Posted in 1A, 1B

שנה טובה – Shana Tova

Wow! what a great start to our Kitah Alef this year!

We have already learned so much and the year has just begun. We are getting to know each other, both students and teachers, we are learning how to read in 3 languages, we are gaining new vocabulary every single day, we have our routines down packed and we are having lots of fun doing all this…

As you know, we also had some special guests visit our classroom last week…

We want to invite you to follow us here, on our blog to see photos and learn about what is happening in our classrooms throughout the year.

Please check out our back to school page above for information about our curriculum, homework, behaviour management, communication and more.

We wish you all a Shana Tova Umetuka and we are looking forward to this wonderful year together.

Posted in Uncategorised

Welcom to Kitah Alef

Hi everyone!

It has been a busy busy begining in Kitah Alef already, as we had all our Tishrei holidays mixed in with learning new routines and geting to know each other better.

This has been our first full week at school and it is amazing to see how our routines and leadership skills are already falling into place, assisting us in having productive and fun lessons together.

We are all working together on helping each other be our best. 

So far, our Kitah Alef students are demonstarting kindness, patience, respect, curiousity, and so much more that makes it a joy to learn together. We are looking forward to seeing you on our Back to school night this coming Tuesday.

Grade 1 Team.

Posted in Jewish Studies, Jewish Studies Reading, Uncategorised

A Wonderful Start… (and homework too)

What a wonderful first week we had in Kitah Alef!

We already know each other better, are settling into our daily routines, and working together on our leadership skills; being kind, helpful, patient, active listeners, turn takers, collaborators, team players, wonderful decision makers and so much more.

 

Starting soon, we will have two helpers every week that will be in charge of our morning routines and throughout the day if/as needed. They will also be our Imas and Abas during Shabbat; However, unlike in ADK, they will not necessarily be the ones bringing the challah that week.. Following is the link for the list of dates for when it is your child’s turn. Please mark your calendars. WE ARE STARTING THIS FRIDAY.

Is it my turn to bring in Challah or flowers/plant?

We will also begin the plant/flower rotation. We like our class looking welcoming and happy. We have a student bring flowers or a plant (one that does not require much attention please) every Monday morning. This is part of taking care of our learning environment, making it more pleasant to be in, as well as providing oxygen 😉 and often Hebrew lessons – parts of the plant, colours, etc…  This too, is on the attached list above. Please put on your calendar as well.

HOMEWORK IS HERE AND WE ARE SOOOO EXCITED

Really! you should have seen the excitement when I told them they are bringing homework home today. 

Lets do our best to keep up this kind of SPIRIT. 

We have started working at school on our reading, and as of today, I would like the children to begin practicing what we do in class at home.  I believe that to become a good reader you need to practice regularly, and reading at home allows for that.

Also, having some homework encourages the learning of how to be responsible, manage time and plan ahead; a skill that will assist them throughout their careers as students, and later in life.

THIS IS WHAT YOU SHOULD EXPECT:

As of today, they will be bringing home their reading booklet every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Please have your child re-read the page we are on (the one we did at school that day), then sign on the bottom and make sure they return it to their note tote, as we will use it daily at school. They can colour in the letter with pencil crayons (NO MARKERS please).

This week’s sounds will be:

  1. Monday, Sep 9 – Ah and Bah/B
  2. Tuesday, Sep 10 – Shah/Sh and Lah/L
  3. Wednesday, Sep 11 – Tah/T
  4. Thursday, Sep 12 – Sah/S

As mentioned in Kitah Alef blog, they should not have more than 30 minutes of overall homework per day, so please keep me in the loop as to how this is working out for your child. Best is to write a little note in the reading book itself, as I look over it daily, and provide those signed with a stamp or sticker ;).

Know that if it takes your child too long, they do not require to read the whole page, but rather a few lines.  if that is the case, please mark up to where they read.

Finally, please make sure they follow with their finger (or the back of a pencil) as they read.  This will assist greatly as the reading becomes more challenging.

Thank you so much.

Happy reading,

Morah Ada