Classroom
Notes – October 2017
Terry Fox
Run – Thank you for donating
to our school-wide fundraiser in support of the Terry Fox Foundation.
As a school, we exceeded our goal! Our students enjoyed running for
this charitable cause while demonstrating Catholic values. Way to go
grade 3's!
Swim to
Survive – We will leave St.
Gregory's for our first swimming lesson on Friday, October 13th
as soon as attendance is taken. All students must take the bus for
this excursion. Please ensure that your child arrives to school on
time since we hope to leave by 9:25. Just a reminder that your child
will need to bring a swimsuit, towel and an adequate bag to hold both
wet and dry swimming items. Please be advised that all students need
to eat a sufficient breakfast on days that we have swimming lessons
since we will not have time for morning snack; however we will return
to the school in time for lunch. A substantial number of parents have
volunteered for this excursion, so I contact all interested
volunteers to confirm the day(s) in which we will require your
assistance. Thank you for the extra work needed to prepare your child
for this learning experience.
Picture Day
– Unfortunately, our school picture day conflicts with one of our
swimming lessons. I have discussed this issue with our administration
and you would have received a synrevoice message explaining that our
class will be called at 9:00 into the school to take their pictures
before leaving for the Minto Recreation Centre. Please ensure that
your child arrives by 9:00 and that he or she is prepared to take
their photos on October 27th.
Lottery
Calendars – Students can
return lottery calendars at any time; however, if you are not going
to participate in this activity, please return the lottery calendars
back to the school.
Patterning
Unit Test – We will have a
math assessment for this unit on Thursday, October 19th.
I have sent home Math homework this week for extra practice at home.
We have been working very hard on the “big ideas” and important
concepts for this unit. This assessment will be sent home to be
signed and returned in the upcoming weeks.
Always
Learning in Grade 3...
In
Math, students are
learning to use a variety of strategies to show their thinking. By
taking a problem solving approach to learning, students are
integrating number lines, addition/subtraction, tables etc. to
demonstrate their understanding of the given concept. We are
continuing to work on counting forward to 1000 by 2's, 5's, 10's,
25's, 100's from various starting points. In Patterning,
we are learning to create and extend repeating patterns using a
variety of tools and attributes (e.g. size, colour, number,
orientation, etc.). Students have been challenging themselves to
extend and/or create geometric patterns by using square tiles and
sticks and they are representing the growing/shrinking pattern using
a number line. Also, we have been having some amazing number talks as
students describe their strategies for mental math.
In
Reading, we have been
focusing on making connections to stories. Next, we will target
visualization as a reading strategy. We are reading a variety of
personal narratives during our shared reading time, highlighting the
characteristics of narrative writing. Also, we have been reading a
variety of non-fiction texts and observing the characteristics of
these types of texts. In Writing,
our class is finishing up a descriptive paragraph called, “My
Favourite Holiday.” Our learning goals for this task is to use
adjectives, exclamation marks and detail to “bump up” our work.
Next, we will write our own Halloween narrative using characteristics
such as problem/solution, setting, plot and quotation marks.
In
Family Life, we are
discussing how we are different and alike. Next, we will look our
feelings and how we express our feelings. Thank you for spending time
with your child to discuss their name. Students enjoyed sharing the
answers to the questions that were sent home and most students
learned something interesting and unique about their name. Our class
learned that “God Calls Us By Name.”
In
Science, we are
continuing our unit in “forces.” Soon, a take home project will
be sent home for students to research natural forces.
In
the Arts, we will begin our autumn art activity that uses
patterning, line, colour and shape. Students will love this task.
This
month is a very busy month at the school and it will continue to get
busier both within and outside the classroom. I appreciate your
patience and effort each day as we continue to work together to
ensure the success of your child. I hope everyone had a memorable
Thanksgiving to reflect on family and gratitude.
Sincerely,
Mr.
Blais
