le 23 - 26 juin

I am having a hard time coming to terms with the fact that this will be the last week in Grade 2! Here are some reminders and updates as we head into this short, busy, last week of school for the 2013-2014 year:

-Play Day Monday afternoon. Students should wear good shoes to play in, and wear sunscreen and bring a water bottle.
-Sacs bleus will be collected on Monday. Just the agenda will come to and from school for the rest of the week.
-There will be no Home Reading or dictee this week.
-We will have an assembly for Grade 8 farewell on Wednesday morning at 9am.
-On Wednesday morning after the assembly, we will be going for a short walk and having our snack with our grade 5/6 calipartenaires in Rotary Park. We will be back before lunch.
-We will have an assembly for showing the year end slide show on Thursday at 10:55am.
-Progress Reports will be coming home on Thursday, on the last day of school.
-There is no school for students on Friday, June 27th.

School books, games and library books

Please take some time over the weekend to have a look around for any books, library books, or games that have come from the school in order to return them.

Also, as we only have a few days of school left, there will be student work and supplies starting to come home. This is to avoid having overflowing and too-heavy-to-carry back packs on the last day.

Mille mercis!

Summer Reading Program

When we visited the book fair yesterday, Mme H. talked a bit about the Summer Reading Program at the public library. Each student received a magazine, as well as a book in which to keep track of books read over the summer.
Happy Reading!

http://www.saskatoonlibrary.ca/summer

le 16 - 20 juin

Here are a few reminders for this week:

-We are off to the zoo on Monday morning with our kindergarten calipartenaires. Students need to wear good walking shoes and sunscreen, and to bring a snack and a water bottle.
-Home Reading Books will be coming home on Monday and are due back on Friday. This will be the last week for Home Reading.
-Family BBQ and band concert on Monday night.
-Buy one get one free Book fair is at the school Monday - Wednesday this week. The book fair will be open during the BBQ, and our class will visit to buy on Tuesday afternoon if students wish to bring money to purchase some books for the summer.
-Thursday is Pool Day. We will leave the school at 10:30 by bus to go to Riversdale pool, and will be picked up by bus at around 2:20pm. Students will need a swimsuit and towel, lunch and snacks, sunscreen and a water bottle. Parents are welcome to join us, though there will be no room on the buses to get there and back.
-Dictee on Friday. This will be the last dictee of grade 2. The words are as follows:

l’été

la plage

le soleil

jouer

nager

les vacances

du camping
troisième année

Joyeuse Fete des Peres!

I just wanted to take a minute to wish all the fantastic papas a Joyeuse Fete des Peres. Enjoy your day!

Library Books

All library books are due back on Wednesday, June 11th. It was announced that there will be a prize from Mme H for the first class to have all their books returned. Please have a look at home and return all those books as soon as possible! If you are unsure if your child has library books, please get in touch with me and I can let you know.
Merci!

le 9 - 13 juin

Here are some updates for the week:

-Home Reading Books are coming home on Monday and are due back on Friday
-Scholastic orders are due on Tuesday
-All library are due on Wednesday. Please have a look around at home for any books from the school.
-BBQ order forms are due on Thursday
-Dictee will follow the same format as last week to practice for grade 3. The poem and homework will be sent home Monday and is due back on Friday.
-Traffic safety presentation on Friday
-Mme away on Friday

le 2 - 6 juin

I am finding it hard to believe that it is June already!
This week will be a busy one, here are some reminders:

-Children's Festival on Monday. Students need a lunch, sunscreen, a water bottle and good shoes for walking. We are away from school from 10:30-3ish.
-Dress rehearsal for Stone Soup on Tuesday.
-Stone Soup performances on Wednesday at 2:45pm and at 7pm. Students involved need to return to school at 6:40pm to prepare for the 7pm show.
-In Motion activity in the gym on Thursday afternoon.
-Library will be on Thursday this week. It is the last week to sign out books, so bring back last weeks to exchange for new ones.
-Home Reading Books will come home Tuesday and are due back Friday.
-Trip to the Frances Morrison Public Library on Friday. If you have not already done so, please sign and return the note that went home last week to let me know you are aware of this outing. For Friday morning, students will need walking shoes and their library cards.
-Dictee: For the next two weeks, we will be doing dictee in a slightly different way to prepare for dictee in grade 3. Students will get a short poem, as well as a sheet of homework to complete that goes along with it (due Friday). On Friday, for the actual test, students will get a copy of the poem with words or parts of words missing. Mme reads the poem and students fill in the blanks. Look for the poem and homework in the sac bleu Monday.

