December 1st-5th
Hi Families!
We enjoyed our visit and presentation on Kindness from the Student Well-Being Team last Tuesday. Two team members presented, and they were delighted to hear how much our students know about what kindness looks like, sounds like, and feels like. As an activity at the end, the kids got to choose a coloring sheet with the theme Kindness, color it, and give it to someone they care about as an act of kindness. This week, again on Tuesday, we have these members invited back into our Grade 1 English classrooms to do a presentation on Emotions. Check out some photos from our classroom here.
Our Grade One Christmas Concert will be on Tuesday, December 9th. We will be on stage to sing two songs with another grade one class. We'll be performing in two concerts at 1:00pm and 6:00pm. If you know your child will be absent from one or both shows, please let me know as this impacts their order on the stage. Thanks!
It’s hard to believe we are into the first week of December! December is a busy month with lots of activities planned. Please see at the bottom of this update, the special theme days we have planned as a whole school and as a Grade 1 English wing.
**Please see below activities planned for the last week of school leading up to Christmas Break**
Grade 1 Hallway theme days and School-Wide Theme days:
Monday, December 15th - Show & Tell and Red & Green Day and Get up and Dance
Bring a show and tell item (no electronics) and dress in red and green! There will be school wide dance breaks throughout the day.
Tuesday, December 16th - Art in the Dark Day and Read Aloud with Admin and Name that tune
We'll have fun creating lots of art, listen to a read-aloud by our amazing administrators, and work as a class to see if we can name the songs that will play throughout the day!
Wednesday, December 17th - Read-a-Thon Day and Festive Attire Day and Teacher Swap
Bring in a favorite book from home (label with your child's name), dress in festive clothing, and another teacher will take over 1B for 30 minutes!
Thursday, December 18th - Hallway Stations and School-Wide BINGO (virtual)
We will mix-up the grade one classes and rotate through all the grade one classrooms to participate in a variety of activities. We'll also play BINGO with the whole school.
Friday, December 19th - Movie Day (we'll watch The Grinch (2018 version) and PJ Day and School Carol Sing Along (assembly in the gym)
We will watch the movie "The Grinch" (2018 version) and wear our cozy PJs. I'll be opening the "1B Store" for our movie on Friday. I'll bring in some treats and set up a 'store' in the classroom. The kids can use counters to 'buy' their snacks for the movie. The kids will also take turns working at the store. It's a fun way to practice working at a store, using the cash register, being a customer, using our manners, and lots of math skills! If you'd like to send in a treat for Friday, you're welcome to do so, but certainly no pressure :) We'll end the day with a school-wide assembly where we will have a festive sing-along.
Here's what's happening in 1B this week:
Phys. Ed - Monday, Wednesday & Friday
Music - Tuesday & Thursday
Library - Monday & Friday
Playground - Front playground
Words of the week - who, what, when, why **We will practice reading and writing these words**
Highlights for this week:
On Tuesday, we will have a presentation by the student well-being team about feelings/emotions.
Fundations: We finished up Unit 5 last week. The kids did really well!
This week, we will begin Unit 6. In this unit they will learn a new concept that they will use frequently, that of adding a suffix (which is an ending) to a baseword. In this unit, they will learn the sufflx 's'. For example: dog - add the sufflx 's' = dogs
We will learn that to spell a word with a suffix ending, you hear the entire word (e.g., "maps"), but then need to separate the baseword from the suffix (e.g., "map" from the suffix 's' in the word “maps”).
Additionally, we will learn that sometimes the suffix's' has the lz/ sound as in the word bug-bugs.
Reading Homework: Your child will have 3 practice books that they can read throughout the week. Please return these books on Friday. Also, I will be sending home the Unit 6, Week 1, Fluency Fundations sheet.
Dates to Remember
Saturday, December 6th - Santa Claus Breakfast at GSP (tickets available on the HotLunches website)
Tuesday, December 9th - Grade 1 Christmas Concert - 1:00 pm and 6:00 pm
Friday, December 19th- Last day for students before the Holiday Break
Monday, December 22nd- Last day for staff before the Holiday Break
Monday, January 5th- First day back in 2026 for everyone
November 24th - 28th
Hi Families!
