Good Morning!
I hope that everyone had a great weekend and was able to get our and enjoy the great weather. I think summer is making a comeback! We have a very busy week this week! The Terry Fox Run is happening on Wednesday September 25th. Students are asked to bring in a toonie to donate to the Terry Fox Foundation. On Thursday, September 26th, we are heading to the First People’s Festival at the Waterloo Region Museum. This is an amazing opportunity for students to learn about the current situations that the First Nations populations are facing today. Math - We are continuing to explore the relationships between a shapes dimensions and their area and perimeter. Students will be exploring the area of a parallelogram. Science - We will be continuing to investigate the 6 kingdoms of life. Reading - We will be continuing our class read aloud “Red Wolf” focussing on making connections as a comprehension strategy. Writing - We will be taking a closer look at biographies, analysing the form and components. The goal is to be able to write their own next week. More on this assignment to come. Art - We will be looking at the elements of design focusing on line. Looking forward to a great week of learning!
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Happy Monday Everyone!
I hope that everyone enjoyed their weekend and is ready to get back into the swing of things. It is a short week for students as Friday is a P.D. Day which means no school for students. Wednesday is picture day, so I hope everyone brings their smiles. Today is our field trip to the Outdoor Education Center. I am so excited for this opportunity! Here is what we will be getting up to academically this week! Math - We will be starting a unit looking at multiplication and division how they apply to the formulas for the area of rectangles and parallelograms. Science - We will be looking at the linnaeus classification system and the 6 living kingdoms. Students will practise classifying things in the living world. Reading - We will be continuing our class read aloud “Red Wolf” focussing on making connections as a comprehension strategy. Writing - We will be taking a closer look at biographies, analysing the form and components. The goal is to be able to write their own next week. More on this assignment to come. Art - We will be looking at the elements of design focusing on line. Important Dates September 18 - Picture Day! September 25 - Terry Fox Run September 26 - Field Trip to the First Nations Festival Happy Monday!
This week in A3 we will continue to review and practice routines and procedures. I believe that a firm grasp of these will help the rest of our school year run smoothly. General Expectations for our classroom
Some important dates to keep in mind…
Math - This week we will be looking more at our mindset during math class. We will be solving a variety of problems that require students to think creatively, work collaboratively, and persevere. Writing - we will be setting up our writers workshop, setting expectations, and getting the routine down. Reading - We will continue our read aloud, “Red Wolf”. Science - We will be starting our unit on Biodiversity. Looking forward to a GREAT week! I am absolutely thrilled to be working with your child this academic year. We have a great year ahead of us! It is my goal that this school year will be filled with opportunities for personal and academic growth. An exciting program has been planned with many enriching and enjoyable opportunities to learn and grow. The students will be introduced to many new ideas and concepts this year; three very important ones that are near and dear to my heart are Growth Mindset, Mindfulness, and Global Education.
Growth Mindset Mindset is an idea proposed by Carol Dweck after decades of research on achievement and success – it’s a simple idea that makes all the difference. In a growth mindset, people believe that their most basic abilities can be developed through dedication and hard work- brains and talent are just the starting point. This view creates a love of learning and resilience that is essential for great accomplishments. Virtually all great people have had these qualities. Mindfulness I am very passionate about teaching children to be mindful participants in their learning. I will be incorporating Mindfulness practices into our classroom on a daily basis. As defined by Mindfulness Expert Jon Kabat-Zinn, “Mindfulness is awareness that arises through paying attention, on purpose, in the present moment, non-judgmentally. It’s about knowing what is on your mind.” There is a lot of recent research about the positive impact of mindfulness practices. According to Dr. Kirk Strosahl and Dr. Patricia Robinson, "research indicates that brain training involving mindfulness practices can strengthen areas of the brain responsible for attention, emotional control, and problem solving… ”. I believe that incorporating mindful practices into our classroom will help students deal with the everyday stresses of living in the 20th century as well as be present in our moment of learning. Global Education Throughout my life I have taken a personal interest in global issues and raising awareness of world poverty, social justice, and environmental sustainability to my friends, family, and the students I work with. Through global education students learn about personal strength, character, what it means to be a global citizen and that we are all responsible for our words and actions. In our classroom, I will be engaging the students in activities that make them think about the wider world and their role within it. Technology I am very eager to incorporate technology into our classroom in many different ways. Students will be using their Google Drives to complete assignments and classroom tasks. I will be using Google Classroom to assign tasks, keep track of student work, and communicate with each student. You will be able to receive weekly updates from our classroom that will inform you of the work that was assigned that week. If your child is unfamiliar with their Google Drive or Google Classroom, have no fear, I will be instructing all students on how to make the most of this amazing technology. Let's Stay Connected! I believe that a strong parent-teacher relationship is necessary for maximum school success! Which is why I will connect every parent to our google classroom and strongly encourage you to visit my website regularly, and follow us on twitter. Happy Monday!
