Ms. Miller's Class

Grade One

Lochside Elementary School

Welcome

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

Spring Poems

This week's inspiration was the change of seasons and beautiful spring weather. Everything around is beginning to grow and bloom. This art project had students practicing 'Y' trees with ink and oil pastel. We added some fine motor practice with tissue paper blossoms and a blustery chalk sky. After brainstorming what we notice during the spring, the kids created their own list of phrases to make up poems to add to their artwork.

Take a look at all of our spring trees and poems in our art gallery, found HERE.

Weekly Update: April 29 - May 3

This week we enjoyed exploring different storytelling methods, with a  focus on remembering story events and details. We did this during story workshop, through play, drawing and writing. We also practiced noticing story events by creating storyboards for a short film called, 'A Fox and a Mouse.' The kids loved this activity, and asked to share the video clip at home (you can find it HERE). 


Looking ahead, we will be learning about the changes that occur during the seasonal change from winter to spring. In math, our focus continues to be on building math strategies for subtraction, through morning math exploration and strategy practice. 

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Weekly Update: April 22 - 26

This week we enjoyed practicing subtraction strategies through games and activities, learning about animals in Africa, and heading out beyond the fence to practice storytelling. 


One of the oral storytelling strategies we tried this week was using story ropes (small ropes with 4 knots in them) to help us remember the parts of the story. Each knot in the rope represented an event or detail. The students loved the challenge of working together with a friend to remember as many details from the story as they could. 

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Shape Lions

This week we put all of our knowledge about lines and 2-D shapes to good use, creating shape lions! For this project we used many of the shapes we learned about and have been practicing. Can you spot them all?

Take a look at shape lions in our class art gallery, found HERE.

Weekly Update: April 15 - 19

The children were so excited to share their literacy work with their big buddies and explore the literacy fair on Tuesday. Thank you to all of the families that were able to make it in. 


We are also excited to have Bear Horne, our artist in residence, join us at Lochside school on Tuesdays and Thursdays to carve a Welcome Pole for our school. He had his first day carving at the school yesterday, and students will have the opportunity to observe and learn about the carving process over the next few months.

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Weekly Update: April 8 - 12

This week we are looking forward to our very first Lochside literacy fair. Students around the school have been having fun and working hard to share their literacy learning through poetry, creative writing, story workshop, and more. In our class we will be showcasing our 'if I went to space' writing outside our classroom, and our 'how to' books on a table in the gym. The kids have been so engaged and excited during this project, as they share their expertise with others through step by step guides. We hope you can join us at the Literacy Fair on Tuesday!

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Lochside Literacy Fair

Lochside is having its first ever school-wide literacy fair on Tuesday, April 9th. The fair is open to families from 2:48 -4:00pm. Come on by and walk through the hallways and gymnasium to see different examples of ongoing literacy projects from Kindergarten to Grade 5. We will be showcasing our 'if I went to space' writing outside our classroom, as well as our 'how to' books, which will be on display in the gym. We hope to see you there!

Weekly Update: April 1 - 5

Welcome back! I hope that everyone enjoyed the spring break holiday.  I can't wait to hear about all of your spring break adventures and stories! At the start of the break, all rain gear, extra clothes, and too small shoes were sent home for a refresh and a good wash. Please send in an extra pair of clothes/socks/underwear in a labelled bag, and LABELLED rain pants for our outdoor adventures. I have quite a few unlabelled pairs set aside in the class, so if your child is missing their set, come on in and have a look. Hopefully we won't need them too much longer!


This week we will be working on our 'how to' book projects. The children have each chosen an area of interest or expertise, and are making guides to share with others. If you haven't already sent in a picture of your child participating in their activity of choice, you are welcome to email it to me. I will be printing them off for the students to use in their books. We are looking forward to sharing this project as part of the upcoming Lochside Literacy Fair, on Tuesday, April 9th (2:48 - 4:00pm). For this event, families will be welcome to walk around the school and view different examples of student literacy.

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Happy Spring Break!

Spring break is here, and hopefully with it some sunshine and nice weather to enjoy over the next couple of weeks! 


Report cards have now been sent home for term 2. I hope you enjoyed reading about how your child is doing and their next steps as learners. It's hard to believe we are entering our final term of Grade 1!


