Today we had a great brainstorming session with students about their ideas for vehicles of the future. The challenge to create one vehicle that can transport people in two different ways led to some very creative thinking. Students completed their plans and started creating their prototypes.

In the morning, the kids partnered up to help each other reflect on and assess their writing using a checklist. We are beginning to set goals for our written work. Some things students are focusing on include sounding out words, leaving finger spaces, forming letters properly, including more lowercase letters and adding details.

Tomorrow is the grade 2 assembly and Follow Your Passion Friday!

Tapigami and vehicles of the future

This afternoon we found out more about the Ingenuity Challenge. We are learning about a new contemporary art form called Tapigami. It uses tape as the main building material, for a variety of creations. Our challenge is to create a vehicle of the future, that we believe could exist in the year 3018! The additional challenge is to try and create one vehicle that can transport people in two different ways. We learned that the main material we will be working with is tape, however some of the following materials can be used to help with the structure of our vehicle: cardboard (2 pieces only), pipe cleaners, q-tips, skewers, popsicle sticks and buttons. Tomorrow we will complete our plan and then begin building! Ask your child to share their initial ideas about their vehicle of the future with you.

STEM Family Night

Today an invite came home for the STEM family night that we are hosting at Maple Ridge School next Thursday, December 6th from 6-7:30pm. You are invited to come and participate in STEM challenges in the classrooms and learn some different activities that you could do with your child at home to extend their learning. We hope to see you there!

This afternoon we talked more about The Lorax. We had a discussion about why the Lorax said that he speaks for the trees, and how we can have a positive impact on the environment. We then had a visit from some Grade 4 friends that are going to be helping us reduce the amount of waste in our classroom. At the end of the day, we finished our pictures of the Lorax. 

The Lorax

This morning we read The Lorax. We looked carefully at the pictures and talked about what we noticed and wondered. After reading the story, we had a discussion about how communities can change over time and also discussed the impact that pollution can have on communities.

This afternoon we had a discussion about braille. We looked at the braille alphabet and learned that each letter is a combination of dots. There are 6 dots in each braille cell. Next week we have a special guest coming in to teach us about braille! Here is the braille alphabet:

Update:
Scholastic orders will be placed tomorrow (Tuesday, November 27th). If you have any last minute orders that you would like to get in, please submit them tonight!

Ingenuity Challenge

Yesterday after our field study, we opened a special package that had arrived in our classroom. The package was from the Beakerhead Ingenuity Challenge. After making guesses about what could be inside the box, we opened it, and found 8 rolls of TAPE! The challenge asks us to think about what life will be like in the year 3018. In the next few weeks we will be talking about the past, the present and the future. Students will then be asked to create something that they think could exist in the year 3018. Stay tuned to see what our students come up with!!

Fish Creek

It was a beautiful day to spend time in nature!

Today students:
-learned about how people lived and used the land in the past
-learned about how all the parts of bison were used for food, shelter and clothing
-saw squirrels, a bird of prey, chickadees and a weasel
-built a tipi
-played games from the past
-learned about culture and traditions
-saw a buffalo jump

We also opened our ingenuity challenge boxes and found rolls of masking tape. The students' challenge is to think about the year 3018 and what it might be like in the future. We will be brainstorming and creating over the next several weeks.

Reminders: Thursday Parent teacher conferences 3:30-7:30
                    Friday No school. Parent teacher conferences 8am-12

Notice and Wonder

Yesterday we spent some time looking at the following two pictures, from our Weaselhead Field Study back in October. 

Students were asked what they notice and what they wonder about the pictures. We talked specifically about the trees and the background in each picture. What do you notice and wonder? Then, students started an art project. They are working on making birch trees, using paper, painters tape and watercolor paint. We are excited to show you the finished products at conferences.

Important Reminders:
-Conferences can now be booked online
-Fish Creek Park field study on Monday - please make sure your child comes to school dressed for the weather and has a water bottle, lunch and snack
-Monday is the last day for cookie orders
-Tuesday is the Fundraiser at Chapters on 130th from 6-8pm. We hope to see you there!
-Early dismissal on Thursday at 12:30pm
-Parent/Teacher Conferences Thursday from 3:30-7:30 and Friday from 8am-12pm

Goods and Services

Today students sorted pictures of things, places and people in our community based on whether they provide us with goods or services. Ask your child to explain examples of goods and services they use in their daily life.

