December 8-12

 Hello Families,

We are moving through December at lightning speed and our classroom has become especially festive over the last week.  Our letter of the week was letter C!  We practiced making the letter C, we know what sound it makes and we can identify words that begin and end with the /C/ sound.  We loved singing along to an old classic "C is for Cookie!" and spent the week reading different versions of "The Gingerbread Man".  We even journaled about our favourite version so far.

We talked all about sequencing this week as well- looking at beginning, middles
and ends of stories and identifying how different tasks and activities follow a certain order.  We know that we get ready for the park or to go outside by following a sequence.  We practiced completing sequencing pictures and then solved a "sequencing puzzle" to plan out the steps of making a cookie- like the Gingerbread cookie.  The PM Kindergarten students followed the same sequence when we made salt-dough ornaments and gingerbread men this week.  The AM students will get to participate in this activity next week

In math, we continued to work in our number journals representing numbers up to five and reviewing our subtilizing skills on 10 frames.   We also jumped into more pattern exploration.  We went on a pattern walk and found over 20 different patterns in our school.  We noticed that so many people wear patterns on their clothing. We also know that patterns always repeat.  We used our understanding of patterns to create patterned paper chains.  

In centre time we have opened our own Kindergarten Post Office with a mailbox, envelopes, stamps and fancy paper.  We have been writing letters to our friends, making cards for family and getting really excited for "Mail Time" when we deliver mail to other classrooms or to each other in our classroom.  

We also have a cozy holiday cabin and Candy Cane Cafe for our dramatic play centre.  We have been "making cocoa", "buying and selling snacks" and "decorating our pretend house" this week.  It's been a lot of fun.  We have also been crafting, painting, building, playing board games and looking at Christmas books and story books together.  

Important Dates to Remember:

Please return library books this week. We will continue our regular library day on Tuesdays in January.

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 16:  AM Class ONLY - Caroling at 9:00am 

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 18:  PM Class ONLY - PJ Day and Caroling at 1:00pm

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 19: AM Kindergarten Day - PJ Day for AM Students

DECEMBER 22- JANUARY 2: Winter Break (No School)

 

Additional Updates from MTS:

The Magic of Christmas

Every Christmas Eve, The Magic of Christmas loads up Calgary Transit buses that are magically transformed into “reindeer buses”, with hundreds of gifts and volunteers dressed as Santa and his elves.  Then they deliver Christmas spirit into the homes and hearts of those who need it most. 

From now to December 18, students and staff can bring in a new, unwrapped donation items (not food) and place them in the boxes located in the front foyer.  

Please see the attached wish list for ideas of items to donate. 

For more information or to make a monetary donation, please visit:  www.themagicofchristmas.org/donate 

Thank you for your support!

Food Support

Did you know that the Breakfast Club of Canada has shared research demonstrating that 40% of Alberta’s children experience food insecurity?  This means that 4 out of 10 children do not have access to food when they are hungry. 

If your family is experiencing challenges with providing food for your children you can find help at Brown Bagging Calgary. 

Complete this form for support and they can deliver lunches to McKenzie Towne School for your children. https://go.bb4ck.org/l/858913/2024-01-15/38fdbw You can also find out more information on their website https://bb4ck.org/

Brown Bagging for Calgary's Kids

 

Here are some extra pictures from our week: