Class News - April 1

Division 15 enjoyed a performance today about water conservation. Look closely at the actors. Do you recognize the "sizzle" sun?

Here's more NEWS.

1) Division 14 welcomes our new student to the class! B is a delightful boy from sunny California. I'm sure his family was scratching their heads as it hailed three days in a row last week!

2) Tomorrow is April Fools Day! Just for Fun the whole school will be coming to school in Pajamas and Wacky Hair. This is not a joke. I'm sure the morning class will enjoy not having to bother getting dressed. The afternoon class may or may not find it convenient. We still need coats to go outside!

3) It turns out I will not be away for Tuesday or Wednesday this week. I was able to reschedule appointments. However, the school is giving me 3 missed prep periods on Tuesday afternoon. This means I am around, but there will be a TOC teaching most of the afternoon class.

4) Gymanastics starts tomorrow (Tues.)
Both classes will have their gym classes on Tuesday this week. Ms. Veda would like to invite as many extra parents as possible to help the kindergartens on the equipment. The morning class by period is at 10:35 am. The afternoon class period is at 2:20 pm.

5) We are not going to the public library this week for a field trip. You don't know what I'm talking about? Well, apparently our May trip to the public library was booked for April 3rd. The presenter is on sick leave. I called today to say the date doesn't work for us and we will postpone the trip. Stay tuned for the final date.

6) The Bare Necessities. While my sons have watched the DVD of the play over and over, there are many students in the class who haven't seen it. Div. 15 will watch the DVD performance on Tuesday. Division 14 will watch the DVD performance on Friday. If you want your own copy, they are available in the office for $3.

7) Wish List. Wow! Thank to Shannon and Paul who donated a tv and dvd player to the classroom just days after I mentioned the need. I'll say it again and again... I don't think any other teacher has class parents as fabulous as mine!

8) April 17. The kids will have an international day during class. The parents will have a Parent Social from 6:15 - 8:30 pm. We will bring extra food from international day as well as additional yummies. Dr. Deb MacNamara will be speaking on "Why Children Say NO." Some parents from other classes who want a chance to hear Deb speak (for free!) will also join us. All are welcome. I will post a sign up outside the class soon. Just keep the day set aside for the event.

Must run,
Love Mrs. App

Term 3 Begins!

Welcome back, everyone! It's great to see all my little bears again. I hope you all had a restful and relaxing Spring Break. It sure went by fast despite the cold and rainy weather. Some families are still on vacation soaking up the sun and haven't returned yet!



Here's some news updates.

1) Please sign and return report card envelopes. You may keep all attachments and files for your own records.

2) We will be doing gymnastics in P.E for the next 2 weeks. Please send your child dressed in appropriate clothes for climbing, jumping, and tumbling. Also, the children will be required to take off their socks and work in bare feet. My regular volunteers can help with safety supervision while the children are working on the equipment.

2) BARE NECESSITIES DVDs are available for purchase ($3 each) from the office. It's really well done with both performances on the menu. The audio is strong and there is lots of close ups. My sons and I watched it tonight and loved it. James was dancing along and Ryan cheers for the wolves whenever they come on stage! Of course, they both love our singing bears. Who wouldn't!

3) It’s going to be Pajamas and Crazy Hair day on Tuesday, April 1 (no, this is not an April Fool’s joke!). I won't be here on that day, so I suspect the TOC will be in for a surprise!

4) Keep your eyes (and ears) opened for "Coins for Caring" which will be happening every day during the week of April 7th - this will be introduced and explained at our assembly this Friday.

5) Library. Many parents have been asking about additional times when the children can visit the library for book exchange, other than their scheduled Monday time with Ms. Leung. The library is opened a bit earlier on Monday’s, Tuesday’s and Friday’s at 8:35. It is also opened after school from Monday to Thursday from 3:10 to 3:30. I strongly encourage you to encourage your children to exchange their books for new ones as soon as they have finished with them, instead of waiting for each Monday. We have an awesome book collection in our school library--one of the best in the district--and I hope the children take full advantage of it!

