Just a reminder that we are going skating on Monday.  Students can wear casual dress that day and should dress nice and warm…and don’t forget to bring a helmet!

Also a reminder that the rainy season is upon us and students should dress for the weather.  We do head outside for recess when it’s lightly raining.

Spelling Words:

List 1:  clap, crystal, sky, definition, need, matter, pearl, spirit, knee, dollar, chicken, mistake, category, burial, bulletin, energy, custom, leather, empty, oyster

List 2: loose, sweet, common, stage, resign, precious, provision, honour, congratulate, tension, tooth, patient, sword, wreck, profession, convention, tempt, facial, attention, experiment

The students are excited for our pumpkin Math morning this Thursday.  I am looking for 2 or 3 parents who are able to come and help us on Thursday.  We will be starting by 9:15 and going until about noon.  Please email me if you are able to help out!  pgoosen@highroadacademy.com

Thanks so much!
Mrs. Goosen

Attention Parents!!

The grades 5 & 6 classes are hosting a bake sale next Wednesday, November 4th for the elementary and high school students to support the Syrian refugee crisis.  We need each student in our class to bring in 20 pieces/items on Tuesday, November 3rd – that way we have everything and can set up before school on Wednesday.  Please make sure the baking is tightly sealed to maintain its freshness. Baking may be from home or purchased, please make everything NUT-FREE.  Each ‘piece’ should be about the size of a large square or cupcake.  If making little items like small cookies, please make 40.   Thanks so much for your support.  If you have any questions, please direct them to Mrs. Goosen.  (pgoosen@highroadacademy.com)

This Thursday we will be having pumpkin Math in the morning and Fall Fun Day activities in the afternoon!  Students do not need to wear their uniforms and can dress in the fall colours of their teams.  Below I have a list of the teams and their colours:

BROWN – Jaedyn, Macayla, Minjae, Kevin

YELLOW – Luke, Stanley, Kaden, Samantha, Angelo

ORANGE – Noah, Grace, Blaine, Charlie, Jacob, Isabella, Howie

RED – Keegan, Cadence, Nathanael, Quinn, Claire, Annie, Mahalia

Looking forward to an exciting day this Thursday!

Dear Parents,

Something exciting is happening in our Intermediate Department!  This week we introduced the students to GENIUS HOUR!

What is Genius Hour?

Genius Hour is time set aside in class for students to study a new idea or skill that they choose and are passionate about once a week for a set amount of time.

Why is Genius Hour important?

Students take ownership in their own learning. They learn about something they want to learn about. Genius Hour sparks curiosity, and students have an opportunity to become their own Genius. Genius Hour encourages life-long learning, imagination, perseverance, self-awareness, adaptability, as well as other life-lessons.

How will Genius Hour work in my classroom?

Students will participate in Genius Hour once a week for approximately 45min – 1 hr. After mini-lessons on what is appropriate, students will choose a topic to study with Teacher Approval. Students will be given time in class to work on the project with the teacher serving as a Facilitator. The Facilitator will provide research materials (ie., books, computer, iPads, etc.) for students to explore. As an end project, students must present their topic to an audience.

How does this fit with the BC Curriculum?

The great thing about Genius Hour is, not only do students get to pick something they are passionate about to work on, the work they do on the project and the presentation of their work also naturally ties in with a whole bunch of curriculum objectives and expectations!

How Can I Help?

There are many ways to help. As students decide what they want to do, they will need help expanding their ideas and finding resources. Discussing your child’s ideas and helping with where to find some great resources will be extremely important. As well, while we will provide some basic resources and technology, students may need more specific items that we may not be able to provide. Within reason, assisting your child to bring together the materials they need will help your child be more successful with their project. Finally, teachers may need help in the class during the times they are doing Genius Hour. Once your child’s teacher determines the time they will be doing Genius Hour in the week, letting them know if you are available to assist would be helpful if you are interested in helping. The students will be very excited and the more help we get, the more we can help students stay focused. Please keep in mind that Genius Hour will be going to the end of the school year though we will be breaking it up and taking breaks throughout the year.

We are excited to share this opportunity with your child as we embark on this adventure together in the Intermediate Department.

We will be doing Genius Hour on:  WEDNESDAYS FROM 1:00 – 2:00

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.

Sincerely,

Mrs. Goosen

Here are the new spelling lists for Friday, October 30th

List 1:  person, press, guide, doctor, teacher, priest, woman, women, village, angel, demand, excuse, offer, question, pray, confess, mumble, repent, criticize, reason

List 2:  although, surprise, religion, estate, backward, progress, towel, effort, special, include, their, example, debt, debit, forward, umbrella, dry, dried, result, perhaps

We have a number of things happening over these next few weeks:

October 27-29 Scholastic Book Fair.  Students can purchase books before and after school.

October 28th – Knight’s Day.  Students can wear their Knight’s gear or their uniform.

October 29th – Pumpkin Math Day & Fall Fun Afternoon.  In the morning our class will be working with Mr. Hancock’s class as we explore pumpkins and Math!  We will be counting, measuring, weighing, making patterns and getting messy!  Please send along a large t-shirt or something that can get dirty.  Many students like to use kitchen gloves when they are taking out all of the goop and seeds from their pumpkins so please send those along if needed.  In the afternoon we will get into teams and rotate through various fall themed centers.  Students will not wear their uniforms on this day but will dress in their team colours – I will send that list home later this week.

November 2 – Skating field trip with grades 4-6.  Information and field trip form will come home later this week.

November 13 – Skating field trip

Enjoy the rest of your week!

Mrs. Goosen

Here are the spelling lists for next week:

List 1: study, try, write, hear, beyond, among, balance, cry, act, use, tax, thought, size, rule, himself, itself, number, there, cross, something

List 2: publish, manufacture, imprison, present, breathe, employ, serve, brace, magnify, engage, journal, information, region, period, courage, debate, addition, nerve, frame, famous

Every week in Social Studies we read current events articles that are written for middle school students.  These articles are so valuable as they inform our students about the world around them.  This month our current events program (What in the World) has a focus on Europe’s Refugee crisis.  These articles focus on the European crisis as a whole, the civil war in Syria and Canada’s role with refugees.  Today we looked at the first article that gave the students an overview of the crises going on in Europe.  We watched a short video that depicted the life of a girl and how in one short year her life undergoes serious change.  This video and article created a lot of discussion and many question – some that were answerable and many that were not.  If you would like to watch this video please send me an email and I can get you the link.

One of the questions that came up in regards to the Refugee crisis is what can a class of grade five students do?  This is a questions that we will be looking at over the next several weeks…maybe there is something we can do!  Stay tuned…

Happy Thanksgiving to you all!  I hope that you all had a fabulous Thanksgiving weekend, eating too much turkey and treats, and spending time with loved ones!

I have the spelling lists for you this week as well as some pictures from the last couple of weeks!  Sorry these are so late!  Below you will see some pictures from our fantastic hike to Lindeman Lake, our Math lesson where we explored various estimating strategies to figure out how many popcorn kernels were in a container, and some pictures with the students and their adorable grade one buddies!  Enjoy!

Spelling List 1:  inform, furnish, charge, freeze, took, trust, fasten, bought, laid, unable, hurdle, deal, income, please, record, stare, gentle, bury, pretty, understand

Spelling List 2:  president, relative, boundary, thirteen, mice, circus, either, critic, culture, problem, preside, relate, convict, remember, attempt, declare, arrest, enclose, await, consent