In my first year teaching I worked with a student named Evan (name changed for the purpose of anonymity). Evan was an adventurous spirit who loved to test the limits of how far he could push people of authority. One morning, Evan tried to sneak into class before the bell had rung. I told him that if he were to come into the class, he could help his fellow students by unstacking the chairs. He did so a tad reluctantly. The following Monday, when I read aloud each child's Happy Monday Message, I thanked Evan for coming in and unstacking each child's chair in the classroom. I thanked him for his kindness and for caring for the classroom community. That week, Evan took it upon himself to come and unstack the classroom chairs each day. He did so until the very last day of school, but this was not all. Each morning after he had unstacked our classroom chairs, Evan went to our neighbouring classrooms to see if he could unstack their chairs as well. By the end of the year Evan had taken the initiative to unstack the chairs of the 4 main classrooms on the first floor. That year, Evan proved him self as an inspirational, caring leader. He demonstrated how far a little positivity can go. Monday, November 2nd, 2020.
Happy Monday Messages
Junior Kindergarten: Charles: We loved that in your writing on spiders last week you wrote that spiders eat bugs. We loved that during circle time you shared that spiders eat moths and dragonflies.
Isla: We loved how when it was time to write one fact you learned about bats you said that a bat was a mammal. We loved that you made a connection to our animal song and wrote how bats must breathe in oxygen.
Iver: We loved that when we studied spiders last week you wrote that spiders are covered with hair. You did a great job drawing a spider on your page. We also loved that you shared during circle time that some spiders eat flies and moths.
Leo: We loved that when we studied spiders last week you wrote that spiders have 8 legs. You told the class that spiders are not insects because insects only have 6 legs. We also loved that you shared that some spiders eat dragonflies.
Mia: We missed you last week!
Mia Z.: You did such a great job sharing what you had learned about spiders with the class last week. It was great that you remembered that spiders have 8 legs, they spin a silk web and they eat flies, moths and grasshoppers.
Ophelia: You did an incredible job drawing jagged, straight and curvy lines in your cat picture last week. We also loved that you shared with the class when we were learning about spiders that they have 8 legs and make a web out of silk.
Samson:We loved that when you were writing about what you learned about spiders last week you wrote that spiders are NOT insects because they have 8 legs. We also loved that you told us that the higher you build a marble run chute, the faster the marble will fall.
Tae: I loved how when we were coming outside in line you decided you would lead the continents song. You are such a great singer and learned your continents so quickly through song. We also loved how you retold the whole story of The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything as you were lining up to wash your hands.
Senior Kindergarten Esther: We loved that when we were writing about bats last week how you sounded out the word bat on your own. We also loved how you wrote that bats are the only mammals that can fly. Frankie: You did a great job sounding out the word cat on your own last week. You also did a great job sharing with the class that spiders are not insects because they have 8 legs. It was also amazing when you were helper of the day that you insisted on handing out stickers to students who were on task and how you kept saying, 3-2-1 meditation station to get their attention. Gabriel: We loved that when we were learning about spiders last week you shared with the class that spiders make egg sacks. We also loved what a great job you did making curvy, jagged, and broken lines in your cat artwork. George: We loved that when we were learning about spiders last week you wrote about how the black widow spider eats snakes. We also loved what a great job you did putting your shoes on all last week and how you helped us check all the backpacks to make sure everyone had their COVID pass cards. Lucas: You did an amazing job sounding out and writing the word bat last week. You also did a great job writing about spiders. It was great that you shared with the class that spiders eat dragonflies and moths. You also said they have 8 legs and so they are not insects because insects only have 6. Rafe: It was amazing last week how when we were studying what bats eat you told the class that some bats eat insects and vampire bats eat blood. We also loved how you skip counted by 2 when you wrote your numbers out last week. Ryder: We loved that when we were studying bats last week you wrote about how some bats migrate and how some bats hibernate. We also loved how you did your personal best when you were writing by taking your time and leaving spaces between your words. It was also great how when someone was bothering you, you put your hands on your hip and said, “that made me mad and sad and I want you to stop.” Rosie: We loved that in your writing last week you sounded out the word bat on your own. We also loved that when you were writing about spiders you wrote that they make silk webs. Sophie: We loved how you wrote about how bats are mammals last week and how they hang upside down when they sleep. We also loved how you wrote about how spiders make silk webs. Theo: We loved that when you were writing out your numbers last week you skip counted by 5 all the way to 100! Nice work! We also loved that you shared with the class that vampire bats drink blood from cows. We loved how you wrote that some bats migrate too. Willa: We loved that every day you insisted on staying in your seat until you had written your numbers to 100 last week. We also loved how you shared your amazing spider picture with the class on Tuesday. You wrote that spiders eat moths. It was great that you also sounded out the word bat in your writing. Yiorgos: You did a great job teaching the JKs what a pattern core is last week. We also loved how you wrote that spiders have 8 legs and you explained to the class how they are not insects because insects have 6.
Monday, October 26th, 2020.
Happy Monday Messages Junior Kindergarten
Charles: We loved how you reminded others last week to get out their language bins when they had put their outdoor shoes in the penthouse of their cubbies. We also loved how you shared with the class that monarchs migrate to Mexico. We also loved how when you were the Helper of the Day you worked on using your “honey voice” when you were giving instructions.
