December 12-23

Hello families and welcome to another week!

HOLIDAY CONCERT

Please bring your child to the K classroom at 6:10pm, as we are the first act (6:30pm). Please dress your child in black and white for the show!
After our number, we will return to the K room to watch a movie and wait for you!
(Don't forget to bring an extra item for our Food Bank Drive.)

LIBRARY

Please be sure to have a look for any unreturned library books and send them in ASAP. Children will not be taking books out over the holidays.

THE MITTEN

We will be reading and working with Jann Brett's popular story for the next 2 weeks. In math, we'll be learning to identify, say and use ordinal numbers (1st, 2nd, 3rd, etc.). Please reinforce at home. We will also be reading and writing the sight words THE, WAS and IN. Your child will bring home a booklet titled 'The Mitten'. Please enjoy reading it with your child. Ask them to find words that they know.

We will also be working on 'retelling' the story (summarizing the story). This is not an easy concept and children sometimes get bogged down with details. Encourage your child to retell stories that you read together, summarize his/her day, retell about an event or activity he/she did, etc. Modelling and practising together will ensure your child develops this important skill. Remember to be patient--it takes time to learn!
The children will also be dramatizing the story using various props. Using concrete materials helps children remember important details, make connections, think creatively and have fun!

GIMME 5

A Gimme 5 activity book was sent home with your child today. These were ordered from the Ontario Produce Marketing Association to complement our 'Healthy Living' unit. Although they are a wee bit late, they are still very relevant and I hope that you will enjoy reading through and completing the activities with your child.

SHERRI KERR PERFORMANCE

We are very lucky to have Jack's Mom (Sherri) and her friends perform for our class on Wednesday, December 21st at 1pm in the library. Parents, grandparents and caregivers are welcome to join us for this musical performance. Thank you Sherri, for sharing your talents with us!

GOODBYE TO MS. BLAKE...

Ms. Blake's placement finishes this Friday and we will be sad to see her go. Ms. Blake has worked incredibly hard to bring in interesting resources and to set up and lead various activities (a post office, a shaving cream number practise centre, a paint centre, a water absorption experiment using celery and coloured water, "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" velcro board of healthy and unhealthy snacks,and more!). Ms. Blake brought warmth, energy and enthusiasm to our class. She got to know each of the children and worked hard to support and encourage them on their learning journeys. We will miss you Ms. Blake and we hope that your plan to return as a volunteer in the new Year works out!! Thanks for all the care and concern you have shown our class.

SPIRIT WEEK

Next week is 'Spirit Week' and each day there will be a different school-wide activity. Please see December's newsletter for an outline of events!

LAST DAY- December 23

We will have a little party on our last day and children are welcome to bring in a small treat to share with their friends (fruit, cheese and crackers, juice boxes and veggies and dip are great choices).

Happy holidays and all the best to you and yours for 2012!

Warmly,
Ms. Cox