Hola Parents and Guardians!

In Spanish we have been working with adjectives to describe physical characteristics and personality traits. Students are in the process of building their own picture dictionaries, in which they must draw a picture that will help them ascertain the meaning of the word in Spanish (for each of the adjectives we are learning). This technique supports students in developing thinking in the Spanish language, rather than thinking through English into Spanish (e.g., translating to understand). We continue to work with the verb "ser", which is one of the two verbs for TO BE. It is used for more permanent traits, such as nationality, personality, what something is made of and time and date. We will be working towards describing ourselves and others. 

In social, we continue to talk about landforms. Today we talked about erosion and valleys.

In math, we are working on telling time and calculating the time until something happens. Students are encouraged to practice telling the time and calculating time at home. New at-home practice sheets and resources have been added to Google Classroom.

In English, we had a very intense and heartfelt conversation around residential schools in Canada. Many people felt some very big feelings. It would be important to continue these conversations and check in with how your student is feeling about this topic. We will continue this next week and throughout the course of our social studies classes as well. 

We had our school photos yesterday. The whole class photo was not taken, more info on when that will be in the future. If your student was absent there will be retakes, also more info to come. 

Stay tuned for an e-mail about a home-reading program first in English, and eventually in Spanish, as we are seeing many of our students need sustained practice in their reading, especially focusing on deep comprehension of the texts they have read. 

See you soon!

 Hola Parents and Guardians,

We are focusing some English and social time to talk about Truth and Reconciliation this week. This topic is embedded into a lot of our social studies curriculum this year. We will be talking about residential school this week. Continuing these difficult conversations at home is an important process. Students have been tasked with bringing a rock from their community with them to school to help them manage any big feelings that they feel while we are talking about difficult topics. 

In math, we are working with telling the time.

In science we are working with the scientific method and will be starting our first experiment soon. 

In Spanish, we are working on reviewing descriptive adjectives about personality and physical traits. 

IT IS PICTURE DAY TOMORROW! Wednesday, Sept. 27th.

ORANGE SHIRT DAY! Thursday, Sept. 28th

NO SCHOOL Friday, Sept. 29th, as we observe Truth and Reconciliation Day. 

IMPORTANT: Please ensure that your child knows how to log into their @educbe.com e-mail address. Please spend some time this week helping them login at home, and connect to our google classroom. We will be doing the Our School Survey next week as a class (on Monday/Tuesday), and we NEED students to be independent in logging into the laptops, and to be connected to the Google Classroom. The invitation for the Google Classroom will be in an e-mail in their @educbe.com email address. Thank you very much for your support in developing independence in our students!

Important Updates

School photos will take place on September 27 for the Tuesday/Thursday Kindergarten group, Grades 1, 3 and 5. On September 28, the Monday/Wednesday Kindergarten group as well as Grades 2 and 4 will have their pictures taken. Please note that it will be the individual as well as the class photos.  Retakes will take place on October 17 & 18, 2022.

On Thursday, September 29, Dalhousie will recognize the National Day for Truth & Reconciliation by wearing orange shirts.    Students will also be engaging in learning around Indigenous Ways of Knowing and Being.    There is no school on Friday, September 30.

Dalhousie Parent Society News

Our Apple Fundraiser is underway! Place your orders with the forms sent home by September 28. Cheques or e-transfers are accepted! 

Our Fall Harvest Fundraiser allows you to get some fresh produce.  Please visit https://store.indeygo.com/fundraisers/dalhousie-school-fall-harvest-fundraiser/. Donations can also be made to the Foodbank! What a great opportunity to double up on helping out! 

The next fun lunches are Fat Burger and Mucho Burrito. Get your orders in by Friday, September 23 at midnight on healthyhunger.ca  All restaurants are up until the end of December so feel free to order for any of the weeks.

If your child is going to be absent and you have ordered them a lunch, please email dalhousieschoolparentsociety@gmail.com before 11am the morning of fun lunch and let us know if you would

1. like it sent home with a sibling
2. You would like to pick it up
3. Donate it to the amazing staff

Kinder Parents, please make sure you are only ordering for the day your child is attending. 

If you would like to volunteer for fun lunch, check out available spots.  If you aren’t sure if you have clearance for volunteering, please email us and we will be able to help you out dalhousieschoolparentsociety@gmail.com

Fun Lunch Dates and Offerings!

Hola Dalhousie families! 

