Thursday 14 June 2018

Just a reminder that we have Tumblers field trip tomorrow followed by the water park. There are no change facilities so if students plan on getting wet, they should wear bathing suits under their clothes. They should have a towel and a set of dry clothes to change into once we arrive back at the school.

Wednesday 13 June 2018

There are several field trip notes that have come home. Please be sure to read and return each permission form for your child. The note for the field trip on the 21st refers to junior students. Grade 3s are included in this trip as well.

Sunday 10 June 2018

Just a reminder that we have Scientists in School this Wednesday afternoon and Tumblers gymnastics field trip on Friday. We have field trips also on the 20th and 21st. Notes with information regarding the 21st trip will come home this week. The other two should have come home on Thursday. Please send a note in your child's communicationn folder if you have any questions about upcoming activities.

Monday 4 June 2018

The grade 3s did a super job writing EQAO! I was very proud of each of them. The grade 4 students were very supportive of their classroom peers. For June, we will be focusing on math and language concepts that will help students for the next school year. We will also focus on religion and family life.
For homework, students should continue to spend time on Raz Kids and Dreambox. Students may have unfinished work to bring home as homework.

Tuesday 29 May 2018

This week grade 3 students will review language concepts on Monday and Tuesday and write EQAO on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.
Grade 4 students will focus on multidigit addition and subtraction as well as reading comprehesion.
Students will bring home any unfinished work for homework this week. They should also spend time on Raz kids and Dreambox.

Monday 21 May 2018

As EQAO will take place over the course of the next two weeks our classroom schedule will be different than usual. Grade 4s will be working on math and reading comprehension at school and may bring some home as homework. Grade 3s will be writing EQAO in their regular classroom and will have no homework this week or next.

Tuesday 15 May 2018

Math:  Students will be learning about mass and capacity. Grade threes will also review concepts taught earlier in the year. Grade fours will practice two digit by one digit multiplication and division.
Language:  We will continue to practice grammar and paragraph and sentence structure through review of concepts taught prevouisly in the year.
Homework: Students can continue to work on math booklets and EQAO work that have come home. They can also spend time on Dreambox and Raz kids.

Sunday 6 May 2018

Just a reminder that this is education week so our regular classroom schedule will be interupted with school wide activities. Please check the calendar for events.
We will continue with multiplication and division for math as well as review of concepts. Language will continue with grammar and review as well.
Homework will continue to come home on paper.

Sunday 29 April 2018

Math: As we finish algebra this week, students will look more closely at multiplication and division.
language: We will review grammar this week as students finish their adventure stories. We will also begin to look at poetry.
Homework: Homework will be coming home on paper as grade 3 students begin review for EQAO. Grade 4 students will be bringing home a math workbook they have been working on while grade 3s will be bringing home EQAO review work. Please have your child work on this review work each week. Please let me know if there is any area your child is finding particularly difficult.

Monday 23 April 2018

Math: We will begin to investigate algebra this week. Grade threes will determine the missing number in equations involving addition and subtraction while grade fours involve multiplication and division. This concept is familiar to students as they have seen it in class before.
Language: We continue writing adventure stories. When these are complete we will move to grammar. 
Homework: In addition to Raz Kids and Dreambox this week, have your child practice telling time. Grade fours need to tell time to the nearest minute and grade threes to the nearest five minutes. Students should also practice timing events such as driving from place to place, taking a bath or watching tv. This will help them in our upcoming unit on telling time.

Sunday 15 April 2018

Math: Students are determining the area of classroom objects as well as 2-D shapes. Grade 3s are using the grid square method or adding up each side of shapes labeled with a variety of units. Grade 4s are using these methods as well as the LxW (length times width) formula.
Language: We continue to work on adventure stories. Students are very excited about them. They must write in paragraph form, use dialogue to convey information to the reader, and have exciting or dangerous events for the main character to lead to the climax of the story.
Homework:          grade 3                 grade 4     

Sunday 8 April 2018

Math: We will explore how to find perimeter with a side length measure missing before moving on to area.
Language: We will continue our study of adventure stories as we look at how descriptive language can enhance our writing and help create visual images for the reader.
Homework: Please watch this video which discusses perimeter with a missing side and answer the practice questions. This is the language homework for both grades.

