Ms Burton Snow's Blog

On Friday the Grade 4 classes went bowling to celebrate Halloween.  My class went to St. Pat's Bowling Alley for some Glow Bowling.  A good time was had by all! Oops... I forgot.... after we got back from bowling I was so consumed with getting our classroom straightened up from the litany of garbage that I forgot to remind the students to take home their pumpkins. Make sure you take these home on Monday, guys! A note for parents:  Please look to see if your child brought home a package of reading comprehension evaluations that were completed in class over the past two weeks.  Please take some time to read my note, review the stories with your child and sign the tests.  You can see that I have attached three extra stories which can be kept at home.

Today the Jack O Lanterns were officially unveiled.  Have a look at the photos below to see the amazing work created by your children. The students will bring their creations home tomorrow so they can display them with pride this weekend. On a related Halloween note... tomorrow we will be going to St. Pat's Bowling Alley instead of Holiday Lanes.  The students may bring their costumes to school and change during the lunch hour for the afternoon festivities.

Today we finished our Jack O Lanterns.  They took three class periods, but they look great!  Stay tuned tomorrow for some pictures of the masterpieces.  As an added note... we are now going to St. Pat's Bowling Alley on Friday instead of Holiday Lanes.  I am sure we will have a ball (pardon the unintended pun).

Well today history was made for many people in the East End of St. John's.  I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw the blue bags of recycling on my street this morning!  At Mary Queen of Peace we recycle on a regular basis.  We recycle juice containers and our paper.  As a teacher I am trying to do my part by double siding my photocopying more regularly.  I also like to remind my students to use up all the space in their exercise books before they begin a new page.  Part of our Health program this year involves learning about the 3 R's (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle).  If you have a chance please talk to your child about the importance of recycling.  It is their planet and they are our future!  Have a look at the photo of my recycling below. As for what was happening in our class today... the friendly letters were continued.  Many thanks to the parents who have already supplied mailing addresses. Math today was a little rough.  The students are learning how to effectively commu

Today the students began the rough draft of their friendly letter.  I modelled how to write a friendly letter first and then we took some time to review a letter that one of my students wrote in a previous year. We are going to work on understanding the main parts of a letter including the salutation, body and closing.  After the final copy is complete, I will photocopy one for assessment purposes and then we will walk to Shoppers Drug Mart to mail our good copies.  We talked a little about how infrequently people write letters these days.  It is my sincere hope that by doing this activity they will engage in "snail mail" tasks of their own.

Unfortunately a bad case of laryngitis has meant that I will be out of school for a couple of days.  I went to school this morning and returned Math tests.  Please read my note regarding all the work completed for Unit 2 Numeration and sign somewhere on the package.  You can have your child return the work samples whenever you are finished.  Please note:  The note that I have attached to the front of each child's package is also available for viewing on my Notes page. A further note... yesterday I sent home a Social Studies project.  The details of the project are also available on my Notes page.

I think the title of this post speaks for itself... I've got it, it's not good. 

I was told that today was a "fun day" by several of the students.  The positive feedback from my students always makes me feel like my hard work is appreciated.  We began our day by walking around Kenny's Pond.  The weather was absolutely beautiful with not a breath of wind.  It was the kind of Autumn day that gets people outside and generally makes everyone feel happier.  We enjoyed our walk and took time to watch the somewhat peaceful ducks. After our walk we came back to school and began our pumpkin painting.  Our current Art activity involves painting shells to look like jack-o-lanterns.  It is a time consuming process since you need two coats of orange, but well worth the effort in the end.  My hope is that this is something that will stand the test of time and will serve as a reminder of their Grade 4 year. In the afternoon the students watched part of a Terry Fox video.  We are currently studying the Parable of the Good Samaritan in Religion class so we will

Today my students had their first Grade 4 Math test.  Everyone worked very hard, especially on the Problem Solving and Reasoning.  We will continue to work on these skills throughout the year so hopefully things will get easier with time.  Keep working hard everyone!

Today the students finished their Social Studies Picture Exploration.  Each student had to decide where they thought the place in the picture might be, what it would be like there and why people would want to go there.  The students also had to write if they thought it would a nice place to visit.  Frankly, I thought some of the answers provided were quite witty.  You can expect to see the picture exploration page come home next week after I have had a chance to evaluate them.  Below is a picture of the scene we discussed in class as a warm-up to the actual writing activity.  Any ideas about where you think this might be?

Today the much anticipated recorders were distributed to my class.  There was certainly a great deal of enthusiasm in the air today as each student looked adoringly at their new instrument.  I am certain many parents are getting a little unexpected concert tonight.                                              

I hope you are all having a great Thanksgiving Day.  I spent part of the day in a Kelligrews pumpkin patch with my little girl.

Today we had our Thanksgiving Day Assembly at Mary Queen of Peace Church.  Two of my students had speaking parts at the assembly and I am delighted to say that they both did a fabulous job! The Grade 4 students donated spagetti, margarine and beans to the Food Bank which will certainly be appreciated by needy families.  Our Thanksgiving Assembly came at the perfect time for our class since we are currently studying the parable of the Good Samaritian in Religion and how we can all try to do kind tasks for our neighbours.

Today the three Grade 4 English classes went on a field trip to the Fluvarium.  The students learned about invertebrates, habitats and adaptations.  Bob, our fearless Fluvarium guide, provided us with great interactive learning opportunities.  Our first field trip was enjoyed by all!  Have a look at some of the photos from our day.                                      Check out the Fluvarium website at:  http://www.fluvarium.ca/

Today my students spent some time creating their French collages to demonstrate that they can find both French and English in their environments.  Each student brought in four labels that showed English and French.  The students were put into groups to construct their collages.  They will self and peer evaluate their work.  I hope you like the photo of one of the masterpieces.

Our class is currently reading the novel "Cassandra's Driftwood."  The novel tells the tale of a girl named Cassandra who befriends a piece of driftwood.  Other people think the driftwood is silly, however, she thinks it is very special and it helps her to develop self-confidence. As a response to our reading each student completed a journal entry detailing an object that they had that other people felt was silly.  Some of the "silly" objects were stuffed animals, hockey sticks and even a favourite pillow. I told the students about my favourite teddy bear that my Nanny Burton gave me when I was four years old.  Today I brought my special bear to school to meet my class.  I hope you like the photo.

My students have been busy presenting their "All About Me" boxes.  The boxes are a great activity to do early in the school year as I get the opportunity to learn some interesting facts about my students.  Today one of the students presented her box to the class.  She couldn't fit everything into her box so she decided to wear her jazz shoes.  Have a look at the photo to see her box and shoes.  She did a great job presenting as did all the other students!  I am so proud of my entire class and I look forward to the upcoming presentations!