40 days of Lent and Spirit Week.

Today marks the beginning of Lent with our celebration of Ash Wednesday. We receive ashes on our foreheads to symbolize a turning away from our bad choices and a turning towards good choices that build ourselves and our community. Tat is why as a school we are ebarking on the 40 days for Leny challenge.

Lent is a time when we think of others and try to make better choices. We do works of charity and make sacrifices to help others. During this Lenten season, we're challenging all the Lions of St. Anne to complete 40 Acts. We call it “The 40 Act Challenge”!

At the beginning of each day, we will read out a challenge act for you to complete at some point during the day. You may complete the act as often as you want. It can be for anyone: friends, classmates, someone you see on the yard, teachers, and other staff in the school. You can also continue this when you go home at the end of the day with your parents, brothers, sisters, and grandparents. This is a special way for all of us to come together and show how much we care for our St. Anne Lion Family. Remember, we're all in this together – all students and all staff. Let's make these 40 days an opportunity to make a difference.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qmvpBGPlnXk

Next week we will also hold our spirit week as a lead up to March Break. The events and explanation is below. All proceeds will go to support the St. Anne Kingdom Club Social Justice initiatives.

We take the time of Lent to teach the children about being a light in the darkness. One of the ways children can let their light shine is by helping others. The week of March 6 is a fundraising Spirit week. Each student is encouraged to bring in a loonie or a toonie each day and participate in the fun. Funds will go to our Lenten initiatives.

March 6 – PJ Day

March 7 – Stuffy Day

March 8 – Jersey Day

March 9 – Lion School Spirit Day

March 10 – Tacky Tourist Day

Inuit cultural workshop

Yesterday's field trip to the Ottawa Art Center in Downtown Ottawa. We participated in workshops and a performance in the Arts Center Theatre. The Inuit group Nunavut Sivuniksavut did a great job organizing and putting on the workshops. We had a workshop on Inuit syllabics which is their version of the alphabet and learned how to write our name in Inuktitut. We also participated in a workshop on Inuit string games and learned how to make a tipi. We also learned how to juggle 2 balls at the same time. We learned three different strength games as well We tried the airplane carry, the arm pull and the high kick. After a nutrition break we we treated to a performance of Inuit music and dance as well as an Inuit traditional clothing and artifact demonstration. Below are just a few pictures and videos from our trip.

We will begin procedural writing next week as well as learning about subtracting with dollar amounts. We will also be discussing air and water pollution in science

Measuring success

I am 6 and a half books long!

 We have begun our measurement study by measuring the things around us. We measured our hands, feet, and how tall we are compared to each other and compared to other non standard units. We measured the carpet using books, the classroom using linking cubes and desks using pencils. We will continue to explore measurement by using standard and non standard units to measure weight, volume, and time. We will also explore the concepts of area (how much space an object covers) and perimeter ( the distance around an object). 

In Language we are working on writing informational reports. We start by gathering facts, then creating a topic sentence. We then write our facts in a way that makes sense to us and to the reader. So far we have researched air and water facts and important objects in First Nations culture. We will continue to research facts and learn how to put them into a report. 

In gym we have been using our indoor curling set to practice skills learned from our exploration of throwing and catching. Students have been introduced to curling terminology such as house, button, draw, takeout and bonspiel. We will also begin our study of healthy eating in health. 

We continue to explore the topics of Reconciliation and forgiveness as we approach the day for our reconciliation service. We have read bible stories and continue to explore situations where we can ask for forgiveness and give forgiveness. 

Also a reminder of our Valentine raffle next Tuesday. Thank you for your support already. 

We are also still accepting donations for our pajama patrol. Please bring in any new pj's by the end of next week to support families in need. Next Friday the 17th we will have a PJ day for the entire school to celebrate our efforts. 

Finally we are still looking for anyone who can help us in our deep learning journey in the area of financial literacy, photography or and First Nations culture. Thank you for your support. 

Measuring the carpet using books.

Finding facts about the tipi

How many linking cubes are we at again? 

Drawing for the button

Attempting a takeout

A very close call. Red scores 1 point. 

National Sweater Day. Or is that Dab?

National Sweater Day!

Our school will be taking part in National Sweater Day on Thursday, February 2! National Sweater Day is an annual event organized by World Wildlife Fund Canada. On National Sweater Day, WWF asks Canadians to turn down thermostats by two degrees Celsius at home, at school and at work to highlight the role that energy conservation plays in preventing climate change.

Our school buildings will be a little chillier on February 2, so we are asking that all students wear or bring a sweater to school. 

In addition to turning down the heat and turning up our sweaters, our school will be participating in a number of activities designed to help students understand how everyday actions affect our planet’s future.

We are also holding a contest for coziest, most colourful, sportiest, craziest, or most nature like sweater. 

We are looking forward to a cozy day in the school. 

Counting coins

This week in Math we start exploring Canadian currency and working with dollar amounts. We will be adding and subtracting dollar amounts using play money. This is an important component of our deep learning journey as we want to explore financial literacy. If there are any parents who have experience in financial literacy, we would love to have you come and share your experiences with the class.

In language we are exploring First Nations culture and will begin writing to give information. 

The school will also be holding a pajama drive. Please see link to poster below for more info.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B2e7tYXXyFvbbWpKd3JCa3FuUlBvOUNOVmlCQ0ZCTEZ5aFg0/view

Deep Learning

Today your child came home with a consent package related to the deep learning project that all the grade 2 classes will be participating in at our school. Please have these forms completed and returned to school as soon as possible. To find out more about our learning journey, please view the video below which was created by our very own Mrs. Latour.

https://youtu.be/jGK8RqO8Hhg

You can also find out more about what is going on in our school board in regards to deep learning through Twitter by following the #ocsbdl hashtag. 

Students have also received their Reconciliation booklets titled "God Has Forgiven You, Go in Peace". Typically we will begin a page at school and complete it at home. I appreciate the support of all of our parents in preparing the class for this important step in their spiritual journey. I recognize that not all parents wish to have their child participate in the Sacraments of Reconciliation and First Communion. However the activities in the booklet are still valuable for all of us to do, to reflect on the stories from the Bible and to learn how to be better friends and how to make up for times when we have done wrong to another. If their are any questions please feel free to contact me through your child's agenda. 

Happy New Year.

I hope everyone had a happy and restful Christmas break. This week we are back into the thick of things with a new homework calendar for January and a letter from St Patrick's Fallowfield regarding Reconciliation and First Communion as well as some dates to remember to prepare for these Sacraments. 

There will also be some changes to how Class Dojo is used. Instead of receiving a reward at a set number of points, students can cash in their points on Fridays during second block to receive a prize. Students can save up points for a more valuable prize or reward. As a result all class Dojo points have been reset to 0 as a fresh start for the new year. 

Please enjoy some pictures of our Christmas concert which the students did so well at. I am very proud of their hard work in performing a beautiful song. 

Waiting in the hallway for our turn to shine

It's a packed house!

Waiting in the wings. Everyone is quiet and focussed. 

Singing our hearts out with Ms. O'Neil's grade 3 class

Time to let loose! Great job everyone!