Mrs. Crone's Kindergarten Blog |
Thank you very much for attending conferences with your child! It was so wonderful to see how excited the children were to share their learning with their parents! This week at school the children:
- learned that time is measured by the earth's position in relation to the sun. They learned that it takes a year for the earth to orbit around the sun and the earth's position in relation to the sun, dictates the seasons on earth. They also learned that the earth is constantly rotating that and it takes the earth one day to complete one revolution, giving us day and night. - wrote about their favorite thing about Spring - began our study of butterflies. The children learned what symmetry means and that butterflies are symmetrical. They created a beautiful butterfly painting, demonstrating symmetry. - practiced their sight words, playing sight word BINGO. - practiced their song/actions that they will be performing in the production, "Rideau Revue" - learned about Clare's favorite things and wrote a special message for her Star Student book. Clare chose Emmy to be next week's Star Student. If your child has not been Star Student yet, please thank them for their patience and ensure them that they will have their turn soon! Important Reminders/dates: April 19 - Good Friday - School Closed April 22 - Non - Instructional Day - No School for Students April 24 - Presentation by Brian Keating April 29 - May 3 - Swimming at Repsol - If you have not already done so, please return your child's consent forms and payment as soon as possible. May 7 -Teacher's Pet In-School Field Trip May 14/15 - Save the Dates for "Rideau in ReVue" Musical - Kindergartens will be part of the performance - more information to follow May 31 - Kindergarten Field Trip to Butterfield Acres - Several Parent Volunteers will be needed June 4 - Volunteer Tea - more information to follow June 7 - Kindergarten - Grade 6 Sports Day June 25 - Kindergarten Celebration 10:30 -11:50 Last day of school for Kindergarten students It sounds like everyone had a fabulous spring break! For those of us that had a staycation, the weather was awesome! I cannot believe that we are on our final stretch of the year! This week the children: - practiced printing "Zz", our last letter, and identifying words beginning with the "Zz" sound - practiced reading and printing the word "was". Please continue to have your child practice reading and writing the sight words on his/her word ring. Could you also please have your child keep his/her word ring in the folder, as the children will be using them as they begin to write with greater independence. - continued our study of spring by viewing stories, videos and through class discussions. - created a spring flower for our spring mural on the bulletin board outside of the classroom - played "Connect Four Addition" to practice addition skills with dice - learned about Scott's family and favorite things. Scott chose Clare to be next week's Star Student . - learned a new coding game called "Sprite Box" and explored coding "Ozobots" with their grade 4 buddies Important Dates/Reminders: April 8 - Grade 5 is hosting a Business Fair! The Grade 5’s students have become entrepreneurs. They have designed and created home-made items that they will be selling to the school to raise money for The Children’s Hospital. Some of the items include squishy stress balls, smoothies, cookies, hair scrunchies, dog vests, and candies/other treats. Students are welcome to bring money to school to purchase items from the Grade 5 students. The average cost of the items for sale are between $2.00-8.00. It would be greatly appreciated if your child's money is placed in a ziplock bag, so that it is not lost. Thank you in advance for supporting the Grade 5 charity fundraising initiative, and for helping us give back to our community. April 11 - 4-8 p.m. Student Led Conferences - Please sign up for your child's conference, if you have not already done so, through your CBE account. The purpose of Student-led conferences is for your child to lead you through various learning stations in the classroom. This is a wonderful time to celebrate your child’s accomplishments and to discover more about them as a learner. Please plan to spend at least 1/2 hour of time with your child and note that up to five children may be having their conference at the same time. I look forward to seeing all of you at conferences and am excited for your child to share his/her learning with you. April 12 - Professional Development Day - No School for Students April 19 - Good Friday - School Closed April 22 - Non - Instructional Day - No School for Students April 29 - May 3 - Swimming at Repsol - Please return your child's consent forms and payment as soon as possible. May 14/15 - Save the Dates for "Rideau in ReVue" Musical - Kindergartens will be part of the performance - more information to follow May 31 - Kindergarten Field Trip to Butterfield Acres - Several Parent Volunteers will be needed This week at school the children:
