Monday November 20th 2017

Hello!

What a weekend! First snowfall of the year. While it made for some slippery driving, it was beautiful and certainly had my kids excited! Please remember to dress your child appropriately for the weather each day. If you are in need of any winter items, please let me know and we would be happy to help.

Also, if your child still does not have indoor shoes here at St. John the Apostle, please let me know and we can make sure they have the appropriate footwear.

This is a short but busy week. A reminder that there is a P.D. Day on Friday November 24th.

We are celebrating Anti-Bullying week! In our class, we are focusing on the importance of being kind to others, and celebrating our differences. We often talk about how each of us being a unique and special person is worthy of celebration. This week is a great time for us to reinforce the significance of this! Today we will be reading a story called, Invisible Isabelle. The main lesson in this story is that we must remain true to ourselves and not try to be like others. We are exactly who God has intended us to be, and we are all beautiful!

We will also look at the story of The Good Samaritan to guide our actions. How can we be more like the Good Samaritan? How can we help others? What are some ways we can be kind and pay kindness forward?  I am really looking forward to having these conversations with the students!

This week, we will also begin discussing a book called, `Big Deals and Little Deals`. In the book, it explains the difference between a big deal (something that hurts your body, something dangerous, scary situations) and a little deal (someone bothering you, someone hurting your feelings). It teaches different strategies to handle the little deals on our own. The strategies that the book uses mimic those we have learned about while using our WITS! (Walk away, Ignore, Talk about it, Seek help) Look for more info as we practice the strategies in the class! Please let me know if you would like more information about the book or the strategies we are using!

Our new word wall words this week are:

and, it

he, she, no

have, old, little, tell, house

Please ask your child which words are theirs and help them practice them. The students have been playing some games to help reinforce their words here at school. We try to keep the learning exciting! Ask them about what their favourite Word Wall Word game is!

In our writing, we will be looking at procedural writing. This is where the students will be writing "how to" instructions. We will practice writing an introduction sentence, the necessary steps to completing our task, transition words (first, then, finally) and a concluding sentence. You can support this skill by asking your children what the steps are to the tasks they are completing at home. For example, brushing your teeth. First, put the toothpaste on the toothbrush, then brush the top teeth, next brush the bottom teeth and finally rinse out your mouth!!  Look for more updates on our amazing work with this!

This week, we are also going to begin learning about  idioms. Our language has so many sayings that are not so easy to figure out! We will be discussing how sometimes, words do not mean what they say! When I say, "It's raining cats and dogs", there really isn't animals falling from the sky! But what does it mean? This week, we are beginning with, "Get your act together" and how it means to behave appropriately for where you are. I have some other fun expressions up my sleeve for the rest of the year!

Enjoy the week everyone!  As always, please let me  know if you have any questions or concerns. I am happy to chat! Stay warm!

Exciting news!!!

Just a reminder.........

The students have been working hard to earn Dojo points!

At the beginning of the year, we set some goals for the class and we have been meeting each goal with speed and determination!

The students earned some free time, extra recess.....even a lesson on how to make slime!

Now they have reached 500 points and they have earned a little pizza party!

I will be ordering pizza for the class on

Wednesday, November 7th.

I will order two slices of cheese pizza for each student.

I am really proud of the students. They are working harder than ever to be kind and respectful, and to be diligent learners! They really do deserve this!

Thank you for sending me your wonderful children, and for allowing me to reward them with pizza!

Please let me know if there are any dietary concerns, or if you you have any other questions or concerns about our celebration!

Thank you!

Sarah Faloon

Primary Language Class

St, John the Apostle

Happy Monday!

I hope everyone had a nice weekend prepping for Halloween! My kiddos at home are so excited, I am sure your families are sharing in the excitement!

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! We will be practicing our procedural writing when we learn how to carve a pumpkin and we will be using our descriptive writing skills when we write all about our costumes!

Students will be invited to wear their costumes 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!

