Hi everyone!

We hope you had a nice relaxing weekend!  The teachers at MMH are busy planning the last 4 weeks of school with many fun activities!  There are many days on the calendar with different things happening so please be sure to check the blog before calling the office for information.  With only 20 days left of school, we want to make sure everyone is informed of what is going on!

THANK YOU to those families who have already handed back forms regarding the Grade 1 picnic on Wednesday June 24^th.  For planning purposes, we like to know well in advance who is able to make it.  We’ve had tremendous support in people who are willing to donate sliced watermelon and volunteer for the day.  Once we get all forms back, we’ll be contact those parents to let them know if help is needed.  If you have not yet handed back your form, please do so by Friday June 5^th.  The top page is for you to keep, so you have a reminder of what your child needs for the day.  If we have poor weather that day, we will still hold the event at school, in a different capacity.  We’ll wait until closer to the day to check the weather.

In the next few weeks, each Grade 1 class will be having their "Kindergarten Switch Days!" I bet many of your students remember this day from when they were in Kindergarten.  This is a time for our 1s to go back to Kindergarten, perhaps see their old teacher, or spend time in their old class, and go through some of their favourite centres from last year.  It's also a special time for the Kindergarten students as they spend time with a Grade 1 teacher, learning all about what it means to be in Grade 1! We look forward to hosting the Ks to help make their transition easier for next year.

On Wednesday, June 3^rd at 6:30 pm, our School Council will be holding a meeting and AGM!  The new principal and Assistant principal for next year will also be there to meet some parents.  Even if you are unable to commit to being a member of the School Council, they still require parents for when they vote on ideas/ positions for the following year.  This year, the class that sends the most participants for the meeting will win the Spirit Cup!!  If you are able to attend on Wednesday, PLEASE DO! The grade 1 students would LOVE the chance to be the last class to host the spirit cup this year!  A reminder that School Council is also providing a free Hot Dog Lunch day on Tuesday June 9^th.  Please be sure to pack your student with snacks and a drink on that day.  Thank you to everyone involved with Parent Council- we SO appreciate your support! 

On Wednesday, June 10^th, the Grade 1s will be travelling to different centers throughout the day, for Pioneer Day! Learning about The Past and how things have changed is part of the social studies curriculum, and we have even had some students dress up in traditional clothing on this day! The internet can provide lots of great ideas on how to dress like a ‘pioneer’.  We also challenge students to try packing a more ‘traditional lunch’ (less packaged food, etc).  We’ll have centers related to more traditional games, Now vs then information, pictures, stories, and anything to help them gain a perspective of how things have changed.  If you have any antiques or artifacts that can relate to this unit, perhaps your student can bring them in as a show and share!

We will also be welcoming Mrs. Terpstra, our FNMI teacher next week to teach us about Pow Wows, as we approach National Aboriginal Day.  On Friday, June 12^th, we welcome members from the Lions Club to do a special presentation called Project Pride, which discusses volunteerism, donating to your community, and being Canadian. 

A reminder that teachers are still looking for volunteers for our K-2 Sports Day on Tuesday, June 16^th, and Tuesday June 23^rd as a back up date if the weather is poor. If you are able to help out, either in the morning, afternoon or both, please email your teacher asap!  Volunteering on this day means running a center which the Kindergarten, Grade 1 and 2 classes will rotate through.  It’s a FUN day and the kids sure are exhausted by the end of it.   

As we may have some rain in the forecast for the upcoming week, please ensure that your students are coming to school with proper rain gear as they do go outside for recess regardless of the rain!  It’s especially important on rainy days that we make sure students still have a pair of clean, indoor runners and a different pair of outside shoes.  Thank you for your help as we near the last few weeks!

Finally, please check out the updated calendar below with our dates for the  month of June! Thank you for taking time to read our blog!
-Your Grade 1 Teachers

Tuesday June 2^nd- Wear Blue and Gold!
Wednesday June 3^rd- School Council AGM
Tuesday June 9th- Free Hot Dog Lunch for Grades 1-3

Wednesday June 10th- Pioneer Day in Grade 1

Friday June 12^th- Project Pride presentation

Monday June 15th- Farewell Assembly @ 8:30

Tuesday June 16th- K-2 Sports Day

Friday June 19th- Grade 1 Camp Day

Tuesday June 23rd- Back up K-2 Sports Day

Wednesday June 24th- Grade 1 Picnic Day

Thursday June 25th- Field trip to the Movie Mill

Friday June 26th- Last day of school! Assembly @ 10

Parents,

This is a message from Ms. Nevels:
 
Please CLICK HERE to read the attached document regarding Summer Music programs available in Lethbridge!   Thank you!

