Welcome to the 2019 -2020 School Year!🙋
I am looking forward to meeting you and your child on the first day of school which is Tuesday, September 3rd. Please come and meet me on the blacktop at the back of the school (in front of the portables). I will be holding a sign saying 'Ms Fink, 2-1' and have a class list.
It is helpful if you can let me know what your child's arrangements for after school will be so I can ensure everything runs smoothly. I will be writing this information down so I can help your little one know what to do.
Your child will be getting a desk this year where they can put their belongings inside. As well, like last year, students will have their own lockers located close to the classroom.
Hope everyone had a wonderful summer and see you soon :)
Sunday, August 18, 2019
Wednesday, August 22, 2018
Welcome to the 2018/2019 school year
Looking forward to an exciting year at Florence Meares Public School!
Stay tuned for class updates and information. I am also re-configuring this blog and updating tabs and adding new sections . I will also add new links and continue to communicate through this on-line site, as well as using the class dojo app (information will be sent home on how to load this onto your phones). If you haven't loaded this already, Halton District school board has a wonderful app that will make reporting absences and overall communication so much easier.
Hope everyone had a wonderful summer!
See you on September 4th 😀
Stay tuned for class updates and information. I am also re-configuring this blog and updating tabs and adding new sections . I will also add new links and continue to communicate through this on-line site, as well as using the class dojo app (information will be sent home on how to load this onto your phones). If you haven't loaded this already, Halton District school board has a wonderful app that will make reporting absences and overall communication so much easier.
Hope everyone had a wonderful summer!
See you on September 4th 😀
Tuesday, September 12, 2017
Welcome to a new school year! 2017 -2018
This year I am teaching a split grade, with 10 'Grade One' students and 10 'Grade Two' students. It also means working with two different school teams (the grade one and two teachers at our school) to plan and prepare curriculum.
I try to strike a balance between what each individual student needs as well as following along with what each grade is doing. Sometimes it will mean following different timelines or working out the best way to maximize our time and effort. At other times, it may mean that one grade will go with another teacher on a school trip while I stay behind with the other half. The good news is that it will allow students to be with their peers that are in other classes and provide opportunity to make new friends.
Please follow along on Class Dojo to hear up to the minute class happenings! As well, come back to check this blog for homework (which will start soon) and to read the school twitter feed which will give you information about what is happening school - wide. Looking forward to a busy and exciting year :)
This year I am teaching a split grade, with 10 'Grade One' students and 10 'Grade Two' students. It also means working with two different school teams (the grade one and two teachers at our school) to plan and prepare curriculum.
I try to strike a balance between what each individual student needs as well as following along with what each grade is doing. Sometimes it will mean following different timelines or working out the best way to maximize our time and effort. At other times, it may mean that one grade will go with another teacher on a school trip while I stay behind with the other half. The good news is that it will allow students to be with their peers that are in other classes and provide opportunity to make new friends.
Please follow along on Class Dojo to hear up to the minute class happenings! As well, come back to check this blog for homework (which will start soon) and to read the school twitter feed which will give you information about what is happening school - wide. Looking forward to a busy and exciting year :)
Tuesday, January 3, 2017
Welcome 2017
Welcome to 2017
I have been using the 'Class Story' feature on Class Dojo so haven't been writing on the blog as much as usual. I like that I can keep parents informed more quickly and can give information in short, little notes and pictures. I especially like the privacy features so parents can see their students and I have control of who has access for viewing. I think this may be the way to go for the future but you never know with technology what is around the corner.
For lengthier information, I will still be using this blog and will always maintain the homework section (usually updated on Sunday nights). I know students use the website links and I try to update them whenever new ones are introduced. It was great to see students accessing the links posted for the holiday concert songs and watch (ok, hear...often loudly) students singing. I think this website makes a good home base for linking information and will continue to use it as such.
I hope everyone is enjoying a wonderful holiday and I look forward to posting more information soon.
In the meantime...did you know there is an awesome recipe for the best chocolate chip cookies in the world on this blog? Here is the link that I posted in 2012. Enjoy!
CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE RECIPE
I have been using the 'Class Story' feature on Class Dojo so haven't been writing on the blog as much as usual. I like that I can keep parents informed more quickly and can give information in short, little notes and pictures. I especially like the privacy features so parents can see their students and I have control of who has access for viewing. I think this may be the way to go for the future but you never know with technology what is around the corner.