We will not have Word Wall Words this week!! Instead, we will be focusing on our Halloween Vocabulary. Check it out!

We have really been enjoying writing in our journals.  The students have really been focusing on writing complete sentences using our Writers Eye! Here are the things we are looking for with our Writer’s Eyes!

Students can use this chart on the wall when they are writing to double check that they have included these 4 things!  (Capitals at the beginning, lowercase letters throughout the sentence, spaces between our words and punctuation at the end).

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 student's 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! 

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! 

*There will be a P.J. Day on November 9th. Please bring in a donation for United Way!

October-10-17

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. Even with the rain yesterday, the colours of the leaves make me smile! I had some time this weekend to really think about the things I am most thankful for. My family is certainly one! I am also thankful for each of my students. They each teach me something different, every single day!

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 will be ready soon! Each student will be given an individual picture here. I will be sending them home as soon as I get them. 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.  

go, like

am, the look

went, has, down, off, go

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! 

A reminder that Library Day is on Wednesdays. Please remind your child to bring back the St. John the Apostle library books before Wednesday each week so that they can enjoy another book! 

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 :) 

Hello everyone!!!

It has been a very busy few days here in the Primary Language Class. 

So, it is official! We have moved! 

Our new classroom is up and running and we are settling in really well. Monday was our first full day in the class and the kids did really well. I know change can be difficult, especially after routines and structures have been set in place, but the kids were champions and I am really proud of them. We will spend some times this week reviewing the basics: where we line up, where the washrooms and water fountains are and how to get to the office from our new spot!

Last week, we read the book, "Have You Filled a Bucket Today". This book talks about how being considerate and conscientious of others really makes a difference, and how one small and simple act of kindness can turn someone’s day around!  We brainstormed and discussed ways in which we could be kind, be good friends and fill each other’s buckets. I am so thrilled to say that all of the students were FULL of ideas! It made my heart smile! What a kind bunch! 

As you know, the weather has been unseasonably HOT! While it is so nice to have this late summer weather, it does make for some pretty hot days at school. We have been encouraging the students to drink lots of water and find the shade at recess and we will keep it as cool as we can in the classroom. Please make sure your children are wearing lightweight clothing and send in a water bottle if you can. Thank you!

Today at St, John the Apostle, it was picture day! The students showed off their best smiles as we took our class photo and they had individual pictures taken. Each student will be having their individual picture taken at both schools, so if you are looking to purchase pictures, you will have two to choose from. 

We will be participating in our annual Terry Fox walk on Thursday. We will talk about the impact that Terry Fox had on us as a nation and look at how his contributions to cancer research started something bigger than he could have imagined. 

Today I will send home some Word Wall Words with your child. On the cover of the Word Wall Book there are some instructions.  Basically, the book is there for you to practice the words with your child.  There are no specific activities or timelines! All I ask is that the book be returned by Friday so I can put the new words in for the following week. We work on the words in class throughout the week. Practice at home is a great way to reinforce the learning that is happening at school! However, I understand how busy life gets and that sometimes homework takes a back seat to everything else in your day.  I also understand that there are so many more valuable things that you can be doing with the little time you have with your children at the end of the day. So, please do what you can, even if it is just talking about the words. Thank you so much for your help!

Here are of our words for this week:  

Group 1: a, see

Group 2: a, go, like

Group 3: I, the, is, can, like

I have also sent home a Snuggle Book.  For the new families, the concept of the Snuggle Book is that I send home a book for you to snuggle up and read with your child.  While I am sure you have tons of books at home, this is a book that I have chosen to be at your child's reading level.  The idea is that you read the book with your child a few times until they can read it to you independently.  This may be right away or it may take a few days. However long it takes.....noproblem! Please keep the book until your child feels comfortable reading it on their own, then you can return it for a new book. In the folder there is a place for you to write whether the book was too easy, too hard or just right.  Please let me know so I can continue to choose appropriate books for each child! 

