May Update

"April showers bring May flowers"- enough  with the snow already!

May is a very exciting month here in Pembina Trails due to our Canada 150 celebration. The date is May 24th and will cover most of the day. We will be picked up by school bus 10-10:30ish and be driven to Investor's Field, where our school has a reserved section of seats, thus keeping us together. We will have time to explore the floats created by all of our schools and eat lunch. Around noon there will be a presentation that will bring us to 2-2:30ish, at which point we board the school bus back to VW and end of day routines there. The permission form for this event is NOT ONLINE, and goes home on Thursday, May 4/2017.

With respect to lunch that day, please try to send what we call a "throw-away" lunch. This means a lunch where, once eaten, there are no plastic containers, cutlery, thermoses, cups, etc. that the children will need to carry around all afternoon. Please use plastic ziploc bags for food items and the lunch can go in a plastic shopping bag, with their name clearly on the outside.

Additionally, please consider the weather for the day. Dress in layers if the forecast is not great, and rain jackets if rain is a possibility (umbrellas are not recommended as they are easily set down and forgotten). It is very important to provide the children with a water bottle, a cap (sun or cloud), and apply sun screen at home.

It is shaping up to be a spectacular day!

Language Arts
This month we continue to explore different word categories as part of the Morning Routine. We also continue to explore spelling patterns through the Morning Routine, where they look for/think of as many words as they can with a specific beginning/ending sound/pattern. The children are becoming very resourceful in their search for the appropriate words. The children are continuing to develop personal narrative skills and are working to create texts of 8-10 sentences. We are just beginning our transition into a focus on poetry. The Home Reading program continues to run this month, but will come to a close when we move into June.

Mathematics
We have moved into exploring time this month. This first week we have looked at which hand does what job, and are working with hours and half hours on digital and analog clocks. As we progress, the children will be working with 5 minute intervals (and 1 minute for those who are ready), and considering elapsed/future time periods (which will include larger time segments including days, weeks, months, and years).

Science
We have just started our consideration of air and water in the environment. As part of studying Nunavut, we have discussed the effects of global warming on that environment and ecosystem. We are currently moving into the water cycle, identifying and understanding concepts within the that system.

Social Studies
We have just concluded our study on Nunavut. Our class' school float proposal included the idea of an inuksuk, which other classes had as well, and will be included in our school float :) The children were quite excited to learn of the many games, which also build the skills and strength required to survive in the harsh environment. Several of the children brought in examples of coins from their home country to share with the class. It was very interesting for the children and those presenting showed a great deal of pride. It was a great beginning to looking at Canada within the Global Community.

April Update

A belated thank you, for all of the wonderful food, help, and support everyone provided for teacher appreciation week back in March. The children were so excited as well, and their cards and praise are honestly priceless :)

A reminder about the Jump Rope for Heart pledge forms that went home just prior to Spring Break - the date of our event is June 7th, but the pledge forms are required back at school by April 27th. The program provides rewards to students who achieve different levels of fundraising goals, all of which is outlined in the package as well as their website. Also, it is important to remember that even if no money is raised by a student, the fundraising forms must still be returned to school.

Language Arts
The children have moved on to the fourth and final set of spelling patterns/sounds this month. We have also begun a closer look at synonyms, antonyms, homophones, and rhyming words this month, which will lead nicely into our look at poetry next month. After completing their fiction and nonfiction books last month, we have started April with a closer look at personal narrative writing (or small moment writing). We are still in the beginning stages of understanding this concept and its process. Many of the children are developing personal preferences in their reading material as the year flies by. Some of the favourites include the Notebook of Doom, Undead Pets, National Geographic Kids: Just Joking,  and Who Would Win series.

Mathematics
We are finishing up our exploration of money, and we will have a final assessment towards the end of next week /beginning of the week after. Many of the children have demonstrated good mental math skills when adding a collection of coins. We will continue studying word problems and strategies until the end of the year. Our Morning Routine page has changed again, this time to include daily writing, and word work. The children are excited by the change and usually tackle the LA portion first. As the month winds down and we move into May, we will begin a look at "time" as concept within Measurement (understanding concepts of days, weeks, months and years and how they relate), and also as another connection to counting patterns, addition and subtraction concepts.

