Weekend Update: This week at a glance...

Wow! What a busy week we have ahead of us. I've tried to summarize it all here, but I've surely missed something. I'll send out a Remind notification if I need to update this page.

Monday

Normal day of learning, but we are squeezing in a gym class because we will miss our gym classes this week due to other activities. We will do our best to take advantage of the nice weather this week and get outside as much as possible.

A new student is joining us today.

Extra Glee practice first half of first break.

Tuesday

Period 5-6: Dress rehearsal for the holiday concert—for students only.

Wednesday

Period 3: Visit the Book Fair to purchase books.

2:30 matinee performance of the holiday concert.

6:00 evening performance of the holiday concert.

Tickets went home on Friday with those students who were in class. I've held two tickets for those who were away and will send them home Monday. Check the front pocket of the agenda.

Thursday

Primary rotations with the grades 1-3 classes. We mix it up and rotate though all three primary classrooms for some fun activities.

Friday

Pajama Day! No slippers, please. Regular indoor shoes for safety.

Period 3: Sing along in the gym with our uber talented guitarist Mrs. Dodds.

Short day. Dismissal is at 2:15. Supervision until 2:30.

...

And then we relax and have a well deserved two weeks off. Yay! 

Wednesday, December 9

As we count down the days until the break, the energy level in our classroom is ramping up and getting a little bit difficult to manage. I would appreciate the support of parents who take a moment to remind their child that we still need to be respectful and productive while at school. 

Holiday Concert

Tuesday, December 15 - Dress Rehearsal

Wednesday, December 16 - Afternoon Matinee at 2:30, Evening Show at 6:00

Our class is joining the grade 3 class for a performance. We have decided to wear black on the bottom and red or green on top. Santa hats are encouraged, but optional.

Some of the kids will also be participating in the Glee performance. 

Book Fair

The Scholastic Book Fair will be open the night of the concert. We will also be visiting the book fair twice as a class: once to preview (Friday, December 11) and once to purchase (Wednesday, December 16). Preview flyers were sent home today in the agendas.

Holiday Hampers

This year we are supporting three families to help them have a wonderful holiday. Please help our class support Family 3 by bringing in donations as follows. Gift cards are always welcome as well.

Family #3 - Supports a mother and her four children. Here is a list of the children and their interests:

1. 1 year old baby girl who loves toys, board books and clothes.

2. 8 year old boy who is interested in sports (especially basketball), superheroes and wears a men’s small size clothing.

3. 11 year old girl show loves arts and crafts, jewelry and bath items. She is artistic and loves anything to do with art. She wears a women’s size medium.

4. 14 year old boy who also loves basketball and sports. He wears a men’s size medium.

5. Mom loves bath products and any treat to share with her family. 

Wednesday, December 2

For those who might want to try again or to share this activity with someone at home, here's the link to the How to Draw Elf on the Shelf Youtube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C37fkE5GtMU

Tuesday, December 1

Welcome to December! Here's a quick update about the holiday concert. This is what I know so far:

When: Wednesday, December 16 – an afternoon matinee and an evening show.
Where: The blue gym
What: We are joining the grade 3 class to perform a song along with our amazing accompanist on guitar, Mrs, Dodds. Madame K is our resident French expert for this one as we'll be singing entirely in French.
Wear: Black pants or skirt with a green or red top. Santa hats are encouraged for those who have them, but not mandatory.

Also, just a quick note about Scholastic... I'm always happy to put in orders for you, especially at this time of year. If, for example, you have some last minute Christmas shopping to do and I can help you out, don't hesitate to let me know. The flyers have expiry dates on them, so as long as we're within the time frame of the flyer, we're good. And I can place orders from any of the flyers, not just the ones I send home. You can see them all online at http://www.scholastic.ca/clubs/.

