Looking Ahead

Hello!
 In looking ahead to January and Epiphany, students are continuing to explore shapes and numbers in both French and English. We are learning how to read new words and are writing new French and English vocabulary words through Write the Room and word games. Once we get snow, students have been asking 'what's in snow?' so we will be exploring snowflakes and snow through a scientific lens (depending on Mother Nature, of course!). Stay tuned for more exploration and inquiries to come!
Happy New Year!

Advent

The students have been working hard to create Advent wreaths. They voted and decided they wanted to bring them home to add the candles to them each week with their family instead of adding them here at school. Today you will find in mailbags both the wreath and the page of candles (along with a prayer for each week), should you choose to do this as a family activity. This is completely optional, of course. Wishing you a peaceful 2nd week of Advent!

December

Now that we've been seeing some winter weather, students have been practicing how to put on their own snowsuits, boots, mittens, etc. Should you wish, please feel free to send in spare socks and mittens as we are outside throughout the day and those items tend to become quite wet by home time (if you'd like to also send in a plastic bag to keep in their backpack to transport wet outerwear home in you're more than welcome to!).

We've been starting to explore shapes and where we see them both in the classroom and outside. We've also been using shapes to create pictures and artwork. We know how to sort shapes too!

Our November focus school-wide has been on using our WITS to problem solve and we will continue to support students as they learn different strategies when problem solving.

W=Walk away
I=Ignore
T=Talk it out
S=Seek help

With the Christmas season quickly approaching, we will be discussing Advent and the Christmas Story as well as working on our own Advent wreaths by adding another candle each week and discussing its meaning.

Keep an eye on the mailbags as many updates will be coming home regarding school-wide activities/fundraisers over the month of December.

Just a reminder that there are no classes Dec. 22-Jan. 6 for the Christmas holidays.

Extra Clothes Reminder

Now that the colder weather is here, if you have not yet sent in new spare clothes for the winter it may be a good idea as some students still have only summer spare clothes. Thank-you!

November

As October comes to a close, students are learning about the inquiry process as it relates to pumpkins. We've been observing the pumpkins and making predictions about what will be inside (the blue-green pumpkin is especially exciting!). Once we carve the pumpkins we will be sharing our observations and noting if the results of our predictions were correct or not.

We are still very interested in everything the outdoors has to offer (especially the fallen leaves!). We've been using the leaves we've been collecting to create artwork and patterns. We've also been sorting them using colour and size. We will continue exploring our leaves into November.

Students are continuing to practice how to problem solve using their WITS (Walk away, Ignore, Talk it out, Seek help). They are learning how to compromise and use their words to resolve disputes in a calm manner.

As the cold weather approaches, it's always a good idea to get an early start on practicing how to put on a snowsuit. We have many students who have joined the 'zipper club' and are now able to do up their coat zipper independently!

We've also been discussing how to keep from spreading germs (especially since cold weather usually means the beginning of the cold/flu season). Students are practicing coughing and sneezing into their elbow and washing their hands before eating.

In French, students have been learning new vocabulary and are learning how to use illustrations as clues for comprehension when reading and listening to French stories. They have been learning many reading strategies in English as well and continue to practice their letter names and sounds.

As Remembrance Day approaches, we will be creating a class wreath together and discussing peace. Stay tuned for the date and time of our Remembrance Day ceremony this year.

In November we will be having our first mass at the church with half the school attending mass one day and the other half the next day in order to accommodate everybody. Dates will be posted as soon as they have been finalized.

As always, should you have any questions, please feel free to write us a note in your child(ren)'s Communication Book.

Wishing you a peaceful November!

October

It's hard to believe the first month of school is coming to a close! We've been working hard on our names, alphabet and numbers and have had some interesting bug inquiries. We continue to work on these as well throughout October. We're also learning how to be good friends and problem solve using our WITS (Walk away, Ignore, Talk it out, Seek help). As the cooler weather approaches, it's always a good idea to practice putting on coats and doing up zippers. We will keep you posted as we explore new inquiries throughout the month!

Open House

I'm sorry to have missed everyone at the Open House. Please feel free to contact me should you have any questions or things you wish to discuss. I'm always happy to chat!
Mme Villemaire