Happy Hatching

Spring fever has hit Grade 1 and ducklings are on the horizon! Our hatching journey has begun!

This morning we reflected on what we already know about ducklings. Here are a few of the students' comments:

"They come from an egg."

"They like to swim."

"Ducks have webbed feet."

"They can fly."

"They grow into a duck."

We also generated a list of what we wanted to find out about ducklings:

Our local farmer, Mrs. Junck, brought us 13 duck eggs and an incubator from her farm. She will be visiting us weekly to teach us about new life, rural communities, needs of living things, and so much more!

Our eggs don't come with a mama duck, so the incubator will act in her place. It will keep the eggs warm and moist, and will turn them twice a day. Our job is to carefully monitor the incubator's temperature and humidity.

Near the end of April and into May, we will be welcoming our ducklings! We are about to experience God's new life, right before our very eyes!

Visit Our Community!

In Social Studies, we've been learning about landmarks and communities. A community is where we live, work and play. Using everything we've learned, we created our own community, St. Nick Town! 

Our Grade 1 classes brainstormed landmarks we could include in our town. At home, each child created a landmark, an important place, for our town. We assembled everything, adding roads, trees, and movable people, to create our own community!

We couldn't be prouder of what we collaborated to create! 

Our town has a beautiful school...

... with a creative playground!

Stop by the rec center to play a little soccer!

Watch a movie at the theatre, visit our veterinarian, and grab a bite to eat!

Our town stays safe because of our caring firefighters and police.

A town isn't complete without mail carriers and a church!

Feeling unwell? Our hospital is here to help!

Bring your family to our community pool:

Grab some fries on your way to get your groceries! 

Take in a game at the arena and be ready to cheer! 

Visit the pet shop if you have a furry friend:

Our grocery store, toy store and coffee shop are ready to serve you!

This collaborative project has been an absolute highlight in our Grade 1 classes and we've been stopping traffic in the hall! Thank you for your incredible home support!

TaleBot Coding Adventures!

This past week, we went on a coding adventure! Simply put, coding is creating instructions. A fleet of little TaleBot robots joined our class and we learned how to have them follow our directions. 

We met the TaleBots and worked in pairs to learn how to use their comand buttons. The commands allow the TaleBots to move forward and back, turn left and right, and even dance! 

First, pairs were challenged to code the TaleBot to move around a block or two. There was lots of trial and error (and squeals of joy!) as we problem solved, discussed, and corrected our code. The spaces on the mat helped us count out our commands. 

Then we examined a zoo-themed coding mat and were challenged to write a story all about the zoo! 

The stories are about TaleBots who visit the zoo. What animal do they want to see at the zoo first? Next? Last? 

Once our zoo stories were written, we got back into teams. Using our story, we coded the TaleBot to retell our very own stories!

What a fantastic day of learning! You'll be able to see how your child codes their TaleBot at our upcoming Student-Led Celebrations of Learning!

100 Amazing Days of Learning!

100 days of school is a big deal in Grade 1!

Our Math curriculum focuses on numbers to 100, so celebrating 100 is an opportunity to tie in several Math activities, and more!

So we began preparing for the 100th day on ... day 96? Yup, it's possible we had 100+ activities planned for our celebration, and we needed a jump start! So here is a peek at day 96, 97, 98, 99, and 100!

We worked over several days to write 100 words! Be proud of that amazing list, kiddos!

We made fabulous runway-worthy party hats! There were 10 strips of paper, and we counted 10 polka dots on each. Boom, 100 dots!

The boys and girls practiced and read a 100 word poem to several classes:

We brought in collections of one hundred items. Isn't it interesting how different 100 can look?

And then a box showed up in our room. It was a very, very LOCKED box, and it came with a few clues! What could be inside? Our Breakout Box challenge was about to begin! The goal? Break into the box!

A Breakout Box is similar to a breakout room, but students use curricular skills to break into a box instead of breaking out of a room. Using teamwork and our knowledge of the 100-chart, we were able to open a number lock, word lock, and directional lock to open the box! Ask your child what was inside!

Sprinkled throughout the last few days were a variety of games, including a new favourite, 100s Chart Tic Tac Toe!

Happy 100th Day, girls and boys! I have loved learning with you for the last one hundred days, and I'm excited for more! Be proud of all your learning and hard work!

The Beauty of the Cross

As we explore the Easter Story, we reflect on how Jesus’ sacrifice left us with an enduring symbol, the cross. The cross is a reminder of God’s never ending love for each of us, and this past week, we had the pleasure of bringing that symbol to life. We were joined by a very special guest, Pani Lynne from Linking Generations, who helped us create our own meaningful keepsakes.

Together we tackled a unique and intricate project, our matchstick crosses. The students showed incredible focus and patience as they counted, glued, and pieced together their designs. (All matches were pre-lit and safely cooled before we began!)

What a spectacular, sticky afternoon! The result is a stunning collection of crosses adorning our bulletin board.

These crosses are a beautiful way to reflect on God’s never ending grace and love.

A Week of Mischief: Cookie Takes Over St. Nicholas!

This week, our classroom was full of laughter and nonsense! We read Cookie's Week about a cat who causes mischief all over his house! Inspired by this clumsy cat, we imagined a brand-new adventure: What if Cookie spent a week right here at St. Nicholas?

To get our creative juices flowing, we brainstormed the best spots for a sneaky kitty to cause some chaos. 

After brainstorming possible pranks, we got to work using sentence frames to craft our own original stories and illustrations.

Our young authors are working diligently to bring their stories to life. Quality takes time, so we’ll be spending the next few days perfecting our writing and adding careful detail to our drawings. 

We can’t wait to show you what this little trickster gets up to!