Thursday, October 31, 2019

Happy Halloween!

We had a great day!  We were very excited to show off our costumes...
 
A gentle reminder that there is no school on Friday November 1st.

Please check your Power School account for your child's comments based on our math learning intention that will be posted November 1st.

Please ask your child about the Halloween story Mrs. Kinsman read during our Thursday group time.

Today Mr. Kai led an art project and we had fun!  Ask your child what they did...most kids took their art home (hint: had to do with Halloween and see the photos below).

Ms. Disher led us in a game called Make A Monster...



Have a safe and fun Halloween!
The Peace Pod

Happy Halloween!

Below is more information regarding our Home Reading Program:


Dear Parents,  

We are pleased to provide you with details of the Home Reading Program that the Grade 1/2 students are encouraged to participate in.  Our main goal of this program is to promote a love of reading amongst students.  Research has shown us that reading enjoyment is directly related to a student’s academic success.   We encourage students to read daily at home, however we also understand that due to extra-curricular activities etc. daily might not be possible for some.   

Students have access to a wide variety of books through the school such as the Learning Commons, the Calgary Public Library Book Truck and our school Home Reading book collection.  Students are welcome to pick any book to read from any of these collections in our school.  Many also have their own reading collections at home, they are welcome to use these books as a part of Home Reading too.  Each month we will focus on one reading skill.  Students will demonstrate their understanding of this skill by reporting on the books they have read on a Home Reading BINGO sheet.  They can document their understanding in pictures and/or words.  Once their BINGO sheet is complete they can submit it to their teacher.  Students who complete their sheets will have an opportunity to share their love of reading and BINGO sheet with the class.  On the back of the Home Reading BINGO page will be parent information on the reading skill students are working on that month.   

The first month of Home Reading (until the end of November) we are asking students to practice the IPICK strategy.  This strategy helps students in choosing an appropriate book for them.  On the BINGO card they will be asked to respond to the question “Why did you choose this book?”  They will need to document in a picture or words how they used IPICK to choose the reading book they chose that day. 

When can students change books? 
Students have access to the Learning Commons and the Home Reading Collection daily during IGNITE time.  They can also find their own opportunities through the day to speak to the teacher to change their books.   

Why are we not only requiring students to use the Home Reading Collection? 
Students who find enjoyment in reading and are reading for interest are more likely to stretch their abilities.  We want students to recognize that there is more to reading than just a level.  While students will have access to the Home Reading Collection, we want them to truly enjoy reading to support them in building their reading skills.  

For further details please See Mrs. Kinsman’s Blog Post from September 9, 2019  

Please watch your child’s backpack for their first Home Reading BINGO sheet and parent information on IPICK.   

The Peace Pod

Wednesday, October 30, 2019

Wednesday, October 30th

Hallowe'en is almost here! 


Today, after having cleaned up from Ignite, we did some literacy practice with our Making Words exercise. We used the letters R-T-U-S-H. Can you find the five-letter secret word? 
After that, we had a read-aloud. In the Autumn room, our student teacher, Ms. Rau, read a rhyming story to us. We paired up more rhyming words. Our rhyming list is growing! Following story time, we went to the learning commons to get the run down on our new home reading program. Then we picked out our home reading books! Have a look to see what we brought home! 
The sun was out this morning, so we went outside for a movement break and snack. Then we practiced building our reading stamina and we had an introduction to our first free-writing assignment. The topic we’re are going to write about is “Hallowe’en Costumes”. 

Soon after returning to class from our lunch break, we had our math lessons and Inquiry block. We’re still working towards our Peace Assembly during Inquiry. Finally, we played some dice math games and went to phys. ed.. 

Reminders

  • Check for the home-reading folders in your student’s back pack. There is more information about this year’s home-reading program included inside.

  • Tomorrow is Hallowe’en! We can’t wait to see your costumes, but please remember that no masks or weapons are allowed.

  • There is no school on Friday.

  • Does your student speak a second language at home? If they do, please e-mail your responsibility teacher. We have a special job for them.

Tuesday, October 29, 2019

Tuesday October 29, 2019

Today we started practicing for our Peace Assembly on November 8th.  The kids picked what they wanted to do:
1. Tableau
2. Speaking Parts
3. Recipe For Peace
4. Animation/Video

The Tableau group practiced "freezing" and making big movements.  The speakers joined the recipe for peace group to help them come up with words as the "ingredients" for peace.  We read the book called Words by Laura Rozler to inspire us.  The animation group looked at the stop-motion methodology and started to look at story boarding.

The Home Reading Program will start tomorrow and all information will be sent home.

