Mme. Martel's Blog

What’s Up this Week: Nov 19th – Nov 23rd

Math –We are continuing our unit on number sense. With this we practice counting up to 100 as a class and independently. We are working on understanding what numbers represent. Now we are focusing on estimating with a referent. We will continue to have math invitations set up to have students practice these skills.

French – The unit we are focusing on is our Family and Our Houses. We are continuing to learn how to say the consonants and what their sounds are. This week’s letter is N (the letter N is pronounced like ‘en’) in French the letter N makes the same sound as in English. We will work on this letter with different alphabet and word work invitations throughout the week.

Phys. Ed – We are continuing to work on be aware of our bodies and movement in Phys. Ed. Students are practicing moving in different directions, stopping and starting, moving towards a target and then dodging it.

Book of the Month – It’s making its way to each home.

**Please email me a picture of your house if you haven’t yet for an upcoming art project and so students can refer to it when we are working on describing our houses.**

Upcoming Important Dates

November 20th – Hot lunch (order one week before)

November 23rd – Learning Summaries go home

November 30 – PJ Day

December 4 – Hot Lunch (order one week before)

December 12 – Christmas Celebration (1:15 and 7pm)

Dec 24 – Jan 4 –No Classes

What’s Up this Week: Nov 5th – Nov 7th

We have a short week coming up.  Students are only at school Monday-Wednesday and they have Thursday-Monday off because of Teacher PD on the 8th, Day in Lieu (for interviews) on the 9th, and a Day in Lieu for Remembrance Day on the 12th.

Math –We are continuing our unit on number sense. With this we practice counting up to 100 as a class and independently. We are working on understanding what numbers represent. We will continue to have math centers set up to have students practice these skills this week.

French – We finished our Halloween vocabulary. The unit we are now focusing on is Family and Our Houses.  Please email me a picture of your house for an upcoming art project and so students can refer to it when we are working on describing our houses.  We are continuing to learn how to say the consonants and what their sounds are. This week’s letter is L (the letter L is pronounced like ‘elle’) in French the letter L makes the same sound as in English.  We will work on this letter with different alphabet and word work invitations through out the week.

Phys. Ed – We are continuing to work on be aware of our bodies and movement in Phys. Ed. Students are practicing moving in different directions, stopping and starting, moving towards a target and then dodging it.

Book of the Month – We started our book of the month. Students bring it home and can read it or have it read to them by a family member. Afterwards I ask that together you leave a message on the first page about something they learned, enjoyed, or connected to. Then, please return it to school so we can continue the chain.

French Family Night – We are having our French Family Night on November 15th at 6pm.  Families are invited to come see what the students have learned this year and engage in their learning.  The kindergarten FI students will be joining us.  We will have different activities set up, some prizes, and snacks.  We’re hoping everyone can make it and if you cannot please send me an email.

Upcoming Important Dates:

November 5th – SCC Book Exchange (6-7pm)

November 6th – Hot lunch

November 8th – No School

November 9th – No School

November 12th – No School

November 15th – French Family Night (Please let me know if you cannot make it.)

November 20th – Hot lunch (order one week before)

November 23rd – Learning Summaries go home

Math –We are continuing our unit on number sense. With this we practice counting up to 90 as a class and independently. We are working on understanding what numbers represent. We will continue to have math centers this week.

French – We are finishing our Halloween vocabulary. We are continuing to learn how to say the consonants and what their sounds are. This week’s letter is K (the letter K is pronounced like ‘k-ahh’) in French the letter K makes the same sound as in English.

Phys. Ed – We are working on be aware of our movement in Phys. Ed.  Students are practicing moving in different directions, stopping and starting, moving towards a target and then dodging it.

Book of the Month – We started our book of the month. Students bring it home and can read it or have it read to them by a family member.  Afterwards I ask that together you leave a message on the first page about something they learned, enjoyed, or connected to.  Then, please return it to school so we can continue the chain.

Upcoming Important Dates:

October 29th – Battle of the Books Starts

October 31st – Halloween Dress Up Day (they can come dressed in their costumes that AM, no accessories please)

November 2nd – Photo Retakes

November 5th – SCC Book Exchange (6-7pm)

November 6th – Hot lunch (order one week before)

November 8th – No School

November 9th – No School

November 12th – No School

November 15th – French Family Night (Please let me know if you cannot make it.)