le 26 - 30 mai

A few updates for this last week of May:

-Spectacular, Spectaculaire performance on Tuesday at 1:30 and 4:30
-Spring Photo orders due May 27th
-WDM outing on Wednesday morning. We will be leaving school first thing in the morning, so students will need to be on time
-Home Reading Books are coming home on Monday and are due back on Friday
-Library on Friday. Please bring back your books to exchange for new ones.
-Dictee this week will be a review of all the sounds we have learned this year. The words will not be coming home for practice.
-Thank you to all parents who have offered to give some time to come along on field trips. I now have enough volunteers for every outing. Merci beaucoup!

Quelle bonne journee!

Instead of Au courant this week, you are getting a blog post from our class:

On a eu visiteurs qui ont fait les experiences de sciences avec nous. On a fait les bateaux avec nos amis. C'etait tout a propos de l'eau. On a vu si les bateaux ont flotte, et on a mis des billes pour voir combien avant que c'est couler. Mega-Boat a gagne! Elles ont mis l'eau et de l'huile dans une canette, et on a mis du LEGO, un cork et une trombone.  Le cork etait sur l'huile, le LEGO etait dessous l'huile mais sur l'eau, et la trombone est coule dessous l'eau.
Puis nous sommes alles a la bibliotheque. On a echange nos livres, et Mme H nous a lu une histoire des animaux et la Terre. Elle a choisi une histoire des tortues, parce qu'on parle des tortues, et aujourd'hui c'est World Turtle Day.
On a fini a parler et a apprendre au sujet des formes et des solides geometriques.
On a parle des verbes cette semaine.
Nous avons fait lecture a soi dehors cet apres-midi, et on a joue dehors.

Quelle bonne journee!

le 20-23 mai

Here are some updates for this short week:

-Pizza order forms for the Family Fun Night are due back on Tuesday
-Ticket order forms for Spectacular, Spectaculaire are due back on Tuesday
-Please send back the blue form to let us know what your child will do after school before the 4:30 Spectacular, Spectaculaire performance
-Please send back any Data Sheets that may be at home
-I will be sending home a note about the May 28th field trip to the WDM on Tuesday. Please sign and return. Also, if you are able to help out with this field trip, please let me know as I currently have no parent volunteers.
-Home Reading Books are coming home on Tuesday and are due back on Friday
-Spring photo proofs and order forms are coming home on Monday. If you wish to order, please return to school by May 27th.
-Friday morning we are having a special science presentation in our classroom all about water
-Library on Friday. Please bring back books to exchange for new ones.
-Friday, May 23rd is World Turtle Day!
-Dictee on Friday. This week we will be practicing some commonly misspelled homophones, as well as when to use each. I have included a sample sentence and the English translation. The words are as follows:

c’est (Aujourd'hui c'est lundi. it's)
ses (Il porte ses souliers. his/her plurel)
sais (Je sais la reponse! know)
et (J'aime du broccoli et des carottes. and)
est (Il est venteux. is)
c’était (C'était une bonne fin de semaine! it was)

Upcoming Field Trips in May and June

Last week, I sent a note home with some field trips for which we will need some parent volunteers. If you are able to come along to help out on any of these trips, please let me know!

May 28th - morning only - Western Development Museum, Museum Days - still need 3 parents **this trip is done in small groups and students participate in demonstrations and activities, without parent volunteers we will not be able to go**
June 2nd - 10:30-2:30/3pm - Children's Festival - still need 2 or 3 parents
June 6th - 9-11:45am - Frances Morrison Library - still need 1 or 2 parents
June 16th - 9-11:30am - Saskatoon Zoo with our Kindergarten care partners - still need 1 or 2 parents

Thank you for your support at home!

