October 31, 2016

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

We had a great time parading, carving and partying today!

Congratulations to Isabella, who had the closest guess for Mrs. Kloschinsky's cauldron. She guessed 147 candies and there were 148!  Way to go Isabella! 

Wishing you all a safe and fun evening of trick-or-treating!  Remember, there is no school tomorrow.  

October 28, 2016

Congratulations to Shayna, who was the 1-2E Student of the Week!

Today in Art, students created pumpkins.  Pop by our classroom to view our adorable little pumpkin patch! 

This afternoon, we wrapped up our discussions about rural and urban in Social Studies, by creating neighbourhoods online.  Many students asked for the link, so here it is!!  

Details for Monday:
- Students should come dressed in their costumes.  Please remember that all costumes must be appropriate for a K-4 environment.
- The school Halloween Parade will be taking place in the morning (8:30). We welcome all families to join us for this fun school wide event! 
- We will have class as normal for the rest of the morning.
- In the afternoon, we will be participating in Halloween themed Science, Math and Writing centers.
- Thank you to our snack parents/students: Kai, Ella, Quentin, Brooklyn. 

October 25, 2016

The Grade 1s went on a fun filled field trip to the Alberta Art Gallery in Edmonton today.  They came back with many exciting stories of the projects they made and the art that they saw.  Thank you to the Grade 1 teachers for welcoming the 1-2E friends into your classes for these wonderful experiences!

While the 1s were away, the 2s were busy learning!  Today was filled science experiments!  We used the time with just the 8 of us at school to work hard on covering our science curriculum on Liquids.  Students learned the terms absorb and repel; this knowledge was transferred into a lab, where they're asked to create a waterproof container.  Our final Science lesson of the day was about Who Needs Water; students discovered that all living things require water to survive, that humans are made up of 60-70% water and we also discussed the importance of conserving water.  

Thank you to the wonderful parents who came in this evening for Parent/Teacher meetings!  It was wonderful to touch base with all of you and I look forward to seeing the rest of the 1-2E Parents tomorrow night!

October 24, 2016

We have been counting by 1s to 100 and today we began skip counting by 2s.  Skip counting is an important concept to master, as is it the foundation for much of the Math curriculum.  To reinforce the concepts taught in class and help your child with mastery, please review counting by 1s and 2s to 100 nightly. 

In Grade 2 Science, we compared the density of three liquids (oil, water and corn syrup).  Students were excited as we saw these three liquids separate into layers.  We also watched a neat experiment online that some students are excited to try at home. 

Reminders:
- Monday, October 24 - Wednesday October 26 - Book Fair - Open until 5:30 on Tuesday and 7:00pm on Wednesday
- Tuesday, October 25 - Grade 1 Field Trip to the Art Gallery (please pack a bag lunch with your child's name written on it).  
- Tuesday, October 25 - Photo Retakes - 9:00 AM - Please notify me in your child's agenda or by email if they require retakes.

- Tuesday, October 25 & Wednesday, October 26 - Parent / Teacher Meetings 

- Friday, October 28 - Wilhauk Beef Jerky Fundraiser due

- Monday, October 31 - Halloween Costume Parade and Classroom Halloween Senses Celebration (snack parents: Kai, Ella, Quentin, Brooklyn)

- Monday, October 31 - Last day for Socktob

- Tuesday, November 1 - PD Day No School

- Wednesday, November 2 - Early Dismissal 

October 21, 2016

Congratulations to Keaton, who was the 1-2E Student of the Week!

Friday is Rainbow Word Assessment day.  Congratulations to the students who were able to read all of their rainbow words today by sight (no sounding out) and now have a new color on their rings. Keep working hard everyone!!  

In the afternoon, students created their Christmas Card artwork for the Christmas Card fundraiser - they are adorable, I look forward to sharing them with you next week at the Parent/Teacher Meetings. 

Reminders:
- Scholastic book orders are due on Monday. 
- Parent Teacher meetings are Tuesday and Wednesday.  You can register online.

October 20, 2016

Students were fortunate to have Mrs. Letcher as their teacher for the day!

Today was COLOUR DAY!!  Students learned about primary and secondary colours.  They got wild and crazy with paint and created a book titled, MIX IT UP! 

In Science, the Grade 2 students had a race using various liquids.  I am excited to learn which was the fastest and slowest when I return tomorrow! 

October 19, 2016

For the last two days in science, the Grade 2s have been exploring different liquids using their sense of smell, touch and sight.  Today the mystery liquids were revealed (corn syrup, molasses, dish soap and cooking oil).

In Math Basic Facts, students played Whack-a-Number.  This fun game can be played at at home and details are available on the Basic Fact page of the Blog.

The end of our patterning unit is quickly approaching.  This week in Math students are working to solve word problems related to patterning.  This is a new and challenging task for everyone.

In the afternoon, we did a guided drawing Witch.  They came home today and students are excited to show them to you! 

October 18, 2016

Thank you to our Birthday Boy, Keaton, who brought in delicious banana chocolate chip muffins for our class to enjoy!

Today was Tasty Tuesday.  Students had a blast creating Chocolaty Spider Pudding!  MMMmmmm!  Thank you to Mrs. Kuchirka, who kindly donated the ingredients for this recipe.  Please note that we are still seeking volunteers for March, April, May and June donations.  

October 17, 2016

Today was the first day of RAINBOW WORDS!  Details about this program can be found in your child's Home Reading Bag and online.  Your child should be reviewing these words daily, their goal is to be able to read these words without sounding them out.  

In Gym today, students had a blast playing Chicken Checkers and Skittles with Mr. Larson.  

The Grade Twos had a great time learning about the surface tension of water by conducting an experiment to see how many drops of water they could collect on a penny. 

