Ms Burton Snow's Blog

Let's see how many students read this tonight and how quick the word will travel. In January we will have a student intern in our class.  She will begin on the first day of school in January.  Her name is Ms. Pyke.  I am sure we will all teach her a lot.  She is from Nova Scotia so perhaps we will learn a little about her province as well.

A big congratulations to Megan, Ben, Emily R. and Maria.  I know you all worked very hard to prepare for the school musical.  It was a real pleasure to watch you in action!

Inside the Hindu temple.  They ring the bells to ward off evil spirits. Today we were off to the Hindu Temple.  We all learned a lot of new information and the students were very well behaved!  I was very proud of them! This beautiful rangoli design greeted us on our way in.  

Two days ago we had a visit from some Grade 6 classes.  The Grade 6 students and their teachers practice the annual traditon of mummering. I can't get the photo to attach right now, but I'll try again later.

December 10, 2012   Dear Parents and Guardians, We have been working on learning French Christmas vocabulary for the past week.   We have played French Christmas Bingo as well as Christmas Memory.   Next Tuesday, December 18 or Wednesday, December 19, 2012 your child will have a short vocabulary quiz.   Your child will need to match the appropriate image to the correct word so they do not need to know how to spell the word. I will be giving each child a third page of French vocabulary tomorrow.   The students will be responsible for knowing all three pages of vocabulary.   Regards, Deanne Burton Snow

Many thanks to Tristan in Grade 6 who taught the class how to make an 8 page foldable booklet for Religion on Friday.  You did a great job, Tristan!

Today I asked the students if they could bring in some scraps of fabric and pieces of wool so that we  could use them to make 3-D posters advertising the Mummers Festival.  We will begin the work on the mummers next week.

December 7, 2012 Dear Parents and Guardians, On Friday, December 14, 2012 the Grade 5 English classes will be going to Mary Queen of Peace Church to learn about Christian symbols.   We will listen to a short presentation from Ms. Ann Walsh who will give an explanation of several symbols and colors.   In particular, she will focus on explaining the meaning of the advent wreath and the nativity scene.   This field trip will take place during the afternoon session. Our visit to Mary Queen of Peace Church will help us to meet Outcome 1.2 of our Religious Education program which asks us to help the students to develop an understanding of Christian signs and symbols. Please sign the bottom portion of this note and have your child return it to his/her teacher as soon as possible.   There is no cost for this field trip as we will be walking to the church. Many thanks, The Grade 5 Teachers ************************************************************************...

This took place last Friday afternoon.  After the students did the Cha Cha Slide I saw a link to a Dora the Explorer Dance video.  This class has got some good moves. It's hard to belive Dora was such a big hit! Look how in sync they are! Not missing a beat!

Well, after several weeks of awful printing trouble I finally have all of my class report cards printed.  Report cards go home tomorrow!  Hopefully my blogging will be more consistent now that that chore is finally completed.

I sent home a copy of this note with each child today. December 3, 2012 Dear Parents and Guardians, This is the time of year when we think about how we can share the Christmas spirit.   Teaching the children how to give back to others is part of our Grade 5 Religion program.   Teachers are asked to help their students to develop a response to a human injustice such as poverty.   Several years ago I started something new with the students in my class and some have been asking if I am going to do it again.   As we all know there are students in St. John’s who are in need.   I have had conversations with teachers at other schools in St. John’s who have identified some small items they need for Christmas hampers for children in their classes.   The items they need are small so I think it might be the right fit for our class project.   If you would like to have your child donate one or more of the items on the list below it would be appreciated. ...

For those of you who have checked out the MQP homepage you know that the report cards which were scheduled to go home on Friday are now going to be issued to students on Tuesday, December 4.  I am still going ahead with some interviews prior to that date. Here is my current schedule For the Friday November 30 interviews I can let you see a copy of the report card, but I can't let you take it with you. Send me an e-mail if any of these times work for you. Thanks Friday November 30 @ 2:45 (sorry, this one is taken) Friday November 30 @ 2:55 (sorry, this one is taken) Friday November 30 @ 3:05 (this one is still up for grabs) Tuesday, December 4 @ 2:45 (still available) Tuesday, December 4 @ 2:55 (still available) Tuesday, December 4 @ 3:05 (still available) Tuesday, December 4 @ 3:15 (sorry, this one is taken) Tuesday, December 4 @ 3:25 (sorry, this one is taken) All of my Wednesday appointments are still available too. 2:45-2:55 2:55-3:05 3:05-3:15 3:15-3:25 3:25-...

