Friday, April 29, 2012

Another busy week has passed us in the Pre-K class; Wednesday was the highlight with the musical scavenger hunt in the morning and running races in the afternoon.  I saw many parents throughout the entire day and it was great to have your support. 

This is our last week of our space unit and when we return from Spring break we will start our community helpers unit.  As you can see by the letter that went home yesterday there are many field trips next month.  The final field trip will be to Taipei to visit Baby Boss and it is always a highlight of the school year.

This week we started our science fair experiment.  We will be growing bean sprouts by watering them using various liquids.  Our first step has been to germinate the beans and today we planted them.  After the break we will start the experiment with observing what each plant gets fed.

Our annual Easter egg hunt will be the first day back after Spring break.  Parents are welcome to come and join the festivities.  On a different note, please try to send the plastic folders back to school as soon as possible.

  What we did in our centres this week.

Literacy Centres

1.      Reading from the leveled books.

2.      Computer story “I got two dogs” then Starfall

3.      Phonics book the letter “U” then word hunt.

4.      Pocket chart poems

Math and Science Centres

1.      Adding space fishing game.

2.      Measure the room using toys.

3.      Go Fish card game.

4.      Measuring strong using cubed blocks.

Student of the Week

The student of the week is Valerie.  She has exemplified the character word of the month, sportsmanship.  Valerie is always playing fair and is a good winner and loser.  Way to go Valerie!

Reminders and Notices

1.      March 30^th is our monthly assembly.

2.      March 31^st is Earth hour (lights off between 8:30-9:30am.

3.      Spring break is April 2^nd-6^th and there will be no school.

4.      Easter Egg Hunt April 9^th.

5.      Pottery will be April 18^th

6.      April 22^nd Earth Day.

7.      April 25^th Science fair.

Like always, if you have any questions or concern you can always write me an email at bsharp.his@gmail.com or come by and speak to me in person.

Cheers

Vicky and Braedon

Friday, March 22, 2012

It was a very exciting week in the Pre-K class; we had our going away party for Kris and Vicky returning.  Thank you for all of the great cards, pictures etc. everyone made for Kris, she was very surprised and sad to leave us.  Vicky is also so happy to be back with us, as she missed the students so much.

Next Wednesday we will be very busy with the musical scavenger hunt in the morning and running races in the afternoon.  Parents are welcome to join us for both of the events as I am sure they will be a lot of fun.  Please remember to pack suitable clothes and a water bottle as the students will be very hot when running outside.

Winnie the Pooh bag is going extremely well and every student has had the opportunity to take it home for a night.  If you need an extra night to complete the sentence and picture that is okay. 

  What we did in our centres this week.

Literacy Centres

1.      Guided reading.

2.      Computer story “I got two dogs” then NASA phonics games

3.      Phonics book the letter “U”

4.      Pocket chart poems

Math and Science Centres

1.      Magnets making 3D structures.

2.      Measure the room using blocks.

3.      Go Fish card game.

4.      Measuring string using rulers.

Student of the Week

The student of the week is Freesia.  She has had a great week and during centres shown vast improvements with regards to her writing.  We are all so happy for you Freesia, keep up the great work!

Reminders and Notices

1.      Pre-K music scavenger hunt will be March 28^th in the morning.

2.      Running races will March 28^th in the afternoon.

3.      March 30^th is our monthly assembly.

4.      March 31^st is Earth hour (lights off between 8:30-9:30am.

5.      Spring break is April 2^nd-6^th and there will be no school.

6.      Easter Egg Hunt April 9^th.

7.      Please bring in pottery money.

8.      Pottery will be April 18^th

9.      April 22^nd Earth Day.

10.  April 25^th Science fair.

Like always, if you have any questions or concern you can always write me an email at bsharp.his@gmail.com or come by and speak to me in person.

Cheers

Vicky and Braedon

Making Rockets

March Centres and Space

Measure the School

Pottery

Spirit Week

Friday, March 16, 2012

Spirit week was a lot of fun and we all enjoyed dressing up in the Pre-K class, below you will see some of our great pictures.   Our Space unit is going really well and our Styrofoam models we painted and labeled are now on our bulletin board, please come take a look.  

We will be continuing our Space unit next week by taking a closer look at the planets.  Today we also made some more straw rockets with our buddies.  It was fun seeing how far our rockets would go.  In Math we are still investigating measurement and are starting very basic addition.   

