Fire Safety

We learned a lot about fire safety today and got to practice getting 'out of a house' (the Fire Safety House from the local Fire Department), had a tour of a fire truck and got to talk with a number of fire fighters.  We learned some fire safety rules (about matches, cords, smoke detectors and closed doors), what to do if your house is on fire and even to stop, drop and roll if your clothes are on fire.  The students were very interested and especially enjoyed interacting with the Kelowna Fire Dept. personal.  The purple letter that came home today shares a little more information.  We are so thankful that the fire department offers this program!!

Praying for Our School

We need prayer! Well of course we do -- we all need prayer. Here are two ways of supporting our campus in prayer.   Thursday Morning Prayer Walk **starts this Thursday** On the first Thursday of each month, parents are invited to gather to pray for the students, families, staff and Board (and their respective families). The format is to meet briefly as a group in the front foyer at 8:45 before dispersing through the school building on a prayer walk. We want to be a school culture which is dependent on God's direction and supportive of each other. The goal of having prayer walks is to allow parents to pray in a specific way, while growing in our own approach to prayer.   Wednesday Morning Prayer Group A group of moms gathers each Wednesday after morning drop-off in the front foyer to pray for the school. Come and join!

Big Buddy Times

We have grade four big buddies and we meet with them for learning activities each Friday.  The grade ones have been so excited to spend time with their big buddies - almost as excited as the big buddies are!  They have been learning about each other and will enjoy getting to do shared reading, play math games, create projects, do research and more over the year.

Patterns!

We have been so busy with patterns that we've made patterns every day this week!  From fish crackers to fruit loops to beads - it's been a very 'hands on' week!

Imagine trying to create a pattern with these!  So many choices!

Nature's Fare

We had a presentation today from a nutritionist from Nature's Fare.  She shared about healthy, whole,foods and also about a reading incentive that the store offers.  Please check your child's CHASE folder for the letter that came home and the 'bookmark' each child was given.

Terry Fox Run

KCS Elementary will hold a Terry Fox run to raise money for cancer research on Wednesday, October 1 from 2:00 to 2:45. All students will participate and are encouraged to bring in at least a $2.00.

Elmers in the Making

We have started our 'Elmer the Patchwork Elephant' projects!  The students are so excited to be making these unique 'puppets' that we will use for creating puppet shows, making up stories and sharing our art with others.  We are halfway through this project, thanks to our willing helper today!  :)  Thank you!

Scientists in Schools Presented by Science World

What a wonderful opportunity we had today to hear from a geoscientist!  Mr. Don Bouffard brought in a number of cool rocks, minerals crystals and even material from a shooting star!  Kindergarten to grade 3 students got to touch and feel many pieces that have been displayed in museums and find out where the pieces were found, what they were, what made them special and how they felt!  Wow!  A big thank you to Science World for sponsoring such a great program!   #swSIS 

How cool is that geode?  Mr Bouffard found it in his neighbourhood!

Learning about Colour

We have been having fun with colour!  The children are learning about the primary colours and how those colours can mix together to make new 'secondary' colours.  The melting ice experiment caused a lot of excitement and predictions as we kept checking on the mixing that was happening - all morning!  We also got to create playdough colour wheels.  Many of the children were amazed at how they were able to create new colours ALL BY THEMSELVES!  Very fun to see them so excited about their learning!

Meet the Teacher

Thank you to everyone who was able to attend the meet-the-teacher sessions!  I really value having all of us on the 'same page' in terms of what our principal, Mr. Scott Campbell, shared as well as getting to share about our classroom in our own 1B sessions.


If you have any questions about any of the handouts, please let me know.

I've put up a sign-up sheet for the two events coming up that can have volunteers (Oct. 3 9:00-2:00 field trip to the Gellatly Nut Farm and Oct. 10 8:40-12:30 Thanksgiving Dinner event).  If you would like to help at either of these events, please sign up or email me and I will put your name up.

Welcome to our class!

Patterning Fun

We have been learning about sorting and patterning in math.  The students are getting quite adept at making their own sorting and patterning rules.

Some of the fun items we've been using for patterning.

Welcome Back Barbeque and Meet the Teacher Night

To kick off the new school year and meet some new families, join us this Thursday, Sept. 18 at 5:00 p.m. on the field for a family barbeque. 

This will be a relaxed time to mingle with elementary families and chat with school staff. Bring your own lawn chairs or a blanket so you have a place to sit! Make it your goal to connect with at least one of our new families that evening. Adults are asked to check in for a nametag to help us get to know each other.

 

There is no cost, but families are asked to contribute the following finger food: last name 'A' to 'M' please bring a small plate of veggies or fruit to share, and last name 'N' to 'Z' please bring a small plate of desserts to share. There will be a table to put the veggies and desserts on. Please use disposable plates as we don't have the facilities to wash and return plates.

 

At approximately 6:15, parents will drop off their school-aged children in the library (for kindergarten to gr. 3 students) or the Heritage Room (for grade 4 to 6 students) for a movie before traveling to the Evangel sanctuary to meet with Mr. Campbell and the teachers. Following presentations, parents will travel to teachers' classrooms to learn about how that class operates. Each homeroom teacher will repeat his/her presentation so that families with more than one child can hear from at least two teachers. A family attending two classroom sessions will be done at approximately 8:00 pm.

