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Showing posts from 2011

Happy New Year from Mme

Stay tuned for a photo!

Merry Christmas from two Snows!

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The photos of symbols in MQP Church that I promised

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A nativity scene   The Advent Wreath  

Merry Christmas

Today we watched ELF and went to the sing along. We had Gym and I only got tagged once. This is the last day before Christmas holidays. We all can't wait till Christ mas Eve. Now we are not back till Jan.3. Sarah About the Author: Loves the colour pink. I love Justin Bieber. ho ho ho   Me rry Christmas Good work, Sarah.  Getting tagged only once is quite a feat!  We will edit your work in January, but if you do check this blog over the holidays you should try to see what you would fix.  Mme. Burton Snow

A visit to Mary Queen of Peace Church

Today Father Romy taught us about the significance of the nativity, advent wreath and cross.  Here are a couple of photos from our outing. Sorry some camera issues.  I'll give it another shot tomorrow night.

Updated slideshow for "Number the Stars"

Check this one out too.  I'll show you guys both of them on the SmartBoard tomorrow. Mme http://photopeach.com/album/11l0toj#spiral Number the Stars on PhotoPeach <object width="445" height="335"><param name="movie" value=" http://photopeach.com/public/swf/spiral.swf%22%3E%3C/param%3E%3Cparam name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"/><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true"/><param name="flashvars" value="photos=http://photopeach.com%2Fapi%2Fgetphotos%3Falbum_id%3D11l0toj%26spiral%3D1&autoplay=1&embed=1"/><embed src=" http://photopeach.com/public/swf/spiral.swf " type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="445" height="335" flashvars="photos=http://photopeach.com%2Fapi%2Fgetphotos%3Falbum_id%3D11l0toj%26spiral%3D1&autoplay=1&

Trying something new

I am trying to put more of the students artwork on this blog so that everyone can see the fruits of their labour. I have to learn how to actually embed the slideshow here, but for now this link should do. Check this out.  I think it's beautiful! http://photopeach.com/album/10rbpue#spiral Representing the Nativity on PhotoPeach <object width="445" height="335"><param name="movie" value=" http://photopeach.com/public/swf/spiral.swf%22%3E%3C/param%3E%3Cparam name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"/><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true"/><param name="flashvars" value="photos=http://photopeach.com%2Fapi%2Fgetphotos%3Falbum_id%3D10rbpue%26spiral%3D1&autoplay=1&embed=1"/><embed src=" http://photopeach.com/public/swf/spiral.swf " type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true

Way to go girls!

Congratulations to Sarah J., Sarah-Kate, Laura, Emily, Elly and Mary Ann on a job well done.  I know you spent a lot of time rehearsing for the school musical and I am very proud of all of you.  The class looks forward to seeing you perform tomorrow.

Michael's fun day!

Today we did Number the Stars. We did the hard activity, the options were write a letter to Annemarie or write a play. Then we had snack. After snack we had Math. We corrected the work from yesterday and made questions from the bar graphs we brought in from home. Then we had lunch. After lunch we had Social Studies, we drew a picture about the environment. Then we had Religon, we coloured the holy candles. About the Author:  Michael likes green monkeys likes hockey Michael, this is a good synopsis of our day.  Your spelling is good.  Now we need to concentrate on capitalization and punctuation.  Remember, capital letters for book titles and subjects.   Mme

I hope this works

Have a look at the representations that the students did after we finished reading the novel Number the Stars .  I am going to try hard to learn how to create varied slideshows of student work so be sure to stay tuned.  Watch this show with your child to find out which creation belongs to them. P.S.  The slideshow is not finished, there are a couple more photos that I need to add. http://photopeach.com/album/11l0toj

A Really Fun Day

Today we had French in the morning because the choir members had to go for practice all day! In French we did a quiz. After we had lunch we finished up thank you cards or a song from this morning. After we finished the thank you cards we coloured the French booklet on Christmas. I had a really fun day! By Grace Grace, this is a very good post.  You have written in full sentences and it is obvious that you worked on your punctuation and spelling.  I only see a couple of things that we should fix.  Keep up the good work!   Mme

Devon's and Jakob's fun day!

First we had Gym, we missed 10 minutes because we forgot we had it. In Gym we played Omnican 4 Square. Then we had recess. We went to Mr. Maynard's class and made a bar graph. After lunch we had L.A.  I made a sculpture, it was a basket. It had an apple,cheese, a little package and bread. THE END About the Authors Devon:  He likes hockey, blue monkeys and is a hockey goalie. Jakob:  He likes hockey, purple monkeys and is a hockey player. Jakob and Devon, I really like your About the Authors section.  Now let's focus on improving your punctuation and capitalization.    Mme

Elly, this is for you...