This week, we will be learning about words in the _an word family.  Talk to your child about what words belong in this word family (i.e., pan, can, ran).  

We have also begun learning about the vowels and the sounds they make.  Vowel identification is an important part of learning to read!  Ask your child about the different sounds that the vowels make!

Have a great week everyone. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions!

Welcome Back!

Mrs. Faloon

Primary Language Class

Hello and welcome to a new school year! I hope that everyone had a wonderful and relaxing summer! I know I enjoyed my time with my family!

I was so thrilled to see my returning students and I am very excited to get to know my new students.

We certainly have had an exciting start to our new school year.  It has been a very busy week. We have started some getting-to- know-you activities, discussed school and classroom rules and procedures, and began to establish routines within the classroom. We are off to a great start and I know it is going to be a wonderful school year!!

I would like to take this opportunity to invite you to the St. John the Apostle Program Evening. Please see the handout for more details and information!

In the next few weeks we will dive right into our learning. I will be teaching the students about reading and writing strategies and we will be working on our oral language skills daily. We will begin weekly word wall words shortly. The students will complete activities within the classroom to practice and learn their words. The words will be sent home each week for you to practice with your children. I will write the students words in a book each week and you can review them with your children. There is no specific activity that will be required of them, the words are sent home for reinforcement and to keep you in the loop about what your children are learning. Feel free to read the words with your children, write the words with them or simply bring them up in conversation and talk about their spelling.

We will begin learning about our Daily Five work stations. This is valuable learning time that we use to focus on each child’s individual goals. The stations are set out with each child’s individual learning needs in mind. It gives them time to work on skills at their level!

Also in the next few weeks we will be learning some new games to help with our learning. We love to make learning feel like playing!

The students are working hard and I am really proud of them.  It is a lot of work coming to two different schools!  I would like to thank you for your dedication to your child's learning. Our little class can be best described as a family. We take care of each other and learn from one another. Our situation is unique and beautiful. I feel so fortunate to be in a class where I can focus on each child, assisting each one to meet their goals. I am looking forward to learning with them throughout this school year. I know it will be amazing!

Here are just a few little reminders:

Have you checked us out on Twitter yet?

@MrsFaloonPLC

There are tons of pictures and snippets of what we do everyday!

Also, remember that our blog is mrsfaloonplc.blogspot.ca!.

Transportation: If your child is absent from our Primary Language Class, it is very important that you call the transportation office to cancel the STS drivers (arrival and departure).  The phone number is 613-723- 9677.

Does your child have indoor shoes at St. John the Apostle Catholic

School?   We are requesting that each student brings an extra pair of shoes that could be left in our classroom. The shoes should be shoes he/she can put on easily on their own (i.e. without laces if you child is unable to tie his/her shoes yet).  This will help keep the class floors neat and tidy.  Please be sure to write your child’s name in the shoes clearly.

Please label your child’s belongings. It is very helpful to have your child’s name in their coats, sweaters, lunch bags, backpacks, shoes and boots!

IEP’s

Your child’s Individual Education Plan is developed in collaboration between the homeschool team, you the parents, and me. The homeschool will send home a draft copy of the IEP in October.  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, a teacher at St.

John the Apostle, will be reporting on the Social Studies curriculum for our students.  

Have a great weekend! Please remember that I am happy to help if you have any questions or concerns.

Sarah Faloon

Can you believe the end of the school year is only a few days away? We have enjoyed a wonderful
year of learning and created many memories, and now it’s time to celebrate our hard work! The
children are very excited with the end of the year coming and the new challenges they will be facing
in September. Some children will be moving back to their homeschool or moving to another system
class while others will be returning to the Primary Language Class. For the children moving out of
the program, I wish you more success and happiness, and, I look forward to helping those students returning to St. John the Apostle Catholic School meet new language goals.

We are all ready to enjoy the class party today! I am really looking forward to enjoying the day with the students!

The students will continue to bring home their school work. Please take some time to go through what they have done. 👍
The students will also be bringing home their plants today. Some of them are pretty impressive, but as nature would have it, some did not grow. If your child's plant did not grow, I will be sending home a little package for them to try again!

A big thank-you to all of you for your support and assistance this school year. As parents, you play
an important part in helping children meet success. It has been my sincere pleasure working alongside with you to teach your children this year. I have mentioned this in previous posts, but this is the most amazing job in the world. Your children are an incredible joy and they teach me something new everyday. I feel blessed to be in this unique teaching position and I look forward to seeing what the children can accomplish next year.

Over the summer vacation, I strongly encourage you to help your child continue learning. Read to your child every day and practise writing by using the word wall words that we have been working on all year. Doing one or two activities each day over the summer vacation will help to keep your child’s skills sharp.

I hope you enjoy time with each other this summer. Have a happy and safe summer holiday.
God bless you and your family in this summer season!

Sarah Faloon 

Good Monday morning! Wow.......It is ever HOT!!!!!

I guess there is no more complaining about the cool Spring weather!!! Please remember with this heat comes the need for cool clothing, water and sunscreen. If you send in some sunscreen, the students will be given the time to apply it themselves. Please, do not send in any spray cans of sunscreen! I will always encourage the students to go and drink water and they are always welcome to fill up their water bottles.

So, as we are now into our second week of June, we are looking very quickly at the end of the year.  I cannot believe how fast this year has flown by.  I know we say that every year, but I found that we had so much fun this year that is seems to have disappeared before me.

A few reminders as we finish up the 2016-2017 school year.

I will begin to send  home some of the students books and folders. Please take a look at the contents, discuss them with your child. They are now yours to keep!  We are still working on important things in class, but these are books we no longer need and I really wanted you to get a chance to see the amazing things that your children have done this year.  If you have any questions, please let me know.

There will be no more new Word Wall Words coming home for this year.  We will spend the month of June reviewing the many words that we have learned this year already.  Thank you so much for your dedication and commitment to assisting the students with their new words each week.  Their practice and hard work has certainly paid off!

Your child’s report card and IEP will be sent home from their homeschool during the last week of June.  Interviews will not be held at the end of the year.  I am more than happy to sit down with you and discuss your child’s progress before the documents are sent home.  If you would like to schedule a meeting to talk about your son/daughter and the amazing work they have done this year, please do not hesitate to call SJA or write a note in the agenda and we can arrange a meeting.

The students are working harder than ever to get ready for the end of the school year! They have done a wonderful job in their writing.  They put together many different things they learned over the course of the year to create a procedural text explaining how to plant a seed. Some of the students even turned their procedural writing into a Google Presentation!

We used those instructions to actually plant some seeds!  Unfortunately, we didn't see any growth from our plants, so we talked about what may have went wrong and we started from the beginning again!! Hopefully they will sprout soon! We will keep the plants here for observations for a few days and the students will bring them home soon. Hopefully, you can taste the students efforts over the summer!

 

As is tradition in the PLC, we will planning an end of the year party! We like to have the students input into what they would like to do/bring for the party. We will be discussing these details in the days to come and I will let you know what we have come up with!

Thank you again for your time. Stay tuned for more information in the next few weeks and, as always, do not hesitate to send me a note or give me a call if you have any questions!

Stay cool!

Sarah Faloon

Happy Monday everyone!

What a busy month we have had!  It always takes me by surprise how quickly these last few months fly by! As we enter into the last few weeks of school, please remember to keep checking the mail bags and blog for updates. I will try to update as often as possible!

The students have done such an excellent job with their word wall words throughout the year! For the remainder of the year, we are going to focus on review and practice of the words already learned. There will be no more new words being sent home.
Please let me know if you would like a list of all of the words your child has learned for practice at home. I will be sending home their word wall homework books shortly!

