On the first day of school, we got to know each other a bit, went over classroom rules and routines, made name plates for our desks , read one of my favourite books (The Empty Pot by Demi) that teaches the value of honesty and enjoyed a presentation by Motivational Magic that focused on showing character, courage and caring.
On the Friday, we read My New Teacher by Al Yankovic, had fun trying to figure out each others' fib in Two Truths and a Fib, organized some of our supplies, completed a the first of two spelling tests that will provide me some guidance on the spelling rules that we need to focus on right away, completed a numeracy activity that focused on writing simple equations and completed our first art project!
This week we dove into a regular schedule and routine filled with the following activities:
- Read Alouds (Every morning I start our day by sharing one of my favourite books. While I read I model and teach specific reading strategies.)
- Read to Self (30 minutes of uniterrupted reading - This gives me the opportunity to have one on one reading conferences with three students each day. We focus on specific reading strategies that they need to be using during their own personal reading.)
- Working With Words (During this block we participate in a variety of activities that help us understand how words are put together. We focus on vowel sounds, consonant blends, consonant diagraphs, compound words, word families, plurals, common prefixes and suffixes, etc.)
- Social Studies - We have started our first unit on mapping.
- Math - How Many Ways and Daily Graph
How Many Ways?
This is one of my favourite math activities to do! Students are asked to write equations that equal the target number. Today we worked on the number 6.
The rules are:
1) you can only have one = in each equation
2) you can use addition, subtraction, multiplication or division
3) you need to be sure that you are right
4) you can use counters if needed
As time goes on, we will add a few more rules about how long you can follow a particular pattern before you need to switch things up.
Here's an example from a previous year to give you an idea of what your child is working on. This activity focuses on developing number sense and confidence with numeracy. My apologies for accidentally erasing the board before snapping a picture of our work. I will take a picture of this activity next week!
Supplies
All of our school supplies have now been sorted and labelled. We have placed each child's extra supplies in a ziploc bag with their name on it. Our apologies for the mix up on the School Start page in regards to the four pencil boxes needed. We only intended to ask for two pencil boxes but it was somehow put in both the package list and the extra supplies list. We have sent home the extra two boxes with those students who brought in all four. Sorry for any inconvenience that this may have caused.
Team 3C students are already participating in a Pencil and Eraser Challenge. Each month students start the month with a pencil and eraser with their name on it. If they manage to keep the same pencil and eraser for the entire month, they will receive two stickers on our chart. If they need a new pencil mid month because theirs is too short, we simply give them a new pencil from their supplies and write their name on it. As long as they show us their old pencil, they are not penalized in the challenge. At the end of the year, we will count up everyone's stickers and reward our most responsible students with a few prizes. Last year, each student was able to take home an entire box of pencils that they didn't get around to using! The purpose of this challenge is to teach the students to be responsible for and respect their supplies.
Team 3C students are already participating in a Pencil and Eraser Challenge. Each month students start the month with a pencil and eraser with their name on it. If they manage to keep the same pencil and eraser for the entire month, they will receive two stickers on our chart. If they need a new pencil mid month because theirs is too short, we simply give them a new pencil from their supplies and write their name on it. As long as they show us their old pencil, they are not penalized in the challenge. At the end of the year, we will count up everyone's stickers and reward our most responsible students with a few prizes. Last year, each student was able to take home an entire box of pencils that they didn't get around to using! The purpose of this challenge is to teach the students to be responsible for and respect their supplies.
Important Notes
The students came home with a bundle of office papers for you (stapled together). Please go through these forms ASAP and return them to school on Tuesday. It is important for the office to update the students personal records.
Water Bottles
Students are encouraged to bring a water bottle to school each day. Trips to the water fountain are very disruptive. I will be encouraging students to bring home bottles each day to be washed and refilled for the following day.
Parent Homework
The students loved the fact that you received the first homework assignment of the year! Please complete the In A Million Words or Less sheet and return it to school by September 15th.
Star Student Posters
Please assist your child in filling out their Extra! Extra! Read All About Me! posters and return them to the school by September 15th. Students will be presenting these posters to the class on the Monday of their Star Student week.
Educational Assistant
We are so lucky to have Mrs. C (Cindy Caudron) in our class full time this year!
Library
Team 3C has library every Tuesday.
Please remind your child to return their library books each Tuesday to prevent overdues.
Our new librarian, Mrs. Rogers, was excited to meet all of our 3C students!
Our new librarian, Mrs. Rogers, was excited to meet all of our 3C students!
I think that is all for now...I hope I haven't overloaded you with information!
My door is always open to our 3C families. If you have any questions or concerns at any time, please bring them to my attention at your earliest convenience.
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