Fire Safety

We continued working on our language unit on adjectives this morning. We learned how to include adjectives to a sentence diagram. Ask your child to explain how to do this. We discussed spelling rules for when an adjective compares two items or 3 or more items. In our Who We Are inquiry unit we continued asking the question "How can we keep safe?" We focused on fire safety. We discussed the importance of knowing personal information about our families. Students began the lesson by completing a personal information questionnaire. Parents' homework tonight is to check the information your child filled in and give your child a score out of 12 - one point for each line correctly completed. Students are then to correct any mistakes they made or fill in information they did not know and memorise it. Ask your child to explain why we are doing this. We read a book called Safety with Fire and watched 2 DVDs titled Home Fire Escape Plan and Fire in Your House. Students took jot notes as we went. They received Mississauga Fire and Emergency Services Activity Books. Students are required to complete page 7 & 18. These pages are assigned as a family project. The goal is to get together as a family and devise a Emergency Home Escape Plan. Colouring is not required. Students are encouraged to read the entire book and they may complete the activities if they wish.  We had our twenty-second literature circle groups  meeting today. Students had class time to read chapter 23. It is important that The Secret Garden books and reading duo-tangs be brought to school daily as we will be having daily group meetings as well as time allocated in class for reading.

Science Fair winners were announced today. Congratulations to Rachel, Braeden, and Carter for being selected by the judges as our class' winners. Well done to the whole class for their hard work in preparation for the fair. Congratulations to Abel for being nominated as our class Communicator.

 

Students attended French, art, and gym class

Homework & Reminders

• Novel Study - read chapter 23 and complete today's response
• Prepare for next week's in-class spelling bee competition on Tuesday, June 3
• Complete Emergency Home Escape Plan & Junior Inspector Checklist as a family for Monday, June 2
• Tomorrow is Track & Field Day beginning at 12 pm. Students are to come to school in their gym uniforms. Bring extra water and hats. Apply sun block. Families are welcome to attend Track & Field.
• Scholastic orders due Friday
• Monday, June 2 - Trip to Peel Children's Safety Village, Bring a labelled helmet
• Wednesday, June 4 - Arts' Night at 7 pm
• Tuesday, June 10 - Spelling Bee during the day
• Wednesday, June 11 - Graduation at 7 pm
• Friday, June 13 - Last and half day of school, Dismissal at 11:30, After  care runs till 4 pm

Articles

We continued working on our language unit on adjectives this morning. We learned that a, an, and the are always adjectives. Ask your child to tell you what we call them. We also discovered that nouns can be found in the predicate part of the sentence. We use a 3-step test to decide if a word is an adjective. Ask your child to describe this test to you.

I then began working on reading assessments with individual students while the rest of the class finished up their manners report and place setting diagram.

We began working on our last line of inquiry for Who We Are unit - How can we keep safe? For their final project on this unit, students will be using Microsoft Publisher to create a trifold brochure that teaches children how to stay safe over the summer holidays. We will spend time learning to use this program next week. Students started their research today to collect information that they will place in their brochure. There were many resources on various topics in our class room for students to use, such as fire safety, stranger danger, bicycle safety, etc. We watched a DVD titled Electricity and Electrical Safety. Students took notes as they watched.

Students are bringing home the grading I have given them for their science fair project today. Please review them with your child and return them to school.

We had our twenty-first literature circle groups  meeting today. Students had class time to read chapter 22. It is important that The Secret Garden books and reading duo-tangs be brought to school daily as we will be having daily group meetings as well as time allocated in class for reading.

Look out for a letter about SJA's first Summer Fair coming home today.

 

Homework & Reminders

• Novel Study - read chapter 22 and complete today's response
• Prepare for next week's in-class spelling bee competition on Tuesday, June 3
• Summer Fair letter is coming home today
• Friday, May 30 is Track & Field Day at 12 pm. Students are to come to school in their gym uniforms. Bring extra water and hats. Apply sun block. Families are welcome to attend Track & Field. Scholastic orders due Friday
• Monday, June 2 - Trip to Peel Children's Safety Village, Bring a labelled helmet
• Wednesday, June 4 - Arts' Night in evening
• Tuesday, June 10 - Spelling Bee during the day
• Wednesday, June 11 - Graduation in the evening
• Friday, June 13 - Last and half day of school, Dismissal at 11:30, After  care runs till 4 pm

Adjectives

We started a new language unit on adjectives this morning. Ask your child to define an adjective and describe a test we can use to tell if a word is an adjective. Language tests that were written yesterday are coming home today. Please take time to review the tests with your child, sign them, and return them to school.

