Weekend Update: Sunday, December 18

We made it! One more week to go before our well earned break begins. We will do our best to ensure that we keep to our regular routines this week. Thursday morning we will watch a movie together with the K through 3 classes. Friday morning we will have a sing along with Mrs. Dodds and then some celebration time in our classroom.

Big thanks to those who have sent indoor shoes that can stay at school. The classroom is much tidier for it.

Don't forget to check the homework tab at the top of the blog to see some ideas you can us for homework activities.

Have a super week!

Weekend Update: Sunday, December 11

Welcome to Winter! Stay safe out there.

We are counting down to the holidays, but there's lots of fun in store over the next two weeks. Just a few things to remember for this week:

Winter Concert: Wednesday afternoon and evening. The kiddos have been asked to wear something green or red or otherwise festive. Santa hats are definitely encouraged! Can't wait to see all the parents at the event. I have the honour of being the stage manager, so I'll be backstage for most of it, with a few exceptions.

Indoor Shoes: Kiddos coming to school without proper indoor shoes is getting to be a serious problem. When they track in mud from outside and then wear their outdoor footwear in the classroom, it makes a mess of the floor, the carpet that the kiddos sit on, and the furniture. The dirt on the floor also becomes a slipping hazard. Please, please, please ensure that your child has some indoor shoes that they can leave in the classroom. Boots are also not appropriate for the gym, and kiddos wearing boots will not be permitted to participate in phys ed activities.

Friday is 1970s Spirit Day: Dress like they did in the 70s, or wear Falgarwood t-shirts.

Scholastic Orders: Brochures went home on Friday. It's a short turnaround time this month so we can get the order filled before the holidays. Orders are due by Wednesday this week. I'm happy to help parents with secret orders if there is any Christmas shopping you'd like to do. Scholastic is way cheaper than Chapters/Indigo.

Weekend Update: Sunday, November 27

Big thanks to all the parents for all the wonderful support during our student led conferences!

This week we will probably be the calm before the storm. December is shaping up to be super busy with lots of fun stuff going on.

When you have a few minutes to sit with your child, please check out the information I put in the Weekly Homework tab at the top of the blog. For those looking for homework activities, this is your one stop shop.

Email feedback if you have any, please. Is this useful? What should I add? 

Weekend Update: Sunday, November 20

Okay, so is this the official launch of winter weather? We have been so spoiled with such a beautiful Autumn, but it seems our "no coat" recesses might be a thing of the past.

Monday evening, please check the front pocket of your child's agenda for: 

• Progress reports and appointment slips for student led conferences later in the week. Please email me ASAP if there are any problems with the scheduling.
• Hot lunch forms. Apparently there are changes to the protocol this time around, so please read the sign-up instructions carefully.

This week is Bullying Awareness and Prevention week. We will have kindness activities going on all week, as mentioned in the Week at the Wood. Our confetti colours that we are expected to dress in on Thursday are: 

• Grade 1: Red
• Grade 2: Orange

We will be visiting the book fair on Tuesday to browse and Wednesday to buy our items. The book fair will also be open to everyone during conferences on Thursday evening and Friday morning.

Dreambox and Raz-Kids seem to be in full swing at home. Please email me if you have any trouble getting online with either of those programs. I'm getting pretty good at troubleshooting. :) 

Have a great week! See you at the conferences...

Ms. S

Thursday, November 10

As we get ready to remember... There will be poppies available for any kiddos who choose to wear them. Donations are optional, but certainly welcome and will be placed into the donation box on behalf of our class. 

Dreambox is up and running. There is a link to the application on the right side of the main blog page. If it asks for a password, I've gone in and set up each child's account to use the same 4 digit number that they use for signing in to Raz-Kids. It was a manual process, and errors are always possible, so please email me if that doesn't work. I'll investigate ASAP. 

Accessing Dreambox and Raz

Raz-Kids
https://www.kidsa-z.com/main/Login
teacher username: kstevenson8
username: first name
password: four digit number taped into agenda

Dreambox
https://play.dreambox.com/login/z3vf/falgarwoodps
username: first name and last initial
password: same as the Raz-Kids password

Very Important Tips for Dreambox:

• Do not help your child while they are working through the activities on Dreambox. This is an adaptive program that caters the activities to the needs of the individual learner. If someone is helping, it will diminish the integrity of the data that the program is collecting. It records how long it takes for the child to respond as well as how accurate the answers are. 
• Instead of helping, refer your child to the ? button at the top of the page, which will provide instructions. Sometimes there is also a Hint button.
• Don't forget that you can set up access to the Dreambox dashboard so you can monitor your child's progress. I sent home instructions in the agendas this week. It's a green paper and it should be in the front pocket of the agenda.   

Any questions, please email me. 

Monday, November 7

Hello everyone! Just a few updates for the week.

Just a friendly reminder that indoor shoes are a must. In order to keep our classroom as clean as possible (and help out our custodial staff) the kiddos are required to have indoor shoes that stay at school and must only be worn inside the school.

Scholastic flyers went home on Friday and orders are due back at school by Friday this week.

An overview of our Primary division learning skills "look fors" went home in the front pocket of everyone's agendas today. While the specific skills vary from class to class, this list helps us as we assess the ongoing improvement of the kiddos.

Have a great week!