<3

Thursday, Movember 26

I'm so impressed. When the kids came to school to find me unable to speak this morning, only whispering because of laryngitis, they were incredibly respectful. The noise level was nice and low in the classroom all day as they had to listen very carefully to hear my whispered instructions. I guess it's not every day that a kid would expect find his or her teacher speechless. :)

Today was Mustache Day. Such fun! I'm happy to see that so many of the kids participated. We had some emergency mustaches here at school for those who needed them.

Scholastic Orders are due Monday, and I'll put in the order that day.

Have a safe and wonderful long weekend!

Thursday, November 19

Hot Lunch Forms: I handed out the pink hot lunch forms for the kids to take home, and then found four of them abandoned on the floor after school. This covers hot lunches until March. If you need a hot lunch form, please send me an email or agenda message.

Food for thought...

The Long-Term Effects of Skipping Your Reading Homework

Wednesday, November 18

Math Quiz: I will be sending yesterday's Math quiz home with the kids tomorrow. Please take a look, sign it, and send it back so I know you have seen it. For those who didn't have a wonderful result, I will be launching our Math Club on Tuesday next week for those who need some extra help. Math Club will be weekly extra help for those who need it and anyone who feels that they could use more support is welcome to come.

What's next in Math? Subtraction with and without regrouping. We started that today. The next quiz will be late next week and will include addition and subtraction.

Scholastic: We are up and running with our class book club orders. I sent the December flyers home yesterday and I'll be placing an order on November 30th. I just activated the Parent Pay option, which enables parents to go online, search for my name, and place an online order with a credit card payment. I'm happy to do it the old fashioned way, but this is so easy!

Anti-Bullying Week: There are lots of activities on the go for the week. Pink shirt day is Friday. We will also have a short assembly to wrap it up on Friday. Here's our product from today...

Friday, November 13

Today was Random Acts of Kindness Day... we made some notes for people around the school and distributed them.

Quiz on Tuesday: Addition of two digit numbers with carrying. Word problems are fair game, which includes showing the work and including a concluding statement—for example, There are 71 hamsters altogether.

Homework: I sent a practice sheet home with the kids today in their agendas. This is the type of word problems they can expect to see on the quiz.

Raz-Kids: The Raz accounts are now password protected. I sent those passwords home with the kids in their agendas yesterday. Please test them out and make sure they are working properly.

Oakville Public Library: Our visit from the librarians was lots of fun. Check out the web site: http://www.opl.on.ca/

Thursday, November 12

Math Quiz: We will have a math quiz on Tuesday, November 17.
Topic: Addition of one and two digit numbers with and without carrying. We have discussed a variety of strategies for solving these questions, including using fingers and tally numbers for counting as well as representing the ones and tens columns using base ten blocks.

Librarian Visit: A librarian from the Oakville Public Library will be joining our class tomorrow to give a 30 minute presentation about what they will find if they visit the public library. The kid will come away with a voucher for a free gift if they visit the library.

Wednesday, November 11

Wow! Wow! Wow! The primary kids did a fabulous job with their choral reading poem today at the assembly. Check out some of this grade two awesomeness.

Our class wreath, hand coloured poppies and some peaceful doves.

Some amazing art that made my heart sing and dance... These should all be framed and hung in a museum. I'm so impressed, as were several other people in the school who stopped me to comment.

And the link to a video we discussed in class today: Bell Canada Remembrance Day TV Commercial: Poppy

Monday, November 9

The Remembrance Day assembly is Wednesday at 11:45. Parents are welcome to join us if they wish.

The primary division classes are doing a combined performance: a choral reading of the following poem. For homework, we have asked that the kids to their best to memorize their part, which is the 3rd and 4th verses.

Remembrance

By Helen Gardner

In Flanders field the poppies grow,
For the reason we all should know.

Standing proud and tall as can be,
Its glory and beauty we all can see.

Remembering the men who saved us all,
Their bravery and honour we all may recall.

A symbol of courage we shall never forget,
For the men who died in the war they met.

They gave up their lives to save the rest,
Although they died, they did their best.

To the bravest of all man and your respected ranks,
We look up to you always and give you thanks. 