It was lovely to meet with you this week and talk about all the amazing things your children are doing and learning at school! Thank you so much for taking the time to come in and meet with me 🙂 I will be sending their report cards home this Wednesday.
It’s hard to believe we are getting close to the end of November! The weather is getting quite chilly. Please make sure your child is coming to school with a winter jacket for these cold days so they can keep warm at recess. They should also bring a warm hat and mittens. When the snow starts it is also a good idea to pack an extra pair of socks in their kit bag as well. Thank you so much!
Last week we began Unit 5 in Fundations. We are learning two new glued sounds (“am” and “an”). This new unit is only one week long and I will be sending home their fluency homework on Monday along with their books.
Here's what's happening in 1B this week:
Phys. Ed - Tuesday & Thursday
Music - Monday, Wednesday, Thursday & Friday
Library - Monday & Friday
Playground - Back playground
Words of the week - from, have, does **We will practice reading and writing these words**
Highlights for this week:
On Tuesday we will have a presentation by the student well being team about kindness.
Fundations: We will finish up Unit 5. In this unit, the students will learn glued sounds /am/ and /an/. When ‘a’ is followed by ‘m’ or ‘n’ it becomes what we call a nasal sound. Just like glued sound /all/, when we tap words with the glued sounds /am/ and /an/ it is 2 fingers glued together. For example, we would tap and sound out the word ‘ran’ ( r-an→ran), and the word ‘bam’ (b-am→bam).
We will begin Unit 6. In this unit they will learn a new concept that they will use frequently, that of adding a suffix (which is an ending) to a baseword. In this unit, they will learn the sufflx 's'. For example: dog - add the sufflx 's' = dogs
We will learn that to spell a word with a suffix ending, you hear the entire word (e.g., "maps"), but then need to separate the baseword from the suffix (e.g., "map" from the suffix 's' in the word “maps”).
Additionally, we will learn that sometimes the suffix's' has the lz/ sound as in the word bug-bugs.
Reading Homework: Your child will have 3 practice books that they can read throughout the week. Please return these books on Friday. I will also be sending home the Unit 5 Fundations sheet for fluency practice.
Dates to Remember
Wednesday, November 26- Report Cards Go Home
Saturday, December 6th - Santa Claus Breakfast at GSP
Christmas Concerts are just around the corner, see dates below.
More information about tickets will be shared at a later date.
Tuesday December 9th - Kindergarten performances - 11:00 am. and 4:30 pm
Tuesday December 9th - Grade 1 performances - 1:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m.
Wednesday December 10th - Grade 2 performances - 1:00 p.m. and 4:30pm
November 17th-20th
Hi Families!
We had another awesome week in 1B! We began working on personal narrative writing. We learned to think of our idea, plan our sentences, sketch our pictures and then write our words. We have been working at stretching our ideas across sentences and pages to tell a story. We began 'bringing our stories to life' by adding speech bubbles and movement marks to our illustrations. We will continue to work on personal narrative into December! In math, we have moved beyond numbers to 20 and have extended our learning with numbers to 50 by counting forwards and backwards between two given numbers. Many of us still find counting backwards tricky, so extra practice with this would be awesome! We will begin skip counting by 2s to 20 this week. In reading, we are working on building automaticity by reading words with our eyes instead of tapping with our fingers. We are learning to re-read to 'scoop' up phrases and to ensure our reading makes sense.
Parent Teacher Conferences- I'm looking forward to seeing everyone again this week! Parent teacher conferences will take place on Thursday, November 20th and Friday, November 21st. These meetings are scheduled through an online booking system and are available to be booked now. If you have not already done so please book using this link to create an account and sign up: https://gsp.parentteacherconferences.net/.
Here's what's happening in 1B this week:
Music - Monday, Tuesday, & Wednesday
Phys. Ed - Tuesday & Thursday
Library - Wednesday
Playground - Front playground
Words of the week - are, said **We will practice reading and writing these words**
Highlights for this week:
Fundations: We will have our Unit 4 test early this week. In Unit 5 - students will learn glued sounds /am/ and /an/. A glued sound is when we put 2-3 sounds together quickly. We 'tap' glued sounds by tapping two fingers down at the same time (one for each sound that we are saying together quickly. For example, we would tap and sound out the word ‘ran’ ( r-an→ran), and the word ‘bam’ (b-am→bam).
