December 16th

What a fun week we have had in Div. 7!  Concert, Christmas crafts, skating with our big buddies, hallway reading, Christmas math games ...

Thanks to all parents who were able to drive and help out with skating and for those that sent in treats for our classroom celebration!

Over the holidays if you have a chance to watch this video of how candy canes are made, look at the candy cane experiment pamphlet and do any further candy cane experiment I am sure your child would really enjoy them.  The link is this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BF2o6KaDhIQ

We also have some Reindeer math games in their Poetry, Chants and More book that would be fun to play over the holidays.

Merry Christmas to everyone - hope your holidays are filled with fun, family and adventures.
See you in 2017!

Dec. 9th

Christmas is definitely in the air and the excitement is growing!

This week we have started some special Christmas crafts that the children are very excited about. They also have been busy doing candy cane science during explorations and candy cane sentence building and punctuation in Reader's Workshop.

Students have brought home new Just Right Reading so have some books to read over the holidays!

Next week us going to be busy with our Christmas concert....
Monday, Dec. 12th - Dress Rehearsal at 9:00 (please send your child in pajamas) Students will watch this performance.
Tuesday,  Dec. 13th - another dress rehearsal  9:00  (pj's again). Evening concert at 6:30 but all students must be here by 6:00pm in their pjs
Wednesday, Dec. 14th - Concert at 1:00 (once again your child should wear pajamas)
Please remember everyone needs tickets to attend the concerts!
Thursday, Dec15th - Skating with our bug buddies 1:00.  ***Drivers still needed and everyone needs to sign up on the portal
Friday, Dec. 16th - Fairview's Annual PJ Day and Hallway Reading (yes pj's again)
Class Celebration -thanks in advance to Melissa - Fruit Plate, Brooklyn - Veggie Tray,  Claire - sweet treat,  Averyelle - popcorn/pretzels or chips,  Nathan -  ??

Please don't forget to send in a loonie for the hippo ears, skating money if needed and the $10 for the memory books.  Also Christmas cards came home on Thursday if you could return the original for your child's memory book that would be great.  Thanks!

The snow has definitely been a highlight this week, nothing can be more fun as you can see!

December 2

It's been a fun but busy week switching from our bat unit to Christmas!  As you can see from our Bat Day post the students had a variety of activities they enjoyed that highlighted everything they now know about bats!

The skating notice for Thursday, December 15th (pm) has gone out on the portal.  Please complete this as soon as possible as we do need parent drivers.  

Christmas concert tickets went home today with those people who had requested them.  As outlined on the portal, tickets are free but everyone does require a ticket to see the concerts.  All students need to be at all the performances (including the Tuesday evening even if you are not attending that night).  We are asking for children to be at school at 6:00.  If you have any questions about tickets please contact me in person or by email.  

I will be sending report cards home next week.  These are your copies to keep.

Thanks to those of you that have sent in the $10 for memory book, if you haven't please send it in as soon as possible.  We are also collecting $1.00 for our hippo ears for the Christmas concert so please also send that in too.  Thanks so much.  

Tuesday is the last day to send in your gifts or donations for the Christmas Hamper!  December is always so busy but it is so nice to be able to help those less fortunate.

If anyone has old CDs (with limited writing) Div 7 & 8 would love them for a craft!

Our Christmas celebration will be on Friday, December 16th in the afternoon.  I will post those students who signed up to provide our snacks and goodies next week.

Bat Day!

Div. 7 & 8 had a great day on Wednesday winding up their bat unit!  We couldn't believe all the students learned about bats and how disappointed some were to be finished our unit.  Each student got this special certificate!

 

 

November 25th

It seemed like Grandparent Day was a huge success!  Thanks to everyone who was able to join us, I feel this experience is so valuable for your children.  Thanks also to those who helped those students who did not have anyone here.  Thanks to Averyelle's mom for doing the shopping and getting the icing ready for our Bat Cookies!
As you can see fun was had by all...

Thanks to everyone for attending conferences these last two days.  It has been great to celebrate your child's learning and to help set goals for our second school term.  Thanks for your support it is really important we are all a team working together as the saying goes it takes a village to raise a child!

