I can’t believe this is the last blog post!!! 

If you haven’t peeked in your child’s backpack in the past few days...beware!! There is TON of stuff coming home from the last few months.   Our last 2 days of school will be busy ones!  Don’t forget:

Monday June 27^th- Farewell Assembly starts at 9:00am.  We will be picked up by a bus at 10:30, and will make our way over to Henderson Picnic. I’m hoping to see a few parents out there to come and just relax at the beautiful lake! Students need:  a packed lunch, clothes for the weather, good walking shoes, and the usual bug spray / sun screen.  We will return to the school around 2:15.

Tuesday June 28^th- Breakfast party in the morning! Thanks to those parents who have signed up to bring breakfast treats. We will be watching a classroom slideshow of the pictures throughout the year while enjoying our breakfast.  Then, students will head to the gym at 10:00 for our Year End Assembly to see the school wide slideshow.  Students are dismissed at 11:45 on Tuesday!

I really can’t thank you, the parents, for everything you’ve done this year. It’s true that students succeed in the classroom when they have parental support at home.  For the notes home, field trips, blog posts, home reading, random requests, classroom parties, keeping on top of the homework, and really just being a part of our classroom- I thank you from the bottom of my heart!  We could not have had such an amazing year without you. 

It has been wonderful being your child’s Grade 2 teacher.  It’s SO HARD to let them go L  To those of you moving away, either to different schools or cities, MMH will miss you terribly!  I hope that wherever your new destination finds you, that you bring that Mike Mountain Horse Special Spirit with you.  To those who staying with us for Grade 3- I will see you in the other hallway! Make sure you stop by for some high fives.

Have an absolutely phenomenal summer! You deserve it!!

Thanks for reading and see you in September!

-Anna Tsentouros

Last FULL Week of School!!!

Hello Parents!

            We had a super fun boat launch on Wednesday.  Thanks to Alden’s Mom who transported our boats for us, as well as to all the parents who volunteered and who came out to cheer on our launch!  The children had a blast!! 

Next week is a busy one with National Aboriginal Day and Sports Day.  Thanks go out to Virginia Sprinkle, Adrienne Toone, and Cindy Goldhawk who have agreed to be our parent volunteers for Sports Day.

Sports Day is on Tuesday June 21.  The children will be divided into teams according to color.  If possible, please send your child to school on this day wearing a t-shirt in the following color:

Red Team         Blue Team        Yellow Team          Green Team

JACE           AIDEN         ALFIE             HUNTER           

CAMRYN     QUINTEN    TRINITY       ALDEN

JAYDON    BEN               DYLAN            AVA

HANNA      GEORGIA       ELLIS             GRACE

KYRA          SHADA           CHELSEA       EMMA

            This really helps us line up quickly at each station.  Please ensure that your child has a water bottle.  They should wear a hat and have sunscreen and bugspray applied at home.  We are hoping for a nice sunny day for Sport’s Day.

On Wednesday June 22 all MMH students will leave the school and walk over to Nicholas Sheran Park for National Aboriginal Day at 8:40.  We plan to return to MMH by 11:20.  Please dress appropriately, wear sunscreen and bug spray.  Proper walking shoes are essential.  Thank you to Ava’s Dad who has volunteered to walk with us!

            The Farewell Assembly as well as our last field trip of the year takes place on Monday June 27^th.  The assembly begins at 9:00, and then afterwards the grade twos will be going to Henderson Park leaving the school at 10:30 with a return time around 2:15.  As we will be booking a bus for transportation, parents will not be needed to drive, however, parents are more than welcome to come and join us at the park for a leisurely lunch and playtime. Many of you have already let me know you’ll be attending.  For this day all students will need sunscreen, a hat, an ample healthy lunch, extra beverages and water bottles.  Something to sit on like a blanket or a towel is a good idea as well! 

The Year End assembly and slide show on Tuesday June 28 begins at 10:00.  This is the last day of school and students will be dismissed at 11:45. 

Before the assembly I would like to have a ‘breakfast party’ with the students.  The following parents have volunteered to bring items for our party. 

Fruit Tray- Amber Toone
Something Breakfast themed!- Emma Zgurski
Something Breakfast themed! - Anna Barnes
Cookies, cupcakes or muffins- Leslie Wensmann
Juice Boxes- Carey Martens
Plates/ Napkins- Rhonda Steed

Busy Busy June!

It was awesome to see so many families come out for our Pancake Breakfast!  It made for an early morning, but the pancakes were delicious and it was a great way to start the morning! 

