Blog Archives

May 30-June 3

5/29/2016

WHAT’S HAPPENING THIS WEEK:
We have our Fire Hall Field Trip this Friday! Thank you to those parents who volunteered to drive to the Fire Hall. All of those parents who contacted me (either agenda note, permission slip or verbally) we will need you all to help drive on Friday 3rd. Each volunteer driver must complete a school district parent driver volunteer form. I will double-check my list to see which parents are missing this mandatory form. If you are needing to fill it out, I will put it in your child’s agenda on Monday. We will leave the school on Friday 3rd at 10:30 am. The students will also need to picked up from the Fire Hall at 12:00pm. I will have a list of which children will be going with each parent. Please remember to send your child with his/her BOOSTER SEAT Friday morning.

This week we are learning the last sound in our Jolly Phonics program, another blend “ar” (as in bark). We practice printing our “Magic C” letters as well (letters that all begin with the letter c shape - a, g, o, q). We are wrapping up our butterfly and insect unit and beginning a community/jobs (people who help us in the community).

As I mentioned last week, many important notices and permission slips will be coming home in agendas as the end of the year approached. Please be sure to check your child’s agenda every day and read/return any important papers ASAP. A permission slip for our Primary Fun Day (June 20th) will be sent home at the end of this week. We will need 7-8 parents to help supervise for this special event.

THIS WEEK’S SCHEDULE:
This week’s Star Student Ashton.

Monday –
Tuesday – Happy Birthday Blaike!
Wednesday - Library Book exchange (re-scheduled from Scholastic Book Fair)
                 - P.E. with Mrs. Gustafson
Thursday -
Friday - P.E. with Mrs. Brkovic
   -Menchies orders due
-Fire Hall #2 Field Trip!

REMINDERS/HOW PARENTS CAN HELP:

Sign and return both JUNE FIELD TRIP PERMISSION FORMS (June 3: Fire Hall & June 17: Big Little Science Centre)
Return completed May homework calendars for the prize draw
Scrapbooks: I would love a parent helper to glue more work into scrapbooks this week or next :)
Proper Footwear - running shoes are best for school (even in the hot weather, as we have quite a lot of bees and wasps on our playground/field). We also continue to participate in school-wide runs on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.

UPCOMING EVENTS:
-June 15 - Parkcrest Talent Show
-June 17 - Field Trip to the Big Little Science Centre (parent volunteer drivers have already been arranged)
-June 20 - Primary Fun Day at Brock Pool (more info TBA)
-June 23 - Parent Appreciation Tea
-June 29 - Last day of school for students! Early dismissal
See you tomorrow.
- Ms. Gartrell

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May 23-27

5/23/2016

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WHAT’S HAPPENING THIS WEEK:
I hope everyone had a wonderful long weekend (even in the rain)! Last week was a fun-filled week of SCIENCE with our Eureka Science presentation about bees and releasing our class butterflies (well...the 4 that would fly away). Unfortunately, it was quite windy and cold when we tried to release them with our Big Buddies Friday afternoon, so I had to release the rest after school once the weather improved.

We are nearly done our Jolly Phonics program! Our new phonics sounds this week are more blends: “ue” (as in blue) and “er” (as in mixer). We will continue practicing subtraction and addition with an insect-theme. We will also use butterfly wing designs to review the concept of symmetry. We will finish comparing moths and butterflies to learn their similarities and differences. Both Kindergarten classes have a special presentation (“Hug-A-Tree”) on wilderness safety this Wednesday as well.

There is NO LIBRARY this week due to the Scholastic Book Fair. Our class’s “Preview Time” is Tuesday @ 10:45am (just to check out what’s available). Our “Buying Times” are Weds. 25 and Thurs. 26 both @ 9:15-9:45am. During our “Buying times”, only students with money will be going to the book fair. With Kindies, I find it’s easy (and more secure so money does not get lost) if parents purchase books WITH their child during our class book buying times or after school. If your are sending money to school for your child to purchase a book, please clearly label the money and put it in the front of the agenda. :)

With the last month of school rapidly approaching, many important notices and permission slips will be coming home in agendas. Please be sure to check your child’s agenda every day and read/return any important papers ASAP. Last week, 2 permission slips were sent home for our FIRE HALL (June 3) and BIG LITTLE SCIENCE CENTRE (June 17) field trips. Thank you those parents who confirmed they can drive on the 17th. We are in need of 6-7 drivers for June 3.

THIS WEEK’S SCHEDULE:
This week’s Star Student is Rylan.