If you are looking for ways to stay active with your child's learning, I encourage the students to keep on reading everyday for at least 15 minutes. The student's brought home their decodable readers this week to help with this. These paper booklets can now be kept at home as reading practice, in combination with their favourite books and home reading folder. Keeping a spring break journal is another way to stay active as a learner and build writing skills. If students would like to share their journals when they return from spring break, they are welcome to bring it in to show the class.


Wishing everyone a relaxing, safe, and enjoyable Spring Break!

Weekly Update: March 11 - 15

Wow! I can't believe it is the last week of second term! The children have been working so hard and have shown great progress in their learning. On Thursday, second term report cards will be going home. Please keep the report and send the envelope back to school on Friday to be reused for the final term. Please see information below regarding the proficiency scale and core competency self-assessment. 


This week we are starting our 'how to' writing project. Students are going to choose their own topic in an area that they feel they are an expert in, and create a step-by step guide to share with others. Over the weekend, please talk to your child about what they would like to do. Some ideas include how to make  hot chocolate, how to ride a bike, and how to tightrope walk. If you are able to, please email in a picture of your child doing the activity of their choice so that they can include it in their finished booklet.


This week we will also be focused on wrapping up our learning about space and geometry.  We will also be celebrating all of our hard work with a class party on Friday! Students are invited to bring in a small container of cut-up fruit or berries, and we will be enjoying a "friendship fruit salad" together as a class. 


I will be sending home a "spring break journal" for your child to work on over spring break. This is optional, however, many of the children have become very enthusiastic writers and it is a great way to continue to build skills over spring break. If your child chooses to work on it, they are welcome to bring it in after spring break to share with their friends!

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Ramadan Mubarak

This week, many of our Lochside families and students began to observe Ramadan. Our class will be learning about what this means for people of Islamic faith through sharing, stories,  and music. Ramadan Mubarak to our Lochside community! We hope this Holy month brings you peace, joy, and many blessings. 

Rocket Ship Project

This week we have been working on our applied design skills to create our own rocket ships. The kids began this project by learning about space exploration and then designing their own plans. Later this week they brought their plans to life, making cones and cylinders, and using cardboard, paper, tinfoil, bits and bobs, and a whole lot of tape and glue!

Take a look at rocket ships in real life when they come home today, or in our class art gallery, found HERE.

Report Card Information

Term 2 report cards will be coming home next week with information about your child's progress at school.  As some of the language used in report cards has changed recently, please see the image to the left explaining the proficiency scale. It shows the progression from emerging understanding to extending, and what that may sound like on your child's report card. Looking through the report card with your child is a great opportunity to celebrate their learning this term, and talk about how they can work towards their next steps as a learner. 


Each term you will also find your child's core competency assessment, focusing on one of the three areas: personal/social, communication, and thinking. This term we focused on communication skills, and the students wrote and drew pictures showing how they communicate, and goals for improving their communication skills. These are the student's self reflections, so I encourage you as parents to talk through with them why they wrote what they did, talk about steps to take, and brainstorm ways to support them in their goals.

Weekly Update: March 4 - 8

This week is all about space travel, 3D shapes, and applied design. We will be using our growing knowledge and skills to design rocket ships, and implement these designs as we create our own models. To help with this process, please feel free to send in materials that your child might find useful (or like to share). This can include paper towel rolls, clean milk or juice containers, silver duct tape, tinfoil, bits and bobs that look 'spacey', or small pieces of cardboard that can be cut down to size as needed. Thank you for your help with this project!


Please see your child's backpack for a permission letter regarding an ongoing learning opportunity for our class. If you are open to participating, please return your signed form next week. All of the details can be found in the letter (view HERE), but please do not hesitate to reach out if you have any questions.

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Heart Art

Today we talked about the people, places, and things that we cherish in our hearts. After reading the book, 'My Heart Fills with Happiness,' by Monique Gray Smith, with spent some time sharing about what fills our hearts with happiness. This was such a joyful and love-filled activity for everyone!

Take a look at a full size picture of our heart art at our open house on Thursday, and in our class art gallery, found HERE.

Weekly Update: February 26 - March 1

This week we are looking forward to our student-led open house on Thursday afternoon. The students are so excited to share their learning with families! We are also starting our rocket ship design projects this week. If you are able to save and clean any tall milk or juice cartons, paper towel rolls, and pieces of cardboard cut to 8" x 10" or smaller,  we will be collecting them at school the following week.

