Good Morning everyone!
We have had a few busy weeks and I apologize for the very late update. In the last two weeks, we have attended a few field studies :) Last Wednesday to Fort Calgary and learning about how Moh’koh’sis came to be. The river walk was extraordinary and students learned about various plants home to the area. Students journaled about their observations and findings. On Thursday, we had an in class presentation from Mr. George who is a part of “Agriculture in the Classroom”. He shared some facts on farming and seeding with the students. The coolest fact by far was that only 10% of land is useable for farming… Scary to think about when we have 7.6 billion people to feed! This week for our field study, we went to Jumpingpound Demonstration Forest. It was an absolute treat observe nature in nature! Students felt textures of various plants, learned about their uses and different adaptations they need for survival. Inside Education did a great job educating students about decomposers, photosynthesis and other plant related concepts. For Math, we have looked more at geometry. Symmetry, angles, and various formulas for different shapes! Students enjoy discovering these mathematical concepts as they are quite visual. We will be discussing faces, edges and vertices and making some 3D nets :) For Science, we are discovering concepts around Ecosystems and how each organism in an ecosystem plays its part. We will be wrapping up Plants & Wetlands and doing a bit more exploration around Waste in Our World. For Literacy, we are continuing to practice writing narrative stories. Students have constructed stories around action, mysteries and conflict. Ask your child about Defective Detective and The Bridge. As an year end celebration, we will be having a potluck in our class. Students are asked to bring an authentic dish to showcase their culture. This will also be a wrap up of the Social Studies learning. An official notice will be sent home sometime next week. Stay posted! *On another note, some Grade 5s completed their Human Sexuality unit. They learned about how their body changes and were able to ask questions about how certain parts function. Important Dates for June: Wednesday, June 13th: Jumping Pound Field Study Tuesday, June 19th: Fish Creek Park Thursday, June 21st: Rotary Breakfast/National Indigenous People's Day/Sports Day Wednesday, June 27th: End of Year Celebration - Potluck! Thursday, June 28th: Last day of classes for Students (All final IPP's to be signed by today) THANK YOU TO ALL OUR WONDERFUL VOLUNTEERS! YOU MAKE THESE TRIPS POSSIBLE!!
0 Comments
What a week! Short, extremely busy but lots of learning :) We went to the Zoo at the start of the week. We attended a program called Green & Gorgeous focused around plant growth, decomposers, parts of flowers and layers of the rainforest. Thank you to our wonderful parent volunteers for coming. Our next one is tomorrow which is a field study to Moh’Koh’Sis - Fort Calgary. Please ensure your child is dressed for the weather, with a water bottle, sunscreen if necessary and a bagged lunch.
In Math we are currently discovering how angles work and how different lines make different shapes. We are figuring out that equal length and angles make specific shapes. We will be looking at different types of triangles, circles and symmetry! In Science, we have been looking deeply at the parts of a wetland and the interactions and relationships between them. We will be zooming in on Waste in Our World soon. Hopefully students will begin to see how our human footprints affect and impact the spaces and environments we live in. An interdisciplinary project may be starting up. Stay posted! In Social Studies, we have begun looking at how Canada came together as a country. We are also looking at influential people that made the railway happen. Students will be finishing up their Road Tripping’ task and will be sharing their findings with the class :) Future Field Studies: Wednesday May 23 - Field Study to Moh’Koh’Sis with NLC Thursday May 24 - Agriculture in the Classroom in Room 30 Tuesday May 29 - Fort Calgary with Room 24 Hello all! Things are really picking up! We have just recently been to the Nat Geo Live! talk and it was lovely! Cristina Mittermeier, a marine biologist shared her stories through photography. She reminded us to practice stewardship each and everyday!
