August: Welcome to Kindergarten!
Oki, Tansi, Hello families,
Welcome to a new school year! I look forward to getting to know each student and families. I have been part of the NLC family for five years with this being my third year in Kindergarten. This is a wonderful age where children learn many foundational skills such as letter and sound identification, blending, and counting. Play continues to be an integral part of our daily classroom life that provides children an opportunity to develop social skills, learn rules of play, solidify learning concepts, and discover more about themselves and the world around them.
In Kindergarten, August is a very busy month. We have a few children who have moved up from our preschool program, but most are new to our school. There is a big focus on learning new routines such as sitting on the carpet, lining up, lunchroom etiquette, and what expected/ unexpected behaviours are. We will follow the same daily routines and schedule as best we can to ensure students feel confident within our learning environment.
Breakfast, lunch, and snack are provided here, but you are more than welcome to pack food with your child.
Please ensure your child has:
- appropriate clothing depending upon weather
Important Dates:
August 15: First day of school (pancake breakfast on the tarmac)
August 26: Splash Park field trip (more information to come)
Please feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns you may have! It is incredibly important to me that children feel safe, respected, and cared for within our classroom and school communities. My email is leblakely@cbe.ab.ca or you can contact the school and I will respond back to you.
I look forward to meeting you all in the coming months.
Ms. Lauren
January: Rest and Recovery
Oki, Tansi, Hello families,
We made it through January! We have been battling illness throughout the school, so thank you for keeping your child at home if sick or if they have been exposed. It is better to rest than risk getting others sick and getting more sick yourself. Please take the time you need and contact me if you have any questions or concerns.
Report cards and EYE-TA data was made available last week. Report cards were shared online this year, so please let me know if you have problems accessing them or if you would prefer a paper copy. I am very pleased with everyone's progress! All students have shown growth in literacy, numeracy, and a variety of other areas - I am very proud of them all and the hard work they are doing at school.
This month, we have been continuing to focus on new letter and sound relationships. Children enjoy seeing familiar letters and sounds in words and are beginning to pay more attention to the sounds heard in words. We have been focusing on word-initial and final sounds. Moving into February, we are going to be spending time learning more high frequency words and reading/ learning about sentences.
In numeracy, we have been spending time working on patterning and are moving into more shape and space activities.
Reminders:
- We try and go outside every day and explore the changes we see on the land and play. Please ensure your child has appropriate winter gear.
- Keep your child home if showing any signs of illness!
- Make sure your child has masks in their backpacks.
- We will be exchanging cards on Valentine's Day. If sending cards with your child, please make sure there is a card for each child.
Important Dates:
February 14: Valentine's Day (bring cards for kids to share!)
February 17 and 18: Teachers' Convention (NO SCHOOL)
February 21: Family Day (NO SCHOOL)
February 23: Pink Shirt Day (anti-bullying awareness)
Ms. Lauren
November: Métis Celebrations and Remembrance
Oki, Tansi, Hello families,
November was a very busy month in Kindergarten. We are continuing to work on our number recognition, representation, and subitizing skills. Each day we practice our counting during calendar time and talking about the numbers we see. We often bring in materials from Na'a to use in our math centers and help us count. In literacy, we have been rhyming and learning about letters N, M, I, and D. Students love going on letter hunts and playing with the letters and sounds in a variety of literacy centers. We have also been focusing a lot on building healthy social skills - many of our books and activities have been on turn-taking, sharing, how to work through problems, and what we can do and say if we are frustrated with friends. Our school-wide self regulation model has been teaching us about emotions and healthy calming strategies we can use when upset. In PE, we enjoyed having Sound Kreations teach us some hip hop moves!
We loved learning all about Métis culture during Métis week! Students participated in jigging, scavenger hunts, weaving sashes, making flags, and creating dot art pictures. We have listened to many stories that help us learn about the Métis people such as "The Giving Tree" - we talked a lot about giving, receiving, and what we would like to give to the tree. We were very fortunate to have Chantal Chagnon come in and teach us some Métis songs which the children loved! We also talked a lot about Remembrance Day and Indigenous Veterans' Day. We discussed why we wear poppies and made poppies to contribute to our class wreath. We had a special assembly to honour all the fallen soldiers and survivors.
Moving into December, we are focusing on Solstice celebrations, Christmas, and winter. This is a time of rest and rejuvenation as we prepare for a new year. A reminder that we go outside every day, so please ensure your child has snow pants, boots, hats, gloves, and a warm jacket. Please contact me with any questions you may have.
