SEPTEMBER 2012

Welcome               September 26, 2012

Dear Parents,

 My name is Ms. Debbie Legault and, due to some necessary reorganization, I will be your child’s English teacher for 2012-2013 school year. I am very excited to be teaching the Intermediate students again and continuing some of the valuable work we had begun last year. I have consulted extensively with Ms Graham to continue the work she had begun and to provide a seamless transition.  I believe that by all of us working together we can make this a very successful year. I consider it of prime importance that you be an active part of your child's education. You are invited to phone me any time that you have a question concerning your child's progress or email me at legaultd@renfrew.edu.on.ca.  To keep you informed I will send home regular newsletters, as well as feedback of your child’s work. My classroom blog is www.mslegaultsclassroom.blogspot.com where I post the newsletters as well as other information pertinent to my classes. I have four basic classroom rules or Agreements which are to demonstrate mutual respect; to show attentive listening; to have the right to participate and sometimes pass; and to show appreciation only to others/no putdowns allowed. We will be reviewing these Agreements during our initial classes, as I get to know your child or in many cases get reacquainted with your child.  My program centers around many Social Justice issues which together we explore, discuss and often debate.  I consider it a great privilege and responsibility to be your child’s teacher and I look forward to meeting you soon.

Sincerely yours,

Debbie Legault

Have a Great Summer

June 13, 2012

Dear Parents/Guardians,
What a great year we have had in the Core English.  We have accomplished so much together and I think we have had fun too.  It has been my pleasure to work with all the students.  Special thanks to our guest teacher, Mrs Leclair, who stepped in when I was unavailable to be with the classes, to provide a seamless English program to your child. In the next couple of weeks, I will post a list of activities on the blog of activities you can do with your child to prevent loss of learning skills over the summer.

Jk/Sk We have been working on identifying sight words, as well as reviewing our sound symbols when trying to decipher words.  I have sent home a book for students to keep entitled 'William'.  These books talks about the importance of washing hands in the prevention of illness.

Grade 2 We have completed their media study and they are currently completing a poster to advertise our up and coming Talent Show on June 22.

Grade 7/8  Most students completed and handed in their book reports.  We are now working on developing a slideshow for the character assembly, as well as decorations for the up and coming Talent Show and Grade 8 Graduation Ceremony on June 26.


Have a great summer

Ms Legault and Chippy

May 14, 2012

May 14, 2012
Dear Parents,

Thanks to everyone who supported our Education evening event on May 10th.  Studies show that if parents demonstrate that they value education and support the school it has a positive effect on student achievement.  It was a wonderful fun-filled and informative event compkete with pizza, fitness, our cheerleaders and superdogs as well as facepainting and mini manicures.  Lots of prizes were awarded and families had a chance to view our bookfair.  Thank you to everyone for  making the event successful. 


JK/SK Students continue to work with sight words. I am using the instructional program outlined by Mary Lou McKinley that focusses on word families through the Chalk and Sock strategy. I am sending home our latest shared reading called At The Farm'. Please practise reading this book with your child. I have introduced a new book called 'I'm Glad I'm Me'. Students are also practicing their printing using the Handwriting Without Tears' Program.  We are in the process of assessing your child's reading skills and I will send home some information shortly.


Grade 2 Students in Group 1 have completed all the word family work through the Chalk and Sock Strategy.  All of the students are now using this strategy to work on spelling sight words. We have begun exploring the features of different forms of text including a narrative (Robert Munsch books) Non-fiction text and a Recipe. Please take some time to explore this genre with your child and draw their attention to these text features. We are in the process of assessing your child's reading and I will send home information shortly.



Grade 7/8 Students have completed their  fiction novel by Caroline Pignat called 'Egghead'. Students have been exploring characteristics of fiction including characters and conflict.  Students will also have an opportunity to pick their own fiction novel to read. Students have been given information about the culminating task.







Thank you and have a wonderful week.









Debbie Legault

APRIL 16, 2012

April 16, 2012

Dear Parents,

This week is National Volunteer Week. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the parents who volunteer their time in the school. You are a valuable part of our community and you send a positive message that you consider school a worthwhile cause. This week in the Core English program we will be taking some time to discuss volunteerism and the power of volunteers to make a positive change.

Next week April 22-27 is Earth Week. Students will have the opportunity to participate in a number of activities to help the environment. Activities are posted on the General Lake blog at http://www.generallakenews.blogspot.com/, but two activities your child may be interested in include:

1)Taking a pledge for the planet. Students make a pledge to do something to help the planet for the week. At the school level sudents can post their pledge up in the main hallway on April 23. If your child wishes to take it a step farther, they can register their pledge at http://www.ecokids.ca/.

