Word Rings

Over the next week or two, your child will bring home word rings to practice. These are rings of sight words that your child should practice until they can confidently recognize each word.  Many of these words are unable to be sounded out (hence the sight word label) and are the building blocks of beginning reading.

Continue to work on letter identification, letter sounds, and as your child brings home a word ring please practice those every evening. When the word ring can be confidently done, return them to school and we will exchange it for the next ring on our list.

Thank you for your support with your child's reading!

Scholastic Book Orders

Today your child is bringing home September book catalogs (I'm a bit late sending them).

If you are interested in ordering books, please send order forms AND cheque (we are unable to accept cash) back to school by Tuesday, October 3rd.

 Our classroom earns credit towards books and other classroom supplies so your support is greatly appreciated. Thanks, and happy reading!

Hot Dog Sale

Forms for the upcoming hot dog sale went home today.
Please return as soon as possible.
Thanks!

School Events (Thursday and Friday)

On Thursday the school will be participating in the Terry Fox walk.  We will walking outside that afternoon so please ensure your child has proper footwear and a jacket.  Students can bring donation, and there is a penny parade in the gym that afternoon as well.  The community is invited to attend, so I hope to see you all there.

On Friday our school will participate in Orange shirt day to help recognize the impact of residential schools.  Please have your child wear some orange on Friday.  Thanks!

What are the chances?

What are the chances that students will come to school dressed the same?
Pretty good apparently...

QSP Magazine Sales

Yesterday your child brought home QSP magazine catalogs.  We do this as a school wide fundraiser and it allows us to have events and activities throughout the year.  Further information about magazine sales is in the booklet and the final day of sales is October 3rd.  The school goal is to have each student sell 5 magazines and we appreciate your work at making that happen.

Home Reading

Today your child is bringing home new library books AND a Home Reading Journal.  We have been practicing writing books in the journal and students will need to write a minimum of 5 new books in their journal before next Wednesday.  Examples of what each entry should look like are given below.
Your child can read then document their library books and/or books that you have at home.  The person who listened to their reading should sign at the end of the entry.

Obviously, reading skills will vary at this point of Grade One, but I promise you it will get better.  Right now, there are reading options to use as your child is starting to read.  You can share read, where you read most of the words and they read the words they know.  You can read a page, they can repeat what you said while pointing at each word.  They can tell you the sound of the first letter, and take a guess at what the word might be.

Our goal is for them to love reading, and although the process is slow and often frustrating right now, I promise it will get easier!

Thanks for you support and Happy Reading!

Grading Practices and Achievement Levels

I want to make you aware of the grading practices for Grade One. Students are not given grades or percentages.  They are given a description of their achievement level for the specific learning outcome.  

As I send home the work we do at school, you will notice that it will sometimes have an achievement level listed on it.  This means that your child did this work independently, and the assessment level reflects where their learning is at that point in time.

A description of the achievement levels are explained below:

EU – Enriched Understanding – Student demonstrates enhanced understanding of grade level outcomes.

DE – Developing as Expected – Student demonstrates expected understanding of grade level outcomes.

BD – Beginning to Develop – Student demonstrates initial understanding of grade level outcomes.

TS - Additonal Time and Support Needed – Student demonstrates more time and support is needed to meet grade level outcomes.

If you have any questions, please email me at elder.christa@prairiesouth.ca or contact me at the school.  Thanks!

Library Day

Today was our first trip to the school library! We will travel to the library EVERY Wednesday and their library books and bag MUST be returned the next Wednesday morning.

Students are allowed to take 5 books out a week.  For now, the 5 books will be split up in this way:
3 books based on word families, letter sounds, etc
2 books of their choice based on interest

In the weeks to come I will send home our "Home Reading" program that involves reading the library books, and of course, any other books you and your child read.  This Home Reading component helps students take accountability of their learning and is outcome in the curriculum that we work on in Grade One.  Thanks in advance for your cooperation with this program, and stay tuned for a post about what Home Reading will involve each week.

Missoula Children's Theatre

Coronach School Audition Notice

Dear Parents and Guardians,

The audition for the Missoula Children's Theatre production of Gulliver’s Travels will be held on Monday, September 25 at 9:00 in the Coronach School Gym. There are roles for students who wish to participate from Grades Kindergarten to 12.  Approximately 50-60 local students will be cast to appear in the show with the MCT Tour Actor/Director. There is no guarantee that everyone who auditions will be cast in the play. The first rehearsal begins Monday after school.

Rehearsals will be conducted every day from 3:35 to 7:55 at school. Sept. 25-29. Every character is required for different amounts of time.  Your child may not be there for the entire rehearsal time, but must be available to come at their required time on each of these days.

A detailed rehearsal schedule will be distributed after auditions on Monday. Cast members scheduled for the full 4 hours and 15 minutes will be asked to bring a sack lunch, dinner or snack to be eaten during the 15-minute break between sessions.

• Students who audition and get parts MUST be available every day after school.  No exceptions. The directors are very strict about this. Any appointments or activities need to be rescheduled.  Missoula needs to take priority as it is only 5 days from audition to performance. 
• If you DO NOT want your child to participate, please email/contact your child’s teacher to let them know. If your child cannot commit to every day, they CANNOT participate.

The performance will be held on Friday September 29 at 7:00 and will be presented at Coronach School.

The Missoula Children's Theatre is a non-profit organization based in Missoula, Montana. This coming year more than 65,000 cast members across the globe will take to the stage to the delight and applause of their families, friends, community, neighbors and teachers! 

For any questions please contact Coronach School.

Week One

We have been very busy this week!
We are learning our classroom routines AND practicing our reading skills.
This week we have worked on reading the pictures and finding the best places to work in the classroom.

Have a look!

SRC Fees

Please send a cheque for $15 to school as soon as possible.
This SRC fee covers items such as celebrations, guest speakers and other events within the school.

Thanks!

Remind App

Please click on the following link to sign up for the classroom Remind App.  It is used to send information to parents and caregivers (more than one parent/caregiver can sign up).

This will be used for short/quick messages such as "remember that tomorrow is library day" or "pizza lunch on Friday".  I promise that you will not be spammed with a million messages and you will appreciate the reminders about school happenings.  Thanks!

Remind App

Day One Package

As your child returns home from school on Tuesday there will a bag of information inside their backpack.  A few of the items are informational BUT many of the items are time sensitive and need to be returned to school.

Please use that bag to return these 4 items by Friday, September 8th:

1) Demographic Sheet
2) Flouride Program Card
3) Media Release/Privacy Form
4) Parent Survey

Thank you!

Open House

Coronach School will be hosting an Open House on Tuesday, September 5th from 3:30 - 5:30.  Come and tour the school, see your child's classroom and meet the teacher.

See you then!