Isla: We loved how you decided to do the Senior Kindergarten drawing exercise during your free play time. It was also great how you identified all of your upper case letters on a mixed up letter sheet. We loved how you remembered that M is the first letter in Mama.
Iver: We loved that you shared with the class that G is for gorilla after we had done our phonics songs. We also loved how you also shared with the class that Canadian Geese migrate to Mexico. We loved that you said that maybe the geese could follow our butterflies. We also loved that you offered to help carry the parachute to our tree so everyone had a place to sit.
Leo: We cannot believe how quickly you learned the classroom phonics song. You sang along the loudest to each letter and the letter sound that went along with it. We also loved that when you were tracing over your numbers you pointed to the number 7 and said that your brother was 7. You also did a great job singing the continents yesterday.
Mia: You did such a great job coming in on Tuesday. We loved that as soon as you got to the top of the steps you asked to hold the door for everyone. We also loved how you asked for help with the letter E and then you wanted to keep practising it on your own.
Mia Z.: We missed you last week. We hope you feel better this week!
Ophelia: You did such a great job drawing a flower that used radial symmetry last week. We were also so proud of you for joining the Senior Kindergarten students for the drawing lesson. We also loved how you made up the question of the day during calendar time. “Do you like apples?” was a great question.
Samson: You did such a great job tracing your numbers to 5 on Monday. We were also so proud of you for putting all of your belongings away by yourself when you came inside and putting your outdoor shoes on the top shelf of your cubby.
Tae: You did a great job tracing over your numbers this week. Your pencil grip gets better every day. We also loved how you shared with the class this week that monarch caterpillars come out of their chrysalis and fly to Mexico. We also loved how you ran up to us with your yellow, red and blue marker and told us you were holding all the primary colours. We also loved that when we were reading our story about a goose afraid of flying you said he should be brave.
Senior Kindergarten: Esther: We loved that you did such a great job tidying your cubby on Tuesday and showed all the junior kindergarten students how to get organized. We also loved how when I told you your dad was coming in one minute you counted down from 60. We also loved when we were reading a story about a goose afraid of flying, you said he should be brave and face his fears.
Frankie: We loved that when you were writing out where Canadian Geese migrate to in the fall, you sounded out the word “fly” on your own. You also did a great job singing the animal characteristics song. I heard you singing that mammals breathe in oxygen. We also loved how you wrote out your numbers to 100 during quiet time.
Gabriel: You did a great job using radial symmetry to create a flower this week. We loved how you drew the exact same thing in each fraction of the circle. We also loved how you took your time and coloured in every part of your picture. We also loved how you wrote to the butterflies that when you are worried you can draw to feel better.
George: You told me a great joke this week. This was it, “What do you call a bear with no teeth? A gummy bear!” It was a great way to make your friends laugh. We also loved that you told the class that some butterflies camouflage themselves to stay safe and that some migrate to Mexico. We were also so proud of you for getting your shoes on by yourself and being the first one ready at the end of the day.
Lucas: We loved that during circle time you shared that mammals breathe in oxygen and insects have 6 legs. We also loved that you did all of your writing so quickly and how you didn’t want to come to your spot until you had copied out all of your words of the week. You are so focussed when you work.
Rafe: We loved that you explained to your friends what compromise means last week. You told them that when you compromise it is when you have two different ideas but you meet in the middle. You are so wise. We also loved that you skip counted by 5 when you were writing out your numbers during quiet time.
Ryder: We loved that when you were the Helper of the Day you insisted on giving out stickers to everyone who was following along with the routines. You did a great job saying, “Meditation Station” to get the other students to stand quietly in line. We also loved how hard you worked on writing out your numbers to 10 from memory. It was also so kind of you for bringing in a book for the class on your birthday. Princesses Versus Dinosaurs was amazing! Thank you as well for teaching the class that a platypus is a mammal that lays eggs!
Rosie: We loved that you showed the Junior Kindergarten students how to organize their cubbies last week. You showed them that their shoes go on the top shelf (the penthouse), and their jackets and knapsacks go on the hook. We also loved how you wrote your numbers out to 19 on your own on Monday.
Sophie: We loved that you knew that monarch butterflies and Canadian geese fly South for the winter. We loved that you wrote this sentence in your work. We also loved that you made up a survey for the class. Finding out if they like unicorns or not was a great survey question.
Theo: You did a great job writing about where geese go in winter on your own. We loved that you wrote that they migrate and go with the butterflies. We also loved that you decided to count by twos when you were writing out your numbers. We also loved that you wanted to change seats so you could be a self-manager.
Willa: We were so proud of you for writing your numbers out to 20 on your own on Monday. You were so focussed and worked so hard. They were the neatest numbers we had ever seen you write. We also loved that you told the class that monarch butterflies fly to Mexico or California in the winter.
Yiorgos: I loved that you used the blocks to make a pattern with primary colours last week and you pointed this out to me. I also loved how you reminded me when we were looking at a pattern that I forgot to ask the class what the core of the pattern was and how you proceeded to teach this to the class.
Monday, October 19th, 2020.
Happy Monday Messages Junior Kindergarten
Charles: We loved that when we were learning about different types of animals you shared that birds have wings and mammals such as dogs drink milk from their mummies. You also did a great job after the phonics song. You explained how Yellow starts with the letter Y. Well done! You also did a great job remembering that butterfly’s tongue is called a proboscis.
