Merry Christmas everyone!

Merry Christmas to all of you and your wonderful families.  Thank you for letting me share 2020 with you and your child.  I hope you all enjoy the break from routines and find joy during the holidays.   I’ll see everyone back online Jan 4th for our back to school meet at 9:00am.  

Best wishes,

Multiplying Strategies

We’ve been doing daily practice on a number of strategies to help us with our big number multiplication.  Some of these might be new to you but your children are doing great!  Ask them to explain a couple of them to you.   Also- don’t forget that your child has a Muy Importante strategies booklet that helps to explain these.  There’s also an online copy on the math section of our blog.  

 Week of Dec.14

Monday- Math text books went home - we will be using these during our Home learning week Jan.4-8.  Please keep them in a safe learning space and return them with your child when we are back in the classroom together.   Seasonal colours (red, green, silver, white, gold)

Tuesday- Holiday stories should be finished and editing complete by the end of the school day.  Please check in with your child about their progress.  Crazy Santa and/or toques and holiday hats

Wednesday - Christmas sweaters

Thursday- Any school supplies that you need at home for our week of home learning should be home. Multiplication strategies practice booklet should also be home. Please add a note into your child's agenda if there's something specific you need me to help your child remember to bring home   PJ day 

Friday(half day) -  We will be watching the short movie "Olive the other Reindeer" which pairs with the book and stories we have been writing in class.  Students are invited to bring a personal blanket or stuffy to enjoy the video with as well as a reusable mug for hot chocolate (my treat to them :) 

In our class we will be doing anything holiday.  Re-wear a favorite from earlier in the week, combine all of the separate parts...  

Thank you!

Thank you for all of the gifts of food, crafts and toys that you donated to our Christmas Spirit campaign.   Here’s the Christmas village that your donation created before we packaged it up to send in.  🎄

 A few quick updates and reminders

• 
  
  I know it's an odd one - but students will need a hammer (a small craft one is fine) for an art project we are doing Friday.  Please send them in tomorrow if possible so I can see what I can find for spares.  Students will bring them home Friday.

• Math quizzes are coming home.  Please look through them then sign them and return them so they can move into portfolios with the rest of our learning evidence  (only about half of the science tests returned to school last time)

• 
  
  With home learning taking place the week of January 4-8 there are a couple of things looking towards that time.  Next week your child should be bringing home a math text (if there are other supplies you need them to have at home, please send a note in the agenda or remind them to bring those as well).  Though our class has already had a practice run with home learning, if you do not have access for your child on a computer, please let me know so that I can help you to access a loaner from the school.

Separating mixtures lab

Mixtures can be tough, or easy, to separate depending on what it’s made of and the method you try.   Take a look at some of these pictures from our lab this afternoon and ask your child to tell you about the challenges and successes.  

 Week of Dec.7

Want to be part of the LGMS Christmas spirit?  Participate in our reverse advent calendar this week.  Practice demonstrating kindness and sharing by bringing a donation item for each day this week (or as many, or as few items as you would like to donate).  All items will be donated locally :)

Monday:  There will be no weekly homework assignment this week.  Please use the time to help your child to be ready for their math quiz tomorrow, and their novel review due Thursday.  Donation item: canned fish or meat

Tuesday: Math Quiz - My apologies to everyone struggling with the large number multiplication and division questions in the practice test.  I planned to remove those pages but forgot to during the busy part of the day I was assembling everything.  Please know that though there will be smaller basic facts style questions of multiplication and division on the quiz, there will not be larger numbers as we are just beginning to work on these strategies together (the rest of the test will be exactly as the practice, with the large number multiplication and division page removed)  Donation item: canned fruit

Wednesday: Library    Donation item: Kids art or craft supplies

Thursday: Novel reviews are due    Donation item: Kids toy (ideas: lego, dolls, puzzles, cars, sports equipment)

Friday: Full day.   * A hammer is needed for our art project Friday - please send this in a day or two in advance if possible.  Though we can't share hammers this year if you have a spare that you can send in a "quarantine" plastic bag a few days early it would be appreciated in case someone forgets one.   Donation item: Canned soup or crackers

Next week we will be celebrating the spirit of Christmas with a mix of special dress up days.  If you need to plan ahead - here's what will be happening:

Dec.14 - Seasonal colours (red, green, silver, white, gold)

Dec.15 - Crazy Santa and/or toques and holiday hats

Dec.16 - Christmas sweaters

Dec.17 - school wide PJ day

Dec.18 (half day) - In our class we will be doing anything holiday.  Re-wear a favorite from earlier in the week, combine all of the separate parts...

