Happy Holidays!

Dear Families,

We have had a very happy and successful first 1/3 of grade one!

Just a reminder to check backpacks for your child's report card.  Parent/Teacher conferences will be held in February.  If you have any urgent/ immediate questions or concerns, please contact me in the New Year.  I will be away over the holidays and will not be checking e-mails. If your question is regarding music or physical education, please contact Mrs. Buonomo (Music) or Mrs. Fraser (Gym) in the New Year. 

Thank you for all of the thoughtful gifts.  I hope you have a happy and safe holiday season.

Ms. Bakkan

See you on Tuesday, January 3rd!

Pictures!

"We got Santa letters!" -Sydney

"We love Santa!" -Cambrie

"We love the things Santa wrote to us!" -Ethan

"I love you Santa!" - Ronick

"I was surprised that we got notes back!" -Amelie

"We are all happy!" -Zach

Thank you Twyla (Reed's Mom) for our classroom tree! 

We are counting down to Winter Break and Christmas!

"We are excited to open our boxes!" Gabby

"Only two more days!" Wahiba

These are our Rudolphs!!

by Aden

Winter Poems and Writing

Our Pumpkin.... Kind of.... Almost dirt!

Ask me what glide, huddle and doze mean!

We are learning about big numbers now!!

TOMORROW & FRIDAY!!

Dear Families,

Important Information:


Tomorrow: Thursday, December 15th

-Wear red or green day (optional)

Friday, December 16th

PAJAMA DAY (optional)!  Students may wear pajamas to school and bring a stuffed toy to snuggle.  Please make sure that the stuffy is not their one and only favorite in the unlikely event that it gets damaged or lost!

REPORT CARDS GO HOME! Students will be bringing their report cards home on Friday.  Please refer back to my blog on November 11th, titled, "Our Learning" for assessment information.

EARLY DISMISSAL!  Students are dismissed at 11:35am for Winter Break!


Over the next two days, the grade one students will have the opportunity to celebrate together.  We will have the movie, "The Polar Express" playing in the project room, games and activities in another grade one room and crafts in a third room.  On Thursday, December 15th for 1 hour and on Friday, December 16th for 45 minutes, students will have the choice of rotating through these activities.  The grade one teachers have language arts activities to follow up on The Polar Express on both days.  Please note that students will be served a small 5oz serving of Hot Chocolate made with hot chocolate powder and water on Friday.  Teachers will ensure it is a safe temperature for the students.  Please make sure to let me know if you would not like your child to receive hot chocolate.  Students can bring a special snack for themselves for Friday as well. Please do not send treats in for other children.

Thank you and stay tuned for another post with pictures of some of our recent learning and activities.

Thank you,
Ms. Bakkan

This Week

Hello Parents / Guardians, Here are just a few reminders before we break for Winter Break. Weather Please ensure your child is dressed for the extreme temperatures (hats, mitts, boots, snow pants and warm jackets).  The students will have some outside time for recess when the temperature is warmer than -20c including windchill.  Donations If you and your family have any children’s (G rated) DVD’s that you would be willing to donate for indoor lunch/recess, please send them to school on Monday. Christmas time is traditionally associated with a time of giving and sharing. In keeping with the spirit of Christmas, we will be running a Christmas hamper campaign from December 5th through to December 13th. During this time please send your cheques or cash donations to the school in a sealed envelope marked ‘Christmas Hampers’. We will be distributing gift cards from all funds collected to Evanston families who would appreciate a little extra during the holiday season. Caroling Students at Ken Taylor School have been participating in a Creative Movement unit for the three weeks in December. Together we have learned about a variety of cultural celebrations and dances that are from around the world. Each class will have an opportunity to share what we have been learning during our Caroling Assemblies next week. Below is a list of dates and which class is performing when. We welcome parents and guests to come and share in the magic of the season with us.  Tuesday, December 13 @ 9:30am  Pearson/Stewart  Brar/Bakkan                Thursday, December 15 @ 1:00pm  (Red and Green Day) Hargreaves/Sayani PM Kindergarten   Friday, December 16 @ 8:30am (Pajama Day)  Carstairs/Witczak AM Kindergarten  Steckly/Fraser/Jordan  Lost & Found We have accumulated many lost items in our lost and found.  Please take a moment with your child to make sure none of the items belong to you.  We will be donating any items left over after December 16th. Spirit Days We will be having 2 Spirit Days next week Thursday Dec 15th Red and Green Day Friday Dec 16th Pajama Day Last Day of Classes Dec 16th is our last day of classes before Winter Break.  Please note this is an EARLY DISMISSAL FRIDAY which means students will be done school at 11:30 and there will be NO PM Kindergarten that day.  Report Cards will be sent home on this day as well.   The Staff at Ken Taylor would like to wish your family a relaxing Winter Break.   Thank you, Barb Rocca Administrative Assistant, Kenneth D. Taylor School Calgary Board of Education | cbe.ab.ca t | 403-817-3504

No School Tomorrow... and Photos!!!

Dear Families,

Student do not have school tomorrow. Teachers will be at school engaged in Professional Development.

15 days until Winter break begins on December 16th (after school ;).  We will be having a lot of fun over the next couple of weeks as we prepare for Christmas and welcome in the Winter season.

"Our Tree" is looking very different from the end of the Summer!

We wrote Santa and his elves letters.  Fingers crossed that we get letters back!

We have continued to watch our plants grow and care for them as an ongoing part of our, "Needs of Plants and Animals" unit in Science.  We also have been using our senses to observe our plants.

We will continue to watch our pumpkin "compost" and hopefully turn into dirt by the end of the school year!  

We have a temporary vistor in our classroom, aptly named, "Snow."  He is a Robo-Hamster and we will be discussing his needs as an animal.  Students were very excited to meet him today.  Many chose to write about him in their journals.  Students will not be handling, "Snow."

 Calgary Board of Education Policy on Animals in the Classroom:
http://www.cbe.ab.ca/GovernancePolicies/AR6004.pdf

Students are becoming aware of their learning styles and some are asking for an alternative place to work on independent activities.  Here some students are taking advantage of the project room which is located directly across the hall from our class.  Some students wish to work in the hall. Some student wish to remain in the classroom.  They are still given the choice of working at the standing table, on the floor, or at the tables.  All students are supervised at all times.

On that note, we have some students that use "noise cancelling headphones" during independent work times.  Many students are requesting that they be able to use them as well, which is not possible for hygienic reasons.  If your child is expressing an interest in having these type of headphones at school, please feel free to send them in and we can keep them in a large Ziploc bag for use only by your child.  

Students are becoming independent in choosing appropriate levelled books to read.  We will take time each day to read levelled books and participate in guided reading.

We read another book, "I Stink" by Kate McMullan and discussed three more words to increase the students' vocabulary.  Ask you child what the following words mean to them:

1.) Compacted (Squished)
2.) Reverse (Backwards)
3.) Eject (Push out fast)

Student definitions

Scholastic Book Orders have been submitted to, and received by Scholastic. Orders should be here within 1 week and I will send all orders home in brown-paper bags, sealed with the students name on the outside. Students will not see the orders.  If you prefer to pick your order up directly from me or from the office, please contact me at cobakkan@cbe.ab.ca

Have a great weekend and I am looking forward to two full weeks of festive fun!

Ms. Bakkan

TOONIE TREAT DAY TOMORROW & WEDNESDAY!!

Day 55 of 181!

Dear Families,

Today was the 55th day of school.  There are 181 days of school for the students in grade one.  We are almost one third of the way through grade one!

Today we started a comprehension activity designed to increase the students vocabulary.  We read and will continue to read a book and discuss three new words a day.  Today we read the book, "Listen to the Rain" by Bill Martin Jr. and John Archambault.  We discussed the following three words:

1.) Solitude (Alone and happy)
2.) Steady (The same pattern, repeating over and over and not changing)
3.) Gnashing (Angry chewing)

Students then came up with their own definitions. (see green print)

These words are not meant to be memorized, written or read by the students although many students already wanted to use them in their writing. :)

The new Power Words for this week are:

1.) not
2.) what
3.) all
4.) were
5.) we

Students will be introduced to these words tomorrow and we will spend next week reviewing last and this weeks words as we have two 4-day weeks with the students.

Please note that a large package of Scholastic book order forms will be coming home tomorrow.  Please return orders not later than THIS Thursday.  

The students in Mrs. Brar's class read to our class today.  Students had a great time!  If you would like to see some pictures please click on the link below:

http://kent1d.blogspot.ca

Have a great evening!
Ms. Bakkan

NO School Tomorrow

Dear Parents,

There is NO school tomorrow for students.  Teachers will be engaged in Professional Learning.

Please check your child's blue folder for important information about their current reading and writing levels.  

Please contact Ms. Bakkan at cobakkan@cbe.ab.ca with any questions regarding these assessments.  Please remember that we still have 3 weeks to go before report cards go home and that students will be re-assessed on their 'Power Words' before report cards go home.