Dates to Remember
Wednesday, November 19 - School Jersey Day
Thursday, November 20- Parent Teacher Interviews (4-7pm)
Friday, November 21- Parent Teacher Interviews (No classes)
Wednesday, November 26- Report Cards Go Home
Christmas Concerts are just around the corner, see dates below.
More information about tickets will be shared at a later date.
Tuesday December 9th - Kindergarten performances - 11:00 am. and 4:30 pm
Tuesday December 9th - Grade 1 performances - 1:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m.
Wednesday December 10th - Grade 2 performances - 1:00 p.m. and 4:30 p.m.
November 12th-14th
Hi Families!
We had a short but great week together. Glen Stewart had our Remembrance Day ceremony on Wednesday and all of the children showed great respect and focus while listening to the school choir, participating in a moment of silence and even joining in when the whole school sang a song together that everyone had been practicing in Music class.
Parent Teacher Interviews - this is a great opportunity for us to get together and celebrate all the things your child is learning in grade one! They will take place on Thursday, November 20th and Friday, November 21st. These meetings are scheduled through an online booking system and will be available for booking starting on Monday, November 10th at 8am. This is the link to book: https://gsp.parentteacherconferences.net/.
Here's what's happening in 1C this week:
Phys. Ed - Wednesday, Friday
Music - Thursday
Library - Thursday
Playground - Back playground
Words of the week - they, one **We will practice reading and writing these words**
Highlights for this week:
It’s a(nother) short week with 3 school days.
Fundations: We will continue our learning in Unit 4 and practice the following concepts:
The bonus letter spelling rule. If a one-syllable word ends in f, l, s, and sometimes z, and there is a short vowel sound before it, the consonant gets doubled. Your child will learn to read and spell words with bonus letters. Examples: puff, hill, miss, buzz
Glued sound all. The sound of ‘a’ changes to the short vowel sound /o/. Your child will learn to segment and blend words with all to read and spell. Examples: ball, tall, fall
Reading Homework: Your child will have 3 practice books that they can read throughout the week. Please return these books on Friday. *Unit 4 week 1 Fundations sheet if sending it*
Dates to Remember
Monday, November 10 - Teacher Administrative Day (No Classes)
Tuesday, November 11 - Remembrance Day (No Classes)
Saturday, November 15 - Stratford Schools Christmas Craft Fair
Wednesday, November 19 - School jersey day
Thursday, November 20- Parent Teacher
Interviews (4-7pm)
Friday, November 21- Parent Teacher Interviews (No classes)
Wednesday, November 26- Report Cards Go Home
November 3rd-5th
Hi Families!
We had a busy, fun filled week last week! We did a virtual, live directed drawing with a few Kodable staff (A fun coding Educational website I have on my Google Classroom); we had lots of Halloween related activities, with the highlight being Grade 1 Hallway Stations where they got to be mixed with friends in other classes. I've updated our monthly learning goals for November, click here to view them!
Here's what's happening in 1A this week:
Phys. Ed - Tuesday
Music - Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday
Library - Wednesday
Playground - Front playground
Remembrance Day Assembly - Wednesday
Words of the week - do, all **We will practice reading and writing these words**
Highlights for this week:
It’s a short week with 3 school days!
We will be talking about Remembrance Day and will have our school-wide assembly on Wednesday.
Fundations: I am so proud of all the kids and their continued hard work in each unit. They impress me every day!We began Unit 4. In unit 4, we will teach the following concepts:
The bonus letter spelling rule. If a one-syllable word ends in f, l, s, and sometimes z, and there is a short vowel sound before it, the consonant gets doubled. Your child will learn to read and spell words with bonus letters. Examples: puff, hill, miss, buzz
Glued sound all. The sound of ‘a’ changes to the short vowel sound /o/. Your child will learn to segment and blend words with all to read and spell. Examples: ball, tall, fall
Reading Homework: Your child will have 2 practice books that they can read throughout this short week. Please return these books on Wednesday. Later in the week, I will also send home a Fundations Unit 4 practice sheet for week one. Your child can work through this practice page three times.
