October, 2010.

Dear Parents,

The first month of school is over, and the children are starting to settle into their routines and classroom rules. Please be sure that your child has indoor and outdoor shoes.


AGENDAS and Communication: We are finding that not all the agendas are coming back to school or not used, so we have decided that the best way to communicate to you is through the Home Reading bags. If there is something that we need to communicate to you about we will put the note in the Reading Bag. Also any school communication notes, pizza and milk forms will be put in there INSTEAD of an agenda. We hope that this will be an easier way to communicate with you.

Also, please review any work that goes home. At times, we will make comments on the top of the page.

Math: We are continuing our patterning unit and we are learning about numbers from 1 to 30. Students will read and print numbers and number words, count objects, compare quantities, and describe numbers (e.g., 13 is 1 ten and 3 more)
Try these activities:
- read counting books together
- let your child count the knives, forks and spoons you need to set the table for dinner
- build towers out of blocks and count to see how many are in each tower.

Later in the month we will focus on sorting, graphing and taking surveys. Students will show their sorted information on different types of graphs.
Try these activities:
- when you see a graph or chart in a magazine or newspaper, share it with your child to show how we use graphs to share different kinds of information.
- Sort items (by colour, size, likes and dislikes) such as: vegetables, coins, toys, socks, and create a graph to show what you found out.

Science: The students are finishing up their unit on the five senses (taste, touch, smell, hear, see).


Social Studies: Students are learning about rules in the classroom, at home, and at school. Why are they important? Why do we need them? Students are also asked to practice writing their last name. They should know their address, phone number, and birthday.


Language Arts: During our language, students are reading and writing everyday. They are encouraged to write words they don't know by listening to the letters they hear in a word. They are reminded to leave spaces between their words and to draw a picture, showing detail. We practice neat printing of lower and upper case letters. We do daily word work practicing rhyming, phonemic awareness, and our sight words.

During shared reading lessons or when I read a book to the class, students are encouraged to be active listeners. Good readers are always thinking. I encourage students to make a text-to-self connection. This is when a child makes a connection to a part of a book based on personal experiences.




If you have any questions or concerns please do not hesitate to ask.