November 27, 2019

Hello Families,

I have a whole bunch of new math games for you to add to your home collections! Unfortunately, we are on a very limited supply of paper to print the games here at school, so I will attach them to this blog in their largest format for you to print at home :).

PIG:
The first game is called PIG and it practices tallying. Here is a video explaining how to play, https://youtu.be/ZJVVh_mb_x4, please start the video at 3:17 to get directly to the PIG game! Also, there is no real need to print the scorekeeping sheets, scrap paper or a mini whiteboard would be a great substitution for children to create their own tables for scorekeeping. The second version of this game (also featured in the video) is a little easier and practices counting on for friends who are still learning numbers up to 100.

DINOSAUR DOUBLES:
This game only required various different colored objects to use as chips and a dice. This game works with practicing doubles with sums up to 12. To download this game, please right click the image and "save to downloads", you can print from there.


SLIDES AND LADDERS:
This game and the next one are a little trickier as they work with sums up to 20. To download this game, please right click the image and "save to downloads", you can print from there.

DOUBLES DASH:
To download this game, please right click the image and "save to downloads", you can print from there.

Doubles facts are important because they are facts that we just have to know to build fact fluency!

ART FELT:
Yesterday was a wonderful day supported by Kerry from ArtFelt! The students were able to create 3D shapes from wool which was a really interesting process. Thanks so much to all parents who were able to support our learning!

Take care and stay warm!

Lindsay Brown

Pokemon Cards

Hello Families,

We have been having some ongoing difficulty around Pokemon Cards coming to school on non-card club days. Please note cards are not allowed to be at school or in backpacks any day other than Thursday. If/when cards come to school on Thursdays for Card Club, please ensure all cards are contained in some kind of package and/or binder and have your child's name clearly attached. All cards need to be handed in at the beginning of the day on Thursdays and will be stored safely by Mr. Link.

Thanks for your understanding and support!

Lindsay Brown

November 19, 2019

Hello Families,

I hope you have had an opportunity to schedule your learning conferences! Please remember we have learning conferences this week on Thursday evening from 4pm-8pm and Friday from 8am-1:30pm. A school messenger email was sent out to all families with information on how to book a conference time.

Over the last few days you should have received a picture on SeeSaw of some student math work using pattern blocks. This is a follow up task to the data collection we completed last week. Here are the questions to help guide your understanding. Please ask your child to share their counting strategies with you and explain how they reached the total, this will reflect their understanding.

Objective: Skip Counting, Addition Strategies, Working with Numbers up to 100, 2D Shape Recognition

Different pattern blocks have different values. 

Shape	Value
Trapezoid	1
Triangle	2
Parallelogram	5
Hexagon	10

Mild:

Create a picture where the triangles equal 20. Show your counting on SeeSaw.

Medium:

Using as many different shapes as you can, create a picture where the total is 50. Show your counting on SeeSaw.

Spicy:

Using as many different shapes as you can, create a picture where the total is 100. Show your counting on SeeSaw. 

Here are some photos of our classroom activities and tasks recently:

Our gratitude journal covers turned out amazing! 

We were experimenting with how we can use pattern blocks to create other pattern blocks! The trickiest part of this work was showing our understanding on paper :). This led us into our first math conference of the year. 

We have some artifacts from the Glenbow Museum to support our inquiry about memories and the past! Yesterday, we made guesses about what each artifact could have been used for. This is a milk jug :).

We have been using the parachute in gym! Today we played a super fun game of "shark attack" :). It allowed us to practice our drama skills too, haha. 

Also, I am still looking for at least two parents to assist with Art Felt on Tuesday, November 26th at 8:15am! :) Please let me know if you're available.

Take care, 

Lindsay Brown

Memories

Hello Families,

This was sent home with all students today:

Dear Families, 

Your child is on the hunt for an item that will support writing about memories, and develop a classroom “Memory Museum”, as part of ongoing classroom inquiry. Will you help your child select an object that is:

-      personally meaningful to your child

-      have a story behind it (perhaps your child got it and why it is special)

-      be of little monetary value (in case it gets lost or broken)

-      be easy to carry

The object could be a refrigerator magnet from a special vacation, a rock from a family camping spot, a ticket stub from a favourite movie or sporting event, a picture of someone or something important or a card or letter from a special person. We’re going to be writing stories about why these objects are special. The object will be returned to you at the end of the activity.

Thank you for your help. I look forward to sharing your child’s writing with you once it is complete. Please send your artifact by Thursday, November 21, 2019.

Sincerely, 

Ms. L. Brown

Volunteers

Volunteers Needed for Book Fair 

We are still in need of volunteers for our upcoming book fair.

We are pleased to be offering a book fair again this year over Parent Teacher Conferences. We are looking for parent volunteers who would be interested in helping set up the book fair, as well as some parents to help with the book fair while it is running.

If you are able to volunteer during any of the time slots below we would greatly appreciate it! Please email Pam Green with the time and day you are available to help at pngreen@cbe.ab.ca. 

Tuesday, November 19th – (set up)

• 9:00 a.m. (2 more needed)

  

Wednesday, November 20th (previewing)

12:30pm - 2:35pm (1 volunteers needed)

Thursday, November 21st (previewing and evening purchasing)

8:15- 11:30am (1 volunteers needed for previewing)

12:30pm - 2:35pm (1 volunteers needed)

Friday, November 22nd (purchasing)

8:00am-1:00pm (3 volunteers needed)

November 12, 2019

Hi Families,

In your child's mail folder this evening, please find a sheet titled, "What Memories..."