Throughout May, we have been talking about plants. We read about plants and planting seeds, we connected our learning to Earth Day by discussing the important role that plants play in our environment, we planted our own seeds in the classroom and we have incorporated our planting into our writing!
Ask your child about their plant and their procedural writing about how to plant a seed!

We continue to read daily. The students are encouraged to use their decoding strategies whenever they read. Before the summer, I will send home a page with all of the strategies that we work on in the classroom. Please use these as you read with your child over the summer. Please remember that not all students are working on every strategy at the same time!

We have also been comparing and contrasting different objects. This past week, we looked at caterpillars and butterflies to see how they were alike and how they were different.  At home, talk to your children about how things are similar and different (How is a tree like a flower? What is unique about each plant?) We have been using a Venn Diagram to organize our information!

In class, the month of June will include a lot of review of the topics we covered throughout the year. The students have worked hard toward their IEP goals and I am very proud of them. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you would like to discuss their progress before the end of the year. I would be happy to chat with you!

Just a few notes and reminders!

• The Grade 3 students are in the middle of their EQAO testing. I am really proud of how confidently they have worked through these assessments! 
• There will be a note about the book fair going home today. Please take a look and let me know if you have any questions! 
• While we have had many beautiful days, the rain still seems to be hanging around. Please dress your children appropriately for the day. 
• A reminder that if your child is going to be away to contact STS or the driver directly to alert them of their absence. Many of the runs have only one child and they are left waiting for the students if they are not here. 
• This week, the library books will be returned. If your child does not return their book this week, there will be a reminder sent home. Please try to return all books as soon as possible. If you cannot find it or think your child did not bring it home, please let me know! 

As I mentioned before, the next few weeks will be very busy. We have a lot of work to do and there is a lot going on! Please continue to check here and on our Twitter account for updates!

Have a great week everyone! Stay dry in the rain today and hopefully we will see some sun this week! 

Sarah Faloon 

Sight Words!!!!

Happy Monday everyone!

We will have no new word wall words this week. Instead, we will spend some time reviewing the words we have learned so far. At school, we will be playing some games and doing some fun activities to reinforce the learning that we have already done.

Please take some time and review these words with your children. Sight words are a very important part of learning to read.

Please take a look at this information explaining the role that sight words play in how we learn to read.

The following text was taken from a website called http://www.speechbuddy.com

Why are Sight Words Important?

Sight words are very important for your child to master because, believe it or not, “sight words account for up to 75% of the words used in beginning children’s printed material”, according to Study to Identify High-Frequency Words in Printed Materials, by D.J. Kear & M.A. Gladhart. There are different sight words for every grade level. Each set of words builds upon the other, meaning that once your child learns the sight words in Kindergarten, he will be expected to still recognize those words as he learns new words in first grade, and so forth.

Many of the over 200 “sight words” do not follow the basic phonics principles, thus they cannot be “sounded out.” Beginning readers need an effective strategy for decoding unknown words, and being familiar with sight words is an effective method. Other benefits of sight words include:

• Sight words promote confidence. Because the first 100 sight words represent over 50% of English text, a child who has mastered the list of sight words can already recognize at least half of a sentence. If your child begins to read a book and can already recognize the words, chances are he won’t feel discouraged and put the book down, rather he’ll have more confidence to read it all the way through. And, choose another!
• Sight words help promote reading comprehension. When your child opens her book for the first time, instead of trying to decipher what ALL of the words mean, she can shift her attention to focus on those words she is not familiar with. She will already know at least half of the words, so focusing on the other half helps strengthen her understanding of the text.
• Sight words provide clues to the context of the text. If your child is familiar with the sight words, she may be able to decode the meaning of the paragraph or sentence by reading the sight words. And, if a picture accompanies the text, your child may be able to determine what the story is about and come away with a few new words under her belt.

Check out this link to see a video about why sight words are so crucial!

https://youtu.be/G0fA4Nn93mQ

Thank you and have a fantastic week!!

Mrs. Faloon

PLC

St. John the Apostle