Next week is Literacy Week, and we will kicked it off with all St. Patrick’s students invited to come to school this Monday dressed as a favourite character from a book they have read!
Also, as a part of the Physical Education program, all grade 5s will participate in a fun and friendly basketball jamboree for local independent schools this Thursday, January 30th.
(Mr. Dufort will follow up with more information and permission forms on Monday for the basketball trip.)
Ask your child what happened in the “paper clips experiment”!
It was an exciting time using the scientific method and sharing delight together at witnessing unexpected results. We observed and recorded how many paper clips we could sneak into an already full glass of water without spilling it—thanks to the power of surface tension.
Most students guessed we could fit 3-6 paper clips; one person guessed we could 16 to fit. But the results revealed……139! Our minds were blown. We couldn’t have believed if not for seeing it with our own eyes.
In term three, students will be challenged to prepare and present a simple science experiment of their own choosing, either live in class or on video. Today I modelled how an experiment presentation could look.
This experiment assignment is intended to be entirely student directed— no family help or purchasing of materials is necessary. By offering students over 4 months advance notice and lots of class time to prepare the experiment with teacher support, I hope everyone will have what they need to be successful and have fun!
As well, in Science students have been working through a unit on the digestive system. Their major creative research project this term is designing a board game as a fun way to teach other people about the digestive system.
In Language Arts, we have been reviewing spelling rules and are on chapter 12 of our “Hatchet” novel study—lots of rich discussion and critical thinking happening as a result!
In Math, we have made excellent progress in our multi-digit multiplication unit, and quizzes are coming home today to share that growth. Next week we will layer in multi-digit division skills at an even pace, while also continuing to practice this week’s lessons.
I learned this strategy from a teacher named Aaron Pite who works at Monterey Middle School in Oak Bay; this is his helpful video!
Here is a video that teaches a very helpful division strategy we will use next week. (It’s likely a strategy parents were not taught years ago, but I wish we were because I’ve seen how it really helps students keep focussed on the meaning of division.)
Ask your child about “Cranky Cats”—we have been having a blast in Art recreating our own versions of this “Where’s Waldo”-style illustration.
The lesson connect to analysis of facial expressions, practice in perspective-taking, and creative brainstorming about what could cause a to be cat cranky. Students also engaged in storytelling, imagining how the cats might solve their crankiness.
This activity brought giggles while teaching illustration strategies alongside social-emotional learning topics from the Health Ed. curriculum.
In Social Studies, we have been expanding our knowledge of geography and doing a unit on immigration in Canada.
SOCIAL STUDIES: What motivates people to immigrate to Canada? In Social Studies, we began exploring the topic of changing trends in Canadian immigration over time and the push and pull factors.
Today we watched the above video, which fleshed out our understanding of push and pull factors even more. Student will soon began writing short essays on the topic using a specific structured template. The goal of this assignment is to both capture students’ learning, while also helping them work through a helpful model of a way to clearly communicate their ideas in the social sciences.Above you can see some great examples of draft essays on “Canadian Immigration: the Push and Pull Factors” as well as some summary graphics of the the big ideas we are exploring.
Click here to download KYAK magazine with lots of rich historical information for students about immigration to Canada:
We’ve started 2025 with a focus on multi-digitmultiplication, a critical skill for building numeracy and preparing students for future math concepts. This month, we are reviewing the traditional algorithm while introducing the box method, which many students find particularly helpful and intuitive.
Get comfortable, and let’s practice some math!
In class, I’ve shared my video tutorials to guide students through these methods. We’ve practiced together, and I’ve taught them how to adjust playback speed and pause videos so they can learn at their own pace. These tutorials are an helpful resource for additional practice at home.
Grade 5 is a pivotal year for establishing strong math foundations, and multiplication is a cornerstone skill. Let’s ensure every child has the time and support needed to succeed. I’ll continue providing tutorials, working with students individually, and offering class-wide guidance—regular study time at home as well may be needed for mastering these skills.
Students are encouraged to explore both methods and choose the one that works best for them after gaining confidence in each. This flexibility is key to developing problem-solving skills and adaptability.
As we settle into the new year, we are diving into exciting learning opportunities across the curriculum. Here are some highlights!
Language Arts…
Our focus this term is on strengthening reading strategies and writing thorough responses to text. Students are practicing the RACE strategy (Restate, Answer, Cite, Explain), a structured approach to responding to comprehension questions with clear evidence and detailed explanations. We’re emphasizing how to find evidence in a text and express it effectively in writing. This will prepare us for our upcoming meaningful novel study adventure with the book, Hatchet.
Math…
In Math, students are building their skills in multi-digit multiplication, we will teach the box method of multiplication next week (two strategies for the same goal to promote flexible numeracy skills), which has been especially helpful for students who are visual learners and/or who find the traditional approach challenging.
