Weekly Updates

March 9th-13th:

Hi Families!
Thank you so much for coming and taking the time to meet with me at parent-teacher interviews last week. It was so nice to have the time to show you all the wonderful work your kids have been doing these past few months! This time of year is always my favorite in the classroom, as the kids have shown a tremendous amount of growth, both socially and academically, since September. Report cards were sent home on Thursday. As always, if you ever have a question or want to chat about anything, please reach out. 

The kids recently filled their marble jar. Stay tuned for a celebration this week.

We have just one more week of school before March Break! To celebrate, we’ll be having a Spirit Week at Glen Stewart. Students are welcome to dress up for the theme days if they’d like to participate. I’ve included the theme for each day under the “Important Dates” section at the bottom of this email. 

Here's what's happening in 1E this week: 

• Phys. Ed - Tuesday & Thursday

• Music -  Monday, Wednesday & Friday

• Library - Monday (Book Exchange), Wednesday

• Playground - Front playground 

Words of the week - any, many (y as a vowel at the end of words), our, about (sound of vowel team /ou/)  (we will use these sounds to practice decoding words that have these sounds) 

Highlights for this week:

• Yoga: Our class this week is on Wednesday at 12:55. Last one!

• March Learning Goals: Click here to see our March Learning Goals.

• Fundations: We will work through Unit 9 week 2 this week. In this unit, students will learn the difference between a closed syllable and an open syllable. A closed syllable has only 1 vowel and the vowel is ‘closed’ in by one or more consonants. The vowel sound is short. To mark the vowel sound symbol we draw a breve (⏑) above the vowel. Some examples of closed syllables are: ask, met, clip, flop, punch. We mark these words by putting a line under the whole word, writing c for closed under the line, and draw the breve above the vowel. An open syllable word does not have a consonant after it. Some examples of open syllable words are: go, no, hi. We will also introduce keywords and sounds for vowel teams: ai, ay, ee, ea, ey, oi, oy. We are introducing these vowel teams to help the students read words with them in it. Words with vowel teams are open syllable words because the first vowel is a long vowel sound, not short. The students will learn spelling rules for these vowel teams in Grade 2. 

• Reading Homework: Thanks to those who sent back their books. Your child will have 3 books again this week along with the week 2 Unit 9 Fluency Sheet for practice. 

Dates to Remember:

• Monday March 9- Blue & Orange day or wear your school clothing!

• Tuesday March 10- CrazyHair/Hat day

• Wednesday March 11- Rock your socks (wear mismatched socks) for world down syndrome day

• Thursday March 12 - PJ / Cozy day

• Friday March 13- Dress in green for St. Patrick’s day

• March 16th-20th- March Break (No Classes)

Have a great week, everyone!

March 2nd-5th:

Hi Families!
I can’t believe we have been in school for 100 days!! I’ve really enjoyed getting to know your kids, and we make a fun and supportive classroom family now. We ended the week off on Friday by celebrating our 100 days together, doing the following activities: together with their learning buddies, they took the numeral 100 and used each digit to make a picture. They were very creative! We had some dogs, cats, basketball players and basketball, a tank, a bunny, giraffes, monkeys, etc. Also, the kids really enjoyed mixing with the other kids in the hallway and spending some time in each classroom in the afternoon! 

Tomorrow, I will send home another early-closure form. Please fill this out again so we have the updated plan for your child if we have to dismiss early again before the end of the year. Please fill out and send back ASAP- Thank you! 

Here's what's happening in 1E this week: 

• Phys. Ed - Tuesday & Thursday

• Music -  Monday & Wednesday 

• Library - Monday (Book Fair) 

• Playground -  Back playground 

Words of the week - r-controlled vowels and vowel teams (we will use these sounds to practice decoding words that have these sounds) 

Highlights for this week:

• Book Fair: Our class will visit the book fair on Monday. If you are sending money in with your child to make a purchase, please put the money in a bag, along with a note with their name, what they are to buy/how much they are to spend. Thank you! 

• Yoga: Our class this week is on Thursday at 1:45. We only have 2 classes left! 

• Interviews: Thank you to those who signed up to meet. If the link is closed, and you missed signing up, please send me an email. 

• Fundations: We finished up Unit 8 last week and will work through Unit 9 week 1 this week. In this unit, students will learn the difference between a closed syllable and an open syllable. A closed syllable has only 1 vowel and the vowel is ‘closed’ in by one or more consonants. The vowel sound is short. To mark the vowel sound symbol we draw a breve (⏑) above the vowel. Some examples of closed syllables are: ask, met, clip, flop, punch. We mark these words by putting a line under the whole word, writing c for closed under the line, and draw the breve above the vowel. An open syllable word does not have a consonant after it. Some examples of open syllable words are: go, no, hi. We will also introduce keywords and sounds for vowel teams: ai, ay, ee, ea, ey, oi, oy. We are introducing these vowel teams to help the students read words with them in it. Words with vowel teams are open syllable words because the first vowel is a long vowel sound, not short. The students will learn spelling rules for these vowel teams in Grade 2. 

• Reading Homework: Thanks to those who sent back their books. Your child will have 3 books again this week along with the week 1 Unit 9 Fluency Sheet for practice. 

Dates to Remember:

• Wednesday, March 4th - Report Cards go home 

• Thursday evening and Friday, March 5th & 6th - Parent/Teacher Interviews 

• March 6th- Parent Teacher Interviews (No Classes)

• March 16th-20th- March Break (No Classes)

Have a great week, everyone!

February 23rd-27th:

Hi Families!
We had another busy, but fun week in grade one! I've been working on assessments these past couple of weeks, and I am so proud to see all the progress your children are making. They are all working so hard. 

Amongst assessing, the kids had fun exchanging valentines and cheering for Team Canada! Also, we went outside sledding TWICE (once with our learning buddies, and again with 1C on Friday for Winter Wellness day).  The kids (and teachers) really enjoyed our visit from Jay Scotland and learning more about the weather. He is a very knowledgeable and funny man! To end off the week, the kids really enjoyed the Winter Wellness stations. Thanks to those who were able to send in money for the Cool Kids Care Club fundraiser for Special Olympics. 

Please click here to see pictures from last week. 

Here's what's happening in 1E this week: 

• Phys. Ed - Tuesday & Thursday

• Music - Monday, Wednesday & Friday

• Library - Wednesday (Book exchange day) and Friday

• Playground - Front playground 

Words of the week - say, today, rain, wait (/ay/, /ai/ vowel team sounds.  The first vowel says the long vowel sound.) 

Highlights for this week:

• Yoga: Our class this week is on Wednesday at 1:20

• Pink Shirt Day: Pink Shirt Day on Wednesday. Students are welcome to wear pink on this day to show the importance of spreading kindness. 

