Along Came a...Cat Named Buckley

The class had a howling time learning about the grey wolf this week. They learned about paragraph writing with the help of a cat named Buckley! Keep reading to find out more!

Weekly Highlights:

Students~

• revisited a non-fiction article about the grey wolf. They created jot notes identifying the main idea and key details about its appearance, food and habitat. Students created a realistic drawing of a wolf and labelled some of its physical adaptations.
• worked on sorting numbers using a Venn diagram and started learning about strategies for estimating sums. Please have your child watch and work along with the following learning video Estimating Sums Video 
• presented the imaginary animals they created in science in front of their classmates.
• learned more about the vegetation found in the prairie ecozone during social studies.
• worked together to sort out the correct order of several sentences that created a basic paragraph about a crazy and athletic cat named Buckely!  This week, we will work on composing our own paragraphs about a favourite pet or a pet we would like to have during our Writer's Workshop period.

Student Wolf Labelling Work

Coming Up:

• Oct. 30 - Halloween Howl @ 5:30 - 8:30 pm ($2/person)
• Oct. 31 - Orange & Black / Costume Spirit Day
• Nov. 3 - Sp. Test
• Oct. 30-Nov. 1 - We will be working on a few reading and writing assessments in the coming week(s). Please let me know if your child will be absent from school. Thank you.

I kindly request that parents and guardians do not send more than one or two candy or chocolate treats to school each day. With Halloween coming up, it's easy for the children to wish to bring more than one. Kindly monitor the amount of sugary treats that come to school. Also, please do not send any treats with nuts (peanuts, tree nuts, etc.). Your support and cooperation would be greatly appreciated. 

Have a wonderful and sweet week ahead!

Sincerely,

Mrs. Aiginitis

Time for Buddies!

The Grade Fours had their first visit with their Kindergarten Buddies this past week. It was an exciting time for students in both grades! We will be meeting with our Kindergarten friends about two times a month throughout the year!

Weekly Highlights:

Students~

• worked on make-meaning strategies when reading non-fiction texts. We are reading about the grey wolf and learning how to identify the main ideas and key concepts in each section of the article.
• completed their monster exchange drawings and descriptive writing pieces.
• created an imaginary animal that could live and survive in one of the smaller habitats on our school playground in science.
• learned about the prairie ecozone and the trees that can be found in the boreal shield.
• compared, ordered, and sorted numbers in math. They learned how to sort numbers using a Venn diagram. It would be helpful for students to review Un. 2, Lessons 2 and 3 at home using the Pearson online math text.
• learned how our amazing brain grows, changes and continues learning in health class! This is called neuroplasticity! 
• took part in French, Phys. Ed., and Arts Ed. classes with their corresponding teachers.
• worked on their leadership skills during Kindergarten Buddies with Ms. Sotropa's class!

Coming Up:

• Oct. 23 - Teachers' Convention (No school for students)
• Oct. 26 - Healthy Hunger Subway Lunch for those who ordered
• Oct. 27 - Sp. Test
• TBA - The Un. 1 Math Test will be sent home in the student agenda to be signed by a parent and returned to school on the following school day. Please check the student agenda for more information. Thank you.

Have a good week ahead.

Sincerely,

Mrs. Aiginitis

 

Good Morning, Sunshine!

Author's Visit

We had a short but busy week in Grade 4. The class participated in an author's visit and started a new unit in math. Keep reading to find out more!

Author: Trina Markusson

Weekly Highlights:

Students~

• completed the unit 1 math test on patterns and equations and started a new unit on whole numbers to 10 000. The class is currently learning different ways to represent numbers (ie. standard form, expanded form, words, place value, picture, Base Ten blocks).
• learned about the power of yet in health class and worked on a 4-step plan to learn something they do not know how to do...yet!
• conducted an outdoor field study in science class on our playground to examine the living things that might live there.
• participated in an author's visit with Trina Markusson. Mrs. Markusson shared what inspired her to write the book Good Morning, Sunshine and shared a few helpful tools for mindfulness. We will work on incorporating more mindfulness tools into our school day. 
• started a Monster Exchange project. They listened to a humourous book about monsters and then completed a listening activity to draw one that was being described. This week, students will create their own drawings and write descriptions to accompany their work. Stay tuned!
• continued their work in social studies learning about the Boreal Plain ecozone. We will be learning about the Prairies in upcoming lessons.

