Friday, Oct. 26, 2018

Highlights

·      This week our class worked together to write a story about a gingerbread dog.  We used a story organizer to help us plan our story before we began to write.  Next week each student will plan and write their own gingerbread story. 

·      In Math we worked on estimating a group of objects.  We learned that using a referent, such as a group of 10, can help us make a reasonable guess.

·      In Health we talked about feelings.  We are using a program called the Zones of Regulation, which helps students identify their feelings and develop strategies to self-regulate their emotions.

·      In Science we tested different materials to see if a magnet could still attract a paperclip through them.

Important Dates/Information

Inline skating forms were sent home on Friday.  Please fill out the blue form and return it to the school by Wednesday, Oct. 31.

Halloween (Oct. 31)

Students may wear costumes that slip over their clothes in the afternoon only on Oct. 31.  There can be no weapons or masks.  Wearing a costume is optional.  Your child may also wear orange or black clothes, Panorama Hills spirit wear, or their regular clothes that day.  No treats are allowed to be shared at school, so please don’t send any.       

Cardboard Challenge

We are collecting Cardboard for our Cardboard Challenge, which will take place in November.  We are looking for donations of boxes, cereal boxes, paper towel rolls, etc.  Donations are being collected in the Grand Hall behind the blue partition.

Headphones

If possible, we would like each child to bring in a pair of headphones or ear buds (labeled and in a ziplock bag) by Oct. 30 for personal use with school electronic devices.   

Homework

-Take a couple of handfuls of small objects (e.g., Lego, Cheerios).  Estimate how many you have.  Count the number of objects and compare it to your estimate.

-Please read and sign the home reading log

-Practice the spelling list provided at conferences

Ask me about:

What does the word estimate mean?

What feelings might you have when you are in the blue zone?  Green zone?  Yellow zone?  Red zone?

What did you draw with Mrs. Snow during Social Studies?

Friday, Oct. 19, 2018

Highlights

Today we had a whole school assembly and watched a video titled Caine’s Arcade, which is about a young boy who used his creativity and problem solving skills to design an arcade out of cardboard.  Each grade in the school will be participating in our own cardboard challenge in November.

     

This morning we also wrote down questions we could ask our grade 4 buddies.  We worked on starting our questions with a capital letter and using a question mark at the end.  After that, we met our new buddies and had a chance to ask them our questions.  Our challenge was to find out at least one thing we have in common with our buddies.  Our buddies also listened to us read.

We used splat square on the computers to practice our skip counting.  Here is a link:

http://www.primarygames.co.uk/pg2/splat/splatsq100.html

Important Dates/Information

Oct. 25-Halloween Dance

Cardboard Challenge

We are collecting Cardboard for our Cardboard Challenge, which will take place in November.  We are looking for donations of boxes, cereal boxes, paper towel rolls, etc.  Donations are being collected in the Grand Hall behind the blue partition.

Headphones

If possible, we would like each child to bring in a pair of headphones or ear buds (labeled and in a ziplock bag) by Oct. 30 for personal use with school electronic devices.   

Homework

-Apply your knowledge of skip counting by 5 and 10 to count different amounts of dimes and nickels (up to 100 cents)

-Please read and sign the home reading log

-Practice the spelling list provided at conferences

Ask me about:

Do you remember the name of your grade 4 buddy?

How many cents do you have if you have 5 dimes and 5 nickels?

What do the words attract and repel mean?

Will the north poles of 2 magnets attract or repel? (repel)

Will a north pole and a south pole of 2 magnets attract or repel? (attract)

Friday, October 12, 2018

Highlights

·      This week we started to practice using the “Reading Power” strategy of making connections.  Strong readers actively think while they read and they make connections between their lives and events in books.  We will continue to develop this strategy over the coming weeks.

·      During writing, we looked at a picture of a haunted house and brainstormed descriptive words to use in our sentences.  For example, we turned a plain sentence, such as, “There is a bat” into “A black bat with angry eyes soars in front of the full moon.”

·      In Math, we drew pictures to demonstrate whether a number is odd or even.  We also worked on counting objects by placing them into groups of 2, 5 and 10.

·      In Social Studies, students were introduced to the three communities that we will be learning about this year:  Saskatoon in Saskatchewan, Meteghan in Nova Scotia, and Iqaluit in Nunavut.

·      We also read the Magic Tree House novel, “Mummies in the Morning” by Mary Pope Osborne.

Important Dates/Information

(The next day to purchase Halloween dance tickets is this coming Wednesday.)

Oct. 18- Picture Day

Oct. 25-Halloween Dance

Headphones

If possible, we would like each child to bring in a pair of headphones or ear buds (labeled and in a ziplock bag) by Oct. 30 for personal use with school electronic devices.   

Homework

-Please read and sign the home reading log

-Practice the spelling list provided at conferences

-Practice skip counting by 2, 5 and 10 forwards and backwards (A 100 chart was sent home for students to refer to when practicing.  This chart can remain at home.)

Ask me about:

How did we turn scissors into a temporary magnet?

What was the grade 4 assembly about?

How can you tell if a number is odd or even?  Is 5 odd or even?  Is 12 odd or even?

Friday, Oct. 5, 2018

Highlights

We read “The Thankful Book” by Todd Parr and wrote about what we are thankful for.  We worked on making our writing interesting by adding details and description.  As part of our school writing residency, author Cathy Beveridge, also helped us use sensory words to write fall poems.  In Science, we tested a variety of materials to see which ones would be attracted by a magnet.  In Math, we learned that some questions can have multiple answers that are correct.  For example, a number of different pattern cores can be created using 2 green, 1 yellow and 2 blue snap cubes.  This week we also practiced logging onto the computers using our student numbers.

Important Dates/Information

On Tuesday students will bring home notes about our upcoming Halloween dance and picture day.

Oct. 10- Scholastic book orders due

Oct. 18- Picture Day

Oct. 25-Halloween Dance

Zippers/Shoelaces

There are a number of students who are not able to tie their shoelaces, or zip up their jackets/sweaters independently.  If your child is reliant on adults or their peers to zip up their jacket, please have them practice this skill at home.   Please do not send shoes with laces unless your child is able to tie them independently and in an efficient manner.

Headphones

If possible, we would like each child to bring in a pair of headphones or ear buds (labeled and in a ziplock bag) by Oct. 30 for personal use with school electronic devices.   

Homework

Home Reading

Please make time for your child to read for about 15 minutes each day.  I am asking parents to sign a reading log since many students are reporting that they are not reading on a consistent basis.  Please send the reading log to school with your child each day in the home reading bag.

-Practice the spelling list provided at conferences

-Practice skip counting by 2, 5 and 10 forwards and backwards (A 100 chart was sent home for students to refer to when practicing.  This chart can remain at home.)

Ask me about:

What metals will a magnet attract?  (Iron, nickel, steel and cobalt)

Are you arriving at school on time and are ready when morning announcements and attendance start?