1) un tambour  -a fancy porch 2) un magasin -a store 3) un bateau -a boat 4) un drapeau -a flag 5) un cheval -a horse 6) une carte -a map 7) un musee -a museum 8) une patisserie -a bakery 9) un festival - a festival 10) un phare -a lighthouse Elly, I have left off the accents here as this program will not allow me to put them in. Hope this helps, Mme Burton Snow

COFFE

Today we had a math quiz (quizs are differnt then tests because Dafydd, did not have time to finish this today.  He will finish this post on Monday.

AWESOME

Well the title sums up a bit of the day, we had band and that was AWESOME. We learned some new notes, I sucked really bad. We had Math. We finished up  Number the Stars, the ending was sick WOOT. We did a Math quiz today, it was interesting, not hard. In fact it was REALLY easy, but I'm sure I screwed something up.  I'm going home now. It was a cool day and even better TOMORROW'S FRIDAY WOOT! Kobe, it seems like you had a pretty busy day.  We will review this post in class tomorrow and fix your spelling and punctuation errors.  I like your title, it is creative!

Sam's awesome day

Today at school we played a fun game at intramurals and Daniel made an awesome save. After that we had Music and that was pretty fun. Sam, I am glad that you enjoyed your Music class.  We will fix your spelling errors tomorrow as a class. Keep working hard!

What we did today !!!

Today we had gym and it was a lot of fun we also had music and we went on Music Ace Mistro !!! Ms Burton Snow told us that she does not want Christmas presents this year instead she wants us to go out and buy some crayons,colouring books, socks, hat ,mitts,etc. for  people who don`t have as much things as we do ( A note went home about it today. )                                                                                                By Shaelan Good work, Shalean!  Now you need to work on your capital letters and periods.  Let me know what needs to be fixed and we will edit this post tomorrow.

Newfoundland flag

In Social Studies we learned what the symbols on the Newfoundland  flag mean. By:  Emily As everyone can see I have begun to ask the students to write something about their day.  Emily was first up to bat.  Good work, Emily!

Oh no, I forgot to add Music to the homework reminders

Music Monday.  I hope you all kept your bags in your lockers like Ms. Cumbie suggested.

Book Fair

Today we visited the book fair and the bake sale.  Many students found a great new book to buy or order.  Let's just say that there are many students crossing their fingers in the hopes that they win the Ice Caps jersey.

Desk Change!

Today we changed our desks around.  It should be interesting to see how this new seating arrangement works out, as the students were a little unsure this afternoon!  It was time for a change anyway! We also began some Christmas activities in our French class!  December will be filled with a lot of activities like this so I am sure we are in for a lot of fun this month! - Ms. Doyle :)

Abuse

Today we did a very serious lesson on abuse for our health class.  The students all had lots to say about it, and we had a great discussion that brought about some great ideas.  We will spend some more time talking about abuse throughout the rest of the week. - Ms. Doyle :)

Data Relationships

Today the students worked in groups to write questions based on second hand data.  The students used bar graphs from the old Grade 4 Math text as well as two graphs from the Stats Canada website to formulate their questions.

Board Game fun

This week I began a red, green and yellow light system.  A student remains on green if they are completing their work, listening, prepared for school and acting respectfully.  Students move up the light based on the way they are behaving in class.  It seemed to work really well this week and it has been interesting to see the movement! This afternoon we finished our watercolour paintings along with having some free time to  play our new board games!  It was a great way to end the week!

Planned Designs

Today we continued our art activity called Planned Designs.  The kids had to plan a picture or design that involved only squares or rectangles.  They then had to glue rectangle or square shapes onto a piece of paper to complete their design.  Needless to say we came up with some pretty interesting pictures!   Next we are going to  make some accidental designs.  I am sure that they will be very exciting to make as well! - Ms. Doyle :)

French Culture

We spent some time cutting out pictures from travel brochures for Saint Pierre today.  The students learned words like un tambour, un magasin and un musee (I can't get my accent to work in this program for my musee... grrr technology)  Ask your child to tell you what these words mean in English. Oops!  I forgot to write on the board that we have music tomorrow! Sorry!

Bar Graphs!

Today we continued to work with bar graphs and this unit seems to be going great so far.  It is a unit that is very interesting, interactive and fun for the students so I do not foresee many issues with this.  Today we went around the class and did a tally on six different questions!  It was a great time, and we really got to see how different people feel about different things!  (They now know for sure that I know nothing about sports...ha ha!) - Ms. Doyle :)

Geo Centre Delight

We spent the morning learning about how we measure the weather.  We predicted the temperature, wind chill and the type of clouds.  After we predicted we found the exact answers. I haven't forgotten about the pictures of the clay sculptures, I'll post them tomorrow.