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas :)

So impressed what teamwork can accomplish when we put it all together!  Our Smart Cookies used recycled paper to create chains that work together to build our tree 🎄❤️

 Week of Nov. 30

Monday:  Due today was the Social assignment:  Where Influences When  from last week while we were on home learning (in Google classroom but paper copies were also handed out today for those that wanted them and were still not complete)

Tuesday:  Due Tuesday LA assignment: Research or Report   This assignment was also supposed to be started last week.  Students also had 1 hour of class time today(Monday) to work on it.  

Wednesday: Library exchange - please return all books (with being away last week they are all due back)

Thursday:  Double gym with Mrs.Quinlan first thing in the morning (for the next three weeks).  Please be sure your child is dressed to run (with good running shoes and clothes to move in as well as a short sleeve t-shirt worn under any sweaters  - change rooms are still not open)

Friday (half day): Spelling #6 and assignment due

Coming soon:  Math Number and Patterns Quiz - Next week (Tuesday) We will be doing a quiz in math that combines the main items from our first number unit, as well as the pattern unit.  Tomorrow I will be sending a hard copy of the practice quiz home to help with studying.  

The quiz next week will look exactly the same but have different numbers.  Please help your child to practice, and make new questions to try for any items they find challenging.   Links here: Practice Quiz   Practice Quiz Answers (in case you need them :)

Today in Science we did a lab designed to test our experimenting skills.  Students were provided with an unknown substance (cornstarch and water mixture) which they needed to test and at the end of the testing determine why they believed it to be either a liquid or a solid.  This goo is so fun to play with and it's also part of the testing.  Here are some pictures to give you a peek into our class.  (As always - if they don't play for you on the forwarded message, please head to the blog to see it live.  Or take a closer look by following the link to Lab: Solid or Liquid)

 Here are the first of the finished Health Posters we have been making.  These great reminders are bright and 100% kid created!  (if the video won't play from the forwarded email, please head to our Smart Cookie Blog site to see it live :)

 

Week of Nov.23	Hangout Meets &  Due Dates
Monday	1:00 Monday Check in
Tuesday	9:00 Math class  11:00 Social Due: Social - I am Canadian speech. Video completed in flipgrid LA - ch 13+14 and ch 15+16 questions entered in Google Classroom
Wednesday	9:00 Math class 11:00 LA - quick write Due: Health poster Math - patterns brainstorm, complete practice page
Thursday	9:00 Science class Due: Bill Nye Atoms questions to correct 11:00 LA - Nose from Jupiter reading together (optional)
Friday	9:00 Friday French Kahoot time :) Due: French Kahoot (10-15 questions) due for our meet          Math online pattern recipe

 Week of Nov.16

Monday: Spelling #5 list and homework comes home.  

This week we will be talking in class about upcoming novel reviews.  (Due in December - date to be determined still) We will be focused on these the next few weeks instead of weekly reading records.  I will have sticky notes for students to use while reading to keep track of character info and main events to help them to complete the assignment later.  

Students will be completing the assignment during class, but help at home to choose, read and discuss a novel will be helpful.  Novels should be chapter books at an appropriate reading level for your child  (not so tough they can't understand, but not so easy there is no challenge).  Please use the site  AR book finder to help you to understand the reading level.  BL stands for Book level and tells the general grade and months of the vocabulary in the book.  Please let me know if you have any questions about helping your child to choose a book.  

