Terry Fox Run: As a school we have been raising money for cancer research. On Monday September 26th at 1:15pm we will be running our Terry Fox run.  Please send your child to school in appropriate running attire.

Kensington Library Visit: Reminder about our visit to the library on October 6th.  Please let me know if your child does not have a Vancouver Public Library card as soon as possible.

Pro-D Day: Friday September 30th — no school for students

Math

All three grades will continue their patterning work this week.  On Wednesday we will be going on a nature walk around the school to find and draw patterns in nature!

Work Choice photos from this past week:

Working on fine motor skills as well as creating a core pattern to repeat on a piece of wire.

Creating core patterns with varying attributes such as size, shape and colour.

Studying and following patterns using the inclusive circle materials.

Language

Criteria for Success- On Monday we will be starting our Criteria for Success learning.  Criteria for success are basically a set of steps in achieving our learning targets.  We will write and practice using this criteria for success and will evaluate our writing together in small groups using positive and constructive feedback. This will be an ongoing practice in our classroom.

https://www.teachingchannel.org/videos/criteria-for-success

Work choice photos from this past week:

Sandpaper letters and penmanship.

Word Study.

Mind-maps are so useful for organizing our thoughts and our research.

Metal inset art.

Culture

This past week we finished our Story of the Universe.  We explored and learned about the Big Bang and the events that created our solar system and our planet.  We also read about First Nations creation stories and discussed how different cultures have different stories about how the universe and earth came to be.

This week we will continue our universe and space study.  On Friday we started our research work on space. Each student has a Exploring Space Logbook that we will be working on over the next couple months. The students are using resources in the classroom as well as the library to gather information. When we visit the Kensington Public Library the students will be encouraged to borrow books that are helpful in their space study.

Forces of Cohesion: In small groups we will be doing an experiment to illustrate how the planets and the Sun each formed from different kinds of matter.  The swirling particles joined together to make each part of the solar system.

The Story of the Universe. This timeline represents 13 billion years.

The main events on the timeline are as follows:

13 billion yrs. ago: The Big Bang

12 billion yrs. ago: Galaxies

11 billion yrs. ago: The Milky Way

6 billion yrs. ago: The Supernova explosion

5 billion yrs. ago: Our Solar System

4 billion yrs. ago: Planets

A student took it upon herself to create her own timeline.

Wonders.

Wonders.

Wonders.

Wonders.

Working hard on their Exploring Space Logbooks.

We are almost into our 3rd week of school! I am away tomorrow (Monday September 19) for a workshop at the Vancouver School Board.  There will be a TOC (teacher on call) in the classroom.  The students are aware of my absence and we have discussed my expectations while I’m away.

This week:

Math: All three grades have been working hard learning about patterns.  We have learned about core patterns and repeat patterns.

1s: the students are using many manipulatives in the classroom (building blocks, beads and wire, inclusive circles) to explore patterns and to illustrate their understanding.

2s: the students are learning about attributes and how patterns can change by size, shape and/or colour.

3s: the students are exploring and learning about the attributes of patterns through names and numbers.

Language: Writing in our creative writing journals is always encouraged.  We were very inspired by Sadie’s story writing last week! I also expect the students to be reading and exploring books during our DEAR (drop everything and read) period after lunch.  Students are exceptionally interested in researching and note taking right now, so many are reading and writing during this period!

1s: the students have been introduced to the moveable alphabet for their word study.  The 1s are encouraged to choose word study as a wise work choice option. The students have also started a penmanship book to encourage practicing writing their letters.

2s and 3s: the students will begin or continue working with the Montessori grammar boxes. The students are also encouraged to work on their cursive penmanship books.

Culture: The Story of the Universe

We have started our culture study with the Story of the Universe and the Big Bang! We will finish reading “Born with a Bang!” and look at a few First Nations creation stories.  We will be experimenting with states of matter (solid, gas, liquid) later in the week.

Classroom Community:   Last week we worked together as a team to use our predicting skills and piece together “Zoom”.  This book is a wordless picture book that zooms out with every page.  I have made this book into an activity by dismantling the pages and having the students work together to sequence the story.  This involves much communication, patience and teamwork.  On Wednesday afternoon we successfully sequenced Zoom! The students worked so well together.  I was impressed by the collaboration of all three grades and the communication that was needed for our success.

