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November 23rd-27th

11/28/2015

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The last full week of November  at St. Luke was full of "wrap Ups".  Our school finished its "MOVEMBER" campaign on Friday with an assembly in the gym.  The students had a great time watching the male teachers, administration, and community members shave off their mustaches........  so much fun and for such a worthy cause.  As well, our "Move It to prove it" walking challenge finished last week.  The Fall weather has been extra cooperative so many classes took advantage of the opportunity to participate in this fitness challenge. The Grade One students especially loved this extra outdoor gym time.   
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In Math, the students compared and sorted 2d shapes according to attributes.  They worked independently and with their pair share partner to explore place value.  We played games to improve our addition skills and have begun to explore subtraction with story problems. role playing, number line games, and through pictures. Please continue to count with your child at home (2's, 5's, 10's to 100) and backwards from 20 and to  practice  addition facts to 15.  This week we will be constructing 2d shapes with different materials (string, toothpicks) to wrap up our geometry unit.  
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In English, we started the week with a descriptive writing activity.  We focused on using the word wall, vocabulary sheets, and learned spelling strategies to write our stories.  Each week I am seeing good growth and more importantly the boys and girls are excited with their improving independence.  We talked a little about "How To" make things for a lead up to our procedural writing activities which will begin on Monday.  We have become familiar with order words (first, next,then, finally) and are learning to use them in our writing.   Please continue to read and review the weekly word wall words with your child.  Challenge your son/daughter to spell each word and then use it in a sentence (orally).
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In science, we are just beginning to explore the five senses and learn about the important functions of different body parts.  We have been exploring healthy eating habits which will also lend itself nicely to this unit. The boys and girls especially love to explore and "make wonderings" during our science discussions which initiates many opportunities for higher level thinking. 
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In Religion, the boys and girls helped to change the face of our prayer table. We packed up the cloth, fall decorations, and associated prayer cards and books to prepare for the start of Advent.  It was a fun and very interactive way to introduce this most blessed of seasons with the students. We also created advent angels linking the specific colors of the season in to our art lesson.  
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Other:

1.  Popcorn Days will be held on Friday. The cost is two dollars.

2.  please look at and sign the learning activities that were sent home with your child on Friday.  Return the work in the bag provided. Thank you!

3.   Our St. Luke Angel tree information was sent home last week.  All donations are greatly welcomed and v
ery much appreciated.  This is a great beautiful activity to support the advent season and reinforce the real meaning of christmas.

4.  The december book order is due on Tuesday, December 1st. 


5.  Congratulations to Mihailo, Olivia, and Jasmine.  They were our CGE award winners for the month of November. Super Job!!

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Thank you for your continued support.

​d. Milne
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November 16th-20th

11/21/2015

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It was a short week but packed with some great learning in Grade One.   We had a couple of warmer rainy days which kept the kids inside but the cold, nippy weather appears to be upon us now.  Our next few weeks will be filled with advent and Christmas activities which are absolutely magical at this age.   I will be posting  and tweeting out important dates for you to mark on your calendar. No doubt  we will have some excited chatter in our classroom on Monday after this weekend's Santa Claus Parade.
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In English the boys and girls are really starting to "take off" in their reading. We have many different stages of reading within our classroom and each child is being supported at his or her own level.  We are very fortunate to have regular reading volunteers who come in each day and read with the Grade one students.  We continue to stress applying learned reading strategies as outlined on the sheet I sent home last Monday.   Please use these guidelines when practicing with your child each night. We hope to work together with you to instill a life long love of reading within your child.  
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I will continue to send home writing activities for you to see on a regular basis.  This is an area where you will see tremendous growth through out the year. It is very rewarding to see that  The students are gaining confidence in their abilities and enjoying this process along the way.   This week the boys and girls wrote a story about "eating".  They were provided some vocabulary words and an example was modeled for them.  then they wrote their stories keeping our "super sentence" anchor chart in mind.  We will follow this same format one more time on Monday. Subsequently, Each upcoming  activity will promote greater independence and free writing time.
 
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In Math, we had numerous activities exploring place value (base ten).  the students had to represent numbers past 50 in small groups. Their task  was to follow the  predetermined actions (standing tall with hands in the air for tens........squat low on the floor to show ones).   They caught on fairly quickly and wanted the challenge to show  even  BIGGER numbers!!! The collaboration and problem solving taking place in this task was great to see.  This week our focus will be on addition computation practice and exploring the concept of subtraction with ten frames, counting cubes, and number lines.
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Other:
1. Thank you for Movember money donations.  They are greatly appreciated and for such a worthy cause.