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Sharing kindness words and actions with our spirit bear,  ȾÁLE 

Weekly Update: February 19 - 23

Our focus this month is on kindness, and this week we will continue to read stories, share ideas, and practice the behaviours of being a kind and caring friend. This week we will also continue our math exploration of shapes as we learn about 3D shapes. Where do you see 2D and 3D shapes in the world around you?


It's hard to believe, but Thursday is already our 100th day of school this year! Students are invited to bring in a collection of 100 items to share and compare. This could be anything from a ziploc bag of pennies, to a jar of marshmallows, to a poster with 100 stars drawn like the night sky! You are welcome to send your child's collection in anytime this week so we can display it in our classroom as part of our math discussions. I will send them home at the end of the month.

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Coming up:

*February 29th: we will be having an open house on Thursday, February 29th as an opportunity for students to share their ongoing learning with their families. 

Valentine Animals

To celebrate Valentine's day we started off with a simple directed drawing to create a Valentine animal of their choice.  When doing directed drawings, the children are actively working on following directions, orientation, directionality, and creating lines and shapes. We have fun during the process, flipping and rotating our pages to draw new lines and shapes. They are always so proud of learning to draw something new!

 Take a look at the rest of our valentine animals in our class art gallery, found HERE.

Weekly Update: February 12 - 16

Happy Lunar New Year to all of our Lochside families celebrating this special holiday. On Monday, we will be learning about Lunar New Year Celebrations and hearing from some of our classmates who wish to share about how they are celebrating this year. Check out our art post below for some of our dragon art inspired by the Chinese legend of Nian.

This week we also have our buddy skating trip to look forward to on Monday afternoon. Parent volunteers are VERY welcome to meet us there at 12:45 and help tie skates, skate with us (if you like), watch, and help out. If you plan to take your child home directly from the rink, please email me to let me know so that they can bring their backpack with them on the bus.

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Buddy Skating Trip

On Monday (February 12th) we are going on our Buddy Skating Trip with Ms. Norris' class. Last week we read 'The Smart Cookie' in class, and talked about how we all have things we feel really good at, things that are a challenge, and new things we want to try. With many beginning skaters, the timing of this discussion was great! If your child is new to skating or worried about what to expect, you can watch quick videos here and here to help them prepare.

Happy Lunar New Year

Wishing all of our Lochside community celebrating the Lunar New Year a year of  good luck and prosperity! 

过年好

Dragon Art

As we near the Lunar New Year, we have been learning different stories and traditions to do with new year celebrations. Today we heard the story of Nian, and created our own dragons using our growing understanding of shapes. We learned that the colour red, fireworks, and loud noises scared the dragon away, so we were sure to include our own fireworks in the sky!

 Take a look at the rest of our dragons in our class art gallery, found HERE.

Weekly Update: February 5 - 9

We have had a fantastic time this week, learning about space, going to the Centre of the Universe, and ending the week with a special visit from the Maple Man! During his visit, we learned about traditional and modern maple syrup making, French Canadian traditions and music, learned how to play the spoons, and even tried some fresh maple taffy!

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Primary Winter Concert

Our primary students are very excited for our winter concert. This year's theme is 'Arctic Animal Antics', featuring songs about different polar animals. Here are some things to note:

Weekly Update: January 29 - February 2

This week we will continue our learning around space and the night sky, math shapes, and 'ck' endings in literacy. In science, our focus will be all about stars, and specifically, our sun. We are looking forward to our rescheduled fieldtrip to the Centre of the Universe, this Thursday! Our hosts have let us know that while it is nice an warm in the Observatory Learning Centre, it is very cold in the Plaskett Telescope Dome, which we will be exploring as well. Please dress appropriately in warm layers that can be adjusted as needed. For parent volunteers, we will be meeting at either the bus in front of the school at 12:05, or in the observatory parking lot at 12:20 . Thank you for joining us! If you are looking for more information about the Observatory, take a look at their website HERE.

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Moonbots

This week we have been learning all about the moon, including the moon phases, role in our solar system, and interesting moon facts. We had a little fun today creating imaginative moonbots in art class. For this project, we practiced planning and designing our creatures, then forming the moon, craters, and characters with plasticine.

 Take a look at the rest of our moonbots in our class art gallery, found HERE.

Weekly Update: January 22 - 26

This week will be a bit of a repeat of last weeks plan, after our unexpected snow day and school closure days. Our focus topics include thinking and learning about the moon, exploring shapes in math, and working on our songs for the upcoming winter concert on  January 30th.

