Wacky Wednesday!

Today, we started off with a warm-up activity, which involved differentiating upper-case 'M' and lower-case 'm'. This was done by colouring lower-case 'm's in yellow and upper-case 'M's in blue. If this was done correctly, it would show a picture of an upper-case 'M'. We also did a worksheet about the sound of the letter "Ll". We concluded that there are many words that start with 'Ll' such as leaf, lion, lamp and lamb. 

'Ladybug' also starts with the letter 'Ll' and this was the animal that we learned about today. We also learned and sang along to a ladybug song called "Ladybug, Ladybug." Everyone got creative by painting and making their own ladybugs, which are on display in the classroom. 

We also had gym and French class today. We had story time and read a Winnie the Pooh book that was based on helping others including our friends, family and neighbours. Following second recess, we did centers which included daring, lego and puppets.

A few reminders:

-Tomorrow is the last day for re-registration for next year

-Tomorrow is the last day for pizza order forms/money for March

-Tomorrow is Casual Day. You know the drill!

Have a fantabulous night and safe driving, everyone!!!!

Miss H. 

Hello everyone,

Today began with circle time, where we discussed the things we did yesterday after school. Following this, we did some exercises that worked on comparing things that are 'more' and those that are 'less'. I read "Ten Little Tadpoles," a book that Jaiden donated to the school for the book drive. We also did some letter worksheets as well for the rest of the morning.

Following first lunch, we had gym with Mr. Browning and then we had story time with Mr. R. We had French and music with Mme. Stella and Mr. Moreno. For the most part, the boys and girls behaved well in these classes.

After second recess, we worked on sorting and math exercises. Today, we sorted sea shells, which came in different shapes, sizes, and colours. We sorted them according to these individual characteristics. We also sorted mini plastic cars/trucks/trains/planes according to a type of transportation/colour/size.

Just a few reminders:

-Tomorrow is a gym day
-Casual Day is on Thursday
-The last day for re-registration is on Thursday
-All monies/forms for the Reptile Show are due on Thursday
-Next Wednesday is Spirit Day for St. Patrick's Day. Please dress your child in as much white and/or green for this day to maximize the points they get for their houses!


Have a super, fantastic night!


Miss H.

Marvelous Monday!

I hope everyone had an enjoyable weekend. During our morning circle time, I heard from many students that they did some pretty cool things over the past weekend. Following our communal sharing time, we worked on perfecting our understandings of patterns. We used pattern blocks to create patterns of different shapes and sizes. For math, we also completed a matching worksheet, where each student was required to match each sock to its correct partner.

I went over the basic characteristics of a reptile in order to prepare for our upcoming reptile show. We also watched a Magic School Bus episode that talked about reptiles and their importance to the planet. Following this, we had story time and read a Franklin book.

We had French and silent reading. Following second lunch, all the students settled down for story time with Mr. R. Then, we worked on letters and completed an activity based on the letter Ll. We also coloured our own "Itsy Bitsy Letter Mm" books to take home and read over. We finished the day with a sorting activity and story time.

A reminder that summative projects (research an animal) are due on March 6, 2012. Presentations, led by each student, will commence from March 6 and end on March 9. 


-Casual Day is this Thursday


-Our book drive is still up and going. Thanks for all of the donations and please continue to bring in any books you have lying around the house!!!

-Spirit Day is on March 7. Please dress your child in green and/or white to celebrate St. Patrick's Day!



Have a super night!!

Miss H.

Fantastical Friday!

Good afternoon,

Today we started off the day with convocation when all the winners of yesterday's speech contest were announced. Great job to everyone who participated. It was definitely a tough decision for the judges to choose a winner.

We also worked on some math readiness skills worksheets, which dealt with size and order (circle the object in the middle). We did a letter Kk collage and outlined the letter with coloured yarn. Later in the day, we had reading buddies with Ms. Chang's class. Everyone enjoys their special time with a student in her class!

Following this, we had French and then story time. We read "A Quiet Night In" by Jill Murphy.

After second lunch, we had centres, which included:

1) Writing centre
2) Play Doh letters
3) Building Blocks

A reminder that we are still continuing our book drive. So if you have any books at home you'd like to donate, that would be wonderful!!!


Have a great weekend, everybody!!!


Ms. H.

Today is Thursday!

Good afternoon,

This morning began well with all of the wonderful speeches by students in senior kindergarten to grade eight. As a school, we all gathered together to cheer on the students participating in this year's speech contest. Everyone did a great job and the winners will be announced during tomorrow's convocation ceremony.

Following the speeches, we got into language arts. We practiced writing the letter Mm and even learned a letter Mm song. We practiced sounding out the letter Mm and singing this song, along with the letter Kk song.