Well Spring has definitely sprung around the city, and we are starting to enjoy warmer days at school!  It’s crazy that we are preparing for the last two months of Grade One.  Our students have shown so much growth in so many ways, and we are excited as the last 8 weeks are PACKED with fun learning opportunities! 

We are continuing on with our Fairy Tale unit study.  The students have enjoyed reading familiar fairy tales as well as funny fractured fairy tales, and the lessons that go with them.  When we read through two stories, we often discuss what was the same in them? What was different?  And the students love sharing where their favourite parts were. 

In Math, we are continuing with practicing our counting from 1-100, and from now until the end of the year we will continue with this unit, along with adding and subtracting. 

In Social Studies, we are wrapping up our discussions on Taking Care of our World, and will be moving to Science for Plants and Animals.  These two units tie wonderfully into discussions about having a “global understanding”, as we talk about “What would happen if everyone littered?” “How would that affect us?” .  Students really show their understanding through these discussions, and it helps them tie our classroom learning into the world around them.

We will also begin our unit of Looking at the Past in Social Studies, and the students who have not yet shared their Caterpillar homework will get a chance to do so.

The staff at MMH have been busy preparing for Education Week, which runs from May 4^th to May 8^th! Each day, there are special activities planned:

Monday May 4^th- Kick off with guest readers on the announcement.  Students are invited to check out the bulletin board at the front of the school to guess who is who!

Tuesday May 5^th- Mystery Readers will come visit each classroom for reading!

Wednesday May 6^th- Hats on for Mental Health! Students are welcome to wear a hat!

Thursday May 7^th- Reach and Teach! Students are encouraged to come to school on Thursday, prepared to ‘teach’ their classmates about something.  Examples could be how to tie their shoes a different way, a song they know, a card game, etc. We hope to see some interesting things being taught around the class!

If you are on the school mailing list, you will be recieving an email shortly regarding a NEW FORM that needs to be signed.  This form is to allow your student to be driven by school volunteer drivers.  If you have any feild trips from now until the remainder of the year, that require volunteer drivers, each student will need this form signed and returned to the office in order to participate.  Please check in with your classroom teacher if this applies to you. Next year, the office will have that form in the registration package as well as being available during Meet the Teacher night in September.  Thank you for your help with this!

In addition to this, if there are any parents who are driving for field trips from now until the end of the year, we are asking you to please sign in and out of the office when you enter the school.  In the past, some teachers have just asked parents to meet at the classroom, which makes pick up/ drop off easier, however if we could have parents stop in the office before/ after the field trip indicating that you are a volunteer, that would be very helpful! Thank you!

In the past, parents had the option of filling out a "Student Placement Form" regarding their child's placement for the following school year.  This year, our school district has replaced this form with the "Student Profile Form".  Parents are no longer able to 'request' certain teachers for their students, but rather, if there is special academic/ behavioural/ social / emotional information that should be considered when class lists are made, parents are welcome to hand that form in to Mrs. Rancier.  The form is available online and in the office, and can be found at our school webpage. 

We have added more dates/ events to our May/ June calendar below!  There will be more information coming on certain days like "Pioneer Day" and "Camp Day" closer to the dates.  A reminder to Save the Date for Wednesday June 25th for your families to join us over the lunch hour to celebrate our Grade 1 year!

Also, each Grade 1 class is looking for parents to run a Sports Center on Tuesday June 16th.  Sports day will run for most of the day, but if you are only able to help for the morning/ afternoon, that's okay too!  The back up date in case we are rained out is Tuesday June 23rd.  If you or a family member would like to sign up to be a Sports Day volunteer please let your teacher know asap! Thank you!

Here are more dates for your calendars!

Tuesday May 5th- Mystery ReadersWednesday May 6th- Hats on For Mental Health
Thursday May 7th- Reach and Teach!
Friday May 8^th- PL Day, no school
Friday May 15^th- Enrichment activities
Monday May 18^th- Victoria Day, no school
Thursday May 21^st- Beach Day, spirit assembly @ 12:30
Friday May 22^nd- Enrichment activities
Wednesday May 27^th- GS Lakie band performance @ 8:30
Thursday May 28th- MMH Run for Fun at 1:40pm
Friday May 29^th- Enrichment activities

Tuesday June 9th- Free Hot Dog Lunch for Grades 1-3
Wednesday June 10th- Pioneer Day in Grade 1
Monday June 15th- Farewell Assembly @ 8:30
Tuesday June 16th- K-2 Sports Day
Friday June 19th- Grade 1 Camp Day
Tuesday June 23rd- Back up K-2 Sports Day
Wednesday June 24th- Grade 1 Picnic Day
Thursday June 25th- Field trip TBA
Friday June 26th- Last day of school!