Dear Grade 6 SJA Students and Families,
I will be
responsible for teaching your child English Language, and 6 Units of Inquiry
(UOI). Ms. Joseph, who is an upper
school math teacher, will be teaching math to your child. She can be contacted
at jjoseph@stjudesacademy.com. The
bulk of your child's school day will be around these three areas.
In this year's inquiry units, we will be learning about energy,
air and flight, Canada’s First Peoples and early explorers, Canada’s economic
activities, and personal ethics, values and safety. Most of our English
language learning (oral & listening, reading, and writing) and art
expectations will be learned through the UOIs. We are always looking for guest
speakers that will visit the classroom. Please let us know if you have a
connection to a specialist that would be able to visit our class to talk about
this year’s UOIs, e.g. an electrician, a pilot, etc. Please note that any
volunteers are required to have a current vulnerable sector check on file at
the school.
St. Jude’s Academy Grade 6 Programme of Inquiry 2019 – 2020
|
Who we are
The Exhibition
|
|
Where we are in place
and time
Central
Idea: Exploration
has changed and will continue to change people’s lives.
Concepts:
Causation,
Change, Perspective
Related
Concepts:
Adaptation, Truth, Impact
Lines
of Inquiry:
·
First Peoples and their interaction
with the environment
·
The evidence of early explorers
·
The various groups and communities that make up
Canada’s identity
|
|
How we express
ourselves
Central
Idea: Being knowledgeable and engaging in safe practices can
enable people to deal with challenging social situations.
Concepts:
Perspective, Responsibility
Related
Concepts:
Values, boundaries,
Initiative
Lines
of Inquiry:
·
Digital
literacy and ethical practices
·
Personal and
inter-personal skills that promote positive interaction
·
Personal
safety
|
|
How the world works
Central
Idea: Air has many properties that can be used for flight and
for other purposes.
Concepts:
Form, Function, Connection
Related
Concepts:
Properties, System, Relationships
Lines
of Inquiry:
·
The properties of air
·
The structures that produce lift
·
Societal and environmental impacts of
flying devices that make use of the properties of air
|
|
How we organise ourselves
Central Idea: Connections, policies, and resources impact a nation’s
economic activities.
Key Concepts: Causation,
Connection
Related
Concepts:
Impact,
Networks, Systems
Lines of Inquiry:
·
A country’s economic, political, social, and
physical features
·
The interconnectedness of nations
·
How people or groups
respond to the needs of developing nations
|
|
Sharing the planet
Central
Idea: Society is responsible for how energy is used to sustain
life.
Concepts:
Form, Change, Responsibility
Related
Concepts:
Properties, Transformation, Citizenship
Lines
of Inquiry:
·
Characteristics of current and static
electricity
·
Transformation of energy
·
The impact of energy production on
society and the environment
|
Your child’s specialist teachers for
this year are Mme. Stella for French, Mr. Orr for Gym, and Mr. Oliver for
music.
Grade 6 is the culminating year of the
IB (International Baccalaureate) PYP (Primary Years Programme). This year
provides students the opportunity to showcase their learning, skills, and
actions from JK to this year through a project called the exhibition. The exhibition takes place on Friday, May 1, 2020. All
students and families at SJA are invited to attend and celebrate this day with
the Grade 6 classes. Be sure to mark your calendars for this exciting event as
your child will value your attendance and support during the day and evening
presentations. Many of the tasks that students do in our inquiry units during
the year will be geared towards equipping them with the skills needed to do
well in the exhibition.
Students will not be purchasing their
own school supplies again this year. There are a few things that SJA will not provide but that your
child will need this year.
1. Devices: Students will need a laptop
for projects and research. Smart phones/iPads/tablets/cameras will occasionally
be needed for some projects/tasks. Students and parents will be notified
through agendas and the blog about when we will need devices in the classroom
and how they will be used. Laptops should ideally have software such as Microsoft
Office as we often use Word, Publisher, Power Point, and Excel in class. If
your device does not have this software, your child can work online using
Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides instead. Students will also need access to
video creating software such as Movie Maker or iMovie.2. Gmail account. Parents, please help your child set up an account, and watch your child practice signing in and out of the account to ensure they can do this successfully. Have them record their username and password in a safe place in case they forget these. We will be using Google Docs in class to work on assignments (spreadsheets, word processors, slideshows, etc.) and to share and collaborate on tasks.
