Friday 24 November 2017

Friday, November 24th, 2017

Hello Families,

What a funny week with weather! Thank you for always taking into consideration Calgary's unpredictable weather when getting your child ready for school in the morning!

This week, students:

- demonstrated balance, coordination, strength and PERSEVERANCE in gymnastics with the introduction of the Canadian Climber, trestles, ladders, balance beams, ropes and vaulting box.

*We have one more week of gymnastics*
*Please continue to send your child "Head to Toe, Ready to Go!"*

- were introduced to other animals that hibernate through our weekly poem: hibernation.
- selected a species of local animal to research how they adapt to winter changes.

- continued their work on pattern vocabulary and solving problems with patterns.
- explored Scratch Jr. on the iPads with a partner, in preparation for creating a pattern program.

- extended their sound study into digraphs (a combination of two letters presented as one sound).
- presented with the digraph letters, sound, action and character for /sh/.
- ask your child to share their learning of Sheriff Shad and his Shaggy Sheep at home.
- participated in a Guided Drawing for a fish.
- brainstormed, illustrated and wrote /sh/ words in a Word Work activity.

- put together all their separate portrait lessons to create an initial face.
- identified what they were proud of, and what they wanted to work on in portraits.

In your child's mail folder this evening, please find:

- November and December Scholastic Book Orders. These are the last book orders before winter break. If you would like to order anything as a gift, and keep it a surprise, please send your order forms in a sealed envelope with a note. I will contact you when your order comes in to arrange pick-up. Please note, the deadline for orders is Friday, December 1st (I forgot to change the date stamp when I first stamped them!)

- If you have not done so already, please remember to send in your payment for ArtFelt Studios before Tuesday.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!
Ms. Thomas


Thursday 23 November 2017

Growing Smiles Fundraiser

Anyone who still wishes to place an order in the Growing Smiles Fundraiser, please do so by Friday November 24th. If paying by cash/cheque please make sure it’s into the school by Friday. You can also pay online with your credit card.

To order visit www.lakebonavistaschool.growingsmilesfundraising.com

Order will be ready for pickup on December 4th.

Thank you to everyone who has already ordered!

School Council

Wednesday 22 November 2017

Spirit Day

Please wear Red or White this Friday, November 24th to support the Calgary Stampeders as they head to the Grey Cup this weekend in Toronto. Watch for more Spirits Day to come in December!

Friday 17 November 2017

Thursday, November 16th, 2017

Hi Families,

Thank you for making the time to come and chat with me at Parent-Teacher conferences. It was wonderful to share the last 3-ish months of learning with you, and celebrate your child's accomplishments and growth. Our next formal communication is through report cards in January, but please do not hesitate to contact me at any time with questions or concerns.

This week, students:

- revisited their prior learning on bats
- learned the term "hibernaculum": a shelter occupied during the winter by dormant animals, such as an insect, snake or bat)
- watched videos of researchers in Ontario examining little brown bats in their hibernaculum, looking for evidence of White Nose Fungus
- discovered the Narcisse Snake Dens (another hibernaculum)

- continued their work on repeating, increasing and/or decreasing patterns
- applied their understanding to problem solving situations
- explored ways to organize their pattern data for personal understanding, and communication to an audience (me! you! their peers!)
- developed a variety of pattern representations (words, numbers, pictures, symbols) to identify pattern rules

- continued exploring gymnastics with the addition of basic equipment including balance beams, foam stairs, wedges, blocks, wheels and cylinders
- practiced safety through control and accuracy of movements, turn-taking and "safety space"
- became familiar with safe dismounts: holding for a count of two to ensure control before transitioning to next movement, and ensuring correct posture for limited knee strain

- examined the art of Frida Kahlo: Self Portrait with Thorn Necklace and Hummingbird



- made predictions about the symbols, imagery and Kahlo's identity by asking and answering the questions: What do you see? What do you think? What do you wonder?
- read the book "Frida Kahlo: The Artist Who Painted Herself" to gain more information about Frida's life, and see how accurate our predictions were
- made additional connections about Frida Kahlo's identity using "The Frame"



- organized our identity artifacts and began an "identity inventory" to see what we are missing (children will bring home their inventory lists next week)
- Ms. Brown shared her identity portrait example so students could see what a finished portrait and frame will look like

- participated in a "We Are Connected" lesson with Mrs. Jones, our principal

- previewed the Scholastic Book Fair!

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!
Ms. Thomas

Wednesday 15 November 2017

Early Dismissal

A reminder that tomorrow, Thursday, November 16th is an early dismissal.
Students will be dismissed at 11:38am at their regular doors.
Students still require a snack for the morning.

