We are now coming to our last week of Advent. This is such a busy, fun time of year!
All of the students enjoyed themselves at our annual Christmas shopping day! Thank you so much to all parents who volunteered their time to make the event such a success. That wrapping table sure looked busy!
Also, thank you for donating to our class food hamper. The donations will make the holiday that much merrier for another family and also demonstrates to your child the importance of giving .
This Thursday at 9:30 is our Christmas concert and Friday is pajama day.
There will be no homework this week as I am sure everyone is busy with last minute Christmas preparations.
I hope everyone has a wonderfully relaxing and joyous holiday celebrating Christ's birthday with those that are important to them. I wish you all a merry Christmas and a magnificent New Year. I look forward to seeing everyone back at school on January 9th. 🎄
Sunday 18 December 2016
Wednesday 14 December 2016
Sunday 11 December 2016
Happy 3rd Sunday of Advent. We are very quickly getting closer to Christmas! This wonderful time of year comes with some very busy as well as joyous times. Our Advent Mass will take place at the school at 10:45 a.m. on Tuesday. All are welcome. We continue to collect items for our Christmas hamper. Thank you to those families who have very generously donated food items. If you have any new or gently used science related toys or books, or DVDs that would be appropriate for an 8 year old boy, please send them to school this week so we can also pass them along to our Christmas hamper family along with the food. Our Christmas shopping day is this Friday. This is a very fun day for students to shop for family members so please send along any items that you would like to donate. Please see the homework and updates below:
Homework this week: some students have brought home their language book to finish work. Also, some students have a Christmas story in their French folder on their drive. All students will have this story in their language folder this week. Students are to use the highlighting tool to highlight the main ideas from the article. They should also spend time on Raz Kids and Dreambox this week.
Math: Grade 3s continue to use a number line as a strategy to solve multi-step word problems involving money. They can start the number line at any number appropriate for the question. It does not need to start at zero. Grade 4s continue to work with fractions and decimal tenths. We are also using a number line to locate fractions and decimals. This will help us compare fractions and decimals to each other.
Language: We will be writing Christmas letters to a school in India this week. This should be exciting for the students to see how Christmas is celebrated in other parts of the world as well as to share their own traditions. We will continue our novel study as well as look at main ideas in writing pieces.
Homework this week: some students have brought home their language book to finish work. Also, some students have a Christmas story in their French folder on their drive. All students will have this story in their language folder this week. Students are to use the highlighting tool to highlight the main ideas from the article. They should also spend time on Raz Kids and Dreambox this week.
Math: Grade 3s continue to use a number line as a strategy to solve multi-step word problems involving money. They can start the number line at any number appropriate for the question. It does not need to start at zero. Grade 4s continue to work with fractions and decimal tenths. We are also using a number line to locate fractions and decimals. This will help us compare fractions and decimals to each other.
Language: We will be writing Christmas letters to a school in India this week. This should be exciting for the students to see how Christmas is celebrated in other parts of the world as well as to share their own traditions. We will continue our novel study as well as look at main ideas in writing pieces.
Sunday 4 December 2016
I hope everyone had a restful and happy weekend. We continue to collect items for our upcoming Christmas sale so please remember to donate any items you may have at home that you no longer want that may make appropriate gifts for others. Also, please remember to bring in the food items your child selected to donate to the family we are supporting this holiday season. Your child should have brought home a letter with this information on it. Many thanks to those who have donated so far.
For homework this week, please see the attached form. Also, students should continue to read on Raz Kids. The user name is scooper47. I will be setting individual passwords with each child. Please have your child work on Dreambox as well. I have pre-selected units for your child to work on.
Please see the updates below:
Math: Grade 4's will take a more in depth look at decimal tenths and fractions. Grade 3's continue to work on money problems and to explore a variety of ways to solve them. This includes highlighting important information, understanding what operation is required and what question is being asked to ensure it is being answered. Number lines and drawing money are successful strategies to solve these problems.
Language: We continue to look at our APEs strategy for answering questions based on written material. We will also continue to read Charlotte's Web.
Science: We had Mr. Ball in to demonstrate the use of pulleys for us as the grade 4 students are beginning this unit. This was a fun demonstration that all the students got to participate in and benefit from. The grade 4's are also continuing to put the finishing touches on the Rocks and Minerals projects that they have been working on at school. The grade 3's will continue to work on their projects on Soil at school this week.
For homework this week, please see the attached form. Also, students should continue to read on Raz Kids. The user name is scooper47. I will be setting individual passwords with each child. Please have your child work on Dreambox as well. I have pre-selected units for your child to work on.
Please see the updates below:
Math: Grade 4's will take a more in depth look at decimal tenths and fractions. Grade 3's continue to work on money problems and to explore a variety of ways to solve them. This includes highlighting important information, understanding what operation is required and what question is being asked to ensure it is being answered. Number lines and drawing money are successful strategies to solve these problems.
Language: We continue to look at our APEs strategy for answering questions based on written material. We will also continue to read Charlotte's Web.
Science: We had Mr. Ball in to demonstrate the use of pulleys for us as the grade 4 students are beginning this unit. This was a fun demonstration that all the students got to participate in and benefit from. The grade 4's are also continuing to put the finishing touches on the Rocks and Minerals projects that they have been working on at school. The grade 3's will continue to work on their projects on Soil at school this week.
Monday 28 November 2016
Happy first day of Advent! That time is now upon us as Christmas quickly approaches. There will be information coming home soon about our Advent hampers with a list of suggested items to purchase for the family we will be supporting this season. Tuesday is wear a hat day for United Way with a donation of two dollars.
If your child has changed the guinea pig cage and you are interested in having the guinea pigs at your home for a weekend, please write a note in your child's agenda so arrangements can be made. If you are hoping to host the guinea pigs and have another pet in the home, please let me know so we can discuss further. If the guinea pigs are at your house, your child will be prepared to care for them so adults that are a little hesitant, don't worry!
You may have heard that the students have assigned seating in the classroom at the moment. More reminders than usual for focusing on work have been required so assigned seating will help to reinforce with your child what is required to work successfully at their desk. This will help the students continue to be successful with their self-regulation when choosing their own seat again.
Please see attached homework as well as update below. Included in the homework this week is Raz Kids reading. I have set levels for the students. Some students may move through their levels quickly and that is ok. I will check their progress and adjust as required. If your child has difficulty accessing Raz Kids, please send a note in the agenda.
Math: The grade 3s will continue to explore money problems involving sums up to $10. The grade 4s will move to examining decimal tenths in the context of money to the relationship with fractions.
Language: We are continuing our novel study of Charlotte's web and our use of the APEs strategy. Students practiced last week by highlighting parts of their writing to coordinate with the parts of the APEs strategy to ensure they included all pieces.
Art: We continue to look at the Group of Seven. We will begin some Advent art as well.
If your child has changed the guinea pig cage and you are interested in having the guinea pigs at your home for a weekend, please write a note in your child's agenda so arrangements can be made. If you are hoping to host the guinea pigs and have another pet in the home, please let me know so we can discuss further. If the guinea pigs are at your house, your child will be prepared to care for them so adults that are a little hesitant, don't worry!
You may have heard that the students have assigned seating in the classroom at the moment. More reminders than usual for focusing on work have been required so assigned seating will help to reinforce with your child what is required to work successfully at their desk. This will help the students continue to be successful with their self-regulation when choosing their own seat again.
Please see attached homework as well as update below. Included in the homework this week is Raz Kids reading. I have set levels for the students. Some students may move through their levels quickly and that is ok. I will check their progress and adjust as required. If your child has difficulty accessing Raz Kids, please send a note in the agenda.
Math: The grade 3s will continue to explore money problems involving sums up to $10. The grade 4s will move to examining decimal tenths in the context of money to the relationship with fractions.
Language: We are continuing our novel study of Charlotte's web and our use of the APEs strategy. Students practiced last week by highlighting parts of their writing to coordinate with the parts of the APEs strategy to ensure they included all pieces.
