Mismatch Day and Popcorn Day

Just a reminder that tomorrow is mismatch day- you can wear mismatched outfits, a backwards shirt, or inside out clothes!

It is also Toonie Popcorn treat day- bring in $2 to buy popcorn to support our school fundraising!!

Also we are headed on another field trip in June so we sent home that form today (it's orange). We are sorry for so many forms in such a short time! The end of May and June are going to be very busy for us in Grade 2!!

Stampede Breakfast on Friday

Hi everyone- We would love it if you are available to join us this Friday morning for our first ever Stampede breakfast. Students are to come into the school at 8:00 am as usual for attendance and we will head outside as a whole class and can connect with parents and siblings outside. Everyone is welcome but you just have to meet us outside at 8:15. As far as I know if there are rain/weather complications we will still go ahead with the breakfast but it will be on rotation in the gym. We hope to see you there!

You should have received several forms today, I know it seems like a lot at once but you have some time to return them. We will be going on a half day field trip to the Aboriginal Learning Centre on May 29 and are in need of some volunteers. Please let me know if you are available to help out and you have a police clearance. Swimming lessons are also upcoming- June 12-20, we need to let the pool know what our various swim levels and numbers are so that they can plan accordingly for their instructors. Please return the forms when you get a chance to fill them out. Thanks!

May 1

What an awesome day we had today! We had a very special guest, magician Steve Harmer. The students absolutely loved him. His show Brilliant and Resilient included many amazing tricks like a rabbit appearing, a table floating, and some interesting string and card tricks. Along with the magic tricks, Steve taught us some valuable life lessons and shared the 7 C's with us to improve ourselves. Ask your child what they remember about being Resilient and Brilliant.

Thank you for all the donations for building supplies for our Insulators. Students have been planning their devices. They have sketches and material lists prepared for the build session. We will be building on Tuesday and Wednesday if needed and testing our devices with ice cubes or hot water on Thursday this week. We want to see how long our insulating devices can keep the heat from transferring.

On May 3- it's hats ON for Mental Health so everyone is encouraged to wear a hat to school. They can be funky crazy hats, toques or just regular ball caps- any hat is fine.

If you are planning on ordering book orders, they are due this Thursday, May 4th.

Students are doing a great job of bringing back their home reading books. If students want to keep their books for a few days, that is totally fine. However, they do have the option of changing their books daily if need be. If you are noticing that the book level they are bringing home is too tough or too easy, please send a note in the bag and I can try to make sure to find texts that suit the student the best.

Hot and Cold Insulating Project

We are creating an insulating device to keep ice cool or tea warm as a culminating activity for our Hot and Cold Temperatures unit.  We are hoping we could have students bring in any items below that you have available for our classes to use:

·      cotton balls

·      tinfoil

·      fabric

·      newspaper

·      wax paper

·      solo cups

·      feathers

Please send any items that you can share to school by this Wednesday so that we can start this fun project!

Thank you,

Mrs. Sayani

Mrs. Stewart

Mrs. Jordan

We need your vote!!

There was a problem with the system for voting on the Hitmen Hockey Restoration Grant so if you've already voted we need you to do it again and tell everyone you know!  They have restarted and set the votes to 0.   Please share with everyone you know and ask them to vote for us (parents, grandparents, friends, Facebook, twitter ....). Voting will now go until May 1st!

The winner will be the video that has the most votes so click on this link and vote, vote, vote 

http://hitmenhockey.com/community-restoration-program-voting

Thank you everyone for your support.  We have the chance to win 50,000 towards building our playground!! You can vote on multiple devices (ie. Ipad, phone, computer, etc.) and you can vote 4 times per day per device!!


Students were also excited today for the return of Denise Miller, our guest speaker who is an amazing storyteller of Metis and other Aboriginal stories. The class was especially pleased that they recognized the format of many of her stories about animals. Kids noticed that she was telling Pourquoi tales! We sang some songs with her as she drummed along. There was some incorporation of Social Studies and Science concepts, such as how early people of Canada lived and what elements are necessary for creating fire.  Students were so entertained and seemed mesmerized with her funny and unique stories. I think it will definitely help them when they are writing and telling their own stories to know what really helps engage the audience. Ask your child what they remember about her visit and if they can describe why the Coyote howls?

Upcoming Info

In honour of the Calgary Flames starting their playoff run tomorrow (April 13) we will be having a fun Red/Black spirit day. Students are encouraged to wear the colours red and black or Flames gear if they would like to but it certainly isn't mandatory. Tomorrow is also Learning Commons Book Exchange day so please remember to bring your books. Home reading books can also be brought back and switched.

Also a reminder that there is no school for students this Friday, April 14th (Good Friday-Stat holiday) or Monday, April 17th which will be the day we are having student-led conferences. If you haven't signed up yet for a block of time, you can go to your MyCbe account and select a time that is convenient for you. We can arrange a separate meeting another day if this date/time doesn't work for you, please just email me at ljstewart@cbe.ab.ca to make alternative arrangements.

Lastly a notice went home today to vote for our school as a finalist for the Calgary Hitmen Hockey grant. We are one of the 3 finalists and the winner is awarded $50,000 for the playground. Please vote for us and spread the word to everyone you know to do the same!

Home Reading Has Started!!

Dear Parents, 

Today we are beginning our Home Reading Program!

Here is how it works:

·       Each day your child will be bringing home their home reading bag with their leveled reading book and a time tree.

• Set aside a convenient and quiet time each evening when you and your child can read and discuss the book together.  
• After reading for 15 minutes, please fill in the “Time Tree” and return the book to school the following day (Even if you aren't done to encourage the habit).
•   Once your child has read for 465 minutes, he/she will 4 Calgary Flames Player cards (from the program- Reading, Give it a shot”) There are 24 to collect in total.  Please keep the time tree at home and return it when it is completed.
• The books that the children are bringing home are chosen according to their reading level. It is important to read the book several times so that your child is familiar with the vocabulary.  At school we suggest reading it 3 times: 1 for reading/problem solving new words, 2 for fluency (how smooth they read) and 3 for understanding.
• You may keep it for a day but please return it to school, as your child will be reading it at Daily 5 Time.  If your child would like to bring it home again, he or she will have the choice.   
• Please note that we have taken great care and time in preparing these books to be ready for your children.  

I hope that you enjoy spending time reading with your child and please be patient with your child and make this reading time fun for your child.  Next week, we will send home some comprehension cards that your child will use to help them gain a deeper understanding of their book.

Don't hesitate to contact me with any questions,

Lisa Stewart: ljstewart@cbe.ab.ca