In Social Studies, today we started a new unit on government and looked at the big picture of federal, provincial and municipal government structures and roles.
Students were supported with research tips and links to begin gathering information to help them answer for themselves the question: who would you vote for in the upcoming BC election, and why?
Students were encouraged to explore different candidates’ platforms and campaign promises and approaches. (I monitor students’ searches to guide them to appropriate, approved sources of relevant information, while talking through why some sites may be considered more reliable than others.)
Tomorrow we will open up and explore the contents of this mysterious box of learning materials that we received from Elections BC.
In Math, students brought home their “Number Patterns” quiz today. Everyone is welcome to study and do quiz rewrites as much as they like! Our next focus is reviewing multi-digit subtraction with regrouping.
In Career Education, we discussed strategies for taking ownership for our own personal organization and having the things we need at to school to be ready for the day—great practice for any future career! (If you are a firefighter and you show up to a burning building without your gear and a hose, you are not in a position to safely help and do your job!) So, students brainstormed, wrote, and illustrated a personal list of things they need to doublecheck that they have before leaving the home for school each day. These “Leaving for School Checklists” will be coming home tomorrow!
In Language Arts, we learned about writing in complete sentences, avoiding run-on-sentences, properly capitalizing the first word in each sentence, and concluding sentences with the appropriate end marks.
We also continue to strengthen and learn new reading strategies. Yesterday I introduced research-backed method for improving students’ comprehension of expository texts: “High 5!”
As well, students followed up their hummingbird reading comprehension work with the invitation to write and present a short speech for the class or to read aloud a pre-written speech.
Oral language skill development is a huge focus this term. Inspired by the educational talks we heard from the bird handlers at The Raptors last week, these three students wanted to share their own new knowledge about hummingbirds…enjoy!
Wild Food Day! Please note that October 10-17 our school is collecting donations of non-perishable food items to supports folks who could benefit from your generosity—this is a wonderful, tangible way we can show gratitude for what we have!
IMPORTANT DATES:
Mon., Oct 14 – Thanksgiving, school closed
Wed., Oct 16 – World Food Day Mass, FULL UNIFORM, 10:45am (Bring non-perishable food donations from now until Oct. 17)
Fri., Oct. 18 – Praying the Rosary for Peace (school-wide)
In Math, students have now brought home their addition quizzes; they are welcome to rewrite that quiz after having invested time in studying their corrections.
We are now working on a unit in number patterns(creating patterns with rules, identifying the next number in a pattern according to rules, and function machines). For example, see the video and sample worksheets below.
The creative enrichment invitation today was to create a more complex number pattern using more than one operator. Some students played with this concept using variables and exponents and even theorized about infinite sets.
In Health Education we have been learning about the difference between a “growthmindset” and a “fixed mindset”—and finding examples from history of how a growth mindset led to great discoveries and accomplishments.
As well, we have been using the “Open Parachute” curriculum to support SEL (social emotional learning) goals, such as in our recent lesson on “Negative Thought Traps”.
In Science, students continue to work on their simple machines projects. As well, students debriefed our trip to The Raptors last week in dialogue and wrote a “field trip reflection” to share what they had learned about animal science and conservation.
In Social Studies and Language Arts, we have continued exploring Indigenous stories.
Tonight’s Language Arts Homework: Students were asked to practice their oral storytelling skills by retelling “Flight of the Hummingbird” to a friend or family member.
Today we read and analyzed the message in the book “Flight of the Hummingbird” by Haida artist, Michael Nicoll Yagulanaas. Students made connections between this story and Catholic social justice themes.
See a video retelling of this story below…
Then we practiced reading comprehension strategies while analyzing an excerpt of science text about hummingbirds.
Students then had the option to choose a follow up activity: (1.) write a paragraph comparing and contrasting hummingbirds with another type of bird, (2.) write a speech about hummingbirds, (3.) practice reading aloud one of Ms. Poirier’s pre-written hummingbird speeches (grade level text or enriched vocabulary version).
Congratulations and a huge thanks to students, supervisors, families, and the majestic birds and their handlers for making our field trip to THE RAPTORS such a special and memorable day! Please enjoy our little “documentary” of the day…
Song Credit: “Psalm 93 (On Eagles’ Wings)” by Shane & Shane
A lady sitting on the benches behind our class during the flight demonstration marvelled at the students’ polite focus and said, “I was a teacher for 30 years, and THESE kids are REALLY well behaved! Wow!” What a sweet compliment for our class!
Literature connections! This trip was our meaningful way to celebrate our learning after completing an in depth study of Farley Mowat’s classic Canadian novel, Owls in the Family.
Tomorrow we wrap up a short but valuable week of learning with our Raptors field trip! (Scroll down for more reminders about the trip.)
