Overview of our week in Room 3

Dear Parents/Guardians,

I hope that you are enjoying the extended weekend with your kids.
We had a very busy yet shortened week this week.
I thoroughly enjoyed seeing, chatting, and meeting all of you that came to the parent-teacher interviews. I really enjoyed speaking with each and every parent and addressing goals that we will be working on for our little ones.
Also, I tried to emphasize this at the interviews but I'll mention it here as well - Please do not think that it is only during interviews that you can come and join us in the classroom. We all share this classroom and it is open all the time. Please feel free to drop in at any time or come and visit so that you can observe your little ones. School is a partnership between parents and teachers working together to shape the minds and lives of our little ones, therefore I think it is imperative that I make everything we do in class transparent. Our classroom always looks the same - we don't try to "fix" our shoes so they can look nice just for interviews. It doesn't matter when you drop in, you will always see the same thing. Room 3 belongs to the students - I simply assist them in making the right decisions and I facilitate the direction of the learning that takes place. Otherwise, our classroom is a community whereby students take ownership of their classroom and they work together towards a common goal.

Before getting into our week, I would like to inform you that I forgot to email myself all of the pictures from this passed week. I apologize and will update the blog with the remainder of the pictures once I get back into class next week.
As well, there are some more dates that I would like to make you aware of:

First, Room 3 will be teaming up with Ms. Ritsakis' class to sing a song for Kindness and Caring during the Empathy assembly coming up at the end of this month. The assembly is scheduled for Friday November 28, 2014. I am not sure if it will be in the morning or the afternoon, but stay tuned as I will post this once I find out.
If there are any parents that can make it out to the assembly, please come and see these cuties perform.

Additionally, we just found out the date for our Winter Concert. After a few changes, the date for the concert has been confirmed for Monday December 15, 2014. 

Overview of our week:

Monday was our fun-filled field trip to the Royal Winter Fair. I had a wonderful time and wish we could have stayed a lot longer. I would like to thank the amazing parent volunteers that were so wonderful. Thank you for all of your assistance - trips like these could not take place if it wasn't for you. The class was split up into groups of 4-5 and each group was assigned to one adult.
Below you will see some pictures of my super fun group (Diego, Evie, Filia, George). If any parents have any pictures from the Field trip, please send them to me and I can post them on the blog. I cannot express how many laughs I had with this group. I literally had a cramp from laughing so hard with their comments of how bad the smell was in certain areas.
We got to see and learn a lot about animals. This was the perfect field trip to consolidate all that we have learned in Science. Both grade 1 and 2 students have been studying animals in Science. We got to see a dog show, a horse demonstration show and a cattle competition. Some other things that we had the pleasure of observing was the cattle milking area, the petting section, the butter carving contest, and the giant Ontario award winning pumpkins to name a few. Moreover, we got to observe a lot of different animals, such as llamas, African Geese, chicks, chickens, bees, cattle, lambs, rabbits, goats, and horses. The Fair was very educational in that we got to feel the fur from different animals, we got to learn about the process of getting milk and eggs, and we learned about the colony of bees. We spotted the queen bee and learned that every single bee in the colony was one of her children. The queen bee was bigger than all the other bees and we also learned that there are at least ten bees catering to her at any given time. I learned so much and had so much fun with the kids.

Language: 

This week in Language we have been carrying over with everything from last week. One great mini lesson was learning about compound words. The boys and girls of our class came up with at least 50 compound words (stay tuned for the picture next week). We also had some read alouds using books that display empathy. We came up with an anchor chart that lists everything that empathy means to us. The anchor chart will be posted outside in the school hallway near the office.
In our writer's workshop we discussed the different levels of writing. Students gave a grade to 4 different writing samples. We discussed the differences between each level and then students attempted to write a level 4 journal entry. After writing out their journal, they graded their own work and then had a partner grade their work. Once they finished, I got to conference with each student and discuss their writing. When students know what the expectations are, then they strive hard to achieve a high mark.

Math:

Similar to Language, we have been working with problem solving in Math and learning how to answer questions. Students have learned that they will not get full marks in a problem solving question by simply having a correct answer. Instead we have discussed the importance of showing our thinking, relaying our steps, and including a full sentence. Additionally we are learning how to pick out the important details in a problem solving question. We cross out all the unnecessary information and we circle all the important information.We will continue to work on problem solving next week as this is a main area where students get stumped in Math.
We also played some active addition games. Students moved to music around the room in pairs. Once the music stopped I called out a number. Each pair made an addition sentence using their fingers. It was a very fun game.

Science:

Our Science presentations started on Tuesday. Alexandra was the first to go followed by Gregory and Alina. They are so prepared and excited to present - I am loving this unit. Each student is using the "Ladybug" projector to display their work and their diorama. In order to ensure that everyone is listening, we have discussed accountable listening and students have been told that they can earn bonus marks if they show that they are great listeners that ask questions and provide comments to the presenters.

