Welcome Back!

Hello Families,

Welcome back to school as we know it! I hope everyone was able to enjoy their spring break, spend time outside and connect with family! If you have pictures to share please feel free to send them over SeeSaw, I love receiving pictures and videos of the things you have been doing since we saw each other last.

I had a quiet and relaxing break. My little dog Sunny came over for some sleepovers and we went on lots of long walks where we explored new pathways and neighborhoods. I also ran my first ever "virtual race" yesterday in the Run for L'Arche.

Over the next few days, I will be contacting you via phone to ask some questions regarding your home situation for online learning as we move forward. Please note, my call will show up from an Unknown or Blocked caller. If I cannot reach you, I will leave a voice mail for next steps and follow up via email.

Again, thank you all for your ongoing communication and collaboration during this time. All of the students are so missed, this job certainly isn't the same without them :(

Take care and I will speak to you soon!

Lindsay Brown

Dragon Bump 8's

Here is the game for practice adding with 8's!

Dragon Bump

Hello Families, 

Here are the digital images for the awesome Dragon Bump math games we have been playing at school. We talked about how adding and subtracting 9's and 8's are EASY PEASY because we know how to add and subtract 10's already! I will attach these as images for you to download and print, however, if you'd like the PDF's email me and I can send them to you.

We can use two strategies when adding and subtracting with 9's and 8's. Those two strategies are called:

1. Compensation/Adjusting - this is when we pretend the 9 or 8 is a 10 and then adjust. "Compensation is a mental math strategy for addition and subtraction that involves adjusting one of the addends to make the equation easier to solve."

For example, when solving 9+5, "I know that 10+5=15... but I am using 9 which is one less than 10, so my answer must be one less than 15, I know that 9+5=14"

2. Decomposition - this is when we "decompose" a number by breaking it into parts to create an anchor number. Here is a video link we watched in class to highlight this skill.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sPJRL6zUf2M

* and YES, we really do use these words in our classroom - we like names for math strategies, it helps build metacognition (thinking about thinking)!

Please note, I do not own these games - they are from a math specialist workshop I went to a few years ago. Intellectual property of Sandi Berg!

Also, Mrs. Kawchuk has a message for you on her blog.  Please go take a look.  Go all the way to the bottom of the blog list!

Enjoy your Spring Break everyone!!
Ms Brown

My Video Debut

Hello Families, 

Let's see if this works! Sorry for the poor quality, Blogger has limits on the video size I can upload.

Take care!

Lindsay Brown

Personal Belongings

Dear Families,  

Further to this morning’s message, the following information is being added. Personal belongings can be picked up at school, according to the schedule.  We ask parents to come to the front door, during the time slots allotted. This opportunity is only in place if items are needed. If you do not feel the need to come into the school, please do not.  

Personal belongings include indoor shoes, water bottles, or items brought from home. Student supplies and materials such as workbooks, folders, pencils, scissors, etc. will remain at the school.  

During this scheduled time, we would also like parents to return any library books. A drop-off bin has been set up to do so.  

As per World Health and Alberta Health recommendation, we need to mitigate contact between one another as much as possible.  For that reason, staff will not be available to meet with families for any reason. We understand how disconcerting this is for many families. Although unfortunate, it is not advisable or possible, at this time.  

If you are exhibiting symptoms of respiratory illness (I.e. fever, cough, fatigue and/or muscle aches) please do not come to the school. Also, please limit the number of family members coming into the building. Where possible, our teachers have already gathered and labeled your child’s belongings for easy pick-up.   

Thank you for all the kind messages of support. Our teachers are overwhelmed with messages of gratitude. We are thinking of all our families and will be in touch with further details as they become available.  Continue to monitor your email.  

In kindness and gratitude, 

Ms. Brown

Suggestions for Learning from Home | K-9

Suggestions for Learning from Home | K-9

Class cancellations are unusual and challenging events.  During this short period before spring break, we encourage families to maintain a balanced and consistent routine for children; including regular sleeping and eating times, breaks for activity and outdoor time, and healthy boundaries on screen time.    After spring break, additional learning resources and activities will be shared to support students in learning.      Children are naturally curious learners and there are opportunities at home to engage their learning. We have created a webpage that offers a variety of educational ideas to support literacy, numeracy and wellness at home for this week. The resources are meant as suggestions only. You may choose to use the links and activities as needed over the next few days as more long-term educational programming is considered.

March Update

Hello LBS Families,

Please know that we are missing you and hoping you are doing well. The CBE is working with Alberta Education and school authorities across the province to develop consistent provincial programming. This information will be communicated to you, as soon as it is available.

Thank you for your understanding and patience as we navigate this new situation. 

If belongings in the school are needed before your scheduled time, please call the school: 403-777-6871 ex 0 

Pick up schedule for personal belongings and return library books:

Tuesday March 17 and Wednesday March 18​​ 
8:00 am - 2:45 pm  Student Last names: A - L

Wednesday March 18 and Thursday March 19​​   ​
8:00 am - 2:45 pm  Student Last Names M – Z

Please do not come to school if you are ill with respiratory illness symptoms (fever, cough, fatigue, and/or muscle aches). Alternate times to pick up student personal belongings will be made at a later time if you are currently ill or self-isolating.