Les tortues marines

I have been meaning to post this for quite sometime, but here it is, our newest MIMI poster:

Les poussins

This past week at school, the grade one class had the incubator an the eggs which hatched into chicks. We visited every day and made observations to learn about the life cycle of chickens. We also read lots of interesting books about eggs and chickens, and compared their life cycle to that of the sea turtle.

le 12 - 15 mai

Here are some updates/reminders for this short week:
-Home Reading Books are coming home on Monday and are due back on Thursday
-Library is on Thursday this week. Please bring back your books to exchange for new ones.
-Dictee is on Thursday this week. This week's words are all question words. They are as follows:

est-ce que

pourquoi
quoi
quand
qui
où
combien

-No school on Friday. (PD and planning time for teachers)
-No school on Monday for the Victoria Day holiday

Les solides geometriques

For the past week and a bit, we have been learning about 2D shapes and 3D solids. On Thursday, we went on a search for 3D solids around the classroom and sorted them into groups. Here are some photos of our work:

Les cubes

Les pyramides

 

Les spheres

Les prismes rectangulaires



Les cylindres

We revisited our sorting because we sometimes had trouble deciding the difference between cubes and rectangular prisms, and also between spheres and cylinders.

Joyeuses Fetes des Meres

I hope that all mothers enjoyed a lovely Mothers Day weekend, and that the gift from your child was a nice surprise. The adjective Wordles gave us a chance to learn about feminine adjectives, as well as a chance to work with our big care partners on the computers.

Joyeuses Fetes des Meres!

Le cadeau

Les tortues marines

As you may have heard, we have been learning about sea turtles to go along with our new MIMI poster. Instead of Au courant this week, we are writing a blog post together to share some interesting facts we have learned this week. Enjoy!

-Les tortues de mer peuvent nager tres vite dans l'eau - jusqu'a 15 km/h!
-Si le sable est chaude (plus que 30 degrees C), les tortues vont etre femelles, et si le sable est un peu moins chaud (28-29 degrees C), les tortues vont etre les males.
-Les tortues ne peuvent pas retracter leurs tetes, ni leurs nageoires dans leurs carapaces. S'il y a un danger, les tortues de mer doivent s'enfuir.
-Les oeufs des tortues marines sont souples, alors les bebes tortues doivent utiliser les dents de l'oeuf pour sortir de l'oeuf.
-Les tortues marines ne peuvent pas respirer sous l'eau, alors elles doivent aller a la surface pour ouvrir les narines pour respirer l'air. Elles ferment les narines avant de descendre.
-Seulement les femelles sortent de l'eau.
-Quand les tortues veulent dormer dans l'eau, elles vont plus lentement. Les tortues de mer ferment les paupieres quand elles dorment.
-Les bebes tortues de mer doivent aller a l'ocean rapidement, ou elles vont etre la nourriture pour les predateurs (par exemples, les ratons laveurs, les crabes, les chiens errants et les oiseaux).
-Apres que la tortue de mer a pondu ses oeufs, elle doit rentrer vite dans l'ocean pour qu'elle ne meurt pas.
-Quand les tortues mangent, et s'il y a un coquillage ou un crabe ou un poisson devant la bouche, elles vont les manger.
-La tortue ne prend pas soin des oeufs apres qu'ils sont pondus.
-Apres que le male et la femelle sont ensembles, la femelle pond des oeufs.
-Les tortues marines peuvent pondre environ 150 oeufs dans un nid.
-Les males ont une griffe pour attacher a la femelle.
-Les tortues vertes sont les herbivores, elles mangent seulement les plantes.
-Il y a 7 especes de tortue marine.
-Les bebes tortues savent ou l'ocean est, mais si les maisons sont allumees, les bebes tortues peuvent devenir confuses, et vont aller dans la mauvaise direction.

le 5 - 9 mai

Here are some reminders for the week:

-Au courant journals should come back to school on Monday
-Home Reading Books will come home on Monday and are due back on Friday
-Hot lunch order forms are due back on Tuesday. The Pizza Hut hot lunch is on Friday.
-Scholastic orders are due back on Wednesday
-Picture Day on Thursday. Forms for choosing poses went home last week.
-Data Sheets should be looked over, corrections made, signed and returned as soon as possible.
-Library on Friday. Please bring back your books to exchange for new ones.
-Assembly Friday
-Pizza Hut Hot Lunch and Spirit Day - Crazy Hair Day on Friday
-Dictee on Friday. This week we will be looking at the letters ein. The words are as follows:

la peinture
plein comme un œuf
peindre
éteindre
une ceinture

le 28 avril - le 2 mai

I hope everyone had an enjoyable and relaxing break. Here are some updates for this first week back:

