December

Well December is one crazy month...concert practices, learning new songs, excitement of the holidays, putting up decorations, visiting family...the list could go on and on. The kids are all excited for the upcoming weeks and there is only one problem...we don't have enough snow! We have been watching the weather (because of our Science unit: Hot and Cold Temperatures) and it is starting to make sense to them. They are realizing that this warm temperature is not going to bring the 'white Christmas' we all hope for and look forward to.
I am going to put all the information for the next two weeks below, as next week will be extremely busy with concert practices. (Also, please check the "What's coming up" tab above for the calendar)

Tutti Fruity Tuesdays have begun again and we encourage the students to bring a fresh fruit or vegetable for a snack. Points are given to each class based on the percentage of students who bring a fresh fruit/vegetable. The class with the highest percentage will win a healthy snack for their class! The students are very excited about it!

I will be gone on Wednesday Dec 9 (all day) and there will be a substitute in.

Thursday (Dec 10)-There will be a presentation (music or drama performance...I'm not too sure) from 10:30-11:15. In the afternoon we will have 3 volunteers from Leduc High School come and help out with our Science experiment.

Friday (Dec 11)-Theme Day-Crazy Christmas Dress Up day!!

NEXT WEEK: Christmas Concert practices will take place every afternoon from 1-3pm.
Tuesday (Dec 15) we will be doing Christmas Activities all morning.
Wednesday (Dec 16) will be our class Christmas party in the morning.
Thursday (Dec 17) will be our afternoon Christmas Concert  at 1pm.

***Students are asked to wear 'Country Cowboy/Cowgirl' attire to match their part in the concert.***

Friday (Dec 18) there will be some activities led by Mr Chomlak, Mrs Hicks, and Mrs Dukeshire. It is also PAJAMA DAY!!! 

Language Arts

Our focus in writing this month is Forest Animals. Students have been working on deciphering between fact and opinion, and whether a piece of writing is narrative or expository/informative. Over the next two weeks we will be looking at using JUICY and EXCITING words in our writing (instead of jump, switch it out for leaped or hopped), starting off our story with an exciting event (good introductions), changing sentences to be more exciting, and determining verbs (action words) and nouns (person, place, or thing). 

Math

We are still working on our Numbers to 100. Our focus is going to counting and recognizing numbers by groups of 10. We have been working a lot with 10s frames and 10s cubes (cubes, rods, and flats). The students are realizing the relationship between: 6 tens = 60, and 6 tens and 5 ones = 65. We have been working on making strong predictions by grouping numbers together in our head. 

Science

Weather seems to be our topic of conversation lately. Exploring with thermometers, recording the daily temperature, determining whether the weather is cloudy/sunny/raining/foggy/snowing, what that means for us going outside and the proper attire. One of our experiments this week will be recording the temperature around the school to see if the temperature is all the same, or different. 

November 23-27, 2015

The last full week of November is upon us and it is FINALLY starting to look like a typical November! This large snow fall that came on Monday has turned our dusty playground into a white winter wonderland. 
With this recent change in weather, please ensure your child comes to school with the appropriate attire: winter coat, snow pants, mitts (good insulated mitts that will keep hands warm), hat, scarf, and snow boots. 

What's New: 
-Tutti Fruity Tuesdays is starting up this week. Students are encouraged to bring a FRESH fruit or vegetable for snack on Tuesdays. This is a competition between classes and the class with the highest number of fruit/vegetables at the end of the competition wins a healthy snack for their class! 
-No School this Friday as it is a PD day. 
-Student of the Week will be handed out on Thursday afternoon. 

Language Arts
Phonics has taken us onto the next vowel...O. They are using common words that have the long vowel O in them. It works out nicely as these match up with our spelling words this week. 
Our Writing unit wraps up this week with a writing about Autumn. Students are using detail, capital letters, proper spacing, appropriate punctuation, and a elaborate picture to help portray their thoughts and ideas. It was hard for them to believe that we are still in the season of Autumn...especially with this fresh white snow we just got!

Math
We will be continuing with Numbers to 100. We have been working quite a bit with money (coins) and the students are gaining confidence with them. I encourage you to practice at home or in the grocery store counting the change in your wallet. 
Our next part of math will be looking at ordinal numbers (first, second, third, fourth, etc) and the words that are associated with each number. 

Science
This weather has really been fun to talk about in science class, as it goes nicely with our Hot and Cold Temperatures unit. We have been talking about the weather and what temperature actually means, as well as using a thermometer to measure it. It is quite fun to watch the students explore and get excited about gathering information (even if it is from The Weather Network). 

Social
Learning all 13 provinces and territories is tough work! But we are getting there! Learning the provinces and territories around us, and a special piece of information about them is helping each student remember them all. 

November 16-20, 2015

Welcome back! After 5 days away from school, it feels like December is right around the corner! Scary, I know!

Lots of little things going on:

-Christmas card orders (through EEPA on a green sheet of paper) are due back on Wednesday November 18 (with payment)
-Operation Christmas Child boxes are due back on Thursday November 19
-Coat Swap-a memo went home last week about the Coat Swap (bring in coats that do not fit anymore and 'swap' it for a coat that does fit)
-Yearbook Interest forms are going home (today) and are due back by November 30. This is just to see who is interested in purchasing a Yearbook. Order forms will be sent home in Spring 2016. 
-Patterns Test and Magnets test will be sent home by Friday. Keep an eye out in your child's agenda!

Language Arts
Phonics-review of long and short vowels and determining if they are long/short vowel words
Spelling words-all words this week are focused on the long vowel 'u'
Writing-Students will be differentiating between facts and opinions about Autumn. Students will also be writing a story about Autumn with a focus on a main character, main event, setting, and a story ending.
Reading-we will be working in small groups and practicing reading to each other

Math
Numbers to 100-finding odd and even numbers from 1-100, counting with money (coins) using a 100s chart
Addition and Subtraction (mental math)-continue to practice using manipulatives and through games

Science
We will be reviewing our Magnets test and then moving on to Hot and Cold Temperatures. Our first thing to look at will be thermometers: why we use them, parts of a thermometer, and where we find thermometers.

Social
We have been looking at the map of Canada and the provinces. Students have been learning where to find Alberta on the map. Our next step is finding the other communities on the map (Iqaluit, Saskatoon, and Meteghan).

