Bonjour! Hello! Oki! Kindergarten families,
This week in Kindergarten
What a lovely week we’ve had in Kindergarten! We have been discussing our current season, winter, and the weather we see each day. Our morning meetings have shifted slightly to include more intentional work with phonics, and how we can use them when we’re reading and writing.
Students have all practiced very hard for our Sound Kreations final performance this week! They are AMAZING! Mrs. T’s class has been dancing to “Don’t Slack” from the Trolls World Tour soundtrack, and Mme Smyth’s & Mme Roussy’s classes have been dancing and scooping up ghosts to “Ghostbusters”. We will be sending out the link to our video very soon! We know the students are very excited to share it with you!
In math, we’ve been working with making and using number lines to identify “1 more and 1 less”. We’ve also been practicing this skill when doing our calendar routine. Students have been busy practicing this with all of their other “ways to show a number” skills.
This week some students have had the opportunity to present their “I am Unique/Je suis Unique”. Those who have not, will be sharing at the beginning of next week. Students are using their phonetic awareness to recognize the beginning of each sentence, sharing about themselves (My name is…/Mon nom est…, I am __ years old/J’ai __ ans, My favourite colour is…/Ma couleur préférée est…, My favourite winter activity is…/Mon activité d’hiver préférée est…, In 2022, I want to…/En 2022, je veux…).
Today our afternoon students were practicing how we can read a book all by ourselves. We discussed that there are 3 ways to read a book 1) Read the Words; 2) Read the Pictures; 3) Retell the story (a familiar story, or one an adult has read to us before). We practiced strategy #2) Reading the Pictures. This is an excellent way for students to make sense of the story from the images on each page. Ask your child to read you a story trying this strategy!
Chinese New Year is approaching! We have begun our study of cultural holidays with the first in 2022. Students have been listening to stories about Chinese New Year traditions, Chinese Zodiacs, and the Dragon, Nian. Tuesday, February 1st is the first day of the Lunar New Year, please join us in celebrating by wearing red and yellow (lucky colours for the celebration). In the coming week, we will continue to learn about Chinese New Year traditions.
***If your family will be celebrating a cultural holiday in the coming weeks and months, please let us know! We are trying our best to incorporate as many cultural celebrations as possible, and it is even more important if they are celebrated within our classroom communities.***
COVID Health & Safety
Please use these checklists as a guideline to support monitoring student symptoms and illness, including various isolation criteria/timelines: Alberta Health Daily Checklists
Volunteer Opportunities
Please follow these links for current volunteer opportunities:
- Mme Smyth
- AM: Playdough Sign-Up (AM)
- PM: Playdough Sign-Up (PM)
Some Fun Videos & Songs
Français:
English:Reminders
- Important Dates
- No School - Monday, January 31st (Non-Instructional Day)
- Kindergarten Friday Dates:
- AM - February 4th, 25th
- PM - February 11th
- Carnaval Celebration - February 14th, 15th, 16th
- Teacher’s Convention (No School) - February 17th & 18th
- Family Day Long Weekend (No School) - February 21st
- PINK SHIRT DAY & Pink Cookie Day - February 23rd
- Fun Snack - February 24th
- Please return library books each week the day before your child’s exchange day. We visit the library:
- Roussy - Tuesdays (Monday return)
- Smyth - Thursdays (Wednesday return)
- Thouret - Thursdays (Wednesday return)
- Don’t forget to send the blue communication folder each day! This is an easy/safe way for teachers and parents to send things to/from school.
Enjoy your weekend! Passez un bon week-end!
The Kindergarten Team
Jessica Smyth, Michelle Roussy & Samantha Thouret
