This Week's Spelling Words

Hello! Could you please make sure that the High Frequency Sight Words I handed out last week find a home in your student's agenda? We wanted to use them this week but unfortunately there were quite a few absences. This week's words are:

animal

principal

act

compact

fact

equal

capital

also

distract

subtract

always

attract

pact

cereal

Labrador

The spelling pattern? This week is the letter combinations 'la' and 'act'.

Week 4 Recap

We've certainly had a week filled with excitement! Some highlights include:

• Track & Field on Tuesday - We certainly lucked out with a sunny day (although perhaps a bit hot). It was fantastic to see everyone working so hard and sharing in the 'joy of effort'. I was pleased to hear that our class enjoyed their day and tried their best at each event. Thank you again to our parent volunteer. Your help was greatly appreciated!
• Swimming on Thursday - This was my first experience at the Sandra Schmirler Leisure Centre and I must say I was quite impressed by not only the quality of the facility but the staff. The lifeguards were superb with the students and, despite a few minor mishaps, I saw smiles all around (Although we will have to work on changing faster after swimming as we were the last class to leave almost 20 minutes late...)
• Standardized reading assessment (RAD) on Thursday/Friday- Perhaps including this as a 'highlight' is a bit generous, but it is quite helpful nevertheless from a teaching perspective for future planning so that I can target specific reading skills that may benefit each student.
• Terry Fox Run on Friday - What luck we have had with weather! Another beautiful day to take a walk (or for some a run) around the lake. We eagerly await the final fundraising count for the school!

Notices for next week include: 

• Grade 4 Math test on Monday
• Jack MacKenzie's birthday celebration on Thursday
• Spelling test on Friday

Please continue to check PowerSchool in order to track your student's progress. Contact me with any questions or concerns. Have a great weekend!

This Week's Spelling Words

Good morning! To add some student choice into our spelling words, each student was given a list of the 100 most common sight words. Students were asked to choose five words to add to their list in addition to the 7 spelling words below:

• cage
• giant
• giraffe
• gym
• games
• gallery
• gypsy

Spelling pattern focus: Hard and soft 'g' sounds

Track & Field Preparation

Good afternoon! A quick reminder that our Track & Field event will be held tomorrow. It seems like it will be a hot day, so please remember:

• Pack sunscreen
• Bring lots of water (there is no place to buy water on-site)
• Wear appropriate clothing for the weather
• Pack a picnic lunch (ie. no microwaves)

 Hopefully the weather holds and we can enjoy a beautiful day outside!

Week 3 Recap

Happy Friday! 

Are you able to help at Track & Field on Tuesday September 23? Please let us know! We are short several volunteers!

Hmm...I guess I should add a little more! I have had a lovely week and hope that your students have as well. I feel that we are really starting to settle into routines to make our classroom a more efficient place to learn. This week, I wanted to highlight a change to our schedule. We are 'putting a pin in Science' for the moment to focus on Social Studies. This means that we can really focus on rotations to improve different skills - from describing Saskatchewan to interpreting artefacts - and then do the same for Science in a few weeks' time. I wanted to let you know how wonderfully all your students have been working during Social Studies rotations. Sometimes it can be difficult to transition from teacher-led instruction to a more student-centred approach, but your students have all worked hard to complete their work and meet learning goals.

Here is a sample of what we have done:

We have started to read more stories related to our two writing genres for E.L.A. (biography (Gr. 5) and recount (Gr. 4)) as well as our two unit themes (respect (Gr. 5) and courage (Gr. 4). We will continue to immerse ourselves in these genres and practice our writing (particularly complete sentences and then hopefully paragraphs!).

Additionally this week, we met 'Stranger T. Danger' and 'Francois' (pictured below). If you have any succulents looking for a good home, they are more than welcome to join our terrarium!

Lastly, we said goodbye (and good luck) to one of our students. We hope that she enjoys her new adventure and new school!

Reminders for next week:

• Grade 5 Math test Monday
• Track & Field is Tuesday
• Our first swimming time is Thursday
• Terry Fox Run is Friday (Thanks for all your Twoonies for Terry! We have raised $18 dollars so far. Our school goal is $1,000 so let's keep working!)

Also, please remember that marks are published to PowerSchool so that parents can view. If you dont have a password, please contact Mr. Clarke. Have a great weekend!

Spelling Words for Week of September 15

It's that time again! Our spelling program will begin this week. We have eased in with only 10 words this week, but will increase shortly with some high frequency sight words. We will have our spelling post-tests on Fridays. If you could remind your student to review their words nightly (or at least a few times) that would be much appreciated! We will also work on them in class. This week's words are:

1. knife
2. knee
3. knew
4. knead
5. gnaw
6. known
7. who
8. write
9. written
10. wrap

Spelling pattern: Silent first consonants

Weekly Recap

Good afternoon! It feels like the week has flown by! We are starting to settle into routines here as programs at the school get up & running. This term we will be studying:

• Habitats (Grade 4 Science)
• The Human Body (Grade 5 Science)
• Our Relationship with the Land (Grade 4 Social Studies)
• The Canadian Identity (Grade 5 Social Studies)
• Courage (Grade 4 E.L.A.)
• Respect (Grade 5 E.L.A.)

in addition to on-going units in Health, Art and Mathematics. This week, we continued to discuss the elements of a fair test in Science by examining the effects of different liquids on a penny. Unfortunately, the best example fell down the drain, but I assure you the penny soaked for four days in vinegar was sparkling!

We also looked at sentence construction by making Silly Sentences.

