Week of Oct 31 - Nov 4

Happy Halloween!  Thanks to everyone who sent snacks for our party.  I hope everyone stays safe and dry out there tonight.




Curriculum:

• Math: We continue to add and subtract 3- and 4-digit numbers.  Please practice basic facts at home.  Also, students have a tough time estimating numbers before adding and subtracting the bigger numbers.  You could help at home by showing your kids how you use estimation (e.g. at the grocery store, etc.) and even by giving them random numbers and having them round them for you.
• L.A.
• Spelling: New words - Lesson 4 this week.
• Writing: Students will be doing self-evaluations of their journals and Friday Letters.
• Science: We will be looking at how light can be broken and mixed, and how lenses affect light.
• Social: We are finishing our travels through the Rocky Mountain region.

This Week's Schedule:
Monday:

• Friday Letters due
• Halloween parade and party in the afternoon

Tuesday:

• Dance Troupe at lunch for those students involved
• Tone It Up Tuesday - bring a water bottle!
• Library books due please

Friday:

• Frolicking Friday - dress for the weather!

Notes:

• Thank you to all who contributed to our Feed the Bug campaign.  This is our last week to collect non-perishable food items.
• Fundraising money is due on Monday, please return your forms and money that you have collected.

Curriculum:

• Math: The students did very well on their first patterns unit and now we are on to adding and subtracting 3- and 4-digit numbers.  You can help at home by having your kids practice their basic adding and subtracting facts for a few minutes a day.  We continue to do addition Mad Minutes each day.
• L.A:
• Writing: We will hopefully finish up our suspense unit this week.
• Spelling: Lesson 3 continues and finishes with an assessment on Thursday.
• Science: Scientist Anne will lead us through a variety of activities that will cover our entire Lights and Shadows unit.  On our own, we are going to look at how light affects shadows.
• Social: In our travels across the Rocky Mountain Region, we are delving deep into the coal mines, we'll pay a visit to our National Parks, and we may run across some wild animals at some point.

This Week's Schedule:
Monday:

• Library books due
• Fundraising due
• Geek Squad training at lunch for applicable students
• Scientists in School in the morning

Tuesday:

• Tone It Up Tuesday
• Energy Day Assembly 12:45 p.m. - parents are always welcome
• Hot lunch
• Div. II Dance Troupe at lunch for those students involved
• Family Fun Night 6:00-7:15 in Galbraith gym (with a parent)

Wednesday:

• School Photographer training at lunch for applicable students
• After school skating at Adams 3:45-4:45 (with a parent and a helmet)

Thursday:

• Div. II Dance Troupe at lunch for those students involved

Friday:

• Last day for Feed the Bug
• Frolicking Friday
• Enrichment

Week of Oct 17-21

Welcome to another short week!   Even though it is short, the learning is jammed packed!


NOTES:

• Fundraising continues until next Monday

CURRICULUM:
Math: we will be wrapping up with our first (of many) pattern units this week
LA: starting a descriptive writing project that focuses on suspense
Science: learning about REFRACTION
Social: continuing the journey into the Rocky Mountains learning more about the climate and vegetation.


WEEK AT A GLANCE:
Monday

• Friday letters due back
• Hot lunch orders due tonight online (by 10 p.m.)

Tuesday

• Library books due back
• Parent council meeting 6:30 p.m. first foyer

Wednesday

• After school skating - 3:45-4:45 p.m. at Adams (need a proper helmet and to be with an adult)

Thursday

• NO school in the afternoon - staff have professional development

Friday

• NO school - staff have professional development

Week of Oct 10-14

A very short this week this week!  We're going to pack as much in as possible.  Teachers had a very busy day yesterday coming up with action plans for literacy in our school and classrooms.


Notes:

• Picture proofs are going home and money is due Oct. 20
• Hot lunch orders are due Oct. 17

Curriculum:

• Math: We continue our work on patterns this week.  What patterns have you found at home?
• L.A.:
• Spelling: Spelling assessment Lesson 2 this week.
• Writing: We will continue to add to our "Wall of Happiness" that we started last week.
• Science: Bill Nye will be helping us out this week as he has a great video about light.
• Social: Our travels this week will have us exploring how mountains were formed, the Columbia Icefields and the rivers of Alberta.

This Week's Schedule:
Wednesday:

• Friday Letters due
• After school skating 3:45-4:45
• First Grade Level Assembly - ask your child what they learned with Ms. Scheldrup

Thursday:

• First day of recorders in music class

Friday:

• Enrichment
• Frolicking Friday - dress to frolic in the snow!

First of all, thank you so much to everyone who donated money for our Terry Fox run.  The final total for the school will be announced soon.  Thank you also to those of you who have signed up for Remind - I enjoy sending pictures and snippets of what we're doing throughout the day, and it's great for letting you know what's coming up.




