special events

Tomorrow, starting at 2:10 pm, we have our monthly reward assembly - The Great Golden Bear Assembly.  This month we are honouring our most responsible students.  On Friday morning, at 9am, we will be visited by Olympians and Paraolympians.  Please join us for these events if you are available and interested.

Have a safe and fun Halloween,
Miss Mynes

Tomorrow

Tomorrow is Halloween.  In the afternoon we will have a party to celebrate.  Feel free to send in a peanut free treat for your child to share with their classmates at the party.  The children can wear their costumes but I encourage you to not send their full costumes, maybe just a modified version.  Mrs. McGrath and I will be happy to help the children who stay for lunch change into any costume or costume accessories they bring with them.  If you don't want to send in your child's costume, not to worry, your child can use our drama center clothing to create a costume if they wish.

Let's hope it doesn't rain for the Trick or Treating!
:)
Miss Mynes

indoor shoes

With the week of rain ahead and snow to come, I want to encourage you to have a pair of indoor shoes, preferably running shoes, for your child to keep at school.  Dirty boots really make the classroom messy and we sit on the floor a lot.  Writing your child's name somewhere on the shoe is helpful as well.

:)
Miss Mynes

scientist in the school

My apoligies to our families who are celebrating Eid today and their child is therefore missing our Scientist in the School morning.  In my defense, I booked this in June and didn't even consult a calendar.  Lesson learner, always consult a calender!  For the children who were absent today, they will be invited to join room 10 when they have their Scientist in the School visit later in the school year.

I hope you are having a wonderful day and I look forward to hearing the children talk about their celebration on Monday.

:)
Miss Mynes

a little about today

Today is a day 2 which is the day we are in the classroom all day.  To fill our day we will use the shakers the children made with Mrs. McGrath to play along to classical music, we will go see our school "orchestra" to see and hear the different instruments.  In math, we will work on our operational sense using 5 frames to make numbers.

Bear Wear sales are today.  If you want us to assist your child to purchase a garment, just send us a note and the money and we will try to help your child choose something appropriate.  Feel free to bring your child to the gymnasium yourself to choose a garment if possible.

:)
Miss Mynes

for next week

Next week, our anchor text will be Beatrice's Goat by McBrier.  In support of this unit, if possible, visit a zoo or farm or some other location where children can observe goats.  Ask your child What do they eat? What colour are they?  Explain to the children what a goatee is.  Your linguistic, logical-mathematical or naturalist learner will love it.

:)
Miss Mynes

reuse.....

Here are some things we would love you to save and send into the classroom: tin cans of any size and plastic bottles of various sizes.  We will use them to make musical instruments.

Thank you for your continued support,
Miss Mynes

Bear Wear

On Thursday and Friday this week, Mr. Webster is selling Bear Wear.  I encourage you, if possible, to bring your child to the gymnasium yourself to guide your child in their selections.  If this is not possible, Mrs. McGrath or myself will do our best to guide your child to pick a clothing item that fits and is attractive.  Please direct all Bear Wear questions to Mr. Webster as I have no idea what the details of the sale are.

:)
Miss Mynes

our weekly theme

This week, we are learning about the orchestra.  Bringing your child to see an orchestra play, if possible, would make your logical-mathematical, musical, naturalist and intrapersonal learner very happy.

Also, if you use margarine, sending in the containers when they are finished would help me out with our Discovery activity this week.

Thanks,
Miss Mynes

communication folders

I have been struggling trying to come up with a new way to send home papers now that I am in a classroom that does not have room for student cubbies.  I like the children to learn to pack their own backpacks but I have discovered that simply cannot work in room 9.  In order to organize sending papers home, I have purchased zippered bags.  If your child brings their bag home, empty it out and send it back the next day.  In this way, I am sure any papers that need to get home will get home to you.

Thanks for your support,
Miss Mynes

a fun day

What a day we are going to have in room 9 today!  In the morning, we will try to keep it calm with regular routines - reading with seniors, writing folders etc.  In the afternoon, we have Everybody's Birthday Party.  We will have games, music, cake and general good times.  I'm sure your child will come home talking about it.  We will have a happy day, just like Alicia in Alicia's Happy Day.

:)
Miss Mynes

a little about today

Today we see Mr. Burgess for drama, dance and music as well as physical education.  We also have the vision clinic this afternoon.  We are continuing our unit about Alicia's Happy Day by making Helado de Coco (coconut ice cream) just like Alicia eats in the book and we will use finger paint paper to write Happy Birthday just like the sky writing in the book.

:)
Miss Mynes

a little about today

Today we continue our week based on Alicia's Happy Day.  We will list all the different things we call our parents - Alicia calls hers mammi and poppi.  We are going to dance to salsa music, just like Alicia does in the story.  We will also use our fine motor skills to cut paper "oranges" into a ribbon of peel, just like the orange peel ribbon Alicia receives on her happy day.  I will read with the seniors, we will write in our writing folders, see Mr. Vatsolas for Health and Ms. Dykstra for book exchange.  As always, a busy day.

