Hello again KA families, 

It ended up being a very short week this week, but we still squeezed in lots of learning and laughs. This week we planted an in-class garden. We planted split peas and radishes. We hope to be able to harvest them in about two weeks and taste test our own grown produce. We will be watching closely to observe changes and growth. 

This week we learned more about 3D objects. We counted faces, edges and vertices and next we will be learning their names.

We started new learning centers this week with a focus on fine motor skills, trick words and numeracy skills. We will continue these centers next week as well so that everyone has a chance to use them, and the centers that come after that will focus on the same types of skills. 

The Pie in the Face Easter Seals fundraiser continues. Our assembly was postponed by a week in order to give students more opportunity to purchase ballots.  Students can purchase ballots up until the assembly this coming Thursday. Thank you to everyone who has supported this initiative. 

Next week in KA:

Monday, April 6: Easter Monday – NO CLASSES

Tuesday, April 7, Day 5: Music

Wednesday, April 8, Day 6: Mrs. Mac & Phys. Ed 

Thursday, April 9, Day 1: Music & Pie in the Face Assembly 

Friday, April 10: PD Day – NO CLASSES

Wishing you all a great Easter Weekend, 

Lisa 😊

Welcome back from the break!

Although it is now Spring, the Winter weather persists and students are still enjoying the snow. Once the Spring weather truly begins, the mud will start too. Splash pants, extra socks and mitts are helpful once the weather turns. 

We started the week with Francofolie. This was an afternoon activity that the entire school participated in and was originally intended to be the grand finale of French Week before March Break. Due to the storm day, the celebration was moved to this past Monday and students enjoyed the various activities around the school promoting the French language and culture. 

Our theme this week to welcome Spring was Rainbows! We did some rainbow art and read some rainbow themed read-alouds. We participated in the Scientific Inquiry Process by listing what we already knew about rainbows, asking questions about them, and then conducting experiments. We used Skittles to make rainbows, we tried two water walking experiments, and we used a flashlight with mirrors and prisms. We also tried to make rainbow crystals with sugar and baking soda. We learned that some experiments don’t work as expected and that we can still learn from them as well. Students were highly engaged in all the activities and seemed to enjoy the process.

Some student chose to extend their learning about rainbows to our playtime as well.

We were also happy to welcome two new students to KA this week! I was very proud of how welcoming all of our students were and how they helped the new students learn the ways of KA.

Students continue to work hard when practicing their reading and writing skills. They are filling their writing portfolios with many pieces and are learning about editing and revising their work now.

The Pie in the Face Easter Seals fundraiser continues. Students can purchase ballots up until the assembly this coming Thursday. Thank you to everyone who has supported this initiative. 

Next week in KA:

Monday, March 30, Day 2: Mrs. Mac, Phys. Ed & Library

Tuesday, March 31, Day 3: Music

Wednesday, April 1, Day 4: Mrs. Mac & Phys. Ed 

Thursday, April 2, Day 5: Music

Friday, April 3: Good Friday – NO CLASSES

Enjoy the weekend, 

Lisa 😊

Welcome back from March Break!

Please see the poster below about an Easter Seals fundraiser that students are very excited for! Students are allowed to purchase as many ballots as they would like.

Tickets go on sale tomorrow, Tuesday, March 24.

Hello KA grown-ups, 

It’s hard to believe that we are already at March Break. We had a great week here at school with an assembly where certificates were awarded for showing responsibility. We learned about thinking safely and how to be safe while playing at school. We also had many fun French week activities such as the school-wide BINGO on Wednesday, and a Tintramar (Acadian style parade with noisemakers) on Thursday. French phrases were taught on the morning announcements, and students won prizes for speaking in French. Our Francofolie that was scheduled for Friday will now happen after the break.

We also learned more about the Paralympics and PEI’s own Mark Arendz. We tracked the Canadian medals won and watched some wheelchair curling, sit skiing, guided skiing and sledge hockey. We will update our chart when we get back from March Break with the second week of medals.

Our KA authors continued to build their skills. Last week we read The Snowman (which has no words, only pictures) and then told our stories solely through illustrations. This week, we read The Book With No Pictures, and wrote without using illustrations. We then compared our two pieces and had a discussion about what we liked better as an author/illustrator and as a reader. 