November 2-6, 2015

Well there is officially 7 weeks left until Christmas...where has the time gone!
First things first, thank you to the parents who brought treats for the Halloween party on Friday October 30. The kids really loved having the snacks at the party. Plus they looked pretty awesome too!
Currently in art we are making poppies for our wreath to present at the Remembrance Day ceremony on November 10 at 10:30am. Please feel free to attend if your schedule allows.
With the temperature cooling down, please ensure that your child is dressed appropriately for the weather. We don't want them getting sick!

Language Arts
We are now using 4 out of 5 'Daily 5' stations: Read to Self, Word Work, Work on Writing, and Listen to Reading. The students are building stamina (remaining focused on their task for longer lengths of time each day) and are very excited to have this time.
In our Writing unit, we are exploring juicy sentences that contain a noun (person/place/thing), verb (action word), and adjectives (details). We discussed why each of these are important and why each of these needs to be in each sentence. Students have now been encouraged to use these in their writing more regularly (ie. Daily 5 writing).
Students are developing confidence with using common long vowel words in a variety of sentences (in phonics). This is associating quite well with our spelling words as this weeks words (as well as last weeks) are long vowel words.

Math
Earlier this week we began our 'Numbers to 100' unit. Students have been busy using their 100s charts to help find missing numbers, count by 2/3/4/5/6, starting at a number and counting forwards and backwards, and patterns that occur on the 100s chart.
We continue to do 'money math' which also ties nicely in with our Numbers to 100.

Science
We wrapped up our Magnets unit on Wednesday with a Unit Test. Our next unit (Hot and Cold Temperatures) will begin next week.

Social
Earlier this week we discussed where we lived. What is the name of the city/town you live in? What is the province? What is the country? Can you find it on a map? On a map of Canada, where is there land? Where is there water? What are the two major bodies of water called (Atlantic and Pacific ocean)? They are quite interested in finding places on a map!

October 26-30, 2015

BRRRRRRR!! It sure has cooled off today! That wind is making recess quite chilly. Please make sure your child has the appropriate clothes for recess. Always assume that recess will be outdoors, so if it is snowing/windy/raining, please ensure that your child has all of the appropriate attire to keep warm outside (ex. warm coat, hat, scarf, mitts, lined pants, warm boots, etc). It is always easier to leave items in their locker than wish they had brought them.

Friday is going to be quite busy with the Halloween celebrations. Here is the breakdown of the day:

Block 1-3 (8:30-10:10) will be 'normal'. At 10:10, they will get ready for our class party. (Thank you to those parents bringing snacks for them!) We will watch a movie (Wall-E) and enjoy our snacks until lunch recess (11:55) at which time they will go out for recess. Lunch will begin at 12:20 but there is NO hot lunch this week. At 12:45 we will head to the gym for assembly and then walk over to Salem Manor at 1:00. Upon their return, the students will do a parade in the gym to show off their costumes so the other students/classes can see.

Stay safe this weekend! DON'T FORGET TO TURN YOUR CLOCKS BACK ON SATURDAY NIGHT/SUNDAY MORNING!!!

Language Arts
This week we introduced 'Word Work' in our Daily 5. The students will get to use different manipulatives to explore their spelling words each week. The students are going to have a blast using 4 out of the 5 Daily 5 stations! (Note: The 5th station of Read to Someone will be introduced after Christmas holidays).
Our Phonics is just wrapping up with common words using short vowel sounds. We are jumping into long vowel sounds this week and letter blends that make the long vowel sounds.
In our Writing, the students have been working a lot with FACT vs OPINION, and what the difference between them is. We even got to take facts and use our feelings to turn them into opinions. For example: The weather gets cooler in Autumn (fact), but I do not like that the weather gets cooler (opinion).
We continue to listen to 'The Mouse with the Question Mark Tail' and the students are really getting into it! It is a novel that we are listening to as a class, and they are enjoying learning with the character.

Math
We have wrapped up our Patterns unit with a test. Thank you for taking the time with your child to work on the practice sheets that were sent home! We continue to work on math facts and this will be an ongoing practice throughout the year. Next week we will begin our 'Numbers to 100' unit.

Science
Our class is at the tail end of the Magnets unit. We are testing magnets' strength through fabrics/objects to see if they are more weak or strong. Our Magnets test will be next week Wednesday.

Social
We have wrapped up our Mapping unit and are heading on to learn about the different communities throughout Canada, specifically Meteghan (Nova Scotia), Saskatoon (Saskatchewan), and Iqaluit (Nunavut) and how those communities relate to Leduc. Throughout the year we will be discovering different qualities of these communities (people, geography, jobs, resources, etc) and comparing them to Leduc.

Oct 21, 2015

Busy weeks are ahead!
Today and tomorrow after school we have Parent/Teacher Interviews. Thank you to those parents who signed up! I am excited to meet with you.
Important things to remember: 
-picture forms are due back to school on THURSDAY OCTOBER 22, 2015. Even if you would like retakes, please send the form back.
-we will be having a dress-up day next Friday and walking through Salem Manor (Senior Center across the street). In the morning will be our class party. For those who signed up to bring items, I will send out a sign-up sheet for you to sign up (this will be sent via email).

Language Arts
We are doing Reading Comprehension every morning. The students are getting much more confident with understanding what they are reading.
Daily 5 is going really well. The students love the 3 parts we have started (read to self, listen to read, and work on writing) and we will be introducing 'Word Work' next week.
In phonics, we are developing our understanding and confidence of short vowel sounds. Next we will be working with long vowel sounds.
Our writing is developing too! We have learned about two types of writing: expository/informative and narrative. We are exploring the differences of the two types: why the author writes this way, what the story looks like, what each sentence contains, the importance of a title, etc.

Math
We have wrapped up our Patterns unit and are starting to review. There will be a test next week on Wednesday October 28.
On Monday we looked at money (specifically, coins) and what each coin is worth. We then moved on to adding money together and figuring out 'how much money is in Miss Kruse's wallet'. This is a great chance to work with your child when you go to the store or are finding money around the house. Ask your child: how much is that worth? if I had all these coins together, how much would I have?

