October is upon us!

Hi everyone,
I hope you all had a great week end with your family. Thank you to all of you who made it to parent reading night. Those who didn't if you have any questions feel free to drop me a line. I cannot believe that October is upon us! Where did September go? With a new month comes a new theme to learn about in grade one. The month of October is about our family, Halloween and body parts.

I will be sending home a note this week where it is asking you for some pictures of all the members of your family. You will not be getting that back as the students will be cutting them up and gluing them to their family tree. Please pick pictures that are not to small and if possible individual ones of each family member is easier. If you could please put them in a ziplock and label it with your child's name that would be super. you can put the information sheet in there as well.

We are starting to know all the letter sounds of the alphabet and are going to be learning about some of the more common double sounds that they will be seeing more often (like "ou" "on"). I hope the paint chip sight words are working out for you at home. I love that some of you are working on writing them down, it is not necessary but they kids are soo excited to show me and I get as excited as them when they do! Keep up the great work! We are also learning the difference between vowels and consonants. We will  be starting to put letter sounds together to form small words. You can do this at home as well. If you have magnet letters or even white boards. Do not worry if the words make sense its all about recognizing the sounds.

In math we have finished the patterns unit with great success. We are moving onto representing and recognizing number 1-20.The students must be able to recognize the number and say it in French and also the corresponding word that goes with it. For example 15-quinze. They should also be able to count out 15 items. I will be sending home hopefully this week a bag with the numbers and written words up to 20. Play matching games, memory, putting them in order or just practice saying them out of sequence. It is very easy for the students to count 1-20 no problem but they often struggle counting backwards as well out identifying numbers out of order.

We continue to learn about colors in Science class. They students are starting to be able to recognize the written words for each color. They have also been using the dictionary to help them out. I am so proud of them for using that strategy. They will be learning about how one color can be a darker or lighter shade.

We are pretty lucky to have Mme Wilma come in to help teach the music program. We are hoping that she will be with us the entire year. So far she has come once and we are looking forward to seeing her again next week.

Library will always be on day 2 of the 6 day cycle. Please be sure to return your child's book on or before. I will try to always leave a reminder in the agenda.

We also had a fire drill practice last week. the students did great. Feel free to talk with them at home about fire drill procedures and also what should they do if a fire breaks out in your home, how to get out, who to call, where to go....We will also be talking about lock down procedures in the next couple of weeks. Sometimes students get a little scared about this chat, so if you want to have one at home before we do at school feel free. We are going to be having a lock down practice sometime in October.

We have a busy week at school this week. The Terry Fox run is tomorrow afternoon. The assembly is starting at 1:30 then we are heading out to run. Please feel free to join us if you can. It is also school spirit day, so all the grade ones are to wear purple. Please make sure you child is dressed for the weather, we are going out even if it is raining a bit, so they are free to bring umbrella's.
-Picture day is FRIDAY OCTOBER 3, I sent home today the sign up sheet that you are to fill in and send back to school, please do so by Thursday.
-Also if you have not done so already please send in your checks for the CD deposit. Do not forget to date it for June 20th, 2015.
-Special lunch is on Wednesday: Extreme Pita.
-Scholastic orders are in, will be sent home tomorrow.

I think that's all folks! Have a great week!
Keep smiling:)

Welcome to a new School year!

Hi everyone,
I finally remembered my password to the blog! Thanks for your patience. Welcome to a new adventure called grade one! I was so happy to meet all of you last week at the meet and greet. I am very excited for this year and I know working along side all of you will be great. Thank you for all your support so far!
Every week I will post a new message to let you know what will be happening in class, at the school and everything in between. At the beginning of every month I will post what your child will be covering, the theme, math concepts and so on. If you need anything feel free to contact me anytime via email or give the school a call.

