Today was the Terry Fox Run. All week students had been bringing in “Toonies for Terry”. Our school goal was $500 ($2 for each student) and we were so happy to exceed that goal. Confederation Park raised $600 for cancer research!
The timing was perfect; although it was cloudy all day, it didn’t start raining until we got back to school. The highlight of my afternoon was racing three girls around the track. I tried my hardest, but they won! Good running and fundraising by all!
Since it is the beginning of the year we did some thinking about goals for the year. Each student traced their hand on coloured paper and wrote two goals inside. One goal had to be a school learning goal, and the other could be a personal goal. The students came up with some very thoughtful goals, such as “I want to be able to do subtraction without a number line” and “I want to be a faster runner.” Later we reviewed oil pastel technique and used pastels to decorate our hands. If you get a chance to visit the classroom check out our bulletin board by the outside door!
This week was the first week with my new class. They were very excited to make new friends, and seem eager to learn. This week we discussed our class rules. The rules are
I think this covers a lot in life, not just in Grade One and Two! We read the story of Rainbow Fish by Marcus Pfister, which has a message of being kind. The proud rainbow fish discovered that when he shared his sparkly scales with the other fish they were delighted and he found friends. The students coloured their own rainbow fish, then practiced politely asking the rainbow fish for one of his sparkly scales. The fish look great hanging up, I love all the colours decorating our classroom!
Summer is my favourite season, and this past summer was amazing. I was busy planning our wedding, but I also had time to do all my favourite summer things. I spent time with family who came to visit from across the country. I had lunch with friends and went for walks in the sun. I got to try out new recipes and cook some delicious meals. I stayed up late and slept in. I had time for all my crafts: knitting, cross stitching, and card making. I travelled to Portland and had fun exploring a new city. And I read a lot of books!
While the summer was wonderful, I am glad to be back at school. I love September and the fresh start it represents. It was great to spend time with my class from last year. I got to hear all about their summer adventures and see how they’ve grown. But now I am ready to meet my new class, to get to know them and travel with them along their learning journey. I’m looking forward to this week, to meeting my new students and their families, to officially starting the new year!