States of matter - what is this strange mystery substance?

Students tested and tried different things to determine if this is a solid or liquid.  Want to know more?  Follow this link to some student videos about what they were discovering.

So much fun!

Today we finished our Snowmen presentations.  If your child hasn't yet shown you the snowman and mini-story that they shared with their classmates follow the link to see the whole class set.
4/5D Snowmen or take a look at the slideshow on our blog.

Week of Dec. 16

Monday: No weekly homework - but please see the notice about a novel review coming mid January that is included below.

Tuesday: **Christmas Concert -  We will be performing in the Gr. 4 & 5 Christmas Concert this Tuesday, Dec. 17 @ 6:30PM! Doors will open at 6:15. Performers drop coats and boots off in homerooms and head to the gym to find their performance spot. Please help your child remember to dress their best for the holidays! Holiday hats are allowed. We hope you can join us to celebrate our hard work this semester and the Holiday season

Wednesday:  Snowman presentations - we've built snowpeople in Google that will be presented.  Ask your child to see their unique creation :)

Thursday: desk and locker clean out.  Please help by reminding your child to bring home all containers and spare clothes ahead of time.

Friday:  Half day.  Students are invited to wear their favorite created, borrowed or owned, Christmas sweater or Pjs. Bringing breakfast to class and a stuffy is also allowed on this special Christmasy day.

_________________________________________

            Novel Review are coming soon

A novel review is a type of book report.  

Students will be completing one Mid January (so novels need to be completed before then)

To prepare:

1. Help your child to pick a chapter book that is at an appropriate reading level for them.  Check out AR Bookfinder online to get a general sense of the BL (book level) if you are unsure.
2. Encourage your child to read and talk about what they are reading.
3. Keep track of the important parts of the book.  Below are the main questions. Keeping a journal or taking notes on sticky notes while reading will make completing this assignment much easier!

Understandings to demonstrate

• Character information: age, looks, behaviours, special features, likes/dislikes…
• Main events (in order)
• Compare elements of this story to another one (what is similar/different)
• Rate your novel.  Explain your rating and be able to give specific examples.  Ex: if you rated it well because it is funny, give examples from the story that show it’s funny

Please take some quiet time over Christmas break to read and encourage your child to read.  With two weeks off there's a lot of time to cozy up in a blanket and enjoy a good book - and it will be very important for your child to have a recent book read for mid January when students will be completing a novel reviews.

________________________________________________________________________________

            Novel Review are coming soon

A novel review is a type of book report.  

Students will be completing one __________________

To prepare:

1. Help your child to pick a chapter book that is at an appropriate reading level for them.  Check out AR Bookfinder online to get a general sense of the BL (book level) if you are unsure.
2. Encourage your child to read and talk about what they are reading.
3. Keep track of the important parts of the book.  Below are the main questions. Keeping a journal or taking notes on sticky notes while reading will make completing this assignment much easier!

Understandings to demonstrate

• Character information: age, looks, behaviours, special features, likes/dislikes…
• Main events (in order)
• Compare elements of this story to another one (what is similar/different)
• Rate your novel.  Explain your rating and be able to give specific examples.  Ex: if you rated it well because it is funny, give examples from the story that show it’s funny

French notice -

The fashion show during French class will take place this Thursday.  Students are expected to come to school with their 5 pieces of clothing that they will wear and then describe in class.

If you haven't seen the letter from Mme.Santerre make it's way home yet, here is the copy which has a section for a parent signature to be returned. 

Week of Dec. 9

Monday: All students should have the results of their science test written in their agenda for you to see.  We also spent time in class looking over it.  They will soon be added into portfolios as well.

Tuesday:  Please make sure to see and sign your child's completed reading record if you havn't already.

Wednesday: Reading records are due (with parent signatures).  Descriptive (hamburger) paragraphs are also due.

Thursday: Art  project - Optical Waves is due

Friday: Half day.  Math weekly #6 is due


Information and some "homework" - over the last few weeks I have had many individual and small group discussions with students about concerns that they are having.  Some of these result from accidents ,while others seem to be more purposeful, but they all bothered the other student(s) to some extent.

