Hello Team KA/1A,

Welcome to December! We had a great week full of fun and learning. We learned a lot this week, we read with our book buddies, we made some glowing holiday lights with chalk and pastels, and we even experienced our first hour delay of the school year.

When school is delayed by an hour, there are couple things that change:

• There is no school breakfast program
• There is no first recess
• Our morning routine happens in a different order (to accommodate specialists)
• We still eat morning snack at approximately the same time as usual

This week in Fundations we learned the letters J & P and continued to practice all the letters that we have learned so far.  

In Math we used Chromebooks for the first time. This helps students become familiar with school based technology and playing math games with a partner allows them to practice math skills at the same time. The website we are using right now is ABCYA which is free and has a variety of educational games for multiple grade levels. We only use Chromebooks once in a while, and through the year students will learn how to log on and navigate independently.  

You are invited to the West Kent Holiday Concert on Dec. 14 (snow date Dec 16) at 12:45. We will perform for the school in the morning, and for families in the afternoon. Everyone is working hard in music class to prepare for this performance and we are excited to show you in a couple weeks!

The West Kent Holiday Shop will take place on Dec 7 & Dec 8 (snow date Dec 9). This is free for all students. There is a box set up in the front lobby for donations. The Home & School is looking for volunteers to help run the shop. Watching students pick out gifts for their grownups last year was truly the highlight of my holiday season, so if you have the time available, it is a great way to spend a few hours. Here is the link to sign up:  https://www.signupgenius.com/go/70A0A4EACA823A2F49-west4

Next Week in KA/1A

Monday, December 5, Day 4 – Phys. Ed.

Tuesday, December 6, Day 5 – Music

Wednesday, December 7, Day 6 – Phys. Ed., Holiday Shop, and Report Cards go home

Thursday, December 8, Day 1 – Music & Book Buddies

Friday, December 9, Day 2 – Phys. Ed & Ms. Ramsay

Have a great weekend,

Lisa 🙂

Hello Team KA/1A,

Thanks for coming to Parent-Teacher Interviews this week. I sincerely enjoy getting a chance to meet each of you and discus your child’s progress. As always, please don’t hesitate to send me an email at any time if you have questions or concerns about your child’s learning.

This week in Fundations we reviewed the 15 letters that we know and worked with sentence structure, rhyming and capitalization. Two new letters coming next week!

We read the book Snowballs by Lois Ehlert together. The book is about decorating snowmen with whatever odds and ends can be found around the house. So, we collected odds and ends from the classroom and made our own never-melting snowmen. This was great scissor and direction following practice with some very cute end products.

In Math we continue to explore ways to represent and break numbers apart. We have been playing many different math games to practice and strengthen our learning. Students are becoming more independent and are able to play/work at the math centers without as much involvement from me, which means we are able to have a greater variety of centers happening in the room each day. At home, games with dice are a fun and effective way to practice number sense skills together as a family.

You are invited to the West Kent Holiday Concert on Dec. 14 (snow date Dec 16) at 12:45. We will perform for the school in the morning, and for families in the afternoon. Everyone is working hard in music class to prepare for this performance and we are excited to show you in a couple weeks!

Our class was lucky enough to be drawn as the HomeRoom winner in the annual Book Fair draw. KA/1A won $25 worth of books from the fair and I’m excited to share our newest library additions with the class on Monday.

The West Kent Holiday Shop will take place on Dec 7 & Dec 8 (snow date Dec 9). There is a box set up in the front lobby for donations. The Home & School is looking for volunteers to help run the shop. Watching students pick out gifts for their grownups last year was truly the highlight of my holiday season. If you have the time available, it is a heart-warming way to spend a few hours. Here is the link to sign up:  https://www.signupgenius.com/go/70A0A4EACA823A2F49-west4

Next Week in KA/1A

Monday, November 28, Day 5 – Music

Tuesday, November 29, Day 6 – Phys. Ed.

Wednesday, November 30, Day 1 – Music & Book Buddies

Thursday, December 1, Day 2 – Phys. Ed & Ms. Ramsay

Friday, December 2, Day 3 – Music

Enjoy the weekend,

Lisa 🙂

You are invited to the West Kent Holiday Concert on Wednesday, December 14 at 12:45pm. The snow date is December 16.