In Social Studies, students had the choice to bring home their recent quizzes or put them in their portfolios.
In Math, we continue to build our skills and practice multi-digit addition. I ask students every day to bring home any unfinished class work to complete as homework. Worksheets are self-marked using an answer key or calculator, and I assess by daily observation, “math meetings” and marking students’ check-in quizzes (which will continue to happen on a usually bi-weekly basis). The next quiz will be on Monday on questions like these…
In Language Arts, students have continued to learn about how to form contractions with apostrophes and also use apostrophes to show possession.
5B students have been learning to navigate the library, choose “just right” books in areas of their interest, and be responsible and accountable for returning items they borrow. We have a class full of passionate readers!
As well, a major focus this week has been on learning to write powerfulparagraphs that have a relevant title, hook, topic sentence, well-developed ideas, transition words, and a meaningful conclusion.
Over the week, students chose their own topics, brainstormed with a graphic organizer, wrote paragraphs of 5-9+ sentences, did their own edits, wrote a self evaluation, and handed in their “best work” for teacher feedback. Students had the choice to write, type, and/or use voice-to-text as needed.
As well, we finished our class novel study on “Owls in the Family” by Farley Mowat. Students learned about how to go deeper in their literary analysis through guided discussions and a scaffolded writing assignment.
We explored major themes of the novel and students chose one question to respond to in more depth. They learned about how to structure an organized reading response paragraph with references to the text, and I modelled how to compose a reading response at both a proficient and an extending level.
Students are encouraged to learn to create workspaces that help them to be focussed and productive. Noise-cancelling headphones, dividers, and Chromebooks are choice items for anyone to use in our class. Students can work in stand-up desks, at the carpet or in the hallway, and they are supported to take body breaks, talk through their ideas with classmates and educators, and be good self-advocates who pay attention to what supports they need to succeed. We de-emphasize “rushing” and encourage students to take the time they need to do quality work, and check over the work before submitting it. We also teach students to respect others’ need for a peaceful, calm learning environment.
In Science, it’s exciting to see students making progress on their independent inquiry projects on simple machines. Please check in with your child to see what he/she is working on, and you can see previous blog posts for more information on this assignment.
In Religion, students have learned more about the magisterium and had rich discussions about their thoughts on the purpose of life.
We also enjoyed reading a Lego version of the Bible story of Noah’s Ark. Later this year, students will be tasked with choosing a 2-minute Bible story to retell to their little buddies in grade 2 but using puppets, props, costumes, a diorama, and/or other visuals like Lego.
As well, we continue to deepen our prayer practice by learning traditional prayers and praying in spontaneous moments with words from our hearts.
On October 18th, our whole school will participate in a 45-minute “Praying the Rosary for Peace” event on the theme of peace. More information can be found by clicking HERE.
We are rounding out our learning with a great video/discussion series with materials from Alpha Canada that was specifically created for a youth audience in a Catholic context. I invite you to learn more about the Catholic Alpha Course offerings online here: https://alphacanada.org/catholic-context/
BAZAAR BAKING:
Please note that if you are bringing items for the Parish Bazaar that they should be dropped off at school tomorrow by 9am. They need to have a listing of all ingredients used and the name and phone number of the family/person who contributed them. Please refer to the letter that was sent home in agendas earlier this week and via email. Thank you!
Raptors Field Trip
Please note the itinerary emailed to you today. Remember that tomorrow students should wear their FULL UNIFORM as we are representing our school and approaching this day with an academic mindset. However, students can choose the footwear they would be most comfortable walking around in at an outdoor facility. Students must bring a coat and understand that there could be rain. Bring a lunch and snack and full water bottle. Our bus leaves promptly at 10:10am. We are planning to be back by 3:00pm, but please understand this time is traffic dependent. I will update the school by phone if we think we will be later than expected. Please note that the updated list of parent/guardian volunteers we expect to have joining us is as follows…
Chris L.
Vicki Z.
Phillip J.
Tamara B.
Whitney D.
Adia M.
Annie L.
*Please email me a.s.a.p. if you are no longer able to join us. (Please also make sure you have submitted your own entrance $18 payment via cash or Etransfer to the school at sp@cisdv.bc.ca. Make sure you indicate in your Etransfer that this is your payment for the 5B Raptors field trip.)
FIELD TRIP VOLUNTEERS: Please arrive in our 5B classroom by 10:00am tomorrow.
Make sure you budget enough time to find parking by our school and do not use the teacher’s parking lot.
Upcoming Dates:
Sat., Oct 5 – St. Patrick’s Parish Bazaar, 9:30am – 2:00pm
Mon., Oct 14 – Thanksgiving, school closed
Wed., Oct 16 – World Food Day Mass, 10:45am. We are collecting your donations of non-perishable food items from Oct. 10-16.
