May was crazy busy, and June is looking even busier! I can't believe it is already June, and the year is almost over. This year has gone by so fast!
This month has a lot of special activities planned. Please see below:
Mon, June 3 - weather permitting, the junior students will participate in Track and Field tryouts for the OCSB track meet which takes Tuesday, June 18. The events, which we have practiced on previous mornings, will include 100m and 200m running events, as well as long jump and ball throw. The 400m running tryout will take place during a lunch time, and our school does not participate in high jump as we no longer have equipment that meets OPHEA safety guidelines. Please come dressed for outdoor play - comfortable clothes, running shoes, hat and sunscreen and (labelled) water bottle.
Tues, June 4 - is the rain date for track and field tryouts. The Gr. 4 and 5 students will also have a half hour tennis lesson from Capital Camps.
Thursday, June 6 - the Gr. 5 students will be going on their Field Trip to the OAC for the day. Remember to dress for a day filled with activity - activewear, sunscreen, hat, running shoes, and bring a lunch, extra snacks, water bottle, bathing suit and towel. Weather permitting, we will be swimming and participating in outdoor sports.
Friday, June 7 is a PD day, there is no school for students.
Monday, June 10 is Fun Fair! Always a good time - see you there!
Tuesday, June 11 - in the morning, the junior students are going to a movie matinee at Silver City Theatre to see Asterix and Obelix. While students will not be able to purchase popcorn or snacks at the theatre, they are welcome to bring a water bottle and small snack with them to eat during the movie.
Thursday, June 20 at 9:30 a.m. is our Year End Mass. Parents are always welcome to attend.
Thursday, June 27 is the last day of school.
Fully Alive:
Both Religion teachers have informed me that they have covered the first 2 units of the Fully Alive program, and are ready for me to teach Unit 3. Fully Alive is a Family Life education program sponsored by the Assembly of Catholic Bishops of Ontario. In Theme 3: Created Sexual, Male and Female, the students learn that each person is precious, we are all made in the image and likeness of God, and created in a loving relationship. Each year builds on information from previous years, and is given at an age appropriate level. The terms used and topics covered can be found here, in each grade's letter from the ACBO (Assembly of Catholic Bishops of Ontario):
Grade 4 Parent Letter
Grade 5 Parent Letter
Please read the letters and discuss the topics with your child, so that they can be prepared. We will begin next week. Don't hesitate to contact me if there are any questions or concerns.
Math:
Both groups have moved into fractions, and some students are finding the topic challenging. Seeing fractions both as part of a whole (for example, some slices of pizza have been eaten, what fraction is left?) and as part of a set (what fraction of students are boys, and what fraction are girls?) can be confusing. As well, fractions greater than 1, (example, I have 14 slices of cheese pizza and 18 slices of pepperoni, how many pizzas do I have? Show an improper fraction and a mixed number). We will continue to work on these concepts this month.
Language:
The students have just completed a Media report on a movie or game of their choice, that they have watched and / or played and are familiar with. They had to tell what it was about, and research what it is rated in Canada and why. They then had to tell whether they agree with that rating, and justify their answer. There was a wide range of movies and games! Most were great movies and interesting, creative games. However, I can say I am truly surprised and concerned by the number of students allowed to play games well outside of their age range.
We will be using Language time to teach Unit 3 of Fully Alive for the next little while, in between events and field trips.
Sunday 2 June 2019
Wednesday 8 May 2019
Rooftop picture tomorrow!
Don't forget: Wear your grade spirit colours tomorrow for our rooftop picture!
Grade 4 - Green
Grade 5 - Blue
Sunday 5 May 2019
Week 33: May 6-10 Catholic Education Week!
Next week is Catholic Education Week in our schools. The theme this year is Living As Joyful Disciples, and we have a lot of activities planned! This year is especially exciting, as it is the 25th anniversary of St. Clare School. Please see the spreadsheet below:
All week long we will be participating in Mindfulness activities, including meditation. As well, each day we will have a "Drop and Bop" activity.