Room 15 and 16 have been developing number sense through some games this week. Room 15 has been playing addition snap to encourage kids to develop more efficient methods of adding 2 numbers such as counting up (eg. 6+3 think 6 then count 3 more instead of counting each symbol on a card).
Room 16 played a card game where students make a 4x6 grid with A-6 cards then roll 2 dice. They have to look at the bottom row of the grid and find cards that can add up to the total of the dice.

Today we practiced making clay people and animals that we will use to tell stories with stop motion animation.

Tomorrow is the first day of FYP (Follow Your Passion Friday). Students will find out which group they will be in and join other students from K-4 to further explore their passions.

Field trip to Fish Creek Park is on Monday. Please check the forecast and ensure your child is prepared to be both outdoors and inside for activities.

community wish

Reminders: Field trip forms for our Fish Creek trip on Monday are due tomorrow!
Scholastic order forms were sent home today. If you wish to order you may do so online or fill out your order and return to your child's teacher with a cheque attached. No cash please. Orders due by November 22.

We continue to explore things, people and places that make up a community. Today we asked the students "If you could add anything to your community, what would it be and why?" They used classroom materials to bring their very creative ideas to life. Some ideas include a free horse and dog store, a skateboard ice cream shop, a car that delivers candy, maze and amusement park.

Follow Your Passion Fridays

This Friday, students at Maple Ridge are going to have the opportunity to participate in the first Follow Your Passion Friday. This is a chance for students to learn more about an area of interest. Today the students were asked to select their first, second, and third choice. These are the options that are available to them:

Later this week, students we be assigned to a group. Students will be engaged with this group for 1 hour, on 4 different Fridays between now and the winter break.

Reminders:
-Fish Creek Park field trip forms due on Wednesday
-Conference bookings open on Wednesday
-Parent Teacher Conferences on Thursday and Friday next week (November 22 and 23)
-Mrs. Pittman is still in need of volunteers for the Fish Creek field trip on Monday. If you are available, please email her by tomorrow night

Field Study Forms

Hello families,

Today we sent home field study forms for our upcoming trip to Fish Creek Park on Monday Nov. 19. Please fill in the forms and send them back to school with your child. Mrs. Pittman's class is still in need of volunteers for this trip. If you are able to join us, please email kjpittman@cbe.ab.ca by Tuesday Nov. 13.


Have a nice weekend!

Community

After our walk through Maple Ridge community, we have been focusing on different types of communities such as classroom community, our neighborhoods and our city.

 

Working in groups, students created a poster to share what they know about things that make up a community and the purpose of each part. We explored parts of Calgary using Google Earth and the students continue to add to their posters. Some ideas include houses, car dealerships (specifically Tesla), play places, Tim Hortons, movie theaters, airport, dentist, doctor, Best Buy and the zoo. 

 

Reminder: tomorrow is our Remembrance Day Ceremony at 11am

Making Poppies

Our Remembrance Day ceremony will be this Friday, November 9th at 11am. Families are welcome to join us in the gym, if they would like. In preparation for Remembrance Day, the students were busy creating poppies today. Each class will be presenting a wreath at the Remembrance Day ceremony on Friday. Here is a look at the start of our poppies. We will continue our work on them tomorrow.

Also, a notice came home today about an upcoming fundraiser on November 20th from 6-8pm.
Here is a picture of the notice:

Giraffe and Bird

Today all of the grade 1 students came home with a special book called Giraffe and Bird. Every Grade 1 student across Canada received this book! They were provided by a partnership between the TD Bank and The Canadian Children's Book Centre. Each year, Grade 1 students receive a special book to keep! We hope you enjoy reading this book together as a family.

Important Information:
-With the colder weather on its way, students are reminded to wear warm clothes to school each day. On the cold days, they should wear a warm coat, a hat, mitts and winter boots. This is important as we play outside each day at recess and lunch.
-We have a field trip coming up on Monday, November 19th to Fish Creek Park. Mrs. Pittman's class (Room 16) is in need of 5 volunteers for this trip. Ms. Fraser's class (Room 15) is looking for one additional volunteer for this trip. If you are able to volunteer, please send an email to your child's teacher.

Community Walk Adventures

In Grade 1, we are starting to learn about communities. To help us begin our study, all of the Grade 1s went on a community walk today. We walked around the community of Maple Ridge, looking at different types of houses, stores, trees and buildings. We also had discussions about community workers, such as garbage men and the people who deliver our mail. We saw construction at the community center, the community garden and a hockey rink and basketball court. The students were also excited to see all of the fall leaves on the ground! Ask your child some of the things they noticed on their walk today. If Maple Ridge is not your home community, ask your child how the community that our school is in, compares to your home community.