Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Thank you for all your support!

What a beautiful day for a run!  Today we participated in our school's Terry Fox Run for Cancer Research.  Our class contributed $64.00 in loonies, toonies, and even some 'paper money' to help continue Terry's dream of helping people afflicted with cancer.  We read about Terry Fox's life and made head bands with quotations from A Story of Hope.  I was impressed at how well the students listened to the story and recognized when the quotation from their own headband was mentioned.  Students shared stories of their own and showed empathy when learning about Terry's courage when he was diagnosed a second time with cancer. 
Thank you for all your support for our first fundraiser this year.

Saturday, September 17, 2011

We are now a combined grade!

We welcomed some new students to our classroom on Friday - we have 4 new Grade One students, so we are now a Combined Grade 1/2 Class.  We also have 5 students leaving us to join the 2/3 combined class.  I hope everyone will join us on Thursday evening from 6:00 to 7:30 at our OPEN HOUSE to see our classroom and have a peek at what we have been learning the past two weeks.  We have been discussing the Four Tribe Agreements, reviewing the School Code of Conduct - Be Safe, Be Respectful, Be Responsible, and working on developing our own pledge/promise.  We have also created I-Charts for Read to Self, Read to Someone, and Listen to Reading as we prepare to start Literacy Work Stations soon.

If you would like a 'sneak peek' of the classroom, I have posted some photos taken last week.

Here are our Tribe Agreements.

This is where we will be posting our reading strategies.  We will also be setting reading goals.  Each student will conference with Ms. Sinclair and decide on an area (Comprehension, Accuracy, Fluency, or Expanding Vocabulary) to focus on when practicing reading.

This is our Mathematics area.

This is our Word Wall.

These are the leveled books in our classroom. 
Ms. Sinclair is still unpacking more books for our classroom library.

Sunday, September 4, 2011

September News from Room 3

Welcome to Grade Two at Cherrywood Acres Public School! I am looking forward to getting to know the Grade Two children and our Cherrywood Acres families.
Students will continue to use the Primary agenda/organizer in our classroom. Please check your child’s backpack for it every day. I have found this routine to be essential for ensuring communications between home and school. If you have any pizza money, book club orders, or communication to send to me, please use the agenda. Please sign or initial your child’s agenda and make sure your child brings it to school every day. Agendas will be sent home today; there is a $6 fee to help cover the cost of purchasing these organizational tools.


The first few days of “Back-to-School” may be tiring for some children – learning is fun, but it can also be exhausting! Try to ensure that your child is well rested. This may mean that an earlier bedtime may be needed for the first couple weeks of school while your child adjusts to his/her new routine.


Take Home Reading Program
In order to involve you in your child’s learning this year, your child will be participating in the Take Home Reading Program. Your child will bring home a book OR books to read to you. Reading to and with your child on a regular basis is extremely important. Let’s get started TONIGHT! You will find your Take-Home Reading bag in your child’s backpack this week


Homework
In order to help establish good homework habits, your child is bringing home a WORD WORK HOMEWORK BOOK at the beginning of each school week. It lists the ‘word wall words’ that we are learning / practicing to spell correctly in our daily written work.


Your Child’s Teachers
I will be teaching all subjects with the exception of Physical Education, Health, Music, Drama, and Dance. Music will be taught by Ms Illich. Physical Education, Health, Drama and Dance will be taught by Ms Vaccaro. The children will also visit the library with Mrs. Rocco. You will have the opportunity to meet them during our Open House on September 22nd.


Supplies
Your child should bring a backpack to school each day in which to carry her/his two small meals for our nutrition breaks, her/his agenda, and library book and any other homework. A list of suggested supplies was sent home with the school newsletter in June. Your child will need a labeled pair of headphones to use while on the computers at school. We use the computers regularly, so please send these to school as soon as possible.It is very important to have appropriate footwear for gym time. Ms Vaccaro has requested that the children have running shoes to wear on the days when she is providing instruction in the gym. Gym days are noted on the calendar, so children can be responsible for making sure they have their running shoes on these days.If your child wishes to bring sports equipment from home to school, please make sure that it is clearly labeled. Labeling all your child’s clothing is highly recommended, too.

Open House and BBQ
I am looking forward to meeting everyone at our Open House on September 22nd. After everyone has settled in and classroom organization is finalized, I will be sending home a student information form and survey for you to complete. It is a little more comprehensive that the office forms and will help me in getting to know your child and his/her interests quicker. This helps me in my planning and stocking of the classroom library. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to call me at the school. The best time to reach me is at the end of the school day between 3:30 and 4:00.