• 100th Day Celebration: Thursday marks our 100th day in school! We will celebrate by wearing either pyjamas or dressing up like you are 100, whichever way you want to celebrate, come dressed like it! We will have various activities around the number 100. 

• Fundations:  This week, we will finish up Unit 8, learning about blends (we've now learned about consonant blends and digraph consonant blends). Blends can be at the beginning of words and at the end of words. Some consonant blend examples are: step, best, lend, drop, flap, brag. Some digraph consonant blends are: shrug, munch. To find the blend, we find the vowel in the word first, then look before and after the vowel to find the blend. 

In Unit 8, we will also introduce new vowel combinations - r-controlled vowels.  Students will learn the following keywords to help them remember these sounds when reading: ar - car - /ar/, or - horn - /or/, ur - burn - /ur/).  

• Reading Homework: Thanks for sending back the homework books last week. If you haven’t already, please do so. This week, your child will have 3 books for the week. They will also have a reading practice sheet for Unit 8 that I will send home on Tuesday. 

Dates to Remember:

• Tuesday, Feb. 24th- Online booking system for interviews goes live at 8am  https://gsp.parentteacherconferences.net 

• Wednesday, Feb. 25th - Pink Shirt Day (Wear pink to school to recognize the importance of spreading Kindness)

• Thursday, Feb. 26th - 100th Day of School (dress in pyjamas or dress like you are 100!) 

• Wednesday, March 4th - Report Cards go home 

• Thursday evening and Friday, March 5th & 6th - Parent/Teacher Interviews 

Have a great week, everyone!

February 17th-20th:

Hi Families!
We had another great week in grade one! Mother Nature decided that we should extend the Valentine’s Day excitement, so we will do our exchange of valentines on Tuesday. The children have been enjoying the snow outside at recess. Thank you for sending appropriate outdoor gear each day. They are getting so much quicker at dressing for outside time! We will go sledding this Wednesday again with our learning buddies! 

This week, we have various exciting activities taking place! Tuesday will be our classroom Valentine celebration. On Wednesday morning, we will have Jay Scotland, the weatherman, come in to present on the weather with three of our grade one classes! On Friday, our school will be participating in Winter Wellness Day. The children will take part in Olympic/sports-themed stations both inside and outside. They will also get to go sledding. Extra mittens would be recommended for that day!

The “Cool Kids Care Club” are fundraising for the PEI Special Olympics. On Friday (February 20th), students are invited to wear a sports jersey or their favourite team colours. Donations can be sent to the school any day next week. Thanks for your support!

Here's what's happening in 1E this week: 

• Phys. Ed - Wednesday & Friday

• Music - Tuesday & Thursday

• Library - Tuesday (Book return day)

• Playground - Back playground 

Words of the week - each, between, three, sleep (/ee/, /ea/ vowel team sounds. The first vowel says the long vowel sound.) 

Highlights for this week:

• Yoga: Our class this week is on Thursday at 1:45

• Valentine's Day Celebration: We will celebrate Valentine's Day together on Tuesday. If you wish to send in Valentines, please ensure there is one for each child. :) IF you would like to send in a treat, please ensure it is peanut-free. Please do not feel obliged to do this! Here is a list of the kids' names in our classroom:

William, Troy, Bella, Ray, Temple, Eason, Lily, Karina, Isabel, 

Esme, Jarae, Sylvia, Brooklyn, Serwah, Emersyn

• Presentation: Jay Scotland will be in to present on Wednesday from 11:00am-12:00pm

• Fundations:  This week, we will continue to work through Unit 8, learning about blends (blends are two or more consonants that blend together, you hear both sounds, and together they make a smooth sound. (Ex: sl, st, br, nd, dr, fl). Blends can be at the beginning of words and at the end of words. Some examples are: step, best, lend, drop, flap, brag. To find the consonant blend, we find the vowel in the word first, then look before and after the vowel to find the blend. 

In Unit 8, we will also introduce new vowel combinations - r-controlled vowels.  Students will learn the following keywords to help them remember these sounds when reading: ar - car - /ar/, or - horn - /or/, ur - burn - /ur/).  

• Olympic Learning: We will continue to track the Olympics, medal counts, and highlights.  

• Reading Homework: Thanks for sending back the homework books last week. If you haven’t already, please do so. This week, your child will have 3 books for the week. They will also have the Fundations Fluency Sheet for Week 2 of Unit 8 sent home. Please continue to practice these at home. I have been noticing an increase in the kids' reading fluency! :)

Dates to Remember:

• Monday, Feb. 16th - Islander Day (no classes) 

• Friday, Feb. 20th - Winter Wellness Day & Jersey Day 

• Wednesday, Feb. 25th - Pink Shirt Day (Wear pink to school to recognize this day)

• Thursday, Feb. 26th - 100th Day of School (more info to come) 

• Wednesday, March 4th - Report Cards go home 

• Thursday evening and Friday, March 5th & 6th - Parent/Teacher Interviews 

Have a great week, everyone!

February 9th-12th:

Hi Families!

We had a fun week with lots of excitement building in the school for the Winter Olympics! On Friday, we had a school-wide assembly to celebrate the opening ceremonies of the Olympics. The kids really enjoyed this and were very respectful during the whole assembly. Some other highlights from last week were the Stratford Library Visit, where the kids listened to a story and explored the children’s book section with a scavenger hunt. Also, last week, a representative from STEAM PEI came in to do a presentation on Climate change. She discussed where clothing comes from, what it is made of, and where it goes. She discussed how we can help by reduce, reuse, recycle. They took leftover fabric scraps and materials and made  Art with them, which they took home. 

This week will be a four-day school week, as Friday is a PD day. We will celebrate Valentine’s Day on Thursday, February 12. 

I took some pictures, click here to see them.

Here's what's happening in 1E this week: 

• Phys. Ed - Tuesday & Thursday 

• Music - Monday & Wednesday 

• Library - Monday 

• Playground - Front playground 

Words of the week - her, over, number (/er/ R-controlled vowel sound where it sounds /r/) 

Highlights for this week:

• Yoga: Our class this week is on Wednesday at 12:55

• Valentine's Day Celebration: We will celebrate Valentine's Day together on Thursday. If you wish to send in Valentines, please ensure there is one for each child. :) IF you would like to send in a treat, please ensure it is peanut-free. Please do not feel obliged to do this! Here is a list of the kids' names in our classroom:

William, Troy, Bella, Ray, Temple, Eason, Lily, Karina, Isabel, 

Esme, Jarae, Sylvia, Brooklyn, Serwah, Emersyn

• Fundations:  We finished our check-in for Unit 7 last week. The kids continue to work so hard! I am so proud of them. This week, we will work through Unit 8, week 1, by learning about blends (blends are two or more consonants that blend together, and you hear both sounds. (Ex: sl, st, br, nd, dr, fl). Blends can be at the beginning of words and at the end of words. Some examples are: step, best, lend, drop, flap, brag. To find the consonant blend, we find the vowel in the word first, then look before and after the vowel.

