Merry Christmas and happy holidays from the slopes at Whistler!!!!!


I hope all my amazing students and their families are having fantastic vacations!!


See you all in the new year!




Miss H. 

Happy holidays, everyone!!!!

Dear boys and girls of Miss H.'s JKA class and parents/guardians as well,

The Christmas concert at SJA was a SUCCESS!

You boys and girls made the cutest sheep in the entire world!   The real ones would be jealous!

I cannot tell you all how proud and blessed I am to have each and every one of you in my class this year. The wonderful, energetic, funny, quirky and kind hearts of each of you JKA students make my job as a teacher so worth it!!

Thanks to all the parents, friends and family for all your support. Without it, this Christmas concert would not have been as amazing as it was!

Have a great, safe night everyone and I'll see you all tomorrow morning for our last day together before a fun winter break! :)


Miss H.

A reminder to all parents and guardians:

-Please have your child’s full sheep costume at school and ready for tomorrow’s dress rehearsal

-Casual Day is tomorrow as well

-You may sign your child out any time after 2 pm on Thursday (Concert day)

-Please arrive at 6:30 pm on the night of the concert. The concert commences at 7 pm

-This Friday is Spirit Day. Please dress your child in red and/or green clothing and accessories

-A reminder that this Friday is a HALF DAY. Dismissal is at 11:30 am. However, after school care is still available after dismissal. 

-Winter break begins on Friday, December 16. Back to school on Tuesday, January 3, 2012

PARENTS/GUARDIANS!!!

PLEASE NOTE:

Directly after the your child's performance at the concert on Thursday, please pick your child up immediately from the classroom!!!


Thank you!!

Happy Friday, everyone!

Today, we started off with rehearsing for the school Christmas concert. From 9-11:30 am, everyone in the school practiced and practiced and practiced!

After, we had lunch. After lunch, we read a book called "Rumble in the Jungle", which is based on different animals in the jungle. Everyone each got a stuffed animal puppet to hold on to while I read the book. After, everyone got to play with their stuffed animal puppets. We had French and then second lunch a little earlier so that we had time to put on all of the winter gear for outside recess.

After, we played with blocks and built things out of them. We also watched "Crawford the Cat". We also made snowmen mosaic artwork out of different coloured construction paper.

A few reminders:

-Next Wednesday is Casual Day
-Next Thursday is the school concert. Please arrive 30 minutes before the concert at 6:30 pm.
-Next Friday is a half day and early dismissal before.... WINTER BREAK!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Have a great weekend, everyyyyyyybody!


Miss H.

Hello!

Today, we had a busy day.... with our dress rehearsal for next week's concert!!!

We will be doing dress rehearsals every day in the morning until the day of concert. This is a busy week and next week for Mrs. Deras and the drama department.

A few reminders:

-Please have your child's sheep costume ready for tomorrow if possible. HOWEVER, please come to school tomorrow with your child dressed in his or her proper school uniform. The costumes will be needed to be brought in a separate bag.

-Casual Day is next Wednesday


-The Christmas concert is next Thursday at 7 pm. Please bring your  child to the school at 6:30 pm to prepare for the concert. 


-You may also choose to sign your child out early on the day of the concert anytime after 2 pm.


-Next Friday is a half day/Start of Winter Break!




Have a good night!!!




Miss H. 

Hello!

PARENTS AND GUARDIANS,

Please have your child's sheep costume ready and sent for this Friday's dress rehearsal!!!


Thank you!!!!!

Hello!

Today, we had an exciting morning ceremony because two student from each class were awarded with a certificate for the two learner profiles: Caring and Risk Taker. In our class, I would like to congratulate Jordan for being awarded with a Risk Taker certificate. Throughout the year, Jordan has constantly tried new things and has strived to make an effort in everything she has done. Congratulations also to Kasen for being awarded with a Caring certificate. Kasen has strived to help out other students when they needed help and was very caring when any of them got hurt. Good job to both of you!

We also did some letter tracing exercises and read a book called the Snowy Day. After reading this, we made and coloured snowflakes.

We had French and then did drama rehearsals for the rest of the day.

Have a great weekend!!!!!!


Miss H.

Hey everyone! Happy Thursday!

Good evening parents, guardians, friends and family,


Today was a busy, busy day. We started off the day with circle time and discussed what we all day the day before. I heard some interesting, exciting stories. Then, we sang the good morning boogie. This time, we replaced "hello" with "ciao." All of the students love saying hello in different languages, so this was a good start to the day.


Following this, we worked on our unit of inquiry, How we express ourselves, and continued with the story, "The Little Red Hen." For this, we created a mini booklet and coloured each page. These will be sent home with each child tomorrow after class.


We also worked more with letters and read "Chicka Chicka Boom Boom." After, we learned to recognize letters on our own version of a coconut tree, similar to that in the book. We had a lot of fun with this. Here is what it looked like.

After, we had a dress rehearsal with the entire school for our performance in the Christmas Concert on December 15. This lasted until second lunch and then we practiced as a class following this until the end of school. It was a lot of fun and everyone is getting a hang of acting and performing. 

A few reminders:

-Picture Day forms/money are due tomorrow. 

-Please return any parent-teacher conference forms ASAP.

-Parent-Teacher conferences are on December 7 between 4-8 pm. 

Have a SUUUUUUUUUPER night, everyone!

MISS H. 

Hello!

Today, we started off by discussing and going over the different languages that people say hello in. I asked the class to be inquirers and to tell me what their favourite way of saying hello was. Some said aloha, some said jambo, and some said Ciao. So, I showed them the different countries that these ways of hello were said in. I showed them pictures of Kenya, Italy (my favourite country!), and Hawaii. Everyone was so fascinated and intrigued by the pictures and aesthetic differences between each place. 


After, I read another book for our unit of inquiry called the Little Red Hen. After reading this book, using a hen puppet, we discussed the meaning of this book: to help others when they are in need. After, we coloured and decorated our own hen puppets. 


We went into language arts and practiced tracing the letter Bb. While doing this, I put on music by a famous composer Tchaikovsky, who composed songs for my favourite kind of dance, Ballet, and play, the Nutcracker. It was relaxing and definitely got everyone's minds stimulated and working well!!


We also read two books by Robert Munsch (He's the best!) called Thomas' Snowsuit and Moose!  Everyone enjoyed hearing these stories, as do they always when it comes to books written by Robert Munsch. 


