October News
October News
Bonjour tout le monde! It's hard to believe that we are already into our second month at school! The children are settling in very well and adapting to our classroom life. For our Kindergarten friends, moving from daycare or preschool to Kindergarten is a huge transition. Not only is the building much larger, but the adult ratio has gone from 1 teacher for every 8 students, to 1 teacher for 20 students. Activities in daycare and preschool were often optional, and children could choose to do them or not. In Kindergarten, we have a curriculum that is mandated, so while there is often a choice in how we complete an activity, there is not a choice to do the activity! For our grade one friends, there is also a transition as expectation for written output as well as French oral language production has increased.
The children are doing very well at becoming more independent and looking after their own belongings. You can help your child with his or her personal organization by reminding him or her to only bring a minimal amount of clothes to school. When a child brings multiple sweaters, a coat, rain pants, boots, as well as outside shoes each day, it is hard for them to keep track of all of their "stuff".
I am amazed each day at how much French the children are learning. The "down side" of listening to another language is that it can be exhausting! Being in French immersion can be more tiring than being in an English class, as the children are also having to listen harder and focus more to understand and learn the language. It is not unusual for children to be more tired or cranky at this time. A few early bedtimes may be in order for you to keep your sanity over the next couple of weeks!!
Themes
October is a very busy month. We are starting the month off learning about squirrels. Learning about squirrels will be the start of a guided inquiry project looking at animals in Fall. This will incorporate many of our Science and Language Arts learning outcomes. We will also be learning about "l'Action de Grâce" (Thanksgiving), reading silly stories about monsters (les monstres), Halloween and pumpkins (les citrouilles).
Dramatic Play Centre
October is fire safety month, so I will be turning our house centre into a fire hall this month. We will briefly be discussing fire safety, and what to do in case of emergency. We will also be having school wide fire drills and earthquake drills.
Things to practice at home
Kindergarten: If your child is unable to print his or her name independently, please practice this at home. (Please also make sure they are using a correct pencil grip. If you are unsure what I mean by this, ask!) If they are unable to recognize their name in print, please print it on as many of their belongings as possible so they have many opportunities throughout the day to see it (label their snack and lunch containers, their bedroom door, books- you could even be formal and make place cards for at the dinner table!!)
Kindergarten & Grade One: Please remember to read with your child (In English) every day. Practice having them predict rhyming words, identify/review letters, and even reading familiar words if they are able. Play math games to practice number recognition and counting. Please also have your child practice doing up snaps and zippers on their coats. Merci!
Spare clothes
Please remember to send in a spare set of clothes (pants, shirt, underwear and socks) in a labelled Ziploc bag if you have not already done so. As the children play outside rain or shine, some children may get muddy or wet during the lunch playing period and will need to change clothes when they come inside. You may want to send in a couple of extra pairs of socks. We are trying to spend more time outside, and even on nice days, the dew is heavy on the field and the children are often returning inside with wet shoes and socks. Merci.
Show and Tell
The show and tell theme for October is Family. Please have your child bring in a photo of their family to share any day in October. If your child shares their time between two homes, they are welcome to bring in two photos. We will discuss similarities and differences between families as part of our Social Studies curriculum. The photo will be posted in the class for the remainder of the year.
Hallowe'en
If your child wishes to dress up on Hallowe'en they may, but please consider the following: If your child has a warm or bulky costume, please send in a change of clothes in case they get too hot or uncomfortable and wish to change. They also need to be able to go to the washroom while wearing their costume. Please do not send in any "weapon accessories", wigs or masks. A lot of heavy face makeup may get itchy or uncomfortable when worn for a long period of time, so you may just want to stick to minimal makeup during the day. Please keep in mind that your child will be sitting on the carpet, working and eating at their tables, and will be playing outside in their costumes. If their costume is fragile, they may want to reconsider wearing it. An alternative idea is to wear black and orange on October 31st.
Special Days
Friday, October 4: Individual Photo Day
Monday, October 7th: Fire Drill
Thursday, October 10: Family Math afternoon (2:15-2:40) Parents and grandparents are invited to join us to play math games. More information to follow from Ms. Windle.
Friday, October 11: Hot Lunch for those who have pre-ordered (Organized by the PAC)
Monday, October 14: Stat Holiday for Thanksgiving
Thursday, October 17: Earthquake Drill
Friday, October 18: Family Read-In 8:50-9:15
Friday, October 25- Provincial Non-Instructional Day, PAC sponsored Family Dance
October 29: Photo Retakes
Thursday, October 31- Hallowe'en Craft Morning (8:50-10:30) Parent volunteers (with a Criminal Record Check on file with the School Board office) are needed! Please email me if you are interested in helping out.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me!