2) Recycled creation contest. Students can build a creation out of recycled items. Creation is due April 24. Creations will be judged for prizes and then display in our mini gallery on the gym stage April 25-26.

In the next couple of weeks I will be using the Ontario Education Resource Bank to present some of the online lessons on the smartboard. You can access this website at https://resources.elearningontario.ca/. It has a password which I will send home in the newsletter. This is an Ontario Ministry of Education resource and it is password protected.

JK/SK Students are almost finished all their Jolly Phonics sound program. We will continue working with sight words. I will also begin using an instructional program outlined by Mary Lou McKinley that focusses on word families. I am sending home our latest shared reading called 'Animals At Night'. Please practise reading this book with your child. I have introduced a new book called 'At the Farm'.

Grade 2 Students in Group 1 continue to work on word families and sight word identification. We have been working on parts of speech including nouns, verbs, and adjectives. We have also begun exploring the features of the non-fiction text such as an index, glossary, table of contents, bold fonts, subtitles, graphs, maps, labelled diagrams, headings, and facts. Please take some time to explore this genre with your child and draw their attention to these text features. We will continue this work.

Grade 7/8 Students are organizing 'Five Days of Freedom' for this week. Five Days of Freedom is an action plan to promote awareness to the four obstacles to freedom—exploitation, poverty, thirst and disease. Students are also completing their book report of 'Free The Children' which is due April 30th. A rubric has been given to the students to show them how I will assess their work. Our next reading will be a fiction novel by Caroline Pignat called 'Egghead'. Students will also have an opportunity to pick their own fiction novel to read. More information to follow about the culminating task.

Thank you and have a wonderful week.

Debbie Legault

March 26, 2012

March 26, 2012

Dear Parent/Guardians,

We are now in the third term and students continue to work hard at their various activities in the Core English.

JK/SK Students: Students have completed 2/3's of the Jolly Phonics Program. The following sounds are what we will be working on the this last term: z, w, ng, v, short oo, long oo, yx, ch, sh, voiced th, unvoiced th, qu, ou, oi, ue, er, ar. Students have also begun reading a new book called 'Animals At Night' and completing various activities related to this book. I will send home the book next week for review at home. Students are working on the Read Aloud 'Chicka, Chicka, Boom Boom' by Bill Martin. The following is one of our chants:

I said a boom chicka boom.

I said a boom chicka boom. (echo)

I said a boom chicka boom.

I said a boom chicka boom. (echo)

I said a boom chicka rocka

chicka rocka chicka boom!

Uh huh!

Uh hu!

Oh yeah!

Oh yeah!(echo)

A little bit softer now...(repeat song)

Grade 2: Students are exploring the genre of adventure story through books such as 'Puff the Magic Dragon' by Peter Yarrow and 'How I became a Pirate' by Melinda Long and David Shannon. Students completed various activities including a story map using the triangle, rectangle and circle to represent beginning, middle, and end, as well as creating a map to illustrate the setting of the story. Student are now beginning to work this week on their own adventure story. I am hoping to get all their stories published this week on the class blog. Students are also working on identifying parts of speech including nouns, verbs and adjectives.

Grade 7/8: Students continue to explore main idea and how to recognize it through the 'answering four questions' method. We have almost completed 'Free The Children' and as a final book report students are asked to choose from one of the following ideas:

• GRADE 7 - 8 STUDENT BOOK REPORT IDEAS


• I) Write a poem about an episode in the book.


• II) Create a public service announcement regarding the theme/content of the book you read.


• III) Make an illustrated timeline to retell the story. Include a minimum of twelve events.


• IV) Develop a web or mind map of the themes contained in the book you read.


• V) Create a flow chart of the sequence of events in the book you read.


• VI) Write about something you would like to share after reading this book. It could be something that book has inspired you to learn more about or something you would like to do.


• VII) Personal Opinion: What did you think of this story? Why did you or didn't you like it? Would you recommend it to others for reading? Give at least 2 reasons for your answers. Don't just say, "I liked this book".


• If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to send me a note or call the school at 613 687 2404.


• 
  

READING STRATEGIES

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.

"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.

February 3, 2012

Dear Parents /Guardians,

Students have been working very hard in the Core English program. Up and coming events in the school include pink and red day on Wednesday, February 14, public speaking on Feb 15 and 16 and Storytelling in the Valley presentation on February 24. As part of our February character work students brainstormed ideas for unexpected, kind things to do for people. Each idea was placed on a heart, then placed on the front bulletin board. When a student completes a RAK(random act of kindness) they can sign their name on the act that is posted on the front bulletin board.

