Class Donation

I would like to thank you all for your donations this year.  We have collected a total of $232 from our classroom for a grand total of $523 when combined with the Grade 3&4 class!!

The donation will be presented to the Regina Humane Society, and Miss McLean and I thank you very much for your support! 

A few of our Christmas activities

Christmas Dinner and Christmas Holidays

Friday is our traditional Christmas Dinner at school.  We will be having a traditional turkey dinner at noon, and students are asked to dress formal/semi-formal for the occasion.  Friday afternoon we will spend in our classroom, having a casual celebration before Christmas holidays ~ we will watch a short video, read a few books, etc.

I have told the students that over the Christmas break I would like them to read, read, do some Mathletics, and then read some more.  I understand that the holidays are busy but thank you in advance for reminding and for helping your child to read and practice Math over the break.

I hope that you all have an enjoyable Christmas break, and I will see your child back at school on Monday, January 6th.

Merry Christmas!

Boy Soup

Today your child is bringing home a free book from TD Bank Financial Group to help encourage family reading time. We have read this book in class and the students LOVED it! Please read this again with your child, and remind them to ask questions, make connections, talk about their favourite parts, etc.

Happy Reading!! 

Christmas Concert

Tomorrow evening at 7:00pm is our Christmas Concert.  I would like the students to be in our classroom at 6:30 tomorrow evening.  They will stay with me for the duration of the concert, and then we will meet you back in the classroom when the concert is done.

See you tomorrow evening!

Letters to Santa

Today we posted our letters to Santa.  Have a look at how our letter writing skills are improving!

P.S.  The formatting of the computer changes how things look BUT we have been working on the proper arrangement of a friendly letter.  Copies of our original letters are displayed on the bulletin board outside our classroom.

http://kidblog.org/MrsEldersClass2013/

Photo of the Day ~ Hayden

These are our Santa leters. By Hayden

Gift Exchange

This year our class will once again join with the Grade 3 and 4 class to make a donation to a charity at Christmas time.  Last year our donations went to the Humane Society.  We are asking that each student bring a donation (suggested $10, but ANY amount will be accepted) rather than having a gift exchange within the classroom.

We thank you in advance for your participation and donations!

Bake Sale CHANGE

Due to a conflict with scheduling, the SRC bake sale has been changed to TUESDAY, December 17th.  Thank you for your understanding.

Spelling Words (Dec. 9th - Dec. 20th)

**test will be on Friday, December 20th
**All students will test these words.

Christmas
merry
jingle
family
cold
giving
love
snow
gift

SRC Spirit Week

Monday, Dec. 16th
Pajama Day

Tuesday, Dec. 17th
Red and Green Day

Wednesday, Dec. 18th
Ugly Sweater/Christmas Sweater Day
Bake Sale ~ All items $1, or less

Thursday, Dec. 19th
Santa Hat Day

Friday, Dec. 20th
Formal Day
Christmas Dinner

Christmas Concert

This year's Christmas concert will be on Tuesday, December 17th at 7:00pm.

Our class has been asked to bring a Santa hat and sunglasses to wear for their part in the performance.  I will update with more information as we get closer to the performance date.

Thank you!

Fact and Opinion

The last few days we have been working on the difference between fact and opinion ~ a fact is something we can prove, and an opinion is something we think.

Our blog posts today reflect that today, so please have a look at what we are learning.

http://kidblog.org/MrsEldersClass2013/

Scout, Our Classroom Elf

Scout was trapped in the
microwave this morning.
Was he trying to warm up?

Photo of the Day ~ Cheyanne

Scout was looking for a snack...

Outdoor Art Project

I would like to ask you for assistance in an outdoor Art project.  Please save any cardboard milk cartons, egg nog cartons, etc. for our class to use.  You can send them to school right away, I just ask that you rinse them before they are sent as it will be a few weeks before they are used. 

Thank you in advance for your help!

Predicting Freezing Time of Water

Today we predicted how long it would take for water to freeze when outside and when in a fridge freezer. We predicted that the outside water would probably freeze faster because it was so cold outside today.

