Hi everyone! I hope you’re enjoying your long weekend at home!

Just a reminder that Monday is the LAST CALL for any Fire Escape plans! If you’ve misplaced the paper, just do it on a blank piece. Your child should be able to explain the map of your house, and know the two escape routes you’ve decided on!

As our first class party is coming up, I’ve listed the details below so you know what we’re up to on that date. A parent in our class- Krystyn Jahn-has volunteered to help with party planning, and so if you’ve signed up to bring a snack, she will email you 1 week prior to the party to remind you. Thank you for those of you who’ve signed up to bring things! If you have any questions, you can email her at: krystynjahn@gmail.com.

Also, our Parent Council Rep is Stacy Deys. Stacy has helped out for a few years now on Parent Council, so if you have any questions or would like to get involved and help out, you can email her at deys@shaw.ca.

Don’t forget that Hot lunch is on the 24^th, and that our class is visiting the Scholastic Book Fair on Thursday the 25^th at 10:45, and Friday the 26^th at 9:30. Please check the blog post below for protocol of the book fair if you have any questions!

Home Reading
Thanks so much for participating in the Home Reading program. Our parent volunteers are coming in this week to switch books for us and to listen to your child read. Remember, it is VERY HELPFUL for the person who is switching books, if you write the TITLE OF THE BOOK, along with your signature, so we know that you child has read it! Please continue to review Sight Words and read Home Reading books on a NIGHTLY basis. This is MORE than enough!

FEED THE BUG!
Our Feed the Bug campaign will run from October 22-26. I absolutely LOVE this time of year. Feed the Bug is a drive for the Lethbridge Food Bank. Children are taught about what the food bank is, and about being grateful for the IMPORTANT things that we are lucky enough to have. Rather than toys, we talk about things such as: enough food to keep us healthy, a warm place to sleep and live, families that love us etc. There will be a box placed in our classroom that we will collect food non-perishable food in that children bring from home. Each time the box is full, we will take it down to the foyer. It is so fun to see all the donations in the school pile up! At the end of the campaign the Food Bank will come and we will create an assembly line to load up the food!

Here’s our plan for Halloween Day:
8:30-11:15am Halloween Centers. Students will travel to each Grade One classroom, participating in a different activity at each stop. These will include, art projects, games etc. 15 min recess at 10am.
11:15-11:45am Lunch Recess Break We are going to switch things up a bit today so we are not rushed to eat and get dressed. Students will play outside early on this day. If you're wanting to take your child home for lunch on this day in order to help them get ready, you can come and get them at this time, and return them by 12:20pm. Please let me know if this is something you are planning to do.
11:45-12:05pm Eating Lunch Students will eat lunch in the classroom PRIOR to putting on their costumes. Hopefully this will help to keep them clean!
12:05-12:25pm Getting Dressed Students will change into their costumes at this time and get ready for the Halloween Parade.
12:30-1:30pm Halloween Parade The entire school takes part in a costume parade so we can see each other's awesome outfits! You’re invited to grab a spot in the hallway and watch all the classes go by!
1:30-2:00pm Party Snack Time!

2:00-2:15pm Recess

2:15-2:30 In Class Activity

2:35-3:05pm Music with Ms. Nevels

Helen Schuler Field Trip
I would like our class to go to Helen Schuler Nature Center on the afternoon of November 21 (1-2:30)for our first field trip! The trip has been booked for our class, but we are in need of parent drivers in order for us to go. If you are able to help out (even if it is just to drive and then pick up) please let me know ASAP. If your child is under the age of 6 AND less that 40lbs, they need to be in a full carseat. If you think this includes you, please come and talk to me ASAP. If you are willing to drive, please let me know how many children you can transport. (Students can NOT be in the front seat) If you are not going to be driving and would like your child to ride in their booster, you are welcome to send it on that day.