Thanks to our parent drivers who were able to help out with swimming! Thanks to Amber Toone, Virginia Sprinkle, Louise Lindley, Frere Ayres, Sonny Zgurski, and Rick Goldhawk!  The students had a blast and it’s always nice when we can get outside of the school for some fun.  Our Boat Launch is on Thursday, June 16^th.  We will leave the school at 8:45, and walk over to Nicholas Sheran (return to the school around 1:30-1:45).  Thanks to Rhonda Steed who is transporting our boats for us, and Sonny Zgurski and Rickele Knox who are going to walk over with us.  I sent this information on a note home but just to remind you:

Children should be dressed for the weather (don’t forget sunscreen, hats and bug spray). As with swim day, students should come to school with their bathing suits on underneath their clothes carrying undergarments and towels in a plastic bag.  Children’s backpacks should contain a substantial snack, water and a second pair of shoes suitable for water (such as flip flops).  Because the children will be wading into the lake, water shoes are a necessity as in the past we have found broken glass or sharp objects in the lake.   For the day, students should wear good walking shoes - sandals and wearing flip flops to walk to the park is discouraged.  After the Boat Launch we will be walking over to the Spray Park for lunch and more water fun.

Speaking of boat building....How is boat building coming along?!?!  If your Grade 2 student is stuck for ideas, water bottles, milk jugs, pop bottles, old pool noodles, and plastic piping are all great materials to start your boat.  Please email me if you have any questions.  When your student is done building their boat, please have them bring it to school ANY TIME THIS WEEK, as I would like the class to test their boats before the boat launch.    

Your students will be bringing a number of things home in the next few weeks, to lessen the load at the end of the year.  Things like: desk book work, head phones, rules, health mobiles, and work from the last month.  This past week I sent home their letters that we received from NOVA SCOTIA! Thank goodness they came, as I was a bit worried with the postal strike.  Students were SO excited to read their letters, and it was very neat to learn a bit about Digby, Nova Scotia. 

I’ve had a few students complete their first Reading At Home sheet, and are on to their second! Please continue with daily reading and get your students to bring in their sheets!  Our calendar is getting smaller and smaller L  Don’t forget about the last few big days in Grade 2!

Thanks for all you do J

Have a great weekend!

 -Anna Tsentouros

Thursday June 16^th- Grade 2 Boat Launch Day! 8:45- 1:30 at Nic Sheran Lake and Spray Park

Tuesday June 21^st- Sports Day!

Wednesday June 22^nd- Pow Wow Celebration at Nicholas Sheran- depart at 8:40. 

Monday June 27^th- Farewell Assembly 9-10, Grade 2 picnic at Henderson Lake 1030- 2:15

Tuesday June 28^th- Last day of Grade 2!  Year End Assembly at 9:45, students dismissed at 11:45

June Happenings!

Friday already!? Goodness where has the week gone!

I may or may not have had more fun than the students did on our field trip to the Southern Alberta Art’s Gallery.  It was such a treat to be able to see amazing art work from all over our School District, and to learn more about an Art gallery in general. I was really impressed at how well our students behaved and how focused and on task they were throughout the morning.  Thanks to those parents who were able to come out and drive- without you these trips would not be possible!! 

While I’m thanking parents...Thank you to those volunteers who are able to come and help out for our June activities!  We have swimmers for June 9^th, and walkers and a driver for our Boat Launch on June 16th! 

We are currently looking for Sports Day Volunteers- which is always SUCH a blast! This is a combined Grades 1 and 2 activity, and there are about 10 different stations set up outside for kids. Our class will be travelling to each of the stations.  We require 2 volunteers to stay at 1 station, and run that station for the morning and afternoon time slots, which are 10:00-11:30 and 1:00-2:15.  If you, or another family member are able to come and help please email me as soon as possible!  Remember, for any of our field trips: the more the merrier!! Thank you!

We played on this website today as a class, and the students really enjoyed it!

Click here to access the Geometry website!

 It’s a great way to review our Geometry skills for our assessment next week- Note to parents! There are some terms on this site that they do NOT have to know in Grade 2 (such as quadrilateral, octagon, hexagon, and pentagon) but we did talk about what they mean, as it will help them advance to the next level of the game at the end.  In Grade 2, they should have a good understanding of the following 3D objects: Sphere, Cylinder, Cube, Cone, Pyramid. They should also be able to describe these objects by discussing how many ‘faces’, the shape of the face, how many points or vertices, and how many edges.  For example: A pyramid has a square face on the bottom, and 4 triangular faces on the sides. These triangles meet at the top to make a point.  A pyramid has 5 edges, and 5 vertices all together. 

