1. education
2. school

April
Newsletter
‘15
Sprout Garden —Grade 1P
Patricia Polacco Book Study in Grade 3S
Wide Open Theatre—Magical Munsch School Tour
2F and Some of the Tackle Football Team
S-Wing Pancake Breakfast
Book Fair—Under the See Theme
Wow, here we are at the end of March!
This weather makes it seem more like the end of
April! It is so great for our students to be able to
get out onto the playground and enjoy having no
snow to contend with! Our second round of Three
Way Conferences are now complete and students
have set their goals to finish off their school year
strong!
Easter break is in only two more days we
hope everyone will have the opportunity to relax
and spend time with family. It will give our students a chance get recharged and refreshed for
the remaining months of the school year!
- Ms. Fansher and Mr. Stroeder
March has been another exciting and busy month
in 1B! As a kick off to spring, we have been growing
plants in the Science lab. We are observing the
changes in the plants and journaling about it. Growing plants is helping us learn about living and
nonliving things in Science. We have been reading
and writing about sharks in ELA. Good readers use
text-features to help them comprehend so we have
been focusing on text-features this month. We have
also learned to write paragraphs! In Math, we are
learning about measurement including capacity,
length, surface area and mass. If you need help
reading a map, ask one of us! We have been practicing reading maps, including reading map grids. In
Health, we have been exploring the
difference between ‘healthy’ and
‘not healthy.’ We know about
healthy feelings, food and habits.
Using our imagination has been
our focus in Art. We used our imagination to create art out of found objects, such as
plastic bags. We would like to thank Mrs. Seifert for
volunteering to play the piano for us while we sing.
We are looking forward to leaning more songs
throughout the rest of the school year.
- Mrs. Bergen
This past month has been a busy one as the students had the opportunity to share their work and
classroom with their families during student led conferences. Thank you to all the parents for joining in
and celebrating the students’ accomplishments for
the term as well as all the support you provide at
home for your child.
In Math, we have been exploring and working with 2d
shapes. The students participated in such activities
as describing and naming the shapes, sorting
shapes, using geoboards to make 2d shapes, shape
scavenger hunt, making shapes using popsicle
sticks, and creating pictures using shapes. Next, we
will be exploring with 3d shapes.
ABC’s – the students have been working on lower
case letter formation using sensory stations. We
have also been working on sh, ch, th, wh, ck, ou, ow,
ar, and or. We also continue to work on long and
short vowel sounds.
Writing - the students are now doing daily journal entries. They draw a picture and then write a word or
sentence to go with their picture. They are working
on using a capital letter to start their sentence, using
finger spaces in between words, using proper letter
sizes in their words, and using periods at the end of
their sentence.
Word Study – we are coming to the end of our PWIM
cycle with our theme of cows and will be going on a
farm field trip to the Mau’s to conclude this unit of
study. The students shook out sentences and we
practiced reading them using periods, question
marks, and exclamation marks. We categorized our
sentences and we practiced putting the words in the
correct order to make the sentences make sense.
We also learned all about titles and the students
worked together to decide on a title for their PWIM
picture. We will be starting our last cycle of PWIM
after the Easter break.
In the Play and Exploration room we had fun doing a
variety of hands on art and science activities with the
Saint Patrick’s Day theme. They included sparkly paper plate rainbows, shamrock hats and magical fizzing shamrocks. Anything with vinegar and baking soda is always
fun! We also did several liquid
and solid experiments, making
observations and were excited to
see if our predictions were right.
As Easter approaches we have many more creative
activities planned.
- Mrs. Sherban and Mrs. Sandercock
Grade 1 Little Sprouts Project at LES
In March we started a Little Sprouts project sponsored by Agriculture in the Classroom. First we soaked our
seeds overnight. Our seeds are Crunchy Bean Mix, Speckled Peas, Sunflower Shoots, and Sandwich
Booster. Next we planted them in soil and covered with humidity domes for three days.
During those three days our seed germinated. We took our domes off, placed them under a
grow lamp, and watched the stems grow. We journal, measure and compare the different
types of seeds and their growth. Our first harvest was of the Speckled Peas. We ate them
in a salad! This project is fun and we are learning a lot about sprouts, living things and how
to care for them.
