Our First Grade One
Blog Update!!!
Yay! We finally have
this wonderful source of communication available to us!
Thank you, all
parents, for your continued patience and support during the last few months. It
has been a bit of a struggle but I think together we made it work.
Please note
Mrs. Galberg will be our Classroom Representative as well as our Official
Blogger!
Many thanks
to her for taking on this task.
Blog Info:
This classroom blog
will be updated weekly or bi-weekly. Please be sure to check at least once a
week to be sure you have received all pertinent information. On this blog you
will find things like updates on subjects and topics we are learning about in
class so that hopefully that learning can be carried on at home. Any requests for
volunteers will be posted here for any events such as field trips, classroom
parties, Scientists in the School events, etc.
Please email Mrs. Galberg if you are interested in those volunteer
positions. I will try to also post photos from events and classroom activities
once a month as it is nice to also have a look inside our day to day classroom
life.
Classroom Learning:
Throughout September
and October we focussed on Patterning and Number sense in Mathematics.
Specifics such as pattern attributes, pattern styles, growing patterns,
identifying patterns, labelling patterns, skip counting by 2’s, 5’s, and 10’s, printing
our numbers forwards to 100 and backwards from 20. We looked at all the ways we
can represent numbers, more than vs. less than and the symbols that represent
more than and less than. We have been learning about ordinal numbers and using
our hundreds chart. In Language we have been focussing on our oral
communication, using a clear strong voice when speaking to the whole group as
well as using our voice to ask questions when we are unsure. In writing we have
been learning about all the aspects that make a good writer, which follow the
checklist that was sent home. Punctuation has been a key focus the last few
weeks: when and why we use each punctuation mark. We began in September with Social Studies
looking at Rules, Responsibilities and Respect. We are now in our first Science
unit Characteristics of Living and Non-Living Things. In Art we have begun
learning about the Elements and Principles of Design starting with Contrast and
Lines. Please reference the Grade One Curriculum found on www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/ for
further interest in the subjects and topics we will be covering throughout this
grade one school year.
Notes:
- Please try your best to have your children on
school grounds by 8:25am for the first bell. This will help them in settling in
each morning efficiently.
- Agendas will be sent home every day and are to
be initialled by a parent each night and then returned to school the following
day please.
- Spelling Folders go home Monday for
studying purposes. Please return every Friday prior to the Spelling
test. Shared Reading folders will go
home with a new poem every Friday, activities are to be done each weekend, and
then the folder is to be returned Monday.
Please remind your child that transportation of these folders is their
responsibility.
- Indoor shoes are now officially required as the
wet weather has begun and it is only a matter of time until the cold, wet, icy
weather arrives. I would like to have students in the habit of changing their
shoes prior to winter holidays.
- Please feel free stop in and chat or send a
message for a phone call at any time. Unfortunately, I could not meet with
every child’s parent this time. However, my door is always open and there is
always the opportunity to set up a meeting of some sort.
Finally, Grade One is a big change from Full Day
Kindergarten and I would like to emphasize having conversations with your
children about the change in work load and expectations and the importance of
showing their knowledge in as many ways as they can (on paper, in conversation,
through pictures, and through actions) this will ensure they achieve the marks
I know they can.
Something to work on:
As there is much more writing involved in Grade One
something to always be practicing at home is printing. Adjusting your letter
size to the line size, slowing down and printing clearly, as well as re-reading
and editing your writing afterwards to ensure it makes sense and is legible.
Enjoy your week!
Ms. Guenther
