Hi Families!
Winter appears to have made an appearance! I hope everyone was able to enjoy the storm days last week. The children were very excited about the snow. Thank you for sending snowpants, hats, mittens and boots with your child! We have an endless line of wet items on the heater this time of year, so extra mitts/socks are always a good idea.
We enjoyed another visit from the Student Well Being team last week. They spoke to us about our emotions. This was great information for the children and they were very engaged (and excellent listeners). This week, we will have our Wild Child outdoor session on Wednesday and will also have a virtual science presentation from the Canadian Museum of Nature tomorrow (Monday).
It’s CONCERT WEEK at Glen Stewart! The excitement will be high as we prepare to perform on the big stage! It’s the most wonderful time of the year! Stay tuned for an e-mail from Ms. Dunn tomorrow with all the information for concerts. We will have an afternoon show at 1pm and an evening show at 6pm. For the evening performance, the doors will open at 5:30pm and students can head down to their classrooms at that time (parents will head to the gym to get seats). You will pick your child up at our classroom when the show is over. Please let me know if your child will not be attending the evening performance. Thanks!
Here's what's happening in 1D this week:
Phys. Ed - Monday, Wednesday & Friday
Music - Tuesday, Thursday & Friday (as well as concert rehearsal on Monday)
Library - Tuesday & Thursday (book exchange day)
Playground - Back playground
Star of the Week - This week's star is Loxley. Next week's star will be Aisha.
Words of the week - came, make, five, home **This week’s focus will be on words that follow the “vowel-consonant-e” pattern. This skill is taught later this year in Fundations, but is an important one to introduce the children to, as these words are showing up in many of the books they are reading. We often refer to this as “magic e”. The “e” becomes silent because it gives all of its power to the other vowel in the word, making that vowel say its name.**
Highlights for this week:
Fundations: This week, we will be starting into Week 2 of 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 2 Fluency Fundations sheet.
Here’s a heads up of what’s going on in our classroom next week for the final week before the break:
Activities for the last week of school before the holiday break
Monday, December 15th
Class Activity: Show & Tell Day
students can bring something from home to share (no electronics)
School-Wide Activity: Red & Green Day and “Get up and dance”
Tuesday, December 16th
Class Activity: Art in the Dark
School-Wide Activity: Read Aloud with Admin and “Name that tune”
Wednesday, December 17th
Class Activity: Read-a-thon Day
students can bring a favourite book and/or a blanket/teddy
School-Wide Activity: Festive Attire Day and Teacher Swap
Thursday, December 18th
Class Activity: Hallway Stations in Grade 1 English
School-Wide Activity: Virtual Bingo
Friday, December 19th
Class Activity: Movie Day
School-Wide Activity: PJ Day and School Carol Sing Along
Dates to Remember
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
Hi Families!
We enjoyed our 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, colour it, and give it to someone 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.
The children chose an "Art Day" as their most recent reward for filling their ten frame, so we did that last week. They had so much fun and were also very helpful to clean up the mess. Here are some updated pictures including some of our art day: Click here
We will have our Wild Child outdoor session on Thursday afternoon! This will be a great chance to do some outdoor learning. It looks like we may have snow on the ground by then, so please make sure that your child has snowpants, mittens and a hat that day. They will be outside all afternoon. I would also recommend sending an extra pairs of socks (and mittens, if you have them). Thanks!
It’s hard to believe we are into the first week of December! December is a busy month with lots of activities planned. Concert rehearsals are in full swing! Our class is going to be elves for the concert. They can wear whatever they would like for the concert. We will be making elf headbands at school. 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.
Here's what's happening in 1D this week:
Monday - Day 1
Tuesday - Day 2
Wednesday - Day 3
Thursday - Day 4
Friday - Day 5
Phys. Ed - Tuesday & Thursday
Music - Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday & Friday
Library - Monday (Book exchange day) & Friday
Other - Student Well-Being Presentation on Tuesday morning and Wild Child outdoor session on Thursday afternoon
Playground - Front playground
Words of the week - who, what, when, why **We will practice reading and writing these words**
Highlights for this week:
Fundations: We finished up Unit 5 last week. The students did really well with their check-in.
