Happy Friday Team KA,
Today West Kent tried a new form of Morning Announcements where each class could see Ms. Waye and Ms. MacKenzie on the Smart Boards in each classroom. They even hosted a song contest on the announcements and the KA class won. Our prize was TimBits at snack time! But more importantly, it really lifted the energy on a raining morning.
We are so lucky to start the new year off with two full weeks of learning. This is setting us up for a strong winter learning term, and this is arguably the most important learning time. Soon, students will put their tapping/decoding skills to use and start reading simple books. This is always an exciting time that I celebrate with each student when they experience this big learning milestone. I do my best to introduce book reading to each student at a time that is best for them in order to build their confidence and self image as a reader, so the timeline will differ for each student. I am confident that each student will reach this milestone by the beginning of March.
This group has been working hard to grow their numeracy skills. Our focus has been on accumulating different strategies and learning when to use different strategies. This is an exciting but messy time of learning. Students are aware of many different strategies but can often confuse the difference between strategies and they aren’t great yet at knowing when to use certain ones. This is a totally normal part of learning, and with more practice over the next few weeks they will begin to select strategies more independently and accurately. It’s still important to ask your child to show off their learning at home, but don’t be alarmed if their counting and number work seems messy right now. It’s not that your child is struggling, it’s just the stage of learning that we’re at.
Our West Kent hallway challenge finished up this week. Our class did a fantastic job of keeping our coat hooks tidy and organized the entire time. We had a respectable showing in the Wessy points, but we were not the popcorn party winners. The students in our class (and others) were very invested in this friendly competition and checked the scoreboard in the hallway regularly. This was a fantastic opportunity for students to practice their counting and comparing skills independently. I was most impressed with how students from our class would talk about how it was important to continue these good organizational habits after the challenge. Their social awareness and sense of responsibility is impressive and I’m so lucky to spend each day with such a conscientious group of students.
This coming Friday will be our rescheduled Wild Child session. Please keep your fingers crossed that the weather is more cooperative for us this time.
Family Literacy Day will take place on Tuesday, January 27. At West Kent, one of the ways we celebrate this day is by inviting students and staff to dress as their favorite book character for the day. This will help strengthen student’s connections and engagement in literacy which provides a strong foundation for their current and future education. Please keep in mind that costumes should be something that students can manage independently, that are appropriate for recess and Phys Ed, and little pieces/accessories are better left safely at home so that they have less chance of getting lost.
Next Week in KA:
Monday, January 19, Day 6: Mrs. Mac & Phys. Ed
Tuesday, January 20, Day 1: Music
Wednesday, January 21, Day 2: Mrs. Mac, Phys. Ed & Library
Thursday, January 22, Day 3: Music
Friday, January 23, Day 4: Mrs. Mac, Phys. Ed & Wild Child
Lisa 😊
Mrs. MacLeod's Class 