Thursday December 15, 2011

Dear Parents and Guardians,

• Reminder of tomorrow's spelling test
• Tonight will be the last night of home reading before the Christmas break. I ask that agendas and all home reading books be kept at school over the break.
• School re-opens on Tuesday January 3, 2012
• Reminder that we have gym on the first day back.
• Please ensure that all winter outerwear (boots, snow pants, mitts, etc.) are brought home over the break. Lockers should also be free of food items, recyclables, clothes, lunch kits, etc. Thank you for your cooperation!
• We had the privilege of watching the band concert this afternoon. It was a fantastic performance and we even had a visit from the Grinch!
• We will be checking the 'lost and found' tomorrow for items that might belong to students. All unclaimed items of clothing will be donated to charity after tomorrow.
  

Wishing you all a safe and restful holiday!
Merry Christmas,

Mrs. L. Galloway

Tuesday December 13, 2011

Dear Parents and Guardians,

It's hard to believe that this is our last week at school before the Christmas break. I was very proud of the students' performance last Thursday during the "Our House is a Holiday House" performance.

We have some exciting activities planned this week. On Wednesday, we will be visiting the Big Little Science Centre to learn more about properties and states of matter. Thank you to those parents who volunteered to drive. Please meet in the classroom at 8:20 tomorrow morning. *Please don't forget to send a booster seat with your child*

It will be pyjama day for our class on Thursday. The students will still be going out for recess and lunch, so they need to have warm outer gear if they are wearing their pyjamas underneath. We will be visiting Mrs. Sandhu's class along with Mrs. Steenson's class for a special holiday show on the smartboard. Students are welcome to bring a small snack to share if they wish. Popcorn (that is already popped) is alway popular and easy to share. We will also be finishing up some holiday crafts this week.

On Thursday we will be attending the intermediate band concert in the afternoon. This is always a great performance and a pleasure to watch.

Grade 1 Spelling words:

1. pup
2. bus
3. but
4. tub
5. I
6. sock

Grade 2 Spelling words:

1. send
2. pick
3. end
4. both
5. fast
6. last
7. must
8. just
9. bath
10. black
11. clock
12. shamrock
    

The -ock word family was introduced yesterday and we brainstormed words including: clock, tick-tock, flock, shamrock, rock, knock, block, etc.

I would like to wish everyone a safe and happy holiday filled with fun and family time. I look forward to January when the students return. I am very delighted with the progress in the classroom, and how enthusiastic the students are toward their learning.

Mrs. Galloway

Wednesday December 7, 2011

I apologize that I did not update the blog yesterday but I was away.

Grade 1 Spelling words:

1. up
2. us
3. run
4. fun
5. to
6. back

Grade 2 Spelling words:

1. place
2. make
3. making
4. help
5. here
6. want
7. nice
8. to
9. two
10. into
11. backpack
12. attack

Word family this week is the -ack family. We brainstormed words such as: back, sack, attack, slack, backpack, etc. Please practice these words with your child.

New sight words this week for the grade 1 students are: car, ball... Grade 2 students: seed, find, get, grow.

We are looking forward to our Christmas performance on Thursday at 11:15pm. Please have your child wear dressy clothes for the performance (no jeans and t-shirts). ***Please also remember to send your child with a Santa hat for the concert!

We have our first skating date on Friday. We will be leaving the school at 8:30am to go skating at Interior Savings Centre downtown. If you volunteered to drive, a driver waiver form went home with your child today. Please fill it out, and return it to school before Friday. The school needs updated forms on file each year.
***Students must bring their booster seat, skates, and a helmet to school on Friday.***

A reminder that we are now accepting donations to the food bank in our class as well as warm clothes donations.

Have a great evening,
Mrs. G

Wednesday November 30, 2011

A short notice regarding attire at the Christmas Concert will be going home today. Mrs. Konkin, the music teacher, has requested that all students wear their fancy or best clothes for the concert. Boys can wear ties if they wish. Girls can wear dresses or skirts or pants. Long sleeve tops please (no spaghetti straps) and leggings or tights (no bare legs).