Science
Magnets are the topic of conversation lately. The students got to test various items to see if they were magnetic or not. Items such as a pop can, juice box, eraser, pencil, paper clip, money, chalk, nails, and a twist tie were among the items. Our next experiment will be to see how many paperclips a magnet can hold. We will be talking about predictions and observations as well.

Social
We are at the tail end of our Mapping unit. Our discussion lately has been around directions (compass rose, left, right) and the continents. The students are very interested in the continents and what is on each continent (ex. variety of animals, weather, geography, etc). The conversation has even led into tectonic plates!!

September 28-October 2, 2015

Well the temperature is decreasing, the leaves are changing color, and we have officially entered the season of FALL! There is still a lot going on in the classroom and there is no slowing down!

-Club Moo (milk program) will begin next week. Information went home on Monday Sept. 28 about it. This year you can purchase milk online through Powerschool.
-Home Reading: the goal for September is 2 hours. Please fill in the Reading Log in the red duotang that was sent home. A new Reading Log for October will be sent home on Thursday October 1.
-Hot Lunch program starts on Friday.

The Terry Fox Walk went really well on Friday. We had fantastic weather and the kids had a ton of fun on their walk. They really enjoyed coming back to school for a hot dog, bag of chips, and a water. Thank you to all those who came out and helped!

This week:
Language Arts
Phonics: recognizing common words, using common words to complete sentences, short vowel words
Spelling: our spelling words this week are words that contain the short vowel o and u
Writing: Action words, splitting a sentence into two parts (subject and predicate; Who/What and a Doing/Describing)
Daily 5: We have been working on mastering "Read to Self" and "Work on Writing". We will introduce "Listen to Read" this week too. This allows kids to listen to books using iPads as a different form of reading.

Math
Patterns: practicing how to extend a pattern and predict parts of a pattern that are missing; making a pattern with a pre-determined number of parts (ex. 6 red beads, 3 red beads, and 3 green beads)
Addition/Subtraction: we are wrapping up our review unit and starting numbers that go up to 20

Science
-Identifying magnets around our school/classroom and where magnets might be used

Social
Students will be using a map to understand how to get from 'Point A' to 'Point B'.

September 22, 2015

Well, we are settling into our daily routines and understanding the expectations of a Grade 2 classroom. Students are coming to school less tired and more mentally ready to learn. It is wonderful to see them prepared every morning, and excited for the day ahead.

I noticed that some of the students are still suffering from a stuffy nose or sore throat. In health class, they have been discussing washing their hands, eating healthy food, staying active, and drinking lots of water. Although I have been reminding them at school, practice these things at home too! And never underestimate the power of sleep. It is super easy to be busy in the evenings or go to sleep a little later, but kids this age need 9-11 hours of sleep every night. The benefits are seen in the classroom as well.

Every Thursday we have Library. Please ensure library books are returned to school by Thursday so your child can take out new books.

This Friday we have our Terry Fox Walk/Run. If you are able to volunteer, please let me know. Also, please ensure that your child is dressed for the weather. It looks like it is supposed to be the nicest day of the week but there is a chance of rain. Make sure they are wearing the proper clothes for this walk.

LA
We have introduced the first two parts of our Daily 5 program: Read to Self and Work on Writing. When students are doing 'Read to Self' they are: choosing one spot to read and remaining there, picking a book quickly and quietly, and reading the whole time. For 'Work on Writing' the students have the ability to work on different writing types (letters, postcards, stories, lists, cards, or poems) and there are no restrictions as to a topic. The benefit to this program is that it gives the students choice, and it allows me to work individually with each child.

We continue to work on our Phonics, and this week we are working on 'short vowel a' words.
In our spelling, our words are focused on 'short vowel a' and 'short vowel i' words.

Something new for the students this year is Reading Comprehension. 2-3 times per week we read a passage and answer questions about the passage. This is a great practice for the students to get in the habit of because they are learning to focus and concentrate more on what they are reading.

Math
We will be continuing our Review of Addition/Subtraction to 10 and the beginning of our Patterns unit.  They will be using manipulatives to build their own patterns as well. We have discussed what the core of a pattern is (the part that is repeated over and over) and we are now discussing attributes (qualities of the pattern; ex. blue triangle has 2 attributes: blue and triangle).

Science
We have been having a ton of fun with magnets and testing what is magnetic around our classroom and school. It was awesome watching the students test different materials to see if they were magnetic. We will continue to explore the parts of a magnet (poles), and the different styles of magnets.

Social
Our class is looking at different types of maps. One part of maps that we looked at are road signs. It really surprised me how many different types of road signs each of the students knew! This is a great activity for you to do with your kids: talk about signs as you are driving and what they mean.

September 11, 2015

WOW! First of all, I would like to extend a huge WELCOME BACK to everyone. It was so exciting to see all the kids come in on that first day of school ready to learn.
Please find the spelling words and calendar in the tabs above. I have been posting pictures to Class Dojo, so feel free to check there to see what we are doing (in addition to this blog).
Other Items:
1. Please return all forms that were sent home in the past week. Some are for the office and some are for me to look at...but both are important to return ASAP.
2. Hot lunch online orders are now open. If you would like to order hot lunch for your child, please go to: http://ees.blackgold.ca/parents/hot-lunches/

We have been busy working on a multitude of items so far. Each week I will update the blog to let you know what we are working on so you can have more specific conversations with your child. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have questions.

LA
We started our first week of spelling words. The students will write them in their agenda and dictionaries, practice with other manipulatives, but it is always helpful to practice them at home too. Spelling tests will be on the last day of every week.
Each week we will also do Reading Comprehension. This is a great practice for students to get in the habit of doing to ensure they are processing information that they are reading.
On Tuesday, I sent home the Home Reading log in a red duotang. The goal this month is 2 hours. Each month we will have a goal to reach. Students are asked to read every night (if possible). Please record the time (and other info) on the page provided. If a child is reading quietly or aloud...it counts! Even if you and your child takes turns reading, that counts as time that can be recorded.
On the first day of every week, our class will write in their Journals about what they did on the weekend, or another topic given. Sometimes students have a difficult time remembering what they did on the weekend, so for the first few months it is beneficial to talk about this (with them) on the way to school on Monday mornings.

