Connection Time: A Positive Foundation for Our Day

Each morning begins with Connection Time, a meaningful routine that allows us to gently ease into the day and prepare ourselves for our best learning.

We gather in a circle so everyone is seen and heard. 

1. Prayer and Land Acknowledgement

We always begin in prayer, remembering that God is at the center of all we do and all we are:

“Father in Heaven, I give You today, all that I think, and do, and say. Amen.”

Simple actions, led by our Prayer Leaders, accompany our words, helping us to pray with both heart and body.

Following prayer, we share our child-friendly acknowledgement of land and people.

2. Greetings

A warm hello, eye contact, and using someone’s name can go a long way in helping others feel seen, welcomed, and like they belong. We practice different greetings, including really silly ones, like this much-loved Stinky Shoe Hello!

3. News

Students are invited to share what is on their minds, whether joyful or hard. We’ve already heard about movie nights, lost teeth, lake trips, swimming, and more!

4. Social Scenario Problem-Solving
To build problem-solving skills, students are presented with real-life social situations. In pairs, they brainstorm possible solutions, then come together as a group to discuss. Scenarios have included:

• You spill your yogurt drink on your pants

• A friend is crying at their desk, but you don’t know why

• You forgot your lunch at home

We're exploring the idea that problems can be “mouse problems” (small) or “elephant problems” (big), and that a small problem doesn’t need an elephant-sized reaction. 

6. Story
We end Connection Time with a story, carefully chosen for its message.

Though full, Connection Time moves along and sets a joyful, intentional tone for the day. This time is valued, not only for the learning it supports but for the way it builds our relationships and helps us see Christ in one another.

Our First Days Together

Our journey is off to a joyful start! In these first few days, we’ve focused on creating a space where everyone feels safe, knows they belong, and feels connected. When children feel safe, valued, and connected, that’s when the best learning happens!

As a team, we set out to create a colourful, collaborative beaded window hanging! Each student created their own strand, choosing their favourite beads and adding their name with letter beads. 

What a wonderful way to practise so many important skills! Little fingers were busy strengthening fine-motor skills, while problem-solving, following directions, literacy, and numeracy were woven into the fun! Look at our collaborative masterpiece! 

Together, our individual strands became a beautiful reminder that we are all an important part of our classroom family. It shines and sparkles in the morning sunshine and we are incredibly proud of what we made together. 

It has been a joy to see these children already growing together and becoming the hands of Christ through their kindness, compassion and care for one another. We have been abundantly blessed with a sincere, engaged, and clever crew. Look at these bright, joyful smiles!

A Warm Welcome to Grade 1

Hello! My name is Mrs. Beliveau, and it rhymes with “grow”. I’m so happy that we get to learn together this year! We’re going to have a spectacular year filled with growing, laughing, helping, and joy! 

I can’t wait to learn all about you, but until then, let me share a few things about me.

Did you learn a little bit about me? I can’t wait to discover what makes you so special!

I’ll be seeing your smile very soon!

Your teacher, 

Mrs. Beliveau

Growing in Christ's Love

Dear boys and girls,

What a joyful year we have shared together! I am incredibly proud of the warm, caring classroom community we built together, and I have loved watching each and every one of you learn and grow. What a blessing it has been to laugh, learn, struggle, support, and grow together!

As we head into summer, remember to keep growing in Christ's love. Let His love help you become stronger, kinder, and braver every day. Wherever you go and whatever you do, you can be Jesus’ hands by helping others, loving big, and shining your bright light for the whole world to see.

Thank you for being such a beautiful blessing to me this year. Have a wonderful, sunny summer, and please remember that my door is always open! Come back and see me next year for huge hugs and high fives!

With lots of love and prayers,

Mrs. Beliveau

Our Teach the Teacher Week!

God has blessed each of us with unique talents, passions and gifts, and this week we shared these with our class! We began the week reading a fantastic book by an Inuit author about our gifts:

Then Mrs. Beliveau became a student and the children took turns being the teacher! It was such a joy seeing students light up and share their passions. 

We learned about the Portuguese culture and then tried counting to ten!

