Science

 We have different science experiments going on in the classroom right now!  They are fun and interactive, but it is very loud in here!!  Grade 3's have been challenged to build a bridge (using one piece of paper) that spans 15 cm and can hold the weight of Nanabush ( a character from a story we read) and his pack of fish.  They have no tools and no other materials, Nanabush only had birch bark.  Meanwhile grade 4's are deciding if a simple machine of a roller makes a job easier.  They are using playdough and a rolling pin to determine their answer.

Pillars of Care virtual assembly tomorrow.

Dress like a teacher tomorrow.

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Raisins in math

 I am a phone call or email away if you were not available for interviews last week.  

This morning we were estimating, grouping and counting raisins from the small raisin box we were each given.  Watching little learners group objects tells me a great deal about them and the numbers they are comfortable using.  We wrote about the raisins in our boxes and completed the math that matched.  For example: My raisin box had 7 groups of 4 raisins.  7x4=28 4x7=28. 28/4=7 and 28/7=4.  This brought us back to fact families and tomorrow we will look at larger numbers as we add together our raisin boxes with a partner and then in groups.

Grade 3 were surveying friends about bridges they are familiar with ie: someone who has been on a swinging bridge.

Grade 4 were building a roller system from materials in their desk to move a textbook.

Alliterations in our personal writing was our goal last week when we were writing to the earth on Earth Day.  Today we continued that piece of writing and promised action to look after our earth.

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Dress like a teacher (pick one in the building) on Friday

Alliteration

 We put to use our new writing technique of alliteration today.  We wrote thank you letters to the earth since today is Earth Day!  We thanked the Earth for red raspberries, magnificent mountains and raging rivers and promised to do something to make our earth a better place to be.  

Mixing math and art is one of my favourite activities and we did just that today with a perimeter and area activity.  Everyone drew themselves, or an alien, or a robot etc. and then grade 3 figured out the perimeter while grade  4 found the area and the perimeter.  Now I have some great work to put up on the wall.  Win.  Win.

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No school tomorrow or Monday

See you Tuesday

Constable Courchesne

 We had Constable Courchesne from the Calgary Police department visit us today in the classroom.  Ask your little learner what his message was today.

Parent/Teacher/Student conferences are Thursday evening and Friday morning.  Please book a spot through your CBE account or call me and we can chat.  Please note that your child should be in on the video conference.

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Lockdown

 We had a practise lockdown this afternoon that was a surprise to us.  Your children did an excellent job of getting themselves into their safe space and remaining quiet while we waited for the police officer to release us.  Please ask your child how they felt about the situation.

We heard a few more stories about families coming from England, Pakistan, Ireland and South Africa this afternoon.  One thing we are beginning to see is everyone seems to come here seeking a better way of life.

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Rivet

 We heard some great stories of families coming to Canada from other parts of the world.  If you have not shared with your child your family story please have that conversation tonight.  Tomorrow we will be writing.

We have been playing a great game called Rivet during Word Work. When facing a new word a good reader looks at all the letters in the word in sequence, to figure out the word so Rivet is an activity designed to get students in the habit of paying close attention to all the letters in an unfamiliar word.  Ask your child to show you how to play.

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Outside Gym

 Mr. Sadowsky is moving gym outside for the remainder of the year due to safety concerns.  Please be sure your child is prepared for all types of weather.

Grade 3's have been retelling the story, The Doorbell Rang using math.  Mother has made 12 cookies to share with her children but other children keep arriving and wanting to share.  Their understanding of sharing, division sentences and problem situations is shown in the retelling.  Grade 4 are using their own numbers (24, 36, 48 cookies) to express their understanding of division.

We continued our writing about our personal names in social studies - please share with your child the origins of their name if you haven't done so yet.

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Homework For All

 I told the very compelling story of my grandmothers journey from Prussia to Canada as a young 14 year old girl today.  My story is not your story and so tonight please answer the questions that were in yesterdays blog about where in the world the family came from and the story behind it.  Also, talk about your child's name and how it came to be.  We looked at the story, Alma and How She Got Her Name for a little inspiration!  Students should be ready to do some writing tomorrow.

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Name/Family Story

 Welcome back to school - we had a great first day back!

Inclusion is the fifth pillar for the month of April so today we started with an anchor book.  We read The Invisible Boy by Trudy Ludwig which will tug at the heartstrings a bit whether you were the invisible child or the one who over looked other students.  We dug into included and excluded and represented the ideas with what that would look like, sound like and feel like.  I found we had really good ideas about being excluded and it is the inclusion we need to work on.

This week in social studies we are going to have a look at how we are all connected.  We will start with ourselves.  Please have a supper table conversation about the story of your child's name.  Why did you give them the name they have?  Is the name a family name?  What is interesting about their name?  Does the name mean something in your home language?  Then talk about the origins of your family.  What is the family story? What country does your family come from?  Who came to Canada first?  How did they travel here?  Why Canada?  Include any interesting details that will make a for a good story.

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