What a busy week it has been so far!
Students have been swimming every day. They are doing great! All students are showing respect to instructors and taking new risks in the pool. We also completed a short unit on swim safety for our health lessons this week. Many students are feeling very tired and sometime grumpy in the afternoons. Swimming is exhausting, and it is important that with this added physical activity students are getting lots of sleep at night, and drinking lots of water during the day. In Math, we continue to work on multiplication. This week we have been using skip counting, and looking at patters in multiplication tables to help us multiply. In science, we have moved on to our next simple machine- a pulley. Students are using the dacta kits to construct pulleys based on a set of instructions. It is interesting watching students carry out very specific scientific procedures and step-by-step instructions- for many it is quite a challenge! In Language Arts, we have started a new unit on Fairy Tales. There are 4 common characteristic of Fairy Tales: magic, good vs. evil, threes and royalty. As we read fairy tales, students are identifying examples from each story that fall into these categories. Reminders: A notice about Cultural Night was sent home earlier this week. If you wish to take part in Cultural Night please return the form to the school no later than February 4. Volunteers- Since sending home a request for volunteers two weeks ago, I have only heard back from one parent. All field trips require a minimum of two volunteers. Our field trips are exciting and worthwhile experiences for students- we really want to be able to take part! Unfortunately if we do not have enough volunteers commit to going, we will need to cancel. Short week this week- no school on Friday!
0 Comments
This week in Math, students continued learning about multiplication. They were shown three strategies to multiply: repeated addition, arrays, and equal groups. These strategies break down the process of multiplication, and are necessary to build understanding of the concept. Eventual memorization of facts is important, but building an understanding is even more fundamental for learning!
In Science, students were busy building a toy teeter-totter using recycled materials from home. Today students had a chance to showcase their projects, and reflect on what worked well, and what could be improved upon. For the last two weeks we have been using picture prompts during writing, and focusing on choosing and maintaining a perspective (point of view) while writing. We even put together a class book for "Hank has a Dream," a lovely short story about a teddy bear's journey during his dream. Perhaps the best example of students understanding multiple perspectives happened yesterday, when they were given the task of writing about a day in our classroom through the eyes of Butters the bunny. Students had creative ideas about the sounds, people, and even car ride, that would be very different and potentially frightening for a small animal. Our reading this week focused on two incredible people who had a positive influence on those around them: Martin Luther King Jr. and Malala Yousafzai. Students were engaged and had lots of questions as we read and learned about the change both people brought to our world. Yesterday was our last day of Mission Impossible. Today, we started a new routine of Yoga Fridays in the classroom- it is the absolute best way to wind down and set positive intentions for a great weekend. Reminders: Swimming starts next week. I strongly suggest bringing a plastic bag to store wet swim clothes and towels in after swimming so other items in your backpack do not get wet. :) Mrs. Rowein Today all grade 4-6 students took part in THINK Day. It was a great presentation all about bullying, kindness, and common issues that students in middle school face today. Tonight there is a parent presentation for those who are interested.
Reminders: Science building starts tomorrow! Please remember to bring in any materials you will need to construct your model teeter-totter. Crime Not to Read for Grade 3 on Wednesday. Next week is swimming and we are still short volunteers. Volunteers are needed in order to give our kids valuable experiences outside of the school building. Students will be receiving their spelling lists tomorrow. :)Mrs. Rowein We will begin swimming lessons on Jan 28! This is such a fun component of our day-offering them life long skill and daily physical activity! It also becomes a bit of a field trip through their eyes because we take the bus!
Please pack all swimming items in a different bag apart from their school bag. We will leave the school bag at school and just carry the swim bag onto the bus. Children are responsible for their own bag and items. Please remember to pack a swimsuit and towel every day! Our turn around time to change is quick as the bus goes back and forth to the school for other classes. IF you send your child to school wearing their swimsuit, please remember to pack underwear for after the lessons. Just a note from previous experience-quick, easy, comfortable clothes make for easy, independent dressing. Swimming also makes students very hungry, so you might want to pack more food during the swimming week. Next week, students will be constructing a small teeter-totter to support two stuffed animals. Everyone brought their scene duotangs home with a list of materials needed to build their simple machine. Parents, please assist your child in gathering materials to bring to school on Monday.
Mrs. Rowein We're already having a wonderful start to 2019!
This week, while Ms Gaspar's grade 5's are at Science school, we have five additional grade 4s joining us. Throughout the week, we will be focusing intensely on a Language Arts project. Sound Kreations is here this week! We get to take dance lessons from a professional dancer twice a day. In just two days students have already learned nearly all of a salsa dance routine. We are inspired by the dance's Cuban roots and will also be doing inquiry project on the culture and geography of Cuba. In Math this week we will be review and Math game, since our visiting class members are at a different spot in the curriculum than us. We will resume our regular timetable next week. Reminders: spelling test Friday Swimming forms due Friday :) Mrs. Rowein |
Mr. Abma and Mrs. RoweinTeachers by profession. Students by choice. Archives
March 2020
Categories |
Photo used under Creative Commons from Theo Crazzolara