Good afternoon!


It has been an absolute pleasure having a class like the one I just had. Our class quickly connected, and spent a happy, insightful and inquiring year together where we learned and grew with each other.  I am truly going to miss each and every one of the unique personalities I had the joy of working with every day.


I also wanted to thank all the students and families who helped organize my wonderful baby shower.  It was such a wonderful surprise!  I have a lot of other fond memories as well that I will take with me on my year off.   I will look forward to returning to SJA for the 2013/14 school year!


All the best to all the students and their families over the summer.


Have a blessed and happy summer,


Mrs. Nelson 

Good afternoon!

We started off the day today with a writing activity.  As a class we all read a scary story about a boy and his friend Devin and a big, scary spider!  We went through the story and discussed all the important elements (who, where, when, problem and solution) and then the children wrote their own scary stories.  A great deal of interesting and creative stories were turned in today!  In language we also focused on sentence structure.  The students had to re-write scrambled sentences so that they would make sense, and also had to correct the endings on various sentences.  The students also finished their novel studies today!  They added in their dedication and created interesting and unique cover pages and then handed in all their hard work to be assessed.  The books and the completed rubrics are coming home with all the children tonight.   During Math today the children worked on subtracting double (and triple!) digit numbers, words problems, sums and differences, and temperature. The students also went to French and P.E classes today.

Homework:  Read for 15 minutes and record in the reading chart, practice spelling words, and finish math worksheet if necessary.

Important information:  
Some important dates are coming up.  Please make a note of the following:

Tonight-  SJA Graduation Night 

Tomorrow- Casual Day.  Students will get extra house points from Mr. Sawatsky if they come dressed in a colour from one of the countries still playing in the Euro Cup!

Tomorrow- Class Picnic.  Our class will be joining Ms. Chang and Ms. Elliot's class on a picnic for the afternoon.  We will be heading to Meadow Green and are having a fun day playing outdoor games and activities.  Children are asked to make sure they wear sun screen and bring hats and extra water bottles, as we will be outside from approximately 12:15 to 3:30.   Children are also asked to bring blankets/towels to sit on (if they choose), an old tie (if they would like to participate in a three-legged race), and old sock (for a tag game), and any other fun outdoor games they would like to bring for this fun filled afternoon!

June 15th- Last day of school (1/2 day).  This is a fun day.  Children are welcome to bring in treats if they would like to help celebrate our learning this school year.  Pick up at this day is 11:30.  After school charges will begin at 11:30 and will only be available until 4pm (not the usual 6pm).  

Graduation Night is an event that should be attended by all students and families if possible.  This is an exciting event where the graduating class at SJA will have their graduating ceremony.  All other grades are involved in this exciting event as well.   Each class is called up on stage to shake hands with Mr. Sawatsky and each child will receive their Certificate of Promotion for 'graduating' from one grade to the next.  Each class also has a few students who have been chosen to receive academic awards, which are also handed out that evening.   The event begins at 7pm and will last approximately 1 hour.  A dance will be held afterwards for all students and their families to attend.  I hope that all families and friends are able to attend tonight!

Best regards,

Mrs. Nelson

Good afternoon!


We had an exciting morning here at SJA as we watched all the classes compete in the school-wide Spelling Bee.  All the students did very well, and I was very proud of our competitors!  The competition ended with 1st place going to Adam, 2nd place went to Taha and 3rd place went to Lukas.  Good job!
When we got back to class in the afternoon we read the final chapter of Winnie-the-Pooh.  The children got together with their reading groups for the last time and completed their final chapter summary.  In tomorrow's class they will do a quick review of their chapter to check for errors, complete their cover page and dedication, and then it is time to turn in all that hard work to be assessed using the novel study rubric.  The students also had a chance to work on spelling today.  The grade twos completed the last chapter of their Spelling Workbooks, and the grade ones had some extra spelling practice.  The students also went to French and Music classes today.

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

Important information:  
Some important dates are coming up.  Please make a note of the following:

June 13th-  SJA Graduation Night 

June 14th- Casual Day.  Students will get extra house points from Mr. Sawatsky if they come dressed in a colour from one of the countries still playing in the Euro Cup!

June 14th- Class Picnic.  Our class will be joining Ms. Chang and Ms. Elliot's class on a picnic for the afternoon.  We will be heading to Meadow Green and are having a fun day playing outdoor games and activities.  Children are asked to make sure they wear sun screen and bring hats and extra water bottles, as we will be outside from approximately 12:15 to 3:30.   Children are also asked to bring blankets/towels to sit on (if they choose), an old tie (if they would like to participate in a three-legged race), and old sock (for a tag game), and any other fun outdoor games they would like to bring for this fun filled afternoon!

June 15th- Last day of school (1/2 day).  This is a fun day.  Children are welcome to bring in treats if they would like to help celebrate our learning this school year.  Pick up at this day is 11:30.  After school charges will begin at 11:30 and will only be available until 4pm (not the usual 6pm).  