Art: We continue to look at the Group of Seven. We will begin some Advent art as well.
Monday 21 November 2016
Happy snowy day! The blog is a little late this week. It was wonderful to meet so many parents on interview night last Thursday.
This week is Bullying Prevention and Awareness week. We will be having the students work together to create a class pledge about this topic. Please have your child wear blue on Wednesday to show support for bullying awareness.
Tomorrow is the French field trip for the grade 4 students. It should be an exciting concert.
Please see the attached homework as well as the updates below. Also included are some math strategies we have been using in class.
Math: We have been continuing to look at word problems and try a variety of strategies. The number line is consistently a great strategy, T-charts work when using multiples of the same number while drawing money to count is very effective as well.
Language: We have been looking at organizing our work by ideas in our Charlotte's Web novel study. We are also going to be using our APEs strategy to justify our answers in paragraph form. Below is a picture of our first group that used their procedural writing to change the guinea pig cage. It was very successful and the guinea pigs were very appreciative!
Visual arts: We have had some amazing discussions looking at some famous pieces of art in both paint and sculpture forms. We are studying the work of the Group of Seven and will be creating some pieces ourselves.
This week is Bullying Prevention and Awareness week. We will be having the students work together to create a class pledge about this topic. Please have your child wear blue on Wednesday to show support for bullying awareness.
Tomorrow is the French field trip for the grade 4 students. It should be an exciting concert.
Please see the attached homework as well as the updates below. Also included are some math strategies we have been using in class.
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| A number problem we have been working on. |
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| The t chart strategy - best used with a repeated series of numbers |
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| The number line strategy - good with nearly any math problem involving addition or subtraction |
Math: We have been continuing to look at word problems and try a variety of strategies. The number line is consistently a great strategy, T-charts work when using multiples of the same number while drawing money to count is very effective as well.
Language: We have been looking at organizing our work by ideas in our Charlotte's Web novel study. We are also going to be using our APEs strategy to justify our answers in paragraph form. Below is a picture of our first group that used their procedural writing to change the guinea pig cage. It was very successful and the guinea pigs were very appreciative!
Visual arts: We have had some amazing discussions looking at some famous pieces of art in both paint and sculpture forms. We are studying the work of the Group of Seven and will be creating some pieces ourselves.
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| Guinea pig cage changers hard at work! |
Sunday 13 November 2016
I hope everyone has had a great weekend enjoying the fall weather!
Our Remembrance Day service was wonderful. Thank you to all who attended and to those students who wore their scout or guide uniforms.
We will have another busy week this week. There is a fundraiser pasta lunch this Tuesday for $5. Tomorrow is not too late to let us know if your child is interested. Tuesday is also pajama day. Photo retake day is on Wed. the 16th along with pizza day for those who have pre-purchased. Parent teacher interviews are on Thursday night and it is a short week for students as Friday is a P.D. day.
You have probably been hearing about the importance of a growth mindsent. This is an important attitude for everyone and we will be looking at it more closely as the year goes on. I have attached a link to give you more information about a growth mindset specifically related to learning math.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZoYDHUGIwuE
For homework this week, those students taking science in English will be bringing their books home to complete any work that is incomplete. Please have your child return their book to school on Tuesday. If there is still work to complete, it can then be returned home again after that. Also for homework this week, please take your child to the store with you, if possible, and supervise them handling the money for small corner store type purchases such as milk or eggs. It is great practice for them to handle money and count change back, etc.
Please see the updates below:
Math: We continue our exploration of money, looking at some word problems and using a number line to count the difference in money values.
Language: We have begun our novel study. We are also practicing using APEs strategy to answer questions (Answer the question, Proof from the text, Extension or connection).
Visual arts: We spent quite some time on our poppy wreath with great results. This relates to different art forms and cultural contexts of art. We will continue to look at this as we finish our perspective pieces.
Our Remembrance Day service was wonderful. Thank you to all who attended and to those students who wore their scout or guide uniforms.
We will have another busy week this week. There is a fundraiser pasta lunch this Tuesday for $5. Tomorrow is not too late to let us know if your child is interested. Tuesday is also pajama day. Photo retake day is on Wed. the 16th along with pizza day for those who have pre-purchased. Parent teacher interviews are on Thursday night and it is a short week for students as Friday is a P.D. day.
You have probably been hearing about the importance of a growth mindsent. This is an important attitude for everyone and we will be looking at it more closely as the year goes on. I have attached a link to give you more information about a growth mindset specifically related to learning math.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZoYDHUGIwuE
For homework this week, those students taking science in English will be bringing their books home to complete any work that is incomplete. Please have your child return their book to school on Tuesday. If there is still work to complete, it can then be returned home again after that. Also for homework this week, please take your child to the store with you, if possible, and supervise them handling the money for small corner store type purchases such as milk or eggs. It is great practice for them to handle money and count change back, etc.
Please see the updates below:
Math: We continue our exploration of money, looking at some word problems and using a number line to count the difference in money values.
Language: We have begun our novel study. We are also practicing using APEs strategy to answer questions (Answer the question, Proof from the text, Extension or connection).
Visual arts: We spent quite some time on our poppy wreath with great results. This relates to different art forms and cultural contexts of art. We will continue to look at this as we finish our perspective pieces.
Monday 7 November 2016
Happy sunny Monday! Thank you to those who have returned their report cards signature slips and envelopes as well as the lottery calendars. Any outstanding must be returned as soon as possible.
All are welcome to our Remembrance Day lituragy this Friday beginning at 10:45. Students are encouraged to wear red or black to school that day. Also, any students in Brownies, Girl Guides, Beavers, Cubs or Scouts are encouraged to wear their uniforms.
Please see the attached homework as well as the updates below:
Math: We are beginning to explore money. Grade threes will working with money amounts up to ten dollars. Grade fours will be working with money amounts up to one hundred dollars.
Language: The students were very excited to work on their final procedural writing task which was "How to clean the guinea pig cage." We will now be looking at how to bump up writing to ensure students have full, detailed written answers in their work. We will also be starting an inclass novel study.
All are welcome to our Remembrance Day lituragy this Friday beginning at 10:45. Students are encouraged to wear red or black to school that day. Also, any students in Brownies, Girl Guides, Beavers, Cubs or Scouts are encouraged to wear their uniforms.
Please see the attached homework as well as the updates below:
Math: We are beginning to explore money. Grade threes will working with money amounts up to ten dollars. Grade fours will be working with money amounts up to one hundred dollars.
Language: The students were very excited to work on their final procedural writing task which was "How to clean the guinea pig cage." We will now be looking at how to bump up writing to ensure students have full, detailed written answers in their work. We will also be starting an inclass novel study.
Thursday 3 November 2016
Your child is bringing home their progress report today along with their school pictures. Please read your child's progress report, sign and return the envelope with the signature portion to the school. Also, any outstanding lottery calendar information must be returned to the school as soon as possible.
Have a great rainy night!
Have a great rainy night!
Sunday 30 October 2016
Happy Hallowe'en Monday! We have our trip to visit the residents at Cityview Retirement Community tomorrow morning. We are looking forward to it. We will be showing our costumes to the residents so please remember to send your child in a costume or in black and orange (or some other themed outfit if possible). Thank you to the parents who have volunteered to join us!
Our food drive was a huge success! Our class tied for second place in the school with 156 items coming from the class. Thank you everyone for your generous donations.
The students in both grade one and our 3/4 classes are having a great time getting together on Friday mornings. Last Friday we helped the grade ones decorate their pumpkins, then we read stories together.
Our food drive was a huge success! Our class tied for second place in the school with 156 items coming from the class. Thank you everyone for your generous donations.
The students in both grade one and our 3/4 classes are having a great time getting together on Friday mornings. Last Friday we helped the grade ones decorate their pumpkins, then we read stories together.
Homework will come home on paper this week. Included for homework, please remember to say thank you to anyone who gives you candy on Monday night. Also, see how many ways you could organize your candy to count it.
