JANUARY 15 GROWING ABILITIES OPEN HOUSE

Growing Abilities is a parent support and play group for children with differing abilities. It is open to parents/caregivers and their children with disabiltities, as well as siblings and support staff. There will be planned activities based on children's developmental needs, abilities and interests. There will also be open-ended activities for siblings and space for parents to connect. 

There is a open house being offered by the Family Centre to support families who are looking for information or resources on a variety of topics. For example, there is a FREE program available (with free babysitting) so that you can attend a class about preparing healthy snacks and meals.  The centre is equipped with lots of staff and an indoor playground! If you have some time you might like to drop in and check it out! 

Friday, January 15, 2016 2:00 pm - 3:30 pm

 Regular Drop-In Program: January 22-March 18, 2016, 2:00 pm-3:30 pm 

April 8-June 10, 2016, 2:00 pm-3:30 pm

Join us for conversation, support and play with purpose! For more information go to  http://www.famcentre.ca/

LAST NEWS OF 2015!

Hi everyone! Thanks for checking in! 

Well time is flying as we approach our last 3 days of school before the Christmas holidays!Thank you to all the families that were able to come to our Christmas Concert last Thursday!  It was super busy but a lot of fun! Thank you for your support in making it a special event!  

This is just a post to let you know about all the happenings for the next few days! 

Because of the busy week, there will be NO more agendas coming home and they will remain at the school over the break as well. 

Monday and Wednesday in the morning, we will be carolling in the gym at 8:30am.  If you’re around MMH from 8:30-9:00(ish), feel free to join us! On Tuesday and Thursday we will be carolling at 12:30!

 On Thursday we’re having Grinch Day!  The Grade 1s will be moving around to different themed centers in the morning.  Students are invited to dress in green, or as a “Who” from “Who-Ville”.   

On Friday the entire school is going to “Dress Like Christmas”.

We’re also having our Class Party Friday morning!  Thanks to those parents who’ve signed up to bring treats that day!  

So there you have it! Our last week for 2015:

Monday December 14^th- Carolling @ 8:30

Tuesday December 15^th- Carolling @ 12:30

Wednesday December 16^th- Carolling @8:30

Thursday December 17^th Carolling @ 12:30-Grinch Day! Wear Green!

Friday December 18^st-Carolling @ 8:30- Last Day for 2015! "Dress Like Christmas!"

Monday January 4^th- Classes Resume

In case I don’t see you before the holidays…

Thank you for such a fantastic first four months of Grade 1! I have so enjoyed getting to know all of you and your amazing children!  Have a wonderful and Merry Christmas! Enjoy your time with your families!!

Hi everyone!

We hope you had a nice relaxing weekend!  The teachers at MMH are busy planning the last 4 weeks of school with many fun activities!  There are many days on the calendar with different things happening so please be sure to check the blog before calling the office for information.  With only 20 days left of school, we want to make sure everyone is informed of what is going on!

THANK YOU to those families who have already handed back forms regarding the Grade 1 picnic on Wednesday June 24^th.  For planning purposes, we like to know well in advance who is able to make it.  We’ve had tremendous support in people who are willing to donate sliced watermelon and volunteer for the day.  Once we get all forms back, we’ll be contact those parents to let them know if help is needed.  If you have not yet handed back your form, please do so by Friday June 5^th.  The top page is for you to keep, so you have a reminder of what your child needs for the day.  If we have poor weather that day, we will still hold the event at school, in a different capacity.  We’ll wait until closer to the day to check the weather.

In the next few weeks, each Grade 1 class will be having their "Kindergarten Switch Days!" I bet many of your students remember this day from when they were in Kindergarten.  This is a time for our 1s to go back to Kindergarten, perhaps see their old teacher, or spend time in their old class, and go through some of their favourite centres from last year.  It's also a special time for the Kindergarten students as they spend time with a Grade 1 teacher, learning all about what it means to be in Grade 1! We look forward to hosting the Ks to help make their transition easier for next year.