As you know, we had to reschedule our field trip to the Center of the Universe for Thursday, February 1. A new form will be sent home next week to sign and return. If you already paid or volunteered to join us, I have made a note of it, so no need to worry. If you are no longer able to join us, that is not a problem, just let me know.  We have lots of volunteers signed up for this exciting trip!

This Friday is National Family Literacy Day! The theme is, "Let's have a party," and families are welcome to join us for a school-wide morning read-in from 8:50-9:15. Students are invited to dress up as their favourite book character (no weapons or masks please). We will begin in the classroom to take attendance, and then students and families are welcome to find a cozy spot to read around the school.

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School Closures this Week

UPDATE: the school water line has been repaired and school will be back in session tomorrow on Thursday, January 18!

This week has certainly had its share of the unexpected! An Arctic cold snap, a burst main water line into the school, and now snow in the forecast has resulted in temporary school closures.  Please check your emails for regular updates from the school regarding when we can safely reopen. Unfortunately, this has led to us needing to reschedule our field trip to the Center of the Universe. We will now be going on Thursday, February 1, at the same time. A new field trip form will be coming home with updated information.

I know that many of you are facing the challenge of shifting your schedules and juggling working from home as well, so please know that we do not expect you to carry on a learning program at home. Should you, however, need some extra ideas and resources to carry you over, below are a few ideas and links to get you started. If I can be of any help, please email me and let me know. 

Optional Learning Activities:

Weekly Update: January 15 - 19

This week we will be focusing our space learning to think, wonder, and learn about the moon. Moon phases reveal the passage of time in the night sky. Some nights when we look up at the moon, it is full and bright, and sometimes it is just a sliver of silvery light. As the moon orbits Earth, it cycles through distinct phases, and with the new moon phase just beginning, now is the perfect time to begin tracking the phases each night. Your child will be bringing home a moon tracker on Monday to keep as an at-home activity. You may notice that there is also a new class activity coming home the day before your child is the special helper. This is our class space book! The students have been loving learning and sharing new space facts on their special helper day.

This week we will be going to The Centre of the Universe for a special field trip! Our hosts have let us know that while it is nice an warm in the Observatory Learning Centre, it is very cold in the Plaskett Telescope Dome, which we will be exploring as well. Please dress appropriately in warm layers that can be adjusted as needed. For parent volunteers, we will be meeting at either the bus in front of the school at 12:05, or in the observatory parking lot at 12:20 . Thank you for joining us! If you are looking for more information about the Observatory, take a look at their website HERE. UPDATE: rescheduled to February 1st.

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Lochside School-wide Read

Lochside is starting a school-wide read this month, with every family being given a special copy of 'The Wild Robot', by Peter Brown to keep.  A whole-school read is kind of like a really big book club! Please see the letter inside your copy of the book outlining all of the details and how to participate. A big thanks goes out to our teacher librarian, Mrs. Molloy and the Lochside PAC for organizing and funding this fun literacy activity. If you are able to, we are collecting donations (suggested $2) to help cover the cost of this project. 

The Wild Robot is a story of a little robot named Roz, who unexpectedly experiences surviving in the wild, overcoming challenges, learning from others, and exploring what happens when technology and nature collide. Enjoy our first ever Lochside School-wide Read!

Weekly Update: January 8 - 12

Welcome back, everyone! I hope that everyone had a wonderful winter break! This week we will be sharing about our winter holidays and creating New Year's resolutions. We have many new learning topics on the horizon this month, including shapes and patterns, storytelling, and more! Our science focus will be all about the night sky, as we begin our exploration of space!

With cold weather and snow on the horizon, please be sure your child has layers, a warm coat, and toque to help stay warm as the temperature drops. We are planning to head outside for lots of fresh air this week, so please send back in your child's labelled rain pants/jacket/boots, and ziploc of extra clothes.  If you are unsure about what your child has at school, feel free to pop in to check or send me an email. 

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Happy Holidays!

Wishing everyone a merry Christmas, happy Hanukkah, and  wonderful holiday as we take two weeks off of school for winter break.  Thank you so much for all of the thoughtful cards, generous gifts, and kind words this week. I feel so appreciated and they truly mean so much. I was able to share this grattiude with each of your kids, but If I didn't get a chance to say thank you in person, please know how much I appreciate your thoughtfulness!

After a week of festive activities, Christmas crafts, treats, and sock exchanges, everyone is excited for the holidays ahead. Have a wonderful, safe, and healthy Holiday!

