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

Hey everyone! 

Just a few quick reminders about the LAST 9 DAYS OF SCHOOL!! (AH!)

Thank you for all the parent help and encouragement for our Grade 2 Boat Launch! We lucked out with great weather and the kids had so much fun! They were so played out when we returned to the school (…and Friday morning believe it or not!) and it’s just awesome on those days when we get to get out of the school and do something in the community.

Our last full week of school is upon us, and we’ve got some fun events happening, starting on this Tuesday June 19^th – SPORTS DAY! This activity is WEATHER PENDING! If it’s raining, we will try and find an alternative day that works for Kindergarten, Grade 1 and 2. 

I have had lots of parents sign up to help, and will contact those parents in regards to time/ activities. If you are able to come and cheer your kid on, Sports Day runs all around the playground from 10-11:30, and from 12:45 to 2.  On that day, your child will be asked to wear a specific colour of T shirt, and they will write that colour in their Agendas on Monday. 

In the last notice I had sent home, I had mentioned a Class Breakfast party. Thank you to those parents who had signed up to bring treats for our End of Year Party- I will email you to remind you what you signed up for. Rather than have this Breakfast party on Thursday June 28^th as originally mentioned, the date has been moved to Friday June 22^nd

The last week of school will be VERY busy.  On Monday June 25^th at 9:00am we have our Farewell Assembly where we say good bye to staff members who are leaving the school. 

Tuesday June 26^th is our MMH Swim Day- thank you for filling out forms regarding your swimming level.  It’s going to be a very fun, busy day, and we want to ensure the safety of our students.  I feel confident because we have LOTS of parents coming to swim with their kids, and it’s going to be a lot of fun!  Students will be able to bring a SMALL amount of money if they wish to purchase 1 snack from the canteen.  They will be responsible in bringing/ keeping their own money.  We’ll send out a reminder beforehand for what they need to have (bathing suit, towel, easy change of clothing) before we go.  We’ve also had a TON of drivers sign up for this trip which is awesome! Because parking is apparently a bit of a nightmare, we’ll try and make sure we make it as easy as possible on everyone!  Looking forward to a fun time on this day!

Thursday June 28^th is our LAST day of school.  We will clean up/ visit in the classroom until morning recess. After morning recess, we will head to the gym to watch the Year End Slideshow, which usually takes us right until lunch time where we say our good byes!  The Year End Slideshow is always fun to watch if you’re able to make it! 

Well there we have it! We’re getting down to the last wire!

Thanks for reading, and have a wonderful weekend!

-Anna and Grade 2B

We now have enough drivers for Tuesday's field trip to the Arts Alive exhibit at the SAAG! Thanks to those who signed up!


-Anna Tsentouros

Hello Readers! 

I hope everyone is enjoying a fantastic May Long weekend! I just wanted to start off by saying thank you to those parents who were able to come and volunteer for our last two field trips for Aggie Days and Feel the Beat! I know that last weeks will be CRAZY, as we go on most of our field trips at this time, and often require LOTS of parent volunteers and drivers.  Students had a wonderful time at Aggie Days which was a great kick off for our next Social Studies unit as we learn about farming communities.  

In Math, we are finishing up our unit on Measurement, and will spend the remainder of the year with 2 weeks of Geometry, and then continuing with our addition and subtraction of double digit numbers.  With Language Arts, we will spend some time with reading different myths and legends, and then Language Arts will be paired with our last science unit of studying Small Flying and Crawling Creatures.  Hopefully your student has mentioned their final project for their Boats and Buoyancy unit, which is Building the Optimum Boat!  Students took home a pink information sheet explaining details of the project, and we've talked about it lots in class. If you have ANY questions about this project, please email me as soon as possible!!  I will be sending home their Boats and Buoyancy duo tangs this week, so you can see the kinds of experiments we've done in class to prepare them for this project.  

On Wednesday May 23rd, the Grade 2s will be performing their Justin Beiber Dance at the Spirit Assembly! Note that the time for this assembly has CHANGED from 8:30 to 12:30!! The switch was made to accommodate a presentation from Nicholas Sheran choir, as well as a presentation from a group of Japanese exchange students who are coming to visit MMH.  Please remind students to dress in their be achy attire for Wednesday as it is "Beach Day".  If you're only planning on attending the Grade 2 performance part of the assembly, the tentative agenda is as follows:  Citizen of Tomorrow award presentations, Nicholas Sheran Choir performance, Japanese Exchange Student presentation, and THEN the Grade 2 dance. We hope to see some parents there as we've been practising our dance for the past few weeks!

Please update your calendars with the following events AND changes for the months of May and June!

On Tuesday May 22nd from 10-11:30 we need ONE MORE driver (only 2 students) for our Arts Alive field trip! Thank you to those parents who have already signed up!  We will be leaving the school at 9:45, and will be at the SAAG until 11:30, to return to the school by 11:45 lunch.  

Please read on about our new field trip!:

Meerkerk Stonework and Get Recycled have arranged for all grade 2s to have a free viewing of the Disney movie "Chimpanzee" at the Movie Mill.  this movie was released in celebration of Earth Day last month.  We will be heading to the Movie Mill on Monday May 28th.    If you have any questions or concerns about the film feel free to contact me.  The movie starts at 10:00 am and ends at approximately 11:30.  If you would be willing to drive and/or supervise for this trip we would love to have you! I will send home a reminder note on Tuesday when the students return back to school, but you can also email me if you're able to help out!  