-Au courant journals shoud come back on Monday
-Home Reading Books will come home Monday and are due back on Friday
-Scholastic will come home on Wednesday and is due back on Wednesday, May 7
-Library on Friday. Please bring back your books to exchange for new ones
-Mme away at a conference all day Friday and Saturday
-There are some take home math games and books that have not made it back to the classroom in quite some time. Please have a look to see if there are any at home that need to be returned to give other students a turn. Thank you!
-Dictee on Friday. This week we will look at the letters ain. The words are as follows:

prochain
la main
un poulain
plaindre
le terrain de jeu
du pain

le 14 - 17 avril

Here are a few updates for this short week before the Easter break:

-Au courant journals should come back on Monday
-Mme is away Wednesday afternoon for meetings
-Home Reading Books are coming home on Monday and are due back on Thursday
-Library on Thursday. Please bring back your books to exchange them for new ones to read over the break.
-Dictee on Thursday. This week's words are Easter related and are below:

du chocolat
un panier
cacher
chercher
un œuf
un lapin

-No school on Friday, or all of next week. School begins again on Monday, April 28th. Happy Easter!

le 7 - 11 avril

Here are some announcements for the week:

-Home Reading Books are coming home Monday and are due back on Friday
-Scholastic orders are due back on Tuesday
-Mme is away on Wednesday afternoon for meetings
-Library on Friday. Please bring back books to be exchanged for new ones
-Hot lunch on Friday for students who ordered
-Spirit Day on Friday - Animal Day - Dress up as your favourite animal
-Mme is away on Friday
-Dictee on Friday. This week we will be looking at the letters oin. The words are as follows:

moins
coin-coin
joindre
la pointe
loin
besoin de

Thank you!

I just wanted to take a minute to say a big "Thank you" to all families and parents who made the time to come in to talk about student progress to this point in the year. I really enjoyed having the chance to discuss how things have been going, and to plan for the rest of the year. If you ever have any concerns, or questions, please do not hesitate to contact me by phone, email, note in the agenda, or in person.

le 31 mars - le 4 avril

It's hard to believe we are into April this week! Here are some reminders for the week:

-Home Reading Books are coming home on Monday are due back on Friday
-Booster Juice Hot lunch order forms are coming home on Monday and are due back on Thursday.
-Mme is away on Tuesday for meetings
-Scholastic is coming home on Tuesday and is due back on Tuesday, April 8th
-Library on Friday. Please bring back your books if you wish to exchange them for new ones.
-Dictee on Friday. This week we will look at the letters ui. The words are as follows:

huit

je suis
la nuit
tout de suite
les fruits
suivre

Les messages et le bureau de poste

As a part of our context about messages, we have a Bureau de poste (Post office) in our class. Each student has an envelope, and students may write a note to a friend. Together, we came up with a list of expectations for these notes. 1. All notes must be kind, polite and respectful. 2. Students have to include the name of the person to whom they are sending the note, as well as their own name. 3. Students are to write to many friends, and not just one or two people. 4. Students are to respect the privacy of others and only read their own notes. As a class, we decided that if students are not following the expectations, Mme will discuss with them, and if it happens a second time, then they will not be allowed to send or receive messages.

le 24 - 27 mars

Here are some announcements for this week:

-Au courant journals are to come back to school on Monday
-Home Reading Books will come home on Monday and are due back on Thursday.
-Progress Reports are coming home on Monday. Please see the post about Progress Reports for additional information.
-The Home and School is hosting a Multicultural Potluck Supper on Monday night. Please see last week's newsletter or call the office for more information.
-We will visit the Book Fair on Tuesday to browse, and will return on Thursday to purchase. The Book Fair will also be open during interview times on Thursday evening and Friday morning.
-Because of the Book Fair, we will not go to the library this week.
-Earth Hour is this Saturday, March 29. We will participate at school on Thursday by turning off all lights and electronics for an hour.
-Three Way Conferences are on Thursday evening and Friday morning. If you have not already scheduled a conference time, please call the office to do so.
-Dictee on Thursday as there is no school for students on Friday. This week we are looking at the letters ouill. The words are as follows:

une grenouille

la vadrouille

gribouiller

mouillé

une ratatouille

Term 2 Progress Reports

Term 2 Progress Reports are being sent home on Monday. Please take some time to read over the progress report prior to your three way conference time on Thursday evening or Friday morning.

For your information:

The letter code for the Learning Skills and Behaviours is as follows:
A = almost always
O = often
S = sometimes
R = rarely

The letter code for the rest of the progress report is as follows:
E = exceeding expectations
M = meeting expectations
B = beginning to meet expectations
N = not yet meeting expectations
NT = not taught this term
Again this term, you will find comments pertaining to oral french skills on Page 3 of the progress report, comments pertaining to mathematics on Page 4 of the progress report, and comments pertaining to reading and writing on Page 5 of the progress report.

Please sign and return the progress report envelope to let me know that you have received the document. The progress report is for your records.

Les lettres

This week we have been learning about writing letters. Here is a letter we wrote as a class this afternon:

vendredi, le 21 mars, 2014

Chers parents,

Bonjour! Comment ça va? Tout va bien ici a l'école, on apprend beaucoup! Aujourd'hui, au lieu de faire les histoires d'au courant, on va écrire les lettres. Aujourd'hui c'était Fictional Character Day et Mme était le Lorax avec une grande moustache jaune. Mme nous a lu l'histoire The Lorax et nous avons parle de la leçon et de l'environnement. Il y avait une assemble ce matin. Dans l'assemble il y avait un concours de manger les tartes au chocolat avec de la crème fouettée. Nous sommes allés a la bibliothèque aujourd'hui. Les classes de Mme P et Mme W étaient la aussi. Ils ont fait un restaurant.

Tes amies,

la classe de Mme Fiander

le 17 - 21 mars

A few updates for this week:
-Au courant journals should come back on Monday
-Concours d'art oratoire for the school is on Monday morning at 9am and at 10:50am (our students will be presenting during the 10:50am session)
-Home Reading Books will be coming back on Monday and are due back on Friday
-Assembly Friday morning at 9am
-Spirit Day on Friday: Fictional Character Day - Dress as your favourite book/TV/movie character
-Library on Friday, please bring back your books if you wish to exchange them for new ones
-Dictee on Friday. This week's dictee words will be words related to Jour de la St Patrick. They are as follows:
  

le trèfle

vert
l’arc-en-ciel
le 17 mars
la chance
un pot d’or

-Progress reports will be coming home on Monday, March 24, and three way conferences are being held on March 27th in the evening and March 28th in the morning. Here is the link to schedule a time:

https://webapps2.spsd.sk.ca/PTI/

Lockdown drill

On Thursday morning we participated in a lockdown drill. We had discussed earlier in the week what the expectations are and what to do if there is a lockdown drill and we are in various areas of the school. Students were very responsible and sat quietly and patiently while we waited for the officer to unlock our door. When he arrived, he told us we did a great job. Bien fait, les deuxiemes annees!

Concours d'art oratoire

Thank you to all the visitors who came and watched our presentations for the Concours d'art oratoire! Everyone did such an amazing job. Bien fait, les deuxiemes annees!
On Monday, the presentations are being held in the auditorium in two time slots, each about 30 minutes long. The first is at 9am, and the second is at 10:50am (right after morning recess). The students from our class will be presenting during the second time slot at 10:50am.

le 10 - 13 mars

Here are some reminders for the week:

-Au courant journals should come back on Monday
-Home Reading Books will come home on Monday and are due back on Thursday
-Scholastic is due on Tuesday, March 11
-There will be a Starbucks hot chocolate sale on Thursday. Order forms are coming home Monday and are due back by Wednesday.
-Library on Thursday. Please bring back your books if you wish to exchange them.
-Concours d'art oratoire - Thursday afternoon at 2:30pm. Students will be presenting their poems to the class and all visitors.
-Dictee on Thursday. This week we will be looking at the letters eil and eille. The words are as follows:

une bouteille

un orteil

pareil

le soleil

une abeille

vieille

**Also a reminder that there is no school for students on Friday, March 14th.**

Progress Reports and Three Way Conferences

Progress reports will be coming home on Monday, March 24th. Three Way Conferences will be held on March 27th in the evening, and on March 28th in the morning. Please use the online scheduler to book a time to discuss your childs progress to this point in the year. If you require assistance, please call the main office. If the times are not convenient for you, please let me know and we can set up a different time. I look forward to meeting with everyone!

