Wednesday 22 June 2016

Popcorn Friday

popcorn_thumb[5][1]Popcorn Friday
Parent council will be selling bags of Kernels Popcorn at school on Friday, June 24 in the morning.  There will be four flavors to choose from: Buttersalt, Dill Pickle, Cheese, and Caramel.  They will be selling for $2.00 each to take home on Friday. If you would like your child to purchase a bag please send a toonie to school with them on Friday morning.  In addition, any popcorn that is left over, will be sold on the school compound starting at 11:45 am on June 24th.

Monday 20 June 2016

June 20

Tomorrow is the first day of summer but as Reid says "School is not over"!

Even though there are only 5 more days of school, we continue to work hard here in Room 73.  Our routines are the same and we have many things on the go.  During Writer's Workshop we have been working on writing letters to our future selves, making goals for the summer and writing about our plans for the summer.

Today the grade 2s reviewed representing double digit numbers and the grade 1s worked on math daily 3.  Last week the grade 2s also made a board game to help them with their double digit addition strategies.

This afternoon we went outside for gym and had a few extra minutes to play in the sun.

Just a reminder:  Thursday June 23 is our field trip to Telus Spark.  Please return your field trip form.  We are leaving the building at 11:30 and will return around 2:15 - 2:30.  The program we are participating in is called Math in Motion.  We will be learning about numbers and patterns using our bodies.

Thursday evening from 6-7 is our Celebration of Learning.  Come out and see all the amazing work we have done on our "If I were a bee" projects.

Report cards go home on Friday!

It is Sports Day on Monday June 27.  We will be participating in sports activities in the afternoon only.  In the morning we will do fun activities with our buddy class.  We were hoping to play some board games and/or watch a movie.  Ms. Handelsman and I were thinking of Zootopia. If anyone has this dvd that they are willing to lend us for that day, please send me an email at klsloane@cbe.ab.ca.

Have a wonderfully warm evening.

Wednesday 8 June 2016

Field trip date was wrong.

I am so sorry that I typed in the wrong date for our fieldtrip to Telus Spark.  The date is actually June 23.  Sorry for the inconvenience.


Tuesday 7 June 2016

June 7

We have started our soccer residency this week.  Thank goodness our gym time was changed to the morning as it sure would have been hot this afternoon.

On Thursday we will be working with an Artist in Residence named Jenny Dale.  We are making something special for our Dads.

Also I have booked a field trip to Telus Spark on June 21 for the afternoon.  We will be doing a program called math in motion.  I am just waiting for confirmation that a bus is available.  I am looking for 3 parents who would be willing to accompany us on this trip.  We would leave the school around 11:30 and return around 2:30.  Please email me if you are available.  All volunteers are welcome to ride the bus with us.

The afternoon of June 21 is also our Celebration of Learning.  Our class will hopefully visit the other classrooms in the morning.  Parents are still welcome to come in the evening.  For this celebration we are working with our grade 3/4 buddies on a project which represents our inquiry statement "If I were a bee I would want you know.....".

Have a wonderful evening.  Keep cool:)

Tuesday 31 May 2016

May 31

Today is the last day of May.  Can you believe that tomorrow is June?

We are working on writing riddles about objects or places that we know.  We are writing 3 detailed clues in hopes that others will be able to make a guess.

In Math, we worked on writing word problems.  This was a lot of fun as they kids became very creative.

Today in gym we played scooter hockey which was so much fun and good exercise.

I am sending home a copy of our class picture.


Friday 27 May 2016

May 27

Happy Friday Families!

This morning we had our final visit with baby Nova, her Mom Megan and Dad Jack.  We are so that this is our last visit but we look forward to seeing her on the playground with her brothers and watching her grow.

Your child will be coming home with a Roots of Empathy Certificate.

We had an assembly this morning and we learned a lot about bugs.

Have a wonderful weekend.

Garden Bed Planting with Eco Team

A Message from the EcoTeam, regarding our Garden Bed Planting event:  Our special event on Saturday willl need to be postponed due to rain. The forecast reads a very high Percent of Precipitation, and the rains are expected to go all weekend.  With that in mind, planting will be very difficult.

So, because of the rain,  we will be inviting students to help us plant, instead, on Wednesday at lunch time and after school.  If families and members of the community want to join us, they are welcome to stop by at 11:15, but they must let Ms. Goldberg know.    


Please contact Ms. Goldberg at amgoldberg@cbe.ab.ca .

Thursday 26 May 2016

May 26

Today was a great day.  I have finished my reading tests and am back doing guided reading.  Today we learned about the saying "I have a bone to pick".  We listened to a story balled Big Al and then we wrote about something like and then we had choose something we did not like about the story or something we would change. 

We had music this morning. Hayden and Kale got to choose a song to listen to as a way of celebrating their recent birthdays.  We also learned a new song called Hey Brother.

After lunch we learned a new math strategy which we call in the middle.  Here is the question.  Please ask your child how they would use the strategy in the middle to solve this question.  6+8.

We went outside for gym and played kickball and then we worked with our 3/4 buddies on our Bee projects.  We are starting a project called "If I were a bee I would want you to know........."  

Tomorrow is our final visit with baby Nova.

Have a wonderful evening.

Wednesday 25 May 2016

May 25

Yellowfish Road painting project was a huge success.  Thank you to Mrs. Hanney, Mrs. Herbert and Mr. Gugojl for volunteering today.  After a little bit of practice we definitely improved our artistic creations.  Please check out our classroom webpage for pictures.

Kindergarten and new family orientation in gym tomorrow at 6pm

Friday is trout release day at Sibbald Meadows Pond at 2:30pm.

Eco Team event on Saturday.  Here is a message from the Eco Team:


The EcoTeam is excited to invite you to our next event, to inaugurate our garden beds, this Saturday!   We plan to plant the plants, and water the garden. We invite families, and members of the community, to join us.  We thank The Calgary Foundation Neighbour Grants for this opportunity to see our wish, of growing vegetables to serve the community, come alive!  Please let Ms. Goldberg know if you are able to attend or lend a hand in any way – amgoldberg@cbe.ab.ca. Bring a hand shovel and a small watering can, if you have one!  The event will probably last only 1 hour, or so, so please arrive on time! 

In gym we are learning to play kick ball.  This is a lot of fun and it sure is great to be outside.

Have a wonderful evening.

Tuesday 17 May 2016

May 17

This afternoon we had a practice lockdown.  It was a surprise lockdown which I did not know about.  The kids did amazing.  They moved to our safety spot quickly and quietly.  

For writer's workshop we will be working on writing responses to stories we hear.  I read the book Say Hello to Zorro and the kids are working on creating a spinning wheel that discusses the characters, setting and plot.  We are working on summarizing stories and writing about the main events that take place.

This afternoon in math we did Mathletics.  This was a huge hit!

Family dance is Thursday evening.

No school Friday or Monday.

June 9, 13 and 14 we will be working with an artist in residence Jenny Dale.  Dads, please note.  Your father's day present will be a few days late :)


Monday 16 May 2016

May 16

We had the most amazing experience today.  We had the opportunity to skype with my brother in law who is currently working in Fort Mac.  We were able to ask him questions about the destruction he sees and what it is like being there to help.

This morning we talked about our amazing weekends.  We are still working on poetry writing during writer's workshop.

In music we practice our song that we wrote about Fort Mac.  Hopefully we will be able to record it and showcase it on our school website.  Last week I added some new pictures to our classroom website.

After lunch we worked on our math.  Grade 2s are still working on double digit additon and subtraction.

In gym we started to learn the rules for Kickball.

Just a reminder there is no school this Friday or Monday.

Have a wonderful evening.


Wednesday 11 May 2016

May 11

Tomorrow is our in school field trip with Teacher's Pet.  We will be making butterflies out of soap.  Cannot wait.  This is going to be so much fun.

This morning we also had a presentation from Yellowfish Road.  The kids did a great job listening.  The presenter told me she was able to do things with my class that she is not usually able to do with kids so young.  They were so amazing that she decided to take things to the next level using costumes and props.

Today we had our spring pictures taken.  We had both individual and a group picture taken.

We are currently working with Mrs. McBride on writing a song about Fort McMurray.  We are changing the words to the song He Hoy by the Lumineers.  Mrs. McBride is so talented and I heard the song for the first time today.  I may have had a few tears in my eyes :)

Also we are still collecting Change for Change for Fort Mac.  We are also starting a bottle drive with all proceeds going to the Red Cross.  Please bring in any bottles that can be returned to the recycling depot.  Also, please make sure the bottles are well washed.  Thank you for your support.

Have a wonderful evening.


Tuesday 10 May 2016

Message from the eco team


The EcoTeam is excited to invite you to our next event, to inaugurate our garden beds, on Saturday, May 28, 2016, at 1:00 pm.  We plan to plant the plants, and water the garden. We invite families, and members of the community, to join us.  We thank The Calgary Foundation Neighbour Grants for this opportunity to see our wish, of growing vegetables to serve the community, come alive!  Please let Ms. Goldberg know if you are able to attend or lend a hand in any way – amgoldberg@cbe.ab.ca. Bring a hand shovel and a small watering can, if you have one!  The event will probably last only 1 hour, or so, so please arrive on time! 

May 10

Tomorrow is picture day!

Tomorrow at 8:30 am we have our yellowfish road presentation.  So far we have 2 parents who are able to volunteer for our painting day on May 25.

Today we had a practice evacuation.  We left the building quickly and quietly and walked over to the church.  The kids did great!

I have started testing everyone's reading as I get ready to write report cards.  Its hard to believe that there is only 32 days of school left before summer holidays.  If you have any questions about where your child is academically at this point in the year please do not hesitate to email me.

Grade 2s please please practice adding 10's, 20s etc to double digit numbers.  Please explain to your parents, "what happens to a number when you add 20 to it.  For example how will the number 32 change when you add 20 to it".