On Friday, we started 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. Thank you for reviewing these with your child - I'm noticing an improvement in reading fluency since starting them! :)
Dates to Remember
Saturday, December 6th - Santa Claus Breakfast at GSP
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
**Please see below activities planned for the last week of school leading up to Christmas Break**
Grade 1 Hallway theme days in addition to School-Wide Themes
Monday, December 15th - Show & Tell
Tuesday, December 16th - Art in the Dark Day
Wednesday, December 17th - Read-a-Thon Day
Thursday, December 18th - Hallway Stations
Friday, December 19th - Movie Day
School Wide Activities:
Monday, December 15th - Red & Green Day and Get up and Dance
Tuesday, December 16th - Read Aloud with Admin and Name that tune
Wednesday, December 17th - Festive Attire Day and Teacher Swap
Thursday, December 18th - School-Wide BINGO (virtual)
Friday, December 19th - PJ Day and School Carol Sing Along
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 chat with me. 🙂 I will be sending their report cards home this Wednesday.
It’s hard to believe we are in our last week of November at school! 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 backpack as well. Thank you so much!
Last week. we completed our fourth unit in Fundations and we have now moved onto the fifth unit. 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.
I have posted a few new photos. Click HERE to see 🙂
Here's what's happening in 1D this week:
Monday - Day 2
Tuesday - Day 3
Wednesday - Day 4
Thursday - Day 5
Friday - Day 6
Phys. Ed - Monday, Wednesday & Friday
Music - Monday, Tuesday & Thursday (concert rehearsals are in full swing!)
Library - Thursday
Playground - Back playground
Star of the Week - This week's star will be Hussain. Next week's star will be Suzanna.
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 at the end of the week. 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 /z/ 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 26th - Report Cards Go Home
Saturday, December 6th - Santa Claus Breakfast at GSP
Tuesday, December 9th - Grade One Christmas Concert (1pm and 6pm)
Hi Families!
We had another short (but full) week last week. The children were excited to share what they had spent their extended weekend doing and listened well to each other. We then transferred that into writing in their weekly journals. We also completed a "writing sample" where they showed me what they can do independently without any help from me! I can't wait to show them to you at Parent Teacher Interviews!
I frequently hear from other staff members what a sweet class I have. We have worked hard to build our classroom community where everyone feels respected and valued. Your children are amazing at celebrating each other's differences and are so wonderful to help each other.
Parent Teacher Interviews - Thank you for signing up for a conference with me. Everyone is booked in for a time! I look forward to celebrating your child's growth with you! If you need to make any changes to your appointment time, the website for booking is: https://gsp.parentteacherconferences.net/.
Here's what's happening in 1D this week:
Monday - Day 4
Tuesday - Day 5
Wednesday - Day 6
Thursday - Day 1
Friday - No School
Phys. Ed - Monday & Wednesday
Music - Tuesday & Thursday
Library - Tuesday & Thursday
Playground - Front playground
Star of the Week - This week's star will be Brinley. Next week's star will be Hussain.
Words of the week - are, said (I made a mistake on last week's update and posted the wrong words! Sorry about that! Last week we worked on the words: they, one).
Highlights for this week:
It’s a(nother) short week with 4 school days.
Fundations: We will finish up our learning in Unit 4 and do our final check-in on 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. Examples: puff, hill, miss, buzz) and the glued sound all. (The sound of ‘a’ changes to the short vowel sound /o/. Examples: ball, tall, fall)
This week we will begin 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).
Reading Homework: Your child will have 3 practice books as well as the Fundations practice sheet for week 2 of Unit 4. Please return the books on Thursday. Thanks for your support from home!
Dates to Remember
Wednesday, November 19th - School Jersey Day
Thursday, November 20th - Parent Teacher Interviews (4-7pm)
Friday, November 21st - Parent Teacher Interviews (No classes)
Wednesday, November 26th - 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.
Hi Families!
We had a short, but great week together. The children worked hard to showcase their writing skills in their journals this week. We also had our PJ and Movie Day on Wednesday, which was a big hit! Glen Stewart had our Remembrance Day ceremony on Wednesday and all of the children showed great respect and focus. I was very proud. They listened to the school choir, participated in a moment of silence and even joined in when the whole school sang a song together that everyone had been practicing in music class. We created poppies and discussed the importance of Remembrance Day.