Mrs. Konkin is also asking that all students wear a Santa hat for the concert. A reminder that the concert is next Thursday (December 8) at 11:15 am.

The Me-to-We team stopped by today to tell our class about food bank donations and warm clothes donations. They are asking for coats, snow pants, mittens, toques etc. in good condition to donate to those less fortunate. They are also asking for non-perishable food items for the food bank. All donations must be in by Thursday, December 15th. Thanks!

Reminders:

• Spelling quiz on Friday
• Gym on Friday
• Monday December 5 is a non-instructional day. No school for students.
  

Monday November 28, 2011

Happy Monday Everyone!!!

Grade 1 Spelling words:

1. as
2. had
3. sit
4. six
5. ran
6. nest
   

Grade 2 Spelling words:

1. some
2. come
3. home
4. fun
5. funny
6. run
7. running
8. ran
9. us
10. use
11. guest
12. contest
    

The word family learned this week is the -est family. We brainstormed words such as nest, pest, guest, test, estimate, chest, festival, contest etc.. Please practice these words with your child this week.

Grade 2's are working on review of all the sight words learned to date.

Grade 1's learned 2 new sight words: go, going. We are also reviewing all sight words learned to date this week.

Don't forget to do your home reading every night. It is encouraged to take the same book home several nights in a row to practice fluency, especially at the higher levels. Please also ensure that your child brings his/her home reading book back to school everyday.

A reminder to please return your permission forms for skating and the Big Little Science Centre asap.

Tomorrow is PE so please make sure your child has proper indoor footwear.

Have a great evening!
Mrs. G

Wednesday November 23, 2011

You are invited to
"OUR HOUSE IS A HOLIDAY HOUSE"
Thursday, December 8th

The performances will be broken down into 2 times. The following classes will perform at the indicated time.

11:15 am
Mrs. Fortems, Mrs. Gundel/Mrs. Willie, Mrs. Orhling, Mrs. Galloway, Mrs. Steenson, Mrs. Steenson, Mrs. Charlebois/Mrs. Hrycan

1:45 pm
Mrs. Sanesh/Mrs. Tupper, Mrs. Sandhu, Mrs. Doherty, Ms. Foster, Mrs. Allen-Innis, Ms. Carroll

We are looking forward to seeing you there!

If you haven't sent in the 2 permission forms yet, can you please do so asap. One is for the Big Little Science Centre on Wednesday Dec. 14th and the other is for 2 skating times (Dec. 9 and Jan. 23).

Thank you to all of the parents who volunteered to drive for these field trips. If you have not completed a Driver Waiver form, please do so at the office. A reminder that you MUST send your child with a booster seat on field trip days. On the days we go skating, students also must have a proper helmet and skates. Helmets are mandatory.

A reminder that we have gym on Friday.

Spelling quiz on Friday.

Have a great evening!

Mrs. G

Monday November 21, 2011

Happy Monday Everyone!!!

Grade 1 Spelling words:

1. can
2. pan
3. man
4. cat
5. sat
6. bell
   

Grade 2 Spelling words:

1. the
2. that
3. them
4. day
5. may
6. made
7. was
8. of
   
9. if
10. a
11. eggshell
12. spell
    

The word family learned this week is the -ell family. We brainstormed words such as bell, shell, smell, tell, spell, doorbell and excellent etc.. Please practice these words with your child this week.

Grade 2's learned 2 new sight words today. The words are: visit and laugh. We discussed how the word laugh is not phonetic and the -ugh says the "f" sound.

Grade 1's learned 2 new sight words today. That words are: park and store.

Don't forget to do your home reading every night. It is encouraged to take the same book home several nights in a row to practice fluency, especially at the higher levels. Please also ensure that your child brings his/her home reading book back to school everyday.

