December Star Students

Week 17!

In math we practiced our numeracy skills by using money to count.

 We had an amazing Christmas concert where everyone sang beautifully as we retold the story of the birth of Jesus.

 Our angels...

 Our sheep...

 Our shepherds...

Over the last week of school before the Christmas break we read and studied the book The Polar Express.

 The day after our concert we all got our golden ticket to board the Polar Express.

 All four grade two classes enjoyed watching the movie The Polar Express in our pjs while enjoying hot chocolate and snacks.

 All the grade two classes worked together to provide the school with the last Advent celebration and in fact the last liturgy of 2016.  Everyone did an amazing job, especially considering how excited we were for the last day of school before Christmas break!

 Mr.  Walker and Mr.  Berg stopped by to lead us in come Christmas songs as a final Christmas treat.

From my family to yours, Merry Christmas!

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

Week 15!

We learned more math games this week!  These games are a great way to practice numeracy skills at home.

It was so chilly this week that we had several indoor recesses.  Check out how these smartie pants used their time!

We had another great visit from our High School reading buddies!

We got into the spirit of the festive season on early out Wednesday wearing all our Christmas colours.

We made some cute Christmas angel crafts.

Our choir sang beautifully as they presented their sounds of the season.

Our chimes and handbells also created some beautiful music for us to enjoy.

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

Week 14!

It is hard to believe but the Christmas season is upon us already.  Where does the time go?  

We celebrated the first week of Advent by lighting our first purple candle, the candle of hope.

Each morning during Advent we gather as a school to sing and pray together as we prepare to celebrate the birth of the baby Jesus.  We always end by singing "Violets in the Snow".  

The Alberta Opera came to present a wonderful performance of Hansel and Gretel.  

To support our literacy learning at school, it is critical that when your child brings home a puzzle that they have completed at school, they read it out loud to you.  The puzzle is sent home when we have reviewed and practiced that sound and song in class.  If your child struggles to read the puzzle to you, please have them practice until they can read it to you.  These repetitions and exposures in context are essential to growing their reading brain.  

Several students have commented to me that they do not read every day.  Research has shown that to further develop reading skills it is vitally important to read every day, out loud, to an adult.  This is  especially important if you know your child is experiencing a challenge with their literacy skills.  As the students in our grade two class will tell you,  the only way to become a good reader is to read, read, read.  Please help your child to grow their reading brain by having them read to you every day.

In math we learned some new games to help us with our numeracy skills.  The students really enjoyed playing these games and would love to teach you them.

Growth As A Learner reports were sent home and added to Fresh Grade this week .  Your child has set a goal for themselves for the coming month.  A report was sent home and put on Fresh Grade in September and October too.  Please talk with your child about this report and contact me if you would like to discuss their progress reports further.

Mrs.  Morgan spent more time in our classroom this week.  This time she was teaching us how to access our Google Classroom and create Google slides.  Some students started creating projects on Iqaluit.  They can show their work to you home at.

Below is some further information about Google in the classroom.  It is beneficial to be familiar with Google as students will be working with Google classroom on a regular basis in the coming years and are required to bring their own devices to work with Google in grade 4.

If you have any questions, concerns or comments please feel free to contact me at 780 997 0589 or lesleyh@eics.ab.ca.