I began administering this term's reading assessments today. Approximately half of the class worked on their reading assessment while the other half worked on adjectives, manners reports, and place setting diagrams. We will continue reading assessments tomorrow.

We again used today's inquiry time to have students present their science fair projects. We managed to get through all the presentations. I took a long time but was worth every minute. Students were engaging and informed as they presented their projects and listened to each other's presentations. Science Fair boards are coming home today. Winners as decided by the science fair judges will  be announced this week. Students will also receive their grading from me later this week.

We then moved on to our literature circle groups for our twentieth group meeting. Students had class time to read chapter 21. It is important that The Secret Garden books and reading duo-tangs be brought to school daily as we will be having daily group meetings as well as time allocated in class for reading.

Homework & Reminders

• Novel Study - read chapter 21 and complete today's response
• Prepare for next week's in-class spelling bee competition on Tuesday, June 3
• Tomorrow is Casual Day
• Friday, May 30 is Track & Field Day at 12 pm. Students are to come to school in their gym uniforms. Bring extra water and hats. Apply sun block. Families are welcome to attend Track & Field. Scholastic orders due Friday
• Monday, June 2 - Trip to Peel Children's Safety Village, Bring a labelled helmet
• Wednesday, June 4 - Arts' Night in evening
• Tuesday, June 10 - Spelling Bee during the day
• Wednesday, June 11 - Graduation in the evening
• Friday, June 13 - Last and half day of school, Dismissal at 11:30, After  care runs till 4 pm

Science Fair In-Class Presentations

We started our day with students writing their end of unit language test on pronouns. Tests will come home later this week. We then moved on to our literature circle groups for our nineteenth group meeting. Students had class time to read chapter 20. It is important that The Secret Garden books and reading duo-tangs be brought to school daily as we will be having daily group meetings as well as time allocated in class for reading.

We used today's inquiry time to have students present their science fair projects. We only got as far as 5 students. Grade 4s took this time seriously by carefully listening to presentations, asking thoughtful questions, and offering reflective advice on ways to make improvements. We will continue with presentations tomorrow.

Students finished up the day working on our Who We Are inquiry unit. They are writing a report to show what they have learned about manners.

Students attended French and gym class today.

Homework & Reminders

• Novel Study - read chapter 20 and complete today's response
• Look out for a letter about SJA's Annual Spelling Bee coming home today
• Scholastic forms are coming home today. Order forms and cheques are due Friday for those who would like to order
• Wednesday, May 28, is Casual Day
• Friday, May 30 is Track & Field Day in the afternoon. Students are to come to school in their gym uniforms. Bring extra water and hats. Apply sun block. Families are welcome to attend Track & Field. Scholastic orders due
• Monday, June 2 - Trip to Peel Children's Safety Village, Bring a labelled helmet
• Wednesday, June 4 - Arts' Night in evening
• Tuesday, June 10 - Spelling Bee during the day
• Wednesday, June 11 - Graduation in the evening
• Friday, June 13 - Last and half day of school, Dismissal at 11:30, After  care runs till 4 pm

SJA Summer Camp

Stop Motion

This morning students were treated to an art lesson by Mr. Law. They participated in a stop motion activity with Mr. Zippy and a pile of candy. Students had a lot of fun with this activity and we look forward to seeing the finished product in a couple of weeks. Students are bringing home their complimentary Mr. Zippy. Ask your child to tell you what they did.

 

Our portable was a very busy place this morning. We shared our class space with. Ms. DaCosta and her grade 2s as set up for Carassauga's Brazilian Pavilion took place in the main building's back classrooms and gym. Due to time and space constraints, we were not able to do our science fair presentations we had planned. We will hopefully do these on Monday instead.

We made good use of our class time. I met with students to ensure that their language pages were complete and corrected in preparation for Monday's language test on pronouns. Students are bringing home their language workbooks and notebooks to study over the weekend.

Students who were done with their language began working their manners report which is one of their summative tasks for our Please and Thank You inquiry unit.

