December 20

Hello Parents/Guardians! 

We are wishing you all a restful and fun winter break.  See you in 2020!!  

**Reminder: The first day back to school for students is Tuesday January 7th.  

W.O.W (Words of the Week) Words: 

W.O.W words will continue after the break.

Weekly Highlights:

• This week in LIteracy we read the story, The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg.  We then created an art piece in our visual journals.  We used crayons for the background to create the sky and the northern lights.  We then used construction paper to create our very own Polar Express Train using a variety of shapes.  Near the end of the story, Santa asks the main character to tell him what his wish is for Christmas.  The boy wishes for a bell from Santa’s sleigh.  The students brainstormed their very own wish for Christmas.  Some of the things students wished for were: a rainbow, a unicorn, a doggie, PS4 video games.
• This week we practiced reading fluently.  Fluency includes: reading rate, stress (emphasizing certain words such as bold text), paying attention to punctuation, intonation (making your voice go up/down or loud/soft), accuracy (making sure what you read makes sense), and phrasing (reading in smooth phrases rather than word by word).  
• We participated in an afternoon of fun activities with all of our Grade 1 friends.  The different activities were: building, ipads, and colouring.
• We ended the week watching the movie The Polar Express!  To celebrate we decorated sugar cookies with icing and sprinkles and drank hot chocolate.  It was delicious!
• This week we participated in school wide carolling.  It was so much fun to gather with all of our friends and sing together!

Reminders:

Winter Break:

The first day back after winter break is Tuesday January 7th for students.  Have a wonderful winter break!

Report Cards:

Report cards went home on Wednesday December 18th.  Please keep the report card document at home and return the brown envelope to school. 

Raz-Kids:

Raz-Kids will be available for students to use over the break.  This is an easy way to have your child continue to practice their reading in a fun and interactive way.  The Raz-Kids app is free to download.  We will be awarding extra stars to students who read over the break!

Field Trips:

We are looking for volunteers for the upcoming full day field trip on Monday February 24th to Glenbow Museum.  If you have your security clearance and would like to volunteer for this field trip please contact Kirsten Ledergerber at kcutress@hotmail.com.  Please watch the field trip forms which will be going home near the end of January.  The cost of the field trip is $20.00.  Please log into your Power School account to pay this fee.  If you have any issues with payment please contact the office at 403-777-6660. 

Parent Council Meeting:

All parents are invited to attend the Parent Council meetings each month.  On Thursday January 9th at 7pm the Grade 1 Team will be sharing what we have been working on this year and what we have coming up in the next few months.

Ask Me About:

1. Log into your Raz-Kids account and read at least 5 books over the winter break. 
2. Spend time with your family and play outside!

December 9 - 13

W.O.W (Words of the Week) Words: 

1. are
2. now
3. came
4. ride
5. into

Weekly Highlights:

• In Social Studies this week we began learning about Indigenous people and the importance of the buffalo (bison) for their survival.  We explored a Buffalo Kit from Fort Calgary that had Indigenous artifacts, and learned how to safely handle items from a museum.  We got to hold each one, carefully look at all the details, and guess what each object was used for. We will have another opportunity to work with the Buffalo Kit again next week. 
• We finished reading the Magic Tree House, Dinosaurs Before Dark by Mary Pope Osborne.  In these Magic Tree House books the characters travel back in time to different places.  Next we will be starting to read Buffalos Before Breakfast. In this specific book they travel back to the prairies.  The story is set in the United States but we have been making connections to this same time frame here in Canada and the way the Blackfoot people lived.
• In Math, we continued learning about measurement.  We learned more about length and compared lengths of different objects.  We also learned about weight (mass) and how to compare the mass of different objects.  We used the words lighter and heavier to compare different objects. We learned that when items change shape their weight doesn’t change.  For example, a piece of paper doesn’t change weight when it is crumpled up, or a ball of clay doesn’t change weight when it is flattened like a pancake.  We had a lot of fun exploring with the balance scales.  
• We saw our Grade 6 buddies perform for us in the music space this week.  They did a great job!

Reminders:

SVS Christmas Hampers:

The Christmas season is upon us! It is a time many families look forward to the gathering of family and friends, the sharing of gifts and a warm meal. Unfortunately, not all families are able to participate in many of these activities which most of us take for granted. 

In previous years, the SVS staff and community have had the pleasure of being able to help some of our SVS families during this time. We will again be supporting a few of our families by providing them with gift cards. The most asked for are to Superstore and Walmart but any card will be accepted. 

You can show your support by purchasing a gift card and dropping it off at the office by December 13th. We will then distribute the cards to the families the last week of school. Thank you for your generosity and care. 

Calgary Food Bank:

From now until December 17^th we will be collecting non-perishable food items for the Calgary Food Bank. Foodbank boxes have now been placed around the school to accept any and all donations.

The Show Must Go On: A performance by grade four, five, and six students

Cast A Wednesday December 11th - Doors open at 6:15PM

Cast B Thursday December 12th - Doors open at 6:15PM

Admission: Free

All students in grades four, five and six have signed up for one of the following groups.  Ask your child if they have been assigned to Cast A (Wednesday, December 11th Performance) or Cast B (Thursday, December 12th performance).  Students in non-performing groups are not required to attend the night of the performances.

Performing Groups:

• Acting
• Dance
• Choir
• Instruments
• Comedy

Non-Performing Groups

• Art (set design and posters)
• Video Production

Story Synopsis

In The Show Must Go On, student actors perform as teachers in the school. 

After spending months perfecting the three act musical Cats, the Simons Valley Drama club is forced to come up with a new plan. Cats is unexpectedly cancelled, but the Junior Tony Award judge is scheduled to come in just a few days to watch the school’s performance. Since Mr. Snow was a young boy, he has always dreamed of winning the Junior Tony Award - The top prize a school can win for it’s theatrical performance. He informs the Drama Club that they must come up with a new plan.

The teachers realize they won’t have time to put together another full three act musical, and everyone has a different idea of what to do. Mrs. Blyth and Mrs. Boulanger want the students to perform a dance routine. Mrs. Reeve and Mrs. Fuller think the students should sing choir style. Mrs. Sinden and Mrs. Moncrieff think that playing musical instruments is the way to go. Mrs. Neumiller wants the students to perform her original creation entitled “The Neumiller Special”

Can the Simons Valley School Drama Club get on the same page and win the Junior Tony Award? Find out December 11th and 12th as Simons Valley School presents The Show Must Go On.

Ask Me About:

1. Which artifact from the Buffalo kit was my favourite?

1. Describe the artifact
2. What was it used for?

2. Log into your Raz-Kids account and read at least 2 books this weekend! 

            If you read at least 2 books you will be awarded bonus stars to spend on your    

            Raz rocket or Raz robot!