Weekly Recap

Sorry for the delay in posting - I have been busy with additional training and reports this weekend!

We had a short, but lovely week for the most part. We have had to introduce 'The Recess Club' which 'meets' at morning recess. This particular group is for students who have outstanding assignments or worksheets. It does seem to be helping and I do plan to continue the club as missing marks are becoming more of a problem.

In Math, the Grade 5s & I were all impressed with how much more flexibly we can think about numbers as compared to September. As a warm-up, I listed a number on the board. Students thought of as many different questions that would yield the answer listed. The results were fantastic!

We have also begun division. On Friday, students used the app EduCreations to describe three ways to solve a division question. The results were interesting and very helpful. From my perspective, the student-created lessons yielded much more data than the traditional homework sheet. Students have practiced using the following methods for division:

1. Repeated subtraction
2. Estimation
3. Long division
4. Modelling with place value blocks

In Science, we have discussed how to study. This can be an overlooked skill. I have decided to try different study suggestions so students have a chance to see what works best for them. This term, we created concept maps linked to 'Human Body' or 'Habitats'. I asked students to hang these study sheets on their walls & read them over at least once per day. I've suggested to some that perhaps reading aloud might help them remember.

 On an unrelated note, some students may require more Post-Its....

In Grade 5, we had a brief overview of the musculoskeletal system. We learned that muscles work in pairs to move our bodies.

Notices for this upcoming week:

• Writing assignments due by Tuesday
• Science test on Tuesday (both grades)
• The Used Clothing & Book Drive runs until Wednesday
• If not yet done, please return the MacKenzie Art Gallery & Agribition permission forms and payments as soon as possible
• Progress Reports issued Friday (Three-way conference dates will be sent home as well at this time)

This Week's Recap

Quote from the bus to swimming on Friday:

"Miss Foell, do you have any special plans for this weekend?

Wait. Let me guess: report cards."

What astute students you have! It is that magical time once again as we prepare for progress reports to be issued. Although the upcoming week is short, there are still many things that students will need to be focused on. Please keep an eye on agendas this week to ensure that any work sent home gets completed.

This week, Grade 4s began designing their habitat dioramas. These dioramas will showcase their knowledge of shades and tones and, as an added bonus, will contain a student-created creature with at least 3 structural adaptations and 2 behavioural adaptations.

Grade 5s this week looked at the art of collage as used in Pop Art. Students will finish their art work next week. As an example, I created the following with Christmas adverts collected November 5....

In Grade 5 Math, we began looking at dividends, divisors and quotients! We began by using concrete materials to model division questions and then introduced the idea of repeated subtraction of groups. There is a great explanatory video in Unit 3 of the eText that you & your student may chose to watch to review.

We had a very busy Friday this week. We began the morning by making symbols of peace: the paper crane. Thank you so much to our student-teacher Isaac! Our Remembrance Day ceremony was a beautiful tribute and your students were marvellous. They showed respect, responsibility and patience. After examining In Flanders Fields in class, it certainly was wonderful to see Mrs. Riou's class' shadow play version. I feel that it helped my understanding and was quite happy to sign our class card thanking her for her efforts.

After the ceremony, we ventured to swimming ... in the protection of our timely buses! Our bus driver commented after the students got off that he has never been thanked that many times. He was quite pleased with the thoughtfulness of your students!

And after all that activity (and a French lesson), we made our way down to reading buddies. Our Kindergarten buddies helped us to glue tissue paper petals to pre-prepared painted backgrounds to create some beautiful poppies. Your students should keep an eye on the bulletin boards downstairs for their work!

I hope you enjoy your time together & look forward to seeing everyone again on Wednesday. Finally, welcome to our newest student! We are excited to have your ideas, talents and skills in our classroom to share!

This Week's Spelling Words

Featuring the prefixes 're' and 'un'!

repaint

unhappy

unclear

recall

replace

uncertain

uneven

reclaim

reinstate

untouched

uncool

remarry

redo

undo

refill

reincarnate

Your Weekly Recap

Happy Hallowe'en!!

What a lovely week we have had! In E.L.A., we have begun planning our recounts/biographies about courage/respect. I hope that we can finish these within the next week - or thereabouts - so that we can move on to the next unit, Me(dia) Smart! 

I have really enjoyed my time in Science this week and hope that your student has as well! In Grade 5, we discussed the respiratory system. We built a working model of the lungs and used ourselves as test subjects to determine how exercise or stress affects breathing rate. 

Today we were introduced to the digestive system by my favourite Science teacher Ms. Frizzle and then built models out of ...... candy! 

We even found some prepared slides & microscopes to look at different types of cells!

