September

Week 4:

Well there were many highlights to the week but going on a class trip sure was one of them! Thanks to the parents who were able to join us as we always welcome another pair of hands. Here is a glance at our week and what we have been learning.

Language:

I have also been pulling students to read with me to assess their reading levels. Once I have read with all the students in the class I will be putting them into reading groups where we will continue to work on reading strategies. I will be sending home a reading sheet later this week that will help you ask good questions to your child after reading.

Math:

We continue to explore graphing and sorting through activities where we are learning about ourselves as about others in the class. We learned more about ourselves as learners and graphed the type of learner we were. This week we will be looking at our graphs and exploring what that information on our graphs tells us.

Science:

We discussed lots of important topics about water on our trip. We learned about the states of mater, molecules, sink/float, how to test water, how water makes electricity and so much more! Asking your child about their favourite center is a great way to discussed what new and exciting information they gained. Checking out our class trip photos are a great point for discussion as well.

We have loved the wonderful weather we have been given in the last few days. We have done reading and writing outside and continue to enjoy our nature walks on Monday mornings. Last week we looked for signs of fall. We found leaves, discussed the temperature, animals and plants that we notice around us as well as lowering water levels in the river.

Social Studies

This week the students had fun creating a new country with their teammates. They had to think about where this country would be and give it a name, a flag a decide on the national animal. We had great discussion about how the animal needs to fit the natural habitat around them which may determine the location of their new found country. We will be working with this country throughout the year as they have team building challenges and problems to solve.

The students had fun learning more about growth mindset and the idea that anything is possible. We read the book the Most Magnificent Thing. At the end of the book students were each given a piece of paper to turn into the Most Magnificent Thing- ask you child what they made. It made for rich discussion to on how this matched a lot of what they displayed in their learning graphs.

Special Events:

This week we had the Terry Fox assembly and ran the race on Friday. The students did amazing and quickly learned about the determination and perseverance of Terry. This is a great conversation piece for growth mindset and that we can do anything but just have to keep trying. The students also started creating running shoe drawings in art to promote the work of Terry Fox.

Notes:

-Monday is Orange shirt day- this is to support the idea of every child matters

-Some families have been asking about RazKids and Dreambox however because of cutbacks and student interest it will not be available this year in grade 2.

-Homework: Students were to complete their home study sheet in their science books. Please complete and return by Tuesday.

The homework Bingo page will be displayed in the homework section. This is not mandatory but recommended- it is due at the end of the month each month.

Hope everyone is having a great weekend

Week 3:

Hope everyone enjoyed their long weekend last week. The weather sure has been beautiful!

This week we continue to work on rules and routines. We have also been busy during our exploration times. In our classroom we have parts of the day that will say exploration and then more specially there is math and literacy exploration. To help you better understand your child’s day I would love to describe these parts to you. Literacy exploration is a time of day where the students are given choice about their learning and tie what they are learning back to reading or writing. This allows students to have a say in what they are learning and allows them to learn about something they are passionate about. For example, some children are writing comics, secret agent books and non-fiction books about topics of interest like oceans and snakes. After some time at literacy exploration we gather at the carpet for a readers or writers lesson. Sometimes before going off to literacy exploration students are given quiet 20 (writing). At this time they have a few options of what they can write about but during this time they are working by themselves and working on improving their writing goals. This writing is always marked at the end of the week and sent home.

The term exploration is a term used in our class as a time of day that students are working on something of interest but can be tied to anything we are learning in class. Some students made secret potions while others explored rocks and minerals.

Math looks quite different but centered around the same ideas. It starts with something to get their brains thinking. This is followed up by time working in centers, on an independent task or within a group. At the end of the lesson we consolidate our thinking and review any questions that came up or neat solutions/thinking.

To start the week off this week we went on a nature walked and explored the norms of being outside and what rules we need to follow. The students were then challenged to a listening walk where we listened carefully at the world around us. We went with the grade 1 gifted class and it was lots of fun exploring our school surroundings.

In math we watched a growth mindset video. It was explaining how we can always get better at math and need to keep challenging our brains. After this video the students went around for their first gallery walked and looked at the graphs their friends created. They were able to write comments that followed our discussion of "good comments" and left ideas, questions or suggestions. The students enjoyed hearing from others what they liked and how they could improve.

In science we started questioning what we already know about liquids and solids and what we would like to know more about. This will be revisited after our class trip as it will bring up lots of discussion points.

