Good afternoon!

We started off the day today with our weekly spelling test.  The children are bringing home their marked spelling tests with them tonight.  Any words that were spelled incorrectly should be re-written ten times each in their spelling book over the weekend. In language today the children worked on picture words, suffixes and finishing sentences.  In our IB unit of inquiry today we continued discussing The Group of Seven and the works of art that have stood out to us from that important time in Canadian history.  The children then had a chance to draw their own version of Group of Seven works. We had some time to play soccer as a class which the students found a lot of fun!  We also read another chapter of The Tale of Despereaux today, and the children went to french class.


Homework:  Read for 15 minutes and record in the reading chart, re-write incorrect spelling words ten times each, Letters and Sounds page 122 - 123, and Cursive page 120 - 121.

Important information: 

• If you have not yet sent in the $26 and ROM trip permission form, please do so as soon as possible.  The form and trip money are due by this coming Monday, February 13th. 
• All children have brought home a poem they are responsible for memorizing and then reciting in the oral competition.  The in-class judging of the poetry reciting will take place on Wednesday, February 15th, and the winner from this contest will go on to compete in the school-wide competition on Thursday, February 23rd to compete for 1st, 2nd, and third place.  Parents, families and friends are invited and encouraged to attend the final competition on the 23rd to watch the students compete.  The competition begins at 9am.
• We had an in-class poetry competition today to see which students have their poem memorized already.  We had a few students who were able to fully reciete their poems today and they were awarded 50,000 house points!  Congrats to Dumeir, Adi, Zuri, Adam, Angela, Mishal and Carter!
• The costumes for the Gala are changing!!!  Please send your children in whatever 'fancy' outfits they were going to be wearing for the night of the Gala.  You do not need to send them in red and white which was the original design for the class performance.  The choir outfit remains the same. If you have already secured a red and white outfit, please feel free to send your child wearing it as it will be a nice way to represent the Valentine's Day holiday.
• Gym will be on Tues and Wed for the entire month of February.
• The Gala is happening tomorrow night!!  This is a very fun night for the students and families, and all classes will be performing.  I can't wait to see everyone there!
• If anyone has accidentally ended up with Ninara's gym sweatshirt at their house please send it back in to school.  His name is on the inside tag.
• Ninara's family is going to be supplying a pizza lunch on Monday, February 13th in honour of his birthday.  Cheese and pepperoni pizza is going to be brought in for all of the students in the class.  Children will not need to bring an additional lunch on Monday due to this birthday celebration. 

Have a great weekend!
Mrs. Nelson

Good afternoon!

We started off the day today writing sentences using the weekly spelling words. The children were asked to turn their weekly spelling words into sentences for house points which they found to be very enjoyable!  In language today the children worked on picture words, special sounds and finishing sentences.  During math the children worked on comparing balance and weight of various objects (grade one) and identifying the pattern in Canadian postal codes (grade two).  In our IB unit of inquiry today we read a book about the history of The Group of Seven and got to see many different type of their work.  We had a discussion of the similarities and differences between the different types of art.  The children all picked their favourite pieces and had a discussion of why they liked them.  We also had another whole-school rehearsal for the upcoming Gala which looked great!

Homework:  Read for 15 minutes and record in the reading chart, practice weekly spelling words, math pages 140 - 141, and Cursive page 120 - 121.

Important information: 

• If you have not yet sent in the $26 and ROM trip permission form, please do so as soon as possible.  The form and trip money are due by next Monday, February 13th. 
• All children have brought home a poem they are responsible for memorizing and then reciting in the oral competition.  The in-class judging of the poetry reciting will take place on Wednesday, February 15th, and the winner from this contest will go on to compete in the school-wide competition on Thursday, February 23rd to compete for 1st, 2nd, and third place.  Parents, families and friends are invited and encouraged to attend the final competition on the 23rd to watch the students compete.  The competition begins at 9am.
• The costumes for the Gala are changing!!!  Please send your children in whatever 'fancy' outfits they were going to be wearing for the night of the Gala.  You do not need to send them in red and white which was the original design for the class performance.  The choir outfit remains the same. If you have already secured a red and white outfit, please feel free to send your child wearing it as it will be a nice way to represent the Valentine's Day holiday.
• Gym will be on Tues and Wed for the entire month of February.
• The Gala is happening this Saturday!!  This is a very fun night for the students and families, and all classes will be performing.  Please make sure to send in the ticket money as soon as possible because ticket sales are ending in the next day or so. 
• If anyone has accidentally ended up with Ninara's gym sweatshirt at their house please send it back in to school.  His name is on the inside tag.
• Ninara's family is going to be supplying a pizza lunch on Monday, February 13th in honour of his birthday.  Cheese and pepperoni pizza is going to be brought in for all of the students in the class.  Children will not need to bring an additional lunch on Monday due to this birthday celebration. 