Have a great weekend and see you all on Monday!

Ms. Bakkan

Reminders

Dear Families,

The Power Words for this week are:

1. at
2. be
3. this
4. have
5. from

Last week the Power Words were:

1. or
2. one
3. had
4. by
5. but

Thank you for continuing to support your child at home with their Home Reading on RazKids.

Please see the following reminders for this week: 24 days until Winter Break!

- Wednesday (tomorrow) is Subway Fun Lunch
- Wednesday (tomorrow) is Spirit Day! Students can wear a colour that you think should represent our school.
- Friday is a PD day - no school for students



Reminders for December: 

-Friday, December 2nd: PD Day – No School for students
-Wednesday, December 7th: Healthy hunger Fun Lunch

-Friday, December 16th:

• Last Day of Classes
• Early Dismissal Friday 8:00 – 11:30am
• Report Cards Go Home

General Reminders:

-Students have library every Tuesday.  Please ensure that library books are returned Monday or Tuesday.

Have a great day!

Ms. Bakkan

A few pictures from Thursday.

Working hard on our Remembrance Day poppy art that we made our wreath out of!

Students each have a plant at their table that they are caring for and watching grow.  We have been excited to see the roots appear and are amazed how much our plants have grown in only 1 week!  This will be an year-long activity that ties into the "Needs of Plants and Animals" unit in Science.

Our Learning

Dear Families,

We had a good week in 1C!

Here is a breakdown of where we are at in our subject areas:

Language Arts:

Students have been continuing to practice and use their Power Words.  We will continue to have 5 new words each week.  When practicing our words, we do some of the following:

-complete word work activities such as; unscramble, fill in missing letters, fit their words into word shape boxes, circle the correct words, etc...

-practice writing them on whiteboards

-in partners, practice reading them together

-we cheer the words

-build the words with PlayDo and other materials

-practice writing sentences with our Power Words

-put our Power Words into our self-made/ personal dictionaries (used when writing in our journals)

-we also search for our Power Words in poems and songs

-use Power Words in our morning messages

Writing:

-Students are beginning to write more decodable ("readable") sentences that include an uppercase letter at the beginning and period at the end.  Students are using kids-spelling (phonetic) of unfamiliar words and accurate usage of familiar words (Power Words).

-Recently students completed a writing sample that will be sent home, so you can see your child's current writing.

-We are working towards adding more detail to our sentences as well as writing more than one related sentences.

Reading:

-Students are taking part in intense literacy practice each morning for 30 minutes.  These are small groups that are focused on the individual student's current level of literacy development. 

-Students in Mrs. Brar's class as well as ours are currently working with Mr. Dyck (Principal), Mrs. Tuttle (Assistant Principal), Mrs. Rempel (Resource Teacher); Miss Aneela (Early Childhood Practioner); Mrs. Brar and myself during this time.  We are very lucky to have this support and we are seeing the children's literacy skills develop and grow!

-I have started reading with each student to determine their current and accurate level of reading.  I am approximately 1/3 of the way through these reading assessments and am very impressed with the amazing readers we are already in grade one!

-Keep it up with the Raz-Kids Home Reading Program. Great work!

Mathematics:

-We have moved on from Patterning and Sorting and are moving towards developing Number Sense.

-Students have been working on: "Making 10"; place value; counting to 100; counting on from a given number; skip counting forward by 2s to 20; forward by 5s to 50;  forward by 10s to 100; backwards from 20; filling in missing numbers on a 100 chart; creating and solving basic word problems as a class; math games focusing on place value and counting; using mental math strategies to answer math questions; representing numbers to 20 in various ways; and adding with answers to 10.

-We will be continuing to practice these concepts while focusing on adding with answers up to 20 and their corresponding subtraction facts.  We will be developing our mental math strategies and will be further developing our problem solving skills.

Science:

-We have completed our Creating Colour unit and recently completed a class-made self-assessment.  Students have done an amazing job on this unit!  Congratulations to every student!

-We are now working on our Senses unit.  Ask the students how they described their tables plant with their senses (taste not being one of them :).

-Students are asking if we can start another 'Science in a Box,' so stay tuned.

Social Studies:

-Students have been working on developing a sense of who they are and what groups they belong to.  

-Students also have looked at comparing rural and urban communities.

-We are working towards looking more closely at our families and connecting the past with the present.

Art is ongoing and connected to all subject areas.

Health is focusing on positive relationships and staying healthy.

