Photos

I need to post some photos taken of Div. 7 students this fall...

First, congratulations to Alouette's jack-o-lantern contest winner, Hannah!  She was able to integrate some school spirit into her design...

Next are some photos taken on Hallowe'en!  Enjoy...

And here's a group shot with costumes on:

Then we had a visit from a local children's book author, Rachelle Delaney:

I didn't get any pictures of our pj day on the last day of school, but I did grab a photo of the cards the students made (some left their cards behind that day).

I hope you enjoyed this peek into a few of the activities we did and that you are all having a nice break!

~Mrs. Rupert

Dear Parents,

            Division 7 is having a Christmas party on Friday, December 20^th.  Instead of doing a Secret Santa exchange, the students decided they wanted to bring in gifts for less fortunate children.  They selected the charity, Seeds of Love and Hope (for more information, see http://www.solahis.com/) , and one of the parents from our class, Catherine Basso, is taking a trip to Medellin, Colombia in March.  She will personally be able to bring our gifts to needy children who will be so grateful for whatever we can provide.

            This is a voluntary donation; December is a tough month financially for many families, and we don’t want to add unnecessary burden.  If you are able to participate, please purchase a new toy that is: good quality (some dollar store toys are, but others are not, so be aware that we want this child to have something that will not break immediately), non-violent, and relatively small (as it has to fit into Catherine’s suitcase!)  The Bassos recommend things like stuffed animals or Hot Wheels cars.

            We had some discussion about wrapping and exchanging the gifts first as a game, but there was some discomfort with this, so I have made the decision that we will simply collect the toys unwrapped.

            You are also invited to send your child with a mug on Friday, as Mr. Pitcher has kindly offered to donate some hot cocoa for us!  If you are able to send along some sharing snacks for our party (cookies, fruit, vegetables, etc.), the children will enjoy that too.

            We will be viewing the movie, “Elf”, which is rated G in Canada.  Children are wearing pjs to school on Friday, and are also invited to bring a blanket, stuffy or pillow if they’d like.  We’ll be having some partner reading time and some read aloud too for a nice, calm final day of school before the break.

            If you have any questions, please email me at Nancy_Rupert@sd42.ca.  Have a very happy holiday break!

Mrs. Rupert

Sum Dog Christmas Dash Update!!! Breaking news...

...we have a new group in the lead!

Currently, the ranking goes as follows:

4.  Dashers

3.  Dancers

2.  Rudolphs

1.  Prancers

Well done, Prancers--the Rudolphs held onto first place for quite some time, but there's a new reindeer heading up Santa's sled!

Keep on playing!

Mrs. Rupert

Sumdog Update!

1.  Rudolphs
2.  Prancers
3.  Dancers
4.  Dashers

Less than a hundred points separate the top two teams, so it looks like we have ourselves a good dash!

Mrs. Rupert

Sumdog December Dash!

And they're off and running!

Students are participating in a math contest on the sumdog website, which I announced at our class meeting on Friday.  As of Monday morning, we had the Rudolphs in the lead, which is quite the feat as I see that while I randomly assigned students to each group, they inadvertently ended up with the fewest members! Let's see if they can keep it up.

What I am more excited about is that this weekend 18 out of 28 students practiced their math facts without being assigned it as homework.  And had fun in the process, I dare say...

Teams

Dashers

Tosin
Abby
Ashley
Jarid
Tommy
Emmy
Asher
Aaron

Dancers

Aiden B.
Tiana
Gunai
Atilla
Jade
Jacob S.
Meghan

Prancers

Jacob B.
Shanesse
Hannah
Kai
Ben
Aidan S.
Cara

Rudolphs

Ella
Josh
Anna
Mika
Shianne
Liam

News from Div. 7...

SD42 Online Payment/Forms Portal

Thanks, Div. 7 parents, for putting our division into the lead for the Pizza lunch contest!!  The kids are very excited about being in first place.  I am hoping that the new parent portal is useful for everyone.

Sum Dog

Students got their ids and passwords today for this addictive new game site... that just happens to strengthen math skills too!  They are encouraged to practice their skills at home (and shop for their avatars when they earn enough "cash").  As classroom teacher, I can log in too and see their progress.

Art's Supplies

A number of members of our Alouette community were touched by Typhoon Yolanda.  One of our Div. 7 students, Jarid, has family in the Philippines.  Our custodian, Art, is from the area hardest hit (Tacloban City), and he will be traveling there for Christmas.  Alouette is collecting funds to send with him to directly help those in this devastated area.  If you can spare anything at this time of year, please send it soon and Mrs. Wightman's class will collect it for "Art's supplies"!

SD 42 Online Forms and Payment Portal

Hi Families,

If I have heard back from you that you did not get a payment portal form (or if I have heard nothing), I have requested a form for you.  I will send it home as soon as it arrives (likely tomorrow).

The office tells me that at this time we only have four students registered for online payments.  This is the site you would have signed up at:
https://parents.sd42.ca/LoginPage.aspx

It is very important that you sign up as soon as you are able, as we are no longer going to be handle our permission forms via paper.  Permission forms and payments will be made online.

Thanks,
Nancy Rupert

It's Already October?!?

Hi Div. 7 Families,

I hang my head in shame as I post my first 2013-2014 school year post to the blog...  and it's only because I've been sick this week that I am actually getting to it!  The school year has been filled to the brim, and that's a good thing!

We have had a great start to the year.  We're a 4/5 blend this year, and our grade 5s have been terrific leaders, showing the Grade 4s the way.  It's not always an easy adjustment to make, going from primary expectations in Gr. 3 to intermediate work in Gr. 4.  It's really common for students to take a little time to adjust.  I continue to remind the kids which way the holes go on the looseleaf paper, for example!  :-)

But our group of 28 students has really gelled.  They have shown themselves to be a kind, considerate group.  We do class meetings, and the very first thing we do is compliments each time--this group, and I've told them so, ROCKS the compliments.  That's on you as parents, because it takes time to teach our children how to be kind to each other.

We had a great Terry Fox event in September, which has kickstarted our fundraising for the Terry Fox Foundation.  If you are interested in learning about the incentives this year, please check out the Alouette web site: http://schools.sd42.ca/alouette/

In Language Arts, we have started learning about the Reading Powers (http://www.readingpowergear.com/), and will soon start our Writer's Workshop.  Mrs. Kollen is working on spelling with Words Their Way.  Part of the the LA curriculum includes students reading daily, because we know that students need lots of reading practice in order to become more fluent readers.  Please sign your child's reading log before Friday of each week.

In Math, I've done Place Value with both grades, and we are now starting Fractions.  If you are able to support this learning at home (such as by baking with your child and pointing out how important fractions are when doubling a recipe, or by finding them online games to play that practice fractions), that would be great.

I'll sign off with a reminder that now that the weather is getting cooler and wetter, we need to make sure the kids are remembering to bring outerwear and boots to school.  If your child is one who tends to play hard outside (and you know who you are!), sending a change of clothes to keep at school might not be a bad idea, either.  :-)

Cheers,
Nancy

Haney House

Our visit to Haney House, May 7th: