From Your Administrative Team

December, 2018

Upcoming Events:

December 12 1:15 Christmas Celebration KA & Grade 1

December 12 7:00 Christmas Celebration KA & B, Grade 1

December 13 1:15 Christmas Celebration KB, Grades 2-5

December 13 7:00 Christmas Celebration Grades 2-5

December 18 Hot Dog Lunch—KB, Gr 2-5

December 19 Hot Dog Lunch –KA, Gr. 1

December 21 Last Day of Classes before break

January 7 Classes Resume

January 8th & 9th Hot Lunch

January 11 Newsletter is emailed

January 22 & 23rd Hot Lunch

January 29 NO CLASSES

É C O L E T R A D I T I O N S E L E M E N T A R Y S C H O O L 4 0 1 T R A D I T I O N S B L V D , W A R M A N , S K T E S @ S P I R I T S D . C A 3 0 6 - 6 8 3 - 5 2 0 0

December 2018

Upcoming Events 1

Titan Thoughts 2

TES Clubs 3

Highlighted Classes 4,5

Home and Connection

In this Issue:

It’s the beginning of December and we feel fortunate to have had pretty good winter weather thus far. That said, we would encourage you to make sure your children come too school prepared for the weather and to be outside during our recess breaks.

November was a great month and a very busy month. We had our annual SCC sponsored Book exchange which was once again well attended. Our Grade 1L and Grade 5C classes did a great job of our Remembrance Cere-mony. We hosted our Frist French Im-mersion Night for the families involved in our French Immersion program. We held a Character Ed. Assembly and along with several classroom presenta-tions which talked about “Goodwill”. We had a “Bigger than That” assembly by country singer Ryan Laird that focused on goal setting. We also hosted a day with Rocks and Rings for our Grade 3-5 students to introduce them to the sport of curling.

This week we kicked off the Christmas

season with our Tree Lighting Ceremo-ny where some of our student and many community members were invited to put an ornament on the tree. Much of the remainder of December will be spent getting ready for our Christmas Celebration on Wednesday, December 12th and Thursday, December 13th at 1:15 and 7 p.m.

We want to take this opportunity to thank the many parent volunteers that we have in our school daily that do an amazing job in so many areas or our school. We do rely on the assistance of parents to keep everything running smoothly at school. We also want to take this opportunity to wish all of our TES families a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Your Administrative Team,

Scott Dyck

Danielle Olson

Riding the Bus We have been informed by the Bus Garage that students who do not have a bus pass are not permitted to ride the bus with their friend who does. Thank you for your cooperation in this matter. Christmas Charity TES is collecting donations for the Warman Food Bank until December 14th. We will be accepting cash, cheque ( made out to TES) or grocery gift cards. Thank you for making our community a better place!! TES School Choir Choir is busy working on songs to sing at the School Christmas Concerts. Students who want to join for the Christmas season must be committed to the Monday and Thursday rehearsals(due to a short season). A detailed note with specifics about the concerts Will be sent home next week. Choir members may come home with lyric sheets They are welcome to rehearse the songs at home. You can contact Heather Wolfe with any questions regarding the choir: heather.wolfe@spiritsd.ca

We need your help The school is looking for good quality used comforters. If you have any that you would be willing to donate, please bring the blanket to the office. Thank you!!

Staff Spotlight—Jenn Dorratti

I am very excited to now be apart of the wonderful Traditions Elementary school family, teaching Grade 2! My husband and I, along with our two children and pup-py moved to Warman last fall and absolutely love the community! We have a daughter Ava, who is 3, a son Auston who is 1 and a half and our very small dog, Ella. I'm originally from Humboldt and have taught in Middle Lake, Asquith and Borden. I absolutely LOVE being a teacher! Some of my interests include danc-ing, fishing, cooking, reading, learning, being outdoors and spending time with fami-ly and friends. I'm not a huge T.V. sports fan but do enjoy watching Toronto Blue Jays games, have recently become a Green Bay Packers fan and have been co-erced into also watching the Toronto Maple Leafs, as it is my husband's favourite hockey team! I look forward to working with all of the amazing staff, students and families that make up this wonderful school right now and in the years to come. Thank you all for the friendly and warm welcome.