Tuesday: 

Wednesday:

Thursday:   Writing algebra expressions for marks.  We've been working on questions like this since the beginning of last week Ex: John is 5 cm taller than Kim.  Written as an algebra expression we would do K+5=J   (Kim's height+5cm = John's height)

Friday: (Half day)  Spelling and assignment are due

 Chemistry Unit tests are coming home tonight.  

This may be the first test of this style that your child has done in school and as such they are a very important learning experience.  How much studying is needed to be successful?  How did your child choose to study this time?  Did it work? 

Please take some time this weekend to review their test with them.  Take a few minutes to celebrate successes and discuss challenges before talking about a plan for the next time we do a test in class.  

Please return your child's test (with a signature to show you have reviewed it) so that we can put it into our portfolio binders.  

Thank you for all that you are doing at home to help support your child's growth and learning!

 Week of Nov.9

It was great talking with all of you last week and getting a chance to see your family "face to face".  I know there are lots of great learning to explore with your child in their learning portfolio and that you may want a little more time to spend with your child and their portfolio still,  but once you are done please send your child's portfolio binder back to the school this week.

Monday:  There will be no weekly homework assignment this week.  Please spend a final evening tonight helping your child to feel confident and prepared for their science unit test tomorrow.  

Tuesday: Weather - unit test (after lunch).  Remembrance day at school- Though we can't have an assembly for Remembrance day we will be spending some time talking about the importance of this day in class during period 3 and 4.

Wednesday: No School (Remembrance day)

Thursday: 

Friday: No school

Weather Study notes are ready and can be found in Google Classroom.  Take a look and make use of these for helping with studying from home.

 Weather unit test next Tuesday Nov.10

Study guides went home yesterday but attached is another copy.  Answers to all items come from our notes and labs (please don't just do a google search - you will find information at a much higher level then we do in grade 5).  We will also be beginning to create study notes together tomorrow in class that you'll be able to access online in Google Classroom.  

Studying is a skill and takes practice.  Families are encourage to help and support your child as they develop this skill :)  

Thank you so much to everyone that has updated their demographic forms (we are still waiting on 4) and another thank you to everyone that has checked in with me recently to give me updates on what is happening at home, to check in about interview times or to ask questions.  I know it's harder when you can't just stop in so an extra big thank you for still working with me to be part of our classroom's virtual world this year :)

Parent - teacher - Student interviews are this week.  Wed/Thurs evening as well as Friday morning.

I will be creating links for our virtual meetings (in Google Meet) this evening for you to receive by tomorrow at the latest.  Your link will come to the email address that you used to create our meeting time. Please have your child with you as well as their portfolio that will be going home Tuesday.  I have many meetings back to back Wednesday night so please be respectful of other family's times and remain within the 15 minutes that you chose for our meeting time.

________________________

Monday: Math weekly #4 comes home (due Thursday)

Tuesday:  Portfolios with First Quarter Summaries in the front come home. Please take some time to look through them with your child before our meeting.  Keep them for a few days if you would like extra time and return them by Monday Nov.9th please.

Wednesday:  Library time.  

• Reading records are due (I extended the deadline one extra day from the Nov.3 date we wrote on them)
• Math algebra practice online is due (please ask your child to show you and explain their work using balance bubbles to balance equations and solve for the letter variable)

Thursday: 

• Math weekly #4 is due

Friday: no school for students - but I am available for extra interview times in the morning.

I hope you all found ways to enjoy the spirit of Halloween with your children this past weekend and thank you to all of you for helping to balance your child's sleep, candy intake and healthy food choices so they can be successful in all that they do each day!

Very important - please help!   

The letter below was sent out to you by CRPS.  For our class to continue to be able to do things as simple as go for a walk to the river we need every child to have updated contact information and permission.  Right now about half of our students have permission.  If you have not yet completed this, please take a look at the instructions below.  

Thanks for your help.

______________________________________________________________________________

Dear Parents,

Just a friendly reminder to complete this 2020-2021 Annual Demographic Update for your son and or daughter which will assist our schools in maintaining accurate and current information.

