Wednesday, April 30, 2014

Insects
Today we continued our discussion about insects! We learned that insects have three parts. The head, thorax, and abdomen. The head has the eyes, mouth and antennae, the legs are attached to the thorax, and the abdomen is where the insect digests its food.

Many insect use their antennae for three main things: please ask your child what they're used for!

Please ask your child: What are the three body parts of an insect? How many legs do insects have? What kind of eyes do insects have? Here is a hint 

Students are encouraged to research insects and bugs over the next few weeks to assist them in our learning at school! Here are some resources students can access.

www.brainpopjr.com (vistaheights, brainpop)

https://www.albertacore.ca

www.learnalberta.ca (la05, 4106)

Vocabulary Words

Please ask your child to use the following words in a sentence. If you feel that your child has already mastered these words, have them write out as many sentences as they can using each of the vocabulary words! Students have been told if they should use either list 1 or 2 based on their learning level (and grade).

List 1

1. what

2. all

3. were

4. we

5. hot

6. pot

7. not

8. lot

List 2

1. name

2. good

3. sentence

4. man

5. think

6. right

7. might

8. high

9. thigh

10. flight

11. bright

Newsletter

Newsletter and calendar came home today. Please visit the VHS website for the full version. Please note the important dates for May:

May 6 - First day to order Pizza fun lunch (May 30th)

May 9 - Snack Sale - 50cents per tube

May 13 - School Council Meeting at 6:30 - all parents welcome!

May 15 - Family Move and Groove 630-730

May 16 - PD day no school for students

May 19 - Victoria Day - no school for students and staff

May 22 - Kindergarten assembly at 2:15

May 29 - Volunteer Celebration 2-3

May 30 - Pizza Fun Lunch

Thanks,

Ms. Toor

Tuesday, April 29, 2014

We have been doing our "Nature Walks" to explore the signs of Spring and collecting twigs and bark for our Spring Tree. We try and make our space, "A place of wonder," where curiosity, creativity, exploration is encouraged and we celebrate our learning with excitement ! 

Today we went to explore our natural space around our school with Mrs. Malik's class. Students were excited, screaming, full of life just seeing insects, bugs and signs of nature!.

A few pictures for you to imagine the place and go for a walk with us through our pics!




        

                 Whats sprouting..............                       It's green.......

        

                                             What we found.......

        

          Will it fly....                                           Ask me how these buds felt?

         
  
                            Our curiosity, thinking of questions.......                         

                                
                      
                                   observe how engaged we are.....

               

     Excited....                                                          Wanting to share what she found...                     

                      

     It's ticklish......                                                             What is growing on this bush?       

                    

                                              We made a habitat for the lady bugs.
                                                 Is lady bug an insect or a bug?

 ,
                                                   Is this a bug or an insect?
                                     

Ask me about what we observed and got excited about !

Reminders

- Tomorrow is the last day for Photobooth club for Grade 1

Thanks,

Ms. Toor

Monday, April 28, 2014

Today we searched for oy/oi words. Students are encouraged to continue to look for oy/oi words at home, and try using them in a sentence!

Reminders

- Last day for photobooth club on Wednesday for Grade 1 - Grade 2 will begin next week

Friday, April 25, 2014

Thank you to everyone who was able to make our assembly this afternoon. The students worked so hard - and all their hard work paid off. Students, staff and parents were all amazed by their flawless performance. Well done!

Thursday, April 24, 2014

Assembly
Our assembly will take place tomorrow at 1:45. Please join us if you're available! As previously stated, all students have a speaking line in the play - please help them by practicing this line with them today - Thanks!



Subway Lunch
- is tomorrow! If you ordered lunch for your child, it will be delivered before lunch - please only send a snack with your child. If you did not order lunch for your child please be sure to send one with them. All students are welcome to eat with the class during fun lunch.

Thanks,
Ms. Toor

Wednesday, April 23, 2014

Assembly
Today we continued to practice for our assembly. All students have a part in the play and have been given their line to practice at home. Please ask your child to practice their line for you in their loudest voice (no screaming). They should be able to remember their line without referring to their paper. Again, all parents, friends, relatives are welcome to join us during the assembly which will take place on Friday, April 25 at 1:45pm. --> what a perfect way to spend your Friday afternoon! :)

Good Listening Skills!
Today we tested our listening skills. Students told each other about their weekends, and then were asked to write about what their partner did. Some students struggled to remember all of the fun things students did over the 4 day long weekend. Please ask your child what the easiest part of this activity was, and the hardest part? Please ask your child: what are some things you can do to be a better listener? Here is a hint...

