Sunday, October 27, 2019

Happy Halloween

HI everyone,
I hope the month of October has treated you all well. We are coming to an end, which is hard to believe. This month the students continue to learn about Halloween vocabulary. In the next couple of weeks we will be learning about the different parts of the body. This will also tie in with our new science unit on our 5 senses.

Our class will be celebrating Halloween on Tuesday October 29th. Students are allowed to dress up in their Halloween costumes. They are not allowed to wear masks or bring weapons. If their costumes required make-up they are asked to apply it at home. I am not permitted to re-apply. If they do not want to wear their costumes they are welcomed to wear black and orange. We will be having Halloween centers in the afternoon. If you wish to send in a fun, healthy snack for the students please feel free to do so. We will make this apart of our celebration. We have 3 volunteers so far but it would be great to have at least one more to make smaller groups. If you are interested please let me know or Nataly our classroom rep.

Wednesday our school will be celebrating Faith day. We have we have two guest joining us, Michael Chiasson and Joe Melendrez. You are welcome to join us from 9:00-10:30.

We have no school on Thursday October 31 as well as Friday November1. Seeing that teachers have a PD day and our own district Faith day.
Library Tuesday Oct 29th.
All reading packs are to be returned Monday. PLease be sure to also send sight words daily and practice them if you can. Your child will be evaluated on the first 6 weeks of school in both French and English.

In Math, we are  exploring numbers, different ways to represent numbers as well as associating numbers to their written form. Students are required to count from 0-20, 20-0 in French, identify these numbers out of sequence as well as represent them with manipulatives. Students have also been learning how to identify numbers in a ten frame. I give them 3 seconds to tell me the number....they are loving this!

Science, we have just started our 5 senses unit this week. We will work on this cross circularly with our new French vocabulary theme of Les parties du corps. STudents will learn how our senses keep us safe, allow us to experience many things such as good tastes, snuggly stuffies, fabulous music, delicious smells and so on. Students do not always realize that they are using their senses all the time. You can start to point these out to them!

In social studies we have been talking about the community we live in and the places we go in our community. Your child would benefit from having a chat about the community they belong too. A lot did not know where they actually lived. In the next couple of weeks we will look at the servies found in our community (school, police, fire station, hospital)

English, we have been looking at beginning, middle and ending sounds. We continue to need practice on identifying ending sounds. For example "what is the end sound in pick? Students say "ick" rather than "k". This is something simple you can do while driving to help them get better at identifying the final sounds. We will also be starting to look at writing simple sentences.




Tuesday, September 24, 2019

Welcome to Fall!

Happy Fall !
Sorry for the late post, time seems to be slipping away from me. It was great meeting a lot of you last week at Parent meet and greet. Thank you for taking the time to come and tell me about your child. I hope the last couple of weeks have been good and that your child is coming home with positive stories and sharing a little bit of what they are learning.

The month of September is almost over. I cant get over how fast it went. So far in class your child has been learning the French alphabet sounds. I teach the alphabet out of sequence, teaching the sound first then the letter name. This is also supported by using French Jolly phonic, which is hand jesters for each letter. You will be getting a navy blue duo-tang with each weeks letters, weekly in your child's reading package (this can stay home and sheets be added as you get them). The hand jesters are shown on each printing page. You will also find at the back of each weeks letter pack a sheet with letters, a word to match the letter and an image. These can be cut up and used to play a variety of different games, such as tic-tac-mot, war, memory and so on.
The students have also been learning the French terms for school supplies. We are working a individual booklets that they will take home and read to you once finished. The are also learning how to follow a line of print in the journals, focusing on sky, grass, dirt, ladybug, monkey and giraffe letters. Ask your child to explain these concepts to you, if you need more clarification feel free to drop me a line.

In Math, students have been focusing on patterning using different elements. We have been looking at AB, ABC, AAB, AABB, ABB type patterns. Students have also been working on prolonging patterns, grouping them together in segments and finishing patterns that are partially complete. We have also started to look at numbers 0-20 on a number line. Students are learning how to place numbers out of sequence from smallest to biggest as well as representing the numbers with manipulatives. You could continue to do this at home to help improve their understanding of place value. Students will have a quiz on Friday on what they have learned so far.

Science, students are learning all about colors, their names in French, what happens when you mix certain colors, the difference between opaque and transparent and so much more. We are having fun doing class experiments and have a couple more this coming week. For one of our experiments we are in need of a pair of white socks that will fit your child. If you could send in a pair labeled with your child's name on them for September 30th, it would be greatly appreciated.

In social studies, students are learning about their community and the importance of being apart of a group. They will be learning how to identify different groups in and around their community. You can help them by pointing out different clothing people wear (uniforms, cultural attire, sports jerseys), symbols (maple leaf, Calgary flames) and languages they hear. Students will also be asked to learn more about their family name and its origins.