Thursday, November 5

Homework: Math worksheet. We are working on adding with carrying. Because this is such a crucial skill, the worksheet I've sent home is for extra practice over and above what we have done in class.

Things to look for:
- Carrying the 1 to the tens column
- Remembering to count the 1 in the tens column

Wednesday, November 4

And we're back in business! Big thanks to all the parents who have been keeping in touch via email over the last few weeks. I appreciate it when you reach out to me with concerns because sometimes keeping up with 23 sets of parents is difficult to juggle. As always, if you have concerns, email is the best way to find me. I strive for a 1 business day turnaround time if it's humanly possible. (I take a tech break every weekend.)

I have to say that I really enjoyed the Halloween costumes the kids wore last week. It was really fun to play dress-up and hit the dance floor with them.

I have so much to share, but I'll start with a Raz-Kids update. We are migrating to a new teacher account. Once that has happened, I'll send home new cards in the front pockets of the agendas with the new information. Stay tuned.

Ms. S

Weekend Update: Sunday, September 20

One last post before I have to go silent on the blog for obvious reasons. Please contact me via phone or email if you need anything. I'm still very much here to ensure the safety and success of the members of our class.

Friday this week is our Terry Fox event. The weather forecast is calling for fair weather with lots of sunshine. Please ensure your child comes equipped to spend a good chunk of time outside that afternoon (at least an hour). Proper footwear, hats, and sunscreen are all recommended.

Until we meet again...

Thursday, September 17

Let's talk about shoes! 

Please ensure your child has indoor shoes at school. We have already discussed in class how important it is that wet and muddy footwear stays in the coat hook area of our classroom. For safety reasons, we cannot afford to have dirt and water on the floor of our classroom or the gym. 

Our gym periods are on Wednesday and Friday this year. The Ministry of Ontario requirement for participation in physical education activities is proper footwear: non-marking running shoes.   

Wednesday, September 9

Pets in our class...

10 people have cats

3 people have dogs

1 person has a hamster

1 person has a guinea pig

3 people have fish

1 person has a bird

1 person has a rabbit

6 people don't have pets at home

Tuesday, September 8

Happy First Day Back!

Welcome to grade 2! I thank all the parents who endured the drippy weather this morning to come by and introduce themselves. I promise I won't remember any of your names after the first introduction, :), so please let's keep in touch so I can get to know you all better over the next few weeks and months. And for those I didn't meet today, I look forward to connecting with you soon.

In the agendas for today, we didn't write anything, but I would appreciate your signature so I can confirm that your child has shown it to you. There are four papers in the front pocket of the agendas today:

- letter to parents (includes contact information for Ms. S)
- survey (to be returned to Ms. S)
- green and blue hot lunch forms (to be returned if you plan on participating the hot lunch program)

There's also a student information sheet in everyone's backpack to fill out for the office record keeping.

As you'll no doubt hear from your child, it's hotter than the blazes in our classroom right now. We have a day or so left of this crummy heat wave to endure before we see better temperatures inside and outside. Please ensure your child has a refillable water bottle at school and is dressed in light clothes. I will do my best to ensure that we are not doing anything overly strenuous so we can avoid getting too overheated.

Please feel free to contact me if there's anything I can do to help you and your child transition to grade 2.

♥
Ms. Stevenson

All About Ms. Stevenson

Welcome to the 2016-2017 school year! My name is Ms. Kelly Stevenson, and I am thrilled to be teaching class 1/2 this year at Falgarwood. Parents, students, other staff: Let's work together to make this an amazing year!

Some things you might like to know about me:

• Literacy is my greatest passion as a teacher. If you can read, the world is your oyster. 
• I am a second career teacher. I went to teachers college when I was 35. I used to work in software development and telecommunications and wore many hats: technical writer, business analyst, process specialist, project manager. I'm a big fan of using technology in the classroom.
• I love yoga, Starbucks tea, and my cat. 
• I'm working part-time on a masters degree, so sometimes I'm a student too. 
• I love to travel. My most recent trip was to Japan and Korea. 

This is my wee little princess, Blank.