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POD: School Family Skate at the LBA

We started the day with our regular morning routine. Our spelling words were filled, added, checked, and wanted. Our dictated sentence was “He box kicked and jumped on his dad.” Our “Show, Not Tell” sentence was “It was a big breakfast.” We followed that up with our maze and Heggerty listening games before loading the bus to go skating at the LBA.

A big thank you to all the adults who helped tie skates and fasten helmets. Your help makes skating a much easier and more enjoyable experience for everyone.

After skating, we came back to school for a quick snack and recess break. When we came inside, we worked with our JMH reading tutors, who continue to bring fun and helpful literacy activities.

Once our mentors finished, we took a few minutes to continue working on our cityscape art from yesterday. Students are putting a lot of effort into the details, and it is really starting to take shape.

We enjoyed pizza lunch and were lucky to have warm temperatures outside to finish off the lunch break.

In the afternoon, we returned to class and began a writing activity about the puffer fish. We are still focusing on capitals, punctuation, and the parts of a complete sentence. Ask your child: What do you remember about the puffer fish?

Then we headed across the hall to see Ms. Doucette for Social Studies. Today’s lesson focused on the seasons and trying to wrap our heads around the idea that the Earth is round and what that means for sunlight and weather in different places.

We finished the day by reading from our chapter book—we are almost at the end now—and learned that Humphrey set the Ito family’s clock back again. After that, we watched a short video on responsibility and the five things we can control: our actions, our words, our attitude, our effort, and our manners. I hope everyone is thinking about how they can be responsible each day.

We signed our home-to-school books and ended the day with some free choice time. For many students, that meant rolling out the paper and continuing to work on our cityscape. It is really starting to come together.

Just a reminder: there is no school for students tomorrow as teachers will be writing report cards.

Have a great long weekend, and I will see you on Monday.

POD: Working on our Cityscape Together for Art

It was a windy morning on the playground, and the wind always makes the air feel colder than it really is. Please make sure you are coming to school dressed warm, even if you plan on heading straight to breakfast.

We began our day with a school-wide assembly. A note was sent home last night about the future of Napan School, and many students arrived this morning with questions and predictions. The truth is, at this point we do not yet know what the future will look like. What we do know is that the rest of this school year will continue as usual, and that we are all going to be just fine.

When we returned upstairs, we got to work on our spelling words ending in –ed. Today’s words were pulled, brushed, jumped, and blasted. Our dictated sentence was “Who called my name?” We checked for a capital letter at the beginning, proper punctuation at the end, and made sure one of the words used an –ed ending.

We completed our maze and our Heggerty listening games before shifting into math. Today we reviewed the shorthand and longhand on an analog clock, what each hand represents, and how to read time accurately. After a quick snack, the Grade 3s went with Ms. Corcoran for a short quiz, while the Grade 1s completed a time worksheet and a color-by-addition activity.

After recess, our JMH mentors returned to work with us. I hope everyone remembered to be respectful, focused, and kind during their activities.

In PE, we practiced our basketball skills again—pivoting, dribbling, shooting, and passing. Hopefully this extra practice helps our players during tonight’s game against Millerton.

Following lunch, we headed into art, where we worked on drawing a cityscape. We practiced working individually and then combining our ideas as a group.

In Social Studies, we learned about the difference between weather and climate, and we explored the concept of the equator. Students were surprised to learn how different things can be for places located near it.

We ended the day by continuing our work on our cityscapes, signing our home-to-school books, and packing up. Some students headed home, while others left early to travel to Millerton for tonight’s basketball game.

Good luck, Cubs — make us proud.
And remember, we skate tomorrow, so get lots of rest tonight.

POD: Doing a little workout before basketball in PE

We started the morning with a cool but pleasant day, much drier than yesterday. Students came in and went straight to work. Our spelling words were yelled, blinked, licked, and trusted as we continue focusing on –ed endings. Our dictated sentence was “Who pinched you?” and our “Show, Not Tell” was “It felt like winter.”

We completed our Heggerty listening games and maze before beginning our writing program. Today, we wrote three sentences about what we know about cats and three sentences about what we know about dogs. We are continuing to work on capitals, periods, and clear sentence structure.

In math, we reviewed probability and then took a look at telling time on analog clocks, which will be an important skill moving forward. After that, it was time to head outside for recess.

Following recess, we went straight to PE, where we continued practicing our basketball skills—pivoting, passing, and shooting form. Afterwards, we joined Ms. Lehnart for Guidance and went on a wellness walk outside, focusing on calmness and mindfulness.

After lunch, we came in and did a short session on the Reading Park app, followed by a UFLI passage. Once that was complete, we headed across the hall to see Ms. Doucette, where we continued learning about the sun, moon, tides, and changing seasons.

We wrapped up the day with a conversation about responsibility—doing what we are supposed to do, when we are supposed to do it. We read another chapter of School Days According to Humphrey, where Humphrey fixed the Ito family’s clock. Then we completed our Book of Gratitude using the prompt, “I was responsible today when…”

Everyone signed their home-to-school books, and a new hot lunch memo was added inside.

With that, we packed up and headed home.
Get lots of rest, and I will see you tomorrow.

POD: Cool Day and Cool Looks!

We started the morning with our regular routine. Our spelling words were 18, 27, 36, and 45. Our dictated sentence was “The two bosses were nice.” Our “Show, Not Tell” sentence was “She was good at math.” We worked through our maze and our Heggerty listening games before moving into writing.

In writing, we continued practicing capital letters at the beginning of sentences and proper punctuation at the end. These are small details, but they make a big difference in our work.

During math, we explored Canadian coins again and took a closer look at probability. We talked about the chances of something happening and whether an event is certain, likely, unlikely, or impossible. The class had fun coming up with examples for each one.

After recess, our JMH reading tutors arrived with new activities to help build our reading and language skills. When they left, we squeezed in a quick read to self before lunch. Our pizza arrived a few minutes late, but we had no trouble finishing it before the bell rang.

Following lunch, we had a little time for responsible choice and then began UFLI Lesson 64, which focuses on the ending –ed. Students were excited to see how many words they already knew that follow this spelling pattern.

In Social Studies with Ms. Doucette, we were thrilled to get outside for a season-change scavenger hunt. We searched for signs of fall all around the school grounds—fallen leaves, bare branches, cool air, and more.

We finished our day with our chapter book School Days According to Humphrey. Today we learned that Humphrey is going home with Hurry-Up Harry for the weekend. After that, we watched a short video about responsibility and its opposite, excuses, and then spent a little time on Reading Park before enjoying some free choice time.

Once our home-to-school books were signed, we packed up for the weekend.

Get lots of rest, and I will see you on Monday.