~ Ms. Miller

Weekly Update: December 18 - 22

Our final week before winter break is here, and we have many fun holiday and winter activities planned. Thank you to all of our families for helping us with supplies and as volunteers for our gingerbread house activity. The kids are excited to take part! With so much excitement in the air, we will also be trying to keep our schedule as routine as possible, with home reading and literacy workshops continuing. If you are looking for reading practice over the holidays, you can review and practice all of the pages we have done so far in the yellow home reading folders. If your child is now bringing home books, they will have chosen a selection to bring home as well.

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All of the Other Reindeer

We had some fun with this project! After reading the story, Olive, the other Reindeer (a sweet tale about a helpful dog who mistakenly joins Santa's crew), we were inspired to create some of the other reindeer that Santa may have on his team up at the North Pole.

 Take a look at the rest of our reindeer in our class art gallery, found HERE.

Weekly Update: December 11 - 15

These next couple of weeks are full of winter festivities! Today we enjoyed going to our annual Holiday Bookshop. The children has a great time choosing books to gift to their family members. You will see these coming home today as wrapped up packages for under the tree. Thank you to all of the parents helping out with this, it is always such a highlight.

Thank you to all who have signed up to bring in gingerbread house supplies. We are still in need of quite a  few items if you are able to help - please see the link to the sign-up below.  If you signed up for graham crackers I would love to have those ahead of time if possible as in order to preassemble the houses.

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Upcoming dates to note in your calendars:

Dec. 1-14: Lochside's Holiday Food Drive

Dec. 20: Gingerbread house decorating (sign up HERE) and the school Jingle Bell Run!

Dec. 21: Holiday sock exchange (Class list HERE)

Dec. 22: PJ day and 'Sunspace Cinema' for the last day before winter break

A Salmon Sky View

As we finished off our salmon study earlier this week, we ended with a special art activity. For this project, we took the perspective of a salmon, considering what is sees over a lifetime from egg to spawn. After reading, A Salmon Sky View, by Carol McDougall, we used sharpies to draw the shadows and images seen by the salmon and then used cool and warm watercolours to paint the sky. Finally, a sprinkling of salt helped to create a watery affect.

 Take a look at all of our art projects in our class art gallery, found HERE.

Weekly Update: December 4 - 8

This week we will be wrapping up our exploration of salmon. The students have thoroughly enjoyed learning all about salmon, reading stories, creating art, and exploring their inquiry questions through research our field trip to Goldstream.

As winter holidays approach, we have many fun and festive activities happening at Lochside and in our classroom. Each year we open up a little 'Santa's Workshop' for the kids to create cards, write messages, and have some holiday fun. If you have any old scraps of wrapping paper, used holiday cards, winter craft supplies, stickers, or ribbons/bows that you would like to donate for this space please feel free to send them in to be enjoyed!

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Holiday Food Drive

Every year, Lochside School and our fantastic PAC group creates a giant gingerbread house in the front lobby to fill with food donations for the Mustard Seed. Your child will have come home with a paper bag with details on the back of the paper with ways that you can contribute if you would like/are able to. Our class is in charge of bringing kitchen wrap this year (saran wrap, foil, ziploc bags, etc.). The food drive will run from December 4 - 15.

You will also notice a blank gingerbread outline attached to the paper bag. This is for each student to decorate, cut out, and hand in at the office. They will be used to decorate our gym and gingerbread house over the winter season.

Night Owl Art

For our art cards this year, we created pictures of owls under a big bright moon. We were inspired by the story, "The Knight Owl" by Christopher Denise. In this sweet little story about bravery, hard work, and friendship, a determined little owl dreams of and works hard to become a knight for the castle's night watch. This was our first directed draw of the year, and students worked hard to follow the directions and add their own details to finish their projects.

 Take a look at all of our art projects in our class art gallery, found HERE.

Weekly Update: November 27 - December 1

We finished up another great week with a fantastic trip to Goldstream Park.  Our class participated in learning about the life cycle of salmon, explored the nature house, watched a salmon dissection, and observed salmon spawning in the river. A big thank you to the nature house naturalists for their expertise, and to all of the parents that were able to help on this trip.

In literacy news, we are moving into digraphs in literacy workshop. This includes th, sh, ch, wh, and ng. You will also have noticed that in home reading this past week, your child will have brought home a fluency grid of short vowel sounds. The goal with these grids is to  have fun as you practice building speed and fluency. 