- Mrs. Penrose
It's a zoo in Grade Two! Or at least it looks like it with a cage for all the “classroom critters”. We
recently began a new Language Arts theme called Amazing Animals. Make sure you check
out the door to identify all of the new animals in 2F. So far we have enjoyed reading and
learning about kangaroos and rabbits as well as making some fun paper bag crafts. We
have also worked on several comprehension activities involving charts and diagrams. We
used kangaroo hopping to play games with sounds and to even practice our reading skills.
Speaking of reading, our class has been involved with Rider Reading Month for
March. We are committed to reading at least 15 minutes a day - this will give us a chance to
have a visit by two Saskatchewan Roughrider players in a random draw. (Mrs. Fick is really hoping we are
picked!!) In the meantime, the Roughriders sent each student a bookmark. We have been doing some fun
activities during our Rider Reading time such as: “huddle up and read” groups, eating green snacks as we
read, reading in the gym then throwing the football around, buddy reading with our own flag football players
and listening to Coach Knudsen read stories. There are still a couple of more ideas to try out before the
end of the month.
Before we became classroom critters, we finished the Folktale unit with the Travel the World
Folktale Show. We entertained family and friends on March 6 with skits, jokes, singing, dancing, a Reader's Theatre and poetry featuring Africa and China. We also performed the program for eight classrooms
before the real deal. Everyone seemed to enjoy our efforts and we had a great time putting on the show.
The monthly Lodge visits continued with some play time in the snow on March 12. We were invited
to make snowmen for the residents while they watched from the big windows. Then when we went inside,
we helped make homemade ice cream and even better, we got to taste some!
March was also the month for another skating date with Kindergarten and Grade 2W classes. We
joined 2W to view all of the fantastic projects at the Hub's Art Gala. Everyone was actively engaged during
the Magical Munsch puppet performance on March 23 by the Wide Open Children's Theatre.
Meanwhile, back in the classroom...we are learning how to add to 100 in Math, exploring solids &
liquids in Science, finding out about treaties between First Nations and the British Crown, and learning
about teeth in Health. Arts Ed. periods have been used for Easter projects, art lessons on black & white
contrast and texture, storytelling, folk dancing, new songs and singing games.
April will be equally busy with a swimming date in Humboldt to look forward to, Easter celebrations
and the Music Festival. More about these in next month's Classroom Critters Report!
- Mrs. Fick
2W started back after the February break with a new ELA and Arts Education theme about sports and fitness.
They made up team names, team dances, sport cards, goalie masks, and uniforms for their favorite sports. Mrs.
Sandercock has also been teaching 2W ELA in the morning. They have been learning about First Nations people
and customs. They have also worked on categorizing, finding the main idea, identifying the story elements, predicting and describing character traits. The students have just completed an addition and subtraction unit in
Math. They are really good at using different strategies and showing their thinking to solve math problems. In Social Studies, 2W has learned about different Canadian communities. Since Christmas the students have been
working on motion and relative position in Science. The students have enjoyed experimenting
with several kinds of simple machines and conducting different experiments about motion.
Healthy body has been the main focus in Health. They are learning about the parts of our bodies
and what they do. In Physical Education the students finished a gymnastics unit, played scooter
games and now are skipping. In March 2W enjoyed skating, the Marvelous Munsch puppet
show, worked hard to get ready for 3 Way Conferences and are excited about Easter.
- Mrs. Wilson
Wow… March has sure flown by in 3S! The grade 3’s
have been studying Patricia Polacco this month. We
read 14 books as a class! Each day we discussed the
Author’s Message and we were able to use different
comprehension strategies as we worked through the
story. At the end of the unit, students voted on their favourite and did a class project using that book.
Fractions is the unit that we have been learning about in
Math, using several math manipulatives to help expand
our knowledge. We even played games in order to determine numerators and denominators as well as having Fab Friday’s, where we put our math facts to the
test. In Social Studies, we have learned all about various communities around the world and compared them
to our own communities around Lanigan.
I am pleased with the progress our
students have made so far this year
and am looking forward to the remainder of Term 3!