Tuesday 3 April 2018

Language: We looked an at adventure story today and will continue to look at what makes up this kind of narrative writing this week using graphic organizers and sample texts.
Math: We continue our exploration of perimeter.
Homework: Please use Dreambox and Raz Kids several times this week.

Sunday 25 March 2018

Math: Students will use their linear measurement skills to work with area and perimeter.
Language: We will begin to write adventure stories this week, after students share some of their persuasive writing with other students.
Homework: Please watch this video that will be shown in class, to help your child understand perimeter. Please do the practice questions that come after the video. Also, have your child practice multiplication facts each night this week. Knowing multiplication facts are especially helpful when figuring out area and perimeter.

Tuesday 20 March 2018

I hope everyone had a refreshing March break!  Students shared some of their highlights yesterday.
Math: We are starting our linear measurement unit this week. Grade 3s are measuring to the nearest centimetre and grade 4s to the nearest millimetre. Students are also finding personal benchmarks for measure, e.g. my index finger is about 1 cm wide, my foot is 20 cm long.
Language: We are looking at components of media literacy and text features this week. We will also revisit persuasive writing.
Homework:  measure 4 items in your home (gr. 3s to the nearest cm, gr. 4s to the nearest mm). Choose 4 new items and estimate their length based on prior knowledge such as the items just measured. You can use personal benchmarks for the estimation. Measure these 4 items to see how accurate your estimates are. Please record all this information including the units of measure.

Tuesday 6 March 2018

Students will come home with a math board game. Please put a paper clip anchored by a pencil in the centre for spinning. Each player draws the amount of money they land on, on a separate paper. The grade 3s play "First to Get to Ten" the grade 4s play "First to get to One Hundred". When a player lands on the random draw space, they can choose to draw one coin or bill of their choice. The first player to reach the desired amount of money, without going over, wins the game. Students have played this game before.

Monday 5 March 2018


We will start a unit on linear measurement after March Break. As I was gathering materials in preparation for this unit I was very disappointed to discover some students had broken almost every ruler of our class set. Please discuss with your child the importance of respecting school property and materials. This is a great waste of resources and we no longer have a class set of rulers available to the students. Please ensure your child brings a ruler to school which is labelled with their name, for use in class if they do not currently have one at school. Thank you so much for your cooperation and support.
Math: We will finish our money unit this week.
Language: We will begin letter writing format and persuasive writing this week.
Homework: Cursive writing practice and math games will be sent home for homework this week. Students will be able to play these games over March Break if they wish.
                                                     Have a super March break!  

Monday 26 February 2018

Just a reminder that litterless lunch (and snack) starts this week. Please see the reminder that was sent with the weekly St. Gregory memo for details.

Sunday 25 February 2018

Just a reminder that this Thursday is our junior ski trip for grade 4s. Friday is the French trip for junior students as well. Grade 3 students will have a regular school day on these days.

Math: We will continue to look at money, practicing representing money in different ways as well as adding and subtracting money amounts.
Language:  We will continue to use the APEs strategy to answer questions about texts read. Students have received feedback on APEs writing from last week and should work to incorporate that feedback into their writing.
Homework: Please use Dreambox and Razkids this week. In addition to this, please show on paper by drawing coins, three different ways each to show: grade 3 $7.80, $5.75, $5.00; grade 4 $16.48, $76.30, $50.00, $20. 