Isla: We loved that when we were learning about different types of animals you shared that reptiles have scales. You also did a great job making a caterpillar out of pattern blocks during STEM time. I loved how you told us that you repeated the shapes trapezoid, rhombus over and over again to make a pattern. We also loved how when we made symmetrical butterflies using the primary colours you wanted to make 2, one with help and one on your own. You learn new things so quickly.
Iver: You did a great job naming the primary colours on Wednesday when you were making your butterfly. You also did a great job using a jewel to hold your marker properly. You did such a great job tracing your numbers to 10. You also did a great job sharing with the class that a butterfly makes a chrysalis. I liked how you remembered that moths make cocoons and butterflies make chrysalises.
Leo: You did a wonderful job making a caterpillar out of pattern blocks during STEM time. We loved how you repeated the shapes rhombus, trapezoid over and over again. We also loved how you told us after the phonics song that L is for lion. You also made the connection that your name started with that letter too! You also did a great job remembering that butterflies shed their skin 4-5 times before they turn into a chrysalis. You are so clever.
Mia: You did such a great job making a caterpillar out of pattern blocks during STEM time. You were so focused and did not stop until you had completed two full patterns. Well done. You also did a great job learning about different types of animals last week. We loved how you remembered that birds have a beak, feathers and lay eggs and mammals drink milk from their moms.
Mia Z. We loved that during our Mathematics routine, you knew that the clock said 8 o’clock. We also loved that during centres time you sorted the pretend cookies by attribute. We loved how you put all the vanilla cookies together and all the chocolate cookies together. We also loved how you showed us how you could clap the syllables in your name. Well done. It was great how when we learned about different animals last week you remembered that insects had 6 legs and that mammals drink milk from their moms.
Ophelia: You did an incredible job during our math routine last week. You sat down and meditated between each step and you raised your hand quietly when you wanted a turn. We really loved it when you gave another student a silent applause when they were chosen even when you wanted to be picked. We also loved how you did the best letters and numbers we had ever seen you do during quiet work time. It was also amazing how you shared with the class that a caterpillar sheds its skin 4-5 times before it makes a chrysalis.
Samson: You did a great job making a symmetrical pattern with the pattern blocks during STEM time. It was such a creative caterpillar. You also did a great job naming your primary when you were making your butterfly artwork. We loved that you remembered that your butterfly was symmetrical. You also did a great job putting away your playdough and your centre during tidy up time.
Tae: We loved that during our Mathematics routine you knew that a shape with 3 sides was called a triangle. We also loved how you knew that the clock said, 8 o’clock. We also loved how you pointed out all the primary and secondary colours in your butterfly artwork. You also did a great job adding up during our mathematics routine and trying to sing along to the counting to 100 song.
Senior Kindergarten
Esther: We loved that when we were learning about different types of animals last week you shared that insects have 6 legs. It was great that you also shared with the class that mammals are born alive and drink milk from their moms. We also loved how when the fairy left us real caterpillars and a robot caterpillar you explained one was alive and one was not. You said that the robot could not breathe and used batteries.
Frankie: You did such a great job naming the time during our mathematics routine on Thursday. You also did a great job explaining what kind of pattern we made. You were right, it was an AAB pattern. You did a great job explaining how your butterfly artwork was symmetrical. We loved how you pointed out the primary colours in your artwork and remembered how blue and yellow mix together to make green. We also loved how when we were studying different animal characteristics you explained how birds have 2 legs, feather and lay eggs.
Gabriel: You did a great job explaining to the class that clap, clap, twist, clap, clap, twist is an AAB pattern. Well done. You did a great job explaining how your butterfly artwork was symmetrical. You also did a great job drawing the life cycle of your butterfly. We loved how you said that a cycle is like a pattern that happens again and again. It was also amazing how when we were studying animal characteristics you remembered that mammals drink milk from their moms. It was also neat that you figured out that if you put 3 rhombuses together you could make a hexagon.
George: We loved that when it was time to write about our caterpillars last week you wrote that some butterflies such as monarch butterflies migrate to Mexico. Well done! You also did a great job writing out your numbers to 100 on Wednesday. It was so nice that you wanted to show your work to the principal when he came to visit our class. You also did a great job drawing the life cycle of a butterfly on Thursday. It was great that you remembered that a caterpillar sheds its skin 4 times. It was also great that you shared with the class that some butterflies look like other poisonous butterflies to trick animals that want to eat it.
Lucas: You did such a great job drawing the life cycle of a butterfly on Thursday. We loved how you explained how this was like a pattern because it repeated again and again. You did a great job identifying the primary colours in your butterfly artwork on Thursday. We loved how when you wanted green in your picture you decided to make this colour using yellow and blue.
Rafe: We loved that when we were talking about the life cycle of a butterfly last week you shared that it is like a pattern that goes around again and again like a mixer. We also loved how you acted out the life cycle of a butterfly during outdoor inquiry time and how you took a piece of sidewalk chalk to draw this cycle. You also did a great job as the Helper of the Day on Thursday. It was great how you said, “Meditation Station” when we needed to get the class’ attention.
Ryder: We loved how you explained to the class that when a caterpillar is ready to become a butterfly it makes a chrysalis. You also did a great job explaining different animal characteristics to the class. You explained that insects have 6 legs and mammals have hair or fur. You also told the class that birds have a beak and some can fly but not all of them. We also loved how you remembered that there were 3 primary colours and you named each one (blue, yellow and red). Isn’t it neat that cyan is another name for blue and magenta is another another name for red?
Rosie: We loved how excited you were to make our STEM projects last week. As soon as you were finished, you wanted to bring them home right away. We were so proud of you for drawing the life cycle of butterfly on Thursday. You did a great job drawing the egg, the caterpillar, the chrysalis and the butterfly and giving your work a title. You also did a great job naming the primary colours you used in your artwork. You are so clever.
Sophie: We loved that when we were learning about the life cycle of a butterfly last week you shared that not all butterflies migrate. We also loved that you shared with the class that butterflies taste with their feet. We loved that when we were looking at animal characteristics you remembered that insects have 6 legs and 3 body parts. You also remembered that fish have scales and a tail. Well done.
Theo: We loved that when we were learning about different types of animals last week, you shared that not all birds fly. You told the class that woodpeckers and BlueJays fly but penguins do not. You also did a great job making a caterpillar with the pattern blocks on Tuesday. You made the pattern core hexagon and triangle and repeated it over and over again. It was also neat that when you wanted a hexagon and didn’t have one you made one out of two trapezoids.
Willa: You did a wonderful job making a caterpillar with the pattern blocks during STEM on Tuesday. We loved how you used the pattern core trapezoid, trapezoid, square and repeated it over and over again. You also did a great job jumping the time during our mathematics routine and adding up 6+4 by counting up. We loved that when you made your butterfly you remembered all the primary colours you used and pointed out two secondary colours in your work. Well done.
Yiorgos: You did a great job drawing the life cycle of a butterfly last week. You took your time and made a wonderful title for your work as well. It was great how during writing time you slowed down and used your lower case letters. Your printing looked so neat and tidy. We were also so proud of you for naming different animal characteristics last week. You remembered that mammals are born alive and drink milk from their moms. HAPPY MONDAY MESSAGES: Imagine working for two different companies. In one company, you have a boss who is continually telling you the areas in which you need to improve and another company where your boss praises you on a weekly basis for your accomplishments. Which boss would you want to work harder for? In my experience, students blossom as a result of positive reinforcement. For this reason, each week I post a Happy Monday Message on our classroom website to each child in my classroom. This messages focuses on a newly developed skill that the child has developed, or positive character traits they have exhibited in the classroom. Monday, October 19th, 2020.
Happy Monday Messages Junior Kindergarten
Charles: We loved that when we were learning about different types of animals you shared that birds have wings and mammals such as dogs drink milk from their mummies. You also did a great job after the phonics song. You explained how Yellow starts with the letter Y. Well done! You also did a great job remembering that butterfly’s tongue is called a proboscis.
Isla: We loved that when we were learning about different types of animals you shared that reptiles have scales. You also did a great job making a caterpillar out of pattern blocks during STEM time. I loved how you told us that you repeated the shapes trapezoid, rhombus over and over again to make a pattern. We also loved how when we made symmetrical butterflies using the primary colours you wanted to make 2, one with help and one on your own. You learn new things so quickly.
Iver: You did a great job naming the primary colours on Wednesday when you were making your butterfly. You also did a great job using a jewel to hold your marker properly. You did such a great job tracing your numbers to 10. You also did a great job sharing with the class that a butterfly makes a chrysalis. I liked how you remembered that moths make cocoons and butterflies make chrysalises.
Leo: You did a wonderful job making a caterpillar out of pattern blocks during STEM time. We loved how you repeated the shapes rhombus, trapezoid over and over again. We also loved how you told us after the phonics song that L is for lion. You also made the connection that your name started with that letter too! You also did a great job remembering that butterflies shed their skin 4-5 times before they turn into a chrysalis. You are so clever.
Mia: You did such a great job making a caterpillar out of pattern blocks during STEM time. You were so focused and did not stop until you had completed two full patterns. Well done. You also did a great job learning about different types of animals last week. We loved how you remembered that birds have a beak, feathers and lay eggs and mammals drink milk from their moms.
Mia Z. We loved that during our Mathematics routine, you knew that the clock said 8 o’clock. We also loved that during centres time you sorted the pretend cookies by attribute. We loved how you put all the vanilla cookies together and all the chocolate cookies together. We also loved how you showed us how you could clap the syllables in your name. Well done. It was great how when we learned about different animals last week you remembered that insects had 6 legs and that mammals drink milk from their moms.
Ophelia: You did an incredible job during our math routine last week. You sat down and meditated between each step and you raised your hand quietly when you wanted a turn. We really loved it when you gave another student a silent applause when they were chosen even when you wanted to be picked. We also loved how you did the best letters and numbers we had ever seen you do during quiet work time. It was also amazing how you shared with the class that a caterpillar sheds its skin 4-5 times before it makes a chrysalis.
Samson: You did a great job making a symmetrical pattern with the pattern blocks during STEM time. It was such a creative caterpillar. You also did a great job naming your primary when you were making your butterfly artwork. We loved that you remembered that your butterfly was symmetrical. You also did a great job putting away your playdough and your centre during tidy up time. Tae: We loved that during our Mathematics routine you knew that a shape with 3 sides was called a triangle. We also loved how you knew that the clock said, 8 o’clock. We also loved how you pointed out all the primary and secondary colours in your butterfly artwork. You also did a great job adding up during our mathematics routine and trying to sing along to the counting to 100 song. Senior Kindergarten Esther: We loved that when we were learning about different types of animals last week you shared that insects have 6 legs. It was great that you also shared with the class that mammals are born alive and drink milk from their moms. We also loved how when the fairy left us real caterpillars and a robot caterpillar you explained one was alive and one was not. You said that the robot could not breathe and used batteries.
Frankie: You did such a great job naming the time during our mathematics routine on Thursday. You also did a great job explaining what kind of pattern we made. You were right, it was an AAB pattern. You did a great job explaining how your butterfly artwork was symmetrical. We loved how you pointed out the primary colours in your artwork and remembered how blue and yellow mix together to make green. We also loved how when we were studying different animal characteristics you explained how birds have 2 legs, feather and lay eggs.
Gabriel: You did a great job explaining to the class that clap, clap, twist, clap, clap, twist is an AAB pattern. Well done. You did a great job explaining how your butterfly artwork was symmetrical. You also did a great job drawing the life cycle of your butterfly. We loved how you said that a cycle is like a pattern that happens again and again. It was also amazing how when we were studying animal characteristics you remembered that mammals drink milk from their moms. It was also neat that you figured out that if you put 3 rhombuses together you could make a hexagon. George: We loved that when it was time to write about our caterpillars last week you wrote that some butterflies such as monarch butterflies migrate to Mexico. Well done! You also did a great job writing out your numbers to 100 on Wednesday. It was so nice that you wanted to show your work to the principal when he came to visit our class. You also did a great job drawing the life cycle of a butterfly on Thursday. It was great that you remembered that a caterpillar sheds its skin 4 times. It was also great that you shared with the class that some butterflies look like other poisonous butterflies to trick animals that want to eat it. Lucas: You did such a great job drawing the life cycle of a butterfly on Thursday. We loved how you explained how this was like a pattern because it repeated again and again. You did a great job identifying the primary colours in your butterfly artwork on Thursday. We loved how when you wanted green in your picture you decided to make this colour using yellow and blue. Rafe: We loved that when we were talking about the life cycle of a butterfly last week you shared that it is like a pattern that goes around again and again like a mixer. We also loved how you acted out the life cycle of a butterfly during outdoor inquiry time and how you took a piece of sidewalk chalk to draw this cycle. You also did a great job as the Helper of the Day on Thursday. It was great how you said, “Meditation Station” when we needed to get the class’ attention. Ryder: We loved how you explained to the class that when a caterpillar is ready to become a butterfly it makes a chrysalis. You also did a great job explaining different animal characteristics to the class. You explained that insects have 6 legs and mammals have hair or fur. You also told the class that birds have a beak and some can fly but not all of them. We also loved how you remembered that there were 3 primary colours and you named each one (blue, yellow and red). Isn’t it neat that cyan is another name for blue and magenta is another another name for red? Rosie: We loved how excited you were to make our STEM projects last week. As soon as you were finished, you wanted to bring them home right away. We were so proud of you for drawing the life cycle of butterfly on Thursday. You did a great job drawing the egg, the caterpillar, the chrysalis and the butterfly and giving your work a title. You also did a great job naming the primary colours you used in your artwork. You are so clever. Sophie: We loved that when we were learning about the life cycle of a butterfly last week you shared that not all butterflies migrate. We also loved that you shared with the class that butterflies taste with their feet. We loved that when we were looking at animal characteristics you remembered that insects have 6 legs and 3 body parts. You also remembered that fish have scales and a tail. Well done. Theo: We loved that when we were learning about different types of animals last week, you shared that not all birds fly. You told the class that woodpeckers and BlueJays fly but penguins do not. You also did a great job making a caterpillar with the pattern blocks on Tuesday. You made the pattern core hexagon and triangle and repeated it over and over again. It was also neat that when you wanted a hexagon and didn’t have one you made one out of two trapezoids. Willa: You did a wonderful job making a caterpillar with the pattern blocks during STEM on Tuesday. We loved how you used the pattern core trapezoid, trapezoid, square and repeated it over and over again. You also did a great job jumping the time during our mathematics routine and adding up 6+4 by counting up. We loved that when you made your butterfly you remembered all the primary colours you used and pointed out two secondary colours in your work. Well done. Yiorgos: You did a great job drawing the life cycle of a butterfly last week. You took your time and made a wonderful title for your work as well. It was great how during writing time you slowed down and used your lower case letters. Your printing looked so neat and tidy. We were also so proud of you for naming different animal characteristics last week. You remembered that mammals are born alive and drink milk from their moms. Monday, October 12th, 2020. Junior Kindergarten
Charles: We loved how you shared after our story that you were thankful for your family. That is going to fill their bucket so much!We also loved that every time you wanted to share you raised your hand quietly and put a finger on your lips.
Isla: We loved this week that as soon as you were taught how to make an origami bucket, you wanted to make 2 more on your own. You certainly learn new concepts quickly!
Iver: You did such a great job cutting out a heart for our Thanksgiving activity this week. We loved that you remembered that a heart is symmetrical.
Leo: We loved how last week after we read our Bucket Filler book you said you were going to fill someone’s bucket by sharing with them. You are so kind. You also rocked the Bucket Filler song. Your
Mia: Thank you for helping to feed the classroom worms this week. We loved how you found the perfect apple for their dinner. We also loved how you remembered all the words and actions to our “Fill the Bucke” song.
Mia Z.: We are so excited to meet you and so happy you will be joining us at Mountview. Your Grandmother has sent us pictures of all the amazing work you did at the cottage this week. We loved the pumpkin art & letter matching you did.
Ophelia: Thank you for helping to feed the worms this week. We loved that when we talked about how worms help the earth you said they added nutrients to the soil.
Samson: We loved how during circle time outside you always remembered to raise a quiet hand when you wanted to share. We also loved how when we made our buckets out of origami you shared that a shape with 3 sides is called a triangle.
Tae: We loved that when we were mixing primary colours outside, you shared with the class that red and blue make violet. Well done!
Senior Kindergarten Esther: You did such a great job making a square for our kindness quilt last week. We loved how you wrote that you played with your friend Frankie and this filled her bucket. We also loved how you tidied up your language bin as soon as the phonics song went on and took out your yoga mat for yoga time. You also did a great job sounding the word “at” out during your writing and singing along with all the word family songs.
Frankie: You did such a great job as Helper of the Day on Thursday. It was great how you said, “Meditation Station” to get the class’ attention and how you only picked students who had a quiet hand up. We also loved how you sounded out the word “and” during writing time and how during our math routine you said the time on the clock was 7 o’clock! We also loved how you said you had personal power because if someone told you they didn’t like your shirt you would say, “It is my shirt and I like it!”
Gabriel:We loved how you taught the JKs last week that another name for a diamond is a rhombus. We also loved how you told the class that you had personal power because if someone made fun of your ninja costume you would say, “It is my ninja costume and I like it.” We were also so proud of you for sounding out the word “and” in your writing.
George: We loved that when we discussed how we were going to be joining the JKs in their classroom next week you told the class that we have so much to share and teach the JKs. We also loved how you said you would like to work together with the JKs. We were also so proud of you for making a pattern for the border of your kindness quilt on Wednesday. When we said your pattern core out loud and you heard the word pattern you were able to repeat it.
Lucas: You did such a great job identifying your letter sounds last week. It was great that you said, “O is for Octopus” and how you read each of the -an word family words. It was also so kind of you to offer to teach one of the JKs to make their origami bucket for our bucket fillers unit. You are such a great teacher.
Rafe: We loved that during your free time last week you wrote a letter to the classroom fairy asking her if she had a bucket. We wonder what would fill her invisible bucket. We also loved how when we announced that we would be joining the JKs from now on you said that we could teach them so many new interesting things. You also said how we had to be good self-managers and show them the right thing to do and not be silly.
Ryder: We loved how when we did our morning laps on Thursday you decided you didn’t have to be the fastest in the class but you wanted to do your personal best and beat your old fastest time. We also loved how during calendar time you meditated between each step and even stayed in meditation pose when you were jumping the time. We loved how you sang along with all the word family songs last week and when the words were on the board you could read them out on your own! It was also great when you got to the end of your sentence and told us not to forget the period at the end!
Rosie: We were so proud of you for singing along and trying to act out the phonics song on Thursday. You are learning more and more letters and letter sounds each day. We also loved how you helped the JKs make their origami buckets on Tuesday. This was so kind of you. It was also great that you noticed that Lightning was not wearing his mask properly and told the class you have to make sure you wear your mask over your nose as well.
Sophie: We loved that on Tuesday you thought of so many ways that you could fill other people’s buckets. We loved that you wrote that you would fill your Mum’s bucket by giving her a hug and how you kept going up to other students and giving them compliments. It was so nice of you to tell me I had on a nice shirt and to write my name with hearts around it on the chalkboard. We also loved how during writing time you used finger spaces and sounded out the word “and” on your own.
Theo:We loved that during your free time last week you wrote a letter to the classroom fairy and asked her for the power to be unstoppable. We also loved how when we talked about how we would be joining the JKs starting next week you told us how we could teach them so much and show them how to be leaders. You told the class how we could teach them all our routines, interesting facts and how not to be silly. It was also great that you wrote me a letter to explain what you did on the weekend. This filled my bucket.
Willa: You did a great job writing about how you have personal power on Thursday. We loved that you said if someone said they didn’t like your dress you would say, “It is MY dress and I like it!” We also liked how during calendar time you were able to read that the clock said 8 o’clock. It was also so kind of you that you offered to help a JK make their origami bucket when you had finished yours. You are such a great teacher.
Yiorgos: We loved that you taught the JKs on Tuesday that a shape with 5 sides is called a pentagon. We also loved that during writing time you worked to sound out the words “and” and “my”. It was also great how you started working on finger spaces between words. It was also great how when someone was bothering you on Wednesday you used the classroom script. Monday, October 5th, 2020. Esther: We loved how you took the initiative to write so many notes to the classroom fairy this week. We loved how you sounded out your words and brought us your wipe board when you wanted to know how to spell a new word. We also loved that when we were singing about the water cycle you made a connection and started singing the song Both Sides Now because you said it was about clouds. We also loved how you wrote your numbers out to 100 on Thursday and helped a friend remember the order of the numbers. You told her for 11 you write a 1 and a 1 and then it is a pattern. You said the pattern goes 1 and a 2, 1 and a 3, 1 and a 4 and so on.
Frankie: We loved that during your free time you also wrote out a letter to the classroom fairy on your wipe board. We loved how you sounded out your words and wrote the letter sounds you heard. We also loved how when you heard the phonics song come on after snack, you knew it was the cue to clean up your snack and take out your writing bin! Thanks for teaching others this routine. We also loved how you rocked out every day to the counting by 2s and 5s songs. It was so great that you wanted to practise these songs at home.
