Hello families! I trust this update finds you all well and refreshed from the winter break.

We have a few updates for this week:

Book Fair This week we have the book fair open to all students. Students can return books this week, but will not take out new books until next week. Students can bring money to school to shop during the week if they wish, or they can shop with families at the Book Fair until 3:30 on Wednesday and Friday after school. Please be sure to support our Library!

Kindness Month We have been reviewing all the characteristics within the Kindness pillar of our school matrix all month. This week we will be celebrating Pink Shirt Day on Wednesday with an assembly hosted by staff and students in Grade 4. 

Research project - The research project has come to an end for us, but we are going to continue exploring the effects of physical activity on our minds and bodies (connecting to both the Science and Physical Health and Wellbeing curriculum)

Math - With the 100th day of school behind us, we will continue to focus on numbers, but will concentrate on the concepts of more and fewer before launching our addition and subtraction units. 

Language Arts - We have started to focus on poetry and are working on formal printing practice. We have also started daily writing practice. Please encourage your child to show you their progress in their printing.  

Art - We tried to do a collaborative art project last week. Students were asked to create a simple image of a heart using oil pastels. Once complete, they were turned in to me, shuffled, and returned to the students. The beautiful thing about this project is that the students knew they were adding to someone else's art project. We learned how to think critically about the shapes and colours that would compliment and enhance the original heart drawing. The outcome was really cool! 

School drop off and pick up - We've been asked to share out the message regarding the use of the loop in front of our school. Thank you for your cooperation:

Please be aware that our front loop is inaccessible for student pick-up and drop-off during the time frames of 7:50 am to 8:10 am and 2:30 pm to 3:00 pm. Due to a rise in traffic within the loop, safety concerns have arisen for our walking students and those waiting to enter the building. Our front loop is for our buses, day care vans, and vehicles with special permission only during these times. To address this issue, we kindly request that you utilize 1st Avenue, Canals BLVD, and the Monklands parking lot for student pick-up and drop-off.

I believe that covers it all for the next couple of weeks. As always if you have questions, please reach out!

Carla Frei

Happy Groundhog Day!

My wish is that this update finds you all well and enjoying a break from the frigid temperatures. The students are really loving the milder temperatures and the ice.... and mud... as I'm sure you've noticed. We try hard to keep students away from the icy surfaces and puddles, but curiosity gets the better of them. Thank you for ensuring that they have proper footwear and clothing for these kind of days! An extra change of clothes in their backpacks is essential for those unexpected (or expected) falls in the mud.  On that note, our lost and found is completely over-flowing with gloves, mitts, hats, coats, snow pants, sweaters, water bottles, etc. If you know that your kids are missing something, and you have a few extra minutes, please come to the school to check it out with your child at drop off or pick up. Thank you!

Research project - As I noted in my earlier email this week, our class has been chosen as the intervention class for Ms. MacGregor's research project. The students are becoming more familiar with the routine by the day and are really working hard and some are even really intrigued by being part of a 'science' project! You may be noticing that your children are hungrier and have been needing a bit  more food for their snack/lunch over the last few days.  The project continues for one more week. Please remember to pack a water bottle for your child and maybe a little more in their lunch kits if necessary. 

Star Jar - the Star Jar was finally filled this week! The reward is a Video Game day. The students made suggestions on what type of reward they would like and we conducted a vote (Social Studies) to see what the majority decided. This will happen on Wednesday, February 7 . Students are allowed on this ONE day - WITH YOUR CONSENT ONLY - to bring a device to school. I have instructions on how to connect to wifi if needed. Students will have 30 minutes to play in the afternoon. If you are not comfortable with sending a device to school, I completely respect that, and will make an accomodation for your child to use one of our school iPads for letter, word or math games instead.  Some students have not yet brought in a headset to use at school. Please be sure to send one with your child if you are able. If you have any concerns or would prefer that your child does not bring a device from home, please let me know. 

Assessments - I'd like you to know that I am slowly getting caught up on updating PowerSchool with your child's marks. I apologize for not keeping up to date. You will see a fair amount of activity in the portal over the next week or two.

Math - The 100th day of school is fast approaching! I trust that you all received our letter with details about the day. Students will get to display their work for all of the Grade 1s to view in a 'gallery walk' through each classroom. I look forward to seeing each creation, but more importantly to seeing how your child improves in their counting and grouping skills to 100. 

Language Arts - We have started to work on developing our understanding or story, focusing mainly on how to retell a story that includes the main parts: character(s), setting, problem or adventure with a beginning, middle and end, and a conclusion/solution. If you are reading stories with your children, have them practice retelling, using the words in the picture provided.

Science and Physical Health and Wellbeing - since we find ourselves smack dab in the middle of a health and wellbeing type of research project, we'll be using this as a way to study the scientific method and the effects of these activities on the development of our physical literacy and ability to learn. It's pretty neat to hear the students talking about how they are feeling after they 'work out.'

Dates to remember:

• Feb. 7 - Video Game Day - our class reward, students can bring a device to school on this one special day.

• Feb. 14  - Best Dressed Day - wear your fancy clothes if you like for Valentine's Day.

• Feb. 15 - 100th Day of School - don't forget to bring an artifact that shows you know how to count to 100!

• Feb. 16 - No School - professional learning day for teachers

• Feb. 19-23 - No School this week, teachers are at convention.

• Feb. 28 - Pink Shirt Day - wear pink, whole school assembly

I believe that covers it all for the next couple of weeks. As always if you have questions, please reach out!
Carla Frei

Happy New Year families!

I hope that you all were able to enjoy some relaxing times over the holidays. Everyone seemed really refreshed upon their return to school this week!

That said, we still have a bug running through our class! Please remember to have conversations with your children about the importance of keeping hands clean and away from their face, using tissues for their noses, coughing into their sleeves, etc. And, I'll do my very best to remind them here of the same... and also to stay in their personal space and not bear hug or blow in the faces of their friends and try to keep things (pencils, fingers, sleeves), out of their mouths. Wish me luck! 😵‍💫 😄

Research project - Even though the school is closed today, the information meeting regarding our participation in the research project will go ahead via ZOOM. The in-person meeting has been rescheduled to Tuesday afternoon at 3 p.m. at the school. Click the link provided below to attend.

Sarah-Faye MacGregor is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.

Topic: Parent Meeting

Time: Jan 12, 2024 02:00 PM Edmonton

Join Zoom Meeting

https://ucalgary.zoom.us/j/93446303633 

Meeting ID: 934 4630 3633

Alien in-line Skating - We skate on Monday afternoon next week and on Tuesday morning the following week. Thank you to my parents who have volunteered to help get kids suited up! If your child has their own equipment, they are encouraged to bring it to school in a separate bag. Per my previous email, their helmet should have a certification safety sticker, such as CSA or CPSC. Here is the orientation video to share with your children if you get a moment over the weekend.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oXqdq-yR7tc

Math - We are continuing our focus on 2D and 3D shapes for another week and then launching into addition and subtraction and numbers to 100. Our 100th day of school will be celebrated on the last day of classes before February break. More information on this will be shared next month.

Language Arts - We have completed our study of all the letters of the alphabet and their sounds and will be turning our focus to review all short vowel sounds and introduce some new spelling patterns, including r,s,l blends (ex. br, cr, tr/ sn,st,sp/bl,cl,pl).  I have introduced some visual writing targets in the classroom for students to strive for in their writing practice. Over the coming weeks, I will be conferencing with them and helping them to set writing goals for themselves.  I am also completing some government issued assessments and organizing reading groups for small group instruction. Please continue to actively participate in our Home reading program. 

January concerts by the Grade 3s and 4s are happening at the end of this month.

Social Studies - We are wrapping up our conversations and comparisons about how different cultures celebrate their holidays and soon moving into how communities work; answering questions such as How do groups make decisions? What is a right? What is a responsibility?

Volunteering - I have set up a second round of dates through Sign Up Genius. We welcome helpers into our classroom Tuesday through Friday mornings.

I hope you all find a way to stay warm over the weekend. As always if you have questions, please reach out!
Carla Frei

Hello families!

It's hard to believe that we have already arrived at December!  What a whirlwind it has been this fall. 

