April 13-17, 2026

 Learning Intentions: 

• I can talk about my culture. 
• I can create an artifact that helps show my culture. 
• I can describe my cultural artifact. 
• I can explain what makes my artifact special. 
• I can share my ideas with others.

This week in Social Studies, students planned and built an artifact to represent their culture. This was an opportunity for students to delve into their family’s history or to better understand their Canadian identity. In our lessons, diversity was defined as “When many different kinds of people learn, live and share ideas together in one place.” Students explored diversity in both our country and in our classroom. On Wednesday, they shared their learning by hosting their ‘Culture Artifact Museum’ to share their artifacts and the stories behind them with our Grade Three friends.

Learning Intentions: 

• I can read and write in my small group to build my skills. 
• I can develop my phonological awareness.
• I can focus on a specific spelling pattern to build mastery.
• I can understand how reading and spelling skills are connected. 
• I can use what I learn in lessons to help me with my journaling.
• I can learn new words and understand how they are connected.
• I can use adverbs to describe who, where, and how something happens.
• I can find and use words that mean the same thing (synonyms) or the opposite (antonyms).

After spring break, students began working in levelled literacy groups four days a week for 30-minute UFLI (University of Florida Literacy Institute) based lessons. These small groups allow for targeted instruction based on assessment and classroom observations. The students are strengthening their reading and writing skills as they prepare for the next grade.

Alongside their regular journaling, students engaged in word work and vocabulary development through videos, songs, and independent activities. They learned about adverbs and sorted words into categories like who, where and how. Students explored synonyms by choosing a word and generating similar words in a fun “mini cinnamon roll” activity. They also practiced antonyms through a colour coding activity to match words with opposite meanings. These activities support students in building stronger vocabulary, understanding word relationships, and becoming more confident readers and writers.

Supporting Your Child at Home: 

Literacy: Pick a simple word (e.g. big). Ask your child to think of a similar word (synonym – large) and an opposite word (antonym – small). Try using the words together in a sentence, either orally or in writing.

Math: We have finished our big focus on addition and subtraction this year. Please continue to practice these skills frequently at home. Your child will continue to bring home weekly basic facts to practice. Please have them complete the work to build faster recall. 

April 6-10, 2026

Learning Intentions:

I can create and follow rhythms using my body.

I can move to match different beats, patterns and music.

I can express myself through music and movement.

I can work with others to create and perform.

I can listen carefully and try new ways to explore rhythm and dance.

Students had the exciting opportunity to participate in Sound Kreations this week. This is a meaningful real-life experience focused on self-expression through movement during their gym time. Students worked on developing coordination, rhythm, and creative movement skills while building confidence and collaboration. They explored sound, pattern, and expressive performance through music and movement. The students learned a dance and performed it for the school. Ask them to show you the dance! A big thank you to the TRS School Council for generously covering the full cost of this enriching experience for all students!

Learning Intentions:

I can solve subtraction problems using various strategies.

I can show and solve subtraction using expanded form. (Gr. 2)

I can explain my thinking when solving subtraction problems.

I can find missing numbers in subtraction equations.

I can choose a strategy that helps me solve subtraction problems accurately.

This week, students continued to develop their understanding of subtraction using various strategies. They practiced solving subtraction problems by counting back, using pictures, working with number lines, and tens blocks.

Grade 1s are strengthening their basic facts and exploring subtraction concepts by identifying the larger number (minuend) and the smaller number (subtrahend), including solving missing number problems. Grade 2 students worked on subtracting two-digit numbers, both with and without regrouping, using strategies such as tens blocks, expanded form, and open number lines to support their thinking.

Supporting Your Child at Home:

Literacy:

Ask your child to write 2–3 sentences about their day, remembering capitals, spaces, and punctuation. Ask them to highlight the nouns, verbs and adjectives in their sentences.

Math:

Ask quick subtraction or addition questions during everyday activities: What is 12 – 3? If you have 20 Cheerios and lose 7, how many are left? I have 5 gummy bears, you have 8. How many do we have altogether?

Your child brought home basic facts to practice. Please have them complete the work to build faster recall.

Social:

Please ensure your child has returned their "All About Me" homework, as we are finishing up our Heritage and Diverse Cultures Unit and will need the information on it for the culminating task.

March 30-April 2, 2026

 Learning Intentions:

• I can tell you that a noun is a person, place or thing
• I can tell you that a verb is an action word
• I can tell you that an adjective is a word that describes a noun
• I can use nouns, verbs and adjectives in my written work

This week, the students learned about nouns, verbs and adjectives. Through various videos, discussions and independent tasks, the student learned about these different parts of speech. The students participated in word hunts for different verbs, illustrations to demonstrate different types of nouns and made a diagram in their visual journal. In Journals this week, they also had a challenge to include three key words (noun, verb and adjective) in their writing. The words of the week were: friend, played and sunny. The students enjoyed creating unique and creative sentences to include these words in their weekend writing. 

Learning Intentions:

• I can tell you about my heritage
• I can tell you about my culture
• I can tell you about my name
• I can tell you about celebrations, places and foods that are special to my family
• I can tell you about different cultures and use the word diversity

This week, the students started a new unit called Our Shared Stories. Students brought home a paper at the beginning of the week to learn more about their names and their culture. This was due on Thursday and the students will be using this for a final project at the end of this unit. On Monday, the story On Tuesday, the students participated in a virtual presentation from the Calgary Public Library. The presentation was from a series called, "Caretakers of the Land" and focused on Indigenous Languages Day. The students listened to a story and learned how to say different animals names in Indigenous languages. They looked at Indigenous knowledge and values and how everything is connected to one other in the world. They ended the week by learning more about different languages in our world. 

Supporting Your Child at Home:

• Reading: When reading with your child, ask them to identify the noun, verb or adjective in a sentence. 
• Math: Your child brought home a basic facts practice sheet. Please have your child continue to practice their facts at home to build quicker recall. 
• Social: Please ensure your child has returned their "All About Me" homework as we will need it for an upcoming project. 

March 16-19, 2026

 Learning Intentions:

• I can increase my flexibility and agility
• I can move my body by rolling, jumping, climbing and throwing
• I can follow instructions and move safely through the course
• I can develop my balance and focus

In Gym, students enjoyed navigating their way through the last gymnastics unit: Mission Impossible. The entire gym was transformed into a series of challenging tasks from the moment you entered.  Students were challenged to climb, toss beanbags, and move around obstacles in a various ways. This was a fun way to conclude our gymnastics unit.

Learning Intentions:

• I can write to convince others of my opinion
• I can explain why coral reefs need to be saved
• I can make connections between what I’m reading and myself
• I can use words and pictures to show my understanding of a story

In Literacy, students continued to ‘dive deep’ into our book study of “The Brilliant Deep”. First, students did a persuasive writing task where their goal was to help save coral reefs. Then, we used ‘text to self’ to draw on prior learning to write and draw about student’s connections to the book. Finally, students were able to share their main takeaways from the book in a graphic organizer.

On St. Patrick’s Day, all the teachers were away learning about the new Social Studies curriculum at the Area office. While we were away, the students worked on a number of fun, Saint-Patrick’s-Day-themed activities including Mini Booklets with math, riddles, roll-a-story and more. A highlight for students was using actual cereal for the Lucky Charms Graph activity!

Supporting Students at Home

During spring break, please continue to do the following with your child.

• Addition Facts (Grade 1 up to 20 and Grade 2 up to 100)
• Subtraction Facts Up to 20 - We will be starting this after the break!
• Reading and writing with your child