Monday, March 14

 Hi parents,

We had a great day today! 

In the morning, we welcomed our new student teacher, Mrs. Fernandez, to the classroom. She prepared a fun presentation to help the students get to know her. They had lots of great questions and were excited to share!

Aside from that, it was a pretty typical Montessori Monday. We did journal writing, practiced spelling words,  and worked with Montessori math materials. Our Montessori 'big idea' of the week is "Peace Talks".

A peace talk is a conflict resolution strategy that students can use independently to solve problems peacefully and respectfully. I'm sure you've all seen arguments before in which neither party will stop arguing long enough for the other party to share - it can be frustrating and often even make the conflict worse! 

The Peace Talk formula is designed to address this issue. Students will go to the peace corner to talk in a quiet environment free from interruptions. They will use a rock, flower, or pinecone to indicate whose turn it is to speak. Each student will share how they are feeling before passing the turn to the next student. They will then use this same approach to find a solution. Hopefully having this skill will help students resolve more problems on their own at school, and maybe even at home!

Tomorrow is Class Picture Day! Due to covid we have not been able to take class pictures inside for the last couple of years - if you are still feeling uncomfortable about this, please send me an email to let me know! For students who feel more comfortable wearing masks, the current plan is for them to take their masks down for the picture, and then put them back up afterwards. Please let me know if you'd like your child to wear their mask for the picture too.

Have a nice night,

Zac

Spelling Words! (Week of March 13)

Spelling List A

Bump	Stamp	Camp	Chomp	Imp
He	Was	That	She	On

 

Spelling List B

Lumpy	Shrimp	Grumpy	Empty	Swamp
First	Does	Goes	Write	Always

 

Spelling List C

Empire	Temple	Simple	Trample	Vampire
Empress	Complain	Impossible	Sympathy	Attempt

Thursday, March 10

 Hi parents,

We had a pretty good day today - Class Dojo Store, Spelling Quiz, preparing for conferences, and basketball in gym were a few of the highlights!

Conferences start in about an hour. Please send me an email if you are having trouble booking. I'll make sure to get in touch with anyone who is unable to book and we'll find an alternate time next week. 

Please remember to send back your child's math, writing, and drawing books on Monday, March 14.

Talk to you all soon!

Zac

Wednesday, March 9

 Hi parents,

Sorry about the lack of blog posts yesterday, we were having some internet issues at LBS but it's all resolved now. :)

Today, we continued our discussion on 'conversation skills', and brainstormed some simple questions we can use to keep conversations going. Basically I am teaching the class how to make small talk. We did some conversation exercises, and then, sticking with the theme of dialogue, the students did a fun writing activity which we called "Droon Dialogue".

For this activity, the students each rolled two dice. The number on each die corresponded with a different character from the Secrets of Droon. They then had to write dialogue for a conversation between the two characters. It was a lot of fun to read the responses - the class did a great job of getting 'in character' and making each character say things that reflected their qualities and roles in the novel.

We practiced spelling in the afternoon, did Guest Reader, and Daily LA.

We also read another chapter of Droon.

Tomorrow is our spelling quiz as there is no school on Friday.

Student-Led Conferences: March 10-11

Tomorrow marks our first day of student-led conferences, and unfortunately they have to be virtual once again, which makes the sharing process a bit more challenging. But here's more or less how it will look.

Tomorrow,  each student will take home a folder containing their writing, math, and drawing books, as well as a few other work tasks we've completed recently in class. Please wait until our conference meeting begins to open these folders, as this will give your child a chance to lead the sharing process and show off some of their favourite work.

Each folder will also contain the first Secrets of Droon Novel Study that we completed, along with a self-reflection checklist that I hope will give you an idea of some of the things we're working on in writing.

Please send the folders and the writing, math, and drawing books back to school for Monday, March 14. We're still using those books for schoolwork! 

Finally on an unrelated note, tomorrow is Inside-Out Day at Lake Bonavista School! 

I guess nobody got the memo

Have a nice night,

Zac

Book Fair!

 Our Book Fair has started. The link below is active.  

 

We are pleased to be hosting a hybrid (In-School and Virtual) Scholastic Book Fair from Friday, March 4, 2022 until Friday, March 11, 2022.  

 

Each class will get an opportunity to visit the Book Fair on Monday, March 7^th or Tuesday, March 8^th. 

 

Your child will receive a Book Fair Wish List that they can fill in while visiting the book fair. This form will be sent home for you to view, if you would like to purchase anything from your child’s wish list you can choose to use the virtual book fair link (below) or initial next to the item you would like to purchase and send in exact cash in an attached envelope or baggy. Please note, that in-school purchases already include GST.  

 

Cash orders need to be sent in by Thursday, March 10^th.  

Online orders will be shipped to the school and sent home with your child when they arrive.  

 

Virtual Book Fair Link: https://virtualbookfairs.scholastic.ca/pages/5163641

Monday, March 7

 Hi parents,

We had a great Monday today!

It was "Montessori Monday", round two, which means we had no screen time at all and spend extra time working with Montessori materials. 

Last week, our focus was on taking care of the places in which we learn and live. We addressed that topic explicitly on Monday and then revisited it throughout the week. With the exception of one day, the classroom has looked noticeably more organized and well-cared for.

This week, our focus is on Grace & Courtesy, which is a broad and important aspect of the Montessori philosophy that addresses how students should interact with others, and carry themselves in general. It emphasizes being kind, calm, thoughtful, and compassionate. This week we are especially focusing on social skills. We talked about shaking hands, saying hello and goodbye, and treating each other as equals. Later in the week we'll talk about how to hold a conversation by asking questions, listening attentively, and making comments.

