Thank you Abby for sending a spring picture.  It is so nice to see flowers  and a butterfly on a snowy day.

Thank you Carson for sharing your writing and photo.  People are spreading kind messages of hope with chalk.  Did you know that National Chalk Day is on April 3rd,  on Ayden's birthday?

A Message From Mrs. Tourigny and Ms. Lambrinoudis

A Message From Mrs. Tourigny and Ms. Lambrinoudis

A Message From Mrs. Tourigny and Ms. Lambrinoudis

Good morning Students, Parents and Guardians,

We hope you are well and have had a restful spring break.  We are indeed living in unprecedented times, and filled with wonder in terms of what the future will bring us with ongoing learning.  For the foreseeable future, together we will delve into the world of online learning.  The CBE has spent the past two weeks creating programming opportunities that will be distributed online for our students.  Our teachers are taking up this work on a very steep learning curve to provide learning opportunities & activities that will begin in the next couple of days. The following tentative timeline will assist families in your planning to take up this work at home:

Monday, March 30 your child’s homeroom teacher will connect with you to discuss your child’s access to technology at home, including access to a computer and the internet. Teachers will email students/parents or by phone call.  We are also making a plan to address the needs of students without these resources and to determine how to support students with paper packages. The school is preparing to produce print copies for pickup for those students who do not have access to a computer and the internet. Teachers will also ask you how you and your family are doing and encourage you to connect with wellness supports and resources available within and beyond the CBE.

For much of Tuesday, March 31, teachers will be involved in virtual meetings planning together in grade  teams to plan first few days of lessons and tasks which will be rolled out to our students. 

Wednesday, April 1 your child’s teacher will let you know how they will provide lessons and tasks and the best way to reach them if you or your child has questions. Students will access learning through a variety of platforms, which may include teacher blogs, Google tools, and for Grade 6 students, through Brightspace by D2L. Your child's teachers will confirm the platform that they have chosen on Wednesday. Consistency in platform choice by all of your child's teachers is something we are striving for.Your child’s teachers will also provide you with more information about what you can expect from them in terms of tasks, and resources and supports you and your child can use to support their learning at home. Ongoing learning with students begins today. Teachers will also provide a schedule that families should follow so that there aren't any overlaps in expectations for work completion.  We would also strongly recommend that parents schedule at least 20-30 minutes of reading per day beyond this schedule.

As a system, we are expected to align with the guidelines shared by Alberta Education for continuity of learning and content delivery by division.  Specifically, that content delivery for each grade is broken down as follows:

K –Grade 3

-Language/literacy and mathematics/numeracy outcomes

-An average of five (5) hours of work per student per week

Grade 4 – 6

-Language/literacy and mathematics/numeracy outcomes, with opportunity to incorporate science and social studies outcomes through cross-curricular learning

-An average of five (5) hours of work per student per week

Parents may want to supplement student learning by providing their children with additional resources. The following provincial resources are available to parents:

• LearnAlberta.ca – more than 4,000 digital resources aligned with Alberta’s K-12 curriculum.
• My Child’s Learning: A Parent Resource - provides parents with information specific to each grade level

We are very excited with the prospect of providing these ongoing learning opportunities for our students.  Missing our students in the building has been very difficult, but we look forward to reconnecting with each student.  Please look forward to receiving ongoing messages from teachers and administration in the days to come.

Thank you for continuing to work with us. Stay well and stay active.

Abraham and his sister learned what foods are good for their teeth and what foods are not.  

Grade 1's here is our first question.

What foods are healthy for your teeth and what foods are not?

Thank you Abraham for sharing a photo

of you being active outside with your sister getting some fresh air.

Happy Spring Grade 1’s!

Not a day has passes that we haven’t thought about each and every one of you. 

Do you remember all of our season songs and the actions? Here are a few you can sing with your family.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ZjpI6fgYSY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fv1UTnSsRPM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iisj2kTZIFs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iw8FddccIkQ

Here are a couple new ones.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DobrRgD5aOU

If you are looking for some fun ideas to do with your family over springbreak here they are:

·      board games

·      read aloud books

·      go for a nature walk

·      play card or dice games

·      family movie night

·      bake something

·      have a dance party

·      sing some songs

 Just know that we thinking of you all and if you would like to share pictures or things you have done with your family during the spring break please feel free to email your teacher. 

If your parents email permission to do so, we can post them on the blog so we can all stay in touch.  We look forward to hearing from you. 