In Grade 4 we discussed how absolutely amazing plant & animal life can be! We built a food web using ourselves as well as many, many pieces of string. Later in the week, we played a game outside to learn about the importance of balance between the number of producers, herbivores and carnivores in a habitat.

Today we discussed 'special features' of animals and plants - more commonly known as structural adaptations. We tried moving different bird foods (.... some represented by candy) with different instruments including chopsticks and tweezers to represent different beak shapes. We learned that not all instruments worked well for all food types - and then matched different beak shapes to different food types! 

In art, we continue to study shade and tone with our Grade 4s. This week we introduced perspective into the mix! We learned that mountains 'fade into the distance'. We applied this - in addition to some creativity - to create paper-cut landscapes. The students seemed quite interested in creating habitats and then designing animals/plants with special adaptations to live in them - so I think we will start on this shortly!

In Grade 5, I was happy to have the opportunity to work with students to create an Andy Warhol-inspired pop art piece. Most students are showing a great dedication to learning more about the 1960s to better understand the roots of this art movement. I hope next week to be able to balance the WebQuest with more hands-on practice again!

My goodness! How is there more? I'm sure you're on the edge of your seat waiting to know the results of our plants vs. sunlight experiment. I will have to keep you in suspense as our observations continue.... but I must say that Plant B who has been sequestered in the cupboard does not look as sprightly as Plant A.






Finally, a big thank you to all those you helped to make the Hallowe'en Spooktacular Dance such a success! The students & I had a wonderful time and greatly enjoyed all your efforts!

Have a safe & happy weekend!

Upcoming Events

It's snowing as I write this short update. I must say, I am not quite as excited about this news as your students were early this afternoon!

I wanted to touch base about a few items sent home today:

1. (Grade 4s only) Your student should have a Ziploc bag with a Popsicle stick, magnifying glass and worksheet. The worksheet explains that your student is to examine three different habitats and record their observations about what they see, hear, smell and feel. There is a chart on the back to record this information. This study is due on Friday, October 31.
2. (Grade 5s only) Your student should have a Ziploc bag with a workbook. This workbook, as the front sheet explains, is to record what the student eats & drinks for five days in a row. They also need to record how much they exercise and sleep (and whether they do anything else to improve their health). They also need to record what food categories food & drink choices fall into and may need some support with serving sizes (We have yet to do fractions in Math....). This study is due on Monday, November 3.Your help is greatly appreciated!
3. A green letter went home today outlining the pumpkin carving contest guidelines. If your student would like to participate, their carved pumpkin should be brought into school on the morning of Thursday, October 30.
4. A yellow letter will go home tomorrow. This outlines that we will be attending the MacKenzie Art Gallery on the morning of December 4th. The cost is $3.50 per student to cover busing and a gallery workshop. We will need three parent volunteers to attend so that students are able to work in smaller groups.
5. The K-5 Halloween Dance will be held on Friday afternoon from 12.45-2 pm. Students may choose to wear costumes in the afternoon only. If your student would prefer not to wear a costume, I might suggest wearing black & orange clothing as an easy alternative!

Have a lovely week!

This Week's Spelling Words

This week's theme? Halloween!

bat

vampire

pumpkin

zombie

werewolf

eye

costume

veins

blood

candy

brain

Frankenstein

ghost

mummies

haunted

trick-or-treating

This Week's Recap

Can you believe it's almost November? 

This week we again started Science! It was an interesting week - and has inspired us to next week start some new experiments to determine whether plants get their energy from the Sun and whether plants can grow without soil. Thanks to those students who asked questions and inspired us to try something new! Next week we may try some small changes to the rotation schedule to allow me another chance to visit with students for more hands-on activities.

In Art, Grade 5 students showing responsibility as learners on a WebQuest exploring Pop Art. I know that learning about cultures - and decades - is a different approach to Visual Arts, but I appreciate your students' dedication in exploring the influence of society on artists. In Grade 4 we made ombre ice-cream cones which demonstrated shade and tint. We will demonstrate these again while learning more about perspective next week.

I was not feeling well this week and have appreciated the kind words - and cards - that your thoughtful students have given. However, it has inspired a real-world based lesson sequence for the Grade 5s to explore hand washing and germs which ties in fantastically to our Science unit on the Human Body. Today we looked at how clean our hands get after washing ..... and learned that five seconds is just not enough time!











Grade 4s continued to explore techniques for anger management - and today were introduced to the importance of taking ownership of your mistakes. I look forward to the lessons to come!


Reminders for next week include:

• Pumpkin carving contest, Monday October 27th
• Picture retakes, Wednesday October 29th
• Hallowe'en dance, Friday October 31st (Costumes in the afternoon only)