May 31

Here we are... entering our last month of grade 2.  It is hard to believe that we have one month left.

This week has been a busy week preparing for our assembly! It is wonderful to see the students working so hard to put everything together for the big day. Tomorrow we will have our rehearsals in order to be ready for 8:30am on Friday. We hope you can make it!

We have continued to get outside each day for our 30x30.  Yesterday we went outside for gym and we learned some choreography for Drum Fit.  Drum Fit is where you use a fitness ball in addition to drum sticks and music.  You add in some dance moves and fitness activities and you have quite the show.  The smiles and laughs showed the enjoyment of the students.

 

 

We have a lot of fun things going on over the next few weeks. Here is a quick summary:

• bring Makerspace donations until Friday
• Assembly Friday at 8:30
• Volunteer Appreciation: Sign up here if you have volunteered this year and you plan to attend  https://ktsvolunteerappreciation.eventbrite.ca 
• School Photo Monday June 5
• Bring Books for the Great Book Exchange until Monday
• Bike to School Day - June 6
• Mad Science Presenation - June 6
• Great Book Exchange- June 8
• Swimming Starts June 12
• Early Dismissal - June 16

May 29

Wow! What a morning we had at the Aboriginal Learning Centre today. They have a beautiful learning and community space that they welcomed us to today and we learned so much.  We were met at the doors by the staff of the school and later learned that their school was designed to represent a tipi, which is the Blackfoot traditional home.  They like to think of their school as a home for anyone to come to visit.

We headed outside to play three Aboriginal Games: The Buffalo Jump; The Stick Game; and Run and Scream (yes a favourite!)
For the Buffalo Game, one student had the chance to be the buffalo. The students needed move the buffalo over the line or into a corral without touching it.  They quickly realized how important it was to work together

We then played the stick game. For this game we needed to pass a pouch to each other using only a stick.  We called the name of a friend who had to catch it. This game is good for hand eye coordination. 

 Lastly, we played RUN AND SCREAM!  What did we do...? Just that! Students needed to run as far as they could while screaming and needed to stop once they were out of breath.  We know that the running for this game would help us get faster and more agile for hunting, but we aren't sure why the Blackfoot would scream at the same time. This is something we will investigate.

 We then went back inside for a tour of the school. It is so warm and welcoming. We learned about the entrance and the design and we had a chance to practice some of the 69 Indigenous languages of Canada.  The welcome sign with these languages is made to look like a canvas of a tipi, with the foothills at the bottom and the stars (Big Dipper, Milky Way, and Little Dipper) at the top.

As we walked through the school we learned about some of the artifacts of the Blackfoot people. For example, we learned that the yellow purse below would have taken approx. 6 months to bead.

We also went into the centre of the school and heard the story of the design of the room.  It had doors facing each direction and windows that faced east so the sun could be seen rising and west so the sun could be seen setting.  It has wood around it to bring in the natural component and is a central space in the school for both community members and students. 

During our snack, Shirley, one of the teachers volunteered to do a grass dance for us. She invited us back another time to even learn the dance from her.  We were mesmerized by her beautiful colours and the sound of the drums. 

Lastly, we practiced saying Hello, my name is in Blackfoot "Oki, nee-dahn ikoo" and had the chance to tell the story of where out families came from. We looked at the artifacts including the large buffalo hide, the bear, and the traditional drum. 

This was a day that we will come back to over and over this year as we learned so much about the Blackfoot people and the land on which we live. We have so many questions and so you may hear some of them as we delve a little deeper into Calgary's history. 

Thank you once again to all the volunteers who came with us today. 

Coming up:

• Fun Lunch Wednesday
• Grade 2/kindergarten assembly Friday AM
• Volunteer Appreciation Friday PM

May 27

We are pretty excited for our field trip to the Aboriginal Learning Centre on Monday.  We will be leaving the school shortly after the bell so please make sure that everyone is on time so they don't miss the bus.  We will be taking part in a tour, some Indigenous games, and some time to learn more about some Blackfoot artifacts.  We are one of the first schools to visit this brand new school so this is an fun day for us!  We will be arriving back to school after our regular lunch and students will have time to eat in our classroom.  We will have a snack while on our field trip so please be sure to pack one!

Over the last week, we have tried to get outside for our 30x30 challenge but the weather hasn't been the most cooperative.  With our big storm on Wednesday, we stayed inside and did a mindfulness activity with the rain - using our senses. How does the rain sound against our window? What do you notice about the wind?  The next day we tried to get outside. As soon as we walked out, it was sunny and warm.  As we walked towards the pathway to return some items we borrowed from Nature it started to drizzle and within 30 seconds it turned into a full downpour.  We were so sad.  We took a second to capture the moment and then ran as fast as we could inside.  I just love this picture!

