Classroom
Notes – November 2017
School-Wide
Fund Raising Initiatives – At
this time, I wish to thank all parents who have donated to the grade
6 Bake Sale (in support of their end of year field trip), as well as
our United Way campaign (e.g. Gum Day, etc). Our United Way campaign
will continue over the next few weeks, so please remember to check
out the school weekly memo to be aware of each activity. Thank you
for your generosity!
Change in
the Weather! - There has been a
return to the wet and cold weather. It is recommended that all
children are dressed appropriately each day since we strive to go
outside on most days. Our school yard notoriously gets full of
puddles and the yard is usually damp and soggy. Rain boots are
recommended on these days if possible. Also, it is always a good idea
to store extra socks in your child's backpack just in case he or she
gets wet feet during recess. Extra mittens and toques are a good idea
as well as the weather continues to get colder.
Classroom
Gardens – Our school has
received two garden towers (one organic, one hydroponic) to teach
students about growing plants indoors and reducing our impact on the
natural environment. We had a guest speaker come to St. Gregory's to
explain the gardening system to our grade 3 class. Our class
participated by planting lettuce and basil seeds and filling the
organic tower with soil. Check out the pictures on our class Twitter
page! Our learning through this garden system will enhance our
Science unit on Plants. We will share the responsibility of
maintaining these gardening systems with Mrs. Cooper's grade 3/4
class, as well as our school Eco-Team. All students are curious and
engaged in this learning initiative!
Student
Logins/Passwords and Extra Homework Practice
– As previously mentioned, all students have login information for
Raz-Kids and Dreambox glued into the front of their agenda.
Additionally, there are multiple apps and resources found in the
“student portal” through our Board website that students can
access and use for additional homework practice. To access the
student portal, first you need to go to our Board website:
www.ocsb.ca Next, you need to
click on “Student Portal.” Students will be asked to type their
email address and password. Students have this information glued in
the front of their agenda. Please note that I have changed all
student passwords, so they will not be the same as last year.
New Math App
– I have installed the Math app “Prodigy” on all school iPads.
Currently, I am registering our class for this app and it will be
available for home use in the near future. I will inform you shortly
of how to access the website, as well as student login information.
Progress
Report – Just a reminder to
sign and return the bottom portion of the progress report if you have
not done so already. Please take some time to speak to your child
about their goals for the first term. Remember that students are
continually working on their work habits to develop their learning
skills both for their current year and in preparation for
junior/intermediate divisions. Regularly, I take time to speak to
students about all six learning skills to explain the criteria for
each one. We speak about the necessity of being honest with your
self, taking ownership for your behaviour/work habits, and the
importance of self-reflecting and goal setting. Praise your child for
their accomplishments and speak positively about next steps. I have
reminded students that their letter grades for their learning skills
can always change throughout the year; however, in the end, it is up
to each student to demonstrate effort and take responsibility for
their learning. Thank you for taking time to speak to your child
about their progress so far this year in grade 3.
Always
Learning in Grade 3...
In
Math, students are learning to represent, add and subtract
money amounts to $10 in a variety of ways. We completed an engaging
activity in which students created their own restaurant menus. In
partners, students traded menus, purchased several food items and
added the cost of each item. We will continue to work on several
strategies to add and subtract money amounts. We are learning to add
3 digits using algorithms, as well as mental math strategies through
practice and problem solving activities. Students are learning to use
effective problem solving strategies to understand what a question is
asking and to show their thinking.
Patterning
unit tests have been sent home. Please sign and return this
assessment as soon as possible.
In
Writing, our grade 3's demonstrated their creative abilities
by writing a Halloween narrative called “My Haunted House For
Sale.” We learned to write an interesting introduction that
developed the setting, main characters and the story's problem using
adjectives. Students varied punctuation by using exclamation,
question and quotation marks. Our class learned to create an
interesting solution to their Halloween narrative. Way to persevere
through a longer writing task grade 3's!
In
Reading, we have been working on reading comprehension
strategies, such as making connections and visualization. Students
will begin learning strategies for answering short answer reading
questions.
In
Science, we are continuing with our unit on Forces. This week,
I will show our class examples of the take home task on natural
forces. A detailed letter explaining this task will go home very
shortly.
In
Family Life, we have discussed talents and gifts and students
know that God wants us to share our talents and gifts with others to
make the world a better place. Next we will discuss families.
In
Visual Arts, we are finishing up our Fall art activity that
complemented our patterning unit in Math. Students have also
completed a drawing of their haunted house from their narrative
writing. I have began to display this work in our hallway outside the
classroom.
I
wish to thank all parents for preparing your child for our swimming
lessons for the last three weeks. Your efforts made each morning
successful! Thank you to all parents who volunteered and assisted our
class on this exciting learning experience.
Mr.
Blais
