We are so excited to be able to host a Lake Bonavista School Sports Day in 2022! Sports Day will be taking place on Friday, June 24 from 8:30am-12:15pm. On this day, students will begin in the gymnasium for a pep rally and then travel with their class and their neighbouring class outside to participate in group activities and games. Parent Council has generously provided healthy snacks all students to enjoy for the end of the day!

Here are some things to keep in mind:

- Wear athletic clothing and shoes
- Pack a water bottle and snack (we will have two snacks this day)
- Please apply sunscreen and bug spray prior to coming to school
- Despite the forecasted rain, we will be moving forward with Sports Day unless there are thunderstorms, please dress accordingly

Thanks for your support!
Active Living

Our trip to the Calgary Zoo on June 9th was fantastic! We saw lots of different animals and did lots of thinking routines to represent our learning. 

We practiced doing a scientific sketch and added labels to an animal in the Canadian Wilds. We did a 'zooming in' sketch of an animal in Destination Africa. And lastly we did 'Wonder Mapping' of an animal in Exploration Asia.

We are continuing to explore more animal adaptations! This week we've focused on how camouflage helps an animal adapt to its environment. When we were at the Calgary Zoo we visited the chameleon habitat and then we created our own art to represent how they camouflage into the trees. Can you spot the real chameleon in the picture below?

 

 Hello Room 8 families,

We are continuing our exploration of animal adaptations. The physical adaptation we discussed this week was animal fur. We were lucky to have some real samples of Alberta wildlife fur in our classroom. Students investigated each same of fur and used their sketching techniques to record these artifacts of learning. 

        

This week we had an in-class field trip where we explored why bees are so important, what we can do to protect them, and we even built our very own bee house to take home!

This program gave the Grade 1 students an opportunity to learn ways in which animals depend on plants and way in which plants depend on animals, for example, how animals may help spread pollen.

Our completed bee houses will be next home next week after students are finished painting!

We've also been working on lots of subtraction practice lately! This is one of the games we've played with a partner to practice strategies to figure out the answer.

We've also began a writer's workshop where we are creating our own legends. We are following a similar format to the Ojibwe legend How the Beaver got it's Tail. 

So far we have chosen a Canadian animal from the selection here:

Then we created a Character Development page, where we thought about our animal inside and out.

Then we did a planning page for our legend. Our next step is to share our thoughts and ideas with a partner and get some helpful feedback and then begin writing a draft copy!

Ask your child about what animal they chose!

Upcoming Dates:

June 9th - Field Trip

June 10th - School Shirt Day

June 19th - Father's Day

June 21st - National Indigenous Peoples Day

June 23rd - Fun Lunch Extreme Pits (order through https://healthyhunger.ca)

June 24th - Sports Day

June 28th - Last day of School

Kind regards,

Mrs. Amber Melindy

admelindy@cbe.ab.ca

 Hello families,

As promised here are our completed beaver dams! Ask your child about how they created it and if it was able to stop the water from flowing to the other side. 

Did you know that this month Room 8 has been participating in the One Nature Challenge? The One Nature Challenge is asking us to spend 30 minutes a day in nature for 30 days. The goal is simple: to reconnect human beings with nature for the sake of their health and mental well-being.

Ask your child about some of our challenges so far...

• Nature names

• Snow Shapes

• Outdoor Maker Space

• Addition and Subtraction using Tens Frames

• What is in a cloud?

• Nature Wheels

And these are just some of the things we've been challenged to do. During the long weekend I'd like to challenge you to get outside for 30 minutes each day and see what you can explore!

Reminders

• There is NO school on Friday, May 20th and Monday, May 23rd. I will see all students back at school on Tuesday, May 24th.

• ALL green Teacher's Pet forms need to be paid for online ($16) and sent back to school by Tuesday, May 24th or your child will not be able to participate. 

 Alberta’s grade one seedling program

How to care for your new seedling

Seedlings are provided to every grade one student in Alberta annually.

Two species are distributed: the lodgepole pine and the white spruce. Both are native to Alberta and commonly found in our forests.

Lodgepole pine

The lodgepole pine is Alberta’s provincial tree. It is a tall, straight conifer tree (it has cones and needles, not leaves). It is often used for posts and poles, and in our homes as doors, windows and furniture. Lodgepole pine trees also provide excellent habitat for insects, birds, deer and moose. Sometimes bears like to eat the nutritious inner bark. This tree relies mainly on forest fires to reproduce. The heat of the fire makes the hard cones open up, releasing the seeds. Lodgepole pines can live up to 150 years.

