February 16-19

Dear Parents

Reminders:

• The conference manager has opened up.  Please take a look and book a time to discuss your child's learning.
• No school on Friday Feb 27
• Trickster Residency starts on March 2
• Trickster Performance on March 5

In Grade 1 this year, we have been exploring the idea of “Groups I Belong to” as part of our Social Studies learning. Students are discovering that we all belong to different groups — such as our families, our class, teams, clubs, and our community. We have been talking about how belonging helps us feel connected, safe, and valued.

To extend this learning, we connected our conversations to the Winter Olympics! We explored how athletes belong to teams and represent their countries, and how teamwork, perseverance, and kindness help groups succeed.

Through stories, discussions, writing, art, and movement activities, students have been making meaningful connections between their own lives and the world around them.  Take a look at our learning below.

Learning Intentions

Social Studies – Groups I Belong

Students are learning that people belong to different groups and have roles and responsibilities within those groups.

I Can Statements:

• I can name groups I belong to (family, class, team, community).
• I can explain why groups are important.
• I can describe how I help my groups.
• I can show respect for others in my groups.

 Winter Olympics Cross-Curricular Connections

English Language Arts

• I can read and talk about Olympic stories and athletes.
• I can write about a sport I like and explain why.
• I can share my ideas clearly with the class.

Wellness / Physical Education

• I can work as part of a team.
• I can show good sportsmanship when I win or lose.
• I can try new activities and keep going even when they are challenging.

Art & Creative Expression

• I can create art to represent a country or team.

Literacy

This week we began looking at diagraphs.  This is when two letters make one sounds.  This week we focused on ff,ll,ss,zz and all, oll, ull.  Below is some home practice.

Feb 9-11

 Dear Parents

I hope that you all have had a restful long weekend and spent time with your family doing what you love.

Reminders:

• Please remember to book your conference to discuss your child's learning.  Conferences will be held Feb 26 and 27.
• It looks like we will be having a change in the weather. Please remember to send your child with all the winter gear needed to be outside for recess and lunch break.  

We had a great week in grade 1, celebrating friendship and the things we love! We read a variety of texts like the Book of Maps, The Kissing Hand, and of course the adventures of the Love Monster.  Some activities included: students made love heart chains and then compared lengths, created a heart map showing important people, places, and things they love, wrote sentences about things they love and why, and enjoyed creating their own Love Monster before distributing their Valentines.

Learning Outcomes

• Generate ideas about familiar experiences and personal interests.

• Use drawing and writing to share personal thoughts and feelings.

• Create short written texts about familiar topics

• Use descriptive words to add details to their ideas.

• Form simple complete sentences.

• Use spaces between words and basic punctuation (periods, capital letters).

• Share their writing orally with peers.

• Identify people and groups who are important to them.

• Recognize how relationships contribute to a sense of belonging.

• Use shape, colour, and space to represent personal ideas visually.

• Share ideas respectfully during class discussions.

• Listen to others and respond appropriately.

• Demonstrate ways to build positive relationships.

• Show respect and kindness within a classroom community.

• Recognize that belonging is strengthened through shared experiences

                                

Literacy 

This week, we focused on S says Z.  This is a tricky one.  Take a look below if you are interested in some homepractice. 

Feb 2-6

 

Dear Parents

Reminders

• Teachers Convention Feb 12, 13 No School 
• Family Day Feb 16 No School
• Parent-teacher conferences Feb 26 and 27.  A link will be coming out in the coming weeks so that you can sign up to discuss your child's learning
• With the warm and wet weather please remember to send an extra pair of socks in case your child happens to find a puddle during recess or lunch.

Science and Literacy

This week has been a busy time wrapping up some of our learning around the winter season.  Students listened to the story Over and Under the Snow, along with collecting their own information from non-fiction texts.  With this information, along with the body of information that we have gathered throughout our unit on the season changes of winter, students created an illustration to capture the plants, animals, and land during the season of winter.

Learner Outcomes

Reading & Understanding

• I can show what happens in the story using pictures.

• I can tell important parts of the story with my drawings.

• I can retell the story in order using pictures and words.

• I can talk about what I notice in the book.

Writing & Communicating

• I can use pictures and words together to share my ideas.

• I can label my drawings or write a simple sentence.

• I can explain my visual journal to a partner or the class.

Science – Winter & Animals

• I can show what winter looks like in my pictures.

• I can show animals that live over the snow.

• I can show animals that live under the snow.

• I can show how animals stay safe and warm in winter.

Visual Skills

• I can use colour, details, and careful drawings.

• I can keep my pages neat and organized.

Literacy

The following is the home practice for the letters we have covered this week.

Janurary 25-29

Dear Parents,

What a great week we have had here in grade 1!  Take a look below to see what we have been learning.  

Reminders:

-Fun Lunch on Feb 2

-Teachers Convention Feb 12 13, and Family Day Feb 16 No School.

Math 

In math, we began looking at 2-dimensional shapes. We looked at shapes around us and began 

to sort and classify shapes according to their attributes.

Learning Intentions

I Can Statements

• I can name 2-D shapes like circles, squares, rectangles, and triangles.
• I can find 2-D shapes in my classroom, at home, and outside.
• I can describe 2-D shapes by talking about their sides and corners.
• I can sort 2-D shapes by how they look (size, shape, or number of sides).
• I can compare 2-D shapes and tell how they are the same and different.
• I can build pictures and designs using 2-D shapes.
• I can draw and label 2-D shapes.
• I can talk about shapes using math words like side, corner, and flat.

• I can make new shapes by putting 2-D shapes together.
• I can explain my thinking when I sort or build with shapes.

Literacy

This week we learned about V and Qu.  Please take a look at the home practice below

January 19-23

Dear Parents,

Reminders

• Students have been enjoying exchanging their decodable readers!  Keep it up on Mondays and Thursdays!
• As the weather continues to fluctuate, please remember to always send appropriate clothing for outside play.  
• Jan 30 is a system-wide PD day.  No school

Science

This week, with the return to winter weather outside, we have turned our focus back to seasonal changes in winter.  Through mentor texts,  classroom discussions, videos, and outside experiences, we have been learning about how people, animals, and the environment behave during this season. 

Learning Intentions

Science 

• I can tell what winter looks like.

• I can tell how winter feels (cold, snowy, icy).

• I can say how animals live in winter.

• I can say how people adapt to winter

• I can learn that winter comes every year.

• I can learn that Indigenous peoples learn about winter by watching nature.

• I can understand and represent the changes in our local environment during this season.

Literacy– Talking, Listening, Drawing & Writing

• I can talk about winter.

• I can listen to others talk about winter.

• I can draw pictures to show what I know about winter.

• I can write words or short sentences about winter.

• I can listen to stories about winter.

• I can learn that Indigenous stories teach lessons about winter and nature

Art

• I can make art about winter.

• I can share how winter makes me feel.

• I can make art that shows care for the land.

Wellness – Safety

• I can dress for winter weather.

• I can play safely in the snow.

• I can be careful on ice.

• I can help take care of myself and others in winter.

• I can learn that Indigenous teachings remind us to care for people and the land.

Literacy

We continue our learning of individual letter sounds, and are nearing the end of the individual letters of the alphabet that make their most common sound.  This week we worked on ‘x’ and ‘y’.  

Keep up the great home practising and returning our decodable texts!