Thank you!
Ms. Thomas

Magnetic Letters

Hi Families,

Do you have a set of magnetic letters floating around at home?
Looking for a different activity to complement Home Reading?
Wondering how you can support your child in their letter, sound and word study?

Here are 25 fun suggestions (click on the image to enlarge):

Friday 10 November 2017

Friday, November 10th, 2017

Hello Families,

Hopefully we're all caught up after the time change. Talking to some of the students, many of us were waking up too early in the morning, and feeling exhausted early in the evening. Hopefully after a restful weekend we'll all be "reset" for Monday :)

This week, students have been:

- building a foundation in gymnastics through animal walks, static balances, weight transfers and rolls. 
- creating individual sequences incorporating the above skills. 
- demonstrating an understanding of safety and respect for others through personal space and turn taking.
- developing their body awareness, endurance, flexibility and strength. 

- using lists and brainstorm webs to organize their ideas on identity.
- sharing their writing with an audience using appropriate volume and pace of voice.
- demonstrating active and respectful listening to their peers.
- connected our understanding of personal identity, to character identity with the book, "Archibald Frisby"



- identifying, reproducing, extending and creating patterns.
- exploring different pattern attributes such as colour, size, direction, shape, image, sound and action.
- translating repeating patterns from one representation to another.
- making connections among concrete, pictorial, symbolic, oral and written ideas in math.

- identifying and naming different 2D shapes.
- creating images from a combination of 2D pattern blocks.



- following online tutorials to draw noses and mouths.
- learning how finishing touches can be added to make a piece of art more detailed.
- stepping back from a work to help judge how it can be improved.




If you'd like to learn about portrait drawing alongside your child, here are the lessons we've done so far:

Face: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dbRMCgtcchw




Nose. This one is very "rough" but good for teaching the basic nose outline. We did this first so they could compare the two lessons: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nsSy3d-zpes


Nose. This one is for developing detailed noses. She talks about a blending stump, we used our pinky finger: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1aai4qPQBaE




Our other one for mouth/lips, with narration: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yidFC1VStEA

Some reminders for next week:

- Please remember to exchange your child's Home Reading once a week. 
- Library exchange is on Tuesday. 
- Early Dismissal at 11:38am on Thursday. 
- Conferences Thursday from 3:00pm until 7:30pm. 
- No School Friday. 
- Conferences Friday from 8:00am until 1:00pm.
- Scholastic Book Fair in the Learning Commons during conferences. 

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!
Ms. Thomas












Wednesday 8 November 2017

Nut Aware School

Hello Families,

We are a Nut Aware School. We ask that nuts or food containing nuts are not brought to our school.

This information, as well as additional allergy information, is available on the school website:

http://school.cbe.ab.ca/school/lakebonavista/culture-environment/health-wellness/lunchtime/pages/default.aspx

Thank you!

Tuesday 7 November 2017

Volunteers Needed for Book Fair

Volunteers Needed for Book Fair

We are pleased to be offering a book fair again this year over Parent Teacher Conferences. We are looking for parent volunteers who would be able to help with set up and to help run the fair during conferences. 

If you are able to volunteer during any of the time slots below we would greatly appreciate it! Please email Mrs. Green with the time and day you are available to help at pngreen@cbe.ab.ca

Tuesday, November 14th – 9:00am (set up) (Volunteer 1)

Wednesday, November 15th – (previewing)

8:25am - 11:30am (1 volunteers needed)

Thursday, November 16th (previewing)

8:25am-11:00am (1 volunteers needed)

Thursday, November 16th (purchasing)

3:00pm - 7:00pm (3 volunteers needed)

Friday, November 17th (purchasing)


8:00am-12:00 pm (3 volunteers needed)

Remembrance Day Ceremony


Our school's Remembrance Day Ceremony will take place this Friday, November 10th at 10:15.  All are welcome to join us pay our respect to our veterans and current service persons.  We will be accepting poppy donations all of this week.  Donations of any amount are greatly appreciated.

Friday 3 November 2017

Inclement Weather, Blue Days and Supervision

CBE schools rarely close due to snow or cold temperatures. Assume that schools are open unless you hear otherwise from your school. Information regarding any school closures due to weather will also be poster on the CBE website, on Twitter (@yyCBEdu) and shared with local news media.

When temperatures reach -20 celcius or colder including the wind-chill factor, it is recommended that students be kept inside for morning supervision, lunch breaks and recess. The -20 celcius guideline is comparable to other school jurisdictions in Alberta and across Canada. This is called a "BLUE DAY".