Fun lunch is back this year with exciting weekly lunches! Here is what’s coming up next:

September 20 - Fat Burger (order deadline Sept. 15)

September 28 - Mucho Burrito (order deadline Sept. 23)

October 4 - Boston Pizza (order deadline Sept.29)

October 12 - Subway (order deadline Oct. 7)

October 18 - Opa and Booster Juice (order deadline Oct. 13)

October 26 - Fat Burger (order deadline Oct. 21)

November 1 - The Saucy Bread Company (order deadline Oct.27)

November 9 - Boston Pizza (order deadline Nov. 4)

November 15 - Subway and Booster Juice (order deadline Nov. 10)

November 23 - Coco Brooks (order deadline Nov. 18)

November 29 - Mucho Burrito (order deadline Nov. 24)

December 7 - Opa (order deadline Dec. 2)

December 13 - Fat Burger and Booster Juice (order deadline Dec. 8)

December 21 - Subway (order deadline Dec. 16)

The order deadline is five days prior. Please visit healthyhunger.ca to register. You can also e-mail dalhousieschoolparentsociety@gmail.com if you have any questions or feedback!

 Hello Parents and Guardians!

We continue to achieve small successes in demonstrating expected behaviours at school, and due to ongoing work in this area our learning is moving forward slowly. Students are currently working on carrying out 1-step, 2-step and 3-step instructions (e.g., "Put the pencils away, make sure your name is on the sheet and place the sheet in the pile on the back desk") with varying levels of success. We hope you can support your child's development and learning by also working on these things things at home. 

In Math, we are beginning to compare 4-digit numbers (to identify larger than, smaller than and equal to), and are hoping to move onto ordering numbers (from smallest to largest or largest to smallest). Practice sheets to do at home have been posted in the Google Classroom under the topic "Extend your Learning".

In English, we continue to explore the aspects of a good summary. We have, so far explored 4 out of the 5 rules of a good summary. We look forward to writing some summaries of our own soon.

In Spanish, we continue to build understanding of the verb "Ser"(to be), and will be working on telling time all week. 

IMPORTANT: Please note that the conference booking system has experienced some issues, but should be functional now. If you have any problems booking, please e-mail Srta. M and I will gladly support you.

Digital Citizenship forms have gone home with students on Monday. Please read this important document and sign it along with your child. These documents should be returned to the teacher at your earliest convenience. 

See you soon!

Friday September 16

 

Hola Parents and Guardians,

Apologies for the delayed update, we have been experiencing some errors trying to post. 

This week we have been exploring the aspects of a good summary in English, as we prepare to craft our best summaries. We will be using this important skill throughout the year.

In Math we have been exploring place value, and building upon last year's knowledge to represent numbers up to 10,000 correctly. We hope to explore how to compare and order numbers in the coming week. 

In Social Studies we began learning about the land, that is maps and directions, and landforms. 

In science we began exploring the Scientific Method, the process by which scientists ask and answer questions. 

In Spanish we have been slowly reviewing information from prior years, and began exploring pronouns and the verb "ser" (to be). We will be looking at using this verb to express time, and then moving forward into descriptions using the same verb (e.g., "Yo soy baja"-"I am short")

PLEASE NOTE: Our Google Classroom is now active, and students have received an e-mail invitation (at their @educbe e-mail address) to join the classroom. Please guide them in doing so from home. 

On Monday, September 19, Dalhousie School will observe a moment of silence in to mark the passing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. All CBE School and workplaces will remain open as scheduled.

Please see the separate email that was sent regarding Parent Teacher Interviews, which will be held on Thursday, September 22 and Friday, September 23.   The conference booking application is currently experience technical issues and you may not be able to book at the initially indicated time.  We thank you for your patience.

Due to Parent Teacher Interviews, there is no school for all students on Friday, September 23.  It is a full day of school for all students, including Tuesday/Thursday Kindergarten students on Thursday, September 22.

Dalhousie students and families will be participating in the annual Terry Fox run. The run will be held at the school on September 26 at 1:45 PM. Donations can be made online to the Terry Fox foundation under Dalhousie School. Students are also encouraged to bring a Toonie for Terry on the day of the run. 

School photos will take place on September 27 for the Tuesday/Thursday Kindergarten group, Grades 1, 3 and 5. On September 28, the Monday/Wednesday Kindergarten group as well as Grades 2 and 4 will have their pictures taken. Please note that it will be the individual as well as the class photos. A retake date will be confirmed.

See you soon!

Hola Parents and Guardians,

We continue to work together to establish the routines and behaviours which will create an inclusive, kind and respectful classroom. These practices are solidified through repeated practice, and continued focus on collaboration. 

In Math we began with some beginning-of-the-year review assessments, to see where students are at as they enter grade 4. Students have been working hard at completing these assessments, and many have noted that they need to practice math concepts at home to increase their speed and accuracy. This week we started exploring place value in numbers, reviewing information from grade 3 (ones, tens. and hundreds), and adding on thousands. 

