Mrs. Kathy Gurr K/1 Div. 6 Room 202 June 2017 June will be our busiest month yet, so hold on tight and prepare for a wonderful ride. Program Information We’ve had some very interesting talks over the course of the last month about life cycles and we are eagerly watching the development of our tadpoles and now the snails too (they mated and had babies in our tank)! We continue visiting with Gizmo at the pond. We’ve started to look at plants, habitats and environmental impacts with a focus on aboriginal history and culture on Gabriola. Theme Digest In June we are going to turn our attention to larger mammals found in our area, specifically whales. We’ll continue and complete our science/environmental studies and we will be creating our own Gizmo stories to help us begin developing our story writing skills. Keeping our learning place based has been inspiring for me this year and now I can’t image teaching any other way! Gabriola is an amazing place to teach and learn. Bike or walk to School week This week, May 28th to June 2nd encourages everyone to try to walk, ride and use human power to get safely to school. Mrs. Gurr and Ms. Svensson will be leading bike convoys to school on Friday, June second. See notice sent home last week for details. Getting Enough Sleep? I know with baseball and other summer activities starting, combined with longer daylight hours, it is challenging to get children to bed and encourage best sleep practices. I am noticing some very tired children at school these days…yawn. I recently heard an interview on CBC about this. Here are some recommendations: The Canadian Pediatric Society advises:
Field Trip Quarter We will be having two fieldtrips in June; Newcastle Island with Mrs. Tufnail’s class on Friday, June 9th and on Wednesday, June 28, all students and parents in Mrs. Gurr’s class are invited to a picnic potluck lunch at Mr. and Mrs. Gurr’s house. We will need parent volunteers to help make these important special events a success. Please see attached picnic notice and watch for the Newcastle note coming home as well. Summer Birthday Celebrations We have one June birthday and two summer birthdays that we will be celebrating in June. LID showcase We have been working hard on our LID projects at school. On Thursday, June 1st, parents and community members are invited to the school to view our learning in depth projects from 1:45 to 2:30. Children will have their projects set up and on display in their classrooms. Please come have a look at these works in progress. My students will be taking home their education boards and clay creations at the end of the showcase. Your child will need help transporting this home. Children may continue with their LID research this summer. Celebration of Learning Thanks parents and family members for attending the student-lead conferences at the end of April. We had 100% attendance and the children were thrilled to display their learning to you. Permaculture DaysOn three Monday mornings in June (June 5, 12 and 19) all students in the school will be participating in Permaculture days in multi age groups. We will be studying the 13 principles of permaculture with a place based approach and mostly outdoors. Fun Day Friday, June 23 will be fun day for the whole school. The children will be taking part in a variety of fun outdoor fitness geared activities. Be sure your child is wearing a hat, sunscreen and sturdy shoes. Summer Reading Please consider ordering some summer reading books at your child’s just right reading level or plan trips to the library in order to continue your child’s reading practice over the summer. This way their skills will continue to develop. This home practice, leads the way to a smoother transition into the next grade. The scholastic book order will be due back on June 5th. Year-End assembly, BBQ and Reports On Thursday, June 29th (our last day of school), the year-end assembly will begin at 10:45 am. and will be followed by a PAC sponsored BBQ. Children will receive their report cards on this day as well. If your child will not be at school on this day, please leave mailing instructions at our school office and the report will be sent to you over the summer. Reports will not be released early. Learning support at Home Please continue with the daily reading and spelling at home and record each time your child reads with you on the reading calendar. Send the calendar back on Tuesday, June 27 th . Sabbatical I have shared with the children that next school year; I will be away on a sabbatical (one year leave of absence) travelling around the world with my husband. I will return to teach at Gabriola School in September of 2018. Summer Thoughts We have two daughters aged 21 and 23 and I dearly miss those precious times when they were little. Here is a poem for parents to ponder and keep in mind over the summer. To My Grown-Up Son or Daughter My hands were busy through the day I didn’t have much time to play, The little game you ask me to, I didn’t have much time for you. I’d wash your clothes; I’d sew and cook, But when you’d bring your picture book And ask me to share your fun, I’d say “A little later hon!” I’d tuck you in all safe at night, And hear your prayers, turn out the light. Then tip toe softly to the door… I wish I’d stayed a minute more. For life is short, the years rush past… A little child grows up so fast. No longer is she at your side, With precious secrets to confide. The picture books are put away, There are no longer games to play, No good-night kiss, no prayer to hear… That all belongs to yesteryear. My hands, once busy, now are still, The days are long and hard to fill. I wish I could go back and do The little things you asked me to… Author unknown Year-End Picnic I would like to have a year-end picnic for our class on Wednesday, June 28. In the past, I have found this to be a very important and much loved event and such a nice way to end our year together. My husband and I would like to invite all parents and children from my class to a picnic in our yard. Children would come to school as usual Wednesday morning then the school bus will take us to the corner of South Road and Stokes where we will walk up 1km to our house on Oyster Way. We will be asking that parents contribute to our picnic snacks (enough to be shared by all 19 children, parents and a few extras for younger siblings). Please fill out the attached form and return it ASAP, Thanks. I enjoy working with you and your child. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me or leave me a note in the planner or back and forth folder. Sincerely yours, Mrs. Kathy L. Gurr
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With summer just around the corner, this month will be packed full of fun and interesting learning opportunities and many will take place outdoors! Hopefully sunscreen and hats will be in order. Program Information Thanks parents for coming to the Celebration of Learning and for helping support the Read-at-Home and spelling programs now underway. Children who make the most progress are the ones who have parents and caring adults who support their learning at school. Our Gabriolan children are lucky to have so much support from home! This month, we will continue learning with an additional emphasis placed on mathematics, health and science. Language skills will continue to be integrated with math, science and health studies. Theme Digest May’s learning theme will continue to focus on the life cycles of frogs, butterflies and plants. As you may have heard we plan to have seeds, and caterpillars living and growing in our classroom along with the tadpoles. These living things will live out their full life cycle for us to see. We will be releasing the adult butterflies into the garden at the end of our study. The tadpoles (when they develop into frogs), will be returned to my neighbor’s pond on Gabriola Island. We will also incorporate a story writing unit into this topic and the children will write their own stories about frogs, tadpoles, bugs, butterflies, plants etc. Birthday Broadcast There are no May birthdays. We will be celebrating three birthdays next month. One June Birthday and 2 summer birthdays, this way no one misses out. Show and Tell Bulletin For show and tell in May we will continue with the nature box. The children are to bring “things from nature” to show us and tell us about. Each child will have an assigned show and tell day and a small nature box will come home with them the day before their show and tell day. You can start helping your child think of something to bring for this special show and tell. You will know it is your child’s turn when the nature box comes home with him/her from school. Please be sure to send the box back the next day as another child will be anxiously awaiting his/her turn. Gym Journal We have completed a floor hockey unit with help from Hunter’s dad. THANKS Jeff! We then worked on our Frisbee skills and traditional circle games like London Bridge is Falling Down, Farmer in the Dell and Do You Know the Muffin Man? Much of our PE time will be outdoors from now until the end of June. We are planning some indoor Yoga time as well. Social Skills Synopsis Our social skills focus this month will be on making good learning choices and staying on