After lunch, we set out to the park for our track and field practice. Students were enthusiastic and cheered each other on as they practiced the various events. We got caught in rain at the end of the day. Students were happy to get back to school to eat a snack and warm up after getting wet.

We did not have time to meet for our novel study today. There is no reading or response assigned for the weekend.

Homework & Reminders

• Trip form & payment is past due
• Study for the Language unit test on pronouns taking place on Monday, May 26
• Wednesday, May 28, is Casual Day
• Friday, May 30 is Track & Field Day in the afternoon - Families are welcome to attend
• Monday, June 2 - Trip to Peel Children's Safety Village
• Wednesday, June 4 - Arts' Night

Science Fair Day

Science Fair Day has finally arrived. Our class was judged first. Everyone was nervous to talk to the judges, but once it was over everyone agreed that it was not a scary experience and the judges were very friendly. The most challenging part of the judging process was standing still and quiet for so long. Our class was a bunch of wiggly worms. At the end of the day, students presented their projects to visitors and discovered how much hard work this was. Students also found it rewarding to be able to share their learning and hard work with others. Everyone was sad not to have a chance to hear their classmates' presentations. For this reason, projects were returned to our portable at the end of the day. We look forward to students presenting their projects again in class tomorrow.

 

In language students continued reviewing pronouns and diagramming sentences containing multiple subjects, verbs, and connecting words. The language test has been postponed till Monday, May 26, at the request of students. Students who have not completed or corrected language pages 153 - 169 are bringing their language books home today. Please complete, correct, and return them tomorrow so I can check students' work.

Due to the science fair, we did not have time to work on our Please and Thank You inquiry unit today.

Students met up in their literature circle groups for their eighteenth group meeting. They had class time to read chapter 19. It is important that The Secret Garden books and reading duo-tangs be brought to school daily as we will be having daily group meetings as well as time allocated in class for reading.

Students attended French class today.

Homework & Reminders

• Complete & correct language p. 153 - 169
• Novel Study - complete chapter 19 reading and response
• Trip form & payment is past due
• Language unit test on pronouns - Monday, May 26
• Track & Field Practice - tomorrow - Wear your gym clothes to school
• Wednesday, May 28, is Casual Day
• Friday, May 30 is Track & Field Day in the afternoon - Families are welcome to attend
• Monday, June 2 - Trip to Peel Children's Safety Village
• Wednesday, June 4 - Arts' Night

Manners on the Phone

As this is our last day to prepare for the science fair, we began our day with science fair. Students whose boards were completed practised presenting their projects to their class mates. Students whose boards were not done spent time in class finishing up their boards. For their presentations tomorrow, students should tell the judges their question and hypothesis, explain their experimental procedure including independent, dependent, and controlled variables, describe their results by referring to their graphs, and explain their conclusion in 2 minutes. They should be prepared to answer questions the judges may ask.

In language students reviewed pronouns and diagramming sentences containing multiple subjects, verbs, and connecting words. Students will be writing a test on Friday to show their understanding of pronouns.

In our Please and Thank You inquiry unit, we read a book called Manners on the Telephone by Carrie Finn. As a class we discussed manners we should use when calling on or answering the phone. Students had fun with telephone call role play.  We then shared all our survey results on Manners & Etiquette and it seems that most participants think that today's children could do with an inquiry unit on manners.

17 participants said that they think today's children are well mannered
35 participants said that they think today's children are not well mannered
47 participants think that the manners of children today are worse than when they were children
6 participants think that the manners of children today are better than when they were children
Students shared more information that they received form the surveys with the class. This was an enjoyable activity. Students used a bar graph or pictograph or both to represent this data. We then read and enjoyed a book called Where Are Your Manners? by Deborah Underwood that spoke about how manners in different cultures. Ask your child what is considered good and bad manners in different parts of the world.

Students met up in their literature circle groups for their seventeenth group meeting. They did not have enough class time to read chapter 18. It is important that The Secret Garden books and reading duo-tangs be brought to school daily as we will be having daily group meetings as well as time allocated in class for reading.

We ended the day planting seedlings and seeds into our garden. We had perfect weather for this activity and a lot of fun. Students attended French class today.

 

Homework & Reminders

• Tomorrow is Science Fair Bring in your journals and any materials you want to display. Practice your presentation. Don't forget to wear full uniform - blazer, button down shirt, sweater, and tie.
• Novel Study - complete chapter 18 reading and response
• Trip letter is due tomorrow
• Language unit test on pronouns - Friday, May 23
• Track & Field Practice - Friday, May 23 - Wear your gym clothes to school

How do you do?

