Happy Monday! Email coming on Thursday regarding Parent/teacher Interviews

cute-chickadeeHi there Chickadee Parents!

I hope you had a wonderful Monday and are enjoying your evening together as a family! What a beautiful day it was!

If you are just receiving your first notification for our blog, welcome! I added a few of your emails to our subscription list. I am presently making a chickadee email group list and I noticed some of you had not signed up on our class blog subscription list. I hope you are now receiving this information that I put on the blog. I love to communicate what is going on here at KHPS and I try to update you frequently on here. I am happy to have you reading the blog!

Chickadee Class Email:

Please keep an eye on your email…(*feel free to send me a hello email to make sure I have your current email address at Jo-Anne.Pulley@ocdsb.ca ). I am missing a few of your emails and will write notes in Mr. Zippy tomorrow if yours is needed!

I am going to be sending an email to all of you on Thursday November 10. We are setting up interview dates for Thursday Nov. 17- 4:30-7:30 and Friday Nov. 18- 8:00-11:00am.

It is a sign-up process and we will be sending you instructions in the email on how to do this. Please Note: We are not meeting with all of you at this time. You will receive an email either:

1) inviting you to sign up for a 10-minute interview on either of those dates  (with instructions on how to do so ) or…

2) letting you know that an interview is not needed at this time.

If you have any questions or concerns and would like to set up a phone interview or schedule a 10 minute interview meeting with us, prior to or after the interviews, please jot us a note in “Mr. Zippy”.

Thank-you so much!

Ms. Jo-Anne 🙂

 

 

Diwali

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dressing up

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History of Diwali

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beautiful girls

 

Hi Chickadee Dot Families!

Today Mrs. Goyal taught the boys and girls about Diwali! She explained what Diwali is, how it is celebrated, its origins and showed us her beautiful jewellry and dresses. The children loved this experience. Thank-you Mrs. Goyal!

Thanks for reading!

 

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Diwali, the Hindu Festival of Lights

Diwali (in Hindi) or Deepavali (in Tamil) is the Hindu Festival of Lights. The name originally comes from the Sanskrit word dipavali, meaning a row of lights. Wherever Diwali is being celebrated you will see shops, houses and public places decorated with small, earthenware, oil lamps known as diyas. They are usually placed in rows on window sills and outside buildings as decorations.

Diwali is celebrated around the world by people who follow the Hindu religion. This is mostly those of Indian ethnicity, but today they may be celebrating as British, American, Malaysian, Singaporean, Australian, Canadian, New Zealander, Fijian, Mauritian, South African, and many, many more countries around the world. Many non-Hindu Indian families from the Jain and Sikh religions have often joined in and made this a more widely celebrated festival.

This year (2008) Hindus will start their Diwali celebrations on October 28th.

The Meaning of Diwali

The Festival of Lights, as with most ancient legends, helps us to know the truth of victory of good over evil, but more specifically for Hindus at this time, it means to understand the meanings behind each of the five days of Diwal. It specifically commemorates the return of Lord Rama to his kingdom Ayodhya, at the end of his exile which lasted for 14 years.

As with many eastern festivals, the dates are based on the Lunar calendar, with Diwali eve on the fourteenth lunar day of the month of Kartik (October/November). The first day is called Dhanvantari Triodasi, also sometimes called Dhan Theras, while the second day is called Narak Chaturdasi. According to Hindu legend, on this day Lord Krishna destroyed the demon, Narakasur, and made the world free from fear. The third day is the actual Diwali, when Hindus worship the Mother Lakshmi, and on the fourth day they perform Goverdhan Pooja. The fifth and final day of Diwali is called Bhratri Dooj, and is dedicated to sisters and is the first day of the Hindu New Year.

The special Festival of Light’s diyas are lit to help the goddess (Mother) Lakshmi find her way into people’s homes, especially as the period is also during the fortnight (two weeks) of the dark month of Kartik. Goddess Lakshmi is the symbol of wealth and prosperity and is also the consort of the Hindu god, Vishnu. As Hindus are also celebrating their New Year, Lord Ganeshu, the elephant headed god, is worshipped in most Hindu homes on this day.

Diwali Recipes

In a similar manner to many festivals and celebrations, certain recipes, or foods are traditional during Diwali. During Diwali many Indians only eat vegetarian dishes, and of course, as the cow is sacred to Hindus, no beef is ever eaten, at any time of the year, not just during Diwali.

On Day 1: Sheera is eaten – a warm fudge-like sweet made with raisins, nuts, semolina, saffron and cardamom and – is eaten with a spicy black-eye bean curry.

