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!