We began our day with language. Students continued diagramming sentences containing multiple subjects, verbs, and connecting words. They read sentences and replaced nouns with appropriate pronouns. Students will be writing a test on Friday to show their understanding of pronouns.

Some students spent most of class their class time working on science fair projects. We have only 1 more school day to finish up work for the science fair. I met with students to direct them in their next steps for the science fair.  All display boards should already be at school. We will spend our science fair time practising our presentations tomorrow.

Parents and family members are invited to visit the science fair from 2:30 pm to 3: 30 pm on Thursday.

In our Please and Thank You inquiry unit, we finished up reading Don't Slurp Your Soup. A First Guide to Letter Writing, E-Mail Etiquette, and Other Everyday Manners by Lynne Gibbs.  We added more examples of good and bad manners to our charts. Students were given another identity and practised their introductions and answering the door manners through role play today. The class had a lot of fun with these activities. Students enjoyed watching a DVD titled Look Mom, I have manners. We did not have time in class to discuss the manners surveys that were due today. Students who did not complete have a days grace to get them done. Students need to interview 5 adults by tomorrow.

Students met up in their literature circle groups for their sixteenth group meeting. They used class time to read chapter 17. It is important that The Secret Garden books and reading duo-tangs be brought to school daily as we will be having daily group meetings as well as time allocated in class for reading.

Students are bringing home a letter about yearbooks today.

Remember to bring in a bag of garden or black soil for our garden if you haven't already. If the weather is good, we will be planting our seedlings tomorrow. Students should bring clothes to change into that they don't mind messing up with dirt.

Students attended gym class today.

Homework & Reminders

• Science Fair - Only 1 School Day Left: Bring in your display board to practice your presentation.
• Novel Study - complete chapter 17 reading and response
• Bring in a bag of soil and gardening clothes for our vegetable garden
• Show Your Spirit orders will be accepted until tomorrow
• Science Fair - Thursday, May 22
• Trip letter is due Thursday, May 22
• Language unit test on pronouns - Friday, May 23
• Track & Field Practice - Friday, May 23

Diagraming Sentences

We began our day with language. Students reviewed how to diagram the subject and verb of a sentence. Things then got tricky as they diagrammed sentences containing multiple subjects, verbs, and connecting words. Ask your child to tell you how they did this.

We spent most of class our time working on science fair projects. Students worked on their display boards, typed up the various components of their work, worked on their graphs, wrote their conclusions, or cut out their sheets. We have only 2 more school days to finish up work for the science fair. Ms. S and I met with students to direct them in their next steps for the science fair. Many students chose to take their display boards home to work on them over the long weekend. Display boards should be back at school on Tuesday. Decide on photographs you want to use for the display board and bring these in to school.

Due to our giving the science fair a priority, we did not have time to work on our inquiry unit today. Students are bringing home their Please and Thank You duo-tangs in order to complete their survey about manners. Students need to interview 5 adults by Tuesday, May 20.

Students met up in their literature circle groups for their fifteenth group meeting. They used class time to read chapter 16. It is important that The Secret Garden books and reading duo-tangs be brought to school daily as we will be having daily group meetings as well as time allocated in class for reading.

Remember to bring in a bag of garden or black soil for our garden. We will be planting after the Victoria Day weekend.

Students attended French class today.

Homework & Reminders

• Science Fair - Only 2 School Days Left: Work on your display board this weekend. Bring duo-tangs and journals daily as we are making time for science fair each day in class. Use your photographs. Pick up the pace on the science fair project.
• Novel Study - complete chapter 16 reading and response
• Bring in a bag of soil for our vegetable garden
• Show Your Spirit orders will be accepted until Wednesday, May 21
• There is no school for students on Thursday, May 15 - PD Day for teachers
• There is no school for students on Friday, May 16 - PD Day for teachers
• There is no school on Monday, May 19 - Victoria Day
• Science Fair - Thursday, May 22
• Trip letter is due Thursday, May 22
• Track & Field Practice - Friday, May 23

Subjective, Objective, and Possessive Pronouns

We began our day with our Please and Thank You inquiry unit. We continued working on our second line of inquiry - "What are considered good manners in our school community?' We read started reading a book called Don't Slurp Your Soup. A First Guide to Letter Writing, E-Mail Etiquette, and Other Everyday Manners by Lynne Gibbs. We discovered many good manners and bad manners to add to our class list and useful advise on table manners, introductions, and how to deal with bodily functions that are normal but ......awkward. Students are bringing home their Please and Thank You duo-tangs in order to complete a survey about manners. Students need to interview 5 adults by Tuesday, May 20.