Un fluid non-newtonien

On Thursday, students came home with kind of a funny substance. We have been exploring liquids, solids and gases and experimenting with mixing them together. On Thursday, we mixed two liquids together and created a substance that is neither liquid, nor solid, which makes it a un fluid non-newtonien, because it doesn't follow Newton's rules for liquid or solid. Students have promised to only play with this at the kitchen table when parents say it is alright, because it will soak into carpet and upholstery.

Here is the recipe for making le fluid non-newtonien:
1. Dissolve Borax in warm water.
2. Mix white glue and water, half and half.
3. Take equal parts of the Borax solution and the glue solution.
4. Add colour to the glue solution if you wish.
5. While stirring the glue mixture, slowly add the Borax solution.
6. Take the resulting fluid out of the cup and squish it on the table to get rid of excess water.
7. Play with your new non-newtonian fluid!
**Borax as a powder is a mild irritant, so parents/adults should make the Borax solution, and everyone should wash their hands after they are through with the fluid.

le 3 - 7 mars

Here are a few updates for the first week of March.

-Au courant journals are to come back on Monday
-Home Reading Books are coming home Monday and are due back on Friday
-Scholastic is coming home on Monday and is due back Tuesday, March 11
-A copy of the poem for the Concours d'art oratoire will be coming home to practice on Tuesday
-Science Fair is on Wednesday. We will be visiting as a class after the afternoon recess
-Library on Friday. Please bring back your books if you wish to exchange them for new ones.
-Dictee on Friday. This week we are working on the letters ien. The words are as follows:

un chien

bienvenue
ancien
je viens
rien
canadien

Anti-bullying

Last Wednesday, February 26th was Anti-Bullying Day (Pink Shirt Day). Students wore pink to show their support against bullying. We attended an assembly in the afternoon and listened to some neat songs and stories.
Also at school this year, there is a pledge hanging in the main office. Students who have chosen to take the pledge have signed around it to show others that they are a safe person to talk to if they are having issues with bullying.

Concours d'art oratoire

Every year the Canadian Parents for French host an oral speaking contest for students in French Immersion. At the grade 2 level, students memorize and recite a poem (about 1 minute in length). Students will be given a choice of 3 poems to present in about 2 weeks time. Students will be given a copy of their poem to practice at home.

Science Fair

The Science Fair will be on Wednesday, March 5th in the gym. Projects will be on display from 1-3:30pm and 5:30-7pm. We have a few students in our class who will have projects on display. We will visit as a class at 2:40-3:15pm. Parents are more than welcome to attend and see the fantastic science learning happening at Ecole Victoria School.

Les liquides et les solides

This week we have continued to learn about liquids and solids. We have learned that liquids change shape to be in whatever container they are in, and that they flow. We have learned that solids do not change shape, and do not flow. Today we looked at salt, which was a bit tricky because it looked like it flowed and changed shape when put in different containers, but then we looked at it with a microscope to see that there are actually many, many little grains that make up salt. We have decided that salt is a solid, because the grains do not flow or change shape.

Salt, as seen under a handheld microscope.

le 24 - 28 fevrier

I hope everyone enjoyed the break and had a chance to relax with family and friends. Here are some reminders for this upcoming week:

-Home Reading Books are coming home on Monday and are due back on Friday.
-Wednesday is Pink Shirt Day. Students are invited to wear a pink shirt to show their support for anti-bullying. We will have an assembly after lunch on Wednesday.
-Mme is away on Friday for PD.
-Library on Friday. Please bring back your books if you wish to exchange them for new ones.
-Dictee on Friday. This week we are looking at the letters ail which make the sound of i in English. The words are as follows:

du travail

les maillons

un poulailler

la paille

un maillot de bain

un chandail

 

 

Les microbes

With all sorts of sickness going around lately, today we discussed a bit about germs and how to stay healthy. We talked about coughing into our elbows or tissues, not our hands, as well as about washing our hands. We also did a fun simulation of how germs spread. Three people in the classroom put some aloe with sparkles in it on their hands, and then we spent a minute high fiving and shaking hands with everyone. At the end, everyone had sparkly germs on their hands! We also tried using the doorknob after someone germy had touched it. We talked about all of the things we all share and touch in our classroom, like tables, chairs, books, smartboard markers, games, etc.
We discussed that not all germs are bad, and that germs are everywhere, but that we have to be careful to remember to cough and sneeze properly, and to wash our hands.

