Friday, November 29, 2019
We just finished week eleven (Nov. 11 – Nov. 15), week twelve (Nov. 18 – 22), and week thirteen (Nov. 25 – Nov. 29) in portable two and here is a glimpse of what we’ve been up to:
REMEMBRANCE DAY POSTERS – The Legion collected our Remembrance Day Posters on November 11th for the Poster Contest. We were competing against students from Teeterville, Bloomsburg, St. Bernard’s, and Boston. The students did their best to design a poster that communicated a message of Remembrance to the audience. I am so proud of their hard work. Here is a picture of each poster:
REMEMBRANCE DAY SERVICE – We walked to the cenotaph on November 11th to pay our respects at the Remembrance Day Service. Here are some pictures:
GRADE 3 SWIMMING – The grade threes travelled to the Annaleise Carr Aquatic Centre to participate in the Swim to Survive program on November 14th, 21st, and 28th. During this program they learned various swimming survival skills. For example, treading water (aka, surface support), front roll, side roll, and how to jump in safely. Each year, every grade three at Waterford Public School participates in this program. We believe that swimming is such an important survival skill and we want every child to learn how to swim. It is normal for some children to be reluctant but when they have the opportunity to attend swimming lessons with their classmates during the school day, it can provide the motivation to overcome their fears and get in the water. It is amazing how far a child can come in just three weeks. I am very proud of all of the grade threes for their hard work and courage during the Swim to Survive program. We are thankful for each parent’s support to make this program happen.
COMMUNITY CIRCLE/SHARING STAGE – Learning to communicate our thinking/ideas/news with an audience is an important part of learning. One way that we achieve this in portable two is through Community Circle and Sharing Stage. During Community Circle, students sit in a circle and take turns sharing about a topic. The Sharing Stage is a place where students can stand up and have their voice be heard about a variety of topics. I love seeing the student’s confidence bloom as the year progresses. Sharing your thinking/ideas/news with an audience isn’t easy for everyone but it’s a risk worth taking.
OUR CLASS YOUTUBE CHANNEL – We were inspired by the youtube channel called, Kids News Break and decided to create our own class youtube channel. This channel will give us an engaging way to share what we learn during social studies and science class. Students will be researching and writing their own scripts for episodes on our class youtube channel. They are very excited.
NAMING OUR CLASS YOUTUBE CHANNEL – The first step to creating our class youtube channel was to come up with a name. Each student came up with their favourite name and then we had a class vote. There were soooo many good ideas, it was hard to pick. Karsyn’s name (Kids News Network) got the most votes. We had to add Canadian to the title because there was another channel on youtube called Kids News Network so, the official name of our class youtube channel is, Canadian Kids News Network (CKNN). Congratulations to Karsyn on coming up with the winning name!
DESIGNING A LOGO FOR OUR CLASS YOUTUBE CHANNEL – The second step to creating our class youtube channel was to come up with a logo. Each student designed a logo and then we had a class vote. Yet again, there were soooo many good ideas, it was hard to pick. Blayne’s logo got the most votes. Congratulations to Blayne on coming up with the winning logo! Stay tuned, I will post the winning logo and more information about our class youtube channel later in December.
SANTA’S TOY SHOP – Our class is part of the Me to We Club at Waterford Public School which means we do a variety of things to give back to our community, our country, and the world. One thing that we are doing this Christmas to give back to our country is hosting an event called, Santa’s Toy Shop. Students from WPS are donating gently used toys, books, and stuffies to us. Then, we are selling them at Santa’s Toy Shop. Here is a flyer/poster that we wrote as a class to send home to families and post in the halls at WPS.
ANNOUNCEMENTS FOR SANTA’S TOY SHOP – We’ve been busy writing announcements for Santa’s Toy Shop to spread the word about our event and get as much help as possible. We have rehearsed and said two announcements over the PA system which is a really neat experience for the students (most of them love it). Here is a pic of all of us in the office waiting to say an announcement over the PA system for the whole school to hear:
WORKING WITH NUMBERS – Over the last three weeks, students have been introduced to their Working with Numbers booklets. Inside the booklets are various tasks revolving around numbers (addition, subtraction, division, multiplication, place value, number lines, quantity, representing numbers in a variety of ways, growing number patterns and shrinking number patterns). We work in these booklets for a bit each day for daily practice. After all, building our math muscles takes daily practice and dedication.
If you have any questions, comments, or concerns please feel free to email me at julie.pragnell@granderie.ca OR call me at school: 519-443-8942.
-Mrs. Julie Pragnell
The Pragnell Press 