Friday 21 December 2012

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

Here are the three versions of our class card.  The first one didn't make the cut but it's worth a view.


 







Thursday 20 December 2012

Sharing Our Favorite Holiday Books

This morning we enjoyed reading "The Polar Express" while we sipped hot cocoa and afterwards the children shared their all time favorite holiday books.  It was such a success that Mrs. Andrew also allowed students to share their stories during "silent reading."









Gingerbread Houses



"POET TREE"






Students brainstormed their thoughts and feelings about Christmas and Winter with reference to the senses.  As you can see, there was no shortage of ideas!  They chose the nouns, verbs, adjectives, and sound words that they most connected to and created their own Poet-trees.







Monday 17 December 2012

December 16-21 *Special Activities

Tuesday
- Students will be building gingerbread houses in the afternoon.

Wednesday
- Gingerbread house decorating.

Thursday
- Hot cocoa and sharing our favorite holiday books.

Friday
- Holiday movie with Ms. Roberts class in the morning.
Students are welcome to bring in a treat to share with classmates if they wish.  We will have a little class party in the late morning.
- Magic assembly in the gym.
The Unit 12 spelling list will not be coming home until our first school week back in January.

Student of the Week- December 10 -14

James


James shared his collection of Disney pins that he collects and traded on trip to Disneyland this past fall.  

Christmas Concert



The students sang their hearts out at the Christmas concert last Thursday afternoon and evening.  It was a wonderful performance.

Snowmen/girls at Christmas











Tuesday 11 December 2012

Calling all photographers

It is unlikely that I will be able to take photos during our performance on Thursday as I'll be busy with the children.  I would love to post several photos of the concert so please feel free to forward a few to me and I will include some on our blog. 

As a class, we occasionally look at the blog together and the children get a kick out of reading the blog and seeing themselves and their work in the photos.  Later this week we will be looking our blog stats to see how many people view our blog on a given day.  This ties nicely into Math as we are creating and reading bar graphs. 

Congratulations Jesse!!

Mrs. Postle came to our class to present Jesse with a certificate for completing the "Partners in Reading" program.  Jesse was recognized for his improvement as a reader and for being one of the "hardest workers" that Mrs. Postle has ever worked with.  She presented him with a special pair of blue glasses because once students are able to read, they see things differently and a whole new world is open to them.  Congratulations Jesse!  Div. 9 is proud of you!

Monday 10 December 2012

Art Gallery Visit







Last Thursday, volunteers from the Victoria Art Gallery visited our class with artwork that uses geometric shapes to create a particular design or tell a story.  After discussing each of the pieces we created our own pieces using pastels and shapes.  The volunteers noted our thoughtful responses to the artwork, creativity, and  artistic ability.

Winter Concert- December 13

Costume reminders:
Boys- light shirt, dark pants
Girls- dress, ankle socks or light tights
*Ms. K says to wear our, "Christmas best!"
All students should bring in a toque and scarf on Wed. for Thursday's performance.  

For the evening concert, students should arrive in class at 6:15 where they will be supervised before and after their performance.

Student of the Week- Dec. 3-7

Hannah





After Hannah presented her "About Me" poster she described how she wrote her own book entitled, "The St. Nick Surprise."  We also had the chance to read Hannah's story and look at her illustrations.  Wonderful job, Hannah!  She inspired many of her classmates to bring in the books they have written and in January we plan to create a student library of books we have written and illustrated.

Tuesday 4 December 2012

SCRAPBOOKS




We will be beginning to assemble our scrapbooks next week.  They will go home at the end of the year and will be a collection of your child's favorite artwork, poetry, writing pieces, and photographs.  Grade two students did not receive scrapbooks as part of their school supply package.  If you are unsure whether your child has a scrapbook at school please send me an email and I will let you know asap.  Portfolio scrapbooks can be purchased at Staples for approximately $3. 50.  Thank you to those parents who have already one in for their child.  If you would prefer your child's work to be sent home in a file folder please let me know.  Thanks again!


Art Gallery Visit- Dec. 6


The Victoria Art Gallery is visiting our group of artists on December 6th (Thursday).  We will be looking at geometric designs used in art and then creating an image of our own in a similar style.

BC Forest Discovery Center



We enjoyed our time at the BC Forest Discovery Center despite the rain.   We rode the Christmas train, spent time in a 1905 schoolhouse learning about changes to Christmas trees over the past 150 years, made our own ornament, and went for a hike on the property.





Train Ride





 Matt and Melia are getting a little nervous as the train tracks go over the water.




 Our guide, Jenn, explains how girls and boys had to use separate entrances at school in 1905.
 Inside the schoolhouse, we compared trees from 150 years ago to present day.

People dried oranges to use as ornaments in 1905.  Our students were not impressed by the smell.
 Nick shows a candle that was used to light a Christmas tree in 1905.

 We played with a few homemade toys from the past, like the "Whirley-gig" and "Jacob's Ladder."  Arianna gives it a try.

 We made snow-globe ornaments.









 We took a hike on the property's trails before our bus ride back to school.

 We send a huge thank you to PAC for providing us with the funds to go on this field trip!