JK/SK Students have reviewed the letters/sounds of s a t i p n c k e h r m d g o u l f b. We have added the sounds of ai. We have reviewed colours and completed a read aloud of Fancy Nancy. Sk's continue to practise their sight words.

Grade 2 We have begun working with the read aloud Fancy Nancy. We will be looking closer at the Super vocabulary and apply this to our written work. Storytelling evaluations will begin next week. I will then select a couple of students to present in the school wide event on Feb 15 at 12:05. The following is the rubric I will use to assess the work.

Name: _____

Grade 2 Storytelling rubric:

Interesting start: 1 2 3 4

Volume: 1 2 3 4

Story Elements: 1 2 3 4

Expression/gestures: 1 2 3 4

Grade 7/8 Students have completed their speeches on topic of choice. Assessments will begin next week, then I will choose a couple of students for the school-wide event on February 16 at 12:05. A rubric was sent home with students with their assignment guidelines.

Anansi and the Moss Covered Rock

ANANSI AND THE MOSS COVERED ROCK

Once upon a time, Anansi the spider was walking, walking, walking through the rain forest, when something caught his eye! It was a strange, moss-covered rock!

"How interesting!" Anansi said. "Isn't this a strange moss-covered rock!"

KABOOM! Everything went black &endash; Down fell Anansi, fast asleep!

An our later Anansi woke up, his head was spinning. He wondered what had happened!

"I was walking along the path when something caught my eye, I stopped and said "Isn't this a strange moss-covered rock."

KABOOM! Down fell Anansi again! But this time, when he woke up an hour later, he knew what was happening.

"Aha!' He said. "This is a magic rock! And whenever someone come along and says the magic words, "Isn't this a strange hmm-hmmmmm hmmmmm?" down they go! This is a good thing to know." said Anansi. "And I know just how to use it!"

So Anansi went walking, walking, walking through the rain forest until he came to Tiger's house. Tiger had in front of him a nice variety of food! Anansi loved all the food he saw before him, but was always too lazy to find them himself. Anansi said to Tiger, "Hello Tiger! It is very hot today. Don't you think so?"

"Yes, Anansi," said Tiger. "it is terribly hot!"

'I am going for a walk in the cool jungle," said Anansi. "Would you like to come?" "I certainly would!" said Tiger.

So Tiger and Anansi went walking, walking, walking through the rain forest. After a while Anansi led Tiger to a certain place.

"Tiger! Do you see what I see??'

"Oh yes Anansi!" said Tiger. " Isn't this a strange moss-covered rock!'

KABOOM! Down fell Tiger! Anansi ran back to Tiger's place and made off with all Tiger's food!!

An hour later, Tiger woke up, His head was spinning! Anansi was no where in sight. And when he got home, he found that every single bit of his food was gone! Tiger was very sad!

But Anansi was very happy! He couldn't wait to play his trick again! Once more Anansi went walking, walking, walking through the rain forest. This time he stopped at Elephant's house. At Elephant's feet was a great pail of bananas! Anansi loved bananas, but was always too lazy to pick them himself. So he said to elephant, "Hello Elephant! Isn't it hot today!" "It is!" Elephant agreed. "I am going for a walk in the cool forest" Anansi said "Would you like to come?" "That sound nice," aid Elephant "Tank you for inviting me Anansi!"

So Anansi and Elephant went walking, walking, walking through the rain forest. After a while Anansi led Elephant to a certain place. "Elephant! Look! Do you see what I see?"

Elephant looked. "Yes I do Anansi! Isn't this a strange moss-covered rock!" KABOOM! Down fell Elephant. Anansi ran back to Elephant's house and made off with the bananas!

An hour later Elephant woke up, His head was spinning! Anansi was nowhere in sight. And when he got home, he found that every single one of his bananas was gone! Elephant was very sad!

But Anansi was very happy! He couldn't wait to play his trick again!

He played it on Jaguar

He played it on Snake.

He played it on Fruit Bat.

He played it on Turtle.

He played it on every single animal in the rain forest! But all this time, watching from behind the leaves, was Little Spotted Deer. Little Spotted Deer is small and shy and very hard to see. She watched Anansi play his wicked trick again and again on all the other animals. Little Spotted Deer decided it was time for Anansi to learn a lesson!

So Little Spotted Deer went deep into the rain forest to where the coconut trees grow. She climbed a coconut tree and threw down a great many coconuts. She carried the coconuts home in a basket then she sat down beside them to wait.

