Mrs. Couse’s class always went around the neighbourhood, collecting cans for the Salvation Army food drive.  The class asked me yesterday if we could continue on with her tradition…how could I say no!  I am sending home a permission form and request for volunteers.  Please fill it out and return it by Friday.  We need at least four parent volunteers next Thursday, December 8th and Monday, December 12th, between 9 & 10:30.  I know some parents have younger siblings who are still at home – they are welcome to join us!

Also a friendly reminder that tomorrow is Knight’s Day and Genius Hour!!

Thank you!

It is hard to believe that there are only three more weeks until we begin Christmas holidays!  It is amazing how quickly the fall has flown by…maybe we have been having too much fun in the grade 5/6 classroom!!  Below I have a bunch of dates and information for you to read over.

Spelling Lists:

List 1: measure, represent, position, suppose, arrange, similar, continue, appoint, touch, action, importance, justice, section, connect, connection, field, direction, term, veil

List 2: pierced, deceived, reign, weird, division, accelerate, appearance, absence, circle, source, nation, national, minute, minute, autograph, automobile, television, telephone, microphone, dilemma

Dates to Remember:

Monday, November 28th – Annual Salvation Army Food Drive begins … more details below

Wednesday, November 30th – Knight Day

Friday, December 2nd – Christmas Decorating Party … more details below

Wednesday, December 7th – Parent/Teacher interviews 3:30-6pm

Monday, December 12th – Grade 4-12 Christmas Concert – 7pm

Friday, December 16th – Primary Christmas Program – 9:30am (dismissed immediately after the concert)

Reminders and Other Information:

• Genius Hour supplies need to be at school every Wednesday..
• On Friday, December 2nd there will be a class Christmas Decorating Party.  We have a small stash of Christmas decorations but would love some more lights, ornaments and other fun Christmas items that will help make our room look festive.  We will return them to you when we are done with them…thanks!!
• On November 28th, we will begin our annual Salvation Army Food Drive. This is a great opportunity for us to connect with our community and support less fortunate families over the holiday season. Each year, we turn our food drive into a competition to see which 4-6 class can bring in the most food. Each food item received is worth 1 point, unless it is on our top 10 list, then it will be worth 5 points. We will keep a tally in the classroom together.
  • peanut butter
  • pork and beans
  • canned lunches (alphagetti, chunky soup)
  • tomato soup
  • mushroom soup
  • tuna
  • mac n’ cheese
  • chicken noodle soup
  • pasta (noodles)
  • pasta sauce
• Parent/Teacher Interviews – these are coming up shortly. The office will start booking appointments AFTER report cards have gone home at the end of next week.

I think that is about it!  Have a great week!

We had a great week this week! I have a few reminders for next week as well as our new spelling lists.

Science Quiz – please take a look at the Science quiz that came home today, sign it and have your child return it on Monday.

Wednesday, November 23rd – Crazy Hat Day

Friday, November 25th – Early dismissal at 12:15

Spelling List #1 (P7):  family, careful, beauty, loss, wrong, engine, beneath, though, cabbage, awe, vacation, degree, beautiful, enjoy, voyage, carries, cities, empire, industry, awful

Spelling List #2 (T1): commence, crucial, recent, severe, entitle, familiar, impossible, amuse, accompany, genuine, electrical, straight, political, racial, universal, speech, circular, argue, real, worship

I think that’s it!  Have a great weekend!

We have started studying the topic of ‘Human Migration’ in Social Studies.  In the upcoming weeks, I am going to be in need of some parent volunteers to help me run centers for the students.  Each center will focus on a different immigrant group and I will need one parent per center to work with a small group of students by facilitating discussion and keeping them on task. 🙂  During EACH time slot listed below, I need FOUR PARENT VOLUNTEERS.  Please take a look at the schedule and if you are able to help out, please e-mail me as soon as possible.  Ideally, I would love to have each parent volunteer all four times.  This allows you to become very comfortable with the content and activities, however, I realize this may not work for everyone’s schedule, so I’ll happily fit you in whenever you are available.  Thanks in advance for helping making our Socials class more enriching for the students.

Thursday, Dec.1 from 9:15-10am

Friday, Dec. 2 from 9:15-10am

Tuesday, Dec. 6 from 2:15-3pm

Tuesday, Dec. 13 from 2:15-3pm

Melanie Derksen (mderksen@highroadacademy.com)

Last week we made snowflake crystals to help us learn about a method of separating solutions…crystallization.  The students had a lot of fun and I thought I would share some pictures with you.  Enjoy!

Good morning!  I hope that you all had a restful long weekend!  With Friday off last week I forgot to send my ‘Friday Update’…so here it is, a couple of days late!

Spelling:  no spelling this week due to a short week.  We will have BMV on Thursday.

Genius Hour:  Last week we had our kickoff week and a letter went home.  Our genius hour is on Wednesdays this year, from 2:00 – 3:00.  Some students have already planned out what they are going to do and should come ready to get started on their projects this week.

Mixtures & Solutions Quiz:  Students have a unit quiz on Friday and have brought home their Science study guide as well as their duotangs.  I have extra study guides at school and will attach one on the blog as well.

mixtures-and-solutions-study-guide

November Dates to Remember:

Friday, November 25th – 12:15 dismissal

Wednesday, November 30th – Knight’s Day

I think that is it!  Have a great week!

Full dress uniform is optional tomorrow because it is required to wear Full Dress Uniform for Thursday and our Remembrance Day Assembly.

We have had a great week this week!  We did a couple of fun Science experiments with separating solutions and are wrapping up our first Science unit.  Next week I will be sending home a study guide to help your child prepare for our unit quiz.  And speaking of next week…we will be starting GENIUS HOUR!!  We have our kickoff assembly on Monday and will also be sending some more information home at that time.  Our genius hour time will be last block on Wednesdays and any parent help would be greatly appreciated!

Reminders:

Thursday, Nov 10th – Remembrance Day Seniors Tea from 1-2 & assembly from 2-3pm

Friday, Nov 11th – Remembrance Day – no school

Monday, Nov 14th – Pro D Day – no school

Uniform Policy – I just wanted to let you know that I have been noticing that some of the pants the students are wearing are not pants purchased from Neat Uniforms.  Would you please take a moment to check and see that you have proper pants for your child.  If you have any questions or concerns about this, please come and speak with me.

Multiplication Facts – We are in the middle of reviewing and practicing basic facts (addition, subtraction, multiplcation and division problems) and I am noticing that many students do not have their multiplication facts memorized.  Please have your child review their Math facts at home with flashcards OR they can go onto Xtramath.com and sign in there.  On the right hand column of the blog, way at the bottom, is the XtraMath link.  Your child has their 4 digit pin and can plug it in and practice away!  Multiplication facts are essential for Math this year so practice at home would be greatly appreciated.

Spelling – No spelling next week due to a short week.  We WILL have BMV next week!  Also wanted to send a friendly reminder that I need a note or email if your child got 20/20 on Spelling City.  Thanks!