Happy Holidays!

The children have a special gift that they have made for you!  Please remind them to check their backpacks before Christmas! Please have a safe and happy holiday filled with wonderful memories!  See you January 8th!


Sincerely,

Mrs. M. Novak 

Kids A-Z Home Reading Program

Kids A-Z (Raz Kids) is an online reading program that your child can use at home! This program will help to provide the extra reading practice that is important to your child's reading development.  They need to read, listen and self-record reading while following along.  The children are also encouraged to do the comprehension quizzes as well.

The children were given a special log-in and password information today (glued to front page of their agenda).  It would be a good idea to add the address to your computer's "Favourites" bar.  I am in the process of navigating my way through the website. I hope that you and your child enjoy exploring this fun resource!  This will be our home reading program for the year.

Just a reminder that Spelling quizzes take place on Friday mornings.  Remember that spelling test marks are not recorded for use on Report cards, but a large sight word vocabulary will help your child meet Ministry Expectations in both Reading and Writing.  The most important part of spelling is your son or daughter's ability to use these words in their journal writing and daily writing.

Thank you for your support in helping to make our spelling/word study program and reading program a success!

Together in learning,

Mrs. M. Novak

Parent/Teacher Conference Reminder

Just a quick reminder to please sign up for parent-teacher conferences online at http://bit.ly/cobblestoneconferences2017.   There are lots of openings still available after school on November 16 and in the morning on November 17.  Please note that our Book Fair will be running in the library during conference hours.  I look forward to meeting with you!


Together in learning,
Mrs. Novak 

Reading Practice

I hope your Thanksgiving weekend was full of family time and delicious treats!  Our class was excited to share all about their weekend and the things they are thankful for.

We've been super busy at school.  Grade One's have been sent home with their Word Family Books to #10.  Grade Two's have been busy practicing their Dolch Word Lists for extra practice before we begin Raz kids as the Home Reading Program.  Please continue to read regularly with your child.  Reading is the most important skill a child learns in Grade One, where the emphasis is on learning to read.  In Grade Two, the emphasis shifts to reading to learn.  Therefore, the stronger your child's reading skills are, the easier Grade Two will be.  As well, every Friday is our spelling quiz day.  Spelling words will be written in your child's agenda at the beginning of each week.  Thanks for setting some time aside at home to practice these weekly words.  Your help is greatly appreciated!

Please stay tuned for information regarding the upcoming Halloween parade.

Thanks for visiting our blog,

Mrs. M. Novak

Classroom Donations

I've had a couple parents ask if there is anything our classroom needs at this time of year.  We are really in need of more Kleenex, plastic spoons and wipes for classroom spills (preferably non-toxic baby wipes that the children can touch).

If you are able to help out, thanks in advance for your donations!  They are greatly appreciated! :)


Mrs. M. Novak

December Updates...

It is hard to believe it is December already!  As the weather continues to get colder please make sure your child is dressed warmly and has extra mitten & socks in their backpack. Please also make sure your child has an indoor pair of running shoes for gym and to wear inside the classroom.


Reading
Students are learning that effective readers think as they read.  They are learning how to use their schema to make meaningful connections to the big ideas found in  texts.  We are making 4 different connections: Text to Self, Text to Text, Text to World, and Text to Media.  We will be combining some of the strategies that effective readers use when they come to an unfamiliar word.


Writing
We are working on using capitals and punctuation marks at the end of our sentences and spelling our word wall words (sight words) accurately.  Phonetic spelling is still fine for unfamiliar words, as we become stronger writers!  We are working on snowman stories and also on letter writing to Santa.


Math
For the next couple weeks and following our holidays, we will explore how to measure linear distances using non-standard units of measure.  The learning goals for this unit are to:

• Make comparisons between objects (longer, taller)
• Order lengths of objects (shortest to longest)
• Measure objects using non-standard units (e.g. paper clips, straws, crayons, etc.)
• Practice the language of measurement using words such as longer/shorter, as tall as, more/less, far/near.
• Make and check estimates (e.g. Was your estimate close to the number of paper clips used?)

Ways to Help at Home:

• measure different objects around the home using hand spans
• compare shoe sizes or heights of family members
• talk about things that are benchmarks for centimeter (width of little finger) or metre (really big step)

Thank you for your support.  It's a busy and exciting time of year in grade one/two!


Mrs. Novak

Home Reading Program

This year in Grade One and Two, we will be working hard using reading strategies that will help your child comprehend text better.  Our class will work on a variety of reading strategies throughout the course of the school year.  We will work on each strategy multiple times.  The goal for your child is to be able to apply all of the strategies independently before, during, and after reading.  I have prepared a home reading folder for each family to help your child in his or her quest to become an effective reader. 
Home Reading Folders will be sent home on Friday.  Please take a peak and try to read at least one leveled reader with your child.  A Treasure Chest Prize will be awarded each time your child read's 10 books!  




Thanks so much for your support!




Mrs. M. Novak