I can’t believe I am changing my classroom calendar to June already, our last month of the school year. There is such a bitter sweetness to this time of year. It is so rewarding to see how far each child has come in their learning and development but it also means our time together is coming to an end. I have loved working with this group of children. It will be hard to let them go!
Here is a look at what’s coming up this month:
June 2 – All library books must be returned to the library.
June 2-5 – Children may wear orange shirts with casual bottoms if desired.
June 7 – Baby Photo. Could you please send in a baby photo of your child by this date? Please send it concealed. We will be guessing who is who as part of our “Look How We’ve Grown” discussions.
June 16- Last day of Kindergarten. We will have Fun Day stations in the A.M. and an open door playtime in the afternoon between our classroom and Mrs. Larsson’s Kindie room.
It’s been a great year, despite all of it’s challenges. I pray that this summer will bring rest, fun, adventure, and memories for you and your family!
In light of the devastating information coming out of Kamloops at the end of last week, HRA is inviting students to wear orange shirts this week in recognition of the lives lost. I will leave it up to you as parents to fill in any questions your child may have for you at home about this, and want to reassure you that, if I am asked at school, will do my best to answer in age-appropriate, gentle ways.
Please check your emails for more information from Mr. Morris about this.
One of our boys is missing his cardigan. It is marked “Owen” on the label. Can you check your child’s cardigans to see if it might have ended up at your house by mistake? Thanks so much!
It’s that time of year where we start thinking about the end of school and the beginning of the summer break. Even though we still have approximately 4 weeks till the end of the year, we wanted to let you know about some year-end information for your calendars.
While our Grades 1-6 classes will have their last day of school on June 18th, the Kindergarten’s last day will be June 16. There are a couple of reasons for this difference in dates. First of all, we want the kindergarten’s in both the part-time and full-time to be able to end together on the same day. Also, ending on June 16th will allow time for the kindergarten teachers to begin Kindergarten Orientations with the incoming parents of next year’s class.
We have so enjoyed having your children this year and it has given us great pleasure seeing them grow in so many ways over the course of the year. We can hardly believe that we are already at this point of the year preparing to see them off towards new adventures.
Unfortunately, it has been decided that we will not be recording a Spring Sing concert after all. So, the children will not need to come to school on Tuesday wearing Spring clothing. We’ll be in our uniform as usual. Thanks!
I trust that you were able to attend Monday evening’s zoom meeting. If not, a link will be provided by the office so that you can listen in on what was discussed.
As we work through these recent challenges, there are several ways that you, as parents, can help us out! First of all, we would like to strongly encourage you to drop-off as close to the 8:45 as possible. After school, students need to be picked up as close to 2:55 as possible. We ask that parents would keep any socializing on school property to a minimum at this time.
If you are feeling uncomfortable with having your child at school or your child is feeling ill, and you are keeping your child home please let the office and myself know so that we can plan accordingly. In this blog post you will find activities that you can do with your child at home that are based on the activities happening at school.
I will be uploading several videos to Freshgrade in the next couple of days. Please check there. In the meantime, here are some suggestions of activities you can use at home to keep your child engaged in learning and using Kindergarten skills:
Math
counting collections – (see video uploaded to Freshgrade) – Students have done this activity many times in the classroom.
patterning – identifying, extending, and building patterns with 2 or 3 parts (eg. AB, AAB, ABB, ABC). Example: red car, blue car, red car, blue car.
addition and subtraction within 10 using number stories. (Example: I had 7 bunnies and 2 got away. How many are left?)
skip counting by 2’s, 5’s, and 10’s.
Language Arts
review of single and multi-letter phonograms – You can use your phonogram cards at home, the Spalding app if you have it on your device, or have your child watch the video uploaded to Freshgrade to practice.
daily spelling word practice (see video uploaded to Freshgrade)
daily reading of spelling words done so far
writer’s workshop – (see video uploaded to Freshgrade) – Students have done this activity many times in the classroom.
Science
We have been talking about animal life cycles in our class. So far, we have explored the life cycle of a frog. Over the next 2 weeks we will be learning about the life cycle of butterflies and ladybugs. These are just two of the many awesome videos available on the topic on youtube. Have fun exploring these and others!
Thank you for your continued understanding and support. Despite the challenges of this year, God has been so good to us and we have been blessed in so many ways. I have seen so much growth in your children this year already and hope that we can continue to work together in the remaining weeks ahead. Bless you!
The two Kindie classes got together today for certificates and to learn about Food Groups. Congratulations to Aisling, Owen, Asher, and Tolu for receiving a certificate today!