We have been working on writing 2 word line poems.  They kids seems to really be enjoying this poetry unit.

We are collecting change for the red cross and the Fort McMurray evacuees.  Any contributions are welcome.

Have a wonderful evening.

Monday 9 May 2016

Volunteer tea

Volunteer Tea

Thursday, May 19th
10:15 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.
Cranston School Gymnasium
We love our volunteers and want to make sure they are celebrated and know how much they mean to us! Without volunteers, there are many, many things that could not happen in our amazing school.
If you are able to attend on Thursday, May 19th please R.S.V.P. to cranston@cbe.ab.ca  

Yellowfish Road information

YFR Blog Post
Over the next few weeks our classroom is going to be participating in the Yellow Fish Road Project.  This non-profit organization seeks to educate students and their communities about the effect of pollution in the storm water drainage system upon the river ecosystems that surround us.  As part of our work in this Canada wide initiative we will going out in our community and painting "Yellow Fish" on the storm drains as a reminder to everyone, that what we put down the storm drain goes straight out to our river water.  In order to do this project we will require approximately 4 volunteers on the afternoon of May 25 to help lead small groups of students in carrying out the painting and distribution of Yellow Fish Road door hangers.  If you are available to help us, please let your child’s teacher know as soon as possible.  Thank you!

If you are interested in volunteering please email me at klsloane@cbe.ab.ca.

Thank you.

Thursday 5 May 2016

May 5

I was away this morning but I got an amazing report from the substitute teacher.  The kids were great.

This afternoon we worked with our grade 3/4 buddies on making posters to send our thoughts to the people in Fort McMurray.  We will post pictures of our posters on twitter.  We also brainstomred a list of ideas for things that we can do to help the people who have been evacuated.

We also did a guided drawing this afternoon and labelled the parts of the plant.

Picture day is Wednesday May 11.  A form was sent home today.

Also today is arbor day.  All grade ones will be coming home with a tree.

Have a wonderful evening.

Monday 2 May 2016

May 2

Happy May.  We sure are enjoying the warm weather.  We had lots of fun playing frisbee bocce outside this afternoon.

It was great to hear about everyone's weekend.  Sounds like there was a lot of outside time.

Today during writer's workshop we learned about Haiku poems.  We reviewed syllables as this is extremely important to know when it comes to Haiku poems. Can you write a Haiku poem and post it on the blog.  Remember the syllables are 5-7-5.

At 10:30 we started our Music Monday celebration.  We met outside on the compound and sang peace songs.  At 11:00 we sang the music Monday song We are one.

We had an Annie practice this afternoon.  We are ready for our performances tomorrow.  For the evening performance please remember to drop your child at 6:15 at the teacher parking lot doors.  After the performance (whether you are staying for it or not) you will need to pick your child up at the classroom.  When you drop your child off at 6:15 they are to come straight to the classroom.

In math we are still working on equals and not equal.  Today we reviewed strategies for figuring our addition and subtraction questions.  We talked about using what we know and building on that.  For examples:  using the doubles, using doubles plus 1, using subtraction for addition (Eden's favourite), and counting on or back.

It is going to be very hot this week and our classroom is a bit warm.  Your child may want to have shorts in their backpack that they are able to change in to.

Wednesday is Wear a Hat day in support of Mental Health. Please feel free to have your child wear their favourite hat to school that day.

Have a wonderful evening.

Wednesday 27 April 2016

Important Annie Information

Annie information:

  • Kids who are on stage are asked to arrive at 5:45 and head to the music room for costumes etc. 
  • Students in the Chorus are asked to dress nicely and head to their classrooms at 6:15 pm –
  • Reminder of the date and times of the shows – Afternoon at 1:30 Evening at 6:30.
  • Doors will open for seating 15 minutes prior to show ( 1:15 / 6:15)
  • Students are asked to enter the school through the TEACHER doors – anticipating large line ups at the front of the building.
  • Tickets are currently still available for all shows
Please let me know if you have any other questions.  

I am really hoping everyone can make it to the evening performance on May 3.  Today when I asked how many kids were coming and only 5 raised their hands.  Please let me know if you still need tickets.  If you don't have the Annie sheet you can write down your child's name and performance you want tickets for on a piece of paper.  

Have a wonderful evening.

Tuesday 26 April 2016

This morning we had a Hope Wing Annie practice.  We did amazing.  Please remember to buy your tickets.  We perform in one week from today.

The kids really enjoyed talking about their weekends however it was a bit of a somber start to the day without Mr.S.  We sure do wish him luck in the future.  Here is a message that Mr. S wrote: Hello Parents/Guardians,


As most of you know I was in your child’s class for a large portion of the school year. For 6 weeks back in November-December and another 8 weeks from February-April. I wanted to send you a little message in regards to my experience. It was an honour and privilege getting to know each one of your children. They are all excited and eager. Each one of your children has so many gifts and talents that are bound to take them far. To my friends (the students), I want to thank each and everyone for the time of my life. You have taught me so much, and without you none of this would have been possible. I want to thank you all for letting me into your classroom, your excitement in the class and your positive energy. Without a doubt, I will be there to come visit since I will miss you all too much and I want to know how all of you are doing. Even the day’s I am not there, I want you all to remember that you are all important and to Bee Yourself!

Mr. S (Jan)

Today during writer's workshop we talked about Personification.  Please ask your child what this means and how we are going to apply it to our poetry writing.

In math today, we discussed ordinal numbers.  Please ask your child about the game we played.

We had a special presentation by Hanna and Moe today.  Hanna did a great job introducing us to one of the Puppy Pals name Moe.  I have included a few pictures.

At the end of the day we watched a bit of the Annie movie.  The kids are loving this.

Have a wonderful evening.

Tuesday 19 April 2016

April 19

Woohoo swimming is so much fun.  The kids are doing great and I am so impressed with how well behaved they are.  They are amazing Cranston Ambassadors.  Have attached a few pictures.
Great float Sophia

Way to go Dexter and Grayson


You are awesome Kale!


Today we all celebrated baby Nova's first birthday.  Thank you to all the families who sent in snacks, drinks, plates cutlery.  It was very much appreciated.  

 Birthday Girl!


Have a great day Nova!  We have had so much fun seeing you learn and grow.
Box of Cards fundraiser was sent home yesterday.
Book orders are due tomorrow.  

No School on Friday or Monday.
Mr.S's last day is on Thursday.  We sure will miss him. 

Have a wonderful evening.  We sure are loving this warm weather. 


Monday 18 April 2016

Baby Nova's First Birthday Celebration is Tomorrow

Tomorrow we will be celebrating Nova's first birthday (she is our Roots of Empathy Baby).  I am hoping some families may be able to help us out with some snacks that we can share with her and the rest of the class.  If you are able to bring any of the following items please post it on the comments section of this blog.
1. bananas
2. cheese
3. watermelon
4. yogurt
5. juice
6. cups
7. plates
8. apple sauce

We are asking that no treats be sent as Nova has not yet experienced cake or cupcakes and we could like her to do this for the first time with her family on her real birthday.

Thank you for your support.

Thursday 14 April 2016

April 13

We are back online today.  Yay.

We started our morning off in the most amazing way.  A group pf kindergartens came to share their 3 little pigs reader's theatre with us.  Noah's little sister was one of the readers.  So cool.


Today during Writer's Workshop we continued to work on our List Poem.

During Daily 5 we got 4 new word work activities one of which includes practicing writing contractions.

During math we started learning how to use a balance and I introduced the "not equals" sign.



At the end of the day we continued working on our bee projects.

Swimming starts on Monday.  Today was our last day of gymnastics.

Have a wonderful evening.

Tuesday 12 April 2016

April 12

Happy 7th birthday Liam!

Just wanted to let you know that our school is getting a wireless internet update.  This means we will not have access to the internet tomorrow.  If you need to contact me please call the school rather than email.  Thank you :)

Tomorrow during Writer's Workshop we will be learning about poetry.  This week we reviewed what good writing looks like:
- leave spaces, print neatly, use punctuation, include sound and action words and use your senses to describe the setting.

In math today we reviewed the 3d shapes.  We talked about the faces, vertices, edges and points.  After lunch we continued on with math and 3d shapes.  We made a variety of 3d shapes using marsh mellows, toothpicks and plasticine.  So fun.  




At the end of the day we learned about bee baths.  Please ask your child about this.  We will be making our own bee baths in the near future.  Tomorrow the kids will start planning their own bee bath.

Please return swimming forms by Friday.  

Have a wonderful evening.

Monday 11 April 2016

April 11

Tomorrow is an important day across Canada.  The spouses of the members of the RCMP are asking us to wear red to show support for all RCMP families across Canada.  This something that is near and dear to me.  With my husband as a former Mountie and now a member of CPS, my father in law a former Mountie and my brother in law a current Mountie in Manitoba, I would like as many students as possible to wear red tomorrow.  Here is a link discussing this initiative.

http://victoriabuzz.com/2016/04/spouses-rcmp-asking-wear-red-tuesday-april-12-rcmp/

Today we talked more about bees and planted seeds that will eventually grow into flowers that we can plant to help save the bees.  Here we are planting.  So fun.

In math we are currently working on sorting 3d shapes.

Don't forget to send in your money for Annie tickets.

Have a wonderful evening.

Thursday 7 April 2016

April 7

Just a reminder that I will be away tomorrow for Therapeutic Crisis Intervention Training all day tomorrow.

Please remember to buy your Annie tickets ASAP.  Our performance date of May 3rd is quickly approaching.  This is going to be an amazing performance.  I am so impressed with how well the kids are doing.

Today during Math Daily 3 we continue to work on identifying the vertices, faces and other characteristics of 3d shapes.  We also worked on a word problem:  I have an object in my hand that is able to roll.  What might it be?  How do you know?  The next step in math will be to sort 3d objects by 1 and 2 attributes.

