Pond School Week – Oct. 16-19 

In conjunction with Take Me Outside Week University School took student learning outside this past week to create an intentional connection between curriculum and place. Going to the pond every day creates rigour in our learning on the land. What a lovely way to engage with our students on the land through social, emotional and academic experiences. Building an understanding of community, to understand and acknowledge the land that we live and play on in hopes that students will in turn protect it.  

Each day we had a different focus for the walk to the pond and an activity at the pond (the following are some ideas that classes participated in): 

Monday - Students sketched ‘Up, Down, All Around’  

Tuesday - They wrote a senses poem (sight, sound, smell, touch, feelings) or the 7 directions poem 

Wednesday - Math day, students used bingo sheets (find something smooth, cone shape, yellow, etc), use ten frames to count a collection of things 

Thursday - Science day, read a book about ponds and sketch pond/ tree/ leaf and label. We recorded the temperature, estimated first and then they found the actual temperature.   

On our way to the pond we challenged the children to find shapes, what is underfoot, looking up (crooked neck), animal hiding places, etc. 

Stay tuned for our winter & spring pond schools. 

Ms. Roa, Mrs. Gibson, Ms. Kurchak

 

Fall Ball Family Dance - Oct 26 

University School is hosting the Fall Ball Family Dance on Thursday, October 26 from 6 PM to 8 PM. Food through Healthy Hunger must be ordered by Saturday, October 21. We will have a rockin’ DJ, a costume contest, food and snacks, and several other fun activities!  

The dance is a big fundraiser for the school each year. Using the Healthy Hunger website, families can pre-purchase tickets ahead of time through the Healthy Hunger website. Our suggested amount per family is $20. The dance is a ‘pay-what-you-can’ style, meaning you can choose the amount that works best for your family. 

On the Healthy Hunger website, you can also order some food for the evening. Due to the high demand in food that we experienced last year, we ask that every family order their food under ONE student in their family. Please DO NOT order per child. This will streamline the process. Please visit https://healthyhunger.ca/index.php 

The dance cannot happen without the help of volunteers. We will need several volunteers to set up during the day, run different stations during the evening, and take down at the end. It takes a whole community! Please sign up for a spot here: https://signup.com/go/opkkTAf 

We look forward to seeing you, 

University School Council 

 

School Photo Retakes - Oct 26

Photo retakes from Lifetouch photos will be on Thursday, October 26. Please email your child’s homeroom teacher, if you would like retakes. If your child(ren) is new to University School or was absent on the previous Picture day in September they will be able to have their photo taken on this day.  

 

Developing Reading Skills

Students in Kindergarten and grades 1 and 2 are engaging in building foundational phonological skills through daily activities connected to the Heggerty Phonemic Awareness Program.  This program focuses on consistent and repeated instruction with rhyming, initial, final, and middle phoneme (sound) isolation, blending and segmenting letter sounds connected to words, and adding, deleting, and substituting phonemes which transfers to developing a student's reading skills.  Applying these skills, the grade 1’s and 2’s have begun word play groups and building an understanding of word mapping; the process of saying a word or the name of a picture, breaking it down into sounds, writing the letter or group of letters that make each sound, then putting the letters together to spell the word. It is wonderful to see the progress the students are making!

 

Monster Art - Kindergarten

Kindergarten explored two elements of art: line and colour in making their colour monster art.

What is a line? Kinders learned that line is the beginning of drawing and that lines create shapes.   They enjoyed using the large vertical whiteboard surface to explore creating many different types of lines; thick, thin, zig zag, curvy, wavy, dashed, dotted and more!  Students learned that lines go in any direction; up and down (vertical) side to side ( horizontal) and different angles. (diagonal)  Next, we used lines and colours to make playful monsters.

Did you know that vertical surface writing naturally puts the wrist in an extended position which promotes better pencil grasp and fine motor control of writing tools? These are just a few benefits and we encourage you to search up “verticle surface writing” in Google for more examples and the research behind this.

Fun Snack - Kernels Popcorn

We hope that everyone who ordered enjoyed the A&W Fun Lunch this past week. The next Fun Snack is the super popular Kernels Popcorn which will be handed out on Thursday, November 2. 

Also, we are continuing the highly successful option in Healthy Hunger for families to donate / buy snacks for friends so that the school can purchase items for those students who are unable to do so themselves. It is wonderful seeing University School community coming together to help each other out. 

Please visit Healthy Hunger to purchase the Kernels Popcorn fun snack or to view future snacks and lunches.  

Scholastic Book Fair - Save the Date

University School is excited to again be hosting an in person Scholastic Book Fair. Save the date, November 6, 7, & 8 and look for more information coming out in the coming weeks! 

Casino Fundraiser – Looking for Volunteers 

Want to help generate key funds to support and enhance learning for students at University School? Volunteer Saturday 9th & Sunday 10 December at the Elbow River Casino 

University School Parent Association has been awarded dates for the most significant and major fundraising event in the school community and it only happens every 18-24 months.  

Saturday December 9 & Sunday, December 10 at the Elbow River Casino (218 18 Ave SE, Calgary, T2G 1L1). 

Proceeds from this fundraiser are used to support and enhance learning for all children at University School. Prior year proceeds added books to the library, Chromebooks and iPads, replaced recess playground equipment and supported school residences; allowing students to experience new activities and learning. 

If you are looking for a way to help support these initiatives, here is your chance!  We require approximately 36 volunteers to be scheduled for a variety of casino support roles over two days in the following shifts 11am-7pm, 7pm-3:30am & 11pm-3:30am.  

Come, meet and work the casino with our community of parents, grandparents and friends of University School.  

Anyone over 18 is welcome, no prior experience or volunteer clearance required, we just need your time! We'll even feed you too!  

Please assist us by committing to volunteer by clicking the link below: 

UES Casino Fundraiser (Dec 9 & 10) 

Thank you, 

University School Parent Association 

This Week 

Thursday, October 26 

• School Photo Retakes 
• Fall Ball – School Dance 

Friday, October 27 

• School Assembly (Grateful) - Celebrations of Learning 

 

Month Ahead 

Nov. 2 – Fun Snack – Kernels Popcorn  

Nov. 6 - 8 -Scholastic Book Fair 

Nov 8 - Remembrance Day Assembly 

Nov 9 – No School – Indigenous Education Professional Learning Day 

Nov 10 to 14 – No School - Fall Break 

Nov 11 - Remembrance Day

Nov 15 – Classes Resume 

 

Dates of Significance 

Oct. – German Heritage Month 

Oct.– Canadian Islamic History Month 

Oct.– Latin American Heritage Month 

Oct. – Women's History Month 

Oct. 24 – Dussehra 

Nov.  Hindu Heritage Week  

Nov. 5-11 – Veteran's Week 

Nov. 7 - Inuit Day 

Nov. 8 – Indigenous Veteran’s Day 

Nov. 11 – Remembrance Day 

Nov. 12 – Diwali 

Nov. 13-19 – Metis Awareness Week