We reviewed this math tutorial video in class, and I recommend students create their own multiplication questions at home. (They can check their work with a family member or calculator.)
Personal Interest Projects…
Students have launched their personal interest projects (p.i.p.), a year-long initiative that integrates skills across the curriculum while fostering creativity and independence. These projects allow students to explore their passions, develop core competencies and meet career education goals, while creating products of learning to share at the end of the year. The progress on these projects is due for our showcase in the second week of June.
Throughout this process, students will receive many hours of direct teaching and support to guide them every step of the way. There is no need to purchase outside materials or provide family support, though families are welcome to be involved as they wish. I made an online video course filled with resources to support this work. As relevant, I’ll post some of these videos ongoing throughout the term so students can re-watch them at home if helpful. While not required viewing, these videos can help families better understand the nature of personal interest projects and the goals we aim to achieve through them.
*Here is a link to the entire P.I.P. video course playlist on YouTube:
*Here is an example of a high level example of a personal interest project that I shared with students to teach them the specifics of how in-depth research could look:
This project example is aspirational—I don’t expect grade 5 students to go this in depth, but they should take ideas from this project to drive them deeper in their own inquiries.
It’s wonderful to see the enthusiasm and growth already happening in 5B. Stay tuned for more updates as we continue our learning journey!
• Wednesday, January 8th: Early dismissal at 2:00 p.m.
• Thursday, January 9th: Epiphany Mass at St. Patrick’s Parish at 10:45 a.m.
• Friday, January 24th: No school for students.
• Tuesday, February 4th: Student-led conferences from 3:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.
• Wednesday, February 5th: Early dismissal at 2:00 p.m.
• Friday, February 7th: No school.
I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for your wonderful class Christmas gift of a gift certificate and the cards and other meaningful gifts and artworks. You made me feel so happy and special and it was another reminder of how lucky I am to be in 5B at our great school! Your kindness means the world to me. It was very special to connect with each child today to thank them and as well to let them know how much I loved seeing their beautiful nativity scenes (either live in person or via photograph). I will make time to create a blog post to showcase those soon!
I was so sorry to be so sick and miss the last week of school before vacation–I was hit with that bug that impacted a number of students, staff and families and it had me coughing all through the holidays and even up to New Years. Fortunately, I am back to being healthy and delighted to see a full class of healthy students here today!
As for today, we had a gentle start back with (a.) an assembly, (b.) a Health Ed. discussion of feelings around making transitions and strategies for finding a sense of calm during transitions, (c.) a study in Religion class about the meaning of Epiphany, and (d.) an introduction to how to do “Personal Interest Projects”(P.I.P.)–ask your children about that (and I will post a blog and video links about that soon).
The P.I.P.s will be a fun way for students to personalize their learning and growth their core and curricular competencies across the grade 5 curriculum and beyond with special emphasis on “Career Education” goals.
The projects are not due until June and there will be many hours of in class direct instruction and support for these student-driven projects.
There is nothing for parents to buy or do for these projects–just relax and know that your child is in charge and very well supported at school; but feel free to support if you have time and would like to do so.
A great way to encourage your child is just to have conversations asking questions like, “What do you think you might do for your personal interest project?” and “What is your next step in your project?”
As I said, there will be loads more information to come about the P.I.P. journey–which will be a non-rush, creative adventure that will re-enchant your child with his/her learning.
****REMINDER: This Thursday, Jan. 9th is the Epiphany Mass at 10:45am at the Parish and full uniform (including tie) is the dress code. Thank you for helping your child to remember.
Here is a description of the Religion/Arts Ed. project that students have been working on in class.
For this Advent project, you’ll be creating your very own nativity scene diorama to show the story of Jesus’ birth, using any craft materials, natural items like sticks or rocks, or even toys like Lego or other toy figures that you already have at home. The goal is to apply your creativity and show what you’ve learned about the nativity story from the Bible and how it fits into our Catholic faith. While you are welcome to include toys or pre-made items, it’s important to make sure your design has some innovative and construction elements that you make yourself. For example, simply purchasing a ready-made nativity scene and bringing it in would miss the point of this activity, which is to challenge you to be creative, to thoughtfully engage with the story, and to think through the elements of it. You’ll also use your diorama as a prop to help retell the nativity story to a Grade 2 buddy. You’ll be celebrated for and assessed on how faithful your diorama is to the Bible story, how creative your artwork is, how much effort you put into making it, and how well you retell the story using your diorama. Have fun and let your creativity shine as you bring the nativity story to life!
Here is a wonderful example of one of the 5B nativity scenes! Beautiful work, Rebecca!