 In language, students learned that a subjective pronoun is used as a subject in a sentence, an objective pronoun usually follows an action verb in a sentence, and a possessive pronoun shows ownership. Students practised identifying and writing subjective, objective, and possessive pronouns in sentences.

We spent a lot of class time to working on science fair projects again today. Students continued typing up the various components of their work or on entering their data into an Excel spreadsheet and converting the data to a graph. We have only 3 more school days to finish up work for the science fair. I met with students to direct them in their next steps for the science fair. Please talk to your child about what portion of the project can be worked on at home. All display boards should be at school. Decide on photographs you want to use for the display board and bring these in to school.

Students met up in their literature circle groups for their fourteenth group meeting. They used class time to read chapter 15. It is important that The Secret Garden books and reading duo-tangs be brought to school daily as we will be having daily group meetings as well as time allocated in class for reading.

Remember to bring in a bag of garden or black soil for our garden. We will be planting after the Victoria Day weekend.

Students attended French, art, and gym class today.

Look out for a trip letter coming home today.

Homework & Reminders

• Science Fair - Only 3 School Days Left: Bring duo-tangs and journals daily as we are making time for science fair each day in class. Bring in your photographs. Pick up the pace on the science fair project.
• Novel Study - complete chapter 15 reading and response
• Bake Sale tomorrow. Items cost $0.50 - $1
• Bring in a bag of soil for our vegetable garden
• Show Your Spirit orders will be accepted until Wednesday, May 21
• There is no school for students on Thursday, May 15 - PD Day for teachers
• There is no school for students on Friday, May 16 - PD Day for teachers
• There is no school on Monday, May 19 - Victoria Day
• Science Fair - Thursday, May 22
• Trip letter is due Thursday, May 22
• Track & Field Practice - Friday, May 23

Pronouns and Antecedents

We began our day with language. Students learned that a pronoun is a word that takes the place of a noun in a sentence such as he, she, they, and it. They also learned that the word that is replaced is called the antecedent. Students practised identifying and writing pronouns in sentences.

We gave a lot of class time to working on science fair projects. Students worked on typing up the various components of their work or on entering their data into an Excel spreadsheet and converting the data to a graph. We have only 4 more school days to finish up work for the science fair. I met with students to direct them in their next steps for the science fair. Please talk to your child about what portion of the project can be worked on at home. All display boards should be at school. Decide on photographs you want to use for the display board and bring these in to school.

In our Please and Thank You inquiry unit, we began working on our second line of inquiry - "What are considered good manners in our school community?' Students worked in groups to complete a placemat organiser to answer this question. They practised their presentation and communication skills with the class as they shared their work. We began a list of good and bad manners and added to these lists throughout our lesson time. We read a book called Bad Habits by Babette Cole. Students are bringing home their Please and Thank You duo-tangs in order to complete a survey about manners. Students need to interview 5 adults by Tuesday, May 20.

Students met up in their literature circle groups for their thirteenth group meeting. They used class time to read chapter 14. It is important that The Secret Garden books and reading duo-tangs be brought to school daily as we will be having daily group meetings as well as time allocated in class for reading.

Remember to bring in a bag of garden or black soil for our garden. We will be planting after the Victoria Day weekend.

Students attended gym class today.

Look out for lunch order forms coming home today.

Homework & Reminders

• Science Fair - Only 4 School Days Left: Bring duo-tangs and journals daily as we are making time for science fair each day in class. Bring in your photographs. Pick up the pace on the science fair project.
• Novel Study - complete chapter 14 reading and response
• Bake Sale tomorrow and Wednesday
• Bring in a bag of soil for our vegetable garden
• Show Your Spirit orders will be accepted until Wednesday, May 21
• There is no school for students on Thursday, May 15 - PD Day for teachers
• There is no school for students on Friday, May 16 - PD Day for teachers
• There is no school on Monday, May 19 - Victoria Day
• Science Fair - Thursday, May 22
• Track & Field Practice - Friday, May 23

Exhibition

We began our day with language. Students wrote their last spelling test of the year. Well done grade 4s for completing your spelling workbooks! We will take a small break from spelling work and return to spelling later as we prepare for the SJA Annual Spelling Bee which takes place on Tuesday, June 10th.