Thank you so much for all that you do. I can't say enough how much fun I am having this year and how PROUD I am of what my students are doing every day.  - Anna Tsentouros
Important Dates in October

Monday October 22nd- 26th: Feed the Bug Campaign

Wednesday October 24th- Hot Lunch

Thursday October 25th- Scholastic Book Fair @1045

Friday October 26th- Scholastic Book Fair @9:30

Monday October 29^th- Picture Retake Day

Wednesday October 31^st- Happy Halloween! Centers, Parade and Party 

Hi everyone! Thanks for checking in.  I just want to let you know about a few things coming up for the next week.

We’ve been moving forward with our Daily 5 Language Arts program and this week students got to ‘shop’ for a Good Fit Book.  What that means is, each student had to find books that they picked which are at their interest level, and books that they could understand the words/ read.  We keep these books in our book boxes at school, and we will be using them for Daily 5.  We’ll go shopping for different books next week, to keep it interesting. 

I kid you not, this is what one student said to me today:  “Miss Tsentouros, can we PLEASE build some stamina today??” My heart melted!  It’s so wonderful to see them excited about reading and we celebrate every time we build ‘stamina’.

Here's some snapshots of our class 'Shopping' for Good-Fit books!

Thank you for putting in the time to practice reading the Sight Words from the Agenda! We will be assessing the students on their sight words this week as well.  In class we learned a game called BANG! Ask your student to see if they can explain it to you, and try playing it at home!

In Math, we’re deep in our Patterning unit, and we take little brain breaks by playing games.  I ask certain students to stand in front of the class, and others try and guess the pattern- for instance (Tshirt, Sweater, Tshirt, Sweater). We’ve been talking about the difference between an AB and an ABC pattern.  Try playing the game at home! Or see if your student can make patterns out of random things around the house. 

For Science, we are getting close to wrapping up our unit in Colours.  Students brought home their ‘Squish’ art project, which was done with Corn Syrup and food colouring.  Unfortunately, some of the papers stuck to others when they weren’t completely dried, so a few got ripped and torn. I explained to the students that I still thought they should take them home, as despite the rips and tears, they could still see where the primary colours squished together to make secondary colours.  Your student will be bringing home their Colours unit soon, which includes all of the activities we’ve done so far, and will show you what they need to know! Later on, we’ll be having a Colours Unit test.  Not to worry- this is done in an informal way where we read out questions, and give students the opportunity to really show what they know. 

Once again it seems the weather is flip flopping from cold to warm, and this week was a good week to start being diligent about indoor and outdoor shoes.  We are keeping our indoor shoes in our classroom, underneath our desks. Students are expected to keep this pair at school, and travel to and from school in their outdoor shoes, which we keep on the Grade 1A boot rack.  Please make sure your child has the proper footwear, as we prepare for the cold weather.  It’s helpful if their indoor shoes are gym appropriate (i.e. not sandals or boots).  Also, making sure that your student has a proper outdoor jacket, as many students were cold this past week as they only had a sweater.  Labelling all of your child’s clothing will help tremendously as we start to find mittens, toques and scarves hanging around! Thank you for your help with this!

Your student will be bringing a Hot Lunch form home on Monday! These are on bright pink paper, and if you have older children at MMH you’ll notice that this year’s hot lunch is done a bit differently.  Rather than ordering an entire lunch (meal, drink, snacks, etc), this year Parent Council is only organizing the hot lunch portion- not the extras.  This month’s Hot lunch date is on Wednesday October 24^th, but order forms are due back by October 16^th! Usually the forms come out a bit sooner, but if you could please send your order form and money right back to school on Tuesday that would be very helpful. 

Last but not least- please don’t forget to help your student with their Fire Escape plan! We’d like students to be presenting these to their classmates this week. If you’ve lost the handout (hey, it happens!) you can just make one on a blank piece of paper.  Remember the theme for this year is “Have two ways out!”

Don’t forget that on Thursday October 18^th, it is “Dress like your Favourite Book Character day, and that students are dismissed at 11:45.  Also there is no school on Friday October 19^th. 

Thanks and have a wonderful weekend!