What’s Up this Week: Oct 22nd- Oct 26th

Math –This week we are continuing our unit on number sense. With this we practice counting up to 80 as a class and independently. We are working on understanding what numbers represent. We will continue to have math centers this week.

French – We are working on Halloween vocabulary. We are continuing to learn how to say the consonants and what their sounds are. This week’s letter is J (the letter J is pronounced like ‘jee’) in French the letter J makes the same sound as in English.

Phys. Ed – With this we are learning about playing fairly and rules in Phys. Ed. We are now working on our locomotor movements and fine motor skills in Phys. Ed.

Seesaw – The students and I love seeing when you like or comment on the posts we add to Seesaw, so please comment your thoughts ! With this I will sometimes have prompts at the end of a post.

Book of the Month – Through out the month a student will take the book home. They can read it or have it read to them by a family member.  Afterwards I ask that together you leave a message on the first page about something they learned, enjoyed, or connected to.  Then, please return it to school.

Upcoming Important Dates:

October 23rd – Hot Dog Lunch

October 29th – Battle of the Books Starts

October 31st – Halloween Dress Up Day

November 2nd – Photo Retakes

November 5th – SCC Book Exchange (6-7pm)

November 6th – Hot lunch (order one week before)

November 8th – No School

November 9th – No School

November 12th – No School

November 15th – French Family Night

Math –This week we are continuing our unit on number sense. With this we practice counting up to 70 as a class and independently. We are working on understanding what numbers represent. We will continue to have math centers this week that are going to help us build up our number sense and recognize numbers. If you’re interested in helping your child with their number sense and are looking for some fun ways to do this I can recommend some easy games.

French – We will continue working on autumn vocab. Soon we will be adding in some Halloween vocabulary. We are continuing to learn how to say the consonants and what their sounds are. This week’s letter is F (pronounced the same as in English ‘eff’) and the sound it makes is the same as an English F.

Phys. Ed – With this we are learning about playing fairly, rules in phys. Ed class, as well as working on our endurance and flexibility. We are now working on our locomotor movements and fine motor skills in Phys. Ed.

Three Way Conferences – This week on Tuesday the 16th and and Thursday the 18th from 3:30-7:00pm. Please register for a 15 min slot so we can discuss goals with your child(ren) and see some of the new things they have learned.  The registration will close tomorrow, if you haven’t registered you can send me an email and I will slot you in.

Seesaw – The students and I love seeing when you like or comment on the posts we add to Seesaw, so please comment your thoughts ! Also, I will sometimes have prompts at the end of a post. Feel free to comment back what was discussed.

Upcoming Important Dates:

 

October 16th – Three Way Conferences 3:30-7:00

October 18th – Three Way Conferences 3:30-7:00

October 19th – Scholastic Orders Due

October 19th – Terry Fox Movie Party (PM – students can bring a snack but no drinks)

October 23rd – Hot Dog Lunch (order on Healthy Hunger a week before)

October 29th – Battle of the Books Starts (a note will come home soon)

October 31st – Halloween Dress Up Day

What’s up this week – October 9th-12th

I hope everyone had a restful long weekend!

Math –This week we are continuing our unit on number sense. With this we practice counting up to 60 as a class and independently. We are working on understanding what numbers represent. We do this by playing games like war with ten frame cards. Students have centers where they pick a number and represent it with different counters, as well as some worksheets where they show each number in different ways . We are also learning how to properly print our numbers. If you’re interested in helping your child with their number sense and are looking for some fun ways to do this I can recommend some easy games.

French – We will continue working on autumn vocab. Soon we will be adding in some Halloween vocabulary. We will also be adding in some family and house vocab so eventually we will be asking for a picture of your house. We are continuing to learn how to say the consonants and what their sounds are. This week’s letter is G (pronounced similar to ‘jay’) and the sound it makes is the same as an English G.

Phys. Ed – With this we are learning about playing fairly, rules in phys. Ed class, as well as working on our endurance and flexibility. We are now working on our locomotor movements and fine motor skills in Phys. Ed.

Family Pictures – We have created our family bulletin board. If you haven’t, please send a picture of your family (or two pictures, with each parent/guardian) to school, feel free to email it to me and I can print it off at school.

Three Way Conferences – These are coming up quickly in October, they are the 16th and 18th from 3:30-7:00pm. Please register for a 15 min slot so we can discuss goals with your child(ren) and see some of the new things they have learned.