For lengthier information, I will still be using this blog and will always maintain the homework section (usually updated on Sunday nights). I know students use the website links and I try to update them whenever new ones are introduced. It was great to see students accessing the links posted for the holiday concert songs and watch (ok, hear...often loudly) students singing. I think this website makes a good home base for linking information and will continue to use it as such.
I hope everyone is enjoying a wonderful holiday and I look forward to posting more information soon.
In the meantime...did you know there is an awesome recipe for the best chocolate chip cookies in the world on this blog? Here is the link that I posted in 2012. Enjoy!
CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE RECIPE
Saturday, October 29, 2016
Safety Village and Halloween
Safety Village
It was a dark and stormy day when we headed out to Oakville to visit Safety Village. We listened to information about street signs and traffic rules. We learned that signs that are yellow mean 'caution' and red signs mean ' stop or danger'. Then it was off to drive those jeeps!
This is us learning about driving on the right side of the road. Easy if you know your left from right. Not so easy for all of us :)
Here is the mini- village where we rode our jeeps. It had real working traffic lights and even a railroad crossing complete with a working crossing arm that came down in front of the jeeps (thankfully no train drove through!).
Our next trip will be on November 15th to Mohawk college to see the Boris Brott orchestra. This is a fun trip as they usually combine their music with art and drama. A purple permission note went home on Thursday October 27th. Mrs. Kirk our music teacher organizes this for our students and it is a wonderful opportunity!
Hallowe'en at Florence Meares P.S.
So in keeping with our FM tradition, we will begin Monday, October 31st with a costume parade for staff and students from K-5. Teachers and students in Grades 6-8 are more than welcome to dress up, if desired, and are encouraged to line the hallways during the Hallowe’en parade. Costumes should be appropriate, respectful, and promote the fun and pro-social aspects of Hallowe’en celebrations. As you can appreciate and understand, costumes should not incite fear or anxiety in any way.
Students will begin the parade usually right after announcements
(9 ish). The upstairs students (my grade two class) will parade in the upper hallway and do two loops around the hall. If parents wish to visit and take pictures you are most welcome to do so. You will need to sign in at the office prior to coming upstairs. The parade is over quickly though so timing is everything! Students are asked to come to school wearing their costume over their clothes or bring a partial costume that is easy to assemble. The parade is optional so wearing Halloween colours or not dressing up is fine.
Report Cards
Progress reports go home on November 14th. As you can imagine this is a busy time as I am doing a lot of skills checks, conferencing and testing with students. Not to mention getting my Hallowe'en costume ready! I'm also spending a lot of time on the computer. So, I might be a little late updating the blog but I'll be back soon.
Have a Happy Hallowe'en (even on a Monday night...yikes, that is scary in itself!). Also, thanks to Hugh's Mom for helping take pictures at Safety Village :). Another thanks to all the parents who volunteered.
It was a dark and stormy day when we headed out to Oakville to visit Safety Village. We listened to information about street signs and traffic rules. We learned that signs that are yellow mean 'caution' and red signs mean ' stop or danger'. Then it was off to drive those jeeps!
Our next trip will be on November 15th to Mohawk college to see the Boris Brott orchestra. This is a fun trip as they usually combine their music with art and drama. A purple permission note went home on Thursday October 27th. Mrs. Kirk our music teacher organizes this for our students and it is a wonderful opportunity!
Hallowe'en at Florence Meares P.S.
So in keeping with our FM tradition, we will begin Monday, October 31st with a costume parade for staff and students from K-5. Teachers and students in Grades 6-8 are more than welcome to dress up, if desired, and are encouraged to line the hallways during the Hallowe’en parade. Costumes should be appropriate, respectful, and promote the fun and pro-social aspects of Hallowe’en celebrations. As you can appreciate and understand, costumes should not incite fear or anxiety in any way.
Students will begin the parade usually right after announcements
(9 ish). The upstairs students (my grade two class) will parade in the upper hallway and do two loops around the hall. If parents wish to visit and take pictures you are most welcome to do so. You will need to sign in at the office prior to coming upstairs. The parade is over quickly though so timing is everything! Students are asked to come to school wearing their costume over their clothes or bring a partial costume that is easy to assemble. The parade is optional so wearing Halloween colours or not dressing up is fine.
Report Cards
Progress reports go home on November 14th. As you can imagine this is a busy time as I am doing a lot of skills checks, conferencing and testing with students. Not to mention getting my Hallowe'en costume ready! I'm also spending a lot of time on the computer. So, I might be a little late updating the blog but I'll be back soon.