Thursday 27 October 2016
Thank you to those who have donated canned goods. We are collecting many cans and the students are very excited about this.
Your child has brought several items home today in his or her agenda. There are work samples that should be signed and returned. There is a safety information pamphlet that can be kept at home. There is a tech safety paper that you must go through with your child and each initial and return to school. Finally, there is a field trip information package that must be signed and returned right away. The field trip will be taking place on Monday and your child must have returned the signed permission slip in order to attend.
Your child has brought several items home today in his or her agenda. There are work samples that should be signed and returned. There is a safety information pamphlet that can be kept at home. There is a tech safety paper that you must go through with your child and each initial and return to school. Finally, there is a field trip information package that must be signed and returned right away. The field trip will be taking place on Monday and your child must have returned the signed permission slip in order to attend.
Wednesday 26 October 2016
The canned food drive is on this week. The class that donates the most non-parishable items will win a pizza lunch! Our class has collected 20 items so far. There are a few classes that have collected more than that. If each student in our class brings in at least two items, we may have a chance to win.....
Monday 24 October 2016
Happy Monday! I hope everyone had a great weekend. Picture day went well despite the rain. Everyone stayed looking spiffy all day!
We had a guest in on Thursday to teach the students about the Rosary. They all seemed to enjoy it very much.
We are having a canned food drive this week at school. Also, there is a pasta lunch on the 25th for those students who purchase tickets and pizza day is on Wednesday. Please see the St. Gregory Sunday memo for more information about these events, interesting speakers, and guidelines for Halloween costumes.
We will be spending an hour outside rather than in class on Wednesday for Take Me Outside day. Please ensure your child is dressed for the weather. Information can be found at this link:
take me outside day
Please see the updates below, as well as the attached homework:
Math: We have begun our exploration of place value. The students spent some time last week using place value mats with spots for ones, tens, hundreds and thousands. They also used manipulatives to show a variety of numbers in different ways. We will continue with this type of activity this week.
Language: We are continuing with procedural writing. This week we will be looking at some examples such as: 'How to bath your cat'; 'How to make a pillow fort'; and 'How to make banana bread'.
Science: We continue our look at soil and rocks/minerals.
Visual arts: The students are working on good copies of their perspective work. They will then use this experience to create some Halloween pictures.
We had a guest in on Thursday to teach the students about the Rosary. They all seemed to enjoy it very much.
We are having a canned food drive this week at school. Also, there is a pasta lunch on the 25th for those students who purchase tickets and pizza day is on Wednesday. Please see the St. Gregory Sunday memo for more information about these events, interesting speakers, and guidelines for Halloween costumes.
We will be spending an hour outside rather than in class on Wednesday for Take Me Outside day. Please ensure your child is dressed for the weather. Information can be found at this link:
take me outside day
Please see the updates below, as well as the attached homework:
Math: We have begun our exploration of place value. The students spent some time last week using place value mats with spots for ones, tens, hundreds and thousands. They also used manipulatives to show a variety of numbers in different ways. We will continue with this type of activity this week.
Language: We are continuing with procedural writing. This week we will be looking at some examples such as: 'How to bath your cat'; 'How to make a pillow fort'; and 'How to make banana bread'.
Science: We continue our look at soil and rocks/minerals.
Visual arts: The students are working on good copies of their perspective work. They will then use this experience to create some Halloween pictures.
Sunday 16 October 2016
Hope everyone enjoyed a wonderful weekend. It seems as though it is time to dig the rain gear out for the next little while.
Please note that pizza lunch is this Wednesday for those who have ordered. Thursday morning we will have some guests into our classroom. The Rosary Apostolate volunteers will be in to help us learn more about the rosary and guide us in prayer. Picture day this Friday. Tickets are available for the upcoming pasta lunch next week. Please check out the St. Gregory memo for more information about school events.
We will be starting our reading buddies with Ms. Goerke's class this week. It will take place on Friday mornings and the grade 3/4s will take turns reading to the grade 1s and listening to stories the grade 1s will read to them.
The students will be bringing home samples of their work. Please sign these and return them to school with your child. Please see the updates below as well as the attached homework:
Math: We are beginning to take a deeper look into place value and showing what numbers mean in a variety of ways.
Language: We have finished up descriptive language. We are now moving into procedural writing. The students will find this unit especially exciting as we will be using this skill to write about how to care for the guinea pigs.
Health: We are discussing safety. Grade 3s: how to stay safe to and from school. Grade 4s: being safe with technology
Please note that pizza lunch is this Wednesday for those who have ordered. Thursday morning we will have some guests into our classroom. The Rosary Apostolate volunteers will be in to help us learn more about the rosary and guide us in prayer. Picture day this Friday. Tickets are available for the upcoming pasta lunch next week. Please check out the St. Gregory memo for more information about school events.
We will be starting our reading buddies with Ms. Goerke's class this week. It will take place on Friday mornings and the grade 3/4s will take turns reading to the grade 1s and listening to stories the grade 1s will read to them.
The students will be bringing home samples of their work. Please sign these and return them to school with your child. Please see the updates below as well as the attached homework:
Math: We are beginning to take a deeper look into place value and showing what numbers mean in a variety of ways.
Language: We have finished up descriptive language. We are now moving into procedural writing. The students will find this unit especially exciting as we will be using this skill to write about how to care for the guinea pigs.
Health: We are discussing safety. Grade 3s: how to stay safe to and from school. Grade 4s: being safe with technology
Wednesday 12 October 2016
I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving long weekend! We have been enjoying hearing about everyone's weekend at school. This has helped with our descriptive writing task.
Remember hot dog day is this Friday for those students who have pre ordered.
For this week's homework, please take your child to an outdoor space (park, yard, forest,etc.) and have him or her talk about what they are learning in science. For example, the grade 4 students can tell you the difference between a rock and a mineral. The grade 3 students can dig and tell you about the different layers of soil.
Please see the updates below:
Math: We are finishing up our work on patterning this week.
Language: We are putting the final touches on our descriptive writing and will be moving on to procedural writing.
Science: We are continuing our exploration of rocks and minerals as well as soil.
Visual arts: We have begun an exciting exploration of perspective as we work to create a cityscape from a bird's eye view.
Remember hot dog day is this Friday for those students who have pre ordered.
For this week's homework, please take your child to an outdoor space (park, yard, forest,etc.) and have him or her talk about what they are learning in science. For example, the grade 4 students can tell you the difference between a rock and a mineral. The grade 3 students can dig and tell you about the different layers of soil.
Please see the updates below:
Math: We are finishing up our work on patterning this week.
Language: We are putting the final touches on our descriptive writing and will be moving on to procedural writing.
Science: We are continuing our exploration of rocks and minerals as well as soil.
Visual arts: We have begun an exciting exploration of perspective as we work to create a cityscape from a bird's eye view.
Monday 3 October 2016
Thank you for all of your donations to our Terry Fox run/walk on Friday. We are glad the weather held up for this event.
Remember that Friday is a P.D. day this week so students will have a short week, followed by Thanksgiving holiday Monday.
Please see the St. Gregory memo for information about how to order Lunch Lady for your child if you wish to do so.
Remember library is tomorrow so if your child has not returned their book, please have them do so tomorrow, unless they wish to renew their current selection.
Please see the homework posted above, and the updates posted below:
Math: We are continuing our work on patterning this week. Grade 4’s will be working on exploring the terms in a number pattern (e.g. 4 is the second term in this number pattern: 2,4,6,8,.....). Grade 3’s will be working on creating number patterns involving addition and subtraction.
Language: We are continuing our work on descriptive language and visualization and will be using our skills to write about our favourite things about Thanksgiving.
Science: We are continuing our exploration of rocks and minerals in grade 4 and soil in grade 3.
Visual Arts: We will be finishing up our exploration of dots and using lines to explore perspective.
Health: We have begun our unit on personal safety and injury prevention.
Monday 26 September 2016
Happy Monday everyone! It looks as though students are successfully submitting homework on line. As always, if you are having difficulty please let me know.
