A rare opportunity virtually landed, unannounced, on our doorstep on Thursday morning - a one-on-one reader from the VSB.  Vicky will be with us on Thursday mornings for an undetermined amount of time (likely until spring break).  She is available to spend 20 minutes per child simply reading one-on-one, no assessments, no pressure, just some time with a teacher to read at their level.  Home Learners has been allocated two spots we can use for our students to have some reading time with Vicky.

This opportunity is open to all students.  If your child attends Monday/Wed, you are welcome to take advantage and bring your child in to read with Vicky as well.  If you are interested in having your child participate, please let Juliana or I know.

The Ministry of Canadian Heritage is once again hosting the Canada Day Poster Challenge.  Students aged 5 – 18 can submit a poster they designed that illustrates how the people,  places,  and events of the past have helped shape the Canada we know today. 

This year marks an important anniversary in Canadian History:  the 200th anniversary of the War of 1812, which was a significant nation-building event that contributed to the development of our Canadian national identity. 

The artwork of the national winner will become the official poster for this year’s Canada Day celebrations across the country, and winners will receive great prizes!

Information about the contest, learning resources, games and activities are available at:  http://www.posterchallenge.pch.gc.ca/

Good Luck!

It looks like we will be oversubscribed to VSO’s Peter and the Wolf.  Therefore, we are asking parents and siblings to hold off on requesting tickets until all the students who wish to attend have tickets first.  Thanks so much for you understanding.

Nonnahs the Viking here  (The students decided that our first names spelled backwards make fabulous Viking names!) with a few words about our Viking program.

First of all; a great big THANK YOU to everyone who has donated items from our list of  needed supplies for our Vikings!  program.  The students are enjoying learning about the peoples who went “a-viking” to explore, raid and trade and our classroom is slowly transforming into our own Vinland, or maybe Isle of Berk.

We are still in need of a few items in order to start a couple of our projects:  cardboard milk cartons (2L size if possible) and plastic milk jugs, and any pieces of plain fabric you might have. 

Thanks so much and have a great weekend!

On February 8th, Garibaldi Home Learners are booked to attend the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra’s Elementary School Concert featuring Peter and the Wolf.  The concert starts at 10:00 a.m. and ends at 11:00 a.m. 

In  preparation for this concert, in class we will be reading various versions of the story, listening to the music to learn to identify the various parts, and working on activities related to the music and the story. 

We have booked a block of 30 tickets which are available on a first-come, first-served basis, with registered students taking priority over adults and siblings if a waiting list develops.  The sign-up sheet is on the parents’ table and the forms are in everyone’s files.  The cost is $6.00 per person.

Many families advised me that they were going to work with their children to write replies to the letters we received from our Ugandan Pen Pals in December.  If your child has a letter, please bring it in by the end of this week.  We will be working on our replies on Thursday in class.

Also – this week our students are getting into the “Valentines Day” mood early – making Valentines cards for their pen pals so they will arrive in Uganda close to the actual day.  If your child(ren) would also like to make a card or cards at home to bring in, they are most welcome.   I will be packaging up all the Valentines and letters at the end of this week and mailing everything off. 

On another note – our students raised $250.00 from the sale of bath bombs at the Christmas concert.  The students were particularly excited that demand exceeded supply!  Apologies if you were not able to obtain one!   All the money raised is being sent to our sister school.

Gong Xi Fa Cai!  We will be going on a field trip to the Dr. Sun Yat Sen Garden on Tuesday, January 24, at 10:30 am.  We will listen to stories and learn about the traditions of Chinese New Year.  Students will help scare away the New Year beast, take part in a lion dance parade, and help tell the story of “The Great Race”.  We will also do a special year of the dragon craft. 

The field trip is an hour long and the cost is $6 per student.  A sign up sheet, and field trip consent forms are by the student files.  If you wish to use your allotment to pay for the field trip, please make sure that you also fill out an allotment form.

Happy New Year!

Wishing Everyone a Happy New Year and all the best for 2012!

Programming resumes on Tuesday, January 3rd.  We will be learning about all things Viking this term, so please save and bring in the following for your child(ren):  cardboard milk cartons, plastic milk cartons, fabric or fabric pieces of burlap, cotton, linen, etc. (we will be making our own Viking clothing), any unbleached or white cotton yarn or wool.  Thank you!

