Au revoir!

Parents and guardians,

Here is my last blog post to thank you for all your kind words and gifts today. I would like to thank you for giving me the gift of working with your children over the last two months. They are all absolute gems!

Below are some photographs of our last art project together. These masterpieces were inspired by Van Gogh's The Starry Night. 

I have chosen to call our art, Lightfoot's Sunny Skies. Thank you very much to our resident artist, Ms. Carstairs for her leadership on this project!

We have sunny skies ahead of us and I am wishing you all a wonderful summer full of rest and family fun and adventure!

All the best!

Sharon Lightfoot

3-D Shapes Everywhere!

Parents and Guardians,

I hope that your child shared with you the 3-D shapes that they created that were sent home yesterday! During this unit of study, students learned how to compare, sort and reproduce 3-D shapes. They had a lot of fun making them and learning about their different attributes. Ask them what a face, edge and vertex is and be prepared... the students plan on testing you! 😃

IMPORTANT Report Card Information

IMPORTANT Report Card Information

Dear Parents/Guardians,

The end of the year is fast approaching and your child's report card 

will be coming home soon! To help you understand your child's literacy 

grades, please see below for information and expectations that are standard 

across all Grade One classes.

For reading; based on our Fountas and Pinnell assessment system, 

your child should be reading at a level H/I by the end of grade 1. 

The assessment is based on decoding (sounding out the words), 

fluency (expression and pace) and comprehension (does the student 

understand what they have read and some of the underlying meanings 

of the text?). They need to be proficient in all three areas to be 

considered 'at' this level. Here is an example of the text you would find 

in an I level book:

Students may need help with one or two words and their meaning but overall they
should be able to read this smoothly and be able to re-tell the important information
and key events.For writing, the students are expected to express ideas and information
in a way that is legible and have sentences that make sense. Here is an example of a
basic grade-level writing sample (2):

The child uses capitals at the beginning of sentences, periods at the end and spells
most common sight words correctly. There are some spelling mistakes but it is easily
understood by the reader. The picture matches the writing. The next sample is a child who
would receive a 3 at the end of grade 1.  In addition to the expectations above, this child
added some more interesting details, started sentences in different ways and used
alternate words for descriptive or action words. Notice the use of 'snap' and 'tuck':

Finally here is an example of a 4. The student came up with a story that follows a
logical sequence, used interesting vocabulary and started the sentences in different
and interesting ways. There is appropriate punctuation and spelling.

The above information has been clearly explained to your children so
that they know what to expect and so that they have a goal to word towards
throughout the school year. I hope this helps you, the parents, understand
our Grade One literacy goals.

End-of-Year Updates

Dear Parents/Guardians,

Home Reading

Thank you, parents, for supporting your children in this year's home reading program! Please note that the home reading program is done for the year. If you have not already returned your home reading books, please do so right away.

Reading levels in Raz Kids will soon be adjusted to reflect the students' current reading level, and students are encouraged to continue reading over the summer.  Students at Kenneth D. Taylor attended a presentation from a local Calgary Public Library librarian today. Ask your son/daughter about the special summer programs available at your local library!

Game day - Tuesday

We are going to engage in a cooperative game day in our class tomorrow (Tuesday) during which time students will practice sharing their favourite board games with their peers. Students will have an opportunity to practice their presentation skills as they explain the rules and objectives of their chosen board game, and will further enhance their team building and collaborative skills through community play. So, please send in your child's favourite board game and please ensure that the game is clearly labeled with your child's name.

Last Day of School 

Here at Kenneth D. Taylor School, students celebrate the end of the year by joining together at our year-end assembly beginning at 8:30 am. Parents are welcome to join us for this year-end celebration.  Thank you to all parents who have offered to bring in a special treats for all students. However, due to allergies and dietary restrictions, we will not be sharing treats. Students may bring their own individual treat that day if they wish.

Reminder: Wednesday is early dismissal and students will be sent home with their report cards, swimming reports and their Grade One masterpieces at 11:30 am.

National Aboriginal Day is June 21!

Parents/Guardians,

Tomorrow, June 21, is National Aboriginal Day and we will be celebrating with a school-wide Aboriginal-themed Sports Day.

Please send your son/daughter to school dressed appropriately in athletic-type clothing and running shoes. Weather permitting, we will be outside for most of the afternoon.

Swimming Lessons Start Again on Monday!

Calling All Student Artists!

Parents/Guardians,

Please see below for some important information regarding an opportunity for your son/daughter to use their art skills to contribute to our school's first yearbook!

Swimming lessons start on Monday, June 12! 

Dear Parents and Guardians,

I now have access to our blog site so can begin providing you with useful information regarding our learning activities. A huge thank you to Ms. Brar for keeping us all up-to-date in the interim!

On Monday, June 12, we will begin swimming lessons at Thornhill Aquatic Centre. Thank you to all parents for promptly returning your field trip forms. The information you provided enabled us to group students according to their skill levels to ensure a safe and enjoyable experience.

