Hello!

March is here and it looks like the cold, cold weather has stayed in February! I am certainly looking forward to spending more time outdoors in the beautiful March sunshine! It is hard to believe that it is already March.....where has the year gone?!?! 

Please allow me to begin by saying how sorry I am that we have had to postpone skating, TWICE!  This cold has made it difficult to schedule outdoor activities.  I appreciate your patience and understanding! We are looking at possible dates for rescheduling, so please stay tuned! I know how much the students are looking forward to it! 

I hope that everyone has received their Lent Calendar.  Lent is the 40 days and nights leading up to Easter where we celebrate the death and resurrection of our Saviour.  Lent is a time to show that we understand the sacrifices that have been made for us. Using the calendar is a great way to show the children that "giving something up" is the only way to be closer to God.  We can try to do nice and kind things, everyday, to bring us closer! Please let me know if you need another copy. 

v       In our writing, we have been practicing our procedural writing.  We started by looking at the steps necessary to get ready for recess, and we also looked at the steps necessary to make yummy pancakes! You can help your child with this skill by talking about the steps you take to complete tasks at home such as brushing your teeth or making a sandwich.  You can reinforce what we are learning at school by using transitional words such as first, then, next and finally as you describe your procedure! 

    Throughout the year, the students have been learning about different strategies that will assist in their reading comprehension.  Throughout the next few months, we will focus on Inferring.  This strategy is often referred to as "reading between the lines". This strategy involves forming a best guess using evidence such as context clues and picture clues. 

    We continue to look at the elements of narrative stories. Understanding how stories flow will help give the students a more thorough comprehension of the stories that they read. When reading narrative stories with your children, ask questions about the characters and the setting. Also, talk about the sequence of what happens in the story. What happened at the beginning, middle and end of the story? 

   Here are our Word Wall Words for this week. Thank you for helping your children practice these words every week.  

    two, yellow

    from, this, talk, 

    drink, would, into, more, how

    that's, another, buy, by, know

    We have been learning nursery rhymes and poems at school since September.  Nursery rhymes and poems are an excellent pre-reading and developing-reading resource. Their repetitive refrains, beats, patterns of repetition, rhymes, and predictable language is exactly what young readers need.  Here is one we learned just last week!
 

If you have not already received them, Term 2 IPE's will be going home shortly. I am happy to meet with you to discuss the Term 1 report card, next term’s IEP goals as well as any plans for next year.  Please do not hesitate to contact me and we can set up a meeting or a phone call.  

The students have been working really hard and I am really proud of each of them.  I continuously see progress in each child and it is a great feeling!

As always, please let me know if you have any questions or concerns. I look forward to the Spring season and all of the learning that we will do in the next few months!!