In English we discussed page organization in writing, and we have been writing about our summers. We also discussed the importance of punctuation, and especially had a goofy time learning about how commas can save lives (see pictures below). 

In Spanish we have been reviewing classroom vocabulary (classroom materials and expressions), the alphabet, and introducing ourselves. 

Today we talked about using binders to organize our work. This year we will be using one binder for everything! We talked about using dividers appropriately so we can find our work easily, and we set up the English and math portion of our binders. We are very excited to take on new systems of organization.

Students are working very hard to exercise more independence and demonstrate responsibility in their choices at school, as we move into being the big kids in the school. We have had a lot of conversations about being role models, and about how our actions and words impact everyone and everything around us. 

PLEASE NOTE: Our Google Classroom is now active, and students have received an e-mail invitation (at their @educbe e-mail address) to join the classroom. Please guide them in doing so from home. 

See you soon!

Hello Parents and Guardians,

This week has been filled with slow-paced progress on following classroom expectations and growing our independence, but we are engaging in growth mindset and growing every single day!

We continue to work together to follow classroom rules, and to always show our best selves. We have also engaged in some team-building activities, such as the solo-cup challenge, where students had to work together to move and re-stack some plastic cups with a rubber band and string tool, but without touching the cups with any part of their body. Students worked through their frustrations and learned to communicate and collaborate to find success.

Today we had our first in-person school assembly since the time before COVID! Students showed their best selves, and behaved wonderfully and patiently, and we discussed school expectations, and sang songs. We also did the chicken dance, and there was a very special performance by some surprise "guests".

Srta. M would like to recommend that students begin practicing math at home for 15-20 minutes every day, as well as read for 20-30 minutes per day. It is important to check for comprehension when you are reading with your child as well (for example, asking questions such as: "What happened in the story so far?" "Why do you think this character did this?" "What do you think this word means?"). Adding and subtracting 3-digit numbers (review from grade 3) with carrying and borrowing is also a math concept that students require practice with!

PLEASE NOTE: Terry Fox Donation sheets went home this week. Please donate online, there is a QR code on the donation sheet. We did an excellent job raising fund for this worthy cause last year and we want to continue to support Terry Fox organization.

PLEASE NOTE: We would like to thank all families who have already fill out the Back to School Form.  If you have not already, please fill it out as soon as possible.   This helps us set your child up for success and allows teachers to review the information and be better prepared to support your child. The Back to School Information form can be found here.

See you on Monday!

 Hola Parents and Guardians,

This week has been filled so far with work revolving around getting to know eachother as a team, and understanding the best ways we can all work together to create a harmonious learning community. 

Students continue to engage in get-to-know-you activities, team building activities, and practicing school behaviours such as walking quietly in the hallways, emergency procedures, classroom jobs and routines. We are making great progress so far, though we still have lots of learning to do in this regard. 

PLEASE NOTE: Terry Fox Donation sheets went home this week. Please donate online, there is a QR code on the donation sheet. We did an excellent job raising fund for this worthy cause last year and we want to continue to support Terry Fox organization.

PLEASE NOTE: As we continue to fine-tune our end-of-day procedure, please note that students are not allowed to leave the teacher's side at pick-up unless an adult is present, unless a self-dismiss form has been filled out by the parent (please look for an e-mail titled "Welcome to the 2022-23 School year at Dalhousie"), and processed by the school. We are doing our best to get the most up-to-date information, and are unable to release students until the self-dismiss form has been processed. We really appreciate your patience and understanding as we settle into our new school year. 

See you soon!

 Hola Parents and Guardians!

Our first couple of days in Grade 4 were a bit chaotic, as we get used to working together as a big group. Our focus was to learn about each other and discussing how our learning community will work this year. We talked about communities a lot, exploring what communities are, what different communities we are part of, and how communities work together. This led us to a discussion on jobs in a community and rules!

Students shared what they thought a teacher's job is and a student's job, as well as what makes a good student and what makes a good teacher. We then came up with some classroom rules that will help us work together effectively. We will begin our journey to adjust to these rules and grow into a strong, happy and healthy learning community. 

PLEASE NOTE: Please remind your child that if they have not received confirmation from the teacher that the self dismiss form has come through, they are not allowed to leave the teacher's side without the teacher's permission at dismissal. These students MUST be picked up by a parent. We appreciate your patience and support as we all settle into our routines, and for helping us teach students about safety. 

PLEASE NOTE that there is no school on Monday, September 5. See you Tuesday!