To help us each to better understand each other we began health today by writing about things that bother us or make us uncomfortable.  I've summarized the main things students said in this document and we've begun talking about each item so that we can practice empathy and understanding for each other in our classroom.  We've discussed events and also some solutions and we will continue to do this in health over the next few weeks.

I would really appreciate it if you take a few minutes at home to discuss and reinforce these ideas with your child as well. 

Thank you for all that you each do to help your child to grow!

Week of Dec. 2

Monday: Book orders going home - due back (or done online) by Thursday morning please so that we can be sure to get them delivered before Christmas. 
If you want to order anything online as Christmas gifts that you would rather I not send home with your child - please let me know and I can put them aside for you to pick up at the office or after school.  Here is a digital copy of the flyer.

Tuesday:

Wednesday:

Thursday:  Weather Unit Test.    Book orders due.

Friday:  Full day.  Spelling due.  Please see duotang for this week's assignment

Coming soon:  Dec. 17 Christmas concert :)

Tonight (Tuesday) - please check in with your child about their progress on their Social data sheet project.  Today was the third class period of work time (about 2 hours of class time) and the expectation is that they have their title, name and at least the beginnings of one of their two paragraphs completed by now - along with the links to the sites they are using for info. 

Also - hopefully there has been studying at home for the Weather unit test next Thursday.  Here's the link again to the study notes we've been creating in class to help you at home.

Week of: Nov.25

Monday: Coming home tonight - math weekly #5 (due Friday)

Tuesday: Don't forget to keep studying in the evenings for our Weather unit test coming Dec. 5th.  Here is the link again to our collaborative study notes.

Wednesday: Please consider sending 2$ for purchasing a treat from our We Day group to help support their initiatives this year.  Treat will be sold in the classroom at lunch time Thursday.

Thursday:  9:00 Meteorologist presentation (comfy pillows allowed for floor seats), We Day bake sale at noon

Friday:  Half day Friday.  Math weekly #5 due

The Water Cycle

Inspired by this catchy song from youtube here are the original, student created songs and poems sharing their knowledge of the water cycle and using the important science terms: condensation, precipitation, ground water, evaporation and saturated!

 Dec.5 Science Unit Test
We will be having our first unit test in science in a couple of weeks.  Today students have received a study guide which helps them to focus on the most important parts of the unit.  We are also working together to create online study notes with information for each topic.

How can you help?  This may be one of the first times your child has written a unit test.  Some of this information goes back to September.  Please help them to develop study cards, to ask them questions and to put aside some time most evenings to do a little review. 

Study guide prompts

• 1   What is a convection current?  how is it caused? Where could we find one?
• 2   What makes air rise? How does air move through THE CONVECTION BOX OF SCIENCE?  Why?
• 3   Is hot air or cold air lighter?  How do you know?
• 4   What device do we use to measure wind speed?  How does it work? What does it look like? Be able to draw and label the one that we built in our classroom and tell me what wind speed is measured in
• 5   What device do we use to measure wind direction?  Which way would it point? How would we label the wind direction? Be able to draw and label it.
• 6   What is condensation? Be able to give examples and tell how it happens.
• 7   What does it mean if air is saturated?
• 8   What conditions would make your clothes dry faster outside?(saturated, dry, hot, cold..)
• 9   What are the 4 types of precipitation that we talked about.  How and where do they form? Be able to compare them (like on your Venn it rains)
• 10   What measures air pressure? Be able to label and draw one. What do we measure the changes in?
• 11    What time of day is normally the hottest/coolest.  Why?
• 12   What types of things do you want your clothes to have for your to stay the warmest, driest, coolest…?
• 13    What are the 4 main types of clouds?  What do you know about their look and weather?

week of: Nov. 18 - 22

Monday:  Please read and return the photo permission for our presentation coming Nov. 28 by Mr. Matthew Corkum.  He is volunteering his time to come in and talk to our students about the job of a meteorologist and his first hand experiences predicting weather.

Tuesday: taping for CBC Music Challenge - please have students wear white, black, gold or teal

Wednesday: taping for CBC Music Challenge - please have students wear white, black, gold or teal

Thursday: 

Friday: Spelling list #5 and assignment 5 are due in the morning.  Water cycle songs or poems are due.

Want to take a look at the type of competition we have for the CBC Music Class Challenge next week?  Here are some of the past submissions and winners on the CBC Music Class Challenge YouTube channel.


