Spray park tomorrow. Wear bathing suit, sunscreen, and hat. Bring change of clothes and towel. Squirt toys are allowed. Remember to bring your lunch in the morning as we are going to eat lunch at the park.
June 26
Students may bring a stuffy for the movie tomorrow. Spray park volunteer notices and summer school reminder notices sent home.
June 23
Bring a board game on Monday.
June 21
Today is the last day of Home Reading. Count your pages!
June 20
Wear pink tomorrow. Spray park permission slips due tomorrow.
June 19
Spray park permission slip. Ask me the difference between oi and oy.
June 16
Remember to bring spray park permission slips.
June 15
All library books due tomorrow. Spray park notice sent home.
June 14
Head lice notice sent home.
June 12
We are learning about graphing and data analysis in math.
June 9
Look at your child's Core Competencies book on Freshgrade and make a comment.
June 8
Even though it was indoors, Games Day was lots of fun!
June 7
Wear Games Day colour tomorrow. Hotdog lunch provided. Bring a snack.
June 5
T-shirt photo tomorrow. Library overdue notices sent home.
June 2
Choose clothes for Games Day in the colour _________.
June 1
Math test, June newsletter, and calendar sent home.
May 31
Bring bags. Do home reading.
May 30
Two digit addition and subtraction test tomorrow.
May 26
No school on Monday. Early dismissal at 1:30 on Tuesday. 2 digit + and - test on Wednesday.
May 25
Today students took a photo of their plant, labelled it using the DoodleBuddy app on the iPad, and posted it to Freshgrade. All students were sharing an iPad with Mrs. Watt's class, so some will complete their picture and post it tomorrow. Stay tuned!
May 24
Bring in plastic bags for our school's recycling program.
May 23
Wear pink tomorrow.
May 19
No school on Monday (Victoria Day).
May 17
Come to Mrs. Watt's outside door at 6:00pm tonight.
May 16
The concert is tomorrow at 1:00 and 6:30pm. Come back at 6:00pm.
May 15
Dress rehearsal tomorrow. Bring green shirt and black pants in labelled bag tomorrow.
May 12
Bring your concert costume on Monday in a labelled bag.
May 11
All parents invited to the PAC meeting tomorrow at 8:30am.
May 10
We planted bean seeds. Some are starting to grow.
May 9
Remember to get a green shirt for the concert.
May 8
My Games Day colour is....
May 4
Tomorrow is a pro-d day, so school is not in session. Last chance notice for concert tickets sent home today. If you would like more tickets to our spring concert, please return the form and money on Monday as the tickets will likely be sold out by the end of the day.
May 3
Remember to buy tickets to the Spring Concert.
May 2
We began our painting inspired by Roy Henry Vickers.
May 1
May newsletter and calendar sent home.
April 28
We had a fantastic day at the Aquarium. Thank you to all of our parent supervisors!
April 27
Bring a pocket snack and lunch tomorrow for the Aquarium.
April 25
Aquarium trip in 3 days.
April 24
Class photo and lunch lady notice sent home. Book fair tomorrow.
April 21
We had fun celebrating Earth Day!
We went on a nature scavenger hunt.
We added an Earth stamp to our special t-shirts.
We weeded the garden in our courtyard and planted new flowers. We love the Earth!
Also, we want to say goodbye to our classmate, Brody, who is moving to a new school. Goodbye Brody! We'll miss you! Good luck at your new school.
April 20
Today we performed the Chicken Dance in the gym with Mrs. Watt. We think we're pretty awesome.
April 19
The assembly is next Thursday at 10:45.
April 18
Wear a pink shirt tomorrow. Aquarium notice due tomorrow.
April 13
Enjoy your Easter Break. See you on Tuesday.
April 12
Think of ways that you can save water. (Grade 2 students) Grade 1 students - Think of ways you can save the Earth.
April 11
Aquarium notice sent home. Due on April 19.
April 7
Pizza notice sent home.
April 6
Class photo day tomorrow.
April 5
P.A.C. meeting tomorrow at 7:00 pm.
April 3
Wear pink on April 19th. We are having another pink shirt day.
Mar. 31
April newsletter and calendars sent home.