We had a very successful trip to church to celebrate Mass as a school. We were very fortunate that the weather cooperated for this trip. We hope the weather will also cooperate on Friday as it will be our Terry Fox run during last block. We are asking that each student please bring in a toonie this week in order to help us achieve our school donation goals.
Please see the St. Gregory memo to ensure you are up to date with school information.
If you have not already done so, please submit your child's student activity fee using the School Cash onLine system.
Please see posted homework.
Please see the updates below:
Math: We reviewed place value but will spend much more time on this later. Grade 3s have been working on describing number patterns using math language (e.g. "It is a decreasing pattern that starts at 25 and counts back by 2s to 11.")
Grade 4s have been working in partners to identify commonalities and differences in number patterns in a set of given patterns and describing them using math language.
Language: The students have loved listening to books About a Day and About a Night to work on their descriptive language skills and visualization. They are working in small groups to create dictionaries of powerful descriptive words to use as a resource for future writing activities.
Science: We are very fortunate to have a wonderful volunteer engineer come into our class to help us explore our science units. This guest, Mr. Ball, will begin visiting in October.
Visual Arts: The students have been practicing shading using dots to create some wonderful scenes. They will continue with this along with an independent exploration using lines and dots.
We had a very successful trip to church to celebrate Mass as a school. We were very fortunate that the weather cooperated for this trip. We hope the weather will also cooperate on Friday as it will be our Terry Fox run during last block. We are asking that each student please bring in a toonie this week in order to help us achieve our school donation goals.
Please see the St. Gregory memo to ensure you are up to date with school information.
If you have not already done so, please submit your child's student activity fee using the School Cash onLine system.
Please see posted homework.
Please see the updates below:
Math: We reviewed place value but will spend much more time on this later. Grade 3s have been working on describing number patterns using math language (e.g. "It is a decreasing pattern that starts at 25 and counts back by 2s to 11.")
Grade 4s have been working in partners to identify commonalities and differences in number patterns in a set of given patterns and describing them using math language.
Language: The students have loved listening to books About a Day and About a Night to work on their descriptive language skills and visualization. They are working in small groups to create dictionaries of powerful descriptive words to use as a resource for future writing activities.
Science: We are very fortunate to have a wonderful volunteer engineer come into our class to help us explore our science units. This guest, Mr. Ball, will begin visiting in October.
Visual Arts: The students have been practicing shading using dots to create some wonderful scenes. They will continue with this along with an independent exploration using lines and dots.
Wednesday 21 September 2016
Friday 16 September 2016
It was great to meet so many wonderful parents in our classroom community last night! I hope you all enjoyed seeing your children's classroom environment. Please see the homework attached in the body of the blog rather than at the side of the blog as shown last night. There is an app glitch at the moment and this is how the homework will be shown for now. I will let you know if there are any further changes to the format. As always, if there are any questions please let me know.
Thursday 15 September 2016
Happy new school year everyone! Welcome to the grades 3 and 4 blog!
If you are receiving an email notification about this blog and you are from my last year's grade 4, you can unsubscribe by scrolling down to the bottom of the email and clicking "unsubscribe".
Welcome to parents of grade 3 and 4 students! Thank you for checking out the blog. All information about classroom happenings will be communicated through the blog. Please register through the blog to receive email notifications to ensure you don't miss one exciting piece of information from our classroom.
You are probably aware that we have two lovely furry pet guinea pigs in the class. The students are very excited to have them in the classroom. Students are welcome to bring treats from home for the guinea pigs. I will be drawing names each day for students to bring in vegetables for the guinea pigs if they choose. This way it will ensure the guinea pigs won't eat too much and students won't be disappointed if they can't feed them.
We have flexible seating in the classroom. This means students are welcome to choose their own seat each day. There is a standing table available for work as well as table space in the hall. Classroom teachers, of course, always have the last say about work partners or seating.
Most homework and all information about upcoming areas of study will be communicated to you through the blog. Homework can be done and submitted online. If you have any questions at all about the homework, please let me know. It is important that students do homework as it gives me information about how much time we need to spend on an area of study. It also may give students practice in areas that may not be addressed in detail in class. Please see the first homework posted at the right side of the blog.
Please see the updates below:
Math: We are spending time reviewing counting (by 5s, 25s, etc.backward and forward) using 100 charts and number lines and will be moving onto place value next.
Language: We have been looking at visualization as a comprehension tool and creating a descriptive word list. We will work on writing powerful sentences next week.
Visual arts: We are exploring lines and dots to create pieces of art.
Science: Grade 3s will be looking at Soil. Grade 4s are looking at Rocks and Minerals.
If you are receiving an email notification about this blog and you are from my last year's grade 4, you can unsubscribe by scrolling down to the bottom of the email and clicking "unsubscribe".
Welcome to parents of grade 3 and 4 students! Thank you for checking out the blog. All information about classroom happenings will be communicated through the blog. Please register through the blog to receive email notifications to ensure you don't miss one exciting piece of information from our classroom.
You are probably aware that we have two lovely furry pet guinea pigs in the class. The students are very excited to have them in the classroom. Students are welcome to bring treats from home for the guinea pigs. I will be drawing names each day for students to bring in vegetables for the guinea pigs if they choose. This way it will ensure the guinea pigs won't eat too much and students won't be disappointed if they can't feed them.
We have flexible seating in the classroom. This means students are welcome to choose their own seat each day. There is a standing table available for work as well as table space in the hall. Classroom teachers, of course, always have the last say about work partners or seating.
Most homework and all information about upcoming areas of study will be communicated to you through the blog. Homework can be done and submitted online. If you have any questions at all about the homework, please let me know. It is important that students do homework as it gives me information about how much time we need to spend on an area of study. It also may give students practice in areas that may not be addressed in detail in class. Please see the first homework posted at the right side of the blog.
Please see the updates below:
Math: We are spending time reviewing counting (by 5s, 25s, etc.backward and forward) using 100 charts and number lines and will be moving onto place value next.
Language: We have been looking at visualization as a comprehension tool and creating a descriptive word list. We will work on writing powerful sentences next week.
Visual arts: We are exploring lines and dots to create pieces of art.
Science: Grade 3s will be looking at Soil. Grade 4s are looking at Rocks and Minerals.
Tuesday 28 June 2016
I had a wonderful last day with the students today. I will be absent from school tomorrow because I will be attending my daughter's high school graduation.
The students and I thoroughly enjoyed our party in recognition of Helen Keller's life, grit, and important contributions. Thank you to everyone who brought items in to help us enjoy this time. The students had the opportunity to read a braille message written by my neighbour, read a braille magazine, use a white cane, guide one another and be guided, and explore a variety of items and food from the perspective of someone with a visual impairment.
They brought their published narrative writing books home either yesterday or today. The students are very proud of their work, and they should be!
We enjoyed the wonderful talent show today as well as a slide show and performance from the teachers.
Finally, I would like to add that I have thoroughly enjoyed being your child's teacher this year! We have had a wonderful year full of exciting experiences. I wish everyone a safe and very happy summer and look forward to seeing all the familiar, wonderful faces heading to grade 5 in the fall.
The students and I thoroughly enjoyed our party in recognition of Helen Keller's life, grit, and important contributions. Thank you to everyone who brought items in to help us enjoy this time. The students had the opportunity to read a braille message written by my neighbour, read a braille magazine, use a white cane, guide one another and be guided, and explore a variety of items and food from the perspective of someone with a visual impairment.
They brought their published narrative writing books home either yesterday or today. The students are very proud of their work, and they should be!
We enjoyed the wonderful talent show today as well as a slide show and performance from the teachers.
Finally, I would like to add that I have thoroughly enjoyed being your child's teacher this year! We have had a wonderful year full of exciting experiences. I wish everyone a safe and very happy summer and look forward to seeing all the familiar, wonderful faces heading to grade 5 in the fall.
Monday 20 June 2016
The students are definitely on the countdown for summer holidays! It seems as though we will not be escaping the heat this busy week.
