2016/2017 Bonjour et bienvenue!

Welcome to the first blog post of the 2016/2017 school year.  As you have likely heard, my ankle is still recovering from an unfortunate hiking accident on Labour Day.  This past Friday I was excited to drop in the class and my new crop of Grade 3 students.  I tried to learn everyone's name, although it may take me a few more attempts to remember them all perfectly.  It was also nice to meet Mme Lucie Livernoche, who will be replacing me until my return, hopefully in the next week or so.  We are very lucky to have Mme Lucie's French Immersion expertise in our classroom.  She is very dedicated to her students and is also a native French speaker herself.

Upcoming events this week:

Monday Sept. 19 - Professional Development for teachers.  School is not in session.

Wednesday Sept. 21 - Photo Day

Thursday Sept. 22 - Meet the teacher from 6:30 to 8pm.  I plan on attending this event and hope to see you there!

Dictées/Spelling

You have no doubt been acquainted with dictées in past years.  In recent years the value of dictée and spelling quizzes has come into question as research seems to indicate that they do not necessarily lead to more accurate spelling when writing.  I have chosen to keep these two exercises because I believe they contribute to the learning in our classroom, beyond just knowing how to spell.  In a French Immersion classroom we are learning and using new words, often on a daily basis.  Most weeks our dictée words will reflect words which we are currently using as part of our Social Studies and Science units.  Studying them in a dictée helps students remember what they mean and enhances our class discussions with proper terms.  The dictée give us a chance to practice these words at school, and hopefully at home too.

As a general rule, new dictée words will be written in the agenda on Fridays, with the dictée quiz taking place the following Thursday.  Students absent on the Thursday will take the quiz upon returning to class.  Please encourage your child to practice writing the words out a few times during the week.

We will start spelling quizzes after the first report card, and at that point will alternate between a dictée one week, and a spelling quiz the following week.

This past Friday, Mme Livernoche and the students worked in groups to choose words often used in the classroom.  This Thursday, the students will be quizzed on these words.  The written words for the dictée were included in the email sent home.  Below is an audio version.  I will do my best to send this information home each week (fingers crossed!).  You can also find the printed words in your child's agenda.