December News

Beginning in January, your child will bring home a different bag each week with an activity related to one of the five strands of Mathematics.  The bags will be sent home on Mondays and need to be returned on Fridays for reorganization.  I am sure you will find the activities enjoyable; they are designed for you to do WITH your child. Your child will need your guidance to play the enclosed game or complete the activity.  There is also a journal for you and your child to respond in after you complete the activity.  I have found this activity to be very rewarding with my own children – math is REALLY a lot of FUN!  If you wish to opt out of this activity, please let me know before December 23^rd.  We will begin on January 10^th.

Spelling contracts will continue to be sent home on Mondays as well so your child can practice the words we are focusing on during our Working With Words time during our Literacy block.

The Take Home Reading Program is another important opportunity for your child to practice reading that will continue throughout the school year. 

Critical Learning Pathway

Our next focus for our ‘critical learning pathway’ will be the reading expectation:

By the end of Grade One, students will begin to identify, with support and direction, the speaker and the point of view presented in a text and suggest a possible alternative perspective.

In the Language curriculum, the following teacher prompts are suggested,

“Who is talking in this story?”

“Would the story be different if someone else were talking?”

“What is the author telling us about this topic?”

Specific information about this reading expectation, how to help your child with supporting reading strategies, and how your child will be assessed at the end of our unit will be forthcoming. In the meantime, the teacher prompts are excellent suggestions of questions you can begin to ask your child when reading together. If your child is initially unable to respond, please model for him/her. For example, when listening to your child retell our story-bit story, The Paper Bag Princess, ask what you think the dragon would say after he flies around the world.

Agendas

Please check your child’s agenda daily and encourage your child to be responsible for bringing it to school everyday. I check the agendas every morning for communication from home. I also use the agenda as a means of communicating with you.  The children are starting to record reminders themselves now, too.

Reminders

December 3 Crazy Hat/Hair Day

December 10 Twin Day (dress up like a friend)

December 13 evening performance of A Christmas Carole (6:00 – 7:15pm)

December 14 matinee performance of A Christmas Carole (1pm)

December 15 Dairy Farm presentation

December 17 Forestview Spiritwear / Pajamas Day

December 22 Learning With Logan – baby visit

December 23 Celebration/Awards Assembly @ 9:15am and our last day of classes until January 10, 2011

Character Education

The character trait we will be learning more about and celebrating at our next awards

assembly is RESPECT.  We show respect for the various cultures and celebrations that the month of December brings to our Forestview community.

Cold Weather Reminders

I know I sound like a broken record but the cold, snowy weather is imminent!  We have two 20-minute sessions outside each day so it essential that your child come prepared with warm, winter boots, snow pants, a hat, and mittens.

Please send your child with an extra pair of mittens and socks to keep in his/her backpack as these items often get wet and do not dry before the second fitness break.  Our playground does not have very much protection from the wind, so snowpants and a hat are ‘a must’ for keeping warm outdoors.

Please remember to send your child with a pair of ‘indoor shoes’ to wear while inside the school. 

Congratulations to

our Grade One Award Recipients for November!

Grace – Achievement Award

Anthony – Effort Award

Ashwaq – Character Award - courage