We also had French and Music. 


A few reminders:

-Casual Day is tomorrow

-Picture Retake money and forms are due tomorrow

-Parent-Teacher conferences are on December 7 between 4 and 6 pm

****PLEASE return all report cards and parent comments. They will be photocopied and the original will be returned to you on that day

Have a super night!

Miss H. 

Hello Everyone!

Today, we started off the day with circle time and shared all of our stories about what is going on in everyone's lives and what has already happened. We also decided to sing the good morning boogie song a little differently.  Instead of singing "hello" in the song, we sung "jambo," which means "hello" in Swahili. For those of you who are not sure where Swahili is spoken, it is spoken in Kenya, a country I was born in.

We also played with some Franklin finger puppets and read a Franklin story book.  This one was called "Franklin's Neighbourhood." After we read this story, each student was given a piece of paper and asked to draw their favourite aspects of their own neighbourhoods. I wrote down the responses of each student. I received a lot of interesting ideas and we had lots of fun sharing our favourite moments together.

We also did some hands on activities to do with the alphabet and shapes. We also recognized and identified different letters, which were colourful plastic magnets and placed them on the whiteboard.  We also worked with identifying colours.

We had music and french.


Have a great night,

Miss H.

Hello!

After being sick last week, it was so nice to be back today to see all the boys and girls!

We started off the day with some time to build objects out of blocks.  Because it was a Monday, many students did not arrive until later on in the morning so we had some fun before everyone arrived.

After, we read a new book for our unit of inquiry, the Jungle Book. Everyone enjoyed this classic story that I am sure many of you parents, guardians, and grandparents may know!  We went over the book together and discussed each character.  We spelled their names on the white board and sounded out the letters as well as recognizing them on the board. 

After lunch, we had gym. After gym, we had French and then drama.  Now that the Christmas concert is approaching, we will be sacrificing some class time for more drama time in order to practice. With this said,  after second lunch, we had drama for half and hour and ended the day with hands-on alphabet activities and alphabet finger puppets. 

Have a great night!!!

Miss H.

Hello Everyone!

I hope everyone is enjoying their week so far!

We started off the day with circle time when I posed a question for everyone to "inquire" on, one of the Learner Profile attributes for the IB Program.  My question was "what is your favourite thing to do at the park?"  Many students said they enjoyed going on the swings and the slides, but the most favourite thing for everyone to do at the park, a unanimous vote, is to play in the sand. I agreed since I greet them hello after recess, smiling at their sandy outfits. By looking at them, I know all of the students had a fun time in the sand box!

After circle time, we talked about this week's fable, "Little Red Riding Hood."  Yesterday, we made a wolf mask in remembrance of the wolf in the book. Today, we did a counting worksheet that dealt with counting the number of raisins on each of Little Red Riding Hood's cookies. After counting, students had to circle the correct number of raisins on the worksheet.  We also coloured a picture of Little Red Riding Hood and glued little pieces of red construction paper onto her cape.

We worked on number tracing, specifically recognizing, counting, and discussing the number 5.  We did a Sesame Street number 5 worksheet as well.

We also did letter tracing worksheets.

We read a book that introduces the winter season and the concluding of the fall season.  It is a very cute book called "Alfie's Long Winter," which is about a leaf named Alfie who was too scared to float off his tree at the end of Fall, so he stayed on the tree throughout the winter season.  Everyone enjoyed listening to Alfie's story very much. They also learned a little more about the physical differences between winter and fall!

We had gym, drama, and french.

A reminder: Picture Day forms/Money are due by Friday, November 18.  Please put them in the book bag, separate from the agenda. Thanks :)


Have a great night :)


Miss Husain

Happy Monday!

Good afternoon parents, guardians and friends,

Today was a great day for everyone in our class.  We started off the day with some fun number tracing worksheets.  Our focus for today were the numbers '3' and '4.'  Because there were many pretty pictures to colour, we all coloured them following our tracing!

We also had centres today after doing some number and letter activities. Today, we got a new student, which everyone made her feel very comfortable in the classroom.  Her name is Ony and she is two and a half years old!

We had gym, french, read the story "The House of Hermit Crab" by Eric Carle.  Everyone enjoyed reading this and, at the same time, we also learned a little about crabs.

Between 2:30 and 3:30, I will be away every day this week teaching tennis to the grade 4-8 classes.  During this time, I have put together lessons and activities that will be taught by Miss Chang, the grade 4/5 teacher.  Everyone got the pleasure of meeting and being with Miss Chang today during this time and everyone seemed to do really well :)

A reminder: TOMORROW is Picture Retake Day. Please bring your picture proof forms with you tomorrow if your child will be getting picture retakes.

Also, ALL picture day order forms/money are due by Friday, November 18. 


Have a great night!!

Hello!

Hello everyone,

Today we did some letter tracing sheets and also wrote letters on our own. Many of us did very well on these worksheets!

We also read two Franklin stories: Franklin is Messy and Franklin Fibs.  This taught everyone the importance of cleaning up our classroom and also to always tell the truth.  After, everyone each got a stuffed toy turtle that they each chose a name and favourite food for.  Everyone had fun with their own "pet" turtles that they did not want to say good bye to them!

We also did lots of hands on shapes and colour activities, with puzzles, buttons, and foam shapes/colours.  There were a lot of different activities to do so we were very busy!

We also coloured and made our own "In Flanders Fields" mini booklets to commemorate the soldiers who fought in the war.  I explained the importance of Remembrance Day, teaching that it is a day for us to remember all of the men and women who helped protect us and keep us safe.  It was also a day to thank these men and women, which is why we read the "In Flanders Field" poem.  I also explained the significance of a poppy.  We will read the book tomorrow for remembrance day.

We also had drama, french, and gym.

A reminder: there is no school on Friday.


Have a good night!

Miss H.

Hello!

Today, we started off the day with circle time.  Then we worked on our second unit of inquiry by discussing and doing an activity on the Gingerbread Man.  This activity dealt with the book and with recognizing our colours and shapes.  You will notice this activity in your child's book bag as it was sent home today.