Science
We have just finished up our study of Growth and Changes in Animals last week. This month we begin a look into Air and Water in the Environment, which builds an understanding of the water cycle including what factors/processes are involved and the effect of changing variables.

Social Studies
This month we are finishing up our look into Nunavut and Iqaluit, as part of understanding the diversity of environment and culture between Canadian communities. Included at the bottom of the blog are pictures of a tundra landscape, coloured in oil pastel with their own personal inuksuk created from Plasticine. Everyone did a fantastic job! As we move into May we will begin looking at the Canadian community as a whole, which will include more conversations and concepts around "Canada 150." This week we discussed what we like about our country, what is good about it, and ways we can keep it great and make it even better. Today we completed a design plan from our class to Mrs. Eden for consideration as the school float in the Divisional Canada 150  project later this year.

March Update

Thank you everyone for your generous support of Operation Donation, providing support for those less fortunate in our city. This month some special activities include "I love to Read Week" which we are tying into Canada's 150th birthday; and another Canada 150 activity that will include participation of the entire Division, celebrating what is means to be Canadian and how we can make a difference in/for Canada.


Language Arts

The children continue making progress with their individual exploration of spelling patterns and sounds, and this month will begin study of a third pattern/sound set.  In writing, the children have begun creating stories modeled after a book covered in class. We are hoping to share our "Cookie's Week" books with the Grade 4's to celebrate and get some positive feedback for future works. The students have started a first attempt of a nonfiction text, and the different ways information is communicated within these texts. Of particular consideration is including key information and taking time to make illustrations meaningful and helpful to the reader.

VW I Love to Read 2017- Monday, March 6^th to Friday, March 10^th

Theme- Canada 150. We read Canadian! Nous lisons du canadien!

Our I Love to Read Challenges are the following;

1.       To read for 150 Minutes individually OR as a class.  That’s only 2 hours 30 minutes from March 3^rd to March 13th. Students can count the minutes they read at home as well. Of course, books must be by Canadian authors and/or content. I have sent home this recording page today. Please send it back daily so Mme Fillion can record our results with the rest of the school :)

2.       As a school- Let’s take on the challenge of Reading across Canada! Lisons à travers du Canada!

There are approx. 7500 kms from St. John’s Newfoundland and Labrador to Victoria BC.

1 book read= 10 kms (Individually read, read as a class- all books count!)

As a school we would need to read 750 books! We can do it!

I Love to Read Week – Special Clothing Days
Thursday, March 9th - Wear Canadian! (red and white, plaid or anything that represents Canada)

Friday, March 10th- Canadian Sport  Day

Chantal Rochon

Bibliothécaire-Enseignante/Teacher Librarian, École Van Walleghem School

Mathematics

The children continue working to build their accuracy and understanding of numbers forwards and backwards within 100 and beyond. The Morning Routine page has changed twice since December in order to target understanding of and accuracy in number patterns and squences. We will continue exploring Canadian money as another way to practice addition, subtraction, and problem solving. The children will also be building recognition of Canadian coins (including the almost extinct penny).

We continue to include a focus in problem solving strategies particularly with respect to what is the problem and is it a one-step or multi-step solution?

Science
Our trip to the Manitoba Museum was enjoyed by all. The children were able to consider the different ways animals move, their covering, habitats, growth rates, eating adaptations, and special adaptions/talents. It was visual as well as hands-on. We are working to complete investigating insects, birds, and fish this month.

Social Studies
We have finished looking at Nova Scotia as a coastal Canadian community and this month will look into Nunavut and Iqaluit as another reality of the variation of land, resources, and community within Canada. Within this unit the children will be focusing on natural resources and customs/traditions. They will use technology to create a visual project that reflects one or both communities.

October Update

Well, September has truly sped by us! Thank you for your support in getting the children to their Strong Beginnings appointments. Also a big thank you for your support of our class in the Walkathon, we have raised approximately $245! I hope some families were able to participate in the Linden Woods Fall Classic!