On Wednesday, June 3^rd at 6:30 pm, our School Council will be holding a meeting and AGM!  The new principal and Assistant principal for next year will also be there to meet some parents.  Even if you are unable to commit to being a member of the School Council, they still require parents for when they vote on ideas/ positions for the following year.  This year, the class that sends the most participants for the meeting will win the Spirit Cup!!  If you are able to attend on Wednesday, PLEASE DO! The grade 1 students would LOVE the chance to be the last class to host the spirit cup this year!  A reminder that School Council is also providing a free Hot Dog Lunch day on Tuesday June 9^th.  Please be sure to pack your student with snacks and a drink on that day.  Thank you to everyone involved with Parent Council- we SO appreciate your support! 

On Wednesday, June 10^th, the Grade 1s will be travelling to different centers throughout the day, for Pioneer Day! Learning about The Past and how things have changed is part of the social studies curriculum, and we have even had some students dress up in traditional clothing on this day! The internet can provide lots of great ideas on how to dress like a ‘pioneer’.  We also challenge students to try packing a more ‘traditional lunch’ (less packaged food, etc).  We’ll have centers related to more traditional games, Now vs then information, pictures, stories, and anything to help them gain a perspective of how things have changed.  If you have any antiques or artifacts that can relate to this unit, perhaps your student can bring them in as a show and share!

We will also be welcoming Mrs. Terpstra, our FNMI teacher next week to teach us about Pow Wows, as we approach National Aboriginal Day.  On Friday, June 12^th, we welcome members from the Lions Club to do a special presentation called Project Pride, which discusses volunteerism, donating to your community, and being Canadian. 

A reminder that teachers are still looking for volunteers for our K-2 Sports Day on Tuesday, June 16^th, and Tuesday June 23^rd as a back up date if the weather is poor. If you are able to help out, either in the morning, afternoon or both, please email your teacher asap!  Volunteering on this day means running a center which the Kindergarten, Grade 1 and 2 classes will rotate through.  It’s a FUN day and the kids sure are exhausted by the end of it.   

As we may have some rain in the forecast for the upcoming week, please ensure that your students are coming to school with proper rain gear as they do go outside for recess regardless of the rain!  It’s especially important on rainy days that we make sure students still have a pair of clean, indoor runners and a different pair of outside shoes.  Thank you for your help as we near the last few weeks!

Finally, please check out the updated calendar below with our dates for the  month of June! Thank you for taking time to read our blog!
-Your Grade 1 Teachers

Tuesday June 2^nd- Wear Blue and Gold!
Wednesday June 3^rd- School Council AGM
Tuesday June 9th- Free Hot Dog Lunch for Grades 1-3

Wednesday June 10th- Pioneer Day in Grade 1

Friday June 12^th- Project Pride presentation

Monday June 15th- Farewell Assembly @ 8:30

Tuesday June 16th- K-2 Sports Day

Friday June 19th- Grade 1 Camp Day

Tuesday June 23rd- Back up K-2 Sports Day

Wednesday June 24th- Grade 1 Picnic Day

Thursday June 25th- Field trip to the Movie Mill

Friday June 26th- Last day of school! Assembly @ 10

Parents,

This is a message from Ms. Nevels:
 
Please CLICK HERE to read the attached document regarding Summer Music programs available in Lethbridge!   Thank you!

Well Spring has definitely sprung around the city, and we are starting to enjoy warmer days at school!  It’s crazy that we are preparing for the last two months of Grade One.  Our students have shown so much growth in so many ways, and we are excited as the last 8 weeks are PACKED with fun learning opportunities! 

We are continuing on with our Fairy Tale unit study.  The students have enjoyed reading familiar fairy tales as well as funny fractured fairy tales, and the lessons that go with them.  When we read through two stories, we often discuss what was the same in them? What was different?  And the students love sharing where their favourite parts were. 

In Math, we are continuing with practicing our counting from 1-100, and from now until the end of the year we will continue with this unit, along with adding and subtracting. 

In Social Studies, we are wrapping up our discussions on Taking Care of our World, and will be moving to Science for Plants and Animals.  These two units tie wonderfully into discussions about having a “global understanding”, as we talk about “What would happen if everyone littered?” “How would that affect us?” .  Students really show their understanding through these discussions, and it helps them tie our classroom learning into the world around them.

