Can you believe we are already starting our third week of school? Our Kindergarten class did SO WELL adjusting to our full day of school last week...Mrs. Lewis and I were amazed! Even in the heat, the students really started to get into our routines and were able to last ALL DAY:o) It does get easier as we go along so hopefully, the children will find this week a little more relaxing and comfortable.
But we are starting our Letter of the Week routine on Monday...this routine will go on for the next 26 weeks so it can be a little challenging at first, but I think the students are ready! This week, we will focus on the letter 'Aa' and I would invite everyone to send in photos of anything that starts with the letter 'Aa.' We keep a picture wall for our Letter of the Week so we welcome pictures that are drawn, cut out from newspapers or fliers, printed from the internet or even the words written down by any of our Kindergarten students who feel like printing:o) We do this every week so please feel free to send in pictures every Monday and your child can present their picture to the class. They are usually pretty excited to show their picture and the class is usually excited to guess the word so it's fun for all. Thank you in advance!
Thank you also to everyone who sent in Scholastic Book Orders-we had a great response and it is nice to see so many readers out there. Also, thank you to everyone who returned the Highlights and Chirp Order Forms as well. Please note that if you forgot, you can still send in Scholastic or the magazine order forms (even if you say NO as we still get free gifts for our classroom). Please send these in by Monday afternoon at the latest.
On Wednesday, our school will be having our annual TERRY FOX WALK! Terry Fox is such an inspiration on what one individual can accomplish, despite challenges as we want to celebrate him as well as carry on his dream. All students are asked to send in as many coins as they can by Wednesday as we will be collecting the money in ice-cream buckets, just as they used to do while Terry ran and his helpers (usually his brother) would go along side to the people to collect donations. It really is exciting for students to be able to put some coins in our bucket because we remind them that every coin helps to find a cure for cancer. We want the students to get excited about this event and to realize that they too can make a difference and that they can help others. Thank you in advance for any money you are able to send in...no donation is too small and we thank you for your support. For our walk, we usually walk around our school track but they are predicting rain so please keep this in mind so that students have appropriate jackets for this day.
And just a reminder that Friday is Photo Day so please ensure your child is in full uniform, including their red sweater. And thank you to everyone who returned the photo form, selecting your pose and background colour...that makes it much easier for me and the photographer :o)
Oops...I forgot to mention that every Friday, your child will be bringing home their yellow Mass/Gospel Duotang. Every Friday, we talk about the Sunday Gospel and then we colour a picture that goes with it so we have some idea of what we will hear at Mass on Sunday. By colouring a picture and discussing the story prior to Mass, it is amazing to see the students recognize some of the story or names when the priest is talking on Sunday. My hope with this activity is that the Mass becomes a little more meaningful to our students and that they become just a little bit more involved with what is happening. I always tell them to try to listen for the Gospel and then look for the Consecration of the Bread and Wine and just reminding them to do those two things can really help. I do ask parents to also look at their duotang and to initial each week, just so I know you have seen it too. It is funny but I find myself talking to my husband about the Gospel on the way to Mass every Sunday and he also asks me how I know these things...I tell him it is all because of the Kindergarten students :o) They help me learn too! Please make sure your child brings back their yellow duotang every Monday and thank you for your help and support with this...it is GREATLY appreciated!!!
And I believe I mentioned this SOMEWHERE in my writing but every Friday afternoon, we go outside for 'Outdoor Education.' Sometimes we have a Science focus or an Art focus but we always try to be physical and active during this time. Because we are outside, we do want to ensure that our students are dressed appropriately. Last week, we were lucky with the good weather but please note that we do go outside rain or shine (or snow if we are so lucky.) Please keep this in mind when you send your child to school on Fridays and feel free to leave boots in our classroom if you would like. Last year, I had quite a few students leave boots at school as our field can get quite soggy during the year. So far, our students have been staying on the woodchips but next week, we will be playing on the field and track if we have outdoor recesses. We are hoping to join the rest of the school at recess by the end of October if things go as planned :o)
Thank you for all your are doing with your child to make our transition to the full day of school go so well. I hope when the students go home, they are not too tried and that they are still happy. It is a BIG CHANGE and it can be challenging. They are asked to do many new things, sometimes things they like but sometimes things they do not like but we try to balance our days and we try to find things that everyone will enjoy. As they become more familiar with our routines and expectations, it usually does get a LOT easier but I applaud all of our students on doing so well last week and I look forward to the week ahead and starting some of our regular routines. Enjoy the week, everyone and God bless you all!