I have added some random pictures that I never got around to posting. You can find them HERE.
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 1D this week:
Monday - no school
Tuesday - no school
Wednesday - Day 1
Thursday - Day 2
Friday - Day 3
Phys. Ed - Thursday
Music - All 3 days (Wed/Thurs/Fri)
Library - Wednesday
Playground - Back playground
Words of the week - one, said, are **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. I will also be sending the Fundations practice sheet for the end of Week 1 in Unit 4. Please practice it with your child. The goal is that they will move away from tapping all of the words and be able to read them more quickly and smoothly.
Dates to Remember
Saturday, November 15th - Stratford Schools Christmas Craft Fair
Wednesday, November 19th - School Jersey Day
Thursday, November 20th- Parent Teacher Interviews (4-7pm)
Friday, November 21st- Parent Teacher Interviews (No classes)
Wednesday, November 26th- Report Cards Go Home
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 did lots of Halloween related activities and stations, a costume parade, and the highlight was definitely Grade 1 Hallway Stations where they got to be mixed with friends in other classes and circulate through all of the classrooms in the hallway.
Amidst it all, I have been working on assessments (checking in with each student on the learning goals I have taught so far). Your kids have learned SO much so far in grade one and it’s a pleasure to see all of the progress they have made.
Here's what's happening in 1D this week:
Monday - Day 4
Tuesday - Day 5
Wednesday - Day 6
Thursday/Friday - No School
Phys. Ed - Monday & Wednesday
Music - Tuesday
Library - Tuesday
Playground - Front playground
Star of the Week - This week's star will be Dennis. He will be the star for both short weeks.
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 for students.
We will be talking about the importance of Remembrance Day and will have our school-wide assembly on Wednesday.
Fundations: We did our final check in for Unit 3 last week. 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. I will send the Unit 4 practice fluency sheet next Monday once we've finished the first week of this unit.
Dates to Remember
Monday, November 3rd - Home & School Meeting, 6pm
Wednesday, November 5th - Remembrance Day ceremony
Thursday & Friday, November 6th-7th - Annual Convention (No Classes)
Monday, November 10th - Teacher Administrative Day (No Classes)
Tuesday, November 11th - Remembrance Day (No Classes)
Saturday, November 15th - Stratford Schools Christmas Craft Fair
Wednesday, November 19th - School Jersey Day
Thursday, November 20th - Parent Teacher Interviews (4-7pm)
Friday, November 21st - Parent Teacher Interviews (No classes)
Wednesday, November 26th - Report Cards Go Home
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, church, Blacksmith shop and farm. The students got to mill their own corn to feed the animals. They went for a horse and carriage ride that they really enjoyed! The fall trees around us were so beautiful. They got to visit the historic one room schoolhouse and learn about what school was like 130 years ago.
I took A LOT of pictures! You can find them HERE.
This week, we will be having some Halloween celebrations. We will be doing some activities, stations and art linked to Halloween this week. On Thursday, students will be doing “Spooktacular” activities during their gym class. On Friday, October 31st, we will celebrate Halloween at Glen Stewart. Students can feel free to dress up in costume. We do ask that you avoid costumes that are super scary! Also, masks and weapons are not permitted. Please make sure that the costume allows for movement, as students will still have recess and gym. We will be doing a costume parade where we walk through other classrooms to show off our costumes, and then other classes will come walk through our classroom to show off theirs. We are also going to be doing some fun hallway stations in the grade one hallway in the afternoon. The students will get to participate in fun Halloween activities in each of the grade one classrooms! It should be a very fun day!
Here's what's happening in 1D this week:
Monday - Day 5
Tuesday - Day 6
Wednesday - Day 1
Thursday - Day 2
Friday - Day 3 (Halloween)
Phys. Ed - Tuesday & Thursday
Music - Monday, Wednesday, Thursday & Friday
Library - Monday & Wednesday
Playground - Back playground
Star of the Week - This week's star will be Millie. Next week's star will be Dennis (he will be the star for both short weeks).