The month of September in Mme Laurie Anne's class is all about routine, structure, expected behaviours and setting/following the rules. So far it has been fabulous! This months theme is "A l'ecole avec mes amis" At school with my friends. We have been learning the different letter sounds and names in French. I like to teach the sound first then the name. I also teach them a hand action to go along with the sound. I follow the Jolly Phonics program in both French and English. It helps the students remember the sounds. You can find the English songs online. We have been working on our printing skills as well both upper and lower case. They still need some work, seeing that some continue to have reversals. Please feel free to work on this at home. Some fun things to try are drawing the letters in sugar, flour or fill a ziplock with paint and have them practice on the bag. You can also get a white board at Dollarama and practice with that. Play-doh is also fun!

In math we are reviewing numbers 0-10 in French and learning how to recognize and write the French written number. We have started our math unit which is patterns. Students are learning about what/ how to make a pattern, repetition, prolonging and how to have several different attributes to one pattern. We have started our number printing book as well. I encourage you to count with your child at home as high as they can count and practice writing the numbers out.

Science we have been learning about all the different colors. We will be doing some fun experiments in the next couple of weeks. I was hoping that some brave soul might want to come into class and make play-doh with us? If your up to it please let me know.

Social studies we are learning about being a member of a group. The focus is all about being a good person, learning to get along with different personalities and respecting all cultures.

Things you might want to make note of.....
-We have Lacrosse week in gym. We have two Roughneck players here to teach the kids some skills. Our class will have gym Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday.
-Library will always be on day 2 in the afternoon. If you have not please send your child's book back with them tomorrow so they may return it.
-Choir sign up was today. If your child is interested in singing with the choir they can go see Mme Kitt. You must give them permission, just leave a note in the agenda.
Young Rembrants art class starts Monday 22 after school.
- Gala Basket theme for our class is Happy Hobbies. We have already started to get donations. You may send them into class at anytime. This is the link to sign up: http://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0d49acae2fa0ff2-happy If you cannot access this you can go to the school website and click the Gal picture and it will direct you where you need to go. I love our theme for this year it is very fitting!
- Thursday is the parent reading information night. I hope to see you all there, if not we can arrange a time to get together and go over the information covered. Please do not forget to come with a cheque date for June 20th, 2015. It will be a deposit on the reading CD that you will get with the reading package, as well as for any puzzle pieces that might become lost.
That's all I got for now! Have a super week everyone!
Laurie Anne

Busy week

Hi Everyone,
This week in grade one we have a lot going on it seems. Just wanted you all to know that tomorrow is the last day for Scholastic orders if you have not already handed them in. I will be placing the orders hopefully Friday after school.

The ice cream reading challenge is still on going. We have had some very successful students who have already gotten their bowl, spoon and first scoop of ice cream! Bravo! Remember parents any reading that they do at home with you can count, don't forget to sign when they read for at least 10 mins. Students have been letting me know when they are ready to be tested for their words and sentences. Its great to see how excited they are about this challenge, I am hoping that they are enjoying reading to you as well.

This week I have sent home two permission slips. The one that is blue is for your child to be able to participate in a skye conversation with Fabian Cousteau. He will be partaking in an under water study of ocean life. He will be under water for a period of 31 days, this was previously attempted by his grand-father who was success in living on the ocean floor for 30 days. It is called Mission 31. Here is the link if you wish to seek out more information. http://mission-31.com/ . Please be sure to sign this permission form otherwise your child will not be able to partake in the skype session with the rest of the school.

You may have also seen a permission form for Butterfield acres that was sent home yesterday. Please also make sure to sign this and send it in by the end of the week. We will be heading there for June 18th, for the whole day. Thank you to all who have volunteered. I have had some parents ask if they can come join us. I will check and see if it would be alright for others to come. I believe if it is allowed you would be required to pay your own entrance fee seeing that we have only allotted for 4 parents in our budget. I believe it is a cost of $5. I can always get back to you if you email me with an interest to go.

Not sure if you heard from your child yet or not but we are raising butterflies in class. We got the larvae last week....this week they are caterpillars which are growing extremely fast. The students are amazed, but so am I. I cant get over how fast they have changed. We will be observing all the stages and once they become butterflies we will release them. They are called painted lady's if you wish to seek out more information to share with your child.

