“100 DAY”

Monday, February 13 is the 100^th day that the children will have attended school this school year.  We will be celebrating “100 Day” with various activities about the number concept of 100. I am asking that each child bring in a set of 100 small objects (buttons, toothpicks, dry beans, dry noodles, etc.) so that we can investigate these sets of 100 by grouping them into tens, then fives, counting them, and discovering much about what makes 100!  For this activity it would be best if the objects will NOT roll or break apart into smaller pieces (ex. NOT marbles, beads, crackers, cereal). 

VALENTINE’S DAY

Our class will be exchanging our valentines on Tuesday, February 14 in the afternoon.  This is an optional activity.  I have sent a list of names home with the children for them to complete their own valentines.  If it has been misplaced, please let me know.  If possible, please have your child wear red, white or pink for this day! 

If you choose to send treats, they must be pre-packaged with a manufacturer’s “peanut free” symbol on them, in respect of our “nut-safe” policy at our school.  Any treats without the peanut free symbol will be sent home, according to school policy.  Also, for this reason, homemade treats will be sent back home. 

LANGUAGE ARTS

The children are developing their reading skills by using phonics, picture clues and words that make sense, when decoding unfamiliar words.  Please DO NOT stress sounding out the word - it is not the best reading strategy.  When reading stories with your child, you may wish to look for: endings (s, ed, ing), compound words (snowman), root words (sing-ing), and some contractions (’s, n’t).  Discuss stories they read to you, and ask many types of questions including ones where your child will have to gather the information from the story and formulate an answer or opinion.  It is wise to encourage this deeper level of thinking, even at this young age!  It is also very important to have your child retell the story (with the book closed).  All of the events, important details, and characters should be included in the retell.  Some children are able to read stories very well, but have difficulty retelling the story with the book closed. 

“Remembering and gaining information is the very reason for reading.” 

We have quite a few students reading regularly at home, with these books and stories being recorded on their home reading program book lists. Many children are close to or over 100 books, with a few students over 200! Keep reading at home, and don’t forget to record the titles on the book list! 

All of the children’s writing skills are improving. Keep encouraging them to write messages, notes, lists, stories, cards, etc. at home.  Have them read what they have written so they realize the importance of legibility and spacing of words.  Our focus in February and March will be on writing narrative stories.  

In Phonics, we will continue to study consonants, as well as the short vowel i (as in - it, is, in).  We will then learn about the consonant blends “bl, cl, fl, gl, pl, sl”, short vowel o (as in - on, off), and the blends “br, cr, dr, fr, gr, pr, tr.”  Phonetic reading pages will be added to your child’s phonics/word study duotang, as they will continue learning to “blend” sounds to help them spell and read chunks of words phonetically.  Just remember that this approach only works for a limited number of English words, but is an important skill to learn. 

MATH

We continue to follow the Nelson Math program.  Please read the letters sent home at the beginning of most of the study units in order that you may be able to focus on what we are studying as you help your child at home. 

At home please challenge your child with stories involving numbers, and have him or her determine if it is a situation involving addition or subtraction, and what the answer is.  Please also continue practising addition and subtraction facts with your child.   

We will also be studying two dimensional shapes.  Finding and identifying 2-D shapes in the environment is a challenging activity, both at school and at home.  Remember, 2-D shapes are flat!   We continue to study the number system to 100 and counting patterns by 1’s, 2’s, 5’s, and 10’s to 100.  Emphasis will be placed on what each two-digit number means, grouping tens and ones, and being able to print single two-digit numbers from memory. 

COMMUNICATION CALENDARS

Our Communication calendars seem to be working well.  The children are learning self-discipline which is crucial if your child is to progress to his/her academic potential.  It’s wonderful to be able to reward them for such hard work.  Please check the calendar and their duotang (for correspondence) on a daily basis.  The children need to realize that the home-school connection is very important and that we are working together for their benefit.  At school I stress that the children are ultimately responsible for everything they do, and therefore they need to make good decisions before they act. 

CLASSROOM NEWS

* Please continue to check with your child to see if he or she needs any pencils, erasers, glue or   colouring tools.

* Please continue to check your child’s hair for head lice and nits. 

Happy Valentine’s Day!