!We have quite a bug running through our class. It would really be helpful to have conversations with your children about the importance of keeping hands clean and away from their face, using tissues for their noses, coughing into their sleeves, etc.  Thanks for your help with this!

There are quite a few updates for you:

We have a field trip to Bert Church High School this Friday to see their production of Beauty and the Beast.   Please take time to talk with your child about the importance of theatre etiquette. We will be there for the majority of the day and will be required to eat lunch in the theatre on our laps. PLEASE ENSURE THAT THEIR LUNCH IS SIMPLE AND EASY TO EAT (spill proof please!). They will be packing their garbage back in their lunch kits.

There will be lots to learn about and celebrate this month for Social Studies - Hanukkah (Dec 7 - 15), Winter Solstice (Dec 21), Christmas (Dec 25), Kwanzaa (Dec 26 – Jan 1). We'll be taking some time to share about our families traditions and celebrations over the next few weeks. If your child would like to share about what they celebrate (at this time of year, or any other), please ensure that they have a photo, artifact, or perhaps even a video that they could use to present to the class. We'll begin sharing toward the end of this week.  

 We are wrapping up our numbers to 20 work this week in Math and moving into Geometry very soon. 

We've started to work on journal writing now that we know many letters  and sounds (m,s,f,b,t,c,a,r,l,o,d,g,n,w,i,h,k). I'm completing some assessments for reading groups and will begin working with small groups as early as next week. If you see a shift in their home reading or RAZ kids assignments, this will be the reason.  

We've been conducting some Science experiments to learn about the scientific method and will soon move into discussions about winter (if it ever actually comes!).

Important dates:

December 18 - Grade 1 Winter Concert
(students arrive at 5:30, 6:00 program start) 

December 19 - Wear red and green 

December 20 - Wear holiday accessories 

December 21 - Ugly sweater day 

December 22 - Last Day before Winter Break

PJ Day + Christmas sing along + class party

I hope you all enjoy a great week.
Carla Frei

Hello families!

We had a an excellent Remembrance Day ceremony this morning.  Our students did very well to show their respect in honouring our veterans, service men and women.  

Please take a peek at our digital storybook that we wrote, written in the same style as the story, What Does Peace Feel Like? written by V. Radunsky.   What Does Peace Feel Like? by 1F  Watch it in slideshow mode for the full effect.

We also made diyas to show our learning about Diwali. They turned out beautifully and I hope they made it home safely! I also hope that the students could tell a bit about what the diya symbolizes.

Photo retakes are November 14.

I hope you all enjoy a lovely long weekend.
Carla Frei

Hello 1F families!

We had a wonderful kick off to our Read-A-Thon on Tuesday.  Everyone looked great in their costumes. I hope that you are all taking a few moments each day (or as often as you can) to read with your children. The home reading program is a great way to get started. Please be sure to return home reading bags each Monday to receive a new home reading package on Tuesdays. An additional note about our Library exchange...we return our Library books on Wednesdays and go to the Library to pick new books on Thursdays. Children must return all books (Home Reading or Library) in order to be able to take new ones home. 

This will be a short, yet busy week. Our school will be closed November 10th in honour of  Remembrance Day - Saturday, November 11. We'll read stories and learn about why we wear a poppy, while focusing on the concept of peace. Our school assembly is always so very well done. We are grateful to our committee of teachers for volunteering their time and effort to put together a meaningful ceremony for all of our students. 

Throughout the year, we spend time learning about the various traditions and celebrations of many cultures, particularly those that are observed by the students in our classroom community. This week, we will take some time to learn about Diwali. We'll have a short presentation about the traditions and celebrations that occur on this day - November 12. 

Photo retakes are November 14.

In Language Arts, students learned today about two reading strategies to use when trying to read independently: Lips the Fish and Eagle Eye. We also learned how to Read to Someone (part of our Daily 5 routine that includes Read to Self, Listen to Reading, Work on Writing and Word Work). Ask your child to explain all of these to you!  Reading to Someone allows for a pair of  readers to practice reading together. The Reader reads while the Listener offers coaching (strategies) or time (for the reader to figure out unknown words on their own) when there is an unknown word. They also must retell the part of the story that they heard. The reader then confirms if the retell is correct, thus co-constructing their comprehension of the story.

