Fox Snakes, Bullfrogs and Turtles - Oh My!

What an amazing day we had on Fighting Island!  Under the direction of Miss Pearl and Mr. Dale, the students got up close and personal with an array of wildlife.  We took water samples, found living organisms, planted wildflowers and maple trees, found and made a plaster cast of animal prints, went on a bug and leaf hunt, and got the opportunity to look at the water organisms under the microscope.  To top it all off - we got to ride on a barge to get over the island.

Thank you very much to the parent volunteers who made the trip with us!  With your help, we all had an amazing day.

Math Shake Up!

We are wrapping up our addition and subtraction unit in Math.  The other day, the students worked in partners to investigate related addition and subtraction facts.  They had a certain number of counters in a cup.  They shook and then spilled the counters to see what addition and subtraction facts they could find.  There was a lot of laughing, giggling and math learning taking place all at once!

Chess Champ!

We are so proud of this Dougall Dragon!  Rachel is a chess champion -- not only for her age group at the school level, but for the entire city of Windsor!!  She will be travelling to the provincial chess tournament in Kitchener very soon!  Congratulations Rachel - we are so proud of you!!

Meeting Carmela Coyle

Today we participated in World Read Aloud Day.  Not only did we read many books aloud today, but we had the special treat of meeting (via Skype) author Carmela Coyle.  Carmela lives in Denver, Colorado.  Using Skype, the computer and the SMARTBoard, we (60 students from 1/2F, 1R and 2G) had the opportunity to see and hear all about Ms. Coyle's adventures as an author.

The students were amazed to learn more about Carmela, and how she got the idea to write one of our favourite books (Do Princesses Wear Hiking Boots?).  She shared with us that her daughter Annie asked her that question one day when Annie was only 4 years old.  Annie is now 18 years old and in college!  We even got to meet Carmela's dog Lulu!

 Meeting Lulu...

What an amazing experience!  Carmela was so friendly and engaging.  She read aloud from our favourite story, and then answered all our questions.  The students are eager to start writing more stories of their own!

Thank you Carmela for a wonderful experience - and for writing such wonderful books.  We hope to be able to catch up with Carmela again next year!

World Read Aloud Day

Tomorrow, March 7, 2012 is World Read Aloud Day.  We are excited to be taking part in celebrating this exciting day.  WRA Day was started by an organization called LitWorld.  Their motivating focus is:

Imagine a world where everyone can read.

Here is some information about WRA Day found on Litworld.org:

World Read Aloud Day motivates children, teens, and adults worldwide to celebrate the power of words, especially those words that are shared from one person to another, and creates a community of readers advocating for every child’s right to a safe education and access to books and technology.

We are so excited to have the opportunity to Skype (video call on the computer) with children's author Carmela Coyle tomorrow.  Mrs. Coyle lives in Denver, Colorado and we will have the chance to spend a half-hour with her on Skype talking to her, asking her questions, learning about how she writes her book and hearing her read her own book aloud.

Our favourite story by Carmela Coyle is:

Spend a few moments tomorrow celebrating WRA Day as a family.  Perhaps you could all choose a favourite book and read together, or talk about your favourite books.  

100 Days Smarter!

Monday, February 13th was the 100th day of school.  The students started counting on the first day of school in September.  At the time, they thought we would never make it to day 100, but now they can't believe how quickly the year has flown.

We started the morning off with a "100" snack...

The students quickly realized that there were chocolate hearts hidden around the room.  There were 100 of them!!  The students got to work, finding all the hearts, and then, sequencing them on the hundred chart.

The students participated in various activities that centred around the number 100.  Some of the centres focused on reading, writing, and math (number sense, patterning, addition).

What a fun, educational and exciting day.  Here are a few group shots we took at the end of the day.  Mr. Callow stopped by to check out the action!

Thank you to our student teacher, Mrs. Pathak, for all her help in making 100 Day a success!

Here's to an unforgettable 100 day!