Wednesday is going to be BAT DAY in Div. 7 & 8!  Could all students wear their bat hats and if they have brown or black pants and/or shirts that would be great too.  We have a fun day planned as we wind down our bat unit; we thought it would be fun to celebrate all that we have learned.  If anyone is willing to make 2 doz cupcakes (not iced) for Wednesday please let me know by email or Monday am.  Thanks so much, we are hoping to make a bat cupcake as a special treat!

Tuesday is Jersey Day Students are encouraged to wear their favourite sports jersey and if possible make a donation of $2.00 for Maple Ridge/Pitt Meadows KidSport.
Another Leadership event is on Friday, Dec. 2 when it will be Crazy Hair Day!!  Should be fun!!

Our Christmas play will be coming soon (please see the calendar on this blog for the dates/times). Tickets are mandatory for the concert this year.  I am sending home an information letter on Monday as many have expressed that they missed the email from Mrs. Watkins or are unclear about 'how this is all working'
*we are singing 'I Want a Hippopotamus for Christms' and will be wearing pajamas and hippo ears.  Mrs. Carpenter has kindly offered to volunteer her time to make the hippo headbands and we are asking for $1/student to cover the cost of supplies.  Thank you!  They are going to all look so cute!

Have a great weekend!

Nov. 18th

It has been a busy week as we prepare for our conferences next week. The children are very excited to show you their work and celebrate their learning so far.  These conference are an essential part of our reporting so it is very important that everyone come in.  At the conference we will collaboratively work together to review and help your child set goals for the next term. 

Thanks to all parents who have already signed their children up on Raz Kids,  If you have any questions please just let me know or directly email Raz Kids Support, some parents had to re-install the program to make it work but after doing it has been working.  We have had a few glitches but are trying to work through these.

Grandparent Day is on Thursday so we are really hoping for a good turn-out like our email said if grandparents aren't available anyone special is welcome to attend.  Remember that Thursday is also an early dismissal (11:00) and then we will have student conferences in the afternoon and all day Friday.  Don't forget the conference is a total of 30 minutes - the first just with your child and then you will meet with me for the last 15.

Upcoming events are Jersey Day on Tuesday, November 29th.  Students are encouraged to wear their favourite sports jersey and if possible make a donation of $2.00 for Maple Ridge/Pitt Meadows KidSport.
Another Leadership event is on Friday, Dec. 2 when it will be Crazy Hair Day!!  Should be fun!!

November 14

Div. 7 has just started Raz Kids (an online reading program) - you should have a letter explaining this in your child's planner today. You can sign up on line to receive reports of your child's reading or you can send back the signed sheet and I can do it for you.  You can follow the link on our blog to Raz Kids.

The students have been busy practicing a song for Grandparent Day and Mrs. Roberts is asking that all students practice this at home by listening to the Nat King Cole song L-O-V-E and following along in their poetry book which will come home on Friday. 

Thanks to all of you that have signed up for conferences next week.  If you haven't already done it please do so asap.  Thanks

November 4th

It has been a long busy week!
Monday was fun with all our Halloween activities.   Everyone looked great in their costumes. Thanks again to all the students who brought our snacks.
Tuesday was Pajama Day which was perfect for our tired children!
Wednesday was our field trip at Kanaka Creek Regional Park.  Despite the rain it was great experience and the students were very engagedc and learned many new bat facts.  The interpreters were impressed with Div. 7 & 8's knowledge of bats.  Thank you to Mason, Averyelle, Sienna, Gavin, Gianna and Nathan's Moms and Eli's Grandpa and Gavin's grandma for making this field trip possible!    A huge thank you to Averyelle's mom for treating us all to hot chocolate and cookies, a perfect surprise after a wet morning!

Bat & Moth Game

Look what we found!

A salamder!

Bat Leave Art!

Thursday and Friday we were busy working on our Christmas cards which your child has brought home.  Please return these on Monday, Nov. 7th (ignore the date on the back of the art - we got an extension so we could finish with Halloween before starting Christmas).

In math Div. 7 have been exploring patterns and trying to find answers to some of their questions about patterns.  Homework... Over the weekend I have asked the students to find as many patterns as they can find both man-made and see if they can find any in nature.
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Remember next week is a 3 day week with the Pro D Day on Thursday and Remembrance Day on Friday.  