Tips for the Fundations Practice Sheet:
Decoding Words in Isolation - We're learning to use our eyes to read a new word by scanning the letters and blending the sounds together quickly. We only use our fingers to read (by tapping) when we need some help! When we learn to decode using a new skill, we practice 'tapping' to segment the sounds. To become proficient readers, we need to begin decoding words faster by reading them with a quick scan. **If your child is tapping each word, ask them to try going back and read the words with their eyes by putting the sounds together smoothly (instead of saying /c/a/t/, we could read caaaat or decode mentally and just say the whole word.
Trick Words - These are words we don't decode, we just read them. The more practice, the better! We want kids to know these words at a glance so they don't have to work to solve them. You'll notice the trick words have hearts over some parts. We call these the "heart parts" of the word, or the part we can't sound out, we just have to know it by heart.
Sentences- This is where we pull everything together. Once they are comfortable with the sentences they can practice 'scooping' the words into phrases so it sounds more like a 'talking voice' instead of a robot voice. The kids can have fun with their sentences by adding expression and intonation to their voices :)
Dates to Remember
Monday, November 3 - Home & School Meeting 6pm
Wednesday, November 5 - Remembrance Day ceremony
Thursday & Friday, November 6-7 - Annual Convention (No Classes)
Monday, November 10 - Teacher Administrative Day (No Classes)
Tuesday, November 11 - Remembrance Day (No Classes)
Saturday, November 15 - Stratford Schools Christmas Craft Fair
Wednesday, November 19 - School jersey day
Thursday, November 20- Parent Teacher Interviews (4-7pm)
Friday, November 21- Parent Teacher Interviews (No classes)
Wednesday, November 26- Report Cards Go Home
October 27th - October 31st
Hi Families!
We had an amazing trip to Orwell Corner last week. The students had so much fun and learned a lot! We learned about life in rural PEI in the 1890s. We explored the historic general store, Blacksmith shop and farm. The students got to mill their own corn and feed the animals. They went for a horse and carriage ride that they really enjoyed!
On Thursday, our math coach visited our class and took us outdoors to collect leaves for a math activity. We counted the lobes on the leaves and compared them in a variety of ways. On Friday, we had "Art in the Dark" with our learning buddies. We had various art invitations set out for the children and they could move around the stations with their Learning Buddy. They had a lot of fun and created some awesome art! I've added some photos, click here to view them!
On Friday, October 31 we will celebrate Halloween at Glen Stewart. Here are the details:
Students can feel free to dress up in costume, or orange/black!
If wearing a costume, I suggest they wear their costume to school. We'll be doing a grade 1 hallway parade at 8:30am. We have a variety of fun activities planned throughout the day. Children are welcome to change out of their costumes at any point, so please ensure they have a change of clothing!
Please avoid costumes that are very scary!
Masks and weapons are not permitted.
On Friday, we will participate in "Spooktacular” activities during their gym class. It would be helpful if your child's costume gave them freedom of movement to participate in PE class and recess.
We are also going to be doing some hallway stations in the grade one hallway. They will get to participate in Halloween activities in each of the grade one classrooms! It should be a very fun day!
TREATS: If you'd like to send in treats for halloween, please make sure they are nut free and store bought. We have a student with an egg allergy, so please avoid products that contain egg. If you don't want your child to have treats while at school, please let me know before Friday.