We also read one of my favourite stories, The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle, one of the most talented children's authors and illustrators (in my own opinion and those of many others!).  Through this book, we learned the lifecycle of a butterfly.  We learned that it starts off as an egg, becomes a tiny caterpillar who then hides in his cocoon until he comes out as a beautiful butterfly.  I also retold the story as a second time using tiny stuffed animal versions of each cycle of a butterfly and different props to demonstrate different parts of the book.  The students had fun passing around these props and they found the life cycle of a butterfly very interesting.

We also traced and wrote all of the vowels and the letter "Ll."  Everyone is getting so much better at writing these letters and the shaky lines are quickly transforming into straight, fluid, beautiful letters... kind of like the transformation of a caterpillar into a butterfly (my own analogy!).

We also coloured a picture of a butterfly and watched an episode of Franklin as a treat for doing so well on all of our tracing worksheets.

We also had french and music.  Some students got house points for being such helpful students during these two classes!

Some reminders:
-There is no school this Friday. 
-Care Logs are due this Thursday
-Picture Day forms/money are due BY November 18th, 2011.


Have a great night!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hello Monday!

Today, we had a great start to the week.  We started off the day with circle time, where we talked about the day/month/year, the weather, and we all shared what we did on the weekend.  Some of us has some pretty great weekends!

We also read the third fairytale book (we are focusing on one per week), which was the Gingerbread Man.  All of the boys and girls loved this story... old, famous fables are something that they have all been deeply interested in so far.  After reading it, we went over it and then made gingerbread man puppets, cut them out, and decorated them with sparkles.  We will be making puppets for almost every book so that the boys and girls can retell the story to you when they go home!

We also read a story about the Three Little Pigs. We already read this story, but this time, it was from the wolf's perspective.  Everyone enjoyed this book as well, especially since they already knew the story.

We did some worksheets on numbers and sizes (big and small). We also had gym, drama, and french.

A Note: I sent home homework duo tangs/folders for each child.  I will be sending homework, once a week, in this folder from now on.


Have a great night!!!


Miss H.

Happy Friday!

Hello everyone,

Today we worked on tracing and writing the letter Ll.   We are get much,  much better at writing it now!

We also did a mini booklet on the Ugly Duckling.  I am sure you will see these books at some point this weekend.  Later, we did centres, which included colouring, building blocks, and playing with play doh.  I play Christmas music while everyone did this.

We also had Drama today because Mrs. Deras was away this past Monday and Wednesday.  Everyone is getting much better at standing on the stage, getting on and off of it. Good job, boys and girls!

Mr. Browning came in to read to everyone today as a special treat. He even brought a stuffed goose toy for everyone to pet!

A kind note:  I sent home the pictures from picture day with each student today.  Please view the pictures and send money and the order forms by November 18. 


HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!!!!!!!!!!






Miss. H.

It's Thursday!

Hello everyone,

Today we did more exercises that dealt with tracing our names.  We all continued to do very well on it.  With all this practice, we will soon be able to write it without tracing!

We also made stick puppets that are based on the book, "The Ugly Duckling."  We coloured them, cut them out, and put some glitter on these puppets as a finishing touch.  After, we played with them a bit and did a little reenactment of the story!

We also read a book and compared it to the "Ugly Duckling."  This book was so similar that the name was even similar.  This book was called the "Very Ugly Bug."  It was a very funny book and was about a bug who, thinking it was too ugly, did not like her looks.  However, after some time, she learned to love herself for who she is, just like the ugly duckling.  We talked about both of these stories and the morals behind them and found many similarities between both books.  At the end, we decided that we should love ourselves just the way we are because we are all beautiful and unique in our own ways.

We also traced and wrote the letter of the week, Ll.  We did very well with this activity!!

Because Mr. Moreno was sick, we did not have music today.  We did, however, listen to Christmas music (a little early) and Transiberian Orchestra.  It was great!!

Have a great night!!!!


Ms. H.

Hey everyone!

Yesterday, everyone began to learn to trace their names.  Each of them got a personalized worksheet that had their name on it to trace!   Everyone did very well on this worksheet and I am glad that they are all getting off to a great start on writing their names.  I encourage all parents to please continue to trace with them on a regular basis or whenever you can.  Yesterday, I sent home a tracing sheet.  This is not due, but rather for you to work with your child and to encourage them to trace their name.

We also read the Ugly Duckling.  They loved this story and so did I!   The lesson they learned from this story:  to accept others for who they are and to never judge a book by its cover.  We will be working on activities that deal with this story all week.  Yesterday, they did a colouring worksheet that was based on the book.

We also did some number tracing activities for numbers 1 and 2.  I am noticing that many students are having trouble with the number three so I encourage you to practice writing it with them and I will be giving more worksheets on this number in class.

We also went to French class and had gym.

Kind regards,

Miss H.

Hello!

Today was a fun day!  We ate goodies, watched an episode of Franklin, coloured some Halloween colouring sheets, did face painting, and made Halloween goodie bags to take home some candy!

Overall, it was a fun day for our junior kindergartens!

Happy Halloween!


Ms. H.

Happy Saturday!

I hope everyone is having an enjoyable weekend so far, despite the rain!

Yesterday, the students completed some letter tracing worksheets.  They also did a colour, cut, and glue worksheet that was based on the story we read the previous day, The Three Little Pigs.  They did very well with this worksheet. They are all pros at gluing and cutting now!!

They also made patterns and pictures by using different colour combinations and shapes blocks.  I did individual formative assessments on each student, as I came to each student while he or she was working and asked what colours and shapes he or she chose to make a picture.  While some students were able to identify each shape and colour in their picture, some had a little trouble so I will continue to work and make sure they can all recognize and identify each colour/shape. 

We also had some fun with play doh and building blocks for some part of the day. 

The students went to French class.  As always, they enjoyed their time with Mme. Stella very, very much!

Have a great weekend and I'll hopefully see you all on Monday morning!

Miss H. 

Reading the Three Little Pigs!

Namaste!

Today was a great day.

I say this simply because it was. Last night, I began to ponder about the diversity, not only found within the students and faculty at St. Jude's Academy, but also evidently seen around us. It got me thinking. What if I promoted and encouraged a sense of diversity and respect within the classroom? That led me to incorporate other languages into my daily lessons. So, today, I taught the students different ways of saying "hello" in different languages. Today, they learned how to say "hello" in:

French - Bonjour!
India: Namaste!
Kenya and Tanzania: Jambo!
Japan: Kon-nichiwa
Italy: Ciao!
China: Ni Hao

Among many others. They loved repeating after me and getting to know and appreciate the diverse languages and cultures our beautiful world has to offer us. Each day, I will be focusing on one language to say hello in, so be sure to ask your child when you see them at the end of the day :)

We also went over the letter U. Most of us were able to do this worksheet well and others are still working on their pencil-holding techniques.  We also did worksheets about colours.