Students wrote their final Ontario Persuasive Writing Assessment piece this morning. This activity took most of the morning and students put a lot of effort into their work. 

We had an early lunch and then headed off to enjoy the grade 6 Exhibition. Students learned about sweatshops, gender inequality, and poverty and a better appreciation of what to expect in grade 6.

Once back in class, students met up in their literature circle groups for their twelfth group meeting. They used class time to read chapter 13. It is important that The Secret Garden books and reading duo-tangs be brought to school daily as we will be having daily group meetings as well as time allocated in class for reading.

Students finished up work on their I Wish poem that they began yesterday.

We have only 5 more school days to finish up work for the science fair. Ms. S and I met with students to direct them in their next steps for the science fair. Please talk to your child about what portion of the project can be worked on at home. If you haven't already, buy your display board this weekend. Bring your display board to school on Monday.

Remember to bring in a bag of garden or black soil for our garden. We will be planting after the Victoria Day weekend.

Students attended gym class today.

SJA's grade 6s are presenting their Exhibition Projects tonight. Students and families are invited to attend. This is a great way to support our grade 6s but also to see what is expected of students in their grade 6 Exhibition.

Look out for spelling, plants & soils, and language tests coming home today.

Homework & Reminders

• Science Fair - Only 5 School Days Left: Bring duo-tangs and journals daily as we are making time for science fair each day in class. Bring in your display boards. Pick up the pace on the science fair project.
• Novel Study - complete chapter 13 reading and response
• Grade 6 Exhibition takes place tonight from 6 pm to 8 pm
• Show Your Spirit orders will be accepted until Wednesday, May 21
• There is no school for students on Thursday, May 15 - PD Day for teachers
• There is no school for students on Friday, May 16 - PD Day for teachers
• There is no school on Monday, May 19 - Victoria Day
• Science Fair - Thursday, May 22
• Track & Field Practice - Friday, May 23

Happy Mother's Day to all our wonderful grade 4 moms!

Convince Me

We began our day with language. Students finished up work on list 35 spelling words and did a bit more work on nouns. We continued working on the Ontario Persuasive Writing Assessment piece we began on Tuesday. Once the writing was done, students had individual conferences with me. We discussed what they did well and what they need to work on for improvement. Some students spent more time rewriting one or two paragraphs.

In our inquiry time, students finished up their Friendship Y-Charts that they began working on on Tuesday. Students then share their charts with the class. We learned about the attributes of an I Wish poem. Students used their friendship ideas to write an I Wish poem.

Students met up in their literature circle groups for their eleventh group meeting. They used class time to read chapter 12. It is important that The Secret Garden books and reading duo-tangs be brought to school daily as we will be having daily group meetings as well as time allocated in class for reading.

We have only 6 more school days to finish up work for the science fair. Ms. S and I met with students to direct them in their next steps for the science fair. Please talk to your child about what portion of the project can be worked on at home. If you haven't already, buy your display board this weekend.

Remember to bring in a bag of garden or black soil for our garden. We will be planting after the Victoria Day weekend.

Students attended French and gym class today.

SJA's grade 6s are presenting their Exhibition Projects tomorrow. We will be attending their presentations during school. They are also presenting in the evening. Students and families are invited to attend. This is a great way to support our grade 6s but also to see what is expected of students in their grade 6 Exhibition.

Homework & Reminders

• Review list 35 spelling words for tomorrow's test
• Science Fair - Only 6 School Days Left: Bring duo-tangs and journals daily as we are making time for science fair each day in class. Pick up the pace on the science fair project.
• Novel Study - complete chapter 12 reading and response
• Grade 6 Exhibition takes place tomorrow
• Scholastic orders due this tomorrow
• Show Your Spirit orders will be accepted until Wednesday, May 21
• There is no school for students on Thursday, May 15 - PD Day for teachers
• There is no school for students on Friday, May 16 - PD Day for teachers
• There is no school on Monday, May 19 - Victoria Day
• Science Fair - Thursday, May 22
• Track & Field Practice - Friday, May 23

