Happy Father's Day to all of our wonderful Fathers in Room 159.  The children have been very busy this week creating secret projects for you.  I hope that everyone can wait until Sunday for their surprise.  Enjoy your special day, you have earned it!
     Friday was the last day for our Snuggle Up books.  Please return your child's mailbag and Snuggle Up book on Monday, so we can organize our books.  Ms. McGee is also collecting all the library books for her year end inventory.  We have 3 outstanding books at the moment.  Thank you to everyone who has returned a library book.  It is greatly appreciated.
     As the Senior Kindergarten children prepare for Grade 1, we are beginning to go outside for recess when our schedule permits.  It has been so much fun to watch the children explore new equipment and find friends and siblings outside.
     Thank you to everyone who has been sending sunscreen and hats with your child.  We are working hard to keep everyone sun safe.   The children are becoming very independent putting on their sunscreen.  The stick sunscreen has become very popular with the children.  Please check out the selection the next time you are in the drugstore.
     This week we will be discussing bees and their importance in our world.  We will also begin some adding activities.  We have now completed our investigation of the numbers to 10.  The Seniors completed a money review activity on Friday.
     Our Reading Buddies are graduating this year and moving to Grade 9.  They are on their Graduation Trip next week, so we had our last visit on Thursday.  The kindergarten students created cards and treat bags for their buddies.  It was wonderful working with Mr. Bracht and the Grade 8 students this year.
     Just a reminder that during this very warm time of year going home for lunch is always a wonderful treat.  It gives your chid an opportunity to change their environment, cool off and enjoy a quieter place.  I realize that this is not an option for everyone, but please take the opportunity if you can. 
     Our last Sharing Assembly is Friday, June 22.  The Award Winners have been notified.  All children will have received an award throughout the year.  If I have missed anyone, please let me know immediately.  See you there!


This Week:

Sunday-Happy Father's Day!
Monday-Return Snuggle Up books and mailbags
Tuesday-Music
Wednesday-$2.00 for Terry Fox cookie
                   Library (A), Computers (B)
Thursday-First Day of Summer
Friday-Sharing Assembly
             Library (B), Computers (A)

Mark your calendar-Lunch on the Lawn-Thursday, June 28, everyone is invited!



   
   
   

     Welcome to the middle of June!  We had a busy  week in Room 159.  We have introduced all of the coins and will continue to practise their names, values and features.  The children completed their "This is Me in June" picture this week.  They will be posted in the classroom later next week.  We also finished our art for the top of the June calendar.  Last week we used oil pastels to colour a sheet of paper and then we painted the entire paper black.  Using chop sticks, the children exposed the colours to make fireworks.  Everyone had a great time designing their own fireworks after watching firework displays on the Smartboard.  We worked on a special task with our Reading Buddies this week.  All will be revealed next weekend.  Shhhh it's a secret!
     The last weeks of school are always very busy.  Please continue to read the blog to have all the information and dates that you need.  All library books are due this week and the children will not be borrowing new books.  Please return all library books as soon as possible.  We want to clear our classroom account.  Enjoy your child's poetry book this weekend and please return it for our end of the year poems.  The poetry books will be sent home to keep at the end of the year.
     The children played soccer with Ms. Santiago in the gym this week.  In the computer lab, they explored a dice counting game called "Race to Five" on abc.ya.     
     A reminder to Senior Kindergarten parents-please send me your child's baby picture and return your graduation RSVP this week.  Thanks in advance.
     Terry Fox t-shirt order forms were sent home on Thursday in your child's mailbag.  The shirts will be delivered in September.  There will be a display in the front hall June 11-14 and June 18-21 for sizes and ordering.  You may also return your order form and payment to our classroom.  This is your only opportunity to order t-shirts, they are not available in September.  The money raised from selling the t-shirts goes directly to our Terry Fox campaign.  Show your spirit and get a Terry Fox shirt!
     Our last pizza day is Thursday, June 28 and it is also Lunch on the Lawn.  Lunch on the Lawn is a tradition at LKS where families are invited to lunch and everyone eats together in the Shale Pit.  Fingers crossed for nice weather.  Please try to join us for this special event on the last day of school. When you attend Lunch on the Lawn, you will eat with your child and other friends, and be responsible for him/her for the lunch hour.  Children who do not have families attending this event, will eat with the lunch room supervisor as usual.  

     Just a reminder regarding lace up shoes.  Shoelaces become untied very easily and pose a safety hazard.  Please continue to have your chid wear velcro shoes for safety reasons.  Please no open toed sandals also.  

