Fall is Here

This week we will be learning all about fall. From looking at leaves and fall clothing, to exploring fall activities and our senses during the season, we will be fall experts by the end of the week! On Friday, we will be going for a leaf walk to observe and collect leaves with the other Grade 1 classes. Please make sure your child has appropriate footwear for our walk.

I would like to take this time to provide you with a little more information about our agenda messages. All of the students are asked to write the daily message even when it is not applicable to them specifically. For example, when a due date for a field trip permission form is approaching, I will often have the kids write a reminder in their agenda. On the day(s) that we write the reminder, some of the kids will have already handed in their form, but they will write the message anyway. In Grade 1 it is very difficult to differentiate the agenda message for each student because lots of times many kids are unsure about what they have or have not handed in. In order to ensure that all parents get the information they need about upcoming due dates and other matters, I have all of the students write every message. If I write a message in your child's agenda, that means it is specific to you and your child and wouldn't apply to the majority of the class. Also, if you are writing a message to me in your child's agenda, please try to write it on the right hand side so that your child has room to write their daily agenda message in the correct box. Thank you!

We Are Unique

This upcoming week is all about names and how we are each unique and special. We will start the week by reading the book "Chrysanthemum" by Kevin Henkes and then we will take a look at our names. Watch for a name questionnaire to come home on Wednesday.  We will use the answers from this at-home activity as a basis for our circle time discussion the following Monday.

With the first day of fall approaching on Thursday, we will also begin our science unit about Seasons this week.

House keeping item: Picture day forms were handed out last week. On the day that they were handed out, I found one on the floor after school.  If your child did not bring one home, please comment in their agenda and I will send the form home with them on Wednesday.  Picture day is on Monday, September 26th.

First Week of School

We had a great first week of Grade 1! I keep telling the kids that I am the luckiest teacher around because I got the best class in the whole school! I was amazed at how many names were in the happy bucket by the end of the day on Friday! If your child hasn't told you about the happy bucket yet, ask them what it is and why they get to put their name in it.

Last week we were very busy. We started the week by learning each other's names, taking a look at our classroom, and learning the school rules. We also got to meet our Grade 4/5 buddies from Mrs. Olsen and Mr. Newman's class. Our Grade 4/5 buddies are wonderful! They took us on a tour of the school and helped us build creations. You can check out our creations by visiting the display case between the art and the music room! A highlight from our week was when we read the book "First Day Jitters" by Julie Danneberg and talked about how we felt on Tuesday morning before coming to school. After we finished reading the story, we got to try "Jitter Juice," and then we made a graph to show whether we liked it or not.

Our second week of Grade 2 is going to be busy, as well! This week we can look forward to celebrating International Dot Day (September 15th) and learning about Terry Fox's legacy. We will wrap up the week with our annual pancake breakfast and the Terry Fox run on Friday. Hope to see you there!