I mentioned before that we would be doing an author study on Barbara Reid with a focus on her illustrations however I never got around to finishing the activities. I will re introduce and be doing an art project with modeling clay. If you all could send in an empty CD case that you do not wish to get back I would really appreciate it. If you do not have a CD case I have used in the past 4x6 white easels at dollarama that has word great, you may also send one of those in. If I could have them in by June 6th it would be really appreciated!

In math we are deep into addition and subtraction. Addition has come easily to most however subtraction is causing a few bumps in the road. If you have time can you please explain to your child the concept, play some math games or go over addition and subtractions 1-20.

Friday is spririt day this months theme is Cultural. If you child wishes to participate please send them to school dressed. Also there is still time for your child to show off their talent. Tomorrow will be the last day for them to audition. Please have a note in their agenda to allow them to participate.

I think that is all for this week. Thanks again for everything.
LA

Hello sunshine!

Hi everyone! I hope you all had a restful long week end and were able to get out and about with your family. I had a great trip to Seattle. The ocean air was calling me and how great it was to soak it all in !

This month is going by so fast as it always does and before you know it June is here and gone. In class we are really going to focus on our FRENCH reading and writing as well as our addition and subtraction up to 20. Students have been working on writing french stories in class. They are excited to share them with the class once they are done. They are developing good spelling strategies by sounding it out, looking on the word wall, looking in a dictionary or asking a friend or me for help.

 In math we are learning about all the different ways to add and solve problems. Students have been using manipulatives to show different addition problems as well as to help count on or solve problems. They are learning that there can be key words to help them know that they must add. For example en tout (in total), le total ( the total) or ajoute (add). They will also be learning how to solve story problems. You can help your child at home by practicing additions up to 20. You can use flash cards, grab a deck of cards and play a game of math war. You split the deck in half and each of you flip the cards over at the same time, the first to solve the addition problem gets to keep it. The most wins. Another game you can play to practice additions is to use domino's, have your child to solve the problems on each domino piece. The students also need to continue to work on counting by 2 and 5 in french. Also if you could have them write it out it would be a big help for them to practice there number formation too. There are several students who continue to have number reversals. (2,3,4,5,7,9).

I have sent home the Kids in the know sheet today. I am hoping to start that this week. We will be talking about personal safety strategies. Students will learn how to protect themselves and how to make the right choices. We usually have great chats and students have many "What if questions" If your child comes home after a class and wants to chat about the topic, please take the time to talk with them.

In the next couple of weeks I will be looking for parent volunteers to come and talk with students about their career choice. In health we will be learning that everyone has different interest that leads them into different jobs. If you are interested in coming into class and chatting to them please let me know.

I hope that you are all working hard towards helping your child achieve their ice cream sunday! I know it can be challenging especially this time of year. Some easy ways to have your child read would be when you make supper, on the way to soccer, swimming, gymnastics have them read to you in the car, before bed. You do not have to be next to them to have them read for 10 mins. Have them read to you a loud and do not forget about the French! It is easy to do because you all feel that you can help more in English, let me assure you they are all doing fairly well with English reading! They need that extra French practice and the more they read the better they will get, the better they get the more confidence they get, the more they participate in class, the more they speak French to everyone!

Thats all for now!

Happy Friday

Hi everyone,
Happy Friday to you all, too bad it is raining and is not suppose to be nice all week end long! Regardless I hope that you will all get out and do something fun with the family, maybe visit the library near your house to get the kids ready for summer ready or maybe explore the Science center. Whatever it may be have fun!

Month is upon us already and with that we will be switching our focus from farm life towards plants and insects. We will also be learning some very important safety tips in Health class and in Social studies the students will learn about the country they live in and the provinces and territories that make up Canada. In math we have started to look at addition and subtraction again. The students will be required to know simple addition and subtractions up to 20. We have also been reviewing skip counting by 2,5,10. I think most students have forgotten how to do so. Please can you review this with them at home. My suggestion is to have them write out the numbers or you can draw out a number line with numbers up to 50 for now to practice. I noticed that some could skip count orally however when I put a number line there and asked them to do the same thing, a lot of them did not know what to do.

