October Blog
IT TAKES A COMMUNITY TO HOST A FESTIVAL! We would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to our incredible garden angels for their dedication and care in making our school garden flourish—your contributions truly brought the spirit of the harvest to life! Thank you to our Hot Lunch Coordinator Rebecca Stauffer and our Kitchen Kids’ Grandmas for the soup, muffins and cookies. Thank you to PSS Indigenous Student Advocate Kristi Rees for bringing some PSS students to volunteer to help serve the food. Finally, we want to send a huge shout out to Highway 40 for providing the perfect soundtrack to our celebration. Your music added joy, energy and a whole lot of fun to the festival!
At JAE our learning focus includes Guided Reading & Leveled Literacy Instruction, which are key components of a differentiated literacy approach designed to support all learners. We offer small group instruction to help students improve their reading fluency, comprehension and accuracy. Our grade 1—3 teachers, Support Services Teacher, Education Assistants and volunteers are providing Guided Reading four times per week. Students receive small group instruction based on their reading level. You can support your child by letting them practice reading at home with you!
We also want to extend our appreciation to everyone who joined us for our Halloween Family dance! From the amazing costumes to the fantastic dance moves, your energy and community spirit made the evening truly magical. Special thanks to our PAC volunteers for organizing such a fun and festive event—it wouldn’t have happened without you. Our gratitude is also extended to the Princeton Posse for volunteering to help run the event, and Mrs. Hodder for serving as DJ Dia-beats. We are so grateful to be part of such a supportive and spirited school community!
JAE is situated along the river valley, and the fall colours have provided an incredibly beautiful backdrop for our learning. Our students have been outside engaged in learning on the land. Ms. Caron takes her students for weekly nature walks. Ms. Chypyha and Ms. Kemp investigated trees and collected leaves as part of the grade 1 living and non-living unit. They discussed why leaves change color, why they fall down, parts/ features of plants and their jobs, scars on trees and reasons why. Ms. Wilscheck has also been learning about fall changes, and her class gathered rosehips to make tea with Mrs. Unrau and observed plants under the microscope with Mrs. Atkinson.
Our curious Kindergarteners and K-1s had a wonderful time touring the apple packing facility at Sanderson Farms. They learned how apples are sorted, packed, and prepared for markets near and far. The children tasted a variety of locally grown apples and learned about the many types of fruits and vegetables grown right here in our region. Each child picked out their very own pumpkin to take home—perfect for fall decorating! The fun continued at the Grist Mill, where students explored a piece of history dating back to 1877. They saw a water wheel-powered flour mill in action and discovered how people used to cook using traditional methods. Thank you to all the staff and volunteers who made this trip possible.
