December 16 - 20, 2024
Spirit Week at St. Gabriel
School Advent Project
The Advent season has arrived and Christmas is just around the corner. As we have done in past years, we will support families in need from our adopted school, St. John the Apostle. Each class, from Kindergarten to Grade Six, is invited to bring in a few toiletries items. Additionally, a donation can be made through School Cash Online would also be most appreciated. Monies collected will go towards the purchase of grocery store and WalMart gift cards so the families we are supporting can purchase essential items to meet their needs. We encourage the students to complete a chore at home to earn their own money so that they experience the gift of giving. We have extended the deadline for collecting donations until Wednesday December 18th.
St. Gabriel Christmas Book Market
The Christmas Book Market is coming to St. Gabriel School. We are seeking book donations of all kinds, from children's stories to novels, cookbooks to crafting guides. As long as the content is appropriate for school (please refrain from sending adult romance novels)
All donations will help support our Advent project: providing gifts to the less fortunate and support the community of St. John the Apostle School. Please bring your gently used books to the school office by Monday, December 16th.
The book market will take place on Wednesday, December 18th. Books will be available for purchase for just $2 each.
Students can purchase these books for their families as unique and affordable Christmas gifts.
Donation Tips:
● We have found in the past when families donate the same number of books as your child(ren) will be taking home, it makes the shopping experience easier. The more books you can donate, the more choices our students will have.
● Books should be in good condition. Send only books that you wouldn’t mind receiving. NO textbooks please!
● Donations of wrapping paper, tag and tape are also needed.
● Drop off donations in the front foyer or send in with your child/children.
Thank you for your generosity and support during the Advent Season.
Volunteering Opportunity - Help Wanted
On Wednesday, December 18th, we are looking for volunteers to come help the students choose and wrap presents from the Book Market for a family member.
If you can spare one hour or more, please sign up in this form.
Our Learning
Language:
We have been learning about adjectives, nouns, verbs, capital letters, and punctuation. We will continue our writing focus on descriptive writing and how we can use adjectives and interesting descriptive vocabulary to paint a picture in the reader's mind. We are having fun with Christmas-themed descriptive writing activities!
Our next UFLI phonics lessons will focus on long vowel sounds. Last week, we learned about the long a vowel sound, as in ape. This week, we will learn about the long i vowel sound as in ice cream. The long vowel sound is the same as the vowel's name, I.
The vowel i says its own name, I, when there is a silent E at the end of a word, like in the words bike and side. The silent E makes vowels say their names, or long vowel sounds.
*Usually, when there is a silent E at the end of a word it will tell us to say the long vowel sound like in the words five, ride, and kite. The E does not make a sound so we say it is "silent" ("silent E" or "bossy E").
New heart words: who, by, my
Please have your child practise the heart words we have learned so far in class: the, I, a, said, to, do, of, see, he, be, me, from, you, what, have, look, book, are, was, your, want, go, no, so, goes, says, they, their, were, talk, walk, could, should, would, or, for, *who, *by, *my.
Math:
We will continue to work on our unit about addition and subtraction. In Grade 2, we are practising our recall of and understanding of addition facts for numbers up to 20, and their related subtraction facts. We have practised using the doubles, doubles plus one, and doubles minus one strategies. We will continue to explore how to make ten and rearranging numbers or using friendly numbers to add. Here are some ways to show our strategies for the addition strategies for smaller numbers:
Link to Grade 2 Parent Summary Letter About Making Ten here
Link to Grade 2 Parent Summary Letter About Rearranging Numbers to Add here
In Grade 3, we continue to explore strategies for adding and subtracting numbers less than 100 (e.g., using a number line, hundred chart, manipulatives such as counters or ten-frames, drawing objects, and using mental strategies). Later on, we will learn how to add and subtract larger numbers. We will also begin to work on solving word problems that involve addition and subtraction. We will focus on how to communicate and show our thinking (How did we determine our answer?; What strategy did we use? How can we explain our strategy?). We will also learn the steps to solving a problem, including writing the final answer in a complete sentence when solving a word problem. Please have your child practise adding and subtracting at home, with an important focus on encouraging your child to explain his/her thinking, as this is a challenging skill for many.
Dec. 20 - Last day of school before Christmas holidays
Dec. 21 - January 5th - Christmas Break: School closed
Wishing you all a very merry Christmas and a restful holiday!
