Welcome to Grade One

March

2012-03-03T22:16:00.000-08:00

Thank you to each of you for coming in for Student Led conferences. I know your child was very excited to be the "teacher" and show you their work. They have been working very hard and have grown in so many ways! I am so proud of them and their efforts so far.

Just a change for this week in our gym schedule : We will have gym on Monday, Tuesday and Friday . Please send your child with their gym strip on Tuesday March 6th rather than Wednesday.

Report Cards come home on March 16th which will also be the beginning of our Spring Break!!

Wednesday February 22nd

2012-02-22T20:41:00.000-08:00

As of today, we have now begun our Lenten journey. Throughout this lenten season, we will be emphasizing the importance of prayer (as well as going to Church during different times such as recess), almsgiving (ex: collecting money for our seminarian by doing chores around the house) and fasting (not necessarily food for the young ones but on time spent playing with things such as toys etc). We will also discuss the importance of making sacrifices and keeping our Lenten promise, as a part of being on this journey is remembering how Jesus made such a huge sacrifice for us by dying on the cross. The Grade Ones have decided to give up candy so please help us with this sacrifice by trying to not send in any treats in your child's lunches. THANK YOU!

On another note- We have almost finished getting through Bible readings for Speech Arts. I realize that they are lengthy, however, as mentioned previously, students do need to know all 3 (randomly selected) in order to qualify for the next round. Just a reminder that tomorrow and on Friday we will be presenting our poems in the classroom. The date for the Local Speech Arts has changed. The Grade Ones will be doing their poems as well as class poems on Wednesday Feb. 29th. You are welcome to attend.

Just a reminder - Next Thursday( after school) and Friday are Student Led conferences. As our first conference was teacher/student/parent, this conference is solely you and your child. Your child will be the "teacher" showing you their hard work. Students therefore do not have school on Friday March 2nd.

2012-02-20T18:23:00.000-08:00

Bonjour!

I hope you all had a nice weekend! Just a reminder that Carnaval is tomorrow from 5-8pm. There are a variety of activities in the classrooms for the students so we welcome you to come! We will also be selling Cotton Candy and Snow cones!!

As mentioned in my previous post, students need to know their poems and the Bible readings for tomorrow. They will be sharing these with the class Tuesday- Thursday. Thanks for your help in practicing these.

See you tomorrow!

Updates

2012-02-14T22:48:00.000-08:00

THANK you so much for your thoughtful St. Valentine's cards and treats. I am so blessed! The students had lots of fun passing out and receiving all their goodies!!

We had a very busy day celebrating 100s/Valentine's day!! I am sure some of you are familiar with the lines " I don't remember or I don't know what we did at school" so I thought I would update you with some of the things we did today! We started our day by coloring in a 100's number chart. We went around the gym looking for the numbers 1- 100 which were written on different colored paper circles, we had to find this number on our number chart and color the number accordingly. We then read about St. Valentine and how how he truly was a special person and is the reason we celebrate Valentine's day. Then, the students had lots of fun drawing what they would look like at 100. Oh my-quite the imagination! They turned out fabulous! Our day ended with various stations (food station; 100hat day; using our imagination to create a picture with the number 100; and making a Hundred Day catcher).

Just a few important reminders:
We have a 5 day weekend upon us! I hope you and your family have a nice extended long weekend.

Next week:

February 20th: Professional Day
February 21st: Shrove Tuesday and Carnaval (5pm). We are still looking for volunteers to bake cupcakes for the cupcake walk. It can go towards service hours. Please let me know if you are able to do so. Any contribution is much appreciated! THANKS!!
February 22nd: Ash Wednesday; Beginning of Lent

** Students need to know the Bible readings and their poems for next TUESDAY February 21st as I will be informing you Friday as to who will qualify for the next round which will be on February 27th.
If you have any questions, please come speak to me. Thanks!!

