Hello on this chilly day!
I heard mention of flurries today....can you believe it?  I guess I should be used to it by now, but the cold weather always seems to creep up on me!

This is going to be an exciting week here at SJA. The students are so very excited about Halloween. I love it!  I love that they are putting their enthusiasm into great words that have turned into fantastic sentences and really fun conversations.  I am happy to hear about their costumes and how they are celebrating this fun day!
To get ready for Halloween, our activities and lessons are planned around this theme! As previously mentioned, we read a story called, There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed a Bat.  This week, we will be rotating through some fun stations based on the book including a sequencing station where they have to retell the story in order, a writing station where they can describe their costume, a BINGO game station, a comprehension station where they are going to ask and answer questions about the book, a vocabulary station where they will learn and practice vocabulary words about Halloween and a fun game where they will practice following directions. I think the students are going to have fun and learn a lot with these activities.  Ask your child which station they were at and maybe they will tell you a bit about it!

Students will be invited to wear orange and black here on Halloween. We have some fun things planned for the day while they are here to celebrate! Check out our class Twitter for some pictures of the exciting times!



Here are the word wall words for the week! 






We started writing in our Journals last week.  We used what we already knew about writing to make a list of things that we should always do when writing.  These steps are the criteria for us to be successful!
Here is what we came up with!

As the students become more comfortable with their writing and their skills improve, we will be adding different criteria to the list. The students did an excellent job!
As I review the students written work, I will be commenting on what they have done using a strategy called, "Tickled Pink and Green for Growth".  You make have heard of this already, all this means is that I will write in PINK something that they did really well, something I am proud of them for doing! Then, I will add in GREEN their next steps.  Since these goals are so different for each student, this is a great communication tools!
This is an example of what it may look like!









Last week, we also wrote a letter to the principal, Mr. McGarrity, asking for some sports equipment for our class.  We brainstormed what to write, edited it all together and then wrote a good copy.  We are hoping for some new items to play with at recess! Check it out!

I will let you know how it goes!!! 

A few reminders!

* If your child does not have indoor shoes to leave here, they need to bring them to and from their home school. As the weather gets colder and wetter, everyone needs a clean, dry and warm pair of shoes to wear here.  Please let me know if we can be of any help in getting your child a pair of shoes to leave here st SJA.  We would be happy to help! 

* We are in the last week of #WEscarehunger! Please send in any canned goods to help those in need! 

* Students have many opportunities to eat snacks in our class, however, there is a lot going on in your child's day!! Please let me know if you have any concerns about how much your child is able to eat during the day.  

* I will continue to send home the Word Wall Words every Monday. How/When/How Much you practice those words is up to you! I will take the WWW book out of the mail bags once I see that they have practiced, or on Friday.  Please let me know if I take it out and you would still like to practice. The words are usually posted on this blog and on our Twitter account, so feel free to check there as well! 

* The students are doing really well with their Snuggle Book Reading! Again, I will switch the books once I see that you have signed the page telling me how they have done.  You are welcome to keep each book for as long as it takes to read it with your child. 

* Please remember that our Library Day is Wednesday.  Please return all books on or by Wednesday of each week. Thanks! 

Hello and happy Monday!

I hope everyone had a lovely weekend.  It was rainy and a bit gloomy yesterday, but the sun is shining brightly today!!

This is such a busy time of year!

You will be receiving your child's IEP this week.  This is your child's plan for his/her educational goals for this term.  I have set goals for your child in the areas of Language Development, English Language, Social Studies and Self-Advocacy.  These goals have been developed based on your child's Speech and Language Assessments, their current level of achievement in the academic areas and my observations and assessments in the classroom so far.
This is a very important document.  Please take the time to review, sign and return the signed portion to the home school.  If you have any questions at all, please do not hesitate to give me a call.  I would be happy to go over it with you. As the parent, you are an integral part of this process!

We have begun our United Way Campaign here at St. John the Apostle.  There will be a few fun activity coming up to raise money for this amazing organization.  The first event will be this Thursday, October 20th.  Students are invited to bring $2.00 and come to school dressed as a SUPERHERO! I cannot wait to see all the amazing outfits!! 
Next week we will have a pumpkin raffle.  Each class will decorate a pumpkin, and there will be tickets sold and one lucky winner will be drawn for each pumpkin! 
Early in November, there will be a PJ Day! Those are my favourite! 
A newsletter was sent home today explaining all of the events.  

As we get closer to Halloween, there will be more information sent home about what will be allowed on that day.  The students seem VERY excited about Halloween this year! As a class, we will brainstorm some ideas of how we can celebrate at school.  I am looking forward to hearing their ideas.  

Here are some of the exciting things going on this week!

Today, we learned our new word wall words for the week.  Here are the words!

come, look

it, in, is

look, car, eat, to, girl

myself, almost, about, also, because

This week, we practiced our words a little bit differently.  We played a game called, "Roll, Read and Write" where the students had to roll a number cube, read the corresponding word, and practice writing it. Everyone loved the game and there was some great learning happening.  I was particularly impressed with the amazing team work and cooperation that I saw.  The students were helpful, patient and polite with everyone on their team.  I give them all two thumbs up! 

