Wow!  I am so proud of the great conversations that we're been having in class around Pink Shirt day and the importance and value of standing up against bullying.  

Please take a look at these powerful poems created by our students which help to show insight into behaviours from the perspective of the bully, the victim or the bystander.  Some poets chose to focus on one perspective, others balanced all three within the same poem.  

Please follow this link to take a closer look: 2021 pink shirt day poems

* A special thank you goes out to Ms.Kish who is currently teaching online and shared her resources so that we could build these amazing poems *

 Week of February 22-26

Monday: Spelling list #9 goes home.  Assignment to be completed this week is the student's choice.  New     Reading Record handed out - to be completed with a signature by next Wednesday. 

Tuesday:  We will be starting our Indigenous People of Canada project which can be found in Google         Classroom.  Before our break we took some time to explore a few topics and students should now have      one chosen for their research.  

Wednesday:  Pink Shirt Day  - We will be discussing this during class as well, but please take a minute         to talk to your child about Pink Shirt day - what does wearing a pink shirt represent?

Thursday: We are getting near the end of our focus on large number division strategies.  Please check in         with your child about their understanding.  Division "for marks" pages will be near the end of this             week with a review quiz on the four main components of math (add, subtract, multiply and divide)             coming towards the end of next week.  

Friday (full day):  Spelling is due.  The assignment this week was open for students to choose from any         of the standard assignment choices.  Please help your child to remember to complete their full                    assignment - the instructions for each are in the duotang or can be found on the blog in the LA section.

* Flashlight Friday!  Students are invited to bring a flashlight and some favorite books for reading as well as a snack, blanket and stuffy to cozy up with for the morning. 

Tomorrow to celebrate Winter Carnival students are invited to bring in a hot chocolate or tea for an afternoon warm up because we will be heading outside for two short outside activities.  

**Please make sure your child has boots, snow pants, toques, mitts and a warm winter coat so that they can participate.  

In the classroom we will be doing some weaving during art.  These can be able to be used as bracelets, headbands or bookmarks after they are finished.  I have yarn at school, but if you have yarn or embroidery thread at home in colours that your child might prefer to use please send them in with them tomorrow.  

Stuck at home in the cold today?  Go to Google Classroom to see what will be happening at school and what you can work on from home.  

 Some winter smiles from our short DPA break this afternoon.  

Our division strategies.

Take a look at the four main division strategies we’ve been practicing in class.  

 Week of Feb.8

** It's looking like a cold week which means many recesses will likely be indoors however - please be extra diligent in helping your child to dress for the weather.  Even short amounts of time for body breaks and before school will be too long without proper layers.  

Also - If you have a board game or cards that your child enjoys consider sending it to school with them for the week to help them to have something fun to do during these recess breaks when we are indoors**

Monday: math weekly #8 comes home

Tuesday: 

Wednesday:

Thursday:  Poetry review is due  (this will be completed primarily in class - but please check in with your child about their progress)

Friday (full day):  Math weekly #8 is due.  

• Winter carnival theme today - wear plaid, a toque and a sash (a knit scarf tied around the waist works great for this).  If the weather permits we'll be doing a few outside carnival activities in the afternoon too so please be sure your child has ski pants, mittens and boots to keep us winter ready :)

Feb.15-19 - No school for students (family day weekend and teacher's convention).  

Coming up after the break we will be finishing our division practice and moving towards our "for marks" page.  Please check in with your child to help reinforce these important skills (yes - we still do long division as one of our strategies - and I have 2 videos of other strategies we use posted on the math section of our blog to help you out :)    At the end of February there will also be a math quiz on using numbers to add, subtract, multiply and divide so a bit of practice at home would be greatly appreciated. 

Please take a look at your child's Chemistry Unit test coming home tonight.  After going through it with your child and celebrating their successes (and yours - I know a huge amount of you were right there studying with your child!) please sign it and return it so that we can put it into portfolios with our other evidence of learning.  

I noticed a big upswing in both at home studying, and overall understanding, that students could build upon to answer related questions (instead of more basic recall questions) on this unit test compared to the one that we did earlier this year :)  Thank you for all that you are doing to help support your child's learning at growth at home this year!!

                                    *                *                *                *                *                *

❤ On a separate note - though Valentine's day takes place during the week students are not in school, often we would celebrate together the last school day before.  This year on Feb.12th in our classroom we'll be doing some winter carnival activities  (Carnaval D'hiver) in the afternoon instead and due to COVID considerations, families are being asked not to send Valentine cards or treats into the school.  

Two quick updates.  

1- Due to the uncertainty at the beginning of the year not all supplies initially made it to school in September and one of the things  that we are now finding ourselves very short of is Kleenex. If you have a box or two at home that you can spare we'll certainly put it to good use especially with the chilly winter weather making noses run :)

2- Book orders are still a thing and although I really miss the box arriving at the classroom to hand out, you can still get a special delivery at home.  All orders that you place on our class account earns book money that I spend to expand our classroom library - so if you have a child that you are encouraging to read, or that already loves reading, consider buying them a Valentine gift of reading this month.  

Interested in book orders?  Here's a link to the new online ordering system for the February books: https://editions.mydigitalpublication.com/publication/?i=687734   also needed:

RC198401

 Week of Feb.1

Monday: Tomorrow we will be doing a lab to test assorted acids and bases.  Students are invited to bring one liquid of their own from home that they are interested in testing too.  (only a few drops, think a teaspoon worth)

* If you haven't yet sent back your child's portfolio, can you please do that early this week?  Thank you!

Tuesday:  Keep studying for science!

Wednesday: library exchange

Thursday:  Chemistry Unit test

Friday (half day):   Spelling #8.  Please help your child to study their words, but also to complete the short assignment (it is printed in the spelling duotang and shows an example of how to do it).

Wordless books should be completed and pictures of them should be available in Google Classroom for you to see at home