Persuasive Writing

We began our day with language. Students wrote their language test on nouns. They then worked on list 35 spelling words. We did have time to work on our inquiry unit today. Instead we continued working on the Ontario Persuasive Writing Assessment piece we began yesterday. We reviewed the samples we read yesterday and the reasons why they received levels 1 to 4. We also reviewed the format for persuasive writing and speeches and what each paragraph should include. Students were reminded to address their audience, make connections, and transfer their knowledge about the topic to persuasive format. Students were then given the topic for today - a topic very close to their hearts :-). They had to write a speech to persuade me to teach gym class instead of doing class work if Mr. Browning is away. Most students have completed their brainstorm. They will have time in class to finish their writing tomorrow. Students met up in their literature circle groups for their tenth group meeting. They used class time to read chapter 11. As I looked around the classroom I felt very happy with the progress students are making in their literature circle discussions. One person was talking at a time with all other group members looking at and paying attention to the speaker. It is important that The Secret Garden books and reading duo-tangs be brought to school daily as we will be having daily group meetings as well as time allocated in class for reading.

For science fair, we are fortunate to have Ms. S visiting our class and helping with Science Fair conferences. Ms. S and I met with some students to check on progress. Students are typing up their project, entering data into an Excel spreadsheet, and beginning to construct graphs. Make time to purchase a tri-fold display board for the science fair.

As part of our continuing plants and soils unit, we began a class composter yesterday. Work also began on our class vegetable garden. Students are asked to bring in a bag of garden or black soil for our garden. We will be planting after the Victoria Day weekend.

 

I forgot to tell about some excitement in our classroom yesterday. We entered the portable in the morning only to discover that Mr. Fluffy escaped! The children searched for him. We found him asleep in the bottom of a cupboard that was slightly open. Everyone was glad that that he wasn't hurt or lost forever.

Students attended French, art, and gym class today.

SJA's grade 6s are presenting their Exhibition Projects this Friday. We will be attending their presentations during school. They are also presenting in the evening. Students and families are invited to attend. This is a great way to support our grade 6s but also to see what is expected of students in their grade 6 Exhibition.

 

Homework & Reminders

• Review list 35 spelling words for Friday's test
• Science Fair: Bring duo-tangs and journals daily as we are making time for science fair each day in class
• Novel Study - complete chapter 11 reading and response
• Grade 6 Exhibition takes place this Friday
• Scholastic orders due this Friday
• Show Your Spirit orders will be accepted until Wednesday, May 21
• There is no school for students on Thursday, May 15 - PD Day for teachers
• There is no school for students on Friday, May 16 - PD Day for teachers
• There is no school on Monday, May 19 - Victoria Day
• Science Fair - Thursday, May 22
• Track & Field Practice - Friday, May 23

Friends

We began our day with language. Students will be writing their Ontario Writing Assessment piece this week. They will be expected to write a persuasive speech on a given topic. As a class we reviewed what persuasive writing is. Students were then given two samples of writing on a topic. One sample was below grade expectations and the other sample met expectations. As a class, we read the samples and used the rubric to grade the work, discussing what was lacking or how the sample met the requirements of the rubric. Students did a bit more work on nouns in their Ontario Writing workbooks. Students should further review unit 8 on nouns in their Language books that went home yesterday to be ready to write the language test tomorrow. In spelling, we continued working on list 35 words. Students met up in their literature circle groups for their ninth group meeting. They used class time to read chapter 10. It is important that The Secret Garden books and reading duo-tangs be brought to school daily as we will be having daily group meetings as well as time allocated in class for reading.

We continued on our Please and Thank You inquiry unit. We continued on yesterday's question on how we can make friends. We reviewed the list we made yesterday. As a class we played 2 different games: "Cooperation Musical Chairs" and "Trust Path." 

 

Each game emphasised a way to make and keep friends. Students added their ideas to the class list. Students then broke up into small groups to construct a Friendship Y-Chart showing what friendship feels, sounds, and looks like.

For science fair, I met with some students to check on progress. Make time to purchase a tri-fold display board for the science fair.

Students attended French and gym class today.

