The end of Kindergarten

Hi Team KA, 

This week was a whirlwind of finishing up and switching gears. We learned our 27th and last trick word in FunDations and students celebrated all the reading skills that they learned this year. We unfortunately didn’t make it to Victoria Park this week, but we had some fun activities here at school. We went to the Maker Space in the library, we had a special playtime with KB and KC and we spent as much time outside as we could. Today, Wessy joined the morning announcements and we had our year end assembly outside. Awards were presented to students for exemplifying the BEST qualities that we have been working on all year. There was also a tug of war between the Kindergartens and Grade 6 students, which the Kindergartens won! We were also treated to a mascot race for some laughs. 

This year has been so full of growth for every single student. They have become readers, writers, mathematicians, musicians, actors, athletes, farmers, scientists and storytellers. They have become more confident, more kind, more aware and more inclusive. This group in particular looks out for each other and supports each other more than any other Kindergarten class I have taught. They have a special bond and I hope that it continues to grow in the years to come. I have enjoyed teaching them more than I can express and I only wish I could have started with them in September. I am excited to watch them from a far in Grade 1, and the years following as well. I am so proud of each and every one of them. 

Adding our final dot to our days in school count

Thank you to each of you. This year has been an example of true collaboration between home and school. And when that collaboration is strong, students thrive. You have made my transition back to the classroom not only easy, but very enjoyable as well. Thank you for being part of Team KA. 

A reminder that the report cards are in the backpacks today. 

Next year at West Kent:

Tuesday, September 8, Day 1 – First Day of Grade 1

Have a fantastic summer, 

Lisa 😊

#bestkent πŸ’™πŸ’›

Victoria Park

Hi again,

Mother Nature doesn’t seem to be on our side this week. We are tentatively hoping to go to Victoria Park tomorrow (Wednesday) afternoon. If the weather cooperates, we will walk over. If it’s rainy, we will do a fun activity at school instead. Let’s hope for some sunshine 🀞🏻

Lisa 🌞

June 22-25

Hi KA grown-ups, 

We had a lot of fun and learning during our last full week of Kindergarten. Of course we started the week with our Camp Triumph Field Trip. On Tuesday, the rest of the school went on their respective field trips, and Kindergarten had the building to ourselves. Mme. Vessy organized a summer themed scavenger hunt which took students all around the school. Our K students had fun and enjoyed the freedom to explore the entire building. I also witnessed some incredible teamwork and cooperation between students during this activity. 

To enjoy the beautiful weather on Wednesday, we took our snacks outside for a picnic. When students came back in from recess, they asked if they could have our play time outdoors. So, we put it to a vote. Students each cast a secret ballot and then helped count the votes. The β€˜yeses’ won, and we soaked up some more sunshine during playtime. 

Thursday was Rainbow Day. We read Pride Puppy and talked about how each and every person is special and unique and deserve to be celebrated for being themselves. We also joined the West Kent Rainbow Walk in the afternoon. 

Starting on Monday, students will be bringing some year end β€˜stuff’ home with them each day. I try to spread it out over the week so that backpacks are too heavy on the last day. Please check the backpacks each evening and empty out anything that doesn’t need to be in there to make room for what will be coming home the next day. Report cards will be in the homework bags on Thursday. 

We hope to fit in one more Victoria Park trip next week. Once we get a clearer view on the forecast, we will pick a date and let you know. 

Next week in KA:

Monday, June 22, Day 2: Mrs. Mac & Phys. Ed & Library

Tuesday, June 23, Day 3: Music

Wednesday, June 24, Day 4: Mrs. Mac & Phys. Ed

Thursday, June 25 Day 5: Music and Last Day!

Friday, June 26: Summer Vacation!

Enjoy the weekend, 

Lisa 😊

Camp Triumph

Hi parents,

We had a fantastic field trip today to Camp Triumph! So many great memories were made that we cannot wait until Friday to share them with you. It was a long bus ride, but all the students were fantastic and showed great patience.

Once we arrived, we had our snack in the dinning hall and then we headed to the climbing wall. It was fantastic to see how proud students were of themselves when climbing the wall. Many would set a goal of how high they wanted to climb, work hard to reach that goal, get back down to the ground and immediately set a new goal to climb higher!

Once we were done the climbing wall, we had time to play in the mini ropes course that kept everyone closer to earth. Students tested their balance and their aim at this station.

We then had the opportunity to play some lawn games. Students cooperated and tried their hand at many different throwing games.

Next, we played mini golf. Students cheered each other on and navigated the many obstacles at each of the nine holes.

After lunch students got to play in the Splash Zone (no pictures taken during this event). There were water slides, foam and bubbles. It was a little chilly and we didn’t stay at this station very long, but a lot of fun was had.

There many sleepy students on the bus ride back to school, which is usually a sign of a great field trip!

Because of our field trip today and many special activities planned later in the week, we won’t be going to Victoria Park this week but we hope to make it back for one last trip next week. I’ll keep you posted when we can see the forecast and pick a date.

Have a great evening,

Lisa πŸ˜ƒ

June 15-19

Hi families, 

The year end celebrations have begun, even though our learning has not stopped. On Tuesday, we participated in West Kent’s Summer Field Day. Ms. Szwarc had many stations set up around the school yard with lots of fun activities. Some examples were bowling, chalk mural, golf, giant parachute and tetris. Students finished the day with popsicles and lots of fun was had. 

