December newsletter

Le 29 novembre, 2012

Chers parents,

It was a difficult week but I want to thank you for being so supportive and encouraging.  I was very proud of our students yesterday.  They handled themselves very well and asked very good questions.  They were honest in their responses and open.  I answered questions as best as I could and we read Je t’aimerais toujours, Love you Forever by Robert Munsch.  I am grateful for you all. 

We are continuing with our poster, Coin d’amis. The children have been working on sentences with our MIMI words.  We have also been working in math on different concepts.  We have continued working on patterns, plus que +  et moins que - et autant ou égale= .  We often use different manipulatives to see if the children can represent a certain number.  It is a quick way to check for understanding and to notice how one number can take on many forms.

Thank you all for your participation in the activity conferences.  The children were very excited and enjoyed their opportunity to be the teacher. It certainly was a highlight for them. So thank you for your attendance.  

As we approach the month of December, we will  be learning terms around the holiday season.  We will also be attending a Sylvia Chave concert at The Refinery. If you would like to attend please let me know as soon as possible; we need to know how many tickets will be required.  (Date and time will be in the newsletter going home).

Thank you again for supporting your children and our class. 

Merci!

Check it out!

Our 'O Canada' booklets are currently on display in the windows at the entrance to the LRC.  Check them out at Activity Conference time or at the Book Fair.  We will be browsing for the book fair Tuesday morning.  Students can purchase on Wednesday morning or during activity conference times after school.  A large portion of the money raised by the book fair goes back to the school.

Questions?

Quand je pose une question je veux savoir quelque chose.
 When I ask a question I want to know something.

We have been working on how to ask questions and what questions are.
When someone is sharing, we want to learn something from that person.
For example:

Qui t'a donné ça?  (Who gave you that?)
Quand est-ce que tu étais là ? (When were you there?
Quel âge avais-tu?  (How old were you?)
Où étais-tu? (Where were you?)

We also have been learning some commonly asked questions:

Puis-j'aller aux toillettes?
Puis-j'aller boire de l'eau?
Madame Wallace, pouvez-vous (peux-tu) m'aider?

And how to respond or ask using manners:
S'il vous plaît
Merci
Non merci
Pas de quoi, de rien

Un--Trois--Dix et le contrôle de soi

1... 3... 10!
This is not a whole new way to count.  But it is a good reminder.  Currently our whole school is concentrating on self-control.  (Last month's focus was on empathy.)  There was a suggestion in our teacher's package to post a 1--3--10 reminder.  So as a class we talked about this and I posted it.

Here is what you do:

When you are feeling the sense that you are losing control or your temper

1--Calm.  Think about being calm. A calm place.  What does it feel like?









 photo credit  http://hakashamut.files.wordpress.com/2008/10/calm-mountain.jpg


3--Take three deep breaths from your tummy.

photo credit http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01698/p_breathe-time-out_1698116c.jpg

10--Count from one to ten slowly.

photo credit here

Mots de MIMI Affiche #2

Here are the words from our second poster.  I sent the photo and the words home today.

Le coin d'amis
Pierre le panda
la chemise
les cheveux
le bras
les pantalons
les chaussures
la robe
les mains
les lunettes

le
la
les

le coin
d'amis
Pierre
le panda

Un grand MERCI!

Merci!  Thank you to all who came as volunteers for our trip to the WDM.  We had a wonderful time.  The children got to listen to and participate in "A Christmas Long Ago" and went exploring throughout the museum.  One highlight for me was hearing some parents say with excitement, "I remember the Eatons' Christmas Display!" The next day each child wrote and drew in his or her journal d'aventure about what he or she liked best.  It was a treat.  We are continuing to paste pictures and draw in our O Canada!  booklets.  I will post photos of those soon.  We have also begun a new MIMI poster that I will send out soon that is a group photo of the class.  I will send home a photo of it and the words.
Thank you also for signing up for activity conferences.  We are looking forward to this opportunity for the children to show their stuff but also to connect and see what is happening in class.  I look forward to meeting with you all.

*To those parents who were with us...please email the photos that you took with your group at the Museum.

WDM ~A Christmas Long Ago

Overview: A teacher-led program for kindergarten students which provides students the opportunity to learn some of the ways of the festive season during pioneer times.  The teacher is provided with a written storyline for the story session.  The story, as it is told to the children, will be accompanied by a series of slides and specific artifacts along with an explanation and directions.  As well, students may place some old-fashioned decorations on the tree and/or look at some old-fashioned gifts handled by the teacher.

~Excerpt taken from WDM site here.

Les couronnes pour le jour de souvenir

Voici les couronnes.  These are wreaths made by our students with the help of our grade 7 and 8 care partners.   The children did a wonderful job tracing their hands.  Their partners helped in cutting out the hands and placing the hands in a wreath formation.  They were lovely.  The wreaths are displayed outside our classroom. We had a very thoughtful and honouring service Thursday morning for Remembrance Day.  Our students did well sitting, standing for "The Last Post" and "The Reverie" as well as the minute of silence. They showed respect during the ceremony and were very mature.  Bravo.  If you are looking for good sites for Remembrance Day resources for children you can visit:
Veterans' Affairs Kids Zone in English or zone d'enfants en français.

Activity Conferences

Cher Parents,

Kindergarten is different from Grades 1 – 8.  Although all the other students in the school will be receiving report cards in November, the Kindergarten students do not.  We evaluate throughout the year, however the first report cards in Kindergarten are sent out in March.  Activity conferences for our students will be held on Wednesday, November 28th.  Please sign up using the form that was sent home for a time as soon as possible. Please indicate your first and second choices for a session.

Your scheduled time will include a 45-minute session of activity stations for you and your child.  It is your child's chance to shine and show you what he or she knows.

I look forward to seeing you then.

Sincèrement,

Mme Wallace

Lecture pour le Jour de Souvenir ~Remembrance Reading

Here are some books we are reading this week.

I also recommend The Butter Battle Book.  One of the students took this book out as a favourite and I read it to the class.  Wonderful peace message and conversation starter. 

J'aime lire ces livres (Recommended Reading)

These books are about getting along with the exception of Frisson Ecureil (which is about getting along in the world and facing fears.)  I will be posting more French books throughout this blog.  Please leave a comment if you think of some titles I should add to a post.

O' Canada!

photo credit here.

We are currently working on O Canada booklets.
Here are the lyrics in French~les paroles:

Ô Canada!
Terre de nos aïeux,
Ton front est ceint de fleurons glorieux!
Car ton bras sait porter l'épée,
Il sait porter la croix!
Ton histoire est une épopée
Des plus brillants exploits.
Et ta valeur, de foi trempée,
Protégera nos foyers et nos droits.
Protégera nos foyers et nos droits.

Translation:
O Canada!
Land of our forefathers,
Thy brow is wreathed with a glorious garland of flowers.
As is thy arm ready to wield the sword,
So also is it ready to carry the cross.
Thy history is an epic
Of the most brilliant exploits.
Thy valour steeped in faith
Will protect our homes and our rights
Will protect our homes and our rights

A little bit of history of the national anthem~l'hymne nationale can be found here.

Les centres, les mots--la, le et les (sorting words), "Des os il en faut"

 Just a picture post  ~Les photos dans la classe