Anna Tsentouros

 Important Dates in October

Monday October 15^th- Hot Lunch order forms sent home

Tuesday October 16^th Hot Lunch order forms due back

Thursday October 18^th- Dress Like Your Favourite Book Character Day!

Thursday October 18^th- Professional Learning day in the PM-students dismissed @ 11:45

Friday October 19^th- Professional Learning Day- No School

Thursday October 25th- Scholastic Book Fair

Friday October 26th- Scholastic Book Fair

Monday October 29^th- Picture Retake Day

Wednesday October 31^st- Happy Halloween! Halloween parade in the pm and class party  



Falling Leaves!

Hi Everyone! Thanks for reading!

Our first week of October will be a busy one!   To begin, my good friend Mrs. Aimee Gast will be subbing for me on Monday.  Mrs. Gast used to teach Grade 1 at MMH so I’m excited for her to meet all the little personalities in room 15! 

Next week, I will be sending home a Mini-Progress Report.  This report will include a brief summary of how your student is doing in Grade 1!  I'm hoping to have these home on Tuesday or Wednesday.  They will be tucked safely in the agendas so please keep an eye out for them!

..speaking of the agendas- THANK YOU for being so consist in signing them! 

Here are the happenings in Room 15:

In Language Arts, we will continue on working with our sight word reading, printing, word families, and our Daily 5 program.  And also…HOME READING WILL START ON TUESDAY OCTOBER 2^ND!! What does that mean?  It’s pretty simple:  Encouraging your child to read DAILY.  At MMH, we’re firm believers that reading daily significantly improves skills, in both comprehension and fluency.  We are using a program called Reading A-Z.  This is a great resource because the books are levelled, and they’re a mix of fiction and non-fiction. Later on, we will incorporate other books into the program.  We will use Reading A-Z books to get us going, and we’ll talk about how this is a big responsibility for Grade 1.  Monday to Thursday, your child will bring a book home to read.  There will be a little note coming home with the first book that explains everything you need to know, and how to get in the swing of Home Reading. 

In Math, we are kicking off our unit in Patterns! This is a fun unit because we will make lots of patterns using different manipulatives.  Our goal is to get students to see patterns in things around us, everyday life, nature, as well as numbers.  Often students don’t see the connection in patterns and numbers, so this is a great unit to begin with as we become more confident in Math. 

In Social Studies, we will finish talking about groups that we belong in, and we’ll move on to learn about students’ families.  Perfect timing I’d say, as we also prepare for the Thanksgiving weekend!  Keep your eyes out for a special surprise coming home at the end of the week- I know the students are going to be very proud to be taking this home for the long weekend!

Our Art Room is in need of Rags! If you have any old towels you are willing to part with, please send them to school and we’ll cut them for rags for our Art room. 

We’re excited to have Kaydance’s Dad come in to speak to us about Fire Safety on October 3rd!  Fire Prevention week is from October 8^th to October 12^th and the theme this year is “Have 2 Ways Out”.  We’ll be sending home some Fire Safety information and activities that you can do with your entire family. 

Here is some information about school wide events:

On Wednesday Oct. 3^rd, we are having our first Character Education Assembly of the year.  There will be a number of these throughout the year, as we are focusing on Character Education across our school.  We began this last year, and what happened was all of the students (grades 1-5) were divided up into “Families”.  Each Family consists of 1 teacher and approx.  25 students from all grade levels.  We meet monthly, do fun activities together, and gather in the gym to celebrate the month’s theme. 
Since your kids were in Kindergarten last year, they weren’t placed in a “Family” yet, so this is a big step for them!  On Wednesday afternoon they’ll meet their MMH Family which is pretty cool, as this will be their Family until they leave MMH after Grade 5.  I’m excited to catch up with my Family from last year, and also welcome the new Grade 1s to the bunch! 

October 18^th is “Dress Like Your Favourite Book Character” Day! I’m exciting to see what our Grade 1s can come up with!  If your favourite book character has a really difficult costume, consider bringing a prop in that you could use to explain.  

