Sorry for the gap in posting, it has been a very busy month!! However, I have continued to take pictures of our learning and will share with you some key moments from the past few weeks :)
The students heard a wonderful music performance for Black History Month at the end of February. They greatly enjoyed hearing about the different drums used in traditional music and clapping along with the rhythms.
We have started our "atelier d'écriture" (writer's workshop) which we work on every day. The students take some time to write about any subject of their choice, with a focus on getting their thoughts down on paper-- if they are unsure how to spell a word, they are asked to sound it out, guess if they're stuck, and underline the word if they still feel that it doesn't look right. This strategy helps build independence so that students don't get "stuck" when writing because they don't know how to spell something. I do not "correct" spelling in their writing folders (however, if a student misspells a word that is on our word wall, I do ask them to go back and write it properly!) The students have been so excited to write! We then gather at the carpet and they can read their writing to the class. Over the coming weeks, they will begin to write for longer durations and branch out to different topics. Before the March break, I modeled how to choose a topic: writer's write about things they like. This week, we have been practicing zooming in on a main idea, and moving away from simply listing things we like :)
We have been talking about seasonal changes now that Spring is here (even though it still feels like Winter!) We have been discussing different types of weather, and we have done some art activities that tie into our Science focus. We did some water colour paintings of animals that are adapted to live in cold climates.
In case your child did not explain the "nuage de compliments" craft they brought home just before the break, I wanted to elaborate. First, I asked students to tell us the quality they are most proud of: what do they like most about themself? This was written on the red strip. Then we completed the rainbow with input from their classmates: they told us what makes that student special to us. Finally, each child decorated and assembled their own 'compliment cloud'.
A few news items:
- Friday is a school Spirit Day: "Battle of the Grades". Each grade is assigned a colour to wear, and it is a competition to see which grade wears the most of that colour! For grade one students, our colour is orange!
- March Scholastic book orders were sent home this week. If you would like to place an order, please return the forms by Friday. Merci! :)
- With the fluctuating temperatures, our school yard can be quite wet at times. We had many students with wet socks earlier in the week. If you could please send your child with an extra pair (or two!) of dry socks, that would be very helpful!
Have a great night,
Mme Bena