Please remember that Tuesday and Wednesday we are asking students to wear Black, White, Teal or Gold so that we all match for the final recordings.

Oh no!  Thanks to Max in our classroom I realized my mistake - tomorrow is not a full day Friday for students.  Dismissal will be at noon for half day Friday :)

Week of Nov 12 - 15

Tuesday: math weekly went home

Wednesday: We've been working on better beginnings in LA.  Ask your child to tell you about some options for hooking readers from the very beginning of their writing.

Thursday: Reading records are due

Friday: (full day)  Math weekly #4 due

Next week Tuesday and Wednesday - during music classes we will be recording for the CBC student music competition.
Students are asked to try to wear LGMS colours: Teal and gold, or plain black and white to match their peers and present a united look for the final recording.

Week of Nov 4 - 7

Monday: As a special bonus for this short week there will not be a homework assignment this week.  Please check in with your child about overdue work though and spend time this week helping them to get caught up or working on building up their mastery of multiplication facts.

Tuesday: Poinsettia order forms coming home.  Get into the spirit of Christmas and help out our band program at the same time :)

Wednesday:

Thursday: 9:15 Remembrance day ceremony.  Poppies will be available at the school for all students.  Donations to the Legion are also encouraged and can be sent that morning.

Friday: No school Friday or Monday.  Enjoy the long weekend.

Week of Oct. 28 - Nov.1

Monday: Spelling (list 4) was handed out. 
Students should also have brought home to you what mark they received on their Precipitation "for marks" today.  This quiz was done online through google classroom so they can open it and show their results to you at home as well.

Tuesday: Characterization project are due  (this is an extended deadline - all work needs to be turned in complete tomorrow morning please)

Wednesday: Photo retakes

Thursday: Halloween.  At LGMS students are encouraged to bring simple costumes (preferably ones they can slip over their clothes) and change into them for the afternoon only.  There will be a grade by grade parade in the gym followed by a 4-6 dance for our students. 
There will be limited time in the classroom for treats, but if you have something that you really want to make and send you are welcome to.  Please be sure there are enough individual items for 21 students.  Treats can't need refrigeration or other serving items since we rarely have those in the classroom (so please consider cupcakes instead of cake, or individual portions)

Friday: Spelling assignment 4 due

Final reminder : Parent-teacher-student interviews and goal setting are happening 

Wednesday, Thursday and Friday of this week.  

Please follow the links below to double check that your time block matches mine.  At the end of our meeting I will invite you to take your child's portfolio home to look through at your leisure, but as a courtesy to the other families attending, please make every effort to stay within your appointment time.
If you foresee needing more than the 15 minutes that are scheduled, please take a look at the openings and let me know if you would like to change. 

Wednesday 5-8
Thursday 4-7
Friday 8:30-11:30

Week of Oct. 21

Monday - We have a new grade 5 boy named Anthony that joined our class this morning.  We have talked in class about ways to help him to feel welcome, but it can be intimidating beginning in a new school and town.  If you have a few minutes to brainstorm with your child about what they might do to show him friendship and to help him to feel comfortable that would be wonderful!
* Homework is Math Weekly #3, due Thursday

Tuesday - Reading Records (completed and with a parent signature) at due.  Thank you to all who have sent these back earlier :)
* 10:45 Lock down practice.  You should have received information about this through the office but just a reminder that it is Tuesday.  We've also talked about expectations and reasons we practice this at school.

Wednesday - Parent-teacher-Student interviews and goal setting 5:00 - 8:00
                       Students on Wednesday: Ethan, Seth, Grace, Niamh, Mila, Aiden

Thursday - last school day for students.  Math Weekly #3 due
                   Parent-teacher-Student interviews and goal setting 4:00 - 7:00
                       Students on Thursday:Daphne, Conor, Scarlett, Arnold, Katie, Maya, Levi, Lyra

Friday - Parent-teacher-Student interviews and goal setting 8:30-11:30
                       Students on Friday morning: Charlie, Max, Olin

* If you are unsure of your interview time, please send me a quick email and I'm happy to confirm it for you*

LGMS Book fair information for you from Ms. McLeod

As you know our book fair is supposed to be happening next Wednesday to Friday and during Parent / teacher interviews. 