Another day you’ll want to mark your calendars with is the Scholastic Book Fair on Oct. 25^th and 26^th.   Ms. Renner has been busy organizing this, and the book fair always has an amazing selection.  Our class will visit the book fair on both days.  Usually, the first day we just go and LOOK and write down titles and prices on a wish list.  Then, the second day, if the student has brought money they can shop.  Please feel free to come visit and shop in the book fair yourselves!  It will be open from 8:30-11:45, and again from 12:30-3:30 on Thursday, and 8:30-11:45 on Friday.  You are welcome to visit the book fair with our class, or you can go at your own convenience.  If you choose to send money with your child, let me know via email or agenda if there’s a specific thing they’re SUPPOSE to buy.  If there’s no instruction, I usually tell them they have to purchase at least 1 book so that they don’t spend all their money on erasers and posters.  Due to the book fair, I will not be sending home a Scholastic order for October. 

I think that’s it for now!  Have a wonderful Fall weekend!

-Anna Tsentouros & Grade 1A

October
Monday October 1^st- “Walk to School” Week begins!
Wednesday October 3rd- Guest Speaker about Fire safety
Wednesday October 3rd- Character Ed. Assembly @ 12:30 & MMH Family time
Monday October 8^th- Happy Thanksgiving! No school
Tuesday October 9^th- Professional Learning Day: No School
Wednesday October 10^th- School Council Meeting @ 6:30
Thursday October 18^th- Dress Like Your Favourite Book Character Day!
Thursday October 18^th- Professional Learning day in the PM-students dismissed @ 11:45
Friday October 19^th- Professional Learning Day- No School
Thursday October 25th- Scholastic Book Fair
Friday October 26th- Scholastic Book Fair
Monday October 29^th- Picture Retake Day
Wednesday October 31^st- Happy Halloween! Halloween parade in the pm and class party  

Hi everyone!

Thanks for checking in!   Can you believe we’re already moving to the last week of September?

Big shout out to all the parents and volunteers who were able to make it for our Terry Fox Walk! Despite the miscommunication with our travel route, we all made it there and back safely!  A huge thanks to our Grade 5 Book Buddies who came to help and cheer on our Grade 1s on this long walk! I was really proud to see that our class had a great attitude the entire way, and that they really seemed to enjoy themselves. 

In Language Arts, we are continuing to learn about how to build stamina in our reading. Each day as a class, we time how long we can "Read to Self" properly and then chart our progress. The students are really exciting as we are building stamina every day! We talk about how they are 3 ways to read a book:  Read the Pictures, Read the Words, as well as Retell the Story. Our class knows how to do this, so try with a picture book at home! 

In Math, we're going strong with working on our numbers from 1-10.   We've been practising on how to represent numbers in different ways, and seeing numbers around our classroom.   Your student is expected to know how to represent a number, which can be done by drawing a picture, writing the number word, drawing tally marks, using ten frames, etc.  We've also been playing a number game called "Sparkle".  Try and see if your Grade 1 student can teach it to you.

For Social Studies, we will continue to learn about ourselves from a unit titled “Belonging in our World”.  Here we get to learn about ourselves and the similarities and differences of our friends.  Keep your eyes out for a special at home project that will go home in the next week! 

In Science we will continue to learn about Colours, and we have a special guest teacher coming on Monday to help with a lesson.  Candace Bradford is our schools FNMI teacher, and she’s coming to teach us about colours in our natural world, and the connection with colours and the First Nations culture.  She’s got a lot of neat information to share, and I know our class will be a great audience for her. 

Last week, your student brought home information to sell Magazine Subscriptions to raise money for our school.  If you need more subscription slips, the office will have extras. If you have any questions about the fundraising activity, please let me know and I can put you in touch with our School Council representative. 

I am sending the Scholastic Book order in on Monday! If you have an order you’d like to be included, please send it with your student in the front pocket of their agenda!  That way I’ll be sure to get it and it’s not lost within the depths of a backpack!

That’s it for now! Have a wonderful weekend!