Gabriel: You did a great job teaching the Junior Kindergarten students about their primary and secondary colours last week. You explained how red and yellow are primary colours and they make orange. You also told them that red and blue are primary colours and they make the secondary colour green. We also loved how you did 5 star colouring when you coloured in your Orange Shirt Day picture. You stayed in the lines and went carefully and slowly. We also loved what you wrote after we made our worry dolls. We loved how you explained that everyone has worries.
George: You did an excellent job doing the yoga all last week. It was so great that you could do so many of the moves! We also loved how every time we did a writing or art activity you wanted to bring the same activity home to do in your free time. You are such a hard worker! We also loved that during your free time last week you took out the picture dictionary so you could see how different objects were spelled. We also loved how you put away your snack during the phonics song and got your language bin on your own!
Lucas: We loved that when you had free time last week you also liked getting out your picture dictionary to see how different words were spelled. We also loved how you brought in playdough for the whole class. This was so thoughtful of you! We also loved how you worked so hard to use lower case letters in your sentences last week. Your printing was so neat! We loved how you showed the principal how to meditate in line on Wednesday. You are such a wonderful leader. We also loved how you explained that when you tell your worry to someone else it gets smaller during our sharing circle outside. Rafe: We loved that you acted out for the class what to do when someone was bugging you on Tuesday last week. It was so nice of you to teach all of the Junior Kindergarten students what to do when someone is bothering them as well. We loved that you told them that they had to put their chin up high when they said, “STOP! That makes me mad and sad!” and how you showed them all the actions. We also loved how you explained to the class on Orange Shirt Day that everyone is different and we all learn from each other’s differences. You told the class it would be boring if we were all the same. We also loved how much you taught the class about making healthy choices with your food. You listened so well to the health lesson and were able to recite which foods were healthy and which foods were sometimes foods. Rosie: You did a great job telling the time to the hour on Wednesday. You also did a great job letting the class know that a hexagon has 6 sides during calendar time. It was amazing how you continued my growing pattern when I drew a star and a dot, then a star and two dots on the board. You told the class the next part of the pattern would be a star and three dots! Well done!! You also did a great job the next day telling us what the next shape would be in the shrinking pattern. You are a pattern expert! Ryder: You did an amazing job with your yoga moves last week. We were very impressed with your tree pose and butterfly pose. You did a great job as Helper of the Day on Wednesday. We loved how you got everyone’s attention by saying, “3-2-1 meditation station” and would only pick students to answer a question if they had a quiet hand in the air. We loved how you chose to count by 5s to 100 during the general store part of calendar time and how you sang and danced to the counting by 5 song.
Sophie: We loved the story you wrote last week about a mermaid, a unicorn and a fairy. We were so impressed that you ran out of room on the first side of the sheet and had to turn your page over to keep writing! We also loved how you volunteered to act out for the class what you could do if someone was bugging you. Putting your chin up high and saying, “Please STOP!” is a very effective way of getting someone to listen. You also did a great job as Helper of the Day on Thursday. It was great how you said “Meditation Station” to get everyone to pay attention.
Theo: We loved that when we were reading the book about Orange Shirt Day you said it wasn’t right that the school told Phyllis not to wear her orange shirt. You told the class we all learn from each other because we are all different. We agree that the school in the story was like a bully. We also loved how you used your energy to help other friends get organized in the morning on Wednesday. You made sure that everyone had their masks on and their backpacks on. We loved how you showed the principal to meditate in line. We also loved how when we were studying primary secondary colours in nature you found a purple flower and you said it had two secondary colours which were green and purple. Willa: You did a great job drawing the bug in the art lesson on Tuesday. We loved how underneath your picture you wrote the word “STOP!”. You told us that is what you need to say if someone is bugging you! We also loved how you requested the word family songs and stories during snack time. It was also amazing how you drew your upper and lower case B on the back of your word family sheet on Wednesday. You are such a hard worker. We also loved how on Thursday you worked so hard on your numbers to 100. You are such a hard worker. Yiorgos: We loved that when someone was talking to you during circle time outside, you just put your fingers on your lips to remind them to stop talking. We also loved how you worked so hard on your word family words. It was amazing how you could read out all the -am word family words on our classroom board. You also did a great job making your worry doll and writing all about worries on Thursday. We loved how you wrote how when you tell someone your worry it shrinks. HAPPY MONDAY MESSAGES: Monday, September 28th, 2020. Esther:We loved how considerate you were when you were playing with your friends outside on Thursday. It was so kind of you to ask your friend “How can I join in?” when you wanted to play with her. We also loved your “I Wonder” question on Thursday. We wonder how big cherries can grow as well. Thank you as well for singing all the skip counting songs on your yoga mat. You are learning to count to 100 in so many different ways! Frankie: Thank you for reminding us on Thursday when we were going over the visual schedule for the day that we left out Outdoor Inquiry time! We love how attentive to detail you are and how quickly you have memorised our daily schedule. We also loved your “I Wonder” question on Thursday. It was neat how you wondered if they accidentally put paper in cotton candy. We also loved how during our math routine you told the class that the shape with 6 sides was called a hexagon. Gabriel: You did such an incredible job as Helper of the Day on Wednesday. We loved how you taught the other students how to tell time to the hour and to count up in our daily addition question. We also loved when we were drawing in art you said that you drew two parallel lines. George: We loved that during outdoor inquiry last week you explained to the class that worms help the earth by making tunnels in the soil. You explained how this helped move water through the soil so plants could have a drink. We also loved how when we misplaced something in class you told us to slow down and retrace our steps. Lucas: We loved how you were reading out all of the word family words last week. We also loved how you were singing along to all the skip counting songs. You also did a great job grabbing your writing bin when you were finished with your snack in the morning. You learn routines so quickly! Thank you as well for sharing with the class that worms help the earth by putting nitrogen in the soil during outdoor inquiry. You are so clever. Rafe: We loved how you sang the counting to 100 song to your friends while you were eating lunch. You learned our skip counting songs so quickly! We also loved how you taught the class that when your eyes look at light your pupil gets smaller and when you are in the dark your pupils get bigger. You are so very clever. Rosie: We loved how hard you worked on your writing this week. We loved your “I Wonder” question. It was neat that you wondered if you could throw a cherry to the sky! We also loved that you wrote that the most important thing about you is that you can play soccer. We can’t wait to see you play!
