Our grade 3 class had a special guest presenter who talked to us about pedestrian safety. Please ask your child what they know and what they learned about being safe.

February 2016 - Classroom Notes

• Skating - Our designated skating time is every Wednesday from 2:45 - 3:30. We will wait until all the classes have entered the school after last recess before proceeding outside to the rink shack. Parent volunteers should meet us at the office by 2:45 so we can walk out together. Please be advised that parents should not be waiting at the rink shack during recess since no adults other than staff should be in the yard during this time. Thank you for understanding and keeping our students safe.
• Family Life Homework - Just to clarify an issue, I did previously mention that the Family Life homework on family customs and traditions was due on February 17th. This was a mistake on my part as I meant to type February 10th. If your child did not return their work, they can still hand it in on February 17th; however, we will begin discussing the family flags of those students who have already completed the task. Thanks for understanding!
• Extra Clothing - I am very happy that most students are bringing extra socks, mittens, hats, etc. in their school bags in case of wet clothing. With the wet weather, I know that many students have been using their extra dry items. If your child sends home wet clothing items, please ensure that these items get replaced and not forgotten at home.
• Report Cards - First term report cards will be sent home Friday, February 12. Please take some time with your child to discuss their learning goals for the second term. Also, there is no specific day scheduled for parent interviews at this time; however, I will only contact those parents who I need to speak with. 
• Valentine's Day cards - I have sent home a class list for all students in case they wish to bring in cards to their peers. Since Valentines Day is on the weekend, students can bring their cards on either Friday, February 12, or Tuesday, February 16th.
• Family Day - Monday, February 15th. No school as it is a long weekend.
• A special thanks... - On behalf of all staff, I wish to thank all parents who contributed to our Valentine Raffle Basket. I know that this event is very exciting for all and that Parent Council puts a lot of work to make this night successful. Thank you as well for those parents who have volunteered to assist our class with tying skates. We appreciate your assistance!

Always Learning in Grade 3

In Math, we are learning to estimate, measure and record length, height and distance using centimetres, metres and kilometres. We will continue to practice telling time to 5 minute intervals, as well as reading a thermometer. Next, we will investigate the perimeter of various shapes. In Number Sense, we have been working on 3-digit addition with regrouping, as well as subtraction of 3-digit numbers. It is recommended that students continue to use the Mathletics programs on a regular basis.

In Language, our gr. 3's are learning about the characteristics of an adventure story. During shared writing, we will write our own story and students are beginning to plan their own adventure story using a variety of organizers and writing tools. Students are very engaged in this task! Please don't forget that students should read for 15 minutes each night to ensure that they reach grade 3 reading expectations by the end of the year. I check Raz-Kids regularly to see who is using the program and I do consider it to be part of weekly homework.

In Science, we are continuing our unit on forces. We will explore magnetism and friction through some experiments in the near future.

Last week, we had a guest presenter speak to our class about pedestrian safety. Our students were very engaged and asked many important questions.

Now that we have begun the Lenten season, there are many weekly fundraising activities to raise money for our school wide Lenten project. Please watch for weekly updates to know what is going on in the school. Thank you for your support!

Mr. Blais

Classroom Notes - January 2016

• Now that the weather has been much colder and since we have an abundance of snow in the school yard, students should be dressed appropriately for the winter season. It is always a good idea to send extra socks and gloves in your child's backpack just in case.
• Reminder - Scholastic orders are due Friday, January 15. Please note that you can make your child's book orders online if you choose. I would prefer if you send a cheque as opposed to sending cash.
• Mme. Kealey is sending a reminder that students are working hard on their unit on pioneers in Social Studies and that gr. 3's will be having their quiz on Monday, January 18.
• Skating - I noticed that workers are beginning to make the outdoor rink. We will be skating at least once a week depending on the weather. When our school skating schedule has been created, I will send a note home. I will be seeking parent volunteers to help tie skates once our scheduled time has been determined. Your assistance is always greatly appreciated!
• PD Day - January 22

Always Learning in Gr. 3

In Math, we have been continuing to add and subtract money amounts to $10. By using a variety of activities and manipulatives, students are applying learned strategies to assist in their understanding of this concept. In Measurement, students are learning to read analogue clocks to 5 minute intervals as well as using digital clocks. In the near future, we will learn to read and record temperature using a thermometer. We will record the temperature daily using our classroom thermometer and compare our results with online websites. Also, we will investigate linear measurement using standard units, such as centimetre, metre and kilometre.

In Language, students are completing a narrative writing task in which they pretended to live in a snow globe. We focused writing 2-3 main events using descriptive words. Currently, students are writing a fictional letter to a new student to describe the rules and routines of our classroom. In terms of comprehension, students are learning about prefixes as well as adverbs.

In Science, I have decided to focus on forces, instead of soils at this time. I have moved our soils unit to the end of the school year in order to have more opportunities to bring a variety of soils in the classroom for hands-on experiments. So far in our forces unit, we have discussed forces as a push or a pull and movement. We have started to discuss different types of forces, such as gravitational, muscular, buoyancy and friction.

In Health, students are completing their unit on personal safety. We have discussed pedestrian, outdoor and fire safety extensively since September. Students will begin creating posters to highlight their understanding of specific personal safety issues.

In Family Life, students of been reflecting and discussing their talents and the ways in which they can develop and share their talents to enhance the gifts that God has given them. Next, we will focus on our families and friends.

Just a reminder that first term reports will be sent home in February. The learning skills that our school will comment on this term are initiative and organization.  I have spoken extensively about the importance of good work habits and the expectations of these two specific learning skills. Your child should speak to you about their goals for the term, as well as their achievements.

Thank you for your continued support!

Mr. Blais

Our class won the Christmas door decorating contest. The gr. 3's were very proud of their achievement. We enjoyed our prize of hot chocolate and Timbits. Thank you Mrs. Izsak and Mrs. Jeffery for taking the time to bring these items to our class!

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 17^th 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 

Classroom Notes...

Just a few reminders for parents and students.

• Science quiz on plants will be Thursday, December 03
• Any donated items for Food Hamper and/or Christmas Sale can be brought to school this week. Thank you for your generosity!
• New Spelling homework is due this Friday
• Final pasta lunch fundraiser Thursday, December 03
• Gingerbread Night is Friday, December 04

With the change in the weather, students should always be dressed appropriately. Please ensure that your child comes to school with warm clothing and that all items are labelled with first and last names. It is always a good idea to keep extra hats, mittens and socks in the backpack just in case we experience wet weather. 

A detailed classroom newsletter will be posted next week.