 Have you heard the saying 'the days are long but the years are short'? Mrs. Farber and I have been planning our activities for May and June and the calendar, which previously looked fairly relaxed and calm, is becoming very busy. And as we have been planning I have been getting a familiar small flutter in my stomach as the school year is shrinking and I get that 'hurry hurry' feeling, which I often get as our learning time diminishes. Are you aware that Kindergarten will be over in a short ten weeks? And those weeks are laden with field trips, presentations, assemblies, learning and fun so will slip away quickly. I plan to enjoy the remaining time I have with Team Awesome to the utmost and hope they enjoy their last bits of Kindergarten as well, even if some of the days do feel long.
Sight words, often also called high frequency words, are commonly used words that young children are encouraged to memorize as a whole by sight, so that they can automatically recognize these words in print without having to use any strategies to decode. Sight words account for a large percentage (up to 75%) of the words used in beginning children's print materials. The advantage for children being able to recognize sight words automatically is that a beginning reader will be able to identify the majority of words in a beginning text before they even attempt to read it; therefore allowing the child to concentrate on meaning as they read without having to stop and decode (sound out) every single word. Recognizing sight words automatically is advantageous for beginning readers because many of these words have unusual spelling patterns, cannot be sounded out using basic phonics knowledge and cannot be represented using pictures. At the beginning of every month Team Awesome is introduced to anywhere between 6 and 10 new sight words and we practice them every day for that month before putting them up on our Word Wall and getting new ones. That means the children have been directly exposed to the words at least 20 times in the month but often more than that as we use them in our writing and point them out when reading. Sometimes the words are theme related, like 'love' in February, or sometimes a word is chosen because a child has been using and/or spelling it incorrectly in their own writing repeatedly but more often sight words are chosen because they are the most frequently used words in beginning texts and it is important that Team Awesome is familiar with them. I have been neglectful in that I have not been posting the sight words we have been learning every month. If you would like to practice these words at home, please do so but keep in mind that it should be kept fun and light and not drill and kill as we want to keep the children interested. There are many sight word games to be found and printed off the internet, many of which allow you to insert your own words, or sites such as starfall.com have online games. These are perfect for practice as Team Awesome loves games. The sight words we have been working on since September are:  As the season moves toward summer the children are coming to school in clothes meant for warmer weather. BEST has a dress code that parents may not be aware of and some of the parameters in the dress code directly affects summer clothing. Please make yourself familiar with the school dress code below.
DRESS CODE @ BEST It is the policy of School District No. 73 (Kamloops/Thompson) and Bert Edwards Science & Technology School that “Students are expected to dress in a manner that reflects purpose and propriety”. Students at Bert Edwards Science & Technology School are expected to use the following guidelines when selecting their school wardrobe: •Dress in an appropriate fashion for school. •Clothing shall not distract from the teaching / learning situation. •Clothing with offensive words, slogans, or pictures are considered inappropriate. •Clothing, insignias, symbols or adornments that promotes alcohol, drugs or tobacco products are not appropriate. •Clothing which features phrases / pictures of a sexual nature or phrases / pictures that are derogatory regarding a person's ethical background, national origin, religious belief, sexual orientation or disability are not appropriate. •Clothing should fit the individual without showing underwear or revealing too much. •Tube tops, halter tops, muscle shirts, athletic vests or spaghetti straps are not appropriate dress for school. •Shorts and skirts should be worn at a length that reaches approximately half-way down the thigh. •It is expected that students wear proper footwear at school, suitable for physical activities. Flip-flops (aka "thongs") are considered beachwear and are not appropriate. •Clothing should be in good repair with no revealing rips or tears and should not be see-through. •Hats, hoodies, bandannas and other forms of head coverings are not to be worn in school under normal circumstances. •Gym strip should be appropriate and as specified by the school. •A neat personal appearance and clean hygiene are expectations of students in our school. Thank you for your help ensuring that your child is dressed appropriately for a successful day at school. Students dressed inappropriately will be required to change clothes or to cover up. Repeated failure to comply with the school dress code may result in disciplinary consequences. If you are uncertain as to whether a particular piece of clothing is appropriate for school, please check with your child's teacher or with school administration. Yesterday, on April 7, schools across SD 73 held assemblies and activities to honour and recognize Secwepemc and Nlaka'Pamux territory as well as other First Nations and Aboriginal groups. In Kamloops Thompson School District this is now known as the "Day of Sucwentwecw." Sucwentwecw (sook-went-wa) means to acknowledge one another. During this day a number of events, activities and assemblies were held to recognize the Secwepemc and Nlaka'Pamux Nation and to teach students and staff about the traditional aboriginal and First Nations people, their histories and the territories SD 73 now occupies. The theme for this year's Day of Sucwentwecw was 'Identity Through Storytelling.'
At BEST our assembly opened with the hand-drum group singing the Welcome Song. We were honoured to have Lyle Gottfriedson as a guest speaker and a number of presentations from various classes. The Day of Sucwentwecw is a day to celebrate and acknowledge one another and I would like to think that we at BEST do just that every day and not solely on April 7.  I was away for our first day back after the break on Tuesday and although Team Awesome knew it was just for the day, they were thrilled to see me Wednesday morning and greeted me with joyous cries as well as "I missed you"s and "I love you"s. This type of outpouring of affection in the form of hugs and words occurs often throughout the day. And I am profoundly grateful every time it happens because it is not like my own children, who are expected to love me, but given freely and unconditionally. There was a time, when I first began teaching, that I would react to a spontaneous declaration of love from one of my students with a lukewarm response because I did not feel comfortable, that it was appropriate or that it was my place, to tell them I loved them in return. As I grew wiser I changed my position and now respond in kind. Why should I not tell them I love them when it is true? Can a child ever have too many adults in their life who love them and tell them so? After all, it takes a village and I am so thankful to be part of theirs.
Mrs. Farber and myself are planning an AWESOME (!) Fresh Air Friday for sometime this spring when the river is too high to go down and explore. It will take place outside at the school and will involve gadgets and contraptions. But we need your help collecting a few things. We would like a few defunct small appliances (or big ones if you are willing to transport to and from the school) that the children can dismantle. Toasters, blenders, mixers, alarm clocks, stereos, etc. We might also need some tools the children can use but I will let you know closer to the date after we have rounded up all we can. Thanks in advance for your help.
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