We will be starting our health unit this week which focuses on proper hand washing techniques and proper hygiene. We will also talking about what it looks like to be a good friend.

English, students are learning the alphabet with the aid of sign language, much like Jolly phonics I find using a hand jester helps students to remember the sounds. It also will tie into our science unit on our five senses in the months to come.

Please be sure to send your child's sight words daily to school. I have started to review these words with each student. They should be sent in every Monday to put their new words on them. If you cannot find them, let me know and I will send home new cards.

I have a small favor, on Mondays could you please move your child's agenda marker (ruler) to the following week. This will save me a lot of time in the morning. Thanks!

Reading packages are being sent home. If you have not done so already, please send in a post dated cheque made out to Holy Name dated June 15,2020. This will be returned if all items have been returned or not lost. Attached in your child's agenda is their learn account. You can find the digital copy of the Oui,oui,oui reading program there.

For the month of October we will be learning about our family. Could you please send in individual pictures of each member of your family. You can send in grandparents also. It would be great to have these by October 2.


Reminders for this week:
Terry Fox Run Friday September 27 at 1:30 pm (rain or shine or SNOW!) The assembly starts at 1:30 all are welcome to attend.

I think that's all for now....Have a great week.
LA



Wednesday, May 29, 2019

Bye Bye May

Hi everyone,
I am happy to see the weather finally turning! We are on the final countdown it seems. Hard to believe. I am ready for summer but not to see these little darlings go. I will be looking for volunteers to help with classroom clean up the last two weeks of school, if you are available to help that would be lovely, just let me know.

The month of June is a busy one as you all know. In class we will be learning about the needs of plant and animals, the life cycle of plants, caterpillars and ducks. Students will have the chance to observe all these changes first hand. We have also been talking about the importance of bees and what we can do to protect them. Our fruits and veggies project is off to a great start. The kids are always excited to taste new things. Today we had apricots, which was a first for me too!

In French, we have started to write our own stories, we are learning more about syllables, how to spot plural and singular words and rhyming words. We will also be learning how to identify beginning and final sounds, place words in alphabetical order and learn about verbs/adjectives/nouns in both English and in French.
Math, we have started addition/subtraction up to 20 as well as identifying numbers 1-100 in French. Students continue to work on skip counting by 2,5 and 10. We still need a lot more practice on doing this in French as well as counting in French up to 100.

Science, we will explore the different habitat of animals, the life cycle, animal safety, the different classifications of animals, insects and much more.

Social Studies, we continue to chat about the differences of the past and present day. If any of you have pictures of your parents, grandparents wedding photos we would love to see them and compare them to photos taken today (clothing, color, hairstyles). Send yours along as well. We would also be happy to show any old photos you may have that shows how times have changed.

Health, we are learning about our emotions and feelings, how to identify how we feel, strategies to regulate, stay calm or help others when they maybe upset, frustrated or sad. We will also learn about bike safety, what is an emergency and when should we seek help of others. We will also be starting Kids in the know.

English, we continue to work on our story writing skills and using our imagination. We will start to look at nouns, verbs, and adjectives. Our sight words this week are homophones- two words that sounds the same, spelt differently and have different meanings. We will also look at compound words and bossy e.

Scholastics are due Friday May 31. This is our last order of the year. There are some French and English work books that you might find useful for your child to work on over the summer. Especially the French ones, seeing that they are harder to find. There are also 2$ deals on books in most of the order forms.

Butterflied acres is on Friday. Please be sure to dress your child for the weather. Bring sunscreen, hat, rainboots, water bottle, paper bag lunches are a little easier, just in case a lunch box is left behind. We will be leaving first thing in the morning, so please make sure you are here in time. The bus will not wait for anyone. If you are volunteering you still have to come to school with your child for attendance. I also have a package for you that you can pick up. We also need one person to take all the lunches boxes in their car if possible, seeing that the bus has little room.

May Ice cream reading challenge is due also on Friday. Please send those in when you can. I will send them back seeing that June is on the backside. Keep practicing sight words and French sentences if your child still has not had the chance to read with me.

SPCA is coming next Friday for a class visit. They are collecting used towels, flat sheets, blankets, food, toys.

Constable Hartman will be coming in to speak with the class in the month of June.

Sunday, April 28, 2019

April where did you go?

HI everyone,
I cannot believe we are almost done of April. Two months of school! EEEKKK! We still have so much to do it seems! 