A reminder to please return your permission forms for skating and the Big Little Science Centre asap.

Tomorrow is PE so please make sure your child has proper indoor footwear.

With the snowy weather upon us, it is taking more time in the morning for students to get organized. There have still been several students who are late on a regular basis lately. Please ensure you drop your child off early enough so they have enough time in the morning to get organized. The expectation is that students are in the class and ready to learn at 8:30 am. Students are allowed inside the building each morning at 8:20 am. Thank you for your continued cooperation.


Have a great evening!
Mrs. G

Wednesday November 16, 2011

Sight words taught today:

Grade 2 students learned: hundred, oh, and soon
Grade 1 students learned: house

Grade 1 students practiced using all of the sight words learned to date in sentences. For example:

I like my house.
I like to play at my school.
My house is blue.
Here is my house.

I sent home a notice today with the dates for our upcoming field trips, permission forms and special helper/show and tell days for December and January. Please check the agenda for those.

Thank you and have a great evening,

Mrs. G

Tuesday November 15, 2011

Today I am sending home a set of addition facts and a set of subtraction facts with each student. Please do not write on these sheets. They are to be used multiple times so your child can practice his/her math facts at home. You may practice orally or you can get an plastic cover to place on top if you wish for your child to write the answers down. A good place to start is with adding with 0, then adding with 1, etc. all the way to adding with 9. Once your child feels confident with adding, you can move onto the subtraction pages in the same manner. These are not meant for your child to spend a lot of time on. Maybe 2-5 minutes per evening can be spent on basic math facts. The goal is for students to know their facts so they are not using their fingers or counters for basic facts. If you have any questions about this please do not hesitate to contact me.

I sent a notice home today that indicate that I have booked a couple field trips in which we require some parent drivers. I indicated that our first field trip will be to the Big Little Science Centre on Thursday December 8^th, but unfortunately that conflicts with the Christmas concert which is on that day as well. I have moved the date we goto the Science Centre to Wednesday, December 14. We must be there at 9:00 am so we would have to leave the school at about 8:35. I have also booked two skating times with Mrs. Sandhu’s grade 1 class. Our first skate will be on Friday December 9^th and our second skate will be on Monday January 23^rd. Both times we skate at 9:00am so will have to leave the school at 8:35am. We also need parent drivers for both of these days. I will be sending home permission forms shortly.

A reminder that Thursday is hot dog day.

Have a great evening

Mrs. G

Monday November 14, 2011

I hope everyone had a relaxing, extra long weekend!

Grade 1 Spelling words:

1. in
2. is
3. it
4. big
5. did
6. bug
   

Grade 2 Spelling words:

1. no
2. go
3. going
4. most
5. kind
6. find
7. gave
8. so
9. do
10. doing
11. shrug
12. juggle
    

The word family learned this week is the -ug family. We brainstormed words such as bug, mug, chug, plug, shrug, litterbug etc.. Please practice these words with your child this week.

Grade 2's learned 3 new sight words today. The words are: always, summer, and under.

Grade 1's learned 2 new sight words today. That words are: school, at

Don't forget to do your home reading every night. It is encouraged to take the same book home several nights in a row to practice fluency, especially at the higher levels.

A reminder that this Thursday is hot dog day for the students that ordered hot dogs.

Tomorrow is PE so please make sure your child has proper indoor footwear.

With the snowy weather upon us, it is taking more time in the morning for students to get organized. There have been several students who are late on a regular basis lately. Please ensure you drop your child off early enough so they have enough time in the morning to get organized. The expectation is that students are in the class and ready to learn at 8:30 am. Students are allowed inside the building each morning at 8:20 am. Thank you for your continued cooperation.