Upcoming Events

2012-02-11T22:52:00.000-08:00

Speech Arts- Thank you for those who have already sent in a copy of their child's poem. If you have not done so already, please send one in by Monday February 13th. Speech Arts is such a meaningful experience for the students and I am thankful for your support in helping your child memorize their poem as well as the class poem. Please note that the Bible Readings do not need to be memorized. We will be doing poetry and Bible recitations in a couple weeks and I will inform you if you child has qualified for the next round. (Local Festival- February 27th)

Tuesday February 14- 100s Day/Valentine's- We will be celebrating being at school for 100 days! We will be doing a variety of related activities with our friends in Kindergarten. One station will be a snack one where the students choose 100 items that will fit into their small ziploc baggies. If you would like to send in items for this station, (Pretzels, smarties, marshmallows etc) please send these in by Monday or Tuesday. THANK YOU!!!

***If your child is bringing in Valentine cards for their friends, please remember to place these in alphabetical order by first name, so that the distribution of the cards will be easier. Thanks!
***Please also note that Tuesday is a color day. Students can wear red, pink or white. Christian servers will have a bake sale on this day as well (Cupcakes $1).

Pro D- Teachers will be attending a conference on Thursday February 16th and Friday February 17th. Please note that these days as well as Monday February 20th are Pro-D days for the students!

Carnaval-February 21st. We hope you can attend the carnaval which will start at 5pm. The Charlotte Diamond performance is sold out, however, there will be a number of other activities for the students.

We are looking for parents to bake a dozen cupcakes for this sale, so if you are willing to do so, please email me. Thank you in advance.

** Due to a short week, we will not have a Spelling Test this week. The next Spelling pretest will be on Tuesday February 21st.

A note from the PFG:

Giddy-Up Cowboys and Cowgirls!

SAVE THE DATE MAY 12, 2012

The date for the annual fundraiser, dinner dance and auction, has changed to May 12, 2012 and it is fast approaching. We need your help!!

In order to accomplish our goal we need your help in securing product and service donations for both the silent and live auctions. Can you personally donate goods and/or services? Who do you know who could help? Perhaps you feel comfortable calling those who have donated in the past?

Letters, on CCS letterhead and signed by Principal Jason Borkowski, are available at the office for pick up. These serve as official donation confirmations and may be used for tax purposes. Please have all product and service donations delivered directly to the school office by April 6, 2012.

The monies raised will be used to further enhance the technology in our classrooms. Additional equipment required to complete this year’s mission includes:

SMART Boards for each classroom. - SMART Board interactive whiteboards improve learning outcomes! Combining the simplicity of a whiteboard with the power of a computer, the SMART Board delivers dynamic lessons, writes notes in digital ink, and saves the work – all with the simple touch of a finger.

iPads and Netbooks have been purchased so that students of all needs and abilities can access technology in meaningful ways and assist them in developing to their fullest potential.

Desktop workstations, software and technology aids for our children. The world is digital and it is imperative we prepare them for the future as best as we can.

We operate our school on approximately 70% of the budget of a public school. This is accomplished thanks to the commitment of our parish, faculty, students, community – and you – our parent and family volunteers and donors!

Craft coordinators are also needed to help each class design and complete their work for the auction. Please call or email your classroom representative for more information or if you can volunteer in any capacity– Diane Galo can be contacted at dianegalo@shaw.ca or 604-600-3359.

Thank you kindly for your help and support. Let’s make this year’s fundraiser a resounding success!!

2012-01-23T22:22:00.000-08:00

Thank you to those who have returned their Social Studies worksheets about Families. If your child has not had a chance to complete it, they can return it by the end of this week. Thanks!

On Wednesday we usually sell popcorn for 50cents, however, our machine is currently under repair so this Wednesday we will be selling hot chocolate. They do sell this at recess and this Wednesday the Grade Ones will be skating. If you are able to accompany us, please arrive at the school for 10:30am. Thanks in advance!

