What's happening in Room 300...

Hi everyone,

     We're in the final stretch of 2018 and it's been a busy couple weeks at Rick Hansen Public School!  Last week, we had 3 sessions of learning for the Arts package and also our Holiday concert.  I was so proud of the class for their amazing performances - although I'm a little biased, I think they were the most animated and enthusiastic group out of all of them!


Literacy
     In Literacy, the students have working on adding detail and developing strong leads/beginnings for their writing.  As well, they have been learning and practising strategies that help them power through harder text and show "grit" as readers.  Word study homework continues (although we did take a break last week), and most students are completing it and handing it in on time.
     This week, Ms. Corke and Ms. Rodrigo's class are making holiday cards for residents at a nursing home and I thought this was such a great idea that we are going to do the same. 
     Over the holidays, students should continue reading on a daily basis - whether it be to themselves, to someone else, or listening to someone else read.


Math
     In Math, we have been working on measurement, and will be doing some geometry this week, too.  In the new year, we will finish our measurement unit and move on to addition and subtraction.

Science
     We continue to explore and learn about different forces and movement in Science.  Our experiments on electrostatic forces made for some pretty wild hairstyles this week!

Drama
     Drama continues to be a favourite with many of the students.  Most recently, the students have been trying out a fun group drama activity where they make a tableau.   Ask your child to tell you what this is - or even better, have him/her show you!

Physical Education and Health
     A modified version of the "beep" test has made for some very tired yet happy students - a number of students have been working really hard to better themselves at this endurance test.
     In Health, we continue to explore safety.  Currently, we are conducting an apple experiment to see just how clean our hands really get, even when we wash them with soap.

As always, please contact me with any questions or concerns!  

COMING UP QUICKLY...ELECTIVES!

Shortly after we return from the break, we will be heading to electives.  More detailed information will be sent home either this week or once we get back to school.


Have a safe and happy holiday season!

December Calendar

Hi everyone,

Here is our calendar for December.  It's always a very busy month so I'm sure more things will be included, but at least this has the basics on it.  

Please return the Electives forms as soon as possible.  If you have any questions about the programs or the cost, please let me know.  We want everyone to be able to participate in the activities in which they've shown interest.  

Mental Math and Place Value review

WORD STUDY

The ever elusive Word Study program will be starting up again next week. Thank you for your patience!

MOVIE NIGHT!!

Book Fair and Every Student Counts Survey!

SURVEY:  Please remember to complete the Every Student Counts Survey! (Information was sent home a couple weeks ago.)

BOOK FAIR: The Scholastic Book Fair will be held in the Learning Commons (Library) from Nov. 22-29.  We will be going for a preview visit on the 22nd and then there will be a number of opportunities throughout the week for students to visit it again and make purchases. 

Strong and Stable Structures!

Learning about Remembrance Day with Ms. Lacroix

November!

Hi everyone,

     It's so hard to believe it's already November! The November calendar should have made it home to you on Thursday.  Please have your child check his/her communication book and BEE bag if you haven't yet seen it.


What we're doing these days...
     In Math, we are continuing our exploration of numbers including composing and decomposing three-digit numbers, identifying and representing the value of a digit in a number, and rounding two-digit numbers to the nearest ten.  Ms. Scott, one of our Math teachers at the school, has been coming in to do special sessions with the students on strategies to use when doing mental math.

     In Writing, we are reading Stone Fox and using this beautiful story to help to learn how to be better writers.  In a book your child is reading at home, ask him/her to show you examples of when the author wants the reader to make a movie in his/her mind or when the author is giving facts/information that help with the story.   Students have also been developing brainstorming maps about a "small moment" in their lives which they will be writing about in the near future.
     In Reading, students have been learning how make comprehension checks, and continuing our journey of how to make reading something everyone loves to do.  "Read as if Books are Gold!"
     Our Global Read Aloud experience has continued, and most students have now shared their videos with their partners from Illinois.

     On Friday, we explored how to make paper stronger. We read the story Nanabush and the Bridge, as told by Anishinaabe storyteller Eileen Conroy, and built bridges out of paper so that Nanabush could deliver his pack of food from one side of the creek to the other.  We will be looking at a few more areas in our Strong and Stable Structures unit then will be moving on to "Forces Causing Movement".


Word Study
You may have noticed that your child hasn't been bringing home his Word Study work and this is because I decided to hold off starting it right away.  We will start up again in the next few weeks.

Student-Led Conferences
Student-led conferences will be held on November 22nd in the evening and on the morning of the 23rd.  Parents will be asked to sign up for times using "Edsby".  Emails have been sent home from the school regarding how to sign up for Edsby but if you have had difficulties, please contact the office and they will be able to help you.

Remembrance Day Assembly
The Remembrance Day assembly will be this Friday at 9:30.  Parents/Family are welcome to attend this assembly.  Mrs. Lacroix will be coming in to speak to our class this week about Remembrance Day and postcards that we will be writing for Mrs. Lacroix to send to Canadian soldiers.





As always, please let me know if you have any questions.  I can be reached through your child's agenda, email (jennifer.farley@yrdsb.ca), or by phone at 905-841-6225 ext. 300.

Pajama and Stuffie Day!

READING!

We re-sorted our classroom library today. ,

DANCE-A-THON!!

Next Wednesday we will be participating in the Dance-A-thon!  Students can wear fall colours (like orange, black, red) or Halloween costumes.  Although the Dance-A-thon is a school council fundraiser, students will be allowed to participate whether they brought in donations or not.  