In Math, we are learning how to be a presenter of our work and to be a peer evaluator for others. Students are self-assessing too. 

REMINDERS: 

• Continue to have conversations with your children about keeping our hands to ourselves and to use kind words. We have many teachable moments here at school, and I thank you for your support with this message at home too! 

• With our ever-changing weather, students are peeling off their belongings and forgetting them outside at recess. We could use your help to set a routine of remembering all of their items. As we become more independent and responsible, students can learn to take good care of their things. Every little bit helps! Our lost and found is overflowing again with hats, mitts, etc.  If you know you are missing something, please let me know!

As always, please don't hesitate to contact me with concerns or questions. I hope you all have a great week.
Carla Frei

Hello parents!

We have a just a few things going on this week! Take a quick look.

Annual Read-A-Thon

The Read-A-Thon kicks off on Tuesday, October 31st. Students are encouraged to dress as their favourite book character (or in their Halloween Costume). Please find information on this fundraising event in your child's agenda Monday. Students can count reading minutes at school as well as at home. The class with the highest number of minutes of reading and the class that raises the most money gets to enjoy special time with our Principal and Assistant Principal!

On Tuesday, we will have a school-wide costume parade. We have made arrangements for students who do not celebrate Halloween to enjoy an alternate activity in our Library during this time. Please let me know if you wish for your child not to participate in the Halloween Parade.

Photo orders are due Monday, October 30 and retakes are November 14.

All lost and found items that have not been claimed by October 31st will be donated to charity. 

In Math, we are finishing up our patterning unit this week and moving on to Numbers to 20.

Our Language Arts activities continue as we add more lowercase letters and sounds to our repertoire. We will have covered the following by the end of this week:  m, s , f,  b , t , c , a, r, l, p, o, d, and g. We have also started to introduce sight words to our vocabulary and spelling too. We will start to learn some Reading Strategies too.

Remembrance Day is quickly approaching and we are preparing for our assembly on November 9th. Please help us to teach students about the nature and importance of November 11th and this assembly. Unlike other assemblies, we stress that students arrive to the gym and witness this sombre ceremony with respect and gratitude. 

A reminder to continue to have conversations with your children about keeping our hands to ourselves and to treat others with kind words and calm bodies. We have many teachable moments here at school and touch on this topic though our Personal Health and Wellbeing curriculum. Your assistance with developing these skills will transfer into the classroom and vice versa. 

As always, please contact me with concerns or questions! I hope you all have a great week.
Carla Frei

Hello parents!

I hope this update finds you all very well. We have been busily working on lots of things over the last two weeks and there are lots of events noted in this update.

Jersey Day - October 18th - wear your favourite team jersey!

The annual Book Fair is set for next week! Times are as follows:

Monday, October 23 - during class times and after school until 3:30 PM

Wednesday, October 25th - open during class times and from 4-7 PM

Thursday, October 26th - open after school only from 4-7 PM 

Note: Our Library time is Thursday and this allows time for students to view the book fair and make a wish list only. They will not be able to purchase during their Library visit this year as our Librarian is only working part-time hours. The flyer was sent home last week so students can see what will be available. If you cannot attend the fair on Wednesday or Thursday evening, and you wish to support our school library with a purchase, you may send money with your child on Monday or Wednesday only.  

Parent/Teacher Conferences - October 25 and 26 - 4-7 p.m.

Please be sure to book a time to meet with me on those dates through the conference manager - opens Monday. Our meeting times are only 10 minutes in length. If these dates do not work for you, or you feel we will need more time, please let me know and we can arrange an alternate date.

For Language Arts, we have been reviewing/learning letters, focusing mostly on lowercase printing and the letter sounds. We practice identifying where we hear them in words (beginning and end). In our spelling practice we have been getting really good at identifying those sounds and now that we have a vowel (letter a) to work with, we have started building words. Ask your children to show you how we do this. You will soon receive a note from me that shows your child's knowledge of letters and letter sounds, and where there is room for growth. Some extra practice at home will be really helpful to ensure your child's success in both reading and writing.

