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.

Assembly tomorrow!

The grade one assembly is tomorrow at 11am. Parents, please join us in the gym if you are available. The kids have created some great projects to share with you!

Today students completed their stories using Book Creator on the iPads. They created settings for their stories outside in the nature learning area earlier this week. Students collaborated to add animal characters and create a story with a beginning, middle and end with description and details. Today they shared their stories with their peers.

Animal Patterns

Today we had a discussion about animals, birds and insects that have patterns. We also began talking about the words camouflage and adaptation. Then, students chose an animal, bird or butterfly to sketch. We are practicing some of the steps and skills that Ms. Rebecca taught us when we were sketching our Lego buildings. We will be sharing our final products with you at the Spring Gala! The students are so excited to show you all of their hard work. Here are some of our beginning steps:

Reminders:
-Grade 1 assembly - THIS FRIDAY @ 11am
-Spring Gala - Thursday, April 23 from 6-8pm - Grade 1 students should arrive by 6:20pm
-Room 15 (Ms. Fraser's class) is in need of 2-3 more volunteers to join us at Weaselhead on Tuesday, April 23, if you are available and have a current police clearance completed please email me!

Sprouting Seeds

The students were excited to arrive at school today and notice that many of the seeds had sprouted. Students made predictions about why some seeds had not yet sprouted, which led to an interesting discussion about the needs of plants.

This afternoon, the students began working on a printmaking project. The final products will be displayed during the spring gala.

Important Dates/Information

Friday, April 12 @ 11am - Assembly
The Grade 1 students will be hosting an assembly this Friday @ 11am. They have been working hard learning how to use the green screen and practicing a special song for the assembly. You are welcome to join us in the gym for this assembly.

Thursday, April 25 @ 6-8pm Spring Gala
The Spring Gala will be held on April 25th. Grade 1 students are asked to be in the classroom no later than 6:20pm to line up and get organized for their performance. The actual time that they will be performing in the gym will be posted in the school on the evening of the gala. Before or after their performance, please enjoy the beautiful art displayed throughout the school in the both the hallways and classrooms!

Field Trip Volunteers
Room 15 (Ms. Fraser) is still in need of volunteers to join us for the following field trips:
-Weaselhead - Tuesday, April 23rd - all day
-Downtown/Prince's Island Park - Monday, May 27th - 9am-1:30pm
Room 16 (Mrs. Pittman) is still in need of volunteers for the field trip downtown on Monday, May 27th from 9am-1:30pm
If you are able to volunteer, and have a currently police clearance completed, please email your child'd teacher.

Seeds

Today we asked students "Where do seeds come from?"

"seeds come from the store"
"seeds come from fruit like watermelons"
"seeds come from other plants"
"seeds come from the ground"
"seeds come from a life cycle"

We looked at pictures of different types of seeds and tried to match seeds to their parent plant.
Students spent time investigating a variety of seeds and we noticed that seeds are different sizes, shapes and colours.

Students have been working on math word problems about plants and flowers. They are representing their understanding with pictures, symbols, numbers and number lines and used strategies including skip counting to solve the following:

Every day in my garden 3 flowers bloom. How many flowers bloomed after 6 days?
I planted 4 seeds. Each seed grew into a flower with 5 petals. How many petals were there altogether?

This afternoon, students did a practice sketch of their Calgary building to prepare for a watercolor painting project. They are looking for shapes and details to accurately sketch the building.

Notices: Today your child brought home a Yearbook order form. The order deadline is April 18 and it is done online.