Les regularites croissantes

This week we have looked at some interesting increasing patterns.
We learned about Blaise Pascal (a French mathematician from the 1600s) and his triangle. We found lots of cool patterns in his triangle, including the pattern you get when you colour in all of the odd numbers, the number patterns in the diagonal rows (one row has a pattern made by adding one each time, another row has a pattern made by adding 2, then 3, then 4, etc.), and the 'hockey stick' pattern.

Blaise Pascal 1623-1662



Pascal's triangle

We have also learned about Fibonacci's number sequence.
0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89... which is made by adding the first two numbers together to get the third, thenthe 2nd and 3rd numbers to get the 4th, etc. We saw how if we use those numbers to make a spiral, that spiral is found in nature on cauliflower, pinecones, sea shells, and on many plants.





Fibonacci spiral





le 10 - 14 fevrier

Last week before the February Break! Here are some updates:

-Weather recording homework is due back on Monday. We will be writing our comparisons this week.
-Au courant journals are due back to school on Monday - Au courant journals did not make it home Friday due to the assembly and will be coming home Monday. Please send back to school by Wednesday.
-Home Reading Books are coming home Monday and are due back Friday
-Hot Lunch orders are due back on Tuesday, February 11
-Scholastic orders are due back on Tuesday, February 11
-We will be making valentines for the community in the middle of the week, and going for a walk with our care partners on Friday morning to deliver them.
-Science Fair registration forms went out in the newsletter on Thursday of last week and are due back on Friday. Any student wishing to participate in the science fair must complete a registration form. There are extras at the office.
-Library on Friday
-Assembly Friday afternoon at 12:45pm
-Hot lunch for those who ordered on Friday, February 14
-Spirit Day on Friday, February 14. This month's spirit day is Hat Day
-Valentine's Day celebration: At the end of the day on Friday we will celebrate Valentine's Day. Students are welcome to bring healthy snacks to share, as well as valentines to pass out.
-Dictee on Friday. This week we will be looking at the letter g and the hard and soft sounds it makes. The rules for g are the same as for c, hard sound when followed by a, o and u, and soft sound when followed by e, i and y. The words are as follows:

nuageux

un garçon

gentil

un gorille

manger

regarder

Jour de la St Valentin

At the end of the day on Friday, we will have a little Jour de la St Valentin celebration. Students are welcome to bring a healthy snack to share, as well as valentines to pass out. This is optional. There will be a note sent home Monday which includes a list of students in our class. Joyeuse St Valentin!

Les verbes, les noms, les adjectifs

This week we have been discussing different types of words. Thus far, we have learned about verbes, nouns and adjectives.

At the end of the day yesterday, we did a mad lib and talked about how important it is to have the right kind of word in each spot, otherwise the story doesn't make sense. Here is the link to the website:  http://www.eduplace.com/tales/

Les regularites croissantes

Today we started investigating increasing patterns. We looked at and discussed a few examples and then tried to make some of our own. Here are a few photos of our work.

 

 

 

 

 

French Immersion Week

The week of Feb. 3-7 has been declared French Immersion Week! There will be lots of exciting events happening at school this year.

-Monday morning at 9am we will have an assembly to sing a few French songs and kick off the week.
-Tuesday morning we will have a few students from grade 5/6 come in and tell stories in French.
-Wednesday afternoon, K - grade 2 students will watch some short French films in the library. Students are invited to wear PJs and bring a stuffie.
-Friday afternoon at 2:40pm, there will be an assembly during which students in kindergarten to grade 4 will share some of their French learning.

