February Newsletter

Hello Parents and Guardians

As Mrs. Fournier goes off on maternity leave, I will be taking over as the homeroom teacher for the grade 1/2 class here at St. Michael's. My name is Vanessa D'Addario, or Miss Vanessa, and I am very excited to be your child's teacher for the rest of the year! I look forward to getting to know each student and helping them learn and grow as the year progresses! A little about me, I was born and raised in Ottawa, but have been teaching for the past 6 years at international schools in St. Lucia and Guatemala. I recently returned to my hometown, and am excited to be back here and to be working at St. Michael's! If you have any questions, or if there is anything you think I should know about your child, please don't hesitate to reach out to me.

 This Month

Math

In Math, we will be reviewing addition and subtraction strategies that we already know and we will start applying those strategies to double-digit addition and subtraction. We will be working on these two operations with and without regrouping.

Language

In reading, students will be focusing on individual strategies to help them become more independent and grow as readers. Feel free to ask your child what strategy they are working on while reading, and see if they can use it at home as well!
In writing, we will start learning how to write explanatory texts. Students will work on conveying information in their writing in a clear manner. During this unit we will also focus on the writing trait of word choice, so students start to using more descriptive and expressive language.

Science

This month we will be finishing our units about Energy (grade 1) and Solids and Liquids (grade 2). Once completed, we will be starting a new unit about understanding Earth and Space Systems. Grade 1 will begin learning about daily and seasonal changes, and the grade 2 students will be learning about air and water in the environment. 

Important Dates

February 9th - Enrolment on Sunday, at 10:00 am mass for Grade 2 students who wish to make their First Reconciliation. Attendance is required.

February 13th - Valentine Cake Walk

February 14th - PD Day, no school for students

February 17th - Family Day, school is closed

February 23rd - Enrolment on Sunday for Grade 2 students wishing to make their First Reconciliation.