White spruce

This is a large conifer tree (cones and needles, not leaves). It grows up to 147 feet – that is about 42 grade one students tall! It can live 50 to 100 years on average but some live to 200. It is a very tough tree. Many birds and animals

eat the seeds for food, its branches also provide cover and protection for wildlife. This tree relies on the wind and birds to disperse its seeds. The white spruce makes strong lumber and plywood which is useful for house building. Other uses include musical instruments, food containers, paddles and oars and shelving.

Caring for your seedling

Choose a location with plenty of space – many yards are not suitable within towns and cities. Your
white spruce could end up being 7 metres across, which is about the length of a full size pickup truck. It
should be at least 10 metres away from any buildings or other structures. Be careful not to plant it under any power lines.

Plant your seedling as soon as possible. If you are not able to plant for a couple of days, keep the soil around the roots moist and store your seedling where it is cool and shady. Plant it when the other trees in your neighborhood are sprouting.

Lodgepole pines and white spruce enjoy sunny locations that aren’t too wet. Dig a hole a couple of centimeters deeper and a couple of centimeters wider than the soil plug. There is no need to remove the soil around the roots. Place your seedling in the hole, as straight as possible, so that the top of the soil plug is about 1 to 2 cm below ground level. Replace the soil you dug out of the hole. Make sure there is good contact between the soil you are putting back in the hole and your seeding’s roots. If you want to be like a professional tree planter, you can even gently step down on the soil around your seedling, to lightly pack it down.

Slowly give it just enough water to wet the soil, but don’t make a puddle.

You can also plant it in a pot to grow outside for the spring and summer. Use a deep 10-inch diameter container or larger filled with potting soil. A potted seedling will dry out faster. A little plant fertilizer will help too. In the fall after the seedling has stopped growing for the season – around late September, you can transplant it. Remove your seedling and soil from the pot and place in a slightly wide and deeper hole in the ground, ensuring that there is good contact. Water your seedling.

If you don’t have a large yard, then a forested area outside of your town or city is probably a better place to plant your tree. Or, you may be able to find a natural area in your community, also known as an urban forest. You can contact your municipality for direction on where you could put your seedling.

 By law, companies must reforest the areas they harvest.

•   On average, forest companies plant two to three trees for every one that they harvest. That’s more than 80

  million seedlings every year.

•   Government and industry work together on forest management plans that cover 200 years into the future! These will ensure there will always be trees for your great-great-great-GREAT grandchildren to enjoy!

•   Less than 1% of Alberta’s forests are harvested each year.

•   Albertans can cut their own trees down from designated areas to use for Christmas trees, firewood, posts and rails with a Personal Use Forest Products Permit, or PUFPP. Go to alberta.ca/tree-cutting.aspx for your PUFPP. For more information regarding Alberta’s forests, go to https://www.alberta.ca/forestry.aspx.

  If you have a question regarding forest management in Alberta, email for-info@gov.ab.ca.

Alberta Forest Week - https://www.alberta.ca/alberta-forest-week.aspx

©2021 Government of Alberta | May 5, 2021 | Agriculture and Forestry

Hello Room 8 families,

What have we been up to in Room 8? Well...

Over the last week we began an inquiry about beavers. We received a Nature Kit from the City of Calgary with beaver artifacts to explore. Check them out below! We then listened to the  Ojibwe legend of How the beaver lost it's tail and talked about the lesson of this story being that you should be thankful for the things you have.

Next, we had some very important questions about beavers. What structural adaptations do they have? How do those adaptations help them survive? Where do they live? What is a beaver lodge? How do beavers get into their lodge? How many chambers (or rooms) do beavers have in their lodge? What is a beaver dam? Why do beavers build a dam? And so much more! 

Our next step is to build a beaver dam! Today we talked about the important materials we will need. We also created a 'bird's eye' blueprint of what our dam may look like.

Tomorrow we are going to create a model of a beaver dam using a tray with mud, rocks, and sticks. Our goal is to make sure that no water will get through.

We will keep you posted as to how our beaver dams turn out!

Volunteers 

We are still looking for parent volunteers for our in-school field trip on June 1st from 9:00-11:00am and our June 9th field trip to the Calgary Zoo from 9:00am-2:45pm.

