Yummy Reindeer

I just had to share a picture of the reindeer cookies we made today!

So cute and soooo delicious!  A big thank you to Colton's mom and Hannah W.'s mom for helping us out with the baking!

We also have some beautiful reindeer decorating our walls . . .

Santa's Seconds ~ New Date

Santa's Seconds has been postponed for a day and will now occur on Thursday, December 13th.  Please remember to send some money to school with your child on Thursday if you would like your child to participate (each item is $1, wrapping is $0.50 per item).  Money should be sent in a sealed ziploc bag with your child's name on it.  It is also very helpful if you send your child with a shopping bag and short of list who they are shopping for (i.e. brother, sister, mom, dad, etc.).

Santa's Seconds

Santa's Seconds is a really fun fund raising activity that Stonecrest has been doing for several years now.  Students are invited to bring in new or gently used items from home on Monday, December 10th and Tuesday, December 11th, to donate to the sale.  These items will then be sorted and put for sale in the gym on Wednesday, December 12th.  All students will have the opportunity to shop for Christmas gifts for their family at the sale.  Kindergarten students will be paired up with their own 'personal shopper' who will help them select what to buy.  All items will cost one dollar (gift wrapping is an extra $0.50 per item).  If you would like your child to be able to participate in the excitement of the Santa's Seconds sale please send them to school with some money in an envelope or Ziploc bag that is clearly marked with their name on it on December 12th. 

Christmas Party

Well it's that time of year again!  Parents are invited to join us for our special Holiday Party on Thursday, December 20th (from 10:30 - 11:30 am for the morning class & from 2:30 - 3:30 pm for the afternoon class).  The students will give a short performance of the Christmas songs they've learned, followed by a special craft to be completed with mom or dad and some yummy snacks.

Because this is a very special occasion for students it is really nice if every child has someone attend to cheer them on.  I realize it is a very busy time for parents, and as such, if you are unable to attend please consider sending a grandparent, aunt, uncle or older sibling in your place.

Also, please remember that we are a scent-free school; if you are bringing someone with you or sending someone in your place, please be sure to pass the scent-free message on to them as you/they will not be permitted within the school (this includes perfumes, hand/body lotions, hairspray etc.) if there is any trace of scent.

Ours brun, ours brun

During the past week we have looking closely at the French version of the book "Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?" by Eric Carle, which many of you may be familiar with.  The students have been learning the names of the animals in the book in French and have been practising 'reading' the book together.  They were then able to take the information from the book to each complete their own page in our class book.

  

Patterning in Kindergarten

 As we continue to learn about shapes at school, the students have been busy creating their own patterns and designs with the pattern blocks.  Here are some examples of their fabulous creations. . .

Maya's Snowflake

Ava's Snow Flower

Ava & Logan's Star

Bridget, Maya and Sofia's Flower

After reading the book 'Petit-Bleu et Petit-Jaune' by Leo Lionni, we watched a movie of the story.  You can watch the movie at home by clicking on the link below:

Petit-Bleu et Petit-Jaune

Would You Look At That!

How do you get five-year-old senior kindergarten students to pay attention when there is a giant crane lifting steel girders just outside our classroom window?  They have been loving watching the progress being made to the new gym stage this week!

Morning Class

November Homework Project

The November projects that have been coming to school throughout the past week look fantastic!  The students are very proud to show off their hard work and it is very cool to see how many shapes can be found in our environment.  For those who have yet to send in the project don't worry -- they are not due until November 26th.
Here are some examples of the projects that have come in so far . . .

 

Printing Practise

As we continue to work through the alphabet, adding a new letter and many vocabulary words each and every week, we're also working on printing and reading fellow classmates' names. 

In this activity students had to pull letter tiles out of a bowl and copy the names of their classmates that contained those letters.  It really got them talking with the other kids in their group about whose name has which letters!  After completing the activity they read me some of the names that they had printed.