Special Notes
The trip to the Manitoba Museum I talked about on Meet the Teacher evening has been rescheduled to February, the precise date TBA. We will be carving pumpkins this month, likely on Thursday (Oct. 27) or Friday (Oct. 28). Please don't send in any pumpkins until you see a message in their agendas (19 pumpkins give the room a special aroma for days). We will be welcoming a new student the week of Oct. 17th (related information is not yet known). We are fortunate enough to hopefully schedule in a dental presentation the week before Halloween - right before they collect all their sugar ;)

The Lunch Program has asked that the following information be posted on the blog for those new to the class and as a reminder for everyone else:

• We do not have a microwave in our classroom and therefore the children should not be bringing food requiring heating to school,
• The reason Grade 1 and 2 classes do not have a microwave is that it is too dangerous to have young children cooking/heating their own food.
• The reason food will not be heated in other areas is that student lunch monitors cannot leave the classroom as it affects supervision levels. As well, carrying hot food through the hallways is dangerous.

Your understanding and support is appreciated.


School-wide Initiatives
During October Conferences VW's Be the Change Committee will be accepting donations of new or once-loved baby items for You can't Spoil a Baby. This is a volunteer-operated project that delivers gifts of once-loved/new baby items and clothes to help Manitoba families in need with the first year of Baby's life. Here are some items that we will be collecting:

• Baby clothing (sizes preemie to 18 months), including outerwear (hats, jackets, boots, etc)
• Breastfeeding items (nursing pads, nursing bras, breast pumps, nursing pillows, etc)
• Diapering items (disposable or cloth diapers, wipes, change pads, diaper bags, etc)
• Bath/Hygiene Items (natural unscented baby soaps, diaper creams, baby bath tubs wash clothes, menstrual pads for postpartum period, etc)
• Sleep Items (receiving blankets, baby monitors, co-sleepers, etc)
• Feeding Items (bibs, bottles, cutlery, food processors, baby food, etc)
• baby carriers
• Baby Gear (bouncy chairs, excer-saucers, swings, baby toys and books, etc)
• Presents suitable for "big-sibling" gifts (quality books and toys, activities, art supplies, etc). Most big-sibling gifts are needed for 2 - 12 year olds.

If you would like to donate, please drop off any items at the Be the Change Committee's tables by the front doors of the school between 4:30 and 7:30 on October 11th and 13th. On October 14th the table will be set up from 9:00 - 12:00. Please so not send any donations to school with your child but instead drop them off with the committee when you come for conferences. Should you have any larger items you would like to donate (crib, high chair, stroller, etc) please contact Mme Iverach-Brereton at jbrereton@pembinatrails.ca to arrange drop off.

To protect gift recipient and our volunteers, we respectfully encourage people who have or have recently had, bed bugs to refrain from donating at this time. Any donors who smoke in their home are respectfully asked to disclose this at the time of donation. Thank you for understanding and for you support of this Be the Change Committee initiative.

Language Arts

Some of the children have already begun the home reading program and are bringing home a book and a homework or reflection page with it. These are students with whom I have read and determined an appropriate reading level. The remainder of the children should be ready to bring home books by Tuesday next week. At that time we will begin small group guided reading activities.

This week we will start building student vocabulary and known spelling patterns, beginning with sounds/patterns individually identified in Strong Beginnings. Through our Morning Meeting routine the children are beginning to increase the number of common written words (a.k.a. High Frequency Words) they can spell automatically. They are also developing social skills around identifying feelings (their own and peers), and how to work through less positive feelings/interactions to have a successful and satisfying day.

This month in writing we will be focusing on "ideas" - where we can get them and how we can develop them into a personal narrative. We will continue to create acrostic poems around the Thanksgiving and Halloween themes of the month. The children have also started a Poem Binder containing monthly fun and mentor (exemplar) poems.