Thank you in advance to all of the parents who will be volunteering in the change rooms at the pool.

What to Bring

As we will only have 30 minutes to get to the pool and to prepare for our 8:30 am lesson, I strongly recommend that students wear their bathing suits under their clothing on our swim days so that we can save time.

Please send your child to school on swim days with a separate swim bag (plastic bags for wet bathing suits and towels works best) containing the following items:

• a towel 
• a water bottle
• clothes to change into after their lesson (e.g. underwear)  
• goggles (optional)

Please keep personal flotation devices at home. If students require these aids, they will be provided by the pool staff.

Dates

June 12-15 and June 19 & 20

Place 

Thornhill Aquatic & Fitness Centre

Times 

Departure from school is 8:00 am sharp
Lesson time is 8:30 am to 9:10 am
Departure from pool is 9:35 am

Thanks for your continued support!

Ms. Lightfoot

We were so lucky to have Sergeant Brewster join us today and help us work through the 7 C's that Steve Harmer introduced to us a few weeks ago. He asked our students some very important questions:

How do police officers connect to our community?

What are some things Sergeant Brewster needs to be confident in our community?

What does it mean to be competent as a police officer? (Competent means: having the necessary ability, knowledge, or skill to do something successfully.)

How do officers contribute to our community?

How can the police help people in the community cope?

Ask your child: Did Sergeant Brewster say we all make mistakes? 

See Mrs. Brar's Blog! 

http://kent1d.blogspot.ca/2017/06/friday-june-2-2017.html

Reminders
- Fun lunch is tomorrow
- Crazy Hair day tomorrow
- Great Book exchange - with parent permission students can bring in their gentle used books that they do not want anymore (please ensure they are student friendly)
- Assembly Friday morning - all parents welcome. Grade 2 is presenting
- Friday (June 2) afternoon is our Volunteer Tea to celebrate all of our wonderful volunteers
- June 5 - Read your shirt day - wear a shirt with words on it!
- June 6 - Ride your back to school day!

Happy Monday! Today we had the most amazing opportunity to meet with an important member of our community, Officer Jones from the Calgary Police Service. Officer Jones shared some very important aspects of his job with us. He went in detail about all of the tools he carries on his belt. He shared how each of these tools help him keep the community safe. Although these items maybe viewed as weapons, Officer Jones shared he is very careful and mindful about how each is used. He explained that a police officers job is not to hurt people, but to help keep us all safe! These tools allow Officer Jones to do that!

Please ask your child what tools they use to help them do their job of being a student! 

Please also share with your child the tools you may use in your job!

Officer Jones also spoke to us about being safe on the internet. He shared with our young learners that they should never share their personal information online and that they should tell an adult if they think someone is trying to get their information. We talked about using kind words when we are online - this will help us keep the internet as a safe and happy place! As a class, we discussed some websites or things we can do on the internet

Thank you Officer Jones for sharing this very important information with us! 

We thank you for your time!

Today we wrapped up our community building with Ms. Lightfoot's class. Please ask your child what they built and why it is important to a community. We realized we missed a few things like an optometrist and a bank - what are other important aspects of a community?

One partner from each group had the opportunity to bring home their structure. Those who did not bring home a structure may ask to build one of their own at home! :) 

Thank you for your continued support!!!

Reminders
- Book exchange this Wednesday (last book exchange next week - all books due to the library)
- Fun lunch on Wednesday
- Assembly Friday morning - all parents welcome. Grade 2 is presenting
- Friday (June 2) afternoon is our Volunteer Tea to celebrate all of our wonderful volunteers
- June 5 - Read your shirt day - wear a shirt with words on it!
- June 6 - Ride your back to school day!

Reminders
Our in school field trip will be taking place Monday from 9-11! Thank you so much to our volunteers who will be coming in to support. Volunteers, please arrive by 845.

Students in Mrs. Brar's and Ms. Lightfoot's class began the week learning about the different parts of the plant as they are already, experts on what plants need to live. Today our classes continued our exploration of plants - by planting our own lima bean seeds!

Each student received one lima bean seed to observe, make predictions, and generate any of their wonders. This seed will remain in a plastic bag with a wet paper towel so we can watch it germinate and then dissect it!

 With the help of Mrs. Brewster, each student packed their cups with soil

 and planted another seed!

We're excited to see the seeds sprout next week!

Ask your child: What did you observe looking at your lima bean? What do you predict will happen or it will look like? What wonders do you have? Where did you put your cup when you finished planting?

Today is Arbour Day! Each student in grade 1 came home today with a tree to plant. This ties in perfectly with what we are learning about right now - The needs of plants! Below are some instructions on how to plant your tree.

Please ask our child: What does a plant need to grow?

We spent a lot of the day talking about plants and describing all of their parts. 

Please ask your child to tell you what each of these parts are!

We also completed flower paint art - ask me what I did!