Seesaw – The students and I love seeing when you like or comment on the posts we add to Seesaw, so please comment your thoughts ! Also, I will sometimes have prompts at the end of a post. Feel free to comment back what was discussed. Our classroom iPads are currently getting set up with some french apps and will be ready for the students to use them soon and log on to seesaw.

Upcoming Important Dates:

Tuesday, Oct 9th – red day

October 10th – Picture Day

October 11th – Pizza Hot Lunch (order on Healthy Hunger a week before)

October 16th – Three Way Conferences 3:30-7:00

October 18th – Three Way Conferences 3:30-7:00

October 19th – Scholastic Orders Due

October 19th – Terry Fox Movie Party (PM – students can bring a snack but no drinks)

October 23rd – Hot Dog Lunch (order on Healthy Hunger a week before)

October 31st – Halloween Dress Up Day

What’s up this week – October 1st-5th

Math –This week we will continue our unit on number sense. With this we practice counting up to 50 as a class and independently. We are working on understanding what numbers represent, for example what 18 actually represents. We do this by playing games like war with ten frame cards. Students have centers where they pick a number and represent it with different counters, as well as some worksheets where they show each number in a different way. We are also learning how to properly print our numbers, this includes : writing them from left to right and printing them facing the right way.

French – We will continue working on our back to school/autumn vocab. Soon we will be adding in some Halloween vocabulary. We are continuing to learn how to say the consonants and what their sounds are. This will be reinforced through different alphabet centers throughout the week. This week’s letter is F (pronounced ‘eff’).

Phys. Ed – We start every phys. Ed class with a collaborative warm up game. With this we are learning about playing fairly, rules in phys. Ed class, as well as working on our endurance and flexibility. For the next couple weeks we will be working on catching and releasing skills with different types of equipment.

Colour Week(s) – We will continue dressing up in different colours for the next two weeks to help us learn the french colours. Below is a schedule of the colour we will be wearing each day. We will make a note in or agendas with what colour is the following day as well.

Family Pictures – As a class we want to make a family bulletin board. Please send a picture of your family (or two pictures, with each parent/guardian) to school, this can be sent in their planner or feel free to email it to me and I can print it off at school (as I know printing pictures isn’t much of a thing anymore).

Three Way Conferences – These are coming up quickly in October, they are the 16th and 18th from 3:45-7:00pm. Please register for a 15 min slot so we can discuss goals with your child(ren) and see some of the new things they have learned. The registration will open on Monday, an email will be sent out and I believe a note will be sent home as well.

Seesaw – The students and I love seeing when you like or comment on the posts we add to Seesaw, so please comment your thoughts ! Also, I will sometimes have prompts at the end of a post. Feel free to comment back what was discussed.

Oct 1st – 4th
Monday – purple
Tuesday – black and grey
Wednesday – yellow
Thursday – brown
Friday – no school

Tuesday, Oct 9th – red
Wednesday, Oct 10th – green (again, because I forgot to get a picture)

Upcoming Important Dates:

October 5th – Teacher PD (no school)
October 8th – Thanksgiving (no school)
October 10th – Picture Day
October 11th – Pizza Hot Lunch (order on Healthy Hunger a week before)
October 16th – Three Way Conferences 3:45-7:00
October 18th – Three Way Conferences 3:45-7:00
October 23rd – Hot Dog Lunch (order on Healthy Hunger a week before)
October 31st – Halloween Dress Up Day

What’s up this week – Sept 24th-28th

Math – We’ve completed our patterning unit. This week we are starting our next unit on number sense. We will begin working with numbers up to 20 and then to 100. We will continue practicing our counting up to 50, I will hopefully be able to post some audio clips of this later this week.

French – We will continue working on our back to school vocab and adding in some autumn vocab (maybe we should be learning winter vocab instead?!). We are continuing to learn how to say the consonants and what their sounds are. This will be reinforced through different alphabet centers throughout the week. This week’s letter is D (pronounced ‘day’).

Phys. Ed – We will continue playing collaborative games while trying to use the new vocabulary we are learning. For the next couple weeks we will be working on throwing and catching skills with different types of equipment.

Colour Week(s) – we are going to be dressing up in different colours for the next two weeks to help us learn the french colours. Below is a schedule of the colour we will be wearing each day. We will make a note in or agendas with what colour is the following day as well.