Here is a video of the nativity scenes that last year’s grade 5s made for inspiration…
Today students have brought home their black dress shoes so they can be clean and polished for wearing tomorrow night at St. Andrew’s Cathedral downtown for the Advent Concert.
Tomorrow (Tuesday) during the school day is a CIVVIES DAY. This is to ensure that students’ FULL UNIFORM will be fresh and clean for the Advent concert in the evening.
Students arrive at 5:30pm at St. Andrew’s Cathedral (740 View Street). The concert begins at 6:00pm but parents can start seating themselves as of 5:30pm. The event is expected to be an hour long, but it could go later. For example, I personally will ensure I have parking until 8pm.
*Parking may be found on the streets nearby and in the View Street Parkade.
**No drinks or food are permitted in the cathedral. No water bottles or coffee cups. No snacks. Thank you for understanding.
***Bathrooms: Please note that there are only TWO BATHROOMS (two toilets total) available in St. Andrew’s. Students and families are encouraged to be mindful of this and plan accordingly (e.g. not drinking excessive amounts of water before the concert). Last year there were line ups for the bathroom.
PYJAMA DAY is the day after the concert on Wednesday, Dec. 11th
KIDS SHOPPING EVENT: Thurs., Dec. 12th
This annual event is fun and meaningful for students as they get to go shopping (in our school) for Christmas presents for their parents and siblings. (Sorry, they can’t buy for other family members during the first round of buying, even if they live in your house). But on Friday, Dec. 13, after all classes have finished shopping, if there are leftover items, then shopping will be opened up for students to buy gifts for other family members.
*If you have new or used items in good condition that would be good to donate to this “Kids Shopping Event” (things that would make good presents for parents and kids of all ages), please send those donations to school. Thank you so much!
On GRADE 5 shopping day (Thurs. Dec. 12 at 9:30am) your child should bring:
-one or two reusable shopping bags (large, if possible) with a handle
-a list with the names of the family members who they are buying for (ages of the siblings helps the assistant shoppers) Example: Mom, Dad, Bobby (age 3), Suzy (age 10)
–$2 per gift (Gr. 7s are raising money to buy gifts for less fortunate children)
The gifts will be wrapped & tagged by the Gr. 7 elves (that’s why they need the list of names).
Wed., Dec. 18th – Report Cards go home.
Fri., Dec. 20 – Wear Christmas-themed Civvies: red/green clothes; school is dismissed at noon for Christmas vacation.
Report cards are coming—but they can’t capture the whole story of your child’s growth this year! Every learner is on his or her own “hero’s journey”—and I have been astounded with the progress I have seen each make in term one.
Here is a window into what and how your children have been learning the art of storytelling. I hope this background empowers families to continue fostering these skills and deepen discussion around literacy learning at home.
Short story excerpts: the first few lines
This term, students have learned concepts and practiced skills to grow as oral storytellers while crafting their own original narratives to share and inspire others in our school community. This valuable life skill builds confidence and creativity, and lays a stronger foundation for core literacy skills. Emphasis on the development of quality ideas over worrying about the mechanics of recording them with a pencil or keyboard removes barriers and fosters inclusion, while at the same time providing a motivation for students to capture their great work by developing those writing skills alongside. Even with the permission that, “you don’t have to write this story down,” many pages were written voluntarily as students took ownership and wanted to fine-tune their tales at the word-by-word written level.
Learning About Storytelling…
Through direct teaching with modelling and examples, students learned strategies for how to grow their storytelling skills. For examples, students (a.) worked through the “story mapping” process, (b.) built ideas off of creativity prompts, and (c.) learned to use existing stories as templates.
Jumping Off Point:
I read aloud the story, “The Tiger Who Came to Tea,” and encouraged students to use that tale of an unexpected visitor as a framework for their own: “The __(character)___ Who Came to ____(activity or place)_____”.
Developing Ideas & Practicing…
Students have had weekly practice sharing their original stories (either from memory or made up on the spot). They have and practiced giving and gracefully receiving helpful feedback peer feedback.
Showcasing Learning: The Story Fair for the Gr. 2 Little Buddies
Each student had the joy and responsibility of creating a 4-minute original story to tell at his or her “story station”, and the grade 2 buddies cycled through and were delighted. It looked like this…
Sara tells “The Orca Who Came to Swimming Lessons” to Ben from the grade 2 class.
We heard so many wonderful stories this term. For example…
Marko: “The Juggling Seal” – A talented seal enjoys a game of dodgeball and makes some escalating mischief around town.
Andrew: “A Magic Pencil” – A magical pencil embarks on a quest to reunite with its owner.
Kailee: “The Elephant Who Came to Play” – An elephant and a little girl named Rose engage in dress-up adventures.
Elliott: “The Bird Who Came to Dinner” – A clever, persistent hippo attempts various methods to enter a little girl’s home.
