Let it snow!

Last week, we visited once again our Little Buddies, Ms. Walker's Grade 1 class, had hot chocolate and created some very beautiful snowflakes for our windows. Only four days later, the (real) snow came finally to transform our world into a Winter Wonderland and we all enjoyed a Snow Day on Wednesday! Speaking of fun, it was great to see so many boys and girls at Ruth King getting into the spirit and taking part in Pajama Day.

Our next Spirit Day is fast approaching and we are looking forward to our students dressing up as Story Book Characters this coming Friday, January 27.
Basketball season is on its way, and Mr. Craig, who is coaching the boys, and myself and Ms Walker, who are coaching the girls, are very proud of our students progress and their enthusiasm for the game. Thank you so much to Nate & Nate, two Grade 7 students from Spencer, who help us with the coaching on Friday afternoons:)
Of course, we all know that school is not just fun and the Division 1 students are aware that there is also work to be done, and that it is particularly important at this time of year to keep up the momentum, to continue to develop good work habits in order to receive positive results at the end of the year. Time is going by quickly and it is hard to believe, but our first transition meeting at Spencer Middle School is already scheduled for Wednesday, February 22!
In Math, we have started a new unit on TRANSFORMATIONS and we will be focusing particularly on translations, rotations and reflections. There are many good sites on the internet that contain games and practice activities, two of them can be found at Math is Fun and this web-based activity. The next Math quiz is scheduled for Friday, January 27.
In Language Arts we are working on word choice and ideas to improve our writing. We are looking at the Imagine picture books

and will be creating our own poetic picture books by developing a more powerful and descriptive language, explore our imagination, and communicate ideas. Before the winter break, our students created some amazing poems. We displayed them in the gold frames on our hallway bulletin board and inside the classroom. Come on by, and be dazzled by our students' powerful creative writing!!!
In Social Studies, we continue to learn about global poverty and how it relates to poverty in Canada. We have learned about the United Nations and will start a group project this week. Finally!
In Science, we will be starting a unit on Extreme Environment and I hope to be able to set up a field trip to the Centre of the Universe in early March. As always, if you have any questions, concerns or suggestions, please do not hesitate to contact me at the school, either by phone or via email.

Happy New Year

The holiday season went by in a flash, it seems, and we are already back in learning mode for a week, looking forward to many more fun times and learning adventures in 2012! Happy New Year to all of you!
I just noticed that I haven't blogged in a while... must have been all that excitement and the busy times of Christmas that kept me away from my computer.... Anyway, I thought I would share with you some of the highlights of December. Together with many Ruth King families we all enjoyed the Winter Concert and I was particularly proud of a Division 1 impromptu performance of our German Christmas carol "Kling Gloeckchen Klingelingeling". Well done everyone!

Our students took great care and pride in decorating our classroom and give our learning environment a "festive touch". Of course, we are very fortunate to have Isaac in our class, who shared with us his family traditions and customs around Hanukkah. Thank you so much for your presentation to the class, for helping us widen our horizon, and for the delicous Latkes you served to the class!

Our class enjoyed a number of activities with our Little Buddies throughout the first half of this school year. One of our favorite ones was Decorating Gingerbread Men with our little Grade 1 buddies. We all had so much fun and I was very impressed with Division 1 students, who demonstrated very responsible and safe behaviour! Jake is proud of his Gingerbread Smurf!

Not only did our class enjoy two visits to Belmont Secondary School in December, where we played basketball and volleyball with our BIG Buddies, we also went skating together with Mr Craig's Division 2. We had a lot of fun on and off the ice and it was great to see so many smiling faces:)

Finally, we all celebrated on the last day before the Winter Holidays! We sang Christmas carols, listened to stories, and exchanged presents. There was a lot of kindness and joy in our classroom and I am grateful for the gifts of the past and excited about the possibilities of the future. I wish all thirty of my students and their families a very happy and joyful 2012!
Keep learning, keep wondering, but most importantly...keep smiling!