Important Dates:
December 16: Winter Celebration (time to be determined, virtual event)
December 17: Pajama Day - last day of school before winter break
December 20 - January 5: Christmas Break
January 6: School Reopens
Have a great day,
Lauren
October Gratitude
In October, we have been spending time enjoying all the colours of O’ko and thinking about what we are thankful for. We have been fortunate enough to have such beautiful weather and have been outside each day exploring and feeling the changes of Na’a. In our visual journals, we have been documenting what we see and what we have enjoyed about this season. Kindergarten has also been spending more time at the Eagle Garden observing Fall and working on gross motor skills such as jumping, climbing, and hopping. This is a fun activity to practice skills and helps kids burn off some energy!
In literacy, we have been continuing work with Jolly Phonics sounds /I/ and /T/. We have also started up guided drawing lessons which are creating some very interesting drawings! Children are picking up the letters sounds we have been working on and are enjoying singing the songs. They are getting very good at identifying the letter, sound, and thinking of a word that begins with that sound. Our phonological awareness program is also building up these skills in listening to sounds in the word-initial and word-final positions. We have also been practicing writing our names and kids are getting very good at this!
We had so much fun celebrating Halloween! Children were very excited to see each others’ costumes and there were many activities planned throughout the day. We had a costume parade around the school, kids painted a little pumpkin, we listened to Halloween stories, and made Jack-o-lanterns!
Reminders:
- Please ensure your child has masks at school and for the bus
- It is getting colder out - make sure your child is dressed appropriately for the weather as we are outside every day (hats, clothes, winter coat, boots)
Important Dates:
November 1-4: Sound Kreations hip hop residency
November 11: Remembrance Day (no school)
November 12 :PD Day (no school)
November 15-19: Métis Week
November 26: PD Day (no school)
Have a great weekend! Feel free to contact me with any questions you may have.
Lauren
Happy Fall!
Oki families!
We have been busy in Kindergarten! We have been spending time observing and learning about fall and how the seasons and months move around the medicine wheel. Children are outside each day learning from the land and observing what o'ko looks like. We are loving seeing all the colours! We are learning to use our five senses to see, smell, touch, and hear what fall looks like. Children have enjoyed bringing fall into the classroom as well. We are using leaves, pinecones, and branches to make art, use in our sensory table, and help us in math and literacy. Each week we have had a new book about seasons to help us make sense of the world around us.
In literacy, we have started working through the Jolly Phonics program. So far, we have worked with /s/, /a/, and /p/. Each sound comes with a song and action - you may have heard these songs at home as the kids have learned them well! We have also been building phonological awareness skills daily by practicing segmenting, blending sounds, sound isolation, and seeing how inserting/ deleting sounds changes a word. In math, we are continuing to work with shapes and counting. In October, we will be using pumpkins to aid in our learning! There are many fun activities planned.
We honoured Orange Shirt Day by focusing on how each of us is special and has unique gifts to share with the world. We talked about each one of us matters and is important. Age-appropriate language was used during discussions. Each child enjoyed decorating an orange shirt and sharing what makes them special.
Important Dates:
October 8: PD day - NO SCHOOL
October 11 -15: Fall Break - NO SCHOOL (for schools on modified calendars)
October 18: PD day - NO SCHOOL
Parent-teacher interviews will be happening next week via phone. You can either respond to my email with a date and time that works best or I will call and arrange a time. I am looking forward to talking about all the wonderful things your child is doing at school! Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns.
Have a great fall break!
Lauren
Welcome to Kindergarten!
Hello families! Welcome to the new school year. I am looking forward to working with your children this upcoming school year! We have been spending our time learning new routines, exploring the school, and making new friends. Like preschool, play is an integral part of our day and children have morning and afternoon time. This fosters the development of critical learning such as social skills, solidification of learned concepts, and exploring new ideas and topics. Along with working on transitions and routines, children have also been introduced to new activities such as lunchtime in the gym, outside playground/ field time, library, and music with Ms. Katie. The kids are loving going to music! Three times a week Ms. Katie works with the kids on literacy, music, and art which children enjoy very much. We have also started working on name activities, counting, and 2-D shapes. You may have heard some of our calendar songs! Children have already picked them up.
COVID regulations are still in effect. All students MUST wear a mask throughout the school day and on the bus. Please ensure your child has masks in their backpacks. We also sanitize our hands upon entering the school each time, changing center activities, and before snack. Children are also learning a hand washing song to aid in appropriate hand washing time. There are also school cleaning measures in place to accommodate COVID regulations. Please let me know if you have and questions or concerns regarding this.
Reminders:
1. We go outside every day - please ensure your child his dressed appropriately for the weather.
2. The school provides lunch and snack, but you are also welcome to provide food for your child.
3. Please pack indoor shoes and a change of clothes.
4. Please pack masks for your child.
I am always available by phone or email - feel free to contact me anytime with any questions or concerns you have about your child.
Have a great day,
Lauren