Jayden: “Dark Soul” – A detailed narrative set in his favorite fictional video-game world, presented during a spontaneous storytelling challenge on Halloween.
Joaquina: “The Panda Who Came for Dinner” – A panda joins a family for dinner and humorously takes over with its huge appetite.
Lucas: “The Journey to the MLB” – Two professional baseball players who, after accidentally breaking a young boy’s window, inspire and coach him to succeed in the major leagues.
Pascal: “The Dodo Bird Who Came for a Midnight Snack” – A dodo bird embarks on a nocturnal adventure in search of a snack.
Sergio: “The Great Music Mystery” – A child named David solves a problem in Pianoland.
Lochlan: “The Milk” – A man named Jeeuff returns home to bring his wife some milk.
Daniel: “The Boy Who Looked Into the Future” – A young mathematician named John uses a magical potion to step into the future, discovers robbers are coming, and sets clever traps to have them put in jail.
Jun: “Anta Who Came to Help” – Santa catches a cold and calls on his brother, Anta, for help.
Ethan: “The Prince” – A royal protagonist adopts a fish, goes missing, and is eventually found.
Evelynn: “The Giraffe Who Came to Dance Class” – Gia the giraffe aspires to become a dancer and, with the support of Zadie the zebra, overcomes the mean criticism of other animals to deliver a wonderful performance.
Raina: “The Big Bossy Red Book” – A girl named Chloe loves doing schoolwork but is continually distracted by the antics of a magical book.
Sara: “The Orca Who Came to Swimming Lessons” – An orca attends swimming lessons, leading to humorous and unexpected events.
Luke: “The Pig That Went to School” – A clever pig escapes from the farm and tries to enroll in school to prove his high intellect.
Lily: “The Young Little Fox” – A young fox ventures into the forest and must save himself from a wolf.
Cristobal: “The Soccer Jack” – Two friends learn to play soccer together.
Sofia: “Amanda the Panda” – A panda gets her ears pierced and discovers her love of earrings.
Polina: “The Lizard Who Came for Dinner” – Emily, a girl, receives an unexpected dinner guest—a lizard that causes such a commotion in the house that the family decides to move into a larger home to accommodate their new friend.
Rebecca: “The Brave Owl” – A young raptor who loves to explore falls into a hole and is rescued by a kind tiger who becomes his friend.
Andrei: “The Man Who Tamed a Village” – Set in medieval times, a farmer and his two sons learn the virtues of using a kind, calm voice. When a famine strikes, those who refrain from yelling receive food, express gratitude, and help the farmer replant his crops, ultimately ending the famine.
On Halloween, we made the most of the fact that students were wearing their costumes by inviting kids to come to the front of the room and make up a story on the spot. Here are some of those wonderful spontaneous tales…
The Feedback & Assessment Process…
Students were supported in learning to give helpful feedback to one another, self-assess their own stories, and take action on teacher recommendations.
Our students have been learning about self-regulation and the tools they can use in class to feel calm and focussed on their learning. Please take a moment to review our guidelines that help students choose and use fidgets in helpful ways.
Purpose of Fidgets
Fidgets are tools (not toys) that may help students stay focused during listening time. When used properly, they may help some learners to feel calm and pay attention without distracting anyone else. In our classroom, everyone’s learning matters. Therefore, we support the use of fidgets that are quiet, small, eyes-free, mess-free, safe, single-user, and non-distracting to others.
How a fidget is used makes a difference. Keeping fidgets in your lap or otherwise tucked away from obvious display is a good way to avoid distracting others.
What Makes an Appropriate Fidget?
Quiet: It does not make any noise (no clicking, tapping, whooshing, or other sounds). Ask yourself: Is this fidget silent?
Small: It is small enough to fit in your hand and can be used quietly on your lap or desk. Ask yourself: Does this fidget fit in one hand?
Eyes-Free: You should be able to keep your eyes on the focus of instruction (e.g. your teacher and the white board, or the text you are reading, or your classmates or work while using it). It is not a book or a game that demands your brain power. Ask yourself: Could I read text while using this fidget?
Mess-Free: It does not contain liquid, gel, powders, glass, or other things that spill or break. Ask yourself: Is this fidget free from messes?
Safe: The fidget must not be able to harm you or anyone else. Pins, opened up paperclips, bare wire or pipe cleaners with a pointy end, scissors, and other sharp items are a safety risk, especially if you are distracted. Ask yourself: Is this fidget safe?
Single-user: You can use it on your own, without needing help from anyone else. Ask yourself: Can I use this fidget by myself?
Non-distracting: A fidget pulls anyone else’s attention away from teaching and learning. It should not have lights, smells, or anything that grabs attention. Ask a classmate and teacher: Have I been using this fidget in a way that is distracting?
Tiffany Poirier 