In our class we have been taking a really detailed look at how to be a digital samaritan when going online. I thought it was the perfect time to extend that mindset to be a Good Samaratin when driving in the car. Girls and boys promised to take home the information and encourage the adults in their lives to leave the phone alone when driving. Please give them the time to give out the message and then make the promise to "Leave the Phone Alone". |
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Every morning at the start of the day, we spend 15 minutes outside doing physical activities. By engaging our bodies in physical exercise, we are preparing our minds for learning. It starts with a warm up of running/jogging/skipping/galloping to a certain destination in the yard or fast follow the leader. Then we move on to some skill practice. Last week we practiced using scoops to throw and catch. This week we are starting some soccer skills - passing and trapping, dribbling through pylons to gain ball control, shooting, and being goalie. We finish off with a game of some sort. This week it is ice cream tag. On Thursday, we had our first school liturgy. Father Matthew led us all in reverent prayer and reflection, and the choir led us in beautiful song. Students were very respectful in their listening and their participation. Our class will be hosting the next mass at Thanksgiving so students from our class will be doing the readings, intentions and prayers. We have been discussing various strategies to self-regulate - how to handle different emotions and what to do to get back to a state of caterpillar calm (breathing, safe place, "You get what you get and you don't get upset" rule, etc.). Now we are working on the self-control portion of self-reg. The marshmallow challenge is a fun way to test to see if you can wait for something....if you can do work with distracting goings on and thoughts. Each student was given a marshmallow (2 MM's if they disliked marshmallows) and was told that they may eat the marshmallow right away if they like. They could also decide to wait, don't lick or eat the marshmallow, and if was intact when I came back they got a second marshmallow (2 MM's). They were free to eat both upon receiving the second one. It was fun to observe strategies girls and boys employed to resist temptation and get work done. A great first step in self-discovery of his/her level of self-control...everyone benefitted from this exercise.
We continue to take a look at ways to make our class run safely and effectively and then make decisions as a team. An area of need seemed to be The Safe Place, so we came up with ideas on when and how to use it appropriately. I noticed a change already. Way to go Gr. 3. I hoped you enjoyed the book You Get What You Get by Julie Gassman. Another interesting activity that is taking place in our class is learning about being a "Digital Samaritan". Today we took the first step and looked at the parable from the Bible and a short video on a present day version of the story. Girls and boys showed a strong understanding about making loving choices and knowing what it means to be a "Good Samaritan" - loving your neighbour. As we continue our journey, we will be learning how to apply this to our digital footprint and how to be a digital citizen.
Take a look at our names, sooo many textures. Visual art isn't only about colour but it is also about feel and different mediums. We got to know a little about each other in different ways...a scavenger hunt, Math about Me, two truths and a lie, and some charts. Trying something new - Vertical Work Spaces. This time we used it for math. It worked well for small group work. Of course, we spent a lot of time discussing and deciding upon codes of behaviour to help make our class run more smoothly and safely.
Second day of school and we are starting to get into some important stuff. 1. School wide fire drill practice is coming up soon so we decided to prepare with doing a shared procedural writing piece on how to do a fire drill. You will notice a few additions (e.g. 3B and "Note"). These were added in after we practiced and realized a few things were missing. 2. After hearing an entertaining book called "Lacey Walker Nonstop Talker", students took time to work in small groups to brainstorm things that should be done in class so everyone can have an awesome year - every day being the best it can be. The ideas were brought back to share with the entire class and many were added to our chart. There are many ideas already on the chart that will help us achieve the goal of a successful classroom, but this is a working document and I'm sure as the weeks go on, even more ideas will be added. 3. We are giving flex seating a try - and it is working well so far. Every block when there is a need to work at a table/desk students randomly select a number that corresponds to a spot to sit. There are a variety of places to sit. (e.g. desks set up in small groups and bigger groups, a round table with exercise balls for seats, a table for standing to work). As students begin to learn what type of seating suits them best or what suits the work best, seating may start to become a choice rather than it happening randomly (we will see). For now students are doing well with flex seating.
Welcome to a new school year at St. James Catholic School. I am Mrs. VanZeeland-Power and I am pleased to be teaching your child this year! I hope your family had an exciting summer. No doubt you are ready for school to begin!