Field Study

Coming Up:

• Tuesday: Kindergarten Buddies @ 1:45 - 2:15 pm. This will be our first class together! The Grade Fours will work on good leadership during our visits and classes together.
• Wednesday: Book Shopping at the Library (return all library books from home to school)
• Thursday: Sp. Test

*Further reminders, announcements, and homework will be noted in the student agenda and Edsby. Please initial the agenda on a daily basis. Thank you.

Sincerely,

Mrs. Aiginitis

If you look closely, you 
will notice a lovely little
ladybug.

Expanding Gratitude

The Grade Fours had a great week at school. They put on their best smiles on picture day and enjoyed learning more about Thanksgiving Day in Canada. Keep reading to find out more!

Weekly Highlights:

Students~

• worked on multiplication and division story problems and solving equations with an unknown variable in math. We reviewed some earlier work from our unit on numbers patterns and the children took their practice pages home to study for the upcoming math test on October 11th.
• wrote in their Writer's Notebooks about their most memorable day(s) and shared in front of the class if they wished to do so. 
• learned three ways to read a book and started building their reading stamina during 'read-to-self' activities. 
• compared growth mindset thinking to fixed mindset thinking in health class. 
• started learning about the four ecozones in Saskatchewan: Taiga Shield, Boreal Shield, Boreal Plains, and Prairies. We will continue with this work next week.
• read and learned more about Thanksgiving Day in Canada and worked on a Reader's Theatre autumn play.
• worked on a one-point perspective drawing during our visual arts class. 
• put on their best smiles for individual and class pictures on Friday!

Coming Up:

• Monday, Oct. 9 - Thanksgiving Day (Holiday)
• Tuesday, Oct. 10 - P.D. Day (No School Day for Students)
• Wednesday, Oct. 11 - Unit 1 Math test
• Thursday, Oct. 12 - Sp. Test; Author's Visit (Bring $15 in a sealed envelope with the student's name if you wish to purchase the book Good Morning, Sunshine and have it signed by the author).

Have a Happy Thanksgiving everyone! We have had a great start to our year. Your children are fantastic!

Sincerely,

Mrs. Aiginitis

With Our Orange Hearts

Our class had a productive week at school. The students put time, care and effort into learning more about the impact residential schools had on the children that attended them. Our school joined together to create a display of orange hearts in honour of Truth and Reconciliation Day in Canada. The Grade Fours created a postcard display related to the experiences of the children who attended residential schools.

Class Post Cards and School Heart Display

Weekly Highlights:

Students~

• worked on addition and multiplication story problems. We reviewed multiplication and division facts by completing a booklet. The class will continue with subtraction and division story problems involving unknown variables this week. Note: A Unit 1 math test on Patterns and Equations is on October 11 (tentative). Students should begin reviewing the unit at home using the online Math textbook. The practice pages we have worked on in class will be sent home at the end of the week.
• completed reading and comprehension questions about The Orange Shirt Story. They worked on answering the questions using good sentence structure.
• responded to the stories Shi-shi-etko and Shin-chi's Canoe by writing postcards to the main character who is a residential school survivor. These postcards were displayed at the base of the presentation stairs.
• created orange hearts as part of a school-wide project in support of Orange Shirt Day and Truth and Reconciliation Day in Canada.
• used their mapping skills in social studies to describe the locations of various communities in Saskatchewan.
• continued to explore the concept of respect (others, self, property, nature) and created a personalized actions list this week. The class will continue working on Growth Mindset activities in Health.
• went book shopping at the library. Students are asked to search for and sign out two different types of books bi-weekly (ie. fiction and non-fiction or graphic novel and chapter book). 
• attended Phys. Ed., Arts Ed., and French classes with their assigned teachers.

With Our Orange Hearts

Coming Up:

• Tuesday, October 3 - Sp. Test
• Friday, October 6 - School Photos
• Monday, October 9 - Thanksgiving Day (School Holiday)
• Tuesday, October 10 - PD Day (No School Day for students)
• Wednesday, October 11 - Unit 1 Math Test (tentative)

Please check the agenda for further homework reminders and announcements. Thank you for helping your children return homework promptly to school the next day.

This is us browsing our project display after
book shopping at the library.

Have a great week ahead.

Sincerely,

Mrs. Aiginitis

A Canadian Hero

Ready for the Terry Fox Walk!