Take Note:

December, 2018

Page 2

Titans T

houghts

December, 2018

3 This Month we are highlighting some of the clubs that we have at TES

Student Leadership Council The Student Leadership Council ( also called SLC) is a club consisting of 12 grade 4 & 5 students. As a team, they plan dress up days, fundraisers, help organize Battle of the Books and many other school run activities. They also assist with an-nouncements, assemblies, and encouraging other students to participate in school events. The SLC meets every Tuesday at noon hour recess to plan upcoming events.

Maker Space Club:

Maker Space Club will be starting in the New Year. It is run by Mrs. Leidl. This year Maker Space Club will be aimed at stu-dents in Grades 1-2 who do not have as many options for extra curricular activities. We will be making all types of things using paper, glue, scissors, markers, blocks, magnet blocks, k’nex, etc…

Library Club:

Library Club is for grades 1-5, just listen for your turn over the morning announcements. It is run by Mrs. Stratton, Mrs. Leidl, Mrs. McNeil, Mrs. Buechler , Mrs. Irvine and Mrs,.McNeil Students have the op-portunity to exchange books, listen to older peers read stories, listen to a book on our huge projection screen and of course, read independently. We have awesome grade 5 “friends of the library” guiding each group in making the most of our awesome library space from Tuesday-Thursday each week.

Choir Club:

When? Rehearsal on Thursdays at 12:25

During the Christmas concert prep season, will also add Monday at 12: 25

Who? Grades 3-5

Where? Music Room

Why? To sing for enjoyment and to bring a smile to our audience. Singing is good for you!

Board Game Club

Who? Grades 3-5; Listen to announcements to hear which class comes for the week

When? Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at noon recess

Why? To have fun, collaborate and learn new games

Where? Second floor of our library

Lego Club The LEGO Club meets during noon recess on Wednesdays and Fridays during the winter months. Students meet in the area above the front doors on the second level and build creatively with the school LEGO collection. Initially, Mme. McDonald and Mr. Neufeldt opened the club up to Grade 3-5 students—one class at a time. Interest in the club has been high and it will be limited to Grade 3 students going forward. This will help provide a better club atmosphere where students are able to hone their skills and develop relationships.

Recycling Club

The Grade Twos from TES take care of the whole school’s recycling! Each and every Tuesday and Thursday we break out into our small groups and visit the classrooms to collect, sort, and clean up paper and juice/milk. We love the responsibility and it’s our way of making the world a cleaner place.

Unicorn Baking Club

Our club consists of 4 or 5 students led by Mrs. Vellacott. We meet every Tuesday & Thursday.

So far, we have made cookies, muffins, grilled cheese sandwiches.

Grade 2 Weightman says “Hello Tradition families”! We are a vibrant group of 25 students consisting of 15 boys and 10 girls. We’ve been busy on our learning journey but wanted to stop to tell you some of our favorite Christmas traditions:

“We go to my Grandma and Grandpa’s house by the ocean. Also every year we keep our Christmas tree up in support of Christmas. We also do fireworks!” ~ Jesse

“I go to my Granny and Papa’s house and we open presents.” ~ Hayden “We just started it last year. We make a snowman family in our front yard.” ~ Maddex “We go to my Auntie’s house in Osler for dinner.” ~ Hayley “We set out bowls for Santa to fill them. It is special.” ~ Olivia “I love playing with my baby brother at my Mom’s house.” ~ Bentley “We set up tiny Santa sculptures, make a gingerbread house, set up a Christmas tree, and visit family. ”

~ Tania “We go my Grandma and Grandpa’s house and give a Christmas box exchange.” ~ Annika “We decorate the Christmas tree as a family every year.” ~ Galina “We go to different families house and it’s so fun.” ~ Layla “On Christmas Eve we watch White Christmas as a family.” ~ William “We spend time with our whole family and watch movies. After Christmas we always go on holidays

