We are the Champions!

  

On Tuesday, February 13, Room 103 was given the Tupperware Tuesday Award!!!! Our class was recognized for having the largest proportion of lunches sent in reusable containers.  Congratulations to our parents for packing #1, #2 and #3 snacks and lunches in Tupperware! Please keep up the great work - the less we have to throw into our garbage and recycling bins, the less we negatively impact our environment.

Rosary Apostolate Visit

On Wednesday, February 21, Mrs. C. from the Rosary Apostolate visited our classroom to share the Third Glorious Mystery - the Descent of the Holy Spirit. She explained that the Holy Spirit is the third person in the Holy Trinity. The Holy Trinity is One God in three persons - the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Just as the clover, or shamrock, is one leaf and three, God is both one, and three persons. 

Genesis and River collaborate to build a multi-leveled structure,
complete with windows and doors.

Building on Success!

If you are following our class on Twitter, you will know that we have challenged our students to build a variety of items with Lego. From upside down houses, to trees, to firetrucks, to names, children have been completing these STEM activities to challenge their creativity.

What is a STEM activity? 

Canada 2067 is uniting Canadians to develop and implement a new vision for STEM learning. What is STEM? In a rapidly changing world, key skills and characteristics developed through STEM will

be critical for everyone. In fact, even if you don't want to work in fields of science, technology, engineering and math, STEM learning will undoubtedly benefit each and every one of us from coast to coast. To understand why, we have to set our sights on tomorrow.

As technology continues to evolve at a fantastic pace, it's increasingly critical that all youth have opportunities to develop the critical thinking, problem solving, creative and collaborative skills needed for evolving work and citizenship demands. But for the uninitiated, you may be wondering just what the ubiquitous acronym STEM means.

To break it down, STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. First though, let's break down each word and its traditionally defined field of study:

Science: This is where scientific inquiry reigns supreme - traditionally this includes physics, biology, chemistry and other areas of study.

Technology: This is where scientific knowledge is applied for practical purposes, creating new machinery and new processes that transform society.

Engineering: This is where science and math are used to solve practical problems.

Mathematics: This includes pure and applied math, and all the various subfields of mathematical analysis.

Souce: https://canada2067.ca

Mrs. Young's Class Visit

To promote learning through interaction with upper grade classes, Mrs. Young's Grade Six class visited Room 103 on Thursday to share their space projects. They presented their projects on such topics as the Canadarm, the Hubble Telescope and Rick Hatfield. They answered our little ones' questions and inspired them to ask more questions!

100 Days of School!

We celebrated one hundred days of fun and learning by dressing up as 100 year-olds! We counted by ones, fives and tens to this great number and put together hundreds chart puzzles. Thank you to all our "old souls"!

Welcome Miss Ball!

We extend a warm welcome to Miss Ball who will be volunteering in our classroom on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. Miss Ball brings a wealth of teaching experience! She is a graduate of Queen's University and taught Kindergarten for two years in England. She will be working with children on reading, journal writing and literacy and math games.

PAT Time

We are so impressed with the creative objects brought in for PAT time. It can be challenging finding items from home to share with class and we appreciate your child's efforts and your support.  If you have not done so, please make the time to prepare with your child. Their ability to separate or segment sounds in a word is a predictor of their future reading success.

Here is the schedule of letters.

Week of February 20 - U
Week of February 27 - L
Week of March 5 - F
March Break
Week of March 19 - B
Week of March 26 - J

Change of Clothing

As spring approaches and the weather becomes unpredictable with freezes and thaws, please ensure your child is sent to school with snow pants or splash pants. It is virtually impossible to keep them out of puddles for an entire play period and they may get wet! An extra pair of mittens and socks will help your child stay comfortable during outdoor and indoor play. As accidents do happen at school, we ask that a change of clothes is always available in their cubby. And don't forget to label items!

Upcoming Dates

Wednesday, February 21 - Rosary Apostolate Visit
Thursday, February 22 - Report Cards Go Home
                                           Parent Engagement Night - Tribal Vision 6:30 - 8:00 pm
Friday, February 23 - Pizza Lunch 

We wish you a happy and safe Family Day Weekend!

