November 24-28, 2014

Welcome to the last week of November! It struck me today that one month from today is Christmas Eve. The season is upon us and has creeped its way into our classroom/school. As expected, the themes from now until the December break will be primarily based on Winter/Christmas/Holidays.
This week is pretty quiet with Popcorn Wednesday, hot lunch on Friday, and Spelling Test on Friday. There will be no assembly this week as the gym is set up for 'Mission Impossible'. 'Mission Impossible' is a series of obstacles set up in the gym for students to attempt during physical education class. It will be set up for 2 weeks and be taken down on December 4.
Last week, the class was introduced to two new technology opportunities in our classroom: KidBlog and Google Classroom.
1. KidBlog is a blog for our students and only our class can access it. I will be sending home information for parents to access this blog, but until students gain comfort with it, I will hold off.
2. Google Classroom is a way for students to gather, complete, and hand in assignments online. This will help reduce paper consumption in our classroom, provide students with an alternative way to demonstrate learning, and allow me to access their assignment at any time to provide feedback and guidance.

Language Arts
Writing-We will be using detail and questions to describe a story critical character. Students are reminded to use proper punctuation and spelling during their writing, whether it is story prompts, journals, reading comprehension, or general story writing. This is something you can work on at home too.

Math
Patterns-Solving problems using increasing patterns and predicting positions in the increasing pattern. We will be figuring out what the increasing pattern will look like in a specific part of the pattern.

Numbers to 100-This week, we will learn about place value as well as representing and describing numbers.

Science
Our unit "Hot and Cold" was introduced last week. We discussed things that are hot and cold, and the students got to use Google Classroom to help research some pictures that are hot or cold. This week we will be looking into what each season looks like and discuss them using 'hot and cold' terms.

Social
During our social classes, we will talk about the "Early Days of Meteghan" as well as "Urban and Rural Communities".

Dress Up Day!! Dress like your 100 year old self

This Friday is a special day for students and staff...it is DRESS LIKE YOUR 100 YEAR OLD SELF day. Yes, it is exactly as it sounds. Kids and staff are allowed to dress up like they are 100 years old!
Our student council came up with this one and it was actually a student's idea! How cool is that?? Can't wait to see all this kids dressed up as 100 year olds on Friday!

November 17-21, 2014

A full 5 day week is upon us and we will enter back into our regular routine.
Last week we started our Christmas Cards for families to purchase. On Friday an order form was sent home for families to purchase these cards. Please return that form as soon as possible to be handed into the office.
Another green form (half sheet) was sent home on Friday allowing families to purchase a 2014-2015 Year book. This year book will be a collection of pictures from events throughout the year.
We are still looking for Parents to participate in the "Operation Christmas Child" boxes this year. Unfortunately, it is a quick turn around and boxes will need to be returned to school by Wednesday November 19.

Here's what is going on this week:
Tuesday: Library (*Please return all library books by Tuesday morning*)
Wednesday: Popcorn Snack ($0.50), Operation Christmas Child boxes due
Friday: Spelling Test, Hot Lunch (Wok Box), and November Scholastic Book Orders due

Language Arts
Spelling Words: see tab at the top
Writing: Continuing with our writing prompts, reading comprehension, and narrative/expository writing about Autumn.
Reading: Our goal for Home Reading for the month of November is 3 hours. Please encourage your child to read 10 minutes every night.

Math
Patterns: Creating and Explaining Increasing Patterns
Numbers to 100: Using 10s and 1s to help determine numbers; Using Canadian Currency (money)

Science
The students will have a 'review quiz' on Magnets this week. We will introduce our next unit "Hot and Cold".

Social
We will be comparing the communities of Saskatoon, Leduc, Meteghan, and Iqaluit.

Remembrance Day

We have been talking a lot today (and will be tomorrow) about Remembrance Day. I encourage you, as families, to attend a ceremony on Tuesday November 12.
Today we read and went through the poem "In Flanders Fields", talked about Major John McRae, and watched a few memorial videos.

This evening I heard about an initiative that I believe is a wonderful opportunity for students. "No Stone Left Alone" is an Edmonton based initiative that has 3 goals:
1. To have all soldiers' headstones in Canada one day recognized by a poppy, the symbol of remembrance
2. To educate our youth in an Outreach Education event
3. To create an increased awareness of our veterans' and serving soldiers' needs by inspiring a new generation of Canadians who recognize and respect the sacrifices and service of all our Armed Forces

I think the students are starting to understand (as much as they can) what Remembrance Day is and recognize that they appreciate the men and women who fought for our country, which is free. It is for this reason that I think the "No Stone Left Alone" initiative is so important; it will give the students a chance to take part in something extremely important. For more information, please visit nostoneleftalone.ca

I encourage you to have a conversation with your child about the significance of this day. They are full of questions and are thirsty for more information.

Please note this information has been gathered from the website: http://www.nostoneleftalone.ca/index.shtml

November 3-6, 2014

Wow, another short week! Students sure came in this morning clearly recovering from a 'sugar and fun' filled weekend! I loved hearing all the stories about their trick-or-treating experiences on Friday night.
This week is a short week but (once again) we got lots going on!
Tuesday: Library (please ensure all library books come back every week)
Wednesday: Popcorn ($0.50) and Early Dismissal at 2:15
Thursday: Remembrance Day Ceremony @ 10:30am; Spelling Test; Quest Theater Presentation 1-3pm
Friday: No School
*Remember: This is a 5 day weekend! There is no school from November 7-11. Your child will return to school on Wednesday November 12.

Language Arts
Story Prompt: This week will be a prompt about an encounter with a cat who is willing to help out...
Reading Comprehension: Introduction to poetry
Spelling Words: Focus on the 'long vowel u' words
Writing: Opinions about Autumn

Math
Patterns: Using a set number of objects to create a pattern
Numbers to 100: Estimating and Counting to 50

Science
We will be wrapping up our Magnets unit this week and taking the review quiz next week.

Social
Discussing the weather, water, and land of Meteghan, Iqaluit, and Saskatoon.