Mr. Murphy's Fire safety talk for fire Prevention Week 2016!!!

We talked about fire safety rules:

1. Never go back for a toy
2.Stop drop and roll
3. Stay low
4.Never hide
5. Go outside to a meeting place
6.Don't open a door if it's too hot!!

Hello,

Welcome back to school!!  I am so excited to be back after summer break!!  I am pleased to announce that this fall I have an intern from Memorial working with me, her name is Julia Sears.  I know she will be a welcome addition to our Grade One classroom!!  This year I have moved classrooms.  I am one room down than I was for the last five years. Here are some pictures of my new classroom.  I am so blessed that my classroom is spacious and gives me the opportunity to try flexible seating this year.  I am really excited about that!

I am looking forward to meeting my new students this year, only two more sleeps!!!

Here we are with the Monster Truck!!!

Pictures from The Botanical Gardens!!

We had a great time at the gardens with Christine our guide!!

 

 

 

 
 
Here are some pictures of us designing our leprechaun blueprints.  While some were designing others were working in our Literacy block!!

Here is a video from our Arts Smarts when Catherine was working with us!!  We had so much fun!!

I can't believe it is almost March!!  A new calendar will be going home later this week.  I wanted to make sure everyone received the note about Nevaeh.  Our school is selling Lemonade on Friday to support her Lemonade stand.  The minimum donation is 50 cents. The students will only receive one glass of lemonade.  Today we made cards for her also.  We had a wonderful discussion about why it is so important to help others.  What beautiful children!!!  I have attached the flyer as well.

By now most everyone has received new sight words these are up to date.  I have just finished checking them.  I have 3 more students to check and I am hoping to do those children tomorrow.  Please keep reading nightly and practicing sight words it is so important to your child's reading development.  A couple of weeks ago I had to delete drop box from all my devices.  So there are some videos that are on my webpage that may no longer work.  I am trying to figure out a way around this.  Thanks for your patience. I have not blogged much lately because of my computer issues but I am back on track now and I will be posting as soon as I finish here.

In math we are finishing measurement and we are learning about numbers to 100.  In science we are beginning a new unit about objects and materials.  In social studies we are learning about natural and constructed features and how natural resources such as water are important to us and our daily lives.

We will have another student recognition assembly this Friday afternoon at 1:15. Pink shirt day is Wednesday, March 24th of this week.  So even if your child does not have a bullying t-shirt please have them wear pink to support the cause.

We will also be beginning lessons on digital citizenship tomorrow. 

As we complete each lesson I will be sending home a family information sheet and a do it together sheet on the other side with activities that you may complete at home with your child.  They do not need to be returned to me. 

Don't forget about the 50/50 tickets that have been distributed.  They need to be returned by March 11th and the draw will take place March 17th.  Thanks for all your support!!  Have an awesome week!!

This week...

Hello everyone,

On Tuesday of this week we will be going snowshoeing with our Grade 4 buddies in the afternoon so please wear snow pants or a snowsuit, hat, mitts and boots. We are going to have a great time.  Hopefully the weather works with us this time. 

Over the last couple of weeks I have been reading with the students and the amount of progress they have made is amazing.  Please encourage your child to keep reading and using Raz kids.  They should be able to read for at least 5 – 10 minutes each night.  Reading every night is the key to making progress!!  I am currently listening to sight words with each student.  Please continue to practice all the sight words. 

In Math we are adding and subtracting numbers to 12.  We are learning about the senses in Science.  Winter safety is discussed all the time and the students are becoming experts in this subject area.

Just a reminder that the only day toys should be coming to school is on Friday. 

I have added a blend and diagraph page to my website.  There are videos here to watch and a reference page like the one I sent home about blends and diagraphs.  We are now finished learning about the sounds the short vowels make and after blends we will move to the long sounds the vowels make and the rules that go with them.

I have added a couple of new videos.

Our Art Smarts project with local artist Catherine Wright will begin the first week in February!!  This will be my fourth time working with Catherine.  She is a wonderful artist and I know the students will love working and learning with her.

Information about Valentine’s Day and the 100^th day of School will come later.

Thank you for all your support, we are half way through our school year!  Where has the time gone?  Have a great week!!

Mrs. Murphy

Sailor the Hangashore Newfoundland Dog

Since we were discussing sequencing Mrs. Morgan stopped by for a visit and she read the book, Sailor the Hangashore Newfoundland Dog.  Then we wrote about the beginning, middle and end of our story.  After we discussed the message that the author was trying to tell us.  We decided that her message was to not take part in dangerous or unsafe activities such as copying ice pans or playing on a snowbank to close to the street!  Great message, critical literacy at work!!

Thanks for visiting Mrs. Morgan!!!

Making Ice Cream!!

Hi, Last week we were learning about sequencing.  We talked about sequencing the order of events in a story or mapping the story.  We talked about a recipe and how it is written so that people know what they need and how to complete the task.  Last Friday we made ice cream!!  It was awesome!  We discussed what we needed and the tools we would need to use.  Then we looked at the steps we needed to follow to make our ice cream.  Everyone had a really good time doing this.  It also tied in nicely with our science lessons about our senses.  Here are some of the pictures from our ice cream making!!

 

 

 

 

Lots of fun!!

Some before Christmas pictures

My dad reading How the Grinch Stole Christmas

December Student Achievement Award winner Caleb

December Student Achievement Award winner Logan

January notes

Happy New Year everyone!! 

