October 24 -28, 2022

Happy Diwali to our friends celebrating the festival of lights this week. 

Thanks to our families that came out to join us at our Monster Mash Halloween school event. It was so much fun to be together, see the different costumes, and dance in the gym. Thanks again to our Parent Council for hosting such a fun event. If you didn't get a chance to join, don't worry, we will be having lots of Halloween fun on Monday October 31, 2022 as a class. Students can look forward to a school-wide costume parade, Halloween themed morning academic tasks, community scavenger hunt and finishing our pumpkin learning we started this week. Students are welcome to dress-up. I recommend packing a change of clothes in the event they don't want to wear their costume all day. If you would prefer your student engage in alternative learning, please let me know and arrangements will be made.

This week, due to the addition of two more classes at EMJ, our gym and music schedules have changed days and times. As much as we try to be flexible, changes to our daily routine can be challenging to understand. This week we took it slow and focused on the new changes paying special attention to our daily visual schedule.

In literacy, we focused on the story 5 Little Pumpkins and learned about the use of speech bubbles. We read a few different versions of the story and also listened to a song. Here is a link to the 5 Little Pumpkins song, can you spot the speech bubbles? https://youtu.be/cm1qvX1ygOo  This week we also finished going through all the letters in the alphabet, focusing on identifying the capital and lower case letter. Starting next week we will be introducing the students to a classroom sound wall. We look forward to sharing more about this with you in our future blog posts. 

This week we started learning about Pumpkins. Students started creating their first repeating pattern book called Colourful Pumpkins, we will be working next week to complete all the colourful pumpkins.

During our inquiry, students have been learning about the lifecycle of a pumpkin. Check out this weeks learning song, https://youtu.be/tU-GwFHQZI8. Students participated in labeling the different stages of the lifecycle. We are looking forward to learning about what is inside the pumpkin and turning our classroom pumpkin into a Jack-o-lantern on Monday! 

On Monday, weather permitting, we will be going on our first community walk. Community walks are an important part of our functional living skills learning outcomes. During walks, we focus on street safety and recognizing common things in communities. Our first walk will be about 10minutes from the school to view a house that is decorated for Halloween and participate in a Halloween Scavenger Hunt. During this time our ratio will be 4 adults to 8 students. Please reach out if you have any questions or concerns about community walks. 

Upcoming Dates

• October 31 - School Halloween "Parade" (8:30 am)
• Students will have a chance to see each other's costumes
• November 1 - School Retakes (morning only)
• November 2 - Kindergarten to Grade 2 AHS Dental Screenings
• November 6 - Daylight Savings
• November 11 - Remembrance Day (school closed)
• November 17 - Fall Showcase (show starts at 6pm)

 

October 17-21, 2022

Thanks to all the families that have signed and returned students Individual Program Plans. If you have not had the chance to return the school copy, and have questions about it, please feel free to reach out. I would be happy to answer any questions you may have. Please email me at rlmyroniuk@cbe.ab.ca

It has been such a busy week of learning in our class!  Students are continuing to build up their stamina for our morning task work. Students complete three to four tasks, some independently and some with the support of adults, before enjoying some choice activity time. Our tasks focus on building skills in fine motor, literacy, numeracy and integrate from our Inquiry learning. I am so proud of all of our students in this work!

This week one of our literacy focuses was on building an "I see" sentence in both our morning task work and our afternoon inquiry. In our morning work, students are using an adapted fall book to pull selected words off a choice board to complete the "I see" sentences.  During our Inquiry learning, all students are exploring building predictable sentences using an Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) device.  When listening to the zoo song https://youtu.be/xXfOvghCu5c , the video is paused frequently and each student takes turns building an "I see" sentence with the animal they see on the Smartboard. During this time there is a focus on differentiation for each learner.   Some of our students are learning that the AAC device can be their voice and they can communicate what they see on the Smartboard with a single word, some are using the predicability of the device to create an "I see" sentence, while other students are further developing their understanding of sentence structure with a focus on punctation and developing an understanding of when to add an 's' to make a noun plural. Our AAC device is also used with tasks such as putting together a puzzle, using an "I see" sentence for each puzzle piece. 

