Jan. 29

This morning our good friend Jaclyn game to visit! Jaclyn used to work at the zoo but now she works at CPAWS (Canadian Parks and Wildlife Society). She came to talk to us about animal at risk. That means animals that are endangered or threatened. We learned about grizzly bears, swift foxes, burrowing owls, leopard frogs, kangaroo rats, yucca moths, and Weidemeyer’s Admiral (that's a butterfly). Some of the reasons that animals are threatened or endangered are: over-hunting, farming, poisons that are meant for other animals, train tracks and highways, global warming, and habitat destruction by building.

Today we also went treasure hunting! We went to look for intriguing treasures outside that could have stories in them. We have been learning to become storytellers with Mrs. Gummo and we are getting ready to tell stories about treasures from our neighborhood.

Report cards are coming home today. Please sign and return the envelope to Ms. Boyer but keep the report card at home, it belongs to you. Please remember there is no school on Monday. We will see you on Tuesday. Don't forget to to dress for gymnastics again next week.  

Reminder: It is treat day on Tuesday! 

Our helper on Tuesday is: Morgan

Jan. 28

Today we finished up a lot of things. We finished our animal headbands, animal clue posters, and the trees for our Nosehill mural. Now we will start putting it all together! In gymnastics we worked on leaps and rolls. We worked on making our movements exciting.

Tomorrow is Fresh Air Friday. We will be having a special guest joining us!  Here are some clues about our guest:
- She has visited us lots of times before.
- She knows a LOT about plants.
- She has a new job that is all about wild animals.
- She is going to come to talk to us about animals.

Can you guess our visitor???

Jan. 27

Today we worked with our Storyteller in residence, Karen Gummo, and started working on creating our own stories using interesting story beginnings. We each had a coloured feather to inspire us because "each feather is a story from a bird".  Here are some of the beginnings we used. Can you think up a story that starts with one of these?

Suddenly I slipped and landed on a ...

It scared me when I saw a...

I heard a buzzing coming closer...

I spied a ________ traveling very fast...

It was such a surprise when a _____ jumped over the bush...

I was walking in the forest when I found it...

I don't know how it happened but I saw a bright light...

This afternoon we continued to work on our Nosehill mural and our animal headbands for storytelling. Some of our headbands are looking really great! 

Tomorrow our helper is: Evelyn

Please remember to bring back your library books. Tomorrow is our library day. 

Jan. 26

Today we continued working on our storytelling. The characters in our story made headbands that will be their costumes. The narrators painted aspen and evergreen trees for our Nosehill mural.  After gym we did some journal sharing. We added in "skill testing questions" to our sharing to test our listening skills.

This afternoon we ended the day with a visit from Pania's pet bunny named Lily. Almost everyone was really excited to pet her.  She is super soft and cute. She eats vegetables and rabbit food.
Today was Emma's birthday and Mrs. Hamby's birthday. Emma brought cupcakes. Thanks Emma!

Thank you to everyone for remembering to wear excellent gymnastics clothes and black and white! Please keep wearing your gymnastic clothes for the next few weeks.

Tomorrow our helper is: Ellie

Jan. 25

This afternoon we turned our animal clues into clue posters. We are going to be adding them to our Nosehill Mural to make it interactive. The mural isn't quite ready for visitors yet but we will let you know when it is ready for you to come and see.

Today was also our first day of gymnastics. For the next few weeks it would be very helpful to wear gymnastics type clothing. Here are some tips:

DO: Please wear t-shirts or fitted shirts that stretch and pants that are easy to move in like leggings or sweatpants. For girls please wear your hair in a braid or ponytail.

DON'T: Please don't wear tights with feet, fancy dresses, tuxedos, jewelry, or hoodies.

Tomorrow our helper is: Peter

Reminder: Tomorrow is black and white day. Please try to wear some black or white if you can! 

Jan. 22

Today was Fresh Air Friday and our first day with our big buddies! We were all really excited to find out who our big buddies are. We did some sculptures with snow inspired by Andy Goldsworthy. You can check out some of his work in Google Images.  It was really fun to try making things like castles and sculptures with our buddies. Before we met up with our buddies we played another round of the animal sounds game that we learned with Mrs. Gummo. We are getting better at using animal sounds to locate our "animal families".

An important purple notice is coming home today. Please check for it in your child's backpack.

Our helper on Monday is: Stephanie

Jan. 21

Today was fun lunch! 9 people had bugs and cheese, 3 people had chicken strips, 9 people had pizza, and 2 of us brought our own lunches. Today we also finished typing up our animal clues. We are going to use them as part of our big Nosehill mural.  We had library this afternoon. Some people forgot their books. Please remember that our library day is Thursday each week. I gym we played volleyball dodgeball.

Tomorrow is Fresh Air Friday. We will be working outside for quite a long time so please wear snowpants, jackets, mitts, and toques. We are going to spend some time in the Whispering Woods and we are also going to do a special activity with our Big Buddies!!!!

Jan. 20

Today we worked with Karen and we learned a new story. The story was called "How Bear Stole the Chinook". The characters in the story were: Bear, Magpie, Coyote, Owl, Prairie Chicken, Weasel, and Orphan Boy.  Now we are learning to act out the story in small groups.

Today we also worked on the computer to type up our animal clues and painted some more plants for our Nosehill mural. The background group painted a beautiful blue sky for us. We had Mrs. Polski for music today because Mrs. Lim was away on a field trip. We read some song books like "Down by the bay", "There was an old lady who swallowed a fly", and "Wheels on the bus".

Tomorrow our helper is: Aanya  

Tomorrow is Fun Lunch! 

Jan. 19

Today we started a special project. We are creating a Nosehill mural. Today we started by making the plants, flowers, and bushes.

We also started figuring out tricky counting patterns. Can you figure out the rule for these patterns?

2,4,8,16, 32,64...

3,5,9,15,23,33...

Tomorrow our helper is: Isla

Jan. 18

Tomorrow is another spirit day. Please wear green and blue to show your school spirit. David says he has the perfect outfit...we can't wait to see it!

Today in music we listened to the Flight of the Bumblebee. It was really fast! In gym we played Newcomb ball.

Tomorrow our helper is: Aiden

Jan. 14

Tomorrow we are going to work with our Storyteller in residence, Karen Gummo! She will be working with us outside and we will be playing a special game!

Please make sure you are dressed appropriately for the weather and for working in the snow. Snowpants, jackets, boots, hats, and mittens please!

Jan. 13

Today was our first day working with our storyteller in residence, Karen Gummo. She lit a story candle and she brought basket filled with storytellers. She had a story man, story mother, and a story bear. Then she told us a story about Whispering Woods. The story started like this "Whispering Woods, Whispering Woods, what are your secrets? Tell them to me!" After the story we imagined that our classroom was Whispering Woods. When she sang a special tune we shared what we "discovered" with a person next to us. After that we started a sketch of Whispering Woods and the things we imagined seeing there.

This afternoon we started sharing our animal clues. We read our clues to the class and had 4 or 5 guesses before we told the class our animal.  Before we started each group did their own dress-rehearsal so that they were sure they were ready to perform. We also played a guessing game on the computer. It is about animal sounds.
Here is a link to the game: http://www.kidsplanet.org/games/js/whoami.html

Tomorrow our helper is: Carissa

Jan. 12

Today we learned about our new centre choices. Our new choices are:
1. Story writing
2. Word searches
3. Math center
4. Book awards
5. Animal research
6. Tumblebooks

We also worked on finishing our animal clue project. We will be sharing our clues and having the class make guesses tomorrow.  We also finished up our last math pattern tub.

Tomorrow our helper is: Teagan
Our new sharing category is: Nature objects

Jan. 11

Today we continued our animal clue project. Now we are trying to come up with at least one clue for each of these categories: appearance, tracks, sounds, survival, habitat, food, and family groups.

Can you guess this animal?

1. I have brown fur with some sliver on my sides and belly.

2. My fur gets thicker to protect me in the winter. I don't hibernate. 

3. I live on the ground but I don't make a burrow. I take shelter under grasses or wood debris.

4. I am an insectivore. That means I eat insects and their larvae, earthworms, spiders, snails, and, rarely, small salamanders.