Here's what's happening in 1B this week:
Phys. Ed - Monday, Wednesday & Friday (Friday we'll participate in the Halloween Spooktacular in the gym)
Music - Monday, Tuesday & Thursday
Library - Monday & Thursday
Playground - Back playground
Words of the week - you, your, there, where
Highlights for this week:
Midweek, we will begin Unit 4 in Fundations. In unit 4, we will teach the following concepts:
The bonus letter spelling rule. If a one-syllable word ends in f, l, s, and sometimes z, and there is a short vowel sound before it, the consonant gets doubled. Your child will learn to read and spell words with bonus letters. Examples: puff, hill, miss, buzz
Glued sound all. The sound of ‘a’ changes to the short vowel sound /o/. Your child will learn to segment and blend words with all to read and spell. Examples: ball, tall, fall
Reading Homework: Your child will have 3 practice books that they can read throughout the week. Please return these books on Friday. *Unit 3 week 2 Fundations sheet if sending it*
Dates to Remember
Friday, October 31 - Halloween
Monday, November 3 - Home & School Meeting 6pm
Wednesday, November 5 - Remembrance Day ceremony
Thursday & Friday, November 6-7 - Annual Convention (No Classes)
Monday, November 10 - Teacher Administrative Day (No Classes)
Tuesday, November 11 - Remembrance Day (No Classes)
October 20th - October 24th
Hi Families!
The students continue to impress me each week! We are learning so much in grade one! 😀
This week, we will be going on our field trip to Orwell Corner! Our class will be going on Wednesday, October 22nd. This is always a highlight of the year and lots of memories will be made!
Some things to keep in mind:
Please make sure that you do not order hot lunches for Wednesday.
There is no microwave or water fountain - ensure your child has a water bottle!
We will be outside for most of the day, so dress appropriately for the weather. Layers and comfortable footwear are encouraged (we will be walking through fields and around the farm)!
We will be taking our backpacks with us.
Arrive by 8:30am, as the busses will be leaving at 8:45!
Reminder: The deadline to order school photos with free shipping will be Tuesday, October 21st.
Here's what's happening in 1B this week:
Music - Monday, Friday
Phys Ed - Monday, Tuesday & Thursday
Library - Monday
Playground - Front playground
Words of the week - or/for, down, want, out **We will practice reading and writing these words**
Highlights for this week:
We are about halfway through Unit 3 of Fundations. In class, we are working on consonant digraphs. A consonant digraph is two consonants together that make one sound such as “s” and “h” together make the sound of /sh/. We will be working on learning the following consonant digraphs:
wh - whistle - /w/ ch - chin - /ch/ sh - ship - /sh/
th - thumb - /th/ ck - sock - /ck/
Reading Homework: Your child will have 3 practice books that they can read throughout the week. Please return these books on Friday.
Dates to Remember
Wednesday, October 22 - Orwell Corner Field Trip
Thursday, October 23 - Picture Retake Day
Friday, October 31 - Halloween (more details to come)
Have a great week, everyone!
October 14th - October 17th
Hi Families!
We had another wonderful week in grade one! We started literacy centres this week and the students did an amazing job at their stations learning their sight words! We also made some colourful fall using water colors and crayons and we learned about different types of lines. We also spent time talking about gratitude and sharing the things we feel thankful for.
The students had their photos taken on Tuesday. I sent home cards from the photographer (Everest Solutions). You can scan the QR code or enter the online code to view your child’s photos. The deadline to order photos with free shipping will be Tuesday October 21st.
Here's what's happening in 1A this week:
Music - Tuesday, Thursday and Friday
Phys. Ed- Wednesday & Friday
Library - Monday
Playground - Back playground
Words of the week - as/has, we/he/she/be/me **We will practice reading and writing these words**
Highlights for this week:
International Walk to School Day: International Walk to School Day is an annual event supported by the Town of Stratford. It is a mass celebration of active transportation and its related issues. To celebrate this day, Glen Stewart will be hosting a walk to school day on Tuesday, Oct.14th. Families who would like to participate in this event are to meet at the Stratford Town Hall by 7:35 a.m. with departure at 7:45 a.m. sharp. We are asking that a family member accompany their child on the walk to school. Families will gather on the trail adjacent to Shakespeare Dr. across from the Stratford Town Hall prior to the walk. There will be volunteers that will be helping students to cross both Shakespeare Dr. and Glen Stewart Dr. Snacks will be provided to all participants in the gym after the walk.
