I doubt many will be surprised to learn that Isaac is our newest SOTW. If we should happen to win the canned food contest, we will owe a great deal of that victory to Isaac’s contribution of 127 cans last week. He nearly doubled our count by bringing those items in! Way to go, Isaac!
Leave your notes of congratulations for Isaac here.
Dear Parents/Guardians,
December looms…where has the time gone? A lot of correspondence about up coming events has been sent home this week. I can only hope that all of it has made it to your hands. December boasts a variety of activities that I’m sure you’re more familiar with than myself. There are January food order forms; turkey luncheon information for December 17th; skating permission forms for the 18th; and a notice about cookie dough pick up for Wednesday December 3rd. Busy, busy, busy!! You can also expect a note/form from me regarding a Secret Santa gift exchange next week.
It has been busy in the classroom too, with so many projects on the go. I’ve had to adjust the timetable day after day to afford the extra time needed to get things done. We will wrap up data management next week with a quick quiz on data and graphing (playing Prodigy will be good review; extra work is on the homework post for today). Next will a combined strand unit that will have us looking at 2D shapes, and perimeter and area.
Students have been busy putting together ideas for their persuasive writing piece. If we stay on track, you’ll get a chance to read your child’s revised draft later in the week. The “Dive” trilogy is officially done, capped with the movie trailers and posters that the students designed in pairs. They’re posted here on the blog and I’ve even forwarded the link to Gordon Korman so he can see what the students have done.
Social studies is just about complete as students put the finishing touches on their projects, while the inquiry continues in science. Yesterday, we combined the idea of structures (G5) with simple machines (G4) to create catapults from Popsicle sticks. The students unanimously agreed it was fun but very challenging. At last check, one catapult shot 900cm!
Our canned food drive is well under way, thank you for the support. This week we brought in 306 cans, thanks largely in part to Isaac, who hauled 127 items in today! With just 97 cans to go to reach our goal, we look to be in good shape. The contest ends on Friday. Let’s try to finish strong!
Question of the Day: What did you think of today’s auction?
Question of the Day: What are your thoughts on being in a split class this year? (Be honest, I’d love to hear what’s working and what could use improvement.)
Question of the Day: There’s a tourist attraction in Florida that allows you to zip line over a pond/swamp area that is filled with alligators. Would you be willing to try it?
Question of the Day: “Black Friday” is when things go on sale during the American Thanksgiving (which is this week). Some people have already started camping outside of stores so they can have the first crack at items on sale. Would you ever do that to get a good deal?
Question of the Day: What is your wrestling stage name? Use this website to generate one and put it in the Comments section.
Join me in congratulating Shyanne as our newest SOTW. Although our canned food drive doesn’t begin until Monday, Shyanne took the initiative to get our drive going by bringing in five items the day after we discussed setting our goals. Within a day, another classmate brought in more cans, which shows how the actions of one can affect the actions of others. Way to get the ball rolling for us, Shyanne!
Leave your messages of praise for Shyanne here.
Dear Parents/Guardians,
Thank you to those who were able to make it out for interviews last night. It’s always good to connect with parents and discuss your child’s progress. I sensed from the feedback that many of you are enjoying the constant communication via the blog and Class Dojo. Regarding the latter, I’m pleased to hear that many of you check in with Class Dojo daily and stay up to date on how your child is performing. For many students, it seems to be a motivating factor in performing better, and I’m happy to hear that.
The subject of math came up frequently last night as this seems to be the area with the most challenges. So much of the math we do is rooted in basic operations. The rules of math never change; the numbers just get bigger and the steps more complex. Having that solid foundation in basic math is critical. Although I’ve mentioned it in previous messages, Prodigy is a great way to get your child to practise his/her math skills. It’s a free, web-based video game but in order to proceed in the game, math questions have to be answered correctly. I customize the questions to reflect what we’re learning in class at the time so it serves a dual purpose. If your child is struggling with the math questions in Prodigy (currently set to reflect the grade four curriculum), please contact me and I can adjust the difficulty level so that there’s more success and increased confidence. Your child already has his/her login information on the first page of the agenda. Please take a moment to see how the game works and encourage your child to play frequently (it sure beats worksheets and flashcards). There are also additional links in the Learning Links tab here on the blog that might be useful for honing your child’s math skills.
Thank you for your support in your child’s learning. It’s wonderful having so many parents on board. Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you have further questions or concerns. Enjoy your weekend.
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