We analyzed our sentences for processes (verb groups), participants (noun groups) and circumstances (when, where, how). We will continue to focus on sentence construction, introducing types of sentences and sentence variation shortly.

We continue to focus on growing our literacy skills with the Daily 5 program. This week we worked on the 'Check for Understanding' strategy, particularly when Reading with Someone. More information on this strategy can be found here. 

A few reminders about next week:

• The Milk Program will begin Monday (blue notices were sent home Thursday)
• School Directory (yellow notice) is due September 15
• Track & Field permission form is due September 16
• Picture Day is September 17
• Home Room Parents note (white notice) is due September 19

Additionally, we will be doing some standardized testing to determine benchmarks for the end of the year. Have a lovely weekend & feel free to contact me with any questions!

BBQ PowerPoint

For anyone that was unable to attend the BBQ, please find below the short PowerPoint that was shown.

BBQ Update

A quick note - the BBQ tomorrow (September 11) will begin at 5:30. Classrooms will be open from 6-7 for touring. I look forward to seeing those that can make it!

For those that are interested, milk program order forms will be sent home tomorrow along with a letter from the SCC.

First Week Recap

Well what a busy week we've had getting settled into our new classroom in Room 208! I've had a wonderful time learning more about each of your students and look forward to getting to know them better.

This week in the classroom, we've focused on teamwork. As a split class, students will need to feel comfortable working in small groups. Teams this week have talked about partner choice after the Solo Cup Challenge...

... and discussed the importance of planning and communication following the Marshmallow Tower Challenge.

In Math, the Grade 5s have begun to investigate patterning. First, we helped the queen grow her castle bigger and are now reviewing pattern rules. We will end the unit with the same castle investigation and a unit test in a few weeks' time. I'll touch on homework policies more at the open house, but any Math worksheets that are not finished during class time are expected to be done at home. Please contact me with any questions regarding this policy.

We have also begun the foundational lessons for the Daily 5 program, which focuses on daily writing, reading and word activities to build literacy skills. We have focused on several skills, including picking 'Good Fit' books using the I PICK acronym. Should you be interested in learning more, please click here for a Daily 5 Parent Pipeline about Good Fit books. Once we are settled, we will start our weekly Spelling program (September 15). Keep an eye out for more of Parent Pipelines in the future!

I feel that we have sent home quite a few notices lately. To summarize....

• The school's welcome BBQ & 'Meet the Teacher' will be September 11 at 6. The open house times has changed. The BBQ will be from 5.30-6.30. Classrooms will be open from 6-7.
• A 'Technology Contract' was sent home with students to be signed & returned as soon as possible. This outlines the general expectations for laptop/computer/iPad use at the school. 
• Scholastic book orders were sent home & are due back September 12. 
• Track & Field permission forms are due September 15 with $1.50 to cover the cost of the bus. Parent volunteers would be warmly welcomed to this event on September 23rd.
• The online payment system is now working. There is a $4 cost associated with the agendas which have been distributed. Please pay online or send cash with your student if you have not yet done so. 
• Lunchroom information sheets have been sent home (pink). Please complete & return.
• A media release form was sent home (green). Please complete & return.

I look forward to meeting with you at the open house. Please feel free to contact me if you wish to set up another time to meet. 

Have a lovely weekend!

Due Date Reminders

Good evening! Keep an eye out for an update about our first week's activities shortly. For now, though, a quick reminder about due dates that are coming up rather quickly:

• BBQ order forms for Meet the Teacher night are due tomorrow (September 4)
• Cross country permission forms (for those that are interested) are due Friday (September 5)
• Scholastic orders will be due next Friday (September 12)

Additionally, if you have not yet provided an email address for contact, please jot one down in your student's agenda. 

Many thanks! I am looking forward to meeting many of you next Thursday, September 11 at the BBQ!

Welcome to Grade 4/5!

Happy first day of school & welcome to Grade 4/5! I thought on our first day as a class you might like to know a little bit more about your teacher just as I would like to know more about you. 

I grew up in Ontario and just recently moved to Saskatchewan. I hope that you will share your favourite things to see & do in Regina with me so that I can get ideas! I like to try new things - but am a little afraid of heights. 

Before moving to Regina, I lived in Brisbane, Australia. It was a very lovely place to live - the coldest I remember it getting was -2 degrees Celsius one winter night - but it's nice to be back in Canada with my family (and putting golden syrup on pancakes just isn't quite the same as maple syrup). While in Australia, I worked with Grade 6/7 students doing things like designing healthy recipes for a cookbook, hosting a paper airplane building competition and making boardgames. This year, I am excited to try new things with our Grade 4/5 class. 

What else have I done? Here are a few highlights: 

• Snorkeled in the Galapagos Islands with sharks & marine iguanas
• Held a baby crocodile
• Listened to parrot fish crunching on the Great Barrier Reef while snorkeling
• Learned to kayak this past summer in Ontario
• Tried to snowboard in New Zealand (I'm not very good...)

Want to know more about me? Just ask! Have any ideas about what you might like to do this year? Let me know! I look forward to working with you to make this a productive, exciting and adventurous school year.

A short note to parents: My intention with this website is to provide a central location to organize our classroom information. Posted to the website will be things such as:

• Important dates (excursions, assessments, etc)
• Updates on classroom activities
• Assignment task sheets & rubrics
• Links to research sites, including online encyclopedias
• Links to online activities/games to reinforce classroom learning

If you have any specific questions relating to your student, classroom procedures or general expectations, please contact me directly.

I'm looking forward to working with you & your students in the coming months.

Sincerely, 

J. Foell