Also, this week, we will have a school-wide French-speaking initiative. Students who are overheard speaking French outside of their classrooms will be given a ticket which they can enter at the office for a daily draw.

le 3 - 7 fevrier

I can't believe January is gone and we are into February... Here are a few updates for the week:

-See post about French Immersion Week for additional events this week
-Weather recording homework was sent home last Friday and is to be completed each night this week. The completed page is due back on Monday, February 10 (not January 10 like was written on the homework page itself, my apologies for any confusion)
-Au courant journals are to come back to school on Monday
-Scholastic is coming home on Monday and is due back on Tuesday, February 11.
-Home Reading Books are coming home on Monday and are due back on Friday
-We are going to begin being care partners to students in Mme McCreas morning kindergarten class on Wednesday. We will visit each week for about 25 minutes and read and participate in other literacy activities together.
-Thursday is National Sweater Day - This is a national initiative to promote energy conservation. By wearing a sweater and turning down the heat, lots of energy can be saved. We are inviting staff and students to wear a sweater on this day to support this initiative.
-Library on Friday. Bring back your books if you wish to exchange them for new ones.
-Dictee on Friday. This week we will be studying c and the two sounds it makes. Hard sound (k) when followed by a, o and u, and soft sound (s) when followed by e, i and y. The exception is ç, which always makes the soft c sound. The words are as follows:

les décorations
un garçon
une casquette
courbé
décembre
écouter

New MIMI poster

Earlier this week, we began looking at a new MIMI poster. Over this next week, we will be studying the words, sorting and classifying, as well as using the words to write sentences.

L'eau et les plantes

On Thursday, we finished the last day of observations and wrote conclusions on what we learned from the experiment with the flowers in no water, plain water and coloured water. Here are some great examples of conclusions written by students.

Comparing Weather

Today in the sac bleu, you should have found (or been shown) the homework for the upcoming week. Each day next week, students are expected to check the weather for a city of their choosing. The homework is due back on Monday, February 10th so that they may use their collected information to begin writing a comparison between their city and Saskatoon. There is an example below.
Thank you for your support at home!

le 27 - 31 janvier

Last week of January... Here are some updates for the week:
-Au courant journals are to come back Monday.
-Home Reading Books are coming home Monday and are due back to school on Friday.
-Mme is away for meetings on Wednesday and Thursday afternoons.
-Library on Friday. Please bring back books if you wish to exchange them for new ones.
-Dictee on Friday. This week we are looking at the letters eu. The words are as follows:

les œufs

les yeux

les cheveux

il pleut

deux

je peux

Les regularites

Last week we began looking at patterns. We have been looking and listening for patterns around the classroom, in our daily lives at home and throughout the day. We have created patterns using colours and tiles and blocks, and have continued patterns that were already started. We are practicing finding the part of the pattern that repeats. We will be learning to compare and contrast patterns. Today, we looked at a couple of different striped snakes and compared the patterns on them. This was really important, because one of the snakes is poisonous and the other is not. We made up our own two snakes with different patterns in our math journals and compared the two patterns on them.

Coral snake - poisonous!

 

Scarlet Kingsnake - not poisonous

L'eau et les plantes days 3 and 6

Here are some more photos of our plants from days 3 and 6 (Friday and Monday):

Jour 3

Jour 3

Jour 3

Jour 6

Jour 6

Jour 6

L'eau et les plantes

We have been learning about water and it's importance. Last week, we started an experiment to prove that plants need water. We placed some flowers in cups with coloured water, clear water and no water. Here are some photos of days 1 and 2:

le 20 - 24 janvier

Updates for the week:
-Mme is away Monday afternoon
-Home Reading Books will be coming home on Monday and are due back to school on Friday
-Skating trip on Wednesday morning. We will be leaving at 9am and walking to the skating rink with our calipartenaires.
-Gym Blast on Thursday afternoon - Senior students have organized a Gym Blast for 45 minutes on Thursday afternoon. Students will be split into 4 teams and will participate in large group activities. Emphasis will be placed on community building, encouragement and team work.
-Library on Friday. Please bring back your books to exchange them.
-Dictee on Friday. This week we will be looking at the letter e with accent circonflexe and accent grave. The words are as follows:

la tête

une chèvre

une bête

la rivière

le père

près

Le temps et l'eau

As part of our weather context, we will be learning about water and its importance. This past week we have learned about temperature using thermometres and different beakers of water. We read the temperatures of ice water, hot water, cool and warm tap water.

Le temps

As you may have heard from your child, we have started our next context, Weather. We have been checking the weather (la météo), as well as learning vocabulary to talk about the weather.

Environment Canada weather forecast (French): http://meteo.gc.ca/city/pages/sk-40_metric_f.html