Library books!!

We are still missing many library books from room 15 and 16 students. If your child still had books out, they would have received a list of books that they need to return. All books were due back on Monday.

Please return all library books by tomorrow.

Thanks

Talent Show and Library Books

Hello Parents,

Part 2 of the Talent Show will be at 11am Monday

Library Books- this past week was our last week for library book exchange. Please have all library books returned to the school Monday June 17. Thank you!

We are encouraging students to bring a reusable grocery type bag to have for next week when we send their books and work home. Feel free to send one in anytime this week and they can store it on their coat hooks.

A busy week of art!

This week we have a couple of different art projects on the go. Today students started using paper mache to create a giant insect. This project will be continuing on Wednesday and Friday. Tomorrow we will be completing a secret project that involves paint! We are asking that students come to school in clothes that are ok to get messy for the rest of the week. 

Reminder: Talent Show Part 1 - Tuesday, June 11th @ 2:30

Butterfly Wings and Wishes

Today we had a guest from Butterfly Wings and Wishes. We learned about the adaptations, habitats and characteristics of different bugs and insects. Students saw a scorpion, pill bug, praying mantis, millipede, vinegaroon and tarantula. Ask your child about some of the facts they learned.

We also had a guest explain some of the programs taking place at the public library over the summer. Your child will be bringing home some information about how to sign up for their reading program.

Room 15 and 16 are in need of newspaper for an upcoming art project. If you have newspapers or flyers, please send them with your child.

Talent Show

Talent Show: 
Maple Ridge will be having a Talent show this year for Grades 1-4. There will be 2 shows; June 11 @ 2:30pm and June 17 @ 11:00 am. Auditions for Grade 1 students will be held during music class. If your child takes music/dance lessons or has a planned routine and would like to perform for the whole school they are asked to audition in front of their peers beginning this week. The last day for auditions will be Wednesday, June 5. Each student will be given 90 seconds for their performance. Song choice must be appropriate (no bad language or negative messages)

If you have any questions please email jmhebenton@cbe.ab.ca

Today students learned about the external body parts of a caterpillar by creating a labelled diagram. They observed their caterpillar to see if they could identify parts including the thorax, abdomen, head, mandible and spiracles. We put moved our caterpillars from their cups to the netting habitat as they are close to making their chrysalis'.

Please remember to send a water bottle, hat and sunscreen for your child to access throughout the day as we are spending more time outside for phys. ed and science activities.

Caterpillars, coding and our final field trip

We have been VERY busy lately in room 15/16!

Last week we had some special visitors arrive in our classroom! We have 20 painted lady caterpillars that we will be observing and taking care of for the next few weeks. When they first arrived they were very tiny. We have been documenting their growth and were shocked to arrive back at school this afternoon to see how much they have changed! They sure were busy eating over the weekend. We have lots of questions about how caterpillars turn into butterflies!

We have also been learning about coding. Students are working on iPads with a partner and have been working their way through the lessons on code.org. This is a website that you could check out with your student at home as well! It takes them through various coding activities and lessons. 

Today we enjoyed a day of learning downtown, exploring Prince's Island Park and the Bow River Pathway. We rotated through three centers in the morning and then had lunch in the park. With Mrs. McCaw we had the chance to use iPads to create a PicCollage showing signs of animals. We saw a lot of geese and goslings. Did you know a group of geese is called a gaggle? With Mrs. Pittman we practiced sketching plants and used watercolor pencil crayons. With Ms. Fraser we walked down to the Peace Bridge and looked for 2D shapes and 3D objects and had the chance to explore the area around the bridge. 

Downtown Field Trip Reminder

Tomorrow the Grade 1 students will be heading downtown for our final field study of the year. We will be leaving Maple Ridge by 9:30am and returning by 1:30pm. We will complete other activities once we return to the school. The weather tomorrow is supposed to be beautiful! It is supposed to be warm and sunny. Please make sure that your child is wearing sunscreen and a hat, as we will be outside the entire time. You child should also wear comfortable walking shoes and bring a water bottle, snack and healthy lunch! We are looking forward to exploring downtown together!

Volunteer Tea

We have the most incredible volunteers at Maple Ridge School! As a way of saying thank you for all of the work you do supporting our students by volunteering, we would like to invite you to our Volunteer Tea! If you have volunteered with us this year, please join us on May 29th so that we can say thank you! The volunteer tea is being held on Wednesday, May 29th from 10:30am-11:30am. If you are able to attend please RSVP to mapleridge@cbe.ab.ca

Animals!

We continue to learn about the needs of animals. Students completed their research about their animal and we have a few groups present their posters and information each day. Last week we discussed what a habitat is. A place that has everything an animal needs! Ask your child about their plan for their diorama habitat and what it needs to include. Today they began painting the background of their diorama and will continue to build things to put in it later in the week.

During math, we have been completing a word problem each day and then practicing skills through games. Today Room 16 did a problem about beavers visiting a pond and getting their paws wet and room 15 did a problem about butterflies. Ask your child what strategy they used to try and solve the problem. Problem solving is an important skill that takes practice and repetition. We encourage the students to show their understanding with pictures numbers and words.

