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POD – Serious Fun Outside

Another cold start to the day meant we began with an indoor recess, and we even had a late bus arriving. After O Canada and the morning announcements, we learned that courage is our new virtue of the month, and then we got straight down to work.

We used our UFLI trigraph words for spelling. Today’s words were batch, fridge, pitch, nudge. Our dictated UFLI sentence was, “I put a batch in the fridge.” For our Show, Not Tell, we used the idea “she was courageous.” We completed our Heggerty listening games focusing on r-controlled vowels, and then worked through our maze. After that, we continued with UFLI, reviewing word endings such as le, ine, ild, old, olt, ost, and y.

In math, we practiced working with arrays and telling time on analog clocks. By recess time, it had warmed up just enough for us to enjoy a serious but fun outdoor recess.

When we came back in, we went straight to P.E. We used yoga mats and practiced some yoga movements to stretch and calm our bodies. Next, we went to Guidance with Ms. Leonard, where we used a talking/speaking ball to help us take turns listening and sharing.

After lunch, we went outside again for some fresh air. When we returned, we worked on Read-to-Self, our writing, and spent time on Reading Park.

We then went to see Mr. Comeau, where we worked on NB capital city, provincial bird, and East – West direction for sunrise and sunset.

We finished the day reading Geronimo Stilton, and then completed our Book of Gratitude entry using the sentence starter:
“In the new year, I will work hard on…”

We got our home-to-school books signed, packed our bags, and even received a candy cane from Ms. Gillespie on the way out — a great way to end the day.

POD: A Festive Day with a Festive Feast!

We got off the buses this morning and immediately hurried over to check on our giant snowballs from yesterday. Overnight they had frozen solid and turned to ice, but they were still lots of fun to climb on and explore.

Once inside, we began our day with our regular routine. Our spelling focus today was trigraphs, and our words were batch, fridge, sketch, and fudge. Our dictated sentence was “I see a smudge of fudge on my chin.” For our “Show, Not Tell,” we worked with the sentence “They made a big snowball.” We completed our Heggerty listening games and our maze before getting ready to head out.

Mid-morning, we loaded up and went to the LBA for skating. Everyone did a great job on the ice. When we returned, we grabbed a quick snack and went straight outside for some fresh air and recess.

When we came back in, our JMH reading mentors were waiting with activities for us. After that, we washed up and headed downstairs for an amazing Christmas dinner, generously put on by our wonderful Home and School. We are so thankful for all the time and effort that went into making it such a special meal. After lunch, we enjoyed some outdoor playtime.

In the afternoon, we started working on a Christmas packet filled with mazes and puzzles. Later, Mr. Comeau came to get us for some fun games in the gym. After gym, we spent some time on responsible choices, finishing work in our packets before earning a bit of free choice time. Some students made snowflakes, others worked on their packets, and some chose activities on the iPads.

Believe it or not, there is only one more day of school left in 2025. Today was Day 67, and tomorrow will be Pajama Day.

Get lots of rest tonight, and I will see you tomorrow for our final day of the year.

POD: “I will push that snowball with you… IF you let me take a picture of you in front of it first!” – Mr. McCallum

The morning started off cold but warmed up quickly. We came inside for the breakfast program and had some fun showing off our holiday shirts, which helped set a cheerful tone for the day.

We began with our regular morning routine. Our spelling words were Dasher, Dancer, Vixen, and Rudolph. Our UFLI sentence, focusing on a trigraph, was “They have a patch that will match.” For our “Show, Not Tell,” we worked with the sentence “She liked making decorations.” We also squeezed in a very quick maze before moving into art.

During art, we created ornaments for our class Christmas tree. After snack, we took on a big challenge—making a giant classroom snowflake. It took a lot of paper and teamwork, but the final result turned out pretty well.

Following recess, we met with our JMH reading mentors, then finished up a little more work on our snowflakes before heading to lunch.

Lunch and PE were back-to-back today, and we stayed outside for both. With the fresh snow, we couldn’t resist making some amazing snowballs. When we came back inside, we gathered some clean snow to melt and began an experiment to see if it would be safe to eat or drink. We’ll check the results tomorrow—some of the snow was still melting when we packed up. What do you think… is snow safe to eat?

We finished the day with some free choice time. Some students continued making snowflakes, others drew pictures, and a few chose games on the iPads. Before we knew it, the bell rang and it was time to head home.

Just a reminder that tomorrow is skating. The theme is Christmas colours, and Home & School will be providing a Christmas lunch. If you don’t like turkey or ham, please be sure to bring your own lunch.

Get lots of rest tonight, and I’ll see you in the morning.

POD: Making our own Weather and Natural Disasters!

It was another cold morning, so we began our day inside rather than out on the playground. Winter is definitely closing in, so please continue to dress warm each day.

We got started with our regular routine.
Our spelling words were compound words again: anthill, backdrop, backlash, bathtub.
Our UFLY dictated sentence was “Pete sat on an anthill.”
Our show-not-tell prompt was “It was very cold.”
After that, we did our Hagerty listening games and completed our maze.

Before math, we practiced our Christmas concert songs once through. The performance is getting closer, and the students are showing great progress.

In math, we reviewed:
– arrays,
– time,
– fractions,
– and addition.

After another indoor recess, we worked on our writing, focusing on expanding sentences with extra details and avoiding using and too many times in one sentence. We also spent a bit of time coloring parts of our Christmas bulletin board.

Next, we went to guidance with Ms. Leonard, where we created a special Christmas decoration.

At lunch, the basketball team had practice while the rest of us went outside for some fresh air. Even though the sun was out, it was still very chilly, so warm clothing was definitely needed.

In the afternoon, we continued with art, adding the final touches to our bulletin board. For social studies, Ms. Doucette taught us about tornadoes and volcanoes, which had everyone very excited and full of questions.

We finished the day by visiting Ms. Craig’s Grade 1–2 class to practice a few of our Christmas concert songs together. The combined sound is starting to come together nicely.

Then we got our home-to-school books signed, packed up, and headed home.

There is more cold weather on the way, so make sure you bundle up, and I will see you in the morning.