Aside from Montessori Monday, it was a pretty typical day. The students worked on their journal writing, practiced spelling, and did math work that challenged them to place numbers appropriately on a blank number line. 

We also got to visit the Scholastic Book Fair, and the students created 'wish lists'. It was reminiscent of our Shopping Spree project! I hope I am not accidentally creating a class of shopaholics. At least they will be good at decimal addition. 

We read another chapter of Droon at the end of the day.

Ms. Brown has put together a video for Student Led Conferences that talks about all the awesome work she's done with the students over the past few months - check it out below!

Grade 2/3 Health & Phys. Ed with Ms. Brown

Have a nice night,

Zac

Spelling Words (Week of March 6)

 Spelling List A

Or	For	Cork	Fort	Horn
Play	Run	Find	Three	Funny

 

Spelling List B

Organ	World	Record	Unicorn	North
Been	Off	Cold	Tell	Work

 

Spelling List C

Victory	Comfortable	Warrior	Horizon	Morning
History	Forest	Majority	Horseback	Notorious

Good luck!

Friday, March 4

 Hi parents,

We had a much better day today!

Today we did the spelling quiz a big differently. Each student was given a sheet to write their words on, with only enough space for the list they'd practiced. I marked each quiz and gave them back so they could do corrections, by writing each incorrect word three times. I'm hoping that having this 'consequence' will help the class be a bit more diligent about practicing words throughout the week, while also helping draw attention to words that are a bit more challenging. 

We did two rounds of Daily LA today, and the rest of our time was spent with Guest Reader, Body Break, and math work time. I am so relieved that today, they really pulled through and delivered the quality of work I know they're capable of. The Shopping Spree problem is basically finished! We may put some finishing touches on it on Monday but it's looking a lot better. I hope the experience of having to edit, and even restart the project from scratch has helped the students build perseverance and to learn from their mistakes.

 

Our Book Fair has started. The link below is active.  

 

We are pleased to be hosting a hybrid (In-School and Virtual) Scholastic Book Fair from Friday, March 4, 2022 until Friday, March 11, 2022.  

 

Each class will get an opportunity to visit the Book Fair on Monday, March 7^th or Tuesday, March 8^th. 

 

Your child will receive a Book Fair Wish List that they can fill in while visiting the book fair. This form will be sent home for you to view, if you would like to purchase anything from your child’s wish list you can choose to use the virtual book fair link (below) or initial next to the item you would like to purchase and send in exact cash in an attached envelope or baggy. Please note, that in-school purchases already include GST.  

 

Cash orders need to be sent in by Thursday, March 10^th.  

Online orders will be shipped to the school and sent home with your child when they arrive.  

Virtual Book Fair Link: https://virtualbookfairs.scholastic.ca/pages/5163641

Other Upcoming Dates:

March 10-11: Virtual Student-led Conferences

March 15: Picture Day

March 17: St. Patrick's Day

Have a splendid weekend,

Zac

 

Thursday, March 3

 Hi parents,

We didn't have the best day ever today but it was alright.

The students spent most of the morning working on their Shopping Spree math problems. About 75% of the class had to completely start over because they hadn't followed the instructions, which was disappointing, but hopefully a good learning experience. 

We read the next chapter of Droon, and that was probably the highlight of the day - some great discussions once again.

In the afternoon, we worked on the math projects again, and then tried to clean up in time for gym but were not successful with that. Books were being ripped apart, materials stacked precariously, and tag games were being played throughout the cleanup, and it ended up taking over 20 minutes (plus an extra few minutes of 'lecture' time.)

We ended our day with Music.

At the start of the week, we discussed the Montessori value of taking care of our learning space. I think we may have to revisit that conversation tomorrow!

Have a nice night,

Zac

Wednesday, March 2

 Hi parents,

We had a great day today.

In the morning, we had Work Period and Guest Reader, where we learned about Tennis champion and activist Billie Jean King.

We started to work on a big math problem known as "The Shopping Spree".

It's a multi-step ordeal, in which the students browse flyers, round prices up/down, create a 'running total', and aim to spend exactly $100 of fictional money, all while recording their calculations and cutting and gluing items fro the flyer. It's going to take a few more days I think, but we got off to a great start today.

In the afternoon, we read The Secrets of Droon and had an awesome discussion about the character "Demither". She's one of those mysterious characters where you can't tell if they're good or bad. In Room 4, we love those types of characters, because they make for great persuasive writing prompts!

We did Daily LA and ended our day with more work on the math project.

Class Picture Day is on Tuesday, March 15! 

I'm so happy that we get to take an official class picture this year. 

Have a nice night,

Zac

Tuesday, March 1

 Hi parents,

We had a pretty good day today!

In the morning, we did our usual morning tasks, and then worked on this Droon-inspired writing prompt:

"Lord Sparr lives in a volcano. Galen lives in an invisible tower. If you were a sorcerer, where would you live?"

The students had some really creative answers, ranging from underwater volcanos, to generic suburbs, to giant donuts. 

We filled out a calendar for the month of March and answered some quick questions. 

Today was our first day of Guest Reader, and our first reader set a great example by reading loudly, clearly, and with expression, and also having practiced the book many times beforehand. The audience members also did a great job of listening attentively and giving meaningful feedback.

In the afternoon, we had Gym, Music, Daily LA, and a Sharing Circle.

How is Fitness Bingo going? I realize I forgot to post the bingo card previously, so probably not very well. Here it is - please let me know if you complete the whole card so I can add the points to our class tally.

Have a nice night!

Zac