Sunday, 21 September 2014

Merci aux parents

Dear parents/guardians,
 
I would like to thank you for attending Curriculum Night. I am glad we were able to discuss strategies we can both use to help your child succeed in Grade 1 this year. As you are aware, Grade 1 is a big change for your child, hence I have provided you with a detailed package discussing routines, responsibilities, Tribes agreement, co-created classroom contract, and reading and phonics homework that will begin in October.
Please make sure to read over the package and return the signed copy of our co-created classroom contract.  
 
The first few weeks of school were pleasant. The students are an amazing group of kids!
We like to sing, dance, and play. We learned our Grade 1 routine activities: Le Calendrier, La Chanson du Jour, et le Tableau de Maths. That's not easy to do right away, but we are here to learn and we will work hard to know how to lead the morning routine independently and in French!!
   
I was amazed with the students' counting skills. We counted up to 100 en francais. Later on, we began riddles about numbers and illustrated our favourite chiffres (digits).We had our real recesses and lunches in the schoolyard. We are big kids now!
 
On the second week of school, the story of "La petite souris" intrigued us with all of the sounds containing the vowel "i". It was our mission to discover all of the words in our classroom that had the sound "i" through a fantastic game of "Simon dit".
 
We discussed what it takes to be a good member of our class and school community. Completing a bio-glyph activity helped us understand that each of us are unique as we have our own likes and dislikes. Showing respect for others, listening to and appreciating each others' opinions became our new goal in Grade 1.
 
Please feel free to talk to your child about our great experiences in class thus far and reinforce our discussion on being a good student in class.
 


Monday, 15 September 2014

Curriculum Night

Dear parents/guardians,
I look forward to meeting you during Curriculum Night this Thursday, September 18th at 5:00 pm. 


Notre Superhero!

During class today, we discussed what a good student does, says, looks like, sounds like and how he/she feels as a result of the good behaviour. We came to the conclusion that a good student is like a SUPERHERO. Yes a superhero! He/she has the ability to change the community for the greater good and be a role model for others to look up to.

Here are the qualities of a good student (superhero) in our classroom:




Bio-Glyph


In order to learn about each other, the students in Room 111 have created amazing glyph art pieces of their faces. They were asked to follow a glyph (symbol) legend to display their likes/dislikes while drawing a funny face. I was impressed with my students' ability to follow instructions and read and understand a legend. Bravo!

Voici notre galerie:






Saturday, 13 September 2014

Mimi la souris

Dear parents/guardians,
Every week, the students and I will be practising a French sound, learn vocabulary and construct a little booklet revolving around the sound. We began with the French sound "i", pronounced "e" in English and started reading the book titled "Mimi la souris" (Mimi the mouse). After two weeks of reading the booklet in class, the booklet will then be sent home over the weekend to be read with you.

This week, I will be introducing and reviewing reading comprehension skills. In addition, I will introduce "Les cinq au quotidien" (Daily 5) which is a system that will help students be engaged in language and literacy.

With the Daily 5, students will be given the option to visit a language center on a weekly basis. The centers will consist of Read to Self, Read to Someone, Listen to Reading, Word Work, and Talk to Someone. The students will be held accountable for their learning at this time, either by completing a reader response activity or by completing a work sheet, or recording their dialogue, all for assessment purposes.

This system will help free myself to be able to pull students for a guided reading or writing session during this time.

Voici notre petit livret "Mimi la souris":







Bonne lecture!

Les chansons de notre classe!

La routine du matin
Je me lève, je me lave
Je me brosse les dents
Je m’habille, je vais aux toilettes
Je quitte la maison
OH!
À huit heures, je prends le bus
Et je vois mes amis
Et quand j’arrive à l’école
Il est huit heures et demie

HEY!
Les lettres de l'alphabet



Les couleurs
 
 

À la claire fontaine

“À la claire fontaine” is another classic French children’s song.  It is a song about parting someone you love, but never forgetting them.
I like singing along to this YouTube video because you can watch the story unfold as you sing along. The song relates to the Grade 1 students because they are now big kids who remain in school for a full day and do part from their parents/guardians and miss them but they never forget them.
The lyrics are at the bottom of the video (karaoke style).

Thursday, 4 September 2014

Agenda's, Forms & Dismissal

Dear parents/guardians,
A kind reminder to those of you who have not yet returned the yellow Clairlea package containing school forms (i.e., walking excursion forms, lunchroom forms, medical information, etc.) to return it to myself by Friday, September 12th. Please make sure to check that you have filled out all of the components outlined on each form.

Thank you to all who purchased an agenda to facilitate communication. The agenda costs $8.00. For those who have yet to purchase one, a kind reminder that it is an indispensable tool for dialogue between parents and teachers.

Finally, a gentle reminder that all students who are registered to go on the bus afterschool will be going on the bus unless parents have provided a written note to myself or called the school to notify us that your child is being picked up. Thank you for your cooperation in this matter.


Merci!