Volunteers Needed

My apologizes for the lack of communication the past 5 school days but I went down and I went down hard!  I actually don't succumb to the germs in here very often but I do believe in going big or go home!

The good news is a lot was accomplished while I was away and we are right on track to finish up some units in the next couple of weeks.

Congratulations to our May Pillar's of Care award winners:  Sol was a two time winner (remember students vote for the peer they feel is most deserving of the award) Ally and Karter will be front and centre at assembly 8:15 tomorrow morning.  If you care to join us.

Tuesday June 11 we will go to Kamp Kiwanis but we can't go without some parent volunteers.  If you are free for the day I've ordered sun, sun and more sun for the day and Bragg Creek is beautiful this time of year -

Welcome Back

I trust you all had a great long weekend despite the weather.

Thanks to all those parents who came to see me for Student Led Conferences on Thursday.  If you didn't get a chance to swing by give me a phone call or drop me an email and we can discuss your learner.

We had a visit today from Sir John A. McDonald junior high band.  Our grade 6 band played, their jazz band played and their regular grade 8 and 9 band performed.  Ask your student what songs they recognized.

We used geoboards this morning to shift shapes as we read "The Greedy Triangle" by Marilyn Burns.  The story introduced us to the correct names for geometric shapes and we were able to make them on our boards as well as with our bodies on the floor with the help of some friends. 

Tuesday June 11 we will be going to Kamp Kiwanis for the day - we will be required to take volunteers with us so if you have a police clearance on file in the office we would love for you to join us!  We can't go without your help.

May Fun Lunch

Student Learning Assessments are all done for us!
We are so happy with ourselves.  Thank goodness we can read better!


Wok Box fun lunch order is in a backpack near you.  Orders are paid online by Friday May 24 please.
See you all tomorrow!
No school Friday or Monday

So far...

Ask your learner how they are feeling about SLA tests so far.  We worked super hard today and accomplished many great things!

Scholastic book orders due Wednesday
Please book a student led conference for sometime on Thursday and we can get together!
No school Friday.

Life Cycles

Bill Nye told us that all living things have a life cycle - this was new information to some of us and some of us knew this!  We watched Bill Nye and then wrote in our science journals new information and the information we knew.  We will apply this knowledge around life cycles to our research about mice.

We have completed the digital portion of the math SLA - must say things went smoothly.  Tomorrow we will take care of the written portion.

Scholastic book orders due Wednesday please

SLA Testing

Next week we will spend a large portion of our time repeating the Student Learning Assessment that we first did at the beginning of grade 3.

Monday - Digital math
Tuesday - written math and story writing
Wednesday - Digital comprehension

It's only a three day week because we are hosting Student Led Conferences all day Thursday and Friday is a system P.D. day

Everyone will need headphones.

Your student is feeling confident about these tests because they know we have worked hard this year.  Hence why I am exhausted😉

30 Days Has September

Remember the little poem to figure out how many days are in every month?  We began memorizing it today in order to be able to relate the number of days to a month in a problem-solving context.  Ask your learner if they have been successful.

30 days has September

April, June and November

All the rest have 31

And February's great with 28

But a leap years fine with 29.

We began a little project today that will be on display when you come next week for interviews.  It takes us back to the importance of connecting when we are reading.  

Please remember headphones for Monday

Pigs Will Be Pigs

Pigs Will Be Pigs and eat all the food in the fridge the same day that mother bought it and need to go out for supper.  So we helped Mother Pig and Father Pig count their money up and figure out how much they could spend while out for enchiladas!  So went our math task this morning.  Give your student as many opportunities as possible to handle money - making change and determining if there is enough.

We all wrote about the food of India today.  Great comparisons were made between our own families and those in India.  Our greatest discovery was around the tools in the kitchen or there actually being a kitchen!  The use of utensils and that food was often prepared on the floor!

Everyone will need headphones at school on Monday please.

June 11 we are going to Kamp Kiwanis for the day.  Please check your calendars and see if you can join us - we can't go without your help.

Food of My Family

Our discussion today in social studies centred around the food that our families traditionally eat.  We talked about who cooks for us, what is in our kitchen and where our food comes from.  A variety of food is consumed in our class from perogies, to rice, vegetarian and curries.  We have started watching a video on food consumed in India.  The first thing we noticed is not everyone has a kitchen.  The food was also very colourful.  This makes a great discussion point around the supper table tonight - help your child to realize what foods are from your cultures.

Next week we will be repeating the grade 3 provincial exams that we did way back in October.  Students will need headphones to complete the digital portions of the exam beginning Monday.

Basic Facts Brush-up

In a backpack near you are a basic facts test and the bi-weekly math story problem.  We have reviewed the story problem and your child should be able to tell you what they needed to do to 'bump up' their mark.  Their basic facts test is a reminder that we are looking for those facts to be mastered by the end of grade 3.  Some flash cards, dice games, and card games are simple 5 minute builders at home that help with the confidence and strategies.  Xtramath is an option at home as well as our daily use at school.

Have a great week end!  Enjoy a good book together😀

Tom and Jerry

Remember Tom and Jerry?  We looked at a little cartoon clip of them today.  The lesson at school was how to avoid the cat in the house.  The ways of mice.  Fun.  It led us into the discussion of how to be a mouse.  We decided to write the instructions of How To Be A Mouse, but first we need to become experts by gathering facts about the behaviour, appearance, habitat, enemies, and food of mice.  Once we have gathered facts about mice we will turn them into instructions by starting with action words.  This will take us several days but ask your student what they already know about mice.

We wrapped up our testing of arches and squares today.  Your student should be able to tell you that an arch is a strong shape because the mass is distributed evenly.  Many bridges and tunnels are built using arches because of their strength.  When driving around our city point that out to your student.

What is a structure?

What is a structure led our whole discussion this afternoon.  We looked at some great videos of natural structures and man-made structures.  We discussed structures in our classroom, structures in our community and famous structures.  Ask your student what their favorite structure was.

Everyone has new reading material as we visited Mrs. Paolini in the library today.
Read 20/10.