This Week:

Monday-Return all library books
Tuesday-Snuggle Up books exchanged
               Music
               Table 21 Event
Wednesday-Library (A), Computers (B)
                   $2.00 for a Terry Fox cookie
Thursday-Return Sound Review books and Sight 
                  Word Book
Friday-Last day for Snuggle Up books
            Library (B), Computers (A)

     Happy June!  It is difficult to believe that this is the last month of school.  This Spring has gone by so quickly!  As always, June is a busy month.  It begins today with Springfest from 10:00-2:00 at school.  It is a great fundraiser for all the wonderful things we do at LKS.  Thank you to everyone who contributed to our Springfest basket and everyone who has volunteered their time to make Springfest a success.  Your support and generosity is greatly appreciated!  Our baskets are in the gym all ready for the Silent Auction.  If you preordered wristbands for Springfest, they are in your child's mailbag.  It has been a very hot week in Toronto.  The air conditioning is our classroom continues to work inconsistently and we often still have very warm temperatures in our classroom.  Thank you to everyone who takes their child home for lunch for a cool break.  It is greatly appreciated.  Our lunch hour is from 11:20 to 12:30.  Thank you to everyone who sends sunscreen and a hat for your child to protect them from the sun.  We continue to help with sunscreen and search for as many hats as we can find in backpacks.  Sunglasses are also a great idea!
     A reminder to unpack your child's mailbag on Tuesdays and Fridays.  Please continue to read the Snuggle Up books with your child and discuss the work they have done that week at school.  They have wonderful learning to share with you.  Mailbags will continue until Friday, June 15.  Please keep looking for library books, Ms. McGee will be sending home reminders for last books soon.  We are always excited to hear our name on the announcements when we clear our classroom account.
     We have introduced the quarter and the loonie this week.  The children are also enjoying using real coins in our classroom store.  The children completed their June calendar on Friday.  They are completing a multi-stage art project for the top of the calendar.  We started  colouring with oil pastels and then we painted black over our colourful abstract art.  The next step will begin on Monday.  All will be revealed on Friday!  Hint-it involves chopsticks!  On Wednesday, we created rekenreks with our Reading Buddies.  Rekenreks have 2 rows of 10 beads and are used to support numbers sense.  They help to build awareness of numbers 0-20 and number combinations of 5 and 10.  We will use these in upcoming math activities.  As always it is a pleasure for Mr. Bracht, Ms, Santiago and I to watch the Grade 8 students work with our Kindergarten students.  Both classes are always so excited when we get together.
     The Senior Kindergarten students received their Graduation invitations in their mailbags Friday.  Please fill out the bottom portion and return it to school.  Also baby pictures are due by the end of the week.  Please feel email your baby pictures to ellenburn@bell.net  Thanks in advance.
     Ms. Santiago taught the children a new game in the gym called Guardians of the Farmhouse.  In the computer lab, the students played Sight Work Bingo on the Abcya website.

     Have a wonderful weekend!  A reminder there is no school on Friday.  Please return your child's Sight Word book and Sound Review book on Wednesday, so we have time to add the new work.


This Week:

Monday-Music
Tuesday-Library (A), Computers (B)
              Snuggle Up books exchanged
Wednesday-Terry Fox cookie sales  $2.00 each
                  Return Sight word books and Sound Review books
Thursday-Library (B), Computers (A)
               Snuggle Up books exchanged
                
Friday-PA Day-No School!

     Welcome to the last week of May!  The countdown to summer vacation will begin soon!  Just a reminder to continue to read the blog weekly, as this time of year there are often special activities and changes in schedules.  Thanks in advance.
     We had a short, but busy week in Room 159.  We continued to work on our Van Gogh paintings and many of our masterpieces are complete.  Please have a look at our bulletin board in the hall.  We have received many compliments on our art and Mr. Currie included us on his twitter feed this week. We went outside with our Reading Buddies and looked in the playground for examples of living and non-living objects.  We have also introduced the features and value of the dime this week.  Everyone was excited to discuss seeing the Queen at the Royal wedding after talking about her on our coins.  We have also been counting nickels and dimes, since we are able to count by 5's and 10's.  Our "This is Me in May" pictures are also completed and will be in our classroom later this week.
     On Friday morning, we had a wonderful presentation entitled Visions of Turtle Island.  This was presented by members of the Six Nations Reserve and they introduced the audience to First Nations' powwow singing and dancing.  We learned that dance and music the First Nations' people's way of giving thanks and enjoying each other's company through social dances.  
     In the gym this week the children played Clean the Gym and in the computer lab, Ms Santiago introduced Number Bingo on abc.ya.  
     The Grade 7 classes are continuing to accept donations to the Children's Book Bank until Monday morning.  Thanks for all your donations.  Please bring in any last minute donations with your child at entry on Monday.
     June calendars were sent home on Friday.  It includes June, July and August birthdays.  Please let me know if I have missed any birthdays.  As you can imagine, this calendar is full.  
The award winners for the Sharing Assembly on Thursday have been notified.  I will notify the June winners in the upcoming weeks.
     Just a reminder to SK parents to please sent me your child's baby picture or toddler picture for our Senior Kindergarten graduation.  Thanks so much!
     This is also the last week for Springfest basket and Tombola donations.  We would like all Springfest basket donations Monday morning.  Tombola donations should be sent in by Thursday.  Thanks again for your generosity.  It takes everyone to make Springfest a success.  Please see e-mails from the Grade Parents for your opportunity to volunteer.  See you on Saturday, fingers crossed for wonderful weather.

