In today's class we started off the day working in the computer lab. The children had a great time working on computer tasks to become more comfortable with computers.  Already I have seen skills develop!  During language today the children worked on special sounds, identifying vowel sounds, and picture words.  In our IB unit of inquiry we continued learning about seasons and the climate patterns that follow the seasons.  The children learned the definition of a new word- 'cycle'.  Ask your children tonight to explain to you how seasons are a cycle.  We also worked with a globe to see how the earth rotates around the sun, and how this causes seasons.  In math the children worked on number order, and tens and ones blocks.  They also went to drama, P.E and french classes.

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

Important information:  We are having a pumpkin decorating contest at SJA tomorrow.  Pumpkins have been donated from a local company and every class is going to have three pumpkins to decorate for the contest. If you have any supplies that might be useful to help decorate a pumpkin (socks, hats, sunglasses, cotton balls, pipe cleaners, sparkles, etc. etc.), please send them in with your child tomorrow to help our class with the contest!  Winners will be chosen on Friday.

I am away tomorrow and Friday doing work with IB.  Tomorrow I am touring a IB school, and Friday I am away at an IB workshop.  I will not be available by email or by my blog on these two days.  I will be back with a great deal of IB knowledge on Monday morning!

Best regards,

Mrs. Nelson

We had a great day today!  We started off the day working on proofreading.  The children practiced their capital letters in a fun way.  I have been emphasizing how important it is to use capitals letters and periods for any type of writing no matter the circumstance.  Please help me by putting this into action for any writing that is done at home as well.  During our IB unit of inquiry, the children did a review of their senses by reflecting on the things they see, hear, smell and feel during the fall season.  As a class we discussed how these elements will shift for each season due to the climate of each season.  Ask your child tonight to explain the difference between climate and weather.  During math the children worked on ones and tens using manipulatives.  This is a fun way for them to become experts with this concept.  They also went to music and french class.

Homework:  Read for 15 minutes and record in the reading chart, practice weekly spelling words, and cursive pages 18 - 19.

Important information:  Next week we are having some important events.  October 26th is picture day and October 27th is casual day.  Please note that these are the new dates and that they have been changed from the original school calendar.

Monday, October 31st is Halloween dress-up day.  Children may come to school wearing their Halloween costumes.  We will also be having a Halloween party in class that day.  Students are welcome to bring in any nut-free snacks they would like to share with the class!

Cookies are for sale during last recess for $1.

Best regards,

Mrs. Nelson

Good afternoon!

We had a great day back to school today.  The children began the day copying down their new weekly spelling words and working in their spelling books.  During language they worked on special sounds, vowel sounds and rhyming words.  The students also practiced their cursive.  During math today we worked on tens and ones using block manipulatives.  In our IB unit of inquiry we started our new unit.  The central idea for this unit is 'Living things are affected by climate and weather'.  Today we brainstormed as a class what we already knew about climate and weather and listed some things we hope to learn about climate and weather.  The students also matched pictures to the season they belong to.  This was a fun way to get started in this exciting unit.  They also went to drama, and P.E today.

Homework:  Read for 15 minutes and record in the reading chart, practice weekly spelling words, and Letters and Sounds pages 20 - 21.

Important information:  Please help your children to remember to bring their agendas, home folders and spelling books back and forth with them everyday.  These are important items that we need both at home and at school.

Cookies are for sale during last recces for $1.

Best regards,

Mrs. Nelson


Grade One                        Grade Two
1. tub                                 1. set
2. bus                                 2. head
3. bat                                 3. help
4.see                                 4. yet
5. sit                                  5. bread
6. us                                  6. belt
7. play                               7. tent
8. ball                                8. said
9. can                                9. bed
10. list                              10. sell

We had a great day today!  We started off the day with our weekly spelling test.  The marked tests will be going home with each child tonight.  After the tests the children worked on phonics where they identified long and short vowels, worked with special sounds and completed words. During our IB unit of inquiry the children all presented their time lines to the class.  This was a lot of fun and the students all had fun presenting and listening to their peers.  They also completed a peer review and self reflection which provided a lot of valuable information.  We watched a video today all about telling time.  This was a fun way to learn and practice this valuable skill.  I would suggest that all children continue to practice this skill at home everyday.  The children also worked on counting forward in various ways during math.  They also went to french class.

Homework:  Read for 15 minutes and record in the reading chart, re-write incorrect spelling words ten times each, math pages 46 (grade two).

Important information:  I am sending home the rubric and reflection that your child completed today on their personal timeline.  Please review and keep this rubric at home as I have my copy here at school for my records.

We completed our first IB unit of inquiry today!  I have been very proud and impressed with the level of learning that was accomplished in this unit.  I think the children have a very well-rounded understanding of rules, relationships and responsibilities which is great.

On Monday we are going to be starting our next unit of inquiry.

Every IB unit operates under a central idea that acts as a guideline for the learning and development that will be done in the unit.  Within a school year, you child will complete 6 different units, all with different focuses and initiatives.  I will post the central idea and lines of inquiry for each unit before we begin so you can stay informed about what will be happening in your child's classroom.

