October 2015
Stewart Valley School
Newsletter
Inside this issue:
Principal’s Message
2
Room 1 News
2/3
Room 2 News
4/5
Room 3 News
6/7
Dates & Activities
September in Review
September passed by very
quickly. There were many
activities and special
events that kept everyone
busy the entire month. We
are off to a terrific start to a
new year.
Terry Fox Run
Thank You for your support
for the Terry Fox Run. The
total amount raised was
$2536.00!
Well Done!
October 5
SCC Meeting @ 7:00
October 9
PD Admin Day—NO SCHOOL
October 12
Thanksgiving Day Holiday—
NO SCHOOL
October 13
The Volleyball season has
started. The Stingers have
been practicing and playing volley ball. Good Luck
in the upcoming games!
Thank You to the parents
for transporting students to
and from volleyball games
and practices.
Volleyball @ Centennial
October 18
S.V. Community Fowl Supper
As the month of October arrives we start planning for
the Community Fowl Supper.
It is scheduled for Sunday,
October 18th starting at 4:30.
Please keep in mind when
asked to contribute food or
work at the supper, the funds
the school receives from the
event enables our K-5 students to participate in swimming lessons and Grade 6-8
ski trip.
October 19
Volleyball @ Centennial
October 26
Volleyball @ Irwin
October 30
Extra `K`Day
Halloween Festival—Costume
Parade
Open House
Thank You for attending the
Open House and taking the
opportunity to meet your
child’s teacher(s) and become familiar with school’s
policy and programs. It
was great to see so many
families out! Thank You to
Room 2 parents for
donating pies that
were sold to fund
Room 2 Auction Bucks
Reading Incentive Program and to Mrs. Penner for preparing a
wonderful supper.
Happy
Thanksgiving!
Page 2
Principal’s Message
Now that the school year is underway, staff
at Stewart Valley will be busy supporting
“Learning for All”. It always amazes me to
see the growth in our students from year
to year and this year will be no exception.
We are in a unique position in having a low
teacher to student ratio which is extremely
beneficial in student learning. This is evident in our learning data that we track at
the school.
I want to thank those who were able to
attend our school open house in September. I understand that it is a busy time of
the year and harvest needs to be complet-
ed before the weather changes. Therefore,
if you ever
have questions please
don’t hesitate to call
the school
for more
information.
Also, I would
like to send
out a big Thank You to all the parents of
Room 2 students for generously donating
pies for our class reading program.
Our division goals for this school year are
two fold; we will be working on improving in the area of reading and
implementing Sask. Reads in all classrooms at our school. Therefore, students will be supported through a
balanced approach to learning to
read and write. The second goal is
centered on math interventions. We
have built a plan to support “all”
students in math and at every level of
learning.
Room 1 News
Kindergarten Math
Kindergarten students have been working
on writing the numbers 1, 2, and 3. They
have been sorting objects by colour, size,
and shape. We have been practicing our
pencil grips, colouring, cutting and building
patterns. Students have also been counting objects to 5. We will continue to
strengthen number sense by counting
objects to 10 and learning to write numbers to 10.
with understanding the part-part whole
relationship.
Grade Two Math
Grade Two students have been focusing
on patterning as well. They are able to
show an understanding of repeating patterns (three to five elements) and increasing patterns by describing, representing
patterns in alternate ways, extending,
comparing, and creating patterns using
manipulatives, pictures, sounds, and actions. Grade two students have been
Grade One Math
translating these patterns to the 100 chart
Grade One students have been focusing
where they explore counting by 2’s, 3’s,
on patterning. They have been working on 4’s etc. We will continue to work with
repeating patterns (two to four elements)
numbers to 100, strengthen our underby describing, reproducing, extending and standing of place value, and revisit partSomeone,
Listen
to Reading,
ELA
K-2patterns using manipulatives,
creating
part
whole with
larger
numbers.Word
Work,,
and
Work
on
Writing. I am
diagrams,
sounds,
Students
Our class has
spentand
theactions.
past month
now
able
to
have
students
work indehave
also been
translating repeating
developing
an understanding
of a patpendently
on
these
activities
while I
terns from one form of representation to
Balanced Literacy classroom and the
another. For example, blue, green, blue,
work with small groups, Room One
components of Daily 5. We have begreen, blue, green could translate to an
has also been writing poems! We
gun
to learn
sightone
words
and use
thealso
ABABAB.
Grade
students
have
have or
read many poems that have inCaption
describing picture
word
wall to read
and
write. Using
been counting
to 50,
estimating,
and the
learn- fluences our poetry. Finally, we have
graphic.