 

In our Inquiry learning we also focused on grouping vertebrate animals using their unique characteristics. Take a listen to a learning song from this week to see the different animal classes https://youtu.be/P9ptHAClC4Q.  During whole group learning students work together to sort animals into their 5 classes on the Smartboard. This activity is repeated daily. During our work time, students are supported to complete an individual animal classification chart. Again, differentiation is used during this task and the learning outcomes are different for each student. Learning outcomes vary from further developing fine motor skills using adapted scissors, following multi-step directions, or ability to identify each animal and correctly sort it into the different classes. 

I am so proud of our students that participated in the Alien In-line skating program this week. In-line skating is challenging and our students did not give up! They all got to their feet and took steps towards skating independently. Thanks to our Alien Inline Coach "Skater" for helping us learn and have fun this week. Students who were not participating in the program spent extra time outdoors on the playground building their gross motor skills. 

With the change in the weather, please remember that students spend time outdoors each and every day.  There are a few times when the temperature is too cold and require indoor play. This decision is made for the entire school and will be announced prior to scheduled outdoor times. Please send your child with appropriate clothes for the weather. Please let us know if these items can stay at school or if you require them to go home each day. If you require assistance in getting any clothing necessary such as mittens, snow pants, or warmer jackets please do not hesitate to reach out we are more than happy to help! 

Upcoming Dates to Remember:

October 27 - Monster Mash from 6-8pm

October 28 - Non-Instructional Day - no classes for students

November 8 - School Council and Parent Society Meeting 

Please see this important message to families from your Parent Council. I am sorry that the forms did not make it into student backpacks on Friday. Forms will be sent home on Monday and a copy of the form will be digitally sent home with school messenger.  Feel free to print it out and send it back on Monday. 

Parent Council Hosted Halloween Event

Hello Families. Today forms went home with students regarding the Halloween Event this Thursday evening. It is hosted entirely by Parent Council. All tickets and pizza orders must be done in advance of the evening (deadline Tuesday October 25).

Here are the details:

• On October 27, from 6-8 pm,
• Doors open at 6 pm
• Families are encouraged to come and students must come with an adult from their family.
• Tickets must be bought in advance $2/person through this site: emjschoolcouncil.square.site
• If you wish to order pizza, it must be purchased in advance $2.50/slice
• A concession with sweet treats and beverages will be at the dance (cash only)

Please see details in the attached invite or the one sent home with your child today. If you have any questions, please contact emjcouncil@gmail.com

 

October 10-14, 2022

We are so excited about our new inquiry study, Zoo Animals! We started our inquiry with the different ways we can move our bodies like the animals at the zoo. "Let's go to the Zoo" https://youtu.be/OwRmivbNgQk has quickly become a class favourite, it has us up and stomping like elephants, swinging like monkeys, jumping like kangaroos and more.

Our focus story this week is Dear Zoo by Rod Campbell.  This repeating pattern story was so much fun to read and act out. The story is about a child writing to the zoo to send them a pet. The zoo sends a variety of different animals that are all sent back for different reasons. For each page of the story, the students got to open the box to find out what animal was inside, then they had to put the animal back into the box and send it back. Like other stories we have read this year, this one has also been adapted for all our students. We paired the story with a visual coreboard and our classroom AAC device. On the last page, the child was sent the perfect pet. All students predicated what the perfect pet would be.  

Our art and our free choice play this week also incorporated our Zoo theme. During our supported play, students explored using different materials to build enclosures for animals, some engaged in imaginary play creating a zoo and feeding the animals, while others further developed their fine motor skills to try and rescue animals that were taped down. Our week ended with creating a piece of artwork. Students used our Dear Zoo communication coreboard to chose an animal to use in their artwork. We then taped the animal to a canvas and painted all around the figure. When the paint dried we pulled off the silhouette to reveal a marvellous piece of negative space art. 