Math
For the month of September we will be reviewing numbers/addition/subtraction/representing numbers to 10. We will also be exploring different patterns. They are discovering that patterns are found all around us. This is a great conversation piece to discuss with them when you are in the car, at the grocery store, etc as to what patterns they see.

Science
We have started to explore the power of MAGNETS! We will be looking more in depth next week as to 'what makes up a magnet' and 'why do some things stick to magnets while others don't' and other questions.

Social
Earlier this week we started looking at maps, and why maps are important. On Thursday we took a peek at a world map and all of the continents, as well as a town map, street map, and a house floor plan. Students discussed why each of these might be important, why we need maps, and why maps only have things that don't move on them (do not contain people).

Enjoy your weekend!

May 2015

What a busy past few weeks it has been! With our field trip to Fort Edmonton Park, May Long Weekend, the hustle and bustle of District Track Meet coming up, and practicing for the Track Meet...it has been a very busy few weeks! The crazy part is that it is not going to slow down! 

A few things: 

-Keep an eye out for forms and information being sent home. The students will put the forms in their kanga pouch and I will try to send an email when they go home, however, best to check every night when you sign their agenda. 

-With the change of weather, the students are spending more time outside (YAY!!) however they still need a good night's sleep. They are much more productive at school after a good rest. 

Language Arts

We continue to work on our phonics, spelling, writing (empowering writers program and 6+1 traits), journals, story prompt writing, and reading comprehension. This week we have started our Novel Study on Charlotte's Web. The students are pretty excited! 

In phonics we have been learning about: 'wr' words, digraphs (wh, ck, ch, kn, th, sh, wr, etc), 'ar' words, and 'or' words. Our next section of phonics continues on to learn about 'ir', 'er', and 'ur' words, compound words, and contractions. 

Our writing unit has been encouraging the students to elaborate and add details to their writing while thinking about two important questions: What does it look like? and Why is it important? 

The Empowering Writers unit will focus on: using good description words, writing convincing statements, creating a postcard, write suspenseful writing, and be introduced to acrostic poems. 

Another important part to writing is varying their word choice, so they have been trying to write with different words and 'juicy' words. They have began learning about verbs (action words) and why each sentence needs to have a verb in it. Over the next few weeks, the 6+1 Traits of Writing will allow students to start looking at: using clues to figure out tough words, using their senses when writing, using details but not too many, and using different words to begin a sentence. 

Math

We have finished up our 'Addition and Subtraction to 18' unit. The students have come a long way with their number facts! Keep in mind that the students cannot practice these facts enough. 

The students are practicing (A LOT) their double digit addition and subtraction. Although they have been exposed to different methods of addition and subtraction, ask them to show you their favorite way. This is a great activity for you to do with them!

Science

The students have been experimenting a lot with their 'recycle items' and determining which materials float or sink, and why they float or sink. This week the students will finish up their Boats and Buoyancy unit with their final 'boat' by creating a boat that is self-propelling. The students are pretty excited to create and test their boats. 

The next unit is "Small Crawling and Flying Animals". 

Social

Our grade 2 class is diligently working on our Social presentations. It is a culminating project in which our class has been split into groups, research one of the three communities, and put the interesting information into a google presentation. Once completed, the Grade 2 class will present their information to the Grade 1 classes. This is quite a large project for them to work on so it will take a few weeks to work on. The presentations will take place in late June. 

May 4-8, 2015

Happy Education Week! 
There is a lot going on at East Elementary School this week to celebrate Education week. 

On Monday we were visited by Ms Meyer, who led the class in Drum Fit. The students had a blast banging on the yoga balls with drum sticks and dancing to the music. 
On Wednesday, I encourage all students to wear a hat (any kind of hat) for "Hats On for Mental Health" day. Last week in Assembly the students talked about what mental health is, how we can keep our mind sharp, and discussed how to changed negative thoughts into positive ones. **Please note this is also Early Dismissal Day**
A Zumba group will be coming in on Thursday to teach the students during gym. Zumba is a type of 'work out dance' to fun songs. I know the kids are going to love this activity!
Friday is a SUPER exciting day as the Grade 4-6 students will be having their Science Fair. An Assembly will kick it off in the morning and the Division 1 students will be able to check out the displays in the morning when we visit. Even I am doing a science experiment (display and presentation) for the students! Our class is very excited to see it. 

Permission forms for our field trip to Fort Edmonton Park were sent home yesterday. We are going on May 19 (Tuesday after May long weekend) and the cost is $6.50. This will be an all day field trip and students are asked to bring a bag lunch. More information will be going out next week. **We are in need of volunteers, otherwise this field trip cannot happen. Please consider volunteering for this field trip.**

Language Arts
Students are wrapping up their 'Fantasy' story this week. They have been working diligently on writing an exciting story with details. Their story must include an introduction, body, and conclusion. They will be coming home on Friday, so keep an eye out for these!
In Phonics, we have wrapped up talking about words that contain digraphs (sh, th, wh, ch, ck). This week will allow us to start using words with silent letters (wr, kn, etc). It is great practice at home for kids to see common items and attempt to spell them aloud. 
Our spelling this week is a review of the past five weeks. 
In our 6+1 Traits of Writing we have been working on including voice in our writing, and how Authors add voice to their own writing. We have just started discussing adjectives and what the purpose of adjectives are in writing (add detail). 

Math
Students are absolutely loving adding double digit numbers! They understand the need to add the 'ones columns' first then the 'tens column'. They love to 'carry the one' because it FLIES up to the top and joins the other 'tens' number. Have no idea what I mean?? Ask your child! They are getting pretty good at it!
Adding and Subtracting to 18 is almost over, but it is a skill they will be working on for the rest of the year. They are getting lots of practice using these numbers and committing them to memory, however the extra practice at home is always beneficial. The goal for the year is to have addition and subtraction facts to 12 committed to memory. They are to be mental math facts that can be recalled within a moment...I always say 'less than 1 second' without using any fingers, counting, manipulatives, or any help. 

Science
Wednesday is the day! They are testing their items in the water table to see if they float or sink. They will start building their boats next week.