In the morning, before school begins, students will be notified if it is a "BLUE DAY" through a sign on their normal entry doors. The doors are unlocked for students to enter into the mudrooms and be supervised by a teacher from 8:00am until 8:15am when classes begin. Please remember that supervision (indoor and outdoor) starts at 8:00am. If your child is dropped off earlier, they will be outdoors, unsupervised.

Please take this into consideration when dropping off your child: ensure there is either a supervisor outside (a teacher wearing a fluorescent vest) or the doors are open for "BLUE DAY" entry. Student safety is at the forefront in these circumstances.

Reminder of Winter Weather from CBE: http://www.cbe.ab.ca/schools/busing-and-transportation/Pages/reminder-of-winter-weather.aspx

Friday, November 3rd, 2017

Hi Families,

This week students have been:

- thinking critically about art by choosing two famous self-portraits and talking about similarities and differences. Students used art specific vocabulary such as cubism, realism surrealism as well as described different art methods to support their observations.

- developing their art skills through online lessons focusing on specific portrait features, including face shape and eyes.






- solving math problems that include growing patterns, and developing their reasoning and communication skills through pictures and words, explaining how they extended the pattern, and what the pattern rule was.

- applying strategies for spelling, including using tools in the classroom such as letter/sound visuals, brainstorm webs, sentence stems, word lists and personal dictionaries to write their October letter home.

- identifying personal areas of growth for their monthly goals.

- performing and refining movement skills in soccer to include dribbling, trapping, passing and pick ups with a teammate.

In your child's mail folder this evening, please find:

- Poetry Folder: Students LOVE Maurice Sendak's Chicken Soup with Rice poem, and we hope you do too!
- October Letters: Thank you for writing your child back in September. It gave them incredible motivation for their October letter. Please take a moment to write back again this month.

Reminders for next week:

- Gymnastics begin on Monday. Please see the additional blog note regarding gymnastic safety.
- Library exchange on Tuesday.
- Please ensure you are exchanging your child's Home Reading once a week.

Now that the cold weather is here, please see the additional blog note regarding BLUE DAYS.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone, and remember to set your clocks back!

Ms. Thomas

Thursday 2 November 2017

MAPSS Casino

M.A.P.S.S. has secured a casino on Nov 7th and 8th and is in urgent need of volunteers to help run the event. M.A.P.S.S. provides us with funding for Montessori materials as well as other support to all three public Montessori schools here in Calgary. 

They would love to have you help out and meet other Montessori parents while working a casino.  There are a multitude of positions available and no experience is necessary. A meal is also provided as a thank you. 


Please visit the website below and help MAPSS support your school.

http://www.signupgenius.com/go/5080e48aea623a2f85-deerfoot


Wednesday 1 November 2017

Gymnastics

We will begin gymnastics in our regularly scheduled gym classes on Monday, November 6th.  The gymnastics unit will last approximately four weeks.  Safety routines, cooperation and good sportsmanship are taught and reviewed in each class.  

This physical activity opportunity will help students acquire individual skills through a variety of developmentally appropriate movement activities.
It is important for students to come to school prepared for being actively engaged. The following guidelines are very helpful…

HEAD TO TOE - READY TO GO!!! 
Head ....................... long hair pulled back
Ears/Throat/Wrist ............... jewellery off
Shirt.................................. one layer shirt
Waist ................................................tucked in
Pants.........................sporty pants or shorts, no belts or zippers
Ankles..........................pants rolled up if ankles are covered
Toes...............running shoes, gymnastic slippers or bare feet


“Playing & moving safely is everyone’s responsibility”

Book Fair Volunteers Needed

We are pleased to be offering a book fair again this year over Parent Teacher Conferences. We are looking for parent volunteers who would be able to help with set up and to help run the fair during conferences. 

If you are able to volunteer during any of the time slots below we would greatly appreciate it! Please email Mrs. Green with the time and day you are available to help at pngreen@cbe.ab.ca

Tuesday, November 14th9:00am (set up)

Wednesday, November 15th – (previewing)

8:25am - 11:30am (2 volunteers needed)
12:30pm - 2:25pm (2 volunteers needed)

Thursday, November 16th (previewing)

8:25am-11:00am (2 volunteers needed)

Thursday, November 16th (purchasing)

3:00pm - 7:00pm (3 volunteers needed)

Friday, November 17th (purchasing)


8:00am-12:00 pm (3 volunteers needed)