Seems strange, doesn’t it?  I don’t know about you, but this school year has just flown by!  Next week is our last week of programming prior to winter break.  There is a lot happening next week, so I thought it might be helpful to provide a run-down of the week for everyone.

Monday:

Field trip to the Nutcracker Ballet.  The Ballet starts at 10:00 a.m. so please meet in front of Centennial Theatre (North Vancouver) by 9:45 a.m.  We are a large group for this performance (50 home learners!!) so please help out the Centennial staff by ensuring we all wait and go in as one group.  The performance ends at 11:20 a.m.

Monday afternoon:  Dress Rehearsal for our Winter Play.  1:00 p.m.  Garibaldi.  The rehearsal should take 40 minutes – 1 hour.  The stage will be set up so this is an important rehearsal for the children to learn to enter and exit and where to stand on the stage.  Everyone please try to make it to the rehearsal.

Tuesday:

Morning programming.  Garibaldi Winter Concert at 1:30 p.m.  All children should be here for 1:00 p.m. in the classroom for preparations.  Also – the Home Learners will be selling Bath Bombs, or Bath Fizzies that they have made.  They are available in Lavender, Rosewood and Orange-Clove scent and are $2.00 each.  They are individually wrapped in festive gift bags for holiday gift giving!  All proceeds will be sent to Rock Primary School in Uganda to help them rebuild after their earthquake.

Wednesday:

Morning:  Field trip to A.R. Lord Elementary to see their Winter Concert.  All Garibaldi divisions will be attending.   This is an annual event and a good opportunity for our children to see what other schools and children do for their performances.  We will be leaving the school, walking there, at 9:00 a.m. sharp, so if your child would like to walk with all of us, please be sure to be here 5 to 10 minutes earlier – 8:50 a.m. If you would like to drop your child off at 9:30 a.m at A.R. Lord, that is fine.  Just let Juliana or I know.  All the Monday/Wednesday students have field trip forms in their folders.

Thursday:

Morning:  Field trip to The Wizard of Oz at Carousel Theatre, Granville Island.  Again, Carousel seats us only when our entire group is there, so the earlier we are all there, the earlier we get seated and the better seats we get!  Please be there or drop your child off by 9:40 a.m.  Juliana and I will be waiting for everyone outside the front entrance.  Pick up will be at 11:00 a.m.

1:00 p.m. programming for those Tuesday/Thursday students who wish to return to Garibaldi.

Holidays!!  Happy Holidays, Everyone!

There will be an immunization clinic for Kindergarten students at Garibaldi on Wednesday, January 11, 2012.   There is a consent form from Vancouver Coastal Health in your files that needs to be completed and returned as soon as possible.

It was great excitement on Monday and Tuesday as the students received their first letters from their Pen Pals at Rock Primary School in Kasese, Uganda.   We have posted the letters and the photos received on a display in the classroom, so please come on in and read some of the letters.

We learned that our Pals have suffered an enormous loss – there was an earthquake this past term and the school was demolished.  The students are now having their classes outside – and it is now the rainy season.  The government only funded one classroom rebuild, so they are in a real jam. 

Luckily, we had already planned on making Bath Bombs or Bath Fizzies to sell before and after the Winter Concert on December 13th, with all proceeds going to Rock Primary.  Also, your child may have discussed donating some money.  I must tell you, when the children read their letters from their friends, it was the students themselves – with no prompting whatsoever – that immediately discussed bringing in their own savings or donating their own funds for their Ugandan friends.  It was a real outpouring of concern, care and generosity by the children and a real “can-do” group dynamic. 

To that end, I have been researching how to safely and securely send monies there.  One of our parents attempted to wire money there, which did not work.  Also, the teacher at Rock Primary informed me that their computers and connections were also lost in the earthquake, so I cannot easily contact him.  What I have found out – so far – is that a US money order can be purchased through Western Union, which we can then send through the mail safely.  US money can easily be exchanged into Ugandan Shillings there.  So the plan is to put all the donations together to purchase one money order to mail to the school.  I may even send it through DHL courier – as they have DHL there.  Any thoughts or suggestions on this are welcome.