Continue to check the CBE main site and our school website for updates. AHS and 811 continue to be our best resources for health information and questions.

The best next steps are to remember to be kind, compassionate and patient with ourselves and others.​

In kindness and gratitude,

Carole Jones

Learning Resources

Hello Families, 

I hope you're doing well. 

Here is some information from our school:

“This web page: http://school.cbe.ab.ca/school/lakebonavista/teaching-learning/learning-commons-library/resource-list/pages/default.aspx will be updated regularly and is a good resource for commonly used web-based resources.”

Take care, 

Lindsay Brown

School Cancelled

Hello Families, 

Please disregard my previous blog post. Here is the most recent information:

This afternoon, the government announced that all classes are cancelled immediately and indefinitely due to COVID-19. 

Take care and I hope to see you all soon! :)

Lindsay Brown

Updates RE: COVID-19

Hello Families, 

I hope this message finds you well. Here are some important things to keep in mind this week at school:

1. Students need a personal water bottle at school to prevent the spread of germs, this bottle will be sent home for cleaning daily

2. Check CBE website for updates 

3. Did you receive an email from LBS on Thursday March 12? if not, email LakeBonavista@cbe.ab.ca  

4. If you are keeping your child home from school, please feel free to continue with daily reading practice, writing practice, and playing the math games that have been sent home throughout the year

5. AHS has directed school to have a ‘Zero Tolerance’ for students or staff with any respiratory symptoms – cough, headache, muscle ache, fatigue, sore throat, fever -  "Students or staff who develop respiratory symptoms should be kept home for 14 days after the start of the symptoms. If students or staff are tested for COVID-19, those who test negative will be advised individually about return to school/child care settings." - CBE Communications

 6. Non-CBE adults are to minimize contact by staying outside the school as much as possible, this means there will be no parent volunteers entering the school until further notice, and parents are asked to wait outside of the school (or inside of vehicles) when picking up children

7. At this time, there will still be a fun lunch on Thursday, teachers will be assisting with fun lunch distribution as there will be no parent council volunteers

Thanks for your support navigating this difficult time!

Ms. Brown

Art Felt - Cancelled

Hello Families,

Unfortunately, our Art Felt that was scheduled for Monday, March 16 is cancelled due to COVID 2019.

Thanks so much to all of the volunteers that have agreed to help us out, we will not be needing your support at this time. I will let you know if it is rescheduled.

Thanks for your understanding!

Ms. Brown

School Conferences

Here is the message that was sent to all families today regarding Conferences. If you are not receiving messages from LBS please contact the office.

Dear Families, Based on the changing provincial and local response to COVID-19, the CBE has given us direction to postpone our Student Led Conferences on March 19 and 20, 2020. All CBE schools have been given direction to postpone or cancel events that include populations from other schools and/or parents or other community members, such as Parent-Teacher Interviews, celebrations of learning, drama/musical performances, dances, athletic competitions, etc. This decision is effective from Mar. 12 until the end of March break. This decision will be revisited during March break to determine whether events should be rescheduled. Events outside of school hours that include the regular student and staff population of the school (school clubs, practices, etc) and scheduled field trips may continue at this time.   I know this may be disappointing news. Students and staff have spent a significant amount of time preparing for this event, but the health of our community is our priority. For the most up to date information about the CBE’s approach to COVID-19 and the actions we are taking, please visit our website. Answers to frequently asked questions will continue to be posted as information becomes available. Thank you. Take care, Carole Jones​​​​​​​ Principal, Lake Bonavista School Calgary Board of Education |school.cbe.ab.ca/school/LakeBonavista t | 403-777-6871   f |403-777-6872

March 10, 2020 - Math Mania! :)

Hello Families, 

Please take note that the conference booker for Student Led Conferences in March are up and running. These are student centered conferences where your child will take on the role of the teacher and share their learning with you. We have been working hard at getting our work prepared to share with you and students are starting to get excited for this opportunity! :)

We are also having a math week at school this week! Here is some information for you:
March 9^th-13^th is Math Week at Lake Bonavista School. Students will be celebrating Math in our World by experiencing a variety of in school activities throughout the week. Math Games, Math Literacy, Math Artwork to name a few.  Additionally, on Friday, March 13^th students are invited to wear a math shirt, suggestions include numbers, shapes, patterns, arrays.

I also have some new math games to send home, however, our photocopier is currently broken. Once it is back up and running I will send the games home! They are specific practice for using strategies of compensation or decomposition to add with 8's and 9's. 

Here are some photos from today, we taught our big buddies how to play our handmade math games. Our big buddies gave us feedback for how we can make revisions for our next and final draft that we will share with you at conferences.

Please note that there are no paper Scholastic flyers for the month of March, however, if you'd like to order online you're more than welcome. I will be submitting all orders this Friday, March 13th. 

Important Dates:

March 13 - Scholastic Due and Math T-Shirt Day!
March 16 - Art Felting PM - still looking for volunteers!! :)
March 17 - Wear green for St. Patricks Day
March 19 4PM-8PM- Student Led Conferences
March 20 8AM - 1PM - Student Led Conferences
March 23 - 27 - Spring Break!


Take care, 
Lindsay Brown