May 29

Hello Parents,

Wow! Can you believe that June is just around the corner??

This week we are focusing on the letter "Ww" and words that start with the sound /w/.  Mrs. Hassam and I have started calling it "wubble u, double u" as we differentiate between the sound of the letter "Yy" which often gets mixed up.  We have also been talking about our question words (what, where, when, why, who) and the importance of a question mark in writing.  Can you find any question marks in the books you are reading together at home? Here is a link to our friends the storybots for some silly "Ww" fun!

Also, TONIGHT is the Parent Council's Carnival.  Bring your family from 6-8 for some fun games in the gym.  Maverick's are raising money for the Children's Make A Wish Foundation during this event.

Tuesday May 20, 2014

Dear Parents,

Our school will be holding a Grade 1 Orientation for Kindergarten students starting Grade 1 in September 2014.  It will be held this Thursday, May 22nd at 6:00 p.m.  All Grade 1 teachers will be at this Orientation highlighting important information for a smooth transition to Grade 1.  We hope all of you can attend.

Beth Fisher our school community nurse came to visit us today.  She talked about our Pillar of Care for Self by giving us some great information on nutrition and helmet safety.  

Nutrition:

- Ask your child how big a serving size really is! (Believe it or not, it's only the size of your fist!).  

- We learned the 4 different food groups.  How many does your child remember?  

- We need 5 servings of fruits and vegetables (the most important), 4 servings of grains, 2 servings of dairy products and only 1 serving of meats/alternatives in a day.  

- There should always be "lots of colours on your plate."

- Ask your child what is the best drink to have (I'll give you a hint, our body is made up of approximately 70% of it...)

- We wear our helmet on "anything that makes you go faster than our feet."

- Ask your child why we need to wear a helmet.  Did you our skull is the thickness of  3 pennies!

- What does our skull protect?  We talked about how our brain is like our body's computer.  It helps us to breath and makes our heart beat without even thinking about it.

- A proper fit should (1) be snug on our head, (2) sit 2 fingers above our eyebrows, (3) fit 1 finger in the strap under our chin, and (4) make a "V" around our ears.  We use the saying "2-V-1"

- And did you know that helmets have an expiry date?  Check your helmets at home to see if they are still good!

Check out the Helmet Checklist and Canadian Food Guide that your child is bringing home this week.

This week we are focusing on the letter "Uu."  Vowels are fun with the two sounds, such as long letter 'u' in the word unicorn (it says its name) or short letter 'u' in the word umbrella.  Check out the crazy antics of the Storybots for more unbelievable "Uu" words!

May 12

Hello Parents,

There is lots to say this week, so hold on to your hats! First off, I hope everyone has had a wonderful Mother's Day this past weekend!  This week we are focusing on the letter 'Tt' and the sound /t/.  The children discovered that the word Thursday also starts with the letter 'Tt' but makes a different sound /th/.  We had a wonderful discussion about the 'Hh' working to change this sound.  Can you find more /t/ and /th/ sounds?



Last week we had 2 wonderful visitors come into the class.  On Wednesday, was Margery from World Health who brought herrip sticks  to share with us.  She had picked out some awesome music that we recognized and loved.  We got to do some amazing drumming with the stick for a pound workout.  We could feel our muscles after!  Ask your child which pillar of care we are focused on, when brought her



On Friday, Clay for Kids came to teach us about clay.  Did you know it comes from the earth?! "It feels cold and muddy." (Tina) and "The air makes it hard." (Evey).  It was really amazing to see her use the potter's wheel to make a bowl. Our jaws were dropped wide open.





I want to say a big THANK YOU to everyone who was able to donate books for the Calgary Reads
Book Drive.  Our school has filled an entire van full of books! And the best news, our class brought in the most books!  As a reward, we got to pick a book to take home!  Please be careful not to mix them up with our library books (which need to come back next week).  We had a conversation with our class about the barcodes that help identify our library books.





As the weather warms up, I am noticing more flip flops in our coatroom.  If you are wearing sandals, please send an extra pair of socks in your child's back back for their inside shoes.  It just helps with rubbing and blisters as we work in our runners in the school. Thanks. 

Special Guest In Our Classroom

Hello Parents,

This week we are looking at the letter 'Ss' and all of the special words that start with the sound /s/.  Remember, as we come across soft 'c' words, such as circus and cent, I will be accepting them as a /s/ word, as I draw attention to the phonemes (sounds) of words.  I will point out that with "adult writing" it is made with a 'Cc', but accept their words.

To help build excitement around the letter 'Ss' we are also welcoming Zeus, my corn snake into the classroom for the week.  Rest assured that there are rules and expectations around this creature in our classroom.  Everything is safe, and the children are in not touching or interacting directy with Zeus, he is only handled by myself.  We are looking at his habitat, making observations, and collecting data and "I wonders..." about snakes.  This is beginning an inquiry into living and non-living things. Please take a moment to have a discussion about some "I wonders..." with your child and comment with them in the comment box below. 

Some I wonders from the classroom include:

• I wonder where he would live in the wild.
• I wonder what he eats.
• I wonder if he swims.
• I wonder why he has a swimming pool.
• I wonder how far his tongue stretches out.

We will also have some special presentations this week as WorldHealth comes in to do a special "pound"  fitness routine with us on Wednesday, and Clay for Kids comes in on Friday to work on a clay project!