Final results: 

Outside water froze in 1 hour 45 minutes

Inside water froze in 4 hours 25 minutes

Further discussion will take place in the days to come about our predictions, how close we were, and what our predictions taught us.  

Work Experience

This semester Miss Noll has been working in our room. She helps us with many things and we love having her! Today she read us a story called "Katie the Candy Cane Fairy".

Spelling words (Dec 2nd-6th)

Grade One
three
blue
yellow
look
not

Grade Two
around
found
would
your
goes
does

December Poem

Today I sent home a short poem.  I would like the students to memorize this poem, and be able to recite it to the class on December 13th.  We will work on this poem in class, but additional help at home is greatly appreciated.  Thank you for your help.

Important Days in December

Monday, December 2nd
Early Dismissal 2:20pm

Monday, December 16th
Early Dismissal 2:20pm

Tuesday, December 17th
Christmas Concert 7pm

Friday, December 20th
Last Day of classes

Monday, January 6th
Classes Resume

Adopt-A-Shelter

This year we will once again partner with SaskPower to collect donations for Women's Shelters within the province.  A note came home today in your child's backpack with more details but donations will be accepted at Coronach School until December 6th.  There is a list on the back of the note in regards to the most needed items, but monetary donations are also accepted.

Thank you in advance for your support!

Grey Cup Blog Posts

Well, the Riders won the Grey Cup and we would like to share all of our excitement with you!
Please have a look at our post about the Rider win and feel free to comment!

http://kidblog.org/MrsEldersClass2013/

Home Reading

Home Reading finally went home yesterday.  This will be a weekly routine for the remainder of the year and here are a few things to keep in mind:

1) New packages (books and homework) will come home every Wednesday (ignore the fact that I sent the first package home on a Monday, we were excited to get started.  First "return day" is December 4th)
2) Please return packages (books and completed homework) on Tuesday/Wednesday.  I asked the students to not return it before then, as we are teaching kids to "over practice" with their books, and read them a couple times each day.  Obviously this is not the case in books that are greater in length, such as chapter books.
3) The homework assignment is to be done (drawn, coloured, written) each week.  Please help your child do this and encourage them to use all of the skills we are working on at school (drawing with details, colouring with at least 5 colours, proper letter formation, punctuation, spaces, capitals)
4) Students are picking their own books to bring home for their reading.  This is hard for me, as I like to "control" what they take home BUT more importantly is that they learn to find books that interest them AND fit them properly.  They need to learn how to recognize when a book is too hard OR too easy for them.  There are things to be learned from books that are easy, but they also need to know that in order to get better they need to challenge their brain.  We have discussed all of this in our classroom so I encourage you to talk to your child about the books they have chosen.  Are they too hard? Too easy? What is a new word they learned?
5) If your child has read, re-read, and over read their books, please feel free to pick other books to read for the remainder of the week.  My goal is for them to be reading a little bit each day, and I thank you for helping to support this goal.

Photo of the Day ~ Kyler

Spelling Words (Nov 25-29)

Grade One
for
jump
run
can
said

Grade Two
how
open
round
over
take

Spelling Words

Again, due to the busy and short school week, there will be no spelling words.
Enjoy another week off!

Sleeping Beauty

Yesterday we watched the live performance of "Sleeping Beauty" at Globe Theater in Regina, and it was absolutely fabulous! The students blogged today about their experience ~ please have a look!


http://kidblog.org/MrsEldersClass2013/

Photo of the Day ~ Shelby

This is what particles look like inside of
a solid, a liquid, and a gas.

Photo of the Day ~ Langston

No spelling words this week!