Daily
5 model,
we have
un- to
ing
about
ten frames.
Webuilt
will an
continue
been using the strategy, Making Conderstanding
of Read
to Self,
Read
to
strengthen
number
sense
to 20
beginning
ELA K-2
Our class has spent the past month developing and strengthening their understanding of a Balanced Literacy classroom and
the components of Daily 5. We are learning to use the word wall to read and write.
Using the Daily 5 model, we have built an
understanding of Read to Self, Read to
Someone, Listen to Reading, Word Work,
and Work on Writing. I am now able to
have students work independently on
these activities while I work with small
groups. The Grade One and Two students have been writing a story about Cats
on Dirt bikes! Finally, we have been using
the strategy, Making Connections, to help
us understand what we read. In the next
few months, we will continue with guided
nections, to help us understand what
reading and writing along with the Daily 5.
we read.
Page 3
Room 1 News continued
Social Studies
Health Education
Room One has been learning about
families. We have examined our families and are beginning to create Family
Trees. We will continue to focus on
families through interviewing family
members and sharing our knowledge
with our classmates. We will learn
about family traditions and celebrations
and examine how these may vary from
family to family.
In the month of September, Grade One
students focused on how we express our
feelings. Grade Two students extended
their knowledge of feelings to examine appropriate ways to express feelings. We
also associated colours with feelings.
Grade Three students have been working
with positive and negative self-talk. They
understand that positive self-talk leads to a
positive self-concept. Grade Four students
have worked with the concepts of selfesteem, self-control, character and personality. They have identified role models in
their life and described how these people
demonstrate self-control and self-esteem.
Grade Five students have also been learning about self-esteem, self-control, personalities, and character. In addition, we have
worked with the concept of risk behaviours
and how to make healthy choices. In the
next few months, grades 1-5 will discuss
healthy relationships,
respect,
stress management,
self-control,
and the spiritual dimension of self.
Science
Room One has been learning about the
needs and characteristics of living
things. We have drawn our bodies and
labeled the parts. We have used
graphs to describe characteristics that
are similar and different in humans.
Room one will continue to examine
living things according to their appearance and behavior. We will explore
how living things meet their needs
through their interactions with their
environment.
French K – 5
We began the year with a review of the
days of the week, months of the year, and
numbers to 31. The students learned a
number of songs and poems, played
games and completed some worksheets to
reinforce the calendar vocabulary. They
also learned some important differences
between the French and English calendar.
We will continue to use this vocabulary
throughout the year. Our current unit is on
Fall or L’automne.. Students will be expected to learn 30 vocabulary words and
related ideas through memory games,
songs, stories, class participation and
some reading and writing activities.
Arts Education K-4
Grades K-4 have explored the concepts
of line and pop culture in visual arts.
We acted out various scenarios in drama. We have been focusing on the
grade level themes of patterns, community, environment, and Saskatchewan’s
Voice. We have learned and sang a
variety of songs that correspond with
these grade level themes. In the next
few months, we will learn about various
types of dances, create music with the
Orff instruments, and continue to explore grade level themes through drama
and art.
Kindergarten
Kindergarten students are becoming
familiar with school rules and routines.
They have made considerable progress
already! Kindergarten students are
learning about book concepts, the alphabet, numbers to 10, our bodies, and
patterns. They are working on sharing
with others, being kind, making friends,
and organizing their supplies. We will
continue to work on the alphabet, repetitive poems and books, number sense
and fine motor skills.
P.E. K-5
In the K-5 Phys. Ed. class we have
done throwing and catching, as well
as, some volleyball. I have really been
impressed with the students’ improvement in their volleyball skills, even
though we have only been doing it for
a short time.
Page 4
Room 2 News
E.L.A.
In language arts, the students are continuing to work in a balanced literacy classroom. We
Students in Math 3 have been working on work on
a unit that focuses on place value and
spelling and
comparing and ordering numbers. They
phonics in
are counting forwards and backwards by 5, our word wall
10, and 100 to 1000 from any starting
and word
point. They can count forwards and back- work prowards by 3, 4, and 25’s. They are also
grams rerepresenting numbers to 1000 concretely, spectively.
pictorially, and symbolically. Students
Our reading program is scaffolded to allow
illustrate the meaning of place value of
the transfer of teacher led programming
numbers to 1000 and compare and order
(Read Aloud) to more student-teacher drivnumbers to 1000 as well as estimate quan- en and individual reading opportunities
tities less than 1000 using a referent.