We learned about something that some animals do to survive called mimicry. Animals copy other animals to trick their predators. An example of this is a Viceroy butterfly who is harmless but looks just like a poisonous monarch butterfly. Birds will leave the Viceroy alone because they think it is poisonous.

We are still in need of volunteers for our May 27th morning field study downtown. If you are able to volunteer, please email Mrs. P or Mrs. F.  Thanks!

Story writing

This week students are writing a story about the animal they have been researching. This will be a fictional story with their animal as a character. Students are making sure to include a beginning, middle and end, as well as a problem and a solution. Before we can start writing, we plan our ideas using a story map!

Field trip volunteers needed!! 
Room 15 and 16 are both in need of volunteers to join us for our downtown field trip on Monday, May 27th. We will be leaving Maple Ridge by 9:30am and returning around 1:30pm. If you are available to join us and have a current police clearance completed, please email your child's teacher as soon as possible.

Wear a hat tomorrow!

Reminder that tomorrow is Hats on For Mental Health awareness day. Kids are welcome to wear a hat to show support.

Today we worked on a problem related to the Very Hungy Caterpillar story during math. See if your child can explain how they solved the problem.
On Monday the caterpillar ate 1 fruit. On Tuesday the caterpillar ate 2 fruits. On Wednesday the caterpillar ate 3 fruits. If the pattern continues, how many fruit did it eat altogether from Monday to Friday?

Students worked on their animal posters today. Below are some pictures of their work in progress.

Pics and activities from past week

April was a busy month preparing for our assembly and Spring Gala. It's hard to believe it's almost May! 

Last week, before the snow, we got outside to look at some of the trees and flowers in the front of the school. We have been reading books and watching videos about plant adaptations (special things a plant has or does to protect itself) and students took magnifying glasses out to see if they could identify how the plants protect themselves. 

The students have been doing animal research using books and iPads to find out about the animal they sketched for Gala. Information they are looking for include habitat, food, size and other interesting facts. They will be presenting their information with a poster presentation. 

Today in math Room 16 worked on estimates and measurement while Room 15 worked on showing multiple solutions to an open ended word problem (many answers are possible).  In the afternoon, students pretended they were Botanist who found a new plant that has never been discovered before. They had to sketch, build a model and create adaptations of the plant. There were some very creative ideas including spines, spikes, sticky drops to catch bugs and electricity. The kids will be writing about their plants tomorrow. 

Spring Gala Reminders

Important Information about the Spring Gala:
-The Spring Gala is tomorrow Thursday, April 25 from 6pm-8pm
-Grade 1 students should arrive in our classroom by 6:20pm 
-The exact time that your child will be performing will be posted around the school when you arrive tomorrow night (it will be after 6:20pm)
-Once you have dropped your child off in the classroom at 6:20pm, you can go down to the gym and find a place to watch the performance
-After the performance, please meet your child up in our classroom, make sure your child's teacher knows that they are leaving with you at the end of the evening
-Grade 1 students are encouraged to dress up like a community helper for their performance
-Before or after the performance, students and families are encouraged to look at the art work displayed around the school and in our classroom
-We will also be playing the green screen video that was originally shown at the Grade 1 assembly for families that would like to see it again
Our students have been working VERY hard for this night! They are excited to share their songs and art with you! We are all looking forward to having you join us tomorrow night!

Field Trip on Tuesday

Just a reminder that our trip to Weaselhead is on our first day back after the Easter Break (Tuesday April 23). The forecast is calling for a warm day (20 degrees!) but please have your child dress appropriately for the cooler morning. Layers work best. They may also need sunscreen and hats as we will be outside the entire time.

Friday April 19 No School
Monday April 22 No School for students

Happy Easter Weekend!!!

Spring Gala info

Spring Gala will be held on April 25 from 6-8pm. This is an opportunity for you to watch your child perform and look at artwork displayed around the school. All grade 1 students have a 6:20 call time and must meet in their classroom at 6:20pm to get ready for their performance. The grade one students need to be dressed as a community helper such as a firefighter, doctor, mail carrier or any other community helper you can think of.

Today students shared their weekend activities through journal writing. We are revisiting forming our letters and placing them properly and neatly on the page. We also read a story about a class who creates a garden and discussed the needs of plants. We decided to test out if plants need sun to grow and survive by creating an experiment. Ask students about their hypothesis and what we are doing with seeds to find out.

Room 15 and 16 did some measurement activities during math. Students chose a measurement tool such as unifix cubes, felt pens,  blocks and pennies to measure objects around the classroom. They made estimates before measuring.

Students continue to work on their animal pattern sketches and focused on the close up of their animal pattern. They used watercolour pencil crayons.

We have a yoga instructor teaching the kids yoga during gym. Please ensure your child is dressed appropriately.

Reminder: Bring your Weaselhead field trip forms back if you haven't done so.