We are almost done working on our Friendship Journals.  We have been continuing our work with creating a sentence and thinking about what a sentence is.  As a pod, we are recording ideas for sentences on individual students.  For example, if asked what a child's favorite colors are, on the whiteboard only the following words are recorded: favorite, pink, blue.  We want the students to think of a way to start the sentence and add in the connecting words such as "and".  For example: Johnny's favorite colors are pink and blue.  As well, we have been reviewing the size and shape of letters-/k/ is a tall letter, /u/ is a small letter and /j/ is a "diving" or "fishing" letter.

In math we are busy continuing our work towards our learning intention around number sense that was posted in October. 

Have a fantastic evening!
The Peace Pod

Monday, October 28, 2019

Monday October 28/19

Please message below about "Jacket Racket":

Jacket Racket begins today and will continue to Wednesday Nov. 6th.  Please send gently used winter wear including coats, mittens, scarves, hats, boots, etc. to school in a bag marked with the items and sizes inside.  We appreciate your support of this much needed program!
Thank You!!
Author visit:  Today Marty Chan came to share some of his stories with us.  He really emphasized the importance of oral storytelling.  Ask your child about the stories he shared (hint: ask me about green thumbs, the moon and sticky fingers!).



Reminder:  No school this Friday.

Halloween:  Please see the Monday Connect email that was sent home today for information on this fun day.

Second Language:  We have a fun project that will help us with our assembly.  If your child speaks another language, please email your responsibility teacher.  More details to come!

Please check the Monday Connect that was sent out today.

Scholastic book orders are on their way!

Sports Club starts November 27th.  Sign up information went home already.  Please let us know if you have had trouble signing up.

Check Friday Power School for updates to the math learning intention we sent out on October 22nd.

From the Peace Pod
Have a fantastic day!

Friday, October 25, 2019

Friday, October 25


Today was short and sweet.

 We began the day with Ignite where we were busy with an assortment of enriching activities. Then we met as a group and pumped ourselves up for another Building Stamina session. At thirteen minutes and nineteen seconds, we beat our previous reading to self record! After that we wrote another Friendship Journal. Only a handful of students remain! Finally, we met in groups and discussed was peace is and drew our interpretations in our visual journals. This activity has led us to what we will be doing for our Peace Assembly. After all that, we witnessed an amazing Peace Assembly that had been put on by the Gr. 3/4 team. It had black-lights and videos! 
So exciting〜

Important Reminders
  • Home-Reading packets are going home next week.
  • We will have two third-year MRU student teachers starting with us next week. We look forward to that! 
  • We would like to welcome our new Educational Assistant, Jessica Mabley! 
  • No school next Friday. 
  • Halloween is next Thursday! We ask that students do not wear masks or bring toy weapons with their costumes. 
  • Gr. 1/2 Sports Club Sign Up https://docs.google.com/forms/d/18gi1CbS5BZHNtaKeNqffIKawRMxjGQlfMmdJjE0J2Ik/edit
  • Remembrance Day Assembly: Peace Pod DOES NOT have our peace assembly this Friday


Thursday, October 24, 2019

Thursday, October 24th




After Ignite today, the students joined Mrs. Kinsman for their special book study project. Then they went to Phys. Ed. with Mr. Der. Afterwards, we had a read-aloud. In the Autumn room, we read The Book With No Pictures, and many a laugh was had. Following story time, we went outside for a snack and a chance to run around. We returned inside to practice building our reading stamina. We broke a new record of thirteen minutes! After that, Mrs. Shepherd gave a literacy lesson to the class while Mrs. Disher, Mrs. Bates, and Mr. Kai read with students individually.
Soon after, it was lunch time. Yum.
Returning from our outdoor lunch recess, we calmed our bodies and minds in Mindfulness. We then broke into our Math groups were we continued our work on number sense. We followed that up with another round of Friendship Journals. Finally, we began work on a project for our Remembrance Day Assembly by brainstorming what the recipe for peace might be.
It was a great day!


Important Reminders 

  • Gr 1/2 Sports Club Sign-Up


  • Some may be under the impression that our Peace Pod Remembrance Day Assembly is this Friday. It is not. Our Assembly will be on Nov. 8th. 

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Wednesday, October 23rd

Oh what a blustery day it was! 


But while the wind was blowing outside, we were busy learning and growing. 
We started the day with Ignite again. After Ignite, we met as a whole group to discuss how are day might go. We grabbed our books for reading to self and practiced building our reading stamina, as we often do. 
We then finished the Making Words task that we had started the day before. From the letters I, N, G, W, and S, we were able to find the “secret words” which were SWING and WINGS. We also discussed how adding an ’S’ to the end of a makes it longer. For example, WIN becomes WINS. A good little tip for any future Scrabble players out there! 
After snack and body break, we did another Friendship Journal. We’ve almost done a Friendship Journal for every student in our Pod! 
Following our post-lunch Mindfulness practice, we broke into our Math groups were we continued our work on Number Sense. Then we gathered as a large group again for Inquiry. We had the pleasure of having Mrs. Kinsman join us to help brainstorm some pertinent questions we might want to ask the various members of our school community. And finally, we finished off our day with some Phys. Ed. and Math Games.