Aprils ice cream reading log is due this week. Thank you to those of you who have already sent them in. Way to go! I have done most English words and French sentences already, there are only a couple kids left to get their bowl and spoon. Everyone is working hard and have been eager to read their words and sentences. For those who haven't yet read please keep working on this at home with your child. 
The reading packages will go home this week, please send in the Pink books if it is not in your reading package. Library is on Monday April 29th. Mme Fiona praised the students a couple of weeks ago for being the only class in the school to bring all their books back, now that want to keep that going haha so here is the advance reminder.
We also have computers for the first time this week....Wish me luck! This is a lot fun but can also be hectic seeing that many of the sweet children lack patience with logging in and lose sight of the only one Madame to help!
Mme Holly has borrowed a class set of Djambe drums. Our class has signed up to go three times in the next two weeks. The students are learning about the origin of the drums, what the drum symbolizes as well as the different sounds the drum can produce. We will work on beat and rhythm as well as coping following a rhythm.
Wednesday May first is Hats on for Mental health. Students are allowed to wear their favorite hats to school by donating $2.00.
Be sure to get your spring fling order forms in by  April 29th if you want to eat pizza. Spring fling is on Thursday May 2. The students always have a great time and its always great to get to see you all again before the end of the year.
Mme Jacqueline's class is having their annual movie night to support another great cause. I sent home the ticket order forms before break. Those are due May 7th. It tends to sell out fast so be sure to get your orders in. The movie night is on May 16th.
We have the opportunity also to have Mme Elaine come to our class one afternoon in May. She use to be our artist in residence for a couple of years. She is very talented and in all its a fabulous learning experience for the students. 
Have a great week everyone! Lets hope there's no more snow!

Tuesday, April 9, 2019

Hello April!

A late Welcome back. I hope your breaks were great, restful and you were all able to spend some quality time together. We stayed here for the first time, it was great. I was very productive on Monday then Netflix got me! 
Three months left, can you believe it! The month of April is an exciting one in grade one. We will be learning about our environment, how to protect it, what can we do to save endangered species. We will brain storm ways how to make the school more environmentally aware as well as what we can do at home and in or around our community. The students will take part in a comparison study, where we will read the Lorax by Dr.Seuss, watch the original cartoon and if time watch the new release. We will compare all three and the differences of each, what parts did they take out, what did they add to make the story more juicy and so on. (Beginning, middle and end)

In French, the students will be learn about farm animals. They will learn the proper names for male, female and baby animals along with where they live, what they eat and the sounds that they make. I sent home a yellow sheet with all the information that they will learn in the coming weeks. We have also started to learn about singular and plural words. I am not all that sure they have grasped this concept yet, seeing that there can be many indicators of plural words. ( les, mes, tes, ils, elles, chantent, animaux, hiboux)

In English, we have started writing our own short stories with the help of picture prompts. We brain storm words we may want to use then the students are allowed to write whatever they want, based on the picture. They have been doing a great job using the word wall but are still hesitant to take a shot at their best try spelling. If you are writing at home have them try to sound words out first.

Science, we continue to work on building things. We have also started our new math unit on geometry which ties in nicely with building things.

Social studies had a little break it seems and are now back on track learning about Canada, the provinces, territories and Canadian symbols. Students continue need clarification on the difference between province and country. With each new province we watch the tourism video. They were super impressed with Alberta's and we pretty proud to be from this province. 

This week the students have the opportunity to partake in the Youth Singers of Calgary. Our group is singing Everybody wants to be a cat from the Aristocats. If you have the chance practice the song at home that would be a huge help. The pace is a little different but its the words that we are having trouble with. 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4rrXR6n0RTY
You are invited Monday April 15 to one of the two showings. The first one is 1pm until 1:45, the second is from 2:00 until 2:45. I would come early to either showing because there will be limited space, seeing that all grades as of now will be in the gym for both shows.

This week we also have the felting lady coming in on Thursday morning. She will be starting right away i believe so please try to be here on time.

The students have also won 100 points by working together. They have chosen to watch a movie, in their pj's with their favorite stuffy and eat popcorn........They made sure to get the most out of these 100 points LOL! I hope to do this before Easter break. Once i look at my schedule Ill let you all know the date. 

Just a note, a lot of the students have been complain in the pm that they are hungry, i think we have a growth spurt on our hands or it could be that they are too chatty at lunch and not eating. If  they are coming home with food, let me know and I ll make sure they are eating it sometime during the day. 

That's all for this week. If you have any questions, feel free to contact me anytime. Hope reading is going well and you are seeing improvements daily. 

Monday, March 11, 2019

Short week

HI everyone,
We have another short week this week. No school on Friday due to parent teacher interviews. This term interviews are student lead. Which means your child will take you around to different centers and show you what they have learned or are in the process of learning now. During your time slot you will be with 4 other students and parents. Please be mindful of everyone in the room. Don't forget to sign up for a time slot. Student leads are Thursday and Friday.