We are in the midst of concluding our first unit of inquiry and beginning our second one, entitled How we express ourselves. This unit is centered around using our imaginations and getting to know famous fables, stories, nursery rhymes, and poems that have become a tradition.

Today we read the Three Little Pigs. I used laminated pictures and drew the background of the story on the white board. I used the pictures to help animate the story. The students love this and got to move the pictures themselves after, retelling the story in the order of events.

We also had drama and french class.

I hope everyone has a wonderful, restful Thursday!

Ms. H.

Hello!

Today, we started off with getting our pictures taken.  It was quite obvious that everyone came to school with big, happy smiles for our photo shots!

Each child got to become more familiar with recognizing and identifying colours. They did this individually with me and then they did a worksheet where they were required to colour certain parts of the picture with a certain coloured pencil crayon.

They also did some scissor cutting exercises. The students are getting much better at using scissors and glue.

They had silent reading time and also had some free drawing time before lunch. I encouraged the students to draw a picture of their families. They did that very well, some even drew me!

They went to French class today, to gym, and to drama. The day went fairly well.

A reminder: tomorrow is Casual Day.

See you all then!!


Miss H.

Good evening!

Today, we worked on tracing the letter T.  We did a worksheet and then we made the letter T with play doh.  Everyone did very well on this. Good job to all the boys and girls who work so hard to write their letters!

We also had a very, very nice morning learning about the Hindu celebration, Diwali.  We made and decorated rangolis (decorative pictures that are designed and done on floors inside or outside of a house for Diwali). Vishva's mom was very kind to come in and teach us how to decorate our very own rangoli. We are very thankful to her for taking the time to do something so special for us.  She even showed us one that she made and it was very beautiful and colourful. We used tiny mirrors, glitter, sequins, and crayons to decorate our own rangolis. You can see them in the classroom as they are hung up with pride.

Here is an example of what a traditional rangoli looks like:

We also read about penguins. We learned that the male penguin carefully takes care of, and holds the baby egg between his feet until she or he is born, while the mommy fishes for food. We are going to be learning lots of cool facts every day!

We also had silent reading time and also individual reading time with me before lunch. It was very nice and fun. Everyone loves taking out different books and looking at the different pictures to guess what happens next.

A few friendly reminders:

-Tomorrow is Picture Day. Please dress your child in his or her full school uniform.  The students are exempt from wearing their gym uniform for tomorrow because of picture day. Please also bring in any picture day order forms by tomorrow.


-Thursday is Casual Day.  Please dress your child in his or her casual attire. 

Should you have any questions or comments, please feel free to email me.

Have a great night!!!!!!


Ms. H.

Hello!!!

Hello everyone. I hope you all had a nice, enjoyable weekend.

Today, we did some scissor cutting and colour exercises. We also learned a new song about pumpkins called “Five Little Pumpkins.”  We will be practicing it this whole week so that we can sing it on Halloween!

We also read a book called “The Little White Owl”.

As you all know, this week is a busy week for all of us at St. Jude’s Academy.  Tomorrow, Vishva’s mom will be coming in to help us make Rangolis, traditional Hindu designs used to decorate floors outside or inside houses.  This will be in celebration of Diwali “The festival of lights,” which is an important Hindu festival.  As an IB school, we pride in celebrating different cultures and traditions as much as we can.  This will be a fun, colourful, and creative activity for our kindergarten students to enjoy and to take home wsith them.

On Wednesday, it is picture day as well as gym day.  Please dress your child in the proper regular school uniform for picture day. Do not worry about your child’s gym uniform, as it will not be required on this day.

This Thursday is Casual Day. Please dress your child up in his or her casual attire.

 Just a heads up that next Monday (Oct. 31) is Spirit/Halloween Dress Up Day. Please dress your child up in his or her Halloween costume before school starts.  They will be wearing their costume for the entire day. Although this is a gym day, do not worry about providing gym uniforms for this day.

If you have any questions, please feel free to email me at jhusain@stjudesacademy.com

Kind regards,

Ms. H. 

Terrific Thursday!

Hello everyone,

First of all, I would like to wish the HAPPIEST birthday to one of our classmates, Ramsey. I hope you have a wonderful night of celebrations!!!!

Other than fun birthday celebrations and cup cakes, we had a fun-filled day decorating, painting, and jazzing our pumpkins up!!! We made two pumpkins: a porcupine, which is tastefully adorable, and the world with little goofy pictures of all of us and cool looking plastic animals. They were a lot of fun to make and look at. I am proud of everyone because we all worked together to make it AMAZING!!!!!!!

We also did some letter worksheets...... WITHOUT TRACING!!!!!  Most of us can now write 'I', "i', 'A', 'a' without tracing. It is a big accomplishment for one month of school. I am very, very happy with my class and their progress!

Some reminders:

-Phone calls will continue this week

-Care Logs are due tomorrow

-Picture day is on Wednesday, October 26

-Casual Day is on Thursday, October 27

-Halloweeen Dress-Up Day is on Halloween Day (Oct. 31)

Have a great night!!!!!!!!!

Ms. H.   :) :)

Hello!

We started off the day with circle time and discussed what everyone would be wearing for Halloween. Some of us are going to dress up as Scooby Doo, Cars characters, and Disney princesses. What a wide array of Halloween costumes we will have in our class come October 31!

We also worked with glue sticks. Every student has started gluing in their own homework notes into their agendas without any problems. I am very proud that they are getting the hang of using everyday school materials properly and responsibly. We did an assignment that required gluing specific pieces to a mini story book. We are still working on it as it takes a lot of concentration and effort.

We also read a book about pumpkins and decided, as a class, how we will decorate our three pumpkins tomorrow. Tomorrow, we will be receiving a kind donation of three pumpkins for each class. Our mission: to decorate these pumpkins together to the best of our ability. So today, we put on our thinking caps and creativity shoes, some mistaken them for gym shoes, and brainstormed away!