We ended the week finishing up unfinished work including our art that we will display at the open house. We drew a portrait of ourselves and established three goals we are working on. We are excited to share our class and our work with you soon.

We continue to talk a lot about the zones of regulation and this week we discussed which zone they find the hardest to come back to the green zone. These are great conversations in the class which also allow us to see the needs of others.

-Library will start next week and will take place on Mondays

-please return Friday folders each week on Monday

-Class trip is Wednesday please dress for the weather.

Week 2:

Starting up the year always takes some time however building a community is so important. It is great for everyone to feel apart of the class and for it to be a safe learning environment. We continued to go over rules and routines while also playing fun games where we can get to know one another. The students enjoyed ending their week with fun friday- it was loud but we sure had fun!

Language: In language the students have been learning about the different parts of literacy exploration- read to self, read to someone, word work, work on writing and listen to reading. Students have learned about where to find great resources for listen to reading and are always encouraged to try them at home. Students get the chance during the week to work with their friends on free choice writing but also have a must do activity where they write independently for 15 minutes a few times a week. At the end of the week their work is collected and get a star and a wish on their work (something they can work on). The goal is that the next time they return to writing they remember their goal. Their writing is in this weeks Friday folder. Please look it over, leave a comment on their Friday folder page included and return it on Tuesday.

Math: In math we have started with data management and organizing data. This is a great way to start the year as it also allows us to learn about the students in the class. Together we came up with a list of questions we would want to know about each-other and the students gathered their data and came up with a way to represent their data. At the end of the week students looked at their graphs and used the success criteria to determine if they had all the important parts of graphing. This checklist will help them set goals for their next graph.

Class Building: A fun activity we did this week was they had challenge in groups to create the longest paper chain that we will hang up when it is someones birthday. They were allowed one piece of paper, glue and scissors. Everyone in the group had a job and it was lovely to see how they helped one another. Teamwork and collaboration was very important in this activity to be successful. At the end of the week in exploration time some of the kids in the class got together to try to make the biggest chain. This will lead to more great conversation next week.

We have been talking a lot about the zones of regulation. At home it is helpful to use the same language about zones. Having your child identify their zone is a great start. Helping them talk through strategies that they can use to get back to the green zone is crucial. At this age it is important for students to be able to identify their feelings and what to do to get back to a "normal" state. Students this week made a brochure for what they feel like in each of the zones and what strategy they think is helpful for them.

Science: We are starting our unit soon on liquids and solids. I love seeing these ideas come up in our class before we even start. For example, two students in the class started making a potion and wondered why some of the berries sank and why others float. Another student brought in a rock collection. I loved just listening to their conversation as they discussed the formation of rocks. Liquids turning to solids right before our very eyes.

Reminders for the week:

-please remember to record on your calendar when their all about me presentation is

-send in a family photo

-Monday is a PA day

-Check out the homework section from last week.

-->Make a list of things your interested in learning more about for big projects and free choice writing tasks (parents please help support by filling out the below form) - easiest to print and return to class

--> Fill out the online parent survey. Click here for the link: https://forms.gle/GQEH88cnFi6xTG9z9

Week 1:

It has been an absolute pleasure getting to know your children this week! While we will be diving into curriculum soon- it is important that we take the time to get to know one another and make sure we know the rules and routines. We started the first day with the story "First Day Jitters" and discussed how we were all feeling when we arrived that morning. Feelings varied from excited to nervous but within no time everyone was feeling like they were in the right class. We toured around the school and the class and became familiar with our new surroundings. At nutrition break the students learned that they don't each have their own desk to sit at. Depending on what they are working on or what kind of mood they are in it is important that student have a choice in where they sit in the classroom. We have discussed often this week social versus learning spots. Students feel excited about getting to make their own choices and understand that this privilege will be changed if we are unable to make good choices. They did great this week. We played numerous name game activities to get to know one another. The students also worked with a partner and discovered things they had similar and different. We have displayed them in our class to learn fun facts about others! We practiced our reading and writing by ourselves and did a really fantastic job. Quiet writing is new to the students- their work will be going home this week after I read all their hard work. Please always remember to send their writing back to school. To help you remember their folders always say LEFT at home or RIGHT back to school.

Please check out this weeks homework in the homework section online for a helpful list of things to remember to complete.

Have a wonderful weekend and see you Monday!