Dec 5, 2025

Hello Families,

Important Dates

• Dec 8 Fun Lunch
• Dec 16 Winter Concert 
• Dec 17 Winter Concert 
• Dec 19 Fun Snack
• Dec 19 Last day before Winter Break
• Jan 5 First day of classes

Well-Being

This week, something magical has arrived in our kindergarten classroom: our Kindness Elves! "Buddy and Snowball," welcome to kindergarten! These special helpers are not just cute; they are here to encourage children to practice kindness, empathy, and cooperation with their friends, teachers, and families. The elves gave challenges and suggestions that supported students' thinking about the feelings of others, sharing, and celebrating each other’s efforts. For example, the elves might encourage students to:

• Help a classmate clean up.
• Share a toy or resource during play.

Through these activities, students are developing important social and emotional skills that are integral to our kindergarten program.

• I can recognize and describe my own feelings.
• I can notice and respond to the feelings of others.
• I can show care and respect for others.

Communication and Language

• I can use words and actions to express my feelings and ideas.
• I can listen to and follow simple instructions.

Well-Being and Community

• I can cooperate and work together with others.
• I can take part in group activities and share responsibilities.

Each day, we reflected as a class on how we showed kindness, what we learned about our friends, and how we can continue spreading joy in our classroom, at home, and in our community. Families, you can support this at home by asking your child:

• “What kind thing did you do for someone today?”
• “How did you help a friend today?”
• “What could you do tomorrow to make someone smile?”

I am so excited to watch our students grow their hearts as well as their minds this holiday season. Thank you for encouraging your child to participate in the Kindness Elf adventures. Together, we are making our classroom a warm, caring, and joyful place for all. The elves even brought a science experiment... ask your child about the "Skittles Candy Experiment."

Dancing, Learning, and Growing: Hip Hop in Kindergarten
This year, Andrew Sibbald School is welcoming a special hip hop residency. Students will continue to explore music, rhythm, and movement while learning to express themselves, connect with others, and build confidence.

• I can move my body to music using simple steps and choreography.
• I can listen to and follow directions while responding to the rhythm and beats.
• I can express feelings and ideas through dance and movement.
• I can work together as a class, taking turns and supporting each other.
• I can reflect on my experiences and celebrate classmates’ efforts.

Families can support by:

• Playing music and inviting children to dance freely.
• Asking how dancing made them feel or what they enjoyed.
• Encouraging creative expression through movement or drawing.
• Celebrating effort and individuality.

Our Hip Hop Residency helps students grow physically, socially, emotionally, and creatively. We are excited to dance, learn, and celebrate each child’s growth and unique style.

Math 

This week, students explored early numeracy through a playful partner game called Roll, Add, and Cover. Students rolled 2 dice, worked with their partner to find the total, and covered the matching number on their side of the board. This simple and engaging game supported key math skills while also encouraging cooperation and positive social learning.

As students played, they practiced subitizing (recognizing small groups of objects without counting), counting on from a known number, and comparing numbers. They also worked on important social skills such as turn-taking, listening to a partner, and celebrating each other’s success.

• I can recognize numbers and quantities in my environment.
• I can show numbers in different ways.
• I can add numbers through play.
• I can talk about my thinking and explain how I know.
• I can take turns and work with others during learning activities.

It was wonderful to see students excited about math, cheering for one another, and demonstrating growing confidence. Playful learning truly helps build strong foundations in numeracy.

Visual Journal Firefighter Reflection
This week, students used their visual journals to reflect on our fire hall field trip. After looking back at photos and talking about what they noticed during the visit, students drew firefighters, fire trucks, and equipment they saw in real life.

• I can tell about what I saw and learned.
• I can show my ideas with drawings and add details to share information.
• I can use art tools to create a picture.
• I can talk about people who help in our community.

Students were proud to capture their favourite parts of the trip and enjoyed comparing their drawings with classmates. Their artwork shows how much they noticed, remembered, and learned during our visit.

Have a wonderful weekend.