Terry Fox Run!

Here is what our students would like to report for this week:

Today we did some hard math.  We worked together to solve a problem.  See the link below to try it at home.  This is a flexible thinking question.
 https://illuminations.nctm.org/uploadedFiles/Brain_Teasers/BT136-WolfGoatCabbage-Soln.pdf

We ran around the windmill and back.  We ran together to keep Terry's Marathon of Hope going.  We wrote about who our heroes are.  We talked about superheroes and heroes, comparing and contrasting them.  Ask me who my hero is.  We have been learning about Terry Fox all week.

Yesterday we did a science experiment as part of our Hot and Cold Temperatures unit.  We put one hand in hot tap water, one in cold and counted for 20 seconds.  After that, we put both hands into the room temperature water to see what would happen.  We recorded our experiment in our Visual Journals because we are learning to be scientists who record our findings.

We went to the library today.  Watch in my backpack - I should have one new book for home and the other stays at school in my bin.

Mrs. McArthur came to visit us a few times today.  We are happy to have her join us in Room 51.

Good Evening Cranston Families,

As part of our social studies, math and art program, we will be making leaf art.  Room 51 is requesting that your child begin gathering a wide variety of leaves as soon as possible and bring these in to school for our project.  Please send them in a zip lock baggie with your child's name on it.  The students patterned pieces will be showcased as part of our class assembly on October 21st.

This week the students are learning more about Terry Fox and we will be doing our school wide run to the windmill and back on Thursday afternoon.  Please consider sending a toonie for Terry to school with your child to donate to this cause.  Please ask your child what they learned today about Terry.

Thank you,
Ms. K & Mrs. P

Happy International Peace Day Families!

Today the students met Mr. Dan, our instructor for our in-line program.  They had a blast during in-line skating, learning many new skills and playing a fun tag game.  Ask your child what a drop-stop is and how to balance themselves if they feel like they are going to fall.

We had our first Fun Lunch of the year, which was Subway.  Keep your eye on the main school web site for information on upcoming lunches and special snack days.

This year we will be visiting the library once a week on Thursdays.  Please remember to send library books back tomorrow.  Students will be borrowing 2 books per week, one to stay at school and one to go home.  They can switch these, as well, part way through the week.

Ms. Handelsman visited our classroom today to talk about the safe use of technology, both online and the physical care of portable devices.  Ask your child about what they learned about being responsible with technology.

In the afternoon, the entire school met out on the compound in the shape of a gigantic peace sign to acknowledge International Peace Day.  We sang "peace" songs with Mrs. McBride as Cranston students were awed by their pinwheels blowing in the breeze.

We hope to see everyone tomorrow evening for the "Meet the Teacher" open house from 6:30-7:30.

May you have a peaceful evening.

Mrs. Poole & Ms. Klein

Today we sent home a school notice for the Milk Program and some Scholastic flyers.  Please note that purchasing books from Scholastic is completely optional.  Some families prefer to visit libraries, shop at a store or online.  There is no obligation to purchase.  If you are interested, orders are due Thursday September 22.

Today we spent time reading and discussing our picture book called Peace by Wendy Anderson Halperin.  Ms. Tuli first read this to us at our welcome back assembly and today we looked at some of the details in the book.  There are many wise sayings for us to think about and discuss.  Have a look at the book during our Open House evening on Thursday!

We are also working on representing what we know about the seasons.  The students had many ideas to share and record in their visual journals!

Inline Skating

• Students are welcome and encouraged to bring their own helmets (bike helmet, skateboard-type helmet) on skating days
• Socks are required for skating
• Comfortable clothes that are easy to move in would be best.  Perhaps no dresses/skirts on skating days
• We will be watching this video clip from Alien Inline on Wednesday morning.  Here is the link in case you would like to review it at home as well. 
• http://alieninline.com/program-orientation-video/

Library 

• Students are bringing home a library book today.  We each borrowed 2 books.  One should be in the backpack and one stays at school.
• Note that library books are not necessarily at your child's reading level, and support may be required to read the books.

Me Bags

• Thank you for helping your child to create a "Me Bag."  We have shared many already, but we have a few bags left here for sharing next week.  We have learned so much about each other!

Some of the things we have been working on this week:

• Sorting by colour, size, type, etc.
• Skip counting by 1's, 2's, 5's and 10's to 100
• Reviewing calendar concepts such as days of the week, months of the year and counting the number of days we have been in school
• Practicing two ways to read a book - Read the words and Read the pictures
• We have been reading and writing using the following picture books for inspiration:  The Kissing Hand, First Day Jitters and How I Spent My Summer Vacation.
• We are looking at signs of the seasons in Science.  Please take any opportunity to have conversations about the changes around us as we head into the Autumn season.

Next week:

• International Peace Day is on Wednesday.  We will be making Pinwheels for Peace.  For more information, here is one of the websites we will be using to support our learning:   www.pinwheelsforpeace.com
• Meet the Teacher night is next Thursday, September 22 from 6:30-7:30.  We are looking forward to seeing everyone!
• Friday September 23 is a PD Day.  There are no classes on this day.

Welcome to our first week at Cranston!

Hello Parents & Students,

Well, we made it through the first week of school with some great learning lots of fun.  We have been doing some fun “getting to know you” activities to build a classroom community of peace.

Students challenged themselves to sort objects and explain their sorting rule, as well as gathering personal data to make several graphs.  Please ask your child what graphs we created during our math time.

Cooperative and tag games were popular during physical education throughout the week.  Ask your child about some of the games they played.

We have begun our Daily 5 program with building our reading stamina with a class challenge. Students, how long can you read at home following our good choices for reading to self?

Our grade 1 & 2s have been writing about their feelings on the first day of school and what they did during the first week, in addition to, what they did over the summer.

If you have not already done so, please return any and all forms in your child’s communication folder.

Information regarding the home programs Mathletics and Razkids will be forwarded soon.

We welcome parent volunteers into room 51 this year.  Any time that you can give us would be greatly appreciated.  Please let us know if you would like to come in to our classroom to help and when you would be available.

In-line skating begins next week and we will need some parent volunteers to assist students us with equipment.  Please let us know if you are available to volunteer for any of these dates.  Please be aware that all volunteers must have a security clearance.

Mrs. Poole’s Group A skates:

Wed. Sept. 21 (10:15 – 11:10)

Tues. Oct. 11 (8:25 – 9:20)

Thurs. Oct. 13 (9:20 – 10:15)

Ms. Klein’s Group B skates:

            Wed. Sept. 21 (9:20 – 10:15)

            Fri. Sep.30 (9:20 – 10:15)

            Wed. Oct. 12 (10:15 – 11:10)

Thank you,

Mrs. Poole & Ms. Klein