How to access the online form:

• Please log into your PowerSchool Parent Portal account and click on SchoolEngage on the left side bar at the bottom.
• Link for PowerSchool Parent Portal:
• https://powerschool.crps.ca/public/
• Once you have signed in to your SchoolEngage account, click on the bell at the top right hand corner.  You will see the incomplete forms in blue. This Demographic Update form could take approximately 5-10 minutes.

**This form is your responsibility to submit every year and/or as changes occur in relation to your child and provides updated emergency, medical information and phone numbers for our schools. 

We appreciate your careful attention to the sections concerning any pre-existing health conditions and emergency contact information.  As per our CRPS Re-Entry Plan, should your child develop symptoms that could be caused by COVID-19 while at school, parents/guardians and/or emergency contacts will be required to pick up the child immediately.  If your child exhibits symptoms of COVID-19 due to a pre-existing condition, thank you for ensuring that your child is tested for COVID-19 and cleared to attend school prior to August 31, 2020.  Thank you for doing your part to protect the health and safety of everyone in Canadian Rockies Public Schools.

Please submit this form by October 30,2020 Please contact your school if you have any questions.

Sincerely,

Canadian Rockies Public Schools

 Week of Oct.26th   It's busy and it's exciting - here's a look at our week

Monday:  Crazy hair/hat day

    - New spelling (#4) coming home.  The assignment is to alphabetize the full list - then write all the words in order twice - once with the right hand and once with the left hand.  Our spelling test will take place as normal on Friday.

Tuesday:  Show your passion/geek day Dress to show what you are passionate about.  Love sharks?  Maybe a shark fin added to your hat.  Into baseball?  Wear your outfit or the jersey of a favorite team.

Wednesday: PJ day

    - Science - Human Impact on Weather presentations

Thursday: Twin/Triplet day 

Friday: Halloween day - students are welcome to wear their costume all day.  Please remember they need to be able to sit/fit at their desk still and that choices need to be school appropriate - please leave the gore or weapons at home for your own personal celebrations. * Just a reminder: though in the past you may have sent treats to the school, this year as we are not allowed to share food or other items

    - Spelling #4 due

Parent-Teacher-Student interviews are set for next week (Nov.4,5,6).  The online booking system for this has now closed but I am missing a lot of families and would like a chance to talk to all of you.  If you could please email me, I will add you manually to a time slot that is still open.  

 Week of Oct.19th

Parent-teacher-student interviews are coming soon - you should have received an email from LGMS about our upcoming interviews on Nov.4,5,6.  When signing up for a time, please be sure your child can join us since during these meetings we will be talking about strengths, challenges and goals to work towards.   

Though bookings are for 15 minutes, please also know that means we might get a little less time than that to actually speak.  If you would like more time, please let me know and we can find an opening to create a double block.  

Monday: Math weekly duotangs should be coming home and are due back by Friday at the latest.  We have begun a science research assignment about human impact on weather.  Please take a few minutes to talk to your child about this and their ideas and topic.  This also leads to some pretty great opportunities for families to watch some videos together about human impact on weather/the environment as this week's "homework".  (I know there are a few good ones currently on Netflix too :)  Look for key topics like: Melting of polar icecaps, receding glaciers, el Nino, global warming, greenhouse effect, thinning of the ozone layer...

Tuesday:  Please check in with your child about their adding and subtracting skills (have them show you a question or two each).  By the end of this week they will be completing their for marks page on these two extremely important skills.  Grade 6 students are expected to have a firm grasp of both adding and subtracting numbers of any size with decimals so please spend some extra time practicing these skills with your son or daughter to help them to feel confident in both areas.

Wednesday: Library block (each Wednesday students will have a chance to request new books - they can return them at any time to the cart in the hallway)

Thursday: LA - context clues and imagery assignment due (we began working on this last week in class)

Friday: Math weekly #3 due.  

 First snow of the school year :)

A few pictures to brighten your day from our DPA time outside with perfect snowman building weather.  Two of them grew to be bigger than me through teamwork!

Maintaining good mental health is so important.   Please follow the link and take a look if this might be a benefit for your child.  This information is about the Rainbow Program which helps to support students and provide them with a safe place to explore issues surrounding separation or divorce in the family.  