task. Field Trip Quarter We had a fantastic time on our trip to Mad Rona’s for hot chocolate. Many big smiles and such polite manners! I am sure we would be welcomed there again. Our next trip will be on May 24. We will revisit the Gabriola museum with a focus on how we shape the local environment and how the environment shapes us, including key events and developments in the local community and in the local First people’s communities. We will spend time outdoors looking at the petroglyphs and studying native plants and uses. Joan Merrifield will guide us through this process. Special Guests We had a special guest artist teach us how to do contour drawings and the children were fully engaged in this for two full hours. Baby Oliver came for his second visit with his mom and we noticed some amazing changes in him! Gardening at the Commons We helped Sacha do some weeding in the gardens last week and we will continue to help out in the garden each Thursday after lunch. Please be sure your child is dressed for gardening on Thursdays. Feel free to send gardening gloves for your child if they have a pair. Make sure they are labelled with your child’s name. Nature Walk to the Pond Each Friday afternoon we continue to go on our nature walks and last Friday we had an exciting development! We actually saw Gizmo the turtle sunning on the bank of the pond. Jeff identified the turtle as a Red Eared Slider (not native to Gabriola). We also spotted goldfish. This is perhaps the pond of misfit pets? However we did find a mystery egg and a deer crossed our path on the way back to school. Such excitement! Celebration of Learning Thanks again for attending this event with your child. I was impressed with the goal setting that the children did with you. It will give them each a new focus for their learning and help us get ready for the next grade. If you took home the white sheet with the Quick-Scale snapshot of your child’s learning progress, please return it to me at school. I will update these documents again in May and send the final copy home for you in June. This way you can look for the progress your child has made since February. Read at home program Thank you for your support of the read-at-home program so far. The children are very excited about this. Please make every effort to continue to read daily with your child. The calendar must be returned at the end of the month for your child to be entered into a free book draw. You will find a new calendar and note in your child’s back and forth folder for May and June. Please be sure to send the classroom book back daily. We need the books to stay in circulation daily, thanks. Watch for the books that the children will be making at school, these can be read for read at home and then kept at home to be read again and again. I enjoy working with you and your child. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me or leave me a note in the back and forth folder or planner. Sincerely yours, Mrs. Kathy L. Gurr Spring is here! We have many exciting things planned this month.
Program Information As you know, I have been keeping a portfolio of some of your child’s art and written work at school. As work and projects are completed they are added to your child’s files. We will be having our special celebration of learning on April 27, where you are invited to come celebrate your child’s learning in our classroom. Look for more details to come. Other program notes; although reading writing and social skills will continue to be a strong focus, additional emphasis will be placed on mathematics, health and science this term. Language skills will be integrated with math, science and health studies. Theme Digest April and May’s learning will focus around the Joys of Spring. I have already been sharing some of the upcoming plans with the children and they are getting very excited. Included in the Joys of Spring theme will be a science study focus on life cycles including butterflies, bugs, frogs, and plants. Spirit Week This first week back is our school spirit week. Tuesday, is wacky hair day, Wednesday, sport jersey day, Thursday, favourite character day and Friday is rainbow day. Please help your child dress up accordingly. Social Skills Synopsis Our social skills focus will be on following instructions:
Show and Tell Bulletin Following the complements box our show and tell will involve the children bringing “things from nature” to show us and tell us about. Each child will have an assigned show and tell day and a small nature box will come home with them the day before their show and tell day. You can start helping your child think of something to bring for this special show and tell. You will know it is your child’s turn when the nature box comes home with him/her from school. Please be sure to send the box back the next day as another child will be anxiously awaiting a turn. Guest Speaker and Guest Artists Last month we had a special guest from GIRO (Michelle) come to teach us about zero waste and waste free lunches and we also had Graham of Sunstone Pottery come to help us contribute to a clay tile installation being added to one of our outer school walls. On April 11th, we’ll have another guest artist visiting to do another special art project with us followed by an art show in the gym on the 13th. Birthday Broadcast We will be celebrating one Birthday in April. I&I Teacher Ms. Culbertson will be back with us once a week to help us work on our LID projects. It is so much fun and such a bonus for the children to have two teachers collaborating and team teaching together. I enjoy working with her. Garden Notes The children will soon be returning to their work and learning in the garden once a week with gardening expert Sacha. The garden project is ongoing until the end of June. Field Trip Update Last month we won second prize in the Great Gabriola Food Fight Challenge and we won free hot chocolate and a small treat at Mad Rona’s. I am planning this as a walking fieldtrip on Friday, April 21st leaving the school at 10:00 am. We will need several parents to help us walk safely to this exciting destination. Let me know if you are able to help us out by filling out the note at the end of this letter. Thanks. Learning support at Home Mathematics will take a more in-depth focus in our classroom this month. We will begin doing daily addition and subtraction problems using dice and the small toys in the math bins. Grade ones will also be working out addition and subtraction problems in their math books. Children’s stories and literature are also wonderful ways of representing mathematics in a practical context. Check out some of the following books for your daily home reading time: Anno’s Counting Book - by Mitsumasa Anno The Shopping Basket – by John Burningham The Most amazing Hide-and Seek Counting Book – by R Crowther The Doorbell Rang – by Pat Hutchings One Duck, Another Duck - by Charlotte Ponerantz These books will allow you to initiate some discussion about mathematics as a natural part of enjoying the stories. Spelling and Read-at-Home Program We have started a weekly spelling program. Your child will bring home a list of words to study at home and we will have a spelling test each Friday. On April 10th we will begin our read at home program, the children are very excited. Please make an effort to read every day with your child. A note will come home with all the details along with a book in a zip lock bag or in the planner pocket. I enjoy working with you and your child. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me or leave me a note in the planner or back and forth folder. Sincerely yours, Mrs. Kathy L. Gurr EXTRA! EXTRA! . . . DATES TO MARK ON YOUR CALENDAR April 5 – Hot lunch April. 4 -7 School spirit week April 11 – Guest artist April 13 – Art show in the gym 1:45 – 2:20 April 14 to 17 – Easter break April 19 – Hot lunch April 20 – Earth Quake simulation April 21 – Mad Rona’s walking trip April 27 – Celebration of learning Soon, you will receive an invitation from your child to come and celebrate their learning. This will be a very special event to your child. Please mark the date on your calendar and make time to come in and see the work they have been doing at school. If you cannot attend please arrange for another significant adult to attend with your child. It will take place in an open house format from 5:00 to 7:00 pm. on Thursday, April 27. You are welcome to come with your child at any time during the two hours. Please allow 20 to 30 minutes for your child to guide you through the activities. This is an important night for your child to have your undivided attention, so please make arrangements for siblings to stay at home or elsewhere during this learning celebration. ------------------------------------------------------- Cut off this portion and sign and return it to school as soon as possible Walking trip to Mad Rona’s I will/ I will not be able to help with this trip (circle one) on Friday, April, 21st from 10:00 – 11:30 am. ____________________________________________ Parents name _________________________ Phone number ____________________________________________ Child’s name What happened to February? With spring break, March is a short month at school too. Here is a brief update on what’s happening.