(Shared, Guided, and, Independent Reading). This deliberate release of responsibility supports students along the learning
Math 4
continuum and builds strategies that they
can use while reading a variety of genres.
Students in Math 4
Our current reading strategy focus has
are working on a
been on self-monitoring. This strategy is
unit in Whole
extremely important in supporting the
Numbers . They
reader at all levels of the reading process.
are representing,
describing, comBy thinking before, during, and after readparing and ordering numbers to 10 000 in ing it allows for deeper comprehension and
standard, expanded and written forms.
offers the student supports or “fix-up” stratStudents will also use personal strategies
to add and subtract 3 and 4 digit numbers. egies that encourage better word decoding
They estimate sums and differences, and
skills.
solve problems involving the addition and
In writing, we have been linking our writing
subtraction of more than two numbers.
opportunities with our novel The Good
Dog. Over the next week or two we will
begin a short research project on dogs
where they will learn more about the
Math 5
breeds being discussed in the novel. ReWe began the year with some games, rid- search has shown that linking writing to
focused reading has a great deal of benedles and activities to get back into math
fits.
thinking. Next, the students wrote the VIN
(Vancouver Island Net) which gives a
snapshot of what they remember from their
previous grade. Students are now working Arts Education K-4
on the Number strand of the math curricu- Grades K-4 have explored the concepts of
lum, specifically place value and estimaline and pop culture in visual arts. We
tion. Students have learned different stratacted out various scenarios in drama. We
egies to estimate including: front-end,
have been focusing on the grade level
compatible numbers – rounding to the
themes of patterns, community, environnearest 10, 100, 1000, etc., and compensation – rounding one number up and one ment, and Saskatchewan’s Voice. We
number down. The next unit will be multi- have learned and sang a variety of songs
that correspond with these grade level
plication and division. Grade 5 students
themes. In the next few months, we will
will need to know times tables up to 10 x
10. All students are improving in showing learn about various types of dances, creall their work and not just giving the anate music with the Orff instruments, and
swer!
continue to explore grade level themes
through drama and art.
Math 3
Arts Education 5-8
Grades 5-8 have also explored the concepts of line, pop culture, and selfexpression in visual arts. We have acted
out various scenarios in drama. We have
been focusing on the grade level themes
of pop culture, identity, and social issues.
The students have created power points to
share a song depicting their grade level
theme. Over the next few months, we will
learn about dance styles, create music
with the Orff instruments and continue to
explore grade level themes through the
four aspects of Fine Arts.
Science
Our first unit of study is in the area of Soil
and soil conservation. Students are examining how soil is formed and the different
types of soil. We have been using our
senses to understand the differences.
French K – 5
We began the year with a review of the
days of the week, months of the year, and
numbers to 31. The students learned a
number of songs and poems, played
games and completed some worksheets to
reinforce the calendar vocabulary. They
also learned some important differences
between the French and English calendar.
We will continue to use this vocabulary
throughout the year. Our current unit is on
Fall or L’automne. Students will be expected to learn 30 vocabulary words and
related ideas through memory games,
songs, stories, class participation and
some reading and writing activities.
Page 5
Room 2 News
PE K-5
In the K-5 Phys. Ed. class we have done
throwing and catching, as well as, some
volleyball. I have really been impressed
with the students’ improvement in their
volleyball skills, even though we have only
been doing it for a short time.
Health Education
In the month of September, Grade One
students focused on how we express our
feelings. Grade Two students extended
their knowledge of feelings to examine
appropriate ways to express feelings. We
also associated colours with feelings.
Grade Three students have been working
with positive and negative self-talk. They
understand that positive self-talk leads to a
positive self-concept. Grade Four students
have worked with the concepts of selfesteem, self-control, character and personality. They have identified role models
in their life and described how these people demonstrate self-control and selfesteem. Grade Five students have also
been learning about self-esteem, selfcontrol, personalities, and character. In
addition, we have worked with the concept
of risk behaviours and how to make
healthy choices. In the next few months,
grades 1-5 will discuss healthy relationships, respect, stress management, selfcontrol, and the spiritual dimension of self.
.
Page 6
Room 3 News
Math 6 & 8
To start the year in math, both the
grade 6 and grade 8 students spent
some time reviewing basic computations (adding, subtracting, multiplying,
and dividing). After reviewing basic
computation, both classes completed
the beginning of the year VIN test.
Overall both classes did well on the
VIN test.
In Math 6 we have looked at place
value and focused on really large and
really small numbers. Students
wrapped this unit up with a test and
are now working on factors and multiples
In Math 8 we have looked at squares
and square roots and are currently
learning about Pythagorus.
