CRAFT DAY update

The craft has been changed recently, so blenders and candy are no longer needed.  Sorry for the confusion in the email labelled "DECEMBER NEWS".

Mme. Blahout

DECEMBER NEWS

As we begin the holy season of Advent, Christmas and Epiphany, we hope to make the Christmas story come alive in a meaningful way for our students.  In order to help them experience the gift of God coming amongst us, we will unite all classes for weekly Advent celebrations. Christmas discussions will focus on the birth of Jesus and how "acts of kindness" are the best birthday gifts for Jesus. Advent means a time of waiting... awaiting the birth of our Lord.

As an extension of the activities being done at school, we invite you to celebrate at home using your own Advent wreath;  

Week 1 - Nov. 27 - Dec. 3            one purple candle

Week 2 - December 4 - 10           two purple candles

Week 3 - December 11 - 17         two purple + pink candle

Week 4 - December 18 - 24         three purple + pink candle

What to expect regarding the CHRISTMAS CRAFT - Thursday, December 15 @ 9:30am

Parent volunteers are needed to assist our little elves on this special day and would be very much appreciated.  If you have not returned the RSVP form confirming whether or NOT* you will attend this event, please return it as soon as possible. (*even if you are not coming) *Please note –Volunteers will be in class to assist all students. Please do not bring younger siblings on this day. Thanks so much! A sing-a- long will follow (which is in lieu of participating in the Christmas Concert). *Since we are not participating in the school-wide concert, we apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

In French are monthly vocabulary is:    Advent / Avent      Merry Christmas / Joyeux Noël
winter/ hiver             Christmas/ Noël               Santa Claus/Père Noël             reindeer/renne     star/ étoile            baby/ bébé            Jesus / Jésus          mother/ mère          father/ père    manger/ crèche          gift / cadeau         help / aider          share / partager         love / aimer
     
In Math, we will review basic shapes and introduce characteristics of 3-Dimensional shapes.  We are also composing* and decomposing numbers (*eg. two numbers that make up a larger number.) 

The most important gifts at Christmas are the "Acts of Kindness" that we show to one another.

To cherish the true meaning of Christmas...

Here is a wonderful family activity that helps prepare our hearts for the celebration of Jesus’ birth, and focuses more on “giving to others” rather than commercial gifts. Starting immediately or ASAP--- leading up to Christmas:

1. Find a small box and decorate it. (This will hold Jesus’ birthday gifts.)
2. Keep the box in a prominent place where you will see it on a daily basis.
3. Keep some small notepaper and a pencil next to the box to mark down any random act of kindness witnessed over the Advent season.
4. Each day (or as often as possible) family members put something in the box representing a "gift" for Jesus. ("Gifts" such as sharing, cleaning, helping, visiting, etc. --- an act of kindness they have witnessed or was given to them.) 
5. On Christmas Eve place the box under the tree so that in the morning, before you open your own gifts, you can give your special box to Jesus. Read aloud the many acts of kind 'giving' that were witnessed over the Advent season. Share together the good works that were done in preparation for the coming of Jesus, offer thanks to God for all these acts of kindness.

Kanata FOOD BANK DONATIONS will be collected over the next two weeks. Thank you for any support in this regard.

Homework over the holidays: -  Please remember to continue to read on a daily basis. Enrich this learning by discussing different aspects of the story, or demonstrate how to retell it by briefly sequencing the beginning, middle and end. Increasingly draw your child’s attention to letter sounds, particularly the beginning and ending sounds of any environmental text (such as: cereal boxes, signs, etc.).  Counting and identifying numerals are also necessary skills. Your assistance is greatly appreciated.

This month we will also identify Christmas colours and invite the children to wear red, green and white on December 23rd for our final school day of 2016.

Thank you for a wonderful first term! We hope that you have a very blessed and holy Christmas season.

               MERRY CHRISTMAS!
Sincerely,
The Holy Redeemer Kindergarten Teams