Representing with clay

Today the students represented something from the video Pittance of Time (see Links page for video).  The students created some really neat models.  I will take some photos tomorrow and upload them to this blog so that people at home can see the masterpieces.

St. Pierre!

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Today we continued with some french culture activities.  We learned about all the activities that you can do if you visit St. Pierre, along with looking at and coloring our own St. Pierre flag!   I sent it home for homework so they may be coloring that tonight.   Here it is in case they need to take a look at it! We also had lots of fun on our little outing this morning! - Ms. Doyle :)

Punctuation Please!

Today we started a series of writing skills worksheets to help the students polish up their grammar and writing skills.  Sometimes we overlook how important it is to capitalize letters in our writing, so hopefully these worksheets will help us out. The sheets are only short, and we will only be spending about 15 or 20 minutes a day at them, but I think they will be a great help in the long run!  (I hope!) - Ms. Doyle :)

Watercolor Painting

November 4, 2011 Today in art we started a watercolor painting. We learned new techniques to use with water paints. We are looking forward to finishing our paintings next art class. Have a good weekend everyone!

French Song

November 3, 2011 Today we listened to a French song and in groups had to put strips of paper with the lyrics in order. It was a little challenging but we worked really well together and accomplished the task! We all enjoyed listening to the song when we had it all completed!

Catch-Up!

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Today we did a lot of catching up with work that needed to be done.  We have been doing a lot of small projects in different classes so today the class was given a couple different opportunities to get their work done. Slowly but surely it will all get done I'm sure.  We need days like this from time to time because we all know that not everyone works at the same pace! - Ms. Doyle :) P.S.  There was a permission slip sent home today regarding a field trip that is coming up next week.   And I want to remind you to return your Lap-A-Thon forms as soon as possible! P.P.S.  Here is a picture from our Halloween party!  We had an AWESOME time :)

Number The Stars

November 1, 2011 Today we were able to get back to our novel study after taking a few days to work on Halloween related activities. The students discussed what it meant to feel safe and tried to put themselves in the shoes of Ellen and Annemarie in the novel and think about how it would feel to be afraid for their safety. They then wrote a journal entry about what their feelings would be. This was a nice activity that helped the students develop empathy toward others and really understand how others could be feeling. It also pointed out that we should not take our own freedom and safety for granted. The students are continuing to enjoy the novel and are looking forward to reading more tomorrow!

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween everyone! Today we did lots of Halloween related activities and we had our own little Halloween party after lunch.   There were lots of nice costumes and we had a great time.  We also visited the other grade five classrooms to show off our costumes and to see theirs! I will post  a class picture later! Be safe, and have fun tonight when you're out and about! - Ms. Doyle :)

C'est L'Halloween (well almost....)

Today we visited the grade six ICF class and they presented a Halloween play for us - "C'est l'Halloween"!  We really emjoyed that and it  seems there a lot of students who are interested in entering ICF next year! :) Sooo, Monday is Halloween so we want you to remind the children to bring their costumes for after lunch, and bring a snack or treat to share with the class if they want!  Remember - no peanuts!  :) Have a great weekend ! - Ms. Doyle!

Buddy Reading

We had a good day today!   To end the day off we spent some time with our buddy readers and helped them finish a Halloween art activity.  Mrs. McDonalds brought in some of her own books for the class to read to their buddies, so our afternoon was very exciting! We have been forgetting to write on the board to remind them about bringing in their own books for buddy reading, but  we will try our best to remember from now on. - Ms. Doyle :)

Blank Cheques

Today in math we did some work with blank cheques and the kids seemed to really enjoy that.  It was fun pretending that we had the amount of money that was written on our cheques!  We used this to help with learning how to add and subtract decimals, and it is always good to learn how to use math in a practical way! - Ms. Doyle :)

Halloween is coming!

Today we started some Halloween related activities!  We did a Halloween reading comprehension about Trick-or-Treating and we reviewed some French Halloween vocab.  We have lots of other Halloween activities planned for the rest of the week, so I think we're going to have a spookishly awesome time! :) - Ms. Doyle :)

Group Work

October 24, 2011 Today we did some group work in math and did an activity called "Blank Cheque". We had to roll numbers and figure out the best place to put them to create the greatest amount on our cheque. We then added our group's total and compared it to that of other groups. It was a lot of fun and we learned a lot about decimals as well!

Picture Day

Today was picture day which caused a lot of excitement with everyone! We also found time to continue working on our novel study and learned about some things that were happening in Denmark during the second World War. In Math, we worked on some Halloween problem solving. Students also enjoyed getting started on their friendship books in French. It was a very busy day!