We wish you a fun and safe spring break!

Mrs. Aebli

lyforanaebli@cbe.ab.ca

Miss. Rinaldi

jarinaldi@cbe.ab.ca

Mrs. Swanson

joswanson@cbe.ab.ca

Thursday, March 19, 2020

Dear Grade One Families of Bridlewood,

What a strange week this has been. We are writing today to connect with you one more time before Spring Break. We are thinking of all of you and hope that you are keeping well.

We recognize that the loss of routine that has occurred this week may be challenging for your children and families. We also know that many of you have had to alter your plans for the upcoming week and that adds to the stress and uncertainty of what has become our new reality. The grade one teachers worked together for the first three days this week. We talked a lot about what has been covered and accomplished so far this year and how our students make us proud. Every single student has learned a great deal; not just about the academic subjects, but also about kindness, mental wellness and the importance of fresh air and exercise. We hope that these later qualities help to carry you through these uncertain times.

We will connect with you again after Spring Break. In the meantime, if you are looking for resources for your child, please refer to the programming suggestions that were sent out by the CBE. The link is https://cbe.ab.ca/programs/curriculum/learning-at-home/Pages/default.aspx Also, don’t forget the value of RazKids, Starfall and other online reading resources. We have explored many word families (-an, -at, -ing, -ind, -ink, -ill, -ell) and your child could demonstrate how they can read and write words from these families and also use them to print sentences. A useful link for sight word lists and activities is https://sightwords.com/sight-words/. If you have a deck of cards or a few dice, your child will be able to teach you multiple math games to review skills while connecting as a family. As Spring is nearly upon us, enjoy the wonders of the world and see what seasonal changes you can observe outside. Using sentence starters such as “I can see…”, “I can feel…”, “I can hear…”, “I like…”, “I wonder…”, “I hope…” etc. will allow your child to translate their observations into written thoughts. This might also be a good opportunity to review the classroom blog and discuss your child’s learning with them.
Don't forget to run, play and get some fresh air outside!  Here are some ideas you can do with your family.  
Stay active everyone!
 https://www.playoutsideguide.com/2020/03/20-ways-to-keep-kids-active/

Take care and look after yourselves.

Lynwyn Aebli

Julie Rinaldi

Joanie Swanson

Hello Grade One Students and Families of Bridlewood School. 

Please know that we care for you and are thinking of you during this historic time with school being cancelled. We need to think about community and how we can take care of each other. Throughout grade 1 we have learned that kindness is powerful and can go a long way. Please remember at this time to take care of each other, love one another, have hope, keep positive, show kindness, be compassionate, spend time with your family, have peace, remember to laugh, have conversations, read, get outside and be active.  

Though many families may be unable to physically get together, let’s try to think of ways that we can continue to spread kindness and cheer at this difficult time. For example, you could draw and colour some pictures of something that brings happiness to you and your family to post in your front window. We hope this kindness and joy will spread and give strength when it is most needed.

As we are unsure at this time what is next, please stay tuned for updates that will be sent as more information becomes available.

Mrs. Swanson

Miss Rinaldi

Mrs. Aebli

Miss Lana

BWS IMPORTANT PARENT INFORMATION

Dear Parents & Guardians Based on the changing provincial and local response to COVID-19, the CBE has given us direction to postpone: Evergreen Theater Performance:  Friday, March 13 @ 10:15 am. CANCELLED Student-Led Conferences:  Thursday, March 19th & Friday, March 20th CANCELLED, booking system will not open. We will still be having the Scholastic book Fair, due to the directive parents will NOT able to attend, as conferences are cancelled. All CBE schools have been given direction to postpone or cancel events that include populations from other schools and/or parents or other community members, such as Parent-Teacher Interviews, celebrations of learning, drama/musical performances, dances, athletic competitions, etc. This decision is effective from Mar. 12 until the end of March break. This decision will be revisited during March break to determine whether events should be rescheduled. Events outside of school hours that include the regular student and staff population of the school (school clubs, practices, etc) and scheduled field trips may continue at this time.   I know this may be disappointing news. Students and staff have spent a significant amount of time preparing for these events, but the health of our community is our priority. For the most up to date information about the CBE’s approach to COVID-19 and the actions we are taking, please visit our website. Answers to frequently asked questions will continue to be posted as information becomes available. Thank you, Erin Erin Tourigny Principal, Bridlewood School Calgary Board of Education | www.cbe.ab.ca

Update On Our Learning:
This morning we reviewed again how to wash our hands properly.  The link is below if you want to share with your family.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQ24EfM7sEw

We did an amazing job at dress rehearsal this afternoon.  We can't wait to share our performance with our family tomorrow morning.