Our scheduled interview date is Thursday, December 6th, but I often have interviews before that date.  The report cards will be issued next Friday, November 30. If you would like an interview on Friday November 30 from 2:45-2:55 2:55-3:05 3:05-3:15 you can e-mail me to let me know Perhaps you would prefer Tuesday, December 4 from 2:45-2:55 2:55-3:05 3:05-3:15 3:15-3:25 (Sorry, this one is already taken) 3:25- 3:35 Or you might like Wednesday, December 5 from 2:45-2:55 2:55-3:05 3:05-3:15 3:15-3:25 3:25- 3:35 Send me an e-mail and I will confirm a time with you.  I will send home a paper copy of this message tomorrow.

http://photopeach.com/album/1540mg0#spiral Follow the link. The students had to represent part of a text.  They could hoose between pastels, watercolour paint or clay.  You should be able to click on a picture and make it bigger. Enjoy!

My short term goal is turning into a long term goal.  I had hoped to created two cowls (little scarves) for my sisters for Christmas.  So far this is what I've got.... I think they're going to have to share. I think the imperfections add character... at least that's what I'm telling myself.

because I know how much work went into it.  Thank you to Emily D's nanny who sent in this homemade scarf to me last week.  I'll be wearing it this week for sure! This should help me keep warm!

It seems like there are some pretty talented grandmothers out there.  Thank-you to John Stanley's nanny for making me this Halloween scarf. A spooky scarf

It's time to get funky! The Active Living Team at school has asked us to begin our Cha Cha Slide again.  It's been a few years since we've done this as a school, but my students have proven they are stars!  I have never seen a class move in unison like these guys.  Here are a few photos from last Friday.  Reverse, Reverse  

Congrats to the two boys listed above. Adam reached his short term goal.  He was a handler in a recent dog show. John made me happy.  He learned how to add with Base 10.  Four hard tries, but he didn't give up!  He was pretty happy with himself too. 

...and that goes for the rest of you too.  Enough Halloween junk!

because she has some awful bug.  Remember everyone, wash those hands!  The germs are spreading around this room quickly!

was sent home today.  I'll post the note that I attached to the tests here this weekend.

She was selected as one of the four finalists in the St. John's Public Library Ghost Story Writing Contest.  An author will read her work tonight and select the winnner!  Good Luck, Mya!

She was awarded the role of elf in our school musical.  Way to go, Maria!

Megan performed with the choir at Confederation Building yesterday.  She put in a lot of hard work preparing for the big event.  I am so proud of you, Megan!

Ms. Cowley organized an archaeology presentation for us today.  We had Ms Joanne Harris visit our school today.  Here are a couple of photos from our day Some of the items that our archaeologist brought to show us Anna examining artifacts from the past. Ms. Harris was a great speaker.

will be going home tomorrow.  See the note below. October 22, 2012 Dear Parents and Guardians, Last week I had intended to send home some samples of reading comprehension activities that your child has completed over the past four weeks.   Unfortunately, due to student absenteeism and conflicting band schedules I had to wait until today to send the work home. Attached to this letter you will see three reading comprehension tests as well as two listening activities. The reading comprehension activities that you see attached to this letter assess base level comprehension.   In other words, the children are not really asked to infer, give personal connections or provide opinions.   This week your child will be given a test that requires him/her to answer higher order questions and I will forward you the results of that test in the coming weeks. In the meantime, please review the stories attached to this letter with your child.   A Personal Introduc...

Hi everyone, I hope everyone had a great weekend. Just a quick request here... does anyone have the Saturday edition of The Telegram .  If you do have a copy from yesterday or one from last week could you please have your child bring it to school.  I would like to do a newspaper scavenger hunt for one of our Art activities and Saturday's paper will work the best. Thanks

Remember, the mouth always opens to swallow up the larger number.  P.S  I can't believe how many of you actually knew who PacMan was... a blast from the past for your parents.

I gave out a Math test outline today.  I will post it in the Notes section of this blog tonight.

Congratulations to John, the only student in the class who filled out his Ghost Story entry form with the appropriate capital letters, apostrophes and periods. Let's just say I saw some pretty creative ways to spell St. John's today.

Today the students were put into groups to do a little role play about decision making.  The two groups that have presented so far did a great job.  Hats off to Ben, Braydon and Chad as well as J.S., Jake and Sarah.  If the other groups do as good a job as you did today we'll be laughing!