Globe Theater

This Thursday is our Globe Theater trip to see a live performance of "Sleeping Beauty".  The schedule for the day is as follows:
Leave school at 9:00am
Arrive at Globe Theater 11:30
Performance begins at 12:30
Performance ends at 2:30
Return to Coronach 5:00pm

Students are asked to bring a lunch, packed in a lunch kit, with minimal garbage.  Please keep in mind that we will be eating while on the bus, so food items that will not spill and do not need to be heated are a must.  We will arrive in Coronach at approximately 5:00pm, and I will contact (by text) as many people as possible once we get on the road to give you a more accurate time.

Thank you!

Spelling Words

Due to the short week and our trip to Globe Theater, there will be no spelling words this week.

December Book Orders

Scholastic catalogs for December have been sent home.  If you are interested in ordering anything, please return the order form and payment before November 15th.

A reminder that if you would like anything ordered as a gift, please attach a note to the order and I will keep those items at school when they are delivered.

Thank you!

Spelling Words ~ Oops!

Sorry everyone ~ the spelling words for this week have been sitting in the draft folder.  It has been that kind of week, haha.  Sorry for the mistake.

Grade 1
red
big
away
play

Grade 2
know
again
every
could

Remembrance Day Service

Thank you for helping your child with the Remembrance Day poem.  We have been practicing at school and are ready to present it on Thursday afternoon.

Please have your child dressed appropriately for the Remembrance Day service ~ no sweatpants, torn jeans, etc.  If possible, please send a poppy to school on that day as well.  We can help them put it on in the afternoon before we go down to the service.

A reminder that the service is open to the public and it begins at 1:30 pm in the gym.

Important Days for November

Monday, Nov. 4th
Early Dismissal

Thursday, Nov. 7th
Remembrance Day Service 1:30pm
Public is welcome to attend

Friday, Nov. 8th
No School
Teacher Prep Day

Monday, Nov. 11th
No School
Remembrance Day

Thursday, Nov. 14th
Globe Theater Trip
Sleeping Beauty

Monday, Nov. 18th
Early Dismissal

Tuesday, Nov. 19th
Report Cards sent home

Wednesday, Nov. 20th
Evening Student Led Conferences

Thursday, Nov. 21st
Evening Student Led Conferences

Friday, Nov. 22nd
No School

Week of November 25th
Show and Tell Week

Alliteration Blog Posts

Please have a look at our alliteration blog posts.  We have been working on recognizing initial sounds in words, which led us to alliteration.

Feel free to comment, or perhaps leave your own alliteration on their blog!

http://kidblog.org/MrsEldersClass2013/

Mathletics

Today we are sending home Mathletics usernames and passwords. Mathletics is a website that Coronach School subscribes to and it coordinates very well with our curriculum outcomes in Math.  All the students have been on the website and are familiar with it.

We would like students to start working on Mathletics at home as well, so the username/password cards are yours to keep at home.  Some of the topics may be "blocked" by Mrs. Dyck and myself until they are covered more extensively, but we have opened up many topics for students to practice.  We ask that the students work on a topic until they reach a "golden" level, which is listed as "Great Work" or "Perfect".

Please have a look at this over the weekend, and if you have any questions or concerns, please let me know.

http://www.mathletics.ca/

There has been a permanent link to Mathletics put in the Learning Links section of the blog.

Reading on Flashlight Friday

Pajama Day AND Flashlight Firiday

Making Mummies

Reminders for this Week

Just a few things to remember for this week:
1) It is Spirit Week ~ Monday, White Day. Tuesday, Denim and Diamonds. Wednesday, Crocs and Crowns. Thursday, Halloween (pm). Friday, Pajama Day.
2) Friday will also be "Flashlight Friday".  Please send a flashlight to school with your child on Friday, as we will have the lights out for the day and using the flashlights for our light source.
3)Tuesday will be another cupcake sale with proceeds going to UNICEF.  All cupcakes are $1.
4) Tuesday will also be an Elementary dance, starting at 12:30.  Students don't need to stay for lunch, but can join us in the gym when they return to school.
5) Please continue to work on word rings with the Grade 1 students.  They are making great progress ~ thank you for your help!

