Field Trip Fun

To finish our social studies unit about community past and present, we headed down to our very own Magrath Museum.  Take a minute to check it out - they even have on old grade one schoolroom.

And we couldn't finish our plants and animals unit without a visit to the local fish pond.  We saw leopard frogs, water skeeters, and a water snake!

Garden City Greenhouses

Last Monday we took a field trip to a local business - Garden City Greenhouses.  This was one of the best experiences of our school year.  Here are some pictures of our adventure learning about plants from Cathy (the owner).  She let us each try a fresh, ripe tomato, and apparently you can eat pansies!  I didn't try one myself, but the kids who did said they were very sweet.

If you're in Magrath and want a neat place to go, you don't want to miss these greenhouses.

Pitch-In

This past month our school got involved in the Pitch-in project.  We worked together to clean our community of litter.  Here we are walking around our assigned grids, doing our part to pitch-in!

Cinco De Mayo

The fifth of May is known as "Cinco De Mayo" in Mexico.  So we decided to celebrate with a multicultural theme day.

Here we are dancing to "La Cucaracha!"

We also sampled salsa and tortilla chips...

Some Mexican show and tell...

This was a math number game featuring the Mexican flag.

Our Fiesta was Muy Bien!

Easter Egg Races

You can't have an Easter party without coloring Easter eggs - at least not in grade one!  So we finished our Science Colors unit by mixing and dipping and creating, and came up with some very original eggs.

We are in grade one, so we love color, and we love mess....

We also made a spring craft - handprint lilies.  They brightened up our classroom (even if it still is wintery outside!

And we feasted!  (Thank you to all who provided the treats!)

Then we got down on our hands and knees for some fun Easter competition.  (We were rolling our eggs with our noses).

Spirt Week - Tie Day

March was our spirit week celebration.  One of the days was known as 'tie day' and students were invited to wear ties to school.  There was also a mystery to solve, and the first class to do so was rewarded with chocolate milkshakes.  The mystery involved Mr. Sabey's tie.  And we won!  We guessed Mrs. Christie, with the glue, in the library.  Here we are celebrating.

Skating

January brings our school tradition of skating lessons for physical education.  Grade ones progressed quickly and had a lot of fun, and of course some sore bottoms!

Christmas Fun

Everybody loves Christmas.  But nobody loves it more than grade one.

We worked hard to write letters to Santa - and he wrote back!  The letters were still cold when they were delivered to our room - straight from the North Pole.

We pinned the nose on the snowman...

Made Christmas bead wreaths...

And enjoyed a much deserved winter break.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

We have spent most of the last two months in science working on our building things unit.  To culminate this topic the students embarked on a final class project - building the ultimate leprechaun trap.

First they studied them....

(Here's a link to our favorite one)  Clever 8 year old builds trap...

Then they planned, gathered materials, voted, discussed and debated ideas, constructed and decorated.

To lure the leprechaun to our room, we left shoes on our desks (leprechauns are known to leave money in shoes).  The students figured that this would make our little green friends a little tired, so they made a leprechaun hotel, complete with comfortable bed, table, food, artwork, and of course, a fake floor.  The trap was set with sticky duck tape, so that once the leprechaun fell in, he would not be able to get back out.  And what leprechaun could resist that 'pot of gold'?

Then we closed up the room, turned out the lights, and waited for the morning bell.

Here's what happened:  We caught ourselves a leprechaun.... and then he got away!   He did leave behind his coat however (it was good and stuck to that tape - he must have wriggled out!), and while he took off with our 'fake pot of gold' he left behind a little treat, a quarter in each shoe, and a note.  

We learned a lot from building this trap - maybe next year we'll have better luck!

Happy St. Patrick's Day.

100 Days of School!!!

How exciting that today we are celebrating our 100^th day of grade one, and all of the things we have accomplished already this year.  It has been an enlightening journey for myself, and hopefully for the students as well.  I have seen so much growth and progress in the children and can’t wait to see what the next half of the school year brings.

This week in school is going to be busy – along with the 100 day party we are hosting today, the family dance will occur tonight at 7:00 pm in the Tom Karren Gym.  Admission is $2/family, and cookies and milk will be sold following the dance for 25 cents each.  Also, the grade threes will be selling Marigold seeds for their campaign to raise money for students in Cambodia.  Students do not need to report to their classrooms prior to the event.  We will call them down to do the chicken dance from where they are sitting with their families in the stands. 