  Today we got outside to play some games of Cat and Mouse.  We had a blast chasing each other through the soft grassy field!

In writing, we have been working on adding description to our writing.  We are writing a descriptive writing piece on our own imaginative giant.  Today we learned how to access google docs and started to type our descriptive writing piece.  As a fun bonus, we learned how to change the font styles and colours.  We will post these when we finish.

We have been working hard at getting ready for our assembly. We hope to see you all here on Friday morning at 8:30 am!

Coming up:
1. Movie night tonight!
2. ALC field trip on Monday
3. Fun Lunch on Wednesday
4. Assembly 8:30 Friday morning; Volunteer Appreciation Friday at 1:30

May 23

Welcome back to everyone! I hope you all had a great long weekend and had a chance to enjoy the amazing weather!  What a treat!

Today we had a great morning as it was filled with music and laughs. We had the Acapella group : Hoja in our school today.  They taught us a little about what acapella is, how we can make some of the songs, and of course entertained us with their songs.  They played lots of the hits and the students had the chance to dance and sing along.  For many of us the funniest parts were when Mr. Dyck went on stage and joined the group to the song BBQ Stain.  He sported a pink hat and some great dance moves that made everyone smile.  Another great part was when two of the singers sang "Pretty Lady" to Ms. Carstairs.  She was very embarrassed but was such a great sport. If you want to know more about Hoja, check them out here: Hoja's Website

We have also been busy preparing for our assembly, which will be June 2nd.  You are invited to join us in the morning in the gym or come to our Volunteer Appreciation in the afternoon as we will perform at each.  Each student got to choose how they would like to contribute to our assembly: playing the Acadian spoons, creating a First Nations canoe or writing riddles about Canadian Wildlife.  We have been working on this for two sessions and are eager to see how it all turns out.

In math, we have still been working on addition and subtraction strategies, but not as intensely as before as many of us have the hang on it.  It is important that we don't forget these strategies so we will continue to work on this for the rest of the year. We have also been learning more about patterning. We feel confident with repeating patterns, identifying the pattern core, and finishing patterns, and now we are starting to look at growing patterns and how to solve them.  You can practice these on IXL: D2.

In writing, we are learning more about how to make our reader more engaged and interested in our writing. We are using our senses to help write a descriptive writing piece about a giant.  We are learning about ways to describe our giants using similes and other comparative writing. We will post some as we get finished!

We hope everyone has a great week!

Coming up:

• Movie Night on Friday: Beauty and the Beast
• Please send in Learning Common Makerspace donations!
• Aboriginal Learning Centre Field Trip - Monday

May 16

Just a couple quick reminders...

Also... we are going on one more Field Trip! We are so excited!  Please check your child's Snail Mail for more information.  You will also find Scholastic in the folder. This will be the last Scholastic for the year. If you would like to order, please send the order by May 26 so we can ensure we receive the books in time!

May 15

Thank you to everyone who was able to come to our Pancake breakfast on Friday.  It was a big hit with the school. Thank you also to all the parents who volunteered and helped organize this wonderful morning. I think it will be one that we remember for a long time.

 

 

We have been busy in science learning about buoyancy and stability with boats.  We looked at ways that we can keep boats stable such as a wide bottom and using a keel.  Next we will be looking at a catamaran and how that helps keep a boat stable. As we have been going through these ideas, we keep coming back to the Titanic and talking about how these concepts apply to it.

We have had so many wonderings as we go through this study.  One question was "How big was the Titanic?'.  Finding the answer on Google was easy enough: 269 metres.  BUT... that didn't really help us.  We couldn't understand how big that was.  Today we set out to gain some perspective on just how big the Titanic was.  We brought our metre sticks outside and we measured from one end of the field (the sidewalk at the drop and go at the front of the school) and went west.  We found out that the Titanic is close to that length.  Our field is 292 metres.  When we stopped at 269 metres and looked back, we were shocked at just how big a ship the Titanic was.  Many of the students were impressed by the fact that a boat that big could float!