Report Cards:

Report cards will be going home in December.  I am very proud of each student and the individual academic growth that each student has demonstrated!

Please note that report card indictors changed in recent years and that the number indicators "1-4" may have a different meaning than an older family member may have received.

Two years ago, "1" and "2" were not meeting grade level expectations and "3", "4" and "5" were considered meeting grade level expectations from basic to excellent.

Now, "1" is not yet meeting grade level expectations and "2", "3" and "4" are considered meeting grade level expectations are varying degrees.  There is no "above grade level."

Please click on the link below to view a blank version of the report card your child will be bringing home in December.  The first page gives an explanation of the indicators "1-4."  

http://www.cbe.ab.ca/programs/curriculum/assessment-and-reporting/Documents/Sample-Report-Card-Grade-3.pdf

Please also note, although the report card template will be similar to the report card that your child brought home last year in Kindergarten, that the academic expectations have increased significantly since Kindergarten and will continue to do so throughout this year.

Students will be assessed in Music and Physical Education by Mrs. Buonomo and Mrs. Fraser.

Students will receive comments on the report card related to reading, writing, mathematics, and science or social studies.  Comments will also include information about your child's personal development, citizenship and character in learning.

Please feel free to contact me with any questions regarding report cards.  E-mail is the best avenue for these questions.

Blog:

Most students have returned the "3rd Party Consent" forms that were sent home at the beginning of the year.  If you have not returned the signed consent or did not give consent, your child's name, school work with name and pictures with their face visible, will not appear on the blog this year.  Last names will never be used.

I will do my best to post photos throughout the week.  I will make sure that there is one entry a week where photos are posted.

Have a wonderful long weekend and I will see everyone on Monday!

Thank you again for all of the great work you are doing with your children.

Ms. Bakkan

Monday, November 7th

Dear Families,

Happy Monday.

I hope everyone had a great weekend and enjoyed the light this morning.

The new Power Words for this week are:

as
at
are
they
with

Thank you for practicing the previous 25 Power Word with your children.


Before and after school routines:

As many of you may have noticed, most mornings there is one grade 1 supervisor outside to welcome your children.  Sometimes this Supervisor will call the children in, so you may not see your child's teacher but we are waiting in the hall to greet them.

This may also be the case after school as we finish up with students at the end of the day.  There is always an adult outside to ensure all students have been picked up.  I will do my best to pop out the doors at the end of most days.  On Mondays and Wednesdays, the students have Music for their last period and Mrs. Buonomo will be dismissing them at our doors.

Library Tomorrow:

I have many of the student's library books in the classroom for tomorrow but please double check at home to make sure your child's library books have been returned.  Library is every Tuesday.

REMEMBER NO SCHOOL FRIDAY FOR REMEMBRANCE DAY

See everyone tomorrow!

Ms. Bakkan

Friday, November 4th

Dear Families,

We had a great day of learning today.

Before Halloween, we read the book, "Stellaluna" by Janell Cannon.



Today, we created our own "Stellalunas." Students learned about negative space in images and many used chalk pastels for the first time.

We are continuing to represent numbers from zero to twenty in a variety of ways.

We have fun practicing the number of the day (days of school).  We are getting very good at place value!!



Science in a Box has come to an end with our final experiment presented today.  The students enjoyed the colours pour down the fountain and create brown!!  

There will be more fun projects to come!

Parent Information/ Reminders:

Blue Folders:

1. Please check your child's blue folders for their picture order forms.
2. The word list in the blue folder is for your information.  These are the words that we will be learning over the next couple of months.
3. Please return the blue folders every day.  I keep them here if there is nothing to be sent home.

Library:

1. We will have library every Tuesday.  Please return library books on Mondays or Tuesdays of each week. Thank you. :)

NEXT WEEK:

Wednesday, November 9th- Parent Council Meeting 6:30pm (babysitting provided)

Thursday, November 10th

-Remembrance Day Ceremony 9:30am (parents welcome)

-Please send children in Sparks, Cubs, Girl Guides, etc... in uniform that day.

Friday, November 11th

No School- Remembrance Day

FOLLOWING WEEKS:

Wednesday, November 16th

Picture Retakes

Friday, November 18th

Early Dismissal 8:00-11:30am

Wednesday, November 23rd

Healthy Hunger Lunch (All information is available on the school website)

-Please check as soon as possible as orders are required well in advance.

https://www.healthyhunger.ca

Friday, November 25th

No School- Staff Professional Development

Have a great weekend and see you on Monday!!