3. USB (Please label it)
4. Prezi account - optional (Visit https://prezi.com/ to sign up for a free account). Keep the username and password in a safe place.
5. YouTube account to post videos. Your child is advised not to use their full name for privacy purposes. Also, disable comments on their account.
As an IB school we value character
development, an attitude of being a life-long learner, and showing action as a
result of learning. The IB Learner Profile Attributes represent some of the
traits we value at SJA. We strive to provoke our students to ask Big Questions
- the kind you cannot Google the answer to. We encourage students and families
to celebrate stories of action with us. If you see your child taking the
initiative to ask questions and find answers on their own, please let me know.
Send me an email or a picture that describes what your child is doing.
SJA
Student Policies
Attached
to this email you will find the St.
Jude’s Academy Family Handbook 2019-2020
and St. Jude’s Academy Code of Conduct.
Please read them, sign the last page of the handbook and bring it to your class
teacher. This page is due in the agenda by Friday, September 13th.
Orientation
Night
We have scheduled two orientation evenings. The first is for Lower School families and the second for Upper School families.
We have scheduled two orientation evenings. The first is for Lower School families and the second for Upper School families.
This is also a good time for new
families to pick up your Fob if you have not already done this. See Kaitlyn at
the reception desk. Fobs will give you access to the school building from 7:30
am – 8:45 am, and again from 3:45 pm – 6:00 pm.
Wednesday, August 28th: Lower School Orientation (JK – Grade 6), from 5 pm – 7 pm
Parents and students are invited to visit the school, meet their teachers, see the classrooms, and ask any questions they may have. My room number is 24. You can meet your class teacher in their room and specialist teachers in room 29. If you have any questions about busing, Wynne Fitness and/or uniforms you can visit room 28. Be sure to visit the gym for an exciting basketball presentation!
Thursday, August 29th: Upper School Orientation (Grades 7 – 12), please see the flyer below for specific times and details.
Wednesday, August 28th: Lower School Orientation (JK – Grade 6), from 5 pm – 7 pm
Parents and students are invited to visit the school, meet their teachers, see the classrooms, and ask any questions they may have. My room number is 24. You can meet your class teacher in their room and specialist teachers in room 29. If you have any questions about busing, Wynne Fitness and/or uniforms you can visit room 28. Be sure to visit the gym for an exciting basketball presentation!
Thursday, August 29th: Upper School Orientation (Grades 7 – 12), please see the flyer below for specific times and details.
Hot
Lunch Program
Please
know that the website closes end of day Aug 30th and is unable
to reopen for September ordering. Please see the end of this email for more
instructions.
Homework
We will get working right away because the year will fly by
as it always does. Students should expect to have math homework every day.
Students will be working out of the Math Makes Sense textbook. These must be
returned to school each day, as we will work on math every day. It is our goal
that all work (except math) be completed in class. Students who do not complete
work during class time will be asked to use their recess time to get caught up.
If the work is still incomplete, students will need to complete it as homework.
Agendas
Your
child will receive an agenda. Please make it a habit to read and sign your
child’s agenda, as important dates, announcements and homework will be included
and updated each day. Students need to bring their agendas back and forth to
school each day. This is another way of communicating with me.
Upcoming
Events
o
August 28 Lower School Orientation, 5-7
pm
o
September 2 Labour Day (No
School)
o
September 3 PD Day, IB Training (No
School)
o
September 4 First Day of School, Term 1
Begins
o
September 6 Spirit Day: House Colours
Dress Up
o
September 13 Terry Fox Run
o
September 19 Welcome BBQ
o
September 20-27 Fall Fundraiser
o
September 24 and 25 Bake Sale
o
September 25 Casual Day
o
September 30 Orange Shirt Day (PYP)
Uniform
Grade 6s will come to school in uniform each day. They will
change into their black dress shoes in the building. They will change into gym
clothes for gym class, and then back into their uniform for the remainder of the
academic day. Students may wear their summer uniform up until Thanksgiving.
After Thanksgiving, students are required to wear their winter uniform. Please
refer to the family handbook for more information.