On Tuesday, at a special liturgy with our Director of Education, we will be opening the Time Capsule, that was sealed into the wall when the school was built in 1994. We will also be choosing items to seal into our own Time Capsule, to be opened at the 50th Anniversary of St. Clare in 2044 at a later date. Students are asked to wear their St. Clare spirit wear, if they have any, particularly Anniversary Wear! This will be followed by an Open House for parents to tour the school, visit their child's classroom, and see the many photo displays around celebrating St. Clare's history.
On Wednesday, we will be doing Mother's Day crafts and cards. Shhh.
On Thursday, we will be taking a whole-school photo, of all of the students dressed in colours by grade from the roof of the school. The Grade 4 students should wear a green t-shirt or top, and the Gr. 5 students are asked to wear blue on that day.
On Friday, we will get together with our Faith Buddies in Mrs. Marchant's class to do activities related to the Gospel Value of Excellence.
It should be a very exciting week, highlighting Catholic Education and St. Clare's 25th Anniversary!
Wednesday 1 May 2019
Once On This Island, Jr.
St.Clare Presents Once On This Island Jr. Please see link below for our trailer. Come see this wonderful show on Thursday or Friday at 7:00 pm. Ticket prices are $3.00 per student, $5.00 per adult or $15.00 per family.
Sunday 28 April 2019
Week 32: April 29-May 3
Well, there certainly was a lot of excitement over the book fair! The students had a lot of fun shopping during the week.
This week, the excitement is all about the play! On Thursday morning, the Drama Club will perform the play "Once On This Island Jr." as their Dress Rehearsal in front of the school. They will then perform the play for parents and families in the evening on May 2nd and 3rd. Please see the poster below for details:
This week, the excitement is all about the play! On Thursday morning, the Drama Club will perform the play "Once On This Island Jr." as their Dress Rehearsal in front of the school. They will then perform the play for parents and families in the evening on May 2nd and 3rd. Please see the poster below for details:
The following week is Education Week, and the 25th Anniversary Celebration of St. Clare School. We are hoping as many former students, staff and parents as possible will be able to join us for the activities we have planned.
Monday 22 April 2019
Week 31: April 22-26, Happy Easter!
Happy Easter! I hope you had a lovely Easter weekend with your family, and that the joy of the Resurrection of Jesus continues through the 50 days of Easter. Spring is finally on the way!
We have a number of events happening this week:
Tomorrow is our turn at the book fair (Gr. 4, morning class). We are the very first class to shop the wonderful selection of books at the fair, and are very excited! The Gr. 5 students will be going on Wednesday (Mme Joly's class) or Thursday (Mrs. Moorman's class). Don't forget your money if you want to buy a book, or a pencil, or other item!
This week is also Earth Week, and the EcoTeam has asked that we pack a litterless lunch all week. We will be taking a class tally of litterless lunches all week. If it can be recycled or reused, it counts as litterless.
Friday is Spring Picture Day! It is the day that sibling pictures are taken as well, so if you would like a sibling group picture, please send a note with the oldest child and we will arrange that for you.
On Friday as well, the Public Health Nurse will be in to do a presentation with the Gr. 4's about tobacco use and smoking, and the health effects of each. This links directly with the health curriculum, and is very informative.
Here's what we are up to in language and math:
Language: Both grades have started a "Book Club" reading group activity. The Grade 4 were assigned one of 4 books on the topic of "Kids Can Do It!", and the Gr. 5 were assigned to one of 4 books on the topic of "Bully-Free Zone". Each day they are responsible for reading an assigned number of pages, discussing the characters, unfamiliar vocabulary, and answering 2 or 3 questions on the reading of the day. The information they gather is collected in a Google Slide available for you to look at in their Hapara Workspace, which you can look at anytime. My comments on each page are written in the "Speaker Notes" of each slide. This book club will take us approximately 2 more weeks to complete.
Math: We are working on Measurement activities in both grades; estimating and measuring linear distances in mm, cm, (dm,) m and km, and converting between them. We will also be looking at perimeter and area, then measuring mass, capacity and volume (Gr. 4) and relating volume to linear measurements (Gr. 5).
We have a number of events happening this week:
Tomorrow is our turn at the book fair (Gr. 4, morning class). We are the very first class to shop the wonderful selection of books at the fair, and are very excited! The Gr. 5 students will be going on Wednesday (Mme Joly's class) or Thursday (Mrs. Moorman's class). Don't forget your money if you want to buy a book, or a pencil, or other item!
