Catholic Education Week

Catholic Education Week starts today! Here's look at the events happening this week...

Monday - School Liturgy followed by Music Monday at 1:00pm
Tuesday - Open House 7:45-8:30am
Wednesday - Author Visit
Thursday - Shamrock Spirit Assembly at 2:00pm
Friday - Cleaning Up the Capital


Book Fair -Tuesday, Thursday & Friday

Please join us for Open House tomorrow May 6. We will begin with a muffin breakfast in the gym. Families are invited to bring a breakfast item to share with their family. Coffee and juice will be provided. The students have been working hard all year and are excited to show you some of their learning. You are invited to visit our classroom between 8:00-8:30am. Hope to see you there!

The Grade 1 Team

Spring Update

Happy Spring!

The snow is finally melting and we are beginning to see signs of spring. April showers bring May flowers and lots of wet clothes… Please ensure your child has an extra pair of socks packed in his/her bag, splash pants are also encouraged on wet days.

Lenten Project 

Thank you for your generous donations to the Barrhaven Food Bank with our Lenten Spirit Days. This week is we are collecting non-perishable food items to fill the front foyer of the school. Students are invited to bring in food items any day this week.

Items Needed

We are in need of tissues, wipes and glue sticks. If possible please send in these items for the class. Thank you to those who have already sent some.

IMPORTANT DATES

Good Friday – April 18th  – no school

Easter Monday – April 21^st  – no school

In Language we will be focusing on recounting an event in writing (e.g., My Weekend). Our reading comprehension focus this month is on making inferences using pictures and words from the text. We will also be working on non-fiction features such as diagrams, labels and the table of contents.

In Mathematics we will be working on solving addition and subtraction problems. The students are encouraged to explain their thinking and answers using pictures, numbers or words. 

In Science continue to work on our living things inquiry. The students have come up with several questions about living things and are researching their questions in books and online.

In Drama the students will be learning to role play and tell stories.

The Grade 1 TeamJ

Grade 1 Math

We are now working on solving word problems with numbers up to 20. 
Students will be applying addition or subtraction to solve a Math problem (POW-Problem of the Week). 
They will be encouraged to show how they arrived at their answer using numbers, pictures or words.
Please see samples to help your son or daughter arrive at their answer.

Thank you to all the volunteers in Mrs. Smith's class who helped to make the day a great success! The students loved looking for signs of nature on the scavenger hunt and venturing out on snow shoes for the first time! Students will be able to apply their experience at the Mill of Kintail to our next Science Inquiry unit (Needs and Characteristics of Living and Non-Living Things).

Mill of Kintail

Thank you to all the volunteers in Mrs. Colasante's class who were able to help out on our field trip to the Mill of Kintail! The students had a great time snowshoeing and going on a hunt for signs of living things! We saw animals, some habitats, animal tracks and food animals find to eat in the winter. It was a wonderful learning experience that tied in well with our current science inquiry about living things. See some of our photos below.

* Note- Mrs. Smith's Grade 1 class field trip to Mill of Kintail is tomorrow, February 26. Dress warm and have fun!

Winter Wonders

A Look at What’s Happening…

Thank you to all the parents/grandparents who volunteered for our skating day a couple weeks ago. Your help was greatly appreciated. Hope you can make it out again.

Shamrock Spirit Week (February 10-14)

The students are invited to dress up for the following days:

Monday- Jersey Day

Tuesday – Crazy Hair/Hat Day

Wednesday -  PJ Day

Thursday – Olympic Day (wear the Olympic Colours) & Play Day outside (PM)

Friday – Pink, Red and White Day

Valentine's Day

Please make sure that if your son or daughter chooses to give out Valentine cards they have one for each child in the class, as to avoid any hurt feelings. There are 19 students in our class. A class list of names was sent home Monday.

Report cards will be sent home on Friday, February 14^th.  There is no formal interview schedule for this term. Interviews will be at the request of parents or teachers.

Winter Clothing

With winter weather and recess often comes wet clothing. If possible please put an extra pair of mittens and socks in your child’s backpack in case they get too wet during recess.