We are still short of volunteers

Our Scholastic Book Fair is Oct 23-25th during parent teacher interviews.

This is a wonderful way to fill your home library as well as our schools. As you know most of our budgets have been scaled back this year. The sales from having a book fair have bought thousands of dollars of books for our school over the years is needed to keep our library current. 

We do not want to cancel this event because we don't have enough help to run it.

We need volunteers. 

Can you donate 2 hours? 

Children are welcome to come with you and help if necessary. 

Shifts are on 

October 23rd, 9am - 8pm,

October 24th, 9am - 7pm &

October 25th, 9am - 12pm

Please help by volunteering your time to make this a success. 

At your shift you will receive a $5 coupon as a small thank you for volunteering!  

Please click on the following web link (or copy it into your web browser if clicking doesn't work) to go to the signup sheet:

https://volunteersignup.org/BLPCF    

To sign up, just follow the instructions on the page. It only takes a few seconds to do. 

Or scan the QR code.

It is amazing how one long weekend can make the whole week feel extra short!
I hope that you all enjoyed some great family time over Thanksgiving :)


In class we have been focused on characterization in LA.  We've been working to give good, detailed information about a character and to show an understanding of them. 
Tomorrow (Thursday) students need to have a character chosen from a novel that they understand and that they will be able to give details about. 
 - Who are important to them?
 - How could they be described?
 - What are some events that were important in their life?
 - What are they trying to accomplish/do?

For some students, talking it out first is very helpful, so if you have a chance tonight to talk about a favorite character your child has, please prompt them with the questions so they have a plan to be successful on their "for marks" page.

Homework this week:   Spelling words and assignment for list #3 (due Friday morning)
                                      RR should be getting close to finished and are due (signed) next Tuesday

Parent-Teacher- Student Interviews are coming in just a few weeks. 

I will be sending home the paper versions of this form Tuesday, but if you have limited availability, or if you need special considerations (such as separate parent meetings or coordinating with another child's appointment time) please let me know as soon as possible.  You are welcome to email me with your optional times, or return the note with your child.
Thanks!

Week of Oct.7 - 11

Monday: Take a look at the slide show below to see some great pictures, or follow this link to see the full size images and videos  (the slide show might not show up in your email, head to the class site to see it looping instead)

Tuesday

Wednesday: Book orders are due in the morning please

Thursday:

Friday:  Half day for students.  Math weekly #2 due

If you still haven't had a chance to complete the Energy Cube participation form online - here is the link.  Please be sure to complete it this weekend because our morning of fun activities takes place this Monday!!


Energy Cube Participation Form

Tonight our first book orders of the year will be coming home.  Please take a look and consider making a purchase that helps to inspire your child to love reading.  

Please know also that any order that you make returns a percentage to our classroom to help replenish and add to our classroom library.  

Book orders are due back to me (or completed online) by next Wednesday morning, October 9th

Bouldering is coming to our gym classes!

Mr. Krohe has our class on their own one period a week and he would like to offer bouldering in our LGMS climbing wall some of those periods.  

For students to participate they need to have the attached permission form completed and returned to Mr.Krohe.  So please print out a copy and send it back in as soon as possible :)

 Monday - Energy Cube challenge activities!  Last year LGMS participated in the Energy Cube Challenge for encouraging physical activities, and we won!  Some this coming Monday we will be outside all morning participating in a variety of awesome activities the program committee is bringing.  This is a first for us so we're not sure what to expect besides fun, but please be sure your child is dressed for the weather Monday to be outside all morning :)

Week of Sept.30-Oct.4

Monday - This week's homework assignment is to study spelling words and to complete the assignment #2 that goes with it

Tuesday 

Wednesday - good copies of hero paragraphs should be done.  Students can access them at home online to show you so please ask to see their work :)

Thursday

Friday - Spelling assignment #2 due, spelling test
 - Flashlight Friday - this special LA period is all about reading and making it as special as possible. Students are welcome to bring one comfort object (a blanket, pillow or stuffy that fits in their locker), one snack and a flashlight or headlamp because we'll be cozying up and reading in the darkened room for the whole period.  If sustaining reading is difficult for your child, please help them to choose a variety of books that they can move between during that period.