Our next IB unit is entitled Where We Are in Time and Place.  The central idea for this unit is 'Living things are affected by climate and weather.'  In this unit we will be following 3 lines of inquiry that will help direct us.  The lines of inquiry for this unit are:
1. daily and seasonal weather patterns
2. impact of daily and seasonal changes on living things
3. sun's influence on daily and seasonal changes.

I am very excited to begun this unit on Monday!

Have a great weekend,

Mrs. Nelson

We had a great day today in the grade one and two classroom.  We started off the day working on proofreading.  The children were asked to read and review sentences to find where there were missing capitals.  They had a fun time with this game!  The students then moved on to phonics where they identified short and long vowels, completed words, and identified special sounds.  During our IB unit of inquiry the children had their final work period to complete their personal timelines.  They will be presenting these tomorrow to the class.  This will be the final element of the rubric (found on Monday's posting) which is the final assignment for this unit.  During math today the children worked on counting objects up to 20 (grade one) and ordinal numbers (grade two).  They also went to music and french class.

Homework:  Read for 15 minutes and record in the reading chart, practice spelling words for tomorrow's spelling test, cursive page 17 and Letters and Sounds pages 16 - 17.

Important information:  Fall/winter uniforms began on Tuesday.  All children must come to school wearing their mock turtlenecks, sweaters/vests, gray pants/tunic, and navy socks/tights.  This is the the acceptable uniform at SJA for this season.

Cookies are for sale during 1st recess for $1 if you are interested.

Please regularly check the music, french and drama blog as they often have information relevant to your children.

Some event dates have changed from the original school calendar delivered at the beginning of the year.  So please mark your calendars with these new dates.

The Halloween dress-up day is going to be taking place on Monday, October 31st, 2011.

Picture Day is on October 26th, 2011

Casual Day is on October 27th, 2011.

Best regards,

Mrs. Nelson

Good afternoon!

We started off the day today working in the computer lab.  The students had a great time becoming comfortable with the mouse and gaining control of the different functions available on a keyboard.  The students really enjoyed this activity!  We came back to our classroom and worked on phonics.  They were asked to identify short and long vowel sounds, rhyming words, and fill in the blanks to make proper words.  During our IB unit of inquiry, we continued working on our personal time lines.  The children seem to be having a lot of fun learning about themselves.  Please see my posting from last night regarding the rubric for this final assignment.  During math the children worked on mental math and finger counting (grade one) and ordinal numbers (grade two).  They also went to drama, french and P.E classes.

Homework:  Read for 15 minutes and record in the reading chart, practice weekly spelling words, bring in a baby, toddler and current photo if you haven't already.

Important information:  The next step of the personal timeline requires that children bring in three photos of themselves (1) a baby photo (2) a toddler photo (3) a current photo.  Please work with your children tonight to help them locate these photos for class tomorrow.

Cookies are for sale during 2nd recess for $1.

Fall/winter uniforms have begun.  This means that mock turtlenecks may not be worn again until Easter.  Please let us know if there are any questions or outstanding issues.

Mrs. Deras would like to ensure that all parents are checking her drama blog nightly as there is important information that affects our grade one/two class.

Best regards,

Mrs. Nelson

Good afternoon!

We had a great day back today after a long weekend at home.  The children started off the day by copying down the weekly spelling words and working in their spelling books.  We also worked on cursive 'b' and 'n'.  During our IB unit of inquiry the children began their final assessment task for this unit.  They are going to be completing a personal timeline.  More information about this project will be found below.  During math today the children worked on number order (grade one) and created word problems (grade two).  They also went to french and music classes.

Homework:  Read for 15 minutes and record in the reading chart, practice weekly spelling words, cursive pages 15 - 16, math pages 38 - 40 (grade two only) and complete interview questions sheet for school tomorrow.

Important information:  Winter uniforms started today.  This means that polo shirts are not going to be acceptable at SJA until after Easter.  I sent home notes with a few children who came in their polo shirts today as a reminder.

The children are starting their final assessment task for this unit.  They are going to be creating personal time lines.  In order to find information about themselves as babies and toddlers, they are coming home with interview sheets for you tonight.  These interview sheets must be brought back to school tomorrow to be used in class.  I am also requesting that each student bring a picture of them as a baby, as a toddler, and a current picture to be used for this project. These pictures will be returned with the completed project.  I have the rubric for this assignment posted below for you to review with your child at home.

Cookies are for sale during last recess for $1.

Best regards,

Mrs. Nelson

My Timeline Rubric

                   4          3           2              1      

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 writing.	Excellent.  Printing showed a great deal of effort.  The answers made sense.  There were little to no errors. Evidence of understanding was clear. Proofreading was evident.	Very good.   Printing showed effort.  The answers made sense.  There were some errors that did not distract. Evidence of understanding was almost always clear.   Proofreading was almost always evident.	Fair. Printing showed little effort.  The answers often did not make sense.  There were errors that distracted.   Some evidence of understanding. Proofreading needs improvement.	Poor. Printing showed no effort.  The answers did not make sense.  There were many errors that made the booklet difficult to read.   No evidence of understanding. Proofreading was not evident.
Quality of illustrations.	Excellent. 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.
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.