I hope that everyone enjoyed the sunny Sunday, I know I did! With EQAO finished, things are back to normal in A3. Again, please remember that students MUST have indoor and outdoor shoes. Our class is getting muddy and Mr. Lantz has spoken to me a few times about the state of our classroom floor. Also, with track and field season here all students need running shoes as their outdoor shoes. It is very hard to run the 80m dash in sandals. Track and Field is an important part of our gym curriculum so everyone needs to participate. Math - We will be reviewing fractions! Reading - We will be starting a new class read aloud. We will be reading the classic novel "The Hundred Dresses" by Eleanor Estes. Students will be sharing their book talks. This weeks reading response is "Would you be friends with the main character in your book? Why or Why not". Writing - We are almost done with our fantasy writing. Students will begin the fun part... publishing! Science - The grade 5s will be picking up where scientists in the school left off... learning about the properties of matter. The grade 6s will be starting their unit on flight. Important Dates June 6 - J.D. Track and Field Day June 11 - Grade 6 trip to Westheights June 11 - Money due for Toronto Science Trip June 17 - Area Track Meet at Jacob Hespeler June 19 - Toronto Science Trip Happy Monday!
Another four day week, but we have a lot going on...The Grade 6s will be writing EQAO Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. While the Grade 6s are writing EQAO, the grade 5s will be working on some independent projects. Please remind your child that they need to have indoor and outdoor shoes, our school is getting muddy and students that don't have clean, indoor shoes will no longer be able to participate in gym. Most of the school day will be dedicated to EQAO, so a lot of our learning goals will be put on hold. When we have regular class time students will be finishing up their fantasy narratives, working on their book talks, and reviewing fractions, percents, and decimals. Important Dates: May 30 - JD Family Fun Night! May 30 - Field Trip to City Hall May 31 - PD Day - No School for Students June 6 - JD Track and Field Looking forward to another great week in A3! Ms. Smith Welcome Back!
I hope that everyone enjoyed the long weekend. I am so happy the the weather cooperated and we got a small taste of summer. This week we will be gearing up for the Grade 6s to write EQAO. There is no need to do anything extra at home to prepare. The test covers the Grade 6 curriculum and at this point everything has been covered! We will be doing some review for the Grade 6s and they are always invited to stay in during first break to review with me. Math - The grade 6s will be reviewing some basic concepts like fractions, decimals, percentages, unit rate, and problem solving strategies. The grade 5s will be finishing up their unit on transformational geometry and then starting their own review. Writing - We will be finishing up our fantasy stories. Students are working hard and becoming amazing young authors in the process. I am so excited to see the final product. Reading - This weeks reading response topic is "What is one decision that the main character in your book has made that you don't agree with? What would you have done differently?" Students will also be starting their book talk assignment, where they will be analyzing a novel that they have been reading in class and and share their favourite part of the book with the class. Social Studies - Both the grade 5s and 6s will be finishing up their unit inquiries with small presentations of what they have learned to the class. This week will fly by! Ms. Smith Good Morning!
Happy Monday!
I hope that everyone enjoyed our first taste of spring yesterday. The sun was shining and the birds were chirping, hopefully everyone spent sometime outside. We have a busy week ahead of us, I hope that everyone is ready! Math - We will continue looking at angles, but this week we will be focusing on using angle properties to sort and classify polygons. Students are encouraged to practice using a protractor to measure and construct angles. Language - We are moving forward in our fantasy unit. Students will spend a few more days analyzing fantasy texts and identifying their characteristics. By the end of the week everyone will be well underway with writing their story. Social Studies - The grade 5s will continue their inquiry into their chosen pressing problem. They are researching an issue of their choosing, looking at the ways in which the issue is currently being addressed by the government and citizens. Then they are to imagine an ideal solution to their issue and create a "call to action" to encourage people to care about their problem. The grade 6s will be starting their inquiry on Canada's connections to the global community. They will be researching a global issue, analyzing what is currently being done to address the issue and then create their own NGO that will help solve the issue. Both of these projects require students to think deeply, critically and creatively about their topic. Looking forward to another amazing week! Ms. Smith Happy Monday!
We have a busy week ahead of us, I hope everyone is ready! With the warmer weather please remember that everyone must have indoor and outdoor shoes. Math - Students will be exploring angles and polygons. They will practice identifying and classifying 2D shapes based on their sides and angle properties. Writing/Reading - We will be starting a unit on the Fantasy genre. Students will be exploring the characteristics of the genre through a variety of reading activities before writing their own fantasy narrative. Grade 5 Social Studies - Students will be looking at the ways in which citizens and governments work together to solve social problems. Grade 6 Social Studies - Students will be looking at a variety of Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and International Organizations and the ways in which they address global issues. I am looking forward to another great! |
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January 2020
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