Let’s all hope this sunny weather lasts, have a great weekend!

  What we did in our centres this week.

Literacy Centres

1.      Acrostic using the names of the planets, write the room

2.      Computer story “I got two dogs” then NASA phonics games

3.      Phonics book the letter “T”

4.      Pocket chart poems

5.      Buddy and independent reading from portfolios

Math and Science Centres

1.      Magnets making 3D shapes

2.      Measure the room using paper clips

3.      Sand pit free exploration

4.      BINGO card game

Student of the Week

The student of the week is Ian.  He has had a great week and exemplifies the word of the month, sportsmanship.  Ian is very kind to others and goes out of his way to help his friends.  Kris and I are so proud of you.

Reminders and Notices

1.      Pre-K music scavenger hunt will be March 28^th in the morning.

2.      Running races will March 28^th in the afternoon.

3.      March 30^th is our monthly assembly

4.      March 31^st is Earth hour (lights off between 8:30-9:30am.

Like always, if you have any questions or concern you can always write me an email at bsharp.his@gmail.com or come by and speak to me in person.

Cheers

Vicky, Kris and Braedon

Friday, March 16, 2012

Spirit week was a lot of fun and we all enjoyed dressing up in the Pre-K class, above you will see some of our great pictures.   Our Space unit is going really well and our Styrofoam models we painted and labeled are now on our bulletin board, please come take a look.  

We will be continuing our Space unit next week by taking a closer look at the planets.  Today we also made some more straw rockets with our buddies.  It was fun seeing how far our rockets would go.  In Math we are still investigating measurement and are starting very basic addition.

 

Let’s all hope this sunny weather lasts, have a great weekend!

  What we did in our centres this week

Literacy Centres

1.      Acrostic using the names of the planets, write the room

2.      Computer story “I got two dogs” then NASA phonics games

3.      Phonics book the letter “T”

4.      Pocket chart poems

5.      Buddy and independent reading from portfolios

Math and Science Centres

1.      Magnets making 3D shapes

2.      Measure the room using paper clips

3.      Sand pit free exploration

4.      BINGO card game

Student of the Week

The student of the week is Ian.  He has had a great week and exemplifies the word of the month, sportsmanship.  Ian is very kind to others and goes out of his way to help his friends.  Kris and I are so proud of you.

Reminders and Notices

1.      Pre-K music scavenger hunt will be March 28^th in the morning.

2.      Running races will March 28^th in the afternoon.

3.      March 30^th is our monthly assesmbly

4.      March 31^st is Earth hour (lights off between 8:30-9:30am.

Like always, if you have any questions or concern you can always write me an email at bsharp.his@gmail.com or come by and speak to me in person.

Cheers

Vicky, Kris and Braedon

Running Races Postponed

Hello All,

Due to the weather and condition of the track, Race Day will be postponed until Wednesday March 28th.  Sorry for the inconvenience but with a dry track and warmer weather on the way (postive thinking!)  it will make it a more enjoyable occasion.

cheers

Braedon

Fresh Off The Wire

Hello all,

Due to confusion and to make things easier Tuesdays spirit week can be any of the following; zombie, crazy hair or hat day.  This should make life a lot easier.
Have a great weekend and if you are by our classroom come see our amazing solar system the kids made this week.

cheers
Braedon

March Centres

Friday, March 9, 2012

I am sure all of you noticed the beautiful coin bank your son or daughter took home last Friday from the Tzi Chu foundation.  A group of them came to our school to do a small presentation and thank us for the money we donated to them.  They showed us a few videos and taught us some sign language.  It was great to see all of the hard work we did during Read-a-thon pay off while helping the good people at the Tzi Chu foundation.

Next week is spirit week and few parents have asked about zombie day on Tuesday.  Trying to incorporate the entire school in spirit week can be difficult due to the various ages.  Some ideas for zombie could be to dress your child in all black or white, smudge some mascara on their face and have crazy hair.  It’s a fun week for the elementary department to come together.

            Could everyone try to get their son or daughter to be at school by 8:30 in the morning.  Before sharing time is an excellent time for me meet with students one on one to do some guided reading or have a math conference.  I understand it is hard in the morning to get everything ready but please try your best, thanks!

What we did in our centres this week.