Dear Grade Four Families,

It is hard to believe that the autumn season is already here. Students have been busy at work in the classroom. They enjoyed being outside for the Terry Fox Walk and school assembly at the end of the week. Your generous donations towards cancer research and the Terry Fox Foundation were greatly appreciated.

Outdoor School Assembly

Thank you for checking your child's agenda on a daily basis. Also, helping your child return their homework to school promptly is very helpful and greatly appreciated. You will find reminders and homework usually in the student agenda.

Weekly Highlights:

Students~

• worked on extending and representing number patterns and started learning about equations in math. You may wish to review Unit 1, Lessons 1-4 at home with your child through the Pearson etext. Login information was sent home in a previous message to families. Please let me know if you would like me to resend it to you.
• worked on using Google Slides during our computer literacy class. Students may complete this assignment at home on the weekend. Please ask them which buttons to click/not to click once in Google Classroom as they have been "trained" on how to avoid deleting any work. Thank you.
  
• learned more about mapping skills and cardinal points in social studies.
• practiced researching the plants and animals that live in a habitat they chose during science class. The class is off to a great start researching on the internet. The kid-safe search engine we are planning on using is called Kidrex. We are really excited about our research work! Click here to view the search engine: Kidrex
• completed a word graffiti describing Terry Fox, who is considered a Canadian hero.
• worked in small groups to prepare and present commercials or small skits in front of the class about the importance of respect.
• went on the Terry Fox Walk in honour of Terry and in support of cancer research.
• attended an outdoor school assembly on the playground.
• participated in Arts Education with Ms. Nadoroznik, Physical Education with Mr. Wilmot and French with Mrs. Matichuk this week.

Coming Up:

• Sept. 25 - Spelling Test
• Sept. 26 - Come and Go Open House Event @ School (4-6 pm)
• Sept. 29 - Orange Shirt Day (School-Wide) - Wear an orange shirt for Day for Truth and Reconciliation.
• Please check your child's agenda on a daily basis for homework reminders and further announcements.

Sincerely,

Mrs. Aiginitis

September Start-Up!

Dear Grade 4 Families,

The Grade Fours have been familiarizing themselves with their new classroom and routines. Following our classroom rules and understanding the concept of respect has been central and key to many of our activities so far. It would be helpful for families to review the expectations chart (above) with their children. We look forward to a wonderful year of learning!

Class Display: All About Me!

In Math, please set aside some time to practice addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division facts. These are essential to the work we will do this year. We are currently working on a unit in math on patterns and equations. A math letter will be sent home this coming week with more information.

Thank you for ensuring that your child comes to school prepared with their agenda signed by you every day. We will use the agenda on a daily basis as a communication tool between home and school. Students will write their homework assignments in their agendas. Please remember to check your email and Edsby regularly for communication updates as well. A weekly blog link will be sent home via Edsby to update you on classroom activities.

Although subject to change, our class schedule is posted below for you to see. It follows the Day 1-5 school operating cycle:

Starting on Monday, our school will be collecting donations for the Terry Fox Foundation for Cancer Research. If you wish to donate to this cause, please send $1 or $2 to school with your child starting on Monday morning. We will be going on a Terry Fox Walk this coming week on Friday in honour of Terry's vision. Thank you for your generosity. 

Weekly Highlights:

Students~

• read the book titled Decibella to learn more about maintaining reasonable voice volumes/levels during different activities and work periods in the classroom.
• received their RBE usernames and passwords and practiced logging into their school accounts. Their login information can be found on the last page of the school agenda.
• practiced extending number patterns in math.
• started learning about geography and map reading skills in social studies.
• discussed what a hero is and started learning more about Terry Fox.
• read an article about "Sleep" and worked on interacting with text while reading non-fiction.
• participated in physical education with Mr. Wilmot and French class with Mrs. Matichuk. Students will have Arts Education with Ms. Nadoroznick on Monday.

Coming Up:

• Sept. 18 - Sp. Test #1 (Spelling tests take place every Day 5); Fire Evacuation Drill / Practice; Student Verification Forms due; We will be collecting donations for the Terry Fox Foundation for Cancer Research from Sept. 18 - 22
• Sept. 19 - Lock Down Drill / Practice (tentative); New Sp. List (Written in agenda every Day 1)
• Sept. 22 - Terry Fox Walk (come prepared and dressed for the weather)
• Thank you for checking and signing your child's agenda on a daily basis. Homework reminders, announcements, and school information will be communicated through the agenda and Edsby. 

Sincerely,

Mrs. Aiginitis