Graduation Night is an event that should be attended by all students and families if possible.  This is an exciting event where the graduating class at SJA will have their graduating ceremony.  All other grades are involved in this exciting event as well.   Each class is called up on stage to shake hands with Mr. Sawatsky and each child will receive their Certificate of Promotion for 'graduating' from one grade to the next.  Each class also has a few students who have been chosen to receive academic awards, which are also handed out that evening.   The event begins at 7pm and will last approximately 1 hour.  A dance will be held afterwards for all students and their families to attend.  I hope that all families and friends are able to attend!

Best regards,

Mrs. Nelson

Happy Monday!

We had a different sort of day today, as the children spent the day completing their CAT tests.  I had an opportunity to work with the grade ones, and Ms. Poland got a chance to work with the grade twos.  The children all did a fabulous job staying on track and putting their best effort into these important assessments.

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

Important information:  
Some important dates are coming up.  Please make a note of the following:

June 12th (tomorrow)- SJA Spelling Bee.  This event will take place at 9am.  All families and friends are welcome to attend to watch the competition.  It is expected to run approximately one hour.  Each class will have a 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winner at the end of the competition.

June 13th-  SJA Graduation Night 

June 14th- Casual Day.  Students will get extra house points from Mr. Sawatsky if they come dressed in a colour from one of the countries still playing in the Euro Cup!

June 14th- Class Picnic.  Our class will be joining Ms. Chang and Ms. Elliot's class on a picnic for the afternoon.  We will be heading to Meadow Green and having a fun day playing outdoor games and activities.  Children are asked to make sure they wear sun screen and bring hats and extra water bottles, as we will be outside from approximately 12:15 to 3:30.   Children are also asked to bring blankets/towels to sit on (if they choose), an old tie (if they would like to participate in a three-legged race), and old sock (for a tag game), and any other fun outdoor games they would like to bring for this fun filled afternoon!

June 15th- Last day of school (1/2 day).  This is a fun day.  Children are welcome to bring in treats if they would like to help celebrate our learning this school year.  Pick up at this day is 11:30.  After school charges will begin at 11:30 and will only be available until 4pm (not the usual 6pm).  

Graduation Night is an event that should be attended by all students and families if possible.  This is an exciting event where the graduating class at SJA will have their graduating ceremony.  All other grades are involved in this exciting event as well.   Each class is called up on stage to shake hands with Mr. Sawatsky and each child will receive their Certificate of Promotion for 'graduating' from one grade to the next.  Each class also has a few students who have been chosen to receive academic awards, which are also handed out that evening.   The event begins at 7pm.  I hope that all families and friends are able to attend!

Best regards,

Mrs. Nelson

Grade One                   Grade Two

1. attract                       1. hole

2. around                      2. whole

3. blend                         3. know

4. clown                        4. no

5. bother                        5. not

6. fruit                            6. knot

7. ghost                         7. ate

8. shiver                         8. eight

9. twist                           9. to

10. worth                       10. too

                                      11. two 
                                      12. right
                                      13. write 
                                      14. one
                                      15. won

Bonjour!

The students started off their day today by working on spelling.  We had our weekly spelling test, and then the children had a chance to work on their final Spelling Workbook chapter which was a workbook review.  The marked spelling tests will be coming home with all the children tonight.  The grade ones are also bringing home their completed Spelling Workbooks with them tonight.  These completed books can now be kept at home for your records.  All the spelling practice they had in the early morning was to get their minds ready for our in-class spelling contest!  We then had the contest and I was really proud of all the hard work that I can tell the students had put in to their studying.  We now have the 5 contestants from our class who will go on to compete in Tuesday's contest.  Congratulations to Zuri, Taha, Lukas, Adam and Aziz!   During language today we read another chapter of Winnie-the-Pooh and the students completed their chapter summaries in their novel study groups.   In math today the students worked on word problems, temperature, telling time and sums and differences.  They also went to French and P.E class today.

Homework:  Read for 15 minutes and record in the reading chart, re-write incorrect spelling words ten times each (including the bonus word), and finish math worksheet if necessary.

Important information:  
Some important dates are coming up.  Please make a note of the following:

June 12th- SJA Spelling Bee.  This event will take place at 9am.  All families and friends are welcome to attend to watch the competition.  It is expected to run approximately one hour.  Each class will have a 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winner at the end of the competition.

June 13th-  SJA Graduation Night 

June 15th- Last day of school (1/2 day).  This is a fun day.  Children are welcome to bring in treats if they would like to help celebrate our learning this school year.  Pick up at this day is 11:30.  After school charges will begin at 11:30 and will only be available until 4pm (not the usual 6pm).  