We will also begin our unit of Looking at the Past in Social Studies, and the students who have not yet shared their Caterpillar homework will get a chance to do so.

The staff at MMH have been busy preparing for Education Week, which runs from May 4^th to May 8^th! Each day, there are special activities planned:

Monday May 4^th- Kick off with guest readers on the announcement.  Students are invited to check out the bulletin board at the front of the school to guess who is who!

Tuesday May 5^th- Mystery Readers will come visit each classroom for reading!

Wednesday May 6^th- Hats on for Mental Health! Students are welcome to wear a hat!

Thursday May 7^th- Reach and Teach! Students are encouraged to come to school on Thursday, prepared to ‘teach’ their classmates about something.  Examples could be how to tie their shoes a different way, a song they know, a card game, etc. We hope to see some interesting things being taught around the class!

If you are on the school mailing list, you will be recieving an email shortly regarding a NEW FORM that needs to be signed.  This form is to allow your student to be driven by school volunteer drivers.  If you have any feild trips from now until the remainder of the year, that require volunteer drivers, each student will need this form signed and returned to the office in order to participate.  Please check in with your classroom teacher if this applies to you. Next year, the office will have that form in the registration package as well as being available during Meet the Teacher night in September.  Thank you for your help with this!

In addition to this, if there are any parents who are driving for field trips from now until the end of the year, we are asking you to please sign in and out of the office when you enter the school.  In the past, some teachers have just asked parents to meet at the classroom, which makes pick up/ drop off easier, however if we could have parents stop in the office before/ after the field trip indicating that you are a volunteer, that would be very helpful! Thank you!

In the past, parents had the option of filling out a "Student Placement Form" regarding their child's placement for the following school year.  This year, our school district has replaced this form with the "Student Profile Form".  Parents are no longer able to 'request' certain teachers for their students, but rather, if there is special academic/ behavioural/ social / emotional information that should be considered when class lists are made, parents are welcome to hand that form in to Mrs. Rancier.  The form is available online and in the office, and can be found at our school webpage. 

We have added more dates/ events to our May/ June calendar below!  There will be more information coming on certain days like "Pioneer Day" and "Camp Day" closer to the dates.  A reminder to Save the Date for Wednesday June 25th for your families to join us over the lunch hour to celebrate our Grade 1 year!

Also, each Grade 1 class is looking for parents to run a Sports Center on Tuesday June 16th.  Sports day will run for most of the day, but if you are only able to help for the morning/ afternoon, that's okay too!  The back up date in case we are rained out is Tuesday June 23rd.  If you or a family member would like to sign up to be a Sports Day volunteer please let your teacher know asap! Thank you!

Here are more dates for your calendars!

Tuesday May 5th- Mystery ReadersWednesday May 6th- Hats on For Mental Health
Thursday May 7th- Reach and Teach!
Friday May 8^th- PL Day, no school
Friday May 15^th- Enrichment activities
Monday May 18^th- Victoria Day, no school
Thursday May 21^st- Beach Day, spirit assembly @ 12:30
Friday May 22^nd- Enrichment activities
Wednesday May 27^th- GS Lakie band performance @ 8:30
Thursday May 28th- MMH Run for Fun at 1:40pm
Friday May 29^th- Enrichment activities

Tuesday June 9th- Free Hot Dog Lunch for Grades 1-3
Wednesday June 10th- Pioneer Day in Grade 1
Monday June 15th- Farewell Assembly @ 8:30
Tuesday June 16th- K-2 Sports Day
Friday June 19th- Grade 1 Camp Day
Tuesday June 23rd- Back up K-2 Sports Day
Wednesday June 24th- Grade 1 Picnic Day
Thursday June 25th- Field trip TBA
Friday June 26th- Last day of school!

In Language Arts, we have begun looking at different Fairy tales! We will be reading all kinds of fairy tales, comparing/ contrasting different versions, talking about our favourite fairy tales.  If you have any at home, try reading them together and see if your student can identify what makes the story a fairy tale. Does it start with “Once upon a time?”  Is it a story from long ago?  Does it have any magic in it? Anything happen in 3s?  See if they can recall facts from the beginning, middle and end. 