Have a great evening!
Mrs. G

Wednesday November 9, 2011

Reminders:

• Tomorrow is our Remembrance Day assembly at 10:45 am. Parents are welcome to attend. Our class will be performing a short poem with Mrs. Sandhu's class at the assembly.
• No school on Friday to honour Remembrance Day.
• Spelling test is tomorrow for both Grade 1 and 2 students (Thursday this week).
• Please remember to do your home reading!

Have a great weekend!

Mrs. G

Monday November 7, 2011

I hope everyone had a relaxing weekend! Grade 1's started spelling this week. The spelling test this week will be on Thursday due to the fact that there is no school on Friday for Remembrance Day. Usually spelling tests are on Fridays.

Grade 1 Spelling words:

1. an
2. at
3. and
4. am
5. a
6. rip

Grade 2 Spelling words:

1. be
2. see
3. got
4. she
5. sheep
6. shop
7. queen
8. been
9. bee
10. he
11. skip
12. friendship

The word family learned this week is the -ip family. We brainstormed words such as rip, tip, lip, skip, ship, friendship and paperclip. Please practice these words with your child this week.

Grade 2's learned 3 new sight words today. The words are: start, tree, and off.

Grade 1's will be taught a new sight word tomorrow. That word is: school.

Don't forget to do your home reading every night. It is encouraged to take the same book home several nights in a row to practice fluency, especially at the higher levels.

Have a great evening!
Mrs. G

Friday November 4, 2011

I hope everyone had a great week. I enjoyed meeting with most parents this week to discuss the progress of your child. We have a phenomenal group of students and I am proud of each and every one of them!

Grade 1's learned a new sight word today. The word is something. Please practice this word with your child over the weekend.

A reminder that next week is Remembrance Day and there will be no school on Friday. Our Remembrance Day assembly will take place on Thursday November 10th at 10:45 am. Our class will be performing a short poem with Mrs. Sandhu's class during the assembly. Parents are welcome to attend. This is the poem we will be performing if you wish to practice at home:

Little Poppy

Little poppy, little poppy
Given to me,
Help keep Canada
Safe and free.

I'll wear a little poppy
As red as red can be,
To show that I remember
Those who fought for me.

Thanks so much and have a fantastic weekend!!!

Mrs. G

Monday October 31, 2011

A big THANK YOU to all of the parents who helped out today for our Halloween activities. The costumes were awesome!!!

Grade 2 Spelling Words:

1. add
2. ask
3. came
4. name
5. ride
6. bone
7. save
8. kite
9. cute
10. mine
11. skin
12. pumpkin

Our word family of the week is the -in family. For example words such as pin, sin, skin, pumpkin, chin and twin. Please practice this word family with your children this week.

The following sight words will be taught tomorrow. Grade 1's will learn blue and yellow
Grade 2's will learn leaf, leaves and colour. They will also practice how to make words plural.

A reminder that tomorrow and Wednesday have an early dismissal of 12:30. I will start my parent teacher interviews at 1:00 so please be on time to pick up your child.

A reminder that Wednesday November 2nd photo retakes will take place in the morning. If you requested photo retakes, please do not wear green or white on Wednesday as it interferes with the screen that the photographers use. Thanks!

Have a safe and fun Halloween night tonight!!!

Mrs. G

Reminders:

• Halloween is on Monday. On October 31st, students are welcome to wear a costume from 1:00pm - 2:30pm during our theme activities. Students need to be able to change into their costume independently at 1:00pm, or parents may drop by to help their child change. Costume accessories and masks should be left at home, as the students will need their hands free to participate in afternoon activities. Costumes must be school appropriate, therefore violence and gory costumes are not permitted. Parents are welcome to join us for the afternoon.
• Reminder that parent teacher interviews will happen on November 1st and 2nd. Students will be dismissed at 12:30pm on each of these dates. I have posted a schedule for interviews outside my classroom. Please sign up for a 15 minute time slot if you would like to meet with me.
• Photo retakes will take place on Wednesday, November 2 in the morning.
• Monday is Library day. Please return all library books!
• If you are able to send a small pencil case to school with your child that would be great. Many students are losing their pencils and erasers as they are falling out of desks. A pencil case is a great way to keep things organized.