For our final week of November, we will continue our learning and research around salmon. We will also be building on to our addition strategies, including making groups of 10, using tools (10 frames, tallies, rekenkreks, etc.), and looking for math 'shortcuts'.

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CBC Music Class Challenge


We are delighted to share with you the vides we created for the CBC Music Class Challenge. All three videos of Lochside students have been posted to the CBC Music Class YouTube channel. Mrs. Alexander shared, "I hope you and your children enjoy viewing these videos.  I am incredibly proud of the tremendous work our students put into this project." Thank you for all of your hard work with our students, Mrs. Alexander!  

Kindergarten and Grade 1 students brought their best energy, actions and singing voices to I Am A Pizza!   Everyone memorized the words extremely well and did an outstanding job performing this song!   We had a large group of students volunteer to be "Pizza Leaders" to take a turn with the microphone leading the class!

Please enjoy these videos and give your children a huge congratulations for their terrific work participating in weekly music class, learning these songs, and to the performers, for bringing their absolute best on stage. 

Weekly Update: November 20-24

This week we will be continuing our learning about salmon and salmon forests. It has been wonderful to watch the student's learning come through in their wonders and connections. This week we will be taking our learning into the field when we go to Goldstream Park on Thursday.  We will be going on this trip rain or shine, so please ensure that your child has warm layers  including a jacket, rain pants, gloves, toque, etc. We will having an early lunch before we go, but please pack a pocket snack or two in case they get hungry.  If you would like to join us on this trip or need a new permission form, please let me know. 

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Nature Rangolis

This week we learned about the celebration of Diwali. With our big buddies, we created rangoli-inspired designs using found items in nature and side-walk chalk. 

 Take a look at all of our art projects in our class art gallery, found HERE.

Weekly Update: November 13 - 17

This week ended with a special whole-school Remembrance Day assembly. The students took part in listening to songs and poems about peace,  hearing from honoured guests, and laying wreaths. Thank you to everyone who took part. 

We have a great week planned ahead, as we work on practicing basic addition strategies, take part in a special music challenge, and begin a new science exploration into the behavioural adaptations of salmon and the amazing journey from egg to spawning river.

Happy Diwali! On the weekend, many of our Lochside families celebrated Diwali, the Festival of Lights. On Tuesday, we will be reading a story about Diwali, painting our own diyas (small clay lamps), and learning about an important holiday in our community. If your family celebrates and would like to be involved or share anything, please let me know.

On Wednesday, Mrs. Alexander will be leading us in filming our school submission for the CBC Music Class Challenge. Grade 1 students have been asked to wear 'pizza colours' (i.e. red, yellow, green, etc.) as we will be singing, 'I am a Pizza'. 

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What is does peace mean to you?

As we lead up to Remembrance Day, we have been sharing our thinking about what peace can look like, sound like, and feel like. We have also been practicing creating peace around us by using kind words, including others, using safe bodies, etc. This is a great discussion to continue at home, and navigating friendships and play can be tricky at this age, and something we can be working on every day. 

For this simple art and writing activity, students shared their thinking around what peace is in their drawings and watercolour paintings. Take a look at all of our art projects in our class art gallery, found HERE.

School-wide fun run on Friday

Weekly Update: November 6 - 10

This week we will be focusing on science, showing numbers in different ways, learning about Diwali, and discussions and activities about peace. As Remembrance day approaches, we will be thinking and sharing what peace means to us, and how we can help create peace in the world around us. Our school Remembrance Day assemble will be this Friday. 

With a full schedule last week, we moved our candy experiments to this coming week. We will be practicing the scientific method and doing experiments with leftover Halloween candy. If you have extra Halloween candy please send some to school on Monday; the more colourful, the better!

Photo re-takes are this Tuesday. Please email me if you would like your child to have their picture taken on Tuesday.

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Pencil Grip Session

Today we had a special session with Occupation Therapist (O/T), Ginny Kenyon. Ginny works as an O/T with The Queen Alexandra Centre for Children's Health, and came by to teach us about proper pencil grip and ways to hold our writing tools. She shared some helpful resources for at home and school that you can access through the links below:

Printing Success

Pencil Grasp Visuals

Starlight Pumpkins

This week's art activity was all about what one might see in a pumpkin patch at night under the full moon and twinkling stars. This fall-inspired project continued to develop our art skills as we practiced colour mixing, composition, collage, and playing with light and shadows. Take a look at all of our art projects in our class art gallery, found HERE.