We’re excited to see you then 🙂

Hi again everyone,

It feels great to have a full five day week in this week! It helps the students get comfortable in our routines and allows us more time to learn skills and strategies. We also spent some time this week on assessments so that I know specifically where they are when I get to meet with each of you next week.

We learned the letters E & R this week in Fundations and we now know over half the alphabet. We tried lots of different ways to practice our letter formations this week to help us learn and remember all of these letters.  

In Math we are finding new ways to represent numbers and we are breaking numbers apart in a wider variety of ways. This will help students develop a mental dexterity with numbers that will become the foundation for future math and mental math skills. We are working now to build a strong foundation!

We learned a lot this week about the brain. We read Your Fantastic Elastic Brain (and we will refer back to it many times this year). We learned about the 5 main sections of the brain (Pre Frontal Cortex, Cerebrum, Cerebellum, Hippocampus, and Amygdala) and learned what each section is responsible for. We learned that we can work to strengthen our brain like any other body part, and we have started to incorporate vocabulary in class daily that will encourage students to try hard things so that they can grow their brains. One area in particular we will be focusing on is growing neural pathways with lots of practice when it comes to new skills. Brain Song

Speaking of the brain, one way at home you can help support brain growth and development, is to encourage your children to ‘cross the midline’ often. Here is a great article with easy suggestions on how to incorporate this at home and why it is so important. https://www.theottoolbox.com/crossing-midline-march-gross-motor/?fbclid=IwAR0IY3NE4wvssWpcpU0FkMmXvlfji1jK-K_q2tXmR5GOAiv-zVnG2Lo_t_8

Please be sure to send a fork from home that can be washed and reused if your child is ordering lunch. We have gone through an entire bag of plastic forks already and it was supposed to last us the school year. Also, please make sure in both Hot Lunches and the Provincial Food Program that your child is registerd as KA/1A so that their lunch arrives in our room on time. Thanks!

Please let me know if you would like picture retakes for your child so that I can put them on the list.

Scholastic Book Fair! 

West Kent Elementary will be hosting a Scholastic Book Fair starting Friday, November 18th and ending Friday, November 25th at 11am. Our class will visit the fair to browse/create a wish list early in the week. If you would like to send money for your child to make a purchase, we have a time to shop on Wednesday. Families may visit the book fair Thursday, November 24th from 3- 7pm. There will also be a virtual online Book Fair for friends and families. As always, proceeds from the fair will be used to enhance the library collection.  Thank you for your support of our school library!

Parent-Teacher Interviews will be held this week. If you have signed up for an in-person PTI, come to the classroom. If you have signed up for a phone interview, I will call you at your scheduled time (I call from Google Meet, which will show up as an Ontario number on your caller ID). I will do my best to keep to my schedule so that people aren’t kept waiting. I look forward to meeting with you 😊

It seems to be sickness season. If your child is feeling unwell, home is the best place to be. Please be sure to either send me an email (lmmacleod@edu.pe.ca) or call the main office (902-368-6065) and let us know that they are home with you.

Next Week in KA/1A

Monday, November 21, Day 1 – Music & Picture Retakes

Tuesday, November 22, Day 2 – Phys. Ed. & Ms. Ramsay

Wednesday, November 23, Day 3 – Music & Book Fair

Thursday, November 24, Day 4 – Phys. Ed

Friday, November 25 – Parent Teacher Interviews (NO CLASSES)

Have a great weekend,

Lisa 🙂

Hi again everyone,

We sure packed a lot of fun activities into this four day week! We had our very first field trip to Beamish’s Apple Orchard in Warren Grove on Tuesday. We got to learn all about how apples and apple trees grow, we went on a wagon ride, we tasted some apples and apple cider and searched for fruit buds on the trees.

On Thursday we continued our apple theme and became chefs who worked together to make our very own apple sauce. The room smelled delicious all day while it cooked and we got to taste our creation at the end of the day. The little chefs were very proud of their creation!

We also welcomed our Teddys in on Wednesday. The Teddys were thoroughly checked out by the UPEI Student Nurses at the Teddy Bear Clinic. Students gave information on their Teddys health habits, they were X-Rayed, measured, had their eyes, ears, and mouths checked, and were bandaged. They are feeling much healthier now!

