Halloween Parade

November News Letter From Room 20

NOVEMBER 3, 2014 

NEWSLETTER FROM ROOM 20

Dear Parents/Guardians,

Progress Report Cards will be coming home soon. It’s that time of the year! 

Here are some important dates to add on your calendars:

November 6 -  Photo Retake

November 7 - Recognition Assembly

November 11 – Remembrance Day Assembly

November 11 – Progress Report Cards are going home

November 11 – Pizza Lunch

November 13 - 14 - Teacher – Parent interviews

November 24 – Scholastic Orders due

November 29 - Santa's Breakfast.

If there are some other events coming our way, they will be announced on our class blog toutlemondeabord.blogspot.com that you can check regularly now.

In Progress Report Cards you won’t find marks as our Term 1 is not finished yet. This time, teachers have to present a mid-term report on how your child progresses academically and how s/he adjusted to the rules and routines of the Grade.

Letters regarding scheduling Teacher – Parent interviews are going home soon. Please respond promptly so that I could inform you on your interview time asap.

Curriculum Focus

In November, we will continue to learn how to read and write through our morning messages, sound of the week posters, leveled books, shared reading, little poems, class writing projects.

Our morning routines have changed recently. Now, after the announcements, students work at Numeracy and Literacy Stations that include smart board activities, calendar, morning message, math board, reading, writing, 100 chart, number line, t chart to revise and practise the concepts learned in class.

Home Reading Program will continue to run. As you already know, a classroom book goes home every week for your child to read on a nightly basis. A week later, the book comes back to class. I will be listening to every student reading their book.The day for taking out and bringing the book back is your child's Montre et raconte day. The program intends to further promote reading and speaking skills in French. It is very important that your child regularly participate in it.

In Math, we will be concluding our unit on Number Sense and Numeration and moving on  to Data Management unit activities. I will be including a small math activity in every homework, that will give you an idea about what we do in classroom. You might opt to do some extra activities at home to promote the math concept under study.

In Sience, we will be exploring seasonal changes. A project is planned for at the end of the unit.

Also, our class will be participating in the art auction for Santa's Breakfast. Stay tuned.

I would like to extend my gratitude to Madame Valentine and Madame Cunnigham, two Moms in our class, who come to volunteer to read with students individually every week. As well, students and I are very thankful to the parents volunteers who came with us on the field trip to Toronto Botanical Gardens. Dear Ladies, your help is sincerely appreciated.

Please enjoy some photos from our field trip, that Mme Valentine took during the trip and generously shared with us.

Halloween Parade

Dear Parents/Guardians,

We will be celebrating Halloween on Friday, Oct. 31st . In the morning, shortly after O’ Canada and announcements, the morning kindergarten classes will parade (in costumes) around the track.  Parents and other classes are welcome to be their audience.

After recess, classes in the Duke building only will parade starting at approximately 10:15 am. We will all meet in the back field.  Parents are welcome to join the parade.

The route is as follows: Exit from the back of the Duke field (where the Red Rocket used to be) and walk west on Queen Street; go north on Greenwood and at Dundas, head east.  Turn south at Highfield and enter the Duke property via the stair entrance near the parking lot. 

In case of rain, we will be parading in the school. Classes will parade only on their own floor.  Parents are welcome to attend but must first sign in at the office.

Costumes: please ensure that costumes are school appropriate (i.e.: not offensive or provocative)

TRICK OR TREAT SAFETY

• Children should NEVER eat any treats until parents have had a chance to go through them and inspect them. Parents should look for tampering of packages and discard any they believe to be unsafe or unknown.

• Have your child carry a flashlight.

• NEVER go into a stranger's house.

• NEVER trick or treat with people you do not know.

• Trick or treat only at homes you know.

• Children should always stay in groups if no parent is present.

• Younger children should ALWAYS be accompanied by an older person.

• Accompany your child when trick or treating.

• If you can not accompany your child then know the route your child will take.

• Flame resistant (retardant) costumes are in order. Keep costumes short and remind children to stay away from pumpkins with candles in them.

• Remind children to stay away from pets they do not know.

• Remind children of road safety rules. Cross only at corners. Do not criss-cross the road. Go up one side of the road and down the other side. Never cross between parked cars. Walk facing on-coming traffic if there is no sidewalk

• If adults are driving their children, drive slowly, with lights on and be cautious when pulling to the side of the road.