Mon., Oct 21 – Parent/Teacher Conferences on ZOOM from 3:30-6:30pm (details coming soon)
Wed., Oct 23 – Parent/Teacher Conferences on ZOOM, 3:30-6:30pm (details coming soon)
*Note that all students on an IEP will NOT have Parent/Teacher conferences on Oct. 21 and 23, but instead will have IEP meetings scheduled for another day.
In Social Studies, we have been learning about the meaning of “Orange Shirt Day” and the purpose of the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. Please watch the video we created as a part of raising awareness and exploring our personal responsibility for justice, healing, and building a better future for all.
“How can we work towards Truth and Reconciliation?” – 5B students share their learning journey. Thank you, Lucas and Raina, for your leadership in speaking at the assembly today. Lego creations to support sharing the history and stories that led to the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.
Students explored many ways to share their learning in our Social Studies unit over the last two weeks. Today we wrapped up the work on our video project documenting our learning journey with truth and reconciliation.
What are some ways we can work towards truth and reconciliation? Seethe ideas students chose to share below…
There was rich brainstorming, dialogue, research, artworks, Lego dioramas to tell challenging stories in accessible ways, and poster making. We listened to stories of residential school survivors and dove into the history from different perspectives. Students wrote quizzes and short written reflections today as well and used technology to record their ideas as needed.
It was a relaxing, collaborative afternoon of board games, art, Lego and taking space to let the lessons of the week to settle in.
*REMINDER: Wear your FULL UNIFORM for Mass tomorrow. Also, tomorrow is the first HOT LUNCH day!
In Religion, we reviewed the “School Mass Expectations” for tomorrow.
In Language Arts, we have been learning to craft powerful paragraphs and how these differ in narrative versus expository writing. We are using a graphic organizer and have been teasing out the differences between a hook and a topic sentence.
We will continue to focus on developing ideas, using transition words and proper conventions, and writing an effective but brief conclusion that does a “call back” to the main ideas of the paragraph in fresh language. Students are encouraged to write on any “how to” topic (expository) of their interest and knowledge.
Students helped brainstorm this list of hooks and matching topic sentences. A hook can be an interesting related fact, a thought-provoking question, a personal or biographical connection, a call to imagine something, a shocking statement, or other ideas that draws the reader in and prepares them to think about the topic sentence.
Constable Alex and Constable Shelley came in for a visit and discussion that supported our learning goals in Health Ed. and Career Ed. Students gained awareness and learned a lot about ways to stay safe in the community. As well, they spoke about the skills, qualities, and preparation that is helpful for students aspiring to a profession in law enforcement.
In Math, we have been reviewing multiplication tables and learning to use a multiplication chart for quick calculations as we journey towards independence. As well, we introduced some mental math skills today for multi-digit addition and subtraction, as well as how to use a calculator to check our work.
Some of the mental math strategies we will be focusing could be called taking it one step at a time, using place value names, using what we already know, breaking it up, dropping common zeros, and taking a front-end focus. Below is a peek at some of strategies from students’ “extra practice” booklets.
These booklets are worked on when students finish other work at school and can be taken home for practice. I do not mark these work booklets; rather, students are encouraged to mark it themselves to learn from their mistakes. There is no deadline to finish the booklets—it’s just extra practice.
*We have Mass at 10:45am on Thursday, Sept. 26. (FULL UNIFORM required.)
Here is a summary the forms and items for students to bring in a.s.a.p. (Thank you if you have already done so.) I have also asked all students to continually use their agendas to keep track of their needs.
(1.) Student Identification Form (White sheet): please check all info is correct and sign.
(2.) Photo/Video Permission for Blog Form (Yellow sheet)
(3.) Raptors Field Trip Form (White form): you can send in $13 cash or e-transfer $13 to sp@cisdv.bc.ca and be sure to include in the e-transfer note your child’s name and that the money is for the 5B field trip.
(4.) Comfort Kit and ID card: The items you put in the ziplock bag with a letter in case of emergency.
(5.) School supplies: Please ask you child if he/she is missing anything. Dollarama and Amazon.ca may have what you need, as well as Monks or Staples–or perhaps reuse from a previous year.
(6.) Indoor Black Dress Shoes & Indoor Running Shoes for Phys. Ed:
*Thank you for your time running through this list with your child. As a mom of three school-age kids, I too know how much work it is for me to coordinate all these kinds of things on top of making lunches and uniforms! You’re doing a great job! You may not hear it enough: we all thank you for how much work it is to keep track of our busy lives and families!
We appreciate you for helping us have a great back-to-school start-up!