Estimating!

October 20, 2011 Today in math we did some estimating decimals and used a thousandths grid to help us. We had to color in the blocks on the thousandths grid to help us determine how much of a whole was left. It was a fun activity and everyone did really well!

Special Visitor!

October 19, 2011 Today we had a special visit from some clowns who came to encourage us to participate in the lap-a-thon! Sponsor sheets were sent home today! In math today, students practiced explaining their thinking when solving a problem. We learned how to make sure we give enough details and to use math vocabulary. In French, we did a fun activity where we had to match a picture of a person with a sentence describing their physical characteristics, such as hair and eye color and age. It was a busy, fun and enjoyable day!

Busy Day!

October 18, 2011 Today was a very busy day! We had music, gym and buddy reading with our Grade 2 friends. We also worked hard on some math this morning and students really enjoyed hearing the first chapter of our novel, Number the Stars. They are looking forward to hearing the next chapter tomorrow!

October 17, 2011

Today Ms. Doyle introduced a new novel study of the book "Number the Stars". This book is set in the 1940s and is based on the facts surrounding the Holocaust. Students were given some background information and had a great discussion. We were surprised at how much they already knew about this historical period. They are really excited to start reading tomorrow!

Math Test and Reasoning

Ms. Doyle and I have finished correcting the Math tests and we are very pleased with the results.  On the actual test the students performed very well.  The reasoning question proved a little more challenging.  There is a rubric attached to the Reasoning question which shows you how your child performed on that piece of the test.  Even though some students received a grade in the 80's or 90's on their test it does not mean that they will automatically score a 5 in Numeration on the report card.  I will need to take into account the other work they completed during the unit as well as how they performed on the reasoning portion of the test. We will continue to work on Math reasoning throughout the year and I am sure we will see improvement. Deanne Burton Snow

Fun during Music class

When I went to pick my "kids" up from Music class today they looked like they were engaged in some sort of African tribal ritual.  There was an inner and outer circle and they were moving in tune with the music, well at least some of them were.  Given my lack of musical aptitude I could not seem to follow it.  I'm sure your child will be able to explain it to you.

Mme McNeil makes a visit

Mme McNeil visited our class today.  She completed a learning style survey with all the students.  We found out how SMART we are.  Do you know if you are NAUURE SMART LOGIC SMART BODY SMART PEOPLE SMART NUMBER/LOGIC SMART SELF SMART PICTURE SMART MUSIC SMART

Blogging

Today Mr. Walter showed my class how to blog.  The students had to look at the Van Gogh picture on my website and make comments.  It was an interesting activity.
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Please comment on this Van Gogh painting Starry Night

Base 10 with the Smartboard

Today Ms. Doyle delivered a lesson by using the Smartboard.  The students represented numbers like 1.123 using base ten blocks.  Everyone LOVES having a turn at the Smartboard.

Base 10 with the Smartboard

Today Ms. Doyle delivered a lesson by using the Smartboard.  The students represented numbers like 1.123 using base ten blocks.  Everyone LOVES having a turn at the Smartboard.

Thousandths

Today we spent some time trying to model tenths, hundredths, thousandths on a thousandths grid.

Internet Trouble

Hi everyone, Just to let you know that my home computer is on the blink and our Internet connection at school is on the fritz.  I will be unable to update this page or check my e-mail for a couple of days.

I forgot about Music.

Oops!  You have Music on Monday!  I forgot to write this reminder on the board yesterday.

Terry Fox

The students watched a video about Terry Fox today.  We will complete some Math problems next week with Terry Fox as the theme of the problems.... I hope this makes sense.

The beginning of Band

Today marked the first day of band.  All band students are pretty excited about their new instruments.  Just a reminder that the students are expected to complete any work that they missed while they were gone to band for homework or when they have a few spare minutes during the rest of the school day. I will partner each student so that your child will know what he/she missed while they were out.  For example, one of my flutists could be paired with a saxophonist.  The flutist would write the saxophonist a short note about what was covered when they were out and vice versa. Band days will remain constant, however, the schedule will change each month so that the students do not miss the same subject for the entire school year.  It will take some getting used to and likely mean an increase in responsibility, but I believe they are all up for the challenge!

A crash course in Sikkism for this teacher

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This is the book that my new friends gave me.  I've got a lot to learn. Gurdwara Located at the start of Logy Bay Last Sunday I went to the Gurdwara where I saw an actual Sikh service.  Sikkism is one of the religions that we study in Grade 5 and since I did not know much about it, I decided to find out a little more.  I am currently organizing for a guest speaker to come speak to the Grade 5's about the Sikh faith.