The students are really enjoying playing with playdough that has been generously made for us by parents. However, we are always in need for more. If you are able to do this, it would be graciously appreciated. Thank you!

A notice regarding Carnaval was sent home a couple weeks back along with the newsletter. We are trying to determine numbers as Charlotte Diamond will be our guest performance!!! Please return this form if you have not done so already.

Welcome Back!!

2012-01-04T10:48:00.000-08:00

I hope everyone had a restful break! I know I did but I am happy to see the students again and get back into the routines. Thank you very much for your very thoughtful cards and gifts at Christmas. Most have already been eaten or put to use so THANK YOU!!!

Change in skating note:

I sent home a skating form yesterday which is due on Friday. The Grade One's skate with their buddies and will be going on January 11th and 25th. We meet at school for 8:50am for a regular day and will leave school at 10:30 to begin skating by 11am. Students can either come back to school with their parents or we walk back together. We welcome any help on this day. If you have any questions or concerns, please come speak to me! THANKS!

Last few days!

2011-12-14T19:10:00.000-08:00

Wow time has just passed by! I cannot believe it is already CHRISTmas holidays. I hope you enjoyed the Christmas concert last night. I was so proud of the students and their harmony through the song. They really are angels and I am thoroughly enjoying teaching them!

Just a few reminders:

Friday- Please send a plastic bag for your child as we will be cleaning out our desks and keeping our things on our hooks in the cloakroom.

It is also a food bank Mass. Thanks for your support!!!

Students will be dismissed at 12pm. I hope you and your family have a restful Christmas break and a good start to the new year. Blessings of this Christmas season to each of you!

Rebecca

Pyjama Day

2011-12-11T20:19:00.000-08:00

Wednesday will be pyjama day. Students can come to school wearing their pyjamas and can bring a stuffy to accompany them. Thanks!

2011-12-09T17:06:00.000-08:00

Christmas Concert

Our Christmas Concert will be on Tuesday December 13^th at 1:30pm and 7:00pm. On Monday, we will be having our dress rehearsal. Students should come in their “angel costumes” but I also recommend that they bring a change of clothes for outdoor recess. The students are singing the song “Follow the star” and should be practicing the lyrics that were sent home a few weeks ago. The Grade ones are dressing up as angels and should wear all white or a white shirt with black pants(or angel costume if they have one). Please note that both performances for our concert are a food bank donation entry. Thanks!!

Food Bank Mass
We have one more Food bank Mass next Friday December 16^th. This will also be our last day of school and a noon dismissal!

Other:

Please note that I will not be sending home any little books during the last week of school, however, I would like to encourage the students however to keep reading as often as they can as I do find this helps with the transition back to school in January.

We have been having some issues at recess with beyblades and other toys. I have asked the students to please keep ALL toys at home. If they want to bring a toy for "show and share" they can do that, however, all toys must stay in their backpacks. Thanks!

In Math, we have been working on addition facts. Starting in the new year, your child will be bringing home their “Math Minute” worksheets to be completed at home. More information will come closer to the date.

THANK YOU! I wish all of you the best during this joyful season and may God bless you.

Sincerely,

Miss Da Cruz

2011-12-04T22:06:00.000-08:00

I hope everyone had a nice weekend. It was such a pleasure to sit and discuss with you and your children at our 3 way conferences.

Upcoming Information:

* The Grade Ones have been asked to bring in gloves for the "The Door is Open" charity. The items collected will be made up into shoeboxes and given to men that are in need downtown. If you could please send these in by December 5th. Thank you!!!

*Christmas Concert: Our Christmas concert is on Tuesday December 13th at 1:30 and 7:00 pm. The Grade One students are dressing up as angels. If you could please have your child come dressed up in all white or white shirts with black pants. On Monday December 12th, we will have our dress rehearsal. Students do not need to come in uniform on this day and can wear their Christmas concert outfits. Thank you.

* December 14th: This will be a non-uniform day. More details to follow soon.