Reminders

- Choir club tomorrow

- Subway lunch Friday for those who ordered - all students are welcome to bring their lunch and enjoy with the rest of the class

- Assembly will take place at 1:45

Thanks,

Ms. Toor

Tuesday, April 22, 2014

Today is Earth Day! Earth day is the largest environmental even in the world! More than six million Canadians will join one billion people in over 170 countries to participate in activities to protect the environment. Today we discussed some of the things we can do to help save the earth.

Please ask your child: what are some things they will start doing every day to help the environment? Here is a checklist your child can use to help them keep track of how they're saving the environment.

For fun games and information about earth day, visit http://www.ecokids.ca

To watch an information on the three R's, visit 

http://www.brainpopjr.com/science/conservation/reducereuserecycle/

Please ask your child, what do reduce, reuse and recycle mean?

Here are some activities we did in class that you can do at home

Put the words in alphabetical order

Make as many words as you can using the letters in the words planet earth. Unscramble the words!

Assembly

We started practicing for our Earth Day Assembly today. Each student has been given a line that must memorize. Please support your child by having them practice their line, working on speaking as loudly as they can. We will continue to practice each day at school.

We have been spending a lot of time preparing for the assembly which will take place on Friday, April 25, 2014 at 1:45pm. All parents, family, and friends are welcome!

Reminders
- Photobooth club tomorrow
- Choir club Thursday
- Subway lunch on Friday

Thanks,

Ms. Toor

Thursday, April 17, 2014

Due to Good Friday and Easter Monday, there will be no school tomorrow or Monday! Please take the weekend to enjoy the beautiful spring weather. Look for signs of spring - what can you find? Please ensure you're reading and writing each day! Check out the educational resources tab for ideas for things to keep busy and learning this weekend!

Not A Box!

Today we read NOT A BOX by Antoinette Portis. To view the story, please click here: http://youtu.be/3KXuBcdmktY 
Students were encouraged to be creative and think of what a small box, medium box, and large box could be.
Please ask your child: What could each of these boxes be? (think outside of the box hehe)

Subway Lunch

TODAY IS THE LAST DAY TO ORDER! If you wish for your child to enjoy fun lunch (on April 25), please visit www.healthyhunger.ca to order! You can choose between Turkey, Ham or a Veggie sub with a juice box and a cookie to drink. The subs are $4, drinks $1, cookie $1.

Reminders
Our school is looking for students to design our school logo! Details about the logo criteria was included in yesterdays blog.

Copies are due into the office by May 1st - working on the logo over the long weekend would be an excellent idea!!

Wednesday, April 16, 2014

School Logo Design Entries
Our school is looking for students to design our school logo! We have narrowed down the ideas to having a hawk with the words "Believe & Achieve." If your child would like to participate in the contest they are to design a logo using the following criteria.
Design needs to contain: 

• drawing of a Swainson's Hawk (it nests in Vista Heights every Spring)
• the words "Believe & Achieve"
• either word "Vista Height School" or "VHS"
• bold lines (not too light or cannot be copied)
• size 8 1/2 by 11 sheet of paper or half a sheet of paper
• a short written explanation of the choices you made in your drawing.

Copies are due into the office by May 1st - working on the logo over the long weekend would be an excellent idea!!

If you need any help, or have any questions please don't hesitate to contact me! :)

Subway Lunch

TOMORROW IS THE LAST DAY TO ORDER! If you wish for your child to enjoy fun lunch (on April 25), please visit www.healthyhunger.ca to order! You can choose between Turkey, Ham or a Veggie sub with a juice box and a cookie to drink. The subs are $4, drinks $1, cookie $1.

Today we made words and sentences from a very popular saying. "April showers brings May flowers!"
Students used the letters from these words to create new words. We then used the words to create sentences! Here are some of the words we came up with - can you put them in sentences?

Using the following letters, what other words can you think of?

The Easter Bunny is Coming to Town!

Reminders
- Choir club tomorrow at lunch
- No school Friday and Monday

Tuesday, April 15, 2014

Hat Day
Students are welcome to wear their favourite hat in class all day, except during gym. Please make sure that logos and text are appropriate for at school. No masks are allowed.

If the hat becomes a distraction to learning or if there are other concerns, staff will use their discretion and students will be asked to remove their hats.