Monday 19 February 2018

Math: We will continue our exploration of money for both grades. Grade 4s continue to look at decimals as well.
Language: We had a great look at some APE example answers last week. Students are very generous and helpful in providing their own examples for class feedback, then each student applied the feedback to their own work as required. We will continue looking at this strategy this week.
Homework: Have your child handle money when possible, making small, supervised purchases to count out money and count back change. Please view this video on fractions and do the practice section.       grade 3 homework            grade 4 homework

Sunday 11 February 2018

Math: Grade 3s will estimate, count, add and subtract money to ten dollars. Grade 4s will be adding and subtracting money amounts to one hundred dollars.
Language: We will use the APE strategy to answer questions in paragraph form. The A stands for answer the question. Students must be sure to answer what is asked, using words from the question in their answer. The P stands for proof. Students must include information from the text they have read in their answer to prove their answer is correct. The E in APE stands for extending their answer. This is an opportunity for students to use their own personal experience or opinion to further back up their answer. We will continue to work on answering in paragraph form, using indents to begin each paragraph.
Homework: Please write about your favourite day. It can be a day that happened or a day you dream about. Grade 3s must write at least 3 paragraphs, grade 4s at least 4 paragraphs. Remember your first paragraph introduces the characters, setting and the event taking place. The middle paragraph or two, give information about the main event. The last paragraph wraps it all up, answering any outstanding questions. This type of writing must be in chronological order (the order that things did or would happen). Please use indents to separate paragraphs rather than skipping lines. Please don't erase when editing for your good copy but put one line through changes that need to be made.

Sunday 4 February 2018


Math: Grade 3s will continue to look at geometry while grade 4s explore decimal tenths before we all begin a unit on money.
Language: Students will continue on media literacy and then present their projects to the class. Presentations will be short and only deal with the Family Life/Media Literacy work they have been doing in class. They will be given time to prepare at school.
Homework:  Watch the following video and do the practice questions. The video refers to polyhedra which is a new word but not a new concept.
Another video the students have enjoyed is here. This video talks about measuring angles.
                           Homework for both grades

Wednesday 31 January 2018

Grade 3s have swim to survive on Friday. If your child's permission form has not yet been returned to school, please return it asap. Also, please review with your child the rules of safety at the pool that will also be reviewed at school: please listen at all times, walk in and around the pool area as well as getting to and from the bus, buddy up with a partner and stay with that partner.
Please have your child wear their bathing suit to school and pack dry underwear and towel, as well as a plastic bag to put wet items in.

Sunday 28 January 2018

Math: Students will continue to explore geometry this week using a variety of shapes.
Language: Students will finish an ad they have been working which combines family life and media literacy.
Homework for both grades:   tell someone in your house what your reading goals are from your cue card at school. Read at least 4 books or stories this week using your goals. Write down three questions about you have about each book or story you have read.   

Sunday 21 January 2018

Math: Students began geometry last week and will continue this week. They are using sheets of paper or square blocks to determine if a shape has a right angle or not. This week we determine if  shapes have angles that are less than or greater than a right angle.
Language: Students will look more deeply at the characteristics of media literacy such as overt and implied messages and target audience. 
Homework:                    grade 3 homework                    grade 4 homework

Sunday 14 January 2018

Math: We will finish subtraction early in the week and move straight into geometry. Students will look at classifying shapes by their geometric properties such as angles size or parallel sides.
Language: We will begin media literacy this week. Students will create a comic and then present this to the class.
Homework:          grade 3 homework               grade 4 homework

Sunday 7 January 2018

Happy New Year!  There are some changes going on in the classroom as the new year begins. Students have new cubby space to make way for a large work area in the hall. This is very exciting and students will see this change when they come to school on Monday morning.
Math: We will begin to look at multi-digit subtraction, including word problems. Students will share strategies and words that cue them to use subtraction, or difference, strategies to solve the problem.
Language: We will look at criteria involved in retelling a story. Much like narrative writing, retelling a story must include a beginning, middle and end, as well as characters or people involved, a setting and must be told in the correct order.
Homework: Cursive writing will come home on paper this week.