*December 16th: This will be our last day of school for Christmas holidays,

* We will be having food bank masses on Friday December 8th and Friday December 16th.

2011-11-28T17:04:00.000-08:00

* Our Advent Assembly is on Thursday Dec.1st at 9am in the gym. Please join us if you can.

* You should have now received a notice informing you of the timings for our 3 way conferences which are on Thursday and Friday. If this time does not work for you, please come speak to me and we can arrange for another time. Please note that we do not have school on the Friday. Students also need to come in full uniform for conferencing.

2011-11-19T14:46:00.000-08:00

COMMUNITY: THANK YOU to Julian's mom and Matteo's mom for coming to speak to us about their job as a flight attendant. The students had lots of fun looking at pictures of various planes on an ipad, getting their "bags" checked in and "boarding a plane" with a boarding pass to "Disneyland"! We are continuing our unit on our community and community helpers so if anyone is still interested in coming to share their knowledge/occupation with us, please let me know.

We are in need of PLAYDOUGH: The students are thoroughly enjoying playing with the playdough that was made for us by Mrs. Sampson (THANK YOU)! If anyone else is interested in making some playdough for us (we use for spelling activities and free time) it would be greatly appreciated! THANK YOU!!

50's DAY: The day was a huge success. The students looked very nice all dressed in costume. We did a variety of stations: Hula Hooping, Math game (race to 50s), Chewing gum, Fruit loop necklaces, Writing our numbers to 50 and more! We also learned a few "50's dances" and had a sock hop and drank ice cream root beer floats! We are now looking forward to 100's day!

Report Cards and 3 way conferences: Students will get their Report Card on November 25th. We will be having our 3 way conferences (Parents/teacher/student) on December 1st and 2nd. Students have brought home a notice asking that you indicate your preference as to what time you would like to meet. We will best try to accommodate your time. If you have not already returned this note, please do so.

November 27th: As I am sure most of you are aware, our Mass responses are changing, reflecting a new translation into English from the Latin text. I will send home a worksheet with the new translation with the students next week. This is also the first day of Advent and the start of a new liturgical year!

December 1st.: The Grade One's are responsible for the Advent assembly. More information about this to follow soon.

Musings from the Grade One teacher...

2011-11-15T22:30:00.000-08:00

Friday November 18th: On this day we will have been at school for 50 days!!! Is that something to celebrate or what?! (yes, we thought so too). Therefore, for part of the day, the Kindergarten and Grade One students will be celebrating!! Students are asked to come dressed in 50's clothes (boys- white shirt and jeans; girls-dress or poodle skirt etc.). We will be doing the sock hop, having ice cream floats and more!!

Remembrance day

2011-11-08T20:43:00.000-08:00

THANK YOU to those parents for joining us on our field trip yesterday to the Library. We are so grateful for the time you took to come supervise! The students really enjoyed learning songs, reading books and taking out their own library books.

There is a school mass (9am )and assembly on Thursday November 10th (10:45am) if you are interested in joining us. Also a reminder that we do have a 4 day weekend. There is no school on Friday (We discuss taking a moment of silence at 11am to remember those who fought in the war and to be thankful for peace) and it is a Pro D day on Monday.

We will also have our spelling test on Thursday.

Happenings of the week

2011-10-31T18:43:00.000-07:00

Tuesday November 1st- All Saint's Day- Students come to school dressed as a saint. We ask that all food cans collected from halloween for hunger be brought in and we will collect these at Mass to give to the food bank.

LIBRARY FORMS TO APPLY FOR LIBRARY CARDS FOR OUR UPCOMING FIELD TRIP ARE ALSO DUE TODAY (NOV.1ST). I WILL BE SENDING THEM IN ON THE 2nd SO PLEASE SEND YOUR CHILD'S APPLICATION IN IF YOU HAVE NOT DONE SO ALREADY.THANKS!

Field trip notices for our library field trip will also be sent home November 1st.