Our Home Reading program will start on Tuesday! Student will bring home a ziploc bag of books to read each night with your help. As we are just getting started, I am selecting books based on what I have witnessed in class of your child's readiness to read. If the books are too hard or too easy, please let me know and I can make adjustments. There will also be some 'decodable' passages included. Please work on these with your child and send back to me when complete. Book bags will be sent home every Tuesday and returned each Monday. An information letter will be included providing more detail about the program. 

We are also beginning to write in our writing journals. We are beginning to learn about sentences in our morning meetings and will start with formal instruction this week.

In Math, we have focused our attention on the big idea of cycles... what occurs in cycles? (day/night, our morning and school routines, days in a week, months in a year, etc). We are building our capacity to create and extend patterns and identify number patterns to help us learn to skip count.  We are also working on number printing and trying to correct those reversals - it is very age appropriate for children at this developmental age to reverse numbers and letters. Lots of practice and guidance to correct these errors early on will help. Have your children practice this at home with coloured pens, markers, chalk or even in a tray of sand! 

In Social Studies, we are starting to share about where our names come from. This is a really great opportunity for kids to build their speaking skills while sharing something uniquely special to them. We will continue to explore the various communities where we belong in the coming weeks (ie. cub scouts, girl guides, gymnastics club, sports teams, etc... organizations of any kind where we gather as a community).

Science is when we get to engage in experiences and experiments using our senses as we observe. This will continue to be our focus as we learn about the scientific method - conducting investigations, asking questions, gathering data, and forming conclusions. 

Our myBlueprint accounts will be set up beginning this week. This will be a way for you to view your child's work and see their growth throughout the year. My plan is to use this tool to capture your child's progress and develop their Student Competencies - specifically Personal Growth and Well-Being, Problem Solving, and Collaborator. You may have already received an invitation to access the program. Students will have some time with me to work on the program and become familiar with the  tools. You can expect a letter home with more information about it this week. 

A reminder to continue to have conversations with your children about keeping our hands to ourselves and to treat others with kind words and calm bodies. We have many teachable moments here at school and touch on this topic though our Personal Health and Wellbeing curriculum. Your assistance with developing these skills will transfer into the classroom and vice versa. 

As always, please contact me with concerns or questions! I hope you all have a great week.
Carla Frei

Hello fall and hello October!

It is already time to begin thinking about assessments entered in PowerSchool (coming this week), picture day, parent/teacher interviews and the annual book fair... all set to take place this month. Stay tuned for more info as it becomes available.

Your assistance is requested... September is the time to learn new routines, make new friendships, learn our classmate's names and build our independence to take care of our belongings. This takes a tremendous amount of practice and is a huge learning experience for students. Not to mention, having to adapt to full days at school and learning to navigate in a setting with new and unique personalities. With a full month to settle in, learn the class and school expectations, and make all of these adjustments, we are still having many occasions throughout the day where students are putting their hands on other children. Sometimes it is because they get carried away and are play fighting. Sometimes it is a hit or a shove when the other child isn't cooperating with them. Sometimes it is just, plain and simple, impulsivity.  We have talked many times about how we keep our hands to ourselves at school. We have read books about it and have had Mrs. Nisbet, the school CDA, come in to talk to us. I have let children know that if  they grow frustrated, they can try to handle it by holding up their hand and firmly saying, "Please stop." And if this does not work, the children know that they need to seek out an adult right away so that we can help support them to talk to the person they are frustrated with. I take the safety of your children very seriously and am doing all that I can with the resources that are available to me to ensure that we are building a safe and caring community together. Please talk with your child about the importance of keeping their hands to themselves, both in play and in frustration. Your assistance on this matter is greatly appreciated.  🙂

Class Photo Day is Thursday!

Volunteers - We are using Sign Up Genius to organize volunteers in 1F for classroom prep and reading time. If you are interested in volunteering in the classroom, please ensure that you have a current criminal record check on file at the office prior to signing up. You will have received the invitation via email to sign up on October 2nd. Here is the link to sign up if the email did not reach you: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/5080548ABA623A4F49-44859022-parent 

 The Star Jar - The students have earned their first class reward! They will enjoy a candy treat today - Rockets! Later, we'll work for rewards such as extra recess time, game day, PJ day, movie day, etc. **If your child has any food sensitivities or treats that they cannot consume (ie., gluten, gelatin, etc.), please advise.