We began Unit 3 of Fundations on Thursday. In class, I am working on consonant digraphs. A consonant digraph is two consonants together that make one sound such as “s” and “h” together make the sound of /sh/. We will be working on learning the following consonant digraphs:
wh - whistle - /w/ ch - chin - /ch/ sh - ship - /sh/
th - thumb - /th/ ck - sock - /ck/
In class we will be working on tapping and blending to read and write words containing these consonant digraphs. We will also be working on “qu” which is referred to as the “buddy letter” because “q” always has it’s buddy “u” right beside it in words in the English language.
Reading Homework: Your child will have 3 practice books that they can read throughout the week. Please return these books on Friday.
Dates to Remember
Friday October 10 -PD day (no classes)
Monday, October 13 - Thanksgiving (no classes)
Wednesday, October 22 - Orwell Corner Field Trip
Thursday, October 23 - Picture Retake Day
Have a great week, everyone!
October 6th - October 9th
Hi Families!
We had so much fun during our field trip last Friday to Cotton Park. It was a beautiful day and the children had so much fun playing and exploring! I added some photos from last week. Click here to see them 🙂
Highlights for this week:
Book Fair: Our class will visit the book fair on Wednesday. If you would like your child to purchase a book/item, please send your money in a ziplock bag, along with your child’s name and the amount they can spend. For those students who are not purchasing, they will be able to look at the books at the book fair or participate in exploratory learning at tables in the library. If you wish to come during family night, it is on Thursday from 6:15-7:15.
International Walk to School Day: International Walk to School Day is an annual event supported by the Town of Stratford. It is a mass celebration of active transportation and its related issues. To celebrate this day, Glen Stewart will be hosting a walk to school day on Thursday, Oct. 9th with a rain date of Tuesday, Oct.14th. Families who would like to participate in this event are to meet at the Stratford Town Hall by 7:35 a.m. with departure at 7:45 a.m. sharp. We are asking that a family member accompany their child on the walk to school. Families will gather on the trail adjacent to Shakespeare Dr. across from the Stratford Town Hall prior to the walk. There will be volunteers that will be helping students to cross both Shakespeare Dr. and Glen Stewart Dr. Snacks will be provided to all participants in the gym after the walk.
Picture day: Reminder it is on Tuesday!
We are finishing up Unit 2 of Fundations. We will complete our check-in (unit test) sometime this week to see if we are ready to begin Unit 3!
Reading Homework: Reading Homework will start this week. On Monday, your child will bring home 3 practice books that they can read throughout the week. You can keep them in your child's homework bag or keep them home for the week. Please return these books on Thursday so I can redistrubute books for next week!
Here's what's happening in 1B this week:
Phys. Ed - Tuesday & Thursday
Music - Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday
Book Fair - Tuesday
Library - Wednesday (We will go to the Book Fair during our library block)
Playground - Front playground
Words of the week - see, little, play, was **We will practice reading and writing these words**
Dates to Remember
Tuesday, October 7- Picture day for English
Tuesday October 7- 1A will go to the Scholastic Book Fair
Friday October 10 -PD day (no classes)
Monday, October 13 - Thanksgiving (no classes)
Friday, October 24 - Orwell Corner Field Trip
Have a great week, everyone!
September 29th - October 3rd
Hi Families!
We had another wonderful week together! We had a great time running/walking the Terry Fox run! We talked about how we can keep trying even when things seem difficult.
We are starting to have some wet/muddy weather out on the playground. We still go outside unless it is actively raining. It is a great idea to send splash pants and boots on wet days. Your child could also keep an extra pair of socks in their kit bag in case their socks get wet.
Friday looks like it will be a great weather for our walk to Robert Cotton Park. We'll be leaving the school at 8:45am, so please ensure your child is at school by that time! We will keep our eye on the weather, and I'll send an email later in the week to confirm.
On Monday, I will send home a permission form for a field trip to Orwell Corner Historic Village on Wednesday, October 22nd. We will spend the day at Orwell Corner and engage in lots of fun and educational learning opportunities! Please sign and return the forms as soon as possible. The admission fees for Orwell Corner are subsidized by the Department of Education due to its educational nature. We are asking families to send in $2 to cover the cost of bussing. If you could send $2 in your child’s homework bag that would be great!