I’m sure you’ve heard from your Grade 2 student about our new GIANT bundle of ‘joy’.  Trust me, I had almost given up hope on them but to everyone’s surprise, at approx. 9:10am on Thursday, June 2^nd, Grade 2E became the proud parents of approx. 400 baby praying mantis! The egg broke while the students were in Music class, so I ran to get them and Ms. Nevels and Mrs. Kubik joined us to witness the miracle.  We called Mr. Bryant to tell him he’d become a Grandpa, then hosted some visiting hours to our friends in preschool and other grades.    Now, even though I am not the biggest fan of any kind of bug, and had the “heebee jeebies” all day, I’m really happy that they got to see this part of the life cycle, as it’s a great introduction to our next unit which will tie into our Language Arts and Science curriculum for the remainder of the year:  Bugs! We know that our praying mantis don’t have a very long life to live in Lethbridge.  So rather than have them pass away in our tank, we decided to give them a proper send off underneath a beautiful tree behind the playground and past the path.  Overall, it was a VERY exciting morning in room 10 J 



How they came out of the egg



A few of the 400




"Smile!  They hatched!"

 


"Now look like Miss Tsentouros did when she found them!"





Bringing them back to nature



Hope you have a great weekend- Thanks for reading!

-Anna Tsentouros

Don’t forget these important dates!

Tuesday June 7^th- Parent Appreciation Pancake Breakfast! Bring the family and come enjoy some pancakes in the morning from 7:00- 8:15. 

Tuesday June 7^th- Spirit Assembly at 12:45

Tuesday June 9^th- Swimming at Nic Sheran! Depart at 8:40, return at 10:30. 

Thursday June 16^th- Grade 2 Boat Launch Day! 8:45- 1:30 at Nic Sheran Lake and Spray Park

Tuesday June 21^st- Sports Day!

Wednesday June 22^nd- Pow Wow Celebration at Nicholas Sheran

Monday June 27^th- Farewell Assembly 9-10, Grade 2 picnic at Henderson Lake 1030- 2:15

Tuesday June 28^th- Last day of Grade 2!  Year End Assembly at 9:45, students dismissed at 11:45

May Long is Here! & Calling All Volunteers!

Just a few quick messages today!

A shout out to those parents who were able to come and drive for the Feel the Beat Concert! Thank you to Frere Ayres, Louise Lindley, Carey Martens, Cynthia Allum and Virginia Sprinkle!

We need a few volunteers for the end of year activities!

Thursday, June 16^th- Boat Launch at Nicholas Sheran Park- 1 parent volunteer will be needed to transport class boats to the park (a van would be ideal!) and 1 parent volunteer to walk with the class to Nicholas Sheran

Tuesday June 21^st- Grade 1 & 2 Sports Day- two parent volunteers will be needed to run stations outside- times have not yet been confirmed, but if you are interested in helping out on this day email me back and we can figure something out.

Praying Mantis Update
You may have heard from your Grade 2E student that we have Praying Mantis eggs! ...but we’re still waiting for them to hatch... Ideally, we would have liked to receive the eggs in June when we study our Bug unit, but the eggs were delivered to us early and we’ve been nurturing them since.  So we’re crossing our fingers that we’ll be witnessing a birth soon!...or many births, I guess, since each egg is suppose to hold over 400!..gross right?  That’s exactly what I was thinking!

Anyway, in case they decide not to show up, here is a video link of what is suppose to happen...click below!

Praying Mantis Eggs Hatching

Garage Sale!! 

Just a reminder that MMH is still collecting gently used items for our Garage Sale on May 28^th.  If you have anything you are able to give, you can just drop it off in the school’s entry way underneath the Garage Sale bulletin board.  Thanks to those people who have already donated- it looks like there will be a lot of stuff to sell! 

Our parent council is in need of people from our class to sign up to help with the Garage Sale on Saturday May 28^th.  The time slots that are still available are 11:00 to 12:00, 1:00 to 2:00, 2:00 to 3:00, and then for clean up at 3:00.  Don’t be afraid of the “Clean up”...it  just means loading the excess items that did not sell into a truck, and it should go by fairly quickly!

If you are interested in filling any of those slots, please email me back as soon as possible so I can pass along the information to our school council!