Social
The final culminating project is underway! The students have been split into 6 groups (some of 3 and some of 4). Each group has a community (Iqaluit, Meteghan, or Saskatoon) to study, become experts in, and create a presentation. They will present this at the middle of June to the Grade 1 classes. They are very excited! The best part is that the students can present their project in any way (poster, brochure, powerpoint, etc). Don't worry...all of the work will be done at school. They are very excited to research, discuss, and present their information. 

April 27-May 1, 2015

WOW! Earth Day was such a success last week! The Grade 2 students went all day without turning on the lights, made pinecone bird feeders, created a 'tie dye world', and worked with the Grade 1 students to pick up garbage around our school yard! So AmAzInG!

Last week I sent out an email about bringing recyclable items to our classroom. I appreciate all that has come in, but we still need a little bit more! Please feel free to bring some extras in for our students to work with. Items can be: plastic, glass, styrofoam, bottles, cardboard, etc.

Library this week has been moved to Thursday, so please ensure that all books are back by then to ensure that your child can take out new books.

Language Arts
Over the past week, the students have been working on developing a fictional story (although some chose non-fictional). They had to plan it out (problem/adventure, characters, setting, etc), and have began their introduction to their story. This week we hope to develop our story even further and start the body.
We continue to work on our phonics, 6+1 Traits of Writing, story prompts, and reading comprehension. It is fantastic to see the students using their skills they are developing in Language Arts (writing component) transfer into their other writing (journals and story prompt).

I introduced a rubric (1-4 rating scale) that focuses on 5 aspects: sentence structure, punctuation, detail, overall structure, and overall appearance. The students self-evaluate their writing and are reminded of important parts throughout their writing. The students have really taken to having this assessment available and enjoy the immediate feedback.

Math
We are simultaneously working on our Addition and Subtraction to 18 and 100 (separate units). With addition and subtraction to 18, we have really been working with strategies to determine doubles (ex. 5+5), and doubles plus/minus one. In addition and subtraction to 100, we started to touch on addition equations that involve 'carrying'. As this is an important concept, we will be working on this quite a bit over the next week.

Science
Our Boats and Buoyancy unit will take full swing over the next two weeks. Students will be testing items to test their buoyancy, testing multiple items (put together), create a boat/flotation device, and test their boat (hold weight).

Social
Natural Resources has been our huge topic of discussion lately. What are they? Do all 3 communities have the same natural resources? What are the natural resources in each community? What do they use the natural resources for? Ask your child what natural resources are in Meteghan, Iqaluit, or Saskatoon...and how do they compare to Leduc?

April 13-17, 2015

Students are back in the swing of things and we are actually 'gaining momentum' through these last 2.5 months of school!
Swimming is happening 3 afternoons this week, so please make sure your child has their swim attire on Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday.

Wednesday: Swimming and Popcorn
Thursday: Swimming (Last Day)
Friday: Spelling Test, Hot lunch, and Scholastic Book Orders due

Language Arts
Writing-The students were introduced to Research last week. They responded to weather questions based on a research website about thunderstorms. We have also been discussing the difference between 'good paragraphs' and 'strong paragraphs' and what distinguishes the two. The theme for our writing (through April 23) is Weather.
Spelling-Last week and this week have been focused on ed/ing/est endings. This weeks' list is made up of words that have short vowel sounds with an ending.
6+1 Traits of Writing-We have been adding to our writing with this 6+1 Writing program. Parts of writing that we have been talking about are: focusing on one topic/story at a time, what makes a good ending, writing with a voice, and how our voice comes through writing.
Phonics-The students have been learning different ways to use the letter 'y', and its different sounds. The letter "Y" has two sounds when it is at the end of a word: I or E (ex. cry vs baby). Moving forward we will be looking at consonant digraphs (two consonants that together stand for one sound; ex. sh, th, wh, ch; ex shells, choose, the, why)

Home Reading-I am noticing the Red Duotangs return to school less and less, but I am hoping that your child is still doing home reading :)

Math
We are still working on addition and subtraction to 18. These math facts need to be answered immediately without any assistance (using fingers, manipulatives, hundreds chart, etc).
We have started our addition and subtraction to 100 unit as well. The students are being exposed to different ways of adding 10s to a number (ex. 19+10; 19+50) and different strategies to determine the answer. Most adults were taught the vertical addition, and although that is successful, students are being exposed to different routes of providing the same result.

Science
We spent quite a bit of time on the past unit 'Exploring Liquids', and that is a tie-in to our next unit "Boats and Buoyancy". The students got a little intro to this unit when we went to the Telus World of Science, but they will be able to explore with different materials as to what helps an item float or sink. This unit will continue through most of April.

Social
"Looking at Work" will be our next major unit. We will be spending some time looking at different occupations, natural resources, and other defining characteristics of the 3 communities (Meteghan, Iqaluit, and Saskatoon) as well as our own community of Leduc.
This unit will continue most of April.

March 16-20, 2015

Going into the last 2 weeks before Spring Break, and there is no slowing down!

This post will be relevant for the next two weeks, as next week is going to be very very busy!

Tuesday (March 17)-Dress Green, Library Day, Tutti Fruity Tuesday
Wednesday (March 18)-Popcorn $0.50
Friday (March 20)-Wear funky socks! Hot lunch and spelling test
Monday (March 23)-Swimming in the afternoon (leave at 1 pm); Student Led Conferences (5-7pm)
Tuesday (March 24)-Swimming in the afternoon (leave at 1 pm), Tutti Fruity Tuesday
Wednesday (March 25)-Swimming in the afternoon (leave at 1 pm); Parent/Teacher Conferences 3:15-6pm (by appointment only)
Thursday (March 26)-Swimming in the afternoon (leave at 1 pm); Spelling Test
Friday (March 27)-No School
March 28-April 6-No School
April 7-Return to school

Please remember that there are swimming lessons every afternoon next week. Students need to bring a swim suit, towel, bag (for their items), goggles (if they need them), and any other items for the swimming pool. Students are responsible for their own belongings. They will have time to change at lunch, so they do not need to come to school in their swim suits.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask.

Student Led Conferences are next Monday March 23 from 5-7pm. All students are asked to attend with a family member. Please sign up for a time slot on the following website: (http://www.signupgenius.com/go/20f0f4daeac29a2f58-student)
Parent Teacher Interviews can be booked on the following website: http://www.signupgenius.com/go/20f0f4daeac29a2f58-parentteacher
Parent Teacher Interviews are individual and private meetings that are an option for families.