Thanks so much and have a restful weekend!!!

Mrs. G

Thursday October 27, 2011

Reminders:

• Grade 2's have their spelling quiz tomorrow.
• Halloween is on Monday. On October 31st, students are welcome to wear a costume from 1:00pm - 2:30pm during our theme activities. Students need to be able to change into their costume independently at 1:00pm, or parents may drop by to help their child change. Costume accessories and masks should be left at home, as the students will need their hands free to participate in afternoon activities. Costumes must be school appropriate, therefore violence and gory costumes are not permitted. Parents are welcome to join us for the afternoon.
• Reminder that parent teacher interviews will happen on November 1st and 2nd. Students will be dismissed at 12:30pm on each of these dates. I have posted a schedule for interviews outside my classroom. Please sign up for a 15 minute time slot if you would like to meet with me.
• Photo retakes will take place on Wednesday, November 2 in the morning.
  
• This Friday is popcorn day sponsored by our very generous PAC. Popcorn will be sold at lunch for $1.00 a bag. There is a limit of one bag per student.

Grade 1's will be learning a new sight word tomorrow. That word is red. Please practice this new word with your child.

Thanks and have a great day!!!

Mrs. G

Monday October 24, 2011

Reminder that Monday October 24th the students will be attending the first performance, "Wells and Woodland" comedy show as part of our Young People's Concert Series. We will be travelling by bus to the sagebrush theatre and return to school by lunch time.

Monday is library day... Please remember to bring your library books.

Reminder that the sign up for Parent-Teacher interviews is up outside the classroom. Please sign up for a time if you wish to meet with me on November 1 or 2. Reminder that on both those days students will be dismissed at 12:30 pm.

Grade 2 Spelling words this week:

1. up
2. it
3. him
4. I
5. for
6. or
7. four
8. we
9. man
10. men
11. crop
12. stop

The word family of the week is the -op family. Words such as pop, lop, top, hop, stop, flop, etc.

Grade 1's will be bringing home a worksheet today with all of the sight words learned to date. Please go over this sheet with your child and practice the words with them. The new sight word learned today is -the

Grade 2's new sight words are any, many

The libraries across BC are promoting D.E.A.R. today which is short for Drop Everything and Read. We will be taking 15 minutes today to D.E.A.R. We have also decorated our door for the D.E.A.R. library contest. Last week we read a book called Uno's Garden and the students decorated the door to represent this book. The top of the door is all forest and animals. Eventually, the forest becomes a city without plants and animals. The middle section of our door is representative of the city. The bottom portion of the door is a balance between city and nature. This is the main message in the book. The students loved this book! Please come and check out our beautiful door if you get a chance. We will leave it up for the next week.

Have a great day,

Mrs. Galloway

Wednesday October 19, 2011

Here are a few important items to note this week:

Friday is a non-instructional day for students.

A permission slip for the Young People's Concert series was sent home last week. Please send the form back to school no later than Thursday. On Friday, photo proofs were sent home with your child and they are due no later than Oct 24th if you are interested in ordering photos..

Halloween is approaching quickly. On October 31st, students are welcome to wear a costume from 1:00pm - 2:30pm during our theme activities. Students need to be able to change into their costume independently at 1:00pm, or parents may drop by to help their child change. Costume accessories and masks should be left at home, as the students will need their hands free to participate in afternoon activities. Costumes must be school appropriate, therefore violence and gory costumes are not permitted. Parents are welcome to join us for the afternoon.

Parent teacher interviews will happen on November 1st and 2nd. Students will be dismissed at 12:30pm on each of these dates. I have posted a schedule for interviews outside my classroom. Please sign up for a 15 minute time slot if you would like to meet with me.

