Tuesday 2 December 2014

Mid Week Update - Tuesday, December 2nd , 2014

Good evening!

Here's a brief update on some happenings in our classroom :)

911 Presentation 

Today was our 911 presentation! We had 3 volunteers from the Hamilton Police Service come in and teach us how and when we should dial 911. We learned that we call 911 when:
  • There is a fire in our house or somewhere else (if it's in our house, we need to go next door to dial)
  • Someone is really hurt
  • A crime is being committed 

Calling 911 is not a joke and should only be done when there is an emergency involving people.


We saw different types of phones that could be used to dial 911, and some of us even got to practice dialling 911 on the special phone. While listening to the presentation, I thought of some questions you should consider:
  • Do you have a landline? If so, does your child know how to use it? 
  • If you don't have a landline, how can your child dial 911? Can they access your cell phone?
  • Does your child know their phone number? Street address?
  • Is your child familiar with their neighbours in case an emergency does happen?
Here is a clip of Giulia dialling 911 :) Great job!


They really emphasized the importance of using words when on the phone with an operator. They can't see you shrug your shoulders or nod your head, so you have to use your words. Perhaps it would be a good idea to practise some pretend calls at home in the event that an emergency did occur. 

Character Education - Using Kind Words

Today we had our first lesson using our theme of the Friend Ship. We started by learning more about our first rule which is "Using kind words". We learned that in order to make and keep our friends, we need to remember to use kind words, and what can happen when we use hurtful words. 

I started off with a paper heart and invited students to tell me some mean things they've had said to them in the past. For example, "I'm not going to be your best friend!", "No one likes you!", and "You're dumb!". I used myself as an example, and explained that when people say things like this, it hurts my heart and makes it sad. It's like they crumpled it up and ripped it apart. When people apologize, it makes our heart a little better, but our hearts will never be the way they were before when it wasn't crumpled and ripped. We learned that it's important to think before you speak, because using hurtful words can really hurt someone and make them sad.

Then, we took another heart and wrote down some kind words on it, such as, "I can help you!", "Thank you!", and "We can share.". When we hear these things, it doesn't crumple up our heart. It makes our heart happy :) We will practice what using kind words sounds like in our classroom, and will put the hearts up to remind students what using hurtful words can do to our friends.


Friendly Reminders/Updates
  • Please dress your child appropriately for cold weather. We are outside for a minimum of 40 minutes a day, and it's been pretty cold outside. A hat, gloves, a scarf, a warm winter jacket, and boots and snow pants when necessary. Better safe than sorry!
  • The Kindergarten teachers are sharing their current inquiries with the staff at our staff meeting on Thursday :) I am excited to share our current research on Volcanos/Lava with the Gatestone staff, and teach them what Learning through Play looks like in Kindergarten.
  • We will continue to practice eating over the table and throwing out our own garbage :| Yikes!

Have a lovely evening!

~ Miss Pliura

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