Tuesday is drama club for our students, and Wednesday (weather permitting) will be an opportunity for a walk outside to celebrate physical activity in the winter.  Friday will be our class valentine party, so please have their Valentine’s cards ready by this time to place in their classmates’ pouches (a list was sent home last week).  Book orders are due Friday.   Friday is also the last day of school until Monday, February 23^rd, 2009, due to the family day/reading week/teacher’s convention holiday.

Because of this, there will not be a newsletter coming home the last week of February, so here are the events for the week of school after the holiday:  Monday afternoon will be a special performance by the SunQuest theatre, followed by another special assembly performance by singer Bob King (with such songs as ‘Sandwiches are beautiful’).  For more information on these events, please contact the office.  Tuesday will also bring Drama club, and Friday will be the last official day of our beloved principal Ms. Brenda Beck.  We hope you will join us in paying tribute to her work and contribution to our school, in both well wishes and gratitude, but also in the continuation of striving to all be the best that we can be, and to strive to improve student learning.

On that note, our grade one class would like to offer a sincere welcome to Mr. Brad Sabey, who officially began his transition into the Principalship today.  We look forward to what he has to offer, and the growth and progress he will bring to our school.

Now that skating has officially wrapped up, we have moved onto our dance unit, and the students are enjoying such traditional dances as the bird dance, the hokey pokey, the bunny hop, the Macarena, and the Virginia Reel.  We are continuing our work in the building things unit in Science, and are working phonetically on the Long A sound.

Spelling words for the week of Feb. 9-13:  tape, gave, lake, made, maid, and ‘heart’ word: Valentine.

Spelling words for the week of Feb. 23-27: tie, pie, die, lie, bike, and star word yet to be determined.

Our busy, buzzy goal this week is to ‘bee’ loving because of Valentine’s day.

Have a good week!

No Television???

This week is turn off the T.V. week and read.  To kick of the event, we held a school wide read-a-thon on Monday morning where every adult and child in our school read for half an hour, and we totaled up the number of pages.

Here are the grade results...

Mrs. Thomson's Grade One read......   2107 pages!

Magrath Elementary School read.....  16 028 pages!

Way to go readers!!!

Bake Sale Fundraiser

Mrs. Coppieters and Mrs. Davies classes are selling puffed wheat and Rice Krispie squares tomorrow (Nov. 6) to raise more money for bikes for Cambodian children.  We have raised enough for almost 9 bikes but we want to buy more!  Please support our cause tomorrow.  This project will change the lives of children who would otherwise not be able to continue to go to school.  Squares will be sold for 50 cents each.  Thank you for your support!!

Meet The Teacher

Tonight is Meet-the-teacher night at Magrath Elementary School.  Sessions will run from 7:00-7:20, 7:25-7:45, and 7:50-8:10, with a new family orientation at 6:30 in the library.  Parents of grade one students will now meet in Mrs. Hatch's room, which is the first classroom after the library in the main elementary hall.  If any parents are wishing to meet with Mrs. Thomson, she will be available till 9:00pm in her room after the sessions conclude.

For those unable to make the event tonight, watch for a curriculum handout to come home with your students, as well as a permission form regarding information used on this website.  The curriculum handout outlines everything that the Alberta Education program of studies mandates teachers instruct in the first grade subject areas.

Here is a little bit about Mrs. Thomson:

This is my first year teaching and also my first year in grade one, so just like your child I have a lot to learn!  But I am just as excited to be here.  I earned my Bachelor of Education and my Bachelor of Science at the University of Lethbridge, and I spent the last year subbing in the Lethbridge and Westwind school districts.  I love teaching and have a particular fondness for early childhood literature.

I was born in the Northwest Territories, Canada, but I was raised in Southern Alberta and now reside in Magrath with my husband and two children.  As a family we love to read, watch good movies, play board games and go for walks.  In my spare time I read a lot, write and sew, and I am working hard at running, bicycling and swimming as I have set a goal to participate in the Magrath Triathlon next summer.

Before I was a teacher I studied marine biology in sunny Hawaii and even worked with two bottlenose dolphins and 18 African Blackfooted Penguins at the west Edmonton Mall.  I really enjoyed those opportunities, but I am so pleased to be here now at this wonderful school.

I can't wait to get to know each of my students better.  I am enjoying their personalities and marvel at the wonder they see in the world.  This will be a wonderful year to grow in Mrs. Thomson's Grade One Garden!