Pumpkin Videos

Today the Grade 1 and 2 students posted videos on their blog about our pumpkin investigation.  We looked at how tall the pumpkins are, how many lines they have, what size our pumpkin is, and we predicted if our pumpkin would sink or float.  We also predicted how many seeds are inside our pumpkin, and next week we will have a look inside and count the seeds!

Please have a look at the videos and the observations your child posted.
It was a great day for investigating!

Special THANKS goes out to Jackie MacLean and Shirley MacLean for donating 10 pumpkins to our class for the investigation!

http://kidblog.org/MrsEldersClass2013/

UNICEF bake sale

Thank you to everyone who helped support the Grade 3 and 4 UNICEF bake sale yesterday! Here is a sample of the treats we could choose from! Yum!

6th Annual Pumpkin Carving Day

What a great day yesterday was! We joined the Grade 10 class to carve our pumpkins, read a few books, AND dance!  Thank you very much to the Grade 10 class and to Miss Rachul for joining us!

UNICEF pumpkins

Don't forget to buy your UNICEF pumpkins from the Grade 3 and 4 class! They are $1 each and all proceeds go to supporting UNICEF.

Thank you for your support!

Remembrance Day Poem

We have been asked to recite the following poem at the Remembrance Day service on Thursday, November 7th at 1:30pm.  We will start practicing this poem at school but additional practice at home would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you!

Little Poppy
Little poppy
Given to me,
Help me keep Canada
Safe and free.
I'll wear a little poppy,
As red as red can be,
To show that I remember

Those who fought for me.

UNICEF Bake Sale

The Grade 3 and 4 class will be having a cupcake sale on Wednesday morning (first recess) with all of the proceeds going to UNICEF.  All cupcakes will be $1.

Spelling Words (October 21st - November 1st)

*this spelling test will be on November 1st

We have been working with Grade 1 students on sounding out words, listening for as many of the sounds as they can.  Do not feel that they have to get the exact word, but work on hearing as many of the sounds as possible.

Grade One
fall
orange
black
candy
boo
bat

Grade Two
Halloween
trick
treat
pumpkin
witch
ghost

UNICEF Fundraising

Every year the Grade 3 and 4 class do fundraising on behalf of UNICEF.  They have already started to sell their paper pumpkins that will hang as a hallway display.  Pumpkins sell for $1 each and they will write your name on it before they hang it in the hallway.  If  you are purchasing a number of pumpkins, as a family for example, please send a list of the names you wish to have displayed on the pumpkins.

They are also planning a cupcake sale next week, so stay tuned for more details on that.

Thank you in advance for you support of UNICEF ~ Miss McLean and the Grade 3 and 4 class greatly appreciate your donations!

Grade 2 Blog Posts

This morning the Grade 2 class posted on their blogs.  Please have a look and feel free to leave a comment.

I also encourage you to pass the link on to family and friends.  We are keeping track of the places where people look at our blog, and we are hoping to get as many "map dots" as we can.  Our goal is to have "map dots" from across Canada, and hopefully from around the world!  Thank you for your help!

http://kidblog.org/MrsEldersClass2013/

Globe Theatre

On Thursday, November 14th the Grade 1-4 students will be attending a matinee presentation at Globe Theatre in Regina.  We will be seeing a live performance of "Sleeping Beauty" and the students (and teachers) are all very excited!

A note will be sent home today with more information on it.  Please fill out the permission slip at the bottom and return it to school before October 28th.

To cover the cost of the tickets to the performance, we are asking each student to bring $15.  Please send this to school, with the permission form, before October 28th.  If you are sending a cheque, please make it out to Coronach School.

Thank you!

Spirit Week (October 28th - November 1st)

Monday, October 28th
White Day

Tuesday, October 29th
Diamonds and Denim

Wednesday, October 30th
Crocs and Crowns

Thursday, October 31st
Halloween!
(costumes in the afternoon only)

Friday, November 1st
Pajama Day

November Book Orders

The Scholastic catalogs for November were sent home yesterday.  If you are interested in ordering anything please return them by Tuesday, November 22nd.

