October 27, 2017

Hi Everyone,

There is a lot of excitement in the air, it must be getting close to Halloween :)  Please see the note below regarding our class party which will be happening in the afternoon on October 31st.  There will also be a costume parade involving the whole school in the gym at 8:45 that day.

Updates/Reminders/Thank you's

Our first class party will be on Halloween Day, thank you in advance to the following students and their parents for providing treats:

Fruit Plate: Mataya
Veggie Plate: Dyllan
Cheese/Crackers: Eugene
Sweet Treat: Quinn
Popcorn/Chips: Averyelle
Other: Collette

*Students are welcome to wear their costumes on Halloween day but they will be going outside unless it is a torrential downpour so costumes should be easy to take on/off (or durable).  The party will be in the afternoon but we will have a costume parade in the morning so it is best if your child is sent to school in his/her costume.  You do not need to send in planners that day as we know you will all be busy in the evening.  We will not be eating until around 1:30 so please send a lunch with your child as you normally do.

*Your child has now brought home a bag of books called 'Just Right Reading'.  There is a letter in the bag explaining that the books should be returned daily and will be changed every 2-3 weeks.  Your child will continue to bring home a book of his/her choice each day from the class library.  Please ensure that these books are returned to the school daily so they can be exchanged for a new book.

*FYI-I have updated the calendar on this blog to include important dates in November

*If anyone has any old racquetballs they would like to donate to the class they would be much appreciated.  I bought a canister at the beginning year but they have all now been lost of 'roofed'.  They are used by the students for wall ball.

*Please sign up for the Fort Langley field trip via the parent portal if you have not already done so.  Thank you!

*our leadership group is selling 'Smencils' (pencils that smell nice) as a fundraiser for local/global charities.  They are $3 each or 2 for $5 and will be sold at lunch and after school up to and including Halloween day

•A big thank you to our parent drivers who volunteered to take us to skating on Tuesday. We had a great afternoon there and everyone participated with a smile on their faces!

October 19, 2017

Updates/Reminders/Thank you's

Our first class party will be on Halloween Day, thank you in advance to the following students and their parents for providing treats:

Fruit Plate: Mataya
Veggie Plate: Dyllan
Cheese/Crackers: Eugene
Sweet Treat: Quinn
Popcorn/Chips: Averyelle
Other: Collette

*Students are welcome to wear their costumes that day but they will be going outside unless it is a torrential downpour so costumes should be easy to take on/off.  The party will be in the afternoon but we will have a costume parade in the morning so it is best if your child is sent to school in his/her costume.  We will not be eating until around 1:30 so please send a lunch with your child as you normally do.
*Tuesday will be our first skating trip to Planet Ice.  Please complete your child's permission form online via the parent portal if you have not already done so.  Booster seats will be required for all students.  Thank you to parents who have already volunteered to drive.  A current driver's abstract will need to be on file before our field trip date.
*There is a page called 'Monthly Calendar where you can now view the important dates that are coming up each month
*Reminder that this Friday is a Professional Day so there will be no school for students
*The district cross country race for students in the class who have been training with us after school is this Tuesday, October 24th.  Do not be concerned if your child is in cross country that we won't be coming back from skating until 2:20.  The other coaches are meeting at 2:00 with students from other classes to ensure that everyone has arranged a ride and knows where they are going.  By the time they are organized they won't be leaving much earlier than we are.  Mrs. Rowledge-Toscani and I will leave after all of the students have been picked up and we will still be there in plenty of time.  You are welcome to drop off your group if you are driving or meet your child at the classroom and leave immediately to get to the race site.
*We have a reported case of head lice in our class so please keep an eye on your child and notify the office if nits/lice are found
*Students have each been assigned a day that they will be a 'Great Canadian'.  A letter and a Canada flag for the background will be coming home on Monday with the details of this assignment.  Students will need to add photos of themselves (usually they like to include pictures from when they were younger) and their families to the flag so I am letting you know now in case you want to begin the process of collecting and/or printing these.  Our first presentation will be on November 1st.  This assignment allows students to share their interests and should include a line or two about what makes them a 'Great Canadian'
*A number of students have shown an interest in assembling puzzles.  If you have any gently used (and complete) puzzles with 50 pieces or less that you would like to donate to the class that would be much appreciated.  As you can imagine, pieces tend to go missing over the years and it is disappointing to assemble a puzzle only to find that one piece is missing!
*A big thank you to Logan's mom for setting up a visit from her friend, Shannon.  She had a fantastic presentation for us on making items from wool using the same process that Holman Wang (the author we saw at the library last week) used.  The students even had the opportunity to try it out themselves!

The pictures below include: Puppet Explorations (inspired by Holman Wang's board books)
                                              Isabella demonstrating how to draw clothes (a dress, shorts and a t-shirt)
                                              Our guest speaker sharing her passion for needle felting

October 12, 2017

Dear Parents,

We had a great time on our field trip today and our bus drop off and pick up could not have been better!  Your children were excellent listeners during the presentation and we are all looking forward to applying some of the skills that we learned from Holman Wang.

Updates/Reminders/Thank you's

*You will be receiving a portal announcement regarding our upcoming skating field trip early next week (we have sent it in for Mrs. Watkins to approve).  The field trip will be in the afternoon of Tuesday, October 24th and parent volunteers will be needed.
*We have also booked field trips to Fort Langley (November 17th), Burnaby Village Museum (December 15th) and Skating (December 19th)  We will need drivers/volunteers for all of these trips if you could please 'save the date'  Thank you!
*We plan to do some (simplified) art activities based on the presentation we saw today.  If anyone has any extra yarn or other bits and pieces of craft supplies you'd be willing to donate to the class that would be much appreciated
*we spent some time discussing fire safety this week so the students know that they need to discuss a fire safety plan with you (including a meeting spot) and make sure that they know their address
*A big thank you to Logan and Wyatt's moms for coming on the field trip with us today.  Your help was greatly appreciated.

Below are photos from the field trip and of Eugene teaching his lesson about how to draw flowers.  If your child has something they would like to teach the class please encourage them to come and see me!😄

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Amanda Roberts

October 5th, 2017

Dear Parents,

I am creating this post a day early as I will be out of town tomorrow.  I hope you all enjoy a wonderful Thanksgiving with your families :)

Updates/Reminders/Thank you's

*Each child brought home a pink verification form from the office this week.  Please check that all of the information is correct, sign the bottom and return to the school if you have not already done so
*Our field trip to the library is next week, please fill out the permission form on the parent portal and send in $1.80 for bus fare if you have not already done so.  Parents are welcome to join us and should send in an additional $2.80 if you would like to come.
*Please pay for the supplies/planner online or by cash or cheque if you have not already done so ($55)
*Please send in any cereal boxes you have for an upcoming craft we are doing with our big buddies.  We need a few more and will be happily accepting them until tomorrow.
*Other items that need to be brought in include indoor shoes, entertainment books and hot lunch notices (if you'd like to participate)
*Thank you to everyone who sent in food bank donations.  The class did a fantastic job of promoting this fundraiser.  You/they will help a lot of people this Thanksgiving.  The boxes will be picked up tomorrow at 9:00 a.m. so there is still time to send in food if you would like to.
*Thank you to Mrs. Koshlay for coming in to help the students prep for an upcoming craft we are making

Have a wonderful long weekend everyone!
Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Amanda Roberts