We have introduced Discovery Centres each morning to help us ease in to our day. These centres provide students play-based opportunities to work on literacy and numeracy skills as well as their fine motor and social skills. 

 In Language Arts, we will have learned (or reviewed) and printed the letters m, s, f, b, t, c, and a by the end of this week. We have focused on rhyming, identifying initial and end sounds of words, practiced segmenting and blending syllables, and much more. We are building our sight word vocabulary: is, the, you and practicing our spelling using the sounds we hear. With the introduction of letter a, we will start making words. We are learning the behaviours required to prepare for reading independently. Ask your child what the 3 ways are to read a book and how to do Read to Self!  

In Math, we are using the calendar to help us with counting forward and back to and from 20, remember the cycle of the days of the week and months of the year.  We are working at recognizing and representing numbers using tally marks, pictures, and place value (ones and tens); we are also trying hard to perfect our printing skills to eliminate the tendency of printing numbers backwards. We launch the pattern unit this week.

Our focus in Social Studies has varied a lot in September. We have honoured the legacy of Terry Fox with our run two weeks ago, and Truth and Reconciliation day with our orange shirts and story walk last Thursday. We continue to explore what makes our family special this week. We'll continue to explore how we are connected to our families and our communities.

The 5 Senses and the seasonal changes in Fall have been our focus in Science. We are learning how to engage in a sit spot as we try to really connect to the world around us through our senses.  

As always, please reach out with any concerns or questions.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Sincerely,
Carla Frei

Hello "Great One" students and families! Welcome to a new and exciting year in 1F! 

I trust that this first update finds you all well and a little more settled into our school routine. I know I am grateful to have the routine back!  You will have noticed that your child brought home their agenda this week. Please check it for a copy of my Welcome Letter. I've posted it on this page as well for those who may not have access to your child's agenda this weekend. 

We had a great few days together already. We're busy getting to know each other and learning our routines and expectations for the classroom. We're going to really focus on the student skills of lining up, raising our hands, and maintaining our personal space, while developing our ability to identify problems in the class and use our verbal communication skills to figure them out.  I believe that Grade 1 is all about learning to be independent and already, I'm really pleased to see so many students who are self starters, helpers, and doers. They've already shown me that they can do so many things on their own, some of which include:

• doing up their coats and shoes

• managing to open their snacks/lunches

• cleaning up after themselves

• keeping track of their belongings

• hanging up their coats and zipping up their backpacks

• showing kindness to each other and to our classroom environments

I'm really excited to build this community of learners and I'd like to ask for your help with two things this week:

1. Please make sure that your children know the date of their birthday this year (Month/date).  We'll be starting this week by recognizing our birthdays and we'll be making our own visual birthday chart. You can write this info in their Agenda!

2. Please send in a photo of your family/families. We'd like to get to know each other a little better, and we'll start with making a picture wall. If you would like to send one in the pocket of their Agenda that would be ideal. If you only have digital photos, feel free to email them to me and I will print them off.

I also will welcome volunteers in our community this year. Please stay tuned for an invitation to Sign Up Genius in October. 

There are some things that I need to bring to your attention on behalf of the office: 

• Please take a moment today to complete the Annual Authorizations & Demographic forms for your child. If you have not yet completed them, log into your Parent Portal at https://ps.rockyview.ab.ca/public scroll down the left side and click on the School Engage icon. In there you will see a notification about incomplete forms. If you need a password reset, please email the office mccall@rockyview.ab.ca

• Attendance: Please report all student absences using the SafeArrival system: https://mccall.rockyview.ab.ca/new-safearrival-process-starting-april-25-2022  

• UPDATED: Medication at School: Parents of students who require assistance with medication at school will need to speak with Administration to discuss the particulars and fill out the appropriate forms. 

I believe that is it for now. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me via email at cfrei@rockyview.ab.ca I'll do my best to get back to you as quickly as I can.

Sincerely,
Carla Frei