*Mon., Sept. 23rd is PHOTO DAY! (Please wear your FULL UNIFORM)
Here is a window into our recent classroom learning…
Exploring Science/ADST curriculum goals, all grade 5 students mingled across both the 5A and 5B classes building friendships and knowledge in a fun, hands-on STEM challenge to build a little car with a working wheel and axel. This was to further our learning in our unit of study on simple machines.
In Language Arts, we have been reviewing apostrophe usage and how to create contractions and going further in strengthening our oral storytelling skills.
Students have been spinning some wonderfully creative, humorous, and enjoyable tales—and a low pressure, small group “workshop format” helps students build confidence as they to help develop others’ ideas and see how their own ideas can grow with audience feedback!
In Math class, we continue to support and deepen students’ understanding of place value concepts through hands on activities and games.
Students are able to rewrite their place value quiz. *Please return that signed form that came home with the math quiz so I know it reached you.
In Religion class, we are sequentially working our way through the children’s adaptations of Bible stories (Creation, Adam and Eve, Noah’s Ark, etc.). As well, we learned about the Apostles Creed and Nicene Creed, and students are working to write and illustrate their own creeds.
Students have been discussing the concept of free will and grappling with their own questions in small group discussions.
Our 5B class has practiced “The Lord’s Prayer”as well as spontaneous prayers from the heart for ourselves, our loved ones, and our world. Students pray together and on their own to create little islands of peace and connection throughout the busy days.
Our Religion course studies emerge through a Catholic worldview, while also providing context of other world religious views and inviting students to build their own understandings and feel supported in their own spiritual inquiries.
As well, we will continue to develop the skills and a mindset that can leads to insightful reflection and encourage students to discover for themselves the joys and lessons of a prayer practice.
In Social Studies, our next inquiry looks at the history and impact of residential schools in Canada with age-appropriate, approved resources.
In the lead up to the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, we are exploring of how we can work towards reconciliation in our own lives and communities for justice and a better world. We will focus on hearing Indigenous voices and perspectives. On Friday, we read and discussed Phyllis Webstad’s book, “The Orange Shirt Story”.
We have now wrapped up our investigation of the eminent Canadian hero Terry Fox and shared our learning by researching online and writing biographical poems—many are finished and on display now
In Math, we continue to review telling time, calculating elapsed time and understanding place value. Please check in with your children to see their comfort level with writing numbers in standard form, word form and expanded form. For example, see the below images.
In Science, we are starting an inquiry on simple machines. We reviewed this video for some background knowledge. More to come!In Language Arts we are always working on vocabulary-building practices, which support reading, writing, and thinking skills. Our “Word of the Day” today was flabbergasted! How would you use this word meaningfully in a sentence?In Career Ed. and Health Ed., we have been using the “Open Parachute” program to explore topics in goal-setting and SEL (social emotional learning). Today our focus was on setting specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-based goals (SMART goals). Some students chose the bonus public speaking challenge of reading their own SMART goal aloud for the class. *Please ask your children to share with you a goal they have AND what steps they have thought of towards achieving that goal.Our classroom’s new stand up desk is available for everyone! It’s a favourite! SUPPORTING EXCELLENCE: To support all learners, we offer a highly differentiated curriculum and are ready to adapt to students’ interests and needs. Whenever possible or relevant, I will reinforce my verbal instructions with visual cues—as well, I try to summarize instructions in point form or diagrams on the whiteboard and/or provide this in signs or handouts. Our class is lucky to a stand up desk available for any learner who likes that option, and students are encouraged to take additional body breaks as needed and use non-distracting fidgets for calming and focus. Students are reminded and supported to be good self-advocates who notice their needs and communicatethem using sentence stems such as “I’m feeling _________, so may I take a body break in the hall and do some stretching?” Or, “I’d like extra time to finish this work.” My goal is that all students will make progress this year in understanding their learning needs and feeling able to ask for support within our safe, peaceful learning environment. So, as a teacher, I too model use of the stand-up desk, initiating body breaks, taking deep breaths for calming, using of fidgets in non-distracting ways, asking for help, owning up to my mistakes, and using prayer and deep breaths to self-regulate and more towards normalizing these practices in our class.Please note that the COMMUNITY VALUES coupon book fundraiser information came home with your children today. Participation is optional but appreciated! Please note that THIS IS NOT A FREE BOOK, but costs $35 for each book. Students are not asked to sell door-to-door, but to friends and family and other connections. Details are on the blue forms. Please return the blue forms and unsold books by Sept. 30th. Thank you for your support! Wear your GYM STRIP and bring in any donations ($2 suggested) tomorrow (Sept. 17th) for the TERRY FOX RUN. The field may be wet so please have your outdoor running shoes (no indoor running shoes should be worn on the field), and perhaps bring an extra pair of socks.It was a fabulous Friday afternoon at the Soccer Jamboree! Great work, students! And huge thanks to our parent volunteers!
Tiffany Poirier 