(snowboard this year)” ~ Sophia “Every year we get Pajamas from my Mom and Dad.” ~ Sam “I love going to my Grandpa and Grandma’s house.” ~ Sienna “We have an Elf and he goes everywhere. I have my eye on him.” ~ Bohen “We set up the Christmas tree and every morning we look for our Elf.” ~ Rhett “Every Christmas Eve our Elf on the Shelf gives us gingerbread houses.” ~ Chase “On Christmas morning we make pancakes and milk.” Camryn “When Elfee comes home from the North Pole for the season. Spending time with family is my favourite.

Also games, Christmas movies and tons of cuddles.” ~ Henlee “Going to friends and family's houses.” ~ Cassandra “When my Elf Steve comes to our house is my favourite.” ~ Parks “Half of our family is Ukrainian, so we have a Ukrainian Christmas every year.” ~ Oscar “We decorate the Christmas tree.” ~ Cartar “ I can’t decide I like ~ Cole “Brevin enjoys the Christmas decorations his family puts on the tree.” ~ Brevin “We go Christmas tree cutting.” ~ Mrs. Whiting “Christmas morning breakfast with my kids.” ~ Mrs. Vellacott “Everyone seems to get a little time off work and we do some fun outdoor activities as family like ice

fishing, snowmobiling, tobogganing, and skating.” Mrs. Weightman

Have a wonderful Christmas!

We Are the Top Dogs

Are you still looking for Christmas gifts? We have a limited amount of cute, cuddly TES teddy bears avail-able. They are $20 each . Contact the school office if you would like this keepsake for your child.

The first order of business for the students of 5N this year was to decide on a team name for our class. We followed a democratic process and decided on Top-dogs. The Top-dogs are a well-rounded group that enjoy Art, Science, Math and Athletics. We are particularly engaged in reading. We have random seating arrangements that change twice a day so we can collaborate in many different formations. Posting a 0-0-2 record, we have never lost( or won) a game of Zapball! We finished second in the D final for soccer and plan to do even better in the City-wide Grade 5 Volleyball tournament on December 20. Top-dog stu-dents can implement numerous strategies for solving mathematical problems in the area of multiplication. Our artwork is unique and inspiring: make sure that you check the walls when you are in room 210 at Traditions Elementary.

Go Top-Dogs!

®

Home&SchoolWorking Together for School Success CONNECTIONDecember 2018

© 2018 Resources for Educators, a division of CCH Incorporated

Put memory to work

Many card games build working, or short-term, memory. This kind of memory lets your youngster remem-ber and use information he learned recently. Play Go Fish or Crazy Eights together. By keeping track of which cards have been played, your child will make better moves!

Taking the lead You may have heard the phrase “a born leader.” But leadership skills, such as speaking up and taking initia-tive, can be learned. Encourage your youngster to practice during group projects. For example, she might sug-gest a way to divide up tasks or offer to give the introduction during the group’s class presentation.

Busy parents can volunteer Whether you have a little time or a lot, you can pitch in at your child’s school. Ask teachers and PTO or PTA officers for ways to volunteer that fit your schedule. Maybe you’ll listen to students read for 20 minutes during your lunch break or compile families’ book catalog orders on the weekend.

Worth quoting“If opportunity doesn’t knock, build a door.” Milton Berle

Q: What does Wednesday have that no other day of the week has?

A: The letter W.

Smart discipline Disciplining your child

is all about guidance. You’re training her to follow rules and behave in an acceptable way—without your nagging or yelling. Consider these strategies to make discipline easier and more effective.

Stay positive Rather than telling

your youngster what she can’t do, try explaining what she can do. Instead of “Don’t shove your brother,” you might say, “Keep your hands to yourself, and politely ask Billy to move out of the way.” Giving your child clear instruc-tions will inspire her to cooperate.

