What a beautiful week in and out of the classroom this was! On Wednesday we went on a wonderful field study which began on the grounds of Fort Calgary and took us on a plant adventure full of stories, discovery, observations and journalling. We went to the Labyrinth, the confluence of the Elbow River and the Bow River (Moh'koh'sis), many river walks and to the natural playgrounds in the East Village. Leslie and Stephanie from the NLC (Niitsitipi Learning Center) led the day and we are so grateful to them for gifting us with their time. Thank-you to all parents of our walking students on this day who were very patient in our bussing confusion. We apologize on behalf of Southland Bussing Company for the mix up in our busses and thank the office staff and parents for their cooperation on our late return! On Thursday we had an in-school presentation from Don George who is from "Agriculture in the Classroom". He spent an hour with us discussing farming, food, seeds, plants and farming equipment and it's importance to our Alberta economy. Thank you to Mr. George for such an engaging and inquiry-based exploration presentation! This week we braved some rain showers and took all of our greenhouse plants outside in order to observe what needed to be fixed with them. We had a brilliant afternoon of discussions and getting messy all while discussing why our greenhouse veggies have suffered since the temperature outside has started to rise. We ended our afternoon by spending time journalling and reflecting on our hypothesis of our observations. Later this week, we introduced our new project for the end of the year! We are creating board games in groups of 2-3 with the purpose of incorporating probability, mathematic reasoning, social studies and science topics from the year. Stay tuned for progress pictures once we dive into the prototyping stage late next week and/or early the first week of June! I have attached the explanation and rubric below if you would like to see the details! :) Grade 5's will be getting a letter sent home next week in regards to our human sexuality unit that is part of the Alberta Health Curriculum. As this is part of the Grade 5 curriculum, it is expected that all students will take part. However, if you are not comfortable with your child participating in school, you will need to sign the form and indicated that you would not like your child to take part in school and that you will teach it yourself at home. All students who do not take part will be sent to another classroom for this 1 hour lesson each day. If you are curious or wondering what we will be covering during our 4 lessons spanning over the first week of June, you are more than welcome to contact me by phone or e-mail (see links page for contact info) or visit the Learn Alberta website to view our lesson plans that we follow very closely each day. Click here for Learn Alberta Lesson Plans Thank you! Have a fantastic weekend enjoying the sunshine! <3 Miss Paddon Important Dates for June (Please keep watching as there are bound to be additions to this list): Friday, June 1st: Volunteer Tea at Valley View Friday, June 8th: Seed Survivor Bus at Valley View Saturday, June 9th-Sunday, June 10th: Diversity Cup Soccer Tournament Wednesday, June 13th: Jumping Pound Field Study Wednesday, June 20th: Fish Creek Park (Final field study of the year!) Thursday, June 21st: Rotary Breakfast + National Indigenous People's Day + Sports Day Thursday, June 28th: Last day of classes for Students (All final IPP's to be signed by today) Friday, June 29th: Teacher PD day
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This week we welcomed back our grade 5's (and me!) into our classroom and spent a lot of time discussing and sharing what we had learned while we were away at camp. Grade 5's have been developing a free write about their experience at camp and the grade 4's have been writing persuasive letters to Mrs. Wallace to let them go to Outdoor School next year when they are grade 5's!
Camp Sunship Earth was an incredible experience for all involved and I am so proud of each and every one of the grade 5's who joined me on this adventure! We spent our week exploring the outdoors, discovering adaptations of different species, learning about food chains in the forest and developing ever-lasting memories with new and old friends. I enjoyed getting to know each student in new ways and learning new and interesting things about each one of them. Thank you to all parents who made this possible and a special thank-you to parents who were so patient with our traffic troubles on the way home! This week we went on a wonderful adventure to the Calgary Zoo! There, we were involved in an educational program all about the penguins at the zoo and then we were able to go see the wonderful new Pandas that now call Calgary home! :) In math, we have been discussing equivalent fractions and how we can convert simple fractions to different equivalent fractions as well as discussing like and unlike denominators. Next, we will be discussing probability and starting a cross-curricular project involving games (math), science and social studies! Forms and fees are due on Tuesday for our upcoming field study to Moh'Koh'Sis. A quick reminder to parents to check the weather to ensure your child is ready for whatever weather we get as this is an entirely outdoor study. If it is warm, please ensure your child has a water bottle, lunch, hat, sunscreen and removable layers. If it is calling for some rain, please ensure your child has a hat, rain proof jacket, rain boots, rain pants etc. on to prevent them from getting too wet and cold. If you still need to attend any of your 3 required field studies for the year, your time is dwindling down! We have 3 more field studies for the year including this Wednesday's field study. Please feel free to e-mail me in order to pre-book a date you would like to attending. Thank you so much to all of the parents who have already completed their 3 required field studies with us -- you have been such a wonderful help in achieving wondering, educational experiences on each trip! I wish everyone a fun, warm and adventurous long weekend and I look forward to seeing you all on Tuesday! <3 Miss Paddon Important dates for May: Monday, May 21st: No School (Victoria Day) Tuesday, May 22nd: Fire Safety Trailer in school (Grade 5's only) : Field Study forms + fees due today (Volunteers will be notified today as well -- sorry for the short notice!) : Diversity Cup Soccer Practice 2:45-3:45pm Wednesday, May 23rd: Field Study to Moh'Koh'Sis with NLC partnership (Please have all forms and fees into Miss Paddon by Tuesday.) Thursday, May 24th: Agriculture in the Classroom presentation in room 18 : Diversity Cup Soccer Practice 2:45-3:45pm |