Welcome back to our weekly blog

Hello Parents/Guardians!

Each Friday we will be posting a blog which will provide information about what we did throughout the week, 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.”  Important dates related to the grade 1s are listed on the right hand side of the page.  For more information about school events please check the school website: http://school.cbe.ab.ca/school/simonsvalley/about-us/calendar/Pages/default.aspx There is also an option to change the language by clicking on the drop down box at the top of the page.

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

1. I
2. and
3. to
4. the
5. a

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 will use when writing.  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 have spent a lot of time this week working on daily routines, appropriate classroom behaviour, and getting to know each other.  
• We started looking at sorting objects using a variety of attributes.  We talked about how we use sorting in our everyday lives (e.g. when putting groceries away)

• We are working on printing skills and will continue over the next few weeks.  When printing students were reminded to always start at the top.  We also brainstormed words that started with the letters we printed this week.
• We practice identifying uppercase and lowercase letters and learned the letter sounds.  We specifically looked at vowels (a, e, i, o, u, y) and how they have more than one sound.
• Grade 1 teachers rotated between classes to teach a lesson based on a picture book and to meet all of the Grade 1 students.
• This week we had our first fire drill practice.  Students did a great job staying quiet and exiting the building safely. 

Reminders:

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/s​ubscribe 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.

Forms:

Please make sure to fill out and return the brown envelope of forms. 

Communication Books:

Please make sure to check your child’s folder and communication book each day. This folder must be returned to school each day. After checking your child’s communication please leave it open to the current page.

Parent Teacher Conferences:

These conferences opportunity for you to meet your child’s teacher and for the teacher to get some more information about your child.  This is not a meeting about your child’s academic performance as we are still getting to know your child.

Watch for the email with information about when booking for these conferences will open.  This is the first year we are using PowerSchool we apologize in advance for any glitches, please be patient.  

Dismissal:

All students are expected to exit through the same doors that they enter through each day.  If your child has an older sibling that they will be going home with please remind them to exit through their own door and meet at a predetermined location.  Students were reminded that if they cannot find the person they are going home with they are to come back into the school and wait in the office for safety.  If you know you will be late please contact the office.  If you arrive late and do not see your child at their door please look for your child at the office.

PowerSchool:

Please make sure that you signed up for a powerschool account.  

Create a MyCBE/PowerSchool Account

1. Go to www.cbe.ab.ca/mycbe and click on the “Create Parent Account” link.
2. Important: the email that you are using to create your account must be the same one you have provided to the school. If you are unsure, please contact the school office.
3. Once you have created an account, you will receive a confirmation email. 
4. After your account is confirmed, you can login to the system.

Picture Day:

Pictures are scheduled for September 23, 24, and 25. We have not received any information about which day the Grade 1’s will have their picture taken but we will notify you once we have the exact date.

Ask Me About

What are the names of the 5 grade 1 teachers?

The Secret Stories for the letters “th” and “ey and ay”?