Sept 24th-28th
Monday – blue
Tuesday – white
Wednesday – green
Thursday – pink
Friday – orange

Oct 1st – 5th
Monday – purple
Tuesday – black and grey
Wednesday – yellow
Thursday – brown

Upcoming Important Dates:

September 25th – Hot Lunch
September 28th – Orange Shirt Day
October 8th – Thanksgiving (no school)
October 10th – Picture Day

Orange Shirt Day is recognized on September 30 each year and is part of a larger movement in the country to provide opportunity for First Nations, governments, schools and communities to unite in a spirit of reconciliation and hope for generations of children to come. The Orange Shirt Day movement is a legacy of the St. Joseph Mission residential school commemoration event held in Williams Lake, B.C., in 2013. It grew out of the account of a young girl having her new orange shirt taken away on her first day of school at the mission. Orange Shirt Day was first proclaimed in Saskatchewan in 2016, in response to a resolution passed by the province’s trustees at the SSBA Spring General Assembly.

Orange Shirt Day is “an opportunity for First Nations, local governments, schools and communities to come together in a spirit of reconciliation and hope for generations of children to come.”  (Saskatchewan School Boards Association (SSBA)

 

Since Saskatchewan’s Orange Shirt Day falls on a Sunday this year, all staff and students of École Traditions Elementary School are invited to wear an orange shirt to school on Friday, September 28th, 2018.

On Friday we had our monthly assembly, this month we focused on reconciliation.  The students watched the video below explaining why we honour residential school survivors and those that didn’t survive by wearing an orange shirt every year on September 30th. We discussed the importance of this day and why we need to remember our history and help those who attended Indian Residential Schools continue to heal from their traumatic experiences. We also listened to the book, When I was Eight.  This book is about a young Indigenous girl from William’s Lake, BC who attends an Indian Residential School.  She talks about how they cut off her braids and changed her name to Margaret.  The story explains the awful experiences this young girl had while away at school and how through it all she was resilient.

Unfortunately, our assembly was near the end of the school day so we didn’t have much time to debrief in class afterwards.  This week in our class I will read some other age appropriate books that share experiences of those who attended residential schools and discuss them as a class afterwards.

If you are interested in talking about Reconciliation and Orange Shirt Day with your children at home I have a list of some books that can help with that below as well as the video we watched at our assembly.

Books:

• Shi-shi-etko.Nicola I. Campbell
• Shin-chi’s Canoe. Nicola I. Campbell;
• No Time to Say Goodbye: children’s stories of Kuper Island Residential School.Sylvia Olsen
• Fatty Legs: a true story.Christy Jordan-Fenton & Margaret Pokiak-Fenton
• A Stranger at Home: a true story. Christy Jordan-Fenton & Margaret Pokiak-Fenton
• The 500 Years of Resistance Comic Book. Gord Hill
• Ends/Begins.David Alexander Robertson;
• The Pact.David Alexander Robertson;
• As Long as the Rivers Flow.Larry Loyie with Constance Brissenden
• Goodbye Buffalo Bay.Larry Loyie with Constance Brissenden
• When I Was Eight. Christy Jordan-Fenton and Margaret Pokiak-Fenton
• Speaking Our Truth: A Journey of Reconciliation. Monica Gray Smith
• I Am Not a Number. Jenny Kay Dupuis and Kathy Kacer
• Not my Girl. Christy Jordan-Fenton and Margaret Pokiak-Fenton
• The Orange Shirt Story. Phyllis Webstad

So far what we have been working on for vocabulary is learning

• how to sing the alphabet in French,
• counting to 30,
• the French colours,
• introducing ourselves,
• school vocab,
• and asking questions.

In math we have been working on creating patterns (les relations) with different materials.  Some patterns we’ve had students make are petit et grand, les couleurs, et les animaux.

What’s up this week – Sept 17th-21st

Math – We will continue working on making patterns and explaining them in French.  We are going to look at different patterns that we find in nature. We will increase our counting up to 50 this week.

French – We will continue working on adding to the vocabulary mentioned above. We are beginning to learn how to say the consonants and what their sounds are. This will be reinforced through different alphabet centers throughout the week.  This week’s letter is C (pronounced ‘say’).

Phys. Ed – We will continue playing collaborative games while trying to use the new vocabulary we are learning.

Upcoming Important Dates:

• September 19th – Terry Fox Presentation
• September 19th – Terry Fox Walk
• September 21st – Reconciliation Assembly
• September 25th – Hot Lunch
• September 28th – Orange Shirt Day