Notes:

• We had a lockdown practice today.  Please ask your child what we talked about.  They did awesome!  I'd hate to have to play hide-and-seek with them because I'd lose for sure!
• Next Monday, October 10 is Thanksgiving and there is no school.
• Next Tuesday, October 11 is an Assessment Day for staff - no school for students.
• The "Feed the Bug" campaign has started.  We will have a box in our room to collect non-perishable food items if you would like to contribute. 
• There are two letters coming home today - one about Scientists in School and the other one about music.

Curriculum:

• Math: We will be having an assessment on graphing today to see where the kids are at and then we will begin our first of many patterns units.  You can help at home by encouraging your child to find patterns in the real world.
• L.A.
• Spelling: New spelling words are out this week.
• Writing: This is our week to finish up our small moments life maps.
• Science: We will be learning about which objects allow light through and which cast shadows.  We will also explore reflection of light some more.
• Social: The kids will be building clay maps of Alberta's regions and we get to start exploring the Rocky Mountain region.

This Week's Schedule:
Monday:

• Friday letters due
• Lockdown practice

Tuesday:

• Tone It Up Tuesday - have a water bottle!
• Library books due

Wednesday:

• After school skate at Adams Ice Arena 3:45-4:45 - all children must be accompanied by an adult, and all skaters must wear helmets

Friday:

• Enrichment begins!
• Frolicking Friday

Week Of Sept 26 - 30

Busy exciting week coming up with Picture Day, Energy Day Assembly, Hot Lunch, Terry Fox Run & Orange shirt day and making our Enrichment choices! 


Remember, all week we are collecting Toonies for Terry in support of the Terry Fox Run.  Thank you!

Curriculum:

• Math - We will be finishing graphing this week. 
• L.A.
• Spelling - Continuing Lesson 1.  There will be a spelling dictation assessment on Thursday.  How to help at home: have your child sort their words and explain the rule.  Challenge them to spell some of the words.
• Writing - Finishing up Small Moment Life Maps this week.  We will start a suspense writing unit later in the week.
• Science - We are continuing to talk about how light travels (i.e. reflection and refraction).
• Social - We will be learning about dinosaurs and completing the introduction to Alberta.  We are eagerly awaiting our trip to the first region of Alberta: the Rocky Mountain Region.

Do you wish you would hear more than a quick "good" when you ask your child "How was school today?"  Children actually love to talk about their day and what they are doing, but sometimes it takes a little bit of prompting.  Here are some fun open-ended questions that typically encourage children to share the most about their day.  I will continue to share 4 or 5 every week.

1. What was your favourite part about school today?
2. What activity did you like the most today?  And the least?
3. What did you think of the first assignment you had to do today?
4. If you could do any moment at school over today, what would it look like?
5. What was the funniest thing that happened in your class today?

This Week's Schedule:
Monday:

• Energy Day Assembly 12:30 p.m.
• Friday letters due

Tuesday:

• Hot lunch day
• Library books are due

Wednesday:


Thursday

• Picture day - remember to wear your smile!!

Friday:

• Frolicking Friday

Week of Sept. 19-23

Sorry for the late post!!


Our routines are becoming set, and the classroom is feeling more and more like home.  These kids are doing a great job adapting to grade 4.  I'm sure some days they feel like we're running a hundred kilometres an hour but they don't complain!  Things will get easier as they become even more familiar with our schedule.

Notes:

• The Terry Fox run is happening next week and we are going to start collecting "Toonies for Terry."  If you'd like to make a donation, please send it in to our classroom.
• Letters went home today about Reading Rewards - a fun way for students to track their reading and get rewarded for it.  This is meant to be fun for the kids and hopefully encourage reading.  

Curriculum:

• Math: We have started our graphing unit.  Ways to help at home: look for graphs in books, online, in the newspaper (if you still get it!), etc.  Talk about how we share information.
• L.A.
• Spelling: The first list went out today.  Students took home a letter and a set of words to practice.
• Writing: We are working away at our "Small Moments" unit that will turn into a Life Map.  Today we wrote about our earliest memories.  
• Science: Our experiments this week will look at how light is reflected.  There will be a quick quiz on Thursday.  How you can help at home: go on a light scavenger hunt!  Which objects make the best reflectors?
• Social: This week we will be turning back time to look at how Alberta began.  How can you help at home?  Ask your child to tell you the two different versions of Alberta's creation.

This Week's Schedule:

Monday:

• Friday Letters due

Tuesday:

• Tone It Up Tuesday - be sure to have a water bottle!
• Hot lunch orders due online via schoolcashonline.com by 10:00 p.m.
• Library books due

Wednesday:

• Bus evacuation practice

Thursday:

Friday:

• Frolicking Friday - have proper footwear for running outside