Literacy Centres

1.      Acrostic using a friends name, write the room

2.      Computer story “I got two dogs” then NASA phonics games

3.      Phonics book the letter S

4.      St. Paticks Day sight words card game

Math and Science Centres

1.      Magnets making 3D shapes

2.      Starfall measurement game

3.      Sand pit free exploration

4.      BINGO card game

Student of the Week

The student of the week is Thomas.  He has been learning so much with our space unit and is very knowledgeable about the planets.  Thomas has also did an excellent job this month during his reading conference.  Keep up the amazing work!

Reminders and Notices

1.     Please return the word rings once you have finished with them.

2.      March 12-16 is Spirit Week

a.      Monday: Twins Day

b.      Tuesday: Dress like a Zombie, Crazy Hat or Crazy Hair Day

c.       Wednesday: Rainbow Day

d.      Thursday: Character/Celebrity Day

e.      Friday: Dress in green for St. Patrick’s Day

3.      Pre-K music scavenger hunt will be March 28^th.

4.      March 14^th will be running races.

Like always, if you have any questions or concern you can always write me an email at bsharp.his@gmail.com or come by and speak to me in person.

Cheers

Vicky, Kris and Braedon

Spirit Week

Spirit Week 

Starting next Monday will be spirit week and as I mentioned on the blog there is a special theme for each day of the week.  On Monday it will be dress like a twin day.  I have paired the students up and they have chosen a colour they want to wear for that day.

Below you see whose your child’s twin is along with the colour they should wear on Monday. 

Thanks 

Cheers, Braedon and Kris

Twins	Colour to Wear
Freesia and Natasha	Blue
Daphne and Lucy	Pink
Valerie and Sim Ru	White
Wayne and Ian	Blue
Thomas and Arnav	Red
Bryan and Andy	Black

Tzu Chi Assembly

Friday, March 3, 2012

            This has been a shorter week due to the peace day holiday and it has been a great chance to review everything we have done so far in language, phonics and writing.  Next week we will start a new letter and a new letter books will be sent home.  March homework will also commence next Monday. 

            Many students have been sick the past few weeks and have had to take medicine at school.  When sending medicine to school could you please send a letter, email or come and talk to me about the time and amount of medicine needed to be administered.  This makes it a lot easier and safer for everyone, thanks. 

Since it is the beginning of the semester there will be some new things starting in the Pre-K class.  Starting next Monday we will start Winnie the Pooh’s writing journal.  It follows a similar format as Treasure Bag as it goes home once a day with a different child.  Each student will get the opportunity to write a sentence or two and draw a picture of something they did with Winnie the Pooh.  Instructions will also be inside in both English and Chinese. 

I have added a great new website on the blog under the tab “Useful Websites for Parents,” when you have an opportunity please take a look at the reading rockets website.  It has a lot useful information for parents on reading and writing for children.

Reading Tip

Others Who Can Help

You can enlist many other people besides your child's teacher as partners in helping your child learn to read. Here are some suggestions:

·                       Consider involving relatives and friends in helping to motivate your child to learn to read. Older siblings, grandparents, family friends, and your child's caregivers can add their support and encouragement.

·                       Take your child to your local library and look for books that will interest him or her. Some children find books with interactive features particularly motivating. Ask the librarians for help. They will know which books are most appealing to young children.

What we did in our centres this week.

Literacy Centres

1.      Acrostic names write the room

2.      Computer story “Wait and See” then NASA phonics games

3.      Review letters A-R phonics books

4.      St. Paticks Day sight words card game

Math and Science Centres

1.      Magnets making 3D shapes

2.      Starfall measurement game

3.      Sand pit free exploration

4.      Matching card game

Student of the Week

Due to the short week there will be no student of the week.

Reminders and Notices

1.     Please return the word rings once you have finished with them.

2.      March 12-16 is Spirit Week

a.      Monday: Twins Day

b.      Tuesday: Zombie Day

c.       Wednesday: Rainbow Day

d.      Thursday: Character/Celebrity Day

e.      Friday: Dress in green for St. Patrick’s Day

3.      Pre-K music scavenger hunt will be March 28^th.

4.      March 14^th will be running races.

Like always, if you have any questions or concern you can always write me an email at bsharp.his@gmail.com or come by and speak to me in person.

Cheers

Vicky, Kris and Braedon