 Week of Oct.13

I hope that you all enjoyed your long weekend and that you are happy to see our mountains covered in their winter layer again (I always love the way they look covered in snow :)

Tues: Spelling duotangs with new word lists should be coming home tonight.  Please help your child to study and also to remember that there is a short brain task to help build connections to these words.  The assignment this week starts by (always) writing all 10 words spelled correctly, then this week the challenge is to draw a picture that shows the meaning of the word (and include the word again in the picture).

Many students have also completed their 5 RR boxes and should be bringing those home for you to see and sign.  Please help your child to see where they might be lacking in details that they can add before turning them in (all answers need to be specific to the story they are reading - no general things that might fit with any book)

Wed: Precipitation assignment online (on Google Classroom) is due

Thurs: RR are due back with signatures please

Friday (half day): Spelling is due 

We did an art project on Friday that we are hoping you can see.  We created stained glass "windows" using glue and tissue paper.  I've put them up in the classroom windows so hopefully you can also enjoy them from outside :)

 Just a couple of quick reminders to finish up this week:

2 math assignments due tomorrow:  

• Math weekly #2 (thanks to everyone that has already sent this homework assignment back)
• Real life math - online assignment found in Google Classroom

Also - ask your child to log on to our Flipgrid Oral storytelling assignment (the link is in Google Classroom) and take a look at your child's map and story which they should have finished today.  You can also watch some of our other ones while you are there together and leave positive video comments too :)

Finally - tomorrow is a full day Friday but Monday is a holiday so have a good Thanksgiving long weekend!

 Week of Oct.5

I hope you have all been enjoying this amazing fall weather like I have - what an October so far! Last week there were a lot of activities happening around the school with photo day and Terry Fox but this week we are back to normal with a few modifications. 

One big, positive change has been the relaxing of some of our recess restrictions.  You should have received an email from CRPS over the weekend about this but I'm sure you'll hear from your kids tonight too about how this has impacted them.  If not, here's the jot notes version.  

• Zones for recess have changed a little and class zones will now rotate every day (this includes a playground zone too :)  
• Equipment (balls, skipping ropes...) can now be shared - students were reminded to sanitize before and after using items.  We have some classroom items that will go out each recess for shared use.
• Students can now also bring their own equipment to share with classmates at recess if it stays at school all week (that way we know only people in our cohort have touched it)

What has not changed is the expectation that students wear masks at recess when near others, and that students are not touching each other or personal items (clothes, toys from home...)

Monday: Math weekly #2 went home (due back on or before Friday)

Tuesday: Science presentations - these were planned for Monday but we spent some more time going over expectations and practicing today to do our best.  

Wednesday: 

Thursday:  Chapters 1-4 questions for Nose from Jupiter due in Google Classroom (when students submit this they will be able to see their mark right away so you can ask them how they did).

Friday (Full day):  Math weekly #2 is due as is adding real life practice (found in Google Classroom which we will begin working on in class Tuesday)

Monday is our school holiday for Thanksgiving weekend so we'll all be back together 

Tuesday, Oct. 13th.

 Happy Friday everyone!  Here's a little peak into class this week with an outdoor math class where we played adding apartment and our successful finish for today's Terry Fox run.  For more pictures - follow the link to this year's picture folder.  

 A couple of quick updates:

• Showing the Setting assignments in LA are due Friday (along with Spelling assignment #2). Please check in with your child about their progress towards completion.  
• Friday we will be having a Terry Fox run!  This is great news and we are very excited that we have found a way to still make this important event happen during our Friday morning.  Students are asked to bring a toonie for Terry to help support Cancer research.

Finally - we spent some time in class Tuesday discussing why we wear a mask and the importance of doing this.  As we've all adjusted to what school is like after some initial questions, we're noticed that some students have become relaxed in their attitude towards wearing their masks near others while at play or even when turning to talk to someone in the classroom.  Please take some time soon to talk again with your child and remind them of the importance of this - for their classmates and our staff at the school, as well as for family and community members.  We're all in this together. Let's work together so we all stay healthy!

Thank you for all that you do!