Every Friday afternoon we will be having a Peace Circle to close our week.  This will be a time for us to offer gratitude to each other for a week of hard work.  This will also be a time for the class to discuss anything that is working or not working in our classroom routines or to resolve any conflicts that may have risen.

PE: Mondays 1:45pm-2:15pm, Thursdays 9:45am-10:15am, Fridays 10:45am-11:15am

Music: Tuesdays and Wednesdays 1:45pm-2:15pm

Library: Tuesdays 2:15pm-2:55pm

On October 6th Division 5 Will visit the Kensington Public Library with Ms. Nina’s class. We are leaving the school and walking to the library around 9:30am, returning around 11:30. There will be a story time (focus on space and the universe), time to learn about the library and choose a book.

I’m asking that all students in Division 5 please bring their VPL cards. Please let me know via email if your child does not have a card. I have some blank applications for new VPL cards.

Here are some photos from our work this week:

Claire has been using her DEAR time to read and take notes on DEER!

Sadie wrote a story! She wrote a draft, edited and typed a final copy. She then read it to the class on Thursday morning.

Language and math materials. The grade 3s are hard at work!

Penmanship work.

Patterning with the building blocks.

The snake game!

Patterning!

The tens board.

Maxine was finding patterns in the classroom and on her classmates!

It was great to have time to chat and get to know the parents of Division 5 last night! A big thanks to all who took time out of their evening to come and share food and visit the classroom.

Here is a little bit of information about mindsets… please try and encourage the growth mindset at home.

A friendly reminder to all families who haven’t returned all of the forms and school supply money to please do so this week.

The Welcome Potluck/Meet the Staff night is scheduled for this Wednesday, September 14th.

Time: 5:30 -8:00pm
Place: Tyee gym (and undercover area if weather permits)

Math

1s: The students are exploring the many patterning materials in the classroom.  Today the 2s worked with the 1s to introduce them to the lego, building blocks, marble roll, patterning blocks, and the architex (roman arch).  The students will continue to explore these materials as well as finding patterns in the classroom and on each other!  They will also be completing a math assessment.

2s: The students were big leaders today in the classroom leading the 1s through different patterning materials.  The 2s will begin to review the Montessori math materials that they are familiar with and also complete a math assessment.

3s: The students began reviewing the Montessori math materials that they are familiar with today.  The 3s will also complete a math assessment.

Language

This afternoon we read “Ralph tells a story” by Abby Hanlon.

We talked about story sparks and how we can generate ideas to write stories.  The students are encouraged to write stories about anything; what they love, what they don’t love, memories, recounts.  They are also encouraged to write stories from their imagination.  Today the students wrote (and drew) for 40 minutes! They seemed inspired after Ralph overcame his writers block.  Some students even read their stories aloud for their classmates to hear.

We will continue with journal writing and stories.  Students will also be reviewing the language material they are familiar with before moving on to new material.

Read-aloud: I have started to read “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone” by J.K. Rowling. I will read to the students while they eat their lunch and whenever we have a few spare moments to enjoy this book.

Work Choice

Students are expected to plan their day every morning upon arrival.  They are encouraged to use the ‘Shape of the Day’ that I have provided as a guide for their work charts.  Students plan what they will accomplish in a day and check-off the tasks they have completed.

Music

The students will begin Music this week! They have music every Tuesday and Wednesday afternoon at 1:30pm with Mr. Alvaro Rojas.

Library

Our designated library time is on Tuesday afternoon from 2:00-2:40pm.  Please remind your child to bring their books back to return in order to borrow.

We had a great first week in Division 5!  We welcomed the new grade ones into our classroom and spent a good amount of time getting to know each other.

For any confusion on the pronunciation of my name… phonetically it is  ‘lan-jill’.

I have also been issued my VSB email.  Parents, feel free to email me: hlangille@vsb.bc.ca

 Mind Up

We began the week with being mindful.  We learned about our brains and the importance of self-regulation.  The students drew imaginative pictures of what they think their brains look like and wrote about what they wonder about their brains.  Later we learned about the amygdala and the prefrontal cortex and how both of these parts of the brain are linked to our learning.  We will continue our mindfulness breathing program and the zones of regulation to check in with ourselves and with each other.  The students generated a great list of words to describe how we were feeling after our first mindful breathing activity of the year.