Have a fantastic evening!

F.Y.I.

Here is the link to our Evergreen Performance this Friday.

http://school.cbe.ab.ca/school/bridlewood/about-us/news-centre/_layouts/ci/post.aspx?oaid=706ec9a9-3378-4206-82be-621b6494bf93&oact=20001

Our dress rehearsal is tomorrow afternoon.  Our performance is on Friday at 10:15 am.  We are very excited to share with the school and our families.

WE ARE STILL IN NEED OF VOLUNTEERS IN ORDER TO BE ABLE TO CARRY ON WITH OUR PLANS TO HAVE AN ARTIST IN RESIDENCE FOR FELTING IN APRIL AND SWIMMING LESSONS IN MAY. 
Please let me know if you have a current CBE police clearance and would like to volunteer. If your clearance is not current,  we strongly recommend that you complete the paperwork for this A.S.A.P. Please drop by the school office with picture ID to complete this application. 

Please note the following dates. Times have yet to be confirmed.

Wet Felting (In-school activity) – April 8^th and 9^th.

Morning Swimming Lessons (Bus to Canyon Meadows Pool) – May 4^th-8^th.

Highlights Of Our Learning:

We continue to work on the __ell family this week.  Many of us can spell many "ell" words.  The challenge today was turning those words into complete sentences.  We made sure the sentence started with an uppercase letter and ended with a (.?!). 
Ask your child to make the sound effects when they make their punctuation at the end.
-Students had music with Mrs. Fatica and gym with Mrs. O today.
-We finished the day by using our self-created story maps to tell the story "Little Beaver and the Echo".  Some of us rotated to Ms. Aebli's yesterday and went to Ms. Rinaldi's today to tell the story.  Ask your child, who went to the other classes.

F.Y.I.

Here is the link to our Evergreen Performance this Friday.

http://school.cbe.ab.ca/school/bridlewood/about-us/news-centre/_layouts/ci/post.aspx?oaid=706ec9a9-3378-4206-82be-621b6494bf93&oact=20001

Our dress rehearsal is tomorrow afternoon.  Our performance is on Friday at 10:15 am.  We are very excited to share with the school and our families.

WE ARE STILL IN NEED OF VOLUNTEERS IN ORDER TO BE ABLE TO CARRY ON WITH OUR PLANS TO HAVE AN ARTIST IN RESIDENCE FOR FELTING IN APRIL AND SWIMMING LESSONS IN MAY. 
Please let me know if you have a current CBE police clearance and would like to volunteer. If your clearance is not current,  we strongly recommend that you complete the paperwork for this A.S.A.P. Please drop by the school office with picture ID to complete this application. 

Please note the following dates. Times have yet to be confirmed.

Wet Felting (In-school activity) – April 8^th and 9^th.

Morning Swimming Lessons (Bus to Canyon Meadows Pool) – May 4^th-8^th.

We are working with the artists from Evergreen Theatre this week!

Highlights of Our Learning:
-It's our turn to work with the artists from Evergreen Theatre this week. We will be engaging in activities each day and working towards our final sharing assembly that will take place on Friday morning at 10:15am. Parents are invited to this event, so please join us if you can.
-We learned a new math game called "Subtraction Go Fish". Please have your child tell you how this game is played and maybe even try it out at home if you'd like. All you need is deck of regular playing cards.
-We are working on the __ell family this week. How many words can your child create, spell and print with this pattern. (ie. bell, well, swell, shell, tell, sell, dell, cell, dwell etc.)
-The students have self-created story maps to tell the story "Little Beaver and the Echo".

F.Y.I.
WE ARE STILL IN NEED OF VOLUNTEERS IN ORDER TO BE ABLE TO CARRY ON WITH OUR PLANS TO HAVE AN ARTIST IN RESIDENCE FOR FELTING IN APRIL AND SWIMMING LESSONS IN MAY. Please let me know if you have a current CBE police clearance and would like to volunteer. If your clearance is not current,  we strongly recommend that you complete the paperwork for this A.S.A.P. Please drop by the school office with picture ID to complete this application. 