- practiced printing the letter "Yy" , the word "you" and identifying words beginning with the "Y" sound - using dice, practiced writing and adding numbers to 12 - please play the dice games that I've sent home to have your child practice adding and learning basic addition facts - reviewed the 3 main food groups and created a plate, identifying which food group foods belong to and gained an understanding that 1/2 their plate should contain fruits and vegetables, 1/4 of their plate should be proteins and the remaining 1/4 should contain foods from the grains group. Water should be the main choice for hydration! - learned about Ben's family, a little bit about Australia where Ben's father originated, Ben's knowledge of dinosaurs. Ben chose Scott to be the Star Student for the week following spring break. - had class discussions and listened to stories about the changes they are noticing with the coming of Spring! The children will continue to explore and investigate the signs of Spring after the break! Hopefully, the snow will be all gone by the time we return to school and the weather continues to be fabulous!! Have a wonderful spring break! Important Reminders/Dates: April 1 - School resumes April 8 - Grade 5 Fundraiser - Grade 5 students are making several items to sell. Profits will be going to a charity TBD. ($2-5 would be an appropriate amount to send with your child) April 11 - Student Led Conferences - Information on booking your child's conference time will be sent out right after the break April 12 - Professional Development Day - No School for Students April 22 - Non - Instructional Day - No School for Students April 29 - May 3 inclusive - Swimming at Repsol - Consent forms will be sent home with your child after spring break. *Please check your calendar and see if you are available to volunteer for one or more days as several parent-volunteers are required each day! (security clearance required and volunteers are not required to go into the pool!) May 14/15 - Save the Dates for "Rideau in ReVue" Musical - Kindergartens will be part of the performance - more information to follow May 31 - Kindergarten Field Trip to Butterfield Acres - Several Parent Volunteers will be needed It was a busy and fun week in Kindergarten! The children: - practiced printing the letter "Xx" and the word of the week which was "with" and identifying the letter "X" sound within words - played a St. Patrick's Day addition game (I sent a copy of the game board home with your child so that you can play at home). When your child is adding the value of the two dice, have him/her use the counting on strategy which is to subtilize (recognize the number of dots without counting them) the largest number rolled (ie. 6) and then count on for the value on the second dice. ie. if the 2nd die is a 3, have your child say the value of the 1st die(6 and then count on by saying 7,8,9). If your child knows the value of doubles (i.e.. 2+2=4) have him/her use the doubles strategy for faster addition. - played X's and O's - some of the children already know some great strategies! - learned about Quinlan's favorite stuffies, her family and saw a couple of her beautiful paintings. Quinlan chose Ben to be next week's star student. -listened and viewed several stories about the legend of St Patrick's Day - Don't be surprised if your child wants to make a leprechaun trap! - made a leprechaun beard and hat with help from their grade 4 buddies which I hope your child showed you! (so cute!!) - please view the "Art Contest" links below to see an opportunity for your child to participate in. This project is to be completed out of school hours. Have a great weekend!! Enjoy the sunshine and warm weather, finally!! Hope to see everyone on Tuesday evening at our Coding Night! Important Dates and Reminders: March 19 - Family Coding Night - We are looking forward to an evening of family coding at Rideau on Tuesday, March 19 from 6:30-7:30. We are asking families to sign up on Eventbrite so that we have a good idea of the number of attendees. This way we can be well prepared for a successful evening. Please sign up https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/coding-at-rideau-tickets-58448961417 March 22 - Non-instructional Day - No School March 25 - 29 - Spring Break April 1 - School Resumes April 11 - Student Led Conferences- More information to follow after spring break April 29 - May 3 - Swimming at Repsol May 31 - Field Trip to Butterfield Acres This week at school the children: - practiced printing the letter "Ww" and identifying words beginning with the "W" sound -practiced reading and printing the words "we" and "went". The children have many words on their word rings now. Have your child use the words to make sentences. ie. I like to play. We went to the ____ etc. - played addition Yahtzee - I sent home a game sheet with your child so that you can play at home with your child - listened and viewed several videos and stories about nutrition, as March is Nutrition month - learned about the three food groups (yes, there are now only 3 food groups!), examples of food that fit into each group and how much of each food group we should all be eating each day. We will be continuing our study of nutrition over the next two weeks. Please refer to the following link for more information on Nutrition month and Canada's food guide http://bit.ly/calgarynm and canada.ca/foodguide - had the opportunity to explore movement activities, the questionarium, the children's book area and participate in story time at the New Central Library. Thank you very much to all of the volunteers that assisted with the field trip. Without your support, the children would not be able to have these experiences! If you were not able to