French note coming home tomorrow

September 29, 2011 Dear Parents and Guardians, For the past several weeks we have worked on reviewing the vocabulary associated with the basic objects in the classroom as well as some common French expressions.   We have also devoted a great deal of time to addressing some of our French Culture outcomes.   For example, we just finished studying French place names in Newfoundland and Labrador . In the weeks to come we will be working on a new unit of study Vive L’amitié!   The theme of the unit is Friendship.   Your child will learn how to describe a class friend in French in terms of physical characteristics, personality traits, favourite colours and pastimes.   As part of this current unit I am asking each child to bring 4 photos of their friends to school.   A friend could be a neighbour, sibling, family pet, penpal, cousin or teammate.   The photo does not need to be on actual photo paper, a printed copy is fine.   I would like the students to have the photos in school by Frid

Technology grrr...

Today we owe a big shout out to Mr. Walter as he helped fix our classroom computer.  Now we can use our Smartboard again.  Today the students saw a Peer Pressure video on the Smartboard.  Thanks again Mr. Walter!  We appreciate you helping us out today!

Buddy Reading

Today we had our first buddy reading session with Ms. Squibb's Grade 2 class.  Everyone had a great time.  My class wrote the sentences for the Grade 2's.  We spent a great deal of time reviewing the need for capitalization and periods... we don't want the Grade 2's to pick up bad habits.

Families

Today we talked about Foster Families and the reasons why children might need to stay with a foster family.  The students in my class will be participating in a writing contest for Foster Families Awareness week.  The top prize is $75.00 so that is proving to be quite the incentive.  You may see your child's writing piece come home this week, I am sure you will find it an interesting read!

Spelling

Many parents seemed supportive of having some sort of weekly Spelling/Grammar/Reading activities during Curriculum Night last week.  I am currently researching possible options so it will take me some time to find what I think will be a good fit for the class.  I hope to have something selected by the end of October.

Writing Cinquains

A cinquain is a five line poem that does not rhyme.  It gets the poet thinking about nouns, adjectives and synonyms so it is perfect for Grade 5!  You will see the finished copies of the cinquains tonight at Curriculum Night.  We begin the Elementary Curriculum Night at 8:00.

Good and Bad Reputations

Today Ms. Doyle talked to the class about good and bad reputations.  The students identified famous people who had good and bad reputations.  Sarah-Kate thought Oprah had a good reputation, Grant mentioned that Martin Luther King was known for his good reputation.  Nic mentioned that Hitler had a poor reputation and Jakob identified Lindsey Lohan as having a questionable reputation.  It was a good Health lesson! We are trying to help the students understand that the way we are treated impacts on self-esteem and general emotional well-being.

Presentations continue

We had some awesome presentations this morning.  Here is a photo of one treasure. Well, it looks like I'm having some technical difficulties with my camera... grrr!

A walk around Kenny's Pond

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Today we got out for our first walk around Kenny's Pond.  Here are a couple of photos from the outing. A class photo Standout Caption and Photo courtesy of:  Jack An amazing swan Caption and photo courtesty of:  Jack

A walk around Kenny's Pond

Today we got out for our first walk around Kenny's Pond.  Here are a couple of photos from the outing.

A short day

Well we managed to work on some Smartboard Place Value activities before school closed for the day.

Action Verbs

Today we worked on spicing up our writing.  The students replaced "worn-out words" with new and exciting verbs.  Doesn't hollered and exclaimed sound better than said?

The heat!

Please have your child dress for the heat in our classroom.  We do not seem to get much of a breeze in our room.

Links for Math

I have just added some Math links which might prove quite helpful this year.  We began this school year with Chapter 2 Numeration.  We will return to Chapter 1 later in the school year. This chapter is essentially a reveiw from last year, however, the students are now expected to read and write numbers up to millions. Parent Note:  We do not say AND when we read our numbers.  For example:  6 023 is not read six thousand AND twenty three.  We reserve the word AND for decimals which we will study in the next chapter.  Also, we do not place commas in our numbers.... we use spaces instead.  Each group of three numbers is called a period so a number like 6 453 802 has two periods... the 453 and the 802. Thought you should know.

Using whiteboards

Today we used individual whiteboards to write numbers in standard form.  The students love having their own whiteboards.

Physical Health + Mental Health = Well Being

Physical Health + Mental Health = Well Being We talked about the statement above during Health class today.  Each student will be coming home with a copy of Canada's Food Guide.

Here we go!

Today we got to really begin the hard work of Grade 5.  Ms. Doyle, our teacher intern, began the day by telling the students a little about herself.  We heard all about her furry friends and how much she adores visiting her home around the bay.

Welcome to Grade 5!

I hope you alll had a great first day.  Remember to try to get mom or dad to fill in the bunches of forms that went home today. See you tomorrow when we will decide on our classroom rules. Madame

A New School Year!

Welcome Back Everyone!

Happy Father's Day!

       We are still working on your Father's Day "gifts", don't worry they will be worth the wait!                                                                  

And on the way back from the pond

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On the way back from Kenny's Pond this was what was spotted in the tall grass.  Shaelan asked me to put it on the blog so here it is for her.  I must say I felt a little like this mama duck with 20 of my own ducklings in tow.  I had her beat, she only had four or five.

A little girl is a big hit!

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On Thursday this little lady arrived to pick up something from mommy.  She enjoyed playing with the Base 10 manipulatives.

Kenny's Pond and Dr. Furlong

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We went for a walk around Kenny's Pond last Friday.  Each student took a photo of something special that was around or near the pond.  They will work in groups on Tuesday to compile a photo essay about Kenny's Pond. In the afternoon I arranged for my dentist, Dr. Rob Furlong, to come to the class to give a presentation about dental health.  Dr. Furlong was kind enough to bring a bag of dental goodies for everyone.  We learned a lot about teeth, fluoride and the proper way to brush. Here are a couple of photos from the day.  Sharing a very important message  Let me know who took this one so I can give you credit here. I think Grace took this one.   Dr. Furlong's enormous toothbrush was a real hit!

Field Trip on Monday

Don't forget to bring your field trip form for our field trip to the Mews Centre and Plaza Bowl.  If you forgot your form mom or dad can write a little note to say you have permission to go to the Mews Centre and Plaza Bowl on Monday, January 20th, 2011. Parent Signature: ______________________

Division Games

Today we spent some time in the computer lab working on some division games.  You can find the links for these games on my links page, the 3rd link down for today's date. I would encourage the students to play these games at home as much as possible.

FUN DAY!

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Skipping along  This Assistant Principal has got some fierce moves!  I'm waiting Preparing for the three legged race  More preparation  And more preparation Taking a much needed rest.  It is tough being defeated by girls! Time for a chat Young Love he, he, he I know you guys love a good joke!

My camera is fixed!

Yippee!!  $55.00 later and my camera is now fixed.  I am going to make it a goal to add a couple of photos every day this week.  Stay tuned tomorrow for photos of our Fun Day (weather depending of course).

Geo Centre and Recreational Mathematics

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Yummy, a Math game about chocolates! Today we had a great day.  We began our day at the Geo Centre with studying Rocks and Minerals.  We looked at things like streak, lustre and magnetism.  In the afternoon my friend, Dr. John Grant McLoughlin, visited from the University of New Brunswick. Dr. McLoughlin is a Math Education professor who specializes in Recreational Mathematics.  The students had time to work with him on magic squares and some fun Math games.  Have a look at the photos of both events. Rocks and Minerals in our everyday lives Panning for gold!  The Geo Centre  Working together to solve a challenging Math puzzle!  This was an answer to a Mathematical equation posed by one of my students.  Dr. McLoughlin used the lattice method of multiplication to help him figure out a multiplication equation that had a product in the billions.  This took him about two minutes.  

Sun Safety

Today we talked about sun safety.  My students knew quite a bit about ways to protect themselves from the sun's harmful rays. We made SunSafe Fortunetellers... courtesy of the Canadian Cancer Foundation.

KIds Eat Smart

Today we had Ms. Stephanie O'Brien from the Kids Eat Smart Foundation come to our class to discuss healthy eating habits and the importance of eating from the 4 food groups.

Abby's Determination

Today Abby demonstrated that she wasn't about to give up on multiplication.  Good for you, Abby!

Way to go, Daniel!

Today Daniel got expanded form multiplication down pat!  Way to go, Daniel!

Women and Woman

Today Riley learned that there is a plural form for the word woman. See Riley, I told you I'd write it here.  Madame

Responding to Art

Today the students worked in groups and responded to four pieces of art.

Keep at those Math facts!

Make sure you keep reviewing those Math facts every night!

Math makes sense

Show mom or dad how you can figure out 17x3 using an array.  Think about what we learned today.

Do you want a Canadian Flag?

How long are you prepared to wait? Remember when I told you that you could request a flag that has flown on the top of the Parliament Buildings... here is the link you need. http://www.parliamenthill.gc.ca/drp-flg-eng.html I think I am going to request one for Grace, by time she's 21 years old she should have it!!!!

Do you want a Canadian Flag?

