Friday, September 20th

Hello Parents/Guardians!

Each Friday we will be posting a blog which will provide information about what we did throughout the week and any important information and reminders.  If you would like to receive a notification when the blog is posted you can use the follow by email option.  Enter your email address in the box at the top of the page that says “Follow by Email.”  

W.O.W (Words of the Week) Words:

1. you
2. it
3. in
4. for
5. look 

Bonus words:

1. red
2. brown
3. orange
4. yellow

These are 5 words that we will be working with all week.  The W.O.W words are words students will encounter while reading and when writing independently.  Here are some ideas of what you can do at home with the W.O.W words:

• Make flash cards and have your child practice reading them.
• Look for these words when reading each night.  Home reading hasn’t yet started but students can use their library books or books they have at home.
• Have your child practice writing the W.O.W words
• Make the W.O.W words out of playdoh
• Look for the Secret Story spelling patterns in the W.O.W words. (letter sounds chunks, eg. th)
• Tell you a sentence using the W.O.W words.
• Write a sentence using the W.O.W words.

Weekly Highlights:

• We reviewed the letter sounds and have started to introduce a few of our secret stories (vowel sounds & spelling patterns-th, sh, ch).  For example we learned the “th” secret story: t and h get very silly and do not like each other when they are together, they stick out their tongues and say thhhhhh.  We will continue to introduce more secret stories as the weeks progress.    
• Subitizing has been a big focus this week.  Students have been working on identifying objects at a glance without having to count each one.  We also reviewed counting objects and remembering that the last number that we say is how many objects that we have.  Students also learned the importance of always double checking your work. When asked to draw 7 circles, after drawing make sure to go back and count that you have drawn the correct amount.

• We continued to work on printing skills and printed letters Aa, Dd, Gg, and Bb.  When printing, students were reminded to always start at the top.  We also practiced saying the letter sounds and brainstormed words that started with the letters we printed. 
• In Social Studies we are talking about how to be a good friend.

Reminders:

Picture Day:   Picture day for Grade 1 is on Monday September 23.

Toonies for Terry:  Simons Valley school is raising money for cancer research.  We are collecting toonies for Terry.  If you wish to donate please send your cash donation in a plastic bag labeled with your child’s name inside your child’s communication folder.  We will be collecting donations until our Terry Fox Run on Friday September 27.  Last year the school raised $980.20 and this year our goal is to raise $1400 (approx. $2.00 per student).  If we meet this goal our school Librarian has pledged to dye her hair PINK!!

Library:   Students have begun taking home library books. This is an opportunity for your child to pick a book of their choice. Like the public library they may keep the book for as short or as long as they wish, however they are still assigned a “due date”.  If they have the book signed out past the due date a notice will be sent home in their mail folder as a reminder, should you wish to continue enjoying the book your child can renew it. If you have lost the book, your child will be unable to take out a new book until it has either been found or the fee to replace the book has been paid. Our library is closed on Fridays and there will be no library exchange available. 

Fundraiser: This is a reminder that the Big Box card fundraiser is over Monday, September 30. Please return all money and any unsold boxes of cards to your child’s teacher by that date.

Home Reading: We will be starting the home reading program this week. Your child will be bringing home a book which is at their independent reading level. Please have them read the book to you and then write one sentence about it in the Home Reading journal. Remember that you are your child’s first and best teacher and the time that you spend reading with them is invaluable.

Headphones:

We are kindly requesting that parents send in a pair of headphones in a plastic bag labeled with your child’s name.  We would like to use these headphones during our Daily 5 stations when doing listen to reading (Raz-Kids).  The headphones will be stored in your child’s individual book box and be kept at school to be used until the end of the year.  Please do not feel obligated to get fancy expensive headphones, dollar store headphones will work fine.  Please ensure that your child is able to independently put on and take off these headphones.   

School Emails:

Please make sure that you have subscribed to receive important school emails.  See the information from the school website below:

To subscribe to receive commercial electronic messages, go to www.cbe.ab.ca/subscribe to enter your email address and click Subscribe.  Please enter the same email address where you receive other school messages and that you use to log into MyCBE, if applicable.  (Note: the link will open outside of CBE's website).

In addition, to opt-in to receive any text messages, use your cell phone to text the word YES to the six-digit number 724665

If you have already subscribed and still aren’t receive emails please chekc your junk mail folder.

Communication Books:

Please make sure to check your child’s folder and communication book each day and return it to school. After checking your child’s communication please leave it open to the current page.  If you have a note for you child’s teacher it can be written in here.  

Ask Me About:

1. What are some things that happen in the Fall? (e.g. squirrels collect food to prepare for Winter, leaves fall off the trees, people watch/play football)
2. Watch this video and have your child practice subitizing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PSlA-u_ABmU&t=21s
3. Look around for the W.O.W words we did last week.  Can you find them in your library book or in books at home.  
4. Here is a great video that reviews the sounds for each individual letter and letter sound chunks:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DUtP3TS5RRs  In the classroom we are not using the gestures that are shown in the video but the video helps give you an idea of the sounds for each letter.