Graduation Night is an event that should be attended by all students and families if possible.  This is an exciting event where the graduating class at SJA will have their graduating ceremony.  All other grades are involved in this exciting event as well.   Each class is called up on stage to shake hands with Mr. Sawatsky and each child will receive their Certificate of Promotion for 'graduating' from one grade to the next.  Each class also has a few students who have been chosen to receive academic awards, which are also handed out that evening.   The event begins at 7pm.  I hope that all families and friends are able to attend!

Have a great weekend!

Mrs. Nelson

Happy Thursday!


Thank you so much to all the friends and families that came out to take part in Arts Night last night.  The event was a great success, and I think all the children had a great time showing off their artistic talents!

The students started off their day today by working our IB unit of inquiry.  In today's class the students all showed their Reflection skills, as they took a look back through the school year and  reflected on important learning and events that have happened.   We then turned these reflections into the 'student comment' section of the report cards that will be distributed next Friday.  During language today we had a lesson regarding proper sentences, and what it takes to be a proper sentence.  The students also completed their cursive books today which was a big event!  All the children are bringing home their completed cursive books with them tonight.  These books can now stay at home as they have all been successfully completed.  In math today the students worked on word problems, counting money, telling time and sums and differences.  They also went to French and P.E class today (since we missed P.E yesterday).

Homework:  Read for 15 minutes and record in the reading chart, practice weekly spelling words, and finish math worksheet if necessary.

Important information:  
Some important dates are coming up.  Please make a note of the following:

June 8th- In-class Spelling Bee competition.  The children will compete to see which 5 students will be chosen to enter into the June 12th whole-school competition.  

June 8th- Grade 6 Exhibition Presentations  (Grade 6's will be presenting their final PYP assessment from 1 - 3pm.  This is a large assessment piece that all IB students must successfully complete in order to graduate from the PYP program.  Invitations have gone home with every student.  Come and see what it is all about!)

June 12th- SJA Spelling Bee.  This event will take place at 9am.  All families and friends are welcome to attend to watch the competition.  It is expected to run approximately one hour.  Each class will have a 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winner at the end of the competition.

June 13th-  SJA Graduation Night 

June 15th- Last day of school (1/2 day).  This is a fun day.  Children are welcome to bring in treats if they would like to help celebrate our learning this school year.  Pick up at this day is 11:30.  After school charges will begin at 11:30.


SJA Yearbooks are on sale tomorrow at 1st recess for $6.00.  It is a first come, first serve sale.  Please send your child with $6.00 if you would like them to purchase one.

Graduation Night is an event that should be attended by all students and families if possible.  This is an exciting event where the graduating class at SJA will have their graduating ceremony.  All other grades are involved in this exciting event as well.   Each class is called up on stage to shake hands with Mr. Sawatsky and each child will receive their Certificate of Promotion for 'graduating' from one grade to the next.  Each class also has a few students who have been chosen to receive academic awards, which are also handed out that evening.   The event begins at 7pm.  I hope that all families and friends are able to attend!

Best regards,

Mrs. Nelson

Good afternoon!

The students started off the day today working on math.  As a class we worked on measurement, sums and differences and ordinal numbers.  During our IB unit of inquiry today the children painted illustrations to accompany the environmental poems we have been working on.  We has a discussion about how art can be highlight and develop writing, and they put this theory into use with their paintings today.  The poems and the paintings will be on display at Arts Night tonight.   In the afternoon we read another chapter of Winnie-the-Pooh and the children worked on their chapters in their novel study groups.  This novel study has been a great deal of fun, and we only have two chapters left!   We had whole-school dress rehearsals for tonight's Arts Night concert as well today.  The hard work these children have been putting in has really shown.  We are all very excited for friends and family to see the performance tonight!  They also went to French class today.

Homework:  Read for 15 minutes and record in the reading chart, practice weekly spelling words, and finish math worksheet if necessary.

Important information:  
Some important dates are coming up.  Please make a note of the following:

Tonight- Arts Night 7pm  (All families are friends are welcome to attend.  All classes will be presenting)

June 8th- In-class Spelling Bee competition.  The children will compete to see which 5 students will be chosen to enter into the June 12th whole-school competition.  Please note, this date is a change from the original date that had our in-class competition being tomorrow.  It is now in fact on Friday.

June 8th- Grade 6 Exhibition Presentations  (Grade 6's will be presenting their final PYP assessment from 1 - 3pm.  This is a large assessment piece that all IB students must successfully complete in order to graduate from the PYP program.  Invitations have gone home with every student tonight.  Come and see what it is all about!)
June 12th- SJA Spelling Bee
June 13th-  SJA Graduation Night 
June 15th- Last day of school (1/2 day).  This is a fun day.  Children are welcome to bring in treats if they would like to help celebrate our learning this school year.

Our class' costumes for tonight's performance is 'spring inspired' clothing.  This could mean spring coloured clothing (light pink, blue, yellow, green, purple), spring prints, etc. 

 We are asking that members of the SJA choir come to school wearing 'spring colours' for our performance tonight.  This could mean nice spring colours, flower prints, etc.  

Best regards,

Mrs. Nelson