I received an email saying that the October books have been shipped and should arrive Friday, or early next week.  Thank you to everyone who ordered!

If you are ordering for things such as Christmas, birthdays, etc please let me know and I will hold those books back when they arrive.  Keep this in mind for November and December orders if you would like to order anything for Christmas!

Blog Posts

Today the students did a blog post about Maia, our classmate who is visiting family in Taiwan.  The Grade 2s selected a picture that Maia sent, and then asked questions or made comments on it.  The Grade 1s blogged with me, and we too asked questions and made connections to some of Maia's pictures.

Please have a look at what the students posted today, and thank you in advance for continuing to be involved with the students and their blogs.

PS.  The Grade 1 comments and connections are at the link below, but will be seen as "Maia in Taiwan ~ Grade 1" and the name will be listed as Mrs. Elder.

http://kidblog.org/MrsEldersClass2013/

Word Rings ~ Grade 1

Today the Grade 1 students will be bringing home word rings.  These are words that are essential in the first stages of reading.  Students will work through about 20 word rings over the course of the year.

I ask that you work on these word rings each day. You don't need to work on every word each night, but can break it into small chunks if that works better for your child.  Once they have mastered the ring, they can return it to school, read it to me, and then take the next word ring home.

Again, these words are the most common words seen in the first books we will be reading, and will help your child gain confidence in the reading process.  Please practice as much as possible and help your child work through each word ring.  I appreciate your continued support ~ thank you!

Pumpkin Carving

Once again we will be carving pumpkins with the Grade 10 class ~ this will be our 6th Annual Pumpkin Carving Day!

We will be doing this carving on the afternoon of Wednesday, October 24th.  Pumpkins can be brought to school any time between now and October 24th.  Please write your child's name on the bottom of their pumpkin to avoid confusion once they arrive at school.  When we carve the pumpkins, the Grade 10 students will be doing ALL of the cutting.  We do ask that you send carving tools with your child ~ sharp knife, scoops, spoons, etc ~ to be used by your child and/or their Grade 10 partner.

Please let me know if you have any questions, concerns, or troubles finding a pumpkin for this project.

Thank you!

Spelling Words ~ October 15th-18th

Grade 1
go
up
in
see

Grade 2
once
after
from
live
some

Blogs Posts about Taiwan

Our classmate Maia is currently visiting family in Taiwan.  We are fortunate enough to be receiving updates and pictures from her as she travels.  We have already learned many things about Taiwan from Maia and her family pictures:
1) The printing in Taiwan looks very different than our printing.  They put English on some of the signs.
2) The numbers look the same as our numbers.
3) They decorate for Halloween the same way we do.
4) The toy store has Lego just like our Lego.
5) Maia is eating lots of seafood.

Please have a look at the most recent posts, all of which include a picture from Taiwan!  We would also love to hear your thoughts and connections!

http://kidblog.org/MrsEldersClass2013/
Thank you!

The Dot by Peter Reynolds

Today we read a story about a child who does not like art class.  Her artistic confidence starts with a small dot SO we drew dots!  Here are a few samples of our dots that we have started to create!

Photo of the Day ~ Kyler

We listened to instructions on how to
draw birds, and then we practiced
drawing them.

Spelling Words ~ October 7th-11th

Grade One
to
the
my
me
it
is

Grade Two
her
him
his
has
had
stop

Important Days ~ October

Monday, October 7th
Early Dismissal 2:20pm

Monday, October 14th
Thanksgiving Day
No School

Monday, October 21st
Early Dismissal 2:20pm

Week of October 21st-25th
Show and Tell Week
Education Week

Thursday, October 24th
Lifelong Learner Hot Dog Lunch

Lifelong Learner Lunch

As we celebrate Education Week in October, we will be having a Lifelong Learner Lunch on Thursday, October 24th.  Hot dog order forms were sent home today, and need to be returned by Monday, October 14th.

Thank  you!

Photo of the Day ~ Shelby

Our playground as the leaves
turn yellow.

