We were very lucky to be one of the few classes able to take advantage of the snowshoes last week! They arrived at St. Clare around 10:00 a.m., we had our turn on them from 10:45-11:45, two other classes had a chance to use them, and then the weather turned awful! Tuesday was freezing rain, so nobody could go outside. Wed was very cold and the rest of the week was very icy. Now the snowshoes have moved on to the next school - I hope they have better luck with the weather! The schoolyard and the snowhill are both very icy at present. We will NOT be going sliding on the hill between St. Clare and Arc-en-Ciel until we have had a significant amount of fresh snow to cover the hard ice. It would not be safe to take them sliding, even with helmets.
On Thursday, we had a very interesting and informative presentation from the Public Health Nurse, Shanna Osborne, about the dangers of tobacco use and smoking. During the presentation, she inflated pig lungs that were healthy, and pig lungs that had been exposed to the same chemicals found in tobacco. While most students found this interesting, and asked many relevant questions, some students did find it somewhat upsetting. They may want to talk to you about how to keep their lungs healthy, and if you are a smoker, they may want to talk to you about quitting. There are many resources available from Ottawa Health, and from your family doctor, should you wish further information.
With the bus cancellation day on Tuesday, and a PD Day on Friday, we didn't have a lot of instructional time last week! We will have to work extra hard this week to make up for it. Here's what we have planned:
Science: we will be wrapping up our sound unit with a few final experiments, then will plan our culminating task for assessment. Ask your child where the noisiest part of our school is, and how many decibels they measured it at. Ask them where the quietest area of the school is, and what it measured at. See if they know what noise pollution and light pollution are, and what we can do about them.
Math - we are learning about time and elapsed time. While most students are able to tell time using a digital clock, using an analogue clock is a challenge. Take a few opportunities throughout the day to ask them what time it is, using an analogue clock. Ask them how long until dinner time? If we plan to arrive at the hockey rink at 6:10 p.m., how long of a drive is it? If we need to arrive at church before 11:00 a.m., and the drive takes 25 minutes, what time should we leave? Making time a part of everyday life gives it a meaningful connection to them.
Language Arts - we are finishing up our procedural writing unit.
Phys Ed - we are still learning badminton skills, it's a lot of fun but very challenging!
Health - we will be reviewing the information from the public health nurse on keeping our lungs healthy
Arts - we will have a presentation from a facilitator from the National Gallery program called "Looking at Pictures" on Wednesday. The students will have the opportunity to delve into various works of art from the gallery, and explore the techniques the artist used, the meaning behind the painting, the use of colour and shadow, etc. It is usually a very interesting and educational hour!
Upcoming events:
Don't forget - next Monday, Feb. 5, all grades 1-6 students will be going to the Museum of History in Hull. I have permission slips from all but one student, and the students who have not yet paid for the trip have been reminded to do so. We have 2 parent volunteers coming with us - thank you Mr. Q and Mrs. F! - any other parents who wish to accompany us will need to drive themselves to the museum (or carpool with another parent) and pay their own admission as only 2 parents are covered per class and the busses are full. It should be a very busy, fun-filled, educational day!
Parent Council has organized a Winter Dance on Friday, Feb. 2 from 6-8:30 p.m. at St. Peter's High School gym. Come on out and bring your dancing shoes!
Sunday 28 January 2018
Sunday 21 January 2018
Week 19: Jan 22-26 - Miss Anderson's Last Week!
This will be Miss Anderson's last full week in the classroom as our Teacher Candidate. She will pop in on Wednesdays for a couple of weeks, but this is her last week of practicum. She has been a valuable addition to the class, and has planned many interesting and engaging activities for the children over the last several weeks. We will certainly miss her!
The highlight of last week was watching a presentation by Rag and Bone puppet theatre and the choir entitled, "The Dolls' House". It was very entertaining!
Monday morning we will be going snowshoeing for phys ed class. We will have an opportunity to try out some lightweight aluminum snowshoes and walk around the park behind the school for 45 minutes or so. We are lucky to get our turn in before the freezing rain on Monday evening and Tuesday!