Science World

A reminder that tomorrow is our Science World field trip.  Please meet in front of Science World at 9:45.  We have not received many field trip consent forms, so please ensure you see Juliana or Shannon prior to dropping off your child to sign a form.

Speaking of which, this is a friendly reminder to please ensure you sign and get each and every field trip consent form to us ASAP.  Legally, we must have your signed form for your child to join us on any field trips.

If you did not sign up but decide you would like to join us, there are still spaces available, so please come down and we’ll get you signed up for a workshop, etc.

The Nutcracker Ballet

December 12th:                                                                                                                           The consent forms are in your files and the sign-up sheet is on the table.  We have until December 7th to indicate ticket numbers to the theatre, so please ensure you indicate how many students and how many adults will be attending so we are both allocated and invoiced for the correct number of seats and types of seats.

The Wizard of Oz

December 15th:                                                                                                                           The consent forms are in your files and the sign-up sheet is on the table.  We have 32 seats booked for this popular production, so please make sure you sign up early to avoid disappointment. 

For those of you planning on attending Carousel Theatre’s production of The Wizard of Oz with us on December 15th, you may be interested in the study guide they distribute to prepare students:  The Wizard of Oz

Enjoy!

A BIG Thank you to all the families and students for their wonderful portfolio work and presentations!  I am always awed at portfolio time at the variety of interests our students pursue and the wonderful projects and artwork that they produce!

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Next week when classes resume, we will be in “winter holiday” mode.  Our Science project will be making bath bombs, which the students will sell at the Winter Concert.  All proceeds from the sale of the bath bombs will be sent to our class in Uganda so they can purchase, among other things that they need, paper and postage to send letters back to our students. 

If families have any moulds or ice cube trays and any essential oils we can borrow to make our bombs, we would be very grateful.  We need them ASAP to get started as we will be making many batches – starting Tuesday.  Everything will be returned to you by December 13th (or sooner).    Thank you to Mia’s Dad for donating the Citric Acid needed for our project!  We will be selling the bath bombs for $2.00 each. 

Winter Concert:  Many of our students expressed a desire to have a speaking role in the winter concert, and will be involved in that.  For those that don’t want a “part” they will still be part of the play in the choir, and everyone will have a role, be it as an Elf or Reindeer.

Mark your calendars – the week before winter break we have a field trip to see Seymour Dance’s performance of The Nutcracker and Carousel Theatre’s play The Wizard of Oz.  No forms or anything are out yet – this is just a reminder/announcement!

Finally, we will be starting a program learning about Vikings in January.  Please start saving cardboard milk cartons, coffee cans, and any extra chain mail you have (Kidding on that last item!!). 

Portfolio meetings start this Friday.  If you have not already done so, please email Shannon with your meeting time request.  If you did email Shannon and have not heard back, please email again – issues with the VSB server last week and this week seem to have either deleted or lost whole batches of emails – and were never received.

Holiday preparations

All Garibaldi students are working with Mr. DeLong and Shannon on our Winter Concert.  We are working on a musical play in which all the students will participate.  Practices  have begun and for the next few weeks leading up to winter vacation, will pre-empt some of the regularly scheduled Tuesday and Thursday afternoon programs.  Practice time may impact Robotics time, however, the Robotics program will continue after winter vacation.  The Winter Concert is scheduled for Tuesday, December 13th at 1:30 p.m.  Watch for more announcements regarding the play as we determine the various aspects of the play and costumes.

Science World Field Trip

Wednesday, November 30^th

Spend the day at Science World!  The day includes a workshop for the students “Track Tales” and the Omnimax film:  Dinosaurs Alive!

We have two workshops booked to accommodate all our students, so your child may be placed in the 10:00 a.m. workshop or the 11:00 a.m. workshop.  While one group is in the workshop, the other group will explore the exhibits. If you have a workshop preference, you can indicate your preference on the sign-up form.  However, we do ask everyone to arrive for the 9:45 start, regardless of which workshop your child is signed up for.

The workshop is for students only while the Omnimax film is open to students and adults.

When you sign up, please indicate the number of children and adults attending and whether the adults will be attending the Omnimax.  We will assume all students are attending the workshop and film unless otherwise advised.

Please note – we are working with Science World to re-visit the entry/Omnimax cost for adults who hold a Science World membership and will post any news regarding this a.s.a.p.

