FDK News: November
The month of October has come and gone and our Kinders have been having so much fun learning
about the season of fall and a variety of other things. October was a busy month with
Thanksgiving and Halloween being two exciting events to celebrate.
Letters/Sight Words for October: S (so, sat, see, said), A (as, at, am, and), T (to, the, this),
I (I, in, is, it)
Letters/Sight Words for November: P (pat, pan, play), N (no, not), C (cat, can, come),
K (kit, kid, like)
Our main focus for numeracy has been identifying and writing numbers, counting forwards and
backwards and skip counting and playing math games. We have also started adding and
subtracting simple numbers using a variety of manipulatives and resources. The students have
also had a lot of fun finding numbers and counting things around the room. We will continue
exploring numbers for the month of November and see where it takes us. Maybe a countdown
to Christmas…We will also begin making simple patterns in the upcoming month.
Since we’ve begun our Letter of the Week, we have focused much of our attention on that
specific letter and based our literacy activities on this special letter. JKs have been busy
working on letter formation, letter crafts, as well as drawing pictures and labelling things
around the room that begin with the letter of the week. This helps them in identifying the
specific sounds. SKs have been busy doing similar activities but also in addition to this have
been working a lot on the sight words of the week. Learning how to sound out the sight words,
making and building these words and writing them out, all help in preparation to begin reading
simple books. The ‘Snuggle Up’ program will be starting in the New Year!
A variety of art activities and crafts were created by the students through the month of
October. A few of the crafts they did involved using Q-Tips to make a skeleton, painted baby
food jar pumpkins, fall apple trees using different textures, and apple stamping for a letter Aa
activity. We continue to explore a variety of different materials as we make new creations.
Our newest inquiry has been learning all about pumpkins. Our kinders have been busy exploring
pumpkin science. We found answers to the questions we had about pumpkins such as ‘why
pumpkins are all different shapes and sizes?’ and ‘where do pumpkins come from?’ Students
listened to books about pumpkins, painted pumpkin artwork, created pumpkins using orange PlayDoh and played a variety of literacy and math games with pumpkin themes!! In addition, we
turned our class pumpkin into a Jack-O-Lantern. Please see the attached pictures.
Virtue of the Month: Each month, we at St. Gertrude, and as a Catholic community, recognize a
virtue. For the month of September, Isabella R. and Jacob received the virtue of faith. For
the month of October, Alyssa and Matteo received the virtue of empathy. In November we will
be looking for students who have shown the virtue of Conscience.
We are excited to see what the month of November has in store for us in Room 102.
Here are just a few reminders…
Friendly Reminders:

Please continue to check your child’s Note Tote daily for important forms, notices or completed
work that is coming home. Return Note Tote daily so nothing is missed and please empty out Note
Totes so there is more room for new work!!

Students are encouraged to dress comfortably and wear clothing that will make toileting easy and
independent (no belts or tricky buttons).

We ask that all shorts and t-shirts be replaced with warmer clothing for the new season ahead. A
reminder that indoor shoes are a requirement for Physical Education and Music and Movement
classes. All items your child brings to school should be labelled (backpacks, lunch bags, clothing,
shoes, hats, coats, blankets etc.)

We are asking all families if they can donate plastic forks and spoons to our classroom. We go
through a lot of utensils every day and our supply is running low.

Special Helper: please make note of your child’s name on the monthly calendar each week day. If
they happen to be away on their day, we will skip to the next person and they will have their turn
when they return to school.

Play Dough Club has begun! Look out for your child’s turn to make Play-Doh if a note/recipe is
found in their Note Tote IF they have signed up!

Thank you to those who have contributed to our Spook-A-Thon.

Please ensure library books are returned in library bags by the Thursday of each week.

Please see Sunday of each week on the monthly calendar for the new letter/sound and sight
words. JKs have letter of the week practice sheets sent home every Friday, and at the end of
every month, SKs will have sight words that were taught and practised throughout the month.
Please read instructions on how to create flashcards with these words and other ideas on how to
help your child learn to recognize sight words and remember them faster.

Thank you to those parents who have been sending in healthy snacks and lunches. A reminder
that foods containing nuts of any kind including Nutella, ALL shellfish and eggs cannot be
brought to school due to allergies. We have been informed by the office that WOW Butter is
also NOT allowed at school as we cannot differentiate between real and ‘fake’ peanut butter by
eye. If you have any further questions or concerns please address the office.

Chime-In folder should be returned no later than Wednesday of each week so new poems can be
inserted. Please review all poems weekly and assist your child in completing the activity on
the reverse side.

Sleep toys, blankets and pillows are allowed for quiet time but please send reasonably sized items
that can easily fit into backpacks and cubbies. Our space is very limited.

Scholastic book club flyers are sent home each month to encourage literacy at home. The return
date is stamped on the front page. If you purchase from Scholastic, it also provides us with an
opportunity to acquire free books and learning materials for our classroom! Ordering from
Scholastic is optional and if you choose to do so please send a cheque with your order form
payable to Scholastic Canada. Only one cheque is necessary if ordering from multiple book club
flyers. NO CASH PLEASE!!

With the flu season fast approaching we’d just like to mention that if your child is showing signs
of becoming sick please keep them at home to prevent the rest of the class getting sick and to
help your child get better faster. If students have a fever or are vomiting they will be sent home
immediately. Please ensure we have your most recently updated contact information as well.

Ways to help your child at home: continue to practise and help your child dress independently.
Even though we are enjoying summer-like conditions, the cold weather is approaching. When
selecting outerwear, please consider items that make dressing as easy as possible for your child.
Some tips from experienced teachers...mittens are easier to put on then gloves; knit ones are not
recommended as they remain wet longer, put an extra pair of mittens and socks in your child`s
backpack, pull-on hats are recommended; neck warmers are easier to pull on and safer than
scarves; pull-on style boots are easier than those with laces. Again, label all pieces of clothing if
possible.
We appreciate your time and co-operation. Please feel free to contact us anytime with concerns or
questions.
Mrs. Cabral & Mrs. Di Gravino
Tracing our names with beans and glue
Smartboard fun on starfall.com
Arts and crfats with Mrs. Di Gravino
Playing ‘house’ in the dramatic centre
Making shape figures at the light table
Sorting colours
We know our colours!!
We can sort colours!
Look at our tall tower
Lacing beads
Building with Lego on the carpet
Making shapes for our classroom display
Terry Fox Walk
Spelling our names with magnetic letters
We’re going for a walk in the forest behind our school
Working on letter and number puzzles with tangram shapes
Receving the Virtue of Faith for September
Painting with watercolours
Is the letter Aa in your name?!?
Our Class Thankful Tree
Apple trees with textured brushes
Aa is for ‘apple’
Reading, writing and building sight words
Appleseed math
Making shape pictures with geoboards and elastics
5 Little Pumpkins Chime-In
Planning for pay each morning
Showing & Sharing what they did in class today
Fall sensory bin – what do you see?
Tissue paper and triangle T’s
Having fun with Farmer Bill’s Magnetic Counting book
Making creations with orange Playdoh and Halloween shapes
Pumpkin Puppets!!!
Making puffy ghosts with cotton balls
Our cute recycled baby food jar Jack-O-Lanterns
Writing what we know about pumpkins!
What can we do with pumpkins?
Taking out the pumpkin seeds and pulp
One of our Jack-O-Lantern creations!
Designing our Jack-O-Lanterns
In our Halloween costumes!! CHEESE!!
At the SPOOK-A-THON dance for Halloween!!