At this time we are really focusing on proper letter formation.  For tips on how to encourage proper letter formation I recommend the 'Handwriting Without Tears' website where you can find resources such as these printables for printing lowercase and uppercase letters (click to link to the pages):

 

Lowercase Letters

Uppercase Letters

Shapes & Colours

Thank you so much to all the families that sent in food for last week's Halloween parties!  The students looked fantastic in their costumes and had a great time parading through the primary classrooms and snacking on the tasty treats!

This month we will be learning all about shapes and colours.  We are working very hard to learn the names of many shapes and colours in French.  I have included here the names of some of the shapes we are learning to help those who would like to practise at home to help reinforce what is being taught at school.

square – un carré

circle – un cercle            

triangle – un triangle

rectangle – un rectangle

oval – un ovale

heart – un coeur

diamond – un losange

star – une étoile 

Pretty as a Pumpkin

This week we worked on one of my most favourite art activities of the year!  We have been learning about pumpkins lately and after spending some time observing how pumpkins look, the students tried their hand at drawing a pumpkin, one segment at a time.  They then traced their pumpkin with oil pastels and painted it using watercolour paints.  They all had a lot of fun and the finished products are absolutely beautiful!

Ever wonder what the difference between a pumpkin grown for a jack-o-lantern and a pumpkin grown for a pie is?  We watched this movie in class to find out . . .

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2WOrSPxegiw&feature=related

Halloween Party

On Wednesday, October 31st we will be having our class Halloween Party.  The students are invited to come to school dressed in their Halloween costume (you may want to keep face masks and accessories, such as swords, wands, etc., at home because of safety issues and to ensure that nothing gets lost).  We will have a small costume parade around parts of the school and then enjoy a craft and some snack and treats in our classroom.

Reminder: 

• The following morning class students are signed up to bring in the special treats for the class's Halloween Party:  Carson (fruit tray), Gavin (veggies & dip), Colton (cheese & crackers), Dylan (cupcakes), Finn B. (cookies), and Alexander (juice & cups or drinking boxes).  Thank you so much!!
• The following afternoon class students are signed up to bring in the special treats for the class's Halloween Party: William (veggies & dip), Ethan (cupcakes), Ruby (cookies), and Sydney (juice & cups or drinking boxes).  We have no one in the afternoon signed up to bring in a fruit tray or cheese and crackers.  If you would like to send either of these items in please let me know.  Thank you so much!!

Numbers 1 to 10

I was so happy to see how many families came out to the Meet the Teacher event at school last week.  Unfortunately, due to the high volume of traffic I was unable to talk to everyone who attended.  If we didn't get a chance to speak and you have any questions or concerns please feel free to e-mail me at any time and I would be happy to set up a time to meet with you!

We have been very busy working with the numbers 1 to 10 at school lately.  Please practise the following at home to reinforce what is being taught at school:

1. Printing numbers 1 to 10 (this can be particularly tricky for some!).
2. Putting the numbers 1 to 10 in order.
3. Counting from 1 to 10 in French.
4. Recognizing numbers 1 to 10 (in French!) out of order.
5. Counting sets of up to 10 objects.

There's a chill in the air!

Now that the weather outside is turning cooler, please remember to send your child to school with warm clothing and remind them that they should keep it on until it warms up.  We play outside at the beginning and end of every day and the weather can be quite cool.  Now is also a good time to practise zipping zippers, fastening buttons and snaps and putting on all winter accessories independently.  Please be sure to label ALL clothing that is sent to school if you want to be sure it makes it back home.  You would be shocked to see how much clothing gets left behind and how hard it can be to find the owners!

Picture Day & Meet the Teacher

A couple of reminders . . .

• School Picture Day is this Wednesday, October 10th.  Please be sure that you returned your child's slip indicating which pose and background you would like.