In Unit 8, we will also introduce new vowel combinations - r-controlled vowels.  Students will learn the following keywords to help them remember these sounds when reading: ar - car - /ar/, or - horn - /or/, ur - burn - /ur/).  

• Olympic Learning: We finished our Bulletin Board! We will continue to track the Olympics, medal counts, and highlights.  

• Reading Homework: Thanks for sending back the homework books last week. If you haven’t already, please do so. This week, your child will have 3 books for the week. They will also have the Fundations Fluency Sheet for Week 1 of Unit 8 sent home. 

Dates to Remember:

• Friday, Feb. 13th - School Goals Day (No School for Students) 

• Monday, Feb. 16th - Islander Day (No School) 

• Friday, Feb. 20th - Winter Wellness Day (more details to follow) 

• Wednesday, Feb. 25th - Pink Shirt Day (Wear pink to school to recognize this day)

• Wednesday, March 4th - Report Cards go home 

• Thursday evening and Friday, March 5th & 6th - Parent/Teacher Interviews 

Have a great week, everyone!

February 2nd-6th:

Hi Families!

Happy February! We had a snowy, cold week full of indoor recesses last week.  The class got to enjoy lots of time playing inside with our indoor toys. The children were so adaptable and handled our Library visit being delayed very well.  We are rescheduled to go on Wednesday morning, and right now it looks like the weather should cooperate that day.

We had a great Family Literacy Week! The children did an amazing job during Grade 1 Hallway Book Buddies on Friday, where they got the chance to partner up with a friend from another class and read together!   

On Friday, Ms. Shannon brought in chocolate chip cookies for the kids to enjoy as an extra treat for their reward day on Friday. We play a game during Fundations called "Find the Cookie" where the kids have to name the sound on Cookie Monster Cards, and then we flip the card to see if the cookie is hiding behind it. They were thrilled to enjoy a freshly-baked cookie! Click here to see the picture. 

• Phys. Ed - Monday, Wednesday & Friday

• Music - Tuesday, Thursday 

• Library - Thursday (Book exchange day)

• Playground - Back playground 

Words of the week - could, would, should, some

 Highlights for this week:

• Groundhog day: On Monday, we will recognize Groundhog Day and talk about the popular tradition in which a groundhog emerges from its burrow to predict the weather (if it sees its shadow, 6 more weeks of winter is predicted; if not, an early spring is predicted).

• Workshop: on Tuesday afternoon at 1:00, we will have a presenter from STEAM PEI, come in to our classroom to do a presentation on Climate action.

• Stratford Library visit: Wednesday morning at 10:00am

• Yoga: Our class this week is on Thursday at 1:45

• Friday: Show your country pride by wearing flag colors of your choice!

• Fundations:  We will be finishing up Unit 7, Week 3, and doing our unit check-in. We will also begin Unit 8 by learning about blends, which are two or more consonants that blend together and you hear both sounds. (Ex: sl, st, br, nd, dr, fl). Blends can be at the beginning of words and at the end of words. Some examples are: step, best, lend, drop, flap, brag. To find the consonant blend, we find the vowel in the word first, then look before and after the vowel.

In Unit 8, we will also introduce new vowel combinations - r-controlled vowels.  Students will learn the following keywords to help them remember these sounds when reading: ar - car - /ar/, or - horn - /or/, ur - burn - /ur/).  

• Olympic Learning: Our school is full of Olympic excitement! We have been learning about different sporting events that take place at the Olympics, talking about the meaning behind the Olympic rings and medals, and we began preparing for a bulletin board decorating contest. We will prepare flags this week to wave at our school-wide Olympic Opening Ceremony on Friday morning.  

• Reading Homework: Thanks for sending back the homework books last week. If you haven’t already, please do so. This week, your child will have 3 books for the week. 

Dates to Remember:

• Friday, Feb. 6th -  Olympic Day (Show your country pride by wearing flag colours) 

• Friday, Feb. 13th - School Goals Day (No School for Students) 

• Monday, Feb. 16th - Islander Day (No School) 

• Friday, Feb. 20th - Winter Wellness Day (more details to follow) 

• Wednesday, Feb. 25th - Pink Shirt Day (Wear pink to school to recognize this day)

• Wednesday, March 4th - Report Cards go home 

Have a great week, everyone!

January 26th-30th

Hi Families!

I hope you enjoyed your very chilly weekend! This past Friday morning, the kids enjoyed doing some art (we connected our math goal of adding doubles to designing a pair of mittens with gems on the cuff that represented a doubles fact). Also, we had a fantastic time sledding in the afternoon! The weather was perfect to enjoy a full 30 minutes of up and down the hill- the kids couldn't get enough! I loved seeing all the smiles on their faces. Afterwards, we went back into our classroom, and they enjoyed a cup of hot chocolate and mini marshmallows (this week they will do a "How to make Hot Chocolate" piece of writing) I posted some pictures; click here to see them. 

As mentioned in a previous email, this week is Family Literacy Week. We have some fun activities planned! On Monday afternoon, we will be walking to the Stratford Public Library for a class visit. Please make sure your student comes to school in warm winter clothing and snow boots. Thank you for sending back your permission forms for your student! On Wednesday, January 28th, students are invited to dress up as their favourite book character. We will also have elephant and piggie headbands for students to colour at school that they can wear for a costume. On Friday, January 30th, we will be having a schoolwide Pyjama Day! **Our class filled our marble jar, so they are also invited to bring in a stuffy and a blanket on this day. Also, we will be doing hallway book buddies with the other grade one English classes. 

Here's what's happening in 1E this week:

• Phys. Ed (with Ms. Emily Smith) - Monday, Wednesday & Friday

• Music (with Mrs. Elizabeth Maclean) - Tuesday & Thursday

• Library (with Mrs. Amy) - Tuesday (book exchange day) and Thursday

• Playground - Front

Sight Words/Trick Words of the week:    about, our, now, how **We will practice reading and writing these words** 

Highlights for this week:

• Yoga: Our class this week is on Wednesday at 1:45

• Stratford Library visit: Monday afternoon

• Learning Goals: I have posted our January and February Learning Goals; click here to see them. 

• Fundations: We will be working through Unit 7, week 3, this week. In Unit 7, students will learn EIGHT new glued sounds! Wow! There will be four new glued sounds ending with “ng” (ang, ing, ong, ung) and four ending with “nk” (ank, ink, onk, unk). This unit is one of the trickier units, so if you could practice these sounds at home, that would be helpful!