Important Reminders 

  • Gr 1/2 Sports Club Sign-Up


  • Some may be under the impression that our Peace Pod Remembrance Day Assembly is this Friday. It is not. Our Assembly will be on Nov. 8th. 


Tuesday, October 22, 2019

Tuesday, October 22nd

Hello!

Sorry about the missing blog yesterday. Here's a quick recap of what happened:


  • We began with Ignite
  • Worked on our reading stamina
  • Ate our snacks and ran around outside
  • Sang songs and learnt about music with Mrs. Coulson
  • Worked on our math
  • Ended our work on our Glenbow Ranch visual maps 
  • Had phys. ed. outside
  • Played a math game
  • Went home with high spirits
Today we used our Ignite time to finished up the last remaining Glenbow Ranch visual maps and began work on the last step of our poppy painting for Remembrance Day. After that, some of us went to the gym where we played a fun little "hot potato" passing game with Mr. Der. He often ends the class with a yoga stretch, ab exercise, or push-ups. Today we did tree pose, which sometimes known as a stork stand, to practice our balance. Maybe you could challenge us after dinner to see who can stand like that the longest! 
After phys. ed., we had our Health class where we learned about our brains. Specifically, we learned about the amygdala, the hippocampus, and the prefrontal cortex. We learned that the amygdala is responsible for our "flight or fight" response and we used our hippocampus to retain that information. Then we used our prefrontal cortex, the learning and thinking centre of the brain, to discuss our understandings. Using our brains to learn about our brains is so neat!
After that, we had a read-aloud where the book, I Like Pumpkins, was read to us. During the read-aloud, we listened for rhyming pairs and we wrote them down on the whiteboard. I wonder what we'll do with all those rhyming pairs we've collected. Hmmm.
Following our read-aloud, we went outside to eat snacks and frolic throughout the playground. Upon returning to class, we practiced building our reading stamina. We're at twelve and a half minutes! Ooooh, so close to fifteen minutes! Then we made words using the letters I-G-N-S-W. How many words can you make with those letters? 
We took a break from schoolwork to munch our lunches and take advantage of the crisp, fall air. Returning to the classroom all rosy-cheeked, we settled in for Mindfulness. Mrs. Bates lead us in some yoga poses. Having calmed our minds, we broke into our math groups. 
Aren't you curious about what we learned in math today? Ask your kid and see what they say!
In Inquiry, we continued our investigation into our school community. We compiled a list of all the school members we could think of. It was pretty long by the end. It takes a lot of people to make a school run, I guess. 
We ended the day with a Friendship Journal. It's always interesting to learn about the kids in our class. 

Looking forward to seeing you all again tomorrow! 


  

Friday, October 18, 2019

Friday, October 18th







What did we do today? 
Well, let me tell you.
We had an exciting Ignite, as we do most days. Many of us took it upon ourselves to start making little books that we intend to fill with drawings and bits of writing. I even heard some talk of writing stories in those little books. Sharing our own little story books with our friends would be pretty cool, don't you think? A good number of us chose to follow along with art instructional videos. The results were pretty neat!
After Ignite, we continued with our Friendship Journal writing. We're working on writing our own complete sentences now and we're challenging ourselves to write as many sentences as we can muster. As if our day wasn't already super exciting, we had the fire alarm go off after we'd finished writing! It was a fire drill though, so everything was okay. We did a fantastic job of lining up quietly and making our way out of the designated exit. Our teachers told us we were excellent, which is always nice. We went back inside to grab a snack and then promptly returned back outside for our movement break. There were plenty of games of tag to be had!
Once we returned to class, we began work on a follow-up Inquiry project after our field trip yesterday. Our task was to plot out our day by documenting the sights we saw and areas we visited. We brainstormed some ideas of things we might have encountered together and then broke up into groups to make our "day maps". We'll be revisiting this project on Monday. Should be fun!


Have a wonderful weekend! 

Thursday, October 17, 2019



Thursday October 17, 2019

Today was an amazing day spent at Glenbow Ranch exploring the beautiful landscape.  We learned about many different animals that are found in the park and some of us saw deer, a coyote, squirrels, and birds.  We also saw Ranching in action.  Ask your child about what was happening with the cattle.  Each group enjoyed a guided tour of the Yodel Loop and learned many things about the 'flora and fauna' of Glenbow Ranch.  We hope your child comes home with many wonderful stories from their day today.
Everyone will sleep well tonight!!