Language Arts
We started 6+1 Traits of Writing, and the students are really enjoying being 'expert writers'. This program focuses on one main topic/lesson. We have discussed: organizing thoughts in order, capitals/periods, writing based on a picture, focusing ideas on one topic, and writing with detail.

In phonics, we have been working with consonant blends (ex. br, st, tr, ng, lt, fl, etc). Students are recognizing that each consonant is heard in a consonant blend.

All of our writing work has been paying off, especially in Journal writing and 'Story Prompt' writing. They are focusing more and more on conventions, details, and writing more in depth stories.

The students have been practicing reading aloud more and more. They are working on diction, phrasing, and where to take a breath.

Math
We are finishing up with our "Measurement" unit. Today we talked about comparing mass by using the words 'heavier than' and 'lighter than' while using our hands to weigh items. We also used a scale to compare my phone to small unit cubes, interlocking cubes, a shoe, markers, and math counters. The students were pretty amazed at how many items it took to get the same weight as the phone.

Fact Families. Fact Families. We continue to work on our fact families and addition/subtraction to 18. There are many activities we have been doing: dice games, card games, manipulatives, pencil/paper, moving students around to re-group, whiteboards, etc. Students are not even realizing they are doing the addition and subtraction any more because they are doing it so many different ways. It is wonderful seeing them relate addition and subtraction to each other and the different ways we use it in every day life.

Science
Our 'Exploring Liquids' unit is in full swing. Last week, students observed different household liquids (what did it look like, what did it smell like, how viscous was the liquid, etc). Then we stuck the liquids in the freezer to see if the liquids would freeze...and some of them did! But some of them didn't. This sparked a lot of conversation! From the frozen state, the liquids were left out over the weekend to evaporate. Some liquids changed consistency, some evaporated, and others did not change at all. The students have AWESOME questions!
We began making crystals on Friday last week. Each student has their own 'crystal jar' at the back of the room that they can watch every day to see if their salt crystals are forming in the jar and on the pipe cleaner.
Next up in science is discovering which objects absorb the most water and which ones evaporate the water the fastest. They will observe how water evaporates in different situations (with a fan, without a fan, with heat, etc).

Social
We continue to explore the differences between the three communities and relate it to ours. This is done more through cross-curricular opportunities, but the students have explored the different industries of the three communities and what it is like to live in the communities with the changing of the seasons.

March 2-5, 2015

It's a 4 day week! Looking at the month ahead, it is very busy! We have 2 special theme Fridays (March 13&20) and swimming starts at the end of the month.

**Please return all swimming permission forms with payment ASAP!**

Language Arts
Writing-We are starting our new unit this week called "House and Home". We are going to explore the different parts of a writing piece (is it expository or informative writing? Where is the title/paragraphs/main idea/introduction/conclusion? How is it organized? etc)

We also started the "6+1 Traits of Writing" this week. This is a program designed to help the students write more informed, detailed, and exciting pieces by focusing on little 'chunks' at a time.

As per usual, we will continue with phonics (blend words), spelling, small group reading, story prompts, and reading comprehension.

Math
We continue to review and work with Fact Families. Students are starting to grasp the idea of the relationship between addition/subtraction sentences, but we want them to master this idea. Through the use of Fact Families, they are adding and subtracting to 18.

Our measurement unit is going pretty well. This week they are going to learn how to measure a large object using only 1 object (ex. pipe cleaner, popsicle stick, etc). They will learn skills how to get the most out of what they are measuring while only using one object.

Science
Exploring Liquids starts this week. We will be looking at different liquids using our senses.

Social
Learning about the 3 communities and their main industries was very interesting. The students had lots of questions and it sparked a lot of questions about their land/jobs, and how they relate to each other.

Feb 23-27, 2015

1. Swimming permission forms are being sent home today (Feb 24). Please fill out and return (with payment) by March 13. Please note that if you pay online, a receipt of payment will need to be sent. 

2. Wednesday Feb 25 is PINK SHIRT DAY. Students are encouraged to wear a pink shirt in recognition of no bullying. 

3. Scholastic Book orders are due on Thursday. Also there is an in-school field trip Thursday afternoon which will focus on Softball. A group from Softball Alberta will come in and work with the students for 1 hour. 

4. Spelling Test on Friday and Hot Lunch (Subway). I will not be here on Friday so there will be a Substitute here for me. There will be no assembly on Friday afternoon.

Once again, there are a lot of illnesses going around so I really encourage you to keep your child at home if he/she is experiencing symptoms. Ensure that your child is receiving enough sleep every night and eating healthy 'immune boosting' food, and daily vitamins never hurt. 

Language Arts

Writing-Students are learning to write 'convincing' writing. We have started to talk about gifts they would like to receive from a family member, but trying to think of ways to convince you to purchase the item for them.  (Please note, this is just a writing technique...you don't have to purchase anything for them!) Later this week we will be starting POETRY. This is the first time (this year) that the students will experience writing poetry. Our topic will be 'Winter Poetry'. We are going to start with Haiku poetry. This type of poetry has a 3-5-3 rule (3 syllables on the first line, 5 syllables on the second, and 3 syllables on the third line). The traditional Haiku follows the 5-7-5 rule, but we are adapting it for Grade 2. 

Reading-I have noticed a huge decrease in home reading sheets returning to school. I am hoping that students are still doing reading at home every night, however, I encourage you (and your child) to send the red duotangs back to school. We do quite a bit of individual and group reading at school, but students reading at home is a great way to demonstrate their ability to concentrate and recognize good areas around your home to read. 

Phonics-Last week we worked on high frequency words (only, even, laugh, own, their, might), and this week we are moving on to a new section: sounds of c/g, words with an 'le' ending, and compound words. This will take us into the next part of 'blends with consonants'. 

Math

We have been spending extra time working on fact families, addition and subtraction to 18, and understanding the "triangle rule". Have no clue what the triangle rule is?? Ask your child to explain it to you! Having them teach you about it demonstrates a higher level of understanding and is a great conversation starter with your child. 