Please contact the office to ensure you have your police clearance. Once your clearance is official you can email Mrs. Melindy to confirm a volunteer position. 

Upcoming Dates:

May 10th - Building beaver dams

May 11th - Jersey Day

May 12th - Fun Lunch OPA

May 13th - School Shirt Day

May 20th - No School PD Day

May 21st - No School Victoria Day

May 26th - Fun Lunch EDO (Order here)

June 1st - Teacher's Pet In-school Field Trip

June 9th - Calgary Zoo Field Trip

 Gymnastics 

We are continuing gymnastics this week with the Canadian Climber!

Safety routines, cooperation and sportsmanship are taught and reviewed in each class.   

This physical activity opportunity will help students acquire individual skills through a variety of developmentally appropriate movement activities. 

It is important for students to come to school prepared for being actively engaged. The following guidelines are very helpful…
  
HEAD TO TOE - READY TO GO!!! 

Head ....................... long hair pulled back in a ponytail

Ears/Throat/Wrist ............... jewellery off 

Shirt.................................. one layer shirt, no skirts or dresses

Waist ................................................tucked in 

Pants.........................sporty pants or shorts, no belts or zippers 

Ankles..........................pants rolled up if ankles are covered 

Toes...............running shoes or bare feet (no footed tights)  

 “Playing & moving safely is everyone’s responsibility”

Hello families,

We are continuing our exploration of animal adaptations. We learned the purposes of feathers and how they help a bird adapt to its environment. 

We've recently been learning about the legend of the dreamcatcher and the significance of the feathers, the beads, the web, and the circle. Check out the sketchbook page below.

On Earth Day last week we discussed the importance of taking care of the earth and the things we can do to make sure it is clean and healthy. 

We also discussed why people refer to and view the earth as Mother Earth.

Today we put all of our knowledge and learning of dreamcatchers and our land based learning into a beautiful watercolour art piece proudly displayed in our classroom! 

Ask your child to share their learning about dreamcatchers with you!

 

Hello Room 8 families,

I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter weekend with their family and/or friends!

This morning we explored the animal adaptation - FEATHERS! We read the story Feathers are not just for flying by Melissa Stewart and discussed all of the things feathers can do for birds.

We learned that feathers are for:

- keeping warm

- shade

- blocking the sun (like sunscreen)

- soaking up water for the baby chicks to drink

- cleaning up dirty beaks

- distracting predators

- cushioning eggs in a nest

- camouflage 

- walking on snow

- digging

- carrying building supplies

- making squeaky chirping noises to attract mates

- floating 

- diving

- sliding

And of course... flying!

In math we are continuing our exploration of addition and subtraction! We are continue to practice strategies like counting on, counting back, making ten, as well as compensation and decomposition. 

Did you know that Friday, April 22nd is Earth Day? Here is the math game we learned today that involves addition and subtraction. Ask your child about it!

Reminders:

- Please send your child with their own spoons and forks to school (as we do not provide them).

- If you do not have your police clearance please contact the office as we plan on having one or two in school and out of school field trips before the end of the school year and will need parent volunteers.

 Hello Room 8 families,

What has been going on in Grade 1? Well...

In the winter we learned about behavioural animal adaptations which are what animals do to help it survive in its habitat such as hibernation and migration!

Now that it is spring and lots of the animals are out of hibernation or back from migration we are focusing on structural animal adaptations which is when animals have physical features (body parts) that help it do well in its habitat. 

Some adaptations we've discussed so far are animal:

Teeth

    

Claws and Webbed Feet

Beaks

Check out below some of the new work choices we have that focus on a bird's structural adaptations. Ask your child what they've learned so far and maybe to explain these photos to you!

Library Books

Today students are bringing home their library books! We have library every Monday afternoon, so books should be returned on or before Monday each week. Students can keep their books for 1 week. 
 
Today we discussed how to be responsible with the library books (i.e. Being gentle, keeping them in a safe place, not losing them, etc.) If books are damaged or lost, there will be a cost to replace them. We are so excited to finally be sending library books home again for students to enjoy with their families! 

 

Upcoming Dates:

April 14th - Fun Lunch Booster Juice

April 15th - No School Good Friday

April 17th - Easter Sunday

April 18th - No School PD Day

April 22nd - Earth Day

Kind regards,

Mrs. Amber Melindy 

admelindy@cbe.ab.ca