WEEKEND HOMEWORK

Your students brought home a Body Length Measurement activity today!  Please assist them as they choose 1 member of their family to measure! They may also choose a unit to measure in.  In class, we measure in units like paper clips, snap cubes, or straws.  Please help them pick an object at home to use as a unit (like maybe bookmark, shoe, fork), and help them fill out that sheet to hand in next week! 

Thanks for reading!  Stay dry, and have a fantastic May Long weekend!

-Anna Tsentouros



May News!

Hello everyone!

Wow did this week ever fly by!  Grade 2E has been super busy (aren’t we always?!) with many things including our first field trip of the Spring, finishing our Acadian Community unit in Social, kicking off Measurement in Math, finishing our Magnets unit in Science, and we’re just about done our Whale Study!  If you haven’t yet, come check out the bulletin board in the hallway to learn some interesting facts about different types of whales that we discovered! 

Speaking of Measurement in Math, we kicked off our unit with discussing measuring time, in regards to days of the week/ months of the year.  Students are completing a Mini Math Journal, where they record 2 sentences of what they did each day.  We have already completed Monday-Thursday in class. 

MATH CHALLENGE OF THE WEEKEND!

Have your Grade 2E student on a scrap piece of paper; write down TWO SENTENCES per day about what they did this weekend!  So that’s 2 sentences for Friday, 2 for Saturday, and 2 for Sunday.  They will then transfer these sentences into their Mini Math Journals on Monday.  Thanks for your help with this!!

Thank you to our awesome parent volunteers who came out for Aggie Days:  Virginia Sprinkle, Carey Martens, Rickele Knox and Diane Barnes.  It would be impossible to do trips like these without you, so thank you thank you thank you!

We have enough drivers signed up for the Feel the Beat concert on Wednesday May 18^th!  Thank you to Virginia Sprinkle, Cynthia Allum, Cindy Goldhawk and Adrienne Toone! 

We have enough drivers signed up for swimming on Thursday June 9^th!  Thank you to Virginia Sprinkle, Louise Lindley, Frere Ayres, Adrienne Toone, and Rick Goldhawk! 

*NOTE* We still need drivers for 5 more students for the SAAG Art’s Alive field trip on Wednesday May 11^th from 1:15-2:30!! This is a really cool field trip where we get to see awesome art from around the district on display!  The following parents have already signed up:  Cynthia Allum, Virginia Sprinkle, Cindy Goldhawk, and Adrienne Toone. 

Please keep track of the important dates in May/ June!  See the calendar below for some of the activities that have been planned!  I’m sure there will be many that you’ll want to come to!

Thanks and have a great weekend!

-Anna Tsentouros

Monday May 16^th- Last day to hand in Hot lunch money
Wednesday May 18^th- “Feel the Beat” Concert 9:15 am

Monday May 23^rd- Victoria Day No school

Tuesday May 24^th- SAAG Arts Alive field trip @10:00am

Tuesday May 24^th- Spirit Assembly @12:45

Wednesday May 25^th Hot Lunch

June

Friday, June 3^rd- Last Scholastic Book Orders due!
Tuesday June 7^th- Pancake Breakfast @ 7am
Tuesday June 7^th- Spirit Assembly @ 8:30am
Thursday June 9^th- Swimming @ Nicholas Sheran 9- 10am
Thursday June 16^th – Boat Launch / Spray Park field trip

Tuesday June 21^st- Grade 1 and 2 Sports Day
Wednesday June 22^nd – Pow Wow @ Nicholas Sheran
Monday June 27^th- Farewell Assembly @ 8:30am
Monday June 27^th- Grade 2 Picnic @ Henderson Lake 10:15- 2:15
Tuesday June 28^th- Year End Assembly, students dismissed @ 11:45

Here are some pictures from Education Week and a visit from Mr. Pearson! 

Dress like your future career day!

Reading Mr. Platt and our guest "Supermodel" off the roof for the Read-A-Thon!

Skipping for School!

Mr. Pearson's gym lesson!



Catch Up Time!!

Hi Everyone!

I hope you had an awesome Easter break and enjoyed the time with friends and family.  We definitely had a great Easter day just before the break, and it was awesome seeing so many families come out for our Sock Hop. The grade 2s really rocked it!  Thanks as well to our volunteers who brought in snacks for our Easter Party!   I think it was a well deserved break before the big push until the end of June.  Speaking of the end of June, did you know there are only 8 more weeks left of school?!??!  These next two months are just going to fly!!