We decided to decorate our pumpkins the following way: an elephant, a piggy, and the world. I am excited to see how these will turn out. Thankfully, we will have the aid of some very special, older helpers from other grades. The students love having our older helpers around.

So your mission at home: if you can think or have any cool, wacky things to add to our pumpkins, please bring them in tomorrow so we can decorate them with!!!!!


Thanks a bunch!!!!


Ms. H.

Hello, everyone!

Today was a bit of a rough day for all of us.  Many of us were much too excited to pay attention during class today. Hopefully we will have a better day tomorrow.

However, we did worksheets involving hygiene and washing our hands every time we go to the bathroom or get our hands dirty. We did some "washing our hands" exercises and pretended to wash our hands, doing every step of washing our hands.

We also practiced writing different letters and tracing lines and other pictures. At the end of the day, I let them all play with play doh while I read a story about controlling our emotions and keeping our hands to ourselves.

A reminder that parent-teacher phone calls will occur between 5 pm - 9 pm this week. 

If you have any questions, please feel free to email me or talk to me in person.

Have a nice, relaxing night and see you all tomorrow :)

Ms. H!

Hello!

Today was a nice day back for all of our junior kindergartens!

We started off the day with circle time and discussed what we each did on the weekend. Some of us were very, very busy bees and all of us seemed to had an enjoyable weekend, relaxing or super busy. 

After, we all made a "I Can Draw Shapes" booklet. Everyone did very well on this. I will be marking it and sending it home later next week. I will also send home a shapes tracing worksheet later this week for you to practice with your child. This is just additional practice work and it will not be collected for marking. I would just like to encourage you, if possible, to practice drawing and recognizing shapes with your child. 

We also did a listening activity. The children were given a colouring "friendly spider" sheet where each type of part of the spider was required to be coloured in a certain colour. I asked them to colour certain parts a certain colour and they were to listen and follow my directions. Most of us did very well on this activity, but some of us will need to listen a little bit more!

I read some “cut and tell” stories, which involve me cutting a picture out of construction while I tell the story. By the end of the story, I have a cool cut out picture. The kids loved this story time!

We also did some activities with letters. Today, I placed an umbrella out in the middle of the carpet. I dropped blue paper “raindrops” all over the students. Their job was to pick up the raindrops, each with a letter written on them, and to put only the letter “U” raindrops in the umbrella. They did well on this!

Have a great day!!!!

Ms. H. 

Hello!

Today, we did some activities concerning circling things that are the same and things that are different.  We also did some Sesame Street counting worksheets. Later on in the day, we did art and painted pictures of fall trees. For the tree trunk, each child put paint on their arm and hand and placed it on top of the paper. For the leaves, each child used his or her index finger and dotted the branches with fall leaf colours - red, yellow, and orange. We will finish the paintings on Monday because we ran out of time.

We also did Show and Share for the letter "T".  Josef and Sebastian were this week's Show and Share presenters.  We watched a movie and ate ice cream. The movie was "Madagascar." A very, very funny movie!

A reminder that Weekend Journals are due on Monday. So are Care Logs to allow some students more time to write them. I will collect both on Monday. 


Picture Day is on Wednesday, October 26, 2011.


Casual Day is on Thursday, October 27, 2011. 


HAVE A FANTASTIC WEEKEND!!!!!






Ms. H. 

Hello!

Good evening everyone,

Today was an awesome day at school. Overall, everyone had a lot of fun and we all learned at the same time. It was great. We made different letters out of play doh, just another tactic to help the students recognize and form their letters. They enjoyed this as they love, love, love working with play doh. We also did some motor-skills activities, which included using scissors. We also made different patterns with building blocks for math.

Later on in the day, we went on a short walk outside the school to collect colourful fall leaves of all shapes and sizes.  With these leaves, we did leaf imprinting with crayons, leaves, and paper. They all turned out very well, as you may have seen today.

Just a reminder that winter uniforms are a must. Polos are now to be replaced with mock turtlenecks. 


I will be making parent-teacher phone calls for the first unit of inquiry next week (between 5-8 pm). 


Care Logs are due tomorrow. Show and Share is also tomorrow. This week's letter is "T". 


Please sign and return any worksheets that I have sent home.


Please hand in the permission form regarding serving ice cream tomorrow during class.




Have a wonderful night!!!


Ms. H.

Hello, everyone!

Today, we had our first Family Tree presentations. Six students, Demiana, Ramsey, Jaiden, Hayden, Vishva, and Jordan, presented their family trees in front of the class for approximately two minutes each. They explained each picture on their family tree and talked a little about their family (mom, dad, siblings, grandparents). Everyone did such a good job so far for their first presentation of the year. Good job boys and girls!

We also formed the letter “E” together out of four pieces of construction paper. This was just a little assessment for the students to recognize and construct letters in forms other than just writing and tracing. Everyone did very well on this assignment. I will be doing more of these mini assessments in the future because I received positive feedback from the students. 

We did some number exercises, including colouring and counting. The students are very good at counting right now and recognizing their numbers. We are mainly focusing on writing these numbers. 

A friendly reminder that winter uniforms are now in effect. Please dress your child(ren) in the proper SJA winter uniform, which no longer includes polos. Polos will now be replaced with the mock turtlenecks with the SJA logo. 

Have a great night!!!

Ms. H. 

Good Afternoon!

Hello parents and guardians,

Today, we worked on tracing and writing the letter "A".  First, I drew the letter A on the whiteboard. Then, we traced the letter and then began to free write it on a sheet of lined primary paper.  This went over pretty well because it was their first time tracing the letter A. You will find these exercises in your child's black book bag. Please sign and return every worksheet I sent home; they are aware that they will be rewarded one sticker per signed worksheet.

We also worked on patterns and recognizing and differentiating different letters. The same letters on the worksheet were to be coloured with the same colour. Many students did very well on this assignment. We also did a couple of other worksheets that dealt with patterns.

I sent home a writing and tracing rubric that is stapled to one of the worksheets done by your child. This is a rubric that is used for all letters (tracing and writing). Please take a look at the expectations and guidelines. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me via email or in person. If you have any free time with your child, please practice, practice, practice tracing and writing the vowels we learned in class: A, E, I, O, and U.

I will be sending home a new reading book tomorrow with each child.

Have a great night!

Ms. H.

Hello!

Dear Parents and Guardians,

I apologize for the late blog. Things were quite busy on Thursday in preparation for our next IB unit!

