Upcoming Reminders and/or Events:
- Trail Walk is on Wednesday this week from 8:50-9:20am. Families are welcome to join us!
- Fun Lunch is on Friday
- Family Literacy Day is next Monday, January 27th. Families are invited to join us to read from 8:45-9:05am. We are also invited students and staff to come dressed up as their favourite book character.
What are we working on in class?
- Math: We are continuing our multiplication/division unit. This week we are focusing on tips and tricks for remembering our basic facts. I encourage the kids to use Reflex Math or flashcards at least once per week to help them memorize these facts up to 10x10. Soon we will be moving onto two and three digit multiplication by one. We will be looking at a variety of strategies students can use to solve these problems: the traditional/standard algorithm, area/array model, repeating addition/skip counting, and partial products. This week Ms. Ammaturo is looking at the relationship between area, perimeter, and volume in geometry.
- Writing: We will be working on finishing our paragraph of the week on a trip. We have brainstormed details, chosen 3 and expanded with specific details, and will be working on an excellent ending and a bold beginning sentence.
- Gym: This week we are starting to practice our basketball skills. We will be focusing on passing skills this week - we will learn the chest and the bounce pass.
- Reading: We are starting to explore themes in literature. In the next couple of weeks we will be introduced to different themes and encouraged to look for the theme in the books we are reading. We will be looking at the themes of cooperation, kindness, compassion, courage, and honesty. We look for the messages in books that include these important words.
- Social Studies: We are starting our Two Worlds Meet project. This week we will be learning about possible early explorers prior to Christopher Columbus. We will also be learning about the fall of Constantinople and why people started to explore.
A note from the office: Good Morning Lochside Families ~ This morning the parking lot and roadways leading into our school were congested to a point of creating unsafe driving and arrival conditions. Please contribute to safety by considering the following. It is important to forward this information to family members who may be helping transport your children to and from school. For safe arrival and departure:
- consider taking the school bus – it’s free. Here is the link to register
- supervision starts at 8:25AM and goes until 3:10PM. You can drop off at 8:20 to avoid much of the congestion
- consider walking, riding bicycles or carpooling to school
- Allow yourself enough time to park in the immediate neighbourhood and walk the remaining short distance to Lochside. Child(ren) aged 7 and up can likely learn to walk independently and safely use the crosswalk. The crosswalk is staffed every morning from 8:10-8:40 and every afternoon from 2:45-3:15.
The FIRST map below indicates easily accessible places to park and walk, as well as approximate walking time to the crosswalk/school. NOTE: Lochside Dr. adjacent to the Lochside Trail and back parking lot has new municipal restrictions on parking.
The SECOND map below indicates how to flow through the parking lot. Note the DROP-OFF lane is for use to quickly stop, have the child(ren) independently hop out with their backpacks, and for you to move on. Drivers must stay in their cars. If there is no spot to pull in and stop, continue to circulate until a spot comes open.