In addition to the extra help with the above topics, we have been experimenting with measurement and using different instruments (pipe cleaners, straws, blocks, dice, etc) to measure larger objects. We are going to be working with objects that we only have 1 of, and the techniques used to measure with the one object. 

Social

Last week we spent quite a bit of time learning about the Canadian Flag, as it turned 50 years old on Feb 15. This week, the students will be researching different types of country flags and creating their own flag. 

Science

We have wrapped up our Hot and Cold unit and the students will have a final test on Thursday. Next week will begin our 'Exploring Liquids' unit. 

Before the long weekend starts...

Good Afternoon!
Here are some things before the long weekend starts (yes, Monday is Family Day and there is no school): 

1. Beginning next Tuesday, our school will be starting Tutti Fruitty Tuesdays. This means that all students are encouraged to bring any "fresh" fruit or vegetable to school. This does NOT include juice, gummies, apple sauce, or anything else packaged. This means REAL FOOD. Each Tuesday right before snack, a SWAT member will come to your class and ask "who has a fresh fruit or veggie in their lunch?" A tally will be recorded from each class each Tuesday. A grand total will be added up for the last week of March before Spring Break. There will be a "healthy" class prize to the class with the highest total. Ultimately this is clearly to encourage fresh fruit and veggies. 

2. Family Day. We are challenging our East Elementary Families to go 'unplugged' for Monday Feb 16. Everyone is asked to disconnect from technology for the day in order to reconnect with family, friends and community. Go for a walk, gather for a board game, eat dinner together, or play in the snow. 

Enjoy the long weekend :)

Feb 9-13, 2015

A 5 day week! We have been so lucky lately to have short weeks! Our class is gaining another person too! Mrs Pomeranz is going to be joining our class and sharing her time with the 2A class. She will be working with students one-on-one to help develop a variety of skills. We are so lucky to have her!

The Talent Show is coming up and students who were interested in participating took a permission form home on Monday. These forms are due back Wednesday Feb 11. 
Yearbook order forms are due back on Friday Feb 13. 
Our 2K Valentine's Day party will be on Friday morning (Feb 13).

Just a few reminders: 

-Please ensure your child is dressed for the weather. The kids got in the habit of wearing thin coats this week and with the cooler weather returning, they need to have the proper attire to go outside. 

-As the second half of Grade 2 is here, I encourage each student to take ownership of coming in the school and getting settled independently. Students should be able to put their backpacks and boots away, get the necessary items (agenda), go to the bathroom, and come to class without any assistance. Please assist me in this transition. 

-Ask your child if their indoor shoes fit. I find right after the holidays (especially in January) that students hit a growth spurt and usually need a new pair. 

LA

Writing-The theme of this months writing is "Gifts and Gift Givers". This week we are working on sentence writing (subject/predicate, capitalization, and punctuation), sorting details into main idea categories, and an introduction to suspense writing.

Spelling-Words are on the Blog with a test on Friday.

We will continue with our Story Prompt and Reading Comprehension. The emphasis is still on applying the lessons (from our writing) to our writing during Story Prompt.

If you have your child write for you at home, get them to edit their writing (focus on punctuation, capital letters, and spelling).

Math
Measurement: We have jumped right into our measurement unit by looking at calendars (focus on Months, Days, and a year in relation to each other). On Monday, we looked at using smaller items (straws, paper clips, blocks, ones cubes, etc) to measure other large items (window, carpet, desk, etc). Challenge your child to show you their measuring abilities at home!

Addition and Subtraction to 18-Although we have just begun this unit, it is a unit that continues on throughout the year. We are starting to look at the relationship between addition and subtraction. For example: 5+6=11 and 6+5=11 and 11-5=6 and 11-6=5. This is quite an abstract thought for most students. There is no overdoing this! Simple questions at home are a good review for them. By the end of Grade 2, students should be able to recall (from memory without any help) addition and subtraction to 12.

Science
We are wrapping up our Hot and Cold unit this week. Today we talked about hazards and rules of household items and situations (ex. BBQ, space heaters, hot tubs, the beach, etc) where we need to be cautious of temperatures. We will be looking at insulators later this week to determine which insulator is the best for hot and cold water.

Jan 26-29, 2015

It's a short week! There are A LOT of illnesses going around in our class, so I encourage each child to wash their hands regularly and get extra sleep. Please do not hesitate to keep your child home if they are sick.
Scholastic Book Orders are due Thursday.
Report Cards go home on Thursday.
Spelling Test on Thursday (it is a review week of the past 5 lessons, so there are 20 words and I will select 10).

Reminder that our Field Trip to the Telus World of Science is on Monday. We will leave PROMPTLY at 8:35am. Students are asked to bring a bag lunch (everything can be disposed of).

Jan 19-23, 2015

Lots of 'little' things over the next week or two:
-Permission forms for the field trip to the Telus World of Science (on Feb 2) are due on Jan 27. If you can volunteer to help us this day, please fill out the purple sheet attached to the permission forms.
-The Lego contest is underway. If your child plans to participate, please send all entries in by Jan 27 at 3pm. They can be sent in any day until then.
-Scholastic book orders were sent home yesterday. They are due back Jan 29.

LA
Writing-This week we are continuing to discuss 'effective extended endings.' The focus is on a hope/wish, decision, feeling, or memory. In association to that, we talked about the difference between 'telling' a characters' feelings, and 'showing' a characters feelings. Both ways are effective, however, I encourage students to include character feelings in their writing.

SWAT-The Leduc Jr High SWAT team will be in on Wednesday to help us set goals with the students. This is a great opportunity for both the Grade 2 class and the Jr High students to participate in. They will be joining our class once/month to work on different topics/activities. These are all led under the direction of the SWAT teacher.

Journals-Our journals this week were about a favorite winter activity/pass time. I find that some students are struggling to recall information and memories, so I encourage you to review activities you are doing with your child. Have a conversation with them at the dinner table about what they learned in school, and on Sunday evening you can talk about what they did this past weekend that they enjoyed the most.