In the first month of school there is a great deal of adjusting to do; learning routines, new expectations and new faces. I will do my best to make sure that this is a smooth transition for your child. If you have any individual concerns, please communicate them to me so that I can better meet your child’s needs. On the firs day of school, a Parent Questionnaire will be sent home so that I can learn about your child from you. Please take the time to fill it out and return it to me preferrably at the end of the first week or on Monday. In the first few weeks of school, my main focus will be getting to know your individual child, their interests and learning styles, and creating the comfortable learning environment...like a school family This month I emphasize that effort is more important than ability in achieving success and that a student’s ‘job’ is to work hard and try their personal best. Together we will experience the creative, forgiving, and caring love of God. Your child will also be learning French on a daily basis. Your child’s French teacher will be Mme. Wilson. You will have the opportunity to meet and chat with us regarding this year’s expectations at St. James’ Program Night. During that time, I will be able to present to you the routines, expectations and an overview of what our school year will look like. This night will also give you an opportunity to see our great classroom and ask any questions that you may have. I hope to see you there! Housekeeping Items: 1. Indoor Shoes Each child MUST keep a pair of running shoes with non-marking soles at school for daily use. Please remember to send socks if your child wears sandals outside. Extra clothes in ziplock large bag, labeled, in backpack. 2. Agenda and Mailbag I will be sending home an agenda with your child in a mailbag for protection. I appreciate your assistance in returning the agenda and mailbag daily. We will always write in the agenda (I will initial it) and the mailbag will contain newsletters and updates from the school. Please check it each evening. Please initial that day’s section - so I know you have seen the messages. Feel free to use the agenda to communicate any messages to me. 3 .Donations If possible, it would be greatly appreciated if students could bring in the following item(s) for the classroom:
4. St. James eco initiative is for students to bring “litterless” lunches. Please do your best to package lunch items in reuseable containers rather than buying prepackaged foods. As well, we are a "water bottle free" school so no bottled water - students may have their own labelled personal water bottle that they can bring back and forth between home and school. 5. Homework: For homework, your child will be assigned a weekly spelling/writing task called Word Wizard. It will go home each Tuesday and it will be due back to class the following Monday. Your child is required to read for 15 minutes each night. I also ask that you spend your evenings doing things that also improve student success such as eating dinner as a family, reading together, playing outside and getting a very good night's sleep. Each child in my class will receive a Friday Journal. Each Friday afternoon, we will review our week (new learning, special activities, proud moments/difficult moments) and your child will write a letter to you about his/her week at school. I am asking that you please respond with a brief note to your child and return the journal to school on Monday. This is a purposeful writing task that will make you aware of what we are doing in school, in your child's words. Thank you for your cooperation...the children love reading your return letters! 6. Stonehaven Manor visits: The Stonehaven Manor residents and St. James Grade 3 students have a very special friendship. Every 3 weeks, we walk to the Manor to read and visit with the residents for just under an hour. We have had such great success with this program and I am thrilled that we are able to provide thisopportunity to our Grade 3 students again this year. 7. Scholastic: I will send home Scholastic Order Forms each month. You can order online (please send the order form to me if you do order online) or you may send the order form and cheque to me directly. Please send cheques only. Thank you. 8. Volunteers: I will be asking for volunteers on an as needs basis. My class will be attending Swim to Survive in October (more info to come) and we will need some parents to accompany us to the pool. Male volunteers will be needed so the boys will have an adult presence in the change room with them. I will have a sign up sheet available at Program Night on September 22. 9. Pencil Cases If your child brought a pencil case full of goodies to school on the first day, I sent it back home in their back pack. We are doing flex seating (so no place to keep a pencil case) and we are sharing everything (pencils, markers, erasers, etc.). If you'd like to donate some of the items in the pencil case to the class, simply send those items in a bag back to school. Thank you for your understanding. We are off to an exciting year! I look forward to meeting with you! Yours in education, Mrs. VanZeeland-Power |
Passport Booklet Sent HomeRead the document below. It explains what the passport with pages for each country and a stamp are for. Choir Song LinksArchives
May 2017
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