Friday, December 17, 2010

Happy Holidays!!

Hopefully you had a chance to see the concert, either last night or yesterday afternoon. It was a wonderful performance that seemed to get better every time. As soon as it is over, you start thinking about next year. Notes home: 1) Chicken wrap orders went home today 2) Information on the Extended French program at Admiral Collingwood (Grade 4s only) 3) The latest edition of the KIDSCOOP NEWS. There could only be one website to post for the holidays. My little ones and I spent a lot of time on this one last year. You can track Santa as he makes his way around the globe. How does he do it all in one night?? Santa I wish all of you a merry holiday and a happy New Year. 2011 is going to be an exciting time! All the best!

Thursday, December 16, 2010

So far, so good

Well, I'm posting in between performances tonight. The afternoon show went very well, and we're looking forward to the evening show. Students were asked to be at the school around 6:15. As for dress, red and green (and fun) are the themes for our song. Reminder - we have been asked to make sure that the shelves in the hallway are clean. Students are asked to take home their shoes, extra mitts, hats, etc. tomorrow before they leave. Friday - speaking of red and green, that is the theme of our spirit day tomorrow. Wear red and green and score points for your house! As well, we have a character education assembly first thing in the morning after carol singing. We hope to see you tonight!!

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Holiday Concert Rescheduled

The concert originally scheduled for tonight (Wed.) has been changed to tomorrow (Thurs.). The times remain the same, 1:45 and 6:30. Our class needs to be on stage at the beginning of the show, so if students could arrive around 6:15, that would leave us time to get ready. Students were given addition and subtraction sheets to work on today, to prepare for tomorrow's math test. The subtraction sheet has some different strategies to use as well. Students may use a calculator at home to check their answers. Please see Monday's post for some helpful websites. Deadline: - published copies of narratives are due Friday. Friday - grade fours are invited to a dance during the last 100 min. Grade 3s are welcome to bring games or activities to do during this time, provided they are appropriate for school. Have a good night. Believe it or not, the snow has to end sometime (this is not a written guarantee!).

Monday, December 13, 2010

Tuesday - Old Man Winter is up to his tricks again. Tomorrow, the entire school is participating in the Holiday Tag-stravaganza outdoor activity from 1:45 - 3:15. Based on what I see out my window today, and the weather reports for tomorrow, please ensure students are dressed warmly and ready for the wind. Scarves, and layers of shirts and sweaters are always a good idea. It is much better to take something off, then to wish you'd brought more. Concert Reminder (Oops!) - The concert on Wednesday has two performances, 1:45 and 6:30. I think I've been saying 7pm, so my bad on that one. If students are here by 6:15, that should give us plenty of time to get settled and be ready to go. As far as dress goes, our song is fun and I think red and green fits the bill nicely. Some students are also singing in the French choir and have been asked to wear white and black. That's fine too! Deadlines/Tests - We are scheduled to have a test on adding and subtracting on Thursday. Narratives are due on Friday. We are working hard to ensure our units of study are complete this week so that we can start fresh in January. Plus, no homework!!!! For a little spelling practice - http://www.kidsspell.com/ This is a soccer game that uses math to score points. There are a lot of options as to difficulty of questions and number sense concepts. http://www.funbrain.com/fractop/index.html Here's another that uses baseball http://www.funbrain.com/math/index.html For the grade 4s, and a little extra challenge for the 3s, 4 digit subtraction. http://www.aaamath.com/B/sub38gx1.htm I don't know why I didn't think of this earlier, but here are the words for the song we are performing at the concert on Wednesday: Nuttin' For Christmas :(S. Tepper, R. Bennett, 1955) I broke my bat on Johnny's head; Somebody snitched on me. I hid a frog in sister's bed; Somebody snitched on me. I spilled some ink on Mommy's rug; I made Tommy eat a bug; Bought some gum with a penny slug; Somebody snitched on me. Oh, I'm gettin' nuttin' for Christmas Mommy and Daddy are mad. I'm getting nuttin' for Christmas'Cause I ain't been nuttin' but bad. I put a tack on teacher's chair Somebody snitched on me. I tied a knot in Susie's hair Somebody snitched on me. I did a dance on Mommy's plants Climbed a tree and tore my pants Filled the sugar bowl with ants Somebody snitched on me. So, I'm gettin' nuttin' for Christmas Mommy and Daddy are mad. I'm gettin' nuttin' for Christmas' Cause I ain't been nuttin' but bad. I won't be seeing Santa Claus; Somebody snitched on me. He won't come visit me because Somebody snitched on me. Next year I'll be going straight; Next year I'll be good, just wait I'd start now, but it's too late; Somebody snitched on me. Have a good night, and stay warm!

Friday, December 10, 2010

Five more days to go!!!!