Mar. 29
We experimented with a marble and a straw.
Mar. 28
Wear a pink shirt on Thursday.
Mar. 27
Welcome back! Remember to do home reading.
Mar. 10
We had a fun day of play and cooperation! See some pictures below of our bowling trip and big buddy board game time. Enjoy your Spring Break! See you on March 27.
Mar. 9
Bowling tomorrow. Bring booster seat. Wear socks.
Mar. 8
Freshgrade survey due tomorrow.
Mar. 7
Early dismissal tomorrow at 1:30.
Mar. 6
Board game notice sent home.
Mar. 3
A notice about our Freshgrade report cards is coming home today. Parents, please sign the bottom, feel free to make any comments about your child's progress, and return the slip to school. Thanks!
Mar. 2
Ask your child about their favourite fairytale. We completed our fairytale comparison chart today! The students showed excellent teamwork throughout and did a great job demonstrating their understanding of these four fairytales.
Mar. 1
Freshgrade survey coming home. Due March 9th.
Feb. 28
March newsletter sent home. We had fun on our 100th day of school today!
Feb. 27
Bowling notice. 100s day tomorrow. I don't need to bring anything.
Feb. 24
Remember bowling permission slip and change of clothes.
Feb. 23
Art notice sent home.
Feb. 22
Bowling notice sent home.
Feb. 21
Tomorrow wear pink.
Feb. 20
Wear pink on Wednesday.
Feb. 14
Happy Valentine's Day! We had a fun day of card exchanges, crafts, and games. Here are a few photos of our class looking at their Valentine cards:
Feb. 10
No school on Monday. Craft day on Tuesday.
Today we only had 14 students in our class! One of the activities we did was retelling the Three Little Pigs with felt stories and magnetic pictures. Fun!
Feb. 8
We made an ipad book about BC animals.
Feb. 7
We have another SNOW DAY today. All Surrey schools are closed.
Feb. 3
Today we learned about the Three Little Pigs.
Feb. 2
February newsletter sent home. Starlab was interesting and fun!
We started an art project about the Three Little Pigs. The students are getting lots of cutting and gluing practice!
Feb. 1
Starlab tomorrow. Parents please check both boxes on permission slip if you would like your child to participate. Thanks.
Jan. 31
All Starlab permission slips and $4 due tomorrow.
Jan. 26
The assembly went well!
Jan. 25
Starlab notice sent home.
Jan. 24
Pink shirt day notice sent home.
Jan. 23
Families are invited to read with us at 8:30 on Friday.
Jan. 20
Drop off and pick up at classroom door again. The puddle is gone and students can line up at our regular door. Thanks for your understanding. Please be careful it is still slippery.
Jan. 19
PAC notice sent home.
Jan. 18
Students are asked to bring an old shirt for a special painting project. The project will be revealed during the assembly on January 26th at 9:00am. Please join us if you can.
Also, due to a large puddle outside our classroom door, Mrs. Keeper has asked that our class lines up at the door to the left of the office (where grade one students met at the beginning of the year). Starting tomorrow (Thursday), students will line up at that door for drop off and pick up. I'll let you know when we can return to our regular door. Thanks!
Jan. 17
Watch my new video on Freshgrade. Today students practiced "iteration" in math - measuring something with only one unit. This time we used a unifix cube and measured our shoe.
Jan. 16
No more Pokemon cards at school.
Jan. 12
Ask me about metamorphic animals.
Jan. 11
We learned about ponds.
Jan. 10
Remember capital letters and periods.
Jan. 9
Parent meeting hosted by Ms. Hunniford at 7pm tonight in the library.
Jan. 6
We painted a snowman today.
Jan. 5
We learned how animals survive in a desert.
Jan. 4
We are learning about animals in Science.
Jan. 3
Happy New Year! Now that it's a new year, we are changing Home Reading a little bit. Grade 1 students: Still continue to read the book, draw a picture and colour with at least 5 colours, and print the title of the book. Now, children are encouraged to write one sentence about the book from their own mind, not copied from the book. Grade 2 students: Still continue to read the book and print the title. Now, children are encouraged to write three sentences about their book, retelling the beginning, middle, and end of the story (or chapter if it's a longer book). Thank you for your support. Please let me know if you have any questions.