• Children should wear their own shoes when trick or treating. Wearing costume shoes/boots can be dangerous and uncomfortable.

• Remind children that not everyone celebrates Hallowe'en, and to avoid any homes that have no lights on. Also remind children not to run through neighbours yards or gardens.

• With older children, be sure to know what other events (such as parties) they plan on attending.

• Set time limits when children should return home.

FIELD TRIP TO THE TORONTO BOTANICAL GARDENS

This Thursday, October the 23rd, our class is going to Toronto Botanical Gardens to learn about seasonal changes. We will be leaving at 9a.m. and be back at school during lunch time.
Thank you to so many of you who would like to volunteer on the trip. As there are numerous requests to volunteer, students and I will have a name draw. I will write a note in your child's agenda if you come with us on the trip. I will put the list of parents volunteers on this blog as well. Thank you for your support.

FRENCH READ UP

French read up is starting this Tuesday, October 21. It will be taking place in the Danny Kitchen ( 3rd floor, Woodfield building) every Tuesday. Teachers and parents will volunteer to read in French with students. This a wonderful opportunity for your child to have some extra help and practice to enhance their reading level in French. Please consider to use this initiative. If you have questions, please feel free to talk to me.

The same initiative exists in English. Students in French Immersion would definitely benefit from both, as having solid reading skills in the native language promotes the same when a child learns other languages.

SMART BOARD IN CLASS

Students and I are excited to let you know that our smart board is set up and running. We were using it in class every day last week. 

The research says that elementary-aged students learn best using a multi sensory approach. This is what an interactive white board (IWB) exactly provides. It allows students to see, hear, and touch the learning material. The main feature of the IWB is interactivity that help:

- keep learners engaged

- differentiate learning and let students with different styles flourish 

- increase meeting students' individual needs

- increase their motivation.

Last week, students were learning to solve a math word problem using the SB. Have a look. Please ask your child what the problem was about, what we did to solve it, and how we found the answer. 

How Does the Class Reward System Work?

As you know, in class we have a reward system up and running.
At the beginning of every week, all students receive 4 marbles/billes in the class jar. If they keep them through the week, then on Friday at the end of the day, they can choose to have a free play. Sometimes, the free play might be replaced by a prize from Madame's treasure box.
As well, the marbles can be taken away. The reasons for that might be:
- misbehaviour (distracting others, socializing, fooling around, being loud, anything that makes Madame interrupt a lesson) during circle and desk time

- not complying with "Walking in Line" rules

- abusing bathroom time by playing there

- not completing classwork because of socializing/distracting others.

Students know that they can earn the marbles back by correcting their behaviour and trying hard to do their best.

To help students learn to walk properly in line, we have A Secret Walker system. At the end of the day, a star goes to those students who remembered to walk quietly in line during every transition time through the day.

And finally, stars in students' agendas. Children receive stars for their success in learning: active participation, great ideas, presenting, something that shows their readiness to learn and share their knowledge. They get a prize from the treasure box for every ten stars.

Please feel free to talk to or remind your children about the rewards. Count the stars in their agendas together, encourage them to take risks in their learning. Your support is sincerely appreciated.

Some Updates

Photo orders are due Friday, October 17.

Field trip (to Toronto Botanical Gardens) forms and money are due Friday, October 17.

Scholastic Orders are due Monday, October 20.

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 14 IS DAY 5.

TAKE A BOOK HOME AND READ

Dear Parents/Guardians,                                                   October 14, 2014

This week, we start our Take-a-Book-Home Programme.

It means that every student will get a book from our classroom library to read at home. The book will stay at home for a week during which students need to read it on a nightly basis.

In class, they have been learning decoding and comprehending strategies that prepare them for reading independently. I demonstrate these strategies in class on a daily basis and remind them consistently to use the strategies during our silent reading sessions. For decoding, students need to point to the words that they read and sound out the letters, making syllables; syllables create words. I encourage students to return to the first letter and reread the word. They also can use pictures to recognize words in order to read them correctly. Students might choose to read from memory which is a helpful strategy, as well. However, in class, I always ask them to check the letters   in the word to make sure that they read it correctly. And double check the picture in that case.

