Good afternoon!

Today was a great day and a wonderful start to the school year.  It was lovely to see both new and returning students and begin the year on such a positive note.  The students started off the day by organizing all of our supplies, books and folders.  The classroom and the students are both all set and ready to go for the school year!  Students were assigned desks and lockers which was a lot of fun.  Please note that students who need extra practice with their locks are bringing them home with them tonight to practice on before they are officially going to be put into use.  The students completed a mystery message activity that allowed them to put their thinking caps on.  We also read a story about self-esteem and discussed ways to help encourage self-esteem in ourselves and in others this school year which I think is a very important message.  They also travelled to PE, Art and french.  At the end of the day the students came together as a school and participated in a house game that allowed the SJA students to get their competitive spirits going.  What fun!

Homework:  Read for 20 mins, and practice opening and closing your lock.

Important Information:  Students in grade three will be asked to read for 20 minutes every night at home.  This reading can be reading aloud to a parent or sibling, or it can be independent reading.  I have a link that I use to help choose books at an appropriate grade level through Scholastic.  These levels can link right to the DRA reading levels that we use at SJA as our reading assessment tool.  Here is the link for you to view and use:  http://www.scholastic.com/ups/booklists/5112d27ae4b09a551ff5b929?show_book_comments=on&view_as=Educator&reading_level=Grade+Level+Equivalent&order=Title%3A+A+to+Z&per_page=20.  Please take a few moments to scroll through the grade leveled books to find titles and descriptions that fit the interest of your child.  These books can be found at any local library once the titles have been decided on.

Students that did not bring a lock to school today are encouraged to have one that they can use at school.  These students are asked to practice opening and closing their lock at home to become comfortable with it before using it at school.

Students are bringing home a trip permission form with them tonight.  This is for a field trip to the No Frills grocery store on September 12th.  There is no cost for this trip.  Please make sure to sign and return the trip form ASAP.  This trip is in conjunction with our current IB unit on rural and urban communities. 

In our IB Unit of Inquiry the students are inquiring into rural and urban communities.  One of the projects we will be working on is to construct models of both types of communities.  We are asking that families begin to collect small boxes (toothpaste boxes, toilet paper rolls, etc.) that can be used to create small-sized models of both types of communities.  Please see the form in your child's home folder for more information.

Students are bringing home a Home Folder, an Agenda and a Reading Folder.  I ask that these become a primary means of communication between home and school.  Please use these tools nightly with your children and help them to remember to bring them back and forth with them each and every day.  Each child will get house points and stickers for homework completed and their agendas being signed everyday.

Best regards,

Mrs. Nelson