We are getting right back into the swing of things all across the curriculum.  Here is what we have planned for the next little bit:

In Science, we are wrapping up our unit in Magnets.  We have a few more activities to do, and then students duotang work will be evaluated and sent home. Please take some time to review this small package when it comes home, as students will be assessed shortly after with a Magnets test.  Afterwards, we will begin our unit on Boats and Buoyancy. 

In Math, we are finishing up our Addition and Subtraction with numbers 1-18.  We will then move on to Measurement. Measurement is a quick unit, and it is focused on using non-standard units of measure.  Students will be measuring and comparing a number of things both in school and home. 

In Social, we will continue our studies with Acadian Communities, and wrapping this up in the next few weeks.  Then we move onto our last unit, which is looking at Prairie communities, comparing specifically Saskatoon and Lethbridge.

In Language Arts, we will be finishing our Whale Research.  Students have done SUCH an amazing job with this and we have learned a ton about our specific whales!  I’m very proud of the job they did in the computer lab with this.  After we wrap up whales, we will move straight into Legends and Fables. 

Let’s cross our fingers that the weather stays nice, as this will allow us to have some gym classes outside. That would sure be nice after a long cooped up winter! 

 I would like to forward along an email I received from our Parent Council regarding the Garage Sale fundraiser coming up on May 28^th.   We have already had some students bring in their donations which is great!

Garage Sale Update:

As you know a massive Garage Sale is scheduled to take place Saturday May 28^th at the Exhibition Pavilion from 9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. This event has been organized to raise funds to replace the existing wooden playground structure at our school. You can drop your well cared for items off in the foyer of the school under the playground bulletin board up until Thursday May 26^th. Please label you bags/boxes with your child’s homeroom so they can be set up on the right tables. Organizers are in need of your help- sign up sheets are outside of every classroom – please have a look and see if there is anything you can help with or e-mail Stacy @ deys@shaw.ca . Jobs include setting up the day before, working a shift with your child the day of, and cleanup after the sale. Your help would be greatly appreciated.  Finally, check out the AMAZING Raffle and Silent Auction items that have been donated by our local businesses on our school website!!!

A BIG THANKS to those parents/ volunteers who have handed in blue drivers forms for the next 4 field trips.  Please be advised that we still need MANY MORE drivers for ALL events.  Currently, here is how many students are still WITHOUT drivers:

Wednesday May 11^th- Aggie Days field trip from 1-2:4517 students still needing rides

Wednesday May 18^th – Feel the Beat Concert at 9:15

6 students still needing rides

Tuesday May 24^th- SAAG Arts Alive trip @ 9:45

17 students still needing rides

Thursday June 9^th- Nic Sheran Swimming- 8:30- 10:30

10 students still needing rides

If you are able to help out for these field trips, please fill out the blue form, OR if it got lost in the Easter hustle, email me back indicating which field trip you are able to attend, how many seat belts you have for Grade 2 students, and whether or not you’ve submitted a Driver Authorization Form.  Thank you thank you thank you!!

And last but not least….

I will be adding to this calendar throughout the last two months so please make sure that yours is up to date!  Please be advised that there are some activities/ field trips in June that are all TENTATIVE, as they require nice weather! They will be confirmed closer to those actual dates. 

Thanks! 

-Anna Tsentouros

May

Wednesday May 4^th- “Dress like your Future Career Day”

Thursday May 5^th- Scholastic Book Orders due

Thursday May 5^th- “MMH Read-A-Thon”

Friday May 6^th – “Skip for School”

Tuesday May 10^th- Spirit Assembly @ 8:30amWednesday Wednesday May 11^th- Aggie Days field trip 1:15- 2:30

Wednesday May 11^th- School Council Meeting @ 7pm

Friday May 13^th- District wide Learning Day- No school for students

Wednesday May 18^th- “Feel the Beat” Concert 9:15 am

Monday May 23^rd- Victoria Day No school

Tuesday May 24^th- Spirit Assembly @12:45

Wednesday May 25^th Hot Lunch

June
Tuesday June 7^th- Pancake Breakfast
Tuesday June 7^th- Spirit Assembly @ 8:30am
Thursday June 9^th- Swimming @ Nicholas Sheran 9- 10am
Thursday June 16^th – Boat Launch / Spray Park field trip

Wednesday June 22^nd – Grade 1/ 2 Sports Day
Monday June 27^th- Farewell Assembly
Monday June 27^th- Grade 2 Picnic @ Henderson Lake 10:15- 2:15
Tuesday June 28^th- Year End Assembly, students dismissed @ 11:45