volunteer for this field trip, hopefully you may be able to volunteer for the swimming program at Repsol on April 29,30, May 1, 2 & 3 or our trip to Butterfield Acres Farm on May 31. If you have not completed your CBE volunteer security clearance, please see Mrs. Halford in the office and she can assist you with the necessary documentation. Have a great weekend! Don't forget to spring your clocks ahead! Important Dates and Reminders: March 19 - Family Coding Night - We are looking forward to an evening of family coding at Rideau on Tuesday, March 16 from 6:30-7:30. We are asking families to sign up on Eventbrite so that we have a good idea of the number of attendees. This way we can be well prepared for a successful evening. Please sign up https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/coding-at-rideau-tickets-58448961417 March 22 - Non-instructional Day - No School March 25 - 29 - Spring Break April 1 - School Resumes April 11/12 - Student Led Conferences April 29 - May 3 - Swimming at Repsol May 31 - Field Trip to Butterfield Acres We are looking forward to an evening of family coding at Rideau on Tuesday, March 16 from 6:30-7:30. We are asking families to sign up on Eventbrite so that we have a good idea of the number of attendees. This way we can be well prepared for a successful evening. Please sign up https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/coding-at-rideau-tickets-58448961417 This week at school the children:
- listened to several stories and participated in class discussions about bullying and wore pink shirts on Wed. to support anti-bullying - practiced printing the letter "Vv" and the word of the week, "love" - wrote a special message for Clark's Star Student book and learned about Clark's favorite hobbies. They also learned that Clark is a "dual citizen". He was born in Spain and so holds both passport for Spain and Canada. Clark selected Maria to be next week's star student. - practiced writing addition sentences to 10 and using their fingers or pictures to solve the equations Important Reminders: March 1 - Professional Development Day - No School for Students March 8 - Field Trip to the Central Library - Please ensure your child is on time for school, as we plan to leave at 9:05 sharp! March 22 - Non-instructional Day - No school for students March 25 - 29 - Spring Break April 1 - Classes resume We had a short but busy week in Kindergarten. On Monday, the children once again did a fantastic job hosting the incoming Kindergarten students at the open house. On Tuesday, we celebrated our 100th day of Kindergarten. The children shared their 100 objects in their water bottles. We discussed the concept of volume and capacity. The children were surprised to see that some objects, such as sequins took up very little space in the bottle and other objects such as 100 pieces of paper filled the bottle. I placed 79 smarties in a bottle and the children estimated how many smarties they thought were in the bottle. Our new student, Amelia, won the bottle of smarties with her estimate of 77, which was the closest estimate to the correct amount. Thank you very much for supporting your child with this activity. The children then worked in teams to connect 100 cubes together. It was interesting to observe the different strategies the children used to count their blocks and work as a team to complete the task! The children also counted to 100 while performing different exercises and listened to a story about a student that brought 100 ants for the 100th day celebration and the disaster that occurred when the ants were spilled! (Thank you very much for not sending any insects with your child!) The children then enjoyed making their own mini pizza. Today the children shared their Valentine wishes/cards and treats with each other. It was a delight to watch the children demonstrate so much sharing and caring for each other! Once again, thank you very much for helping your child prepare his/her Valentine cards and for all of the kind messages and treats! A very Happy Birthday to Joe, who turns 6 on Friday! Have a wonderful Family Day! Important Dates and Reminders: - Reporting of students’ learning became available in PowerSchool the last week of January. Please make sure you have viewed your child’s report. If you have any questions/concerns please don't hesitate to contact me. If you have any issues with access, please contact Ms. Halford in the office. - If you have not already done so, please return your child's consent form for the Central Library Field Trip Feb. 14/15 - Teacher's Convention - No School Feb. 18 - Family Day - No School March 1 - Professional Development Day - No School March 8 - Kindergarten trip to the New Central Calgary Public Library It was a busy and exciting week in Kindergarten! We welcomed two new students this week, Amelia and Oakley. The children:
