April 7th - 11th 

What did students do this week?

Students in grade four had another busy week. 

In reading, they continued with their novels in small reading groups, focusing on making inferences. 

In writing, students compared and identified similarities and differences between biographies and autobiographies. Then, they started thinking of their own. Thank you for helping your child identify and remember significant events in their lives. To create their own autobiography, the students made a plan to first write about one important event in their lives. They started this story by learning how to create an interesting story beginning to engage their audience. 

In math, students applied their understanding of 3-digit by 1-digit multiplication to problem solving. They also learned and practiced mental math strategies for multiplication of numbers up to 12 x 12. 

Writing Learning Outcomes - (I can...)

• I can experiment with ideas and word choice to create interesting beginnings that catch the audience's attention.

Possible Questions to Ask Your Child:

• What are the different ways to write an interesting story beginning? 
• In your first event you are going to write about, what sounds would you hear?
• How did you write your story beginning with a sound?

March 31st - April 4th

I'm glad you and your families had a great spring break. It was awesome to hear about the adventures.

Please read the previous blog post about math games that are available for students to sign out through our school library. There are some great games. These games are fantastic and fun ways for students to practice basic math facts.

What did students do this week?

We had an excellent opportunity for students to work with coding. We had special guests, Ray, Karen, Roberto, and Shane, from CGI, into our school. They introduced the grade fours to coding with Ozobots. The students had a wonderful time, learned a lot, and shared their developing tech skills!

Science Learning Outcomes - (I can...)

• I can understand challenges, make plans, test for accuracy, and troubleshoot problems. 
• I can create an algorithm to solve a problem. 

Possible Questions to Ask Your Child:

• What challenges did you participate in with your Ozobot? 
• How did you create an algorithm (sequence of commands)?
• What was your favourite part of using the Ozobots?

 March 17th-20th

Thank you for attending online conferences. It was wonderful to celebrate your child's learning with you. 

I hope you have a great spring break, whatever that looks like for you!

What did students do this week?

Students practiced their basic math facts through games! Games are a fun and effective way to practice and reinforce basic math facts. 

These games will soon be available for students to sign out of our school library. Thank you to our Parent Council!

Mathematics Learning Outcomes - (I can...)

• I can recall and apply multiplication number facts, with factors to 12. 

Possible Questions to Ask Your Child:

• What games did you play? 
• What math facts did you practice through these games?
• Which games would you like to borrow from the library?

Some of the Games Available:

The Games in Action

March 10th-14th

What did students do this week?

Students had a wonderful time creating art with glass.

To begin, students read the book Sometimes I Feel Like a Fox. We discussed Totem Animals, based on the explanation in this book written by Danielle Daniel, and students chose their own totem animals. Then, they wrote a poem explaining their connection to this animal. Next, we read the book Sometimes I Feel Like a River. Students identified a part of nature they feel connected to and wrote a poem sharing this. Finally, they chose their animal or part of nature and created a design. They used this design to create their glass art. It will be fired and returned to the school in a few weeks. Your child will be excited to share this with you! We also created a class piece of art. The students chose the connection between our class and a creek because "we all flow together."

Art Learning Outcomes - (I can...)

• I can use different media and techniques.
• I can create an original piece of art based on motivation (from the books read).

Possible Questions to Ask Your Child:

• What did you choose as your Totem Animal? Why?
• What part of nature did you connect with? Why
• What did you choose to represent in your glass art?
• What did you most enjoy about creating your glass art?