Program Information During our friendship theme in February, I was proud of the children and their astute understanding of the complexities of friendship. With snow, illnesses, power outages, Family Day and Pro D we had many interruptions to our learning in February and it went by so quickly. So, March’s learning will continue around the theme of friendship. Report Cards Envelopes Please return your child’s report card envelope to me with any comments about the new reporting process that you may have. Thanks to those who already have done so. Social Studies and Social Skills Our social skills focus will be on friendship and the needs and wants of individuals and families. We will examine different perspectives and make comparisons and interpretations. Friendship Skills 1. Smile 2. Use a friendly voice 3. Include others 4. Share and take turns 5. Be a good sport Birthday Broadcast We will celebrate 4 Birthdays in March. Language Arts learning The children are becoming strong independent learners and readily take part in daily literacy groups that support the following skills: reading to oneself, reading to others, listening to someone read, responding to something we have read, developing reading strategies, phonics awareness and reading vocabulary development. This will continue but we now shift focus towards emergent writing skills and processes. Storytelling and the elements of a story will be examined closely. We will be creating stories personal and imagined (fictional) as well as exchanging ideas discovered (factual) in writing, pictures and diagrams. Much of this process will happen during our LID project work time. What is LID? LID stands for learning in depth and is an approach where children are assigned a random topic to research and make discoveries about. It is very open-ended and the children are encouraged to follow their own directions within the topic, making connections with other students as they also explore their own topics. Each child becomes an expert on their own topic. The focus is on the learning process and not the topic. We will each be creating a LID project that involves applied design skills and students will be using tools and technologies to extend their capabilities (Ipads and computers) After this extensive study, we’ll take part in the year-end show case to celebrate our learning and expertise. Parents will be invited to celebrate with us and of course you are encouraged to help your child develop their knowledge of their topic at home. Parent volunteers would be a great help on Wednesday mornings when we could use readers to help us dig out more facts about our topics. Let me know if you are able to help us with this on a regular basis. Mathematics Our math centre time involves explorations of addition and subtraction concepts and the concepts of equality and inequality or balance and imbalance. We continue to practice transferring our hands-on knowledge to written work as well. Science Update Since September we have been taking regular nature walks to the forest or pond. Each week we have a new focus; we found mushrooms and several bird species and fascinating spider webs as well as an active ant hill. Rain walks answer our questions like; where do spiders go in the rain and what happens to the webs We’ve made many different sky, plant and tree observations and have been noticing seasonal changes all along. The snow walks were great fun! We were able to build in the snow and make snow angels and we even played fox and hare! We’ll take magnifying glasses out for close-up looks and maybe a blind-fold walk. We have made nature collections and outdoor art. The children are very adept at spotting things from nature vs. human made things. We are also talking about temperature and probability. We’ve engage all our senses during our explorations (sight, sound, touch, taste and smell) of the natural surroundings. This will continue until the end of June. It’s a very rich learning experience! Experiments: We have also conducted several experiments in the classroom with solids, liquids and gases and water properties of snow and water. Next we will be exploring measurement, pushes/pulls and light/sound. Gym Journal We are lucky to be able to take part in a Metis dance lesson. We continue working on skipping, and jump rope skills. Encourage your child to practice at home as this is a very challenging skill to learn. They are so proud when they accomplish growth here. Our first skating lesson was a great success. Thanks to the parents who helped us out, we really needed you! Sexual Health Sessions We will be taking part in two 45 minute sexual health education sessions with a Sex Ed professional on March 14th and 15th. Baby Oliver We were very excited to meet baby Oliver during our empathy lessons last week. We will get to see him once a month and watch him grow and change. Food Fight Challenge(caring for others) Our class will be part of the Gabriola food fight challenge. We will be collecting non-perishable foods for the food bank in competition with other classes and the Hope Centre. Please send items to school with your child. We will be weighing the total as part of the challenge. Show and Tell BulletinOur compliments box will now begin the rounds to every home. After this, watch for the Important Book coming your way. Your child will bring home a bag containing 2 books. One is the Important Book by Margaret Wise Brown and the other is Our Kindergarten/Grade One Important Book. Each child will be contributing to the second book, with your help. Please read the Important Book to your child and then write what is important about your child in the Kindergarten/Grade One Important Book and send it back to school for us to read in class. Spring Break Spring break is two weeks long and the last day of class will be on Friday, March 17. School will resume on Monday, April 3. Over the break, I will be sending home all shoes and extra sets of clothes that are at school now. Please check to see that everything still fits. After spring break please send back good fit inside gym shoes and a full change of spring/summer clothes to be kept at school until June. Garden project Our class will soon be taking part in the school garden project again. We’ll be assisting with many gardening tasks and learning so much along the way. Departure Bay Fieldtrip We will be going to Departure Bay School on March 16th to meet with our grade one buddy class again. We will explore the beach and share lunch with our new friends. This ties in well with our friendship and science themes. Celebration of Learning - Mark your calendar Next month you will receive an invitation from your child to come and celebrate their learning at school. This will be a very special event for your child. Please mark the date on your calendar and make time to come in and see the work that your child has been doing in grade One and Kindergarten. If you cannot attend please arrange for another significant adult to attend with your child. It will be done in an open house format from 4:30 pm to 6:30 pm. on Wednesday, April 12th. You are welcome to come with your child at any time during the two hours. Please allow 30 to 40 minutes for your child to guide you through the activities. This is an important night for your child to have your undivided attention, so please make arrangements for siblings to stay at home or elsewhere during the learning celebration. Thanks Talent Show The Hope Centre is sponsoring a Talent Show on Saturday, March 11. The entry fee is $5 and everyone is welcome to apply. Pick up forms in the school office. Learning support at Home K’s –Encourage your child to do “kid” writing about anything that is meaningful to them. Make it purposeful and fun. Don’t push. Accept all attempt’s at writing. Ones – Begin to encourage your child to write about things they know or to create stories or poems. Write a note to grandma or help create the shopping list. Provide space and time to write freely without expectations. Make it fun and interactive. EXTRA! EXTRA! . . . DATES TO MARK ON YOUR CALENDAR Mar.1 and 15 – Hot lunch Mar.3 – skating Mar.10 – skating Mar.-14&15 - Sex Ed. Mar.16 - Departure Bay Trip Mar.17 – skating and last day of food fight challenge. Mar.18 to April 2 – Spring break I enjoy working with you and your child. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me or leave me a note in the planner or back and forth folder. Sincerely yours, Mrs. Kathy L. Gurr Reports are coming home soon and I have been reflecting on the fact that, Gabriola children are unique and amazing learners. Great parenting is the key. Parents, you are doing an excellent job raising a remarkable group of Children!