This Week:

Monday-Bring your book bank donations
               Bring your Springfest basket donations
               Music
Tuesday-Snuggle Up books exchanged
               Library (A), Computers (B)
Wednesday-Smile!
Thursday-Sharing Assembly
                 Library (B), Computers(A)
                Return Sight Word books and Sound Review Books
              Scholastic Book orders due!
Friday-Happy June!
            Snuggle Up books exchanged 

Saturday-Springfest 10:00-2:00  See you there!
           

     Happy Victoria Day weekend!  Hopefully the weather will co-operate for the rest of the weekend.  Enjoy the long weekend and travel safely.   
     The children explored living and non-living things this week.  They had the opportunity to sort pictures on a "T" chart and on Tuesday they drew pictures and labelled their own ideas of living and non-living things.  Miss Santiago and I loved their great ideas and writing.  We also began our study of money, beginning with the nickel.  We will discuss the features and values of Canadian coins.  Our classroom store is also open, with a cash register, real coins and a variety of things to purchase.   We also practised counting by 10's and 5's this week.
     After planting and watching our sunflowers grow, we have also introduced the children to some of the art of Vincent Van Gogh, especially his sunflower paintings.  The children are in the process of completing their own sunflower masterpiece.  You can see the process in the pictures to the right of the blog.  We will put the paintings in the hall as they are completed this week.  One amazing fact we discovered this week, Van Gogh only sold one painting while he was alive and now his paintings are priceless.
     We also discussed the Royal Wedding on Friday.  The children were excited to discover that Queen Elizabeth was Prince Harry's grandmother.  We had been talking about Queen Elizabeth during our discussion of coins.  It is wonderful when information we are learning overlaps into other areas.  The children were excited to watch the wedding on Saturday.  I hope none of the children woke you up at 4:00 to see the wedding live.  I have to admit that Steve and I were up this morning at 4:00 am to watch every minute!
     Ms. McGee has sent home overdue library notices this week.  As the end of the school year approaches, we will continue to look for overdue books.  All books must be returned to the library by June 11.  We have sent home the last Scholastic Book order for the school year.  Your book orders are due to school by May 31.  You may place your order on-line if you wish.  Thanks in advance.
     In the computer lab this week, the children worked on BookFlix and read the story, "It Could Still be a Flower".  They watched the story, "Planting a Rainbow."  In the gym, Miss Santiago, introduced "Ribbit, Ribbit, Jump" and "Robot".
     The Grade 7 classes are continuing to collect books for The Children's Book Bank.  They are collecting slightly used children's books to be donated to less fortunate children.  All donations may be brought to our classroom this week.  Friday is the last day for donations.  Thanks in advance.
    The Springfest Committee is collecting Tombolas for Springfest.  Please read the information email from the Grade parents for more information.  Tomblas should be brought to the classroom also.
     The Terry Fox committee is selling ice cream sandwiches and cookies on Wednesdays to raise money for our Terry Fox campaign.  The Kindergarten teachers have discussed this and due to the timing of lunch periods, the size of ice cream sandwiches and the mess, Kindergarten children will not be able to purchase the ice cream sandwiches.  They will be able to purchase the cookies if you wish.  As always there is no obligation to participate in this fundraiser.  More information can be found in the LKS Bulletin.  Thanks for your support in this decision.  

This Week:

Monday-Happy Victoria Day!
Tuesday-Library (A), Computers (B)
               Snuggle Up Books exchanged 
Wednesday-Bring your donations for the Book Bank
Thursday-Library (B), Computers (A)
                Bring your Sound Review Books and 
                Sight Word Books 
Friday-Pizza Lunch
            Snuggle Up books exchanged 