Oct. 28th

We had a fantastic field trip to the library to see Kallie George's author presentation!  Thank you to Mason, Carson, Sienna and Adam's moms for volunteering for this trip.  The bus was a great adventure.   I will add some of the pictures early next week!

Below is her website that the students wanted me to share...
 http://www.kalliegeorge.com/books.html

The students in Div. 7 are now very excited about writing.  Between Kallie George's presentation and then our visit today from Ms Afflick they can't wait for writing time and developing their ideas.

Please see all upcoming dates in the post below.   Thanks again to the parents supplying our snacks!
Carson - Fruit Plate, E.J. - Veggie Plate, Ashton - Cheese/crackers or small sandwiches, Gianna - Sweet Treat, Jake - Popcorn/chips or pretzels, Sienna - Other

Div. 7 & 8 would like to once again thanks Eli's grandpa for getting all the wood so we could make our special jack-o-lanterns! The children loved the process of painting, designing and drawing their faces, sponge painting and nailing!  Below is a picture of the final products...

Important Days Ahead!!

Tomorrow - Friday, Oct. 28th is Colour Block Day - students can dress in one colour from their head to their toes!   Any colour works - so all blue, or green or yellow etc. 

Monday - Oct.31st - Halloween Day - Your child can come in costume!  There will be a parade at 8:45!  Remember that they will be going out for recess and lunch so it's important that their costumes are easy to take off.  We wouldn't want any costumes to be ruined before Halloween night!

Tuesday, Nov. 1st - Pajama Day! Everyone will be tired from our fun Halloween night!

Wednesday, Nov. 2nd - Kanaka Creek Field Trip  ***Please fill out portal and send money by Friday.  Thanks

Oct. 20th

Please note:  there is no school tomorrow Friday, Oct. 21st as it is a Provincial Professional Day.

Field trip on Wednesday, Oct. 26th to the Public Library for a special author presentation. Sorry for the late notice and also that on the form it didn't have a spot to say you could drive.  We do need drivers so please let me know if you are available you can add it to the message box or write a note in the planner.  If we do not get enough drivers we may take public transit and send out an additional notice with the $1.75 charge.

Also we have a field trip to Kanaka Ceek on Nov. 2nd again please see portal and send in the $5 ASAP.  Thank you.

Our Halloween celebration will be on Halloween day. Thanks to the following students for supplying our treats.  Students are welcome to come to school in costumes (please appropriate costumes and no weapons) there will be a parade at 8:45 and then we have some activities planned for Div. 6, 7 & 8. 

Please note this is the celebration for the whole year!  Thank you in advance.

October 14th

Skating was a big success!  Many students already showed great improvement and we have two other skating trips planned so they hopefully will all be skaters by the end of the year.
Thanks to all the parents who helped out with skating this morning.  We appreciate you driving and your help with skates and helmets etc.

Thanks to Eli's grandpa for bringing in 15 pieces of wood and I just got another email that he has more for us so I think we should be good!  Thanks so so much from Div. 7 & 8.

We have started our bat unit and they are all excited  especially with Halloween around the corner. 

 I think the next couple of weeks will be exciting!

 

October 7th

This week we had a special presentation Me, Myself and I.  Kelli Haines performed her fictionalized autobiography through a musical ventirloquist act.   It showed how we can turn our own individual challenges into successes!  After her show it was fun to make our own Thanksgiving puppets.

Skating is next Friday, Oct. 14th.  Please send in all notices asap. Currently we still need drivers but we still need many students permission slips so hopefully we will not have to cancel this trip.  Thanks in advance to those who have said they can drive.

We have another field trip planned for Wednesday, Nov. 2nd in the morning.  It is a field trip to Kanaka Creek "Curious About Creatures" with a focus on a variety of bat activities.   We will need parent drivers and volunteers to accompany us.  You will be receiving the notice after we have gone skating.

If anyone has access to any lumber (2x6, 2x8, 2x10) we are hoping to get some donated to allow us to do a special Halloween craft.  Both Div. 7 & 8 hope to do this so we will need a lot unfortunately!  46 pieces of wood that need to be approximately 8 inches high.  Thanks so much if you happen to have access to scrap wood. 

Hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend!

September 30th

Wow it is hard to believe the month of September is over!  It has been a great month getting to know each other, learning our routines and building our class community.