 I hope you all had a wonderful holiday with family and friends! I must admit I am happy to be back to a routine.  I have sent home a baggy book for each child to read today.  I am not going to send home the reading log until next week.  As well, beginning next week there will be a homework folder sent home every Monday and the work is to be done each night as well as the nightly reading.  Please return the folder on Fridays.  The homework for the whole month will be in the folder. Only complete the work one week at a time.  Everything in the homework has been taught in class.  The homework should be able to be completed by your child in about 15 minutes. At the back of the folder there is a new reading record where you can record your child's nightly reading.  I am in the process of reading with your child and listening to their sight words.  I expect some levels to definitely be changing in the next week or two!!:)  We are beginning a mini unit of study on snowmen.  On Thursday we are doing Snowga!!  It is yoga to accompany the book Snowmen at Night.  Please have your child dress in comfortable gym clothes.  This term I am hoping to do yoga with the children on Day 7 in our schedule.  We have a class set of yoga mats.  I am also hoping to have a day to build snowmen outside and then complete some writing about their snowmen, and maybe a few other winter surprises!! 

 

Tomorrow in Math we are beginning subtraction.  Please continue to practice adding and subtracting numbers from 18 with your child.  We are on day 72 on our count to the 100th day. Friday will be our show and share day.  Please have your child choose one item to bring to school.  It must fit inside a book bag.  Please no electronics.  I told them if they had their heart set on bringing an electronic or something that might not fit in their bag I told them to take a picture of it and email it to me so I can show it on the board when they are speaking.  Encourage your child to practice what they are going to say to their audience.  Where the object came from, who gave it to them, why they love it, why they chose it, etc.  I am looking for eye contact with their audience, knowledge about their topic, how fast they talk, etc.  I will be observing for these things but they are 6 and 7 years old so this is an introduction to speaking in front of an audience and I want them to be comfortable but to learn some skills also.

 

We are moving to our last vowel sound short e.  Videos for this will be posted soon.  As well all our diagraphs are taught:  sh, ch, th, wh, ph and ck. We are doing blends now.  I will send home a reference sheet for these tomorrow for your child to keep at home.  I am also beginning to work on alphabetical order and how to use the alphabet.  Once our vowels are done I will move into vowel teams and flipping the vowel strategies. 

 

I am moving into work on writing during our daily 5.  I am so excited to do this!! We will be learning more about it this week!!  We work for about thirty minutes each day independently reading and practicing our sight words now writing will be included!!  During this time I get to work with small groups to help them learn. 

 

 

Please continue to dress your child for outside days.  Thank you for all your continued support!!

 

 

Nicole Murphy

Grade One Teacher

Mary Queen of the World School

Family Tradition

Do you have a tradition that is important to you and your family?  If you doo please reply and tell us about it!

Christmas

We are learning a lot about Christmas right now.  We will be learning about baby Jesus and the nativity.  We will be looking at Hanukkah and learning about the symbols and customs.  We may have a special visitor later in the week to read How the Grinch Stole Christmas to our class.   We are writing our own story about the North Pole.  We will be making some ornaments and things to bring home!!  We are going to be trying to trap a Gingerbread man in another STEM challenge.  There is so much to do!! 

We are learning about different ways to add and subtract, the senses and we will get letters from our pen pals in Hopedale Labrador!!  We sent them a letter last week and made Christmas cards for them.  We are waiting for the letter they sent to us!!

Don't forget on the last day of school before Christmas dismissal is at 1:00.

Catch up!!

Hi, things have been crazy lately!!  First I want to catch everyone up on things we have been doing in our classroom!  At the end of each month every class chooses 2 or 3 students to recognize for a achievement.  Last month parker, Ella and Olivia were recognized in an assembly for being awesome!!

 

Way to go!!

 

We have also been sent a class elf from Santa!!  Her name is Candy.  She brought us a present from Santa, it was candy cane seeds.  We planted them last week and grew them. 

 

 

They really did grow!!  I let the children eat their candy canes on the morning of our Christmas concert.  I left to bring something to the office and when I got back the children had a thank you ready for me for letting them eat their candy canes.  I was so touched!!  I have beautiful students! They really made my day!  here is their video.  It is so sweet!!

Class thank you!

 

The concert was awesome!!  A big thank you to Miss Gale who filled in for me because my daughter had her Christmas concert the same night.

We have now worked our way through three vowels a, i, o.  Please view the flipped classroom videos with your child over the weekend.

We have also learned about digraphs which are two letters that make one sound.  Please watch Geraldine Giraffe as she finds, sh, ch, th, wh and ck around her house.  I am hoping to finish teaching the short vowels e and u by Christmas.

We are beginning our second unit in Science now too and we will be exploring materials and our senses.

In Math we are learning about patterns now.  Here are some of the Pattern I can statements Grade One students are responsible for learning.

I can:

describe the core of a repeating pattern of up to four elements.

identify and describe any errors in a repeating pattern

can identify the missing elements in a repeating pattern.

create and describe a repeating pattern using manipulatives, sounds, actions, diagrams.

reproduce and extend a repeating pattern.

describe a repeating pattern in my environment

identify repeating events such as days, birthdays, seasons

can represent a given repeating pattern in another way, such as actions to sound, colour to shape, ABC to animals.

describe a given repeating pattern using a letter code. (ABCABC…)

We are soon moving on to addition and subtraction to 18.  

We are also practicing for our Christmas concert on the 10th of December.  Mrs. Smith our music teacher has the songs and music on her website if you would like to practice the songs at home.  I have put the songs for Grade One below.

Let's Build a Gingerbread House

Little Snowflake

Deck the Halls

Christmas Songs

Pattern Zebras

Hi everyone, It has been a busy couple of weeks.  Term one is at an end and we are beginning term two!! I can't believe that term one is done.  Report cards go home next Tuesday and your children have worked so hard!!  I can't believe how much they have learned!! They are pretty amazing!!

We have been busy here at school. I am going to post some pictures to show some of the things that we have been doing.

 

Here we are making pattern zebras with our Grade Four buddies!!  We had lots of fun!