October 21-25, 2024

This week was WONDERFALL - Beauti-fall, Plenti-fall, and Colour-fall!

In Michael hall's book, WonderFALL we celebrated the wonder of fall! We created beautiful artwork using bundled q-tips to paint leaves falling from the branches of our trees!

 

We read Apples and Pumpkins about a family who visit a farm to pick apples from the trees and find the best pumpkin in the patch. When they get home, they carve a funny jack-'o-lantern face and set it out as a decoration at their front door...and in the end they visited grandma's house. We practiced retelling the beginning, middle, and end of the story using pictures to help us remember what happened next. You can practice this skill with your child by having them retell some of their favorite stories from home.

 

SCIENCE - SINK or FLOAT?

We were challenged to think about pumpkins that come in different sizes and the seeds they have inside. We learned from the story, that the amount of seeds doesn't always match the size.

We made predictions about how many seeds might be inside our pumpkins and whether or not our pumpkin would sink or float.

After we made our prediction (best guess), we recorded our observations in our Journals.

At the end of the day, Mrs. Sutherland also opened up our pumpkins to carve. We observed like scientists with 3 of our senses- seeing, touch and smelling.

SCIENCE - PARTS of a PUMPKIN, PUMPKIN LIFE CYCLE

When Pumpkin Jack begins to decompose, Tim puts it outside and watches it transform from pumpkin - to seed - to pumpkin again. We created a diagram about the parts of a pumpkin and Mrs. Oster will help us follow the life cycle of our own classroom pumpkin this year!  See if your child can remember the life cycle of the apple from last week and then make a connection to the life cycle of a pumpkin.

We introduced the students to our new member of the classroom....Pumpkin Jack! This little friend will likely be the quietest member of the class, but we are excited to watch him grow and change over the upcoming months!

We learned about the parts of a pumpkin and we learned to label all the parts like a scientist! We also saw a very tiny pumpkin that will follow the same cycle that the pumpkin in the story did. We will keep it in our classroom to observe for a long time! Stay tuned.

Library Day is on Monday! Thank you for helping your child to remember their library book AND plastic protector BAG each Monday!!

PUMPKINELLA!

Just a friendly reminder that we will be having a Pumpkinella event on Monday, October 28. Information was sent out via school messenger from Mrs. Shari Pierce.  Families are welcome to carve and decorate a pumpkin and bring it to school. Pumpkins will be put on display for all students to view the creative designs.  

Get your family together and join in the fun for Simons Valley School’s Pumpkinella!

 

Design, carve or dress up a pumpkin to bring for display in one of the following categories: animals, cartoons, original creations, book characters, or scenes.

 

Bring your pumpkin to the gym on the morning of October 28th. We’ll be open to drop-offs between 8:10 and 9:10 am. The pumpkins may have a safer journey if they are brought to us by mom or dad!

 

Please do not send candles or lights! The school will provide the lights for the pumpkins.

Classes will tour the gym display throughout the day to enjoy your efforts. Please be ready to pick up your pumpkin right after school so that you can use it as a Halloween decoration on Halloween night. We will compost any remaining pumpkins after the event.

Also, Thursday, October 31 is Halloween.  Students are welcome to wear an age-appropriate, friendly costume, or the colours orange and black if they would like (no weapons or masks that affect vision). NO BLOOD or scary costumes!!

Ensure kiddos can manage the washroom (on their own) in their costume!

We ask that you do not send any sort of shared food treats since we have students with some food allergies. Thank you!

NEW!! Our classroom now has an account within the Scholastic Reading Club!

 We have no expectation for families to place orders, but wanted to share our class code just in case, as we can earn points toward book purchases for our classroom when families place orders! 

Our classroom code is: RC210876

September/ October Digital Flyer

Our next class order is going in on October 25, 2024

Important Kindergarten Dates...

Monday, Oct.28- Library Day - Return books in their plastic bag

Monday, Oct. 28 is also Pumpkinella
Thursday, Oct. 31, Halloween Fun

Friday, Nov. 1 - PM Kindergarten attends

Link to our Simons Valley School calendar: Click Here

Link to schedule for Friday Kindergarten Classes: Friday Schedule

Our Emails

Mrs. Oster: rdoster@cbe.ab.ca 

Mrs. Sutherland: klsutherland@cbe.ab.ca 

Mrs. Wiskar: mjwiskar@cbe.ab.ca

October 14-18, 2024

🍎This week, we had so much fun exploring apples as part of our fall activities! First, we created colorful patterns using pictures of apples in three different colors: red, yellow, and green. Then, we examined the inside of an apple core and discovered the patterns there. We counted the seeds and used a ten frame to show how many we found! Then we used our observation skills like scientists do to draw and colour what our eyes see. Finally, we learned all about the life cycle of apples. Make sure to ask your child to share the "star story" about the little red house with no doors, no windows and a star inside...and show you the special shape inside of an apple!

Apple Patterns:

Apple Exploration- Combining Math and Science:

Apple Life Cycle- Math and Science:

Fun in the gym with Mr. Collins!

The kids are having a blast learning new games like "What Time is it, Mr. Wolf?" and "Red Light, Green Light." These games keep us moving, help our hearts grow strong, and improve our big movements!  The students are jumping high, crawling low, and practicing moving fast like a cheetah and slow like a turtle. When it’s time to leave, Mr. Collins helps everyone line up safely. Ask your child  about following Mr. Collins' fun directions like "Walk on the line, don’t go in the lava, here we go!" We can't wait for our next gym adventure!

Outdoor Play and Centres!

We continue to enjoy learning through play, inside and outside! 

❄️ As the weather gets colder and we might see S-N-O-W next week, it's time for extra outdoor gear! Please label all of your child's items (boots, hats, mitts, and scarves) with their name. Encourage them to practice getting dressed by themselves at home, so they can do it at school. 

Part of our New Science Curriculum includes Computer Science activities both plugged and unplugged. Try this "unplugged" game: Lay out their snow gear at home and help your child put on their clothing in the same order as shown in the picture. When it's time to take them off, they can do it in reverse order. Just a reminder: they may take off boots first at school but will put them on last at the end of the day. Thank you for your help!

Library Day is on Monday! Thank you for helping your child to remember their library book AND plastic protector BAG each Monday!!

NEW!! Our classroom now has an account within the Scholastic Reading Club!

 We have no expectation for families to place orders, but wanted to share our class code just in case, as we can earn points toward book purchases for our classroom when families place orders! 

Our classroom code is: RC210876

September/ October Digital Flyer

Our next class order is going in on October 25, 2024

Important Kindergarten Dates...

Monday, Oct.21- Library Day - Return books in their plastic bag

Thursday, Oct. 24, 6:30pm Halloween Hop

Friday, Oct. 25 - NO SCHOOL for students - Non-Instruction Day

Friday, Nov. 1 - PM Kindergarten attends

Link to our Simons Valley School calendar: Click Here

Link to schedule for Friday Kindergarten Classes: Friday Schedule

Our Emails

Mrs. Oster: rdoster@cbe.ab.ca 

Mrs. Sutherland: klsutherland@cbe.ab.ca 

Mrs. Wiskar: mjwiskar@cbe.ab.ca