On Thursday, we discussed all of the things we were thankful for. As you can see from the turkey sheet I sent home, the students provided many different things to be thankful for. I talked about Thanksgiving and its importance in Canadian and American culture and tradition. I hope you are all having a wonderful and relaxing weekend. I know I am enjoying this time with my family!

We also did some graphing for our math unit, using yellow sticky notes per unit of measure. We did more work on our family trees and they are almost all complete. We will be starting mini presentations on Tuesday. Each student will just simply describe each picture (who is in it, where it is) and I will read each family member's names. Each presenter will be able to take home his or her family tree project after presenting.

We also did some letter exercises where the students used their index finger to move it along the letter "E", which was made of a sand-paper based cutout.

Have a happy, safe, and warm Thanksgiving!

Ms. H.

Hello!

Hello everyone, 

I hope you are all having a wonderful night and spending some quality time in the nice, sunny weather. Today, we worked on writing the letter “E.”  This time, the students attempted to write the letter without tracing it first. It went pretty well for most of them. A few students are still working on it and will get the hang of it very soon!

We also worked more on our family trees. They are coming along great, I must say. We are having a lot of fun looking at pictures and placing them along the bristol board. Because the family trees are taking longer than I expected to complete, presentations will be next Tuesday and Wednesday. 

We also went outside and each picked a pinecone of our choice. With those pinecones, we made little “turkeys” out of pom poms, googly eyes, and pinecones. They were very, very cute looking. 

Tomorrow, we will be finishing up our family trees and working more on proper letter formation and on finishing up patterns. 

I hope everyone has a faaaaaantastic night and I will see you all tomorrow!

Ms. H. 

Hello parents and guardians!

We started off the day working on our family trees.  I worked individually with each student and managed to complete four family trees so far. They look great!

We will continue to work on our family trees tomorrow morning as well for our Unit of Inquiry Summative Assessment.  Each student will present their family tree on Thursday and next Tuesday. They will describe each picture and each family member.  I will help to read each family member on his or her family tree.

I will send home the family trees next Tuesday after each child has presented. We also read a story called Cat and Mouse by Ian Schoenherr.  After, we did a worksheet based on this book and counted the number of cats, mice, and clocks on the worksheet. They traced each number on that worksheet.

We also did some vowel tracing and practice on the letter E. Because many of them are new to using a pencil, tracing letters is taking some time, but they are getting much better with practice.

A friendly reminder that Friday is a PD Day. There will be no school on this day. There will also be no school on Monday, October 10 because it is Thanksgiving. 


HAVE A WONDERFUL NIGHT!!!!!!




Ms. H.

Good evening!

Today was a day filled with apples, apples, and more apples.

To start our day, I read a book called, Johnny Appleseed. Although the context of this book dates back to American history, it was very appropriate and educational for the students. After, I placed an apple, from Chudleigh's of course, on the middle of the table. I asked them to look at the apple and to draw what they saw (i.e. red colour, round, a stem, etc.). After, I cut the apple in half and showed them the seeds. We talked about what seeds are and how, under specific circumstances, they can grow, bloom, and be fruitful. After that, I cut the apple into many pieces and the students got to taste it. They described what it tasted like (i.e. yummy, cold, sour, sweet, hard, etc.).

After, we made apple sauce. I peeled and cut the apples. The students added the apples to a large pot, along with water, sugar, and a touch of cinnamon for taste.  The end result was very, very successful. The students loved their creation and so did I. I also let some other teachers try it, one of which commented that it was the best apple sauce she had ever tasted!

I will send home a recipe sheet tomorrow. We also planted the appleseeds that were left over from our apple sauce. It was a lot of fun.

Just a friendly reminder that this Friday is a Professional Development (PD) Day. There will be NO school on this day. 


Also, Monday, October 10 is Thanksgiving Day. There will also be NO school on this day. 


My email address is jhusain@stjudesacademy.com

Have a great night!

Ms. H.

Dear Parents and Guardians,

Tomorrow, we will be planting our own apple trees and be making apple sauce with the apples we picked from our trip to Chudleigh's!

We will also be reading a book called "Johnny Appleseed," which originates back to American history.


Ms. H.

It's Friday!

Hello everyone,

I hope everyone is having a great start to the weekend. Today was a very, very fun day at Chudleigh's. Everyone had a lot of fun and so did I.  We got to go on a hay ride to the apple orchards and then all picked many apples.  After our hard work picking those apples, we each got to enjoy our own as we walked back to the store.  We saw many animals, some of us were lucky to pet them, which included a horse, donkeys, chickens, deer, pigs, and a very colourful looking peacock. We enjoyed our lunches outside, hungry as can be after a busy morning of picking apples.

After lunch, we played at the playground there, went through the hay maze, and had some fun looking and touching the vintage farm machinery that was there for show. The students loved those old, traditional tractors and it was hard to get them to walk back to the bus because they were having so much fun!

Overall, we had a very good day. CONGRATULATIONS to Ramsey for winning a Terry Fox T-shirt because he fundraised the most money for the Terry Fox Run!  Ramsey was not here for the ceremony, but I will be sure to give his hard-earned t-shirt to him on Monday!

Have a great weekend, everyone. See you all on Monday!

Ms. H.

Hello!

We did a lot of things today as we will not be having any class tomorrow because we are going to....



CHUDLEIGH'S!!!!


We sang a song called "Me," which is all about our body and learning the different functions of each body part (i.e. the eyes are for seeing, the ears are for hearing).  We also sang and practiced a song about apples, which we will hopefully sing tomorrow on the bus!

We did some activities about apples and read a poem together. I read two books by my FAVOURITE author, Robert Munsch.  He also read the books (online audio while I flipped the pages of the book) and the students LOVED it. I grew up reading Robert Munsch books so I thought that the students might enjoy it as much as I have. And they did. We read "Alligator Baby", "No Clean Clothes," and "Smelly Socks." If you have a chance to go to the library, I would suggest renting these books.  All the Robert Munsch books are hilarious and extremely entertaining for both you and your child. I'm sure many of you have heard or read one of his books.

We also did a craft, which was about recognizing fall leaves and their various colours. This was an easy craft and the kids had a lot of fun doing it. Here is a picture of one of the crafts they made.  I will be hanging them up on the classroom wall tomorrow afternoon.