Program Information I continue keeping a portfolio of your child’s art and written work at school. As work and projects are completed they will continue to be added to your child’s portfolio. You will be invited to a celebration of learning. During this event your child will be sharing their work and learning with you. Theme Digest February’s learning will focus around the theme of Valentine’s Day, friendship and caring for others. Language Arts Our daily reading groups are in full swing now and from now on we will be receiving extra teaching support (3 times a week) during some of these daily literacy lessons. This allows for more small group and one-to-one instruction from skilled teachers. Art We are expecting a special guest artist on February, 8th in the afternoon. Math Facts We continue to learn through a hands-on approach with math manipulatives and now we are branching into math work books to practice applying our skills on paper. Social Studies Guest Speaker We were very lucky to have a guest speaker from the Nanaimo Museum come to teach us about First Nations culture and share some artifacts with us. First Nations language classes Gena Seward will be coming to our classroom every Friday afternoon to teach First Nations language lessons. We look forward to this deeper understanding of our first peoples. Social Skills Synopsis Our social skills focus will be on giving and receiving compliments: Giving compliments
1. Listen 2. Make eye contact 3. Say “thank-you” Science Experimenting with the properties of matter (solids, liquids and gases) has been a fun focus in science lately. We’re doing hands-on experiments and have been learning about what it is like to be an observant scientist. We continue our regular trips into the forest, to the pond and the over to the Gabriola commons where we always make new and amazing discoveries. Gym Journal We have been very lucky to have Jenny Ivany volunteer to teach us a set of gymnastics lessons. She is an outstanding teacher and the children were thrilled! Planning ahead, we will soon start a set of skipping lessons. This can be a very challenging activity for young children. Please encourage this skill at home for more success at school. Thanks. Bus Safety The children were focused learners during our excellent bus safety lesson and practice bus trip. Please go over the facts learned in the yellow colouring book sent home with your child. Show and Tell Bulletin Along with the mystery bags, our new show and tell activity compliments our Valentine theme. On their special helper day, each child will draw the name of a classmate for the compliments box. He/she will bring the box with the chosen name home. At home, please help your child think of 3 compliments he/she can say about the chosen friend. Write your child’s compliment down and return the note in the compliments box the following day. We’ll read the compliments and display them at school. Each child’s compliment will then be added to their school portfolio. Field Trip Quarter We will be beginning a set of 4 skating lessons at the NIC on Friday, February 24. We have plans to visit our buddy class at Departure bay school in February as well. Notices with details will be coming home soon. Volunteer help will be required. Birthday Broadcast We will be celebrating three birthdays in February and we said farewell to our friend Kyler, who has moved to Alberta. Valentine’s Celebration On the 14th, Valentine’s Day, encourage your child to wear red, white or pink, to take part in the spirit of the day. In our classroom we will have a special exchange of cards along with making a friendship fruit salad to share at snack time. Please send a small portion of fruit (frozen, fresh or canned) for our group salad. We’ll also play board games with our friends and make friendship necklaces. If your child has a favourite board game that he or she could teach to a few friends, please send it along on Valentine’s Day. Please do not send candies, cupcakes cookies or treats. The focus for our day will be on kindness, love, sharing and friendship. Valentine’s Cards for our Friends Please find attached a Valentine’s list of all the children in our class. Having your child sign their own name to their valentine cards, is an excellent opportunity to reinforce printing skills or even to practice their friend’s names. Give them time to do so. Start early so your child can do a few cards a night until Valentine’s Day. We are learning to print names beginning with an upper case letter followed by lower case letters. Pink Shirt Day On Wednesday, February 22, we will be taking part in anti-bullying activities and discussions. Please encourage your child to wear pink that day. 100’s Day Our 100th full day in Kindergarten/Grade One will be on Friday, February 24th. On this big day we will be taking part in a number of activities that involve the number 100 and counting. Please send in a collection of 100 small things for your child to count at school. Make sure to count together at home first. Learning support at Home Daily reading time at home is so important to the development of strong reading skills. Please set aside time to read with your child every day. Please do not hesitate to contact me. Sincerely yours, Mrs. Kathy L. Gurr EXTRA! EXTRA! . . . DATES TO MARK ON YOUR CALENDAR Feb.3 – Gena starts language lessons Feb. 8 – book order due Feb. 10 – Reports go home Feb.14 - Send Valentine’s, game, fruit and wear red Feb. 20 and 21 Pro-D days, no school Feb. 22 – Pink shirt day Feb. 24 – Skating starts and send 100’s collection. Happy New Year! Coming back from winter break, I usually find the children calm, focused and ready to learn. It is an exceptional month for learning.
Program Information We are moving into a social studies theme that will focus on storytelling, personal and family history and traditions with the k’s. The grade ones will extend this by also recognizing diverse cultures, backgrounds and perspectives in our local Gabriola community. We will kick this theme off with our walking trip to the Gabriola Museum tomorrow (Tuesday, Jan. 10th) REMEMBER TO SEND YOUR CHILD WITH A SMALL FAMILY ARTIFACT. We will be sharing stories at the museum. Theme Digest January’s and February’s overall learning will focus on activities related to our social studies and science themes with an overall concentration on friendship and caring for others, for creatures and for the earth. Our play kitchen will be transformed into an animal hospital. We will also begin our mystery bag show and tell activity. Each child will have a chance to bring home a mystery bag.Language ArtsK focus : structure of a story, reading like behaviour, asking questions, difference between a letter and a word, writing and drawing skills including letter sounds and formations. Grade one focus: Elements of a story, literary elements and devices, reading skills, writing processes, sentence structure, conversations, beginning spelling and letter formation. Mathematics Our learning in math continues to build on repeating patterns and designs and we will start to look very closely at specific number patterns as well as the process of addition and subtraction. Social Skills Synopsis This month and next, our social skills focus will be on following directions and problem solving we will also continue developing our good sportsmanship skills Students will be encouraged to try the first 3 problem solving steps before seeking help from an adult. Please help your child gain more independence by reinforcing these steps at home while your child interacts with you and others. Problem Solving