Update On Our Learning:

Miss Erin Hornick (OT) and Ms. Kim Hall (PT) came to our class today and taught us all about self-regulation.  Thank you for coming into our grade 1 class this morning!

Here are a few things we discussed today:

   SELF REGULATION

·       The definition of self regulation was explained in the presentation as follows:  Having self regulation helps us to manage our thoughts, behaviors and emotions in order to have meaningful learning.

·       The students were taught about basic brain structure and parts of the brain that helps us to think and make decisions (prefrontal cortex), and parts of the brain that react when we are stressed and put us in “fight or flight” mode (amygdala).  By learning self regulation we are accessing our “thinking” brain not our “alarm” brain.

·       Sensory tools are used to shut off the alarm brain and use the thinking brain.  The students talked about what they do to calm down when they are upset.  We talked about:

o   Deep breathing

o   Yoga

o   Shutting off negative thoughts and thinking about something else

o   Listening to music

o   Colouring/drawing a picture

o   Fidget tools

o   Singing a song

o   Go outside in nature

o   Play a game (not on a screen)

o   Take a break

o   Get a drink of water

o   Eat a nutritious snack

o   Exercise/play at the playground

o   Practice gratitude

o   Meditation (which happens on Fridays!)

o   Smelling tools (diffuser)

o   Talk to a friend/teacher/parent

o   Progressive muscle relaxation

·       Students got to discuss which tools worked for them and why.

·       At the end we talked about our emotions and that there are many more than happy, sad, scared etc.  We used emoji’s to illustrate this.

EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMMING SUGGESTIONS:

·       Working on self regulation needs to be facilitated by adults as students in grade one will not be consistently independent in recognizing their emotions and knowing how to respond. Talking about it and practicing will help students become more automatic in regulating themselves.

·       Talking about situations that trigger the stress response and recognizing it in your own body is important.  Students can express how they feel by using simple language and labeling it as an emotion. 

·       Triggers or warning signs can also be explored by colouring in different parts of the body (on paper) that the student “feels” before they get upset.  For example, sometimes the heart beats fast, or the teeth clench, or the head feels hot etc.

·       Incorporate whole class calming strategies like stretch/movement breaks, yoga poses, deep breathing, progressive muscle relaxation, calm music.

·       A calming space is already set up in some classrooms and in another space in the school.  This area can have a bean bag, lycra, music, a blanket, and a glitter bottle.  This can be used as a preventative strategy to combat stress, or as a calm down space when a student is angry/nervous/anxious.                          

FYI-

Here is a link about our Evergreen Theater residency.

http://school.cbe.ab.ca/school/Bridlewood/about-us/news-centre/_layouts/ci/post.aspx?oaid=16b6dbe3-6041-49f6-a7a9-f1b9adb324dd&oact=20001

Would you like to order a YEARBOOK, the order deadline has now been extended to March 31^st.

You can order and pay online with your MYCBE/PowerSchool account, you will find the fee under

School Based Optional Fees. Click on the yearbook icon and you will asked to add to your cart,

this will automatically add the $25 fee to your account. You can call the school office ask for the

fee to be attached the fee to your account, please email me directly at catunney@cbe.ab.ca or

call 403 777 6259 with your request.

Update On Our Learning:

This morning we all gathered in the gym for an assembly to meet the Evergreen theater staff.  Our Evergreen Theater celebration is next Friday March 13th in the morning.  We would love to have our parents come and watch.

• During math, we played "Race to 0."  Ask me what the difference is between playing "Race to 100" and "Race to 0".
• In music, we worked on a song called "Bakers Hat."  We also learned how to play big c and little c on the xylophones.   Reese
• Ask me what literacy centre I was at today.
• This afternoon we made story settings for Little Beaver and The Echo.
• We started a new word family today, the "ill" family.  Ask me to share all of the words I made.

Save the Dates!

The grade one students would like you to make note of some upcoming special events. We will require volunteers for these activities. All volunteers MUST have a current CBE police clearance in order to volunteer, and therefore we strongly recommend that you complete the paperwork for this A.S.A.P. Please drop by the school office with picture ID to complete this application. If you already have clearance and would like to volunteer, please let you child’s teacher know.

Please note the following dates. Times have yet to be confirmed.

Wet Felting (In-school activity) – April 8^th and 9^th.

Morning Swimming Lessons (Bus to Canyon Meadows Pool) – May 4^th-8^th.