Track Tales Description:

The workshop will begin with an observation activity using magnifying lenses and macro-photos of real objects.  Students will test various soil conditions to determine which kinds of soil allow the best footprints.  They’ll match shoe impressions to shoes, and discover what they can tell us about the person that made them.  They’ll compare their own footprints and strides to those of dinosaurs.  Finally, they’ll create their own “dinosaur trackways” with paint and paper.

Omnimax Dinosaurs Alive! 

Dinosaurs Alive! Is a global adventure of science and discovery.  From the sand dunes of Mongolia’s Gobi Desert to the sandstone buttes of New Mexico, follow American Museum of Natural History paleontologists as they explore some of the greatest dinosaur finds in history.  Then experience these amazing creatures on the big screen through the power of computer-generated imagery. 

During the film students will see a close-up view of displayed dinosaur skeletons, including Tarbosaurus and Seismosaurus, original film footage from the 1920s expedition to Mongolia, paleontologists excavating and examining fossils, digital re-enactments of dinosaurs hunting and in combat with one another and examples of conditions that destroyed and preserved dinosaur remains as fossils.

For those signed up for the field trip this Thursday, November 17,  please arrive at the Orpheum theatre by 9:40am.  Please meet at the corner of Seymour and Smithe and wait outside with the group until everyone arrives as the VSO prefers that we all go in together.  See you then!

Is it just me, or is time flying by at light speed?  November… wow.

November is a busy month for all of us, as it is – da, da, da, daaaaa…. Portfolio time.  I think most people have discussed portfolios with us, but if anyone is still in a quandry about them, please chat with your teacher.  Portfolios are a time of celebration when students get to show us all the learning they have been doing and what they are most pleased about – it shouldn’t be a time of stress for anyone.

The calendar for the meetings is up, so please email Shannon with your requested time and an alternate time.  We need to meet with everyone in one short week – November 18th through 24th, so please mark your calendars!

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The students have written “Postcards for Peace” which will be sent to Canadian Veterans.  The students enthusiastically wrote their own messages to our veterans and I have to say I was teary-eyed reading what they had written and seeing the pictures they drew on the cards.  They were just so thoughtful and heart-warming.   I am photocopying them all and will show them to everyone – probably at our portfolio meetings as things are just so busy right now.  I know the veterans will be deeply touched when they receive these cards.  We are sending them to a veterans old-age home.  Our students are also making Peace Doves to “give away their peace” at the Remembrance Day assembly and are learning a peace song.  Everyone from both classes is invited to attend the assembly on the 10th at 10:45 a.m.

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Our next upcoming field trip is to the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra Elementary Schools Concert on Thursday, November 17th at 10:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.  We have purchased a total of 30 tickets for this concert and have a sign up sheet on the parent table.  Please sign up – first come first served.  The price is $6.00 per person. 

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Volunteer Request

Would someone be willing to volunteer to keep the parent table tidy and throw unwanted papers in the recycling bin?  Please let Shannon know.  Thank you!

Bats!

Cross your fingers and toes that this nice dry Autumn weather continues throughout the week for our Beautiful Bats field trip on Thursday, Oct. 27th!

There are still spots available for students to join in.  We will be walking in the forest looking at bat habitat, dwellings and hopefully find a few bats!  This trip is rain or shine.  If it is raining, they ask us not to bring umbrellas. 

The program starts at 10:00 a.m.  Please convene at the Miniature Railway ticket booth.  They ask that we all be there 15 minutes ahead of time.

Diwali

Happy Diwali everyone!  Today marks the fifth day of Diwali.  On Wednesday, Oct 26th, we will be having a Diwali celebration in the classroom from 10:45 to 12:15.  Shannon will be doing Mehndi on the students’ hands, we will be reading a Diwali story, making Diwali decorations and eating some South Asian treats! All students are invited to attend the celebration.

Hallowe’en

It would be hard to miss in our consumer culture, but in case you weren’t aware, Hallowe’en is this coming Monday.  We will be having a Hallowe’en party in the classroom on Monday afternoon.  Everyone in the school – students and staff wear their costumes to school on Monday and for the Monday/Wednesday students there will be a Hallowe’en assembly in the morning. 

Everyone is invited to the afternoon party.  Please bring a snack to share.