Bus Ridership

Today was bus ridership day at school. Bus Driver Bob came and taught us all how to be safe on the bus. He also taught us what to do if there was an emergency.

The kids in Room 8 were great listeners. Here's what they learned:

You should listen to Bob - Justin

When you walk you should stand straight and tall - Matthew

No standing in front of the bus - Landyn

When you're lining up, don't go anywhere - Yuan

Before you walk into the street, don't go in the "danger zone." - Renee

We stand on the bus and we walk up the stairs by being safe. -Brayden

We were sitting nicely. 

Bob taught us that if there's an emergency we go out the back. -Parker

Terry Fox Part 2

Today was a very exciting day! We got two new students in our class. The Room 8 kids did an excellent job of making them feel welcome and being great helpers.

 This morning we all participated in the Terry Fox Run. Even though it was very hot out, we all ran and walked the whole time! Thanks to all of the families who sent money for the Terry Fox Foundation. Our school raised over $300!

Here's what the kids had to say about Terry Fox:
 He had a different leg - Isabella 
 He kept running and running and running - Yuan 
 He ran for a very long time - Matthew 
 He runs really fast with his robot leg - Brayden 
 We were running - J 
 Terry Fox was hopping and running -Jolena 
 We were running because Terry Fox was running - Parker 
 He was running through Canada from far away - Justin 
 He runs so fast - Alfonso 
 He got bad cancer and the doctors couldn't fix it - Charlotte

At the end of the day we had 2 more fire drills. The students did an excellent job of walking quickly and quietly and lining up in front of the school.

Terry Fox Run Part 1

Tomorrow is our annual Terry Fox Run. We will run to remember Terry Fox's Marathon of Hope and help to continue to raise money for cancer research.

The run will take place during period 4 rom 11:00-11:35. Staff and students will walk or run in the field behind the school.

Each staff member and student is encouraged to bring a toonie or other amount to help support this cause.  100% of the proceeds will go to the Terry Fox Foundation.

Today the students in Room 8 learned about who Terry Fox was.  They learned that he got very sick with cancer. He tried to run across Canada to raise money for cancer research. The students are excited to bring money tomorrow and run to help continue Terry's work.

I showed them this short slideshow and the first 5 minutes of the following video to help explain why we are running tomorrow.


Terry Fox - Created with Haiku Deck, presentation software that inspires


(The students only watched the first 5 minutes. We focused on how brave Terry was, not on his sickness or eventual death)

Reading Buddies

Today we got to spend some time with our grade 2 buddies. We met in front of the school in the learning circle.

They brought their book bags and read books to us. It was nice to feel the warm sun on us as we sat and read together.

When it was time to say goodbye there were lots of hugs and some kids even made plans to play together at recess.

This year we will do all sorts of things with our buddies!

Fire Drill

Today we practiced a fire drill (twice).

The kids in our class are so smart, they were able to tell ME what to do!

You walk outside - Matthew
We have to be quiet - Jolena
Hands by your sides - Parker
Wear your inside shoes - Yuan
Keep your jacket off -Landyn
Stay in a line - Keane

Skype Day and a BIG Surprise

Today was the big day. We used Skype to talk to our friends at Oak Lake School!

We got learn all about their birthday centre. It turns out that they have some of the same things that we do like a table cloth and balloons.

They also have some things that we don't have including a wooden cake and cupcakes.

We have both made charts about all of the things that you might need to celebrate a birthday. We compared our charts.

Our Birthday Chart

Mrs. Caldwell's Chart

Later in the afternoon we had library and there was a big surprise waiting for us. We got to pick out our very own book to take home.  Mr. W. also gave each student a special book bag so that they could keep their books safe at home. Mr. W. suggested finding one special spot at home to keep our library books so that they don't get lost or damaged.

Special bags made my Mr. W's Mom

Each of the students got to choose their own bag to keep. They were SO excited!

Library books can come back to school whenever your child is finished with them but must be returned before next school day 1 (Sept. 26). The students will only be able to take new books when the previous books have been returned.

Ready, set, Skype!

Today we started preparing to meet some new friends using Skype.

Mrs. Lowe heard about another class that has a birthday centre in their classroom. The class is Ms. Caldwell's class in Oak Lake Manitoba.

Ms. Caldwell's Blog

Today we looked at their blog and checked where they live using Google Maps.

Then we used the Photo Booth on our computer to practice looking at ourselves, being good listeners,  and coming up to the computer to speak.

Tomorrow we will come up with some questions to ask our new friends.

Do you use Skype in your house or classroom? 
Who do you connect with?

International Dot Day!

Today we celebrated International Dot Day!

Dot Day was started by Peter H. Reynolds and his book called The Dot.  The story is about a little girl who learns that she can be an artist by just making her mark.

You can watch the story here:


 In the morning some of the students painted dots.

In the afternoon our Reading Buddies from grade 2 came to help us paint our very own wooden dots.

We also watched this video and sang the song.


How did you celebrate Dot Day?

Our First Library Class

Today we visited the library for the first time.  Our library technician is named Mr. Wesselius.

He started to read us a story called "Mo's Mustache" by Ben Clanton, but Mrs. Couch came in with a special delivery.

She pulled all sorts of crazy stuff out of the box including a mustache, a scarf, and even a clown wig!

Mrs. Couch looked so funny!

We were very curious about what was going to come out next!

At the end of the story we all got our very own mustaches. It was a VERY funny trip to the library.

Next time we visit the library (on school day 1) we will get to choose one library book to take home with us for the week.