Classroom Items needed:  tissues

With the winter weather comes lots of sniffles…we are just about out of tissues for the class. Please send in a box if possible. Thank youJ

IMPORTANT EVENTS

Skating Days - Thurs., Feb. 13^th 10:00 - 11:00 am

100^th Day of School – Fri., Feb. 14^th

Report Cards  – Fri., Feb. 14^th

Family Day – no school – Mon., Feb. 17^th 

Field Trip – Mill of Kintail – Tues., Feb. 25

CURRICULUM HIGHLIGHTS

In Language we will be focusing on procedural writing (e.g., How to make a sandwich). In reading comprehension we will highlight the strategies of asking questions while reading and determining main ideas in a text. We will continue to introduce five new word wall words a week. Please review these words with your child and help them to recognize them quickly. These words are high frequency words which are found in many texts that the children read. In order to help them become fluent readers it is important that they are able to read these words by sight without having to try to sound them out. 

In Mathematics we will be exploring the attributes of three dimensional figures (e.g., sphere, cube). The students will also begin to recognize these shapes in the world around them (e.g., a party hat is a cone). Later in the month we will be learning to identify coins and using coins to count money up to 20 cents. The students will also be describing coins (e.g., state that a dime equals 10 cents, a quarter equals 25 cents).

In Science we will begin our new inquiry which will focus on living things. The students will come up with wonderings about the needs and characteristics of living things and investigate their wonderings throughout the unit.

In Music we continue to work on indentifying the beat and rhythm in different songs. We will also explore how music evokes different feelings within us.

The Grade 1 TeamJ

Thank You

The students had an awesome time skating today! Thanks again to all the parents and grandparents who were able to volunteer and help make our skating day a success.

The Grade 1 Team

Reminder...

The Grade 1 classes are going skating this Thursday, January 30 from 9:00-10:00am at the Walter Baker. Please make sure your child brings a helmet and that his/her skates are in a sturdy bag to carry.

The Grade 1 Team

Happy New Year!

Welcome Back

We hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas. Best wishes for 2014!

It’s Skating Time…The students will be going skating at the Walter Baker Arena three times this year. Please see the dates listed below. A reminder that all students must wear a helmet and skates must be carried in a sturdy bag. Parent Volunteers are asked to meet at the arena 15-20 minutes before our scheduled skate time to help tie skates. If you would like to walk with us to the arena please meet us at the school 30 minutes before our scheduled skate time. Thank youJ

UPCOMING EVENTS

P.D. Day – Fri., Jan. 17 – no school

Skating Dates:

Thurs., Jan. 30  9:00-10:00am

Thurs., Feb. 13  10:00-11:00am

Thurs., Mar. 6  9:00-10:00am

In Language we will be focusing on asking questions while reading and retelling stories. The students have been working on retelling the beginning, middle and end of the story using a Shape GO MAP to organize their thinking (see anchor charts link on the right hand side of the blog). Reading regularly with your child is key to his/her success in reading. Try to read for 10 minutes 4-5 nights a week and review Word Wall Words and read a book with your child. You can use the reading Fix-up strategies listed on the anchor chart link to help your child read unfamiliar words. In writing we will continue to work on descriptive writing as well as procedural writing. We will also be discussing the purpose and target audience in different forms of media.

In Math we will be learning about properties of geometric 2D shapes. Students will be looking at similarities and differences between them based on their attributes (number of sides and corners). Please continue to count with your child at home. Using the 100's chart, help your child to skip count by 2s and 5s. Recognizing random numbers on the 100's chart and finding certain dates the calendar is also something that can be practiced at home.

In Science the students will be wrapping up their science inquiry on seasonal changes and presenting their findings to the class. The students have been researching a season in small groups and recording facts about their specific season. Ask your child if they can tell you any interesting facts about their season.

In Music, the students will be working on identifying feelings evoked through music and understanding beat and rhythm.

Thank you for your continued support in your child’s education.

The Grade 1 Team