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!!!