I will be sending a sheet home tomorrow that will indicate when your child's special helper day is. On your child's special helper day, he/she will bring in one item for show and tell as part of his/her speaking and listening mark. I will send the criteria home as well.

Have a great day!
Mrs. Galloway

Monday, October 17, 2011

I hope everyone had a restful weekend!

I will be putting a sign up sheet outside of the classroom tomorrow with 15 minute slots for parent-teacher interviews on Tuesday, Nov. 1 and Wednesday, Nov. 2. Please sign up for one 15 minute time slot if you wish to meet with me.

Grade 2 Spelling words this week:

1. his
2. is
3. an
4. and
   
5. can
6. all
   
7. call
8. land
9. hand
10. small
11. spot
12. forgot

The word family we learned this week is the -ot family. We brainstormed words such as spot, lot, pot, forgot, knot, plot. Please practice this word family this week

Grade 2 sight words today are: wish, would
Grade 1 sight words today are: yes, no

Grade 2's also reviewed the short i sound and reviewed digraphs. Digraphs are letters that go together to make a new sound (unlike blends where the two or more usual sounds are blended together and the sounds stay intact). The digraphs we reviewed are /sh/, /ch/, /th/, and /wh/.

On behalf of Ms. Clarke, Mrs. McGarry and myself, we would like to take a moment to make all parents aware of the expectations of pick up and drop off in our hallway. We request that students enter the school quietly and independently at 8:20 am and not before. We ask that parents please wait outside of the school until the 2:30 pm bell rings at the end of the day. We are finding it very distracting and noisy when parents wait in the hallway at the end of the day. As the cooler weather approaches our expectation will remain the same. It is a good idea to establish a drop off and pick up point outside the school. Students are expected to enter and exit the school using their assigned door even if they are meeting siblings from another class. The hallways get very congested if this rule is not followed. Thank you for supporting our respect and responsibility goals.

Thanks so much,
Mrs. Galloway

Thursday October 13, 2011

Reminders:

• Young People's concert permission forms went home today. Please sign and return to school as soon as possible.
• Spelling quiz tomorrow for the grade 2 students.
• Gym tomorrow - wear proper footwear.

New sight words learned today:
Grade 1 - play, my
Grade 2 - child, children

I would like to apologize for the home reading books that went home and the pages were out of order. I have been having some issues printing off the books and some of them came out the wrong way. I number of books have been ordered for our classroom but have not yet arrived. Your child may be bringing home a book that he/she has already read while I fix the problem. Keep in mind though that any reading is useful, even if it is something that they've already read. Thank you for your patience.

Have a great evening,

Mrs. G

Tuesday October 11, 2011

Grade 2 Spelling Words for the Week

1. as
2. has
3. fox
4. box
5. mix
6. egg
7. jam
8. pet
9. nap
10. big
11. plan
12. scan

We have been learning several sight words in class. These are words that don't always follow a rule and are words that should be recognized quickly and easily while reading. Students have a list of sight words in their home reading bags.

So far the Grade 1's have learned the following words:

a, am, I, like and to

The Grade 2's have learned the following words:

best, come, came, has, if let, man, manners, may, myself, please, say, and thank

Please practice these words with your child on a regular basis.

We are also learning word families. Most of the words are new to the grade 1's. The grade 2's are using blending sounds to make the words more challenging.

So far we have learned the -at family. Words like cat, hat, bat, chat, splat etc.
We have also learned the -ap family. Words like cap, nap, map, trap, flap etc.

This week we will be learning the -an family. Words like can, fan, span, scan etc.

Have a great day!!!
Mrs. Galloway

Welcome to my blog for the 2011/12 school year. You can access this blog through the Aberdeen Elementary home page quickly and easily. In lieu of regular newsletters, I will be posting on the blog on a weekly and often daily basis.

I will be posting sight word and spelling lists on the blog as well as important classroom information including special helper for the day and reminders.

Looking forward to a great week!

Mrs. Galloway