This activity is kick-starting an inquiry that will lead our work over the next couple of months. Being able to identify and describe personal memories will be an important part of future components for our inquiry. Your support with this activity is greatly appreciated.

Please take some time over the next few days discussing different memories, and support your child in recording one for each area on the sheet.

Your child can record in pictures OR words, it is not expected that they do both. If recording in pictures, please assist your child in developing pictures they will be able to speak to once back in the classroom.

It would ideal if your child could return their sheet on Friday, November 15, 2019

Additionally, all grade one students were given their grade one book today! This is yours to keep, this years book is really interesting as it is a dual language book! :)

Thank you for your support.

Lindsay Brown

November 6, 2019

Hello Families,

I wanted to inform you about an upcoming volunteer opportunity! We have Art Felt coming to our classroom on November 26, 2019 to create art projects with us. It would be helpful to have 4 or 5 adults come to support this work. I will also ask for adult support with the MuseoKits that will be arriving mid November once we have our classroom schedule. I will be updating the Google Drive Volunteer Document, here's the link: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1iVn40gFQRRU_BdpVTp8nAcOl6pOIe_-HLccNJAI3H-0/edit?usp=sharing
Please email me if you're able to join us for Art Felt and I will add your name to the document! :)

The other half is in our school display cabinet.

Thanks so much if you were able to attend our whole school sharing assembly last week about the Circle of Courage! After, the students were so happy and energized! Many of them were saying things like, "I wish we could do it again!". It was so great to see their enthusiasm for learning and sharing their understanding with other classes and adults! Of course, the dot song was a real hit with its catchy tune! Here's the link if you'd like to keep singing it at home: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_I43cxDQ-o

Some students have been extending their understanding of graphing and data collection and working on counting strategies for addition. This work has been documented on SeeSaw. Other students are working on learning teen numbers through various Montessori materials. Another group is working with the Montessori bead chains to practice skip counting groups of 2's, 5's and 10's and track these patterns on hundreds charts.

In addition, we introduced some 2D shapes today, and created pictures with patterning blocks. These pictures were sent home on SeeSaw, feel free to quiz your child on the names of the shapes they see... and remember... we don't use the term "diamond" in mathematics, we call the diamond shape a rhombus! :) The next step of this work will be to analyze the data to demonstrate an understanding of shape and space, data collection, and representation of number.

Today, we introduced the idea of gratitude and started working on cover pages for our ongoing Gratitude Journals. This work will allow for students to document things they are grateful in various ways, such as mind maps, pictures, sketch-noting, etc. Different ways to communicate and share this information will be introduced throughout the year, we will begin with list making. Here is the beginning of our cover page art, tomorrow we will add paint:

We have also begun talking about what we have in our outdoor space at school and what we need. We explored the spaces using our 4 senses (no tasting allowed please, haha) and then documented what we currently have. Then, I shared some pictures of possibilities for outdoor spaces, and students shared with their small groups about what we need. They came up with some awesome ideas for things we could have to make our outdoor space better, for example, hills, ponds, natural gardens, natural play structures, etc.  This will be part of a year-long inquiry about designing spaces that support learning, play and exploration. It is also part of the professional development series I am involved in this year, Design the Shift.

I hope everyone is staying warm!

Please note the November Scholastic order is due on Friday, November 15, 2019.

Take care, 

Lindsay Brown

Volunteers Needed for Book Fair!

Volunteers Needed for Book Fair!

We are pleased to be offering a book fair again this year over Parent Teacher Conferences. We are looking for parent volunteers who would be interested in helping set up the book fair, as well as some parents to help with the book fair while it is running.

If you are able to volunteer during any of the time slots below we would greatly appreciate it! Please email Pam Green with the time and day you are available to help at pngreen@cbe.ab.ca. 

Tuesday, November 19th – (set up)

• 9:00 a.m. (3 volunteers needed)

  

Wednesday, November 20th (previewing)

8:15-11:30am (2 volunteers needed)

12:30pm - 2:35pm (2 volunteers needed)

Thursday, November 21st (previewing and evening purchasing)

8:15- 11:30am (2 volunteers needed for previewing)

12:30pm - 2:35pm (2 volunteers needed)

3:45pm- 8:00pm (4 volunteers needed)

Friday, November 22nd (purchasing)

8:00am-1:00pm (3 volunteers needed)

Remembrance Day Assembly

 Our Remembrance Day Assembly will be held this Friday at 10:30 am.  We welcome families to attend. Poppies will be available as you enter the school and we thankfully welcome any poppy donations.

As you may already know, the Students In Action Club is holding a food drive for the Veteran Food Bank.  If you would like to make a donation to aid in showing our school community's generosity and appreciation, you may bring a non-perishable food item to the assembly or send it with your child on or before Friday, November 15th.  

Food Drive

Hello Parents and Families!  

The LBS Students In Action Club is organizing a food drive this year, in order to help make a positive change in peoples’ lives.  All donations will be given to the Veteran Food Bank. We will be collecting non-perishable food items until Friday, November 15^th. Our goal is to collect 500 food items! Please support our food drive and help show our appreciation and generosity to those who have served in the Canadian Forces.  

The Students in Action Club