This week we read Kunu’s Basket, and then made baskets ourselves. This task took patience and concentration. We reminded ourselves that in the story, it took 7 tries before Kunu and his grandfather were successful. We will continue to work on the baskets next week before they go home.

We took another trip to Victoria Park on Friday and continue to track the seasonal changes in the woods and at the pond. 

Our field trip to Camp Triumph is on Monday. This will be a full day field trip and we will not have access to milk or lunch orders, so students will need to take a lunch from home and their full water-bottle. Also, there is a splash zone at the camp, so students are asked to come to school with their swimsuit already on under their clothing and dry clothes and a towel in their backpack. This will save us time when we arrive to start the fun right away, but they’ll have to change before we head back to the school. We will be outside all day, so we are asking students to take a hat for shade, and to arrive at school with sunscreen already applied and more sunscreen in the backpack to reapply throughout the day. 

Lost & Found – Our lost and found containers are overflowing with items. Please feel free to drop by the school after 2:45pm and have a look for any of your child’s lost items. We have set a table up outside the library. All items left after June 25th will be donated to charity.

Next week in KA:

Monday, June 15, Day 3: Camp Triumph

Tuesday, June 16, Day 4: Mrs. Mac & Phys. Ed

Wednesday, June 17, Day 5: Music

Thursday, June 18 Day 6:Mrs. Mac & Phys. Ed

Friday, June 19, Day 1: Music

Have a great weekend, 

Lisa 😊

June 8-12

Hi again,Β 

Our week started off on International Children’s Day and a visit from the Peace Run. In the morning, we watched a video and learned about the UN Rights of the Child. Students learned that they have many rights and that if their rights are not being respected, they need to tell an adult that they trust. In the afternoon, we had a school-wide assembly on the basketball court as runners from the Peace Run spoke to us about world peace.

Also on Monday, Ms. Sandra came for our last Introspection lesson where we learned about our brain, belly, bladder. Even though this was the last time with Ms. Sandra, we will continue to pay attention to our bodies in order to learn to recognize the signals it is sending us and how to meet those needs. 

Watching Blue eat his breakfast.

On Thursday afternoon we spent another wonderful afternoon at Victoria Park with KB and KC.Β And on Friday, we earned an extra recess from Mme. Dunning for being our BEST selves and working so hard!

Bike to School Day will take place on Friday, June 12. This is an initiative led by the City of Charlottetown to encourage active transportation. Students are encouraged to bike or walk to school (those who live a long distance away will often drive part way, and then bike or walk the rest). The class with the highest percentage of students using active transportation to get to school will win a pizza party provided by the City. 

Wall Ball has become a very popular recess activity lately. Although it has many great benefits, it has also resulted in a lot of extra work for Mr. Rob as he’s being asked to retrieve lost balls on the roof multiple times a day. Sometimes the balls end up on the roof by accident, but sometimes they are being thrown there on purpose. Going forward, Mr. Rob will not be going to the roof to get lost balls. If you take a wall ball to school, it is at your own risk. If it goes on the roof, it’s gone until the wind takes it down. Thanks for your understanding. 

Next Tuesday will be Summer Field Day. We will spend the majority of the afternoon outside for some fun activities. Please make sure your child comes to school with a hat, sunglasses, and sunscreen.

On Monday, June 15, Kindergarten students will be going on a year-end celebration field trip to Camp Triumph where we will take part in many fun activities. The cost is $10/student which includes all activities and the bus. The Home & School is covering the remainder of the fees. Thank you to everyone who returned the permission forms this week. 

Next week in KA:

Monday, June 8, Day 4: Mrs. Mac & Phys. Ed

Tuesday, June 9, Day 5: Music and Summer Field Day

Wednesday, June 10, Day 6: Mrs. Mac & Phys. Ed

Thursday, June 11 Day 1: Music

Friday, June 12, Day 2: Mrs. Mac, Phys. Ed & Library

Have a wonderful weekend, 

Lisa 😊

June 1-5

Hello KA grown-ups, 

It’s hard to believe we are entering our final month of the school year. The students have been talking a lot about going to Grade 1. There is some nervousness and a lot of excitement about the upcoming transition, but we are going to make the most of the time we have left together in KA. 

The weather did not cooperate to allow us to make it to Victoria Park this week. We hope to see drier weather next week so that we can get back. 

We have been closely monitoring our three caterpillars. They have been growing very quickly and will start to form their chrysalises soon. At that point, they will be moved to a net cage in the library and will hatch into butterflies.

We worked hard this week practicing all the skills we have been learning. We have begun sentence dictation in FunDations. This task allows students to practice several skills at once such as phoneme encoding, digraphs, long and short vowels, trick words, letter formation, upper and lower case determination, finger spacing and punctuation. Students have been doing really well balancing all these new skills and I’m proud of how hard they are working. We also learned two new trick words this week to add to our growing vocabulary. 

On Monday, June 15, Kindergarten students will be going on a year-end celebration field trip to Camp Triumph where we will take part in many fun activities. The cost is $10/student which includes all activities and the bus. The Home & School is covering the remainder of the fees (thank you H&S!). Permission forms will be going home next week for this event.Β 

Next week in KA:

Monday, June 1, Day 5: Music & Introspection

Tuesday, June 2, Day 6: Mrs. Mac & Phys. Ed

Wednesday, June 3, Day 1: Music

Thursday, June 4, Day 2: Mrs. Mac, Phys. Ed & Library

Friday, June 5, Day 3: Music

Have a great weekend, 

Lisa 😊