These are little trees. The colours represent the various colours of the leaves outside during the fall season.  The poem on the tree trunk says, "Red and yellow, green and brown. Leaves are falling, to the ground."


A friendly note: we WILL be going on the field trip tomorrow, rain or shine. So please still arrive on time with a throwaway lunch. :)


Have a great night!

Hello!

Good evening everyone, 


Today was a little hectic but we did a lot of fun things today. We started off the day with a nice walk to the park in order to get some fresh air and to talk about fall weather. It was a lot of fun and very nice outside. When we got inside, we did some work on our All About Me booklets. A lot of today was dedicated to our unit of inquiry, who we are. Learning about our bodies, ourselves, and our likes and dislikes. We practiced putting different body parts on drawn poster of a boy named "Spencer." Everyone did very well on this assignment. 


They were a little chatty during drama with Mrs. Deras, but I had a talk with them after and they should be better for her next drama class. 

*The field trip to Chudleigh’s is this Friday. Buses will be leaving at 9 AM SHARP. Please be at the school by 8:45 am. A reminder to bring bagged lunches and throwaway drinks. This trip’s parent volunteers are Jordan’s grandfather, Vishva’s mom, Demiana’s mom, and Jaiden’s mom. 

*The Family Trees will be made next Monday. If you haven’t brought in the information form/pictures/bristol board, please do so by next Monday.

Have a great night!!!

It's Tuesday!

Hello parents and guardians, 

Today was a good day to work on our summative assessment for our first unit of inquiry, who we are.  We are in the process of completing our "All About Me" booklets. We started today by drawing and colouring ourselves on the front cover of our booklet.  We also continued making patterns and are in the process of making a loooooong line of links made out of construction paper. We also did some exercises in the gym after our circle time in the morning, just to get them energized!

We are learning a song about apples... I'm sure some of you have already heard it. Just a reminder that:

*Tomorrow is Casual Day. If you have paid the $20 fee, please dress your child in casual clothing. If you have not paid the fee, please dress your child in his or her school uniform

*Thursday will be Show and Share Day. The letter for this week is “E”. The Show and Share volunteers are Vishva and Alisha

*I sent home new books and new reading log sheets. Please find the sheets in your child’s Snuggle Up and Read folder

*The field trip to Chudleigh’s is this Friday. Buses will be leaving at 9 AM SHARP. Please be at the school by 8:45 am. A reminder to bring bagged lunches and throwaway drinks. This trip’s parent volunteers are Jordan’s grandfather, Vishva’s mom, Demiana’s mom, and Jaiden’s mom. 

*The Family Trees will be made next Monday. If you haven’t brought in the information form/pictures/bristol board, please do so by next Monday.

Have a great night!!!

Hello!

For parents/guardians who have not handed in their child's Family Tree information form, please send it with your child tomorrow. We will be starting the construction of our Family Tree projects on Tuesday. Thank you and have a great night!!

Happy Friday!

Today was a fun day!

The Terry Fox Run was a success today. Everyone was excited, energetic, and did very well overall, walking for the entire 30 minute duration. Good job, everyone!

We watched a mini clip about Terry Fox, which explained his legacy and why he is a strong symbol of Canadian patriotism. Everyone was very interested and their eyes were glued to the clip!

For art, we made little "pea" people, based on the book we read, "LMNO Peas." They are drying right now,  but everyone will be able to take them home on Monday.

Just a reminder that the Weekend Journal is due on Monday. 


Have a GREAAAAAAT weekend!!!!!

Happy Thursday!

Today was a good day for everyone. We started off the day with a scissor cutting exercise. Everyone did fairly well and I am glad to say that there was less "confetti" on the floor this time!

For our math data management unit, we are learning about patterns. So, today we did many pattern exercises. We went to the gym and did clapping/movement pattern exercises, which were a lot of fun. We also made patterns with wooden shapes and coloured plastic cubes. Everyone is getting the hang of understanding what a pattern is and what is not a pattern.

We also went over a couple of letters. Today, we wrote the letter "I" on the whiteboard. Each student had to write the letter without tracing it, something that they have gotten used to. Most students were able to successfully write the letter and did not need to trace it. I was very proud of them.

We also watched a movie about the alphabet called "Alphabet Soup." This movie is an educational, animated movie that encourages and teaches students the letters of the alphabet, how to recognize each letter, the sounds they make, and various words that begin with that letter.

Because everyone did very well today, the last half hour was free time, which consisted of playing with playdoh. They got very creative and enjoyed this activity very much. It was nice to occasionally allow them to express themselves through a different medium such as playdoh.

A reminder: tomorrow is the Terry Fox Run, between 2:30 - 3:30. We will be leaving the school for our walk immediately after second lunch (2:10). If you have any questions, please feel free to email me.

Have a great night!!

Ms. H.

Hello, everybody!

On this rainy day, we accomplished a lot in class. It was a very productive day for our junior kindergarten students and a big step up from yesterday. I am very glad that we had a good day today!

Today, I started off the class by reading a book in French called, "Panda, Ce-que Tu Vois?" (Panda, what do you see?). It is similar to the classic children's book, "Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?" by Eric Carle and Bill Martin. I have noticed a great enthusiasm for reading when I read in French. Not only do I love, and have studied French for years of my undergrad, but the students love repeating the various French words in each book. I must say that they are able to pronounce most words in French very well. I will continue to read in French every other day because of the success I have already witnessed by doing so!

In order to get a sense of their understanding of the alphabet (written), I gave them a "mini" test today. I explained what the meaning of a "test" was and they quietly, and confidently, completed the worksheet, which required them to trace the letter "I" several times and to circle any letter "I" on the worksheet. You will receive these tests to sign tomorrow. They did a great job. We also learned about patterns today. This whole week's math will be focused on patterns (what they are, how to identify what is a pattern and what is not, and how to complete a pattern). I have sent home a worksheet we did on patterns today. They did it independently and, as you can see, successfully!

I have sent a "Family Tree" information sheet for you to fill out for your child. Please return it by this Friday. Thank you!

A reminder: Friday is our Terry Fox Run from 2:30-3:30. Please dress your child in his or her gym uniform for the day. 

See you all tomorrow!!!

Ms. H. 

Good Evening, Parents!

I hope everyone is enjoying their evening, either at home or somewhere fun!