Words of the week - you, your, there, where **We will practice reading and writing these words**
Highlights for this week:
We will be finishing Unit 3 of Fundations this week and doing our unit check in. In class, we have been 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/
Midweek, we will begin 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 3 practice books that they can read throughout the week. Just a reminder to please send the books back at the end of the week. There are a lot of children who have not been bringing their books back and they are needed for other children. I will also be sending home a Fundations Unit 3 practice sheet in your child's homework bag. It would be helpful if they could practice it throughout the week. The goals is for it to become more automatic for them to read the words (instead of having to tap each time). This will help their reading fluency. This is a great way for the children to practice the exact words that we are working on in Fundations. It does not need to be returned - you can keep it at home.
Dates to Remember
Friday, October 31st - Halloween
Monday, November 3rd - Home & School Meeting, 6pm
Wednesday, November 5th - Remembrance Day ceremony
Thursday & Friday, November 6th-7th - Annual Teacher's Convention (No Classes)
Monday, November 10th - Teacher Administrative Day (No Classes)
Tuesday, November 11th - Remembrance Day (No Classes)
Saturday, November 15th - Stratford Schools Christmas Craft Fair
Hi Families!
The students continue to impress me each week! Their reading and writing stamina is growing. We are learning so much in grade one! 😀 This week, we worked hard on establishing our routine for Literacy Centres and small group sessions. The children seem to really enjoy this time of the school day.
This week, we will be going on our field trip to Orwell Corner! Our class will be going on Friday, October 24th. This is always a highlight of the year and lots of memories will be made! Please make sure that you do not order hot lunches for our field trip day. The children will need a lunch that does not require a microwave. Please send a water bottle as well. We will be outside for most of the day, so they will need to dress appropriately for the weather. Layers and comfortable footwear are encouraged! We will be taking our backpacks with us. We typically walk through fields and the farmyard, so keep that in mind. It is important that everyone arrives by 8:30 that morning, as the busses will be leaving at 8:45. It’s going to be a great day!
Reminder: The deadline to order school photos with free shipping will be Tuesday, October 21st.
Here's what's happening in 1D this week:
Monday - Day 6
Tuesday - Day 1
Wednesday - Day 2
Thursday - Day 3
Friday - Day 4 (Field Trip Day)
Phys. Ed - Monday & Wednesday
Music - Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday
Library - Tuesday
Playground - Front playground
Star of the Week - This week's star will be Brendan. Next week's star will be Millie.
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
Thursday, October 23 - Picture Retake Day
Friday, October 24 - Orwell Corner Field Trip
Friday, October 31 - Halloween (more details to come)
Have a great week, everyone!
Hi Families!
We had another wonderful week in grade one! We have been learning so many new things together! We spent time talking about gratitude and sharing the things we feel thankful for. Your children are so incredibly kind and empathetic. I have loved getting to know them, and it is truly heartwarming to see how they interact with each other.
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 1D this week:
Tuesday - Day 2
Wednesday - Day 3
Thursday - Day 4
Friday - Day 5
Phys. Ed - Tuesday & Thursday
Music - Tuesday, Wednesday & Friday
Library - Friday
Playground - Back playground
Star of the Week - This week's star will be Jesslyn. Next week's star will be Brendan.
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 completed Unit 2 of Fundations and the children did fantastic! We will be starting Unit 3 of Fundations this week. 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.
Dates to Remember
Friday October 10 - PD day (no classes)
Monday, October 13 - Thanksgiving (no classes)
Thursday, October 23 - Picture Retake Day
Friday, October 24 - Orwell Corner Field Trip
Have a great week, everyone!
Hi Families!
We had so much fun during our field trip on Friday to Cotton Park. It was a beautiful day and the children had so much fun playing and exploring! I was so proud of their behaviour on the walk and at the park. They especially loved the fairy trail walk. I added some photos that I took. Click here to see them 🙂
The children have filled their 10 frame reward chart again! We will be doing a "Toy and Extra Play Day" on Tuesday. Students are welcome to bring a toy from home that they would like to play with.
I've had a couple of people ask for a class list for birthday invitations, etc. Here is a list of the students in our classroom: 1D Class List
Here's what's happening in 1D this week:
Mon - Day 4
Tues - Day 5
Wed - Day 6
Thurs - Day 1
Fri - No School
Phys. Ed - Monday & Wednesday
Music - Tuesday & Thursday
Book Fair - Tuesday
Library - Thursday
Playground - Front playground
Star of the Week - This week's star will be Zyle. Next week's star will be Jesslyn.