During Writer's Workshop we continued working on writing our fairy tales.

We are having a lot of fun in gymnastics.  Today we did a number of different circuits.

At the end of the day we worked with our grade 3/4 buddies on our bee projects.

I have booked an in school field trip on May 12 at 9:00am with Teacher's Pet.  We will be doing soap stone carving.  We are making butterflies.  Stay tuned for more information as I will be needing some volunteers.

Have a wonderful weekend!


Wednesday 6 April 2016

April 6

Happy Wednesday.  We had a great day.  We are still working hard on our fairy tale writing.  It's awesome to see how the kids are changing a traditional fairy tale and making it their own.

Some guided reading groups are working on contractions.  Please post the answer to the following.  Please write the contraction for the following words:  I am, I will, I have, do not and will not.

In music we are working hard on our Annie songs.  Please check out Mrs. McBride's blog and don't forget to purchase your tickets.  The entire school is involved in this musical.

In Math we are working on 3d shapes.  Our new vocabulary words are: edge, vertex, face and base.  Please ask your child what these words mean.

At the end of the day we worked on our Bee inquiry project.  Mr.S has some cool things planned for us.

We would also like to say congratulations to big sister Kaitlyn whose baby sister arrived on April 3.  Welcome baby Hailey.  We can not wait to meet you.  We really enjoyed seeing your picture. 

Have a wonderful evening.


Tuesday 5 April 2016

April 5

What a great day!  During our small group reading instruction we have been talking about contractions.  Any reinforcement with this concept at home would be greatly appreciated.  

During Writer's Workshop we are looking at Fairy Tales.  We listened to the story The True Story of the Three Little Pigs.  We talked about how this story is written from the wolves perspective.  Our job was then to write a story similiar to the three little pigs but using different characters.  This was so fun.  Everyone loved this challenge.

Today we did making words and talked about the following word families: ear, ears, each.

After lunch we looked at the word problem we started yesterday.  We talked about the number of faces on the following 3d objects: cube, cylinder, cone, sphere and pyramid.

In gym we continued with our gymnastics program.

At the end of the day we got together with our grade 3/4 buddies.  We are starting an inquiry project on bees.  We watched a video and began a very rich discussion about being helpful and how to bring back the bees.  Please watch this quick video.  Post your thoughts in the comments on this blog.  


Have a wonderful evening.

Monday 4 April 2016

April 4

Happy Monday!  Just reminder that all students at Cranston School will be participating in our Annie musical.  Students who do not have a specific part in the play will still be involved as a member of the choir.  We are performing on Tuesday May 3.  Please plan to have your child available to perform that night.  I have posted on my previous post, information about Annie the link to Mrs. McBride's website.

Gymnastics started today.  We learned all kinds of new body positions.  Some of them included a stork stance, straight stand, straight sit and straddle sit.  




In math we continue to work on 2d and 3d shapes.  We started working on a problem this afternoon which was quite challenging.  Here is the word problem.  I have 3d shapes in my basket.  Altogether they have 8 faces.  Which shapes do I have?  Please post your answers on the blog tonight so we can talk about it tomorrow.  

We had Roots of Empathy this afternoon and we started to make a nursery rhyme book for Nova.  This is perfect timing as we are going to be talking about Fairy Tales in writing starting tomorrow.  

I will be away on Friday as I will be going for Therapeutic Crisis Intervention training.  Mr. S will hold the fort down with a substitute teacher named Mr. Chapman.  

Family Movie Ticket information went home today.  Please return as soon as possible as this event traditionally sells out very quickly.

Have wonderful evening.

Annie Kids - Very important

Annie Kids

Parents, our class is participating in the the production of Annie Kids on Tuesday  May 3.   There is an afternoon show at 1:30pm and an evening performance at 6:30pm.  Please note that the tickets are issued in a first come – first served basis.  As stated on the order form, there is a wait list for both afternoon and evening tickets if you may require more than your allotted number.   All students were given a copy of the lyrics required to practice for the musical.  Please encourage your child to take some time to practice at home.  We appreciate your support of our music program and are excited to share "Annie Kids" with all of you!

Here is the link to Mrs. McBride's blog/website where important information about Annie is posted.


Thursday 31 March 2016

March 31

Annie tickets were sent home today.  Please return as soon as possible as they tickets are available on a first come first serve basis.

We have started reading one of my favourite novels.  It is called Charlotte's Web.  This book ties in perfectly with our Small Flying and Crawling Animals unit.

Here are some pictures of the kids working hard comparing insects and other small crawling critters.



In writing we are working on comparing 2 different things.  Many students are currently comparing the similarities between winter and summer.  This writing project ties in nicely with our current Science unit.  

Today in math we started talking about and comparing 2d and 3d shapes.  Our next step will be to sort shapes using 2 different attributes.  We have finished talking about how to read a calendar (for now).  Please please practice this skill at home with your child.  Ask them questions such as:  How many is 2 weeks from today?   How many days was 1 week ago?  What day of the week will it be in one week etc.  Thank you for your support with this.

