April 16-20

Welcome to another week!

Before we see what's in store for the week, I'd like to send a BIG THANK YOU to Jack L. for bringing in the Easter pencils to share with all of his friends--how nice!

And, a BIG THANK YOU to Maahira for bringing in treats to share with all of her friends! What a thoughful group we have in SK!

This week...

The children had a guest teacher yesterday as I was in a "School Improvement Planning" workshop with our Primary Division team. The focus was on teaching our students how to approach texts using 'critical thinking' skills.

EDI SURVEY

Your child will be bringing home a large envelope today containing an important survey (the Early Development Index) for you to complete and return. All SK students in Ontario are completing this survey. It is completely confidential and my role is simply to facilitate the distribution and collection of the surveys. More detailed information about the survey is included in your package. Thank you for your attention to this.

NATIONAL VOLUNTEER WEEK

This week is National Volunteer Week and the SK's will be writing thank you cards to all of our wonderful volunteers (Gillian and Andre who come to read with us every Tuesday, and Emily, who helps out on Thursdays). We are so lucky to have such committed volunteers!

HIP HOP with MISS REBECCA!

Last Thursday, Rebecca (who is a Algonquin College student completing a placement with Mr. Dunn in Grade 8) joined our gym class and taught us some 'hip hop' dance! The kids LOVED it and Rebecca couldn't believe how attentive the kids were. We learned lots of new moves! We can't wait to learn more from Rebecca this Thursday!

LOOKING AT PICTURES WITH THE NATIONAL ART GALLERY

Today, the students will take part in the NAG's school outreach program called 'Looking at Pictures'. Many children participated last year, as well. It is a wonderful workshop that allows children to view and discuss various works of art with a volunteer 'expert' from the gallery.

EARTH DAY

April 22 is Earth Day and the SK's will be reading a variety of fiction and non-fiction this week which focuses on natural resources, recycling, reducing and reusing, as well as water usage. Please enjoy reading the booklet that comes home with your child this week. Ask your child to think of ways he/she can help take care of the earth (simple things that they can do and feel proud of include: helping with the recycling and composting, turning off the tap while they brush their teeth, using both sides of the paper when they draw, turning off computers and lights when not in use, tc.). Have fun!

APRIL IS POETRY MONTH

April is poetry month and the SK's have been discussing some of the features of poems. We will continue to read a variety of poems (please feel free to send in some poetry books for your child to share) and we will also be participating in Scholastic Canada's "Picture a Poem Contest". I'll send home the infomation sheet for you to read, but there is nothing for you to do! We will be completing the pictures in class and then I will mail off the entries by May 19th.

That's all for now! Thanks for checking in and have a great week!

Warmly,
Ms. Cox