Have a Happy Hallowe'en (even on a Monday night...yikes, that is scary in itself!). Also, thanks to Hugh's Mom for helping take pictures at Safety Village :). Another thanks to all the parents who volunteered.
Wednesday, October 12, 2016
Developing Empathy, Art and adventures.
Developing Empathy
Many small issues that arise in a primary classroom are due to students needing to further develop their understanding of 'how others may feel' or 'identifying their own anxious feelings'.We have been learning about 'Empathy' through the new series out by Class Dojo. We have watched series one and two and look forward to the final chapter next week. We are all wondering how the character 'Mojo' will solve the problem of being in the 'Maze' (or how will he handle his frustrations with his friends and still keep his friends?).
Here is the link if you would like to view it with your child at home.
Empathy series Class Dojo
Eventually we will be using Class Dojo as a communication tool between school and home. I had great success with using it last year and look forward to refining the process this year. I will not be using the point system individually but will be using them collectively (e.g., I will not be taking points away instead we work towards a class goal). Don't worry, it is a lot of fun for the students and highly motivating if used properly.
More information to follow :)
Fall Art and the Open House
Here are some pictures of our work and activities.
A well attended Open House! Our turkeys graced many Thanksgiving tables and the students told me the cider was the best part. Thank you for attending :)
Getting ready for the Terry Fox run. If you look at the wall you will see Grade 8 students. These are our FM ambassadors. They led us through a warm up activity and then we were off and running (or in my case walking). The students did a great job and thank you for sending in a Toonie for Terry.
Learning how to shade and create a composition. These were supposed to just be fall pumpkins and the next thing I knew Jack-O-Lanterns were popping up everywhere.
Investigating nature on one of our 'Walk and Talks'. We discovered a pile of rabbit poop, a dragonfly that followed us our whole walk, Sumac trees and of course so many grasshoppers. We discovered that grasshoppers eat grass...hence the name. We also decided that if birds don't eat sumac berries then probably they are poisonous and that nature has a great way of figuring things out. We will be doing some art with some of the finds we discovered in the outdoors behind our school.
Quick overview
Mr Cann the science man, is starting his 'Liquids, Solids and Gas' unit. We are learning about 'Recount' writing during Writer's workshop. In math we are developing better answers when we interpret and compare graphs. Our next unit will be developing addition strategies for number sense.
Please check the Homework section for weekly updates. Have a great week!
Many small issues that arise in a primary classroom are due to students needing to further develop their understanding of 'how others may feel' or 'identifying their own anxious feelings'.We have been learning about 'Empathy' through the new series out by Class Dojo. We have watched series one and two and look forward to the final chapter next week. We are all wondering how the character 'Mojo' will solve the problem of being in the 'Maze' (or how will he handle his frustrations with his friends and still keep his friends?).
Here is the link if you would like to view it with your child at home.
Empathy series Class Dojo
Eventually we will be using Class Dojo as a communication tool between school and home. I had great success with using it last year and look forward to refining the process this year. I will not be using the point system individually but will be using them collectively (e.g., I will not be taking points away instead we work towards a class goal). Don't worry, it is a lot of fun for the students and highly motivating if used properly.
More information to follow :)
Fall Art and the Open House
Here are some pictures of our work and activities.
Learning how to shade and create a composition. These were supposed to just be fall pumpkins and the next thing I knew Jack-O-Lanterns were popping up everywhere.
Investigating nature on one of our 'Walk and Talks'. We discovered a pile of rabbit poop, a dragonfly that followed us our whole walk, Sumac trees and of course so many grasshoppers. We discovered that grasshoppers eat grass...hence the name. We also decided that if birds don't eat sumac berries then probably they are poisonous and that nature has a great way of figuring things out. We will be doing some art with some of the finds we discovered in the outdoors behind our school.
Quick overview
Mr Cann the science man, is starting his 'Liquids, Solids and Gas' unit. We are learning about 'Recount' writing during Writer's workshop. In math we are developing better answers when we interpret and compare graphs. Our next unit will be developing addition strategies for number sense.
Please check the Homework section for weekly updates. Have a great week!
Thursday, September 29, 2016
Terry Fox Run
Due to poor weather conditions we were not able to hold our annual Florence Meares' Terry Fox walk today. Although our original rain date was Friday September 30, the weather forecast is calling for rain all day. We will be rescheduling our Terry Fox walk for Wednesday October 5 at 1:40, and our new rain date will be Thursday October 6. Parents are welcome to come join in, or cheer from the sidelines. Please help your child to remember a water bottle and dress for the weather.
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