The students have a field trip to the Summer Solstice on Monday with the students from grades 3-6. It should be a wonderful trip!
Some of our students will also be attending the track and field meet on Tuesday. If your child is going, please ensure they have a hat, sunscreen, water bottle and appropriate shoes and clothes for the weather and the event.
We have finished our novel "The Story of Helen Keller". The students are busy planning a party to celebrate her life which will take place at the end of this week. We will be playing games and doing activities which focus on gaining information using senses other than sight. We will be highlighting strategies used by blind or visually impaired people to achieve success and independence. The information will be attached to the homework section of the blog shortly. I will also be sending a note home.
We will be reviewing a variety of concepts in math and language this week.
The students have a field trip to the Summer Solstice on Monday with the students from grades 3-6. It should be a wonderful trip!
Some of our students will also be attending the track and field meet on Tuesday. If your child is going, please ensure they have a hat, sunscreen, water bottle and appropriate shoes and clothes for the weather and the event.
We have finished our novel "The Story of Helen Keller". The students are busy planning a party to celebrate her life which will take place at the end of this week. We will be playing games and doing activities which focus on gaining information using senses other than sight. We will be highlighting strategies used by blind or visually impaired people to achieve success and independence. The information will be attached to the homework section of the blog shortly. I will also be sending a note home.
We will be reviewing a variety of concepts in math and language this week.
Tuesday 14 June 2016
The blog is a little late this week! We are in a busy time right now.
The students will be enjoying Jungle Sport this week. We had our first session yesterday and everyone had a lot of fun! We also have the bike rodeo and the field trip to the OAC this week. Tysen Lefebvre will be back in to visit the students. We are also reading the last of our Helen Keller book and some of the students are working on planning a party in celebration of her life and contributions to how people with disabilities are viewed.
I will be having the students work on a summer rotation for those who are interested in spending some time caring for the guinea pigs. If you are interested in participating, please let your child know what dates work for you.
There will be no more homework coming home or posted on the blog.
Please see our math and language updates below:
Math: The students have been looking at symmetry in shapes as well as creating their own symmetrical pictures. We will also be spending some time on reviewing concepts this week and next.
Language: We have taken a look at poetry and students will begin to create their own diamonte poems.
Have a great week!
The students will be enjoying Jungle Sport this week. We had our first session yesterday and everyone had a lot of fun! We also have the bike rodeo and the field trip to the OAC this week. Tysen Lefebvre will be back in to visit the students. We are also reading the last of our Helen Keller book and some of the students are working on planning a party in celebration of her life and contributions to how people with disabilities are viewed.
I will be having the students work on a summer rotation for those who are interested in spending some time caring for the guinea pigs. If you are interested in participating, please let your child know what dates work for you.
There will be no more homework coming home or posted on the blog.
Please see our math and language updates below:
Math: The students have been looking at symmetry in shapes as well as creating their own symmetrical pictures. We will also be spending some time on reviewing concepts this week and next.
Language: We have taken a look at poetry and students will begin to create their own diamonte poems.
Have a great week!
Monday 6 June 2016
Happy Monday everyone! Please have your child complete this week's homework on-line and on paper as there are both this week. Your child should use a highlighter to highlight the important words in each question on paper.
EQAO will be taking place in the morning again this week at school.
Bike Rodeo has been moved to this Thursday due to rain last week. It is also Jungle Sport day and the last hot dog day of the year. Thursday will be a fun and busy day!
A reminder that this Friday is a P.D. day so there will be no school for the students.
Please see the math and language updates below:
Math: We will be exploring symmetry and movement including slides, flips and rotations.
Language: The students will be finishing their narrative stories. They have been working very hard on these! We will be looking at poetry by the end of the week.
EQAO will be taking place in the morning again this week at school.
Bike Rodeo has been moved to this Thursday due to rain last week. It is also Jungle Sport day and the last hot dog day of the year. Thursday will be a fun and busy day!
A reminder that this Friday is a P.D. day so there will be no school for the students.
Please see the math and language updates below:
Math: We will be exploring symmetry and movement including slides, flips and rotations.
Language: The students will be finishing their narrative stories. They have been working very hard on these! We will be looking at poetry by the end of the week.
Monday 30 May 2016
Good Monday everyone! I hope everyone enjoyed the beautiful summer weather this weekend without getting burned or overheated. Please remind your child to have a hat and water bottle at school on these very hot days.
EQAO testing is taking place in the school this week. We are also excited to have the bike rodeo on Thursday.
Please have your child complete last week's homework if he or she has not already done so. More homework will be either coming home or posted later in the week.
Please check out below to see what is happening in math and language this week:
Math: We will begin our look at symmetry this week.
Language: We are looking at how to create paragraphs in written work as well as how to use editing skills on our own and other's work.
EQAO testing is taking place in the school this week. We are also excited to have the bike rodeo on Thursday.
Please have your child complete last week's homework if he or she has not already done so. More homework will be either coming home or posted later in the week.
Please check out below to see what is happening in math and language this week:
Math: We will begin our look at symmetry this week.
Language: We are looking at how to create paragraphs in written work as well as how to use editing skills on our own and other's work.
Tuesday 24 May 2016
What glorious weather we had for a wonderful long weekend! I hope everyone enjoyed the weekend with their favourite activities.
We had a lot of fun with our track and field day on Friday and saw some very speedy runners! We also watched a video of Helen Keller and her teacher. We have been reading this novel in class as it ties in well with our investigation of grit and perseverance.
Please ensure your child has a reuseable water bottle at school for these hot days, along with a hat and sunscreen to reapply as necessary. Also, note that there is no hot dog day this Friday.
Please see the math and language update below:
Math: We will be finishing up our exploration of algebra and moving into exploring symmetry. Please continue to work on multiplication and division facts with your child as it helps immensely with recognizing connections between numbers and fact families, such as with algebra.
Language: We are proofreading and editing our grit narratives. We should be well into our good copies and illustrations by the end of the week.
We had a lot of fun with our track and field day on Friday and saw some very speedy runners! We also watched a video of Helen Keller and her teacher. We have been reading this novel in class as it ties in well with our investigation of grit and perseverance.
Please ensure your child has a reuseable water bottle at school for these hot days, along with a hat and sunscreen to reapply as necessary. Also, note that there is no hot dog day this Friday.
Please see the math and language update below:
Math: We will be finishing up our exploration of algebra and moving into exploring symmetry. Please continue to work on multiplication and division facts with your child as it helps immensely with recognizing connections between numbers and fact families, such as with algebra.
Language: We are proofreading and editing our grit narratives. We should be well into our good copies and illustrations by the end of the week.
Sunday 15 May 2016
Let's hope the weather this week gets more like spring in a hurry! Next week is Victoria Day long weekend already, with Monday the 23rd being a holiday. If any families are interested in looking after the guinea pigs for the long weekend, please let me know through a note in your child's agenda or through the school and we can make arrangements. All of the necessary food and equipment will be provided. If more than one family is interested, we will have a draw.
The grade 3's, 4's and 5's are having a presentation in the Fire Safety House on Tuesday morning to learn about safety in the home and safe exiting in the case of an emergency. We have other events planned for this week as well, such as the track and field day on Friday morning.
Math and language updates are below:
Math: We have finished our unit on fractions and will be exploring patterning and algebra. I have included adding and subtracting money amounts in this week's homework for review.
Language: We are writing narratives, with illustrations, based on our "gritty" person interview.
The grade 3's, 4's and 5's are having a presentation in the Fire Safety House on Tuesday morning to learn about safety in the home and safe exiting in the case of an emergency. We have other events planned for this week as well, such as the track and field day on Friday morning.
Math and language updates are below:
Math: We have finished our unit on fractions and will be exploring patterning and algebra. I have included adding and subtracting money amounts in this week's homework for review.
Language: We are writing narratives, with illustrations, based on our "gritty" person interview.
Monday 9 May 2016
Happy Mother's Day weekend! I hope everyone enjoyed Mother's Day just as they hoped.