Mrs. Kinsman read us a book today called Going Places.  Tomorrow will officially be her last day.  We sure will miss her but we wish her good luck at her new school.

Next week we will be starting an inquiry project about bees.  This is going to be a lot of fun.  Stay tuned for more details.

Also, please check out our website.  I have added some new photos.

Gymnastics starts on Monday.  Swimming starts on the 18.  April 22 is Mr. S's last day :(  and also Sophia's birthday :).  I know Mr. S is going to miss us. 

Have a wonderful evening.

P.S.  Don't forget that tomorrow is April Fool's Day :)

Wednesday 30 March 2016

Welcome Back

Great first day back after school.  We had an amazing time hanging out with Canada's most decorated Olympic athlete Cindy Klassen.  Not only is Cindy an amazing athlete she is truly a genuinely kind and caring person.  We spent part of the afternoon making thank you cards for Cindy.  I know she will appreciate them.


We have started talking about Small Flying and Crawling Animals.  This is one of my favourite units in Science.  It is a great time to start this as Spring is here and many little critters will be starting to move about.  

Next week we will be starting gymnastics.  Swimming starts on April 18.  One more swimming permission form will be coming home soon.

Have a wonderful day!

Monday 14 March 2016

March 14

Today was our first day of our Reading Week festivities.  We celebrated by dropping everything and reading numerous time throughout the day.  Don't forget to wear your pajamas tomorrow.  No stuffies please.

At 9:00 tomorrow we will be watching Alexander's Terrible Horrible No Good Very Bad Day.  Should be fun.

Pledge forms are due on Wednesday.

We started our talking about our wonderful weekends.  Sounds like everyone was very busy.

Today during Writer's Workshop we continued with our non-fiction writing projects.  We learned some new words today which included: Diet, Habitat, Appearance and Enemies.  Many students used these words to help them organize their writing.

In Math we continued to work on reading calendar and we also talked about Mathletics.

Have a wonderful evening.

Friday 11 March 2016

March 11

That was an amazing assembly.  Thank you to all the parents who joined in on our celebration.  We knew we would bring Mrs. Kinsman to tears.  Thank you Cameron for being prepared with the box of kleenex.

This morning we had 3 guests in our classroom who came to observe us working during Daily 5 (they are from another CBE school).  I heard over and over from these teachers how amazing my students are.  They could not believe how well they work independently.  They even told me that there grade 3/4s could not do what these grade 1/2 students do.  I am so proud of these kids.

Today during writing we working on Non-Fiction description.  We chose a non-fiction topic, made a web of facts and then wrote a short paragraph.  We will be working on this over the next few weeks.


We are still working on reading a calendar and relating the number of days to a week.  Any extra practice at home would be great.

Have a wonderful weekend.

Thursday 10 March 2016

March 10

Wow!  What a windy day.

Very Important:  Tomorrow is our assembly. It starts at 11:10 not 11:15.  It is a short presentation of about 20 minutes.

Just a reminder that tonight is the final night of our Student Led Learning Walks. I will be attending tonight's event.

Next week is Read A Thon week.
Monday - D.E.A.R - drop everything and read.
Tuesday - Pyjama Day and Book and Movie Club.
Wednesday is Buddy Read - we will be reading with Ms. Handelsman's class.
Thursday - Mrs. Kinsman will be reading to us.

Please return gymnastics forms as soon as possible.  Also, swim forms were sent home today.

On the post prior to this one I attached a link to a calendar game we have been working on as a class.  Here it is again.

http://www.abcya.com/calendar_word_problems.htm

Have a wonderful evening.

Link to Fun Calendar Game

http://www.abcya.com/calendar_word_problems.htm

Monday 7 March 2016

March 7

Good afternoon families.

Some important reminders:
1. Our assembly is on Friday at 11:10am.  You are welcome to attend.  Grace and Cameron along with 2 of our buddies will be hosting our assembly.  We hope to see you there.
2. Wednesday and Thursday evening are our student led learning walks starting at 6pm.  We hope to see you there.
3. Please book an appointment for Parent teacher conferences next week.
4. If you are still interested in buying your child's Tanga Art piece, they are for sale for $10.00.

Have a wonderful evening.  Book orders are due.  


Tuesday 1 March 2016

March 1

I started to write the date for this post and I wrote February..... oh no...It's March already.  Wow time is flying.  We had a wonderful first day of March.

We had 2 rounds of Daily 5.  We talked about the letter C being a tricky letter because sometimes it says /s/ and sometimes it says /k/.  Please ask your child if they know when c usually says /s/ in the middle of a word. Hint: when c is followed by i, e and y.

Today in writer's workshop we continued to work on our re-tells.  We brainstormed a list of works to help us organize our events.  Some of these words include first, second, after,before, next, then and finally.

In math we worked on a project around the book 12 ways to get to 11.  This project will be on display next week during Student Led Learning Walks.

