December 16, 2016

Well, that's a wrap, folks! 2016 has come to an end!

I've kept the first grade students' agendas for the holiday and sent home, instead, a little holiday gift and some Christmas crafts. There's no home learning assigned for the break, of course, but hopefully everyone will read, read, read, and read some more!

Thanks for all the generous gifts that came my way today! I feel spoiled!

Merry Christmas, everyone! See you all next year!

December 13, 2016

Thanks so much to everyone who sent food bank items! The table at the front of the school is looking fuller and fuller ...

The student council is sponsoring a "Dress up as Christmas" Day tomorrow. Everyone is invited (but not required!) to dress in something Christmasy tomorrow. "Tis the season!

Our first grade class is going to the school library upstairs tomorrow morning for some Yuletide stories and some hot chocolate, as well. Thanks, Mrs. Anderson, for organizing this treat for us! If you can, please send an unbreakable cup with your child for the hot chocolate. 

There is no spelling list this week, for either grade one or grade two.

The second graders have their concert tomorrow night. I'm sure Mrs. MacDonald has sent info home regarding the concert, so I'll just add my best wishes for a great evening for everyone!

Here are some photos from the second graders' visit to the museum's Festival of the Trees. (You should go!)

December 9, 2016

Please sign and return the spelling test books Monday morning.  Thanks.

We were treated to an excellent presentation on train safety this morning. The students are bringing home a "Train Your Brain" book to reinforce the learning that went on at the presentation. Hopefully we'll all be a little safer around trains and train tracks from now on!

Our Food Bank donation table at the front door is looking a little hungry itself; if you'd like to send some non-perishable donations, that would be great. Thanks in advance for doing this!

I hope everyone survives the frosty weekend. At least the first graders will have a new book to read over the weekend; enjoy the Santa Claus Activity Book, all you first grade households!

December 8, 2016

Remember to study for the spelling test tomorrow!! Woop woop!

As promised, here are some elf photos. Enjoy!

 

December 7, 2016

Decembrrr has really hit, hasn't it?!  What a deep freeze.  Luckily, the brains in this class haven't frozen at all; the first graders did an amazing job with today's golden envelope reading! Their book is about a Christmas tree. The story grows and grows and grows ... Enjoy!

Please check to see if your child accidentally brought home an extra agenda, as Carter D. is missing his. Thanks.

Newsletters went home yesterday.

There will be a Parent School Council meeting tonight at 7:00. Everyone is welcome to attend.

Stand by for photos of Santa's elves tomorrow!

December 6, 2016

The first graders have some Christmas spelling words for this week, as do the second graders (again!).

The golden envelope book for tonight is a Christmas alphabet book. The students should be able to figure out unfamiliar words by covering up parts of the word, looking at the picture, asking "What makes sense?" or "What sounds right?", and by making connections to words they already know (for example, the students know the word "right" so they can use that knowledge to help them figure out the word "lights".

The second graders are working through a Christmas novel study - and are doing well with that endeavor!

December 5, 2016

Brrr! What a frosty day! It's great to see everyone remembering warm clothes for the kids. There's more cold air forecasted for the upcoming week, so keep those parkas close at hand.

Today's first grade reading book is all about Christmas jokes; enjoy!

We'll do a spelling list for grade one tomorrow (Tuesday) as we were a little strapped for time today.

December 2, 2016

Parents, please sign and return the spelling test books that went home today. Thanks.

First grade parents, you're probably catching on to the new golden envelope theme for books; we've abandoned the series we've been working through to bring you Christmas books! There's no need to return these books to school. We'll return to the "Tab is a Cat" style books in January.

If you get a minute, check out the link to the Reindeer Orchestra at the side. Make sure your sound is turned up!

November 30, 2016

Well that's another month under our academic belts! It's fun to watch the students getting better and better with their academics every day; the first graders are becoming quite the reading machines, and the second graders are practically salivating over double digit addition questions - wowza!

This December the students and staff of JES will again be collecting non-perishable food for the Food Bank.  If you'd like to contribute, that would be great. We always make a human chain to pass the donations along Geikie Street on the last day of school and will be doing that again this year. Tins and boxes are much easier for the students to handle (we've had some breakages with glass jars in the past), so if you could avoid sending glass containers, that would be helpful.

The first grade reading envelope today is all about the "ear" sound; enjoy!

November 28, 2016

Quite a few spelling test books cam back today; for those who haven't returned them yet, try to get them in asap.  Thanks.

Here are the Christmas concert dates for this year:

1. The second graders are performing Wednesday, December 14th. The dress rehearsal for this concert will be Tuesday, December 13th at 9:00.

2. The first graders are performing Thursday, December 15th. The dress rehearsal for this concert will be Tuesday, December 13th at 1:30.

The first graders are getting plenty of practice with the "when 2 vowels go walking, the first one does the talking and it says its own name" rule tonight! (There are lots of "ai" words in tonight's book!)

If I missed you for a parent-teacher interview, let me know and we'll set up a time to meet.

Just a quick plea to put names in all your child's outdoor wear - including inside boots. Also, please ensure that your child has some warm waterproof mittens; there have been lots of frosty fingers lately! Thanks.

November 23, 2016

Reminders for tomorrow (Thursday, the 24th):

- Picture retakes will happen in the morning

- There will be a bake sale after school, sponsored by the Out of School Care program, to raise money for relief efforts in Haiti. Baked treats will be $1.00 each.