How long are you prepared to wait? Remember when I told you that you could request a flag that has flown on the top of the Parliament Buildings... here is the link you need. http://www.parliamenthill.gc.ca/drp-flg-eng.html I think I am going to request one for Grace, by time she's 21 years old she should have it!!!!

French Questions

Be sure to check out the French video for Term 3 under the FRENCH QUESTIONS heading. Look under LINKS to find the 4 websites that I think will help you review your numbers from 1-31.

The photos I promised

So last night I was all ready to photograph the 3D shapes that were created yesterday.  I was nearly there when I dropped the camera onto my desk.  Of course my camera broke!  Stay tuned for the photos... I'm going to the Camera Repair Shop this weekend.  Always something!

Making Nets

We are finishing up our short chapter on 3D Geometry.  Today we spent some time making 3-D prisms from 2-D nets.  Tomorrow we will use clay and toothpicks to construct 3-D models.  I will post some of the creations.

Results of Public Speaking

We had some great poem presentations today.  Many thanks to the parents and guardians at home who undoubtably spent a great deal of time helping with the preparation. Here are the top three speakers from our class: First Place Muneeb and Cam (it was a tie)... too close for Ms. Cowley to call Second Place Riley Third Place Gavin I will have a special certificate for you gentlemen on Tuesday! Have a great long weekend everyone!

Symbols and the Block Parent

Today we did an activity focusing on symbols.  I gave each group a copy of seven symbols. Each student had to fill out a graphic organizer (chart) about what the symbol meant, where we would see it and why it was important. The Block Parent sign proved the most challenging.  I guess there are not many of these anymore.

"Charlotte's Web" Movie

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The students were super excited to watch the Charlotte's Web movie today.  After the movie was over they illustrated a picture and wrote a response about their favorite part.  Quite interesting responses... here are a couple.  I will photograph the drawings for the explanations below and post them tonight. My favorite part of "Charlotte's Web" was when the spiders were born because Wilbur gets new friends. By:  Tristan My fave part is when the horse is scared of Charlotte because it's funny the way the horse reacts. By:  Gavin My favorite part was when you saw Charlotte spin the web "Some Pig."  You could see the web being spun because I liked to see the web in the stage of being spun. By:  Allison The fireworks because they are colorful and Wilbur, Fern, Avery had fun. By:  Rachel

Bill Nye Nutrition

Today we talked about the role of Senators and Members of Parliament.  Tomorrow the students are going to design a "Wanted" poster for a Prime Minister. If anyone has any old magazines or catalogues at home that could be cut up for pictures it would be a good idea to bring them along tomorrow.  I didn't think about mentioning this today.

3-D Objects

We began a new unit on 3-D Objects today.  Take some time to look at shapes in your child's environment.  Ask your child the shape of the stopsign. Find a hexagon in your environment. Look for a pentagon. Find examples of rectangles, squares and circles. Have your child describe a cereal box to you using geometry vocabulary like faces edges and verticies.

Here is the weekly Health assignment

Unfortunately I cannot get the lines to appear properly, but at least you will get to see a version of the assignment before I hand it out tomorrow.  It might also help those students who forget to bring their handout home on a given night. Health Weekly Assignment May 16-20, 2011 There will be no Spelling this week.   Instead of Spelling you will do one Health activity each night. Monday May 16 Environmental Health Recognize the importance of clean air and water for everyday life. You are going to participate in a poster contest for Arbor Day .   Your poster should be completed on the blank piece of paper attached to this sheet.   Make sure your poster is colorful. Think about the benefits of trees that we discussed today.   Mom or Dad can also help you look on the special website for more information.   Please find the poster contest details and website information attached.   It took me a while to find the benefits of trees using the homepage address so this link will take you

Health Assignment this week

This week I won't be giving you any Spelling.  Instead of spending time on Spelling activities I would like you to complete one Health question each night.  On Monday night you will find this website helpful as you are going to design a poster to help celebrate Arbor Day. http://www.treecanada.ca/publications/trivia.htm   The benefits of trees

SPORTSFEST TOMORROW

Hi everyone, Ms. Cleary made an announcement at the end of the day (when you were in Music) to say that you should bring your lunch from home tomorrow.  The cafeteria will be closed when we get back around 1:00.  All students should stay in school for lunch and bring a bagged lunch from home. If you are reading this make sure you call your close friends in the class to remind them too.  Hopefully this memo will prevent some lunch problems tomorrow. Thank you

PIRLS TEST COMPLETED!

The PIRLS test is now done and everyone is happy.  Ms. Harris took everyone to the gym for a rousing game of "Mother May I" as a reward.  She also promised them a special treat next week for all their hard work.

A square unit

Today the students used pattern blocks and pennies to find out the most efficient unit for measuring area.  It was easy to see that the square unit wins hands down!