We had a very busy and successful Catholic Education Week last week. The lollipop guessing jar was very popular and had many people submitting their guesses.
Please see the weekly memo for information regarding end of day pick up procedures.
Homework will be handed out in class this week.
Our math and language updates are below:
Math: The students worked on an independent fractions task on Friday. Some students will be continuing today. We will focus on fractions and decimals this week, moving to a new unit by the end of the week.
Language: We thoroughly enjoyed hearing our "Gritty" person interviews. Some interviewees have set some amazing goals. We got together with 2 other classes to use the information from our interviews to create some interesting games to reinforce concepts learned and share with the community. We will continue exploring this as well as reviewing editing skills for written work.
We had a very busy and successful Catholic Education Week last week. The lollipop guessing jar was very popular and had many people submitting their guesses.
Please see the weekly memo for information regarding end of day pick up procedures.
Homework will be handed out in class this week.
Our math and language updates are below:
Math: The students worked on an independent fractions task on Friday. Some students will be continuing today. We will focus on fractions and decimals this week, moving to a new unit by the end of the week.
Language: We thoroughly enjoyed hearing our "Gritty" person interviews. Some interviewees have set some amazing goals. We got together with 2 other classes to use the information from our interviews to create some interesting games to reinforce concepts learned and share with the community. We will continue exploring this as well as reviewing editing skills for written work.
Sunday 1 May 2016
It is great to feel as though spring is in the air!
This week is Catholic Education Week and we have many exciting activities planned. Please see the Weekly Memo to ensure that you are aware of the activities each day. Tomorrow is School Colours Day and Cleaning the Capital. Your child should wear blue and/or yellow, or school spirit wear. If your child has not yet returned the permission form for Cleaning the Capital, please have him or her do so tomorrow in order to go off school property with the rest of the junior students. We will have the Lollipop Guessing Jar all week for students to buy ballots for $0.25 (twenty-five cents) each to write his or her guess of how many lollipops are in the jar. The closest guess wins the lollipop jar. Students are welcome to purchase as many ballots as they would like.
Please see the math and language updates below:
Math: We have been exploring fractions represented as decimals (e.g. 1/2 is the same as 0.5) and identifying both fractions and decimals on a number line. We have also been working with equivalent fractions (e.g. 3/4 is the same as 6/8) and exploring strategies to create equivalent fractions.
Language: The students have been presenting their "Gritty" Person interviews to the class. There have been some amazing goals set and achieved. We have been identifying and recording both motivators and strategies to help people achieve goals. These presentations will continue this week.
This week is Catholic Education Week and we have many exciting activities planned. Please see the Weekly Memo to ensure that you are aware of the activities each day. Tomorrow is School Colours Day and Cleaning the Capital. Your child should wear blue and/or yellow, or school spirit wear. If your child has not yet returned the permission form for Cleaning the Capital, please have him or her do so tomorrow in order to go off school property with the rest of the junior students. We will have the Lollipop Guessing Jar all week for students to buy ballots for $0.25 (twenty-five cents) each to write his or her guess of how many lollipops are in the jar. The closest guess wins the lollipop jar. Students are welcome to purchase as many ballots as they would like.
Please see the math and language updates below:
Math: We have been exploring fractions represented as decimals (e.g. 1/2 is the same as 0.5) and identifying both fractions and decimals on a number line. We have also been working with equivalent fractions (e.g. 3/4 is the same as 6/8) and exploring strategies to create equivalent fractions.
Language: The students have been presenting their "Gritty" Person interviews to the class. There have been some amazing goals set and achieved. We have been identifying and recording both motivators and strategies to help people achieve goals. These presentations will continue this week.
Sunday 24 April 2016
Happy Monday everyone! We had a super trip downtown on Thursday. Everyone had fun and came back to school happy and tired! It was wonderful to have lunch on Parliament Hill in the sun.
The students have been working on putting information on google slides about our upcoming fundraisers for Tysen's Mission to a Million. We will be having a crazy hair day and a lollipop guessing jar to raise funds. More information will be coming home shortly.
This week is the litterless lunch contest. Please see the weekly memo for information about how to pack a litterless lunch for your child.
Next week is Education Week. More information about this is on the weekly memo as well.
Please see the math and language updates below:
Math: We will be continuing to explore fractions this week. We will be seeing how we can represent fractions using concrete materials. We will also be comparing and ordering fractions on a number line using the benchmarks of 0, 1/2, and 1 (whole).
Language: We will be looking at the interviews the students conducted regarding goal setting. Please ensure your child has returned their completed forms to school at the beginning of the week. The students will be setting their own goals this week using information from the interviews.
The students have been working on putting information on google slides about our upcoming fundraisers for Tysen's Mission to a Million. We will be having a crazy hair day and a lollipop guessing jar to raise funds. More information will be coming home shortly.
This week is the litterless lunch contest. Please see the weekly memo for information about how to pack a litterless lunch for your child.
Next week is Education Week. More information about this is on the weekly memo as well.
Please see the math and language updates below:
Math: We will be continuing to explore fractions this week. We will be seeing how we can represent fractions using concrete materials. We will also be comparing and ordering fractions on a number line using the benchmarks of 0, 1/2, and 1 (whole).
Language: We will be looking at the interviews the students conducted regarding goal setting. Please ensure your child has returned their completed forms to school at the beginning of the week. The students will be setting their own goals this week using information from the interviews.
Sunday 17 April 2016
I hope everyone enjoyed such a sunny, beautiful weekend! It is great to have some spring weather.
It is Earth week at school this week so please have your child participate by wearing the designated colour for each day's theme. Ask your child to discuss with you the message for each theme as well. Tomorrow (Monday) is blue day to represent water. Please encourage your child to only bring reusable water containers to school each day. Please check the weekly memo for each day's theme and colour this week.
We have our exciting trip downtown this Thursday so check with your child's homeroom teacher if you have any questions.
It is important that your child does his or her homework each week so you can be up to date on concepts being taught and your child will have the chance to practice these concepts at home. Much of the homework this week is relating to our NPDL project. If you have not yet returned the consent sheet for this please do so this week.
Please see the math and language updates below:
Math: We will continue with our exploration of fractions and work at making fraction strips to help in the understanding of equivalent fractions.
Language: We are finished with our pourquoi stories and will spend time focusing on goal setting Your child will be interviewing a family member or family friend to determine success in this area.
It is Earth week at school this week so please have your child participate by wearing the designated colour for each day's theme. Ask your child to discuss with you the message for each theme as well. Tomorrow (Monday) is blue day to represent water. Please encourage your child to only bring reusable water containers to school each day. Please check the weekly memo for each day's theme and colour this week.
We have our exciting trip downtown this Thursday so check with your child's homeroom teacher if you have any questions.
It is important that your child does his or her homework each week so you can be up to date on concepts being taught and your child will have the chance to practice these concepts at home. Much of the homework this week is relating to our NPDL project. If you have not yet returned the consent sheet for this please do so this week.
Please see the math and language updates below:
Math: We will continue with our exploration of fractions and work at making fraction strips to help in the understanding of equivalent fractions.
Language: We are finished with our pourquoi stories and will spend time focusing on goal setting Your child will be interviewing a family member or family friend to determine success in this area.
Sunday 10 April 2016
Happy Monday everyone! We recognized two student's birthdays this past week in class.
Let's hope the weather will be more spring-like for this week.
Please remember that Friday is a P.D. day so there will be no school for students on that day.
Here are the math and language updates for this week:
Math: We are finishing with measurement of area and perimeter and will be moving on to explore fractions.
Language: We will be sharing our pourquoi Bitstrips with the class. We will also begin to examine elements of a story such as characters, plot, setting and main idea.
Let's hope the weather will be more spring-like for this week.
Please remember that Friday is a P.D. day so there will be no school for students on that day.
Here are the math and language updates for this week:
Math: We are finishing with measurement of area and perimeter and will be moving on to explore fractions.
Language: We will be sharing our pourquoi Bitstrips with the class. We will also begin to examine elements of a story such as characters, plot, setting and main idea.