We also had centres:

1. Painting (landscape of their choice)
2. Math (counting activity and shapes magnets)
3. Language Arts (driving toy cars along big foam letters)

We also had story time and silent reading.

A note to all parents/guardians:

***Any snow day updates will be posted on the school website before 7 am. 


Have a great night!!!


Miss H.

Good Afternoon, Everyone!

It was nice seeing all the boys and girls after the long weekend. I heard that they all had a great day with Mr. R. yesterday, which makes me very happy!

Today, we started off the day with circle time. I caught up with all the boys and girls about what they did over the long weekend. Many of us were very busy this weekend and did a lot of fun things!

After, we began with our third unit of inquiry and discussed a certain animal. Let me give you all a hint: it has black and white stripes......

Do you know what animal it is?

If you guessed a zebra, you are right!

We learned that zebra's are:
1) Are mammals
2) Have black and white stripes, which are good for scaring away bugs and confusing predators like lions
3) Love to eat grass
4) Live in Africa (Where Miss H. is from and was born!!!)

We made our own zebra craft and also did tracing of the word "zebra". We watched a clip of zebras and why their stripes are important. We also worked on patterns and did some pattern activities with blocks and worksheets as well. In order to encourage our book drive, we decorated our book drive box, which will be judged tomorrow in our box-decorating contest. To prepare ourselves for spring, we put lots of pretty foam butterflies and glitter on our box. It is very,  very pretty, I must say. We also read a book about feelings and discussed different feelings that we have and what to do about them. We also acted out different feelings as well.

We had French and gym today, which both went well with the teachers.

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

Regards,

Miss H. 

Tremendous Thursday!

Hello everyone,

Today, we started off the day with some shapes worksheets that also dealt with colours as well. Then, we worked on letters Jj and Kk. We listened and practiced our letter sounds song as well. For a treat, we watched thirty minutes of an animal movie called "The Dolphin."

After lunch, we had gym class and then we had reading buddies for the first time. Ms. Chang's grade 4/5 class came in for twenty minutes and partnered up with a JKA student. Everyone enjoyed this very, very much. We will definitely be doing this again in the near future. After, we had music class with Mr. Moreno.

Following second lunch, we did a fine motor exercise that involved weaving (heart template and yarn). We did this and then had convocation with all of the other classes/grades.

A reminder:

-There will be no school tomorrow or Monday

Have a great long weekend!!!!!


Miss H.

Wonderful Wednesday!

Hello everyone,

Today we started off the day with a worksheet dealing with shapes. Each student was required to colour triangles in red and squares in blue. This worksheet, along with another helps with shape and colour recognition. After, we worked on letter tracing/formation (J and K). We started off with some tracing worksheets and then tried to write the letter 'Kk' on our own. Please continue to practice writing the letter 'Kk' this week with your child.

We also did a scissor-cutting exercise from our Abeka workbooks. We learned and watched a song, sung by Jack Hartman. This song is about the sounds that each letter makes. We listened to it first and then sang along to the song the second time. We also read a story together called "Alphabet Under Construction."

We had story time and Mr. R. read a funny book by Robert Munsch called "Alligator Baby." Everyone enjoyed this book very much. After lunch, we had our own mini gym class and played lily pad tag with coloured foam mats. We also learned how to draw an owl and cut out little own letters for a game we will be playing tomorrow in class.

A couple reminders:

-Tomorrow is gym day. Please dress your child in his/her gym uniform
-NO school on Friday and Monday




Enjoy your night and I will see you all tomorrow!


Miss H.

Today, we started off the day with circle time and discussed everything we did over the weekend, including the gala. We talked about how much fun it was as well as other things we did. Some of us went to birthday parties at Chuck E. Cheese’s and some of us just relaxed and played outside. 

After, we had story time and read books about Valentine’s Day (which is tomorrow!!). We read “Clifford’s Valentine’s Day” and “Clifford, We Love You.” We also talked about the meaning of Valentine’s Day and how is it a special day to tell all of our family and friends how much we love them!

We also did some letter tracing worksheets before lunch time. We did a Sesame Street math/numbers worksheet on the number 6 as well. After lunch, we learned about reptiles. We learned that:

-Reptiles are cold-blooded (we are warm-blooded)

-They have scales 

-Most of them lay eggs

-Reptiles include alligators, turtles, lizards, snakes and crocodiles

We also drew our favourite reptile on a mini reptile facts sheet. We made and cut our own bookmarks (based on snakes) to use in the future. Towards the end of the day, we made little Valentine’s Day love bugs in preparation for tomorrow!!

