TWAS December 1st

Hello Everyone,

And we’re off, into the busyness that is December!  I cannot believe how fast this has come upon us.  While we would never know it from the weather, beautiful singing voices are filling our hallways with sounds of winter celebration rehearsals; we must be getting close to performance time (Wednesday December 13th for us) because they sound perfect J

In keeping with the December tradition of reaching out to those who need a little extra help during this time of year we have decided to send home something special. This year, Cranston students and staff have decided to support other schools’ students who may not be as fortunate as us by providing them with a Christmas gift bag. 

I am sending home a large ziplock freezer bag with a list inside it. The list has required items and other ideas for the Christmas bag for a student. We are requesting that spending between $15-20 (please do not exceed $20 as we want to ensure all students are receiving approximately the same amount). All items must be new. 

Examples of Required Items: travel size shampoo/tooth brush/toothpaste
Other Ideas: fidget toys, small play-dough, bouncy balls, pencils, bracelet, necklace, squishy balls/toys, candy.  No toy weapons please. 

Participation in this initiative is voluntary. Please return THIS BAG and PAPER LIST to school by Wednesday, December 6. All items must be able to fit in the Ziplock bag provided. Students and teachers will begin the process of decorating gift bags and making cards after that date. Gift bags will be delivered to three CBE schools on December 12. 

Because this post is already a page long and I haven’t even started to talk about our week, I’ll share the basics with you in point form and let your little ones fill in the details (we’ve been working on adding details to our writing so let’s see how they do orally).

Language Arts:
·      Descriptive writing (there is a description writing piece, that your child wrote, in the blue communication folders, with a special family task that can be brought back to school on Monday for sharing).
o   Brainstorming and practicing writing different types of descriptions and how to describe something: brushing your teeth/curling/what a monster looks like.
o   Paragraph introductions
o   Paragraph supporting details
o   Paragraph conclusions (just starting to discuss what strong conclusions look like)
·      Daily 5
o   Spelling work
o   Listening to reading, reading to teacher, reading to self, and work on writing.
·      ART
o   creating primary colour dot art with reflective titles.
o   Reflecting and learning about Henri Rousseau’s piece Tiger in a Tropical Storm
·      Science:  colour/inquiry
·      Math
o   Estimation
§  The difference between estimating and guessing
§  How to check estimations with different types of counting
§  Using a school map to make an educated guess about how many students there are at Cranston School.
§  How many shoes are on Ms. Boutilier’s and our hallway rack.
§  How many bulletin boards in our hallway.
§  Estimation problems
§  Math stations:  math art, math games, math with teacher and math problems.
o   Social studies
§  What is considered important to communities, depending on location, and time periods?  How do names and naming practices reflect the values of a community?
·      Gym
o   Curling and basketball
·      Little Buddies
o   Creating colour Google Slide presentations and math addition games (barn or house)


I am sure I’ve missed a bunch . . . it’s been fun and it’s been fast.
Have a wonderful weekend everyone — see you Monday!

Mrs. McArthur



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