Our "teacher" led us through an experiment using cyanopaper, which is special paper that is sensitive to sunshine! We chose items, set them on the cyanopaper, and left it outdoors! What an incredible result!

Another awe-inspiring science experiment followed! We all had an opportunity to make a reaction with vinegar and baking soda, creating bubbling and fizzing volcanoes!

Then we got crafty! 

We were taught how to make adorable hedgehogs out of play-dough and pasta. 

We were guided, step by step, in a drawing lesson to create flowers. 

 

Using stickers, markers, and loads of creativity, we made memorable fridge magnets to celebrate our special class!

A French lesson taught us the days of the week and how to count to 10!

We discovered a new game, Brainiac, and took turns guessing the mystery code. What a great challenge!

The sun shone for a basketball lesson! Check out our dribbling skills!

We enjoyed an exciting roller hockey demonstration as we learned the ins and outs of skating quickly and stick handling. 

What an AMAZING week! It was a great opportunity for everyone to lead the learning and to share their gifts and talents. 

Growing Together: Our Class Plant

Back in September, we began our Grade 1 journey together by reading The World's Best Class Plant and welcomed a little spider plant into our room. In those early days, both the plant and our students were just settling in and finding their roots. 

Our spider plant in September

As the months flew by, we grew in height, knowledge, and kindness, and our plant grew right along with us! We were filled with excitement every time someone spotted a new spiderette growing! We practiced our numeracy skills by counting them, and we practiced a much bigger life skill, forgiveness, when Mrs. Beliveau accidentally froze off all the spiderettes bringing the plant home over Christmas! 

But just like our resilient Grade 1s, that little plant showed us what it means to be strong and grow deep roots. Despite that frosty setback, it bounced back, grew, and thrived. It was the perfect lesson for us this year; even when things get tough, we can adapt, try again, and keep growing!

It's June! Look at those spiderettes!

This week, our resilient little spiderettes were harvested. Now, every single student received a special piece of our classroom plant to take home.  

Thank you all for a beautiful year of watching your children bloom. This spider plant brought our faith theme to life, and we truly did grow together in Christ's love! 

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How to Care for Your New Spider Plant: 

• Planting: Plant the entire biodegradable cup directly into a larger pot filled with standard potting soil. The cup will naturally break down as the roots grow through it. 

• Light: These plants love bright, indirect sunlight. 

• Watering: Water it thoroughly when the top inch of soil feels dry to the touch. They prefer to dry out a little bit between waterings rather than sitting in soggy soil.

• Temperature: Keep it in a comfortable room-temperature spot. 

I hope this little plant brings a bit of our classroom joy into your homes for a long time to come!

Walking on the Wild Side: Our Zoo Day!

What an incredible way to kick off the week! Our Grade 1 classes enjoyed a fantastic day of learning and discovery at the Edmonton Valley Zoo. The sun was shining, the students were curious and engaged, and the adults were just as excited for the adventure!

Our morning was spent participating in the "Animal Movers and Shakers" program, which connected with our Science Energy Unit, helping us explore how things move. As we travelled through the zoo, we discovered the many ways animals move and the reasons behind their movements, from swimming otters and soaring birds of prey to prowling carnivores, slithering snakes, and swinging gibbons. Along the way, we learned about the unique adaptations that help animals survive and thrive in their environments. A special highlight was meeting Pepperoni, a blue-tongued skink, who is an omnivorous lizard with some remarkable adaptations. And yes, we got to see Pepperoni's blue tongue!

After lunch, students explored the zoo in small groups alongside our incredible volunteers. These smaller groups gave students the opportunity to spend extra time with the animals that captured their interest most. It was a wonderful way to follow our curiosities, deepen our learning, and enjoy an awesome afternoon together. 

One fact we were amazed to learn today is that the peregrine falcon, one of the birds of prey we saw, is the fastest animal on Earth, even faster than a cheetah! Even more surprising, though, was the fact that not a single student fell asleep on the bus ride home. Truly shocking!

Our students were incredible ambassadors for our school. Our zoo interpreter even reached out to express how genuinely impressed she was, sharing that our students were "some of the best behaved, most engaged and active participants" she has ever had! 

We're not surprised! These kids are incredible!