6) Wish List. I'll try to add an ongoing wish list in the right column. Until I do that, does anyone have an extra tv or dvd player to donate to the classroom. The ground floor no longer has working televisions. I want to show our class the Bare Necessities DVD, but our little tv only has VHS. The colour is hilarious too. I'll tell you that story another time! Also, our staplers are mostly out of order too. Just in case anyone has an extra one?

7) Parent Social and International Food Day. Stay tuned for more information about this combo on Thursday April 17. April 18 is a pro-D, but please don't leave town on Thursday evening. Our evening will be great. It looks like we will have child care so both parents can attend. Remember Dr. MacNamara will be doing the workshop, "Why Children Say No." It's amazing.

8) More about Dr. MacNamara. Go to her link in right column. Her recent blog updates are really good.

See you soon,
Love Mrs. App

Happy Easter

I hope everyone enjoyed their Easter holiday. I'm sure the Easter Bunny made lots of visits. Here's a little song for you all to enjoy. Want more computer activities for the break? Don't forget the podcasts in the right column. See you soon!
Love Mrs. App

Mrs. Riedl Visits

The last week of term 2 was very busy with the play and report cards. Some children may not have told their parents that we also had a very special visitor on Wed. March 12. My mother, Mrs. Riedl, came to volunteer for the whole day. Besides many prep. tasks, she also enjoyed reading The Three Pigs in Alaska to both classes. The children were delighted! Thank you Mom. We hope to see you again soon.

Stay tuned for an Easter Message and and more play visuals.

Love Mrs. App

We did it!

The Bare Necessities was a hit! Our little bear cubs were fantastic. Click here to go to the slide show.
(You can also get there by clicking the link to the school play in the right column.)

Thanks for a wonderful Term 2.

I'll see you all after the break.

Love Mrs. App

Tomorrow is the BIG DAY!

Tomorrow is the Big Day!

Division 15 children arrive at the usual time in dark pants or skirts. Division 14 arrives at 10:45 (or 11:00 if you are not watching the show.)

At 11:00 both classes will put their costumes on and then sit to listen to a story with Ms. Miller until it is our turn to line up.

I will be here in the afternoon for kids who need care. It will not be an official class, since we all need some down time before the evening show.

Children need to be AT SCHOOL by 5:45 pm to get ready for the evening show. If you want to get good seats leave someone in line at the gym while you take your child to the class.

Let's all practise the Bear song tonight at home. Encourage them to sing loudly, but not yelling.
See you at the show! Tickets are still available at the same price as the first week.
Report cards will be ready to go home on Thursday for families that won't be at school on Friday.
It's also C.W.'s birthday tomorrow!
Love Mrs. App

Class News Update (Last week of Term 2)

1) Next week is our last week before Spring Break! I can't believe it's here already. We will be busy with the play and wrapping up term 2. The last day of school is Friday, March 14. This is a half day only. That means that Division 14 will not have school on Friday. Instead, Wednesday March 12 is a FULL DAY. In other words, Division 14 will have class on Wednesday afternoon rather than Friday afternoon.

2) Report Cards. Report cards will go home on Friday, March 14. Division 14 can take theirs home early on Thursday, March 13.

3) The Dress Rehearsal. Friday's big practice was hectic, but it went well. As I was directing, I didn't have a chance to take any pictures. If you have some to share, please email them to me.

4) The Big Performances. On Thursday, March 13, both classes need to be at both performances. DRESS YOU CHILD IN DARK PANTS OR A DARK SKIRT. Division 14 students need to be at school by 11:00 am. (JKC will bring their kids over.) Please help your child into his/her costume before you leave. A Teacher-On-Call will be there with other staff members to keep the children organized before our debut. If you have tickets to the morning show, you can leave your child a little earlier.

After the morning show, the children will be in our classroom, ready to be picked up. If at all possible, please take your kids home for the afternoon. I'll be going all morning, afternoon, and into the evening without a break. All the children will be back for the evening too, so it would also be nice for Division 14 students to have a break from Bayview in the afternoon.

The evening performance starts at 6:00 pm. The doors open at 5:45 pm. Please bring your children to the classroom between 5:45 and 6:15 (if you are not watching the show - can you imagine?) Stephanie and Mrs. Smith will be helping the students. I will be seeing them when they reach the backstage area. The play is 45 minutes to one hour long. The children will be waiting for you in our room for pick up. Please let a staff member know when you take them home.