-Anna Tsentouros

         October
Monday October 1^st- “Walk to School” Week begins!
Monday October 8^th- Happy Thanksgiving! No school
Tuesday October 9^th- Professional Learning Day: No School
Wednesday October 10^th- School Council Meeting @ 6:30
Thursday October 18^th- Professional Learning day in the PM-students dismissed @ 11:45
Friday October 19^th- Professional Learning Day- No School
Thursday October 25th- Scholastic Book Fair
Friday October 26th- Scholastic Book Fair
Monday October 29^th- Picture Retake Day
Wednesday October 31^st- Happy Halloween! Halloween parade in the pm and class party

Our First Full Week!

Hi everyone!
Thanks for checking in on the blog! We had a really great first full week in Grade 1 as we've started up the curriculum and have lots to look forward to.

By now you should have recieved a Class Phone List and a Show and Share schedule. It occured to me after typing up and photocopying the phone list that there's a good chance I may have made a mistake in a phone number! If I did, PLEASE let me know and I can fix it right away!  The Show and Share schedule will take us right into the Spring. Please take a moment to look through, and see when your student's Show and Share dates are.  If it's helpful, you could copy all their dates into their agendas. 

Speaking of their Agendas, just a reminder that I will keep their agendas at school on Fridays, as students won't have home reading on the weekend when the program starts up. 

Have you heard of the Daily Five?  Perhaps you've seen somethings on Pinterest, and have been wondering what it is...? The Daily Five is a framework used to teach Reading and Writing.  The internet is FULL of information about the Daily Five, but I wanted to send a link to you that puts the framework in a nutshell.  This week, we will learn about the first element called Read to Self. 

Click HERE to check out a powerpoint on the Daily 5. 

Information on the Terry Fox Walk was sent home today as well!  We are walking over to Nicholas Sheran Lake on Friday.  We leave right after OCanada, and are expected to return around 10:30.  Please have your students dressed for the weather, and with good walking shoes!  Students are encouraged to wear our MMH colours, blue and yellow!

If you're able to walk with us on that morning, please come!  If you'd rather not walk, or have little siblings with you, you also could meet us at Nicholas Sheran to cheer us on as we do our lap. If you're able to come and help, you could fill out the sheet and have your student hand it in on Monday, or just fire me off an email sometime before Friday. 

That's all for now! Thank you for your support as we kick off an exciting new school year!

Enjoy your weekends!

-Anna Tsentouros

September
Wednesday September 12^th- School Council Meeting @ 6:30
Thursday September 20^th- Magazine Fundraiser Assembly@8:45
Friday September 21^st- Terry Fox Walk 8:30-10:30
Friday September 21^st- Scholastic Book Orders due

October
Monday October 1^st- “Walk to School” Week begins!
Monday October 8^th- Happy Thanksgiving! No school
Tuesday October 9^th- Professional Learning Day: No School
Wednesday October 10^th- School Council Meeting @ 6:30
Thursday October 18^th- Professional Learning day in the PM-
                                                          students dismissed @ 11:45
Friday October 19^th- Professional Learning Day- No School
Monday October 29^th- Picture Retake Day
Wednesday October 31^st- Happy Halloween! Halloween parade in the pm
                                                               and class party

Hello and welcome to our classroom blog!

I will always email you when I've updated it so you're not constantly checking for updates.  I usually email on Fridays, and will try and keep you posted as soon as possible for happenings in our classroom.

This first full week will be super busy!  Our students have done a great job jumping into the routine of things, like lining up outside when the bell rings and handing in their agendas at the beginning of the morning.  We’ve even done well with trying to keep our new desks neat and tidy, and having all our supplies in order!

In Language Arts, we are starting with reviewing our letter sounds, and beginning our printing.  Today, the students also wrote 5 sight words in their agendas.  Each week, we will practice these sight words and we ask that you PLEASE practice them at home! Occasionally, students will bring home work sheets regarding the sight words, and we ask that you take a moment and have the students read with you at home.  The goal is for students to be able to read and recognize these words quickly- without having to sound them out (as many of them will not follow phonetic rules).  Our home reading program will start in October. 