In Science, we have been finishing up our discoveries of mixtures and various solutions. We are also zooming in on the concepts of Light & Shadow. We have spent some time making observations of how light reflects and refracts.We also looked at how light travels differently through objects based on their transparency, translucency and opaqueness. We are continuing our work with learning about Alberta/Canada regions and the natural resources found in each area. We will also be focusing in on historic sites and its importance in the upcoming weeks. The goal is for students to plan a road trip across Alberta/Canada and sharing their findings through a scrapbook or commercial. In Math, we have continued our work with fractions. We have reviewed equivalent fractions and improper fractions. We are also practicing adding and subtracting with fractions. We will continue to practice these skills as we dive into percentages, ratios and data analysis! Students have also completed a few more 3-Act-Math tasks and TED puzzles. Enjoy this wonderful weather we are having in Calgary! Important reminders and updates: 1) Calgary Zoo field study are due this Friday May 4th! Please send the forms back along with the cost of the trip. 2) Outdoor School for all Grade 5 students attending is from Tuesday May 8 to Friday May 11. Information packages went home earlier this week. Please carefully read this package with your child as it contains pertinent information regarding the trip. Good Morning all,
It’s been a long time! Hope everyone had a lovely Spring Break and everyone is well rested for more learning :) We started our week visiting Ralph Klein Park and dived into learning about marshes and wetlands. Students learned about this type of ecosystem and how various organisms interact with another. The focus was around invertebrates and the role they play. In Mathematics, we are connecting our understanding of decimals, fractions and percentages. We have also been exploring more 3 Act Math problems! Thank you to those parents who came out for Math Night and expanded on their mathematical reasoning. We are also looking at Area, Perimeter and Volume! In Science we have been exploring many many concepts. The Grade 4s are examining more ideas around plant growth specifically found in wetland areas. We will be starting Light & Shadows next week. The Grade 5s are experimenting with different mixtures and solutions. They have identified chemical reactions and how products differ original substances. We are on their way in discovering different techniques to separate solutions. We have also reviewed reversible versus irreversible changes. In Social Studies we have begun our inquiry project which is a road trip across Alberta/Canada. Students have chosen a vehicle of choice and have budgeted how much money they will need for gas, groceries and admission fares for famous landmarks. Students will need to find a route to travel through each region of Alberta/Canada and learn the beauty of area. The end product we are working towards is either a scrapbook or commercial! Ask your child about this :) Learning Commons re-design is well on its way. Students have begun discussions around how to change or modify this learning space. We have created some blueprints and shared ideas around how to make this area even better for our learning. Important Dates: -National Geographic Live! on Monday April 23rd (AM only) -Diversity Cup Tryout on Tuesday May 24th -Grade 5s visit Ian Baz on Thursday May 26th (PM only) -Grade 5s attending Outdoor School on Tuesday May 8th until Friday May 11th Enjoy the wonderful spring weather out there!! Good Evening everyone!
Thank you to all the parents and students who attended Parent Teacher conferences. It was great sharing your child’s learning progress with you. Excited to see what the rest of the year has in store for us. Hope everyone had a restful Spring Break. We will be back to school on Tuesday April 10th. See you all then! Just a heads up that our Aggie Days field study has been cancelled. Our next field study dates are April 16th to Ralph Klein Park and April 23rd to National Geographic Live. Please contact me to volunteer! Good Afternoon Everyone :) We’re excited to share about our week! We spent two of the five days immersing ourselves in field studies and exploring nature. On Monday, we went to listen to Bertie Gregory a 23 year old professional National Geographic photographer. He told us about his adventures both in inner cities like London and out in the wild like along the Coast of Vancouver Island. He is an inspiration to us as he pushes us to chase our dreams. On Tuesday, we were extremely to lucky to go on a natural walk with Elder Randy. He shared stories and knowledge about the land around us. Elder Randy encourages us to be grateful for Na’ha and the land that we walk and live on. He also shared how different plants and trees are used for food, medicine, materials and cultural rituals. This experience brought us to a new state of reflection. In Science, we analyzed plant life cycles and how each plant part works. We also looked a