Photo of the Day ~ Cody M

The "vintage" lunch kit that came
to school with Jordan today!

Book Orders

Yesterday your child brought home Scholastic catalogs for October book orders.  Anyone interested in ordering should have the order forms and cheque back to school by Monday, October 7th.

Thank you for your continued support!

Grade 2 Pattern Posts

Today the Grade 2 class posted about what they have been learning in patterns.  These posts focus on increasing patterns and the children also uploaded a picture!  Please have a look and feel free to comment with any questions or observations you have.

Thank you for your continued support!

http://kidblog.org/MrsEldersClass2013/

Drive Away Hunger

Coronach School will once again be participating in the Drive Away Hunger program through Farm Credit Corporation.  Your child will bring home a paper bag tonight, with a note attached that explains the program in more detail.

We ask that you fill the bag with a few of the items suggested, and return it to school before October 11th.  Last year Coronach School donated 907lbs of food, and we would like to donate even more this year!  Sherritt Coal will once again be matching the number of pounds collected with a cash donation!

Thank you all for your support and participation!

Photo of the Day ~ Jordan

this is us wrking on
the ltr C
by Jordan

Spelling Words and Tests

This Monday we will begin having weekly spelling words and tests.  Each Monday I will introduce words for each grade that will be a focus for the week.  We practice these words each day, but additional help and practice at home is always beneficial.  Spelling tests will be each Friday, and their test will be sent home in their Spelling duotang.  Please look over the test, sign it, and return the duotang to school the following Monday.

The focus of these tests from my perspective is to see the progress of the students and to focus on a small group of words at a time to work on.  I don't want the students to stress over a test, getting words wrong, or making mistakes.  I will do a practice test with them a few times this week so that they know what to expect.

These words build the foundation for future reading skills so please help your child at home with learning these words. These will be the spelling words for the week of September 30th to October 4th:

Grade One
I
a
we
and
one
two

Grade Two
think
thank
them
then
give
giving

6th Annual Pumpkin Partners

This year we will once again be carving pumpkins with Miss Rachul and the Grade 10 class.  This has become a yearly tradition and is a wonderful experience for everyone.  I will give more details in a few weeks, but please  keep on the lookout for a pumpkin that your child can use on that day.  I hope with enough notice that everyone has a chance to find a pumpkin but if not, please let me know.

Photo of the Day ~ Spencer

A little help to keep our shoes
on the right feet

Picture of the Day ~ Sierra

Working on the letter Pp in our
alphabet books

Our Substitute teacher

Today our class had Mr. Stirling as our teacher for Gym.  When class was over, Mr. Stirling played his trumpet for us! It was so exciting, and so loud!

As I watched the students and listened to their reactions, I was most proud of hearing this...

"That reminds me of..." 

We have been working on this concept since the first day of school, and they have it! A big thank you to Mr. Stirling for playing for us today and for taking us outside for gym!

Photo of the Day ~ Ayden

We are practicing our colour words and
learning to point to words when we read

Photo of the Day ~ Langston

Langston's favourite hockey team is...

Photo of the Day ~ Dayton

Kaden's Show and Tell ~ this pumpkin came
from the seeds we planted last spring
while in Grade 1

Terry Fox Walk

Wednesday, September 25th we are again hosting the Annual Terry Fox Walk. This walk is a collaboration of town and school. There will NOT be a separate community walk. 

There will be a Penny Parade in the gym from noon to 2:00 and tickets will be 15 for $5. Anyone wishing to send additional donations can send them to school with your child.

Terry Fox Tshirts and bunnyhugs will be for sale at the school at 12:00 noon on. Sizes are XXL, XL, L, M, S, for $20.00 and Youth Meduim for $15.00. Bunnyhugs are $55.00 

The Grade 1 and 2 class will not walk the full distance ~ we have tried in the past, and although many can make it, the majority of the class ends up too far behind to make it back in time for dismissal/busses.  We will walk the beginning of the walk, then detour back to the school once we walk down Main Street.