Math
Now that our patterns unit is finished, we will begin our Measurement unit. This will begin next week as we are finishing our Numbers unit this week as well.
Here is a good game to try: Write down 10 numbers on separate pieces of paper (0-100). Have the child arrange them in numerical order.
Yes, it sounds simple, however your child is practicing the order of numbers. This is an important skill for them to master. Encourage them to start with the 10s number then the 1s number.
 Ex. 28
Tens column: 2
Ones column: 8

Science
This week our focus is on body temperature. We did an activity today that allowed the students to learn about 'normal body temperature' (which is 37 degrees Celcius), then test their body temperature. Ask your child about what they found out!

Social
As a wrap up activity to our Social unit, the students were able to play a board game that allowed them to explore the different activities that you could do in each of our 4 communities. It was neat to see the students make connections to their textbook and what we have learned about each community and apply it to the game.

Jan 12-16, 2015

Another 5 day week is upon us. Please check the schedule ("What's Coming Up" tab) to see what we have going on beyond the curriculum.

Last week was quite the adjustment for most students. We talked about 4 important things to remember:
1. Get more sleep! Your child needs minimum 10 hours of sleep every night. Sending them to bed 30 minutes before the 'usual time', can lead to higher success and more positive class time.
2. Eat healthy. Fruits! Vegetables! Keeps us energized and is better for our bodies. Although the sugary pre-packaged food is easier for parents to pack in a child's lunch, the result of these products is very obvious in the classroom. I encourage you to pack a variety of fruits and vegetables in their lunch.
3. Wash your hands. There are a lot of illnesses going around, anything from stomach to colds/flu. A simple prevention technique is washing your hands with soap and water. I encourage washing their hands instead of hand sanitizer before every meal.
4. Dress Warm! There have been multiple times where I have to ask "where are your mittens?" and the response? "Mom didn't pack them!" I encourage students to take accountability and pack their bag and think of all of these things before they leave the house. With the ever-changing weather lately (and the history of January weather in Alberta), I do not let students outside with a hat and mitts/gloves. Instead of packing your child's backpack in the morning, ask them "what will you need to wear outside for recess today?" This allows them to think and prepare for the day ahead.

Language Arts
Writing-This week in writing we are discussing 2 major topics: character detail and effective story endings. Character detail allows the reader to understand exactly what the character looks like, is wearing, sounds like, how he/she moves, etc. This character detail is also not to come in the form of "He has blue pants. He has red lips. He has hazel eyes. He has big feet." We are exploring different ways to introduce characteristics that are exciting to the reader.
Effective story endings can be challenging because most students want to finish the story quickly and forget to wrap up details. We will be exploring different ways (using feelings, sounds, emotions, connections) to end a story.
Reading-This is a reminder that students are being asked to complete 4 hours of reading at home during the month of January. Please record this in your child's red duotang and return it to school for every hour read. I have noticed more and more students about asking to download RazKids at home on a phone or tablet...Please do!!! This time spent on RazKids also counts towards home reading. If you have questions, please contact me.

Math
Patterns-Our patterns test will be this Thursday Jan 15. A review of what will be on the test will be on Tuesday during our math time.

Science
Hot and Cold Temperatures-Still our focus for the week, but we will be looking at thermometers and measuring temperature using these instruments.

Social
Wrapping up our unit about the communities of Saskatoon, Iqaluit, and Meteghan and moving onto the cultures of these communities (before the end of January).

January 5-9, 2015

Welcome back and Happy New Year! I hope you all had a restful holidays with your kids and got to spend some quality time with your family and friends.
This week we are spending a bit of time getting back into the 'swing of things'.
We will still have a spelling test on Friday with the 10 new words.

The students were informed about a Lego Building Competition that is coming up. Although more information will be going home in the school newsletter, here are some rules:
-Lego kits cannot be used, however, the pieces from the kits can be included in the final piece
-Lego is the only item that can be used
-All submissions are due by Thursday Jan 29 at 3pm
-Pieces must be ORIGINAL and cannot be larger than 15" x 15"
-Students will be asked to 'name' their piece
-We do not recommend parents going out and purchasing Lego. Students have been asked to use the Lego that they already own.
-This is completely optional. There will be a winner from each Division (Grade 1-3 and Grade 4-6) who will receive a beautiful Lego masterpiece book.
-Judging will occur Feb 2-12 and a winner will be announced on Feb 13 at the Assembly.
ENTRIES WILL BE ACCEPTED BETWEEN MONDAY JAN 19 AND THURSDAY JAN 29 AT 3PM
*Please look for more information or email me.

LA
I loved reading the journal entries this week. We focused on their holidays, what they did, any presents they got, who they spent time with, etc.
This week in phonics we will be reviewing long and short vowels that rhyme.
In our writing, we are discussing how to make an exciting beginning of a story. An exciting story beginning includes: an action, dialogue, a wonder/worry, and a loud sound. As a class, we brainstormed some ideas (focusing on an action, dialogue, a wonder/worry, and a sound) about a girl going into the woods when suddenly, she is met by an animal. Each student was then able to try writing their own story beginning. The students were very creative!
Each week, we focus on our writing and parts of our writing, but the students also get a story prompt for them to practice using these writing skills learned in other lessons.
I encourage you to ask questions after your child has finished reading at home. Some examples are: "What is happening in the story?" "Who is the main character?" "Where does he/she live?" "Who are his/her friends?" "What is the problem in the story?" "What happened before this part in the story?" These types of questions are important to improve your child's comprehension and allows them to focus on parts of the story that piece together.

Math
We are coming to an end of our Patterns unit. We will have a short 'test' next week to check for their understanding of the unit.
Also, our Numbers to 100 unit is almost done, but we still have a few lessons left. One of the lessons this week is focusing on 'comparing numbers' and being able to determine (between 2 groups) which has more. We will also be looking at a sequence of numbers and determine a number that is missing. For example: 24, 25, 26, ___, 28, 29. Which number is missing?

Science
We are still focusing on our 'Hot and Cold' unit. The students are really starting to apply their knowledge to other areas (school atmosphere, noticing things at home that are hot and cold, etc).
We are going to have a field trip on Feb 2 to the Telus World of Science. Keep your eyes out for a information pack coming home about this Field Trip.

Social
Our discussions this week in social are about mapping and directions. Using a compass rose can be confusing at this age, but they are really getting the hang of it. On Tuesday, we used a 'paper map' and 'Google Maps' to find East Elementary School. They really enjoyed using both maps, but loved the fact that they could use the 'street view' to see the school.