Spirit Week

Spirit Week  December 19-23rd
Monday	Christmas Morning Pajama Day
Tuesday	Christmas Cheer Favourite Christmas sweater, socks, red and green
Wednesday	Christmas Concert Wear a white shirt and any colour pants
Thursday	Christmas/Winter Wonderland Character Grinch, Elsa, Elf, etc.
Friday	Pajama Day

Learning about emotions and self-regulation

Self-regulation is a huge part of kindergarten. It is important for children to talk about their feelings to better learn how to regulate their emotions and deal with difficult situations. We began by conducting a "feelings circle."

We discussed how our face changes when we feel different emotions. Drawing different emotions: what does our face look like when we are happy, sad, scared or upset?

Graphing our feelings in French with Mme. Lepage. 

Some of us decided to make our own feelings emoji's at the art table, very creative!

Learning different strategies to calm our bodies when sad, anxious, upset or excited. 

Here are some of the books we have been reading as a class. 

Building Inquiry

We noticed the children's interest in building with wooden blocks increasing and began to wonder how we could expand their knowledge. We decided to create a construction zone, complete with a Site Manager, an architect table and plenty of building materials. We learned about building plans and blueprints and the importance of having a building plan.

We challenged the children to create a building plan, construct and paint their design. The results were amazing!

Learning about different buildings and structures around the world. 

Like architects and engineers, we decided to create our own design books. 

Our Pumpkin Inquiry

We began our fall inquiry on pumpkins by observing and describing them. We painted pictures and discussed their shape, size and texture.

 

 

Ask your child:

• How do pumpkins grow?
• What do pumpkins need to grow?
• What are some parts of a pumpkin?
• What does a pumpkin look and feel like?

Kingdom Club Food Drive

Dear Parents,

The Kingdom Club will be having its annual food drive for the Kanata Food Cupboard from October 24-28. We encourage you to bring in canned foods and non perishable food items [things that don't need to be refrigerated]. Other non-perishable items such as diapers, wipes and toiletries are also much appreciated! Our goal this year is 1,500 items, which is about 3 items per person in our school. This Halloween, help us to scare hunger!

We scare because we care

Here is a link to the Kanata Food Cupboard

Kanata Food Cupboard

Proulx Farm

Thank you to all of our parent volunteers who made our trip to Proulx Farms such a success! We had a wonderful time. 

Picture Day

Kindergarten to grade 2 students will be getting their school pictures taken on Thursday October 20^th. Please make sure your child is not wearing green as the photographers will be using a green screen.

Field trip to Proulx Farm

Just a reminder that field trip forms are due tomorrow; thank you for those who have agreed to volunteer.

We are looking forward to our trip this Friday. For more information on Proulx Farm, please visit their website at: http://proulxberryfarm.com/

Colour Mixing

Last week we began our first class inquiry - all about colours and colour mixing. We learned about primary and secondary colours with Mme. Lepage.
 

 

We created a classroom colour wheel together.

 

We conducted a colour experiment using food colouring, water and paper towel. We made predictions and documented our observations.

 

 Marble painting using primary colours.  

 

Marble painting using black and white.

 

 

We sorted and threaded different coloured beads to create a classroom hanging colour display.

 

 

We graphed our favourite colours and conducted classroom surveys.

 

 

 

We read the book Mix it Up.

 

We read The Black Book of Colours.

 

 

Ask your child:

• What are some colour words in French?
• What are primary colours?
• When colours do you make when you mix: blue and red, yellow and blue, red and yellow?

Family Tree

Just a reminder, we are still looking to create a classroom family tree. It is a wonderful way to create a sense of community and make our classroom feel more like home. Please send a family picture to school with your child.

Thank you!

Twitter

Do not forget to follow us on twitter: @MrsMacRaeOCSB

Library

Today we got to visit the learning commons for the first time. Mrs. Jenn told us all about the library and showed us around. We listened to a story and chose our own book.

Students will be visiting the library every other Monday. Our next visit will be Monday October 3^rd. Please make sure to return library books to school by that date.

Happy reading!

Welcome

Welcome to a new school year! We are delighted to see our SK's and meet all of our new JK's. We've had a wonderful first week and are grateful for your continuous support in making the transition to school a smooth one.

We know how hard the first day of school can be and how quickly they grow up. We are excited to be part of your child's learning journey this year and to watch them grow and develop.

Please refer to this blog for important information, our favourite books/songs and class inquiries. Make sure to check out the calendar tab for special dates.


Mrs. MacRae, Mrs. Pignat and Mme. Lepage

Happy Summer!

It has been a pleasure having your child in our class. We enjoyed watching them learn, grow and explore this year. We are sad to see our SK's move onto grade 1, but we know they are ready for the new adventures ahead. We look forward to seeing our new SK's in the fall!

 

Wishing you all a safe and relaxing summer.

Releasing our Frogs

Once our froglets changed into frogs, we needed to release them. Frogs need live bugs to eat.

We enjoyed leaning about and observing the lifecycle of a frog.

Music and Sound Inquiry

Happy Fathers Day!

Hope you all had a wonderful Father's Day!

Froglet update

Frog update: our froglets now have both back legs and front legs. They are spending a lot of time on the rock to get some air. If you look closely, its tail is smaller than before.

Transition to Grade 1

As our school year is winding down, we begin to think of grade 1 and the adventures ahead. To help better prepare our SK students, we will be visiting a series of grade 1 classes in the month of June. This way students are familiar with the classrooms, teachers and routines.

In the month of June SK students will also be going outside for last recess in the afternoon with the older children. This is to help familiarize them with the boundaries in the yard, exit/entry routines, etc.

If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact us.

Art in the School

This week we got to participate in the Art in the School workshop. We  made our own clay tiles using beads. We learned about patterns and used different tools to make lines and edges.

 

Thank you to our parent volunteers who helped to make the afternoon such a great success!

Insects in the School

Learning about different insects, their habitats, their food and so much more!

Water Beads

Playing and experimenting with water beads. On the first day we added 9 cups of water to our beads. Overnight they absorbed the water and grew 3 times the size! We developed our fine motor and enjoyed sorting them.

Turning into froglets

If you take a close look, our tadpoles and changing into froglets! They are beginning to grow legs. Now that they are beginning to change, we've been discussing what needs to change in their environment in order for them to survive. We put a large rock into our tank. Once the froglets grow front legs, they will need a flat surface above the water they can climb on to breathe.

Did you know that froglets do not need food when they are growing front legs? They get food from their tails!

All About Frogs

Our inquiry about frogs is well underway. We've been learning about the lifecycle and stages of a frog, their habitat, food and parts of the body.

We also transferred our tadpoles to a larger tank so we can observe them change and grow.

Warmer Weather

As the weather is getting warmer, please remember to send your child to school with:

• A labelled water bottle
• Sun screen (the kind that comes in a stick format works best as they can apply it independently)
• A labelled hat 

Freezies for sale

On Friday June 3rd, grade 6 students will be selling freezies. Each freezie will cost $1. Funds raised will go towards the grade 6 graduation trip. Thanks for your support!