- Miss Schindel
The Grade 3 and 4’s have been working very hard
this past month! We started up a new Math unit in
“Measurement”, a new unit in Health covering how
to deal with conflicts, positive ways to resolve
problems and learning more about Canada in our
Social Studies classes. We are wrapping up our
latest Science unit on “Light”, we will begin learning about “Sound” in the upcoming week. The
Grade 3’s and 4’s are planning to visit the Lodge
Residents and sing for them, so stay tuned for
more details! This past month we have been working together with the 3S Classroom to build our
math skills up. We do “Math Duels” to practice our
math facts and work on group and cooperation
skills. Both classes are doing
really well with this! The Grade
3 and 4 students continue to
work hard and show their enthusiasm for learning. Great
work to all students!!
- Miss Heidecker
L.E.S. is a Nut and Scent Alert
School.
Since we have completed seven months of school, here are seven interesting things we did in the month of
March!
1) We went skating twice at the rink. There were a number of students who were getting on the ice for the first
time this year. We had a great time!
2) Our class won $75 in books from the book fair thanks to the SCC! Caleb also happened to win the "family
draw" as well which rewarded him with $25 in free books and the class with another $25 dollars as well. Thanks
again!
3) Researched different Juno nominated artists and presented the research to classmates prior to the Juno
Awards on Sunday, March 15.
4) The students have just started writing their first 5 paragraph essays with the title: "These Are a Few of my
Favourite Things"
5) We finished our "Scream" inspired projects using oil pastels. We also just started a very cool Glue Line Easter Egg chalk pastel project in Art. Check out the hallway soon for the finished creations!
6) Taking part in the Saskatchewan Roughriders reading initiative. The students need to read
at least fifteen minutes every day and this allows us to be eligible to have a chance to win a
visit from a few Riders before the end of the school year! The students even received cool
bookmarks from the Riders.
7) We have continued with the 100 Word Challenge prompts and three of the students in our class have recently had their writing selected for the "Special Showcase". Emily, Seija, and Wamiq have all been selected out of
thousands of weekly pieces of writing from all around the world! The students should feel very proud of their
accomplishments! Check out this website to get a better understanding of what the 100 Word Challenge is:
www.100wc.net - look for the Special Showcase button to find some of these exceptional 100 Word Challenges.
Have a great holiday!
Mr. Torwalt
Magical Munsch School Tour
The stories of popular children's author, Robert Munsch, really came to life when the Wide Open Children's
Theatre gave a puppet performance on March 23 at Lanigan Elementary School. With a narrator and two puppeteers, six stories were presented to not only our K-6 students but the K-4 students from Drake School as
well. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed Angela's Airplane, 50 Below Zero, More Pies, Get Out of Bed, Moira's Birthday and Alligator Baby. The audience was kept interested and actively engaged through the talents of the puppeteers with their expert puppet-handling, expression, sound effects and different character voices. Simple but effective backdrops, lighting and various props added to the show.
The stars of the show were of course the puppets themselves...colourful, felt and foam
creations made by the Theatre company. The variety of characters and their antics provided wonderful entertainment and laughs throughout the hour long performance.
- Mrs. Fick
The past months in 6C have gone by super-fast. We have started a badminton tournament in Phys.Ed, we also
went skating at the rink. The 6-8’s had a curling bonspiel, which was super fun.
In Art we made our own version of Montana Jones and the Gymnasium of Doom. We
have also started a new unit called Pointillism. Our class got a foosball table in are classroom, and the S-wing also got a Ping-Pong table.
We made board games with 3S and spent a period playing them. They were fun.
We will be having a dress up like salad dressing week (Ranch, Caesar, etc.). The Kindergarten’s to grade 6’s
will have a Robert Munch puppet performance on March 23. We are all so excited for spring to come.
- Cassidi Klapak and Madison Krieger
Greetings fellow students! This term has been interesting. We’ve been learning a new unit in Math, which
is Fractions, Decimals, and last but not the least, Percent. It’s been tough and challenging. In E.L.A we
have been focusing on storytelling, but mainly this unit
we have started mysteries and paranormal activities.
