Feb 28

This morning, Kais shared a game he created using code.org, it was really neat to see how he made it.  We used the smartboard to try it out! Here is the link if you would like to play it at home Flappy Bird

For science we learned about the next experiment we will be conducting Fooling Your Senses.
We will be placing one hand in hot water and the other hand in cold water. After 30 seconds, we will be placing both hand in lukewarm water. In preparation for our experiment, we made predictions about what will happen to our hands when we place it in the lukewarm water. We had many different predictions in the class about what would happen:

• both hands will feel warm
• the hand from the hot water will feel hotter, the hand from the cold water will feel warmer
• the hand from the hot water will feel cold, the hand from the cold water will feel warm
• the hand from the hot water will still feel hot, the hand from the cold water will feel tingly
• there will be no change in feeling - the hand from the hot water will still feel hot, the hand from the cold water will still feel cold
• the hand from the hot water will still feel hot, the hand from the cold water will feel tingly
• the hand from the hot water will feel the same, but the one from the cold water will feel numb

We are excited to find out which prediction will be correct!

For computers we spent time on Mathletics - many of us forgot our login ID and PWs so we all received new log-in cards and are bringing them home so that we can use Mathletics for additional math practice at home. If you log in and look under the "Learn" tab, available lessons shall appear.

For grade 2 students, it is great practice to finish Counting by 2, 5, 10.


For grade1 students, it is great practice to finish Numbers to 100.


In gym we played toilet tag and then played round of Hoop Rock-Paper-Sissors.

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Reminders:
1. Special helper for next Monday is Joachim - please prepare to share about your special talent
2. No school tomorrow :)

Feb 27 - Coffin Cares

Today we had our Coffin Cares Assembly and talked about what it means to stand up against bullying. We also talked about things you can do if you ever felt like you were being bullied and how important it is to talk to someone like an adult right away. Students throughout the school received hearts from teachers who noticed acts of kindness in the last couple of weeks - these people were recognized at the assembly. These hearts are showcased in front of the office on the Acts of Kindness wall. We also watched a video and learned about the history of Pink Shirt Day - it all started in Canada, by two boys who were standing up for a student that got bullied for wearing a pink shirt. Please ask us about this.

For word work, the grade 1s independently worked on their "it" family words from Monday, and the grade 2s spent time learning about other ways to make the hard "a" sound. We created a list of the "a-e" combination and was introduced to "ea" (a "rule-breaker" for the "2 vowels go walking") and "ei". Try to think of other words to add to our hard "a" sound list.


For math, we continued on with our numerical pattern practice and board game creation.

Then, as part of our Arctic study, we created a map of Canada. It outlined the Arctic as well as the Prairie provinces that we finished learning about. We learned a new word, "Archipelago" - ask us what this means.


We also read a book called, "Poles Apart", which taught us that the North and South poles have many differences. For example, while the North Pole is an ocean surrounded by land, the South Pole is land surrounded by water. Ask us what else we remember from the story.

At the end of the day we had a special visit from Mrs. Boyer, who brought in her new baby - baby Claire. We had prepared cards and questions for her.

It was so great to see her and meet baby Claire.

Reminders:
1. Special helper tomorrow is Kais - please prepare to share about your special talent
2. Library books due tomorrow!

Feb 26 - Clay for Kids - Inuksuk

Today we had Clay for Kids come and teach us how to make Ted Harrison inspired Inuksuk glass art.

We started by sketching a plan and then laying down a large piece of glass. Then we used black glass shards to create the Inuksuk.


Then we added layers of other colors to fill in the background sky and land.

Each of us created an Inuksuk but they all came out very different and beautiful.

We also spent some time continuing to build our math board games and those of us that finished played the math games from math night.

In gym we played a cooperative game of caterpillar race! It took a lot of coordination and teamwork to play. Ask us how we played it.

Finally, we created thank-you cards for our big buddies for all of the work they did last Fresh Air Friday.

Reminders:
1. Special helper tomorrow is Cedar - please prepare to share about your special talent
2. Coffin Cares Assembly tomorrow - please wear a pink, red, yellow or orange colored t-shirt OR your coffin shirt.

Feb 25

Today the class had the pleasure of having guest teacher, Mrs. Bigelow, in for the morning. After the morning routine of journal writing and guided reading the grade 1s were introduced to "it"-family words while the grade 2s had independent book time. The class also got to work on their math board games.

In the afternoon, Mrs. Yoon returned and we had some relay races that were inspired by the arctic games. We tried out the seal crawl race on the gym floor - this was easier than in the snow like we did last Friday. We also took out scooters to use leg strength. Finally we ended with some yoga and stretching.

We also ventured outside to check out our ice village. To our surprise, it was completely covered in snow! We think this is because of the strong windy weather over the weekend - it has covered our ice village. We took note of the temperature and environmental conditions: it was -17 degrees celsius, there was more wind and less sunlight. We used our mittens to gently brush off the snow and make observations. We did not noticed any obvious melting, but some ice blocks were missing. We suspect that they were either removed by mystery people or they are buried deep in the show.

Reminders for tomorrow:
1. Special helper for tomorrow is Enxin
2. Clay for Kids is tomorrow
3. Treat Day is Tomorrow

Fresh Air Friday - Arctic and Winter Games

Today we had a discussion about Math Night and shared some of our favorite memories. The most popular, it seems, was Race to 100 against the parents! Afterwards, we worked on creating our math board games - those that were finished were able to try playing the game boards made by other students in the class. Many students have taken home their math booklets to work on over the weekend - practicing numerical patters - please complete as much as you can and return these by Monday, Feb 25th.