We also got to listen to stories in the library and then sang lullabies and tucked our Teddy friends in for the Teddy Bear Sleepover. On Thursday everyone really enjoyed looking at the ‘security footage’ of the antics the Teddys got up to overnight.

We also had a Teddy Bear Picnic with our Teddy friends at snack time. The weather wasn’t ideal, so we had our picnic in the classroom.

We learned the letters D & S this week in Fundations and continued to review and practice previously taught letters. The students are very excited to find known letters around their environment (on signs, on product label, in books, etc). Encouraging them to continue to find these letters in their environment at home will help develop their fluency as readers and pre-readers.

We learned about Remembrance Day, the significance of Poppies and focused on peace this week. On Wednesday we attended the Remembrance Day Assembly in the gym and got to listen to songs from other West Kent students about peace. The class were all phenomenal listeners and audience members during the more serious assembly.

In Math this week we introduced double digit numbers and using base ten blocks as a way to represent a number. We will continue to build on ways to use base ten blocks so that students are familiar, comfortable and fluent with them when it’s time to use them later on to solve math problems.

Please be sure to send a fork from home that can be washed and reused if your child is ordering lunch. We have gone through an entire bag of plastic forks already and it was supposed to last us the school year. Also, please make sure in both Hot Lunches and the Provincial Food Program that your child is registered as KA/1A so that their lunch arrives in our room on time. Thanks!

Kits for Kindness Free Snack Bags

Kits for Kindness is a program that provides a free weekly bags of snack foods to be sent home in a child’s backpack each week to help support food security.

If you would like for your child to receive a weekly free bag of snacks, please reach out to your child’s classroom teacher and their name will be added to our school list.

The Scholastic Book Fair is quickly approaching! The flyers were sent home yesterday, our class is scheduled to visit the fair to browse on Monday, November 21, and then to shop on Wednesday, November 23. The fair will also be open to parents during the Thursday evening and Friday of that week for Parent-Teacher Interviews.

Parent-Teacher Interviews will be held the week of November 21-25. You can sign up at https://wks.schoolappointments.com/ for your interview time. Interviews will either be held in our classroom, or on the phone (your choice). A yellow sheet was sent home in the homework bags on Thursday with more information on how to book your time.

Picture Retakes have been scheduled for Monday, November 21.

Next Week in KA/1A

Monday, November 14, Day 2 – Phys. Ed. & Ms. Ramsay

Tuesday, November 15, Day 3 – Music

Wednesday, November 16, Day 4 – Phys. Ed

Thursday, November 17, Day 5 – Music

Friday, November 18, Day 6 – Phys. Ed.

Enjoy the weekend,

Lisa 🙂

Looking forward to our first field trip to the apple orchard tomorrow! We will leave shortly after the announcements/O’Canada and return in time for lunch. We’ll eat snack at the orchard. 🍎

Tomorrow is supposed to be much colder, so please send students dressed in layers. Rubber boots would also be a good option if you have them. 🧤🧣

A form went home in the homework bags today for the Teddy Bear Clinic. Please fill out the information on the back with your child and return it with the Teddy on Wednesday 🧸

Thanks,

Lisa 😀

Welcome to November!

It’s hard to believe that we are already into our third month of the school year. It sure is passing by quickly and we will soon begin assessments in preparation for the first report card and parent-teacher interviews.

We had a short but high energy week filled with Halloween excitement. We celebrated on Monday afternoon by joining together with KB and KC to explore different play based learning centers in each of the three classrooms. Students continued to practice their math skills, Fundations lessons, and had another lesson with Ms. Ramsay this week.

On Tuesday, permission forms were sent home for our very first field trip that is coming up on Tuesday. As part of our social studies, we will be visiting an apple orchard to learn about apples, how they are grown and harvested and what products they can be used in. We will be leaving shortly after O’Canada and will be back at the school by lunch time. Students will take their morning snack with them to eat at the apple orchard. We are also asking that each student take $2 back with their permission forms in order to cover the costs of bus transportation. Please have permission forms back by Monday so that we can ensure everyone can participate in the first field trip.