Best regards,

Mrs. Nelson

Good afternoon!

We started off the day today by continuing with the graphic stories that we began yesterday.  The students completed their graphic stories about The Gingerbread Man and had a lot of fun doing it! In our IB unit of inquiry today we continued studying The Group of Seven which we began yesterday.  We continued viewing a PowerPoint presentation about The Group of Seven, the introduction of the Canadian Group of Painters, and the importance of Emily Carr.  Please ask your children tonight to share with you what they reflected on in their journals about these important Canadian figures.  If they are bringing home their journal for homework, they must finish reflecting on two important facts they learned about The Group of Seven.  During math today the children worked on comparing masses of various objects (grade one) and predicting the terms of different patterns (grade two).  We also had another whole-school rehearsal for the upcoming Gala which looked great! The students went to P.E and french class today.

Homework:  Read for 15 minutes and record in the reading chart, practice weekly spelling words, math pages 138 - 139, complete journal entry and Cursive page 118 - 119.

Important information: 

• If you have not yet sent in the $26 and ROM trip permission form, please do so as soon as possible.  The form and trip money are due by next Monday, February 13th. 
• All children have brought home a poem they are responsible for memorizing and then reciting in the oral competition.  The in-class judging of the poetry reciting will take place on Wednesday, February 15th, and the winner from this contest will go on to compete in the school-wide competition on Thursday, February 23rd to compete for 1st, 2nd, and third place.  Parents, families and friends are invited and encouraged to attend the final competition on the 23rd to watch the students compete.  The competition begins at 9am.
• The costumes for the Gala are changing!!!  Please send your children in whatever 'fancy' outfits they were going to be wearing for the night of the Gala.  You do not need to send them in red and white which was the original design for the class performance.  The choir outfit remains the same. If you have already secured a red and white outfit, please feel free to send your child wearing it as it will be a nice way to represent the Valentine's Day holiday.
• Gym will be on Tues and Wed for the entire month of February.
• The Gala is happening this Saturday!!  This is a very fun night for the students and families, and all classes will be performing.  Please make sure to send in the ticket money as soon as possible because ticket sales are ending in the next day or so.  You must have paid for your tickets prior to Gala to be able to attend.  I have been given a list from the Parent Guild with names of families who have not yet paid for the Gala tickets: Chidiebere, Conliffe-Layne, Lindsay, Yousif, and Norris.
• If anyone has accidentally ended up with Ninara's gym sweatshirt at their house please send it back in to school.  His name is on the inside tag.
• Ninara's family is going to be supplying a pizza lunch on Monday, February 13th in honour of his birthday.  Cheese and pepperoni pizza is going to be brought in for all of the students in the class.  Children will not need to bring an additional lunch on Monday due to this birthday celebration. 

Best regards,

Mrs. Nelson

Hola!

We started off the day today with a writing activity.  This activity focused on reading and then creating graphic stories (comic books).  This is an important type of writing, as it is writing with a different purpose and audience than the children are used to.  As a class we read a graphic story about Little Red Riding Hood which they really enjoyed.  Then they began creating their own graphic stories about The Gingerbread Man.  The stories are coming along very well and will be completed in class tomorrow.  In language the children also worked on finishing sentences, special sounds and homophones.  We also had another whole school rehearsal for the upcoming Gala concert.  The children are getting very excited for this event!  In our IB unit of inquiry today we began studying The Group of Seven.  This is an iconic group of Canadian painters who helped put our art scene on the map.  The children watched a power point presentation about this historic group of painters, and then completed a reflection in their journals about what they learned.  Ask your child tonight to tell you something that they remember from this important lesson.  We also read another chapter of The Tale of Despereaux.  The students went to P.E and french class.

