Div.4

Ms. Miller's Class

Kindergarten and Grade One

Lochside Elementary School

Welcome

Our class websites a place to find important classroom information as well as share and document our learning together at school. Please check back often for updates.

Weekly Update: October 12 - 16

This past week has been focused on gratitude, with the children taking part in sharing ideas, listening to stories, and creating fall garlands of gratitude to take home. We hope that everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend!

This week, we will continue to work through our letter sound practice and review, learn about apples and pumpkins in science (please send in 1 apple on Tuesday), as well as start a new weekly activity called math studio. During this time, the students will be exploring and building their number sense through hands on math activities and play-based learning.

Looking ahead:

Monday:

Thanksgiving Holiday (no school today)

Tuesday:

Science: APPLE DAY! Please send in 1 apple as we will be using them for science observations, experiments, and making applesauce today.
Gym: practicing different movements and balancing activities
Buddies with Mr. O'Connor's Class: we will be learning about The Salish Weave art collection that is visiting our school.

Wednesday:

All library books due today. This helps Ms. Unger prepare for tomorrow's book exchange.
Math Studio: focus on number sense and subitizing
"We Thinkers" Program with our school counselor, Mrs. Fedrigo. A parent letter will come home each week with our focus topic and ways to extend at home.

Thursday:

Library book exchange
Outdoor learning: what are you thankful for in nature?
Musical math and practice recognizing and showing numbers in different ways.

Friday:

Story workshop: what makes an interesting story setting?
Music with Mrs. Alexander
Fun Lunch (sushi)

Watercolour Giraffes

Our art this week was inspired by Author and illustrator Catherine Rayner and her sweet story about a funny dog called Smelly Louie. In this story, Louie the dog travels around the neighbourhood trying to recreate his signature smell after having to have a bath (the worst). Catherine Rayner uses watercolours and different techniques that really showcase the splatters and sensations of texture in her books. You can almost smell and feel the water drops, bugs, and clouds in her pictures. We tried to recreate this style with our watercolour giraffes.

Take a closer look at all of our art projects in our online art gallery HERE.

Weekly Update: October 5 - 9

We have a wonderful week ahead planned as we continue to build our number sense through math exploration, review our letter sounds, and learn about harvest time on the farm.

This week we will also take some time to think, draw, and write about what and who we are thankful for, as we lead up to Thanksgiving. On that note, our annual K/1 fun run - The Turkey Trot is this Friday! This is always a fun activity the week before Thanksgiving.

We have now had a few rainy days here at Lochside, which have given us a chance to practice using our outdoor gear. If you haven't already, please send in labelled rain pants, a rain coat, extra clothes, and any other gear you think will help your child feel comfortable as we do go outside rain or shine. Thank you for your help with this!

We will be wrapping up our "All About Me" bags and sending them home this week. The students have thoroughly enjoyed sharing about themselves and learning about their classmates! If you did not send in a family photo with your child's bag, please email me one (or two) and I will print them for our family wall in the classroom.

Looking ahead:

Monday:

Family reading (8:45-9:00): family members are welcome to come and join us for a shared reading time to start the day
Discussion: how can we take care of our school tools?
Special art card project (coming soon at Lochside)

Tuesday:

Science and Socials: learning about harvest time on the farm
Gym: playing cooperative games

Wednesday:

All library books due today. This helps Ms. Unger prepare for tomorrow's book exchange.
Letter sound practice and review continues
Art and literacy: creating gratitude garlands

Thursday:

Library book exchange
Outdoor learning: drawing and writing about what we notice when we are in nature.
Musical math and practice recognizing and showing mumbers in different ways.

Friday:

Gratitude Journals: What are you thankful for today?
Music with Mrs. Alexander
'Turkey Trot' fun run!

Our Class Hive

We have been busy bees in Div. 4, learning about each other through our 'all about me' bags, and building our classroom community. Last week we read stories and learned how we can work as a team to help each other, do important jobs, and take care of our community. For this art project, we created our own little bees and practiced using our scissor, glue and assembling skills.

Take a closer look at all of our busy bees in our online art gallery HERE.

