughout the writing.  Main points were always well summarized on each page with no missing information.
Very good.
Showed very good cursive.  Few errors.  Main points were usually well summarized throughout each page with no missing information.
Fair.
Cursive requires improvement. Writing had some errors.  Main points were loosely summarized, with missing or incorrect information on pages.
Poor.
Poor quality cursive, with many errors.  Main points were incorrect or missed on a majority of pages.
Quality of illustrations.
Illustrations were always meaningful and reflected the information presented on the page.  Title page showed great effort.
Very good.
Illustrations showed good effort and usually reflected the information on the page.  Title page showed some effort.
Fair.
Illustrations were attempted and sometimes reflected the information on the page.  Title page showed a little effort.
Poor.
 Little to no illustrations that did not reflect the information on the page.  Title page was not complete/ had no effort.

Monday, April 23, 2012

Happy Monday!

The students started off this morning by copying down their new weekly spelling words and working in their spelling books.  The students focused on 'y' vowel words (grade ones) and suffixes (grade two).  In our IB unit of inquiry the students completed their KWL charts that we began as a class a few weeks ago.  In today's class the students were asked to complete a brainstorm of all the different things they have learned in the structures unit to date, and add them into the 'learned' category of their chart.  It was nice to see how their learning has progressed so far from the beginning of the unit.  In tomorrow's class we are going to begin our final task for this unit.  The children are going to be asked to turn all their learned facts into a book that they are going to create, write, illustrate and present to the class.  This project is going to be marked with a rubric that I will have posted tomorrow for you to review.  Help your child tonight by practising interesting facts with them from this unit.  During math today the children worked on sorting data into groups (grade one) and problems and sides and vertexes (grade two).  We read another chapter of Dealing with Dragons, the children wrote a weekend summary in their journals and the children worked on cursive during language.  They also went to french and P.E classes.


Homework:  Read for 15 minutes and record in the reading chart, practice weekly spelling words, Jump math pages 178 - 179 and cursive pages 178 - 179.

Important information: Invitations for the French Cafe have gone home with all children and have also been sent out electronically.  The French Cafe is taking place on May 4th from 12 - 3pm at SJA.  All friends and family are welcome to attend this event.  Grandparents are especially welcome to attend, as this event is taking the place of the traditional Grandparent's Day concert.  Families are asked to RSVP to me in your child's agenda as soon as possible so that food preparations for the light lunch can be made accordingly.  Details for the children's costumes can be found on Mme. Stella's blog.

This Thursday is the next casual day at SJA.  Students may come to school dressed in any casual clothing they wish.

The upper year students are having a production of The 12th Night on this Thursday!  All students from SJA are welcomed and encouraged to attend this free production with their friends and families.  The production begins at 7pm in the SJA auditorium.  Any students that attend the concert will receive 1,000 house points for coming!

Information for SJA Summer Camps are now available.  SJA offers a range of camps over the summer months with a variety of themes ranging from karate camps, to writing camps to traditional summer camps programs.  Please contact the school for more information about these exciting programs.

I am still waiting for report cards to be completed and returned to me from a few students.  Please complete the 'Parent's Comments' section of the report card and return to school as soon as possible.  I am looking to get returned copies from the following students: Ninara and Seanna.

If your child is part of the SJA choir, please make sure they are practicing the choir song at home.  You can find the song lyrics at http://www.stlyrics.com/lyrics/theparenttrap/doyoubelieveinmagic.htm and play the song for them at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GKyGyH9mWHk.


Best regards,

Mrs. Nelson

Grade One              Grade Two
1. away                   1. having
2. pay                      2. serving
3. try                       3. loves
4. sky                      4. baked
5. they                     5. trades
6. cry                      6. fried
7. my                       7. bodies
8. day                      8. luckier
9. why                     9. funniest
10. deny                 10. carries