Today, we also decided that we would like a ball for our class to play with at recess. After some discussion, we decided that a good way to find out about a ball would be to write the principal, Mr. McGarrity a letter asking him if he could get us a class ball.  Today, we wrote a first draft and did some editing. It has turned out to be a great activity and allowed for some fantastic learning opportunities in a real situation!  We will complete the final draft and send it to the office later this week. I will let you know how it goes!

Starting tomorrow, we will look at words that belong to the _op word family. Ask your child if they can remember any _op words! 


Today, we read a book called, There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Bat! Some of you may have heard about the old lady who swallowed a bunch of school supplies from earlier this year. These are from a series of stories written by Lucille Colondro. They are a spin off of the original story, There Was an Old LAdy Who Swallowed a Fly. These books are excellent teaching tools!  They are full of rhymes, repetition, vocabulary, thematic concepts and a ton of laughs! I have many of these books in my library and you will be hearing about them throughout the year. We will be reading the Halloween version of this story for a few weeks. I have many fun activities and games based on this book coming up so stay tuned! 

Some parents have been asking about other activities they can do at home to assist their children. Please keep up the reading! There are so many valuable and crucial elements of language wrapped up in one small book.  Ask your child about the story.  Talk about the characters, about who they are and how they feel. Talk about the plot by asking what happened in the story. Reading with your children often will also give you some insight into their progress. I know as a teacher and as a parent, I love NOTHING more than seeing a child learn something new!


Phonological Awareness is a crucial part of language development.  Breaking down words into chunks helps the students understand how the different sounds work together to make each word. Here are some activities to assist students practice syllables:

-          Take turns and clap the number of syllables in words. You say a word and your child claps the word. For example: computer- child claps com/pu/ter, 3 claps; pig- child claps /pig/, 1 clap. Choose words with varying number of syllables.

-          While driving or walking, pick out words that you see, have child clap the syllables. For example: church, Walmart, Metro, Chapters, park.

-          After reading a book, pick a word or a picture per page to clap.

-          Throw a ball, beanbag, or favourite stuffed toy back and forth, as you each say one syllable at a time.   For example, for the word “macaroni”, you would toss the ball back and forth a total of 4 times.

-          Use a stick to tap out all the syllables of each family member’s name.  For example: “Mom/my”; “Bill”; “Grand/pa”.

We have a lot to focus on and I am incredibly proud of how hard the students are working. Their progress is real and it really does make me smile!


Have a great week! 
S. Faloon 

Hello everyone!

I hope that you all had a lovely Thanksgiving weekend shared with family! What a beautiful weekend it was!  I have said it many times, but I feel so blessed to live in a city that gives us the most amazing and glorious autumns.  

This week will be short and sweet!  While there are only 4 days at school, we still have plenty of work to do! 

The students had their picture taken here at SJA a few weeks ago. The proofs are ready! Each student has an individual picture here. I will be sending them home very tomorrow. I am sure they had one taken at their homeschool as well, or perhaps picture day has not happened yet. Please do not feel obligated to purchase from both. each group (both morning and afternoon) had a group picture taken and I will send it home as soon as it arrives.  

Here are our word wall words for this week.  You will notice that there are MANY more words than the ones your child brought home.  As it is with much of our learning, students are working at varying levels. Each student has their own words that they are responsible for practicing.  

This week, we will begin to talk about stories and their elements. We will explore what the characters (who the story is about) and the setting (where the story happens) of a story were. These are some great things to discuss while you are reading with your kids at home! 

On our writing, we are working toward writing perfect sentences. Some of the things we will be practicing are starting the sentence with a capital, using finger spaces between words, using punctuation at the end of the sentence and ensuring that the sentence is a whole thought.  !! For students who have mastered these steps, they are working toward creating more descriptive sentences by adding details and explanations.  

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 learning about in class. The picture here shows some of the strategies that the students are working on. 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. 

Quick Notes:

#WEscarehunger 

SJA is working together to SCARE HUNGER!  We have begun collecting canned goods and we will continue to do so until Halloween.  We will be donated all goods collected to Morrison Gardens. Please give if you can! 

The United Way Campaign is underway. In the next few weeks we will be having fun days and special events here at school to raise money for this amazing cause.  Please stay tuned for more details about the exciting events! 

Your child's IEP will coming home shortly. Your child’s IEP is developed in collaboration between the homeschool team, you the parents, and me. The homeschool will send home a draft copy of the IEP shortly. Please take the time to read it carefully. I would be very happy to arrange a time to sit and discuss the IEP with you. I can also set up a time to talk to you by telephone if that is preferable. Please remember your input is very important. Please note that Rosalind Mcguire, teacher at St. John the Apostle Catholic, will be reporting on the Social Studies curriculum for our students. 

 

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

S. Faloon :)