Blog
Please
visit the class blog daily, as it is a way to stay connected, see what we did
during the day, or to find important dates and homework. The blog will
tell you the units we are working on, what we do in class daily, homework and
assignments, test dates, school events, and other important information. On the blog, you will see a tab, “FOLLOW BY EMAIL”, where
you are able to enter your email address. In doing this, you will receive an
email of my blog every time I post and you will not miss out on any important
information. Please click this link to visit my blog:
Food
Allergies
Please
be advised that St. Jude's strives to be a nut free facility. When purchasing
items for your child's lunch, please read the packages carefully. If the label
says, "may contain nuts", please do not send that item. Look for
products with the nut-free label. Any item that contains or may contain nuts
will be removed for the safety of our students.
First
Week of School
The first week of school is Neophyte Week. We will take some
time to get organized in our classroom, get to know each other, become familiar
with the layout of the building and boundaries during recess, our schedule, and
play some house games. We end the week with Spirit Day where students come to
school dressed in their house colours.
Hello! I hope
everyone has had a great summer and is excited for back to school. I am looking
forward to a great third year in the St. Jude's Academy Library.
We
accomplished a lot last year in the library. We cataloged over 2,300
books in our collection. We had successful Recess Readers sessions. We
started out LIT Club (library helpers). Our Enchanted Forest Book Fair was a
huge success allowing us to get over $2,400 worth of new books and resources
for the library. The Library also held some fun contests. And, of course,
we checked out a lot of books for the voracious readers at SJA.
I hope to continue all
these things and more.
Please check out (and
follow) the library blog at
for all things library and literacy related. See you soon!
All families are invited to attend the
BBQ event taking place on Thursday, September 19th. More information about this event will be available at the
orientation evenings and during the first week of school.
Please note the following information from Ms. Hughes
regarding Kinderlime, a system we use to sign students into and out of the
Extended Care Program (After Care) as well as our hot lunch program.
Kinderlime
- You have been sent an email to sign up with a pin
- Please download the FREE Kinderlime app via APP Store, Google
Play etc. Or Visit the website https://www.kinderlime.com <https://www.kinderlime.com/>
- Phone number(s)
- Updated pick up permissions
- Allergy/Medication information
- We strongly suggest you set up automatic payments through the
app/website to ensure you will not incur late fees for monthly
invoices.
- You can also choose to pay monthly through the app/website.
- Through the app/website you will be able to digitally access
monthly break downs (printed copies will not be available)
- View App/Website daily to see sign in/out times.
Update the MUST HAVE information about your child(ren) on APP/Website
- Phone number(s)
- Updated pick up permissions
- Allergy/Medication information
- If you have not already done so we strongly suggest you set
up automatic payments through the app/website to ensure you will not incur
late fees for monthly invoices.
If you have any
questions/comments regarding this new addition, please contact the Students
Services Coordinator at bsmith@stjudesacademy.com
Hot Lunch Program
· Please
know that the website will be closed at 3pm on Aug 30th and is unable to
reopen for September ordering.
· Lunch
payments are due no later than September 13th, after this date
it will begin to collect interest.
Below
are the instructions for returning families:
*if
you have a sibling joining SJA this year please keep in mind you can only use
one email per child.
Step
1 Logon to website http://mydigitalmailroom.com/sja -
if you forgot your password or email used please contact bsmith@stjudesacademy.com
Step
2 Across the top menu bar you will see several options, please scroll over MY
ACCOUNT, change grade and teacher to reflect new year. Select SAVE
Step
3 Across the top menu bar you will see several options, please scroll over
MANAGE LUNCH, a drop-down menu will appear, select ADD NEW LUNCH FORM.
*Don’t
forget to select payment method BEFORE ordering
Below
are the instructions for new families:
**If
you have more than one child you will need to use different email addresses for
each child. Only one child can be registered and ordered for under a single
email address.
· Select
register an account
· Select
grade
· Select
class
· Select
teacher
· Enter
in student information
· Accept
terms and conditions and select Register
Repeat
for additional students.
Step
2 Across the top menu bar you will see several options, please scroll over
MANAGE LUNCH, a drop-down menu will appear, select ADD NEW LUNCH FORM.
*Don’t
forget to select payment method BEFORE ordering
I look forward to seeing you at the Orientation Night on Wednesday,
August 28th at 5 pm and at the first day of school, Wednesday,
September 4th. Enjoy the last few days of summer until then.
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