The weather has finally turned and Spring is in full swing. Flowers are blooming and pretty soon there will be butterflies flitting around our gardens. To kick off their Springtime Unit, the SKs dramatized the life cycle of a butterfly. They will see this process for real over the next few weeks. The butterfly hatching kit has arrived from
Green Acres Farm!

The stages of the butterfly life cycle include the egg, the caterpillar, the pupa (or cocoon), the butterfly itself and then the final stage – the death of the butterfly. If your child is in SK, have a sit down together with this post, and I’m sure they will be able to explain everything very well! (If you are wondering what the party blowers represent, they are butterfly tongues.)

The SKs finished up their Human Body thematic unit way back in February. They have since completed a unit on Fairy Tales and are currently working their way through their Springtime unit. These units are cross-curricular, bridging science, art, language arts and math. The Human Body unit culminated in life size creations, mapping out all the major organs, muscles and bones. The students had a fantastic time creating these complex works. After all the hard work and learning was done, the children were ready to put all their knowledge to use as CGS doctors! They had a great time ‘treating’ their friends.

 
The Grade 1s & 2s had a fun visit to Green Acres Farm last week. The children enjoyed the fresh air, a tractor ride, visiting with the animals, planting seeds and learning about egg production. Josh brought a butterfly hatching kit home from the farm to install in the SK classroom. The children will watch these beautiful creatures evolve and hatch over the next few weeks. Mimi’s Grade 1s will also be host to several baby chicks in three weeks. The eggs are being delivered today!

ZooTek was here for Earth Day. Thank you to our PA for sponsoring this thrilling visit! The children LOVED it.
It was so much fun to see these extraordinary creatures up close. No one ever forgets the first time they hold a snake. Handling animals with care and respect is a real skill and Joe from ZooTek did a wonderful job of guiding the children.

Happy Mother’s day CGS Mums. All the best for a restful weekend!

Please RSVP at kscott@cgsschool.com

Grade 2 has been hard at work creating comic books. This extended project has led students through the process of developing characters, creating a narrative, and learning the parts of a comic book. Students are also becoming familiar with the techniques a comic book artist utilizes as they work toward their finished product. Each child began by developing their main character and writing a brief biography. Next, it was time to establish secondary characters and finally to create a storyboard. After discussing the parts that help the author tell their story (speech bubble, narration bubble, etc.) and layout, children began their initial drawings on the final pages. Next they added colour and inked the images. To complete the book, covers will be designed and some students are even adding an “about the author” section!

Come check out their finished comic books at our end of the year gallery exhibit on May 24^th!

Kara Hook
Art Teacher
Children’s Garden School

We’ve been making paper in the Art room!  In the spirit of Earth Day, we cleaned out our scrap bin and recycled our discarded paper to create something new. Children were involved in every step of the process; from tearing the old paper, blending the paper pulp, and to making their very own sheets of paper!  Check out the fun…

 
Child-Led Conferences are very important days on the CGS calendar. Moms and Dads take the morning off to join their child at school to see what happens in French, physical education, music and art. The children also prepare a special classroom presentation. Afterwards, there is a little party with refreshments and parents and children cozy up to look at school work together. The children are always  so proud to share their accomplishments.

This year, the Grades 1 – 3 Conferences  were held in January and the Early Start – SK Conferences were held in April. For our resident photographer Don, the conferences provide amazing photo opportunities – glowing parents and happy children – the perfect combination.