Wednesday June 28, 2023

180 'school days' ago, we started our journey in Grade One together...and now it all wraps up tomorrow with our last day of school!

We have had many adventures and lots of fun together.  I have seen incredible growth from each student!  We spent some time reminiscing today about our best memories in Grade One.  Ducklings, swimming lessons, outdoor recess, story workshop and special holiday celebrations were all at the top of everyone's lists.  Off to Grade Two, with lots of literacy and numeracy skills in our tool boxes!

Tomorrow is Sports Day, so be sure to send a water bottle and hat for your child, and sunscreen them up in the morning.  Regular dismissal time stands at 3:15.

Happy Summer to you all and I look forward to getting lots of smiles and waves from this gang of kiddos when I see them back at school in the fall.  Thank you for all your support!

Tuesday June 27, 2023

We had a ton of fun building sailboats in Room 4 today!  Using corks, rubber bands, toothpicks and foam, we experimented with different raft designs and sail positions to watch our boats glide (or tip!) in our tubs of water. We learned about ballast, keels and how sails act different lot when they’re tall or short. So much hands on learning!

Tomorrow is our last “regular” day of school, as Thursday is Sports Day in the afternoon. Please be sure to send your student to school with a hat and water bottle on Thursday, as we will be outside, weather permitting. 

Monday June 26, 2023

It's our last week of school and we are filling our final days with lots of math games, STEM activities, stories and workshop time.  Today's STEM challenge was writing numbers and math sentences on sticky notes and assembling them on a number line.  We are getting close the end of Stuart Little, which has been an interesting change for the Grade Ones as they don't have big colourful illustrations to follow along with.  They ask for it every day!  

Reminder that the last day of school is Thursday June 29th, and it's a full day with dismissal at 3:15.

Thursday June 22, 2023

We sent our Grade 6s off with a farewell assembly this afternoon.  Parents worked hard to set up a fun send-off for our oldest students.  Set-up for the Carnival is underway and it looks like it will be a great time!

Ask your child about today's STEM challenge...towers built with plasticine, popsicle sticks and a time limit!  So fun to watch the engineers at work.

Wednesday June 21, 2023

It was National Indigenous Peoples' Day today, which we marked by examining the new flags gifted to our school recently by the Indigenous Learning Team.  The three flags represent the Treaty 7, Metis and Inuit nations and sparked interesting discussion of symbols, colours, history and culture around our Indigenous community.  

Today's STEM challenge was a paper airplane flight contest.  First, we watched a video that led us through the steps to make a paper airplane.  We then experimented in the classroom with different throwing techniques to see how they soared.  Near the end of the day we took them outside to see whose aircraft flew the farthest...and also tried throwing them into the wind to see how that affected their flight.  Ask your child how their paper airplane made out!

Remember to return any levelled readers your child may have brought home in their RED folders in the past few months.  Thank you!

Tuesday June 20, 2023

Our STEM challenge today was to build a bridge using blocks and popsicle sticks, with no glue or tape allowed!  The students worked individually or in pairs and did a lot of problem solving to create their best bridge that was judged on length, height and strength.  It was so interesting to observe and listen to the learning that was happening through trial and error.  We talked about how we learn so much from making mistakes...the more mistakes, the better the learning!

We will wrap up our home reading program at the end of the week.  Please be sure to return all books to school by Friday.  The kids have grown so much in their reading ability, thanks to all the hard work put in at home.  Also, I'd like to thank Mrs. Van der Merwe for coming in every Tuesday morning to read one-to-one with the kids.  This effort made a huge difference in everyone's reading development this year!

Monday June 19, 2023

Two more weeks to go!  

Today our class completed a simple STEM challenge to test their problem-solving skills.  Everyone was given one sheet of paper with the goal of making the longest paper chain.  We discovered a few things interesting things along the way!  Ask your child what they learned through this challenge, and if they would do things differently next time.

See message below regarding the Family Carnival on Thursday:

Just a reminder the Woodlands school carnival is this week and you are all invited. 

 

Thursday June 22nd from 5:30 to 7:30 pm (Rain or shine)

 

Entrance Tickets: $2 per child (Adults free)

 

Look forward to seeing you all there!!