A few reminders:

-Tomorrow is Spirit Dress Up Day. Colours are red, white and pink

-Friday is a PD Day. NO school on that day 

-Monday is Family Day. NO school on Monday

Have a great night!!!

Miss H. 

Today is the big day!!

SEE EVERYONE TONIGHT!!!!!!!!

Happy 100th Day!!!

Good evening everyone,

I just would like to wish everyone a HAPPY 100th DAY of school!!!!!!!!!

Today, we started off the day with our convocation ceremonies. During this, we had a house competition. Since Valentine's Day is soon approaching, each house had to guess how many cinnamon hearts were in a container. Each house got three chances to guess. The winning house was kappa. Good job to everyone who competed!!!!

After our ceremonies, we practiced our song for the gala. We have practiced a lot and sound very, very good so we're all so excited for the big day tomorrow!!!!

We did some scissor cutting exercises and made/decorated a paper kite. In order to celebrate the hundredth day of school, we decorated "100th Day" headbands and also coloured in our very own "100 Animals" books to take home. We also had story time and read "100th Day Worries". We had French and silent reading.

Just a not for tomorrow:


-Please arrive for 6 pm tomorrow
-Please dress your child in red/white clothing. Beige pants can also be worn if red or white is not an option.


Have a great night!!!!

Miss H.

Terrrrrrrriffic Thursday!

Good afternoon everyone,

Today, we started off the day with letter worksheets. These worksheets had different letters that we have already learned about and traced in the past. They included vowels and consonants such as K and J. After, we got into our unit of inquiry surrounding animals and talked a little more about penguins. We each drew our own representation of a penguin and then I came around the table and wrote each student's favourite facts they learned about penguins.

After, we had a penguin race with "eggs" (balloons) between our legs. This was to show how male Emperor penguins walk while holding their baby egg between their feet. This was a lot of fun and everyone enjoyed pretending to be a penguin!

We also talked about another arctic animal... it's white, big, cute and furry.... if you guessed a polar bear, then you're right!

This is what we learned:
1. Polar bears are the largest bears in the world.
2. They love to eat seals.
3. Polar bears love to swim (and they are very good at it!).
4. The only things that can hurt polar bears are us, so we must make sure to take care and respect these animals.

We also did a worksheet about Polar Bears. We did some scissor cutting exercises with shapes and also some fine motor skills activities. We also had story time and read books about Valentine's Day. We had music, but no French because we had another dress rehearsal after first lunch.

A reminder:
-The gala starts at 6 pm on Saturday, February 11, 2012. PLEASE dress your child in red/white clothing ONLY for their performance. I know some parents have had some trouble finding red/white pants, so you CAN dress your child in beige pants!
-Spirit Day is on Tuesday, February 14, 2012. Colours are red, white and pink. 
-Next Friday is a PD Day. NO school on that day or the following Monday. 




Thanks and have a great night!!!


Miss H.

Wonderful Wednesday!

Today, we started off the day by talking about a certain animal that lives in cold climates. I will give you all a few hints:

1. It only lives in Antarctica.
2. It LOVES eating fish.
3. It is especially cute when it waddles.

If you guessed a penguin, then you were right! We talked about these facts about a penguin and, most specifically, talked about emperor penguins. We learned that these penguins only live in Antarctica and that the father holds the baby egg while the mommy goes to get food. We learned that the father holds and keeps the baby egg warm in between his feet so he has to be extra careful when he walks!

We did a penguin craft, using heart shapes to create our own "pet" penguins. We also did a worksheet Pp" for Penguin. 


We had gym in the morning. After lunch, we had dress rehearsals for the concert, where the whole school got to see each other's performances. Everyone did so well at this rehearsal!

We ended the day with story time and silent reading.

A few reminders:

-The Gala is this Saturday, February 11. Please dress your child in red and or white clothing

-Spirt Dress-Up Day is on Tuesday, February 14, 2012. Spirit colours are red, white, and pink.




Have a great night!!! 

Terrific Tuesday!

As all of you know, the gala is fast approaching and we have been practicing and practicing our song, L-O-V-E by Nat Cole. This morning, we had another dress rehearsal on stage. We will be having dress rehearsals for the rest of the week. It went fairly well, but we are containing to practice singing louder and louder for all to hear this Saturday!

We also talked about our favourite animals: one that lives on land and one that lives in the water. We each characterized the animals we chose as either land or water animals. Many of us, including myself loved lions (land) and sharks (water). We displayed our preferences through beautiful drawings as well as creating them with coloured pattern blocks.