Besides the French quiz note, you'll also see a note regarding how your child is performing in our current Math chapter.  We're hoping to wrap up the unit by the end of this week as we are already behind schedule.

October 15, 2012 Dear Parents and Guardians, Next Tuesday, October 23, 2012 your child will have a French quiz based on the work that we have completed to date.   This quiz will be all matching.   We will focus on some listening comprehension activities in class at a later date. For the purposes of this quiz your child should study the classroom French expressions sheet with the English equivalents in their duo-tang.   They should also study the page of objects in the classroom.   Finally, we have spent the last several classes working on identifying French place names in Newfoundland.   Each child has a sheet in their duo-tang with the French place name as well as the rough English translation.   As stated above, the students will need to match items.   They will be asked to match classroom objects to the appropriate word, French expressions to English and French Place names to English place names.   The objects in the classroom par...

This should help you learn how to say those decimals... Rounding decimals is easy, you'll see. They have two names like you and me. First, you say the name as if there were no dot. Then you say the name of the last place value spot. Example 0.287 First Name: two hundred eighty-seven Last Name:  thousandths

Today the students completed two reading comprehension assessments for me.  I've still got to squeeze in some band students who missed some of the work so look for the completed tests to come home next week.

Tomorrow I am going to be sending home a note about studying Math facts.  Please see a copy of the note on the NOTES page of this blog.

Hi guys, I forgot to get you to write this in your agendas on Friday... you have gym tomorrow!

I hope you are all spending some good quality time with your families this weekend. Grace and me in the pumpkin patch at Taylor's Farm in Kelligrews

from the biggest turkey - your teacher. Don't forget the last day for the food drive is tomorrow. 

A couple of parents have asked me what books I would suggest for at home reading for Grade 5 students.  Here is a list of Grade 5 novels suggested in the Department of Education Program of Studies Guide.    Number the Stars Morris Rumpel and the Wings of Icarus Fog Magic How Come the Best Clues are Always in the Garbage Ticket to Curlew   Shiloh  (We will be doing this one as a novel study later this year.)   Mick Harte was Here   Flight of the Dragon Kyn Where Have You Been, Billy Boy? The Belonging Place   Words of Stone Lily’s Crossing Wringer   (I am currently reading this book to the class.)

Today we started to model decimal numbers with our base 10 blocks.  We will be focusing on decimals in Math for the next week so you may wish to have your child complete some of the corresponding Math links at home.  See my Links page Chapter 2 Numeration.

Today we began webbing our ideas for our ghost stories.  We are entering the St. John's Public Library Ghost Story Writing Competition.  We are treating this story as a process piece so we won't be finishing it up until after the Thanksgiving weekend.

If you were at band today when we had Art then you might want to check out my Links page.  Scroll to the bottom of the page where you will see a couple of links for Mondrian and Rembrant.  We are studying the elements of design and were exploring the use of color today.  You can see that Mondrian uses vibrant primary colors while Rembrant chose to use darker hues. Don't forget to complete your own Mondrian masterpiece.  Remember, only use the primary colors.

We spent a bit of time today discussing French place names in Newfoundland.  Part of our Grade 5 Core French curriculum entails studying the French Newfoundland connection.  Small groups of students worked with a map of Newfoundland and Labrador to identify a list of places with French names in Newfoundland.  It was great to see that so many students had visited many of the communities before.  We looked at Port aux Choix, L'Anse aux Meadows, Blanc Sablon and many others. We'll follow up this little activity with a wordsearch and a memory game.  Then we'll begin focusing on the French Newfoundland flag.

Ms. Sullivan dropped by today to talk to the band students about their instruments.  Everyone went home with a note today to tell them which instrument they will be playing.  Good Luck in your musical endeavours everyone!

Today I read the students a book called How much is a Million.  The book is quite funny and reinforces the idea of a million, billion and trillion.  This week the students have to look for large numbers in magazines, newspapers and the internet.  I handed out newspapers today to those students who indicated that they did not have them at home.  If anyone else needs a newspaper they can let me know.