Parent Volunteers Thank you to the parents who came to help us with gingerbread houses and for all your support with other activities. Thanks so much for being so dependable. Snow Remember if it snows and school is still in session, we will want to go out and play and learn in the snow. Please be sure to send your child to school on such days in boots, splash/snow pants, a hat and mitts or gloves. Birthday Broadcast We have four birthdays to celebrate this month. Show and Tell Bulletin As we continue our study of the alphabet and phonetic sounds (K’s) and reading and writing simple sentences (1’s). Your child will be bringing home a mystery bag (brown paper bag with a letter sound on it). You will need to help them find something at home that starts with the same sound as the letter on the mystery bag, put it in the bag. Then with your child, write three clues as to what is in the bag. The bag comes back to school. We read the 3 clues and try to guess what is inside the bag before we open it. Library Book Exchange Don’t forget that our school library day is every Tuesday. The children are not able to take out a new book until they return the old one. They are very sad when this happens. Field Trip Quarter Our walking field is on Tuesday, January 10, from 9:30 to 11:00 am we will be taking part in a program at the Gabriola Museum (leaving the school at 9:00 am). Joan Merrifield will teach the Stories of Our Community program. The children will be asked to bring their own small family artifact as a prop to tell a story about how their family came to live on Gabriola. Joan will share 3 or 4 stories and artifacts from Gabriola of long ago (farmers, boaters, indigenous peoples, brick workers) and there will be some hands-on activities as well. We will need 3 or 4 parent volunteers to come with us (sorry, no toddlers please).We will be back at the school by 11:30 am. Guest Speaker In keeping with our learning theme, we will be welcoming a special guest speaker from GROWLS on Thursday, January 12 from 12:50 to 1:30 pm. Reports Report cards will be coming home on February 10th. Celebration of Learning Later this year in mid-March, we will be having a learning celebration. This is a chance for all parents/guardians to come to the classroom to have your child show you what they have been learning. You will also get a chance to help set some learning goals and meet with me to discuss your child’s progress. More information will be coming home following the report card in February. Learning support at Home In preparation for lifelong learning, please set a regular daily reading time with your child, if you have not done so already (just before bed is often a great time for this). Reading together and discussing things as you read is a fantastic way to support our overall learning at school. In math we continue to focus on patterns, sorting, puzzling, counting, predicting, number knowledge and formation. We will soon begin looking at addition and subtraction. Any such activity and play at home will support our learning at school. I enjoy working with you and your child. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me or leave me a note in the back and forth folder or planner. Sincerely yours, Mrs. Kathy L. Gurr EXTRA! EXTRA! . . . DATES TO MARK ON YOUR CALENDAR Jan. 10 - Walking trip to Gabriola Museum Jan. 12 - GROWLS visit Jan 18 – Hot lunch Jan 26 – Bus safety lessons Mrs. Gurr Kindergarten/Grade One - Div 6 December 2016
Winter has arrived just in time for us to shift our learning focus from bears to animals in winter. Theme Digest December’s learning themes will be animals in winter, and a branch of that theme will be how the very social human animal spends time in winter, including celebrations and story-telling. The playhouse area will be transformed into Santa’s Workshop and our large cardboard box will continue to be transformed into a newly designed bear cave with fur lining and clips, blankets and scarves. Both areas will be popular places; one for busy toy building etc. and the other for hibernating.Social Skills SynopsisOur social skills focus will be on making choices. Steps to reinforce at home and school are as follows: Making Choices
Zoo Phonics and Language Arts In September we began learning the alphabet sounds through a program called Zoo Phonics. The children learn the sounds by identifying with animal characters. They learn a character’s name and a sound and an action for each letter of the alphabet. Alli Alligator, (Aa), Bubba Bear (Bb), Catina Cat (Cc) and so on. We learn the sounds first (rather than letter names) as the sounds are what help with early reading skills. See if your child can show you all the character names, sounds and actions. From here we began learning how to build words from the basic sound codes. Children are also being introduced to the advanced codes such as th, ch, sh, oo, oa etc. Reading Each day we have been practicing our reading skills in 4 different ways (read to self, read to others, listen to reading and guided reading) with books that are at each child’s “just right” reading level. We have spent time on learning;
Math Minutes During morning math bin time, we have been working on number knowledge 1 to 10 for K’s and 1 to 20 + for the 1’s. We have built sets for each number and now we are building multiple sets and matching sets. We also work with patterns and sorting collections in class, small things such as; buttons, small toys, counters, bread tags, beads, shapes….and big things like teddies, books, cars and building toys.We have also been creating spider counting books that reinforce many of the number concepts we are learning. When completed, these books will be coming home with an attached assessment summary sheet. It will include my thoughts and observations and your child’s own self-assessment. This important document will need to be signed and sent back to school along with the spider book to be included in your child’s learning portfolio. Science Up Date We have been using our 5 senses to make discoveries outdoors on our weekly nature walks and trips to the garden. We have established an outdoor classroom in the forest and have enjoyed searching for the turtle at the pond. We are learning about the changing seasons through direct observation of the changes around us including weather, temperature, clouds, wind, sun etc. We also did a mini-unit on the earth in space and the moon and solar system during the week of the Super-moon. Winter Wear Reminder As you are aware we go outside every day, so please be sure your child is dressed for the weather and has extra clothing to change into if need be. Hands, arms, and legs must be covered and hats, hoods, and waterproof boots are essential clothing items now. Thanks Social Studies Our focus in socials is on storytelling and learning from others in our community. We have been learning a lot through community members bringing their stories and expertise to us in the indoor and outdoor classroom. We have regular visits with: Mr. Cook and his dog Rudi to practice our reading; Susan Yates shares her love of books with us regularly; Mr. Eastick spent time in our classroom relating his stories of the War; Sasha shares her gardening knowledge with us in the community gardens each week; Ms. Ackerman gave us a one hour Hip Hop lesson to wrap up our dance unit; and, Amy at the Gabriola Library read us bear stories and taught us games and songs. She also gave a tour of the library including a peek at what happens in the back room! A grade one class from Departure Bay came for a visit and shared lunch with us and we made new friends. The children ask some very intelligent questions during all these special visits. Field Trip Corner Our next walking field trip builds on our Social Studies curriculum; on Wednesday, December 14, from 9:30 to 11:00 am we will be taking part in a program at the Gabriola Museum (leaving the school at 9:00 am). Joan Merrifield will teach the Stories of Our Community program. The children will be asked to bring their own small family artifact as a prop to tell a story about how their family came to live on Gabriola. Joan will share 3 or 4 stories and artifacts from Gabriola of long ago (farmers, boaters, indigenous peoples, brick workers) and there will be some hands-on activities as well. We will need 3 or 4 parent volunteers to come with us (sorry, no toddlers please).We will be back at the school by 11:30 am. Gym Journal In the gym, we have been doing creative movement and dance. This month we will be playing creative tag and parachute games. Show and Tell Bulletin This month we continue with Teddy’s sleepover visits. Some items have gone missing from Teddy’s backpack. Please help your child look around your house and return any items that Teddy may have left behind after his sleepover at your house. Birthday Broadcast We will be celebrating Ben M’s Birthday in December. Parent Volunteers Parent volunteer support has been great. Please don’t hesitate to come in and help, even at short notice as there’s always a list of things to do. I so appreciate the parents who come on field trips and those who regularly help in the classroom, prepping materials, cleaning, and putting up displays. Thank you, thank you! Gingerbread Houses On Tuesday, December 20, 10:30-11:30 am., we need parents/special adults to come to our classroom and join us in making gingerbread houses. For the gingerbread houses, each child will need to bring in a small 250ml milk/cream carton (empty and cleaned) and a small bag of candy for decorating. Send any extra 250ml milk/cream cartons if you have them. If you can make decorator icing for us please let me know, otherwise, I’ll make and bring from home. I’ll also provide the graham crackers that will be the “gingerbread” for our houses. Please join us! Winter Solstice Celebration On Wednesday, December 21st Families are invited to come in the evening for a school concert and sing along. We hope to see everyone out. Brain Research Quote “Brain development can be affected not only by bad stimulation coming in but also by insufficient good stimulation occurring.” Gabor Mate M.D. Limit screen and video game time Continue to limit and monitor your child’s screen time. A maximum of 20 minutes a day is recommended for young children. Instead, ensure plenty of time for interacting with others, playing imaginative games with toys or going outside for active play. Always encourage book time and creative play over any kind of screen time. Young children should never be exposed to violence; including playing or watching violent games with themes of shooting and killing. At this age, it’s challenging for children to distinguish clearly between reality and fiction. Learning Support at Home As stated earlier, in math time we have been sorting collections. Use your imagination and help your child start counting and sorting collections at home. When they sort, see if they can tell you their sorting rule and come up with new and interesting ways to sort the same collection?