Math Games coming home

Please look in your child's backpack for January's Math game.
This weekend is a good chance to practice their basic facts together in a fun and engaging way.
Have fun and thanks for your support!


Mrs. Harvey & Ms. Betty

This week in Room 6...

Hello Parents & Guardians!

This week at school we:
- started learning about Canada in Social Studies.
- sang O Canada because many of us do not know the words!
- did a Science experiment to learn about surface tension.
- watched a video about surface tension.
- learned how to shoot basketballs in the gym.
- programmed robots to go around our community in the Learning Commons.
- practiced beats in Music.
- also practiced sign language for 'so' and 'mi' with Miss. Nair.
- practiced one minute math (grade 2s)
- learned about 3D shapes in Math (grade 1s)

Thank you for reading our blog! We are excited for student-led conferences today!

- Mrs. Harvey & Room 6 students

Student-led Conferences

Hello Parents & Guardians!

Students are so excited to share their learning with you this Thursday, January 31. We will have a variety of stations for you and your child to go to so you can see what your child has been working on lately.

Please be reminded that students are expected to be part of this conference. Each child will lead his or her family from station to station - students are the leaders! This is not a formal conference with extended time to discuss questions or issues with your child's teacher. If you have something you would like to discuss privately, please email Mrs. Harvey or Ms. Betty to schedule a meeting.

We look forward to seeing you all on Thursday!

Ms. Betty & Mrs. Harvey

This week at school...

Hello Parents & Guardians:

Today in Room 6 we are working on a special project for student-led conferences so students will not be bringing their TWAS books home. We still want to share with you what we did this week:

- This week at school we did Mission Impossible in the gym. We did monkey bars and climbed ropes and ladders! 

- In Math, the grade 2 students were doing a graph to keep track of how many addition and subtraction equations they could solve in one minute. The grade 1 students also worked on adding and subtracting. 

- In Language Arts we wrote about robots. We also wrote about a goal that we have at school. 

- In Science we learned more about liquids. We watched a video about liquids and we did an experiment! We learned how liquids move and about viscosity. When a liquid is non-viscous, it moves super fast and when a liquid is viscous, it moves super slowly because all of the molecules stick together. 

- In the Learning Commons, students kept building the community that we started before the break. We are going to drive robots through the community! 

Reminder: Please sign up for a student-led conference time if you have not yet done so. 

Have a great weekend!

- Mrs. Harvey & Room 6 students 

Daily Message - Jan 23

Please sign up for a student-led conference next week. We have lots of exciting things to share with you!

Please also return your child's white report card envelope, signed, as soon as possible.

Thank you!

TONIGHT! Great parent opportunity

If you are able to make it tonight, this will be a great learning opportunity:

Daily Message - Jan 22

Hello Families,

Please be sure to read the note sent home regarding daily messages. Moving forward, all important messages will be posted on this blog. 

If you have not yet done so, please sign up for a student-led conference. Please also send in signed report card folders at your earliest convenience.

Thank you,

Ms. Betty & Mrs. Harvey

Grade two Math

Attention Grade 2 Parents:

Students are bringing home a minute drill sheet of subtraction.
Students completed the first minute in pencil and then completed the rest in pencil crayon for practice.
We are working on increasing our fluency and speed using a variety of strategies.
Currently, we are observing how our speed and accuracy increases when we practice and apply the strategies we have learned.
Students will completing a minute of subtraction and addition each day (today we only did subtraction to explain the idea).  Each student has set a subtraction goal for the remainder of the month.  Tomorrow we will set an addition goal as well.  You will be able to see the results when you come for Student Led Conferences on January 31. 

Students have been reminded to set goals for themselves that reflect their aspirations and abilities.  They are not expected to be able to complete the entire 48 questions in a minute!

Students also have a small version of the graph we are using in class - it may be a place your child would like to record their practice at home as well as a reminder of the goals they have set for themselves.  This can stay at home and does not have to be returned to the school.

Thanks for your support!

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Ms. A. Betty

Me to We club - Rafiki bracelet sales

Reminder: Important opportunity for parents this week!

On January 23 at 6:30pm parents are invited to Simon Fraser School to learn more about social networking and online safety. All parents and staff are encouraged to take advantage of this great learning opportunity. Please note that children will not be allowed to attend this event. More information below:

Spelling Words January 21

The red group is working on identifying, sorting, and sounding out words beginning with the letters T, G, N, P this week.

This week the rest of the students will continue to work on short and long a sounds.

Blue group: bag, snail, pail, grapes, plate, grass, chain, game

Green & Yellow groups: play, clay, stand, slave, tray, may, gray, gain
The Yellow group will also choose 4 words to add to their list. 
The spelling rules we have been focusing on in the Green & Yellow groups are:
- short a sound: CVC (consonant, vowel, consonant) as in 'stand'
- long a sound: CVVC as in 'gain', CVCe as in 'brave', and CVV as in 'tray'.

While these rules have been a bit tricky for these two groups initially, we are so impressed with how hard our students have worked to start to figure them out. As we continue to explore vowel sounds and rules in future weeks, the hope is that students will see patterns and be able to apply these rules more readily in their reading and writing.

Thank you for your support at home!

Science Fair volunteers needed!

CALL FOR SCIENCE FAIR JUDGES

Since October, students in Captain John Palliser's Science Fair Club have shown great enthusiasm and hard work in researching or conducting experiments! On February 5th we are requesting judges to assess the final projects in order to determine which students will represent our school at City Finals.  Judges will be viewing student work and presentations on the morning of Tuesday, February 5, from 9:40 - 12:30.  

We welcome all volunteers with a volunteer clearance; judges do not need to have a background in Science or Education. They need to listen to student presentations and ask questions about their learning and research in order to fill out the Science Fair judging sheet.  We will be looking for 6 - 10 adults from the community or within the school whose children/students are not participating in the science fair this year.

Please spread the word and contact us with the emails below to express your interest. We look forward to seeing you!
rsyong@cbe.ab.ca
ajbetty@cbe.ab.ca

Yours in Learning,
Ms. Betty & Ms. Yong 

Report Cards

Today report cards were sent home with students. This afternoon we had a discussion with students about how proud we are of all of the hard work that we have seen in our classrooms. Many students believe that 1s and 2s mean they are bad students or have done something wrong. We are working with students to remind them that marks do not mean they are good or bad students; marks show us where we need to continue to learn and grow. 

Please celebrate with your child, regardless of what mark they received. As teachers we are just as proud of our students who received some 1s as we are of the students who received some 4s and we hope that you look for your child's strengths as you read through the report card. Please also discuss what your child can continue to work on and what goals they could set for the rest of the year. 

Below are the indicator words that are used to help you understand the marks your child has received. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions or concerns.

1	2	3	4
Below	Acceptable	Adept	Accomplished
Insufficient	Met
Not met	Adequate	Capable	Compelling
Not meeting	Basic	Competent	Comprehensive
Not there	Novice	Effective	Excellent
Limited	Partial	Efficient	Exceptional
Poor	Satisfactory	Good	Exemplary
Undeveloped	Simplistic	In depth	Expert
		Proficient	Extensive
		Strong	Outstanding
		Substantial	Skillful
		Thorough

Thank you,

Ms. Betty & Mrs. Harvey