  1. In Week 1, we will learn the “ng” glued sounds.

  2. In Week 2, we will learn the “nk” glued sounds.

  3. In Week 3, we will add the suffix -s to these words. 

**We will learn the following trick words in this unit: why, by, my, try, put, two, too, very, also, some, come **

• Reading Homework: Thanks for sending back the homework books last week. If you haven’t already, please do so. This week, your children will have 3 books for the week. They will also have the Fluency Sheet for Week 3 sent home either on Tuesday or Wednesday (we always practice once together as a class before sending it home). 

Dates to Remember:

• Tuesday, Jan. 27th - Family Literacy Day 

• Wednesday, Jan. 28th - Dress as your favourite book character 

• Friday, Jan. 30th - Pyjama Day 

• Friday, Feb. 13th - School Goals Day (No School for Students) 

• Monday, Feb. 16th - Islander Day (No School) 

• Wednesday, Feb. 25th - Pink Shirt Day (Wear pink to school to recognize this day)

Have a great week, everyone!

January 19th-23rd:

Hi Families!

The kids cleaned out their desks and all their folders on Friday. They took home any finished work/old work and we saved a couple things for their Memory books. Please clean out this work from your child's homework bag. Thank you.

On Friday afternoon, we enjoyed a math lesson on rekenreks delivered by our Math coach. Rekenreks are a great tool to use when adding and subtracting. We will begin our addition unit with sums to 12 this week. 

We had a break from winter weather last week, but the snow is back! Please send snowpants, mitts/gloves, and a hat every day this week.  Hopefully, the snow will stick around for a bit so we can get out on our school sleds sometime before the end of January!

Click here to see some new pictures.

 
Here's what's happening in 1E this week:

• Phys. Ed (with Ms. Emily Smith) - Monday, Wednesday & Friday

• Music (with Mrs. Elizabeth Maclean) - Tuesday & Thursday

• Library (with Mrs. Amy) - Tuesday

• Playground - Back

Sight Words/Trick Words of the week:    two, too, also, put **We will practice reading and writing these words** 

Highlights for this week:

• Yoga: Our class this week is on Wednesday at 12:55

• Fundations: We will be working through Unit 7, week 2, this week. In Unit 7, students will learn EIGHT new glued sounds! Wow! There will be four new glued sounds ending with “ng” (ang, ing, ong, ung) and four ending with “nk” (ank, ink, onk, unk). This unit is one of the trickier units, so if you could practice these sounds at home, that would be helpful!

  1. In Week 1, we will learn the “ng” glued sounds.

  2. In Week 2, we will learn the “nk” glued sounds.

  3. In Week 3, we will add the suffix -s to these words. 

**We will learn the following trick words in this unit: why, by, my, try, put, two, too, very, also, some, come **

• Reading Homework: Thanks for sending back the homework books last week. If you haven’t already, please do so. This week, your children will have 3 books for the week. They will also have the Fluency Sheet for Week 2 sent home either on Tuesday or Wednesday (we always practice once together as a class before sending it home). 

Dates to Remember:

• Tuesday, Jan. 27th - Family Literacy Day (Stay tuned for activities at school)

• Friday, Feb. 13th - School Goals Day (No School for Students) 

• Monday, Feb. 16th - Islander Day (No School) 

• Wednesday, Feb. 25th - Pink Shirt Day (Wear pink to school to recognize this day)

Have a great week, everyone!

January 12th-16th:

Hi Families!

We had a wonderful first week back from the holiday break! It was nice to have 5 full days together to get back into routines. There were lots of tired kids (and teachers) by the end of the week! We discussed resolutions/goal setting, and the children set a goal for the new year. We also had our first yoga class, and most of the kids said at the end of the day that it was one of their favorite parts of their day. We will have our next class on Tuesday. The kids also really enjoyed our virtual presentation by a science interpreter at the Canadian Museum of Nature in Ottawa. They learned about a few different sea creatures that live in tide pools and how they survive harsh conditions through their adaptations. I was really impressed by the interpreter's delivery through her various camera angles and the technology she used. Click here to see some pictures. 

Here's what's happening in 1E this week:

• Phys. Ed (with Ms. Emily Smith) - Tuesday & Thursday

• Music (with Mrs. Elizabeth Maclean) - Monday, Wednesday & Friday

• Library (with Mrs. Amy) - Monday and Friday (Book exchange day) 

• Playground - Front

Sight Words/Trick Words of the week:    why, by, my, try, very  (words with 'y' as a vowel. When 'y' is at the end of a 1-syllable word, it makes the long /i/ vowel sound; when 'y' is at the end of a 2-syllable or 3-syllable word, it makes the long /e/ vowel sound. One trick to know how many syllables the word is, is to look if there is already a vowe in the word. If there is no vowel, then you know it is 1-syllable, if there is at least 1 other vowel,  then you know it is at least 2-syllables and will make the long /e/) 

**We will practice reading and writing these words** 

Highlights for this week:

• Yoga: Our class this week is on Tuesday at 1:45. 

• Fundations: We have completed our Unit 6 test and will be starting Unit 7 this week. The kids did really well! In Unit 7, students will learn EIGHT new glued sounds! Wow! There will be four new glued sounds ending with “ng” (ang, ing, ong, ung) and four ending with “nk” (ank, ink, onk, unk). This unit is one of the trickier units, so if you could practice these sounds at home, that would be helpful!

  1. In Week 1, we will learn the “ng” glued sounds.

  2. In Week 2, we will learn the “nk” glued sounds.

  3. In Week 3, we will add the suffix -s to these words. 

**We will learn the following trick words in this unit: why, by, my, try, put, two, too, very, also, some, come **

• Reading Homework: We will start back to our reading homework this week. The children will have 3 books for the week. Please return them on Friday. On Tuesday, I will send home the week 1 Unit 7 Fundations Fluency Sheet for your child to practice reading. 

Dates to Remember:

• Tuesday, Jan. 27th - Family Literacy Day (Stay tuned for activities at school)

• Friday, Feb. 13th - School Goals Day (No School for Students) 

• Monday, Feb. 16th - Islander Day (No School) 

• Wednesday, Feb. 25th - Pink Shirt Day (Wear pink to school to recognize this day)

Have a great week, everyone!

January 5th-9th:

Hi families!

Happy New Year! I hope you and your children had a wonderful break together. I am so excited to see them again. It will be fun to be back together in the classroom, and for the kids to see their friends and share their stories about their break. I know it will be a tiring week for some (both kids and adults, haha) since it is a 5-day school week and we will be adjusting back into routines. We will be mindful of this, and I am sure we will have a great week together!

We will be learning so much in grade one in 2026! January is a big month with all 5 day weeks. 

It looks like a cold start to the week, but just a reminder that we go outside most days (unless it is colder than -20) for recess. Students should have snowpants to keep their legs warm (even though there is no snow on the ground). Extra mittens are always encouraged!

This week, we will be starting weekly yoga sessions at school! Samantha Sambrooke will be the yoga instructor and she will come to our school to do these sessions with the grade one students. This is offered through the Town of Stratford. We are very lucky to have this opportunity. The grade ones last year really enjoyed it! 