Finishing up Charlotte's Web

I am hoping to finish Charlotte's Web next Friday.  We listened to chapters 13-15 today and as usual everyone enjoyed hearing the author read.  We will end our Charlotte's Web study by watching the movie, a real treat!

Individual Whiteboards

We used the individual whiteboards that were purchased from the proceeds of the Lapathon fundraiser to complete a Math activity on time today. The students really enjoyed the whiteboards and are really coming along with their understanding of time.  Thank you for spending time on time at home.

Voting frenzy!

Thank you to the parents who brought their children to the polling stations yesterday.  The students had lots of interesting details to share about the experience.  Good idea on your part!!!

The final push!

Well, it is certainly hard to believe that it is now May!  We only have seven weeks of school left so the final push is on.  Please continue to work on telling time at home.  We are now studying quarter to, quarter after and half past. Some students had a hard time understanding why there was no such thing as 40 after or 50 after.

Hoppy Easter!

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Grace meets a real Easter bunny!

I told you I would vote in advance!

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I was pretty happy to cast my vote, but Grace preferred to run around the gym!

You did a great job!

Thanks to all the parents who helped their children learn a little bit more about the voting process last night.  Your answers were very well developed and well supported and it helped your children understand why it is important to vote. I'll let you know the results of our school election after the Easter break.

Student Voting

We had a great discussion about the three major political parties, the voting process and the candidates running in our area.  Tonight I have asked the students to ask their mom or dad if they plan to vote and why.  Talking to your child about the election would be a good idea right now as it is part of the Grade 4 Social Studies curriculum.  Mr. Rideout, a Grade 6 teacher at MQP, has organized an event called Student Vote which will take place before the Easter break.  The students will vote for the candidate of their choice.  If you could talk to your child about the values of the three parties that would be much appreciated.

Money and Base 10

Today we used money and base 10 materials to model decimal numbers.  We are also working hard on adding and subtracting numbers with decimals. Having your child pay for small items with cash would be a good idea now.  Have your child look closely at the change he/she receives and ask for different ways that the cashier could have given the correct change.

L'Anse Aux Meadows Video

Today I showed the students a short video on L'Anse Aux Meadows from the Canadian Geographic for Kids series.  Following the video, I gave a L'Anse aux Meadows viewing and listening quiz.  I am estatic to report that everyone performed well.  Ask your child to tell you one fact that they learned from watching the video.

L'Anse Aux Meadows

Today we learned about the L'Anse Aux Meadows National Historic Site.  The students really enjoyed hearing about my trip there a couple of years ago. http://www.virtual-tours-newfoundland.ca/LanseauxMeadows/Meadows.html   Read more.

Math and Technology

In the morning, Mr. Walter set up a fun Math activity that reinforced the concepts we are currently studying in the classroom.  The students had to design a picture on a grid and then express the colored part of the grid as fractions and decimals. In the afternoon we had our second session with Ms. Ryan, our Visiting Artist.  We began painting backgrounds today.

Encouraging Critical Thinking

We read a selection in our Social Studies text today that asked the students to engage in critical thinking.  We read an article about how some people had found a cure for malaria.  The cure posed an environmental risk for the Chinchona tree in Peru.  The students had to read the text and decide on whether they thought a cure was more important than the risk to the environment.  Pretty deep thinking for Grade 4's.  Ask your child about it tonight, you may be surprised by how much they understand.

Visiting Artist Program

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Today we began working with Ms. Pat Ryan, a local artist, to create original watercolour paintings.  Our class will be painting tulips, I am sure you will be impressed with the finished products.

Grade 6 Wax Museum

Today we were lucky enough to visit the Grade 6 Wax Museum.  The Grade 6 students were dressed as famous people and we were able to learn a little about each person.  It was nice for my students to see their siblings dressed up.

The Continents

As you know, we have been collecting postcards from around the world for the past several months.  Today the students took special pins and "pinpointed" the various locations of the postcards on continent maps. See below for photos of our continents bulletin board.

This one is for Cam!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lf--PQNDn7g Cam, here is the video of the Continents song that you liked so much today.  I find it quite catchy myself!

Bill Nye Digestion

We watched a Bill Nye video about digestion today.  The video served as a good summary of our Health unit on the Digestive and Urinary System.

Spring has Sprung... Somewhere!

Today I gave each student a portion of a larger picture.  I did not tell the students what the picture formed.  The idea of the project is to have everyone work together to complete a finished piece of art.  I will take some photos in the coming days and post them here for all to see.

For Shalean, Abby and all the other Bieber fans!

Girls, I think you will like this video.  Your favorite guy sings about fractions.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SV_s0Q48R6c&feature=related