Today students will have come home with their Individualized Program Plan (IPP) for the 2022-2023 school year. The IPP is a collaborative process engaging students and families in the learning process. Updating and reviewing this working document will occur three times this year. Progress will be formally discussed at each Parent Teacher Conference. The first conference is November 19th and 20th.

Please take the time to review this document, after reviewing the IPP, please sign one copy and return to the school by Friday October 21, 2022. An extra copy has also been sent home for your records.

Some of our students would have also received an orange Acknowledgement of Risk form in the envelope that went home today. This is for our school-wide in-line skating experience, a part of our physical education program, with Alien In-line. This is an optional experience, if you would like your child to try in-line skating, please sign and return the form for Monday October 17, 2022. 

Upcoming Dates:

October 13-14 and October 17-21 - Inline Skating 

October 14 - Individual Program Plans (IPP's) go home

October 27 - Halloween Dance

October 28 - Non-Instructional Day - no classes for students

October 3 - 7, 2022

WOW, what a wonderful week we had! We took full advantage of the beautiful weather to spend some extra time learning outdoors. Students had the opportunity to engage in some classic sensory play with the fallen leaves. Working together we gathered leaves into a big pile and jumped, put leaves on top of each other, rolled around in them and tossed them into the air. While the students were playing in the leaves the adults supported communication by describing what they were doing, and introduced lots of rich vocabulary like light, smooth, soft, crunchy, dry and wet. Our students also spent time working those big gross motor movements like climbing, hanging, sliding, running and balancing on the schools big playground. Spending time on the playground also teaches students about scientific concepts such as force of gravity when hanging and spatial awareness. Building confidence, body awareness and learning to evaluate and take risks are also benefits of playground play. Sometimes play is so much more than just play!

Everyday students participate in targeted task time. Our morning table work is there to greet students as they arrive at school and complete their morning routine of hanging up their backpacks, jackets and changing shoes.  At each table are a series of different tasks that students complete both independently and with support. Our tasks are purposefully chosen to help students develop academic skills such as academic readiness, preprinting skills, communication skills, and literacy and numeracy skills. These tasks change as students start to demonstrate greater understandings and task mastery. When students are supported by an adult they are guided to tasks that help to develop personalized goals. Our tasks also change with our seasons, celebrated holidays, and link to our Inquiry theme. Students work through three or four different tasks and then are given time with high interest activities such as Playdoh, Lego, cause and effect toys, blocks, cars, sensory activities or movement activities like our mini trampoline or our spin chairs before starting our morning shared learning circle.  

Visuals are such an important part of our day. Not only do they help students understand expectations or demonstrate comprehension, they are also a great way for our students to express their feelings.  For those families that will be celebrating Thanksgiving and sharing what they are thankful for, I encourage you to model language by using the visual below. Ask your child what they are thankful and support them as they point to each picture in the sentence prompt and them allow them to choose what they are thankful for. 

Upcoming Dates:

October 10 - Thanksgiving Day - no school

October 11 - School Council and Parent Society Meeting at 6:00pm 

                     *please see important note from Parent Council below*

October 13-14 and October 17-21 - Inline Skating 

October 14 - Individual Program Plans (IPP's) go home

October 27 - Halloween Dance

October 28 - Non-Instructional Day - no classes for students

A message from Parent Council

 

Volunteers Needed to make possible the October 27 Halloween Dance (6:00 to 8:00 pm)

 

This October marks the return of the Parent Council hosted Halloween Dance and Homeroom Pumpkin Carving Contest!  The dance is an event run entirely by families for families of EMJ students. 

 

Tuesday October 11 5:30 pm at the school: Halloween Dance Planning Meeting – parents are welcome to attend

Have a wonderful