various plant adaptations and even how plants communicate to each other! As for Chemistry, we are observing different techniques for separating different materials. We will be looking at how various substances dissolve in liquid and substances that will not. Please encourage students to conduct experiments at home using different safe household solutions. In Math, we are continuing to work on decimals and understanding the relationship between division, fractions and percentages. This week we have attempted a Pac-Man math problem. Tapping into prior knowledge, students are using clues to ask questions and to build their way to a solution! Thank you to all our wonderful parent volunteers! Your dedication and time is truly appreciated :) On another note, thank you to all the Grade 5 parents who came in for Outdoor School Meeting Thursday evening. This will be an amazing experience and I can’t wait to teach you guys in a different setting. Upcoming important dates for March: - Monday March 12th - Ian Baz Visitors for Grade 5s - Thursday March 15th - Telus Spark - Friday March 16th - Leadership Assembly @ 10:15 AM - Tuesday March 20th - TREC Workshop for Grade 5s - Thursday March 22nd & Friday March 23rd Parent Teacher Conferences - Monday March 26th-Monday April 9th SPRING BREAK! Upcoming important events for April: - Thursday April 12th - Aggie Days! - Friday April 13th - Earth Rangers Assembly - Monday April 16th - Ralph Klein Park - Thursday April 19th - Math Fair Night Enjoy the weekend all! Make the most of this lovely weather!! Good Afternoon Everyone :)
Hope everyone stays warm in this snowy wintery weather! In Science, we are analyzing physical versus chemical changes. We looked at some interesting processes like combustion, fermentation, oxidation, etc. Students are identifying the similarities and differences between these changes and how they occur. In Math, we are continuing to examine fractions, measurement and division. We have attempted a problem called "Oh No!" Please ask students about this and try it at home! In Social Studies, we are studying the regions of Alberta and Canada. We are analyzing what natural resources can be found in certain regions and how that helps us advance as a society. We will be conducting research to construct a robot for natural resource extraction or natural disaster clean up. Stay posted! Next week will be a busy one! On Monday March the 5th, we'll be heading to Jack Singer for a National Geographic Live! talk. On Tuesday March the 6th, we're heading to Nosehill Park for a field study with Elder Randy Bottle. Please ensure students come dressed appropriately for the weather as they will be spending the majority of their day outside. On Thursday March the 8th, there is an Outdoor School Parent Meeting. This is mandatory for all Grade 5 parents. There will be more information about what Outdoor School learning will look like and how to prepare for it. On another note, for parents who have not paid for the Museo Kits, please send this money in as soon as possible :) Take care and chat soon! Good Afternoon Everyone :)
This week was short but sweet. We have been busy discovering new ideas and getting outside to experience and see first hand of some of the concepts we learn. In Science, we have tapped into a few new areas such as botany and reflecting on our experiment of mixing various liquids with the compound baking soda! We are excited to be conducting more experiments involving safe chemical reactions :) In Math, we are building on our division skills and diving into fractions and decimals. Students are learning the relationship between the three concepts and hoping to attempt some trickier math problems revolving around these topics. We have also been deepening our mathematical reasoning skills and learning to provide an explanation of how we got our answer and why we think it is correct. On Tuesday, we had a special guest in our classroom from the Calgary Humane Society. This educator taught us about conservation and the 3Rs we do for the environment we live in. Ask your child about what these 3Rs represent! On Thursday, we went on a field study to Valley View Park. It was a cold walk but we managed. We stopped at an outdoor workout gym to test out the equipment and make connections to how Simple Machines work. We also played Prey versus Predator at the park to stay warm! This game is an introduction to Wetlands and Ecosystems. Stay posted for more in-depth learning around this topic. Field trip forms for Nosehill Park went home yesterday. Please return these promptly! This will be an all day event with involves your child being outside. Please dress appropriately for this. Please ensure students have a jacket, snow pants, sweater, toque, mittens, boots and any other necessary pieces of clothing for this unique outdoor learning experience. Upcoming important dates for February/March: - Monday February 26th - Artist in Residence Begins - Tuesday February 27th - NLC reps coming in to talk with all 4/5's -Monday March 5th - National Geographic Live! - Tuesday March 6th - Nosehill Park Field Study - Thursday March 8th - Outdoor School Parent Meeting (Mandatory for all Grade 5 parents only) Have a fantastic weekend everyone!! Good Afternoon All,