To understand what they read, the pictures are helpful. Also, they have learnt that they can look for small words within bigger ones and figure out the meaning that way. In class, I will be teaching them how to use dictionaries both paper and digital ones.

Your child will get a book on the day of their Show and Tell presentation and read it back in class a week later. For example, Johnny's Show and Tell day is Monday, then he will get his book that day. Next Monday, Johnny needs to bring the book back to class and I will ask him to read it to me, after which he will get a new book for a week. We will write Livre in the agendas on the day that the book is due back in class.

Please remind your child to be respectful to the books and not let younger siblings play with them as the books need to serve other first graders to come. Also remind your child to return the book to the classroom library on his/her day.

Your co-operation and support of our reading programme are highly appreciated.

Thank you,

Mme Volokhova                  

If you recognize these goggles, please let me know.

Children don't know whom they belong to.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

I wish all my students and their families a wonderful long weekend!
Please remember that there is no school on Monday, October 13.

OCTOBER 2, 2014 NEWSLETTER FROM ROOM 20

 

Dear Parent(s)/Guardian(s),

 

Thank you to all of you for supporting our Grade 1 French Immersion programme at home. 

Weekly homework and Montre et raconte sessions are well done by 

all of the students. Bravo!

 

In October, we will continue to focus on phonics in our language programme. New little sound-of-the-week songs will be sung. We will keep learning reading and writing through our morning messages, sound of the week posters, leveled books, journals, little comptines. Please continue to remind your child when it is her/his Montre et raconte presentation day. You can find it in your child’s agenda. The program helps us promote speaking skills in French. It is crucial that your child regularly participates in it.

To support oral development at home, I encourage families to review the reading homework sent home to reinforce classroom learning. Watching French television can also promote oral understanding. French channels are usually found on channels 12 and 13 (Rogers ).  

The reading strategy that we will be focusing on in the upcoming weeks is retelling (summarizing the important parts of a story after reading it, or something that happened in our life).  

The vocabulary that we use when retelling a story can be practiced at home.

Helpful words for retelling a story are:

Au début – At the beginning     premièrement – first  

Au milieu – In the middle         et puis – and then 

après -  after

À la fin – At the end                  

finalement - finally

 

After reading a story at home, have your child recap what happened using the above vocabulary. Try to encourage them to include all important parts as well as retell the story in the same order it happened in the book.

Levelled books will be going home weekly in October. A letter will be going home soon. Please stay tuned.

 

In Term 1, students will learn various writing structures.  This will be achieved through daily-modeled writing.  In class, your child will write a personal entry (one short sentence for now) in her/his journal using writing conventions such as capitals, space between words and periods at the end of sentences. 

 

In Math, we will be concentrating on Number Sense and Numeration. It is important that students are able to communicate mathematical thinking orally, visually, and in writing, using mathematical vocabulary. They will be learning this through solving math problems in class. More detailed explanations can be found on our Classroom’s blog (http://toutlemondeabord.blogspot.com.) to clarify what activities can be done at home to promote this math concept at your child.

 

In Science, we will be discussing seasonal changes and how living beings, including humans, adapt to them.

 

In Health, we will continue exploring 4 food groups and working out a healthy eating plan.

 

Please note that there is no school on October 13^th.

Kindly refer to the weekly schedule in your child’s agenda to confirm what day we are on in order to assure your child comes prepared for Gym, Library and Swimming Pool.

A gentle reminder to check your child’s agenda on a daily basis.There might be important messages from teachers or just a new star sticker that will need your admiration. Our genuine joy for our children’s success is the best motivation for them to succeed even more.

Please remember to leave the agenda in your child’s backpack at all times to facilitate

communication between home and school. Do not hesitate to contact me if you have any concerns or questions.

 

For October lunch menu, please check the school’s website or just google “October Menu Duke of Connaught”.

 

Thank you for your support and dedication to your child’s education! 

 

Sincerely yours,

M. Volokhova  

Room #20 Teacher 

http://toutlemondeabord.blogspot.com.

 

 

TERRY FOX RUN IS ON FRIDAY, OCTOBER 3rd AFTER LUNCH

PHOTO DAY IS TOMORROW, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 29.

LE CALENDRIER ET LE TABLEAU DES MATHS

This is what our Calendar and Math Board look like now. Please ask your child what he or she is supposed to do when they are presenting the activities. 