Words of the week - see, little, play, was **We will practice reading and writing these words**
Highlights for this week:
Book Fair: Our class will visit the book fair on Tuesday morning at 8:30am. If you would like your child to purchase a book/item, please send the money in a ziplock bag with your child’s name, the amount they can spend, and what item(s) they can purchase (if you have a specific request). For those students who are not purchasing, they will be able to 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: Our class will be having our school pictures done on Tuesday!
We have almost completed our second week in Unit 2 of Fundations (CVC words). We will be doing our check-in on Tuesday or Wednesday to see if we are ready for Unit 3 (digraphs).
Reading Homework: If you have not yet returned the books from last week, please do so ASAP. Just a reminder that the books should be returned in the homework bag on the last day of the week. Thanks! Your child will have 3 new practice books this week that they can read throughout the week.
Dates to Remember
Tuesday, October 7th - Picture day
Tuesday October 7th - 1D will go to the Scholastic Book Fair
Friday October 10th - PD day (no classes)
Monday, October 13th - Thanksgiving (no classes)
Friday, October 24th - Orwell Corner Field Trip
Have a great week, everyone!
Hi Families!
We had another wonderful week together! The children are really impressing me with their independence and work habits. They learned so much in kindergarten! 🙂 We had a great time running/walking the Terry Fox run together! We learned about Terry Fox and how he never gave up even when things were hard.
We talked a lot last week about the Zones of Regulation (which is linked to our feelings). It's so important that children are able to identify how they're feeling and then learn strategies to help them get back to the "Green Zone" if they're feeling angry/sad/tired, etc. We have a daily "Green Zone Time" after recess. This is a 10 minute period when they come in from outside and then quietly regulate their bodies for learning. We have quiet music playing, lights out, and it's a "no talking" time. They can colour, draw, play with playdoh, rest, etc. Whatever helps them! I've been amazed by how well they're doing with this. It's so quiet in the room and I notice that it really helps them to process emotions from recess and get ready for the afternoon.
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. It is also a good idea to pack an extra pair of socks in their backpack in case their socks get wet.
I sent home two permission slips for our upcoming field trips in October. Please sign and return the forms as soon as possible. The cost for our Orwell Corner trip is $2 to cover the cost of bussing. If you returned the permission slip, but didn't send the $2, please send that in when you can. Thanks! I will send an email later in the week with some reminders for our field trip on Friday.
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 also added some photos from the Terry Fox Run and some painting we did. Click here to see them 🙂
Here's what's happening in 1D this week:
Mon - Day 6
Wed - Day 1
Thurs - Day 2
Fri - Day 3
Phys. Ed - Monday & Thursday
Music - Wednesday, Thursday & Friday
Library - Wednesday (Now that we have two library times, Day 1 will be for book exchange and Day 5 will be for other library activities. Please return books on Day 1 or before - this week, Day 1 falls on Wednesday).
Playground - Back playground
Star of the Week - This week's star will be Heavlyn. Next week's star will be Zyle.
Words of the week - come, here, his, 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
On Monday, our school will participate in Orange Shirt Day. If your student has an orange shirt, they can wear it on Monday. We will talk about why we are wearing our orange shirts (in a child friendly way). This is a difficult topic for young children, but is an important one. We will watch a video on CBC Kids and will talk about the fact that "Every Child Matters" and everyone deserves to be celebrated and to be themselves. On Tuesday, there will be no school in observance of National Day of Truth and Reconciliation.
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. I am also encouraging them to read the word without tapping if they are able to (this improves fluency).
Reading Homework will start this week. Your child will have 3 practice books that they can read throughout the week. Please return these books on Friday. I will send home two sheets in your child's homework bag as well. These sheets are ideas that you can do with your child to share in their reading and sight word practice. There is no obligation to use them, but they are helpful for those who are looking for ideas.