Tomorrow all students in the school will have their vision tested.  Kindergarten's test will be at 1pm.

Have a great day,
Miss Mynes

Thursday

On Thursday afternoon we are having an Everybody Birthday Party in room 9.  Each child has invited a friend or teacher within the school to join in on the party.  We will have decorations, cake and party games.  This goes with our theme based on the book Alicia's Happy Day.  Today we made invitations for our guests and will be making ice cream patterns in the afternoon for Mathematics.

:)
Miss Mynes

fundraiser

Mr. Jennings has started his annual UNICEF fundraiser. 
Check out the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund's website.

http://www.unicef.org/

Mr Jennings requests that you send in pennies and other coins that he will collect on UNICEF's behalf.  I know he appreciates you supporting this cause.

:)
Miss Mynes

timetable change

Ms. Dykstra has canceled our day 2 library period so she can do library administration during that time.  That means we will be getting new library books during our partnering period on day 5.  The children are allowed up to 4 books out at a time and will be denied new books if they have an overdue book.  I will send home a note with the names of the overdue library book.  If you cannot find it, write me a note.  Sometimes books are not checked into the library properly and can be found on the shelf, even when the computer believes they are checked out.

There has been a lot of coughing in our class this week.  When possible, we encourage you to keep your child at home to rest when they are ill.  I know that often they want to come to school but germs spread quickly in a classroom environment and out of courtesy to their classmates, they should stay home.

Thanks for all your support,
Miss Mynes

apple voting

Luckily I am nosey by nature and I discovered the apples the students are to use to vote for their favourite apple from our Thursday apple sales in the office - thank you to the parent council for that initiative.  Unfourtunately, the students selling the apples didn't know what type of apple they were selling and I am embarrassed to say I am not as able to identify apples without those handy labels as I had hoped.  Luckily, we had an apple tasting in the classroom where we tasted and graphed our favourite apple based on tasting a red, green and yellow apples.  I hope parent council doesn't mind if kindergarten goes on a tangent and votes on our favourite from that class activity.  That being said, after school today, come into the school and check our which colour apple is our favourite.  You can find the trees in the hallway outside the staff room.  I know I will be voting for green apples.

:)
Miss Mynes

Fire Drill Day

Today will be our first fire drill of the school year.  When you see your child after school, ask them about the fire drill.  Use it as a jumping off point to discuss what to do if there is a fire in your home.

I hope everyone had a nice long weekend.  I did but as always, I am happy to get back to work.

:)
Miss Mynes

next week

Next week, we being a focus on the book Barnyard Banter by Denise Fleming.  In it, a goose chasing a butterfly through the barnyard creates a rhyming and rhythmic ruckus among the animals that live there.  We will use this text as an anchor to strengthen our oral language, phonological awareness and comprehension.  We will do some special activities that tie into the book like playing Duck, Duck, Goose.  If possible, go on a nature walk and see if you can find any butterflies before they are gone for the season.  Also, a trip to a local farm where you list farm animals from the book with your child and then check off the animals on the list as you find them.  Riverdale Farm is a great place!

Have a wonderful long weekend!
:)
Miss Mynes

a little about today

Today is a day 3 which makes it a busy day.  We see Mr. Vatsolas for drama, dance and music and then again for physical education.  In room 9, in the morning, we will be writing in our writing folders and in the afternoon we will be doing an art project with apple seeds.  Mrs. McGrath always has fun activities going on too.

Starting next week, we will being our mathematics program in earnest.  Keep an eye on your child's backpack for fun activities you can do with your child at home in support of the concepts we are learning in class.  This is not homework and is not required or needed to be reported back.  The ideas are just for family fun at home.

Have a great day!
:)
Miss Mynes

Thursday apple sale

I forgot to mention that tomorrow there will be an apple sale.  I believe it is $0.50 for one.  The children have really enjoyed the apples so far!!

:)
Miss Mynes

apple art

Today, after we visit the Albert Campbell Library, we are doing apple based activities.  We will finish our apple prints and then we will be tasting a yellow, red and green apple and graphing our preferences.  Our songs this week are Johnny Appleseed and Apples and Bananas.

Because of our visit to the public library, we may miss book exchange at the school library today.  We will try to fit it in today or later in the week.

:)
Miss Mynes

Albert Campbell Library

Tomorrow, for 9:15, we will be visiting Albert Campbell Library.  Feel free to come along with us.

:)
Miss Mynes

the plan for tomorrow

Tomorrow, me, and perhaps Miss McGrath, will be attending an in school meeting about Model Schools.  Miss McGrath has worked in a model school for many years but it is all new to me so I hope to learn a lot in the morning meeting.  In the afternoon, we will make apple cider!! Yummy.

:)
Miss Mynes