( Sort by colour, shape, size, function…)Practice counting and sorting all kinds of things at home and in the community whenever you see an opportunity. Continue reading with your child every day and encourage writing skills as well. I enjoy working with you and your child. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me or leave me a note in the back and forth folder or planner. Sincerely yours, Mrs. Kathy L. Gurr EXTRA! EXTRA! . . . DATES TO MARK ON YOUR CALENDAR Dec. 6 – Scholastic Book Order Due Dec. 7 – Hot lunch Dec. 14- Walking trip to museum Dec. 20 – Gingerbread houses Dec. 21 – Winter solstice celebration Dec. 21 – Hot lunch Dec. 23 – Last day of classes Jan. 9 – Back to school Walking Trip and Making Gingerbread Houses On Wednesday, December 14 we will need parent help for our walking trip to the museum from 9:00 until 11:30 am. On Tuesday, December 20, we will need parents from 10:30 until 11:30 helping with gingerbread houses. Please let me know if you can help out. GABRIOLA ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
680 North Road, Gabriola, BC VOR lXO Phone: (250) 247-9342 Fax: (250) 247-8639 Mrs. Gurr Kindergarten/Grade One Div.6 Room 202 November 2016 Intro Thanks parents for coming in for interviews and for all your help in October, it was an exciting month with so many special events and activities. Your support was greatly appreciated. Student Responsibilities The back and forth folders and planners continue to be sent home every day. With this, your child is learning to take responsibility which carries over to other belongings as well. We are not yet in a consistent routine to return library books by Tuesday. Please help your child remember that library books need to be back by Tuesday each week. Theme Digest Our theme for this month is going to focus on bears (real and fictional). If you have any books, games, stories and learning materials that may enhance our learning theme please send it to school with your child to incorporate into our learning. Be sure anything that you send to school is labeled with your child’s name. Remind your child that toys from home stay at home and toys from school stay at school. Birthday Broadcast No birthdays to celebrate this month. Social Skills Synopsis Our social skills focus will be on interrupting politely. The steps to reinforce at home and school are as follows: Interrupting politely
Parent Volunteers Beach clean-up helpers were so appreciated and kept close track of their little and big charges. Big thanks to the brave pumpkin carving parents and grandparents who so willingly helped us carve 20 Jack-o-lanterns on Halloween. Thanks also for some amazing healthy treats sent in for our Halloween lunch, it was like a catered party! There are some forgotten bowls spoons and odds and ends in the classroom, so please check if you’re missing things Classroom Helpers We need regular and occasional classroom helpers, if you can spare some time for us please sign the attached calendar and send it back to me. Make sure you have a current criminal records check on file with us at school. There are ongoing tasks listed on a clipboard on the wall by the door. Always check-in at the office to get a pass and silently slip into the classroom at the time you have signed up for. I greatly appreciate the help and the children benefit as well. Your efforts and assistance greatly enhance the richness of our learning environment. Gym Journal In the gym this month we will be doing creative movement and dance activities. On Mondays (rain or shine) we go outdoors for gym for an endurance run and games to increase our stamina. We have a dance specialist (Chiara Ackerman) coming in to do some Hip Hop with us on Friday, November 18th. Learning Outdoors We will be taking our learning outdoors as often as possible. Mondays will be outdoor gym days and Fridays will be forest days. We will also go outdoors often during the middle of the week. Now that the weather is wetter, please be sure your child is prepared for outdoor learning each day. The expectations for the outdoor classroom are: Respect the space Respect each other Respect the boundaries You may find us outside at the end of each day for an outdoor circle game on the school’s front lawn. Dismissal will still happen for ones out the school back door and K’s from the classroom outer front door. Brain Science Here’s what brain research says will make you happy:
On this note we have been singing a song in our classroom that states what we are grateful for, it goes like this: We are thankful for our friends We are thankful for our friends Our friends make us feel great! And for that we celebrate! We replace the word friends each round with another thing we are thankful for. See if your child will teach you this song. Kids Cooking I am hoping to find two parent helpers who are willing to come do Kids-Cooking with us on a weekly or biweekly basis. The children usually love this cooking time! If you are able to make a regular commitment for this please let me know. I provide the recipes and materials you only need to provide your time and guidance with one small group at a time. Field Trip Quarter On November 22, we will be going on a walking trip to the Gabriola Island Library where the children can use their library card to choose a bear story or factual book and take part in a story time. We will also find out about what it is like to have a job as a librarian through a tour and discussion. We invite 3 or 4 parents to join us. Next month we will be going on a trip to the Gabriola Museum. More on this in next month’s newsletter. Show and Tell Bulletin After we complete everyone’s All About Me sharing our show and tell activity will be in the form of a very special classroom teddy bear, coming for sleepovers at each child’s home. When Teddy arrives at your home he/she will have with him/her the “bear necessities” including some items of clothing, personal items, a boo-boo blanket and a diary. At the end of Teddy’s visit at your house be sure to help your child pack up all his/her belongings and write in the diary, your child’s story about what Teddy did at your house. Also have your child draw a picture to go with the words written. We will read the diary the next day in class. Then teddy will be passed along to the next child on the list for another sleepover. Empathy and Caring Ms. Gilroy is trying to set up visits for our classroom with a special baby and parent. If it works out the baby and parent will visit our classroom regularly so that we can develop an understanding of early development and to practice our empathy, kindness, and caring skills. Remembrance Day Assembly The Remembrance Day assembly will take place on Thursday, November the 10th.