Here's what's happening in 1E this week:

• Phys. Ed (with Ms. Emily Smith) - Monday, Wednesday & Friday

• Music (with Mrs. Elizabeth Maclean) - Tuesday & Thursday

• Library (with Mrs. Amy) - Thursday (Book exchange day) 

• Playground - Back

Sight Words/Trick Words of the week:    her, after, other, over  (words with the r-controlled vowel 'er' which makes the /r/ sound)  **We will practice reading and writing these words** 

Highlights for this week:

• Yoga for grade 1 starts! Our session is on Tuesday at 12:55. 

• Virtual Workshop: On Thursday afternoon, we will watch a live presentation (virtually) by science interpreters from the Canadian Museum of Nature in Ottawa, to learn about tide pools. 

• Fundations: This week, we will be doing week 3 of Unit 6 (the final lessons for this unit).  In this unit, students 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 bugs.

• Reading Homework: I will send home the week 3 Fundations Fluency Sheet for your child to practice reading. As for books, we will start that next week. I figured it would be nice to ease back into routine before sending home books. If you'd like books this week, just email me! :) 

Dates to Remember:

• Monday, January 5th- First day back in 2026 for everyone

Have a great week, everyone!

December 15th-19th

Hi Families!

We kicked off our week last week with decorating Gingerbread cookies that I brought in, decorating our class Christmas tree, and painting for the "Guess the special gifts" bulletin board. I loved watching your kids perform on stage for their Christmas concerts! They worked so hard practicing their songs over the past few weeks. They were so excited to share their music with you, and their smiles lit up the room! What a joy it was to get to share this special time with them!

Thank you so much for your donations to the Cool Kids’ club food drive! Our class brought in over 50 items! The whole school did such a great job that Mrs. Dunn and Mrs. MacKinnon decided to reward us with an ice cream party for everyone! Please let me know if your child needs dairy free or gluten free ice cream treat. 

We are now heading into our final week before the holiday break. We have many fun activities planned! We will start off the week on Monday with a show and tell day. (When the kids voted on one for filling the marble jar, I forgot this was already planned. Oh well I am sure they will be excited to show something else! haha) Students can bring something from home to show the class (no electronics please). I will include a full list of this week's activities at the bottom of this email. It is going to be so much fun!

I took some pictures of our fun together last week. Click here to see them. 
Here's what's happening in 1E this week:

• Phys. Ed (with Ms. Emily Smith) - Tuesday & Thursday

• Music (with Mrs. Elizabeth Maclean) - Monday, Wednesday & Friday

• Library (with Mrs. Amy) - Wednesday (Book exchange day) & Friday

• Playground - Front

Sight Words/Trick Words of the week:    Review week   **We will practice reading and writing trick words we've learned** 

Highlights for this week:

• Ice cream treat from Food Drive: If your child requires gluten free or dairy free ice cream treat, please email me. Otherwise I will assume they are good to have a regular one. :)

• Baby/Toddler Picture: Thanks to those who emailed me your child's baby picture for our "Guess the Special Gifts" Bulletin Board outside our classroom. It is up! I posted a picture under "Pictures". If you still want to send in a picture, you can email me one. 

• Fundations: This week, we will continue working on Week 2 of Unit 6.  In this unit, students 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 bugs.

• Reading Homework: None this week! We will start back up in the new year! Please send back to school any school books you may still have at home. 

Dates to Remember:

• 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

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 

December 8th-12th:

Hi Families!

Winter has 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. They got to color a monster and color it the way they were feeling at the time. We also enjoyed our Wild Child outdoor session last week. The kids got to pick a nature name if they liked, and we played 3 engaging games. I think the most fun was had during the activity where they listened to a bird sound, and they had to run to the picture of the bird they thought it was (they had 2 choices to pick from each time). 

I took some pictures of the excitement after our first snowfall and the fun the kids had playing outisde at recess. Also, I snapped a couple pictures during our Wild Child outdoor session. Click here to see them. 
Here's what's happening in 1E this week:

• Phys. Ed (with Ms. Emily Smith) - Monday, Wednesday & Friday

• Music (with Mrs. Elizabeth Maclean) - Tuesday & Thursday

• Library (with Mrs. Amy) - Tuesday (Book exchange day) & Thursday

• Playground - Back

Sight Words/Trick 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” is always silent at the end of a word, and it sometimes can be magic- it gives all of its power to the other vowel in the word, making that vowel say its name (its long vowel sound).** 

**We will practice reading and writing these words** 

Highlights for this week:

• 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! 

• Cool Kids Club: Grade 2 club that is collecting food this week for the food bank’s 40th anniversary. The cool kids will have a prize (Ice Cream Sandwich Party – Last week of school) for the classroom that collects the MOST food bank items! If you can, please send in a non-perishable food item with your child.

• Baby/Toddler Picture: Thanks to those who emailed me your child's baby picture for our "Guess the Special Gifts" Bulletin Board outside our classroom. If you haven't done so already, please email me a baby picture of your child. Thank you!

• Fundations: This week, we are working in week 2 of Unit 6. In this unit, students 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 bugs.

• Reading Homework: Your child will have 3 practice books to read throughout the week. Please return these books on Friday. *If you never returned your books from last week, please do so on Monday. I will give new books once the previous weeks are returned to ensure books are not being misplaced. Thank you for your cooperation in this.  Also, I will be sending home the Unit 6, Week 2, Fluency Fundations Sheet, please have your child practice this throughout the week. 

Dates to Remember:

• Tuesday, December 9th - Grade One Christmas Concert (1pm and 6pm)

• 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 click the attachments below to see activities planned for the last week of school leading up to Christmas Break**

December 1st-5th:

Hi Families!

Thanks for reaching out to the office while I was away from school last Thursday and Friday. I am looking forward to seeing your kids tomorrow. 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 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.  

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.

The Guest Teacher sent home a Permission Form on Friday. Please sign and return those tomorrow, Monday, December 1st. Thank you.
Here's what's happening in 1E this week:

• Phys. Ed (with Ms. Emily Smith) - Tuesday & Thursday

• Music (with Mrs. Elizabeth Maclean) - Monday, Wednesday & Friday

• Library (with Mrs. Amy) - Monday and Friday (Book exchange day)

• Playground - Front

Sight Words/Trick Words of the week:    who, what, when, why  **We will practice reading and writing these words** 

Highlights for this week:

• Nature Immersion Visit: On Tuesday, December 2nd, from 11:00-12:00 we will have an outdoor lesson led by a member from Wild Child. Permission forms were sent home Friday, please sign and return these on Monday, Dec.1st, as I need your signed permission in order for your child to participate. Thank you!

