Week 30!

Dara waited until after Easter to enjoy her sweet treat banana split.   She did a great job keeping her Lenten promise!

Our week had a distinct Easter feel about it as we made an Easter craft to share with our families,

watched "An Easter Carol",

and shared KinderSurpise Easter eggs.

In amongst all our Easter celebrations, we kept out basic facts skills sharp by playing some subtraction and addition bingo this week.

We also learned that our most favoured mode of transportation is an airplane.

In social, we talked about the different festivals celebrated in the communities we've been learning about.  We learned about Toonik Tyme in Iqaluit.

We learned about Acadian Day in Meteghan.

We learned about Ukrainian Day in Saskatoon.

We finished the Canadian Test of Basic Skills this week.  A print out of the results will be shared with the parents in the fall.

Please remember to stop by the Volunteer Appreciation Breakfast on Tuesday morning!

We would like to show our appreciation for all you do!

Week 29!

In religion, we continued on our Lenten journey towards Easter.  We discussed the many ways we can light up our world with acts of kindness towards others.

We also continued to retell the Easter story with our Resurrection Eggs.  Egg seven had three nails in the shoe of a cross because nails were driven into the hands and feet of Jesus.

The eighth egg had a dice in it because the Roman soldiers used dice to gamble for Jesus' robe.

The ninth egg contained a soldiers spear because the Roman soldiers used a spear to pierce Jesus' side when He was on the cross.

The tenth egg held a piece of linen cloth because Joseph or Arimathea wrapped the body of Jesus in a linen cloth after He died on the cross.

The eleventh egg held a stone because a huge that had covered the tomb was found rolled away.

The final egg was empty to remind us that Jesus's tomb was empty because He rose from the dead.

We continued to work on our CTBS tests.

In Language Arts this week we read Rechenka's Eggs by Patricia Polacco.  The students enjoyed this story about Babushka, Rechenka and the beautiful painted eggs.

We listened to the story online at Discovery Education Canada.  The students wanted to share this story with their families and asked me to post it on line.  I couldn't post directly from Discovery Education Canada so I had to find another copy.  Sadly, the only copy I could find was the full length Reading Rainbow episode that includes the story.  You can forward the video to the story if you don't have time to watch the entire video.

Rechenka's Eggs

In art, we created paper Ukrainian eggs and discussed some of the shapes and symbols in preparation for  creating our own Ukrainian eggs later in the week.

Mr. Chappel, Tripp's grandpa came to demonstrate how to make Ukrainian eggs. 

After he talked about the tradition and showed us how to use the kiska we got to try making our own Ukrainian egg.

After we applied the wax it was time to use our first colour of dye. 

We continued to apply wax and dye our eggs until we completed our beautiful eggs.  Each one unique and special to it's creator.

A huge thank you to Mr.  Chappel and all our wonderful volunteers who came to help us.  We couldn't do it without you!

From my family to your, I wish you all a Happy and Blessed Easter!

Week 28!

I trust everyone enjoyed a wonderful spring break!  We are now in the home stretch with very few weeks of school left this year but a great deal more to learn.  

We enjoyed Jersey Day this week on our early out Wednesday.

In art, we finished out lighthouses.  They will be sent home this week.

In religion, as a way of learning about the Easter Story we have been opening Resurrection Eggs.  Each egg has a symbol for parts of the Easter Story.  We read a bible passage and the students guess what the symbol is inside the egg based on the bible story they hear.

Our first egg had a donkey in it because Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey.

Our second egg had three silver coins to symbolize the 30 silver pieces Judas was paid for betraying Jesus.

The third egg revealed a chalice similar the one Jesus might have used at the Last Supper with the 12 disciples.

The fourth egg had praying hands to remind us that Jesus prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane.

The fifth egg contained a leather strap because Jesus was whipped by Pilate.

The sixth egg had a crown of thorns because the soldiers made a crown of thorns for Jesus to wear when they ridiculed him.

So far we have opened six of our twelve eggs.  We will open the remaining six next week to complete the Easter Story before Easter break.

As Mandated by Elk Island Catholic School Board, we started the Canadian Test of Basic Skills(CTBS) this week. If you have any questions or concerns regarding the CTBS please contact the school administration.  

We will be making Ukrainian Eggs on Wednesday, April 16th in the afternoon.  If you are available to help out please let me know via your child's agenda, an email or call the school.

Please remember that you are always welcome to volunteer to read and work with students during school hours.  Please let me know if you are interested.

If you are looking for a way to have fun, get your body moving and raise money for a great cause, please consider taking part in Stephie's Bike Tour on Sunday, May 25th.    Stephie was a student in my class a few years ago and every year since its inception, my family and I have participated in this great community fundraiser for The Stollery.  Check out the Stephie's Bike Tour online for more information.   

If you have any questions or concerns please don't hesitate to contact me at 780 998 7777 or lesleyh@eics.ab.ca.