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!