-practiced printing the letter "Tt" and identifying words beginning with the "Tt" sound -learned to read and spell the words of the week , "to", "too" and "two" and learned that they are called homonyms (words that sound the same but have different meanings and spellings). Ask your child if he/she can remember what homonyms are and if he/she remembers the different meanings of to, too and two. -participated in a presentation by the Calgary Wildlife Rehabilitation Society and observed a Great- Horned Owl . The children learned many facts about owls and how the Rehabilitation Society helps injured animals. Ask your child if he/she can share what he/she learned. - learned about many of William's favorites hobbies, sports and sports teams and wrote a special message for William's Star Student Book. William picked Mihjan's name to be the next star student. - hosted the incoming Kindergarten students at the open-house. I was so proud of all of the children! They were very welcoming to the students that will be entering Kindergarten in the fall and were experts at showing and explaining all of the things they learn in Kindergarten. - continued to learn to code on the iPads with the assistance of their Grade 4 Buddies - celebrated Clare's 6th birthday - participated in crazy hair/hat day on Friday - did not have library book exchange, as the learning commons was closed for painting. The students will have book exchange one day next week Important Reminders and Dates:: Monday, Feb. 11 - 11:00- 11:50 Open-House for students entering Kindergarten in the fall Tuesday, Feb. 12 - 100th Day celebration - Please help your child find and count 100 objects(ie. rice, cereal, pasta) to put in the water bottle that was sent home on Friday and return on Tuesday Wednesday, Feb. 13 - Valentine's Day celebration - A class list was sent home in your child's folder last week. If your child is bringing cards, please ensure that he/she brings one for all of the students in the class. Thursday, Feb. 14/Friday, Feb. 15 - Teachers' Convention - No School for Students Monday, Feb. 18 - Family Day - No School If you have not already done so, please return your child's consent form for the field trip to the New Central Library on March 8, as soon as possible. More parent volunteers are still required. If you have your CBE security clearance and are able to assist, please let me know and I will send the volunteer consent forms home with your child. This week at school the children:
- practiced printing the letter "Ss" and identifying words beginning with the "Ss" sound - practiced reading and printing the word "see" and learned about homonyms i.e. see and sea - learned about groundhogs and the legend of "Groundhog Day" - made a prediction as to whether Balzac Billy will see his shadow or not on Saturday - If possible please watch Global morning news around 8:00 a.m. with your child to find out - learned about Ryan's favorite things and special talents, one of them being cooking. Thank you to Ryan for baking delicious cupcakes for the class! - wrote a special message for Ryan's Star Student Book We welcomed Ms. Cook, an educational assistant, to our classroom this week. Ms. Cook will be with us in Kindergarten for the remainder of the year. Unfortunately, we had to say good-bye to Ms. D, who is going to work in another school. We wish her all of the best. We will be welcoming three new students to our classroom on Monday! I hope that you were all able to view your child's report card on Power School. Please don't hesitate to contact me if you have any questions/concerns. Important Reminders and Dates: Feb. 4-8 - William is the Star Student February 5 - Owl Visit February 7 & 11 (11:00-11:50) - Open-house for incoming Kindergarten students. Current Kindergarten students will help host. February 8 - Crazy hair/hat day February 12 - Our 100th day of School - more information to follow February 13 - Valentine's Day Celebration - details to follow February 14 & 15 - Teacher's Convention - No school for students February 18 - Family Day - No School March 1 - Professional Development Day - No School for Students March 8 - Kindergarten students will be visiting the New Central Library - more information to follow (This week at school the children:
- practiced printing the letter "Rr" and identifying words beginning with the letter "R" - practiced reading and printing the word "run" - listened, viewed and discussed the story, "Snowmen at Night" - observed the beautiful illustrations in the book, "Snowmen at Night" and created their own landscape drawing using chalk of a snowman at night - learned about Ethan's favorite things and wrote a special message for Ethan's Star Student book (some of the students are even starting to sound out the words and writing their sentence independently!) - began learning how to code on the iPad, with the assistance of their grade 4 buddies Report cards will be released and ready for viewing Jan. 30. Please go to the following links for instructions for viewing the report card: Using My CBE/PowerSchool for Viewing Attendance and Assignments Video Using My CBE/PowerSchool for Viewing Report Cards Video Important Reminders/Dates: - Ryan was chosen to be next week's Star Student - keep up the great home reading - I'm seeing great progress in the childrens' knowledge of letter sounds to sound words out and recognize sight words! January 30 - report cards released for viewing January 31 - Scholastic Book orders due February 1 - Non-instructional day - No School February 5 - Owl Visit February 7 & 11 (11:00-11:50) - Open-house for incoming Kindergarten students. Current Kindergarten students will help host. February 8 - Crazy hair/hat day February 12 - Our 100th day of School - more information to follow February 13 - Valentine's Day Celebration - details to follow February 14 & 15 - Teacher's Convention - No school for students February 18 - Family Day - No School |