              
 
 


 


Wednesday, October 16, 2019

Wednesday, October 16th 2019

We had a pleasant day today! It began, as usual, with Ignite. Many of the us chose to draw during this time. Afterwards, we had a whole group meeting where we discussed our goals for the day. Following our group discussion, we did some reading to self where we beat a new reading stamina record! We're well on our way to the fifteen minute mark. Fueled by our new record victory, we continued our work on "making words" to build our vocabulary and phonemic awareness. Once we'd played out in the fresh air and eaten our snacks, we learned about the proper way to read to our friends. We learned a neat, new acronym: EEKK. That stands for "elbow to elbow, knee to knee". Sitting together like that means we don't have to read very loudly to be heard and our partner can follow along on the page. Fun!
After lunch, we had our math class. During this time, we usually slip into smaller groups. Mr. Kai's group continued their work from yesterday. They received some printed photos of various objects from around the class and had to arrange them from one to ten. For example, there was a photo of five scissors and another photo of six chairs in a row. We had to place the photo of the scissors before the photo of the chairs to show the succession. Afterward, we had phys. ed. and played some more math games.

Remember, tomorrow is our field trip to Glenbow Ranch! Don't forget to dress warmly. It's supposed to be nice weather tomorrow, but Alberta weather can be quite finicky. Also, bring a lunch and plenty of snacks as we'll be walking a lot.

Can't wait for tomorrow!


Tuesday, October 15, 2019

Tuesday October 15, 2019

Today we had LOTS going on in our pod!  See below for a list of things the kids remembered from our day.  Not all groups did everything today but will eventually.  For example, today Summer group had Music so the other two groups worked on making words.  Next time when the other two groups have Music, Summer group will work on making words.

Today:
-some of us worked in a small group on our legibility and letter formation
-today we had a Roots of Empathy visit to talk about our babies
-some of us worked with Calgary Reads while others worked on Read To Self...we got to almost 11 minutes!
-some of us had Music
-we all had gym
-we all had IGNITE (some of us worked with teachers on letter recognition, phonemic awareness tasks, reading)
-we all did read alouds in our home room groups, ask your child what books they read (hint: Ms. Disher's group read Robert Munsch's, Too Much Stuff and talked about the concept of sarcastic sense of humor!)
-we all worked on a mural of who we felt were important in our community...see pictures below
-we all worked in our math groups on number sense, ask your child what they did today (hint: Ms. Disher's group worked on one more, one less, two more, two less using a 100's chart and using the words more and less to describe numbers: What number is two more than 64?  What number is two more than 25 and one less than 28?)

Please return all field trip forms ASAP as we need them tomorrow to finalize planning our trip to the Glenbow Ranch on Thursday.

Several parents have asked about proper letter formation.  See the photo below for some information.

The Peace Pod















Thursday, October 10, 2019

Good afternoon!

Today in Peace Pod we enjoyed some time with Mrs. Kinsman reading and reflecting on our novel 'The Wishtree'.  We also had Phys Ed with Mr. Der and played an exciting game of 4 corner soccer.

We had the opportunity to reflect and connect on our community drawings from yesterday through the reading of two stories.  'Maybe Something Beautiful' is the story of how a young girl brings colour to her grey neighborhood through sharing art.  We discussed how art in our community and our lives makes it more joyful for everyone.  Ask your child what a mural is.  We also read "The Crayon Box that Talked" which is the story of crayons coming together to make a beautiful picture.  Colour is a powerful tool.

This afternoon we also had a chance to finish up our Poppy Art and practice the different Math games that we have learned so far.  We also read 'The Thankful Book' by Todd Parr and thought about all of the wonderful things that we are thankful for as we head into the weekend.

Reminders:
NO SCHOOL Friday, Oct 11 or Monday, Oct 14!

Enjoy your weekend!!






Wednesday, October 9, 2019

Wednesday, October 9, 2019

We started off our day with a visit from all of our Roots of Empathy babies.  We are amazed by all the milestones that our babies are hitting and learned how their routines are an important part of growing and learning.

In Math, we continued to explore numbers using number lines, looking at more and less, where numbers belong and patterns we might see.

We continue our daily routine of building stamina while reading independently.   Our goal is to find a quiet spot, get started right away and read the whole time. So far we have been able to read for 9 minutes without interruption.

This afternoon, Mr Kai led us in a fun activity to help us understand the importance of colour and diversity within a community.  We started off by drawing a community with one colour of crayon. We then worked together to draw collaboratively with all of our colours to create a more colourful community.


 

Reminders:

Friday, Oct 11 and Monday, Oct 14 NO SCHOOL.