We are asking that the money that has been collected for the Holy Childhood association to please be sent in by Friday November 4th. Thank you to those who have already sent their money in.

Every year we do collect candy for Agape ministry which is a Catholic Christian ministry outreach program. Children are asked to bring in their extra candy by Friday November 4th. Participating in this activity ties in nicely with "serving with a joyful heart". I do ask the students to make a sacrifice and give away some of the candy that they also enjoy eating. For more information about this, please look at their website http://agapestreetministry.org/home.html

Missions Week

2011-10-25T21:41:00.000-07:00

MUSINGS FROM THE GRADE ONE TEACHER :

This week we will be focusing on Missions. Each class will be responsible for holding a fundraiser to raise money for the Holy Childhood association which is an organization that involves children helping other children in the world. Aside from the bottle drive collection, students are asked to bring in change ($ 0.25- $1.00) throughout the week to support each cause.

Each day we will be raising money for those in a different continent of the world. The schedule on the CCS website gives you an idea of what country we are raising money for and the idea behind each one.

**We will be encouraging all students to participate in "HALLOWEEN FOR HUNGER". Students will be getting a little note that asks the children to say "Trick or treat or food to eat" . The idea is that as students go door to door, they may receive donations for the food bank. For more information, please visit:

http://www.freethechildren.com/getinvolved/youth/campaigns/campaigns.php?type=halloweenforhunger

Thank you for your support with our missions week!

Our Spelling Rule this week: short a vowel

Words:

can, that, hand, dad, rag
Bonus: Saint
Just a few reminders:

1) October 27th- PHOTO RETAKE DAY AND CLASS PHOTO DAY: If you have not let me know in your child's planner already, please let me know if your child needs re-takes. THANK YOU

2) October 28th- FOOD BANK MASS: The students are asked to bring in a can of food for the Food Bank. To gain an appreciation of the value and cost of food products, please encourage the students to do an act of service to "earn" the can of food rather than just taking it. I welcome the students to share their act of service in the classroom so that all of us can learn from each other.

*Saint homework due
* Pattern WS due

3) I am finding sweaters with no labels. PLEASE check all uniform items and jackets. Please also remember to remind the students to wear their jackets to school. Thank you!

Tuesday October 18th

2011-10-18T21:00:00.000-07:00

This week is another short week as we have a professional day on Friday October 21st. We started our spelling program this week and because we don't have school on Friday, we will be having our Spelling test on Thursday. Each week we will be focusing on a spelling rule and our spelling words will coincide with this rule. This week our spelling rule is short "a" words and they are : rat, ant, map, fan, man, Jesus. My hope is that spelling practice will be a fun and meaningful one for the students, so please let me know if you would like activities to help with this.

Thursday October 19th: We have a living rosary assembly. October is the month of the rosary and I encourage you to discuss the rosary prayer with your child. We are spending time in class discussing the mysteries of the rosary and learning about Jesus' life through this prayer. There is lots of information online about the rosary, however, I find that the following site describes the mysteries in child friendly language: For more information visit http://www.cptryon.org/prayer/child/rosary/how.html.

OPTIONAL SCHOOL WIDE ACTIVITY: Tomorrow (October 19th) I will be sending home a worksheet where by children are asked to draw a picture and write about how they collected pledges for the walk- a -thon by "SERVING WITH A JOYFUL HEART". Students who complete this activity will be entered to win a prize at our assembly (date to be determined) This should be handed in by Monday October 24th.

*** October 27th: Photo retake day AND our class photo.
Please let me know if your child needs a retake on this day by writing a note in their planner. Thank you to those who have done so already.

***October 28th : FOOD BANK MASS

*** November 1st: All Saint's Day

We will be celebrating All Saints day. Your child is welcome to dress up as a saint or a holy hero. More information as well as a homework assignment will be sent on Thursday. If you would like any information on costumes or want to borrow books about a particular saint, please come speak to me.