Science has been really fun. We have been studying
with Heat and Temperature. We had to create contraptions to see whose ice cube lasts the longest! In
Phys. Ed, we are ending the badminton unit. We feel
like all of us have enjoyed playing badminton. Our
school has this fun event called “Salad Dressing
Week”, it’s a dress up like a salad dressing! This term
has been really good to us, we feel like we did better
than before. We hope to continue this
to the end of the school year!
It was great to see the parents come out for 3-way
conferences. Thank you to everyone who was
able to come and take part.
-Anne Holmlund & Jeanine Candido
We are halfway through or third term already. It is
amazing to think we will soon be in our last term
and saying goodbye to our grade 8’s.
In grade 8, we have just finished surface area and
volume in Mathematics and have now started linear equations. In E.L.A., grade 8 students have started writing persuasive
speeches and the grade 7’s made a
representation of butterfly that figures
prominently in the novel, Dust, by Arthur Slade. In social studies, we are learning about
different types of government and Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms. We have had some
great debates about national security vs. Individual
rights as well as deciding which are our most important rights.
- Mrs. Jackson
A huge thank-you to everyone who helped out with Book Fair! Thank-you to our SCC for donating
$75.00 to five classrooms for their classroom library! Our net sales were $3,156.57 and this brings
$2,209.60 in free books for our library! What a wonderful way to put books into our children's hands!!
Also, thank-you to our Library Club who are always helping out with various tasks!
- Mrs. Hollman
The SCC sponsored a draw during the Book Fair in
March. 5 classrooms were drawn to receive $75 of
books for their classroom library. The winners of the
draw were: Mrs. Bergen (1P), Miss Schindel (3S),
Miss Heidecker (3/4H), Mr. Torwalt (5T) and Mr.
Chernishenko (6C).
Term III of the Milk Program will start in April. The
milk program is going well. Thank you to Mrs.
Hollman and our student volunteers who keep things
organized and milk delivered on a daily basis.
Members of LES’s School Community Council
Laura Melin (Chair-person)
Cindy Riemer (Secretary)
Heidi Craig (Treasurer)
Annalea Sookeroff
Patricia Rosenberger
Dixie Kiefer
Stacey Sveingjornson
Tannis Burton
This month was very busy for the students and
staff of LES! We had a great start when grades
6-8 got to go curling for the day, even when the
younger ones would beat us every time! We
even got food and snacks from the concession,
and hot chocolate to warm us up! Three-Way
Conferences were also held, with an amazing
Under the Water themed Book Fair, that the students worked hard to prepare. We can’t forget
our awesome long weekend when there wasn’t
any school on the 16th! This led us into St. Patrick’s Day where all of the student sported some
green pride! We are currently in a spirit week
where each day you dress-up as a type of salad
dressing. Tuesday was Ranch Day where we
dressed as cowboys/girls. This was also the
day we had a pancake round-up breakfast which
we couldn’t have done without the SRC and
room-reps! See you-around!
Bree Fisher
Immunization Notice from Population and
Public Health
April 2015
Lanigan Elementary
School
Box 789
Lanigan, SK. S0K 2M0
Phone: 306-365-2011
Fax: 306-365-2551
Email: janice.fansher@hzsd.ca
jeff.stroeder@hzsd.ca
All immunization records located in the Saskatchewan Immunization Management System (SIMS)
have been moved over to a new system called Panorama.
Panorama is a secure electronic health record system designed to record and store immunization related information. Confidential immunization information is only available to authorized health care
workers, such as members of your public health
team, physicians, and nurse practitioners across the
province using secure networks.
Nurses use Panorama to access records to immunize
students in grades 1, 6 and 8 and to control the
spread of vaccine-preventable diseases when present in a school or classroom.
If you have questions about Panorama
visit www.ehealthsask.ca/panorama or
call 306-655-4612.
Dates to Remember
April 3
April 6-9
April 10
April 24
May 15
May 18
May 22
May 29
Good Friday
Easter Break
Day In Lieu of Three Way Conferences
Term III Report Card 6-8
No School
Victoria Day Holiday
Movin’ On Up Grade 8 Celebration
Kindergarten Orientation
(no school)