WHAT WE'RE PRESENTLY LEARNING...

(from the Ontario Curriculum Documents)


LITERACY:

READING: - to reflect on and identify our strengths as readers as well as

areas for improvement.
- read and demonstrate an understanding of a variety of
literary, graphic, and informational texts, using a range of
strategies to construct meaning.
- use knowledge of words and cueing systems to read fluently
- recognize a variety of text forms, text features, and stylistic
elements and demonstrate understanding of how they help
communicate meaning.

WRITING: - to generate ideas about a potential topic, using a variety of

strategies and resources.
- to identify what strategies they found most helpful before,
during, and after writing and what steps they can take to
improve as writers.
- describe, with prompting by the teacher, how some of their 
                 skills in listening, speaking, reading, viewing, and  
                 representing help in their development as writers.

ORAL COMMUNICATION: to demonstrate an understanding of

appropriate listening behaviours by using active listening

strategies in order to contribute meaningfully and work

constructively in groups.

MEDIA LITERACY: to identify the purpose and intended audience of some

media texts.

MATH: a) to extend repeating, growing, and shrinking number patterns.

b) to identify, extend, and create a repeating pattern involving two

attributes, using a variety of tools.

c) to count forward and backward by 1’s, 2’s, 5’s, 10’s, and 100’s from
various starting points.

SCIENCE: Strong and Stable Structures

Homework and Hip Hop

Homework and Hip Hop

HOMEWORK

WORD STUDY:  
On Monday of this week I introduced our Word Study books and program which, if your child does Literacy with me, should have come home Monday night. Some of the children have completed a similar program before, although it is new to others.  The instructions are on the inside of the Word Study book (small green notebook).    
Each student should be choosing 12 words to work on each week.  These may be 12 words he/she got wrong on his/her "mock" spelling test on Monday night, or if all words were correct, he/she should choose 12 new words, 3 for each of the categories - VCC, VVC, VC, and VCe. (V=vowel, 
C=consonant)
Word Study homework is due on Fridays. 


MATH HOMEWORK:
Starting this week, I will be sending Math homework home with your child every Wednesday (if he/she does Math with me).  It is due back to school by Friday.  The homework will reinforce what we have been working on in class - your child should be able to do most of it by him/herself, but I have added on some word problems with which he/she may need some help.  

Please let me know if you have any questions.


HIP HOP (Arts program) 
Our hip hop sessions will be on October 11 and October 18.  

It was great meeting some parents last night!  If you didn't take home the handouts that were on your child's desk or you were unable to make it last night, I will be sending them home with your child today.  Please take a few minutes and read through it and it you have any questions, please let me know.

On a slightly different note, I apologize for the confusion about Orange Shirt Day.  The school is having Orange Shirt day today, Friday, not on Monday like I thought.  We will be having some discussions today in class about the reason behind Orange Shirt day.

Next week we have Picture day on Tuesday, and we will be starting our Word Study, Math homework, and the program called Global Read-Aloud.  The Word Study (coming home Monday) and the Math homework (coming home Wednesday) will be due on Friday. Mrs. Johnson also assigned some Social Studies homework which is due on Thursday.  

Global Read-Aloud:

Here is a short explanation straight from the Global Read-Aloud site:

"The project was created in 2010 with a simple goal in mind; one book to connect the world. From its humble beginnings, the GRA has grown to make a truly global connection with more than 4,000,000 students having participated.

The premise is simple; we pick a book to read aloud to our students during a set 6-week period and during that time we try to make as many global connections as possible."

We have paired with a Grade 3 class near Chicago, and we will be connecting with them using technology, over the next 6 weeks, about a book we will be reading called, A Boy called Bat.  Last year, a number of teachers from our school participated in this project and felt it was a fabulous experience - Mrs. Ford is going to assist us as she was part of it last year, too.  

What's happening in Room 300?

Reading Logs:  
All students who have Literacy with me have now received their Reading Logs and should be filling them out every day at school and at home.  Please remind your children to bring this Reading Log back and forth to school.  After we collect some data, I will be showing the students how to use this information to help reach the reading goals they will be setting.  Students should be reading at least 15 minutes every evening. 

Thank you!  
Thank you for filling out all of the forms we've been sending home!

Scholastic Book Orders:  
Somehow my book order forms didn't make it to me so I've contacted Scholastic and they said they will send me some a.s.a.p..  I will send these home as soon as I get them in case you are interested in ordering. 

  
Upcoming Important Dates:  

1. Monday, Sept. 24 - P.A. Day
2. Thursday, Sept. 27 - Terry Fox Run, Meet the Teacher Night (more details will be available over the next week)
3. Friday, Sept. 28 - Orange Shirt Day Every Child Matters  **please note date change) 
4. Tuesday, Oct. 2 - Picture Day

Hi everyone!  We had a fabulous first day of Grade Three yesterday! 

A number of forms and information sheets were sent home in your child's communication folder.  Please review these and return completed forms by Monday, the 10th.  Thank you!

Welcome!  I am very excited to be your child's teacher this year!  In this blog, I will be posting upcoming events and updates about what's going on in our classroom.  Please watch in your child's agenda and his/her Communication folder for information, as well. 

I may be contacted at jennifer.farley@yrdsb.ca or by phone at 905-841-6225 extension 300.

I look forward to working with you and your child!

Have a fabulous day,

Mrs. Jen Farley