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 :)