If you have questions, please don't hesitate to email:  sktoor@cbe.ab.ca

Sweet Treats Orders will be in tomorrow!
- Please visit the staffroom after school to pick up your orders!

Reminders
- Photobooth club tomorrow for those Grade 1 students that are participating
- Subway orders are due by Thursday visit www.healthyhunger.ca
- Choir club is on Thursday
- No school on Friday or Monday

Monday, April 14, 2014

Gym

Today we finished our Hockey unit. We will begin dance tomorrow! Please ask your child: what was your favourite part about hockey? What was your least favourite part?

Crazy Hat Day

Will take place on Wednesday, April 16, 2014.

REMINDERS – Vista Heights School

1. School Council FUNDRAISER ITEMS  will be delivered to the school on Wednesday, April 16^th.  Come to the staffroom between 3:10 -4:10 pm to pick-up your order.

If you cannot pick-up at that time call Nova at 403-604-5531 to discuss other arrangements.

2. Subway Lunch last day to order online is April 17^th  www.healthyhunger

3. NO school for students on Friday, April 18^th & Monday, April 21^st

^{4. Photobooth club will take place on Wednesday}

^{5. Choir club is on Thursday}

Friday, April 11, 2014

Please don't forget to read and write each day! Visit Raz-Kids, the public library, or a story from your own collection! Write about your favourite part, the characters, re-tell the story, explain the beginning, middle or end.

Reminders

- Crazy hat day is on Wednesday April 16

- Subway lunch orders will be taken until April 17 - www.healthyhunger.ca

- No school on Friday April 18 and Monday April 21

- Our assembly is April 25 in the afternoon

Have a great weekend!

Thursday, April 10, 2014

Today we read The Important Book by Margaret Wise Brown. We began talking about things in nature that are important and why. Please ask your child: Why are these things important?

We also learned about bees. Please ask your child: how do bees make honey? Hint: http://youtu.be/iT6IQx26eHk

Reminders

- Subway lunch orders will be taken until April 17 - www.healthyhunger.ca

- Please read and write with your child each day

- Our assembly is April 25 in the afternoon

Wednesday, April 9, 2014

Vocabulary Words

Please ask your child to use the following words in a sentence. If you feel that your child has already mastered these words, have them write out as many sentences as they can using each of the vocabulary words! Students have been told if they should use either list 1 or 2 based on their learning level (and grade).

List 1

1. there

2. use

3. an

4. each

5. job

6. rob

7. sob

List 2

1. live

2. me

3. back

4. give

5. most

6. saw

7. raw

8. straw

9. draw

10. Inuit

Reminders

- Subway lunch orders due before April 17 - www.healthyhunger.ca

- Choir club tomorrow

- Crazy hat day on April 16 

- No school Friday April 18 and Monday April 21

Tuesday, April 8, 2014

Photobooth Club
Tomorrow we will be starting the Photobooth Champions Club from 12 – 12:45 in the Digital Den Room 2.  Due to the large number of students who had signed-up for this club, we have decided to run two sessions.
April - Grade One students        May – Grade Two students
Students who usually go home for lunch, are invited to stay and will not he expected to pay the drop-in lunch supervision fee. 
Today, we notified the students participating in this club. 

Assembly
The grade 1 and 1/2 classes are hosting this month's assembly on the afternoon of Friday, April 25th. The theme of the assembly is "The Environment" as Earth Day is on April 22nd.
Our class will be presenting the important things about nature and give tips on things we can do to help. They will put in a lot of effort at school and may need some extra practice at home.  
We understand that many parents are busy with work and other responsibilities.  If you can find the time, Room 6, 7, and 8 invite you to join us and celebrate our learning.

How can we help?
In preparation for our Earth Day assembly, we have been learning about the Earth and what we can do to help make our planet a safe place for everyone - including animals. Today we learned about many arctic animals that are being affected by global warming. Please ask your child: What is one thing you can do at home to help save electricity. Hint - think about water (in the shower, in the laundry), think about the lights.

Reminders

- Subway lunch orders due before April 17 - order at www.healthyhunger.ca

Monday, April 7, 2014

Spring Changes
We are extremely excited about the fantastic weather we're having. Due to the warm weather, the snow in our field is melting quickly, leaving behind a lot of mud! Students are encouraged to wear rain boots if they wish to play on the field.


Reminders
- Subway lunch is on Friday April 25, 2014 - please visit www.healthyhunger.ca to order.
- Photobooth club is this Wednesday - students who are a part will be notified tomorrow.
- Choir club on Thursday