But who's counting? In our classroom, I think it is everyone. Reminder - Monday is pizza day. Reminder - Wednesday is the Holiday Celebration concert, 1:40 in the afternoon, and 7pm in the evening. Speaking of counting, we are doing quite a lot of it these days. Today, we explored a few mental math strategies to use when subtracting. Students copied down two useful ones today in their notebooks. Here are some sites for practice: This one demonstrates a few strategies at the top. http://www.aaamath.com/sub28c-submm.html http://www.amblesideprimary.com/ambleweb/mentalmaths/subtractiontest.html http://nlvm.usu.edu/en/nav/frames_asid_155_g_2_t_1.html Here's one we had before, this time choose "Inverse Operations" http://www.primaryresources.co.uk/online/bricks2.swf This one looks familiar, it is the one where you repair the slide - only this time with subtraction. http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/ks2bitesize/maths/number/subtraction/play.shtml Finally, here are a couple of quizzes: Grade Four http://www.nelson.com/nelson/school/elementary/mathK8/math4/quizzes/math4quizzes/m4ch4l5.htm Grade Three http://www.nelson.com/nelson/school/elementary/mathK8/math3/quizzes/math3quizzes/m3ch4l5.htm Hmmm, that should keep us busy for the weekend. Speaking of which, have a good one!

Thursday, December 9, 2010

I can't believe it, the sun is shining!. It is hard to fathom that my lawn had no snow on it this time last week. The ski hills will definitely be the place to be this weekend. We had a special visitor today, who helped your child make a handcrafted Christmas card. This parent provided the materials, her time, and her skills. Hopefully, you saw the results when your little Martha Stewart came home. Special thanks to Mrs. G. for donating her time and talents! The next week and a half, provided mother nature cooperates, will look a little like this. We will write a narrative. We will also finish our unit on inferencing. Plus, there will be a math test next week on adding and subtracting. Finally, we hope to finish the portrait we have been working on. Somehow, this will all fit around the concert we are practicing for and putting on next week. This will mean, we can start fresh in January on new topics. Please note, no extra work will be given over the two week break, and hopefully students will have no outstanding projects to finish. As usual, everyone should read for 15 min. a day and enter it in their log. We have worked hard for four months, and it is time for everyone to have some time off to enjoy family, friends, and the snow. Today in math we continued the adding and subtracting unit. The websites I posted on Tuesday should be great for practice. Reminder - tomorrow we have a spirit assembly, so house colours are a must!! Reminder - read for 15 min. every night and enter it in your log. Have a relaxing and shovel-free night!

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

This may be the last post I do before the snow is over my head. If I suddenly stop, you will know why. I know the sun is out there somewhere. In literacy, we have started another narrative. First attempts were returned to the students today, please ask how they did. For the story they began today, the main character must demonstrate courage at some point. In math, we have moved on from mental calculations, to strategies for addition of numbers that we can't do in our heads. Here are some websites. Please note, the expectation for grade 3 is 2-digit addition, while for grade 4, it is 4-digit. Two Digit http://www.aaamath.com/B/add27cx1.htm Addition Machine http://www.amblesideprimary.com/ambleweb/mentalmaths/additiontest.html Addition using base ten blocks http://nlvm.usu.edu/en/nav/frames_asid_154_g_2_t_1.html Millenium Bug Race http://www.mathsonline.co.uk/nonmembers/gamesroom/bugs/bugrace3.html In Health, we began a discussion on Canada's Food Guide and multicultural foods. Here is a link to Health Canada's Food Guide site, which has a ton of information. http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/fn-an/food-guide-aliment/index-eng.php Have a good night!

Friday, December 3, 2010

It is hard not to be in the holiday mood when you see those big flakes falling to the ground. Thank goodness I already have my lights up. Reminder - Monday is pizza day. Reminder - Monday is the last day for contributing to the coffee lovers basket. Thanks to everyone who has donated already! In math, we continue to work on mental math strategies, with an eye towards addition. Today, we worked on using rounding numbers to make them easier to work with in our head. Here are a couple of sites to practice with, and a quiz. http://www.aplusmath.com/Flashcards/rounding.html There are some decimal numbers on this game, which we have not covered yet. http://www.bbc.co.uk/education/mathsfile/shockwave/games/roundoff.html http://www.math4.nelson.com/quizzes/math4quizzes/m4ch4l2.htm We continue to work on inferencing during English. Here is a great site with a few activities to help practice at home. Each activity starts with an explanation of what we are looking for, and continues with a practice activity. A great site for those still not quite sure what all this is about. http://www.gamequarium.com/readquarium/skillsi-p.html Have a good weekend!

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Note home: - the December newsletter went home today with the youngest/only student at the school. Some families receive these via email. Deadline - final drafts of narratives are due Friday. Most students are well on their way to finishing. Reminder - we are still collecting items for our coffee lovers basket. Thanks to everyone who has donated so far. Here is a website to follow up on a lesson we had the other day on adding 10s. http://www.math3.nelson.com/quizzes/math3quizzes/m3ch4l2.htm We started our Holiday Celebration Concert song today. You should be hearing "I'm Getting Nuttin' for Christmas" around your house for the next few weeks. The concert is scheduled for Wednesday, December 16th. Afternoon and evening performances are planned. Here is a fun website that lets students use their reading skills to help catch spies! It is very engaging, but it will take a few visits to get through everything. http://www.discip.ac-caen.fr/anglais/documents/cottenceau/Spywatch/Spywatch3.htm Have a good night.