Dec. 16
Enjoy your winter break. See you on Tuesday, January 3, 2017.
Dec. 15
We had lots of fun at Grouse Mountain!
Meanwhile, back at school something yummy was happening...
Dec. 14
Reminder notice sent home about Grouse Mountain.
Dec. 13
Thank you for sending all of the delicious food for our Multicultural Lunch today. Many students tried food that they had never tried before and there was an amazing variety of food.
Just a reminder that tomorrow is our early dismissal day at 1:30. I have learning conferences beginning right after school, so if you are not here when I open the door, I will be sending your child to wait at the office. Thanks for your understanding.
It's two more days until our Grouse Mountain field trip. The children are very excited! Just a reminder that your child will need: waterproof snow pants, a warm coat, a warm hat, winter boots, mittens or gloves, lunch in a disposable bag, a snack in their pocket, and a booster seat (if you are not driving). Luckily Mrs. Watt's class has many drivers so we ended up with plenty of seats for students.
Looking forward to a fun few days!
Dec. 12
Remember to bring food for multicultural lunch tomorrow.
Dec. 7
Remember multicultural food permission slip and freshgrade form.
Dec. 6
Please read Freshgrade notice, sign, and return.
Dec. 5
We need more drivers for Grouse Mountain. Please return permission slip by tomorrow.
Dec. 2
Grouse Mountain permission slip and money due on Monday.
Nov. 29
Please remember to bring food for the food drive.
Nov. 28
The book fair starts tomorrow.
Nov. 25
Bring food donations to help our class win a pizza party.
Nov. 24
Please cut out the small form on the back of the Book Fair notice sent home today. Then send back the small form for your child to enter into a draw to win $25 worth of books for themselves and $25 worth of books for our classroom. Please remember to send in a can of food or 50 cents tomorrow to trade for a cookie. All donations are going to the Surrey Food Bank. Check out our art below. As part of our Science unit on light, students created this picture of the Aurora Borealis (the Northern Lights) using chalk pastels.
Nov. 23
Students are encouraged to bring a donation to the Surrey Food Bank on Friday to trade for a cookie. The grade four classes are baking the cookies tomorrow as a way to show December's theme, Generosity.
Nov. 22
Purdy's orders due tomorrow.
Nov. 21
We are practicing long vowel sounds in spelling.
Nov. 18
We are building with STEM bins - science, technology, engineering, and math.
Nov. 17
Today we went to a Reading Restaurant!
Nov. 16
Photo retakes tomorrow. Please write a note to Mrs. Mitchell if you'd your child to get their photo taken. PAC meeting tonight in the library at 7pm. After learning about natural and artificial sources of light in a previous lesson, today the class brainstormed ideas around the question "What does the sun do?" They came up with some fantastic answers!
Nov. 15
PAC meeting tomorrow at 7pm. We had fun at the library! Thanks to all the drivers.
Nov. 14
Remember to bring your library card and booster seat tomorrow for our field trip the the Public Library. Also, you're invited to the PAC meeting in the library this Wednesday at 7pm.
Nov. 9
No school on Thursday or Friday. We had our Remembrance Day assembly today.
Nov. 8
Bring a flashlight with your name on it.
Nov. 7
Looking for book fair volunteers on Nov. 29, 30, and Dec. 2. Please let Mrs. Mitchell know if you are able to help on any of those days. Thanks.
Nov. 3
Created By Kids cards due Nov. 9. No school tomorrow. More Freshgrade scavenger hunt winners:
Nov. 2
Please make comments on your child's Freshgrade portfolio. Here are today's scavenger hunt winners:
Nov. 1
November newsletter sent home. Here are today's Freshgrade Scavenger Hunt winners!
Oct. 31
Have a safe Halloween. Here are the people who have successfully completed their Freshgrade Scavenger Hunt. Let's see if we can get more winners tomorrow!
Freshgrade scavenger hunt sent home. Remember party food on Monday.
Oct. 28
Oct. 27
We drew pictures about our community in the past and now.
Oct. 26
Field trip notice to the library sent home.