On Day 2: This is a day of fasting for many Hindus, and they do not break their fast until sunset with lapsee, a warm sweet porridge of cracked wheat, clarified butter and sugar.

On Day 3: Kheer, a milky pudding made with rice and sago is eaten, together with lentil vada (fritters).

On Diwali itself and on New Year’s Day (fifth day of Diwali): Many different types of vegetable curries are eaten. They like to include as many vegetables as possible as this signifies wealth and bounty lasting for the whole year. A huge assortment of sweets is always available. Diwali day is spent eating with the family, and New Year’s Day, visiting all the friends and neighbors.

Despite the huge quantities of food being offered, guests are always expected to finish everything!

Try making this popular Diwali snack called, Muruku.

Diwali Art Celebrating the Festival of Lights

Probably the most well recognized are Rangoli Patterns, beautifully made decorations, drawn on floors and even pavements, usually with rice flour and water, or dry and made with powdery, colored sand.

US Government Recognition

There is something special about Diwali 2008. It is the first since the US Senate officially recognized Diwali, the Festival of Lights, unanimously passing Senate Resolution 299 on November 14th 2007.

Diwali ki shubhkamnaye

If you are Hindu (or among the Jain or Sikh communities who celebrate Diwali), we wish you Happy Diwali and thank you for bringing one of the world’s most colorful celebrations to our lives.

Happy Halloween!

halloween-clipart-cute_halloween_clipartHappy Halloween!

We had an amazing, great, spooktacular day today in Kinderland at KHPS! Our day started with a progressive parade through the school, then a Halloween “dance off”, some playtime, lunch, outdoor play, Skeleton Hiccups story and craft (which are amazing and will come home tomorrow), Ghost bowling and songs with Madame McCurry, Madame Rashida and Madame Bourre and playtime in the Owl classroom! Our day ended with some Halloween songs and short videos to get us a bit “settled” and rested for their evening!

 

I hope you like our Halloween Jack-o-lanterns that the kiddos made for you! I think they turned out really nice!

Here are a “few” pics for you to enjoy!

Looking forward to hearing about the Halloween stories tomorrow morning!

Love, Ms. Jo-Anne (on behalf of Mrs. McCarthy, Mrs. Goyal and Madame McCurry

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Harlequin doll

Mrs. McCarthy goes bananas!

Mrs. McCarthy goes bananas!

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Parade

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Us…just missing Mrs. Goyal and Madame McCurry

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Madame McCurry leading us in the “Monster Mash”

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Go Bananas

 

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dancing!

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Nice eyes!!

Skeleton Hiccups

Skeleton Hiccups

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Boooo-ti-ful skeletons!

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Mrs. Goyal helping friends

 

Woodpecker class... dressed up as Minions! (Mrs. K, Madame Senuik, Mrs. Scheel and Mrs. Bennett

Woodpecker class…
dressed up as Minions! (Mrs. K, Madame Senuik, Mrs. Scheel and Mrs. Bennett

 

Ghost Bowling with Madame Rashida..

Ghost Bowling with Madame Rashida..

Program Pics

Hi again!

Last post tonight I promise!

This week we have been measuring pumpkins, from small, middle and large, using link cubes to see how tall each pumpkin is! We have been sorting “Halloween Items” by colour, object or shape!

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Measuring our pumpkins

 

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Sorting

We are continuing to work through our Alphabet Blitz, ask your child what the sounds A-H make? Each letter has an action, sound and story.  …and of course, we always need to look for Inky the mouse in each of our pictures! He is a silly, little mouse that the children love looking for! Your child is learning the sounds of each letter and we are providing fun activities to help with sound and letter formation!

Co-constructed alphabet so far...

Co-constructed alphabet so far…

Letter G...with ghosts made out of beans

Letter G…with ghosts made out of beans

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Drawing Rainbows together

 

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Selfie after measuring pumpkins…always time to talk about stuff and take a selfie! 🙂

 

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Ms. Goyal reads us a story about counting pumpkin seeds

 

We have also been having children create “Halloween creatures” out of materials and the children are using their imaginations! We are practicing our cutting skills and learning to use glue sticks! You may have seen some of your child’s beautiful creations coming home this week in “Mr. Zippy”.

We are practicing our cutting skills and learning to use glue sticks! We continue to do our “Hot News”, working on printing our name, drawing pictures with colour and details! The progress is wonderful!You may have seen some of your child’s beautiful creations coming home this week in “Mr. Zippy”.

We have also been working on our “Halloween” lanterns! Our jars are looking great so far! They will come home on Halloween night for you!

