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