For Fresh Air Friday, we created our own "Arctic Games" in spirit of our exploration of the Arctic. Our Big Buddies came out with us to help.

We had various Arctic-inspired games and other winter activities set out outside:

One Foot High Kick

Sick & Bone Toss

Building with Snow

"Harpoon" Throwing

Seal Crawl Race

Distance Jumping

Snowshoeing 

Curling

Afterwards, we came inside to enjoy our snack while watching a documentary about Arctic in the Summer. We learned about:

• animals will work together to protect each other
• Adult Muskox protect their young from arctic wolves by making a circle around the young and point their horns on the outside of the circle
• Algae and Krill flourish in the summer - arctic animals depend on the krill, such as:
• Humpback Whale, Minke Whale, Killer Whale (Orca)
• Penguins
• Other animals live in the arctic: Elephant seals with large noses, polar bears, lynx, narwhal, walrus, reindeer, snowy owl, tern, beluga whale

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Reminders:

1. Special helper for Monday Feb. 25 is Aadhya - please prepare to share about your special talent

2. Clay for Kids will be coming again on Feb 26th

3. Treat day is Feb 26

4. Return Math booklets for Feb 25

Feb 21 Clay for Kids!

Today we made glass art with Clay for Kids. We took shards colored glass and glued them onto a glass square. These will be fused together with heat. Some of us made abstract art while others chose a design or landscape. 

Here we are hard at work:

We also learned about the Arctic buildings and houses. We looked at images of Iqaluit (capital of Nunavut) and compared it to pictures of Calgary. We determined that the houses and buildings are smaller, further apart from each other, are lower, and fewer in number. 

Then we watched some videos about the culture. The people in the arctic enjoy activities and games such as seal crawling races, kneel jump, drumming, and throat singing. We learned how to throat sing by watching Tanya Tagaq (click for video) and then tried it in class with a partner! It was fun to do and watch.

Reminders:

1. Special helper for Monday Feb. 25 is Aadhya - please prepare to share about your special talent

2. Tomorrow we will be going outside for Fresh Air Friday - please dress for the weather - boots, snow pants and jacket, mits/gloves, etc.

3. Clay for Kids will be coming again on Feb 26th

4. Treat day is Feb 26

Feb 20 - My World Day

Today we celebrated My World Day with students from Simon Fraser School. The purpose was about building community.

All grade 1 and 2 students gathered in the learning commons to meet our friends from Simon Fraser School.

We introduced ourselves to the big buddies from Simon Fraser and got to know them a little bit by getting into a circle with the 1s and 2s on the inside and the big buddies on the outside. The big buddies rotated around the circle several times so we got to meet several big buddies.

We participated in an activity to learn about privilege. 

We took a step forward if we answered "yes" to a question (indicating privilege). We learned that most of us have many privileges but not everyone in the world is as lucky. 

To help those that are less privileged the big buddies made sandwiches for people at the Calgary Drop-in Center. We made cards to go along with the sandwiches and hope the cards will bring a smile to their faces.  

Some of us made cards for our loved ones and friends.

We also started a new topic in Social Studies: the arctic.
We brainstormed what we already knew about the arctic and then gathered with room 1 to watch a few videos about living in the Canadian Arctic. We learned many things, such as:

• animals: polar bears, huskies, muskox, penguin, whales, arctic fox, seal, arctic hare
• food: whale, fish, muskox soup
• drinking water is made from melted ice blocks taken from the frozen river

We will continue our exploration about the Arctic for the next several weeks.

While grade 1s had book time, the grade 2s completed their table of two vowels that make the hard vowel sound of the first vowel. 

We also learned that there are some rule-breakers to this and there are other combinations of letters make the same hard-vowel sound. We will be learning about these combinations in the classes ahead.

Reminders:

1. Special helper tomorrow is Aiden - please prepare to share about your special talent

2. Math Eventing is tomorrow at 6pm

3. Clay for Kids is tomorrow

Feb 19 - Kinder 100 & Science Observation 1

Today we finished our journal writing then went to the Kinder 100 showcase. The students in Kindergarten had created projects showing their knowledge of numbers up to 100. We asked them questions about their projects and provided some feedback.



Then in math we practiced our knowledge of numbers to 100 and counting patters (2s, 5s, and 10s) by playing a game of "Race to 100". We will have this math game available for our math night this Thursday.

We also had the opportunity to go outside and make observations of our ice village. Here is what it looks like:



We noticed the following things:

• snow covered the ice village
• the color of some ice blocks got lighter
• it was sunny outside with a light breeze
• it was 0 degrees celsius outside

Then, in gym we were able to use the climbers. A few more safety rules are:

• always have 3 points of contact when climbing on the climbers 
• when doing inversions we always have to keep both hands on the bar 
• when jumping of the box horse our heads must be pointed to the ceiling at all times.

Reminders:

1. Special helper for tomorrow is Senna - please prepare to share about your special talent

2. Fun Lunch is tomorrow

3. Math evening is Thursday 6pm

4. Clay for kids is Thursday 10:45 -11:15am (parent volunteers with security clearance are welcome to join us and help out)