Week of February 24-28

Welcome back! I hope everyone enjoyed their break. I know I sure had a great time watching Canada win gold after gold after gold! I also did some great sessions at the Teachers' Convention and have some new ideas to implement in our classroom and some new resources to use. I'm particularly excited about a book I bought called "Fatty Legs." It's by Margaret Pokiak-Fenton and it's a true story about an Inuit girl's experiences in a residential school. I read it with my class last year and we had some great discussions. The kids really connected with the story and enjoyed it. I'm so happy to now own my own copy. We are going to begin reading it on Friday during our social studies period as it relates to our social curriculum.

Notes:

• With the cold weather paying us another visit we are looking to be spending a lot of time indoors at school. This wreaks havoc on kids as they are stuck in a limited space with the same people for days at a time. We try to take more physical breaks but it's tricky. You can help at home by making sure your kids are getting at least a breath of fresh air (bundled up warmly of course!) and making sure they are burning off the energy that accumulates after a day indoors. This helps their learning tremendously. District policy says that we stay inside if the temperature, including wind chill, is -20. Even one degree warmer and we're going outside! Please make sure your child is dressed warmly enough for the weather.
• The leprechaun trap project is due two weeks today. If you have questions, feel free to send them with your child or contact me via email or at the school. Please remember that this is meant to be a FUN not stressful project! This a chance for your child to show off his or her knowledge of simple machines, to demonstrate their creativity and to have some fun doing it. 

This week's schedule:
Monday:

• Olympics Podium Pages due
• Library books due

Tuesday:

• Assembly at 8:30 a.m.
• Hot lunch day
• Tone it up Tuesday

Wednesday

• New Spelling City assignments (due March 12)

Thursday:

• Grand re-opening of the Helen Schuler Nature Centre. Activities will be going on until 6:00 p.m. and through the weekend. Visit their website here for more information.

Friday:

• Frolicking Friday (weather permitting)