Library pumpkins on display

Weekly Update: October 30 - November 3

What a wonderful week we've had, learning about spiders, reading spooky stories, pumpkin poetry, and planning out fun costume designs for next week.

Halloween is this coming Tuesday, and we have lots of exciting activities planned throughout the day. A reminder that students are welcome to wear their costumes if they would like, but we ask that masks and accessories stay home. To start the day, we will be having a Halloween Craft-O-Rama from 9-10am. Each of the Grade 1 classrooms will have tables set up with different fun and spooky crafts for all of the kids to create and enjoy. If you would like to volunteer to help at a table, we are still looking for a few more parent helpers. Everything will be set up and ready to go, so just email me if interested and I'll sign you up! We also ask that kids bring in a reusable bag labelled with their name to transport their creations home.

In the afternoon, we will be having a school-wide costume parade, so that we can see everyone's costumes. If you prefer not to wear a costume, or would like to wear orange and black, please do what works best for your child and family.

Also a reminder to please limit the amount of Halloween candy that comes to school in lunches. One or two pieces is usually plenty, and less sugar makes for a more focused day at school.

Looking ahead:

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Gratitude Journals

During October, we started a new practice of writing in our gratitude journals. After reading, 'A Little Thankful Spot," by Diane Alder, we talked about what gratitude means and shared what we were feeling thankful for. We will be writing and drawing in our journals each week to practice gratitude.


Weekly Update: October 23 - 27

We had a great week of October fun and learning, complete with a special presentation by Science World! The students were thrilled to see science in action, practicing their own science skills of observing, predicting, and 'testing it out'! 

This week we will be continue our work building number sense skills, researching spiders, learning about the W̱SÁNEĆ moons, and practicing our literacy skills in our new literacy workshop groups. Thank you for all of your help in supporting the start of home reading this week! If you haven't already started, your child will have come home with a yellow reading folder in their backpack outlining daily practice that can be done to strengthen their literacy skills. 

Next week is Halloween, and as part of our weekly activities we will be having our annual Grade 1 Halloween craft -O-rama! We are looking for parent volunteers to join us for the afternoon on Monday, October 30th between 12:30-1:45 to help run our spooky and October fun craft tables. Everything will be prepped for you and ready to go. Please email if you would like to help.

Looking ahead:

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How to Make Friends with a Ghost

Today we read the story, How to Make Friends with a Ghost, by  Rebecca Green. In this sweet little tale, the reader learns the best ways to make and care of friendly ghosts. 

Our art project involved a collage of painted leaf prints and line-drawings of webs, spiders, worms, and more. To add depth to our pictures, white and black chalk pastel were used to create shadows and sunlit webs. Finally, our drawing and scissors skills were put to use creating our friendly ghosts. Take a look at all of our art projects in our class art gallery, found HERE.


Weekly Update: October 16 - 20

As we move through October, we will be adding on to our routines with the addition of family reading time, literacy workshops, and home reading. 

On Monday mornings, family members are welcome to join us at the start the day for a shared reading time. Grandparents, younger siblings, and other family members are always welcome to join us in our classroom between 8:45 - 9:00. This is an informal start to the day, so if you are unable to join us, no worries! Students will be able to read with other adults and friends in our class.

Literacy workshops and home reading will also be starting this week, with designated small group time spent working on specific literacy skills needed to read and write proficiently. To support each student's reading development, home reading will begin this week, coming home every Thursday (* and to be returned the following Wednesday). These days align with our library book return and exchange to make it easier to remember. Yellow home reading duotangs will come home with information about the home reading program, parent tips, a word mapping page, and 1-2 pages for your child to read every night. Research shows what a BIG impact daily reading has on growing literacy skills, and how important family support is to this process. Please reach out if you have any questions once we begin home reading.

Looking ahead:

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All About Spiders

As you know, we have had a special creature outside our window this fall who has spurred and increased interest in all things SPIDERS! Charlotte (the spider in question) has been eating and growing steadily over the past few weeks and we have enjoyed making observations and learning about her routines, body features, and skills. 

Some of our spider wonders include:

We will continue to practice thinking like scientists and investigating our questions about spiders this month.

Weekly Update: October 9 - 13

Happy Thanksgiving! This week we will continue to focus on who and what we are thankful for, sharing our feelings of gratitude with those around us.  In science we are continuing our class inquiry into spiders. Charlotte (the spider in our window), has shown some noticeable patterns in her hunting, eating, resting, and web building habits, and we will be exploring these areas this week.

In our literacy practice, we have been working on building a strong base of phonemic and phonological awareness, recognizing, verbalizing, and blending sounds in our early reading and writing activities. 

Looking ahead:

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Colourful Self Portraits

Our colourful self portraits  celebrate our unique and special individuality. Take a look at all of our art projects in our class art gallery, found HERE.


Weekly Update: October 2 -6

Welcome to October! We will be starting some new areas of study this week including a mini exploration into spiders; have you seen the amazing spider in our window?! With thanksgiving approaching, we will also be focusing on the practice of gratitude and thankfulness. Finally, we will be starting our identity inquiry, an area that we will continue to explore throughout the year. Please watch for our class book coming home in your child's backpack. Children will have the opportunity to record the "story of their name" with the help of an adult and share this with the class the following day.

This week Lochside is hosting the Russell's book fair. We will be doing a little book browse with our big buddies on Wednesday, and purchasing will be available before school, during lunch, afterschool on Wednesday and Thursday.


Next week are our early dismissal days at Lochside, and I look forward to meeting with parents on these days to have some time to get to know your child better and discuss how they are settling into their new classroom. As it is so early in the year, the focus will not be on academics as assessments are still in progress. Please sign-up for a time here. If these times do not work for you, please send me an email and I will be happy to schedule an interview at a different time. I look forward to meeting with all of you soon!

Looking ahead:

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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 have been 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. We created art to share pictures and words that were brainstormed this week around what makes a safe and happy school. Every child matters and has a right to this. 

As a school, we are encouraging students to wear orange on Friday, September 29. 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 Saturday, 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. 

Weekly Update: September 25 - 29

After two full weeks of school together, our classroom community is coming together nicely as the students learn routines and enjoy learning and playing together. It was so nice to meet and connect with many of you at the family picnic/open house on Thursday, and watch your children share their new classroom with you! If you haven't had a chance to email me a family photo yet, please do so and I'll add it to our family wall this week.

In the upcoming week we will continue to focus on our classroom community and taking care of ourselves, each other, and this place (these are our Lochside Beliefs). Friday 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 orange piece of clothing to school on this day. 

We are looking forward to also having the Indigenous Peoples Atlas of Canada at our school this week. This giant map will be set up in the gym, and shows the locations of Indigenous communities, language groups, residential schools, and more. We will be spending time learning on the map throughout the week. To learn more about the atlas, check out Canadian Geographic's resource website HERE.

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 in your child's basket in their cubby make for successful outdoor adventures.

Looking ahead:

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Dot Day Art

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.

Weekly Update: September 18 - 22

Our first full week together is complete, and we are off to a great start in Div. 7! 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 (Ms. Kalynka and Mrs. Baim), teacher librarian (Mrs. Molloy), library technician (Ms. Unger), French teacher (Mme Turner), 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 for your child to keep in their cubby.

As you prepare for the week ahead, feel free to check out the Classroom Information section of the website to learn more. To help everyone stay informed, I usually send 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:

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Terry Fox Run

Friday, September 15

Lochside school participated in running the Terry Fox run today and the kids did an amazing job running 'for Terry' or other important people in their lives. We are proud to support the Terry Fox Foundation with its ongoing work to fund cancer research. I have included the video selection  to click on if you would like to share it as a family. I did not show this video in class, but we did talk about how Terry ran across Canada to raise money for people with cancer, using images of him running and a map of his route to help the students imagine the amazing things he did to help others. More information can be found at http://www.terryfox.org. 

Thank you to everyone who brought in a 'toonie for Terry', to support this important cause.

Welcome to Grade 1

Our first full day of school is complete and our classroom community is already coming together nicely. 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. On Friday you should have found 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!

School Supplies

This year our Grade 1 teachers are ordering supplies for students. This will include everyday tools and supplies for each student. Please send a cheque for $45 made out to SD63 to cover this cost or follow this link for an option to pay online by clicking on the link HERE. 

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!  

2022 -2023 School Year Information

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:

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Friday:

More information on the first week back to school can be found on our school website, and 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 2022/2023 classroom, you can access it in the classroom archives. Have a great year in Grade 2, 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!

~ Ms. Miller