Hello readers!

Thank you for checking into our Grade One Blog! The Grade 1s sure have been enjoying  the beautiful weather we’ve had!  It definitely sparks some interesting conversation as we discuss the season of Winter in Science Class! 

We’re trucking along with our busy Grade One curriculum, and we’ve also added a few things to our February Calendar so be sure to update yours at home!

We’ve finished up our learning about the 5 senses, and are preparing for our new unit called Building Things.  One of the great things about this unit is that Mr. Brayne, the manager of Home Hardware (on the west side) puts on a fabulous field trip for us!  Here’s some background info for you:  Mr. Brayne has been doing this for over 13 years!  He started when his daughter was in Mrs. Payne’s Grade 1 class at MMH. Since then, he continues to offers up his staff and store to teach Grade 1 students about building things, materials, and how he runs his store.  What’s even more amazing is that Mr. Brayne now does this for all Grade 1 west side schools!  It’s an amazing way to tie in the sense of “Community” to our little learners. 

Here is our Home Hardware Field Trip schedule:

Monday, February 23^rd:

Mrs. Payne’s Class- 9:00-10:00
Mrs. Fallwell’s Class- 10:15-11:15
Mrs. Johnston’s Class- 1:00-2:00
Miss Tsentouros’ Class- 2:00-3:00

This field trip requires parent drivers, as well as supervisors.  Please contact your Grade 1 teacher if you are able to help. Due to the nature of this field trip, please do not bring younger siblings as we are confined by numbers.  Remember that drivers must fill out both a driver and volunteer form in the office!

The Grade 1 classes have two more weeks left with Mrs. Savage.  So far, we’ve talked about reading body language in response to feelings, where in our bodies we can feel hurt or stress, and ways to deal with stress.  Ask your Grade 1 student about “Milkshake Breathing”, “Pizza Massages”, and “Worry Stones”. 

A reminder that Friday January 30^th is a PL Day for students.  The MMH teachers will be learning about the 10 cross curricular competencies, that are part of the Inspiring Education document from Alberta Education.  You will be hearing much more about these 10 competencies in the future, as this is part of the new Alberta Curriculum Redesign.  For more information about Inspiring Education, check out this link:

http://inspiring.education.alberta.ca/what-is-inspiring-education/

Here is a visual of the 10 competencies that the teachers will be working with on Friday:

http://erlc.ca/resources/resources/cross_curricular_competencies_overview/documents/competencies-poster_11x17.pdf 

 Two new events are happening during the first week of February!  Winter Walk Day is on Wednesday February 4^th.  As a school, we’re going to embark on a walk around the path of the school! We hope the weather cooperates with us, but please make sure your child is dressed appropriately.  We’ll start our walk at 2:05. 

On Friday February 6^th, we have a guest author visiting the school!  Tyler Enfield, author of the book Wursh will be speaking to our students from 10:30-11:30, and there is more information about his books being sent home. 

A reminder that we will be wearing RED on February 12^th, and having our Valentine’s Day activities on this day as well!  Your Grade 1 teachers will be sending out a list of students names for valentines exchanges, and will remind the parents who have signed up for snacks/ treats.    

We’re celebrating Valentine’s Day a little early, because on Friday February 13^th we will have our big 100^th day celebration in the gym with the Grade 2s!  If you are able to help volunteer for a center, please let your child’s teacher know.   

That’s it for now! Thanks for reading! 

Here are some days to mark your calendars with:

February

 Tuesday February 3^rd – After school skating at Nic Sheran rink 330 to 430

Wednesday February 4^th-  Winter Walk @ 2:05
Friday February 6^th- Guest Author at MMH @ 10:30
Tuesday February 10th – After school skating at Nic Sheran rink 330 to 430
Wednesday February 11^th- School council mtg @ 6:30
Thursday February 12^th- Spirit Assembly @ 830 wear red
Thursday February 12^th- Classroom Valentine’s Parties
Friday February 13^th- Grade 1/ 2 100^th Day Celebrations
Family Day break is from February 16^th -20^th: No School
Monday February 23^rd- Home Hardware field trip

Happy New Year and Welcome Back!

Well here we are back at school after a restful break! The Grade 1s spent some time this week making New Year’s Resolutions, and welcoming 2015!  There’s been some “Christmas Magic” happening in the classrooms which is amazing! Christmas magic is when students have a Christmas break, and when they come back, there seems to be some magic in the air…all of a sudden, some students are reading more fluently, printing more neatly, and cutting more carefully! It’s a wonderful thing!

With the cold weather settling in, please ensure that your child has the proper outdoor wear for recesses.  Our school district’s policy is that students do not go outside if the weather is below (or feels like) -20 degrees Celsius.  While this past week, we did have a number of indoor recesses, there were some that were warm enough for students to be outside and many students were without mittens.  With all the extra layers that are coming to school, PLEASE make sure your items are labelled! 

Along with that is a reminder from our caretaking staff- we ask that all guests at our school are not walking in the hallways with their outdoor shoes.  Outdoor footwear needs to be carried through the hallways, as wet floors become a serious safety issue.  Thank you for your help with this!   

Here are some updates on where we are at for curriculum:

In Science, we will spend some time wrapping up our units on the 5 Senses.  Students learn how the senses work to send send messages to our brains, as well as keeping us safe.  We also learn about some animal senses and how they are different from human senses.  In Social Studies, we will begin to look at our community, and ourselves in relation to maps. 

In Math, we are becoming familiar with some addition and subtraction strategies. Strategies include using tally marks, counters, number lines, counting on, counting back, as well as mental math such as doubles facts and making ten.  Keep an eye out for things that come home so that students can practice these strategies.  Our goal for right now is to become proficient at adding numbers from 0 to 12.

In Language Arts, we will continue working on finding “good fit books” at our reading levels, as well as writing.  Between now and our next reporting period (March), students will be doing lots of independent reading and writing.  Keeping up with home reading and sight word memorization is the biggest key for success here, especially after such a long break!

The Grade 1s are excited to welcome Mrs. Kristine Savage to our classrooms for the next 5 weeks.  Mrs. Savage is part of our Making Connections program through the counselling office.  She will work for 1 hour per week in each of the Grade 1 classes, taking the students through different activities regarding how to make friends, the language we can use with our peers around us, and being aware of our feelings and how they can affect others.  Her lessons are super engaging and meaningful, and we are excited to have her join us!

Starting Tuesdays in February, there will be After School Skating at Nicholas Sheran rink from 3:30 to 4:30.  This is free for MMH families, and skaters are required to wear helmets on the rink, and be supervised by their parents.  We hope to see some of our families out there! 

Here are some days to mark your calendars with:

January

Wednesday January 14^th- Spirit Assembly @ 12:30 wear blue and gold!
Wednesday January 14^th- School Council mtg @ 6:30
January 27^th – Hot Lunch Grades 1-3 (keep an eye out on the form coming home)
Friday January 30^th- PL Day no school

February

Tuesday February 3^rd – After school skating at Nic Sheran rink 330 to 430
Tuesday February 10th – After school skating at Nic Sheran rink 330 to 430
Wednesday February 11^th- School council mtg @ 6:30
Thursday February 12^th- Spirit Assembly @ 830 wear red
Thursday February 12^th- Classroom Valentine’s Parties
Friday February 13^th- Grade 1/ 2 100^th Day Celebrations

Family Day break is from February 16^th -20^th: No School