Hello everyone!

Thanks for checking in on the blog.  Here are the latest happenings of our Grade 1A classroom:

We’ve had a very busy past couple of weeks! Halloween was an exciting day with our centers and parade!  The students had fun spending time in the other Grade 1 classrooms. Here we are in our awesome costumes!

 

Thank you to the families who were able to come watch us parade! Also thank you to the following people who had signed up to bring treats for the afternoon:  Taryn, Seth, Larsen, Keetly, Hayden, Abigail, and their families!

Once Halloween was over, we had some classroom discussions about Remembrance Day and the significance of this holiday.  We talked about how this holiday is different than others, and how it can be very sad at times. We also talked about Peace and how we wish that for everyone.  The students wrote about what “Peace is…” to them, and every time we do these activities, their sentences warm my heart! I love reading about the little things that are so important to our students.  Their work is on the bulletin board outside our hallway- please check it out when you can!

 

We had a few Grade One students do a reading of a Remembrance Day Poem at our assembly today.  Here’s the video footage:

 

On Wednesday, our class welcomed Mr. Hargrove into our room! Mr. Hargrove is a PS1 student from the University of Lethbridge, and the students are so excited to get to know him and to learn from him.

 

On Thursday November 14^th it’s PJ and Teddy Bear Day!  We will have a Spirit Assembly at 8:30am. Please note- do NOT send oversized stuffed animals! If the bear is bigger than the student, it can be distracting/ difficult for some of the activities planned for that day!  The Grade 1 Team thanks you in advance for this!

By now you should have received your confirmation slip for your Student Led Conference! We’re really looking forward to these as the students are often so proud of what they have done so far in Grade 1.  Report cards will be sent home on Friday November 15^th.  You can help us save some trees if you send back your envelope, and we’ll use it again in March and June.  Here is a breakdown of the report cards, and how they differ from the Kindergarten reports:

The Grade 1 Report card is divided up into sections.  The first being Personal Growth, and then into separate subject areas.  The grading scheme is different than kindergarten, and is as follows:

4 Excellent achievement of grade level expectations

3 Meeting grade level expectations

2 Approaching grade level expectations

1 Not meeting grade level expectations

 

You’ll notice that two major areas on the report card are with the Language Arts and Math strands. Please keep in mind that the expectations in these subject areas change throughout the year- for example the reading level goal for November compared to June. In Science and Social, we focus on different units throughout all reporting periods.

 I think with Grade 1 being such a change from Kindergarten, the first page that focuses on Personal Growth is an extremely important section. It’s quite the step up from half day to full day school, and each and every day we focus on things like the golden rule, how to work together, and how to think like a problem solver. Together we’re helping them develop into responsible students, and they’re going to see success all throughout their time at MMH because of this.

Here are some important dates to mark on your November Calendar. Have a wonderful long weekend with your families!

Friday November 8^th- Remembrance Day Break no school
Monday November 11^th- Remembrance Day No School
Wednesday November 13^th- School Council Meeting @ 6:30
Thursday November 14^th- Spirit Assembly @8:30
Friday November 15^th- Report Cards sent home
Thursday November 21^st- Student Led Conferences- No School in the pm
Friday November 22^nd- Student Led Conferences- No School