My morning class was introduced to the dangers of tobacco health lesson in class on Friday. Your child may have questions they would like to ask you about the topic. The public health nurse will be in the school on Thursday to do her presentation on the dangers of smoking and tobacco use, and will be able to answer many questions then as well.
My afternoon class has completed Unit 1 and 2 of Fully Alive, which means we are ready to begin Unit 3: Created Sexual Male and Female. 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:
Grade 4 Parent Letter
Please read the letter and discuss the topics with your child, so that they can be prepared. We will begin the week of Feb. 6. Don't hesitate to contact me if there are any questions or concerns.
We will NOT be going sliding this week, our long gym class will be snowshoeing as we only have access to the snowshoes for this week. As well, the hill will be exceptionally icy after the thaw/freeze cycle we have had recently, and the freezing rain expected Monday and Tuesday will only make that worse. We will see what the hill conditions are like next week, and let you know at least a day or 2 ahead so that you can send helmets.
Language Arts: We have been working on Procedural Writing and Sequencing. I'm sure you heard about the cheese sandwich making and the jello! The students are currently working in pairs to read and retell a Fractured Fairy Tale in a sequence of 6-10 steps, then put those steps in a Google Slides presentation or a Pixton comic and present it orally to the class.
Math: We measured linear distances using mm, cm and m; measured capacity using ml and L, and measured mass using g and kg. We have also been converting measurements (from ml to L and back, cm to m, etc). We also linked volume to capacity by sinking some centicubes in water and measuring the displacement, which showed us the capacity of the cubes, then calculated the volume by counting them, or by multiplying length x width x height.
Science: Students had the opportunity to take sound meters around various locations in the school and measure the level of sound in decibels. They also experimented with bouncing sound waves - what makes a good sound reflector and what absorbs the sound waves?
Don't forget - Friday is a PD day!
The highlight of last week was watching a presentation by Rag and Bone puppet theatre and the choir entitled, "The Dolls' House". It was very entertaining!
Monday morning we will be going snowshoeing for phys ed class. We will have an opportunity to try out some lightweight aluminum snowshoes and walk around the park behind the school for 45 minutes or so. We are lucky to get our turn in before the freezing rain on Monday evening and Tuesday!
My morning class was introduced to the dangers of tobacco health lesson in class on Friday. Your child may have questions they would like to ask you about the topic. The public health nurse will be in the school on Thursday to do her presentation on the dangers of smoking and tobacco use, and will be able to answer many questions then as well.
My afternoon class has completed Unit 1 and 2 of Fully Alive, which means we are ready to begin Unit 3: Created Sexual Male and Female. 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:
Grade 4 Parent Letter
Please read the letter and discuss the topics with your child, so that they can be prepared. We will begin the week of Feb. 6. Don't hesitate to contact me if there are any questions or concerns.
We will NOT be going sliding this week, our long gym class will be snowshoeing as we only have access to the snowshoes for this week. As well, the hill will be exceptionally icy after the thaw/freeze cycle we have had recently, and the freezing rain expected Monday and Tuesday will only make that worse. We will see what the hill conditions are like next week, and let you know at least a day or 2 ahead so that you can send helmets.
Language Arts: We have been working on Procedural Writing and Sequencing. I'm sure you heard about the cheese sandwich making and the jello! The students are currently working in pairs to read and retell a Fractured Fairy Tale in a sequence of 6-10 steps, then put those steps in a Google Slides presentation or a Pixton comic and present it orally to the class.
Math: We measured linear distances using mm, cm and m; measured capacity using ml and L, and measured mass using g and kg. We have also been converting measurements (from ml to L and back, cm to m, etc). We also linked volume to capacity by sinking some centicubes in water and measuring the displacement, which showed us the capacity of the cubes, then calculated the volume by counting them, or by multiplying length x width x height.
Science: Students had the opportunity to take sound meters around various locations in the school and measure the level of sound in decibels. They also experimented with bouncing sound waves - what makes a good sound reflector and what absorbs the sound waves?