The book fair will be taking place during interviews. Students will have a chance to preview it Wednesday during their library time. I believe it will be in the learning commons this time. So before or after be sure to head on up and take a peek.

This week at school, the students will have to opportunities to view two very different plays. Tuesday, unitheatre will present a French play on protecting the environment and on Thursday David Bouchard will be here to speak about his life. Here is the link if you wanted more information on the performance. 

In Math, we continue to learn about measurement, this week we are focusing on distance and volume. We have also started to count to 100 in French and will be working on skip counting by 2, 5 and 10. It would be great if you could help your child with this at home.

Science, we are into building things. We will talk about what makes structures stable, how do they stay together. We will also be presenting our leprechaun traps over the next 2 weeks. They look amazing by the way! Thank you for supporting this fun project.

Social studies, we continue on comparing urban and rural settings. We will finish up soon and start to look at our beautiful country of Canada, the provinces and territories its made up of and cardinal direction (North, South, East, West)

English, students are learning more about word families and blends. We have started to talk more about rhyming words as well as different parts of a story. (beginning, middle and end) To help improve your child's reading comprehension you can beginning to ask who, what, when, where, why and how. 

In French, we have started learning about transportation. We have also started to receive our class post cards which is exciting. Please keep them coming. I have been really focusing on French sounds, syllables and breaking words apart.
I have showed the class how to access the games on my blog, if you wanted to book mark it, it maybe helpful and save you time getting it up for them. I have also attached the links to Je lis and lalilo.

Have a great week.
Laurie Anne 



Wednesday, February 20, 2019

Carnaval!!!!

HI Everyone,
I hope you all had a restful couple of days off with your family. I had a good convention and attended some great sessions. This year I chose to attend ones that focused on students mental health and the effects of anxiety and learning. It was very informative!

This is another short week packed full of activities. This week at school we will celebrate Carnaval. They are still looking for volunteers on Thursday morning and afternoon. They are in desperate need as last I heard. If you are interested you can let me know or the office and Ill be sure to pass the message onto the committee. Wednesday will be opening ceremonies and the duo French group Folkfolie is here to perform. Thursday we are suppose to have activities all day (depending on volunteers) this is also cabane a sucre.

In class, we are getting in the last couple quizzes before report cards, working on completing reading evaluations and finishing up odds and ends. We will continue to work on or I should say start learning on the different parts of the home. Students are starting to understand what makes up a sentence and are beginning to be able to put a sentences back together after it being mixed up. This is a great activity to practice at home to work on word recognition and comprehension. You can use sentences from their reading packs.

A note about the reading packs....today new books went home. This program oui, oui, oui comes with a CD that you can keep at home until June. All the books are on it. The numbered books correspond with the numbers on the CD. Please be sure to count the puzzle pieces before returning, to make sure you have not lost any at home. If you have any questions about the program feel free to ask me. If you haven't already sent back the pink book level A, please do so. If you haven't gotten a CD and new book, it is because I am still waiting your deposit. When you are able please send it in so that we can give your child their new resource. 

Please be sure to review sight words on a regular basis, some of our students are still having trouble identifying simple words, such as "la", "les", "ma".  I have registered our class on Lalilo website under my name (Mme Laurie Anne) The password is ABZRSC. I know what your thinking lol another website but its optional, take a peek it may help your child with letter recognition, blending letters together and French phonemes. Let me know your thoughts and if its worth it. Below you can find two links I didn't know which one would get you where you needed. 

https://app.lalilo.com/#/portal

https://student.lalilo.com/#/classes

Parents I need your help with a class project that we do for the month of March. The theme for March is traveling with my friends. Each year our class asks our friends, family, friends of friends and family to send the class a post card from wherever they are living, traveling. We also ask those friends to ask their friends or family to do the same. One the post cards they can tell us a little about where they are from, whats the weather like, any famous landmarks, what language they speak, food they eat, traditions, population, animals, music and how they get around. Pretty much include anything a 6 year old would find interesting. Once we receive the post cards we find the place on the map, talk about how we could get there from Calgary and compare the information to our living. If you could please send word now to your friends and family far and wide that would be amazing, they can start to send the post cards in now. In the past we have received maps, tourist guides, stamps and flags from different countries. The students love this project. It also helps them realize that the world is more than just Calgary, Alberta. A huge thank you in advance!!!!
They can send their post cards to:
La classe de Mme Laurie-Anne
Holy Name School
3011 35 street SW
Calgary Alberta
T3E 2Y6

I think Ill leave it at that for this week. Have a beautiful week. If you need anything feel free to contact me anytime.
Laurie Anne :)