Classroom Notes - December 2015
- No Spelling homework this week – The last week of school before Christmas is always very busy, so there will be no new Spelling work this week. New work will continue in January.
- Student agendas – As previously mentioned, please be diligent with checking student agendas daily. I will check for parent signatures/initials each day. All parents should be aware of due dates for both English and French and that work is completed with some assistance. A positive, supportive approach at home will reinforce a love of learning. Thank you for your hard work!
- Student supplies - It seems that many students are running out of classroom supplies (e.g. pencil crayons, markers, pencils, erasers, etc.). Please ask your child if they are in need of new items to replenish their desk supplies. We have a limited amount of items available for classroom use and these items need to last the entire year. Thank you for your assistance with this matter.
- Raz-Kids and reading at home – It is recommended that students read for 15-20 minutes each night either online, or with books at home. Students who read regularly increase their ability to reach grade 3 reading expectations and they will greatly improve reading fluency.
- St. Gregory's website – You will find a link to our class Twitter page. Check it out!
- If you prefer a paper copy of our monthly newsletter, please write me a note.
Always
Learning in Gr. 3
In
Math,
we
have been having some amazing number talks using mental math.
Students are explaining their strategies for solving addition and
subtraction equations and learning to use new strategies by listening
to their peers. Additionally, we have been focusing on number sense
by working on rounding numbers to the nearest ten. We have been busy
representing money amounts to $10 by using a variety of activities
and games. Students have created their own food menus and they are
pretending to purchase items in order to add and subtract money
amounts to $10. Please
remember that Math homework is due Wednesday, December 16.
In
Language,
we have discussed the characteristics of personal narratives during
several different read alouds. As a class, we have been working on
retelling the story, identifying the main idea, making predictions
and making text-to-self connections. We are continuing to work on
using strategies to improve our written responses to short answer
reading comprehension questions.
In
Science,
we have completed our unit on Growth and Changes in Plants. We will
start working on our new unit called “Soils in the Environment”
this week.
As
we entered the season of Advent, our class has been having weekly
prayers, Gospel readings and songs. Our Advent Mass will be
Tuesday, December 15 at 10:45. All parents are welcome!
We
will be having our Christmas concert on Thursday, December 17th
at 9:30 a.m. Seeing that we currently have no snow, I thought it
would be appropriate for our class to sing “Let It Snow.” If
possible, please dress your child in a white shirt for this day.
Students have been practising the song in class and they are very
excited to perform. See you there!
On
behalf of all staff, I wish you a safe and memorable Christmas
holiday. I look forward to seeing everyone again in the new year.
Thank
you for your continued support!
Mr.
Blais