     

Social Studies Homework for Monday

As I informed you earlier, in Social Studies, students and I have been exploring rules and responsibilities that we need to know and to follow in different settings ( home, school, library, grocery store) or situations (recess, at the dinner table, talking to an adult). We also discussed how our rules and responsibilities change with time: as we grow older, we have more responsibilities.

This Monday, students will talk about the responsibilities that they have at home. I asked them to draw a picture of one or a couple of rules or responsibilities that they follow at home and prepare to talk about them in class. They can draw their picture on the last ( blank) page of the homework.

Please remind them to do so.

Thank you.

LEARNING GOALS AND SUCCESS CRITERIA IN MATH

Next week, we will be wrapping up our math unit about patterns. In previous weeks, students learnt about that we can find patterns around us in everyday life. They learnt to extend and create patterns using manipulatives, colours, shapes, letters, numbers, sounds. Students are supposed to know by now that patterns may be of different types: colour, shape, number, size, etc. Or, colour and shape, shape and direction. Patterns also have a core( une régularité ),the part that repeats over and over again. Also, we can name the core: AB, AABBC, 123, etc.

Here are our learning goals for this math unit:

     

To be good at finding, extending, and creating patterns students need to remember this:

      

Students 

Next week, we will be working on our final project in patterning and write a test.

EN ROUTE VERS ÉCRITURE!

In Writing, students are learning to write words and sentences. To write a word, I encourage them to pronounce it loud and listen to the sound in order to decide what letter to put on the paper. Also, I encourage them to look for the words that they need in the printed matter around the classroom ( vocabulary posters). Soon, I will be introducing dictionaries and how to use them when they need to find a word.

Here are our learning goals in Writing.

         

Success Criteria in Writing (I know that I am doing well if I use all the strategies.):

            

 

We revise these strategies every day in class. Please feel free to ask your child what they are.

LECTURE: LEARNING GOALS AND SUCCESS CRITERIA

As you know, in class, we have started our Phonics programme. Students are learning to read in French by sounding out letters, putting them into syllables (les syllables), syllables into words ( les mots), words into sentences ( phrases). Also, they are learning to comprehend what they read. Here are our class learning goals in reading:

                          

 When your child reads at home, please remind him or her about the importance of sounding out, putting syllables into words, reading sentences with the right intonation. In class, I teach them to use certain strategies in order to be successful readers and always ask if they used all the strategies they know to read and understand. Actually, these strategies are our success criteria in reading.

                 

 Strategies to read: look at the picture, sound out every letter, look for a small word in a big one, never give up :).

Strategies for comprehending: read the words, look for the parts that I understand, e.g., bonjour; sound out, reread, guess.

En route vers lecture!

MONTRE ET RACONTE

I would like to thank all the parents for supporting our Montre et raconte Programme at home.

All students participated in it last week. It was great to hear them speaking in French and sharing what they like and are interested in with their class friends and me. 

Please continue to encourage your children to speak French at school and remind them to bring their Montre et raconte objects to class. Their day is indicated in their agendas. As well, you can find the schedule at this bog.

Merci!

QUESTIONS POUR LA MONTRE ET RACONTE

       

Earth Rangers Presentation Is on Monday, September 22 After Lunch

Www.earthrangers.com

Index Cards

Students' index cards went home last Thursday. Please review them, correct the information if needed, and return them to school by September 30. 

Thank you to those of you who have done so already.

SCHEDULE FOR MONTRE ET RACONTE

Phonics at Home

To support the phonics programme that we started in class, this app can be useful at home.

                              

It Is All About Patterns

In Math this week, students are learning about patterns. They know that patterns are everywhere around us. It is a pattern when there is a part that repeats over and over again. The part that repeats might be colours, shapes, numbers, sizes, or shapes and colours, etc.

The patterns created by the students were put into three groups. Why? Ask your first grader to answer this question.

                           

Rules and Responsibilities

In Social Studies, the students and I have been discussing the rules and responsibilities that we need to follow in school and in class. The stories about David helped us understand what rules are important.

We came up with a contract

that all of us signed, 

promising to follow the rules at all times. Ask your child about what the rules are.

Next, we will be discussing WHY it is important to know and follow rules at school, home, library, outside, etc. Please feel free to support this learning at home by talking to your child about this.