Thanks for your help and support!

Grade 2 Blog Posts

Today the Grade 2 class starting blogging and posted about their weekend.  Please have a look at them here:

http://kidblog.org/MrsEldersClass2013/

I encourage you to share this link with family and friends, and to also comment on the posts.  We are already quite excited as we watch our number of views grow!

Thank you in advance for you support!

Heard Around the Room

After a few days of working with our classroom dictionaries...

Student - "Mrs. Elder, I have been looking for love and I can't find it."

Mrs. Elder - "Pardon me?  What is it you are looking for?"

Student - "I have been looking for love and I keep looking and looking but I can't find it anywhere!"

Student then hands me his dictionary...

Mrs. Elder - "OH! You are looking for love in your dictionary. That makes WAY more sense!"

Photo of the Day ~ Hayden

Working on colour words after listening to
"Pete the Cat Loves his White Shoes"

Book Orders ~ Missing Book

The Scholastic Book Orders came in today and are being sent home with your child if you placed an order.  Thank you to everyone who ordered ~ I saw many great books heading home!

I have one Lego Ninjago Character Encyclopedia that is still at school ~ I have a corresponding order form for the book, but no name was put on the form.  If you have ordered this book but did not receive it, please let me know.  Sorry for the confusion and mix-up.

Star of the Week

Next week we will begin our "Star of the Week" within our classroom.  This allows us to learn a little more about each student in the room.  When your child is scheduled to be the "star", they will have small bulletin board display to fill with answers to a variety of questions.  A few days before your child is scheduled to be "star", a bag will come home that contains a list of the questions to be answered, cards to write the answers on, and enough room in the bag to send any other items of interest to school for display.

Some of the questions are things like favourite toys, favourite food, pets, etc.  Please answer most of the questions, and try to send a picture or two for the display.  Your child will present their bulletin board to the class, and then we write a book about your child with the information we have learned.

In the past, some students have brought snacks or a special pet at some point during their week.  Please be aware that this is not necessary and in no way are you obligated to do these things.  We can make arrangements though if this is something you would like to do.

The schedule for "Star of the Week" is as follows:

Sept 30 Savannah
Oct 7 Cheyanne
Oct 15 Braden
Oct 21 Kade
Oct 28 Kaden
Nov 4 Cody N
Nov 12 Maia
Nov 18 Dashiel
Nov 25 Autumn
Dec 2 Hayden
Dec 9 Jordan
Dec 16 Langston
Jan 13 Cody M
Jan 20 Kyler
Jan 27 Dayton
Feb 3 Shelby
Feb 10 Blake
Feb 24 Sierra
Mar 3 Johnathan
Mar 10 Spencer
Mar 17 Alera
Mar 24 Nathan
Mar 31 Teagan
Apr 7 Macie-Rae
Apr 28 Ayden
May 5 Jonathyn
May 12 Mrs. Dyck
May 19 Mrs. Elder

Comments on a Blog

Yesterday the Grade 1 class posted on their blog for the first time, and the Grade 2 class will be starting shortly.  We encourage you to read and comment on student posts, as they are very excited to hear what others have to say.  They love the encouragement, the questions, and it also makes them realize that they have an audience for their writing.

If you decide to comment, please keep a few things in mind.  A comment must be seen, and approved, by me before it is visible on their blog.  This is a safety precaution, and a necessary step, so please understand that there may be a delay in you commenting and it actually appearing.  When commenting please be aware that we are using these comments as tools for learning ~ be aware of your language, spelling, punctuation, etc as it helps to show the students good examples of writing from everyone in their lives.  Also remember that to mention names is okay, but we want to eliminate any first name/last name associations.  To say "Way to go John!" is excellent, but to add "Love, Grandma Smith" creates a name attachment, which we want to eliminate while online.  Again, the comments have to be approved by me but please just be aware of the safety concerns within our room while visiting our blogs.

Thank you SO MUCH already for looking and commenting!  We have over 300 views in just 2 days from all across Canada and we are VERY excited!

