I hope everyone had a nice long weekend!! Can you believe that the end of November is almost here!!
This time of year can be extremely busy, and it is no different in our classroom.  We have many exciting activities going on!  Please continue checking the blog, Twitter and your child's agenda for updates on what is coming up for the next few weeks!

Advent will begin this Sunday.  Here at St, John the Apostle, we will celebrate with an Advent Mass held at St, John the Apostle Church on December 2nd at 7:00 pm.  Please come if you can!

If we have not yet had a chance to chat about your child's progress and you would like to do so, please feel free to give me a call.  I know how busy life can be!  We can certainly arrange a time for a meeting, either here at school or over the phone.

This weather forecast for this week looks wet, wet, wet!!  Please make sure your child is dressed properly for the day.  An extra pair of socks and/or mittens in their back pack is also a good idea.......just in case!

A Story Retell Journal went home last week.  The purpose of this journal is to have your child tell you a story in his/her own words.  Last week's book was called, Go Home Daisy!  It is a story about a dog that loves to chase her family as they drive down the road.  In the end, Daisy helps her owner find his way home after being lost.
When completing the journal entry, please record what your child says without adding anything. You can ask questions to help him/her along (i.e., What happens next?)  This information is a good tool for me to see what the children can retain from the story and how they have processed the details.  It is certainly not about being right or wrong....just about your child doing his/her best!

Here is what we are up to this week!!

Check out our word wall words!!!
on, he
jump, for, red
two, six, come, all, an
should, picture, earth, high, answer

Today we practiced our words using our Tic Tac Toe board which is filled with fun and interesting ways to practice each word!
They love using the markers to write RAINBOW WORDS!!!



A few weeks ago we inherited this PUPPET THEATER!!!
Lately we have had a large conversation about...conversations!  We have discussed what makes a good conversation, how to start a conversation and how to end a conversation.  We will be using our puppet theater to practice taking turns talking and listening while having a conversation.  The kids have really had fun with it so far!  Sometime in the near future, we will also be making our own puppets!! Watch for more information!

   

Tomorrow we will look at the word family _eat.  We will use this group to discuss how the vowel blend of "ea" creates the long "e" sound.  Ask your child about words in the _eat family.  

We are going to look at Visualization as a reading comprehension strategy.  The goal is for the students to create pictures in their minds to help them gain a deeper understanding of a text.  

That about covers it for now!  As always, please do not hesitate to call or write if you have any questions at all.  Have a great week and I look forward to the exciting days and weeks coming up!!!!

Happy Monday Everyone!

Looks like winter is here!!  What a beautiful sight!  The snow is here!

I was so happy to see everyone in their winter warmest today! The kids were cozy and dry in their snow suits.  With all of this extra clothing, it is necessary that the students be able to dress independently.  I will certainly be there to help with stuck zippers and finicky boots, but the children should be able to put on and take off their snowsuits by themselves.  Please practice at home!!

Today we reviewed some really important information about the snow, the yard and safety.  Students are not permitted on  the play structures throughout the winter and they have been officially closed for the season.  We discussed how throwing snow is not at all allowed at school.  We also talked about how important it is to share the snow. With all of the forts and snow men being made, all students need to remember that the snow is a gift from God and does not belong to anyone.

Please remember that student agenda and mail bags should be coming to school every day!  I completely understand that we all forget things from time to time, however, these books are our daily communication formats.  It is a good idea to have your child be responsible for remembering to bring them back every day.  What a great way to teach responsibility and routine!  If you have misplaced either, please let me know and I can provide another one! Thanks you for your help with this!

Each month, our school community takes one of the Catholic Graduate Expectations and looks further into what it means.  For the month of October, St. John the Apostle School thought about Empathy and what it means to be an empathetic person.  One person from each class is chosen as a good representative of this value.  Today, we had a little assembly to recognize those people.  I am very proud to say that Lily (from the morning class) and Kristina (from the afternoon class) were recognized for this month!  Way to go guys!!

OK, on with our week!

Our word wall words for this week are:
you, my
run, make, up
will, very. but, was, what
right, thank, sound, found, better

Check out our Twitter page for a pic of our neat new way of practicing our word wall words!

We have been learning about the different sounds that vowels make.  We know some fun little tunes about all of the short vowel and long vowel sounds!  Please talk to your children at home about the different sounds they hear in words.  For example: What vowel sound do you her in dinner?  Is that a long or short "i" sound?  Can you tell me a word that has the short "a" sound in it?

Tomorrow, the students will be introduced to words in the _est word family.  Ask them about the book, A Pest in the Nest!

Tomorrow we also have a special guest!  Todd Nicholson, a Paralympic Sledge Hockey player will be at SJA in the morning to talk about his amazing career! Please wear RED tomorrow, Tuesday to support this amazing athlete! 

In the homework calendars for Thursday, there is mention of The Story Retell Journal.  This book will be going home once a month and the students will be asked to tell you a story.
It will be a story that we have read multiple times in the class.  We discuss the details of the story together.  Their job will be to retell you this story in their own words.  Please write down only what they say. A retell is not an exact memorization of the story.  It may take some practice for the students.  If they can only remember one part, that is fine.  With consistent practice, the students will develop a deeper understanding and their retelling ability will improve.
Check the cover of the journal for more instructions!

A reminder that Friday is a P.D. day.  There is no school on Friday.  Also, Wednesday is our Library Day.  Library books should be returned weekly so they can take out a different book.  If your child would like to keep their book longer, please return the book to school and your child can ask to renew the book for another week.

I hope everyone has a warm and snuggly week! Enjoy the long weekend!

Monday November 3rd 2014

I cannot believe it is November already! Time really flies!
I hope that everyone had a nice Halloween and a relaxing weekend!

With the cold weather upon us, please make sure that your child has all of the clothing they will need to stay warm. Can you believe that we have officially entered mitten season?
Also, if your child does not already have indoor shoes, please make sure that he/she has a pair.  It is preferable to have a pair that they can leave here.  It is essential that the children be able to put their shoes on independently.

A reminder that this Wednesday, November 5th is parent-teacher interviews here at SJA.  I would love to meet with you and discuss your child's progress. Please call Mrs. Guilfoyle at the office if you would like to schedule an interview with me.  The interviews will be held between 4:00 pm and 7:00 pm on that day.  If you would like to arrange a meeting on another day or a phone interview, please do not hesitate to ask! We can arrange something that works for all of us!

We have a busy week ahead of us!  We will be practicing new word wall words, learning new letter sounds and continuing our conversations about story elements. We will talk about words in the _op word family. We will also start talking about the importance and significance of Remembrance Day. 

Ask your child about what he/she is learning this week!

Prayer
Every day, in the morning and the afternoon, we say a prayer together as a part of our beginning routine.  Check it out! Please review the prayer with your child.  The morning class will be saying the prayer over the announcements next week!  I will send home the prayer on paper so the students can practice over the weekend.  

A note about Snuggle Books!!

I try and send home books that will challenge the students and help them feel successful. The books are also chosen to help them work on specific strategies that we are leaning about in class. The picture here shows the strategies listed on the students reading cards.  Depending on your child`s reading level, they are using different strategies to solve unfamiliar words. Ask your child which strategy they are working on! If the books are too difficult for your child to read in one evening, please keep the book for longer!  The books only need to returned when your child has practiced and read the book independently!

Have a great week everyone! As always, please feel free to contact me if you have any questions or concerns!