- First graders: read The Goat to a willing audience at your house tonight! Practice making your reading nice and smooth!

November 22, 2016

Thanks to everyone who sent back report card envelopes (with the "Please Return" sheets completed inside!). I've scheduled interviews for everyone who sent back the interview forms; please let me know asap when you'll be available for an interview if you haven't already been contacted by me.

There will be an after school bake sale this Thursday, sponsored by the Out of School Care group. Baked items will cost $1.00. Proceeds are going to relief efforts for Haiti.

Remember that photo retakes will happen this Thursday morning.

The first graders have a book that reinforces the "magic e" idea again tonight - and that adds a new rule: "When 2 vowels go walking, the first one does the talking and it says its own name." Look for examples of this rule in words like "toe" and "pie" in today's book.

The second graders have been working on adding big numbers like 24 + 16.  Watch for upcoming mathemagicians demonstrating for all the folks at home!

November 21, 2016

Reminders for this week include:

1. Report cards went home today. Please return the envelope, and the stapled sheets inside - by tomorrow morning, if possible. There is no need to return the report card.  Thanks.

2. There will be photo retakes this Thursday morning.

3. There will be a noon dismissal for students this Friday.

November 16, 2016

Remember that there will be a snack sale tomorrow at recess.

Picture retakes will be done on Thursday, November 24th. Photos that were taken in October were sent home yesterday. If you'd like a retake, the original package must be brought back on Thursday and returned to Koda Photography.

The first graders didn't have much time to read today's golden envelope book in class, so it would be great if parents paid special attention to the book. The book introduces the "magic e" concept, where an "e" jumps over the letter to its left and hits the vowel beside the jumped letter, making the vowel say its own name. Examples of words that are affected by the magic "e" are like, make, hope, ate, safe, save, fine, take, made, hole, home, wake, and woke.

November 15, 2016

There will be a snack sale this Thursday at recess. Dig out those quarters!

The first graders are really starting to come along with their reading; thanks for all the support with the golden envelope reading program. It's making a difference in the students' classroom performance; reading is becoming more fluent, sight words are becoming more secure, confidence is growing ... can reading encyclopedias (whatever THEY are!) be far behind?

The second grade students are continuing with reading comprehension activities and are becoming more fluent oral readers every day. Yeehaw! As well, we've had several math quizzes these past few days; the quizzes will be coming home for parent signatures before the end of the week. Stay tuned!

November 14, 2016

Thanks to everyone who returned signed spelling books. New spelling lists are posted in the agendas.

The second graders have begun a "Word of the Day" program again. We recently learned the word "oblivious" as part of the program. Check out the video below to see if you catch its connection with the word oblivious. Just click on the word oblivious, written  below:

oblivious

November 10, 2016

The spelling books that went home today need a parent signature and then need to be returned Monday morning.  Thanks.

We didn't have time to practise the grade one olden envelope books that went home today, but I sent them home anyway, since there are 3 whole days to practise it at home! Thanks so much for your continued support with your child's learning; it makes such a great impact.

The first graders also had a taste sensation this morning when we sampled a pomegranate. We learned the story of Persephone and Demeter and how the seasons were created. (There are lots of pomegranate fans in our first grade class!)

We started laying the groundwork for double digit addition with regrouping in Grade Two today (questions like 24 + 37) so expect some math whizzes to be developing directly!

November 6, 2016

 I hope everyone had a great weekend, and that you were all able to enjoy the warm November days we had - and the extra hour of sleep last night, now that we've switched to "Fall Back" time.

Remember to return signed spelling test books Monday morning!

Also, first graders, remember to tuck your golden envelopes (with your latest reading adventure in them!) into your backpacks.

There will be no school this Friday, because of Remembrance Day.

November 2, 2016

The first graders have a note in their agendas regarding a school council fund raiser. Also, newsletters went home electronically with many students; if your email address is not on file to receive electronic school newsletters, your child will have a paper copy of the school newsletter in their agenda, as well.

The grade one students' book tonight is all about the short i sound (like the i sound you hear in the word Tim). It's great that parents are taking the time to reinforce what we've learned in school by having their child read these goofy little books out loud. Your input will make a big difference in your child's learning - and they are so proud to show what they know!

Some first graders have 2 books today, as their book from Monday night didn't get recorded.

The second grade students started a new "Word of the Day" book today. The word for today is genesis.  We've also started some timed math facts sheets in grade two for and "Out of this World Mathematicians" challenge. So far, congratulations go out  to Hailey, Marco, Niko and Deric for completing their challenge successfully. Well done, gentlemen!

November 1, 2016

It's hard to believe that November is upon us already! Whoosh! Where did the first two month of school go?

The first graders are reading "Tab is a Cat" as their golden envelope reading tonight. The book emphasizes the short a sound (like the sound "a" makes in "apple"). If your child gets stuck on any of the words, ask what they know about the word, ask if the picture helps, or cover up part of the word, and show just one letter at a time, asking your child to make the sound that letter makes. If they read a word incorrectly, ask them to reread the line it's in. Often they'll self-correct just by rereading. If they don't self-correct, try asking, "Does that sound right?" or "Does that make sense?"

Just a friendly reminder that Hallowe'en candy should stay at home to be eaten there. Thanks.

Also, now with the colder weather upon us, it would be a good idea to label all your children's winter clothing, including individual mittens.  Thanks again!

Here are some Hallowe'en photos for your viewing pleasure: