Welcome to our new Grade 4/5 class blog! The link from our Valley View School site has not been updated yet, so you can access our site by clicking here: vvscience45.weebly.com/
I am eager and excited to welcome our new Grade 5 students to our classroom! I believe home and school communication is of utmost importance, so please feel free to contact me if you have any further questions. The best way to reach me is through email at: [email protected] Students spent time this week getting to know each other and are learning how to effectively work in groups in our learning community. Grade 4/5's did a few STEAM challenges and were asked to think creatively and "outside the box". It was so wonderful to see what inventions and creations the class came up! Our Terry Fox Run was a huge success! In total, our class raised $17.30 in donations and ran a total of 269 laps! I am very proud of all of our hard efforts! Thank you again to all the students and families who donated money. Constable Johnson visited our school today for our Safety Assembly. Constable Johnson talked about what we can do if we see unsafe objects outside. Students practiced a lockdown drill today and we discussed the importance of why we practice lockdowns. All students are expected to be Safe, Serious, and Silent during a lockdown. Home reading went home today for our Grade 5 students. Students are expected to read for 25-30 minutes each day and should be writing about what they have read in their home reading folders. This helps build their understanding of what they have read. Home reading will be collected at the end of each week. Home journals also went home today. Except to see a letter from your child written in his/her home journal that details some of the fun learning that has taken place at school. Please read the letter and write a response back if you can! Home journals are collected the following Monday. Reminders: 1) Field study forms and payment are due on Monday October 2. Our field study will be on Wednesday October 4. 2) Origin of your name homework. Please research about your name (conversation with mom or day) and have this information ready for Monday. 3) Office forms (white, blue, orange and purple) need to be signed and returned as soon as possible 4) October book order forms went home today. Book orders are due on Wednesday October 4. Have a lovely weekend everyone!
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1) Field Study forms went home on Monday. Please sign and return forms and payment by Monday October 2, 2017. We are in need of adult volunteers who have a valid CBE security clearance to join us on this day. Please contact me as soon as possible if you are available and have CBE clearance. Without the support of adult volunteers, trips like these would not be possible. Thank you!
2) Terry Fox is tomorrow afternoon. We will start with a brief assembly at 1:30pm in the Gym. Thank you to those of you who brought in donations for Terry Fox. 3) Student Union fundraising is due Sept 29, 2017. 4) All Grade 4/5 students have homework--your child will ask you about the origin of their name. Some questions they may ask you are: Who choose my name? Where did it come from? What does it mean? Is this from another country?, etc. Grade 4's in Room 16 had a wonderful experience visiting the Niitsitapi Learning Centre (NLC). We learned how resourceful Indigenous people were in the past and today in the present and the importance of oral stories and traditions (as many Indigenous cultures do not have a formal written language). Ask your child to share some of their learnings from this day to you! We hope to be able to visit the NLC again sometime in the near future as we have yet to explore all the opportunities on site!
Greenhouses are now complete! Students worked collectively and collaboratively this week in their groups to complete their projects. I am proud of their hard efforts! Monday will be the start of the new Grade 4/5 classes. Notices went home yesterday to inform students and their families of which teacher and classroom your child will be working with. I am eager and excited to work with our new Grade 4/5 classroom starting on Monday! Updates and Reminders: 1) Blue, Orange, Purple and White forms went home last week. Please carefully read and sign the forms and return to school as soon as possible. 2) Terry Fox Run on Thursday Sept 28. All family members are welcome to attend our brief assembly this day at 1:30pm. Students will run shortly after the assembly. Students are welcome to bring in a toonie for Terry Fox as a donation. 3) Student Union fundraising is due on Sept 30. 1) PD Day this Friday September 22, 2017. There is no school for all students on this day.