Don't forget - Friday is a PD day!
Sunday 14 January 2018
Week 18: Jan 15-19, 2018
What a busy week we had last week!
-Monday we started playing badminton in gym and made our New Year's resolutions
-Tuesday we played dozens of different musical instruments and learned about pitch and vibration. The students also gave me verbal instructions about how to make a cheese sandwich, and learned that they have to be specific in their directions! It was very funny - ask them to tell you about it!
-Wednesday we went sliding for phys ed in the morning, in a lot of fresh snow, and enjoyed hot chocolate afterwards! We also estimated and measured the capacity of various different containers by filling them with coloured water and pouring it into a graduated cylinder to measure.
-Thursday was our first "Snowday" due to freezing rain. We only had a few students, and so combined with Mme Corriveau's class and Mme Gauthier's class for the day.
-Friday we followed the directions for making Jello, and each group made their own flavour. It is in the fridge, ready to eat!
This week, we will continue with measurement in math, by estimating and measuring the mass of various objects. We will also be continuing with procedural writing in language arts, and our sound unit in science.
-Monday we started playing badminton in gym and made our New Year's resolutions
-Tuesday we played dozens of different musical instruments and learned about pitch and vibration. The students also gave me verbal instructions about how to make a cheese sandwich, and learned that they have to be specific in their directions! It was very funny - ask them to tell you about it!
-Wednesday we went sliding for phys ed in the morning, in a lot of fresh snow, and enjoyed hot chocolate afterwards! We also estimated and measured the capacity of various different containers by filling them with coloured water and pouring it into a graduated cylinder to measure.
-Thursday was our first "Snowday" due to freezing rain. We only had a few students, and so combined with Mme Corriveau's class and Mme Gauthier's class for the day.
-Friday we followed the directions for making Jello, and each group made their own flavour. It is in the fridge, ready to eat!
This week, we will continue with measurement in math, by estimating and measuring the mass of various objects. We will also be continuing with procedural writing in language arts, and our sound unit in science.
Sunday 7 January 2018
Week 17: Jan 8-12 Happy New Year!
I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year, in spite of the very cold weather we had throughout the holiday!
Speaking of the weather, it looks like the upcoming week is going to be warmer, and snowy! It might be a good time to go sliding on the hill behind the school for phys ed. In order to go sliding, I will need a signed permission slip from a parent. Please indicate whether your child will need a helmet to go sliding (recommended), and whether they are allowed to have a cup of hot chocolate afterwards (Carnation brand, made with hot water only). You can print and sign a copy of the permission slip here, if you wish, to send in with your child. A hard copy will be sent home with your child on Monday if you haven't sent one in. If possible, I would like to take them sliding on Wednesday, as it will be not too cold, and we will have fresh snow.
Report cards will be coming home the week of Valentine's Day, so we will be spending time catching up students who were away due to trips or illness, completing assignments and wrapping up units. Here is what we are are hoping to complete:
In Math, we have a few students who missed some graphing activities, and some who missed the perimeter and area work. We will also continue with measurement using linear measures (mm, cm, m); measures of mass (g, kg) and measures of capacity (ml, L).
In Science, we completed the light experiments and will be concentrating on the properties of sound in our Light and Sound unit.
In Language Arts, we have a few little things to complete, then we will be starting a new unit on sequencing. Students will be asked to write a set of 6 instructions on how to do something, illustrated by pictures. In the past, students have written instructions on how to shoot a one-timer, how to wrap a present, how to bake cookies, etc. If you would like to take a set of 6 pictures at home and upload them to your child's drive in preparation for this activity, you can do so at any time. If you don't have access to a camera or smartphone at home, students will have the opportunity at school to take pictures using an ipad.
The Public Health nurse will be in the school to give an interactive presentation about the dangers of tobacco use and smoking to the Grade 4 students on Thursday, Jan. 25, so we will be talking about this in Health class in preparation for her presentation.
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