Thanks as always for a great week, as amazing as it seems here we go with the last week of November!
Our sharing assembly on Friday celebrated empathy and recognized students who regularly display empathy in the classroom. Our December assembly will focus on kindness and caring; and will also be our opportunity to share some songs for the upcoming holiday season. Date set will be Monday, December 17, 2012 at 9:00 and 12:35 in the lunchroom.
The children really enjoyed author Rukhsana Khan's stories. She told the stories using her books for visual purposes while adding personal side stories and the children were entranced. The three books shared for kindergartens were Silly Chicken, Ruler of the Courtyard, and Big Red Lollipop. There was interest about another country and culture as well as basic human behaviour which we all can relate to. Of the three, Big Red Lollipop seemed to be the favourite and would make a fantastic holiday gift for a lucky boy or girl.
This week we will introduce the "Nn" sound and action. The children are enjoying learning the sounds and the power that comes with knowing the letters. Remember when you work on this at home to include and listen for the sounds in the middle and at the end of words also, not just as the initial sound - particularly with your senior kindergartens. As the children begin to write using their sounds the initial sound is the easiest to identify an will appear first, the final sounds and last the middle sounds. Also, consonants will appear before vowels do as they make stronger and more easily identifiable sounds. Vowel sounds can be subtle and tricky and quite often we don't actually pronounce them the way they are spelled either!
A great math site that we use in the upper grades is IXL.com. I have used it with several grades and the children enjoy it as well it is linked to the Ontario Curriculum and has built in incentives for the children to work towards. They do have kindergarten level work available and you can do a selection of questions for free to get an idea if you may or may not have use for this site. Many classes at all different age levels also use the Khan Academy site for math - in fact my high school senior has used it in his calculus class! If you are looking for some computer generated fun with a learning purpose check it out!
As November/"Movember" draws to a close; our student council has asked that we celebrate the men in our lives by dressing like them and bringing a small donation to give to men's health on Friday, November 30. They will come around to collect the donations and distribute moustaches to all the students. Participation, as always, is optional but this is one the children usually have fun with and can help an important cause.
Our annual Stonegate Community Health Centre family holiday donation drive will begin on Monday. For those of you new to LKS, this involves our class (AM and PM are separate classes) being assigned a family in need of basic, practical necessities and each of us donating something to help satisfy those needs. Laundry baskets are used to collect these items and are eventually wrapped and delivered by our student council. Items such as gift cards are welcome - grocery stores, Shoppers Drug Mart, Walmart (helpful for all kinds of basics such as pet food!) etc as well as particular items outlined below which the families have identified as a need. Items do not need to be wrapped. What a fantastic opportunity to share our good fortune and show our children empathy, kindness and caring in action! Below are the AM and PM families assigned to us and their needs. Donations begin Monday, November 26 and end Monday, December 10.
AM - Family #19 - New immigrant family with twin 3 year old children and a new baby coming early 2013. Identified needs are food vouchers, Walmart/Drug store gift cards, warm outer accessories such as hat, scarf, gloves for adults. The children - a boy and girl - wear size 4/5 and enjoy puzzles, books, lego, markers and craft materials as well as are in need of clothing. Baby items are welcomed!
PM - Family #25 - Family with a 2 year old boy. Identified needs are food vouchers, household items or gift cards for these. The little boy wears size 3/3X and enjoys arts and crafts as well as dvds.
Let's show some LKS love and support by doing the best we can for these families.
Note - these families were originally assigned the opposite way, however; having only 12 students in the afternoon class it makes more sense to swap and have the larger class buy for 3 children rather than 1.
PM class holiday craft money is being collected by Jackie V. to purchase supplies, you can send the $5 in your child's mailbag and I will pass it along with Lucas or email her directly to make other arrangements.
This week...
Monday - AM computers, PM Reading Buddies
Tuesday - PM Library
Wednesday - AM Library
Thursday - AM Reading Buddies, PM computers
Friday - "Movember"dress up like a man day! AM and PM Mystery Readers
Have a great week!