At the end of the day we worked with our buddies on our assembly.

Monday 29 February 2016

February 29

Happy National Cupcake Day!  This event was a huge success.  There were so many cupcakes donated that we will be selling them after school today.  Wow.  Great job families and thank you for your support.

Today is February 29.....it's a special day kids...Do you know why?  Please post your answers on the blog.

This morning we talked about our weekends and then we went on a re-fresher tour of the Learning Commons.  Please remember to return all library books.

This morning we worked with Mrs. Bowles on our Math Daily 3.  The grade 2s learned a new game called Double Dice addition.  To play this game, you have 2 different coloured die, you roll each one to make a double digit number and then you roll them again to make another double digit number and then you add them together.  This is a great game to play at home.

The grade 1s continued to work on solidifying their facts to 10.  They played a game with the power of 10 cards called "How many more to make 10".

During Writer's Workshop, we learned how to re-tell events.  We worked on writing and re-telling an event that happened this weekend.

In gym we played a game called Popcorn Basketball.  This was so much fun and we were all a sweaty mess.

At the end of the day we worked with our buddies.  It was our final day of videotaping for our assembly next friday.

Have a wonderful evening.

Friday 26 February 2016

Cupcake volunteers



Cupcake Volunteers for Monday February 29th!

Thank you for volunteering to assist on Monday February 29th!  Parents will be dropping off their cupcakes first thing in the morning.  We will gather in the staff room at 9:00 am to begin organizing the trays of cupcakes.  Please sign in through the office prior to 9:00.

Each volunteer will be assigned a classroom to sell the cupcakes and gather the money.   Once each child has had an opportunity to purchase a cupcake, we will reload the trays and offer a second one prior to lunch break if they have brought another loonie.

cupcake day on Monday

Please post the following blog post to your blogs daily until Friday. Thank you so much for your help:
Monday February 29 is National Cupcake Day!
Cranston will be celebrating national cupcake day in support of the Alberta Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Alberta SPCA).
As a part of our Community Building work at Cranston School, students will have the opportunity to purchase one cupcake on Monday February 29th for $1.00. All of the proceeds will be donated to the Alberta SPCA. 
Please have your child bring exact change ie. (loonies,quarters). We do expect that there will be extra cupcakes and students will be given an opportunity to purchase a second cupcake later in the day. A huge thank you to the volunteers who are donating cupcakes for Monday.

February 26

Thank you to all the amazing families who came to our Tanga Art Sale last night.  I completely understand if you were unable to attend last night (families are busy) but would still like to purchase your child's art, you may do so.  Please send $10.00 to school next week.

Today was another amazing Friday.  We had 2 rounds of daily 5 and we also worked on our "discussion texts."  Next week Mr. S will be working on writing projects that have to do with re-telling events.  This will be awesome.

Today in math we worked on Math Writing as a group.  We worked on "today's number" and the kids could choose to represent 12 or 31.

After this we moved onto Math With Someone.  I have attached a picture of all the expectations for the students and teachers during Math Daily 3.  Please continue to talk with your child about these expectations.

Monday is National Cupcake Day.  If you would like to purchase a cupcake, please bring $1.00 to school.

Have a wonderful weekend.  

Wednesday 24 February 2016

February 24

Be a buddy not a bully day was awesome. Thank you to Sophee who made a wonderful pink buddy cake.  I have a attached a picture for all of you to enjoy.

This morning a group of grade 2's worked on making a video using the green screen.  They are reporting on things they have learned about avalanches from their guided reading group.  Good job Ruby, Sophia and Noah.  All students will get a chance to do a green screen video in the next few weeks.

During writer's workshop, we continued to work on creating discussion texts.  Tomorrow Mr. S. will brainstorm with the class other topics they can "discuss".

Today in math we worked with Mrs. Bowles on Math Daily 3.  We learned 2 new games for Math by Myself.  These games are called In and out and Race to ____.

In gym we are working on our basketball skills.  We ended the day off working with our buddies on our video for the upcoming assembly.

Have a wonderful evening.




Tuesday 23 February 2016

February 23

Welcome back Mr. S.  We are so happy you are back and looking forward to our time together until April 22 when you will be fully qualified teacher.  

Just a reminder that tomorrow is Anti-bullying day.  Please wear pink if possible.

Thursday is our Tanga Art sale from 6-7:30.   Our projects will be displayed in the Link hallway right outside of our classroom door.

Grade 2's are working on double digit addition.  Here is the process we are following.

53+21
53 + 20 = 73
73 +1 = 74
or 
50 + 20 = 70
3+1 = 4
70+4 = 74

These are only 2 suggestions.  If your child creates a strategy that works for them and they are able to get the right answer ...... that is great!  All I ask is that they are able to represent their thinking.  

Grade 1's have been working on domino addition.

Today we started working on writing a "discussion text".  Our topic of discussion was "Children should not do homework".  This was the title of our discussion.  We then came up with arguments for and against this.  We started talking about our opinion and how it is also important to see things from another person's "point of view".  