**ALL WEEK**-Bring your Donations for the Book Bank
   Bring in your tombolas

     We have been very busy this week completing special projects for Mom.  The children were so excited to make their gifts and then take them home.  We hope everyone can wait until Sunday to open them.  Thank you to all the Moms in Room 159, enjoy your special day, you deserve it.
     In the gym this week, Miss Santiago played a parachute game involving colours.  The children explored living and non-living things on Pebblego during our computer time.  During our small group time, the children coloured the popcorn words from Popcorn Song #2, and we played "I Have, Who Has? with numbers to 30.  
      On Wednesday, we had a special guest visit our classroom.  A student's grandfather, a former chemistry teacher came and demonstrated clock reactions to the class.  It was so cool watching the chemical reactions.  You can research clock reactions on Youtube.  The reactions we observed were "Old Nassau Reaction"-orange/brown. the "iodine" clock reaction and "Landont" reaction.  
     Springfest is quickly approaching on Saturday, June 2.  Tombolas (small prizes for the Tombola game) may be dropped off at the classroom all month.  Please see the letter sent home on Tuesday or Springfest emails for additional information.  We are also accepting contributions for our Springfest basket.  Thank you to everyone who have already brought their donations.  Please contact the Grade Parents if you have any questions and check out the Springfest Bulletins via email.
     We are also accepting donations of gently used books for the Children's Book Bank.  Please bring any donations to our classroom beginning Monday.  These books will be donated to children who do not have access to books.  Thanks in advance.  
     Just a reminder, please do not send your child to school with tie up shoes.  The laces become untied and pose a safety hazard while playing and going up and down the stairs.  We try to monitor untied laces, but we want to prevent any accidents.  Also, please do not have your child wear open toed shoes.  
     This week we will be discussing and sorting living and non-living things.  Later in the week, we will also be introducing Canadian coins to the children.  The children always enjoy learning about money and we will be  opening a store in the drama centre with real coins.

Thank you very much for all your help with your child's leader day projects.  We are loving learning interesting facts and vocabulary about animals and the children have become very interested in what groups of animals are called.  For example, a group of owls is a parliament, a group of penguins in the water is a raft and a group of kittens is a kindle.  

This Week:

Sunday-Happy Mother's Day

Monday-Library (A), Computers (B)
Tuesday-Snuggle Up books exchanged 
Wednesday-Library (A), Computers (A)
Thursday-Return Sound Review books 
                Return Sight Word books
Friday-Music
          Snuggle Up books exchanged 
     
A reminder Monday, May 21 is Victoria Day and there is no school.   Enjoy your long weekend!

     Welcome to the first full week of May!  It has been an exciting week in Room 159 as we watched our sunflowers seeds grow.  All of the children's seeds have sprouted and have leaves growing.  The plants will be sent home this week. The children also labelled parts of a sunflower by writing on stickers.  Writing is always more fun on stickers.  We completed our May calendar and created beautiful flowers using scrapbook paper and bubble painting.  The children had the opportunity to blow coloured bubbles on paper and when the paper was dry, they used this unique paper to design their flowers.  We watched time lapse photography of sunflowers seeds growing on the smart board.  The children then completed a sunflower sequencing activity.  Our Reading buddies visited this week and they traced the children's hands, which we will use for counting activities this week.  They also played a variety of games together.  We always love it when our buddies visit.  We will be working on some "secret projects" this week in anticipation of Sunday.  If you know that your child will be absent on Friday, please let us know in advance.  Thanks so much.
     We enjoyed the wonderful weather this week.  Just a reminder to please have your child wear closed toed shoes to school for safety.   We would like the children to keep their indoor shoes at school, in case of muddy feet and for gym classes.  This is the perfect time of year for the children to start wearing hats for protection from the sun.  We are outside during the day when the sun is at it's hottest.  We will also help the children with sunscreen if they bring it.  There are a variety of types available and the children are able to apply the stick sunscreen independently and we are teaching them to apply the cream variety.  We will spray the children who bring the spray sunscreen.  Sunglasses are also a great idea!
     In the computer lab, the children explored plants, including where they can be found and types of plants using PebbleGo.  The children played bean bag toss in the gym.  They also learned 2 new dances, the Mayim and the Roadhouse.
     Springfest, our spring fundraising activity will be held on Saturday, June 2.  The organizing committee is looking for donations for the Tombola game.  Tombola is ball toss game where everyone who participates receives a prize, a tombola. A tombola, is a small bag of treats or toys, similar to a loot bag.  Families are asked to create small loot bags and mark them boy or girl.  These bags should be brought to your child's classroom between May 7-31.  Financial donations are also accepted.  There will be additional information sent home on Tuesday and via emails.  Please see the grade parents if you have any questions.  We are also accepting donations for our class basket which will be available  at the Silent Auction.  The Grade Parents have created a sign up sheet on-line to organize the contributions.  Thanks in advance to everyone who has donated.  


This Week:

Monday-Library (A), Computers (B)
Tuesday-Snuggle Up books exchanged
Wednesday-Computers (A), Library (B)
Thursday-Return Sight Word books and Sound Review books
Friday-Snuggle Up books exchanged
            Music

Bring your tombolas to class any day this week!

Sunday-Happy Mother's Day!