Fabulous Forests

Our student teachers, Minji and Danielle, have started a new unit that is all about the forests! Here are some pictures of the first few weeks of learning we've embarked on. 

As part of the forest unit the students have all chosen a tree from Sunnyside Park to adopt. Over the first few weeks we have sketched, measured and learned about the science behind our trees. 

Division 3 and Division 4 created a collaborative mural in each classroom. 

DIVISION 3'S MURAL 

DIVISION 4'S MURAL 

The students worked in small groups to create posters that explained why trees are important. Here are a few of the students' posters. 

Tree posters illustrating tree parts and their importance.

The students learned all about what goes in and what comes out of the leaves during the process of photosynthesis.

We are also learning about the animals that live tin the forest. Here are some nests and the animals that live in them.

We also learned all about one of our furry forest buddies, the raccoon. Take a look! 

We hope you've learned something from our wonderful students about the forest and we hope to share much more about their learning in the coming weeks. 

Welcome Spring!

During the last couple of weeks before Spring Break, we have been observing our changing environment and riding our weather roller coaster on its way out of Winter and into Spring!

Daffodils, tulips, butterflies and sunshine are filling our minds!

However, we continue to take cover under our cheery umbrellas, hoping to brighten the gray of the early spring showers!

We look forward to seeing all of you over the next couple of days at our Student-Led Conferences.

A few friendly reminders:

1. Please return your report card envelopes so they can be used for term 3 reports.

2. Please return any Dance-a-thon money that has been collected.

3. The Book Fair is on at the library!

4. The children will be dismissed at 2:00 pm today, Wednesday, AND Thursday for Student-Led Conferences. Please pick up your child promptly as the first conferences begin at 2:00 sharp.

We hope you enjoy a safe and happy Spring Break with your families! 

Sound!

We spent several weeks after the Winter Break exploring SOUND.
We kicked off the unit by creating these beautiful Soundscapes:

Children had fun recording, creating and imagining sounds for each different Soundscape.

WHAT DO YOU HEAR....

 ....in the jungle?

....in the forest?

.... on the farm?

..... under the sea?

Each week we had new sound experiments to explore at our Sound Station. Children were able to listen to sound waves travel through water, see the vibration of sound waves create waves in the water and match like sounds. Students created a sound cannon, ear models and even got to play in their own hand-crafted instrument in our orchestra.

Before our trip to the Orpheum, we studied about famous composers and listened to several different types of music from Elvis to Bach. The trip to the Orpheum was wonderful and the children singing along to Beethoven's "Ode to Joy", unforgettable.

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Buddy Time

We hope you enjoy your tree ornaments! We have been meeting with our big buddies every Monday morning since September. What a great way to start the week! It's wonderful to watch the excitment in the children's eyes as they meet up with their buddies. The little ones, once very shy, are learning to open up. The big buddies are learning that they are valued for their skills, their knowledge and, well, their "bigness"! It is so fun to watch the relationships grow!

North Pole BC

On Tuesday we headed to the North Pole. How amazing was it to have a snowy day for our visit!! The bus ride was so much fun. We sang every Christmas and Hannukah song we know, each a few times!

Our Leaders...

 Mrs. Claus reads us a story...

Our leaders are fun and energetic!

TOYLAND!

Some of the residents.....

We all had fun brushing up on our elf skills.

Thank you to Elf Jingles for a fine tutorial!

SANTA!!!

We had a wonderful week with your children. Many of you were able to join us for our Winter Concert. What a success! The children worked so hard, practicing every day for the month of December.

 We are so proud of them!

 We wish you a restful and happy holiday with your families. We all have such busy lives, trying to make everthing "work" for our families.

 For this holiday season, our wish for you is the time to

pause and enjoy your wonderful children.

Happy Holidays Everyone!

Jenny, Cathy, Sheila and Lucy