Morning Message

There is a message on our white board every morning. It is one of the many ways to learn how to read.   Students learn to recognize words that are frequently used in class, e.g., bonjour, c'est, comment ça va, etc. Besides, they refresh the concept of a sentence that starts with une majuscule (a capital letter) and has un point ( a period) at the end. 

This is what a typical morning message looks like. Feel free to ask your child to explain what we did with it in class.

Helpful Tecnology

It is not a secret that today's world of education would not be possible without use of modern gadgets.

SmartBoards, iPads, computers, ELMOs, you name it! Digitally presented information helps students focus better, pay attention to details, learn while playing. I always recommend parents of my students to look in that direction. If you have an iPad, tablet, iPhone, etc., you know already that there are tons of apps that let children play. You can also find numerous apps that are educational. I will be recommending some during this school year.

Here are few to start with. They are great to help children refresh and learn numbers, associate numbers and quantities; learn letters, sounds, start reading. If you chose to use the apps with your child, please remember that 15 - 20 minutes of practice per day will be sufficient for a Grade 1 student.

Homework in French

The first homework in French went home today. Students and I went through the routine of completing it at home. I explained to them that every day they do homework that is assigned for a particular day, e.g., today's portion is under Lundi/ Monday. They need to pronounce the sound 'a', underline words with a letter 'a', and circle pictures if they hear the sound 'a'. We did this part together, I.e., we read the words together and named the pictures.

Tomorrow I will lead them through the Mardi/Tuesday part of the homework. Please be advised that the homework is explained every day in class.

This week the focus is vowels/voyelles: a, e, i, o, u.

Tableau des maths

Math in Class

In Math, students ( with my help for now) do tableau des Maths on a daily basis. They count days of school in differen ways: with straws, traits, fishes, Canadian money. Today they learnt about a group of five, which prepares them to count by five. They also practice numbers in 100 number chart. They like very much the game that we play in class: I cover some numbers on the chart while they keep their eyes closed. On my signal, they need to find the numbers that are missing and say them in French. Also, they  describe the position of a number, e.g., 15 comes after 14, or 15 is between 14 and 16, etc. Feel free to practice the game at home as it contributes to recognizing numbers at random (as opposed to putting numbers in order while counting) and mastering names of numbers in French. 

During the next couple of days, we will start comparing numbers and master the concepts of 'more' and 'less' (plus et moins). The graphs that we made in class will help us with that.

C'est moi!

Today students completed their first project. C'est moi!  In English it would sound 'All About Me'. The colourful balloons tell so many interesting things about every student. Boys and girls were asked to draw and write about their families, friends, school, favourite toys, food, and colour. They worked very hard for three days. Today they were proud and excited to share their work with the class. They presented projects in French. They started their presentations with "J'aime..." Please feel free to ask your child about it. 

Indoor Shoes

Thank you to all of you who sent indoor shoes for the classroom.
The purpose of having indoor shoes in class is to keep the room clean. When the weather is wet, children bring mud on their feet, which spreads on the floor and the carpet. Children are not allowed to walk bare feet for safety reasons: with just their socks on, they can slip on the floor and fall, hurting themselves.
I think that running shoes are ideal for indoor footwear. Plus, your child will be always wearing appropriate shoes for the gym class. Please note that flip flops are not allowed. 
Thank you for your understanding and co-operation.

Drop-off and Pick-up

There have been some unforeseen changes to the drop-off and pick-up procedure that I wrote about in the newsletter. From now on, students are to be dropped off at Exit 5 and picked up at the school's main entrance.
I apologize for the inconvenience and thank you for your understanding.

Forms and Agendas

Thank you all who filled out and sent in the first-day-of-school forms as well as agenda money. Your promptness is sincerely appreciated.
A gentle reminder to those of you who have not done so, please remember to return the forms by the end of the next week.

Day 3 - Piscine (pool)

Pool is scheduled for Day 3. The first session is happening tomorrow. Please provide your child with a towel and a swim suite in a plastic bag for that day.

Bonjour de la salle 20 a Duke of Connaught

Welcome to room 20 at Duke of Connaught!
My name is Mme Volokhova. I am excited to teach Grade 1 FI this school year.
On this blog you will find information on what is going on in our classroom.
A Newsletter explaining the routines in September is going home the first day of school. You will find it in your child's agenda. Meanwhile, have a look at what the classroom looks like.