Happy Easter!

It was wonderful to see parents and caregivers for the three-way conferences this week.  Here is the latest news in Grade 1 French Immersion: 

Les Sciences Naturelles - Les cinq sens
I hope you all had a chance to take a look at your child's poster of the five senses which were displayed in the hallway.  Here is what we learned for each sens and how we incorporated our learning for final project on Les 5 sens:
1)La vue (Sight)
We looked at our pupils in the mirror after closing our eyes and after looking at the light from the window and noticed how our pupils change size depending on the lighting in the room.  We added a mirror (using tinfoil) to our poster to represent sight.
2) L’ouïe (Hearing)
We did experiments to test our listening skills and then we added a bell to our poster to represent hearing.
3) L'odorat (Smell)
We did experiments to test our sense of smell and then I added a drop of orange essential oil to everyone's posters to represent smell.
4)  Le goût (Taste)
We learned about tastebuds on our tongue.  Then we ate some chewing gum and timed how long it took for the flavour to disappear.  We added our chewing gum to our poster to represent taste.
5) Le toucher (Touch)
We learned about different textures (mou, dur, doux, rugueux, lisse) and added an object to each finger to represent something floppy, hard, soft, rough, and smooth.

I think that the students really enjoyed this project - and so did I!  I borrowed this wonderful idea from another teacher's blog who is a great resource for French Immersion primary teachers.  If you are interested, you can find her blog here. 

Awnya's skiing video

On Tuesday, Awnya presented a video to the class that she made while on holiday in Golden, B.C.  We really enjoyed watching her daringly ski in between trees and over a few jumps and speak to us in French.  Her mother has given me permission to share it with you, so if your child would like to watch it again, you can see her amazing skills here. 

Home reading

On Wednesday, I sent home the Alphabet 213 Phrases for home reading (we have read as a class up to the letter L, but feel free to read further if your child is motivated to!).  I also added a copy of a play we have been learning (La Poule Maboule) to the home reading duotangs, which your child may wish to read over the break.  For a really cute video of a bunch of students in Ontario presenting the play, click here.

School supplies

We are also running low on a few items at school, so the break may be the perfect time to pick up some of these items so that your child will continue to be well-prepared for learning for the last 3 months of school.  I had the class take a look at their supplies and write down what they were missing if it was something essential for the remainder of the year (ie. dried up markers are not a big concern, as long as he or she has something to colour with).  We are also down to the last few kleenex boxes so if you could send a box with your child after the break, that would be greatly appreciated!

Joyeuses Pâques!

To celebrate Easter, I have found a youtube video of Beatrix Potter's Peter Rabbit told in French here.  And here is a song about Easter en français that your child might enjoy:

I hope everyone has a wonderful break!  We will see your child back at school on Monday, April 8th.



Term 2 Progress Reports

Progress Reports are coming home today. For some tips on how to approach reviewing and discussing this document with your child, please see my blog entry on the subject from term 1.

When looking at your child's marks, please keep in mind that as the school days increase, so do the expectations.  Though a student may have received a B in term one, and a second B in term two, it does not mean that there has been no progress.  It simply means that the student is beginning to meet the expectations for this point in the year.  

A few of your child's teachers have sent their program summaries for term 2.  Here they are:

1)From Mr. Schneider, our Physical Education Teacher:
Movement Perspective
In physical education we are working on, and will continue to work on, basic movement skills through developmental games and rhythmic activities. The basic movement patterns include sending, receiving, accompanying, evading and locomotion skills. The skills are performed at different levels (high, medium, low) and along different pathways (straight, curved, and zigzag).
Personal and Social Perspective
Physical education is an excellent opportunity to evaluate how students interact with classmates. Do they; include and accept all class-mates, support and help class-mates who are struggling with a skill, take responsibility for their actions, listens attentively/stays on task, stay within the rules of an activity, and display positive leadership skills. The list of personal and social skills addressed in physical education is almost endless.
Active Living Perspective
Hopefully, as students gain skills and knowledge they will come to value and embrace physical activity as an extreme important aspect of their lives.
Research has shown the importance of physical activity to the physical health and wellness of children.  Research is now showing one of the best ways to maximize the brain, and therefore academic performance, is through movement.

The following skills have been stressed this term:

-bilateral coordination
-pursuit and proper angling techniques
-agility
-cooperative movement
-body/space awareness
-flexibility
-hand-eye coordination
            -dribbling
            -throwing
            -catching
-strength and fitness techniques

2)From Mme Denomy:
This term, students learned about some First Nations traditions, celebrations and aspects of worldview.  To better understand these concepts, students listened to a variety of stories and legends, and have recently completed a “Circle Book” which explores and explains some of the traditional teachings of the Medicine Wheel.

3) A paper copy of Mrs. Graham's Arts Education Program Summary was sent home with the progress reports.

We are looking forward to meeting with you and your child for three-way conferences next week.  Please contact the office to book an appointment if you have not already done so.

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

Have a wonderful weekend!

Update

Hello parents,

Here are some updates about this month:

Me to We Penny Collection

Each class was given a bag in which to collect pennies. This is part of the Free the Children/Me to We initiative (same as Water Rafiki Friend Chains). The class that collects the most pennies wins an ice cream party. We discussed that the reason we are collecting pennies is to help others, not to win a party (but it would be a cool bonus). So please send any pennies that you may have lying around and help us to help others.

Report cards and Three-way Conferences

Progress reports will be sent home on Friday, March 22nd. Three-way conferences will be held on Tuesday, March 26th from 4-8pm and on Wednesday, March 27th from 4-7pm. Please call the office to schedule a time.

Perimeter Lockdown Drill Tomorrow

We will be having a perimeter lockdown drill on Thursday, March 14th at around 2:15pm

That's it for now. Looking forward to seeing you at the end of the month!