Monday October 24, 2016

In Math we talked about all of the attributes (characteristics) that our pumpkins have.  We practiced sketching our pumpkins and adding more detail by shading. Forms went home today regarding digital citizenship, what it looks like and why it is important.  Please take the time to discuss this with your child and why it is important.  Please sign and return blue forms to school. 

Ask me about what happened in gym and music today? check out the music and Phys. Ed. Blog:

http://royaloakmusic.blogspot.ca/

http://hennickpe.blogspot.ca/

Reminders: 

- Pumpkinella & Socktober - Will take place on October 31, 2016. Reminder that you can drop off new socks of any size and your jack-o-lantern on Oct.30, 2016 from 2 - 4 pm or on Oct. 31, 2016 from 7am - 8:48am. Did you know that counting the seeds of your pumpkin is a great math activity for your child? Have them estimate how many seeds they think are inside first and then count by 2s, 5s, or 10s to see how many it really had. Talking about their counting strategy and which counting method was most effective in counting all the seeds is a great way to engage your child in mathematical conversation! Happy carving!

Sobey's Pumpkin Challenge - The students in Grades 1 - 3 were challenged by Royal Oak Sobey's to creatively design a pumpkin to display in their store as part of their Halloween Challenge. Each class took up this collaborative task with their students based on interests, student designs, or things they are learning about in the classroom. Parents and the community are encouraged to see the pumpkins at the store starting Friday Oct. 21, 2016. Hopefully they will last until Monday Oct. 31, 2016! Sobey's will select a class with the best design to win a class prize. The winning class will be announced during Pumpkinella on Oct. 31, 2016. 

Dates to remember:

Thursday October 27 – Literacy Night

Friday October 28 – Hallowe’en Dance

Monday October 31 – Pumpkinella

Home reading book bags: Please enjoy reading these books with your child. We encourage students to point to the words as they read to track their reading, use picture clues, or beginning letter sounds to decode unknown words.

*** Please return the book bag in your child’s folder for new books on Tuesday or Thursday. If you have a note about the level, please place it in the folder, not in the book bag as the volunteers are exchanging the books and we may not see it.

Circle of Courage:

Each week one student per class will bring home a sheet of paper describing the circle of courage. We ask that on Friday of your child’s week that he or she brings in something that shows one of the following sections of the circle: Independence, Mastery, Belonging, and Generosity.  See below for what the letter will look like. 

Circle of Courage Spotlight 

Congratulations, your child has been chosen to be our Circle of Courage student. Your child will have the opportunity to share more about themselves and how they show the four quadrants of the Circle of Courage to help build a caring classroom. Your child will present on Friday OCTOBER 29th  Jawad and Rose.

Once our Circle of Courage student is announced the student will have a week until their presentation date to collect the following items to share with the class. 

Independence  

·         An artifact your child is proud of and demonstrates independence. i.e. piece of art, writing, project, or video of dance  

Mastery 

·         An artifact that demonstrates a skill or activity your child has mastered. i.e. medals, awards, and certificates  

Belonging 

·         Photograph (no more than 3) that shows belonging, i.e. Family photo, playing with others, family vacation, sports team, class photo. 

Generosity 

·         Family Letter: Family members will be responsible for writing a letter to the class telling us how special your child is to you. Send the letter in a sealed envelope to the school with your child on the presentation date your child is sharing. I will read the letter to the class during our circle meetings. The content of the letter is up to you, but you may wish to choose from one of the following ideas: Describe special or funny stories about your child for the class to hear, tell us some interesting facts (no more then 3) we may not know about your child, send silly or special pictures with a letter describing the picture, or write a short story with your child as the main character. You may also send a video for the class to watch if you choose. 

After your child has had the opportunity to share, his or her classmates will recognize your child as our Circle of Courage student of the day by writing about how they see your child demonstrating one of the four quadrants on the Circle of Courage. We appreciate your participation in our Circle of Courage Spotlight and look forward to getting to know your child better and build a caring classroom community!