Good evening Grade 1 families,

I hope this message finds you well! We had a busy (and short!) week in Grade 1 and successfully made it through several indoor recess days. The students did a wonderful job staying positive and engaged.

Thank you to the families who have already reached out regarding conferences. If you would prefer a phone conference instead of meeting in person, that is absolutely fine — just please send me an email to let me know your preference.

I also want to thank the families participating in our home reading decodable program. It has been so exciting to see the students eager to exchange their books each morning. Their enthusiasm for reading is wonderful to see!

A reminder that next week is another short week due to Parent-Teacher Conferences. There will be no school on Friday.

Andrew Sibbald School swag is available to order until the 27th if you are interested, please see the Parent update.

Finally, Pink Shirt Day is on Wednesday. Students are encouraged to wear pink (or red/purple) to show their support for kindness and inclusion.

Thank you for your continued support — we appreciate our amazing Grade 1 community!  

❄️ Grade 1 Learning Update: Groups I Belong & Winter Olympics 🏅

In  Grade 1, we have been exploring the idea of “Groups I Belong” as part of our Social Studies learning. Students are discovering that we all belong to different groups — such as our families, our class, teams, clubs, and our community. We have been talking about how belonging helps us feel connected, safe, and valued.

To extend this learning, we connected our conversations to the Winter Olympics! We explored how athletes belong to teams and represent their countries, and how teamwork, perseverance, and kindness help groups succeed.

Through stories, discussions, writing, art, and movement activities, students have been making meaningful connections between their own lives and the world around them. 

Our learning intentions for this week were:

🌎 Social Studies – Groups I Belong

Students are learning that people belong to different groups and have roles and responsibilities within those groups.

I Can Statements:

• I can name groups I belong to (family, class, team, community).

• I can explain why groups are important.

• I can describe how I help my groups.

• I can show respect for others in my groups.

🏅 Winter Olympics Cross-Curricular Connections

English Language Arts

• I can read and talk about Olympic stories and athletes.

• I can write/talk about a sport I like and explain why.

• I can share my ideas clearly with the class.

Wellness / Physical Education

• I can work as part of a team.

• I can show good sportsmanship when I win or lose.

• I can try new activities and keep going even when they are challenging.

Art & Creative Expression

• I can create art to represent a country or team.

• I can design my own Olympic medal or flag.

Math (data, counting, representing information).

• I can sort and count (gold, silver, and bronze medals).

• I can collect data and organize it into a graph.

• I can create a picture graph or bar graph to show information.

• I can compare which group has more, fewer, or the same.

• I can answer questions about my graph.

• I can explain what my graph shows using math words.

It has been wonderful to see students making connections between their own experiences and the idea of teamwork and belonging on a global stage. We are so proud of how they are supporting one another, celebrating differences, and learning that everyone plays an important role in the groups they belong to.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend, 

Ms. Craik