Happy Holidays!

We made it!  Today was a bit of a different day.  We started the day "crashing" Area B's sing along in the open area outside our classroom.  We were able to join them for just a short time before our Music class time.  We sang a few songs and some of us got a turn playing instruments.  What a nice way to start the day.

After recess, all of the Primary students went into the gym to watch Toy Story 3 with Mr. Chan and Mr. Kelly.  It was nice to snuggle up in PJs and cuddle stuffies with a little movie time.  

After lunch, we took advantage of the mild temperatures and lack of rain and had some time on the playground before coming back in for Centre Time.  It's been a long and busy week and the kids have done so well.  Today, they were tired…there was a lot of laughter and some tears.  Emotions were always right at the surface.  I think they are ready for a break!  

I wish you all a wonderful two weeks with lots of family time and fun!  I'm looking forward to hearing all about your adventures in January.  Thank you for all the cards and gifts.  I've said it before, but I feel so lucky to get to spend my days with such a great bunch of kids.  I'm going to miss them!  

Happy Holidays everyone!

Teeth, Trees and Assemblies

Today, we had a visit from a dental hygienist from Vancouver Coastal Health who did the Kindergarten dental screening.  Please look for a letter like the one above in your child's home envelope.  

We finished our Christmas Tree art today.  These are also in your child's home envelope.  We thought they would make your fridge look especially festive!

This afternoon we attended a Recognition Assembly.  Once a term, we will get together with the rest of the school and recognize groups of kids for the great things they do.  Most often, the kids being recognized are the older kids because they are the peer mediators and play in the band and on the sports teams (etc) but I think it's really important for the younger kids to see because it gives them something to aspire to as they get older.

We also said good-bye to Mr. Kelly.  He is our Vice Principal and will be moving to Queen Mary School in January.  We are all really sad to see him go.

Also at this assembly, the "Do Good" group made each staff member a gorgeous tree and asked us all to come to the front of the gym…they thanked us for being so "treemendous".  How lovely!

Then, we had a little Christmas sing along.  What a nice afternoon we had!

Reminder: tomorrow is PJ day.  A donation jar will be in the front hall if you wish to make a donation to the Finn Foundation (money goes towards childhood cancer research).  I've also let the kids know that they can bring a stuffie to school if they wish.  

Jingle Mingle

I hope to see you all at the Jingle Mingle tonight!  Thanks to all the parents who were here today setting up for tonight's festivities. It's going to be a lot of fun!

Firefighter Visit!

Today, we had our long awaited visit from the North Vancouver District Firefighters!  We were so glad they were able to come in and see us today!

We learned that matches and lighters are not to be played with and if we ever find them, we should let an adult know.  

We learned how to "stop, drop and roll"

We learned about getting low, below the smoke, where the air is better for breathing.  We also talked about having a family meeting place outside our homes.

Then firefighter Mike showed us his safety equipment.  He told us why all the parts are important.

Even though Mike might look a little scary in all his gear and sound a little different with his air mask on, we know that he is a helper and we shouldn't be afraid.

We practiced getting low below the "smoke".

Here are a few photos of our finished snow globes that we started yesterday with our buddy class.  They turned out so well!  Thanks for all your help, Division 8!

Finally, we will not be doing sharing tomorrow (too much going on).  Please remember that tomorrow evening is the Jingle Mingle.  It is a fantastic event organized and run by the parents of Brooksbank.  I hope to see you there!  Also, we are having PJ day on Friday.  It's called PJs with a Purpose and the Brooksbank Do Good Group is collecting donations for the Finn Foundation (that goes towards cancer research).  Kids can wear PJs if they wish (but they certainly don't have to).  I also let the kids in my class know that they can bring a stuffie to school that day too.  

Snowmen, Buddies and Jingle Walking

This morning we worked on a sequencing activity.  We ordered 4 pictures and showed the steps to building a snowman.  

After recess, we got together with our buddy class and made some snowmen snow globes together.  Half of the class worked here and the other half worked in Mrs. Mitchell's class.  I was only able to take photos of the kids in our classroom.  The snow globes are almost finished, I'll post photos of them tomorrow when they are all done.

Then, this afternoon, it was time to Jingle Walk again.  We went along the same route and picked up any food donations that were left on doorsteps for us.  Thanks to the moms who were able to come out and help today (walking and driving).  Unfortunately, our route didn't have too many donations for us to collect. But the walk was nice and the rain stayed away!

Here's what we collected!

Finally, our family gifts are all wrapped and ready to go home.  I would really like to hand these to parents so that I know they will get home safely.  Please come in and pick yours up in the morning, if you're around.  I will also be handing them out at the end of the day.  If you don't usually come to drop off/pick up, let me know and we can make arrangements to get yours to you!