Classroom Community

On Thursday, the grade 2s and 3s were paired with our new grade 1 students and gave them a tour of the classroom.  This was such a positive activity for everyone! The new students to the classroom explored and asked questions, while the returning students had time to reacquaint themselves with the materials.  The classroom tour seemed to get everyone excited to begin our work!

As a class we created a contract outlining our expectations for each other.  We decided on 10 main responsibilities that we expect everyone in the class community to uphold.  These classroom expectations are the students responsibility as well as my responsibility.  We are a team! (I will post a photo of our contract on Monday)

Thank you to Felix and Olivia for starting us off with our healthy shared snacks this week! They were much appreciated by everyone.

Language

The students participated in a school-wide write on Friday morning.  We wrote about our summer vacations.  Earlier in the week we did a drama activity to brainstorm our summer memories and later learned about mind maps and webs to generate even more summer memories.   The students worked hard to write about their vacations! Their effort Friday morning was impressive.

Math

1s: we learned about patterns this week and will continue with patterns into next week.

The 2s and 3s explored the math materials that they are familiar with and will continue to review early next week.

I will also be doing a math assessment (all three grades)  to determine what each child needs to continue with and where to move next.

Visit with Ms. I

Ms. I came to visit us on Friday afternoon.  It was great to finally meet her! The students were so excited and happy to have a visit.  We asked questions, chatted, ate cookies (thank you Auden!) and had a big group hug!

Welcome back to school!

School Start Time

School starts at 9:00am.  Getting your child to school on time teaches them to respect and value the importance of punctuality and school. Please send your child dressed for weather.

School Supplies

School fees are $25.  All necessary supplies are purchased for the class with this. If possible, please also send one or two boxes of Kleenex to school to help us get through the cold season.

Physical Education

We will have some sort of physical activity daily.  Please send running shoes to school.  We will be starting Tennis on September 16th and it is important to have proper footwear as well as proper clothing for PE.

Reading

Please find the time to have your child read independently daily.  Also try and read to your child as much as possible.  Reading higher level books to your child increases their vocabulary, comprehension and interest level.

Volunteers

Please let me know if you have any special talents you would like to share with the class. I welcome your ideas and your help.  Ways to be involved are: sewing, knitting, art, music/dance, baking/cooking, and helping out in the school with special events.  I also welcome any help with field trips we may take this year.

This is the snack calendar for the month of September.  Please take the time to find out when your child’s snack day is and plan to send a healthy snack to class to share.  The snack should be simple enough for your child to prepare and serve independently.  Please no NUTS. Please let me know as soon as possible if your child has any other allergies or food intolerances. Healthy cookies or muffins, cheese and crackers, bagels and jam or cream cheese, salsa and chips, fruit and vegetables are some snack ideas.

Birthday (BD) snacks will happen either on or as close to your child’s birthday as possible.  If you forget to send snack, please send an “emergency” snack for us to serve when others forget theirs.

My name is Hannah Langille and I am a new teacher to Tyee Elementary School.  I am so excited to have joined such a supportive and collaborative learning community!

I am committed to using this blog platform as a way to communicate our weekly learning journey in Division 5.  Parents and students please check the blog if you are unsure of what the week ahead holds.

A little bit about me…

I grew up in Fredericton, New Brunswick and was in the French immersion program during my time in public school.  I graduated from the University of New Brunswick with a Bachelor of Science in Marine and Plant Biology.  I learned how to ski when I was very young and grew up ski racing in Atlantic Canada and so, after graduation I moved to Revelstoke, BC for its mountains and lived with a family as their live-in nanny.  I enjoyed Revelstoke, its mountains and the community so much I decided to stay for three more years!  I coached ski racing at Revelstoke Mountain Resort and worked for Community Connections Revelstoke Society as a Residential Care Worker.  I worked with developmentally disabled adults and elderly people and facilitated their home life as well as their involvement in the Revelstoke community.  I moved from Revelstoke, BC to Vancouver with my partner so both of us could go back to school.  I did my Bachelor of Education specializing in Montessori education at the University of British Columbia.

I enjoy riding my bicycle to school, skiing, yoga, knitting, making and eating ice cream, curling up on my couch and reading, and sometimes being silly!

If you would like to learn more about me and my learning journey please visit my professional blog:

https://blogs.ubc.ca/mslangille/