Grade 1 Blogging

Well today was a pretty exciting day for the Grade 1 class ~ we started blogging! We posted a picture of how we can translate a pattern (change from a colour pattern into a shape pattern for example).  You can find the blog posts here: http://kidblog.org/MrsEldersClass2013/

I encourage you to comment on the posts, and pass the link along to family and friends.  The kids are very excited to read what people have to say! Thank you in advance for your support!

School Pictures

Your child should have brought home the package of school picture yesterday.  If you are interested in ordering, please return the package to school by Tuesday, September 24th.

**If you are not interested in ordering pictures, or you would like re-takes, you must also return the package to school**

Thank you!

Photo of the day ~ by Maia

Tes are our frogs named Salt and Pepper.

Alphabet Bingo

This site is a great resource to help learn the letters of the alphabet AND their sound.  You have the choice before the game begins as to whether you want to practice letters (uppercase or lowercase) or letter sounds.  There is also an option to change the size of the board you play on.

Enjoy!

Alphabet Bingo

Alphabetical Order

The Grade Two class has been working very hard on alphabetical order over the last week.  Mrs. Dyck has worked with them and has seen lots of improvement!  She has found these games to help with practice of alphabetical order, and they look like lots of fun!

P.S. Even though the Grade Two class has been working on this, it is also GREAT practice for the Grade Ones too!

Alphabet and Alphabetical Order

Alphabetical Order

Photo of the Day ~ Braden

We rot abwot awor weekend.

Learning Our Colour Words

Today we worked on writing our colour words and recognizing them in print.  We listened to a story called "Pete the Cat ~ I Love My White Shoes" and worked on printing our colour words.  If you would like to watch the story again with your child, they should be able to recognize the repeated words of the song in print.

Thank you for your support!

Pete the Cat ~ I Love My White Shoes

Coronach by Grade 1 and 2

Photo of the day ~ Cheyanne

This is aowr white bord tabl.

Our Brain Breaks

During the day we take "Brain Breaks" ~ short activities that get our hearts beating, get our energy up, and wake up our brains so they are ready to work.

Many of these activities include dancing, which is shown in the video below.  So, if your child comes home and says "all we did today was dance", you don't have to worry.

Our Brain Break

Fluoride Mouthrinse

Our school provides a fluoride mouthrinse program which started in the classroom today.  Grade 1 students are coming home with a consent form (and information sheet) that needs to be filled out and returned to school as soon as possible.

Thank you!

Terry Fox Walk

Wednesday, September 25^th we are again hosting the Annual Terry Fox Walk.   This walk is a collaboration of town and school. There will NOT be a separate community walk.

There will be a Penny Parade in the gym from noon to 2:00 and tickets will be 15 for $5. We will also have pledge sheets available at the office for anyone who wishes to do some additional fundraising on their own. 

Terry Fox Tshirts and bunnyhugs will be for sale at the school at 12:00 noon on. Sizes are XXL, XL, L, M, S, for $20.00 and Youth Medium for $15.00. Bunnyhugs are $55.00 Thanks!!

Thanks for your help and support,

Ashley Rachul

Giselle Wilson

Amanda Gent

Brenda Obrigewitsch

School Forms and Fees

This is just a reminder to please return the school forms and send the $15 SRC fee as soon as possible.  There are 3 forms ~ Registration, Health, and Responsible Use.  Please ensure that all of those forms are returned as soon as possible so we can update student information.

Thank you!

Scholastic Book Orders

Your child is bringing home a few (okay, about 6!) Scholastic Book Order catalogs today.  If you are interested in ordering from any of these catalogs, please return all the order forms and payment by Thursday, September 12th.

A reminder that I can't accept cash for these orders, so please send a cheque for the correct amount.

I know the catalogs may be overwhelming BUT I do love books, I will constantly encourage reading, AND the classroom earns FREE books when you place orders ~ so thank you in advance!

Happy Reading!

5K Walk