Tina

 Week of Sept 28

Monday:  This week's homework assignment is Spelling.  List #2 and assignment #2.  Please help your child to study any words from their pre-test that they may need to practice and help them to remember they have an assignment too.  This week they start by writing all 10 words.  Then use each word correctly in it's own sentence (including capital letters and punctuation please :)

Tuesday:  Picture day!  Picture time for our class is after morning recess.  

Wednesday: Orange shirt day - please help your child to participate in this important day with an orange item.  We will be talking a little bit in class about Orange shirt day, the history and beginning of it as well as an introduction to what reconciliation means and its importance for all Canadians.  If you feel comfortable also talking about these topics at home I would encourage you to do so. 

Thursday:

Friday (Half day):  Terry Fox Run  - it's going to look different this year but we're working to find a way to still make it work.  I'll let you know more when we know too :)  

Spelling test and assignments are due. 

                                                        --------------------

Currently in LA we are working on a project called Showing the Setting  to find quotes from our novel that show information about the initial setting.  Once students have collected their quotes and have explained what they mean in terms of the "looks" of the setting they will be moving on to creating the setting.  This project is open to any style for showcasing the setting as long as it includes the main components from the story.  In class we brainstormed ways like: a 3D sketch, diorama, Lego creation, papermache or plasticine, online creation... 

As long as students can source the materials they needs, and can work on it in class, they are welcome to choose a style that appeals to them or uses something they consider a strength.  (I have paper or course available as well as our chromebooks but other specialized items would need to come from home).  Most students will be ready to start Tuesday (Wednesday at the latest) with their creation. 

 Week of Sept.22

Monday: Math weekly homework assignment should have come home.  To be completed by Friday morning.  Students can use any strategy to help them find the answer, and parents are encouraged to be involved.  This should help you to also understand your child's comfort level with the basic math concepts that we practice in this assignment.

Tuesday:  LGMS Virtual Open House coming to you from our office.  Please take a few minutes with your child to look through the slides and watch the video for our class.

Wednesday:

Thursday: Reading records are due. Though we complete the work in class after sustained reading times, please take a moment to look through and discuss with your child their responses before you sign this homework.  I will be looking for detailed answers that help to show their understanding of chapter books that they have chosen.  

Friday: Math weekly is due

Here's a peak at our shady, wifi compatible outdoor learning classroom yesterday as we worked in groups on a pre-reading assignment for the novel "The Nose from Jupiter".

 Week of Sept.14

Monday: 

• Spelling pre-test #1 completed in class today.  Your child should have their spelling duotang in their agendas tonight.  They have 10 words to study and one short assignment to complete in their duotang by Friday morning.  Please help them to spot their errors in their pre-test so they can work to master these for the test Friday.   (Spelling words are also available on our blog under LA, then scroll down to find spelling lists)
• Please collect science supplies in a labelled ziploc for our class Wednesday (only a few of each item are needed for us to build wind vanes).  Supplies: wood skewer, straws, string, pen lid, cardboard, plastic/styrofoam/paper cup

Tuesday:

• We are nearing the end of our practice with reading and writing math numbers.  Please ask your child to explain to you how to show a number in these 4 ways - In words: fifty two thousand, four hundred sixteen and three tenths  In standard form: 52 416.3  Model (this is putting dots to show each digit) Expanded form: 50 000+ 2 000+ 400+ 10+ 6+ 0.3

Wednesday:

• Science supplies needed

Thursday: 

• Complete spelling assignment if it's not done yet, make sure spelling duotangs come back to class for Friday morning please

Friday:  Half day

• Spelling test and assignments are due

Here are a couple of pictures from our lab today.  We are using spirals to try and detect the hot air rising off a candle (this works even better if you place a few candles in a tin can to get a nice hot stream of air rising so it's worth trying again at home too :)

 Take a look at our great Getting to Know you Cookies.  (if the powerpoint of pictures don't play for you automatically, please go take a look at them on our blog  https://mrsbsmartcookies.blogspot.com/

 Dear parents,

The school is still working on setting up Chromebook carts for classes. As we cannot share material, we will be assigning one device per student. Since we can no longer share carts between classes, we currently do not have enough devices to assign one per student. The school has ordered more Chromebooks but the order has not yet come and we are expecting it to be delayed.