Monday – Victoria Day (no school)
               - Happy Birthday Luca!
Tuesday – Scholastic Book Fair -preview 10:45am
Wednesday - Scholastic Book Fair -Buying Time 9:15am
               - “Hug-A-Tree” Wilderness Safety presentation
                     - P.E. with Mrs. Gustafson
Thursday - Scholastic Book Fair -Buying Time 9:15am
Friday - P.E. with Mrs. Brkovic
            - Pizza Day

REMINDERS/HOW PARENTS CAN HELP:

Sign and return both JUNE FIELD TRIP PERMISSION FORMS (June 3: Fire Hall & June 17: Big Little Science Centre). Let me know if you are available to drive to our Friday June 3rd field trip :)
HOT WEATHER ALERT! Send a waterbottle and perhaps a hat for outside play
Proper Footwear - running shoes are best for school (even in the hot weather, as we have quite a lot of bees and wasps on our playground/field). We also continue to participate in school-wide runs on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.

UPCOMING EVENTS:
-June 3 - Fire Hall #2 Field Trip (6-7 parent volunteer drivers needed for this trip)
-June 15 - Parkcrest Talent Show
-June 17 - Field Trip to the Big Little Science Centre (parent volunteer drivers have already been arranged)
-June 20 - Primary Fun Day at Brock Pool (more info TBA)
-June 23 - Parent Appreciation Tea
-June 29 - Last day of school for students! Early dismissal

See you tomorrow.
- Ms. Gartrell

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May 16-20

5/15/2016

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WHAT’S HAPPENING THIS WEEK:
This is a 4-day week as Monday is a Pro-D Day. We are also very lucky to have Eureka Science (a program run by TRU Science students) coming on Thursday to talk with us about BEES! Thanks PAC for funding this special visit and the Ms. Sarrasin for organizing. :)

Our new phonics sounds this week are blends (aka: “vowel teams”): “ou” (as in ouch) and “oi” (as in oil). Remember to review the Jolly Phonics Sound group sheet that was sent home last week (y, x, ch, sh ,th, th) :). During our Read to Self time, the kids will practice using new reading strategies to help them problem-solve when they are stuck on a word: using pictures for clues and “chunking” (finding smaller words within a word - “cat” and “pill” in caterpillar). We will continue practicing subtraction with an insect-theme. We will also compare moths and butterflies to learn their similarities and differences. The students are still patiently waiting for our class pets to emerge from their chrysalis (we are getting very close to the usual 14-15 day emerge date). We said a bittersweet goodbye to Baby Ava last week. It was so exciting to watch her learn and grow throughout the year. We have one more session with Wayne before we wrap up Roots of Empathy for the year.

Thank you very much to those parents who have volunteered to drive for our June 17th. At this point, I may need one or two more drivers (for 3-4 children). I will finalize our driver numbers after we have permission forms returned (forms will be sent home later this week).

THIS WEEK’S SCHEDULE:
This week’s Star Student is Julian.

Monday – Pro-D Day (no school)
Tuesday – Library book exchange (rescheduled due to Pro-D Day)
                - Happy Birthday Payton!
Wednesday   - P.E. with Mrs. Gustafson
Thursday – Eureka Science visit
                 - Roots of Empathy - our last visit with Wayne
Friday - P.E. with Mrs. Brkovic
            - Class and School photos

REMINDERS/HOW PARENTS CAN HELP:
- HOT WEATHER ALERT! Send a water bottle and perhaps a hat for outside play
- Let me know if you are available to drive to our Friday June field trips :)
- June 17th Big Little Science Centre permission form will be sent home later this week. Please sign and return it
- May 24-26: Scholastic Book Fair in library. Our class’s “Preview Time” is Tues. 24 @ 10:45am (just check out what’s available). Our “Buying Times” are Weds. 25 and Thurs. 26 @ 9:15-9:45am. During our “Buying times”, only students with money will be going to the book fair. With Kindies, I find it’s easy (and more secure so money does not get lost) if parents purchase books WITH their child during our class book buying times or after school. If your are sending money to school for your child to purchase a book, please clearly label the money and put it in the front of the agenda. :)

UPCOMING EVENTS:
-May 23 - Victoria Day (no school)
-May 24-26 -Scholastic Book Fair in library
-May 25 - Hug-a-Tree (wilderness safety) Presentations for all Kindergartens
-June 3 - Field Trip (I am keeping the location a surprise for a little longer :) )
-June 17 - Field Trip to the Big Little Science Centre (I will definitely need parent volunteer drivers for this trip)

See you tomorrow.
- Ms.Gartrell

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May 9-13

5/8/2016

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May 9-13

WHAT’S HAPPENING THIS WEEK:
I hope all the mothers had a wonderful Mother’s Day and that your children did whatever you said (ha ha j/j)! What a fun and busy week we had last week. The Stream of Dreams mural on our school fence looks incredible! Hopefully your child has already shown you where his/her painted salmon is. Our second gymnastics lesson at TCC is this Thursday morning. Please remember your child must wear comfy clothing (no jeans), no jewellery (watches, earrings) and have hair tied back.

