Author Archives: swollock

winter gear

Shalom families,

Thank you so much for your time and collaboration for our goal setting conferences, I am really proud of how self-aware your children are, and how they are building their skills. Kol Ha’Kavod!

A few of you asked so here it is: The Winter Gear Checklist!

To keep at school:
– a pair of running shoes
– 2 pairs of extra socks
– extra pair of warm mittens/gloves (optional. Some days, the snow is wetter than others, we do our best to dry out mittens/gloves
– an extra uniform and undergarments as always

To bring every day:
– waterproof winter boots
– snow suit. This includes snow pants and jacket, and can be a one piece or two piece suit, with the option to leave the snow pants at school if your child(ren) take the bus. You can also leave an extra pair of snow pants at school if you’d like. Because we end our day outdoors, weather permitting, your child will already be fully dressed in their winter gear. Please let me know what you choose so we can all keep track!
– warm mittens, preferably long ones that can be tucked into sleeves
– a neck warmer (nice and cozy! Neck warmers are much safer than scarves for outdoor play. Scarves have ends that can get pulled or caught in the play structure, which can be dangerous)
– warm winter hat

Our cutoff temperature for JK outdoor play is -15 C with or without wind chill. Please know that we will be going outside every day, weather permitting, and should conditions change while we are outdoors, we would go back inside.

As always, please do not hesitate to reach out for clarification, questions, comments, and compliments!

Homework alert!

This month, we are learning all about the weather, starting with weather vocabulary and terms in all three languages. We are also tracking the weather for the entire month of November and need your help!

In your child’s backpack today, you will find the weather wheel they made in class, as well as their homework! It is a weather tracking form for PD days and weekends. They learned how to use it by colouring in each appropriate rectangle for the date noted to the left, and they are very excited to have the responsibility of homework!

**Please do not do any homework over Shabbat**

Please send back completed charts (or a photo of the completed chart) on Monday, November 27 so we can add the data points to our classroom chart.

Thank you for your collaboration!

Guest Blog!

Shalom!

Today we had the pleasure of a guest in our class, Dov. Yes, he really is a human, not a bear! And, he appreciated the honey that you sent in for him! He wanted to conduct one of his favourite science experiments with the class and here are his thoughts on how the day went:

Hi, I’m Dov, a high school student. Today was Take Your Kid to Work day at my school, so I came to help out. I had a great time in the JK classroom today, playing with your kids. At the end of the day, I ran an experiment with the class. The experiment is a volcano eruption, made using baking soda, vinegar, dish soap and food coloring for fun. Beforehand we built the volcano out of Lego surrounding an empty bottle. In the class we prepared the experiment, starting with the baking soda. We put the baking soda in the bottle, then took a spare pitcher and added the vinegar, soap and food coloring to make a light orange. The kids predicted that it would be a fast but small eruption. We went outside and I poured the contents of the pitcher into the bottle. It quickly erupted into a large pile of bubbly light pink lava. It was so much fun to do and I can’t wait to come back next time I have an off day. 

Fire safety!

Today a team of firefighters came to visit us, SK, and grade 1. We got to see their uniforms and equipment, and even got to climb into the firetruck! Please review this fire safety video with your children, and be sure to check out and discuss a fire safety exit plan on page 5 of the colouring book they bring home today. Safety first!

Fall Collages and reminders

Important upcoming dates:

  • October 27 – 3pm Friday Dismissal, and dress down day, see below
  • October 31 – Photo retake day – please let us know if your child will be needing a retake
  • November 2 – 12:00 pm dismissal for goal setting meetings, looking forward to collaborating with you!
  • November 3 – NO SCHOOL for goal setting meetings
  • November 10 – 2pm Friday early dismissal begins

Some beautiful tear-art trees, adorned with leaves collected from the yard!

 

just a rainy day… and some reminders

A quick reminder to please make sure your child is dressed appropriately for the weather! October and November are very tricky in Ottawa, and we do go outside to play in light rain. The playground is also wet We might have sunshine and 30 degrees or rain and 10 degrees. We recommend a rain jacket, rain pants, and rain boots for outdoors, and dressing in layers because the temperature can vary. Thank you!

Upcoming:

NO SCHOOL on Monday, October 9th

SUPER TOP SECRET EXPERIMENT on Tuesday, October 10th. Guess what we are doing!

 

OCTOBER 17 GLOBAL MAKER DAY! Please send all kinds of recyclables, like all sizes and shapes of cardboard boxes and especially tubes/rolls (like from paper towels and toilet paper). Plastic containers (yogurt, sour cream, etc.) are also welcome but they must be cleaned and not smelly. (Trust me on that one!) We are also asking for corks, paint stir sticks, popsicle sticks, and other things like that. The class that brings the most items is added to the draw to win a prize and because we are the smallest (and most adorable) class in the school… let’s do this!!!

Colour Mixing continued, and a little bit of sukkot!

This week, we had a blast mixing colours in so many different ways. We conducted the walking rainbow experiment, painted with watercolour paints, listened to colour mixing songs, and finally, made our own type of colour wheel with a mixing chart to remind us what happens when you mix different primary colours together.

We’ve also been preparing for Sukkot. We made decorations for the school Sukkah and for home, learned about arba’at ha’minim, and made Sukkah collages in art class. So much fun!

Chag Sameach and Shabbat Shalom!