• Presentation: On Tuesday, December 2nd, we will have a presentation by the student well-being team on Emotions/Feelings. 

• Baby/Toddler Picture: As mentioned in my email last week, if you could please email me a picture of your child as a baby/toddler for our "Guess the Special Gifts" Bulletin Board outside our classroom. I would like to have these in by Thursday, Dec 4th. Thank you! 

• Fundations: We finished up Unit 5 last week. The kids did really well! 

This week, we will begin Unit 6. In this unit, students 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 bugs.

• Reading Homework: Your child will have 3 practice books to read throughout the week. Please return these books on Friday. *If you never returned your books from last week, please do so on Monday. I will give new books once the previous weeks are returned to ensure books are not being misplaced. Thank you for your cooperation in this.  Also, I will be sending home the Unit 6, Week 1, Fluency Fundations Sheet, please have your child practice this throughout the week. 

Dates to Remember:

• Saturday, December 6th - Santa Claus Breakfast at GSP

• Tuesday, December 9th - Grade One Christmas Concert (1pm and 6pm)

• 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**

November 24th-28th:

Hi Families!

It was so nice to meet with you all during parent-teacher interviews last week. What a tremendous turnout!! I always love this time when I can share face-to-face and show all the amazing things your children are doing and learning at school! It is hard to believe how much they have learned since September. Thank you so much for taking the time to come in and meet with me and for being a team in your child's learning. 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 continue to 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.

We did Art on Thursday and made lights for our classroom window; click here to see them.
Here's what's happening in 1E this week:

• Phys. Ed (with Ms. Emily Smith) - Monday, Wednesday & Friday

• Music (with Mrs. Elizabeth Maclean) - Tuesday & Thursday

• Library (with Mrs. Amy) - Thursday (Book exhchange day)

• Playground - Back

Sight Words/Trick Words of the week:    from, does, have  **We will practice reading and writing these words** 

Highlights for this week:

• 50 days of school on Monday! 

• Presentation: On Tuesday, November 25th, we will have a presentation by the student well-being team about kindness. 

• Fundations: We did our final check-in for Unit 4  last week and we began Unit 5 on Friday. The kids did really well with the skills taught in Unit 4! Unit 5 is only one week long.

      Unit 5: 

• 1. 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). 

      2. We will begin Unit 6 at the end of the week.

•  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 bugs.

• Reading Homework: .Your child will have 3 practice books to read throughout the week. Please return these books on Friday. *If you never returned your books from last week, please do so on Monday. I will give new books once the previous weeks are returned to ensure books are not being misplaced. Thank you for your cooperation in this. Also, please have your child practice the Unit 5 Fundations Fluency Practice Sheet I am sending home on Monday. I am really noticing the kids' fluency starting to increase.

Dates to Remember:

• Wednesday, November 26- Report Cards Go Home

• Saturday, December 6th - Santa Claus Breakfast at GSP

• Tuesday, December 9th - Grade One Christmas Concert (1pm and 6pm)

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. 

Have a great week, everyone! 

November 17th-20th:

Hi Families!

It was another short, but busy, week last week. It took a bit of time to adjust back to our classroom routines and expectations, but by Thursday we were back in our groove. We have worked hard to build our classroom family, where everyone feels respected and valued, and they continue to show tremendous support for one another every day. It is heartwarming to see them cheer each other on when they receive the "I caught you note" at the end of the day. 

The children were excited to share what they had spent their extended weekend doing and listened well to each other. They then chose one activity from their weekend and wrote about it in their journals (we always do journal writing on Mondays)! They are doing such a great job at choosing one idea, and extending their idea to tell more details with writing at least three plus sentences. We are now furthering their writing skills by doing a unit of study called "Small moments". This is where they choose a real life event that happened to them, and write about it (not just from the weekend previous). It would be great if you could come up with some ideas at home. For example, remember the time you lost your first tooth? Do you remember what you were doing; how it felt, etc. Or, remember the time you scored your first goal? Or, remember the time you learned a skill in swimming/gymnastics, etc. Or, remember the time we took a trip and we did ____ activity and how much fun it was. This would help them generate ideas so they are ready to write their story about it. Thanks for your support in this! 

The kids enjoyed their extra recess time on Friday, but we had it indoors since it was a rainy day. Click here to see pictures. 

 
Here's what's happening in 1E this week:

• Phys. Ed (with Ms. Emily Smith) - Monday & Wednesday 

• Music (with Mrs. Elizabeth Maclean) - Tuesday & Thursday

• Library (with Mrs. Amy) - Tuesday (Book exhchange day)

• Playground - Front

Sight Words/Trick Words of the week:    Review week   **We will practice reading and writing these words** 

Highlights for this week:

• Parent-Teacher Interviews Thursday after school/evening and Friday morning. Thanks to those who signed up. If you haven't done so, please sign up by clicking on the following link to book: https://gsp.parentteacherconferences.net/ I am looking forward to sharing and celebrating your child's successes so far this school year!

• November Learning goals can be viewed here . I forgot to post them last week; sorry!

• Fundations: We will do our final check-in for Unit 4 on Tuesday and begin Unit 5 on Wednesday.

Unit 4: 

• 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 

      Unit 5: 

• 1. 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 to read throughout the week. Please return these books on Friday. *If you never returned your books from last week, please do so on Monday. I will give new books once the previous weeks are returned to ensure books are not being misplaced. Thank you for your cooperation in this. If you have time, please have your child practice the Week 2 of Unit 4 Fundations practice sheet I am sending home on Monday. Thanks for practicing these! I am really noticing the kids' fluency starting to increase.

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. 

Have a great week, everyone! 

November 12th-14th:

Hi Families!

We had a short but great week together last week.  The children worked hard to showcase their writing skills in their journals. 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. They earned their last large marble for our marble jar and are now due for another reward! Stay tuned for what gets voted for. Also, last week we created poppy art for our classroom windows and our bulletin board in the hallway. Click here to see it.

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 1E this week:

• Phys. Ed (with Ms. Emily Smith) - Thursday

• Music (with Mrs. Elizabeth Maclean) - Wednesday & Friday

• Library (with Mrs. Amy) - Wednesday

• Playground - Back

Sight Words/Trick Words of the week:    they, said, one, are  **We will practice reading and writing these words** 

Highlights for this week:

• It’s a(nother) short week with 3 school days. 

• Parent Teacher Interview sign-up goes live Monday; click the following link to book: https://gsp.parentteacherconferences.net/ 

• 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 2 practice books to read throughout this short week. Please return these books on Friday. If you have time, please have your child practice the Week 1 of Unit 4 Fundations practice sheet I sent home last week. The goal of these sheets is that with practice, your child will move away from tapping all of the words and instead will be able to read them more quickly and smoothly. 

Dates to Remember:

• 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 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

Have a great week, everyone! 