In a little while, along came Anansi. Anansi's eyes lit up when he saw Little Spotted Deer's coconuts! Anansi loved coconuts, He loved to eat the tender while coconut meant and drink the sweet coconut milk inside. But he was much too lazy to gather the coconuts himself.

Instead he said "Hello Little Spotted Deer! It is so hot today!" Little Spotted Deer smiled, "It IS very hot, Anansi!" "I am going for a walk in the cool rain forest, would you like to come?" "Yes I would!" said Little Spotted Deer.

So Anansi and Little Spotted Deer went walking, walking, walking in the cool forest, After a while Anansi led Little Spotted Deer to a certain place. "Little Spotted Deer! Do you see what I see??" Little Spotted Deer knew all about Anansi's trick. She looked. "No Anansi, I do not see anything!" "You must see it. Look very carefully!" Little Spotted Deer looked. "No I still do not see anything' she said.

Anansi began to get angry. "You must see it! Look over here! Look right where I am pointing. Do you see it now?' "No, Anansi," said Little Spotted Deer. Anansi stomped his legs "You see it!! You just don't want to say it!"

"Say what?" said Little Spotted Deer. "You know!" "Is that what I am supposed to say?" 'Yes!" said Anansi. "All right. Then I will say it to make you happy. 'You know' " said Little Spotted Deer. "There! I said it! Are you satisfied?"

"NO!" Anansi shouted. 'You're not supposed to say 'You know!'"

"What am I supposed to say?"

"You're supposed to say, 'Isn't this a strange moss-covered rock!'"

KABOOM! Down fell Anansi.

Little Spotted Deer rain and got all the other animals. Together they went to Anani's house and took back all the good things he had stolen from them.

An hour later Anansi woke up. His head was spinning. Little Spotted Deer was no where in sight. And when he got home, he found his house was as empty as it was before.

But if you think Anansi learned his lesson, you're mistaken. Because he's still playing tricks to this very day!

January 10, 2012

Dear Parents/Guardians,

HAPPY NEW YEAR! I hope everyone had an enjoyable holiday. As you have probably heard General Lake experienced a tremendous loss at the sudden death of our Core French teacher Mrs. Grant. We will be holding a memorial service in the coming weeks to celebrate her life and the great impact she had through the work she did at General Lake. The date for the service is tentatively set for January 20.

Mme Haddad's French classes will be going ahead this week on Wednesday, as planned. If you are still interested in registering please do not hesitate to call the school and leave a message for Mme Haddad. This is an excellent opportunity for our parents to gain skills in speaking French.

Finally our November/December character assembly for initiative and caring has been rescheduled for this Friday, January 13th at 2:40. January's habit of Mind is respect.

In the kindergarten: Jk's and Sk's continue to use the jolly phonics action to recognize the letters s a t i p n c/k e h r m d g o u l f. Sk's have begun using the chalk and sock strategy to develop sight word recognition as well as to explore word families. We have begun reading together the predictable book Brown Bear, Brown Bear and we will be creating our own version to be sent home for the students to read with their families. We also had a shared reading of the following poem:

Grade 2:

Students in the grade 2 have begun a retelling of the story of Anansi and the Moss Covered Rock. Students are completing story boards to accompany their retelling. We are using this book in anticipation for the Public Speaking event that occurs every year at General Lake. I will post this story and students will have a copy in their English folders. I will choose several students from the class to participate in the school-wide storytelling/speech contest. Students will be judged and one student from each level will be chosen to represent our school at the Legion in their Public Speaking event. I will send a rubric in the next newsletter to outline my expectations for the oral storytelling activity.

As you are probably aware I have divided the class into 2 groups to better focus on their needs. One group is focusing on word families and sight words. The following is a list of the word families we are covering: AT, AP, AM. AN. AG, IG, IP, ID, IM, IB.THe following is the sight words the, of, and, a, to, in, is, you, that, he, it, was. The other group is focusing on spelling. Here are the words that we are covering: because, when, like, they, went, too, said, there, house, know, with, have, very, friend, my, would, are, want, friends,were, people, about,

play, was

Grade 7/8

Students in Grade 7/8 continue to work on their novel study of Craig Keilburgers Free The Children. We have begun focusing on grammar activities, as well as writing a speech on a topic of interest. All students will be expected to create a speech. I will choose several students from the class to participate in the school-wide speech contest. Students will be judged and one student from each level will be chosen to represent our school at the Legion in their Public Speaking event. I will send a rubric in the next newsletter to outline my expectations for the Speech.