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
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
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
Categories |
Mrs. Kathy Gurr's Site