• Parents are invited to attend our annual Meet the Teacher on Thursday, October 11th, from 5 to 6 pm.  This is a great opportunity to take another look around our classroom now that we've settled in, and to let your child show you how they spend their time at school.

Pretty Patterns

This week we are busy working on Thanksgiving Day activities.  One of the crafts we completed was a turkey with a beautiful, patterned tail.  Students practised making two and three coloured patterns using pattern blocks and then applied their knowledge to their turkeys.  The results were very cute!

Montre et raconte

This month we will be starting 'Montre et raconte' (Show and Tell).  Each month the students will have the opportunity to bring in an item to show the class.  Each montre et raconte item must begin with the letter of the week in French and be hidden out of sight in a bag.  Students should print the letter of the week on the bag and practice the following:

« Voici mon montre et raconte.  Ca commence avec la lettre __. » 

The other students in the class will then try to guess what is hiding in the bag.  It is very helpful at the beginning of the year if the object is one of our vocabulary words!

This is an excellent opportunity for students to share something from home and to begin to build their public speaking skills.  I urge parents to help their child carefully choose a Montre et raconte item from home that begins with the correct letter, and to help your child learn the name of the object in French (a French/English dictionary may come in handy here).  Your child’s assigned Montre et raconte day/letter can be found on the monthly calendar. 

Extra copies of the class calendar can be found in the blog under the 'calendars' tab.

Letter of the Week

 On Monday we kicked off letter of week.  The first letter that we will be learning about in French is the letter 'L'.  We have been talking about what sound it makes and learning some new vocabulary words that begin with the letter.  It is always a great idea to practise the words at home as well to reinforce what is being taught at school.

We have a new set of helping hands in our classroom!  High school co-op student Kasie Cousens will be joining both the morning and afternoon classes to help prepare craft materials and work with small groups.  She will be with us for the next couple of months and I know that the students will all make her feel very welcome!

Don't forget that the September Homework Project is due this week.  Some students have already brought in their homework, and it has been great learning a little bit more about what makes them so special!

We have been off to a great start!  I have two fantastic classes this year and I am very excited about all the things we will be doing over the next ten months.

Carp Fair is coming up very soon and we have been working on our submissions for the craft competition.  The two categories that we will be entering this year are the paper apple pendant and the construction paper sunflower.  Be sure to check out the craft barn while visiting the fair to see if anyone from our class won!

The students have been learning quite a few French phrases over the last week.  They are now asking to go to the bathroom in French "Est-ce que je peux aller a la toilette?" and telling me that they are done their work in French "J'ai fini."

Thank you once again to everyone who has sent in school supplies and the $20 craft supply fee.  In case anyone missed the school supply list for senior kindergarten, it is as follows: a pack of crayons, a pack of markers, 2 erasers and 2 glue sticks.  The voluntary $20 craft supply fee is used to buy special craft materials (that are not on the school supply list) to enhance our kindergarten program, such as items to make Mother's Day and Father's Day gifts and baking materials.  As the cold season approaches we are also grateful for all kleenex box donations!  Thank you!!

Welcome to Senior Kindergarten!

I hope everyone had a fantastic summer and is excited to be back at school.  We are going to have a busy (and fun!) year in the senior kindergarten french immersion program.  Thank you so much to all the families that have sent in school supplies with their child - they are very much appreciated and will help us to have a super, productive year!

After some back to school activities, our first theme of the year is going to be 'Moi et ma famille' (Me and My Family).  Throughout this unit we will be looking at what makes each and every one of us unique, and what we might have in common with our classmates. 

Every month I like to give the students an assignment to complete at home with the help of their family.  Some months it will be a very quick and easy task, while other months will take a little more time and allow students to really show their creativity.  This month, as we are talking about what makes us all unique, I would like students to simply discuss with their mom and/or dad what their special talents are and choose one to share with the class.  Mom or dad can then write it down and send it to school on or before Thursday, September 20th.  I can't wait for the students to learn a little bit more about what makes their classmates so special!