*** Next week we will be missions week. More information about this will follow.

Thank you to each of you for working with the students with their home reading and sight words programs. Our guided reading program will begin next week.

Thank you!

2011-10-07T23:59:00.000-07:00

Our walk- a- thon was a huge success. Our class raised almost $1700 and got enough pledges to earn themselves a pizza party. A huge THANK YOU for all of your hard work with this fundraiser. I am appreciative of all you do to contribute to our school on a daily basis. Thank you parents for walking with our class today and to those parents who helped with Hot Lunch. I hope each of you has a blessed Thanksgiving with your family. See you on Tuesday!

**Homework:Baptism Worksheet

Walk-a-thon CHANGE

2011-10-05T17:36:00.000-07:00

** Students do not need to wear uniform for the Walk a thon and should be dressed appropriately for the weather. Thanks!

Tuesday October 4th

2011-10-03T23:37:00.000-07:00

Today your child borrowed their first book from our reading library to get started on our Home Reading Book Chat program. I am really encouraging the students to read nightly and try to make an entry in their Book Chat journal as there are MANY benefits of daily reading.

Our Annual Walk-a-thon- will be held this Friday October 7th. We will be walking rain or shine, so students must wear their full uniform and be dressed appropriately for the weather. PLEASE ensure your child brings a jacket on this day. Students are also dismissed at 12pm on this day so please make a note of this! We welcome parent volunteers and would love for you to join us, so please feel free to do so. We are continuing to work towards our goal of $1500 so that we can have a class pizza party. Many children have shared how they are doing small "service projects" to collect money for the walk-a-thon. Thank you for helping your child raise money and making this a meaningful experience for them.

September 26th 2011

2011-09-26T22:02:00.000-07:00

Hi Parents,

FALL has definitely arrived! With the change in weather, please make sure your child brings their jacket everyday!

Just a note: Every Monday we have gym till 3:00 pm and the kids come back to the classroom after gym and change into their school shoes. I apologize in advance as we may be out a few minutes late on this day. If you have an appointment or need to leave right away, please come get your child from the classroom. Thanks for your understanding.

Walkathon: We are encouraging each student to try their best to bring in about $50 so that with our combined efforts we can get NEW TECHNOLOGY within our school. We are also tracking pledges and you will receive a note asking if you could please state your child's current total. Thank you to those of you who have already done so in your child's planner. I appreciate all your continued support in making this fundraiser a successful one.

2011-09-14T21:46:00.000-07:00

Thank you for coming to our classroom yesterday for our parent meeting. It was great to meet you and I am looking forward to working with you and your child this year. If you were unable to come yesterday, I have sent the information package home with your child. There is lots of information regarding our Grade One program, so please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions if something is unclear.

Also, if anyone is interested in signing up for the PFG, please let me know and I can add you to the list.

Students have also now received Walk-a-thon pledge forms. This is our major fundraiser for the year and we are raising money for new technology within the school! We are really encouraging the students to do acts of service in exchange for pledges so that the collecting of money is a meaningful and valuable one for them. There are some exciting prizes to win and I Thank you in advance for your support and for helping your child with this fundraiser.

Please also make a note that we do have our Terry Fox walk on Monday September 19th. (Students are encouraged to bring small change to donate)

We have almost made it to the end of Week Two and having lots of fun!!

2011-09-07T21:58:00.000-07:00

Welcome back everyone! I am very excited to start this new year. The first few weeks will be spent getting to know each other better , easing into our routines and expectations and adjusting to being at school for the full day. I look forward to meeting and working with each of you this year!

UPCOMING DATES:

September 9th- Student Information form and Star Student form due; Hot lunch form due
-Used Book sale at lunch and after school $0.10/ book

September 13th- Meet the Teacher night 6:30 pm- Begins in the gym

September 23rd- Please note there has been a change in our School Photo day. It is now on the 23rd and not the 14th.

Summer

2011-07-02T22:13:00.001-07:00

I hope everyone is having an exciting and safe summer!