Along with our weekly work, students
have been participating in an ongoing
game of stock ticker which we play
every Friday. Students really enjoy
this game and it gives them a chance
to practically use math skills we have
learned.
ELA 6-8
ELA has looked a bit different this
year with our focus really being on
reading and writing and trying to do
some form of each every day. Students usually start each class with
some sort of quick write or writing activity. This is done in their writing notebooks which is used anytime we do
some sort of writing activity. After writing students move into independent
reading. This usually lasts 15 to 20
minutes and during this time I sit down
and conference or have a discussion
with students about the book they are
reading. Once independent reading is
done we often do a short mini-lesson
about reading before moving into a
short lesson on writing. Once the writing mini-lesson is over, students get a
chance to do their own writing.
Currently students are preparing to
create a children’s story.
During days where we have extra
ELA, we are doing a read aloud with
Gordon Korman’s book “Losing Joe’s
Place.” Students are enjoying the
book and we are making connections
to our reading mini-lessons. Also during this time we are doing “Book
Talks” which is a chance for students
to share about books they are reading.
Social Studies 6-8
In social studies, we looked at culture
and the different elements that make
up culture. Students then had to complete an assignment that looked the
differences between their culture and
a culture from around the world. The
students did well on this assignment
and it was interesting to see the different cultures student’s picked. Currently, we are looking talking about the
upcoming federal election.
P.E. 6-8
In P.E. we have been learning about
volleyball. We have covered the basic
skills including bumping, setting, spiking, blocking, and serving. Next week
students will be having a skills quiz to
demonstrate their understanding of
the skills.
Along with volleyball, students have
been participating in a number of fitness base tests. We have done cardiovascular tests, strength tests and
flexibility tests. Students have done
their best on these tests and have
now set goals in order to improve upon their results in each of these tests
by the end of the year.
Science 6-8
In science we are just about half way
through our first unit and will be having a test real soon. Our first unit in
Science is about cells organs and tissues. Currently students are finishing
a project about one of the main body
systems. For this assignment, students have to draw and label a human
diagram about their system; as well
as, create a PowerPoint that outlines
the structures of the system, the function of the system and some factors
that help maintain the system.
Arts Education 5-8
Grades 5-8 have also explored the
concepts of line, pop culture, and selfexpression in visual arts. We have
acted out various scenarios in drama.
We have been focusing on the grade
level themes of pop culture, identity,
and social issues. The students have
created power points to share a song
depicting their grade level theme.
Over the next few months, we will
learn about dance styles, create music
with the Orff instruments and continue
to explore grade level themes through
the four aspects of Fine Arts.
Page 7
Room 3 News
Continued
P.A.A 6-8
In Practical and Applied Arts we are
currently working through a unit on
Microsoft Office. In this unit students
are learning and refining their skills
with the program. Some of the skills
we have looked at are: short cut keys,
inserting lists, and inserting shapes
and designs into a word document.
Careers
In Careers we looked at student interests, abilities and Multiple Intelligences. Students have completed surveys
in each of these areas and have discovered what their abilities, interests
and Multiple Intelligences are. Right
now, students are creating a poster to
show their results.
French 6 – 8
We began the year with a review of
the days of the week, months of the
year, and numbers to 69. The students played games and completed
some worksheets to reinforce the calendar vocabulary. We will continue to
use this vocabulary throughout the
year. Our current unit is Halloween or
L’halloween. Students will be learning
28 vocabulary words plus related
questions, prepositions and verbs.
Health 6 – 8
Students are studying the Grade 8
Health curriculum this year. The big
idea is Support Others. The
first unit deals with discovering
what support is, how it benefits
us personally, and how we can
access support. Students
completed some selfassessment checklists to discover ways they liked to receive support and ways they
were comfortable giving support. They also worked on
identifying traits of an effective support
person. Then they evaluated which
traits they already had and which ones
they could improve on. As a class, we
will discuss the ideas of ‘learned dependence’ and ‘empowerment’. All of
these concepts will be applied to understanding the impact that available
supports and services have on individuals, families, and communities who
have non-curable diseases and
infections.
Decision making and goal setting
are a big part of the Health curriculum. So for each unit, students will have a journal style
assignment which asks them to
use what they have learned to
make an informed decision on a
topic relating to the unit of study.
Page 8
.
Stewart Valley School
Box 70
301 Stephen Street
Stewart Valley, Sask.
S0N 2P0
Phone:306-778-9280
Fax:
306-773-1871