We will also be doing an author study on Barbara Reid. We will learn how she creates her illustrations with platiscine and the different technique's she uses to create her fun lifelike pictures. I would like to ask you all to send in an empty CD case that you will not need back, seeing that we will be using it to create a picture.

We are nearing the end of the year and my focus for the remaining time will be on reading and writing simple sentences. It would be beneficial for your child to read more at home in FRENCH. Studies have shown that over the summer students drop at least two reading levels. My goal is to have them all beyond the recommended reading level of 7-8 which is E. I can only do this with your help and hope that over the summer you continue to read with your child in French so that they maintain what they have learned and enter grade two exactly where they are meant to be. If any of you would like I can always meet you at your local library and show you what types of books are good for your child to read over the summer. Just let me know. We will also be taking part in an ice-cream reading challenge, once I figure out all the details I will send home the information. Look for it next week. This will require your time to sit down and read with your child and to sign a paper to show that they have read.

That's all the news I have for now. Take care and stay dry!
Laurie Anne

EEEkkk long overdue!

Hello everyone,
I hope you are all doing well. Sorry for the long overdue post. This month in grade one we have been learning about farm animals, their homes, the sounds they make and what they eat. Students will be responsible for researching their favorite farm animal and putting the information into a book. They are to pick an animal, find out where it lives, what it eats and state what they like about that animal. They will share it with the class. We have also started to write our own stories in class and the students are very excited about this. Some have already finished their first story and are working on their second. My hope is to have a meet the author day in June, where the students can show you their books. We will have to see how theses next couple of weeks go. I hope that you are all still reading in French at home with your child. This is the time where you should see it become more easy for them to read and that they are starting to read with fluidity and expression. If you notice they are still a little choppy and that the flow is not all that great, you can help that along by reading daily a loud.

In math, we finished measurement and now will put all our focus into addition and subtraction up to 20. You can help them along at home by making flash cards or asking them math questions.

In health, we are finishing up the food groups and will start to look safety. We will also be doing Kids in the know in the next couple of weeks so look for the permission form in your child's agenda.

In social studies, the students loved learning about the differences between country and city living. We will switch our focus in the next couple of weeks towards learning about Canada, the provinces and so on.

I have to say a big thank you to Anna and Shae for having their family come into class the other day and play guitar and sing songs. The kids loved it and so did I !!

That's all I can think of at the moment. I hope to run into some of you tonight at Spring Fling! Have a great rest of the week!
Laurie Anne

Hello March!

March is upon us and flying by already. I hope the report cards found you all. If you have any questions regarding them please contact me to discuss.

This month students will be learning about ways to get around. They will be learning about transportation and how not all places have the same types of transportation as we do. We will also be focusing on Rhyming words, punctuation and reading with expression.

In social studies students continue to learn about urban and rural areas (urbaine-ville, rurales-campagne) We will look at the different characteristics that make up city life and country life.

In health, students are looking at the Canadian food guide and learning about portion sizes and what is recommended for them at this age. We will also review fruits and vegetables.

In math, we will be starting our unit on measuring. We will also continue to count to 100, by 2,5 and 10.

Religion class students are learning more about Lent.

I am going to send home a note this week sometime explaining this months project. Students are required to invent their own means of transportation. they can do so with any thing they find around the house. In the past I have had students make their projects out of fruits and vegetables, pop bottles, card board boxes and so on. Please be as creative as possible. It can be a new invention all together or the students take on an old one. We will present them to the class. Students will be evaluated on their use of French when presenting so feel free to practice at home.

We have our last class of in line skating tomorrow. Bricks for kids is also starting to finish up.
I hope to see you all Thursday and Friday at parent teacher. This time around it is student lead so make sure to bring them with you. They will show you what they have learned.

That's all for now.
Laurie Anne