This note is going to be going home tomorrow. September 24, 2012 Dear Parents and Guardians, This week I am asking the students to look for 10 large numbers from newspapers, magazines and the internet.   Students might be able to find large numbers in headlines and stories.   In Grade 5 large numbers would include numbers up to the millions, however, if a student finds a number in the billions that would be fine too.   I would like them to try and find large numbers in both number and word form.   For example, they might find 608 million written in the number and word from, word only form or they could find the number written in standard form, (608 000 000). They are likely to find the numbers written with commas in them, however, in class they are expected to write the numbers without the commas.   For the purposes of this little mini-assignment they should just try to find large numbers.   Include the numbers you find with commas as that is how t...

http://vimeo.com/28170845   Click on the link to see the video that you watched in class.

for a living you learn to love all types of sea creatures.  Today John Stanley brought in a variety of sealife that his dad collected for him along the shores of Cape Broyle.  Great job on all the presentations today! Noah and Ryan get to touch a prickly sea urchin  Emily examining a seastar and a mussel

Tell your parents what this means.

We have been learning about Terry Fox during Religion class.  The students watched a short video on him last week and then completed a listening quiz.  The quiz went home today.  We talked about Terry as well as his friend Doug and how they both participated in Christian acts of kindness.

Well, it seems like everyone had pretty eventful summer vacations.  Trips to Terra Nova, Florida, summer homes and camps were hot topics today.  The students are doing a great job focusing on volume, speed, expression and eye contact.  After a student presents the other students ask questions and provide constructive criticism.  Maria and Braydon both provided great constructive criticism today.  Way to go everyone! On another note, don't forget curriculum night is Thursday evening. 

We had a great game of French bingo today.  The students really enjoyed learning their "objects in the classroom" vocab through bingo.

Today we reviewed the objects in the class.  They could remember a lot from last year! You can click on the link here and actually listen to someone pronounce the French classroom object.  Try it! http://quizlet.com/705766/french-classroom-objects-flash-cards/ Have a look at this video too! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nmmlWctUx4c

Today during our Religion class we talked about the ways that Grade 5 students can volunteer.  We came up with a good list including: -walking dogs at the animal shelter -helping a friend (shovelling, babysitting, etc.) -helping at the food bank -school committees (like the recycling committee) We also spent part of our day linking to our experiences from yesterday.  We talked about all the ways we can be prepared for storms. Oh, and in case you're wondering... my trees made out fine, the fence is another story.

Well, it seems like Hurricane Leslie is really going to strike us.  Be sure to look out your windows tomorrow morning and watch that wind blow!  We're going to read a story called "Sam's Storm" on Wednesday so you'll be all be able to draw on recent experiences when you answer the questions. How did your family prepare for the storm?  Here's a photo of what Chris did to our trees.  Unfortunately it's hard to see from the photo that he tied our trees onto the fire hydrant.  We'll see if it was a good idea in the morning. Gearing up for a storm

Today Ms. Sullivan met with all the Grade 5 students to discuss the band program.  The completed forms are due on Tuesday.

Today we read a poem about summer.  Tomorrow we are going to write poems about summer.  I let the students smell a hand lotion with their eyes closed and they described it as: fresh, good, like deodorant, like shampoo, like a bar of soap, like Very Berry Oatmeal, air freshener, springtime fresh, Easter, sweet, like unicorns and candy, tangy, pineapple, orange and watermelon.  The students came up with some pretty creative responses.

I hope everyone had a great day!

Today we had the much anticipated French cafe.  There was tons of food and lots of fun.  Here are some photos from the day. Mr. Maynard about to enjoy a litlte fruit Ms. Harris tried to speak a little French Ms. Button and Mr. Walter enjoyed themselves The ever radiant Ms. Howse helped to make the afternoon a true success Taking an order What a beautiful placemat!

We didn't forget to make a special gift for the dads out there.  Your gifts have been sent off for the finishing touch, you'll get them this Thursday... I hope.

Looking closely at something The bones that captivated the attention of many of the boys.  Gross!  Photo courtesy of:  Nic Remember the lady who showed us how to bake bread over the fire... this is the shoe she was talking about Two gold rings, just 2 artifacts found at the dig The boys having a look at some bones that washed up along the shore What a special treat!  This iceberg was just offshore and created quite a stir on the bus when we first saw it! Having a look inside the interpretation centre

Don't forget to bring your special item for the French cafe tomorrow. Also, try to remember a little donation for the food bank... no more than a loonie.

We had our iMath Fair on Tuesday.  I was responsible for teaching the "Picture Smart" students.  We did a patterning activity with toothpicks.  The students had to predict the 10th picture and then I made it really hard and they had to predict the 20th picture in the series. A toothpick pattern from the iMath Day