Mathematics

We have begun strengthening our counting skills within 100, and will continue working on this in October - particularly counting backwards from any starting point within 100, and counting forwards & backwards from any starting number within 100. the children work daily to build their recall of addition facts to twelve and as they achieve this they will move forward to within twenty. It is with this goal in mind that I sent home the information that will allow your child to practice these skills at home using XtraMath.org. This program is not intended for long practice sessions, but for short, focused practice that builds competency with facts they have not yet achieved automatic recall of. At this time, many of the children are using counters/beads/manipulatives to assist them when working with pencil and paper questions.

We will have the final pattern assessment at the end of this week or beginning of next week. The assessment will determine competency and understanding of the core within a repeating pattern, the skill to create and extend a repeating core of at least 3 elements (eg. #$%#$%#$%, or ##%##%##%, #$$#$$#$$, or #%%##%%##%%#), repeating patterns where 1 or 2 attributes are patterning (i.e. colour pattern within a size pattern), understanding of a general growing and shrinking pattern, as well as a growing and shrinking number pattern. Our next area of study will 2D shapes and a beginning exploration of problem solving. Building competency and efficiency with addition and subtraction strategies is a year long endeavor carried on through all three terms.

Science
Our study of Matter and Material will come to a close this month. Within the next few weeks we will explore floating and sinking, absorbency, and why one would use certain matter/material for different everyday products.

The children will be creating their first excel graph this week, based upon the weather in September.
They will also be creating a Matter & Material Power Point as part of their unit assessment.

Social Studies
This month our study of community takes us into the pioneer times as a means of comparison and contrast with today. The changes that occur and reason behind them are part of the exploration.

September Update

Happy New Year! Well, new school year anyway ;) It has been wonderful getting to know your little ones these first few days. I think some might be heading to bed early from the tired looks I see at 3:30!

September will be a busy month for school with all we want to accomplish academically and as developing global citizens. The Terry Fox Run is scheduled for Thursday, September 15th, and the Walkathon on Friday, September 30th. School Pictures will be Wednesday, September 21st.

The first month of school is always about getting to know the children and having them develop trust and confidence in their teacher. We remember important school wide routines and expectations as well as classroom specific routines and expectations. The subject specific concepts we will begin working with during the month are listed below:

Language Arts

The children will be developing their reading stamina over this month and likely into October. This first week we have focused on finding a book they want to read and/or look at, and a space in the room where they are comfortable (....and not talking with friends). We will also begin working through some reading reflection activities, in preparation of the Home Reading Program that will begin in October.

The children have started writing, first thing, every morning. They communicate how they are feeling that day, and write about something relevant to last evening, the current school day, or today after school. We then meet and share as a group (developing trust and respectful interactions). The week of the 12th we will begin developing strategies to discover and develop writing ideas. September is an important time to build the confidence for apprehensive writers, which plays a critical role in their motivation and success through the year.

Math

This month will incorporate reviewing their understanding of numbers (sequence, skip counting, greater/less than, etc) and begin introducing strategies for addition/subtraction using these understandings. Our initial steps this first week have included adding two numbers (2-digit with 2-digit and 2-digit with 1-digit) using "Trains of 10" and singles or units.

This month we will also begin looking at patterns - repeating, growing, and shrinking patterns; pattern attributes (the characteristic that is changing, i.e. size, colour, shape, direction, or a combination of these); number patterns (aka skip counting); and naturally occurring patterns in nature and our daily lives.

Science

We will begin an exploration of Matter & Materials towards the end of this month. Our initial explorations will be with solids and liquids - determining the difference in properties and states, and attributes such as materials, absorption, mix-ability, and why these characteristics are important within real-world contexts.

Social Studies

Our focus this month will be our classroom community - what that means, how does it work, why is it important? From there we branch into other communities the children are a part of - following the same investigative questions, and then into the Winnipeg community.

Technology

We will hopefully be using Raz Kids (available to the children via an ipad app as well as internet site on the computer) funded through Walkathon proceeds. It will be ready for use by the end of the month.

The children all worked in the Math Town app (Apple) this past Friday. It is good for practice in general, as well as making connections between math concepts. As we begin to register and use more apps and sites at school I will add them to the list on the right of the blog page.