In Math, we have started looking at numbers from 1-100.  We will be counting by 2s, 5s, and 10s, and looking at different ways to represent them.  An easy way to practice this, is to take a handful of counters, beads, cereal, buttons, etc and try counting them in different groups. 

 

In Science, we are wrapping up talking about the season of spring, and will begin looking at Plants!  In Social Studies, we’re looking at Taking Care of our World, which comes at a great time for Earth Day tomorrow! 

Thank you to those students who have already brought in their Caterpillar writing homework regarding important events in your life, as well as your baby pictures.  If you have not yet sent those in, please do so as soon as possible so we can start our guessing games and sharing.  Remember, your child is to present their caterpillar to the class so they should be well versed in reading / explaining the events they’ve chosen.

As we near the end of the year, please keep up with home reading and sight word memorization!  The BEST way to help improve your child’s reading is to ensure they get the 15-20 minute DAILY reading practice.  This is crucial as in the next few weeks we will begin assessing for the final reporting period. 

Thank you to those parents who offered to drive to the Helen Schuler and Arts Alive field trips!  We would not be able to do those activities without your support so thank you in advance for this!

In June, the Grade 1s usually celebrate with a year-end picnic.  The details are still being confirmed, but you should Save the Date for Wednesday, June 24^th, and if you and your families are able to join us anytime between 11:30-12:30 on this date, that would be great!

Here are some important dates for your calendars at home:

Friday April 24^th- PL Day No School
Tuesday April 28^th- Grades 1-3 Hot Lunch
Wednesday April 29^th- Grades 4-5 Hot Lunch
Friday May 8^th- PL Day, no school
Friday May 15^th- Enrichment activities
Monday May 18^th- Victoria Day, no school
Thursday May 21^st- Beach Day, spirit assembly @ 12:30
Friday May 22^nd- Enrichment activities
Wednesday May 27^th- GS Lakie band performance @ 8:30
Friday May 29^th- Enrichment activities

 

Hi everyone!

Well here we are the last week before Easter break.  The students did a wonderful job sharing their love for our One School One Book project, Charlotte’s Web! While we’re sad to see the book end, we are thankful that we had the chance to read such a wonderful, timeless story. Thank you for making the reading come alive at home!

To celebrate the ending, all MMH students are invited to see the Chinook High School theatre performance of Charlotte’s Web! We will be going this week on Tuesday, March 31^st.  A bus will be at MMH at 9am to pick up the Grade 1 students to go and enjoy the show.  Wow!! Aren’t we lucky!?

On Wednesday, April 1^st we are going to the gym in the afternoon to watch the Grade 4 and 5 Airband performance from 12:30-2pm.

On Thursday, April 2^nd students are invited to dress in a “Fancy Theme”! We will have a school spirit assembly at 8:30am, and then throughout the day each class will have their own Easter activities planned.  This is the day we will be enjoying Easter treats.  Teachers will email the parents who signed up to bring these at the beginning of the year.

Remember that students are on Easter break starting Friday, April 3^rd, and will return to school on Monday April 13^th.  Don’t forget to keep reading over the break!!  Raz kids is a great program for this, or you can also visit your public library. 

A quick reminder of our next 2 field trips planned.  If you are able to drive for any of the below dates/ times, please email your class teacher! Even drop offs/ pickups are helpful:

Helen Schuler Field Trip
April 16^th: Mrs Johnson’s class in the AM, Mrs. Payne’s class in the PM
April 21^st: Mrs. Fallwell’s class in the PM
April 22^nd: Miss Tsentouros’ class in the pm

Southern Alberta Art Gallery
April 29^th: Mrs. Payne’s class in the AM, Miss Tsentouros’ class in the PM
May 7^th: Mrs. Fallwell’s class in the am
May 21^st: Mrs. Johnson’s class in the am

Thank you to those parents who have already signed up to help!

Lastly, we are looking to see if there are any parents interested in taking care of our recycling program.  This would entail picking up the Grade 1 bottle recycling and taking it to the depot for us.  If you are interested can you please email your Grade 1 teacher?  Recycling pick up usually happens once every two weeks. 

I think that’s it for now! Wishing you a great Easter holiday with your families. 

Thank you,

Your Grade 1 teachers.