Oct. 25
We painted our papier mache leaves today.
We also wore pyjamas and joined in with our school-wide DEAR day (Drop Everything And Read).
Oct. 24
Wear pajamas and bring stuffy and an old shirt tomorrow. We are painting our papier mache tomorrow and using acrylic paint. It will not wash off clothing.
Oct. 20
No school tomorrow. It is a pro-d day.
Oct. 19
Check for an email invitation today after 5:00 from Freshgrade.
Oct. 18
Today we painted with cool colours.
Oct. 17
We started making an ipad book about community.
Oct. 14
Remember the t-shirt money. See notice.
Oct. 13
My favourite part of the pumpkin patch was...
Oct. 12
Tomorrow is our trip to the pumpkin patch. See note for what to bring.
a large bag with your child’s name written/taped on to it (to carry the pumpkin)
a small healthy snack that fits into your child’s coat pocket
boots (rain or shine, it is muddy!) and appropriate outdoor clothing
booster/car seat (labeled with your child’s name)
optional: extra socks and pants (in case they get too wet/muddy) in a plastic bag for when we return to school
Please be on time (8:30) as we will be leaving right after attendance.
Oct. 11
We need more drivers for our pumpkin patch trip on Thursday. Today we made papier mache leaves with a guest artist, Shirley Hintz. It was sticky, but fun! In the afternoon we tried some new literacy centres. Also, welcome to our new grade two student, Izzah!
Oct. 7
No school on Monday. Enjoy your Thanksgiving!
Oct. 6
Tomorrow is photo day. Please bring the photo form. Today we did our school-wide write. Here is the class hard at work:
Oct. 5
Remember to bring an apple tomorrow.
Freshgrade
Today your child brought home a notice about Freshgrade. Freshgrade is a digital portfolio that we are using for reporting this year. Families of grade two students saw it last year. Please complete the permission slip and add the email addresses of any family members with whom you'd like to share your child's learning. Once I receive your form, I will send you an email inviting you to join Freshgrade. Parents of grade two students will be able to log on to Freshgrade and join our class. Grade two parents will still be able to see your child's archived grade one portfolio. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask.
Oct. 4
Please bring a food donation for the food bank.
Oct. 3
Many notices coming home today.
Sept. 30
We ran a lot at the Terry Fox run.
Sept. 29
Wear an orange shirt tomorrow. Also wear running shoes for the Terry Fox run tomorrow. We are still collecting donations for the Canadian Cancer Society as well.
We walked around the school grounds today looking for signs of autumn. The children collected different coloured leaves and then made a collage with the leaves.
Sept. 28
Bring a toonie for Terry Fox tomorrow.
Sept. 27
Bring a loonie for Terry Fox tomorrow.
Sept. 23
PAC notice sent home. No school on Monday.
Sept. 22
What is your favourite place in our community?
Sept. 21
Meet the teacher night tonight from 6:00-7:00.
Sept. 20
Home Reading starts today.
Here's a sample of the grade 1 home reading (Title written in pencil, please! Picture with 5 colours - crayons only, please!)
Here's a sample of the grade 2 home reading (Title and two sentences about the story - in pencil, please!)
Sept. 19
Library books are due on Friday.
Sept. 16
We made patterns today.
Sept. 15
Grade twos got planners today!
Welcome to Division 12!
Welcome to the 2016-2017 school year! My name is Mrs. Allison Mitchell, and I look forward to getting to know your child and continuing their learning journey. I have 12 years of teaching experience from grades one to three and have been at Dogwood since 2006. I love fine arts and will incorporate drama, dance, music, and art into the curriculum whenever possible.
Our room number is 103. The students enter and exit through the outside classroom door. The first bell rings at 8:30, with instruction beginning at 8:35, and dismissal is at 2:28 (5 minutes earlier than last year). It is important to have your child at school on time each day. Please make sure your child is picked up on time after school as well. I have found that children often become anxious when they are the last one to be picked up from school. To keep your child safe, at 2:38 any child still waiting to be picked up will be sent down to sit at the office. Thank you for your understanding.
