KINDERGARTEN
St. Gertrude School
Room 103
NEWS
October 2015
Ms. Barran & Mrs. Santos' Classroom Newsletter
Settling In...
We can now say goodbye to September and welcome the
month of October as the students continue to settle into the
classroom routines. Students have spent much of September
making new friends, establishing relationships with their
educators, and exploring the classroom environment. Students
have also been learning how to care for the materials in the
classroom and how to clean up after themselves.
September has also provided students with many
opportunities to demonstrate both social and emotional selfregulation. Our Year 1 students have successfully made the
transition from home to school and are continuing to adapt to
the school day. Thank you to our Year 2 students for
mentoring our new friends and showing them around the
classroom and school. Being part of a busy class of 31
students has given the children ample opportunity to practise
sharing, turn-taking, and problem solving skills during play.
To help our day run a little more smoothly, the students and
educators have co-created success criteria for playtime. The
students came up with the 5 most important things they felt
they needed to remember in order to have a positive playtime
experience. We have been reviewing this criteria, along with
our 'Rug Rules' on a daily basis.
These friends are sharing the building materials and
working collaboratively on a structure.
Building A Community of
Literacy Learners
As educators, we strive to create a classroom environment
that is rich in language learning experiences. Throughout
the school year, we will be helping our children develop
skills in reading, writing, listening, and speaking.
Our Year 1 students have been learning how to recognize
and print their names. Every morning upon arrival,
students are asked to check in by finding their name card
and placing it in the basket. The children have been using
different media to write their names (e.g. stamps, dry
erase markers, magnetic letters, pencil and paper, etc.). As
a class, we read Kevin Henkes' Chrysanthemum, a story
about a little mouse who learns to love the uniqueness of
her name.
We have now begun our 'Chime In' shared reading
program. Parents, please look out for your child's red
Chime In folder. Parents are encouraged to read the
weekly poem with your child and complete the activity on
the back of the page by Wednesday of each week.
Also look out for our 'focus letter' and sight words of the
week which are outlined on the class calendar. Review of
these letters, sounds, and words at home would greatly
help to reinforce the concepts taught at school.
Maxime is using Dry Erase markers to practise writing his
name.
Ms. Barran & Mrs. Santos' Classroom Newsletter Page 2
Ms. Barran & Mrs. Santos’ Classroom Newsletter Page 2
Welcome,Fall!
As we enjoy the crisper weather outside, we can tell that
Fall has officially arrived! October is one of our most
favourite months of the year because of the wonderful
changes we see outdoors. In class, we have been reading a
variety of non-fiction books and watching some videos
about Fall changes. As a class, we have brainstormed a list
of the different things we see in the Fall. Our Year 2
students have been doing some guided reading and writing
in small groups about the things they observe in Fall. The
students took a nature walk during Outdoor Discovery
time and came back with a collection of leaves. Such
wonderful shapes and colours! We also observed Fall
changes in the neighbourhood as we embarked upon our
annual Terry Fox Walk.
Walking through the neighbourhood, two-bytwo, on our Terry Fox Walk.
Students have already begun to show excitement about
two special days coming up this month: Thanksgiving and
Halloween. As part of our Religion program, we will be
discussing how thankful we are for the many gifts God has
given us. We will also be focusing on the virtue of
empathy as we talk about how important it is to care for
the feelings of others.
And as we all know, with Fall, comes cooler temperatures.
The students have been practising how to independently
change their shoes and put on their jackets. We have been
using the "1-2-Flip-A-Roo" method for putting on jackets.
Ask your child to show you at home. We continue to assist
with zippers, but ask that this be practised at home as
well.
Practising our reading and writing skills with our
What Do You See in the Fall? booklets.
The Fall weather is here! We are all bundled up for
Outdoor Play.
Sharing and recording observations on Fall
changes.
Ms. Barran & Mrs. Santos' Classroom Newsletter Page 3
Photo Gallery...
Olivia is all smiles on her first day of
school!
Matching up the magnetic letters.
Our Year 2 students are using their playtime to
write and draw. Way to go, girls!
Developing fine motor skills and demonstrating
creativity with the play dough. What a great
Angry Bird sculpture!
Investigating the stacking properties of
3-D shapes.
We have been exploring colours this month and
going on daily 'colour hunts'. Look at all the red
things we've found in our classroom!
Ms. Barran & Mrs. Santos’ Classroom Newsletter Page 4
Photo Gallery...
Sitting down with a good book. Chicka
Chicka Boom Boom is a class favourite.
Creating a colour pattern! Patterning will be one
of many math concepts we will explore this year.
Using creativity and imagination to make
this "fire-breathing monster."
Reading some non-fiction books about
colours.
Fostering sensory exploration at the Rice
Table.
Enjoying songs, stories, and rhymes on our
interactive Smartboard.
Ms. Barran & Mrs. Santos’ Classroom Newsletter Page 5
Notes and Reminders...

Thank you parents for generously sending in tissues and play dough. We go through these
resources quickly in Kindergarten and we truly appreciate your donations!

Thank you to those who have sent in extra clothes and indoor shoes for your child. Velcro, slipons, or spiral laces are recommended since many children have difficulty with laces. Indoor shoes
should be running shoes, as they are required for Physical Education.

Please remember to label all items your child brings to school (back packs, lunch bags, coats, hats,
shoes, etc.), as keeping track of all our belongings can be a challenge!!

Please continue to check your child's Note Tote daily for notices or completed work that is coming
home. Please return it each day. If writing us a message in the communication book, please
leave the notebook open to your message so that we do not miss it.

October Scholastic Book Order forms have been sent home. Your orders not only encourage
literacy at home, but also provide us with an opportunity to acquire free books and learning
materials for our classroom. Ordering books is entirely optional but if you choose to do so, please
send in your order form with a cheque payable to Scholastic Canada Ltd. Only one cheque is
necessary if ordering from multiple catalogues.

Thank you to those parents who have been sending in two small healthy snacks. A reminder that
lunches containing peanuts, tree nuts, fish, shellfish, and sesame cannot be brought to school
due to life-threatening allergies within our classroom (This includes Nutella). Thank you for
your cooperation.

Thank you to those who have contributed to our Terry Fox Walk and to our Thanksgiving Food
Drive. Your generosity is appreciated.

Students are invited to wear their Halloween costumes to school on October 30th. Please do not
send in masks, toy weapons, or edible treats for the rest of the class.
We thank you for your continued support and Cooperation.
Have a Happy and Blessed Thanksgiving!
Sincerely,
Ms. Barran & Mrs. Santos