Homework & Reminders

• Review list 35 spelling words for Friday's test
• Language test tomorrow on unit 8 - Nouns
• Science Fair: Bring in graphs for Tuesday.
• Novel Study - complete chapter 10 reading and response
• Please look for a letter about after-care prepayments coming home today
• Please look out for a letter about SJA hoodies and t-shirts coming home today
• There is no school for students on Thursday, May 15 - PD Day for teachers
• There is no school for students on Friday, May 16 - PD Day for teachers
• There is no school on Monday, May 19 - Victoria Day
• Science Fair - Thursday, May 22
• Track & Field Practice - Friday, May 23

Friendship

We began our day with language. Students finished review work on nouns and subjects to prepare them for the language test on Wednesday, May 7. Language books are coming today for students to review unit 8. In spelling, we began our last spelling list of the year - List 35: Spell homonyms: tale, tail, heel, heal, peace, piece, plain, plane, there, their, sense, scents, which, witch, whose, who’s, break, brake, hair, hare. Students also spent time reviewing list 31 words. Students met up in their literature circle groups for their eighth group meeting. They used class time to read chapter 9. It is important that The Secret Garden books and reading duo-tangs be brought to school daily as we will be having daily group meetings as well as time allocated in class for reading.

We continued on our Please and Thank You inquiry unit. Today's question focused on how we can make friends. Students brainstormed ideas to make friends and shared them with the class.  As a class we played 3 different games: "There's a space on my right", "Bean Bag Compliments", and "That's Me!" Each game emphasised a way to make and keep friends. Students added their ideas to the class list.

For science fair, we discussed how to use data collected to create graphs in Microsoft Excel. Students who had collected all their data had the opportunity to do this in class. Students also have to option of using another graph-generating program or constructing graphs by hand on grid paper. Students who have completed the testing phase of their project are challenged to bring their graphs in to school tomorrow. Make time to purchase a tri-fold display board for the science fair.

Students wrote their Plants and Soils duo-unit test today. Tests will come home later in the week. Probability unit tests are coming home today.

Students attended gym and art today.

Homework & Reminders

• Review list 35 spelling words for Friday's test
• Language test on Wednesday, May 7 on unit 8 - Nouns
• Science Fair: Bring in graphs for Tuesday.
• Novel Study - complete chapter 9 reading and response
• Review and sign probability test coming home today
• Scholastic orders are coming home today. Orders and cheques are due on Monday for those who would like to order

Listening Skills

We began our day with an assembly. Risk-Taker awards were given out this morning. Four of the students were from the grade 4 class. Well done to Zain, Clara Joy, Carter, and Braeden! Grade 4s presented the anti-bullying vignettes they have written and rehearsed this week. I was very proud of their performances. Well done grade 4s!

 

In class, we did more work on our Please and Thank You inquiry unit. We worked together to create a DO and DON'T list of "Key Listening Skills". Students worked in pairs with a partner. They followed instructions to talk to their partner in different ways:

back to back, all at the same time, no eye contact, only body language, and speaking in turns. These exercises helped us generate a great list which we will refer to for the remainder of the year.

 

In language we worked on writing the plural form of nouns. We had 8 rules that help us write the correct form. Students worked alone or with a partner to teach one of the rules to the class. Students then practiced applying these rules to a list of nouns.

In arithmetic, we learned how to find the lowest common denominators (l.c.d.) for fractions. We discovered that this was just like finding the lowest common multiples (l.c.m) for given numbers and then writing equivalent fractions using the common denominator. Many students completed all their arithmetic work in class.

Students met up in their literature circle groups for their seventh group meeting. After discussions, students were assigned to new groups. They used class time to read chapter 8. It is important that The Secret Garden books and reading duo-tangs be brought to school daily as we will be having daily group meetings as well as time allocated in class for reading.

For science fair, try finish up your testing this weekend. Bring in your data tables on Monday. Make time in the next week or so to purchase a tri-fold display board for the science fair.

Plants and Soils duo-tangs  and review sheets are coming home today so students can prepare for the unit test. The unit test has been moved to Monday, May 5.

Students attended French and gym today.

Homework & Reminders

• Plants & Soils test on Monday - study
• Arithmetic p. 143 & 144
• Science Fair: Finish testing. Bring in data tables for Monday.
• Novel Study - complete chapter 8 reading and response
• Child-Care statements are coming home with some students today. Please send in payments no later than May 12th 2014. If you have any concern regarding your invoice or the After-Care program please email Ms. Smith at bsmith@stjudesacademy.com 
• Students are writing a language unit test on nouns on Wednesday, May 7