Dates to Remember
Monday, September 29th - Orange Shirt Day
Tuesday, September 30th - National Day for Truth and Reconciliation (no classes)
Tuesday, October 7th- Picture day for English
Tuesday, October 7th- 1D will go to the Scholastic Book Fair
Friday, October 10th - PD day (no classes)
Monday, October 13th - Thanksgiving (no classes)
Have a great week, everyone!
Hi Families!
We had a busy, but fun full week together! The children are doing well to settle into routines. We enjoyed our PJ Day on Friday! We started flexible seating in our classroom (the children have many options of where they would like to do their independent work).
I added some photos from last week to the "Pictures" tab at the top of the website. Enjoy!
Here's what's happening in 1D this week:
Phys. Ed - Tuesday & Thursday
Music - Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday & Friday
Library - Monday & Friday
Playground - Front Playground
Star of the Week - This week's star will be Maddox. Next week's star will be Heavlyn.
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 playing some games that are linked to our curricular outcomes. We will go on them once a week.
We completed Unit 1 in Fundations. We will be doing our check in (test) tomorrow. 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!
Hi Families!
We had another great week of learning in 1D. We are beginning to settle into our new routines and expectations and I have seen many new friendships developing! We have such a lovely class and I am really excited to spend the year with your children! :)
We had our first fire drill last week and the children did excellent! We will have more practice drills this week.
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
***If you have not yet returned all of the forms that were sent home on the first day of school, please do so ASAP. I'm still waiting on a few.
Here's what's happening in 1D this week:
Phys. Ed - Monday (Day 2), Wednesday (Day 4) & Friday (Day 6)
Music - Monday (Day 2), Tuesday (Day 3) & Thursday (Day 5)
Library (with Mrs. Amy) - Thursday (Day 5). Students took home their first library book on Friday. Please return it when you are finished with it. Thanks!
Playground - We're very excited to play on the back playground this week :)
Star of the Week: We have a special "Star student" each week in our classroom! This person has various special privileges throughout the week: Line leader, lunch with friends on Friday, choosing friends for the stools each day, and they get to bring a Show and Tell item one day during their week (You can decide which day works best for your family). They will also get to take home a special book that their classmates will make them at the end of the week. This week's star will be Elsie. Next week's star will be Maddox.
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 (Bucket 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")
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! Please note: this is a general session for everyone in the class. It is not individual meetings like Parent Teacher Interviews.
Headphones for Chromebooks: Thank you to everyone who was able to send in headphones last week! We will be going on Chromebooks about once a week this year (starting on Tuesday of this week). I have many links for the kids to explore which involve: listening to reading online, math games, literacy games, etc. It is helpful if each child has a pair of headphones to use (wired). Thanks!
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)
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 1D:
Phys. Ed (with Mr. Meuse) - Tuesday & Thursday
Music (with Mrs. Lisa MacDonald) - Monday, Wednesday & Friday
Library (with Ms. Amy) - Wednesday & Friday
Learning Goals: Each month I will outline the curriculum outcomes and learning that we will be exploring. Visit the "monthly learning goals" tab at the top of this website.
Photos: I’ll be taking photos of the students engaging in the various activities we do in 1D. I will post these photos under the "Pictures from the Classroom" tab at the top of my website. I will be sending home a permission slip this week to ensure that you are okay with your child's photo being on our class site.
Meet the Teacher: You're invited to come into our classroom on Wednesday, September 17th (time TBD). 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 8th. 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
Monday: Cheese Pizza (Domino’s)
Tuesday: Chicken Poppers (5 breaded chicken pieces and a small breadstick - Papa Johns)
Wednesday: Grilled Cheese (Borrowed Kitchen)
Thursday: Subway (ham, turkey or veggie)
Friday: Cheese Pizza (Stratford Pizza Corner)
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!
Homework: We will begin reading 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 or jam is 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.
Star of the Week: We have a special "Star student" each week in our classroom! This person has various special privileges throughout the week: Line leader, lunch with friends on Friday, choosing friends for the stools each day, and they get to bring a Show and Tell item one day during their week (You can decide which day works best for your family). They will also get to take home a special book that their classmates will make them at the end of the week. Our first star this week will be Sloane. Next week's star will be Elsie.
Dates to Remember
September 17th - Meet the Teacher
September 30th - No classes (National Day for Truth and Reconciliation)