To be truthful, today was a rough day for all of us. Many students were unable to pay attention, listen, and do the assignments that I planned. For the assignments that we did do, we got through them really slowly. Our students need to work harder to focus during class time so that we may have a more successful, productive day together.

Some students were being a little too rough with each other, which resulted in some time outs. I read a book at the end of the day that talks about manners and about behaviour. I am hoping tomorrow will be a much better day!

I have returned the Care Journals and Weekend Journals. I loved all of the pictures that were included in some journal entries - awesome work! They were very detailed and a pleasure to read. I was very, very pleased with these first entries. I have also sent some work home in each book bag. Please return it signed for tomorrow's class.

The Terry Fox Run is on Friday, September 23, 2011 from 2:30 to 3:30. If you would not like your child to take part in this, please arrange for them to be picked up before this time as everyone in the school will be taking part in this event. If you have any questions, please feel free to speak to me directly tomorrow morning/afternoon or email me at jhusain@stjudesacademy.com

Tomorrow I will be sending home a sheet for parents to fill out. It is a family tree sheet for each child. This will be the first step for each child's first summative assessment for the who we are unit. Each child will be making a large-sized family tree and will be presenting it to their other classmates later next week. I will send a more detailed information sheet tomorrow with the family tree sheet.

Any questions, feel free to email me!

Have a great night,

Ms. H.

One more thing!

I will also be reading a FANTASTIC alphabet book tomorrow. It is called, "LMNO Peas" by Keith Baker. It is another wonderful book that is a must have for all children. Great pictures and an excellent read. Hopefully the students will enjoy this book as much as I have!

Hello!

Good evening everyone,

Today was a rainy Monday, so we stayed inside for the entire day. I think the weather had everyone feeling a little down this morning so we started off with reading a book called, "Whoever You Are," by one of my favourite children's authors, Mem Fox. It is about recognizing our physical differences from each other and those around the world while also identifying our similarities within. It is a very good book and I suggest buying it for your own copy. Books by Mem Fox are typically value-centered, have wonderful pictures, and are interesting for young readers!

We also watched a "Franklin" episode that discusses our differences from one another. The students love Franklin and it is a great show to captivate the attention of young children and to teach them various lessons in life. We had Show and Share today. Our volunteers were Jordan, Jaiden, and Demiana. It was a very successful first Show and Share. To conclude our day, we used q-tips to paint dots on a picture of a foot. This deals with our first unit of inquiry, "Who we are" (see first few posts for this year). Surprisingly, painting was not too messy!

Just a reminder to parents:

*****I have been taking notice of the uniforms and there are still some students who are not dressing in the proper gym uniform, day uniform, or both. Please ensure that your child comes every day to class in the correct uniform. If you are still waiting for uniforms to arrive, please notify me so that I am aware. But please, please pay attention to the uniforms!

*Show and Share this week is based on the letter 'E' and not the letter 'A' as mentioned today in your child's agenda. This was my mistake and I apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused. The Show and Share volunteers for this week will still remain the same. 

Have a great night and see you tomorrow!!

Ms. H. 

It's Friday (and Ms. M.'s Birthday)!

Good afternoon everyone,

Today was a very hectic day at class for all of the JKAs. Because of spirit day, many students were fairly energetic. So, instead of continuing with our lesson plan for the day, we decided to watch a couple episodes of "Curious George," did some colouring and cutting exercises, and played with some games and toys. I also read a sweet book called, I Lost My Kisses. It centres around a young girl who was searching for her "lost" kisses before she wished her father hello. The students seemed to enjoy this book very much!

During morning ceremonies, each house counted another house's coloured clothing. The winner of the Spirit Day competition was.......








Zeta!!!!! (The green coloured house!)


Thanks to everyone who dressed up. It was a lot of fun!

A friendly reminder:

*The Terry Fox Run is on Friday, September 23rd, 2011.  I sent home fundraising forms in each student's book bag today.
*The last day to hand in Chudleigh's field trip forms is on Monday, September 19th, 2011.
*Weekend Journals are due on Monday, September 19th, 2011




HAVE A FANTASTIC WEEKEND!!!!!!

Buenas noches, todos! (Good evening, everyone!)

It was so great to be back and active at school. I was very pleased with everyone because they were all quiet during morning ceremonies and lined up very quickly. We read a very, VERY big book today called "If You Give a Moose a Muffin." By the name, I'm sure everyone can see that the story deals with a moose and a muffin. So if your child suddenly asks you for a muffin with blackberry jam, you will know why!

We also did some counting sheets and counted together. Everyone did very well with this activity. We also did some colouring sheets to go over the two letters we learnt this week - the letter 'U' and the letter 'I.' Everyone had lots of fun at music class. Then again, music class is always fun!  

In order to encourage my students to learn more French, I have decided to read a children's book in French every other day. Today, I read a counting book in French called "Je Compte de 1 à 10" (I count from 1 to 10). After I read every number and object in French, everyone would repeat it. The students loved this and they did very, very well with their pronunciation. I was very pleased.

Before I wish you farewell, I would just like to remind you all that tomorrow is Spirit Day. So please do not forget to dress your child up in his or her house colour. Refer to the House List posted below.

Have a super night!!

Ms. H.

Bonjour!

Joyeux Mercredi (Happy Wednesday!),

Although I was not at school today, I heard that all of the students got along very well with Mrs. Gupta!

On Tuesday, they began learning to write and become familiar with the letter 'U.' Today, they will be learning to write the letter 'I,' in lower and upper case. I am proud to say that they did very well learning the letter 'U.' I have marked their worksheets and was very happy with all of my students. Great work to all of you!

I have a special day planned tomorrow for all of my students. We will be reading a very large book (even bigger than myself, I'm sure!) called "If You Give a Moose a Muffin." I will also be using finger puppets and other props to help me with this storey. This book is a lot of fun and, through reading such stories, I hope to develop a love for reading among all of our young students. 

I hope all of you have started reading the books I sent home with your child on Tuesday. If you are done, please keep it in the book bag until I replace it with a new book on Monday. You may also choose to read other books with your child. Please continue to record all reading minutes in your child's Read Log. 

A friendly reminder: 

*Please hand in any Chudleigh's field trip forms by Monday.

*Spirit Day is on Friday. So please dress your child in his or her house colour.

*Sprinkle cookies are sold each day (2nd lunch) for $1 each

Have a great night,

Ms. H.  :)