It’s hard to believe it is almost October! I have posted our October learning goals on our class website. Click here to view them!
I added some photos from last week. Click here to see them 🙂
Here's what's happening in 1B this week:
Phys. Ed - Wednesday & Friday
Music - Monday,Wednesday and Friday
Library - Monday & Thursday
Playground - Back playground
Words of the week - come, here, is, of **We will practice reading and writing these words**
Highlights for this week:
Our first field trip to Robert Cotton Park will be this week. We are planning to go Friday October 3rd. However, if the weather will be better on Wednesday or Thursday, we may go one of those days instead. I will email you to confirm our date this week.
We went on Chromebooks last week. The kids did amazing! They were so patient as I helped them log in with their username and password (which are quite confusing with lowercase and special characters). They enjoyed getting to explore my Google Classroom and playing some games that are linked to our curricular outcomes. We will go on them again this week.
On Monday our school will participate in orange shirt day. If your student has an orange shirt they can wear it on Monday. On Tuesday there will be no school in observance of Truth and Reconciliation Day.
We completed our first week in Unit 2 of Fundations. I have been teaching/reviewing how to blend and read three-sound short vowel words as well as how to segment and spell them. These words are called CVC (consonant-vowel-consonant) words. For example: sat: s-a-t. The students will review how to tap these sounds using their index finger to thumb for the first sound, middle finger to thumb for the second sound, and ring finger to thumb for the third sound. Then dragging the thumb under the 3 fingers to blend the sounds together to read and write the word.
Dates to Remember
Monday, September 29 - Orange Shirt Day
Tuesday, September 30 - National Day for Truth and Reconciliation (no classes)
Tuesday, October 7- Picture day for English
Tuesday October 7- 1A will go to the Scholastic Book Fair
Friday October 10 -PD day (no classes)
Have a great week, everyone!
September 22nd - 26th
Hi Families!
We had a busy, but fun full week together! We talked about having a Growth Mindset this week. It is important to never give up when things get hard. We talked about how it is okay to ask for help and it is okay to make mistakes. We discussed how our brain is like a muscle and it grows stronger when we push and challenge ourselves.
Here's what's happening in 1B this week:
Phys. Ed (with Ms. Emily Smith) - Monday, Wednesday & Friday
Music (with Mrs. Lisa MacDonald) - Tuesday, Thursday & Friday
Library (with Mrs. Amy) - Tuesday
Playground - Front Playground
Words of the week - my, is, look, and **We will practice reading and writing these words**
Highlights for this week:
We will have our Terry Fox walk on Thursday, September 25th. Thank you to those who have sent in a cash donation. If you would like to donate, you can send change/cash in with your child, or if you’d like to donate via credit, please visit this link: https://schools.terryfox.ca/108218
We went on Chromebooks for the first time last week. The kids did amazing! They were so patient as I helped them log in with their username and password (which are quite confusing with lowercase and special characters). They enjoyed getting to explore my Google Classroom and playing some games that are linked to our curricular outcomes. We will go on them again this week.
We completed Unit 1 in Fundations. I was so impressed with how the kids gave their best effort forming their lowercase letters neatly and properly. They did well with their sounds, too! We have a couple of letters that some kids are reversing, and are a little trickier to make, so we will continue to practice those in warm-ups. We are ready for Unit 2 this week! In Unit 2 I will teach/review how to blend and read three-sound short vowel words as well as how to segment and spell them. These words are called CVC (consonant-vowel-consonant) words. For example: sat: s-a-t. The students will review how to tap these sounds using their index finger to thumb for the first sound, middle finger to thumb for the second sound, and ring finger to thumb for the third sound. Then dragging the thumb under the 3 fingers to blend the sounds together to read and write the word.
Dates to Remember
Thursday, September 25 - Terry Fox Run
Monday, September 29 - Orange Shirt Day
Tuesday, September 30 - National Day for Truth and Reconciliation (no classes)
Tuesday, October 7- Picture day for English
Have a great week, everyone!
September 15th - 19th
Hi Families!
We had another great week of learning in 1B. We are beginning to settle into our new routines and expectations and the kids are beginning to develop some new friendships! Our school is participating in the Terry Fox Run on September 25th.