Wednesday 6 April 2016
Your child has been working on pourquoi stories this week. We have begun to put them into Bitstrips. This is accessed on line and appears as a comic strip that your child creates. These must be complete by Monday, at class time. His or her rough copy or brainstorming must be approved by me first to ensure it meets pourquoi criteria. To access Bitstrips, have your child go to: bitstripsforschool.com. The class name is: Cooper 4. The class code is: Stg4.
Please let me know if you have any questions.
Please let me know if you have any questions.
Sunday 3 April 2016
I am looking forward to a full week with the students - it has been a while with snow days and long weekends! We recognized one birthday in the class over the long weekend.
We had a super visit with Tysen Lefebvre on Thursday. He had a lot to say about his Mission to a Million including his wish and those he has granted to others. The students had some great questions for Tysen around goal setting and he had some super answers regarding breaking goals into manageable chunks and not getting discouraged. The students will be leading some fundraising initiatives to support Make-a-Wish in the next few weeks.
Homework will be coming home in paper form this week. Please see the math and language updates below:
Math: We will continue with area exploration. The students need to be mindful of including units of measure in their work and noting which units are used in the question. Please have your child practice multiplication drills at home.
Language: Students have begun writing pourquoi stories in pairs. Some have had the chance to share with the class and others will do so this week before writing independently.
We had a super visit with Tysen Lefebvre on Thursday. He had a lot to say about his Mission to a Million including his wish and those he has granted to others. The students had some great questions for Tysen around goal setting and he had some super answers regarding breaking goals into manageable chunks and not getting discouraged. The students will be leading some fundraising initiatives to support Make-a-Wish in the next few weeks.
Homework will be coming home in paper form this week. Please see the math and language updates below:
Math: We will continue with area exploration. The students need to be mindful of including units of measure in their work and noting which units are used in the question. Please have your child practice multiplication drills at home.
Language: Students have begun writing pourquoi stories in pairs. Some have had the chance to share with the class and others will do so this week before writing independently.
I hope everyone is having a super weekend.
I have been reviewing the homework and realized one of the questions is more difficult than I had intended. You can have your child skip the question about Ronnie's computer table if you wish as I made an error in converting the measurements. My apologies.
Please stay posted for a blog update later today.
I have been reviewing the homework and realized one of the questions is more difficult than I had intended. You can have your child skip the question about Ronnie's computer table if you wish as I made an error in converting the measurements. My apologies.
Please stay posted for a blog update later today.
Tuesday 29 March 2016
I hope everyone had a joyous and relaxing long Easter weekend. One person in the class celebrated a birthday over the long weekend.
We have a busy week this week with an exciting guest speaker for last block on Thursday. We will be having Tysen Lefebvre in to speak to us about Tysen's Mission to a Million. The students have been learning about Tysen and the goal he has set to raise one million dollars for the children's charity Make-a-Wish. We are exploring the characteristics of grit that Tysen possesses with such a grand goal and will have the chance to ask him about this on Thursday. You can follow the link for more information about this amazing teenager: http://www.missiontoamillion.ca/
Please see the updates below as well as the homework link at the side. If there are any questions about the homework, please let me know through a note in your child's agenda.
Math: We will continue to explore area and perimeter in everyday situations. We will also be continuing with our multiplication drills.
Language: We will continue to explore pourquoi stories and to write some of our own.
We have a busy week this week with an exciting guest speaker for last block on Thursday. We will be having Tysen Lefebvre in to speak to us about Tysen's Mission to a Million. The students have been learning about Tysen and the goal he has set to raise one million dollars for the children's charity Make-a-Wish. We are exploring the characteristics of grit that Tysen possesses with such a grand goal and will have the chance to ask him about this on Thursday. You can follow the link for more information about this amazing teenager: http://www.missiontoamillion.ca/
Please see the updates below as well as the homework link at the side. If there are any questions about the homework, please let me know through a note in your child's agenda.
Math: We will continue to explore area and perimeter in everyday situations. We will also be continuing with our multiplication drills.
Language: We will continue to explore pourquoi stories and to write some of our own.
Monday 21 March 2016
Happy first, but very chilly, day of spring! I hope everyone had a super break whether you skied, had fun in the sun, or enjoyed a staycation around home. It will be a short week back as we have no school on Good Friday or Easter Monday.
We are happy to recognize one birthday in our class this week.
Please let me know, through an email or note in your child's agenda, if you ever have questions about the on-line homework.
Please see the updates below:
Math: We are putting our skills into play by measuring the perimeter of two guinea pig cages to see which perimeter is greater. We will be moving into exploration of surface area to determine, of the two cages, which has a greater area: the one with a larger flat surface, or the one with two levels and a ramp. We will continue with multiplication drills and have our timed drill this Thursday. Please ask your child to share their goal with you.
Language: We are exploring the characteristics of pourquois and legends to see how they are similar and different. We listened to some student created pourquois stories last week and the students will move to writing their own.
We are happy to recognize one birthday in our class this week.
Please let me know, through an email or note in your child's agenda, if you ever have questions about the on-line homework.
Please see the updates below:
Math: We are putting our skills into play by measuring the perimeter of two guinea pig cages to see which perimeter is greater. We will be moving into exploration of surface area to determine, of the two cages, which has a greater area: the one with a larger flat surface, or the one with two levels and a ramp. We will continue with multiplication drills and have our timed drill this Thursday. Please ask your child to share their goal with you.
Language: We are exploring the characteristics of pourquois and legends to see how they are similar and different. We listened to some student created pourquois stories last week and the students will move to writing their own.
Sunday 6 March 2016
Happy last week before March break! It seems as though the spring weather may soon be upon us.
We recognized two birthdays in the class and enjoyed a used book sale this past week as well as spirit week and the engineering challenge. The students had fun racing their zambonis in the gym while the rest of the school cheered. Some of our teams got the opportunity to race their vehicles against teams from St. Monica as well.
Many of our junior students will be enjoying a ski day tomorrow. We are looking forward to a sunny, warm day on the slopes.
I would like to offer students in the class the opportunity to care for the guinea pigs at their home over March break. If you are interested in having the guinea pigs at your home, please send me an email to let me know (sharon.cooper@ocsb.ca). It would be preferable to have them at a home with no cats or dogs. They will need to be fed daily and have their cage changed twice over the break. All required materials will be supplied.
Please see the updates below:
Math: We have been practicing measuring linear measurements in millimeters and centimeters. We also began to look at perimeter measurements by measuring the width and length of two different guinea pig cages. We will calculate the perimeter of each to determine which is greater. We will continue with multiplication drills.
Language: The students listened to a pourquoi story this week and had some discussions. We will explore the characteristics of pourquois or legends this week.
We recognized two birthdays in the class and enjoyed a used book sale this past week as well as spirit week and the engineering challenge. The students had fun racing their zambonis in the gym while the rest of the school cheered. Some of our teams got the opportunity to race their vehicles against teams from St. Monica as well.
Many of our junior students will be enjoying a ski day tomorrow. We are looking forward to a sunny, warm day on the slopes.
I would like to offer students in the class the opportunity to care for the guinea pigs at their home over March break. If you are interested in having the guinea pigs at your home, please send me an email to let me know (sharon.cooper@ocsb.ca). It would be preferable to have them at a home with no cats or dogs. They will need to be fed daily and have their cage changed twice over the break. All required materials will be supplied.
Please see the updates below:
Math: We have been practicing measuring linear measurements in millimeters and centimeters. We also began to look at perimeter measurements by measuring the width and length of two different guinea pig cages. We will calculate the perimeter of each to determine which is greater. We will continue with multiplication drills.
Language: The students listened to a pourquoi story this week and had some discussions. We will explore the characteristics of pourquois or legends this week.
Sunday 28 February 2016
We have had a very busy and exciting week! Students have been working very hard on the engineering challenge and have been making posters and short videos about their projects. They will test their vehicles tomorrow in the gym.
