Tuesday 3 April 2018

Happy Easter! I hope you all enjoyed a relaxing March Break and Easter long weekend.  A few housekeeping details to note:

First Communion is fast approaching - taking place on Sunday, April 29th at St. Patrick's church.  The mass for our class is at 3:00 p.m.  Looking forward to seeing many of you there and all of the lovely outfits :)

Education week will be May 7th - 11th this year.  Check out the upcoming St. Anne newsletter for a schedule of events.


On the learning front:


The students have been developing their writing skills and are learning to self-edit their work using an editor's checklist.  Many students continue to struggle with proper use of capitalization and punctuation.  Children should have many opportunities to write at home and be encouraged to self-edit their work afterwards.  Our current writing focus is Persuasive writing (light focus) and then Narrative writing (in-depth).  The students will be learning to write their own stories using the story map we have been studying throughout the year.  It is a great opportunity for them to further explore the elements of stories --> Beginning (Characters, setting, problem), Middle (4-5 important events) and End (Solution to problem).   We have also been doing some grammar exercises to further improve their writing skills.

In Math, we continue to practice our addition/subtraction facts and apply problem-solving strategies when working on word problems.  This week, we will be learning how to regroup with double-digit subtraction problems.  Often children who are adept at adding with regrouping will become confused when subtraction with regrouping is introduced.  Taking the time to review/practice regrouping with your child at home as part of their daily homework would be beneficial in cementing these skills.

We are wrapping up our Science units of Liquids and Solids, and Air and Water.  Our next unit will be Growth and Changes in animals and will include a special homework project.  Directions will be sent home with the students for this project.

Enjoy the nice weather!

Mrs. Logan






Thursday 1 March 2018

Hello and Welcome to March!

We are so happy to see the sun shining and to know that spring is just around the corner! The yard is quite wet and muddy so rain boots are still appropriate.  March will be a short month with March Break from the 12th-16th, but that won't stop us from all of the wonderful learning we have planned. 

A reminder that Reconciliation takes place next Thursday, March 8th at 6:30 p.m.  The students have been working hard to prepare for this Sacrament and have learned the importance of asking for forgiveness and making peace when we have made the wrong choice and hurt someone.

In Math, we have been working on regrouping and the students have picked it up quickly.  We spent some time practicing our addition and subtraction facts to 10 and experimenting with different strategies to help us know them quickly (doubles, making 10).  I will soon be introducing subtraction with regrouping.  In order to help your child succeed with this unit, please try and review addition and subtraction facts to 10 with them regularly until they know them by memory.   This will help them complete the more challenging equations quickly and easily.

We will continue with our WWW quizzes on Fridays.  Our writing focus recently has been Procedural Writing.  The students are now proficient at writing a procedural text, and have practiced often by writing out the steps to make toast, get dressed, etc.  Next week we will begin using an Editor's Checklist to self-edit our writing, with a focus on proper punctuation and use of uppercase letters.  We continue to practice retelling stories using the Story Map which outlines the Beginning (Characters, setting, problem), Middle (4 - 5 important events) and End (Solution to problem).  Many students are able to read and decode at an advanced level, but are unable to retell what they have read afterwards or are lacking detail.  This comprehension component is an essential skill needed for students to advance their reading level and should be practiced regularly at home as well.  If your child reads a non-fiction text, this would involve retelling some/many important facts from the text.

If you don't already, please check out my twitter to see pictures of all the learning happening in our classroom    @liannelogan10

Have a wonderful March Break and as always, please contact me with any questions.

Mrs.  Logan


Tuesday 30 January 2018

January is over and we are getting into some exciting new areas of learning!

In math, we have wrapped up our Data Management unit and have begun our new unit of Addition and Subtraction.  We are currently practicing addition and subtraction strategies for single digits, such as using doubles facts and making 10.  We will be moving into 2 Digit addition and subtraction and the students will learn about borrowing.  Finally, we will be covering money concepts in this unit as well. 

Our new unit in Writing is called Procedural Writing, and the students are learning how to write about how to make or do something.  They are required to include a title, goal, materials and steps.  We continue to learn reading strategies and it is so important that these are reinforced at home as you read with your child.   We practice how to figure out difficult words by re-reading the sentence, reading on to the end of the sentence, and using clues such as pictures and how a word looks to figure out what it is.  We are consistently practicing retelling stories using a story map such as the one I sent home with parents in November.  Having your child retell you the stories they read you using this story map is important to help them move up in their reading levels.

In Science, we have been building on what the students' learned during our Scientists in Schools presentation by learning about properties of matter.  We did a fun activity to show the difference in the molecules of liquids, solids and learned that water can be all 3 forms. 

The Grade 1 and 2 students have begun an inquiry that is intended to create a deep learning experience where they will explore, "What does it mean to care for ourselves?" We are reaching out to our parent community to see if you might have any skills, talents or experiences related to growth mindset, or supporting our social/emotional health. One of the avenues we are looking to explore for this inquiry is through the arts (visual art, music, dance, drama). If you have talents in any of these areas, and you might be able to share with our students, we would love to know.


Click here to fill out the survey, or use this link

 https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1XAiCcE5Phl2LmN7ZQ0Fn7KHhvrByb-9XZ4OnXWe_WJ4/edit


A few important reminders:
:

The date for Reconciliation is Thursday, March 8 at 6:30 pm.  The Retreat is on Saturday, February 10th from 9 am until 12 pm.  First Communion is Sunday April 29 at 1 pm and 3 pm.  The church will be sending out email reminders of these dates as well.

Litterless Lunches

Beginning Friday, February 2 we are encouraging all St. Anne students to participate in a weekly challenge.  Students are asked to bring in a litterless lunch every Friday.  Our Eco Club members will be visiting classrooms after lunch each Friday to survey.  Students can use the compost but they are asked to use reusable containers.  At the end of each month, the class with the least of amount of litter will be awarded a prize.  The challenge will be divided by kinders, primary and junior.