February

Sorry for the late post - I meant to do this at the end of last week.  I hope you all saw the homework your kids came home with that is due THIS Thursday!  They need to interview an older family member about what life was like when they were growing up.  We have list of questions, and they also had a list of their own questions that they came up with. Thanks for your help on this assignment!

Also, I'm still waiting for a few permission forms for the field trip.  If you haven't one in for your child, please return it as soon as possible.  I have more than enough drivers at this point.  If you only signed up in case we didn't have enough, feel free to let me know and I can let you off the hook!  Otherwise I'm happy to use you all!

Valentines day is this Friday - if your child wants to send in cards or treats for their friends, please make sure they bring in enough for everyone.  We will have a bit of time at the end of the day to distribute Valentines to each other.  

Hope you are all finding time to watch some Olympics!  Go Canada go!

A few reminders

Just a reminder that it is early dismissal this Tuesday at 1:30.  If you haven't set up an appointment that afternoon for a student led conference, please do so tomorrow.  I know the students are excited to show you what they have been doing in class.

A field trip permission slip went home last week.  Please sign it and return it as soon as possible. 

On Friday there is a school assembly after recess (10:45).  Our class has made a video presentation on the Olympic rings for it. It will be a fun assembly - we hope you can make it. 

Our new friend Bud

I thought I'd fill you in on Bud in case the kids are coming home talking about him.  Bud is a new friend in our class. . . he is a stuffed monkey.  Up until now he has had quite a boring life living buried in my son's closet.  So, we decided it was time some adventure entered his life.  Each week a different student will take Bud home and bring some adventure to his life.  He comes in his back pack - the kids can spend the week as they want with him, but he has to return to class each Thursday.  During the week he is home with the kids, they need to write a journal entry in Bud's Adventure Journal about something they did.  It can be a real or imaginary adventure!  They will also need to add a picture (drawing) to Bud's Photo Album.  Instructions are written on the inside cover of both these books.  They will need an adult to help edit the journal entry and to listen to them read it aloud as when they come back to class on Thursday, they will read their entry to the class. 
Today the students wrote letters of introduction to Bud and it will go home with Tia to Bud next week.  The kids can read these letters (or anything!) to Bud as bedtime stories if they wish. 
The kids are pretty excited about Bud!  Thanks in advance for helping them with this project and ensuring that Bud makes it back to school each Thursday!

The last week of school this year!

Hi everyone,
I can't believe we are in our last week of school before the Christmas holidays!  It is a busy week for our class.  I know Mrs. Teague has a fun activity planned for Wednesday- please remember to send in $2 to pay for the icing!

I forgot to send my notice home for what we are doing Friday - it will go home today.  We are having a pancake breakfast, but in order to make this successful, I'm going to need some help!  Please let me know if you can stay to volunteer for that morning - from 8:30-9:30.  I also have a list posted on our classroom door of things we will need.  Please sign up to bring something there - or e-mail me to let me know and I'll add your name to the list!  It will be a pajama day - so send the kids in their jammies!  We will be joining Mr Mulholland's class at 9:30 to watch a movie.  After recess there is our Christmas assembly and sing-a-long!  Parents are welcome to join us!

I hope you all got a chance to see the Christmas play last week - our kids did great!  They were excited to be a part of it and you should all be proud of how well they did.  I don't know about you, but I have had "White Beard" stuck in my head all weekend! Ugh!

Christmas Countdown

Things are busy in Division 14!  You can feel the excitement in the air - the kids are looking forward to Christmas!  We hear a lot about Santa and everyone's Elf on the Shelf :)

There is a lot going on and there is a lot to remember - hopefully this list will cover most things. 

1) Please make sure you kids have warm coats and hats, scarves, mitts, etc.  It was REALLY cold out today (I was doing recess supervision and was freezing!).  There were quite a few kids who didn't have a coat.  I know they are running about keeping warm, but if they have a coat here, I'll make sure they wear it!

2) I've set up a temporary "lost and found" in our classroom.  There are coats, hats, mittens, socks (yes, socks!) water bottles and miscellaneous lunch kit containers in it.  Feel free to pop up and rummage through it before I sent it down to the school lost and found.

3) Report cards went home yesterday.  Please sign the back of the folder and return it AND the envelope so they can be reused for next term. Thanks!

4) We are setting up an "Imagination Station" in our class where the students use their imagination to make wonderful creations :)  We are collecting small items for this - things like milk jug or pop bottle lids, toilet paper rolls, different types of paper or "crafty" things they can add to their creations.  Things you find in your recycle bins! We don't have a lot of space, so only small items please!

5) Next Friday the 13th we will have our guest artist back in to finish up our secret project!  Please remember to have your kids wear clothes that can get messy as we'll be painting.

6) Finally - the Christmas concert is coming fast and the kids are excited!  There is a dress rehearsal on Tuesday and your child will need to wear/have their costumes.  Our class should be wearing red and green clothing and Santa or Elf hats.  If you don't have one, please let us know as I have a few extra Santa hats at home I can bring in.  My daughter needs an elf hat and I just picked one up at Dollarama in Cloverdale for $1. They will also need to wear their costumes on Wednesday and Thursday for the performance.  If you want them to leave their hats here - please have them clearly labelled and we'll keep them in a bag and hand them out in time for the show so they don't go missing.

Hopefully everyone got tickets for the show.  The two afternoon shows are during school time, but on Thursday Dec 12th, the evening show is at 6:30.  If your child can not make that show, please let us know as soon as possible.  You will drop your child off at our classroom at 6pm - we will be joining the other grade 2 classes for some Christmas fun while we wait for our part of the performance.  You can pick them up at our classroom at the end of the concert (7:30ish).  I'm looking forward to spending that "non-school" time with them!

Thanks for letting me bombard you with information!  Have a great weekend!

Papier Mache

Just a reminder that the Papier Mache artist is coming to our classroom this Friday afternoon to work with us. This will be the first of two Friday sessions (next week as well). Please ensure that your child is dressed in clothes that can get messy!

Animal Reports

As we are reaching the conclusion of the term and our Science unit on Animals, your children have started a research book on Animals. They spent an afternoon enjoys a mountain high pile of animal books and then gave Mrs. Teague a list of the top three animals they wanted to learn more about. They have now been put into small groups of 2 or 3 and given an animal to research. Over the next month they will be writing an All About... book.  If you have any nonfiction books at home that fit one of our categories feel free to send it in for us to use! (Make sure it is clearly labelled so we can return it.) We would also encourage you to take your child to the public library and sign out a book or two on their animal. Additionally, it would be a great idea for your child to look up some interesting facts on their animal on the internet. These can be written in their planner or brought in on a slip of paper in the planner pocket. National Geographic Kids has a great section full of animal facts. Ask your child which animal they have been given to study and let the research begin!

Here are the animals that we will be learning more about:

Beavers, Snakes, Cheetahs, Alligators/Crocodiles, Dolphins, Deer, Eagles and Bears. 

I am also including the rubric for the report. This will be used to assess your child's progress. The students and I will discuss these goals in class and talk about the scale from 1 to 4.

Mrs. Teague