 

We require assistance in greeting families at the sign-in table. This role will take about 45 minutes. If you can help, please email Mr. Campbell (scott.campbell@kcschool.ca) right away.

Phone Manners

In social studies, we have been learning about ourselves and how we are each created differently by God and for God.  Today we started to talk about how we can be friends to others and I brought out our newly minted class phone books! (Thank you to everyone who got an email or number for me to put into the book.)  We discussed how we could talk to our friends on the phone and then practiced calling people (with an unplugged phone) while using our good manners.  How fun to hear the kids starting with a greeting and then politely asking to speak to someone, next asking questions of their friend, followed by a polite closing.  Hopefully, each of the kids will begin to develop positive phone skills.  I mentioned to all of them that they may want to call someone to talk to on Friday (when it is a professional development day) or call to try to arrange a play date for that day.  We'll see if any of them actually want to use their phone books!

Hot Lunch Ordering: Now Online!

Our hot lunch program continues to offer excellent choice and quality to our families. Melodie Campbell and Linda Krulic are the 2014-2015 hot lunch coordinators. The hot lunch program helps to fund elementary campus initiatives (e.g. cultural events, technology and playground purchases) that are overseen by Parents in Action.

 

This year, the hot lunch ordering is all done online at kcs.hotlunches.net. Bookmark the link! Families need to register their children, but the process is easy to do, calculates the totals, and even provides reminder emails on Sunday evenings! No order forms to lose! To make things simple, the hot lunch order also includes all hot dog days.

 

To complete the order, families must print out the total sheet and send it to the school along with the exact payment (cheques made out to "Kelowna Christian School") by the required date. All KCS students at the Gordon and Benvoulin campuses are using the same online system, so families with students at both campuses can order and pay for all their children on one form (but be sure to order from the correct campus menu as they are different from each other).

 

KCS families must register, complete the online ordering, and submit payment to the school no later than Thursday, Sept. 18. See the registration instructions and school access code here. 

 

If you would like to volunteer to help process or deliver hot lunch orders at the elementary campus, please contact Linda Krulic through the Elementary office.

We Are Growing!

It happened once yesterday and once today - all the kids were focused on their printing and worked quietly for a minute!  I was ready to take a photo today in case it happened again and so here is the proof!  :)  This may sound a little funny to you, but can you imagine 20 young children all doing something at the same time?  If not for you, this was so exciting for me to see happen already during the second week of school!  It's so exciting to see the progress.

Isn't that amazing?

Painting Today!

It was great to get to learn our 'grade one expectations' for painting today!  The kids seemed to really enjoy getting into their pictures and many were asking to do more pictures!  Our row leaders were excellent leaders for their rows as they even cleaned up after their row was finished - what a blessing to have students who are willing to help and bless others!  <3

Busy painting and sharing the materials and tools.

Our First Week

Dear Parents/Guardians of 1B,  

Welcome to school!  How exciting that grade one has finally started and your child is here at KCS!  I am thrilled to be here to teach your child, and I really enjoyed our first week.  

Here is some important information for you:

1               Check the parent board by our classroom by the front door.  I will put notices, minor changes, requests and questions here, as well as the most current calendar and newsletter.

2               Your child’s inside shoes (which will be worn inside and during PE class) should stay at school.  Please make sure that each shoe is labeled.

3               Our weekly timetable is basically set, barring any unforeseen changes.  We will be physically active every day so your child should wear shoes that are safe to run in.  We have P.E. on Tuesdays and Fridays and library on Mondays (books can be returned in class any day).

4               Please take note of the dress code.  No elementary children are to be showing exposed midriffs or underclothes or wearing halter tops or spaghetti straps.

5               Starting next week, your child is bringing home a CHASE folder every day.  Please have your child review any work in there, read the items in it and then return the folder to school every day, if possible.  If there are school-owned materials or resources in the folder, please make sure your child can complete them independently and then return the CHASE folder with the resources inside.  Monthly homework calendars are extra and can stay in the folder, on your fridge, or wherever.  I always give a reward to students who return the completed forms (if the goal is met) at the end of each month.

6               Your child will have three opportunities to eat each day.  Please ensure that you provide him/her with a healthy snack and lunch that will provide positive fuel.  Keep those sweet and salty snacks for special treats at home.  To promote self-care and personal health behaviours, children are expected to clean their hands before eating.  We are a NUT-FREE school so please make sure that your child has no nut products in their lunches or snacks.  Do not send bright purple or red drinks as they stain the carpet if spilled.

7               Important dates for September:

18^th – is Back to School BBQ and Meet the Teacher night, which begins at 5pm at the Gordon Campus on the field.

19^st – No School for students as it is a professional development day for staff

Keep us in your prayers as we establish our learning routines.

In His service,

Niki Hildebrandt 

Our First Day!

What a great first day we had in 1B!  We did many things, including learning some new routines, getting to know each other, discovering where to find things in our classroom and interacting with each other.  The students' took their first 'tests' (can you find your desk? do you remember where to line up when the bell goes?) and showed good cooperation.  What a great group of kids!