December 2011
Dear
Parents:
Welcome to a very snowy month of
December! Winter has definitely made its
presence known. The snow is welcome
though…..so many fun things to do in the snow.
When weather permits, we will continue to spend time enjoying our outdoor
activities. It is a good way to develop
creativity, to encourage group co-operation and to learn constructive use of
leisure time. Therefore, it’s very important that your child come to school
ready for outdoor play (snowpants, jacket, hat, warm mittens, neckwarmer). Please
continue giving your child the time he/she needs to learn to dress
independently.
We were very happy to see many parents during our
interviews on Nov. 7th. It was so nice
to touch base with you to discuss your child’s progress in Kindergarten. If you were unable to attend we could
schedule a phone interview.
Thank you for encouraging your child
to choose healthy foods to bring for his/her snack. Students are thrilled when they can show us
the healthy food they brought to
school. Please continue to do so.
Our focus for this month will be
Advent and Christmas. We will discuss
the true meaning of Christmas and why we celebrate. “Jesus is the reason for the season!” Our activities, crafts and songs will be
theme related. Songs have been
included.
Many of the JK students can say the
letters in their name during attendance.
The next step is other letters not found in their name. With SKs, saying the sounds each letter makes
in their name is encouraged along with sounds of letters not found in their
name. Ask them to demonstrate.
A list of popcorn words were sent home
to use as a reference when reading simple pattern books that repeat. Here is an excellent site which will
encourage your child’s reading abilities.
It’s fun and it’s free! Check out www.starfall.com. The boys and girls have been writing
wonderful tales in their special writing books.
These books have been introduced as a way to encourage the students to
write. We emphasize the fact that
writing comes in many different stages and so they are expected to write at
their stage of writing: pictures with
scribed sentences, string of random letters, intial letters, etc. SKs especially will be encouraged to stretch
out the sounds in the word as they write the matching letters. Like all beginning skills: practise,
practise, practise!
In
Math we will begin our unit on Geometry, looking at 2D shapes (square,
triangle, rectangle), 3D solids, and their properties. The key learning goals for this unit are: to
recognize and describe 3D objects and 2D shapes; to sort and build with these
objects and shapes and to recognize these objects and shapes in our
environment. To help reinforce this at
home, go on a shape hunt. Play ‘I Spy’. In
JK, we will continue with counting sets to 5.
Ask your child to ‘show you’ groups of 3, 4, 5 or more items whenever
the opportunity arises. Look for numbers
on labels and containers. In SK we’ve been talking about what makes 5 using our
five frame tool. Their use encourages counting
strategies beyond counting by one or counting on each time they are asked to
identify a number or work on an addition or subtraction type math story. These
number relationships help build the foundation for the development of more
complex mental computations. Students start with the five frames before moving
on to ten frames and may explore double ten frames later to develop a better
understanding of place value. SKs, here
is a great site to practise this skill: http://illuminations.nctm.org/activitydetail.aspx?id=74
– five frames interactive website.
No
doubt you have enjoyed reading our St. George library book with your child.
- This month the K1 class will
visit the library on December 4th and books
are due on the following Wednesday December 11th.
- The K2 class will visit the
library on December 2nd and books are due on the following Monday December 9th.
The playdough table has been very
popular in both K1 and K2. Therefore, we
would appreciate any donation of playdough to keep this popular centre
open. Should you require the recipe,
please let us know. Store bought
playdough is welcome too. The students
are not picky!!
Holiday time can be quite hectic. Routines get all jumbled. Some quiet activities to do with your child
in order to reinforce skills practiced at school are: printing of name, colouring, counting to 10,
20, 30 or more, and cutting. When possible, read a book (or two) to your child
every day. Food
for Thought: Researchers have
found (educators have known for a long time) that children who are read to on a
daily basis become good readers!
As mentioned in the St. George’s Newsletter, the
grade 6s are hosting a Christmas Shopping Day on Tuesday, December 17th. You can donate new or gently used items to
the office as well as wrapping paper and ribbons before December 13th. On December 17th, students are
asked to bring money to purchase gifts for their family members. Items will be selling from $1.00 to $5.00 and
will come home wrapped and labeled ready to put under your Christmas tree.
On Wednesday December 18th, you are
invited to celebrate “Deck the Halls” here at St. George School. It starts with a light breakfast, followed by
mass and the Performance Choir.
Thursday, December 19th is the last day
of school before the Christmas break because Friday December 20th is
a PD Day.
We wish you and your family a safe
and happy Christmas. Enjoy your time together. The very best for 2014!
God
bless,
Mrs.
Gratwohl Mme Dolgos
Mrs.
McDonell Mrs. McAteer
Many thanks for the great work you are all doing! Love the blog and knowing more about what Abby is learning in school!
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