We are also excited to participate in the Teddy Bear Clinic on Wednesday this week (look for a letter in Monday’s homework bags). The UPEI Student Nurses host a Teddy Bear Clinic every year at the end of their time with us. Students are encouraged to bring a special Teddy to school with them on Wednesday and the nurses with weigh their Teddys, listen to the heartbeats, check their ears and their eyes and complete a full ‘check-up’ to ensure that the Teddys are healthy. This allows our young students to experience medical/health routines and professionals in a fun and safe environment and help build positive and healthy relationships.

Another fun tradition is the Teddy Bear Sleepover. Ms. Graham (library) invites our youngest students each year to take a Teddy to the library to sleep over. We will visit the library, listen to a special story and then tuck our Teddys in and say goodnight. The Teddys will be returned to each student in the morning, and then we will check the ‘security cameras’ to see what sorts of silly mischief the Teddys got into overnight. This is always a favorite activity of the students, and one they are usually still talking about in the Spring. Since the Teddys are already making the journey to the school on Wednesday for the clinic, Ms. Graham thought that it would be a great time to have the sleepover as well. Please label the Teddys with the student’s name (painter’s tape works well!) so that all special friends can be returned home on Thursday.

In Music class, students will soon begin practice for their Christmas concert. Once we have a confirmed date, I will pass it along so that you can make plans to come and enjoy your child’s performance.

Next Week in KA/1A

Monday, November 7, Day 4 – Phys. Ed.

Tuesday, November 8, Day 5 – Apple Orchard Field Trip

Wednesday, November 9, Day 6 – Phys. Ed, Teddy Bear Clinic & Sleepover, Remembrance Day Ceremony

Thursday, November 10, Day 1 – Music & Book Buddies

Friday, November 11 – Remembrance Day (NO CLASSES)

Enjoy the weekend,

Lisa 🙂

Hi KA/1A grown-ups,

Happy Diwali to everyone this week. I hope everyone is enjoying the celebration of light!

We had a fun filled week starting on Monday with a visit from STEAM PEI. We learned about shapes and characteristics of shapes while playing with Magformers and building tall and stable structures. On Wednesday as part of Library Week, we had Mayor Phillip Brown in to read the latest Pig the Pug book to the class. Our student nurses were back for two more days of observations and we ended the week participating in Spooktacular and enjoyed all the Halloween themed activities through the school.

This week in Fundations we continued to review and practice the 9 letters that we have already learned, and we added A and G as well. We have also been working with a short story about Echo the owl finding dinner. This helps students learn and practice comprehension strategies.

In Math we continue to find ways to break numbers apart and to build with many different types of materials and finding and creating patterns.

We did a Science experiment this week. We asked the question ‘Do pumpkins float?’ We then made predictions and then tested 3 different pumpkins of different sizes to find out. After we discovered that pumpkins do in fact float, we recorded the results of our experiment. All the students were fantastic scientists!

Thank you for all the candy donations! It looks like it’s going to be a very sweet prize to be won at the Fall Fair on Saturday (10-2).

A reminder that West Kent is a nut free and scent free school. We have a staff member with serious allergies to scents. Although perfume and cologne are obvious scents, hair products (thinking of Halloween costumes), laundry detergent, and lotions also carry scents and can cause an allergic reaction. We also have several student with life-threatening nut allergies. All nut products (including Nutella, Reese Candies, peanut butter, etc) cannot be taken in the school or on the busses. We also cannot accept imitation alternatives (ie: WOW Butter) since we don’t have the capacity to verify it’s ingredients. Thank you so much for helping keep the school a safe place for all students and staff.

We are excited to celebrate Halloween at West Kent this year. Students are invited to wear costumes to school on Monday, October 31. We ask that masks, weapons or anything with blood not be included in the costume that comes to school. As well, any accessories to costumes that can easily be lost or forgotten should be left at home to avoid Trick or Treating disappointments.

Class 5B is also hosting a Bake Sale on Monday. Items will be $1- $2 or less and students will be able to buy one item from the cart. If you would like your child to purchase a treat, please send money in the homework bag.  All money raised will be donated to the QEH.

Next Week in KA/1A

Monday, October 31, Day 1 – Music, Bake Sale & Halloween

Tuesday, November 1, Day 2 – Phys. Ed. & Ms. Ramsay

Wednesday, November 2, Day 4 – Music

Thursday, November 3 – PD Day (NO CLASSES)

Friday, November 4 – PD Day (NO CLASSES)

Have a spooky weekend,

Lisa 🙂