2) Home reading is due on Thursday 3) Parent Council meeting today in the Learning Commons at 6pm. All parents are welcome to attend. 4) Terry Fox Run on Thursday Sept 28. All families are welcome to attend our brief Terry Fox assembly at 1:30pm and students will be outside for the run shortly afterwards. We are asking each student to bring in a Toonie for Terry Fox if possible! Thank you in advance. What an amazing week of learning this was in Room 16! Students have started exploring topics for Genuis Hour and all students have now chosen their topic that they wish to explore! We will continue to ask good and deep level questions to further our research and understanding on our Genuis Hour topics.
Our greenhouse projects are well underway! I can't wait to see how they all turn out! Students further explored perimeter and area by creating Robots! We measured the perimeter around each of our robot's body parts! Next, we calculated the area inside each of our robot's body parts. Ask your child to tell you what they discovered after creating their Robots! We learned how to code using a new website, called Scratch. Students had so much fun learning how to plan, design and create their own unique games. We even got to add our own sounds, graphics and backdrops to our games! If students wish to try Scratch at home, here is the link: www.scratch.mit.edu Our field study is on Tuesday September 19, 2017 to the NLC from 8:30am-11:45am. Students are very eager to visit the NLC and are excited to learn more about indigenous culture and ways of being. If any parents are still available to volunteer and have valid CBE clearance, please let me know as soon as possible. Thank you in advance! Thank-you again to all of the wonderful parents and guardians that came to the BBQ last night. It was so lovely to meet you all and discuss your child's learning goals this year. For those of you who were not here last night to hear the announcement, Valley View School is in for a few changes in the next couple of weeks. Due to our numbers in the school being about 77 students short of our projected numbers for the year, it is looking like we may need to switch to combined grades in Grades 1/2 and 3/4 in the Science Program. We do not know all of the details as of yet, however we are working fast and furious to make the smartest decisions for your children based on our current circumstances. What you can expect to see is a letter home sometime next week letting you know exactly what and when these changes are and will be occurring. Until then, we all wait as patiently as possible to hear the news and then we will make any and all transitions for staff and students in new classes as smooth as possible. We understand "unknowns" can be very nerve-wracking and frustrating, but please know our administration is doing everything they can to organize this in the least disruptive way possible. Thank you so much for all of your patience and understanding during a very stressful time for all students, staff and parents involved. If you have any questions or concerns feel free to e-mail me and we can have a chat! Have a lovely weekend everyone! Mrs. Kear 1) Home reading is due tomorrow!
2) Field Study on Tuesday Sept. 19 - parents please contact me if you are able to volunteer and have valid CBE security clearance! 3) The weather is starting to change as we approach the Fall season. Please remember to dress warm and bring an indoor pair of shoes for school. 1) Open House BBQ is tomorrow. Remember, Thursday Sept 14 is a half day, all students will be dismissed at 12pm. 3:30-4:30pm and 5:30-7pm will be the times where parents can come chat with me and visit our classroom. Dinner will be served from 4:30-5:30pm. I look forward to seeing you all tomorrow!
2) We are in dire need of parent volunteers who have valid CBE security clearance for our field study on Tuesday Sept 19. Parent volunteers help make trips like this possible. If we do not have enough parent volunteers, the field study may be cancelled. 3) September book orders went home today. Payment and forms are due this Friday. 4) Beakerhead starts today in our city. Ask your child to tell you what Beakerhead is! For more information on Beakerhead events happening in Calgary, feel free to visit: www.beakerhead.com Grade 4's went home with a Walking Field Studies form for the NLC (Niitsitapi Learning Centre on Tuesday Sept 19, 2017 from 8:30am-11:45am). Parents, please read and return the bottom portion if you would like to join us for this morning. *Please note--all volunteers must have valid CBE clearance. Please contact me as soon as possible if you have valid CBE clearance and are available to come. Thank you kindly!
What an incredible week of learning we have had in Room 16! We began exploring the Scientific Method and how scientists use this process to explore questions/theories, conduct experiments, collect data and draw conclusions. We conducted a neat experiment using UV light to test how clean our hands were! Ask your child to share their findings!