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Madame McCurry, Mrs. McCarthy and Mrs. Goyal are providing the children learning opportunities in French, such as letter recognition, number sense, counting, pumpkin lifecycle-all in French! They are really enjoying learning French words and are becoming more confident to speak, using French vocabulary.

We are having a blast with your child! Love this learning process! So many wonderful learning moments throughout our day!

Working together in French class...co-operation!

Working together in French class…co-operation!

Thanks for reading!

halloween-clipart-cute_halloween_clipartJust a reminder…Monday is Halloween!!! Please send your child to school in his/her costume if he/she would like to dress up. This is not mandatory! We will be doing a parade, dance, crafts, songs and activities and providing a wee, healthy snack! Please remember that candy is to stay at home on Halloween and all week! Thank-you! 

November calendars will be sent home on Monday! I hope they are helping you keep track of our class activities!

Thank-you for the canned and box food for our “Scare Hunger Away” food drive!

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Amazing donations so far!

Enjoy your night,

Stay warm!

Love, Ms. Jo-Anne

Oh…if you want to follow me on twitter, my address is @jojopull! I often post a picture of our class topics or awesome moments if you want to have a look! Follow me!

..cute story…one of our Chickadee friends thought yesterday was my birthday and brought me in a beautiful card the next day! It was not my birthday but I felt special just the same! It’s the small, thoughtfulness of our children that amazes me every day!

Happy NON birthday to me! haha

Happy NON birthday to me! haha

Friendly reminder!

Hi Chickadee Families!!!

Just a wee reminder that it is PICTURE DAY on Friday! Have your child dressed in his/her “best” picture outfit! Be sure to send in a big smile as well! wink wink 🙂

Thanks in advance,

Ms. Jo-Anne 🙂

Safety Presentation by Officer Paul

 

Image result for Halloween clipartHi Chickadee dot Families!

Today we had Officer Paul come to KHPS and talk to us about Halloween and being safe while trick or treating! He reminded the children to stay with an adult, hold hands, walk on the sidewalk, wear masks with big holes so vision isn’t blocked and to use a flashlight. Officer Paul talked to the children about going through all of the candy first with you and then only eating a little bit at a time. It was a quick but informative session! The children were very excited to tell him what they were dressing up as! Lots of princesses, batmans, firemen, spiderman, cats to name a few!

Thank-you to Mrs. McCarthy for organizing this for the children!

Here are some pictures for you to enjoy!

Love, Ms. Jo-Anne 🙂

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Scare Hunger Away…Food Drive

Hi Chickadee Dot Families!! We are having a school-wide Food Drive. Any donations are welcome and appreciated.

Much appreciated!

Ms. Jo-Anne 🙂

 

Did you know that hundreds of thousands of kids in Canada go hungry every day?  This Halloween, the students at KHPS are scaring hunger away!  Please help by sending in a non-perishable item (canned goods/boxed goods/toilet paper/etc) that will be donated to the Kanata Food Bank.   Watch this for more information and help the kids at Kanata Highlands Public School make a difference in our community.  Image result for we scare hunger

Monday October 17th, Hello!

cute-chickadeeHi Chickadee dot families!
Today was a very good, no…amazing day here at KHPS!

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beautiful! We are so fortunate to see this every day!

Our morning view! How could it not be anything but fantastic!

This morning, we started both our Kinderstar program with Zaid, as well as our Alphabet Blitz Program. We are introducing the names of the letters and the sounds of each of the letters one/day for the next 26 days. I use parts of the “Jolly Phonics Program” in my introduction of letters in Kindergarten. It is a multi-sensory approach which appeals to all of the different kinds of learners (such as Tactile, Visual etc). For example, each letter is taught with a picture, song, story and an action. After the introduction of each letter, the children have an opportunity to explore the letter in a variety of ways. Today the children made “Aa” books, practiced letter formation and sound using buttons to trace and drawing/colouring/printing on our BIG paper. We also had 2 students co-construct our A for our classroom alphabet! I will post our alphabet on Friday once we have gotten to E.

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co-constructing our alphabet with buttons and glue! I wonder what we should build the letter B with?

We will vary the activities to keep things fun for each letter! Tomorrow we will explore the letter B. Along with our literacy activities, the children had a chance to explore sorting and classifying by colour and shape, as well as showing us what they know about numbers. They had a chance to show us the matching amount on the number card…using fun Halloween objects! We also acted out a pumpkin poem about 5 Little Pumpkins sitting on a gate! Ask your child to tell you this! Did they mention that the third pumpkin was a bit..sassy? 🙂

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In the afternoon, Madame McCurry had loads of fun teaching the children Halloween, pumpkin vocabulary as well as introducing them to number sense in French! The children have been learning basic vocabulary such as colours, shapes, names of letters and sounds in French each day! Madame McCurry is very animated and keeps the children engaged in their French learning through fun poems, songs and stories! Here are a few pictures of our kiddos for you to enjoy! Learning French is so much fun!

