parent letter 05.11

                                                                                                                               

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    05 November, 2010

Dear P1 Parents,

Thank you for the support and help you provide for your student at home; we love hearing the connections they make between school and home. Here’s a short recap of the past few weeks and a couple of notes on what is to come.

Literacy:  P1 students continue exploring the many reasons why people read and write. Recount writing continues to be integrated into each week along with daily interactions with poetry. In addition, we have been using labels and lists to help us describe and instruct. A highlight for many is our shared writing experiences with the Morning Message. Sentence structure, punctuation and rhyme are integrated into these writing experiences. Students have started “Reading Groups”. We are talking about the differences in non-fiction and fiction text while looking at different strategies to use during reading and writing. Our phonic work has focused on letters ‘F’, ‘L’, ‘B’ and ‘J”.

Maths. Shape and pattern have been our focus during Maths. Students have been exploring, describing and comparing patterns found in the environment whilst also constructing patterns from real materials. Through the games “What is hiding?”, “Can You Finish This?” and hopscotch students are learning to extend and transfer patterns. The following are vocabulary we have been learning while looking at 2D and 3D shapes (circle, triangle, square, rectangle, cube, cuboid, pyramid, cylinder, sphere, corner, edge, face, straight and curved). Our “Shape Hunt” this week had students seeing shapes everywhere! Our Number Strand in focus is combining numbers to 5 and 10 using materials or the counting-on-strategy. 

Our Unit of Inquiry, titled Tales and Technology is concluding today. This past week students have been exploring and building structures to keep them safe from the crocodile we bumped into rowing down the river! Through the exploration of many materials, students have gained an understanding of their properties, have made decisions on what the best materials for their structures would be, and made decisions on what materials they would choose in “real life” for these same structures.  Students have been using ‘Design Cycle’ language (plan, explore, and reflect) throughout the day.

I imagine you have heard all about swimming!  We LOVE swimming! Our Art focus has been line, primary colours, ‘prints’ (ask about our fish paintings!), and pattern (of which we, as a class, decided to dedicate an entire wall).  We met students in P 5/6 Thursday and now have our very own buddy!

Looking Ahead:  We begin a new Unit of Inquiry next week where we will be look at types of homes from around the world, our own homes (past-present-future), and the way environment effects the type of homes we live in. If you have interest in being a guest in our class to talk about the homes you or your family have lived in please let me know. “What are features of homes?” is one line of inquiry. I would like to incorporate opportunities for students to cook, bake, or prepare food made in homes around the world into this unit. If you have interest in sharing with us a food cooked in your home or are willing to help us prepare food, please let me know.    

Please make sure your student is wearing appropriate footwear (flip flops and sandals are not to be worn) and has a hat at school.

I have posted pictures on the blog; feel free to check it out at: http://chekechea1k.blogspot.com/

Have a lovely weekend,

Chelsea