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?
We begin with a HUGE THANK YOU for all of your thoughtfulness and generosity in supporting our school’s Warm Winter Clothing Drive, as well as our Samaritan’s Purse Operation Christmas Child Shoebox initiative.
The grade 5 classes together raised awareness and funds to purchase enough toys, school supplies and other essentials to fill 26 shoeboxes that are now in transit on the way to be distributed to 26 children in need around the world. We prayed over each donated item and shoebox, imagining the children who would receive these gifts and holding them in our hearts.
It was such a joy to see how this very tangible process of sorting and praying over these gifts opened up our students’ hearts and minds in beautiful ways.
We wish a Merry Christmas to the children around the world who will receive these gifts—you are in our hearts and prayers.
Thank you for sharing your time with us on such a meaningfully experience that linked our Religion curriculum with core competency development (communication and personal and social awareness). If you enjoyed this project, consider participate in it as a family next year directly through the Samaritan’s Purse website.
Math: Function Machines!
Students have extended their learning in our science unit on simple machines to inform their creative design of “function machines” in math class.
This open-ended mathematics task invites students to design a machine that apply a series of operations to an input to get to an output, as you can see with the example of the “Number Cruncher 3000” above.
As a class, students collaborated to transform our bulletin board into a giant function machine that will continue to change every few days, offering a new challenge with each iteration.
Can you solve this function machine designed with the help of all 5B students?
Students who finish their math assignments early can keep working on their own new function machines or choose items from the Math Enrichment Bin that offers math puzzles, logic puzzles, math literature, and dice/flash cards/calculators for their own open ended explorations.
Term 1 Math Tests
Your child has now brought home their marked Term 1 math test, along with a pink form to be signed and returned. This test was conducted with an open-ended time frame and students were supported according to their individual needs. The results from this test, combined with in-class observations, group activities, and the many numerous unit quizzes, help inform your child’s Term 1 math grade.
I’m so pleased to celebrate that every single one of our 5B students has shown remarkable growth this term! Thank you for the meaningful support you’ve provided at home to help your child continue learning and improving.
To further support student success, I am offering an optional Term 1 Math Test Rewrite on Thursday, November 21st. This is a firm deadline as I need time to mark and then recalculate and change grades (if warranted) to submit to the office the following week. The rewrite provides an opportunity for students to improve their grade if they have demonstrated growth—the rewrite would not lower a grade.
*To qualify for the rewrite, students must study meaningfully for it at home.* That’s it. But I do mean it. Students and families can decide whether or not to participate in the rewrite based on their individual needs.
Please feel free to reach out with any questions, and thank you for promptly returning the signed pink math test forms and tests for our records.
Hallow App for Families!
A wonderful Catholic resource we have enjoyed exploring in Religion class is the Hallow App. We have used it for guiding us in prayer and deepening our reflection upon the Bible stories we explored this term. Our district has purchased licensing so families can use this valuable app at home as well! You can visit the App Store on your home devices now to find and download the Hallow App. Then, students can show you how to login using their school district Google account credentials. We have practiced doing this in class. Enjoy this treasured opportunity to draw upon endless hours of beautifully inspiring content to support social-emotional learning, foster faith and develop cultural and Biblical literacy.
Reminder: There is no school for students on Friday, Nov. 22nd as it is a professional development day for staff.
Coming soon…
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).
Thurs., Nov. 21 – Term 1 assessment deadline. Report card grades and comments will be finalized after this.
Tues., Nov. 26 through to Fri., Nov. 29 – Ms. Poirier is away from school, busy with the task of packing and moving her family home (still in town.). Ms. Poirier will not likely be able to respond to emails or questions during this period. *If your child is going to be absent on any of these days, please direct your email to the school office to inform them. For continuity, we are lucky to have the same substitute each of these four days, Mr. Ruffolo, who has worked with 5B—detailed plans will be left to ensure students have a wonderful week of valuable learning together!
Fri., Nov. 29th – Wear pink accessories in memory of Adaea (info in Nov. 25 newsletter)
Tues., Dec. 3 – Wear FULL uniform, Advent Mass. Grade 5s are supporting Mass by doing readings.
Wed., Dec. 4 – Early dismissal
Fri., Dec. 6th – Kids Night Out (registration deadline is Nov. 29, but space is limited and may fill up before then) See newsletter for details & registration link
Tues., Dec. 10 – Wear civvies during the day for the concert rehearsal) then wear FULL UNIFORM to the Advent Concert at 6:00 pm, St. Andrew’s Cathedral. ALL students are involved.
Wed., Dec. 11 – Pyjama day!
Kids Shopping Event for grade 5 (see details above)
Fri., Dec. 20- Wear Christmas-themed Civvies: red/green clothes; school is dismissed at noon for Christmas vacation
This year, the grade 5 classes are supporting Samaritan’s Purse Operation Christmas Child. This charity invites us to share God’s love by filling shoeboxes with new items for children worldwide, especially those in impoverished or war-torn areas who may rarely receive new gifts.
How You Can Help We invite families to participate as little or as much as they would like: ● Donating small, new gift items to be packed in shoeboxes that the charity supplies (e.g., school supplies, toys, toothbrushes, small musical instruments). Ideas can be found here. ● Contributing cash donations to help purchase additional items and cover shipping costs.
My kids sure loved joining in on this initiative last year!
Please remember that shoeboxes cannot include liquids, used or breakable items, food, candy, medications, or war-related items.
Important Details ● Collection Deadline: Thursday, November 14 (You can start bringing items now. We will work together to sort and pack the shoeboxes on the 14th.) ● Ages We’re Targeting: The idea is that one shoebox is filled for one child. Gifts will be sorted into boxes for either a boy or girl in the following age group: 2-4, 5-9, and 10-14.
Once items are collected, students will sort, pack, and prepare the shoeboxes for shipment. We’ll conclude by praying over these gifts, sending our love and best intentions to the children who will receive them.
This project is part of our Religion course and social justice education, aiming to teach generosity, global awareness, and gratitude. We hope this experience will help students understand the blessings we have and the joy of sharing with others.
Thank you for joining us in this meaningful initiative. For more details, please watch for a follow-up email with links and resources.
With blessings, Tiffany Poirier and Catherine Hicks The Grade Five Teachers
We had so much fun with our art on Monday, that we went deeper in our illustration explorations inspired by nature. Please enjoy these wondrous creatures you might see out and about on Halloween…
Tiffany Poirier 