5) Learning at home on the blog. I do my best to have lots of updates for parents to see what's going on in our classroom. I also aim to have the blog as a learning tool for kids at home. I've had great plans of doing more teaching screen casts. Since I haven't had time to put many on, I've added clips that others have already created. Be sure to check out the video bars on the right with your children. I also added some Bare Necessities songs for fun. BEWARE: the lyrics are different than our stage version. So PLEASE don't have our kids sing along with these ones until after our performances!

6) The Bayview Song. If you didn't see it last week, you MUST check it out now. Scroll down to the bottom of the blog and play the Bayview Song Show. A parent put it together for us all to enjoy. We DO have great parents and children. It's no secret.

7) Clock Change. I expect some grumpy families on Monday. It's unfortunate timing. Oh well, we'll pull through.

8) Teacher On Call. I'll be in the school making the program and running damage control for last minute problems with the play. There will a much less stressed (I hope!) TOC in the room to care for our children.

9) Michelle. Michelle is coming to see our morning performance!

10) Parent Social. I'll be posting more information about April 17 soon. Thank you for all the positive feedback and early confirmations.

Caroline/ Mrs. App

What Makes Parenting/ Teaching Easier?

This post is for PARENTS ONLY! (Please do not let your child watch this clip.)
Often I talk about trying to create the "Right Relationship" in our classroom. Here is Dr. Gordon Neufeld explaining this concept. He is the author of Hold On To Your Kids.

Not many of the K parents made it to the Gala event. Now's our chance to get together. I'm organizing a Division 14, 15, and 11 parent social at the school for Thursday, April 17 at 6:15 pm. We can have a chance to socialize, eat, and listen to a speaker. I am scheduling Dr. MacNamara (see right link.) I mentioned her a few weeks ago. Deb. is a master at the Neufeld paradigm that I do my best to use in the class. Rather than do the caring children workshop, I asked for a more meaty (and the source of frustration for us all) topic - COUNTERWILL. Deb. will explain why our kids instictively say no to us. Get your questions ready! Stay tuned for more information. I'm already looking forward to it!
Caroline

Class News Update

1. This week we read Woolbur by Leslie Helakoski.
This is a story of a sheep that bleats to his own beat. Everyone has trouble with Woolbur from the shearer to the spinner to the weaver. Woolbur has his own ideas about being a sheep, will his family survive?
Spunky, funky, and refreshingly distinct, Woolbur will strike a chord with anyone who's ever felt different. And that's all of us!

While we still believe in the importance of taking cues from the teacher, we also embrace the differences among us all. If you here the children saying, "I know! Isn't it great!" That's Woolbur's mantra. It's a refreshingly positive way of looking at life.
Division 15 has already finished wooly sheep art. Division 14 will do their sheep art next week. Here is the author's website: Leslie Helakoski

2: Both Classes will have 30 minute presentation from the Kitsilano Public Librarian. They will learn more about the library and how to get a library card. We will also plan to visit the Kits. Libray in term 3.

3. We will continue to develop the children's awareness of shapes and patterns in our environment.

4. THE BARE NECESSITIES! Yikes! It's almost here! If you have misplaced your ticket form, the link to print your own is on the right. Both classes will be performing together at the 11:00 show and the 6:00 show on Thursday, March 13. If you are unable to attend the evening performance and your child is not coming please let me know. The big dress rehearsal is on Friday, March 7. I'll be having as many Division 14 students joining us for this rehearsal as possible.

5. The risers for the performance should arrive on Monday. (I'm crossing my fingers they show up.) We will practise standing on the stage this week in our rows.

6. Friday March 7 - The dress rehearsal is at 9:00 am. This means I will be opening the classroom to all 35 students in the morning. The rehearsal will go until recess time. I would REALLY APPRECIATE parents to pick up Division 14 students after rehearsal. JKC kids will simply go next door until class starts at 12:30. I will plan a casual afternoon class, in case some Division 14 children found the morning was enough and miss the afternoon.

7. Ever wonder how I manage to do this school-wide play for 5 years? I am SO FORTUNATE to have FABULOUS parent volunteers who step in and help me out. Class volunteers will be collecting ticket orders this week and delivering tickets to classes. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Love Mrs. App