Hello Families and Happy Thanksgiving!

Assessment folders were sent home on Friday with your child's interim report. This checklist focuses on student engagement and behaviour on the front, and your child's photo and self-assessment on the back. I also included some work completed by your child and an alphabet letter and sound review sheet for some students. This report does not go in your child's file, it is merely a check-in for the beginning of the year. Please return the folder to school and see me if you have any questions or concerns. There is also a feedback paper in your child's folder should you wish to use it.

Grade 1 is a big year for students' learning progress as students begin to learn to read and write independently. It is amazing to see how far they will go and how much they will learn in a year! It is important that as a first step to this end, that students know their alphabet letter names and their associated sounds (this is a Kindergarten Learning Standard). We appreciate parent help with this as we work together as a team to support your child's learning!

What can you do?

• Read with your child daily
  • Children are given the opportunity and reminded to change their home reading books daily. At this stage it is important for your child to point to the words as they say them and use the picture clues. Repeated readings are good! While these books are small, they are hard work when they are being read for the first time!
  • Get books from the library that your child is interested in reading and read to your child every day.
• Play with words
  • While driving in the car, have your child play "I Spy" with you and look for items that start with a certain letter.
  • Give your child a clipboard and blank paper and get them to write down your grocery list while you are cooking dinner. (beginning letters/pictures) Children also like to design menus...give them a grocery flier and some scissors to cut out and glue pictures onto a page and label.
  • Write a short letter/card/email together to a family member or friend. I used to give my children the names of our direct family members on index cards, punched a hole and put them on a metal ring so that they could use those names in their writing.
  • Print out some alphabet flash cards and alphabet picture cards (try here: https://www.thesprucecrafts.com/free-printable-alphabet-flash-cards-1356957) and play matching games.
  • Play hangman (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ywzCUesB61s)
  • More games here to use with alphabet flash cards or paper/pencil : https://www.activityvillage.co.uk/alphabet-games
• Online games and resources - Go to abcya.com and select grade 1, then select letters to access a wide variety of word games. Go to https://www.education.com/worksheets/recognizing-letters/ for dot to dots, worksheets, colouring sheets etc.

Field trip to Francis King Park with Ms. Radsma is this Wednesday morning. Thank you to all of the parent helpers who volunteered to come and help. We will have another field trip to Goldstream Park in a couple of weeks for those who were not able to come this time. Thank you for your understanding. Please fill out the online consent form ASAP.

If you haven't yet, please send in a family photo 4x6 size. If it is easier, you may email it to me at gwalker@sd62.bc.ca

Thank you!