A final goodbye...
As I remove all of our decorations and works of art and pack up my things to move forward, I wanted to say a last goodbye...or rather

 Au revoir.
I am exhausted, but fulfilled after my first year back to teaching in many years. Your children have definitely kept me young (despite the gray hairs poking through)! I hope their first year of school has made them life-long learners and has given them the desire to do better, to do great things and to have fun while doing all of that. 
As you now know, I am jumping a few grades to teach grade 6. My first plan was to stay in grade 1 for another year or two, but I was asked to teach grade 6 because of my background in Jr. high. I am looking forward to new adventures, new challenges and maybe a few minutes to sit during the day ( a luxury not afforded to grade 1 teachers...ask your kids about Mme Colette's magic magnet trick)!
I hope we see each other again in a few years. Remind your children to read in French over the holidays and if it's a rainy day, check out French cartoons on You Tube. This will help them not lose what they have worked so hard for this past year.
With love and Blessings,
Mme Colette

An act of charity...
Anna decided a long time ago that she wanted to grow her hair long enough to be able to cut it and donate it to "Kids for Wigs". When her dad contacted me and asked if she could do it in our class, I was thrilled. It fit perfectly with our theme in Religion of acting more like Jesus and doing works of charity. No big fanfare, no big deal...just a little girl cutting her hair so that other kids with diseases could have have a wig. Here are some pictures of the event. 

Summer celebration

I am at home with the flu today but wanted to take 2 minutes to update some pictures. Some are from the habitat building.
Some are from the tool box building with Mr. Garth and some are from the summer picnic. Enjoy!

 

 

I forgot to mention in the last BLOG that I would like to finish the Home Reading Program this Wednesday. Please ALL small books that your child has been reading to the school Wednesday. Thank you for your cooperation in this.

Happy Monday...
This week:
Tomorrow we will be walking to a park to have a picnic lunch in celebration of our last season...summer. Please send the following with your child:

• a Beach Towel to sit on
• sunscreen (or apply generously in the morning)
• water bottle
• a picnic lunch

This afternoon at the end of the day, we will be having a quick presentation on Kids for Cancer. Anna will then be cutting off her ponytail to donate to the cause. It works perfectly with our unit on Charity in Religion.

We finish up our posters/research on our animal. Students will present their habitats to the class today and their posters the rest of the week. I am quite impressed with their work to date.

As a quick reminder: We continue to learn until June 28th. If by any chance you decide to leave for holidays early, you must provide the office with a LARGE self-addressed stamped (2 stamps) envelope for the report card. NO REPORT CARDS WILL GO HOME UNTIL 3:10 ON THE 29TH. Thank you for your cooperation in this matter.

This week we will be building animal habitats and I would like to start tomorrow. Please bring in materials to construct your habitat. I have the kleenex boxes already. Students may bring in branches, leaves, sticks, rocks or toilet paper rolls to help them build.


The next 2 weeks in learning:
Français:  les animaux, les sons
ES: retest for those who did not do so well on Canada
Math: doubles...we learned a rap song today. Have your child try it at home:
http://ekladata.com/charivari.eklablog.com/perso/2012/rap%20des%20doubles%20version%20couleur.pdf

Sciences: les animaux, habitats, construction, posters, research
Religion: how to be more like Jesus
Health: we are having some issues with students being unkind to one another, despite having learned how to be a good friend. It would be most helpful for you to chat with your child about being respectful. We may not always like everyone, but we need not treat them unkindly. Thank you for your support in this matter.
ELA: animal poems, using rhyming words

I realize that this week will be difficult for learning, with the warmer weather making it feel like summer. This is evident in some of the evaluations that we have had lately. Some students are acting like school is over and they don't have to put forth any effort. PLEASE remind your children that learning is still a go for the next 3 weeks. That includes reading every night and practicing sounds. I will be emailing individual parents whose children are not yet at grade 1 reading level and asking that more practice be done at home.

We had library today but NOTE that ALL BOOKS are to be returned this FRIDAY JUNE 10th...no exceptions. Thank you for your help in this matter.

This week in learning:

Français: Difficult sounds "gn" "ar" "er" "or" "ir" "ur" plus writing sentences about animals

ES: continuing past and present

Math: continuing word problems and additions of doubles

Science: animals...adaptations, sounds, homes

Health: continuing with friendships

Religion: Preparing for the sacramental celebration on Friday

Please dress accordingly and send a bottle of water...it's going to be a LONG week!