Weekly Update: September 28 - October 2

After two full weeks of school together, our classroom community is coming together nicely as the students build routines and enjoy learning and playing together. I hope that many of you were able to attend the family picnic/open house on Thursday, and have your children share their new classroom with you!

We have a busy and short week coming up. Tuesday is Orange Shirt Day, and as we reflect on the challenging history and reality of residential schools, our class discussions will be on how schools should ALWAYS be a safe, caring, and welcoming place to be and learn. Every child matters, and should feel welcome at school. Students are invited to wear an orange shirt or an orange piece of clothing to school on this day.

We are also proud to support the Terry Fox Foundation with its ongoing work to fund cancer research. Your child may bring in a toonie to support this important cause. I have included a video selection to click on if you would like to share it as a family. Our Terry Fox Run will be on Thursday from 1:00-1:20 on the field. You may come to participate or watch and cheer on our runners!

With wet weather on the horizon, this is a gentle reminder to please send in rain gear for your child to keep at school. We will be going out rain or shine, so rain pants, a rain jacket, boots, and extra clothes that can be kept at school to make for successful outdoor adventures.

Looking ahead:

Monday:

Family reading (8:45-9:00): family members are welcome to come and join us for a shared reading time to start the day
Literacy: reviewing sounds/letters
Class Discussion: What makes you feel safe and happy at school?
Orange Shirt Day: reading Phyllis's Orange Shirt by Phyllis Webstad and special school-wide project
"All About Me" bags continue to be shared and sent home

Tuesday:

Orange Shirt Day: wear orange in support of Truth and Reconciliation
Gym:

Wednesday:

National Day of Truth and Reconciliation (no school). See below for more information.

Thursday:

Library book exchange / Library books are DUE
Visual Journals: When was a time you showed courage like Terry Fox?
Terry Fox Run, 1-1:20 on the main field. Families are welcome!

Friday:

Individual photo day
Story workshop: exploring number quantities through story play
Fun lunch
Music with Mrs. Alexander

Artwork by Cheyenne Large

Orange Shirt Day and the National Day of Truth and Reconciliation

All this week, we are taking time to recognize and learn about the children, families, and Indigenous communities affected by residential schools. Together, we will be reading stories and sharing our ideas about the rights of every child that comes to school to feel safe, cared for, and able to have their culture, language, and individuality honoured. Every child matters and has a right to this.

As a school, we are encouraging students to wear orange on Tuesday, September 29th. To learn more about this, and read the story of Phyllis and her orange shirt, please visit the official website, here.

The South Island Powwow is being held at Royal Athletic Park on Wednesday, September 30, for families that wish to attend. "The annual South Island Powwow is an opportunity to recognize Survivors and their families in the spirit of reconciliation. Through song and dance, we will celebrate traditional Indigenous cultures and resiliency." For more information click here.

Eric Carle Inspired Sunflowers

Our courtyard garden is bursting with life after a summer of growing! We were amazed to see just how tall our sunflowers have grown. Some of them were reaching all the way to the roof! Today we practiced 'looking and sketching like scientists, noticing all of the details in the plants and insects in the garden. In art, we connected our thinking to the story of the Tiny Seed, by Eric Carle, and his signature art style of painted paper and collage.

Take a closer look at all of sunflowers in our online art gallery HERE.

Weekly Update: September 21 - 25

Our first full week together is complete, and we are off to a great start in Div. 4! This week we will continue to spend lots of time getting to know each other, building routines, and meeting other important learning partners in our school. This includes our class educational assistants (see HERE), teacher librarian (Mrs. Molloy), library technician (Ms. Unger), French teacher (Mme Cannady), music teacher (Mrs. Alexander), and other important people in our learning community.

Thank you to everyone for sending in your forms and 'getting to know your child' information. This is always so helpful as I get to know all of the students. Please send the forms back at your earliest convenience along with rain pants and an extra pair of clothes (in a labeled bag) for your child to keep in their cubby.

To help everyone stay informed, I usually email out a weekly update every Friday, with information about the week ahead. Art posts and project work often go up on our website during the week as well, so feel free to bookmark this page to stay in the classroom loop!