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 did a Science experiment with the hypothesis: Will a pumpkin float or sink in water?; and 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 took some pictures of all the fun and excitement! Click here to see them. The kids cleaned their folders on Friday, so please take their work out of their homework bag. 

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 1, and it’s a pleasure to see all the individual progress each has made.
Here's what's happening in 1E this week:

• Phys. Ed (with Ms. Emily Smith) - Monday & Wednesday

• Music (with Mrs. Elizabeth Maclean) - Tuesday

• Library (with Mrs. Amy) - Tuesday (Book Exchange day) 

• Playground - Front

Sight Words/Trick 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: We completed 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:

• 1. 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 

  2. 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 to read throughout this short week. Please return these books on Wednesday. I will also be sending home the Unit 4 week 1 Fundations sheet for your child to practice. It is great to see so many practicing these sheets! It really helps with building their reading fluency. 

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 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

Have a great week, everyone! 

October 27th-31st:

Hi Families!

We had fun on Friday doing some creative art and using our imaginations! The kids each got a toilet paper roll to turn into a halloween character(s) of their choice. They used a variety of supplies, including paint, construction paper, googly eyes, etc. Also, they enjoyed eating the treats that Ms. Shannon and I brought in as their class reward. We spread it out throughout the day, and they got to take 1 home. 

As mentioned in an earlier email, 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, schoolhouse, Blacksmith shop, and farm. The students got to mill their own corn animal feed and feed the animals. They went for a horse and carriage ride that they really enjoyed! 

Click here to see pictures of our art from Friday and pictures from our Field Trip. 

Here's what's happening in 1E this week:

• Phys. Ed (with Ms. Emily Smith) - Tuesday & Thursday

• Music (with Mrs. Elizabeth Maclean) - Monday, Wednesday & Friday

• Library (with Mrs. Amy) - Monday (Book Exchange day) & Wednesday 

• Playground - Back

Sight Words/Trick Words of the week:    you, your, there, where  **We will practice reading and writing these words** 

Highlights for this week:

• Halloween: This week, we will be having some Halloween celebrations. On Thursday, students will be doing “Spooktacular” activities during their gym class. On Friday, October 31st, we will celebrate Halloween at Glen Stewart. Students are welcome to dress up in costume! We do ask that you avoid costumes that are very 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. In the morning, 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! 

• Fundations: We will be finishing Unit 3 of Fundations this week and doing our unit check-in on Tuesday. 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/  **The ck spelling is used at the end of 1 syllable words, immediately after a short vowel sound.** 

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: Thank you to those who returned their books back on Friday. If you didn't, can you please send them back on Monday so we can cycle through them. Your child will have 3 books again for homework this week. Please return them on Friday. I appreciate this-thank you! Also, I will send the week 2 of Unit 3 Fundations practice sheet, similar to the one I sent last week, for those of you who can practice with your child.

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 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

Have a great week, everyone! 

October 20th-24th:

Thanks to those who were able to send in money for the Jelly Bean Jar- The cool kids club raised a bit over $300!  We had a fun day on Friday and did the following art: puzzles out of our faces and leaf friends for our window! The kids from GSP really enjoy seeing our window art as they walk to and from the buses each day. Click here to see them. 

I had the kids clean out their folders on Friday. Any finished work was sent home (I saved a couple of things for their Grade 1 Memory Books). Please clean this work out of their homework bags over the weekend. 

We are getting closer to filling our marble jar again! I'm really impressed with the kids' reading stamina, and I love how they read a practice book first each day. Also, they are settling into the routine of small group centers while I do small group work. 

Here's what's happening in 1E this week:

• Phys. Ed (with Ms. Emily Smith) - Monday & Friday

• Music (with Mrs. Elizabeth Maclean) - Tuesday & Thursday

• Library (with Mrs. Amy) - Tuesday

• Playground - Front

Sight Words/Trick Words of the week:    or/for, down, out, want  **We will practice reading and writing these words** 

Highlights for this week:

• Orwell Field Trip: 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! 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! 

• Fundations: We are about halfway through Unit 3. 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 consonant digraphs in bold below, and we are practicing decoding words with digraphs to read and spell. 

wh - whistle - /w/ ch - chin - /ch/ sh - ship - /sh/

 th - thumb - /th/   ck - sock - /ck/  **The ck spelling is used at the end of 1 syllable words, immediately after a short vowel sound.** 

• Reading Homework: Thank you to those who returned their books back on Friday. If you didn't, can you please send them back on Monday so we can cycle through them. Your child will have 3 books again for homework this week. Please return them on Friday. I appreciate this-thank you!

• School Photos:  The deadline to order photos with free shipping will be Tuesday, October 21st. Retakes are on Thursday, October 23rd. If you want your child to do retakes, please email me, as I will only send the children up for retakes whose families specifically told me. 

Dates to Remember:

• Tuesday, October 21st- Deadline to order school pictures. 

• Wednesday, October 22nd - Orwell Corner Field Trip

• Thursday, October 23rd - Picture Retake Day 

• Friday, October 31st- Halloween (More details to come)

Have a great week, everyone! 

October 14th-17th

We had another wonderful week last week! The kids really enjoyed their toy reward day. We spent time discussing gratitude and sharing the things we are thankful for. I hope you enjoyed your Thanksgiving weekend, spending time with those who are important to you. I have a lot to be grateful for, and one of them is getting to spend my days with your children. I am enjoying getting to know each child, and it is an absolute pleasure to watch them grow both academically and socially. I posted some photos from using the parachute at our field trip to Cotton Park (another colleague had taken them and recently shared them with me). The parachute has many fun activities you can do with it! Click here to see them. 

Here's what's happening in 1E this week:

• Phys. Ed (with Ms. Emily Smith) - Tuesday & Thursday

• Music (with Mrs. Elizabeth Maclean) - Wednesday & Friday

• Library (with Mrs. Amy) - Friday (Book exchange day)

• Playground - Back

Sight Words/Trick Words of the week:    as/has, we/me/be/he/she **We will practice reading and writing these words** 

Highlights for this week:

• Orwell Field Trip next week: Thanks to everyone for sending in their forms and money. I now have everyone's collected. I appreciate this.

• 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. I am so proud of all the kids' continued hard work! 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” stick together to 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: Thank you to those who returned their books back on Thursday. If you didn't, can you please send them back tomorrow so we can cycle through them. Your child will have 3 books again for homework this week. Please return them on Friday. I appreciate this-thank you!

• School Photos: Reminder: 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.  

Dates to Remember:

• Tuesday, October 21st- Deadline to order school pictures. 

• Wednesday, October 22nd - Orwell Corner Field Trip

• Thursday, October 23rd - Picture Retake Day 

Have a great week, everyone! 

October 6th-9th

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 was very pleased to see how well behaved the kids were during our walk there and back. They also were very patient, listened well and were respectful during all of our activities together. They earned our last big marble because of this! We'll decide as a class tomorrow how we will celebrate, and I will let you know via email. I added some photos from Friday. Click here to see them.