DPA:

In DPA we played a movement game that incorporated Literacy and Numeracy. The game was called the "Power Plank". Students learned about planking and the benefits that it has on our bodies. Students planked and faced their partner. Each pair had a marker in between them. From there we played different games where I would either call out words that begin with vowels, or were even/odd numbers. The object of the game was to maintain a plank and be the first to grab the marker once a certain word/number was called. They had a lot of fun doing this. Unfortunately I have no pictures of this because I was partnered off with one of the students.

Remembrance Day Assembly:

The Remembrance Day assembly was beautiful. Everyone was so respectful and well behaved. We watched as a few of the junior grades presented some songs and skits, and then we stood for our moments of silence as we remembered those who fought for this beautiful country. Two students were chosen from each class to lay their class wreath on the cross. Bobby and Helena were the chosen students from our class. They did a great job with our wreath.

This sums up the important things that took place in our classroom. Enjoy some of the pictures below, and stay tuned for more pictures once I update the blog next week.

Have a great weekend!

Visiting the cattle 

African Geese

Colony of Bees

Butter Carving Contest

Cattle Competition - Waiting for call outs

Chickens

Diego feeding the animals

Time for a break at the end of the day

George observing the pigs

Horse Demonstration Show

Horse Show

George, Filia, Diego, Evie

Rabbits

Now those are some big pumpkins. Ontario grown

Milking Cow Show

1 week old piggies with their mommy

Level 1 Sample - students came up with the questions and I wrote them 

Math game

Diego and Gregory solving math problems

Math Game

Alexandra presenting

Remembrance Day assembly

Bobby and Helena placing the wreath

Dove wreath is ours (bottom right)

Placing our wreath at the assembly

Overview for the first week of Novemeber

Happy November!!!

Boy did November enter with a bang - I battled the flu bug this whole week and as a result missed work on Wednesday. Nonetheless it didn't stop Room 3 from being busy.

As usual, I would like to note some things about next week before I get into this week's overview.

I am so excited for our field trip to the Royal Winter Fair on Monday. A couple of things: Please make sure that children are wearing comfortable shoes as we will be walking for a large part of the day. Additionally, it is recommended that students bring their backpack with them so that they can have their lunch inside, as well as their coats (since there is no place to leave our coats).
There were so many parents interested in volunteering and I felt terrible in not choosing everyone however, I based it on a first come first serve basis. For the parents that could not make this trip, I promise to ask you first the next time we have a trip.....sorry :-(.
Speaking of trips, we unfortunately received news this week that we can no longer have Scientists in the School. As a result, we had to cancel our end of November date. We have already looked into some programs that come to schools free of charge, and we will notify everyone once we have something set in motion for the future. Once again, my apologies but this is not in our hands.

Next Monday is also the day progress reports get sent home. Interviews will commence on Wednesday and will run through to Friday. I have received more than half of your requests for interview times and unfortunately with many requests overlapping, I had to go on a first come first serve basis. So far whoever has sent in their request is getting the time of their choice. I have coordinated with teachers that have siblings from our class and we worked hard to ensure that our interviews are back to back.

Next Monday is also the due date for Grade 2 Science projects. Presentations will begin on Tuesday. For Grade 2 parents, there is a separate post for science this week.

Next Tuesday is our Remembrance Day assembly. We will also have two students from our class bring up our class wreath and place it at the front of the gymnasium. Stay tuned for some pictures!

Friday is a PA day!!!

Overview of our week:

Language:

In Language we have been continuing to work on Procedural writing, journal writing, popcorn words of the week, word work, creative writing, independent reading, conferencing, and guided reading. This week students chose their own topic to write about for procedural writing. For our shared writing lesson we wrote out the steps and materials required to make chocolate milk, and then we put our writing to the test by actually following the procedures and making chocolate milk. MMMmmmm what a nice morning refreshment it was right before recess!
Guided reading has been going great! I have met with each and every group this week and there have been some great conversations that have come from it. With guided reading I usually go into it knowing what prompts and questions I'm going to ask students or what answers I am looking for or trying to elicit from them. Other times however, a conversation or question may take us into something totally unplanned. For example, while working with one group we read a book on animals with wings. There was a bat that was represented in the book and a conversation arose as to what classification it fell under. One student stated that it was a mammal because it had fur, another said that perhaps it was a bird because it has wings. Ultimately I brought out the IPad and they researched on their own to see what a bat fell under. A bat is a mammal!!!

Math:

In Math we have been working on Place Value and ordering numbers. Students created the first letter of their name using paper base ten block representations. They then indicated how many tens and ones they used, and what the total number was. I unfortunately do not have any pictures of these yet, but will definitely post some on next week's blog post. Better yet, you will be able to see them on the wall during the interviews. We also did some more five and ten frame counting and anchoring of numbers to 20.
Grade 1's also worked on sorting and ordering numbers from 1-100 on a pocket chart. As well, they played some games with number cards. They flip cards over and the person with the highest number earns a point. Math is essentially something that is integrated in a lot of our conversations, our morning message and pretty much anywhere else that it can tie in.