Looking ahead:

Monday:

Printing practice and letter sound review
"All About Me" bags continue to be shared and sent home.
Class hive art project

Tuesday:

French with Mme Cannady
Heading outside to play around with a special name project with our big buddies in Mr. O'Connor's class.
Math focus: representing numbers BIG and small in different ways

Wednesday:

Discussion topic: What makes our class a safe and happy community?
Music with Mrs. Alexander

Thursday:

First library visit with Ms. Unger. Two books can be taken out each Thursday and returned the following Wednesday into our library basket. The library is providing a large plastic library bag to use in your child's backpack on library days to keep their books clean and dry.
Outdoor Learning 'Beyond the Fence"
Welcome back school picnic and open house (5:00-7:00). I will be in our classroom between 5-5:30 with our outside door open if you would like to come by with your child and have a look around and say hello.

Friday:

Non-Instructional day (no school for students)

International Dot Day

For International Dot Day, we read 'The Dot', by Peter H. Reynolds. The book shares the story of a girl who is encouraged to try something new and take a leap after she is challenged to “make her mark.” During this art activity we practiced trying something new, being brave, and using encouraging and uplifting words with each other and ourselves.

Take a closer look at all of our dot day art in our online art gallery HERE.

Welcome to Division 4!

It has been wonderful meeting each of the new and familiar friends in our class, and I look forward to getting to know all of our families better over the coming months. I know that the year ahead holds great opportunities to learn and discover through play, exploration, and experiences together.

In your child's backpack you will find a few items sent home in their home/school bag. We will be using this bag throughout the year to hold any communication or items that need to go between school and home, including permission forms, notes, home reading, and other information. You will also see a welcome letter, a 'getting to know your child' letter to fill out and send back, and an 'all about me bag' to work on together and bring back to school next week. Welcome to Grade 1 and Kindergarten!

School Supplies

This year our Kindergarten and Grade 1 teachers are ordering supplies for students, as we are striving to make getting school supplies easier and more affordable for families. This will include everyday tools and supplies for each student.

If you haven't already done so, please follow this link (click HERE) for an option to pay online, or send a cheque for $50 made out to SD63 to cover this cost. I have all of the supplies ready to go for the students in our class already, so I hope this makes things easier. ** If you prefer to buy your child's school supplies, please check in with me and I will give you a Kindergarten or Grade 1 supply list.

Your child will also need to bring a pair of indoor shoes to school next week labeled with their name. These shoes are used for gym time as well so they need to be appropriate for running. Please send velcro or slip-on shoes in if your child is still learning to tie their laces so that they can be independent in changing their shoes at school. A big thank you in advance!

2025 -2026 School Year Information

Welcome Back!

I hope that everyone enjoyed a wonderful summer! I look forward to hearing all about it when the children return to school this week. The first few days of school are often full of feelings of excitement, nervousness, and anticipation. Here is what to expect this week to help you talk through the transition back to school with your child:

Tuesday:

The first day of school will only be from 8:40 - 10:15.
All enrolling students return and go to their classroom from last year. This gives us a chance to check in with families, take attendance, enroll new students, and help make up our new classes. What that means for our class is that I will see you at 8:40 at our usual lineup spot outside our classroom door. We will have a chance to check in, play together, and share about our summer holidays. We will not have a scheduled snack time, but you may wish to pack a pocket snack and water bottle for your child in case they get hungry. I can't wait to see all of your bright smiles!
Buses will be running on schedule

Wednesday - Friday:

Regular school hours for Grades 1-5, 8:40 - 2:48. Drop-off and pick-up at our classroom door as usual. We will be sharing when students are moving to their new classrooms as soon as possible on both our class page and through the school email. In the meantime, please send your child with snacks, a lunch, and a water bottle. Please do not bring in school supplies until Friday.

More information on the first week back to school can be found on our school website. Families, you will be notified of schedule changes through your school contact email and on the Lochside website. I will update our class website each day this week by 4pm as well. As always, do not hesitate to connect with me if you have any questions.

Classroom Archives

If you are looking for past information from the 2025/2026 classroom, you will be able to access it in the classroom archives next week. Have a great start to the new school year, and don't forget to come by and say hello every once and awhile! I can't wait to see and hear about all of the exciting things you will be doing in Grade 2!

~ Love, Ms. Miller

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