If you’d like to make a donation to the Terry Fox Association, please visit this link: https://schools.terryfox.ca/108218
I added some photos from activities we did last week. Click here to see them 🙂
Here's what's happening in 1B this week:
Phys. Ed (with Ms. Emily) - Tuesday & Thursday
Music (with Mrs. MacDonald) - Monday, Wednesday, Thursday & Friday
Library (with Mrs. Amy) - Monday & Friday
Playground - We're very excited to play on the back playground this week :)
Words of the week - go, to, went, can **We will practice reading and writing these words**
Things we've been working on - and will continue to focus on this month:
Being responsible, respectful students (Bucker fillers, not dippers)
Growth Mindset (things we 'can' do...things we can't do YET....making mistakes can help us learn and grow)
Sharing materials & helping each other
Being an active listener (whole body listening)
Voice control
Knowing when to talk, and when to listen
Zones of Regulation (recognizing our emotions/feelings, which zone we are in, and strategies we can use to return to the "Green Zone"
September Monthly Learning Goals
Meet the Staff: You're invited to come into our classroom on Wednesday, September 17th from 6:20-6:35pm. This is a great chance to see our classroom and meet other parents. I'll have a quick slideshow to go over some information about grade 1!A
Headphones for Chromebooks: We will be going on Chromebooks about once a week this year. I have many links for the kids to explore which involve: listening to reading online, math games, literacy games, etc. If you send in a pair of labelled headphones for your child, and label them with their name, that would be appreciated.
Dates to Remember
September 17 - Meet the Staff 6:20-6:35
September 25 - Terry Fox Run
September 29 - Orange Shirt Day
September 30 - National Day for Truth and Reconciliation (no classes)
September 8th-12th
Hi Families!
We had a great first two days of grade one! We are learning lots of new routines, building friendships and getting to know each other. This week we will continue to practice routines and establish expectations. I'm looking forward to our first full week together!
Here's what's happening in 1B:
Phys. Ed (with Ms. Emily Smith) - Monday, Wednesday & Friday
Music (with Mrs. Lisa MacDonald) - Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday
Library (with Mrs. Amy) - Friday
Playground - We're playing on the front playground during recess this week!
Learning Goals: Each month I will outline the curriculum outcomes and learning we will be exploring. Click here, or visit the "monthly learning goals" tab at the top of this website.
Photos: I’ll be taking photos of the students engaging and the various activities we do in 1B. I will post these photos under the "Our Classroom" tab at the top of my website. Please let me know if you do NOT want your child's photo on this class website.
Meet the Teacher: You're invited to come into our classroom on Wednesday, September 17th from 6:20-6:35pm. This is a great chance to see our classroom and meet other parents. I'll have a quick slideshow to go over some information about grade 1!
Hot Lunches: Our Hot Lunch program will begin tomorrow, Monday, September 9th. To place these orders, you will need to create a new account (even if you had one last year) and place your orders for next week by 9pm tonight (Sunday).
Here is the website to register and order: https://glenstewartprimary.hotlunches.net/admin/?action=register-form
Microwave: We have a microwave in our classroom to warm up food for lunch! Due to class size and limited time for lunch, each child is limited to 30 seconds for the microwave. Please don't send KD cups or frozen dinners as they take a long time to heat up and then cool down to eat!
Monday: Cheese Pizza (Papa Johns)
Tuesday: Chicken Poppers (5 breaded chicken pieces and a small breadstick - Papa Johns)
Wednesday: Grilled Cheese (Borrowed Kitchen)
Thursday: Subway (ham, turkey and veggie)
Friday: Cheese Pizza (Stratford Pizza Corner)
Homework: We will begin homework routines later this month, stay tuned for more information!
Breakfast Program: Our breakfast program begins this week and is open for all students! Toast with butter and toast with jam are always available. Additionally there can be various options such as apples, bananas, cheese or yogurt. Breakfast is available between 8:00 and 8:25 daily.
Dates to Remember
September 17th - Meet the Teacher (6:20-6:35pm)
September 30th - No classes (National Day for Truth and Reconciliation)