We were also invited to 1A on Wednesday to see some animal writing projects. KA students were so attentive and respectful while visiting 1A and some were inspired by their grade one friends. 

The Bike Bus registration form deadline has been extended to March 23 due to the storm day today.

Thank you to those who have completed the survey regarding the Student-Led Interviews. If you have not yet had a chance to fill it out, I will leave it open for a few more days. Knowing how parents felt about the experience really helps me make decisions for next year and I really appreciate all the guidance in that area. 

After March Break in KA:

Monday, March 23, Day 4: Mrs. Mac & Phys. Ed 

Tuesday, March 24, Day 5: Music

Wednesday, March 25, Day 6: Mrs. Mac & Phys. Ed 

Thursday, March 26, Day 1: Music

Friday, March 27, Day 2: Mrs. Mac & Phys. Ed 

I hope you all have a fabulous March Break, 

Lisa 😊

Hello KA families, 

Thank you all for attending the Student-Led conferences. I always look forward to an opportunity to share your child’s learning with you, and this time felt extra special because you were able to see for yourself how much your child has learned. Since this is my first time using Student-Led Conferences, I am asking you to complete a short survey that is linked at the end of this paragraph (9 questions and it should take less than 5mins) in order to provide me with some feedback. I am really looking forward to hearing your honest opinions about this format so that I can make the best decisions for how I present student learning to parents in the future. Also, if you have any feedback that the survey does not cover, please feel free to email me. Thanks for helping me get a better idea of how to proceed with these in the future. Click here for survey link

Even though this week was very short, we had a big celebration on Thursday, our 100th day of school! The number 100 was our Number of the Day and our Magic Number. Our Body Breaks involved counting to 100, we made a necklace with 100 Fruit Loops and had a special snack using 10 groups of 10. 

Next Thursday, March 12, students are invited to pay $2 to wear West Kent colors to school as part of an Easter Seals fundraiser. Students are also invited to wear Green on Friday, March 13 since we won’t be in class on St. Patrick’s Day.

Next week West Kent will be hosting French Week as a way to celebrate the language and culture. There will be some special activities that all students will be able to participate in, and we will be learning some common French phrases on the morning announcements each day. We have already started learning the French version of O’Canada so that we can sing along in the mornings where French and bilingual versions are played. 

On Thursday, forms went home in the homework bags about West Kent’s Spring Bike Bus. If you are interested in participating in this, please complete and return the forms by the due date indicated. That deadline is set by the City of Charlottetown and isn’t flexible. I would hate to see anyone miss out on the opportunity if they are interested. 

Next Week in KA:

Monday, March 9, Day 5: Music

Tuesday, March 10, Day 6: Mrs. Mac & Phys. Ed 

Wednesday, March 11, Day 1: Music 

Thursday, March 12, Day 2: Mrs. Mac & Phys. Ed & Dress in WK colors ($1 for Easter Seals)

Friday, March 13, Day 3: Music and Dress in Green

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend, 

Lisa 😊

Hi everyone,

Report Cards were scheduled to be sent home today in the Homework Bags. Because of the snow day, they will go home tomorrow, Thursday, March 5. The report card is yours to keep. Please sign the envelope and return it to school in the Homework Bag to be used again in June.

Thanks,

Lisa 🙂

Hello KA families, 

This week we celebrated Pink Shirt Day. We read ‘Have you Filled a Bucket Today’ and we colored some pink shirts and drew kind acts on buckets to hang on the wall as a reminder that we are working to make everyone feel safe and welcome in KA. We also learned about Ramadan and focused on the lessons of doing kind acts which was relevant with Pink Shirt Day.  

Students have been working very hard on their writing. Some of our writing goals include writing all the sounds that they hear, using environmental print, using finger spaces and adding details after a second or third read through. They have also been collaborating with others in the class to help them judge the readability of their writing.

Next Thursday (weather pending) will be our 100th Day of school (our count may not have lined up with some other classes)! Today I sent home some homework in the homework bags in order to prepare for the day. Students are asked to bring in 100 items. There is a small bag attached to the paper in the homework bag, so all 100 items need to be small enough to fit in the bag. They can bring this back to school on Thursday to share with the class. 