Homework:  Read for 15 minutes and record in the reading chart, practice weekly spelling words, and Letters and Sounds pages 118 - 119.

Important information: 

• If you have not yet sent in the $26 and ROM trip permission form, please do so as soon as possible.  The form and trip money are due by next Monday, February 13th. 
• Please see my posting from last night with an explanation of the poetry (oral presentation) contest that is upcoming at SJA.  All children brought home a poem they are responsible for memorizing and then reciting in the competition.  The in-class judging of the poetry reciting will take place on Wednesday, February 15th, and the winner from this contest will go on to compete in the school-wide competition on Thursday, February 23rd.  Parents, families and friends are invited and encouraged to attend the final competition on the 23rd to watch the students compete.  The competition begins at 9am.
• The costumes for the Gala are changing!!!  Please send your children in whatever 'fancy' outfits they were going to be wearing for the night of the Gala.  You do not need to send them in red and white which was the original design for the class performance.  The choir outfit remains the same.
• Tomorrow is a gym day again.  Please send your children in their gym clothes.  Gym will be on Tues and Wed for the entire month of February.
• The Gala is happening this Saturday!!  This is a very fun night for the students and families, and all classes will be performing.  Please make sure to send in the ticket money as soon as possible because ticket sales are ending in the next day or so.  You must have paid for your tickets prior to Gala to be able to attend.  I have been given a list from the Parent Guild with names of families who have not yet paid for the Gala tickets: Chidiebere, Conliffe-Layne, Lindsay, Yousif, Norris, Rangwala and Voker.

Best regards,

Mrs. Nelson

Happy Monday!

We started off the day today working on spelling.  The children recorded the new weekly spelling words and worked in their spelling books on short 'a' words (grade one) and 'sh' and 'th' blends (grade two).  I have the new weekly words listed at the end of this email.  After spelling we headed to the auditorium and used the stage to practice our class' Gala performance.  This is coming along great!  This afternoon we also participated in a whole-school rehearsal for this weekend's upcoming Gala.  We also worked on cursive and read another chapter of The Tale of Despereaux.

Homework:  Read for 15 minutes and record in the reading chart, practice weekly spelling words, cursive pages and Spelling Workbook pages 81 - 84 (grade one) pages 77 - 80 (grade two).

Important information: 

• If you have not yet sent in the $26 and ROM trip permission form, please do so as soon as possible.  The form and trip money are due by next Monday, February 13th. 

• All children are bringing home their class poem with them tonight.  This poem has been assigned to your child and will need to be practiced and then performed at the school-wide oral presentations that take place on February 23rd.  Judges are brought in from the community, and a bronze, silver, and gold winner is chosen from each grade level and presented an award.  We will have time to practice the poems in class, but I strongly encourage the children to practice their poems nightly to ensure they give their best performance.  The in-class judging will take place on February 15th, and the winner from this section will move on to compete in the school wide competition mentioned above!  Good luck to all!

• The costumes for the Gala are changing!!!  Please send your children in whatever 'fancy' outfits they were going to be wearing for the night of the Gala.  You do not need to send them in red and white which was the original design for the class performance.  The choir outfit remains the same.

• I have had a few requests for the class list due to the upcoming Valentine's Day holiday.  Here is a list of our class:

Emerald C. 
Adi B.
Zuri C.
Dumeir L.
Lukas V.
Alex N.
Carter C.
Adam R.
Mishal L.
Aziz P.
Ninara Y.
Angela H.
Sofia M.
Seanna S.
Taha A.

• We did not have gym class today because Mr. Browning was away with the 4 - 8s on a skiing trip.  For the next few weeks we are going to have our gym days re-scheduled for Tuesdays and Wednesdays.  Please make sure to send your child in wearing their gym clothes on Tuesdays and Wednesdays for the next three weeks.  This starts tomorrow. Please send your children in their gym clothes tomorrow.

• Please see my blog postings from last week for links to the choir song.

• The Gala is happening this Saturday!!  This is a very fun night for the students and families, and all classes will be performing.  Please make sure you send in your ticket information to Mrs. Brasil as soon as possible.

