Library

Our last day to sign out library books will be Thursday, June 1st.  Until the end of the year, we will continue to visit the library on Thursdays and enjoy our weekly read-alouds.  Please ensure that  all library books are returned to school as soon as possible.

Outdoor Play Highlights

Now that warm sunny days have arrived, please ensure your child has a sunhat and is wearing sunscreen. We ask that children be able to apply their own sunscreen at school.

Literacy

On a weekly basis, students write in their journals. They share stories of their families, children and imaginary characters. This practice enables them to make thoughts, ideas and feelings visible to others (The Kindergarten Program 2016). Our beginning writers make marks on pages and write their names.  As they progress, they begin to sound out words, and look to classroom resources, such as the word wall and morning message, to spell difficult words. As educators, we encourage and reward students for writing according to their ability. It is our experience that concentrating on neat letter formation and accurate spelling can discourage and frustrate children.

As students become more confident writers, they conduct research and create books!  This week, as part of our hospital inquiry, we have been researching the role of doctors. We are so impressed with the work of our JKs and SKs.

Stories are also created through drama. Our puppet theatre has re-opened and our busy dramatists are re-enacting stories they have read and creating their own new stories!

Numeracy

This week we have continued our "number talks".  JKs are encouraged to represent numbers with dots and tallies, while our SKs are encouraged to represent numbers with number sentences.

We have continued patterning by creating  our own rhythmic patterns (claps, snaps and taps), building with blocks and making bracelets.

We have also focused on the order of numbers by filling in the missing number.

Inquiry

Our hospital inquiry has extended to research. We are finding out more about what doctors in hospitals do, what hospitals look like, etc.

Crowning of Mary

The Rosary Apostolate, together with St. Andrew students, presented a play celebrating the 100th anniversary of  Our Lady of Fatima. In 1917, the blessed Virgin appeared to three children, Lucia, Jacinta and Francisco, in Fatima, Portugual.  Our Lady asked the children to devote themselves to the Holy Trinity and to pray the Rosary every day, to bring peace to the world and an end to the war. The play featured actors from each class. Alex represented Room 103 on stage and did a great job.  Well done, Alex! 

Catholic Education Week - Walking Forward Together

Thank you to all parents who attended our art show on Thursday morning. Even with the unexpected fire drill, the event was a huge success!  We hope you enjoyed viewing our children's impressionist tree paintings.  We are so proud of our artists!!!

Literacy

For our Flashlight Friday, we read aloud The Beauty and the Beast. As a response, we invited children to compare the storybook to the movie. By citing differences between the two forms, children are developing a critical awareness of different media texts. 

May PAT Schedule

Week of May 1 - th

Week of May 8 - ch - items may begin or end with "ch"

Week of May 15 - sh- items may begin or end with "sh"

Week of May 23 - Students may bring any item of their choosing.

Week of May 30 - Students may bring any item of their choosing.

As we wind down the school year, students at the end of May and through June will have an opportunity to bring a PAT item of their own choosing.  We encourage you to have your child rehearse their presentation the night before. For example, "My name is (blank) and I brought in a boat. Boat begins with the letter B and it makes the 'bu' sound. Boat ... B, O, T. Boat! Three sounds."

Tips for Reading and Writing

* Keep a writing journal (where students can practice printing letters/numbers, drawing pictures and writing simple sentences).

* Practice rhyming. This can be done by playing games or by having your child identify rhymes in stories.

Numeracy

This week, we formally introduced "number talks" in our classroom.  As a class, students think of ways to represent a specific number in a variety of ways: fingers, pictures,  dots (subitizing), tallies, ten frames and math sentences (equations).

We have also been exploring symmetry by creating spring butterflies.

Inquiry

We are transforming our dramatic play area into a hospital!  We are sharing our ideas and learning about what can be found in the hospital. Today, it was a maternity ward, and a place to check for lice!

To further our inquiry, we watched Sesame Street Visits the Hospital and Sid the Science Kid's Vaccination.

Chime-In

What a Wonderful World

by George David Weiss and Bob Thiele

"For all people who call Louis Armstrong 'brother' OH YEAH!"

I see trees of green, 

red roses too,

I see them bloom

for me and you,

and I think to myself,

"What a wonderful world!"

I see skies of blue

and clouds of white,

the bright blessed day,

the dark, sacred night,

and I think to myself,

"What a wonderful world!"

The colours of the rainbow, 

so pretty in the sky

are also on the faces 

of people going by.

I see friends shaking hands,

saying, "How do you do?"

They're really saying, 

"I love you."

I hear babies cry,

I watch them grow.

They'll learn much more

than I'll ever know,

and I think to myself,

"What a wonderful world!"

Yes, I think to myself,

"What a wonderful world!"