This week is also Earth Week, and the EcoTeam has asked that we pack a litterless lunch all week. We will be taking a class tally of litterless lunches all week. If it can be recycled or reused, it counts as litterless.
Friday is Spring Picture Day! It is the day that sibling pictures are taken as well, so if you would like a sibling group picture, please send a note with the oldest child and we will arrange that for you.
On Friday as well, the Public Health Nurse will be in to do a presentation with the Gr. 4's about tobacco use and smoking, and the health effects of each. This links directly with the health curriculum, and is very informative.
Here's what we are up to in language and math:
Language: Both grades have started a "Book Club" reading group activity. The Grade 4 were assigned one of 4 books on the topic of "Kids Can Do It!", and the Gr. 5 were assigned to one of 4 books on the topic of "Bully-Free Zone". Each day they are responsible for reading an assigned number of pages, discussing the characters, unfamiliar vocabulary, and answering 2 or 3 questions on the reading of the day. The information they gather is collected in a Google Slide available for you to look at in their Hapara Workspace, which you can look at anytime. My comments on each page are written in the "Speaker Notes" of each slide. This book club will take us approximately 2 more weeks to complete.
Math: We are working on Measurement activities in both grades; estimating and measuring linear distances in mm, cm, (dm,) m and km, and converting between them. We will also be looking at perimeter and area, then measuring mass, capacity and volume (Gr. 4) and relating volume to linear measurements (Gr. 5).
Sunday 7 April 2019
Week 29: April 8-12
We had a very busy week last week!
-On Monday, a very knowledgeable volunteer from the National Art Gallery came to our classroom, and brought prints of several works of art from the Gallery as part of the Looking at Pictures program. She pointed our various features of the pictures, and led a discussion about the art and artists.
-On Tuesday, the entire school gathered out front to raise the flag for Autism Awareness Day, which we followed up with a discussion about autism and how it can affect people. The students were interested to hear that 2 of my 3 children are on the autism spectrum, and are affected very differently.
-On Wednesday, we said a special prayer for our Grade 6 class, who were on retreat at Divine Infant parish for the day.
-On Thursday, we had a very busy day of math problem solving, thanks to a wonderful program called Mathletics. They ran an amazing day of math, where students rotated in groups between 4 centres, and solved many challenges and problems. The St. Clare Mathletes solved a total of 4 366 math problems over the course of the day! Wow!
-On Friday, we did some catch-up work, and some 3D geometry.
Next week, we will begin a book club style reading activity, where each group will be assigned a book at their level, and have an assignment to complete each day. We will also complete our geometry unit, with 3D shapes, their attributes, and movement on a coordinate grid. Most students seem very familiar with the concepts so far! Also next week, the public health nurse will be in to discuss grade appropriate health topics with the students. Grade 4 students will discuss tobacco and smoking; Grade 5 students discuss alcohol and drinking.
-On Monday, a very knowledgeable volunteer from the National Art Gallery came to our classroom, and brought prints of several works of art from the Gallery as part of the Looking at Pictures program. She pointed our various features of the pictures, and led a discussion about the art and artists.
-On Tuesday, the entire school gathered out front to raise the flag for Autism Awareness Day, which we followed up with a discussion about autism and how it can affect people. The students were interested to hear that 2 of my 3 children are on the autism spectrum, and are affected very differently.
-On Wednesday, we said a special prayer for our Grade 6 class, who were on retreat at Divine Infant parish for the day.
-On Thursday, we had a very busy day of math problem solving, thanks to a wonderful program called Mathletics. They ran an amazing day of math, where students rotated in groups between 4 centres, and solved many challenges and problems. The St. Clare Mathletes solved a total of 4 366 math problems over the course of the day! Wow!
-On Friday, we did some catch-up work, and some 3D geometry.
Next week, we will begin a book club style reading activity, where each group will be assigned a book at their level, and have an assignment to complete each day. We will also complete our geometry unit, with 3D shapes, their attributes, and movement on a coordinate grid. Most students seem very familiar with the concepts so far! Also next week, the public health nurse will be in to discuss grade appropriate health topics with the students. Grade 4 students will discuss tobacco and smoking; Grade 5 students discuss alcohol and drinking.
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