Why is there a bee at the top of this page? That’s to remind you and your child of our school rules: “Be safe. Be respectful. Be responsible.” - the 3 “Bees”. We’ll be discussing, demonstrating, and doing Smartboard activities all about the 3 Bees in September. (If you’re wondering what a Smartboard is, please ask me for a demonstration.)
Division 12 is a grade one and two class with 22 students. Every class (even a “straight” grade) has students with a range of ability levels. At Dogwood, our goal is to help each student to improve to the best of their abilities. We believe the most important thing is to instill a love of learning so that students will want to come to school and try their best.
Communication between home and school is essential. In Division 12, grade 2 students will write in a planner and grade 1 students will use a daily folder as their planner. Please encourage your child to check that they have it in their backpack every day before school. If you have a quick question or comment, please write it in your child’s Home Reading book, as I check it every day (coming soon!). I may occasionally write a note to you as well, so it is important that you look at it every day, too. Please initial that you have read the note so that I know that you received the message. The cost of the daily folder/planner is $5. Cash or a cheque (made out to Dogwood Elementary) is acceptable. Thank you to those people who have already paid.
All children will require a backpack large enough to hold the daily folder/planner, as well as a separate, re-useable lunch bag to keep food away from Home Reading books. This is the second year of Dogwood’s litterless lunch program as outlined in the school newsletter sent home through email yesterday. I also encourage you to send a water bottle (labelled with your child’s name, please) to school.
Eating lunch at school is an exciting experience for some grade one and two children. During the first weeks of school it is common for children to have difficulty eating their whole lunch with the excitement of eating with their friends and the thought of getting out to play. I will ask the children to try to eat their entire lunch and not throw food away. Anything that they cannot possibly eat will be put back in their lunch bag so that you will know exactly what was eaten. There is no time limit on eating, but I will encourage them to eat their lunch in 15 to 20 minutes. When they are finished eating, the children will go outside to play and will be supervised by the supervisory aides. It is appreciated if your child has their lunch with them when they come to school, as students will choose a healthy snack from their lunch to eat at recess. If you send fruit or vegetables in their lunch, I will do my best to have them eat it for their recess snack. Granola bars, cookies, etc. are fine as a dessert at lunchtime, as long as your child can open the packages themselves (all wrappers will be sent home). I would prefer that children not bring pop, chips, or candy to school for their lunch or snack. Gum is also not allowed at school. If you would like to take your child home for lunch, please sign them out at the office. If you must drop your child’s lunch off at school later in the day, please leave it on the table at the office in a clearly labelled bag. Please have lunch at the school by 11:35 at the latest.
Sharing is part of our daily routine. Children are encouraged to share a newsworthy story or one special object from home. We will be using a “sharing bag” to take turns. When your child brings home the empty “sharing bag” that means that the next school day he or she may bring one object to show and tell about. If it is not your child’s sharing day, I recommend that children leave their toys at home. I don’t want the toys to become a distraction during the school day and also it may be difficult to share one toy among a group of friends. If your child would like to share a toy with his/her friends, I suggest having the friends over for a play date.
Schedule Music – Mondays and Thursdays Library – Fridays Gym – To be decided Action Room (a physical activity room) – To be decided
Your child will need a labelled pair of clean running shoes that they can put on themselves to leave at school. These shoes are worn for gym and when the children wear boots to school. I will provide a special bag for your child to use for their gym shoes.
I recommend that your child also has a complete change of clothes in a labelled bag for “accidents” and rainy days. It saves a lot of time and hassle (for the parents) if every child has a complete change of clothes to keep at school.
Thank you to everyone who has brought their school supplies to school. If you haven’t yet sent the school supplies, please send them now. All items on the list are required. Any unused items will be sent home at the end of the year.
Grade 1 and 2 is a time for students to learn to be more independent. Please encourage your child to carry their own backpack and to enter and exit the classroom by themselves. If your child is experiencing some anxiety about school, please let me know.
Please feel free to ask questions and speak to me about your child. After school is usually a good time, once I have dismissed all of the students. You may also write a note in your child’s Home Reading book, call the school at 604-581-8111, or e-mail me ([email protected]) for a reply within 24 hours. Please look at our class website regularly to find out what’s happening in our class: MrsAMitchell.weebly.com