Poem of the Week: Leaves by Elsie N. Brady

How silently they tumble down
And come to rest upon the ground
To lay a carpet, rich and rare,
Beneath the trees without a care,
Content to sleep, their work well done,
Colours gleaming in the sun.

At other times, they wildly fly
Until they nearly reach the sky.
Twisting, turning through the air
Till all the trees stand stark and bare.
Exhausted, drop to earth below
To wait, like children, for the snow.

In the Forest!

Everybody Smile! What a beautiful day for a field trip to the forest. We are all excited to be at UBC and learn about the Temperate Rain Forest habitat.

Our naturalist taught us about how insects slow down in the winter because the cold air cools their bodies. She made a bug oven to heat one up and demonstrate how insects become much more active when they are warm. Cool!

We played a game called "Meet a Tree". We covered our eyes with a blind fold and a friend lead us to a tree. We used our hands to feel the bark, the lichen, and the moss. We tried to remember all the things we were touching. Then, our partner lead us away from the tree and took off the blind fold. Our challenge was to find the tree that we had just been touching! This was hard to do!

We learned that as plants and animals in a habitat die they decompose and provide food for the new growing plants and animals. Mushrooms are an important decomposer in a forest. We saw so many different kinds! Our favourites were the: Poison Pie, the Coral Mushroom, the Dead Man's Finger, and the cute little tiny brown mushrooms that were smaller than the tip of a pencil!
Another one of the beautiful plants we saw was called a 'sword fern'. It makes a great place for the small little animals of the forest, such as squirrels and mice, to hide under when they are in danger of being hunted. We played a game called "Owl Hunting", it was such fun - we hid like the little animals behind trees and rocks while the 'owl' tried to spot us by using only his or her eyes.

Week of October 27 - 31

Our field trip to UBC is tomorrow! Remember to dress the kids nice and warm for the chilly weather. The entire field trip is outdoors.
With Halloween just around the corner we are planning a small party for Friday. Healthy snacks are welcome! Ms. Santiago will post a sign-up sheet by the classroom door - or you can send an email to let us know what you'd like to bring. Kids are welcome to come to school dressed in their costumes on Friday if they'd like!

Have a great week!


This week's spelling words are:
Grade Two and Three Words:(all words contain the short vowel 'i')
drift
think
clip
list
clink
lick
thing
spring
bring
stick

Grade Three and Challenge Words: (all words end with 'y')
handy
dusty
foolishly
perfectly
fondly
softly
enemy
costly
only
candy
grumpy

As always, please review the words together and check for understanding! Thanks, Mrs. J

Sign up Sheet is on the classroom door!

For our field trip next week we will need four parents to assist. I have already signed up two parents - so there are just two spots left open. Would you like to join us? Come sign up!

This Week's Poem for Spelling

A Friend
A friend is like a flower,
a rose to be exact,
Or maybe like a brand new gate
that never comes unlatched.
A friend is like an owl,
both beautiful and wise.
Or perhaps a friend is like a ghost,
whose spirit never dies.
A friend is like a heart that goes
strong until the end.
Where would we be in this world
if we didn't have a friend.

by Breena Park


This is a beautiful poem which talks about the importance of friends. Please review the words which are in italic, as well as review the meaning of the words - many of which are new vocabulary for the students in our class.
Thanks! Mrs. Johnson

New for the week of October 20-25

Hello families!

Our spelling words will be posted Monday after our pretest.

Our field trip to the Pacific Spirit Forest is approaching quickly. I am looking forward to this unique opportunity to take a walk through the forest with two scientists (naturalists) who will talk to us about how the forest is preparing for winter. It should be fun and educational!
As this time of year has unpredictable weather please be sure to dress the children warmly and water-proofed! We must be ready to spend two hours walking in a damp (rainy) forest. I suggest thick socks, rainboots, raincoats, and a hood, but please no umbrellas because they will be difficult to carry.
Please pack a lunch that will be easy to take with us and eat at the forest.

I will need four parent volunteers to accompany us. If you can help out please sign up on the sheet outside our classroom door.

Thanks!
Mrs. J

Photos for Our Blog
We have sent home permission slips asking families to allow pictures of the children to be posted on this site. During the day we often take photos of kids working together and we'd like to share them with you. When we've recieved your slips we will be able to know which children we have permission to publish.
Thanks! Mrs. Johnson

Week of October 6-10

This week's spelling words are taken from a phonics based spelling program which emphasizes the patterns of letters that make up the sounds of the English language.

I will post the words tomorrow after our pre-test.

It is greatly appreciated if you take a few moments to go through the words with your child and help them understand the meanings. Last week we discovered many new words in our poem such as "cliff, path, journey, and poem."

Thanks, Mrs. Johnson

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Grade Two and Three words:
* All words contain a 'short vowel "e"' *
blend
mend
spend
chest
melt
slept
invent
check
then
fresh

Additional Grade Three Words
* All words are phonetically spelled (the same way they sound)*
compact
sunset
silent
drifting
human
including
behind
constant
talent
rental