Saturday, February 25, 2012

February 27, 2012

February 27, 2012

Dear Parents/Guardians,

It was a busy month in the Core English department. Students in Grade 2 completed their storytelling of 'Anansi and the Moss Covered Rock' and Grade 7/8 students completed their speeches. Congratulations to Samantha (Grade 2) and Klara (Grade 2) for representing their class in the schoolwide event. Congratulations to Jeris (Grade 8) and Melora (Grade 8) for representing the school in the Petawawa event. Public speaking is a key skill necessary as we move into the 21st century. Students in all classes had a taste of storytelling through the Salamander theatre group on Friday Feb 24th with the presentation of Tales From the Valley.
This week in honour of Dr Seuss's birthday we will be exploring the books of Dr Seuss. You can explore more information at home at Seussville.com. On Friday students are encouraged to dress as their favourite Dr. Seuss character.

Students reading ability has been assessed. In the Kindergarten students are assessed for Sound letter recognition as well as sight words. One assessment resource that is used at the Primary level students is PM Benchmarks. PM Benchmarks is a comprehensive Reading Assessment Resource using 30 unseen levelled texts used to level students reading and give information regarding programming needs. Also, as requested here is a list of the reading levels and their corresponding grades. Grade 1: 1 to 17; Grade 2: 17 to 22; Grade 3: 22 to 27. Remember this is only a guideline. Many children vary between these levels. At the Junior/Intermediate level one measure used for assessment is the CASI assessment. CASI or Comprehension Attitude Strategies Interests is used to diagnose student strengths and learning needs as well as to inform planning and instruction for the individual student. In the CASI Reading Assessment a level of performance is assigned as the teacher assesses the quality of student responses and rates the student’s work according to a set of predetermined criteria using levels 1-4 for each response. Students are expected to achieve level 3 and above for their grade level.

Finally in the school, students in grade 1-8 have been offered the opportunity to participate in a school-wide Science fair. Students can prepare their projects at home and register by March 8 to participate in our event in the gym. Forms are available to register their projects. Our School-wide event will be held on March 22 at 12:05.

In the classrooms:
JK/SK In the Jk/SK the students have been talking about ways they can be 'fancy' as they enjoy the books in the Fancy Nancy series written Jane O'Connor and illustrated by Robin Preiss Glasser. We have also been exploring some non-fiction texts as we talk about dinosaurs through our read aloud of "Dinosaur Days" by Daina Manning and review the days of the week. Students were introduced to a traditional Hawaiian dance/song called the Hukilau. Here is the lyrics:
The Hukilau Song
Jack Owens © 1948
Oh we're going to a Hukilau
A huki huki huki huki Hukilau
Everybody loves the Hukilau
Where the laulau is the kaukau at the lû`au
We throw our nets out into the sea
And all the `ama`ama come a-swimming to me
Oh, we're going to a Hukilau
A huki huki huki Hukilau
What a beautiful day for fishing
That old Hawaiian way
Where the Hukilau nets are swishing
Down in old Lâ`ie bay
Students continue with the Jolly Phonics. We have covered the English sounds s, a, t, i, p, n, ck, e, h, r, m, d, g, o, u, l, f, b, ai, j, and oa. We have reviewed colours and days of the week. Our read alouds for the next couple weeks will include 'Cat in the Hat' and 'One fish, Two fish, Red fish, Blue Fish' by Dr Seuss.

Grade 2 Students participated in a read aloud of 'Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day' by Judith Viorst. Students have begun writing their own original story of a bad picture day. Students have created their own original catch phrase. I look forward to publishing their original stories in the near future on the blog. Group 1 continue to review word families and sight words. Group two is continuing to explore frequently misspelled words and practise spelling correctly. I have moved away from having a weekly spelling test as I know it creates anxiety in some students and my purpose is to make them aware of their mistakes, take ownership and correct them in their daily writing, rather than memorize a list of words to achieve perfect on a test. I have included a master list in the students English folder for them to refer to, as well as to practice at their leisure. As we work together I will have students highlight the words that they consistently spell correctly. You can assist by practising these words at home. A few students have demonstrated a keen interest in spelling. You can download resources online from the Canspell website or send me a note and I will send home lists to practice at home. I am hoping to expand our Spelling Bee competition next year to include Primary students.

Grade 7/8
Student continue to develop leadership skills through participating and organizing a variety of school activities. Students have organized the next character assembly to include a new student led anti-bullying initiative. We are continuing to be inspired by our reading of 'Free the Children' and examining the various literary techniques within the text. Students completed their second CASI Assessment. Students will continue to be involved in the marking of this assessment and looking at the criteria to bump up their marks in written response questions.

If you have any questions or concerns you can contact me by calling the school, sending a note in your child's agenda or email me at legaultd@renfrew.edu.on.ca.



Sunday, February 5, 2012

"Kindness can change the world."

February is 'Random Act of Kindness' month at General Lake. In the next few days, students will be given ideas as to some of the things they can do as 'Random Acts of Kindness'. The front entrance bulletin board will offer a range of ideas provided by Mme Bernardin's and Mme Katherine's classes. Once students complete one of the acts they may sign their name on the display hearts. Let's see the power kindness can have at General Lake Public School!
Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around.
Leo F. Buscaglia

PEANUT FREE SCHOOL

Just a reminder that General Lake is a Peanut Free School. We have some students with life threatening allergies. It is imperative that we provide a safe school environment for all students, which means all lunches must be nut free. With the approaching Valentines Day celebration, many treats will be coming into the school. Please ensure that these treats are nut free. Also a reminder that Tim Horton's does not guarantee peanut free with their products, so please refrain from sending in their products to the school. Thanks for your attention to this matter.