Important Message from Ms. Guenther

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