The Scholastic Book Fair is coming back to West Kent next week. Our class will do our Book Fair shopping on Monday. Flyers were sent home last week in the homework bags if you would like to have a sneak peek at what is available. If you plan to send money on Monday, please make sure it is labelled so that it doesn’t get mixed up with another student.  The book fair will be open for parents to shop on Thursday evening during Parent-Teacher Interviews. 

Thanks to everyone who has signed up for a time for your child’s Student-Led Interview. I’m excited to try this new format and for your child to have the opportunity to show you what they’ve been learning. After the interviews next week I will be sending out a short survey in order to get your feedback on this new format. 

Next Week in KA:

Monday, March 2, Day 1: Music & Book Fair

Tuesday, March 3, Day 2: Mrs. Mac & Phys. Ed 

Wednesday, March 4, Day 3: Music & Report Cards go home

Thursday, March 5, Day 4: Mrs. Mac & Phys. Ed 

Friday, March 6: Parent-Teacher Interviews (NO CLASSES)

Have a great weekend, 

Lisa 😊

Hi KA parents,

PSB has decided that schools will be closing one hour early due to the forecast. West Kent Kindergarten students will dismiss at 1:20pm today. If you need to change your early dismissal plan, please call Lena at the main office.

Thanks,

Lisa 🙂

Hi Team KA, 

We had a short but busy week here in KA. We started the week off on Tuesday morning by learning that we were the upstairs winners of the tidy hallway challenge! Students enthusiastically congratulated each other and celebrated their hard work. As a reward, students received a popsicle at lunch time on Thursday. 

On Tuesday we also had our belated Valentine’s Day party in class. Students were very independent in placing their Valentines in their classmates’ ‘mailboxes’, and we were lucky enough to enjoy some Valentine treats in class. Even Blue received some Valentines! 

Happy Lunar New Year to all! We read both fiction and non-fiction books to learn more about Lunar New Year and then we made some lanterns to hang in the hallway. We learned about the year of the horse and made headbands to celebrate. 

Today we enjoyed Winter Wellness Day. We took part in an outdoor UFit class with other classes. Students really enjoyed the music and movement. We also got to shop at the used book sale, and then participated in an Olympic themed scavenger hunt around the school. 

Students in KA have been enthusiastically following Team Canada at the Olympics. Although as a rule we do not watch shows in our class, during eating times we have been turning on live Olympic coverage in order to learn about sports we normally don’t follow and help cheer on Team Canada. This week we were treated to watching Canada’s Women’s Team Pursuit win gold in real time. The reaction in our class was priceless with students cheering, hugging and some even shedding tears in their excitement for our Canadian athletes. It’s safe to say that KA has caught the Olympic spirit!

Students have been proudly sharing their writing with their classmates. We have been working hard to independently write short messages that match the accompanying illustration. Students are stretching our words and writing down the sounds that they hear. 

We continue to practice and strengthen our numeracy skills in a variety of ways. We have started to learn more about 3D objects and will learn more about their attributes and how to classify them starting next month. 

Pink Shirt Day will take place on Wednesday, February 25. All students are invited to wear a pink shirt on the day in order to promote an awareness on anti-bullying. We will spend some extra time in class next week learning about ways to be kind to everyone. 

Last week we sent home papers in the homework bags with instructions on how to sign up for Parent-Teacher Interviews. A reminder that in KA the students will be leading their interviews so please sign up for a time that your child is able to accompany you. When you sign up online, it will give you  a 15min time slot. Our interview will last an extra 5-10mins beyond that and I have times blocked off so that KA parents can only sign up every 30mins. Please keep this in mind if you are scheduling an interview for a sibling after our time together. Also, if you would like to have a private chat without your child present, please let me know and we can arrange that as well. 

Next Week in KA:

Monday, February 23, Day 3: Music

Tuesday, February 24, Day 4: Mrs. Mac & Phys. Ed 

Wednesday, February 25, Day 5: Music & Pink Shirt Day 

Thursday, February 26, Day 6: Mrs. Mac & Phys. Ed 

Friday, February 27, Day 1: Music

Have a great weekend, 

Lisa 😊

A reminder that tomorrow, Friday, February 20 is West Kent’s Used Book Sale in support of Easter Seals! All books are either $1 or $2 and 100% of the money goes directly to Easter Seals fundraising.