Hello, 5B families!
In Math we have been working on fractions and decimals, and students have now brought home their quizzes. I have offered a rewrite this Friday. We have now started a unit on how to calculate perimeter and area.
Reminder: this Wednesday is early dismissal at 2:00pm.
Please note that this Thursday, May 2nd is a special 3-hour Health Education presentation for grade 5s: the “Home Alone Program”. This short course is about safety and best practices when they are left alone at home.
Friday, May 3rd is our Spelling Test covering the 30 contractions we have been working with this week. We have done extensive in class review of these words.
On Friday afternoon we have the FAST (Friday Afternoon of Sports Training). Students have signed up for either the field trip to play squash or go skating. Squash students should prepare to wear appropriate St. Patrick’s gym strip for squash. Skating folks should also wear St. Patrick’s gym strip, but NO SHORTS (just the St. Patrick’s track pants or jogging pants.). Skating folks should also bring appropriate layers and items for a cold ice rink environment, such as gloves. Students skating are invited to bring their own ice skates and helmets if they prefer, but these will be available to all for free at the rink. Reminder: these FAST sessions will occur on the next few Fridays (May 3, May 10, and May 17).
In the assembly this Monday, we enjoyed a thought-provoking presentation by Ms. Murphy on honouring diversity and specifically how to support neurodiversity. Many students were also acknowledged with athletic achievements and “Fruit of the Spirit” awards. Well done!
In Art, we have been doing 3D nature sculptures—but the details of those will have to remain a surprise on account of a special day coming up! (Wink!)
In Language Arts, students have been further developing their skills when writing dialogue and using quotation marks. Students have been editing and practicing reading aloud their new stories. As well, we returned to core skills we developed this year when writing poetry for our “Earth Day Five Senses Poems”. Students explored the St. Patrick’s school yard and garden, making observations and capturing creative lines of text to paint word pictures about the wonders of nature we can appreciate every day at school.
*Students choosing to participate in our school’s public speaking competition should have a completed speech that is ready to share with our class on Monday, May 6th.
In Science, we completed our unit on rocks and the rock cycle (see the previous posts). Students who wish to improve their standing in this unit must request either a quiz rewrite or a chance to do a special presentation to the class on some topic related to rocks, the rock cycle, or fossils. We have now started a new unit on simple machines.
In Social Studies, we started a unit in government, and students continue to make progress on their “Time Traveller’s Projects”. These presentations are due May 30th but can be presented any time before that date. We have spent time in class with students to reviewing the project expectations on the criteria sheets, exploring questions that can guide their research, teaching where to find credible sources of information online and in our school library, learning to create simple bibliographies, and supporting one another with ideas. At this point, all students have had at least three Chromebook research blocks and should be well on their way. Please check in with your child to see how the project is coming along.
WHAT WOULD A GREAT TIME TRAVELLER PRESENTATION BE LIKE?
I have have modelled for students how they can apply their public speaking and drama skills and creatively use of props and/or costumes to “wow” their audience. As well, I provided students with two examples of successful time traveller scripts (see below), and we talked through actions that would dramatize these scripts in a meaningful way.
Tiffany Poirier 