In Math, to prepare us for our Number sense unit, we are starting with numbers 1-10 both printing and representing.  We will soon begin patterns as well.  In Science we kicked off our study of Colours, and discussed colours in nature as well as manufactured colours.  We have two guest teachers this week as well. Mrs. Kitagawa our school counsellor is coming to talk to us tomorrow about friendships, and Mrs. Baker our school’s Learning Coach is coming on Wednesday to give us a sensory lesson.  This lesson is to teach the kids how to prepare themselves for learning, and how to recognize what kind of learner they are.  We’re really looking forward to both of these teachers coming in, and it’s a great way for the students to meet them as well.

Thanks to those parents and families who were able to make it out for Meet the Teacher night last week! We’ve got an exciting bunch of kids in room 15, and I am so looking forward to a great year! In our class, we have 10 girls and 9 boys:
           

Addison                      Alex

Eva                              Cale

Greta                           Colin

Hailey                          Drew

Julia                             Gavin

Kaydance                    Joshua

Kenley                         Kaden

Lucy                            Lukas

Madison                      Straduss     
        Sariah

This year, we do NOT have any peanut allergies, so we are not a peanut free zone. Feel free to pack PB and Js!  Thanks to those parents who have signed up to bring snacks for parties!  If you haven’t yet, please sign up outside the classroom door to help bring snacks and treats for parties throughout the year! When it comes time, you will receive a reminder for what you’ve signed up for. 

Also, thanks for filling out and returning all the forms that were sent out at the beginning of the week! I know that the first week of school is often filled with lots of paperwork so I appreciate your help with that.  For those of you who signed up as a volunteer, I will contact you on a needs basis for when we could use your help in the room! 

I know that in the past, some Kindergarten teachers have allowed parents to bring cupcakes or special treats to celebrate birthdays.  This year, the Grade One team has asked that parents do not send cupcakes or treats on your child's birthday.  Rest assured, we will make sure that your child's special day is celebrated, and students will do an activity in honour of the birthday person!  We have lots of special days throughout the year where students will have treats, and we wanted to alleviate some of the stress on parents, especially since not all parents are able to bring treats.  Thanks for your understanding!

Stay tuned for details about our Terry Fox Walk on Friday September 21^st!

Here are some important dates to mark on your calendars for the next 2 months:

September
Wednesday September 12^th- School Council Meeting @ 6:30
Thursday September 20^th- Magazine Fundraiser Assembly (time TBA)
Friday September 21^st- Terry Fox Walk


October
Monday October 1^st- “Walk to School” Week begins!
Monday October 8^th- Happy Thanksgiving! No school
Tuesday October 9^th- Professional Learning Day: No School
Wednesday October 10^th- School Council Meeting @ 6:30
Thursday October 18^th- Professional Learning day in the PM-
                                                          students dismissed @ 11:45
Friday October 19^th- Professional Learning Day- No School
Monday October 29^th- Picture Retake Day
Wednesday October 31^st- Happy Halloween! Halloween parade in the pm
                                                               and class party

Remember that you are ALWAYS welcome to stop in and chat! 

Thanks! That’s all for now! Have a wonderful Monday!

-Anna Tsentouros

First Day of School!!

First day of school!! First day of school!!

Hi everyone and welcome to our Grade 1A classroom blog! Here you will find the latest news in our classroom as well as upcoming events/ things to know.  I will also update a monthly calendar list so you can keep track of what is going on around MMH for your child's Grade 1 year. 

I will email all parents once the blog is updated (usually on Fridays) so that you know to go and check it out for new information.  Please make sure you have provided me with an email address that you use often and one where you don’t mind receiving emails from me.  Of course, if you prefer a paper copy of handouts/ information/ reminders, I can provide one as well please just let me know. 

I'm pumped for an awesome first day of getting to know the students and to share stories of our summers!  I can tell it's going to be an exciting and busy year in Room 15. 

Thanks for checking in!

-Anna Tsentouros