Welcome to the last week of January!  Thanks to everyone who helped his/her child wear red, white or the maple leaf to school on Thursday.  The Kindergarten classes showed wonderful school spirit and we were recognized on the announcements for our participation in Flag Day.  
Both classes participated in measuring activities with their Reading Buddies this week.  The Grade 4's traced the Kindergarten students' feet and then helped them measure with large paperclips, cube-a-links and pennies.  It was a wonderful experience for everyone and it was great to hear the math language being used.  The results are on our bulletin board in the hall.   Take a look the next time you are in the school.  The children are also beginning simple addition using dots on our daily message.
The February leader calendar will be sent home on Monday.  If your child will be away on his/her leader day due to vacation, please find a classmate to switch with.  February is always a busy month with 100th Day and Valentine's Day.  I will be sending home information regarding Valentine's Day and a class list of names on Friday.  Please check the note and the blog for dates for sending 100 day projects and valentines to school.
The children are doing a wonderful job of printing their last names on the leader chart.  We are also beginning to display last names on their name cards as part of the entry process.
As the children progress in Kindergarten, I am encouraging independence in all areas.  When writing, I encourage the children to write the sounds they hear in the words.  This gives them ownership of their writing.  There are high frequency words, I expect the students, especially the Seniors to be working towards spelling properly (such as the, me, like and said).   I also encourage the children to use the classroom resources such as namecards, poems, books and the word wall to find words they need to write.  Spelling the words for the children take away their independence and a learning opportunity.  
You will soon be receiving information from the Grade Parents concerning Parent Teacher interviews.  I will be contacting the parents who I wish to speak with this term.  I will be hosting an Open House on Wednesday, February 20 (7:45 am-8:45 am) and on Thursday, February 21 (3:45 pm-4:45 pm). This will be an opportunity to visit the classroom, see your child's work and have an informal discussion with the teacher.
A reminder that notes for our theatre trip were sent home on Thursday. Please complete page 2 and return the form with $20.00 to school as soon as possible, as we have to inform the theatre of our exact numbers.   Thanks in advance.

I hope that everyone is enjoying this cold wintery weather.  A reminder of our Sharing Assembly on Monday, January 21.  I have asked the children to bring in a pair of mittens to wear while we share our Mitten Poem with the audience.  Thursday, January 24 is Flag Day at LKS.  The Kindergarten classes are to dress to represent Canada on Thursday.  The children are encouraged to wear red and/or white clothing or anything with a maple leaf on it.  Show your spirit and wear your Canadian colours!
We are beginning a unit of measuring in math.  We discussed shorter/longer and bigger/smaller this week.  The Juniors differentiated objects due to their size and the Seniors sequenced objects from smallest to biggest.  Both classes will be completing measuring activities with their Reading Buddies this week.  The children are also including their last names on their leader charts.  It is wonderful to watch their independence as they print and practise their last names.
I will be sending home notes this week regarding the 100th day of school, upcoming February activities  (including interviews and Kindergarten Open Houses) and our trip to the theatre in March.  Please check your child's mailbag carefully.  A reminder that mailbags will be Monday and Thursday this week due to the PA Day on Friday.
I am continuing to introduce high frequency words to the class and we will be discussing "am" this week.  
They are predicting bitterly cold temperatures this week. I will open the classroom door early, so enter the classroom directly upon your arrival.  This keeps everyone warm and also ensures that the children are undressed and ready for the announcements in the morning and ready for the start of school in the afternoon.
Thanks for your support.

Happy New Year!  I hope that everyone enjoyed their holidays.  We have been busy this week discussing the new calendar, including the new month and the new year.   The children completed their January calendar and will complete the art portion on Monday.  Their completed calendars will be sent home this week.
We are finishing our unit on graphing and the class completed a favourite season graph.  The children are continuing to learn sight words through our daily messages and the word wall.  
The children are becoming very independent dressing and undressing.  Thank you for your encouragement at home.  A reminder to please arrive at school for the bell.  This allows the children time to get undressed and be ready on the carpet for announcements and O Canada.  On rainy days and extremely cold days I will open the classroom door early.  A reminder that once the back door is closed, you should be entering through the main school doors.  For safety reasons, I will not be opening the back door other than at entry and dismissal.
Our next Sharing Assembly is Monday, January 21.  I will be notifying the families of the award winners this week.
Wishing everyone all the best in 2013.