We also practiced the letter Kk by writing and sounding it out. We tried to think of animals that started with the letter K such as kangaroo, koala and kitty. After learning to trace the letter, we attempted to write it on our own. Some of us could do it right away and some took a little more time to figure it out. But, as many of us say, "practice makes perfect!" I encourage parents to sit and trace/write letters with their children whenever they can.

We also had french, gym and music today. We ended off the day with centres: drawing, building, practicing letter formation on the white board and "free choice," which was playing with "Rescue Hero" figures.

A reminder that:

-Gym is tomorrow as well. Please have your child come dressed in his/her gym uniform
-Ticket money for the gala is due by tomorrow the latest.
-Scholastic book orders have been sent out. They are due by Friday, February 10, 2012.


Happy Tuesday, everyone!


Miss H.

Happy Monday!

Good evening everyone,

Today, being such a mild day outside, was a great day overall. We have now begun our daily dress rehearsals for the upcoming gala this Saturday. From morning until lunch, we worked on letter-tracing activities, which went over a few letters - F, J, I and O. We also did some kindergarten readiness skills worksheets, which included scissor cutting exercises. Before lunch, we practiced writing and counting numbers. Today's focus was the number 4 because it is a little trickier to write!

After lunch, we had drama rehearsals. Everyone did SOOOO great. I'm so proud of all of the courageous JKAs because they were not shy to go up and belt it out for everyone!

After practicing, we had French. To sum up the day, we practiced our song and also had silent reading and story time.


A reminder:

BOTH tomorrow and Wednesday are gym days. Please dress your child in his/her gym uniform.

Spirit Day is on February 14. Spirit colours are red, white and pink.


Have a great night!!!!


Miss H.

Dear parents,



There is no gym today. Please dress your child in his/her gym uniform both tomorrow (Tuesday) and Wednesday. 


My most sincere apologies for the late notice.


Regards,


Miss H.

Good afternoon!

Hello everyone,

Today, we started off with our third unit of inquiry, Sharing the planet. With regards to this unit, we continued to learn about animals, most specifically those that live in the ocean. Today, we focused on sharks and whales. We talked about the differences, especially physical ones, between different types of sharks and whales. We learned about killer whales,  blue whales, whale sharks, hammerhead sharks and great white sharks. As inquirers we worked together to discuss the differences between these two animals. Based on their names and physical characteristics, we also realized that some animals can be misleading. For example, a whale shark, we realized, is actually a shark, but it is SO big that it can be often mistaken for a whale. We also agreed that, although they look big and scary, they're actually pretty friendly and only feed on tiny species such as plankton. Moral of a story for the day: never judge a book by its cover; it might have you fooled!

We also did a craft and made tropical fish using coloured pieces of tissue paper. They are on display in the classroom. We did some exercises on shapes and numbers using worksheets. We also finished up on perfecting our tracing skills of the letter Jj.

Well, that ends another wonderful week at St. Jude's Academy. I wish all of you the happiest of weekends.

GO PATRIOTS!


Miss H.

Happy Groundhog Day, everyone!

How is everyone doing? I hope you are all have a wonderful day.

Yesterday, we continued on learning about ocean animals, which included a sea star, a sea horse and a jellyfish. We learned that stars fish are more commonly being referred to as sea stars because they are less like fish and more like sea urchins or sand dollars. We also learned that they have no blood (their blood is filtered ocean water!). Sea horses look very much like horses (except much smaller!) and do not have a stomach so they need to keep eating and eating in order to be healthy. We also discussed facts about a jellyfish, learning that they do not have heart, blood or brain... interesting!! They also make a good meal, which is a delicacy in certain restaurants. In fact, Miss H. tried jellyfish at a dim sum restaurant this past weekend! Tasty!

Today's focus was on two other sea creatures... a dolphin and an octopus!
We learned that dolphins are extremely smart animals who depend on echolocation. They are also very good jumpers (is there a dolphin olympics we don't know about?). Dolphins are so cool that they even have their OWN language and no dolphin sounds the same. They do this through squeaking and whistling. Similar to us, don't you think?

We learned that an octopus has eight arms and NO bones. That's why they can fit into teeny, tiny holes and places, which is a good escape tool. We watched a clip on an octopus, showing its flexibility. We also learned that they need three hearts in order to get enough oxygen. That's why they live in such cold, oxygen-filled waters!!!!


We made octopuses using purple balloons and blue tissue paper. I'm sure you have all seen them after school. We also made some ocean memory cards. I encourage parents to play this game with their children!!

We worked on the letter Jj and also did some shapes worksheets. At the end of the day, we had story time and read about pandas. The book was called Little Panda. 


We had french and music.

I hope everyone has a great day!!!


Miss H.