Watch body language When you correct your youngster,

speak face-to-face rather than calling to her from across the room or another part of the house. You could get down on her level, gently touch her shoulder, and speak softly. Sensing that you’re in con-trol of yourself will keep her calm so she focuses on what you’re saying.

Be consistentIf your child breaks a rule, announce

a consequence right away. This helps her see cause and effect. For example, if she eats in the living room and that’s not allowed, ask her to vacuum up the crumbs right away. Tip: Being consistent with consequences shows that you’re serious. If she knows you won’t change your mind, she’ll be better about stick-ing to the rules.♥

Engineering at play

Every time your youngster has fun on the playground swings, he has engi-neers to thank! Let him explore engi-neering for himself by constructing a play swing set.

He might use craft sticks for the frame, yarn for the chains, and card-board for the seat.

How could he make a swing that gives a longer “ride”? Suggest that he adjust the length of the “chains,” and then test it each time. He can set a timer for one minute, pull back the seat, and count the swings per minute. What does he notice? (The shorter the chains, the more swings per minute.)♥

SHORT NOTES

JUST FOR FUN

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© 2018 Resources for Educators, a division of CCH Incorporated

To provide busy parents with practical ideas that promote school success, parent involvement,

and more effective parenting.

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Home & School CONNECTION® December 2018 • Page 2

“I love to learn” Children devote more energy to

learning when they’re motivated. These ideas will boost your youngster’s thirst for knowledge.

Show enthusiasm. Tell your child what you learn. (“I found out that about 90 per-cent of the world’s population lives in the Northern Hemi-sphere!”) Also, ask him to teach you information he learns in school. If he’s studying nocturnal animals, he might explain to you why his hamster runs on its wheel at night. He’ll see learning as an

everyday activity for kids and grown-ups, and your attitude will be contagious.

Inspire curiosity. Express interest when your youngster poses questions. If he asks why we get the hiccups or whether owls really are wise, you could say, “That’s a good question! Let’s find out together.” Then, help him look up the topic in a library book or online. When you discover the answer, encourage him to share it with friends or relatives so they can learn more, too.♥

Frosty science With this experiment, your child can

see frost and learn why people sprinkle salt on icy sidewalks and roads.

How? Have your young-ster rinse out two empty soup cans, remove the labels, and fill each can halfway with ice. She should stir 1–4 cup salt into just one can and set both cans aside.

What happens? After 10 minutes, she’ll notice frost on the “salty can” and water on the other one.

Why? Salt lowers the melting point of the ice, so the can with salt got colder than the other can. When water in the air condensed onto the cans, it froze into frost on the one with salt. That’s why salt is useful in winter—it melts snow and ice, making it safer to walk or drive.♥

Grit: A family challenge Q: My son wanted to learn to ice skate, but he changed his mind after he fell one time. How can I teach him not to give up when some-

thing is tough?

A: Children (and adults) may believe they should be able to easily do whatever they try right away. Understanding that setbacks are normal will help your son develop grit, or perseverance toward long-term goals.

Talk about times when you were successful even though you struggled at first. Maybe you were afraid to put your face in the water but you learned to swim by tak-ing lessons and working hard to overcome your fear.

Then, consider having a “family grit challenge.” Each person can choose one thing to tackle that is hard for him and requires persistence, such as following a fit-ness routine or cutting back on screen time. Compare notes after a month, and then set your next goals!♥

Making a differenceI wanted my

daughter, Char-lotte, to learn about the importance of helping our community.

While grocery shopping one day, we saw a sign announcing that each cus-tomer could pick a favorite charity for the store to sup-port. I let Charlotte choose, and she decided on a non-profit that benefits kids with cancer. Now every time we buy groceries, she reminds me that we’re helping sick children.

That led us to think of other ways kids can make a difference. Recently, we decided to bake brownies and take them to the fire station. I explained that this would show appreciation for the hard work that firefighters do.

Charlotte felt proud when the firefighters thanked her. I real-ized that the more ways we can find to serve our commu-nity, the more likely it will become a habit as she gets older.♥

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