At the end of the day we had Roots of Empathy.  We talked about being sad and what things make us feel better.

Have a wonderful evening.

Friday 19 February 2016

February 19

Happy Friday!  

Just a reminder that our Tanga Art Sale will take place next Thursday from 6:00-7:30.  All our pieces will be available for $10.00.  We are raising money for a school in Tanzania Africa.  In the past our funds have purchased a new roof, repaired the floor and bought school supplies for both teachers and students.  

Today we read part of a book called Ready or Not, Here I Come.  This book is about a group of girls who are playing hide and seek and are looking for the quickest way to count to 100.  We are reading a variety of math literature as we get ready for our Student Led Learning Walks in March.  The theme of the evening will be Math and Literature.  

February 29 is Buy A CupcakeDay.  Cupcakes will be available for $1.00.  We are raising money to support programs at the SPCA.

Have a wonderful weekend.

Wednesday 17 February 2016

Happy 100th Day!!

Oh my I cannot believe it is the 100th day of school.  I am very happy with what we have accomplished thus far in the year.  We are well set up for the last 5 months.

Today we celebrated 100 day.  We made a post card and a 100 day collage.   We also learned what an acrostic poem is and each student wrote one using the word "HUNDRED".  I was so impressed with the ideas they came up with.   Tomorrow we will work on a few other 100 day activities as we did not get to all of them today.

Our assembly has been changed to March 11.  We have been working hard on 2 songs and a video with our grade 3/4 buddies.

All parts for the Annie Musical have been filled and Mrs. McBride will be letting us know by Friday who has landed each role.  Stay tuned :)

Next week some exciting things will be happening.  Mr. S (our student teacher) will be returning for a 9 week practicum.  With my guidance he will be teaching 90-100% of the time.  Next week I will be teaming up with Mrs. Bowles to introduce a new way of teaching/organizing math lesson sin the classroom.  It is similar to Daily 5 but this program is called Math Daily 3.  This way of teaching math is new to us and that is why I have asked Mrs. Bowles to help introduce this program.  I am super excited for this to get started.

Have a wonderful evening.


Thursday 4 February 2016

February 4

What a great day.  We have been working very hard preparing for our Peace Assembly.  We are learning a new song called Don't Laugh at Me.  Here is a link to the video and lyrics.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f7Dej4Gfkmc  We are also in the process of creating a video to go along with our School Song.  

Wednesday February 24 is Anti Bullying.  We are asking all staff and students to wear pink in support of ending all types of bullying.  www.erasebullying.ca

I also want all families to know that I will be away next week.  My Uncle passed away very suddenly on Tuesday and I will be traveling back home to Manitoba to attend his funeral.  Mrs. Amy Mann will be teaching my class for the entire week.

Monday February 8 we will have a Lion Dance presentation in honour of Chinese New Year.  

Wednesday February 10 is Carnaval.  Please dress appropriately for the weather.  Not sure if we will have snow or not but we will adjust accordingly.

We will have our Valentine's celebration next week.  I have not yet decided which day but I will let you know very very soon.  Here is a list of all the kids in our class in case you are planning to give our Valentines: Trevor, Hanna, Jamie, Grayson, Eden, Cameron, Kale, Liam, Dexter, Sophee, Hayden, Reid, Kaitlyn, Finnah, Ruby, Noah, Madyson, Sophia, Grace, Landyn, Mathew, Yahia.

Have a wonderful evening!


Wednesday 3 February 2016

February 3

Can you believe it is almost half way through the school year.  On February 17 we will celebrate the 100th day of school.  

This morning we went on a half hour winter walk.  This is an initiative celebrated by many schools throughout Alberta.  It was beautiful morning and we enjoyed our time outside.

This morning we also had a presentation from Laura Oh who is a Speech and Language Pathologist who works at Cranston School with many students.  Today she talked about Good Communication Skills.  We learned how to use an appropriate rate of speech and volume, to always look at the person we are talking to and how important our body language is.

In math we started talking about shapes.  We looked at a variety of shapes and played a "Guess the Shape" game in partners.  Please ask your child how we played this game.  

At the end of the day we started to explore our Magnet centres.  

Book orders have been sent home and are due on Monday.


Friday 29 January 2016

January 29

Happy Friday Families.  Looking forward to spending some time outside while the warm weather lasts.

We had a fabulous day.  We started our day with Daily 5.  We have been working on goal setting this week and many kids have uploaded their goal into IRIS along with other artifacts.  You are able to log into IRIS at home using your child's CBE ID number and their password is the last 4 digits of their ID number.  Please have a look on IRIS..  The website can be accessed on the Cranston School Webpage.

This morning we had an assembly based on bravery.  It was wonderful.  After our assembly we learned about Chinese New Year which is happening on February 8.  We are in the process of making a fire works art project.  Fire works are a very important part of the Chinese New Year celebration.

Just a reminder there is no school on Monday.  It is a professional development day for teachers.

Have a wonderful weekend.