If you have not yet done so, please log in and book your Parent/Teacher meeting.  Details can be found HERE.  Meeting times are available on both October 25 & October 26.  I look forward to seeing everyone!  

October 14, 2016

Congratulations to Castiel, who was the 1-2E Student of the Week!  

In Social Studies, students collaboratively created posters that illustrate the differences between cities and towns.   

Stay safe on the roads this weekend!  

October 13, 2016

Here are a couple photos of the Grade 1s, hard at work in their Reading Groups today.  

In science, the Grade 2s worked though 8 experiments, exploring the properties of liquids.  Ask your child one thing that they learned about liquids today.  

With Thanksgiving behind us, we are now looking forward to Halloween.  Our afternoon art project used used three mediums: crayons, markers and paint to create Witch Feet.  

October 12, 2016

Today in gym, students worked through locomotion and rolling stations.  Students enjoyed moving and exploring!

The Grade 1s had their second day of Reading Groups.  While the Grade 2s began the Liquids Science unit.

The Grade 2s are absolutely rocking their growing patterns!  Wow!! 

We continued to talk about the term, community.  Today we looked at what it means to be a town and the features that make a town unique: size of buildings, the number of cars, types of homes, number of schools, etc.  

Pretzels and Popcorn are now on sale for $1.  They will be delivered on Friday. 

October 11, 2016

Word Sorts begin today!  They should be practiced nightly, along with your child's home reading.  Details are available in the Words Their Way note that is coming home tonight and also on the website.

Important reminders:
- Oct. 14 - Popcorn and Pretzel sale $1 each.
- Oct. 14 - Words Their Way assessment.
- Oct. 14 - Return home reading.
- Oct. 21 - Grade 4 Fruit & Cookie Dough Fundraiser orders are due.
- Oct. 25/26 - Parent/Teacher Meetings in the evening.  Details to follow.
- Oct. 31 - This year our SWAT Team will be doing a SockDrive for all of October! Socks are the #1 need in shelters for the homeless. Our school will be collecting new socks to donate to Y.E.S.S. (Youth Empowerment Support Services). You can drop sock donations off in the office. Our last day to collect socks is October 31st. If you would like to see what other items are in need please visit http://yess.org/donate/in-kind-donation/ and check what other "in kind" donations there are.

October 8, 2016

Congratulations to Athena, who was the1-2E Student of the Week!

1-2E students looked adorable today in their class shirts!  This is one of our favourite RBES Grade Two traditions, and the Grade Ones are excited to get to be part of it for two years!!  The shirts will be stored at school, worn on field trips and special events, and then sent home at the end of the school year.  

In Math, the Grade Ones have been working on representing the numbers from 1-10, while the Grade Twos have been focused on growing patterns.  

Hava a safe weekend and a wonderful Thanksgiving with your families!  

October 6, 2016

Today was a MeSsY one!! Your little ones will need a bath tonight, as their toes and fingers are likely a unique fall shade.  But the end product was worth all the messiness, I am sure you will love adding your child's adorable Turkey to your Thanksgiving decorations! 

Please remember that all home reading books are due back tomorrow.  We are still seeking a parent volunteer to help with our home reading program on Friday mornings, if you are interested, please email. 

October 5, 2016

Thank you to the Birthday Girl, Drea, who brought in tasty cupcakes to share with the class.  

In gym, we continued our exploration of the concept of rolling.  We played three rolling games: Rolling Bowling, Rollie Bumper Cars and Rolling Relay R aces.

Our Daily 5 is now in full swing!  As you can see from the photo below, this is a time where students work independently on reading and writing activities.  While this is happening, I have the pleasure of getting to read or write with small groups or individual students. 

In Math, we also tried our first full rotation of Math Workshops.  Students work in groups of 3 or 4 on curricular activities related to patterning that are at their independent math level.  During this time, I am able to work with the small groups on problem solving strategies and tasks.  

Have a wonderful Early Dismissal evening, enjoy the extra hour with your little ones!! 

October 4, 2016

I was away this afternoon, completing the Dibels reading assessment training with the other Grade 1 teachers.  The students from our class were divided into their "Field Trip Classes" and participated with another class in the afternoon.

Reminder that tomorrow is early dismissal.  Students will be dismissed at 2:21pm. 

October 3, 2016

The October Newsletter is posted online.

Congratulations to our classmate, Emily, who participated in the Cross Country race in Leduc today!  We hear she did amazing!

In the morning, we began our second word sort.  In order to gain confidence and a stronger understanding of the Words Their Way process, we will be completing these in class again this week.  Next week, the sorts will begin coming home.

In Art, students used a variety of mediums (marker, pencil crayon, crayons) to create Fall posters.  Students are learning a lot about this season and it was nice to see this knowledge reflected in the creative posters that they made.  

Today, we launched our final Daily 5 rotation, Work on Writing.  Students will be introduced to a variety of writing forms in this rotation over the year.  Today, they learned about lists and illustrated stories.  I love reading the creative writing that they do during this rotation.  

Today is the first day of home reading!  Each Monday 4 books that are suitable to your child’s reading level will come home in their canvas reading bag.  It will be accompanied by a reading log.  Students are to keep the books at home for the entire week and return them on Friday.  Please read/re-read and record their books (parents, please initial).  The book, canvas bag and reading log are to be returned to the school every Friday.  Reading over the weekend is encouraged, please feel free to read any books that you have at home or that you have taken from the library and record them in the reading log when it comes back home on Monday.  Students will work towards reading 2500 minutes over the course of the year (roughly 15 minutes per day).  Student’s achievement will be acknowledged along the way with rewards at 100, 750, 1500 & 2500 minutes.