In Science today we were building wind vanes.  We talked about what our wind vanes need to be able to do, discussed the components and some common difficulties and then each student designed and began building their own devices.  Such great ideas and focus!  Such good problem solving and flexible thinking!

Just a quick reminder that tomorrow (Thursday) our first Reading Records are due in the morning.  Students have had 8 class periods to complete these 5 questions with as much detail as they can. 

Parent signatures are requested for this assignment so that you can see the quality of the work being turned in for marks, and you'll also be able to track improvements over the course of the year.

Thanks for all that you do to help your child to grow and shine!

Week of Sept 23-27

Monday:  We have been looking closely at heroes in LA.  Who are they?  What makes them a hero? What have they done? Today each student should have chosen their hero.  They will be expected to answer those questions and write a paragraph about the hero they have chosen.  Please check in with your child and see if they need any help (some have chosen family members so they will need your help for the research).

• The first Math Weekly assignment was handed out today.  We alternate between spelling homework one week, then math weekly the next.  Students are encouraged to work through these questions with you so that you have an understanding of where their math strengths and areas for improvement lay.  These five questions can be completed using any strategy students understand.  The back of the page is always blank for calculations or other work space.  

Tuesday:

Wednesday: Students should have their finished reading records ready for you to see and sign before they turn them in tomorrow.  They will be graded based on the amount of detail and specific information in their answer (the rubric is on the front page in their duotang)

Thursday: RR (reading records) are due.  Photo orders are also due.

Friday: Math weekly #1 homework is due

Sept 30 is Orange Shirt Day.  If you aren't familiar with this day of support yourself, here is a link to the story I will be sharing with the class.  Please talk with your child and encourage them to wear Orange on Monday, Sept.30

Typing skills are useful especially as students begin to use technology for learning more in each grade.  LGMS has a subscription to TypingPal which is a great BrainSmart activity to develop these skills.  It can be used at home (from a Chromebook that your child is signed in to, or from a laptop if your child is signed into the Chrome web browser).

If you are interested in using it, here are the instructions on How to Access TypingPal

Week of Sept.16

I apologize for getting this post out late - with our staff meeting after school yesterday I did not get finished before the publish deadline that forwards these updates to your email.

Monday you should have seen the first spelling assignment come home.  As well as studying the words, students have a short brain assignment which is explained right on their white assignment page.  It looks like this:

and is due first thing Friday morning when we have our quiz.  Please help to support your child to do all of the steps in the assignment, as well as to study those words they don't yet know.

Tuesday: fire drill
Wednesday:
Thursday:
Friday:   Pizza orders are due and spelling is due.   1:00 Terry Fox Run

Volunteering this year:  To ensure a safe environment for all of our students here at LGMS all volunteers are required to have a free criminal record check completed and on file at the school.  These checks expire after one year so September is a great time to complete them so that they are good for the whole school year.  If you plan to join us for any activities or trips this year, please pick up a criminal records check form at the front office, or go to our school webpage to print off a copy to complete.  Please get yours done as soon as possible, often just before a field trip is too late since the RCMP require processing time to get these done.

Thanks!

Week of September 9th

Update - though we did have a student with a severe nut allergy expected in our classroom, that student has since moved so sending small amounts of nuts to school is ok but please talk to your child about being careful. Nut products shouldn't go outside at recess and students that eat them in our classroom are asked to spray their desk and wash their hands with soap afterwards to help keep all of our students safe.

There will be no homework yet this week, but  you'll probably hear at home about a few pre-tests that we'll be completing this week.  These are tests that we use in school before teaching the subject matter to get an idea of overall strengths and areas for improvement.

Today students did a spelling pretest that helps me to determine a spelling group for them to start in that should be challenging without being too difficult.  Students (and parents) are encouraged to talk to me about these groups since they can change throughout the year.

Finally - a very important note.    Thursday from  6:30 - 7:30  we have our LGMS open house.  Please come with your child to have the opportunity to explore our classroom and learning so far, and to have a chance to meet me and ask any questions.

I'm looking forward to seeing everyone!

Thursday afternoon was perfect for introducing our first Science unit - Weather Watch. 
Here are a few pictures of our class outside observing and sketching weather components like clouds and evidence of sun and wind.