The school is asking any students that are capable of bringing their own device to do so. This is not mandatory and we understand that this added responsibility may be challenging for students. We've been asked for now to survey who could bring their own devices (it would need to be here daily). The school will provide devices to older grades first and then work down the grades.

I love the tools that come built into having technology in our classroom and I would of course like to get students started sooner rather than later, as this would facilitate continuing a project started in class should a student need to isolate at home.

Please let us know if your child would be able to bring their own device to school. 

Thank you,

Tina Blackwell

tina.blackwell@crps.ca

 Week of Sept.8-11

Normally on my weekly update I will let you know about upcoming due dates or activities.  Right now we are still working on developing routines and there will not be a weekly homework assignment (we will begin next week) but here is an overview about what we'll be learning in each subject.

Math - place value and reading numbers up to millions and down to Thousandths  (did you know that when reading math numbers correctly the only time you should say AND is where the decimal is?  So many of us do this ourselves, but to help your child, try to be mindful with how you read numbers too).  Ex: 14 800.3 you read as fourteen thousand, eight hundred and three tenths

LA - reading comprehension and responding to different styles of writing - we will be beginning a class novel together this week called The Nose from Jupiter.  This silly and fun story has a really great message about making positive choices (but if you hear your child talking about an alien in a boys nose... that's the main story line in this book :)  

      * Also we will be starting Reading Records next week.  Each child needs a chapter book at their reading level to complete this assignment in school.  It can be a reread of a favorite or a new book.  Though I do have an extensive class library because of the need to quarantine books between users having students choose a new book in class is a little more difficult this year so if you have a collection of books at home, please send your child with a couple to keep at school. 

Science - our first unit this year is about weather.  There will be some supplies to collect for items we will be building to measure weather (starting to collect them now might be helpful :)   Wooden skewers, plastic straws, string, cardboard and a clean tin can - We don't need many of any of this things just a few of each but if you could start a pile at home I will let everyone know when we need them.

Social - Canada and mapping skills.  We'll be doing a little grid work, using legends and compass roses as well as checking in on general facts about Canada.

Finally - thank you to everyone that has been able to find a clipboard for your child - the weather looks pretty good this week so I'm hopeful we'll be able to do some classes outside and a clipboard really helps to keep pages from flying around in the wind!

Any questions or comments - please send them my way at Tina.Blackwell@crps.ca  (please don't hit reply to this email because it is being forwarded from the blog update software so won't get to me)

  Woo Hoo!  On Thursday, based on numbers of home school and on site students at LGMS we expected to need to make changes to classrooms -  but I am very happy to say that Tuesday morning we will be back in our homeroom all together.  No grade 5 students are being moved in or out so we will all still be together in our grade 5 classroom Tuesday just like we were last week! 

A big thank you goes out to our admins and head office staff for finding a way to help us to all stay together to continue our learning journey that we just got started on for this year.  

Since we talked about possible changes in our classroom Thursday morning to help prepare students if class looked different this coming week, please pass along this great news to your child and let them know that I am very much looking forward to seeing them again Tuesday morning.

Have a great weekend!

 Welcome back to in-class learning!! Here's a peak into our classroom for this year :)

Happy Summer Everyone!

Thank you to all of my amazing and wonderful students and their families for working together to get through this unique year of learning.  I LOVED all of the end of year final movies - and if you'd like to watch any of them again, follow the link to our Final Movie Awards where each video is linked by pressing on the winners name at the base of the trophy. (Also - to all of the amazing friends and family members that helped out I added both a best actor and best film crew award just for you so thank you all for the amazing group effort!)

I have told the kids I will leave our class chat open in gmail and working this summer so if there is something amazing that you do this summer - add a quick picture to help us all stay connected until we meet again.  I look forward to seeing you all again in the fall even though everyone will be moving on to new classrooms and grades.

Have a fun-filled summer of adventures!