Our field trip to the BIOHOME in June has been CANCELLED due to the large number of trips we already have planned, and for how many times we need to ask YOUR help for driving.  The Biohome is now open, and would be a GREAT place to visit as a summer activity with your family!   

I think that's it for now! Enjoy the rest of your May Long Weekend!

-Anna Tsentouros

May

Tuesday May 22nd- Arts Alive Field Trip at the SAAG 10-11:30

Wednesday May 23rd- Beach Themed Spirit Assembly at 12:30 &Grade 2s perform!

Monday May 28th- MMH Clothing Exchange and Movie Mill Field Trip @10

Wednesday May 30th-Lakie Band Performance 12:30-1:30

June

Tuesday June 5th- Pancake Breakfast 7-8:15am

Wednesday June 6th- School Council AGM Meeting @6:30

Tuesday June 12th- Boats due at School!

Thursday June 14th- Boat Launch at Nicolas Sheran Lake!

Tuesday June 19th- Grade 2 Sports Day!

Monday June 25th- Farewell Assembly 

Tuesday June 26th- MMH School Swim at Henderson (details to come)

Thursday June 28th- Year End Assembly, Students dismissed at 12

Hello Readers! 

I hope you've been enjoying the wonderful weekend!  Thanks to the parents who were able to come out and help with our post-Easter Batik art, as well as those who were able to help out with the SAAG field trip! I thought our students did an awesome job at the SAAG and were great ambassadors for our school- Good job Grade 2s!  

It seems like these next 2 months are going to FLY by! Thanks for checking in on the blog, as we've got lots going on! Here's some information on what we're working towards this week:

Please keep an eye out for the Patterning Math unit that your student will be coming home with on Monday.  Students will have their Pattening test on Tuesday, and the test format will be VERY SIMILAR to the Patterning Review that is coming home. We've been working with patterns for quite some time, and I'm certain that the students will do well with this.  If you'd like to help your student study, read over their review with them, and get them to practice on a scrap piece of paper-  drawing repeating and increasing patterns, where the changing attributes are size, shape, colour, or direction.  Get them to show you where the CORE is.   

As we wrap up our discussions with Meteghan and the East Coast, we will be moving into learning about a farming community, where we'll compare what we've learned about the North and East Coast, to places like Saskatoon and Lethbridge!  

In Science, we've kicked off our unit on Boats and Buoyancy!  This unit will have a BIG culminating project where students will need your help! For right now, we'll be focusing on sinking and floating, and what makes things buoyant.  Please stay posted for details about what's coming up in Science!

Our Education Week Committee has some awesome activities planned for Education Week which begins on Monday!  Please check the calendar that I have posted below, as well as your child's agenda.  

With the other Grade 2 classes, we've also been practising our Justin Beiber Dance! The Grade 2 classes will be performing this awesome number at our May Spirit Assembly which is on May 23rd at 8:30 am.  Hope you'll be able to catch our quick performance!  Grade 2's got some serious moves!

I also wanted to let you know about 5 different field trips we have booked for the end of the year.  There may be 1 or 2 more added onto the list, but as of right now these are booked in!  ALL of these trips will require parent drivers and volunteers.  Because there are so many, I will also be sending home a written note about dates and times, and if you're able to help out you can either A) send me an email stating which trip you can drive for, and how many students you can take or B) fill out the forms and send them back with your student.  Remember, for each field trip we need approx.  6-7 drivers!! Thanks for your help with this!!  It's always so much fun when we get a chance to take our kids out in the community to learn something new!  

Field Trips:

Wednesday May 9th- Aggie Days @Exhibition Grounds

Depart Mmh at 12:45, return around 2:45

Tuesday May 15th- Feel the Beat Concert @Southminister United Church

Depart Mmh at 11:40, return around 1:15

Tuesday May 22nd- Arts Alive @ the SAAG

Depart Mmh at 9:45, return at 11:45

Wednesday June 6th- Biohome Tour in Sunridge Community

Depart Mmh at 11:45, return at 1:15

Tuesday June 26th - MMH School Swim at Henderson Lake

Depart MMH -TBA

Please note that this calendar is for May and June, and that I will add activities and events once they are finalized:

May

Wednesday May 2nd- Dress Like Your Future Career Day!

Wednesday May 9th- Aggie Days Field Trip 1-2:30

Thursday May 10th-  Grade 1's host Character Ed. Assembly

Friday May 11th- Staff Learning Day- No School for Students

Tuesday May 15th- Feel the Beat Concert 12-1:00

Wednesday May 16th- Last Hot Lunch!

Monday May 21st- Victoria Day- No school

Tuesday May 22nd- Arts Alive Field Trip at the SAAG

Wednesday May 23rd- Beach Themed Spirit Assembly &Grade 2s perform!

June

Tuesday June 5th- Pancake Breakfast 7-8:15am

Wednesday June 6th- Biohome Field Trip 12-1:00

Monday June 25th- Farewell Assembly 

Tuesday June 26th- MMH School Swim at Henderson

Thursday June 28th- Year End Assembly, Students dismissed at 12