(11 am.) We will all wear a poppy for this assembly. Please send in a small donation for a poppy any time this week. Reading with Rudy Mr. Cook will be joining us for an hour each Friday with his dog Rudy so that the children can each have a turn reading to Rudy. Learning support at Home Don’t forget to check out my website for lots of great learning supports and ideas mrsgurrs.weebly.com K’s- If your child is ready and wants to practice cutting skills, please have him/her cut out strips of old newspaper, cut up yarn or straws, cut paper from the recycling bin make it messy, relaxed and fun. Try circles and simple shapes too. Show your child how to hold the paper and scissors (thumbs up on the scissors and the paper while we hold it). Ones – continue to encourage your child to create arts and crafts that require cutting and fine motor skills. Choose activities that are challenging for them. See how much they can do on their own and only provide support before frustration sets in. You may be surprised! Professional Development Have you ever wondered what teachers are doing on professional development days? Here is what I have been doing lately: July 5 to 8th – completed a course at VIU, Assistive Technology August 22 to 24 – attended a conference at UBC, Inclusion Practices, and Self-regulated Learning. October 15 – attended a Workshop in Cumberland, Taking Literacy Outdoors October 21 – attended the Primary Leadership Conference in Nanaimo and went to workshops on Early Math Learning and Primary Science. In November I will be attending The Nature of Play Conference and I’ll be learning about mindfulness and play. Teachers are life-long learners! I enjoy working with you and your child. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me or leave me a note in the planner or back and forth folder. Sincerely yours, Mrs. Kathy L. Gurr EXTRA! EXTRA! . . . DATES TO MARK ON YOUR CALENDAR: Mondays - Early dismissal (1:32) Tuesdays – Library day Nov. 2 and 16 - Hot Lunch Nov. 9 – Scholastic book order due Nov.10 - Remembrance Day assembly Nov. 11 - No school Nov. 18 – Hip Hop lesson in gym class Nov.22 - Trip to Gabe Library(10:30-11:30 GABRIOLA ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
680 North Road, Gabriola, BC VOR lXO Phone: (250) 247-9342 Fax: (250) 247-8639 Mrs. Gurr Div. 6 Room 202 October 2016 Intro We have settled into Kindergarten and grade one well and what a kind and capable group of children! It was great to see many of you during the open house. Parent/Teacher Conferences I’ll be looking forward to seeing you again soon for parent/teacher conferences (Oct. 17-19). Back and Forth Folders and Planners These folders have been coming back and forth regularly. The children have been very responsible about this. I am so pleased; the children are so focused and reliable! Please continue to remind your child to unpack his/her own backpack and to return the folder or planner to school daily. If you have any notes or messages for me, please pop it in the folder, I check every day. Theme Digest Our theme for September ended up being about starting school so this month we focus on Fall including Thanksgiving and Halloween. Birthday Broadcast We celebrated three Birthdays in September and there are no October Birthdays. Social Skills Synopsis Our social skills focus last month was listening skills and this month will be on respecting personal space and making an apology. The steps to be reinforced at home and school are as follows:
Parent Volunteers Now that we are all settled into our routines it will be a good time for parent volunteers to begin coming in to help out. We’ll soon need our play kitchen transformed into a Halloween house; there are cleaning tasks waiting to be done, scrapbook pictures to be glued in and many other little jobs. Please sign up and return the attached calendar ASAP. Show and Tell Bulletin Our “special me” show and tell activity will continue in October. Each child will be bringing home the special me box to fill and return the next day for show and tell. Library Book Exchange We are now going to the library once a week for book exchange on Tuesdays. When your child brings home a library book, please read to him/her and return the book to school on or before the following Tuesday. Your child will not be able to choose a new book until the first book is returned. Gym Journal In our daily gym time we have been playing active games and exploring with balls. This month we will continue a unit on ball skills. The children love our endurance run; it will be on Monday afternoons. Mrs. Gurr’s Weebly I will be posting the classroom newsletters at mrsgurrs.weebly.com on my blog that can be found on my Weebly under “about Mrs. Gurr” in the drop down menu called Mrs. Gurrs Blog. Please let me know if you do not want a paper copy of the newsletter and I will assume you will read it on my blog instead. Math Facts In our daily math workshops we have been working on counting concepts from one to ten (K’s) and 11 to 20 ( 1’s). We do math first thing in the morning, so be sure your child is not arriving late as he/she will be missing important math learning time. Language Arts The children are reading and writing in daily workshops with direct instruction that accommodates our full range of learners from emergent readers and writers to the more fluent. Science and Socials These curricular areas will be covered through hands on experiences and projects with a focus on the core competencies of communication, thinking and personal/social skills. Music Notes We attend music classes on Wednesday and Thursday each week with our music specialist Mr. Bradbrooke. The children are enjoying this time to express themselves musically. Change of Clothes If your child has used their change of clothes already please send a replacement set. Thanks. Scholastic Book Orders Each month we will be sending home a book order form with your child. Often you find some reasonably priced good quality books. Our classroom benefits by getting bonus books for us to share at school. Please do not feel pressured to buy; I only want to provide the opportunity for those who are interested. If you are interested in ordering books, fill out the order form and return it by the deadline given on the front of the form (with cash or a cheque addressed to Scholastic Canada Ltd.). If not interested please just recycle the form at home. This month’s return date is October 5th. Field Trip Quarter On Friday, October 7 we will be going on a field trip to Twin beaches for a shoreline clean-up. Please return the permission form as soon as possible Special Halloween Events On October 31st we are planning a morning of pumpkin carving and Halloween fun including a costume parade, party snacks and games in the afternoon. We’ll need 5 or 6 parents to send a spooky but healthy treat on this day, enough to share with 19 children (No candy please). We will also need several adult helpers to assist with carving in the morning. I’d like every child to have a chance to carve their own small pumpkin so please send one with your child early in the last week of October as we will be using them for science and pumpkin math activities. If you have extra’s please send those along for children that may not have the means. Healthy Snacks We take part in the healthy snack program brought to our school (approximately twice a month) by BC Agriculture in the Classroom foundation. They bring in fresh BC locally grown produce and each student is encouraged to try to eat more fruits and vegetables. Please be sure your child has his/her own spoon and fork for meals. Water bottles Thanks for keeping your child’s water bottle full and fresh for each new day. The children depend on their water breaks to stay refreshed and it encourages them to develop healthy habits. Some parents are sending disposable water bottles. These are hard for the children to manage on their own. They are hard to open and tip over easily. Please consider purchasing a reusable water bottle for your child. If this is a hardship for you at his time, please let me know and I will gladly provide your child with one. Dress for the Weather Be aware that we regularly go outdoors to play, garden, for nature walks or for other learning activities. Please be sure your child is dressed for our changing weather each day. Using Positive Language about Learning In our classroom we use, encourage and expect positive language about learning at school. Your child will be faced with many new experiences and challenges this year in kindergarten and grade one. Help them to focus on the positives and don’t accept statements like “ I can’t…”, “it’s boring” or “ I don’t like …” instead encourage statements like “I’ll try..” and “ I can do my best…”. Check your own language as well and focus on the talents and abilities your child has by stating things they can do. Take the word “can’t” out of your vocabulary as well; “You can try your best” or “you’ll never know unless you try”. Learning Support at Home If your child is ready and wants to practice writing numerals, please have him/her print each number starting at the top, always printing from the top down. (K’s: 1 to 10 and Ones: 10 to 20). Accept every attempt with much praise. It takes a long time to master this skill and lots of practice at home and school. Practice with chalk on the sidewalk, a finger in the sand, on a soapy back in the bath, or in the steam on the bathroom mirror or anywhere else you can think of. I enjoy working with you and your child. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me or leave a note in the planner or back and forth folder. Sincerely yours, Mrs. Kathy Gurr EXTRA! EXTRA! . . . DATES TO MARK ON YOUR CALENDAR