Best regards,

Mrs. Nelson



Grade One                        Grade Two
1. make                             1. shout
2. came                              2. shut
3. gave                               3. crash
4. name                              4. then
5. take                                5. thin
6. game                              6. math
7. place                              7. think
8. bake                               8. together
9. rate                                 9. nothing
10. ate                                10. anything

Good afternoon!

Again today I was in the school, but away from our classroom as I went about touring the school with the visiting IB consultant.  While I was away the children had their weekly spelling test, worked on language, practiced the Gala dance, and got a chance to orally listen to cultural stories to help compliment our IB unit on cultural art forms.   This was a great way to experience oral story telling, which was a huge part of aboriginal culture.  The children also went to  french class today.

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


Important information:  A field trip permission form went home with every student last night.  Our class is taking a field trip to the ROM as part of our current IB unit- How We Express Ourselves.  This should be a great way to see the art forms we have been discussing in class in real life!  Please send in the completed trip form with a cheque or cash by Monday, February 13th.  I am looking for one parent volunteer from our class. 

 If you have not sent back ticket money and family information regarding the Gala to Irene, please do so as soon as possible. February 11th is quickly approaching and I want to make sure everyone is fully prepared to participate in the Gala!

I am asking that all children come to school wearing red and white on the night of the Gala for our class' performance. Preferably the children will have white on the bottom and red on the top. This will go with the love theme for the evening. Our class is going to be presenting The Jackson 5's ABC. The performance is coming along very well so far! If your child would like to practice the dance moves at home you can find the version we are using at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZOXG8wtxx_w.

If your child is the in the choir, we are also asking that they wear read and white for the choir performance. So for this concert we will not require a costume change in between songs. As soon as the choir finishes singing, the children will then join back with their classes for the class performance. The process will be very similar to the Christmas concert.

If your child is in the choir and would like to practice the song you can find the version online at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wn5K-phiBzo and the lyrics for the song can be found at http://www.lyricsfreak.com/e/elvis+presley/love+me+tender_20049149.html. Please note, we are only performing the first 4 verses.

Have a great weekend,


Mrs. Nelson

Happy Thursday!

I was in the school today, but away from our classroom as we have an IB consultant visiting the school for two days and I was guiding her through the school for the day.  I was able to pop my head into our classroom at points during the day and I saw the students busy working in their language, sentence writing, math and cursive.  I did have a chance to work on on IB unit of inquiry with the students today.  We read a non-fiction book about aboriginal dot art, and then watched a video explaining how to create your own dot art paintings.  The students then had a great time creating their own aboriginal dot art paintings while listening to historical aboriginal music.  This was a great part of the day.  The children also went to music and french class.

Homework: Read for 15 minutes and record in the reading chart, practice weekly spelling words, cursive pages 114- 115, Letters and Sounds page 142 -115 and math pages 136 - 137.

Important information:  A field trip permission form went home with every student tonight.  Our class is taking a field trip to the ROM as part of our current IB unit- How We Express Ourselves.  This should be a great way to see the art forms we have been discussing in class in real life!  Please send in the completed trip form with a cheque or cash by Monday, February 13th.  I am looking for one parent volunteer from our class. 

 If you have not sent back ticket money and family information regarding the Gala to Irene, please do so as soon as possible. February 11th is quickly approaching and I want to make sure everyone is fully prepared to participate in the Gala!

I am asking that all children come to school wearing red and white on the night of the Gala for our class' performance. Preferably the children will have white on the bottom and red on the top. This will go with the love theme for the evening. Our class is going to be presenting The Jackson 5's ABC. The performance is coming along very well so far! If your child would like to practice the dance moves at home you can find the version we are using at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZOXG8wtxx_w.

If your child is the in the choir, we are also asking that they wear read and white for the choir performance. So for this concert we will not require a costume change in between songs. As soon as the choir finishes singing, the children will then join back with their classes for the class performance. The process will be very similar to the Christmas concert.

If your child is in the choir and would like to practice the song you can find the version online at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wn5K-phiBzo and the lyrics for the song can be found at http://www.lyricsfreak.com/e/elvis+presley/love+me+tender_20049149.html. Please note, we are only performing the first 4 verses.

A pizza order form went home with all children on Monday night. If you would like to order pizza for your child please send in the form and money before the date indicated. Lunch Moms is not going to be delivering to SJA after this Friday, so the weekly pizza program has been brought in instead.

Best regards,

Mrs. Nelson