2. Technology at home
your child has access to RAZ readers and dreambox at home. These two online programs in particular are great resources and highly recommended.

3. Please label all of your child's belongings (hats, mitts, boots) to avoid confusion during transition times.

4. Please continue to sign and check your child's agenda each night. Be sure to remove any mail from the front pocket.  

​5. This week your child will  be bringing home more samples of their learning activities in Grade  One. Please take the time to  look at them with your child.  Have him/her explain the activities to you.  sign the work and return it in the ziplock bag provided.

Thank you for continued support.

​d. Milne 

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November 9th-13th

11/13/2015

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​We had a beautiful
remembrance day ceremony this week at St. Luke.  It was  led by our Grade four students. The Grade One boys and girls were fantastic audience members and a few were especially excited to see their older siblings performing on this memorable day.  

In English, the students writing independence continues to improve.  We are gradually moving away from frame writing and are using word lists to generate very basic descriptive stories. Most students are able to generate three to four sentences  in this manner with good success.  Examples of your child's writing activities were sent home earlier this week.  After a little more practice and skill acquisition,the boys and girls will be writing "how to" stories using order words ( first, next,then, finally) to guide the process.  
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We also Read the story "The good samaritan" which in turn led to amazing discussions and drama activities. The students then had to make a picture story and retell the main events in order using an App called "show me".  Please continue to read with your child each night.  It is so exciting to see the children "take off" with their word recognition and decoding skills.   the extra Reading time at home is absolutely necessary for each child at every level of reading and its advantages are definitely on display in our classroom each day!
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IN math, the exploration of 2d shapes continued. The boys and girls were  learning to sort and identify 2d shapes according to common attributes (4 corners, straight lines etc). they also practiced their addition skills using a variety of strategies.   In partners, the students also worked together to show ten in different ways. Please continue to count and make note of numbers with your child.  Practice adding with your son/daughter......doing this orally is a super way to improve his or her mental math skills.
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​In religion, the boys and girls have been learning the
our father and hail mary prayers.  Each morning  We have been lucky enough to have our Grade two friend Dylan join our class and lead us through these Prayers. 





 next week in health,  we will be taking a closer look at
healthy eating habits and the four food groups.  we are going to sort foods and take about the effects that certain foods have on our body.

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 It is great if your child has his/her own pencil case.  We are asking that you avoid sending in markers. However crayons and twistables are recommended.

As of late, some of the boys and girls have been bringing toys to school in their backpacks.  We are asking that all toys remain at home to avoid the chances of them becoming lost or broken.

Thank you for your continued support.

​D. Milne
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Peace Book

11/11/2015

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The Grade Ones shared their own ideas about what peace means to them. Enjoy the innocence of these wee ones!!
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November 2nd-6th

11/7/2015

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 It was great seeing so many of you at parent teacher interviews. The kids are always happy and so very proud for you to  share  in their learning.  As well,  it is  essential that we work together as a team to ensure the success of your child.  
In English we explored the theme of peace.  We read "The Peace Book"by Todd Parr.  The students made text to self connections to the story. Their beautiful ideas were illustrated and then made into an audio book titled "Peace Is".  Hopefully I will be able to upload  the book for you to see on next week's blog.  Please continue to Read and review the word wall words each night with your child.  The practice at home is showing and the boys and girls are moving towards becoming confident, independent readers.
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In math the boys and girls have been exploring 2d shapes. They have been comparing and contrasting the shapes  using the anchor charts that we created together. The students  are very keen to sort and classify these shapes with the knowledge that they are gaining.
In numeration the students  have been constructing and breaking down numbers using base ten and learning about the role of ordinal numbers in the world around them.  Problem Solving is explored regularly with the focus on using different strategies and explaining
​their thinking. 
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In religion the boys and girls are always very eager to share and discuss any given topic.  Presently we are talking about families and the different types of families that we live in.  The Students chatted and together they decided that families are built on love!!

We also have been emphasizing doing kind acts and paying it forward within our classroom and the St. Luke community.  Ask your child if they are "bucket fillers".
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Other:
1.  Remembrance Day ceremony will be held on Wednesday, November 11th @ 10:45am

​2.  Book Orders are due on Friday, November 13th.

3.  Please sign and check the front pocket of your child's agenda each night for school mail and notices.

Thank you for your continued support.

​D. Milne
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