Our Space Inquiry Continues!

Your little ones LOVE Outer Space. Each day, they create stories, drawings and paintings about the planets. Earlier we researched Earth and discovered many interesting facts:

Each week, we will focus on a new planet. We will be learning about Jupiter next!

Don't forget! We will be celebrating Valentine's Day on Tuesday, February 13th. Students are encouraged to wear Red & White and bring in a toonie to donate to the Halton Catholic Children's Education Fund. Keep the Kindness Hearts coming in!

Lunches & Snacks

Many of our little ones seem to be going through a growth spurt and are asking to eat their snacks #1 and # 3 in the morning. 

Check with your child to see if they have enough to eat. You may wish to pack two small healthy snacks for #1 in the morning. Also, if you are not already doing so, please label morning snack(s) #1, lunch #2, and afternoon snack #3. 

Other children are having a difficult time finishing their lunch. Please know that we encourage them to eat by having a "silent lunch." We allow them 30 minutes to eat lunch. This is an extra 10 minutes added onto the 20-minute lunch schedule.

Valentine's Day

We will be celebrating Valentine's Day next TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 13th!

A few things to keep in mind for this very busy day ...

PANCAKE TUESDAY ... We will be enjoying a snack of pancakes (nut-free) on Tuesday morning.

This is RED & WHITE DAY. Please wear red and white and bring in $2 in aid of the Halton Catholic Children's Education Fund.

STUDENT VALENTINES ... Please ensure that no child is left out and that if you are sending in Valentine cards to send in 25 (one for each student). Cards are NOT to be personalized, but labelled "To my friend."

Please DO NOT SEND IN TREATS. We have many students with food and nut allergies and any food sent in to share will be sent home. (Non-food treats are acceptable but not necessary.)

KINDNESS TREE ... Our kindergarten division has a Kindness Tree. Today, you were sent home with a sheet of blank hearts. As your little one does a kind deed, please fill in their name and deed and we will add it to our Kindness Tree.

Space Inquiry

Our space inquiry continues. We have made a rocket ship and are accessing non-fiction texts and the internet to research information on our Solar System. Our little ones especially enjoy learning through Storybots!!! Take time to share this learning with your child by visiting   https://www.storybots.com.

We are focusing our research on Earth, Jupiter and Neptune. Here are some samples of what we have discovered ...

Snuggle Up and Read

Each Tuesday and Thursday your child will bring home a new book to read to you.  Please help your child return books on time in order to receive a new book.

Below are a few tips to help you and your child enjoy a rewarding reading experience.

ü  Before opening the book for the first time, discuss the picture on the cover and talk about what the story might be about.

ü  Take a picture walk through the book and discuss what they see happening on each page.

ü  Ask your child to read the text, pointing to each word as they read.

ü  Help your child figure out unknown words by looking at the pictures for clues.

ü  Sound out the letters of a word.

ü  Reinforce that sentences begin with a capital letter and end with some form of punctuation.

ü  Find words from the story that begin or end with the same sound.

ü  Play listening games with words – what words rhyme with: cat, cap, mat, etc.

Most importantly, enjoy your “Snuggle Up” time with your child.  With encouragement and patience, we know that you and your child will find this time valuable and rewarding!

If you are not participating in this program and have books at home, please return them in your child's zippy bag so that other children may enjoy reading these stories!

Upcoming Dates

Wednesday, February 7 - Winter Walk Day (more details to follow)

Friday, February 9 - National Sweater Day & Pizza Lunch

Tuesday, February 13 - Shrove Tuesday - Pancake Snacks & Red & White Day

Wednesday, February 14 - Ash Wednesday  - Liturgy at 1:00 pm in School Gymnasium

Thursday, February 15 - 100s Day - Dress like a 100-year old!
Friday, February 16 - PA Day - No School for Students

Monday, February 19 - Family Day - No School
Wednesday, February 21 - Rosary Apostolate Visit
Thursday, February 22 - Report Cards Go Home
                                           Parent Engagement Night - Tribal Vision 6:30 - 8:00 pm
Friday, February 23 - Pizza Lunch