5. I am about the size of a mouse but with a much more interesting nose! 

Tomorrow is treat day! Please bring 25 cents for a special recess treat. It is also spirit day. For January we are having colour days to make us feel like we are all on a team! Tomorrow the colours are orange and purple. Try to wear as much orange and/or purple as you can! 

Jan. 7

Today most of us finished the first part of our animal research. We each created a "Top 5 Animals" folder. Next, we are going to start doing more detailed research about the animals we find the most intriguing.

In gym, we started playing Newcomb ball. We were really quick learners and everyone kept their eyes on the ball!  This afternoon we also had library. Many of us remembered to bring our books back and Mrs. Kidd was very pleased! If you still have books at home please bring them back ASAP.

Tomorrow is Fresh Air Friday. The weather forecast looks very chilly. We will still plan to go outside for part of the morning so please dress in warm layers. 
Please check your child's backpack for their Fun Lunch form. YAY Pizza!

Our helper on Monday is: Hussain

Jan. 6

Today we continued our research of animals on Nosehill. We are starting to try to figure out the difference between some of the similar animals on Nosehill. We learned that White-tailed Deer have white fur on the underside of their tales and Mule deer have white on top of their tails. We learned that the Mule Deer has larger ears than the White-tailed Deer.

We have started our second set of pattern centres in math. Now that we are faster at recording our work we are only going to have one day per centre. This means we have to stay extra focused.

Today in gym we started training to play Newcomb ball. It is a game like volleyball but uses throwing and catching instead of bumping and volleying.

Please remember that tomorrow is our library day. Mrs. Kidd has provided many of us with slips of paper reminding us of our overdue books. Please try to find any school library books you have at home and bring them tomorrow.  

Tomorrow our helper is: Carissa

Jan. 5

Today we began researching the mammals on Nosehill. We talked about the importance of knowing about the mammals on Nosehill so that we can help to take responsibility for the park and the animals that live there. We used google images to get a good idea of what the different mammals look like. Here is the list of mammals that live on Nosehill:

Mammals on Nosehill

Mule Deer 

White-tailed Deer 

Moose 

Lynx 

Coyote 

Red Fox 

American Badger 

Porcupine 

Long-tailed Weasel 

Least Weasel 

Muskrat 

Striped Skunk 

Varying Hare 

White-tailed Prairie Hare 

Richardson's Ground Squirrel 

Northern Pocket Gopher 

Meadow Vole 

Southern /Red-backed Vole 

Deer Mouse 

Western Jumping Mouse 

Prairie Shrew 

Dusky Shrew 

Little Brown Bat 

Long-eared Bat 

Hoary Bat 

Silver-haired Bat 

Big Brown Bat 

Today we also shared our New Year's Resolutions to see if there are ways that we can help each other to keep or achieve our resolutions. We found that there are lots of experts in our classroom who are ready to lend a helping hand!  In gym we began working on volleyball skills with the nets. We are working on overhead throws and catches over the net.  

Our colour artwork is now up outside our classroom. If you are in the school please come and take a look! 

We are planning to take a walk around the community on Friday. We are looking for a few volunteers to join us. If you are available please email Ms. Boyer. 

Our helper tomorrow is: Emma

Jan. 4

Welcome back!

Today we wrote about our holidays in our journals. Some people went on roadtrips and airplane trips. We were excited to hear what our friends got for Christmas! We also learned about making New Year's resolutions and tried to think about some resolutions for ourselves. We also had a special Happy New Years treat thanks to Pania!

We came back to a bit of a surprise in our worm bin. The worms didn't eat the potatoes and they started sprouting. The lid had popped off the worm bin and the potato plants were sticking out! We are worried that maybe our worm colony isn't doing very well. We might need to get some new worms.

We were excited to see that our garden started growing the break. We did some sketching of the plants and tomorrow we will write some observations about the garden so far.

In gym we started training for volleyball. We began by trying to throw the ball really high and then catch it. Then we started learning to bump the ball and to do an underhand serve.

Tomorrow our helper is: Teagan