Today we also welcomed a new student, Christian, to our classroom!He fits right in and the students are so excited to make a new friend. Welcome to Christian and his family :)

We have an exciting event coming up. Check this message out about the Great Book Exchange:

Have you ever wondered what to do with those books that you have finished reading and they are just sitting there in your house and room? We have a solution for you (with parent permission)! The Student Leadership Group is collecting gently used picture books and novels for students K-6 that you may wish to donate for the Great Book Exchange! On June 8, 2017 students at Ken Taylor will have a chance to purchase these books for 25 cents each.

What an opportunity to pick up some books for summer reading. Books will be collected between May 18^th -June 5^th, 2017. Please bring your donation of gently used books to Mrs. Fraser’s classroom.

 From: Student Leadership

Coming up:

• Tuesday and Wednesday - $2 Treat Day - Popcorn
• Wednesday - Mismatch Day - Wear Mismatched Crazy clothes!!
• Thursday May 18 - Assembly 1:00 pm
• Friday May 19, 22 - No School
• May 23 - Special In School Presentation: Hoja
• May 29 - ALC Field Trip. Please send back Field trips ASAP!  Volunteers needed!!

May 11

We are LOVING taking the time to enjoy nature! Today we went out to use all of our senses as we walked though the field and to the trees.  This was the first time that some students had touched the bark on a tree or felt the soft new leaves of spring.   We explored for a few minutes to check on the buds and notice how they had changed in just two days.  There was a lot of excitement when we spotted a few ladybugs on the bark and leaves.  It was exciting to hear the students filled with so much excitement as they discovered a new leaf, insect or bird!  We then gathered together to read some of our read aloud novel: Ramona the Pest.  It was calming to feel the warm sun and hear the birds happily chirping as we read.  

In math, we tackled a fun and tricky open ended math question.  "Pat has 4 coins in her pocket. How much money might she have?"  Students could use pennies, nickels, dimes and quarters.  We talked about how we no longer use pennies but that they are good practice for adding.  They quickly figured out that there were countless options and it was fun to see how many different ones they could come up with. 

We are all really excited about tomorrow's pancake breakfast!  For tomorrow's pancake breakfast - students will start school at 8:00 and go into their classrooms as usual so that teachers can take attendance (please wait outside for your child to return).  After attendance is done, an announcement from the office will invite students outside by grade.  After the breakfast students will continue their learning day until 2:30 pm.

If you are not able to join us for the breakfast please know that your child will be supervised by their teacher and all staff outside.  The breakfast will be set up outside the exterior gym doors on the compound and we will be eating 'picnic style' on the grass. You are welcome to bring a lawn chair to sit on or you can cozy up on the soft grass. 

Coming up:

• Pancake breakfast Friday
• Aboriginal Learning Centre Field Trip forms due May 22 (Please send in as soon as possible)  We need volunteers, so please let me know if you are available :)
• May 17 - Popcorn Day
• May 18 - Assembly 
• Swim forms went home today. Please send back!

May 9

Today we started our first 30x30 nature activity.  We  kept it very low key by doing a mindfulness activity and eating our snack while listening to a story.  We paid attention to our senses outside - what we saw, felt, heard, smelled etc.  I hope that by getting outside each day, students will grow an appreciation for nature, being outside, and the community in which they live. The students were so engaged and had so many wonderings, especially about the buds and leaves on the trees.

 In writing, we are learning about how to make our writing more descriptive.  Today we learned about adjectives and how they can enhance our writing.  We started to learn about adjectives by describing how a secret object felt.  We came up with words such as soft, fuzzy, warm, and smooth after they had touched a scarf. When they touched our breathing ball they came up with spiky, plastic, hard, and pointy.  We learned about how these words give us a clearer image in our minds when we are reading about an object, person or place.  Tomorrow students are welcome to bring their own secret object in a bag for their classmates to feel and describe.  We will be using these for our writing and then learning about adverbs.

We have started our new science unit on Boats and Buoyancy.   We have started by reading a few books about the Titanic - the unsinkable ship.  We have been learning about why they thought it was unsinkable, about why it did sink, and about the people who were on the ship.  We are hoping that through a variety of science challenges and experiments, we might be able to learn more about what makes boats buoyant and how to fix the problem that the Titanic had.  Our challenge will be to create  a boat that will survive an iceberg crash! Tomorrow we will be altering an object that floats to make it float and talking about what a boat needs that allows it to float.

Don't forget that this Friday is our first Stampede Pancake Breakfast!  We hope to see you here with your family!

Coming Up:

• Pancake breakfast Friday
• Aboriginal Learning Centre Field Trip forms due May 22 (Please send in as soon as possible)
• May 17 - Popcorn Day
• May 18 - Assembly