We completed our Math is Everywhere board and students quickly realized that Math is not just a subject that we do in school and numbers, but that Math is all encompassing and that we can find Math everywhere in our world. From buying groceries at the store, to telling time on a clock and listening to the beat of our favourite song, these are all ways Math is involved in our everyday lives! MATH really is EVERYWHERE! We also spent some time looking at standard vs. non-standard units of measurement and comparing/contrasting area and perimeter. Students also reviewed place value using base ten blocks. We spent some time working with DASH--a robot who is controlled using an App on the iPad. Some quickly made the connection that controlling DASH and his movements involves coding and Math! MATH truly is everywhere! Home reading started today! All students took home a ziploc bag containing a pencil, journal and a few books (picture books) or one chapter book that they will read. Students were allowed to choose a book that interests them and is appropriate for their reading level. Students are encouraged to write a journal entry for each book (picture book) or each chapter that they have read. Home reading will be returned at the end of each week. Ask your child to explain our home reading challenge to you! Updates: 1) We are still in dire need of materials for our Greenhouse project. Some things we are in desperate need of are: plastic water bottles, plastic CD/DVD cases, pieces of wood (for our greenhouses base/structure). Many thanks to parents who have already sent in materials. 2) BBQ Open House - on Thursday Sept 14. It is an Open House format from 3:30-4:30pm and 5:30-7pm. Thursday Sept. 14 will be a half day of school, all students will be dismissed at 12:00pm. 3:30-4:30pm and 5:30-7:00pm are the times where parents have the opportunity to visit our classroom, and set learning goals with their child for the school year. The free BBQ will take place from 4:30-5:30pm. I look forward to seeing you all on this day! Have a fantastic weekend everyone--remember to READ and WRITE in your home reading journals! Mrs. Kear What another successful week we have had in Room 16! Students had a wonderful time exploring Valley View Park. Many have never been there before! We had the opportunity to observe different types of plants, a pond, and even saw some wildlife on our walk! Many thanks to all of our adult volunteers who helped out--this trip would not have been possible without your support : )
Parent Volunteer Information: Every student enrolled in the Science Program is required to have an adult volunteer attend at least 3 field studies in a school year. In order to volunteer, you must have a valid CBE Clearance. In order to obtain this, you must go to the school office with 2 pieces of government issued photo ID and fill out the appropriate paper work. This process can take anywhere from 4-6 weeks to process so we need to get these forms in as soon as possible. *If you have received your CBE clearance from another CBE school in the past: You will still need to come into the school office and fill out an Annual Volunteer form so that we can transfer your clearance information from your old school to Valley View School. Please keep in mind CBE clearance is only valid for 5 years. We have been discussing Levels of Questioning in our classroom. Ask your child to explain to you the difference between a Basic level question, Good level question and Deep level question. Scientists ask Deep level questions that often require a lot of time/research to find the answer. Sometimes, deep level questions can have multiple answers and often will lead to even more questions. We will continue to work on asking Good and Deep level questions to support our learning. Our Greenhouse projects are well under way! Most groups have completed detailed blueprints of their greenhouses and building materials are slowly starting to trickle in. Please keep in mind that we are looking for used, recycled materials that are no longer useful at home for building. We are in need of: - plastic water bottles - plastic CD/DVD cases - cardboard - masking and duct tape - hot glue gun and glue sticks (an adult will use the glue gun) - wood (small pieces) - plastic clam shell containers We had a special guest visit our school this week, named Randy Bottle. Randy is an Indigenous Elder from the Blood tribe. Randy discussed the importance of our land, family histories and origins of our name and much more. We hope we are fortunate enough to continue to work with Randy throughout the school year. Many thanks to all the parents who read their child's home journals this week. Students have written new letters home today and are eagerly awaiting your responses back! Please remember to bring your home journals back to school on Tuesday. Have a wonderful long weekend everyone. See you back on Tuesday! Mrs. Kear |