Sorry it's been a while since I have last updated. I haven't been feeling well so please pardon the tardiness. Science: We're working on a few topics right now. Grade 5s are looking at mixtures and other chemistry related concepts. We are learning about reversible versus irreversible changes. We are also zoning in on different properties of solids, liquids and gases. Grade 4s are studying plants and their parts. We will be looking at making scientific sketches and researching about how plants reproduce and pass on seeds. Mathematics: We are diving into division and have learned two strategies: guess/estimation and traditional. We are learning to do 3-digits by 1-digit division questions as well as 4-digits by 2-digits problems. A mnemonic that helps us is "Does McDonald's Sell Burgers with Relish?" Students use this to remember the steps of division - Divide, Multiple, Subtract, Bring Down and Repeat or Reminder! We will be moving forward with fractions and decimals. Please encourage students to continually practice these skills and to ensure that they are applying these mathematical concepts to solve problems. Literacy: With literacy tasks, we are continuing to write scientific reports and observations. We are also doing a lot of reflecting with our discovery learning in Exploration. We are reflecting on the concepts learned and deciphering what ideas we still need to learn. Asides from these assignments, we are learning to edit our work for punctuation, content and grammar. Social Studies: We are exploring the Land of Alberta and Canada. We are also exploring the natural resources that are found in Alberta and throughout Canada. We are hoping to develop a commercial to invite visitors to come visit Alberta and Canada!! Exploration: Ask students about what this learning time is! A time to explore their passions and interest of various scientific concepts! Field Studies: We went to the Studio Bell & National Music Centre. We learned about natural sounds, pitches and frequencies. We were even lucky enough to make our own instruments out of simple materials. Some students have been so excited about this that they carried forward their learning in Exploration Time to create mallets that work better for metal xylophones. Thank you to our amazing volunteers that came with us! Thank you to Aatif's Dad (who came with us last minute!), Alinda's Dad and Jasmine's Dad :) You guys are so so wonderful!! Our Upcoming Field Studies: February 20th Calgary Humane Society in School Presentation February 22nd Valley View Park (Community Walk) February 27th Niitsitipi Learning Center Guests in School Presentation/TREC Education in School Presentation March 5th National Geographic Live - A Wild Life Please remind students to dress for the weather as some days are warmer/colder than others. We're excited to continue our learning! There will be no school Thursday February 15th and Friday February 16th. This will be Teacher Convention Time and teacher's will be taking on the role of the student, learning and developing professionally. Monday February 19th is off due to Family Day! I will see everyone on Tuesday February 20th :) It's been a whirlwind of a week! Busy, busy, busy :)
In Mathematics, we are reviewing Multiplication & Division. Multiplication strategies include traditional, box and lattice. Division strategies include traditional and estimating. We are hoping to apply these skills in mathematical questions. In Exploration, we have just began discovering some of the scientific disciplines and are excited to do more exploring on our own. In this term, disciplines include Microbiology, Civil Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Robotics and Renewable Energy Engineering. During this time, the hope is for students to pursue scientific disciplines they are deeply passionate about! In Social Studies, we are beginning to look at how history has impacted us today. Looking through an Albertan historian lens as well as a Canadian historian lens. We are hoping to create commercials to invite more tourists to our beautiful province/country. In Science, we have been visiting disciplines of Chemistry and Botany. Students are learning about the structures and parts of plants. They are also determining how the molecules in the atmosphere are being absorbed and produced into food for plants. This week, we were lucky enough to visit Glenbow Museum and even took some artifacts with us to extend our learning. We participated in two unique programs that taught us about Alberta's Oil & Gas History as well as Being a Curator. Thank you to Arnav's Mom, Bidhayika's Mom & Aayush's Dad for volunteering :) We had a safe and educational experience thanks to you wonderful parents! Thank you for visiting and we're thrilled to share more of our learning with you! Next week our field study to National Music Centre is on Thursday February the 1st. Please ensure you have field study permission slips returned as soon as possible. |