Art:

For art this week we created a wreath for our Remembrance Day assembly next Tuesday. We read a book on Remembrance Day, we saw a video on the origins of the Poppy, we heard the In Flanders Fields poem and talked about its origins, and we talked about doves and what they symbolize. Students came up with different words to describe a dove. Words such as peace, hope, love, and freedom were a few that came up. For our wreaths we traced two doves, painted them, drew poppies on them, and then wrote on them. Our wreath is titled "We Remember". Once the two doves were dry and finished, we glued them together and stuffed them with cotton balls to make them 3D. I think they all turned out beautiful. Most importantly, I am happy with the way our discussions went regarding Remembrance Day; it is extremely important for children to remember those that fought for our freedom. We are truly blessed and lucky to live in the best county.
Below you will also see the finished product of our Pumpkin Patch artwork from the previous week.

DPA:

I haven't touched on DPA in passed posts, but I wanted to inform you on DPA. DPA is mandated by the government. It stands for Daily Physical Activity and it is required on days when physical education is not held. There are not many things that the government mandates with regards to classroom instruction other than the curriculum documents, however 20 minutes of daily physical activity is one of them. I feel very strongly about DPA and I "try" to include it on all of our non-phys ed days. I feel that we are all so consumed with marks and grades, that we lose sight of the importance that physical education plays on a child's development. The most important thing we have in life is our health, therefore physical activity takes equal precedence as all other subjects. Studies have proven over and over again that physical activity fosters a child's social, cognitive, behavioural and physical development. As such, I make it a point to include some form of physical activity in our day, whether it be inside the classroom or outside on the field. On days where we are indoors and limited in terms of space, we have used Just Dance for kids on our projector. We have danced to different songs that have been requested by the students. Other things have been a "Simon Says" game using fitness activities such as jumping jacks, skipping, hopping and running on the spot. This week's game was a community building game. Students skip around the classroom to music and at the stop of the song, they follow the command given to them. For example, I call out 6 elbows, 5 knees, 20 fingers, 8 hands, 4 feet, etc. The point of the game is to ensure that there is no one from the class that is left out of a group. Students must work together to figure out how they will do this. Some used both their knees in a group, while others had one knee in. The point of the game is to make it inclusive and to build community. Below you will see a snapshot of them during DPA.

I hope you enjoyed yet another post from our week. Enjoy the pictures below, have a great weekend, and I look forward to seeing you all next week.

Sincerely,

Ms. Nikoletopoulos

Ready for our Shared Writing

Volunteers writing out the steps to make chocolate milk

Let's drink up - our steps were a success

Gulp!!

Yummy

Grade 1 Math card games

Math games

Completing a 100's chart

Painting our doves

Dove Artwork

Steps to creating our wreath

Our wreath waiting to dry before we cut it out

DPA

Artists during activity time. Proud of their whiteboard artwork

Proud of our pumpkin patch artwork

Grade 1's showcasing their artistic ability. These look beautiful!

What a great group of artists!!!

Grade 2 Science

Wow, what a fantastic week we've had in Science. I have thoroughly enjoyed observing all the boys and girls working hard on their dioramas. I have learned so much information from each and every student. They are all so excited about doing these projects, and apart from learning about animals, learning how to research and how to present, the main goal for this project was for them to have fun!!! They have proven that they are true experts and well knowledgeable on their animal. I am so impressed with the level of research and knowledge that they have acquired.
A couple of things that I need to address: I understand that the project was sent home and has been worked on at home with the help of some elders, but a big part of their grade and how they will be assessed comes from how they worked in class this last week. In order for it to be an authentic assessment, students were required to work on their projects in class (whether they are working on their diorama or the written component of their work). I understand that a lot of work went on at home, but unfortunately the rule for projects is that part of them are completed at school. This is a rule that I feel strongly about, in addition to Mr. Patsopoulos. Some students came into class with their projects completely finished and indicated that they had nothing to do. Unfortunately, I cannot give a level 4 to a student when I have not been able to witness any of their efforts in class. For some who did have their work complete, we had a lesson on how to be great presenters. Students went into the hall in pairs and practiced presenting, while receiving and giving feedback to one another. Overall I am so impressed with every single student and I am really looking forward to the presentations next week. Below you will see the boys and girls working hard on their amazing projects in class.

Carolyn working hard

Matthew and Sara

Alexandra adding some finishing touches

Savas and Alex

Tori taping some floating fish

Carolyn working on the written component

Maya and Alina

The boys working away

Talon and friends

Theodore and Filia

Nabid and Roussos

Bobby mixing paint to make grey

Friends helping Evie add some personal touches

Evan adding raccoons since their his animal's predators

Diego as he skillfully creates plasticine turtles

Now that is teamwork 

 

Talon using an oral listening program on our computer to learn more about the cheetah