This week we were busy making our self portraits for the open house.  It was good to see many of you out last night and for any of you that weren't able to make it you are always welcome to drop in.

Tuesday was our Terry Fox run and we were very lucky to have Mr. McGill talk to everyone at Fairview about Terry's courage, spirit and his dream.  Thanks to all those parents that volunteered to help out and/or join us for this.  We will continue to collect money for Cancer Research until next Monday.

Next week Fairview is also doing our annual 'Friends in Need' food bank and any donations of non-perishable food items are greatly appreciated.  It is also Fire Safety week and every child has brought home information from the firehall and they are hoping every family makes a safety escape plan.  If these are completed and returned they will have a chance to win some prizes.

Skating notices for Friday, Oct. 14th will go out on Monday.  We will need parent drivers for this so if you could retune these ASAP that would be appreciated.  Thanks.

Marcus Pfister is a great author and illustrator.  We have enjoyed many of his books. We like how his stories often include a message like in Rainbow Fish when the little fish was happier and had more friends when he shared his shiny beautiful scales.   Don't you think our rainbow names look pretty cool around our Rainbow Fish?

***We have decided to postpone our field trip to Save On Foods until January and plan to focus on Bats for the month of October.  We hope to plan a field trip around this theme in November and will notify you once we have secured a date.  Thank you!

September 23/16

Division 7 has had a busy week and are settling into our classroom routines.   Most days we have Reader's Workshop and Explorations ask your child about these.  Today we started our Friday routine of sending home our Poetry and More books (there was a letter explaining this in the front of the duotang) these should be returned every Monday.  

Just a reminder there is no school on Monday, Sept. 26th for students.  Tuesday, Sept. 27th is our Terry Fox Run.  All students must have signed walking forms (on the parent portal) before they can participate in the regular Terry Fox route, please make sure all these forms are completed.
Volunteers are welcome!  There will be a short assembly at 1:00 and then the run. 
Please ensure that your child has the proper shoes and a water bottle.  Thanks!

Speaking of shoes there are still a few students that do not have inside shoes (running shoes are best so they are can also be used for gym), if possible could you please get these as soon as possible as it looks like the wet fall weather is here!

Thursday evening 6:30-7:15 will be our Open House or Meet the Teacher.  I hope to see you there but if you are not available please feel free to stop by anytime and your child would be able to show you around our classroom.  

September 17/16

Wednesday, September 21 is Individual Picture Day.

Attention all parents - please check the school district portal and go to the form section as we have many forms posted there that need to be filled out.    For example - our Terry Fox Run is Tuesday. Sept. 27th and you must have completed the walking form for your child to participate.   We also need parent volunteers to walk/run with our class, please let me know if you are available.  Thanks.   Please ensure that your child has appropriate clothing and running shoes for the run (rain or shine!) Please also be sure to send a water bottle.
The school supply fee is $55.00 and can be paid online or by sending in a cheque or cash.

We started using our planners and our home reading program last week, please help your child get into the habit of reading daily (parent please initial and checking the front plastic pouch for notices) and returning it to school daily.  Inside shoes are needed and if possible if

Family Reading started this past Friday morning at 8:30 - 8:45.  We were very fortunate that so many parents could attend, I am really hoping that this can continue.  Also I did put out the sign up for snacks for our celebrations so if you haven't had a chance to sign up please just drop by the class to sign up for one of the holidays.  Thanks in advance for contributing. 

Just a reminder we do have a  tree nut allergy (only almonds and walnuts) in our class so do not send any food that contain or may contain these nuts (please check the wrappers - as many students are coming to me once their snack is open and asking - 4/5 times they did have almonds).   Peanut butter, peanuts and Nutella are allowed.  Thanks for your understanding and support with this.

UPCOMING FIELD TRIPS!!


Friday, October 14th - Skating 8:45 - 10:00 (we will need parent drivers and volunteers)
Wednesday,  October 26th - Walking field trip to Save On Foods (a few parents needed)

Welcome to our Class Blog!

You will find everything that is happening and going to happen in Div. 7 here. Monthly newsletters and calendars will be posted as well as weekly updates - we are trying to be environmentally friendly so there will be no paper copies so please try to get into the habit of visiting this site regularly. Student photos will be posted and they will have input as to what is included and shared on this blog. Hope you enjoy and check it regularly!