They have also been working in small groups to create and record videos showing a of variety of situations which demonstrate “grit” and perseverance. Some groups are recording skits showing high levels of grit and some are showing lower levels.
In order to practice and work with grit, the students will be setting their own goals towards learning multiplication facts to 12. We will have timed drills each Friday (the students chose to have them timed!) and students will then pick their own individual goals towards improvement based on their results. The results and goals will be private as this is not a class contest but rather to help each student achieve their own personal goal.
We enjoyed watching a gymnastics presentation Friday afternoon in which many students in the class participated. They had fun at their showcase for most of the day on Friday.
This week is spirit week so please check the weekly announcements for each day’s theme.
Please see the updates below:
Math update: We have begun to look at linear measurement this week. Students have been practicing measuring a variety of items in centimeters and meters. This week we will exploring measurement accuracy and choosing appropriate units of measure for a given item.
Language update: We will explore a variety of legends this week as students work toward writing their own legend or pourquoi story.
Monday 22 February 2016
Happy Monday everyone! I hope to see more of the students this week than last, considering our long Family Day weekend followed by 2 snow days!
We are finishing up our Engineering Challenge next week. It seems as though everyone has been having fun and enjoying the challenge with their teams. We have also been enjoying having so much snow in the yard. There are a lot of busy fort builders and the view from the hills is super.
Considering our very short week last week, our math and language updates remain the same this week.
Please see the attached homework.
Tuesday 16 February 2016
I hope everyone enjoyed a fabulous Family Day long weekend! It sounds as though everyone should be prepared for a snowy week.
Please see updates below:
Math: We will be moving on from time and moving into linear measurement this week.
Language: We will be linking our comprehension strategy of questioning to qualities of grit and tenacity to help us explore these qualities more deeply in a variety of people.
Please see updates below:
Math: We will be moving on from time and moving into linear measurement this week.
Language: We will be linking our comprehension strategy of questioning to qualities of grit and tenacity to help us explore these qualities more deeply in a variety of people.
Monday 8 February 2016
Happy Monday everyone! We are happy to recognize 3 birthdays in the class!
Tomorrow is Shrove Tuesday. The students will be enjoying pancakes at school.
I hope everyone has a great week!
Please see the updates below:
Math: The students will be having an assessment on time at the end of the week. This week's homework will reinforce what we have been working on. We are continuing a variety of measures of time as well as estimating time.
Language: We have been looking at parts of a paragraph as well as working on our procedural writing.
Tomorrow is Shrove Tuesday. The students will be enjoying pancakes at school.
I hope everyone has a great week!
Please see the updates below:
Math: The students will be having an assessment on time at the end of the week. This week's homework will reinforce what we have been working on. We are continuing a variety of measures of time as well as estimating time.
Language: We have been looking at parts of a paragraph as well as working on our procedural writing.
Monday 1 February 2016
This post is a little late as I have been under the weather.
Everyone seemed to have fun at the Winter Play Day. I hope everyone enjoyed the bake sale today too.
For homework this week, please review last week's homework as some people had difficulty accessing it.
We were happy to recognize one birthday in the class over the weekend!
This is what is happening this week:
Math: We will be discussing greater measurements of time such as decades and centuries before we move on to linear measurement.
Language: We will be finishing up procedural writing and continuing to look at questioning as a comprehension strategy before moving on to examining parts of a paragraph in greater detail.
Everyone seemed to have fun at the Winter Play Day. I hope everyone enjoyed the bake sale today too.
For homework this week, please review last week's homework as some people had difficulty accessing it.
We were happy to recognize one birthday in the class over the weekend!
This is what is happening this week:
Math: We will be discussing greater measurements of time such as decades and centuries before we move on to linear measurement.
Language: We will be finishing up procedural writing and continuing to look at questioning as a comprehension strategy before moving on to examining parts of a paragraph in greater detail.
Sunday 24 January 2016
I hope everyone had a super P.D. Friday! We have our winter play day this coming Friday so please make sure your child comes to school dressed to spend the afternoon outside.
I am available at lunch time or recesses if students have any questions about the work we are doing in class or about the homework. In addition to the assigned homework, students should be reading and practicing multiplication facts on a daily basis. Please see updates below:
Math: This week we will be spending time reviewing concepts covered so far this year.
Language: Students will be working on their procedural writing, outlining step by step instructions. We will also be continuing to explore questioning as a comprehension strategy.
I am available at lunch time or recesses if students have any questions about the work we are doing in class or about the homework. In addition to the assigned homework, students should be reading and practicing multiplication facts on a daily basis. Please see updates below:
Math: This week we will be spending time reviewing concepts covered so far this year.
Language: Students will be working on their procedural writing, outlining step by step instructions. We will also be continuing to explore questioning as a comprehension strategy.
Sunday 17 January 2016
I hope everyone had a super weekend! We were happy to recognize one birthday in our class this week! Our guinea pig care rotation has started with students in our class helping. When it is their turn, they will help clean the cage and feed the guinea pigs. Students are welcome to bring in vegetables or fruit for the guinea pigs as well. Please see the updates below:
Math: We will be spending a few more days on measuring time and elapsed time as part of our measurement unit.
Language: Students will be choosing one component of guinea pig care to write about, providing step by step instructions,
Math: We will be spending a few more days on measuring time and elapsed time as part of our measurement unit.
Language: Students will be choosing one component of guinea pig care to write about, providing step by step instructions,
Monday 11 January 2016
Happy Monday everyone! It is week 2 after the holidays. Last week flew by. It seems as though the cold weather is upon us in spurts at least. Please ensure your child comes to school with appropriate outdoor clothes for the weather. We are having our engineering challenge launch this afternoon. A note will be coming home with all the information. See the updates below:
Math: We have finished up data management and will be moving on to measurement. Knowing times tables well will help with calculations used in this unit.
Language: We are finishing up our media literacy and moving on to procedural writing using information from our media literacy unit.
Math: We have finished up data management and will be moving on to measurement. Knowing times tables well will help with calculations used in this unit.
Language: We are finishing up our media literacy and moving on to procedural writing using information from our media literacy unit.
Wednesday 6 January 2016
Happy New Year everyone! I hope you all had a rejuvenating holiday season. We were happy to recognize two birthdays in our class in December.
We have been reading about and sharing some ideas for resolutions for the year. Also, some students have been working on a schedule to help with guinea pig care that will be starting soon. The guinea pigs enjoyed some tasty carrots today! We enjoyed "centers" work today. Homework for this week has come home on paper and students should be practicing their multiplication facts as this will help specifically in our next unit. I have included links to videos shown in math class this week. There are questions on one of the links for extra practice.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=39BU7o5QTLA
https://www.khanacademy.org/math/pre-algebra/applying-math-reasoning-topic/reading_data/v/u08-l1-t2-we3-stem-and-leaf-plots
Math update: We have been exploring stem and leaf plots through the videos, partner practice and whole group discussions. We will keep this as a math focus for the rest of the week.
Language update: We enjoyed viewing a guinea pig slide show prepared by one of our students as part of our media literacy. Some students have been finishing up CASI work and resolution writing. We will continue with media literacy for the rest of the week.
We have been reading about and sharing some ideas for resolutions for the year. Also, some students have been working on a schedule to help with guinea pig care that will be starting soon. The guinea pigs enjoyed some tasty carrots today! We enjoyed "centers" work today. Homework for this week has come home on paper and students should be practicing their multiplication facts as this will help specifically in our next unit. I have included links to videos shown in math class this week. There are questions on one of the links for extra practice.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=39BU7o5QTLA
https://www.khanacademy.org/math/pre-algebra/applying-math-reasoning-topic/reading_data/v/u08-l1-t2-we3-stem-and-leaf-plots
Math update: We have been exploring stem and leaf plots through the videos, partner practice and whole group discussions. We will keep this as a math focus for the rest of the week.
Language update: We enjoyed viewing a guinea pig slide show prepared by one of our students as part of our media literacy. Some students have been finishing up CASI work and resolution writing. We will continue with media literacy for the rest of the week.
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