------------------------------------------------------- Cut off this portion and sign and return it to school as soon as possible Pumpkin Carving/Party Volunteer I will/ I will not be able to help with Pumpkin (circle one) Carving activities on Monday. Oct., 31, from 9:15 – 10:30 am. I will/ I will not be able to help with Halloween (circle one) party activities on, Oct., 31, from 12:30 - 1:30 pm. I will send _________________________as a shared Halloween snack for Monday afternoon. I will make arrangements for my child to bring a pumpkin to school and for the completed pumpkin project to be picked up on Monday after school. ____________________________________________ Parents name _________________________ Phone number ____________________________________________ Child’s name GABRIOLA ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
680 North Road, Gabriola, BC VOR lXO Phone: (250) 247-9342 Fax: (250) 247-8639 Mrs. Kathy Gurr September 2016 Welcome to Grade One and Kindergarten at Gabriola Elementary School! It is so nice to have met the Grade One parents during the Kindergarten interviews last September and to have touched base with this year’s Kindergarten parents during the Welcome to Kindergarten event in May, I feel as though we already know each other some. We begin our busy year with 14 grade ones and 5 kindergarten students. As you will soon see, when you come to visit our classroom in action, it is a place full of activity and learning, where self-regulation and positive social skills are taught and encouraged consistently. Our learning space will often move beyond the classroom walls and through many and varied activities the children will be learning through experimentation and play. We will also be embracing the new curriculum while continuing to keep a focus on developing the basic skills of reading, writing and math. Introduction to Mrs. Gurr Personal-We’ve lived on Gabriola Island now for 16 years. My husband and I raised our daughters here and they attended Gabriola Elementary school from K to 7. Gabriola is a great place to learn and a fantastic environment to grow up in. Our daughters now aged 21 and 22, both live in Vancouver. We are very proud of the young women they have become. Professional - I have 30 years of teaching experience and have taught all grades from K to 7 (but mostly at the primary levels of Kindergarten, Grade One and Two) and I have experience with special education, learning support, behaviour support and home learning support. Gradual Entry Our kindergarten friends will do a gradual entry into school from September 12-14, with the 14th being their first full day of school. This is to facilitate a gradual introduction to routines and expectations in the classroom and it allows for a very gentle transition from home to school. Regular Program Information Our daily activities will include calendar; learning centers, story times, outdoor studies, library, music, gym, math, science, social skills, writing, reading, arts and crafts, cooking, sharing time, storytelling, drama, lunch, conversation skills, two snack times and two outdoor recess play times. School starts at 8:40 am. I will pick the children up at the back of the school in their line up at this exact time. Please be punctual as we begin our learning the moment we gather together. The children will be dismissed at 1:32 pm on Mondays and at 2:32 pm Tuesday to Friday, through the specified outer door at the back of the school facing the playground. The front classroom door will only be used for children catching the bus. If you are making other arrangements for drop off and pick up please inform me. Planners / Back & Forth Folders Grade ones will use a daily planner and kindergarten children will have a back and forth folder. These come home daily with important letters and information in them. Please teach your child to give it to you when they get home and return it to me the next day with any notes or communications you may have for the school. The grade one planners will cost $ 3.00 (send this ASAP). Kindergarten folders are part of the $30.00 supplies fee. Healthy Lunch, Snacks and Water Remember to pack a healthy lunch and snacks that your child can manage independently. Always send your child to school with a fresh bottle of water to use throughout the day. Please send water only along with your child’s healthy food choices that do not include lots of sugar, preservatives or salt. Fresh is best. No juice boxes please. Hot Lunch PAC provides a delicious and healthy, hot lunch program twice a month. Notices will come home for you to sign up. Supplies Your child’s school supplies should be labeled and sent to school as soon as possible. Please be sure everything is labeled including indoor Velcro shoes and a backpack including a full change of clothes – all labelled please. Learning Log Our learning in Grade One and Kindergarten will be focused around themes. If you have materials at home that you think would add to our themes please encourage your child to bring them to school (objects, books, games, music…). Please don’t send your child to school with toys; we play best with each other and with the classroom toys while at school. Theme Digest Our theme this month is autumn on Gabriola. We’ll also learn more about each other and how we can best work together in a strong K/1 learning community. Social Skills Synopsis Our social skills focus this month will be listening skills. The steps to reinforce at home and school are as follows:
Gym Journal We will have regular daily indoor gym periods combined with Mrs. Tufnail’s class and we will frequently go outdoors for exercise. We take part in daily physical activity indoors and out. Parent Volunteers I’ll welcome parent volunteers in the classroom in October, after the children have had a good chance to settle in and get used to our routines and expectations. I’ll send home a sign-up calendar and have a daily volunteer task clip board available in the classroom for those who are interested in helping out. Birthday Broadcast We celebrate birthdays in class as they occur with a small gift and sing song. Please do not send invitations or treats to school on your child’s special day. Summer birthdays are celebrated in June. Show and Tell BulletinStarting next week our show and tell activity will be for each child to bring photos and special items from home to tell us more about themselves. You will know it is your child’s turn when the “special me” box comes home in his/her backpack. Instructions will be included with the box. Grade ones will share an all about me profile as well as the special box. Open House On Wednesday September 21, all families are invited to come to Gabriola School from 5:30 – 6:30 pm. I hope to see everyone! (Come to the PAC meeting first if you can.) PAC UpdatePAC meetings are held once a month. The September meeting will be on September 21st at 4:00 pm. We need two volunteers to be our classroom’s Grade One and Kindergarten PAC liaison parents. Please let me know if you are willing to attend the PAC meeting on our behalf. All parents are welcome to attend PAC meetings. Music Notes We’ll have music class twice a week with a music specialist Mr. Bradebrooke. Library Book Exchange When the library is open, we will have an opportunity for library book exchange once a week with Ms. Doak. Learning support at Home K’s -If your child is ready and wants to learn to write his/her name, teach him/her to print each letter as follows: the first letter should be capital and the others in lower case. It is important that children learn to make their letters in this way to ensure good letter form later on. Ones – Begin to encourage your child to write his/her first middle and last name with proper spacing and capital letters. I look forward to working with you and your child. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me. Sincerely yours, Mrs. Kathy Gurr |
AuthorI am a teacher with over 25 years of teaching experience including all grades from kindergarten to grade seven. I am a Primary Specialist with a diverse educational background in Individualization, Learning Support, Behaviour Support and Home-Learning Support. Archives
May 2017
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