Ryder: We loved that during outdoor inquiry this week you taught the class that worms make tunnels in the soil and this helps the roots of a plant spread out. We also loved how you didn’t just write out your sentence once, you wrote it out 2 and a half times! We loved that you thought that an important thing about you is that you love hot tubs.
Sophie: We loved how when you drew a picture of a mouse and named it Hannah, you noticed that this name is spelled the same forward and backwards. We also loved how your “I Wonder” question this week was whether clouds were made of cotton candy. We also loved how whenever you had centre time you chose to practise your letters and numbers. Theo: We loved that you taught the class this week that clouds are not made of cotton candy but out of water vapour. We also loved how you showed the class two ways to add two numbers, you can count them on your fingers or count up. We also loved how you wrote that the most important thing about you was that you are strong. You certainly are! Willa: We loved that during our mathematics routine you told us that the pattern core was jump, jump, clap. We also loved that during centres time you took out the colourful links and made a blue and red pattern with them. We also loved how you wrote that an important thing about you is you are good at looking after cats because you really, really want a cat. Your writing is getting better each week with your hard work. Yiorgos: You did a great job telling time to the hour during our mathematics routine. You also did a great job skip counting to 100 by 5 and 10s. We were so proud of you for working so hard on your art and writing last week as well. We loved your self-portrait and how you wrote that the most important thing about you is that you can fish.
Monday, September 21st, 2020.
Esther: We loved how last week you carefully rolled up your yoga mask after yoga and put it in the right bin. You learned our classroom routines so quickly! We also loved how you drew a picture of your rainbow mask and wrote a whole sentence about how your mask has a rainbow on it! Your printing is looking amazing!
Frankie: You did such a great job designing a germ last week! We loved how you used rhombuses, squares and hexagons to make an ABC pattern. We also loved how you shared with the class that when you need to feel calm you go to the bucket chair. You did a great job writing out this sentence during writing time.
Gabriel:Your printing improved so much over the summer! I could not believe how small your printing was. We also loved you shared with the class that when you need to feel calm you watch a ninja show. You did an incredible job writing out this sentence with you lower case letters.
George: We loved how you taught the other kindergarten students last week the names of the perennials that you brought in. We also loved how you shared with the class that when you need to feel calm you draw. Your lower case letters looked amazing!
Lucas: You did a wonderful job tidying up after math centres last week. We loved how you rolled up your yoga mat, and put your toys in a mesh bin to be washed. We also loved how you taught this routine to one of the other children who was absent on the first day.
Rafe: You did a wonderful job writing down how you get calm when you are frustrated last week. We loved how you sounded out your words and wrote that you feel calm when you go to school. We loved how you also wrote how you eat to feel calm. Thank you for teaching the other students to use their bubblegum words when they want to spell a word. It is great they can stretch out each word and write the letter sounds they hear.
Rosie: You did a wonderful job making an A B pattern with the 2D shapes on Thursday. We loved that you used a rhombus and a square and then repeated these shapes. We also loved how you helped the Junior Kindergarten students during outdoor inquiry. You are so helpful.
Ryder: We loved that during writing time you worked hard to copy out a sentence each day last week. We also loved that when you had free time you copied your numbers out to 100. Thank you as well for helping to plant the flowers during outdoor inquiry time and showing everyone how to do the yoga moves each day.
Sophie: We loved that when we were painting our rocks and we asked you what you noticed about the colours, you said they were all primary colours. Well done! Thank you for teaching the other students to use their bubblegum words when they want to spell a word. It is great they can stretch out each word and write the letter sounds they hear.
Theo: We loved that when we were talking about germs last week you explained to the class that their white blood cells fight off infection. We also loved how you sounded out your words during writing time to write sentences on your own. It was great that you shared with the class that when you wanted to calm down you used the egg chair in the quiet corner. Thank you for showing the class how to use the 1 minute timer when you go to this area as well.
Willa: You did a great job learning the actions for our handwashing song last week. We loved how you wrote that to keep germs away you wear a blue mask. We also loved how when we asked which colours we were using to paint our rocks last week, you said they were all primary colours. Good memory!
Yiorgos: You did a wonderful job making a pattern for your lanyard and your germ artwork last week. We loved how you repeated the pattern core hexagon and triangle over and over again. Thank you also for teaching the class that a pattern is something that repeats itself.