Our new phonics sounds this week are blends - “th/th” (“big th” as in thumb and “little th” as in the) and “qu”. The kids have been busy being scientists and thinking of “wonders” and questions about butterflies. Our Big Buddies have helped read “science fact books” (non-fiction) so the Kindergartens can begin findinig answers to their own questions. We will learn more about body parts of butterflies and insects as well as a butterfly's life cycle. Our class larvae have moved onto the next phase of the life cycle...chrysalis (aka: pupas)! The kids are now patiently waiting (and not bumping the tank!) to see how long it will take for the delicate chrysalises to become Painted Lady Butterflies.

I’m looking for parent-driver volunteers for our June field trips. At this point, I have confirmed that we will need 5-8 drivers (to accommodate booster seats) for Friday, June 17th. I am still awaiting bus info. about whether or not we will need parent drivers for our Friday, June 3rd field trip. Please let me know if you can help and how many children you could fit in your vehicle.

THIS WEEK’S SCHEDULE:
This week’s Star Student is Lyric.

Monday – Library book exchange
Tuesday – Kindergarten Orientation for children attending the 2016-2017 year (10:30-12:00pm in gym. I will be at Orientation, so my current students will have a TTOC from 8:30-12:00pm)
Wednesday   - P.E. with Mrs. Gustafson
Thursday -Gymnastics at TCC (bus departs school @ 9:30am)
               – Roots of Empathy - our last visit with Baby Ava and her Mom, Sheena
Friday - P.E. with Mrs. Brkovic
           - Scholastic book orders due

REMINDERS/HOW PARENTS CAN HELP:

HOT WEATHER ALERT! Send a waterbottle for the classroom and a hat for outside play
Let me know if you are available to drive to our Friday June field trips :)
Send extra clothing in case your child has an accident or gets wet on the playground

UPCOMING EVENTS:
-May 16 - Pro-D Day (no school)
-May 20 - Class and school pictures day
-May 23 - Victoria Day (no school)
-May 24-26 -Scholastic Book Fair in library (specific times TBA)
-May 25 - Hug-a-Tree (wilderness safety) Presentations for all Kindergartens
-June 3 - Field Trip (I am keeping the location a surprise for a little longer :) )
-June 17 - Field Trip to the Big Little Science Centre (I will definitely need parent volunteer drivers for this trip)

See you tomorrow.
- Ms.Gartrell

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May 2-6

5/1/2016

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WHAT’S HAPPENING THIS WEEK:
It’s amazing it is May already and there are only 2 months left of Kindergarten! We have a busy week with TWO field trips and a special presentation and school-wide art installation called Stream of Dreams (funds from the Norman Foote concert last week helped with this project)! Our Young Peoples’ Concert will be Monday morning, Stream of Dreams on Wednesday (I encourage your child to bring a paint smock or old t-shirt to wear as I do not have a class set), and Gymnastics at TCC on Thursday morning. In addition to these special events, Monday will also be “Math Fact Monday #2” (as last week’s “Math Fact Monday” was such a big success). We will continue with School-wide running every Monday, Wednesday and Fridays right before the lunch bell.

Our new phonics sounds this week are blends - “ch” and “sh”. We began a new learning theme last week...BUTTERFLIES. The kids were very excited to hear we are raising Painted Lady butterfly larvae in our classroom! The kids are patiently waiting to see how long it will take for the larvae to become chrysalises. Finishing our Mother’s Day projects will keep us busy this week as well :).

As I mentioned in last week’s blog, I’m looking for parent-driver volunteers for our June field trips. At this point, I have confirmed that we will need 5-8 drivers (to accommodate booster seats) for Friday, June 17th. I am still awaiting bus info. about whether or not we will need parent drivers for our Friday, June 3rd field trip.

THIS WEEK’S SCHEDULE:
This week’s Star Student is Sadie.

Monday – YPC concert 8:50am bus departure
             - Math Fact Monday #2
             - Menchies Orders due
Tuesday – Library book exchange (due to Monday’s YPC)
Wednesday - Stream of Dreams Presentation & painting session (bring paint smock or old t-shirt if possible)      - P.E. with Mrs. Gustafson
Thursday -Gymnastics at TCC (bus departs school @ 9:30am)
                – Roots of Empathy
Friday - P.E. with Mrs. Brkovic
            - Menchies Day

REMINDERS/HOW PARENTS CAN HELP:

Review Phonics Sound Group #5 sheet with your child (letters: z, w, ng, v, oo/oo)
Send extra clothing in case your child has an accident or gets wet on the playground

UPCOMING EVENTS:
-May 8 - Happy Mother’s Day!
-May 10 - Kindergarten Orientation for children attending the 2016-2017 year (10:30-12:00pm in gym. I will be at Orientation, so my current students will have a TTOC for the morning)
-May 12 - Kindergarten Gymnastics at TCC 9:30-11:30am
-May 13 - May Scholastic orders due
-May 16 - Pro-D Day (no school)
-May 20 - Class and school pictures day
-May 23 - Victoria Day (no school)
-May 25 - Hug-a-Tree (wilderness safety) Presentations for Kindergartens

See you tomorrow.
- Ms.Gartrell

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