Alphabet fun

Alphabet fun

Green? :)

Green? 🙂

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counting, using a “ten-frame”

Also, in case you want to contact Madame McCurry, here email is Lesley-Anne.McCurry@ocdsb.ca. She has also asked me to pass along some French song links if you would like to listen and support your child’s French learning at home.

Les chiffres:
I think that is it for today!
Jars….please send in your 250mL jars for our special Halloween craft! Thank-you for the families who have already done this!!!
Thanks for reading, as always,
images-1Ms. Jo-Anne (on behalf of your child’s amazing Kinder team of teachers!)

Kinderstar Program

Hi!

clipart star

We will be starting our Kinderstar program this Monday, October 17th.

This program is quite magical yet simple! The children love it! Each day one child is the KINDERSTAR for that day! That means he/she get to do bring the attendance to the office, be the leader of the line for the day, do special jobs for the teachers and just feel special! In time, we will begin to add show and tell onto our Kinderstar days but not until each student has a turn to be Kinderstar once. 🙂

Slow and steady! 🙂

The order of the Kinderstar is in alphabetical order of our class list. So on Monday, Zaid will be our first Kinderstar! Next will be Arsalan on Tuesday!

So, on Monday October 17th, Zaid will be our first Kinderstar!

Zaid, you are going to be terrific!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

*October calendar will be sent home on Monday! I am just finalizing a few birthday dates and when picture day is and I will send it to you both in hard copy and as a pdf on our blog! Any mistakes that I make (which usually there is one…I do that on purpose :), please let me know and I will correct!) Keep an eye out for the calendar on our blog as well as in Mr. Zippy!

*If your child is going to be away on his/her Kinderstar day, please let us know. We can either do a switch or we can share a day with another student! or we can just add his/her day at the end of the month when we clipart starhave gone through the class.

Thanks so much for reading!

Ms. Jo-Anne 🙂

A few things…Birthdays and Halloween

Hi Chickadee Dot families!

Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr…today sure got cold quickly didn’t it? Thank-you for sending your child to school dressed for the weather. With the cold weather approaching, mittens, fleeces, warm jackets, rain boots or winter boots are encouraged and necessary as we go outside for over an hour each day!

Just a few things to tell you:

  1. picture1Birthday Celebrations.... The school policy has been established  and we have decided that with allergies and being mindful of healthy eating, we are asking that there will be no “treats” brought into the school. Stickers and pencils are welcome but to keep things safe and simple, we decided that food is unnecessary at school.  I promise, we will make your child feel special with a song, crown, pencil and lots of “TLC” on his/her special day.
  2. Image result for party clipartSchool celebrations: (Christmas/Winter Holiday, Valentine’s and End of the year gatherings)… fruits and vegetables and healthy choices are welcomed and we will organize food closer to the date of the parties. Thank-you for your cooperation with this!

jackolantern3. Halloween….Is fast approaching! We will be celebrating Halloween on Monday, October 31st.If you would like (This is Optional and not mandatory) please send your child to school in his/her Halloween costume. We are asking that accessories like swords, guns and or masks please stay at home.

Please also send in a plastic bag to put your child’s costume in. We will be doing a parade within the school, doing the “Monster Mash”  dance and having some craft/story/activity rotations amongst the Kindergarten team! It will be SPOOOOOOCTACULAR! :) We will be staying away from “scary” parts of Halloween, focussing on jack-o-lantern’s, dressing up in costumes etc! No witches, ghosts or….clowns!

We are also asking this:…. please do not send any candy in your child’s lunch after Halloween! We know this will be a challenge because let’s face it, everyone loves candy! However, we have decided as a school that healthy eating is important for our mind and body and good nutrition is needed! All candy is best to stay at home! Thank-you, thank-you!

One more thing: can you please send in a 250 mL mason jar for a special Halloween craft?

Image result for 250 mL mason jarPlease send them in as soon possible and are due for the activity by next Thursday, October 20th. Thank-you!!! Our special activity will take a few days to do so the earlier the better! Thank-you! If  you cannot send one in, please let me know and I can take care of bringing some in.

Thank-you so much for reading and all of your support as always!

Ms. Jo-Anne

PS..Kinderstar program news and calendar information coming very soon!