November 6, 2017

November is well underway and it certainly does feel like November. The gray skies and the rain last week made it feel like autumn in a hurry!

Life is very busy at school in November. We take this time and all our energy and really focus on deepening our learning.


Some Housekeeping items:

  • It was great to chat with so many of you on interview night and over the past few weeks. Thank you for all the work you do with your children. Keep it up! Also, please consider volunteering in class at some point in the year. Your child will love it. You are the best “show and tell” ! Grandparents are welcome as well.
  • Book orders went home on Friday. If you would like your order kept “Top Secret”, just put the order in an envelope addressed to me and add a note indicating your wishes. Then, we can arrange pick up at the front office when the order comes in.
  • Please dress for the crazy and variable weather. It can be very cold and damp outside, especially in the mornings. Rubber boots are a great idea this time of year. As well, the St. Luke Schoolyard seems to always have a cold north wind blowing across it. I know it only too well with my daily 8:55am yard duty!
  • Home toys are allowed at school as long as they are safe toys to play with. These toys stay in the children’s backpacks during the day and only come out at recess. I am not able to monitor them in the yard so please consider carefully what you allow your child to bring to school. Mini hockey sticks are not allowed in the schoolyard.
  • Please continue to send in nutritious lunches and snacks so your child has healthy fuel for their growing body and mind.
  • Please consider coming to the Remembrance Day liturgy. The Grade 4 students do an absolutely amazing job bringing home the importance of remembrance, gratitude, and respect. Truly, it is a very beautiful and moving ceremony. It happens Friday November 10 at 10:45am


Academics:

  • We are bringing a major focus to our classroom on the theme of Peace. We are going to be focusing considerable energy on how we can bring peace to our classroom, schoolyard, home, and the world. We will be talking about the “warm fuzzies” and “cold nasties” as we consider how our words and actions impact those around us. We will be talking about looking at all the nice things people do for us and all the positive things that happen to us. We will be discussing how we need to bring happiness to others to be happy ourselves. Most importantly, we tie this into the theme of forgiveness. We need to ask forgiveness for mistakes we have made; we need to give forgiveness to others who have injured us; and we need to forgive ourselves for our mistakes because we are all learning and growing. Acting like Jesus is a challenge for all of us (at any age!)
  • This week, our primary division is participating in dance workshops with LUV2GROOVE. Our Grade 1 classes get 3 sessions focused on the Grade 1 curriculum (Arts) expectations. This is a great deal of fun and the students learn so much. Thank you to the St. Luke School Council for funding this opportunity for our students.
  • See the Grade One Team newsletter (posted here on November 3) for more information about academics!


Fun Math Games To Play At Home (and in the Car!)


One More, One Less

Player 1 calls out a number (and write it down if you can) and asks player 2 the questions, “what is 1 more? What is 1 less?).

You can increase the challenge by moving to 2 more, 2 less. You can increase the challenge by using bigger numbers.

Fix up all number reversals if they occur when printing.


Five And

Call out a number between 5 and 10. Student needs to respond “5 and _”

For example, you call out “8”. Your child responds, “5 and 3”.

You can up the challenge by changing this to “Ten And”. You call out a number between 10 and 20 and your child responds with “Ten and ___”.


Have a great week...we will.