Here's what's happening in 1E this week:

• Phys. Ed (with Ms. Emily Smith) - Monday & Wednesday

• Music (with Mrs. Elizabeth Maclean) - Tuesday & Thursday

• Library (with Mrs. Amy) - Tuesday ( we won't have book exchange until next library day as Tuesday will be the Book Fair)

• Playground - Front

Sight Words/Trick 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. If you would like your child to purchase a book/item, please send your money in a ziploc bag, along 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. 

• Picture day: Reminder it is on Tuesday! 

• 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. 

• We completed our second week in Unit 2 of Fundations. We will complete our check-in sometime this week to see if we are ready for Unit 3! 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. 

• Reading Homework: Thank you to those who returned their books back on Friday. If you didn't, can you please send them back tomorrow so we can cycle through them. Your child will have 3 books again for homework this week. Please return them on Thursday this week, as there is no school on Friday. I appreciate this-thank you!

• Reminder: To send in your $2 for Orwell Corner asap. Thank you!

Dates to Remember:

• Tuesday, October 7th - Picture day for English 

• Tuesday, October 7th- 1E will go to the Scholastic Book Fair in the Library

• Friday, October 10th -PD day (no classes)

• Monday, October 13th - Thanksgiving (no classes)

• Wednesday, October 22nd - Orwell Corner Field Trip

Have a great week, everyone! 

September 29th - October 3rd:

We had another wonderful week together! 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 continue to talk about the importance of never giving up, and keep trying when things are difficult for us. 

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 kit bag in case their socks get wet.

Last week I sent home two permission slips for our upcoming field trips in October. Thanks to those who have signed and returned them. There is no cost to our Cotton Park field trip, but our trip to Orwell Corner is $2 to cover the cost of bussing. If you could send $2 in your child’s homework bag that would be great! Thank you. 

Lastly, we are very close to filling our classroom marble jar! We are working on lowering our voice levels to a whisper during Literacy Centers and Math Centers, so that it is quiet for small-group instruction with me. Stay tuned for our class reward in the coming days!

Here's what's happening in 1E this week:

• Phys. Ed (with Ms. Emily Smith) - Monday & Thursday 

• Music (with Mrs. Elizabeth Maclean) - Wednesday & Friday

• Library (with Mrs. Amy) - Wednesday

• Playground - Back

Sight Words/Trick 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 better on Wednesday or Thursday, we may go one of those days instead. I will email you to confirm our date 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. 

• 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 2 sheets in your child's homework bag as well. These sheets are ideas you can do with your child to share in their reading and sight word practice.

• October Learning Goals click here 

• Scholastic Book Fair flyers were sent home in your child's homework bag last Friday. This book fair is put on by our School Library. Our class will visit the Book Fair and can purchase if they like, on Tuesday, October 7th.

Dates to Remember:

• Monday, September 29th - Orange Shirt day *The kids can wear an orange shirt to school to recognize this day*

• Tuesday, September 30th - No classes (National Day for Truth and Reconciliation) 

• Tuesday, October 7th - Picture day for English 

• Tuesday, October 7th- 1E will go to the Scholastic Book Fair in the Library

• Friday, October 10th -PD day (no classes) 

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 can learn from our mistakes and sometimes something beautiful can come from them. We discussed how our brain is like a muscle and it grows stronger when we push ourselves. 

On Friday, the kids took home their “Once there was a squiggle that turned into a __” that they did with their grade 2 learning buddies. They thought of some imaginative/creative ideas!

We also started Literacy and Math centers last week. I posted some pictures, click here to see them
Here's what's happening in 1E this week:

• Phys. Ed (with Ms. Emily Smith) - Tuesday & Thursday 

• Music (with Mrs. Elizabeth Maclean) - Monday, Wednesday & Friday

• Library (with Mrs. Amy) - Monday and Friday

• Playground - Front

Sight Words/Trick Words of the week:    my, is, and, look **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 Thursday.

• 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. 

• September Learning Goals click here 

Dates to Remember:

• Thursday, September 25th - Terry Fox Run

• Monday, September 29th - Orange Shirt day *The kids can wear an orange shirt to school to recognize this day*

• Tuesday, September 30th - No classes (National Day for Truth and Reconciliation) 

• Tuesday, October 7th - Picture day for English 

September 15th - 19th :

Hi Families!

We had another great week of learning in 1E. We are beginning to settle into our new routines and expectations, and the kids are beginning to develop some new friendships. The kids really enjoyed celebrating filling our class marble jar on Friday! I was impressed to see how they were able to manage having their stuffy during learning time, and still did what they were expected. We, also, did some painting on Friday and the kids enjoyed using the watercolor paints. 

Our school is participating in the Terry Fox Run on September 25th. Tomorrow, Monday September 15, our class will participate in a virtual Google Meet to learn more about Terry Fox through a presentation. 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 our classroom. Click here to see them 🙂
Here's what's happening in 1E this week:

• Phys. Ed (with Ms. Emily Smith) - Monday, Wednesday & Friday

• Music (with Mrs. Elizabeth Maclean) - Tuesday & Thursday

• Library (with Mrs. Amy) - Thursday

• Playground - We're very excited to play on the back playground this week :) 

Sight Words/Trick 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 week:

• Being responsible, respectful, kind students (Bucker fillers, not dippers)

• Growth Mindset (things we 'can' do...things we can't do YET....everyone makes mistakes; 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 Learning Goals click here 

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!

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 could purchase a pair of headphones, label them, and send them in with your child that would be appreciated. You can purchase headphones at the dollar store for ~$5. Based on other years, the kids prefer the style that goes over the ears completely (not the earbud style that go right into the earlobes). 

Dates to Remember:

• Wednesday, September 17th - Meet the Teacher (6:20-6:35pm)

• Thursday, September 25th - Terry Fox Run

• Monday, September 29th - Orange Shirt day *The kids can wear an orange shirt to school to recognize this day*

• Tuesday, September 30th - No classes (National Day for Truth and Reconciliation) 

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 1E this week:

• Phys. Ed (with Ms. Emily Smith) - Tuesday & Thursday

• Music (with Mrs. Elizabeth Maclean) - Monday, Wednesday & Friday

• Library (with Mrs. Amy) - Wednesday

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. 

Sight Words/Trick Words of the week:    I, like, the, a

Photos: I’ll be taking photos of the students engaging and the various activities we do in 1E. I will post these photos under the "Pictures" tab at the top of my website.  Please let me know if you do NOT want your child's photo on our 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 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

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 (Domino’s)

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:

• Wednesday, September 17th - Meet the Teacher (6:20-6:35pm)

• Tuesday, September 30th - No classes (National Day for Truth and Reconciliation)