*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!
In Career Education, students learned about Howard Gardner’s “Theory of Multiple Intelligences” through a poster, checklist, and video, and I invited them to reflect upon and share their top three multiple intelligences.
In Math, students have now brought home a quiz on telling time on an analog clock and calculating elapsed time. I am encouraging all students to keep reviewing this content and to do a retest or have a “math meeting” with me to show their new learning in this areas as they make progress—at any time this year! There is no deadline to progress!
Right now we are focussing on understanding place value and writing numbers in standard form, expanded form and word form.
In Religion class, we opened up discussion by reading this beautiful book and discussing prayer, free will, and the similarities between some major religions. Students will learn about a Catholic worldview this year, while honouring diversity, encouraging critical thinking, and supporting one another in their spiritual journeys.
Students also learned about the Apostles’ Creed and are reflecting upon their own beliefs as they write and illustrate their own creeds.
In Social Studies, we have been learning about eminent Canadians, specifically Terry Fox. Students were supported with tips on how to research using appropriate internet sites about Terry Fox. Students were tasked with creating a Google doc and typing up their own original poem about Terry Fox. We introduced some poetry concepts as well, including line breaks, repetition, symbolic language, and appealing to the five senses.
Thanks to families for your time joining us at the “Welcome Back BBQ” and meet-and-greet in the 5B classroom!In ADST, we completed part two of our “Toilet Paper Roll Creativity Challenge” and pushed our design process even further. Then we shared and celebrated our learning by hosting our grade 2 “little buddies” in a tour of our exhibits. It’s nice to pass on the inspiration!
Reminder: It’s the Soccer Jamboree tomorrow!
Students should wear their comfortable gym strip and outdoor running shoes. As well, I recommend sunscreen, hats, full water bottles, and a good night sleep on Thursday. We will have a fun day of sport—and everyone will be encouraged and supported to be successful. Competition is de-emphasized, and teamwork and a positive growth mindset will be emphasized and celebrated!
In Language Arts, we continued to work on our creative storytelling skills. Students are crafting an “unexpected visitor” story to share with their little buddies later this month. As well, we began a whole class novel study on Farley Mowat’s book, “Owls in the Family”. More like a “book club”, we are doing a very “soft start” to novel study: I read the story aloud as students follow along, and I explain vocabulary and context as we go. We have casual conversation about our observations and questions, and reading response questions are informal and scaffolded so everyone can be successful using their preferred method of communication.
As we go through our novel study, if students are absent, they can borrow a copy of the novel to take home and/or listen to the book in audio form, which is found for free on Youtube (for example, see below).
In Health Ed., we discussed some of the safety hazards and notes we noticed when reading chapter one of “Owls in the Family”. Students discussed safer alternatives to the choices made by the main characters of Billy and Bruce.
In Social Studies, we have been talking about eminent Canadians who have impacted our country. We watched the short documentary below about Terry Fox, and discussed the qualities and virtues he exhibited through his crusade to raise awareness and funds for cancer research. Students will be tasked with writing a biographical poem about Terry Fox to creatively show their learning. Think and discuss: Who was Terry Fox, and what impact did he make?
In Career Ed., we returned to the topic of goal setting again and did a creative exercise to practice prioritizing values. Students journaled and did artwork about what wonderful things they would ask for if a fairy granted them three wishes. What would you wish for?
We continued to work in Math on reading clocks and calculating elapsed time. As well, we explored topics in “place value” using base ten blocks and diagrams.
Check in: You could ask your child what number is represented by these base ten blocks shown above.
Here are some important reminders for you for tomorrow…
(1.) Please sign and return the FIELD TRIP PERMISSION FORM for the Soccer Jamboree.
(2.) Cross Country Team try-outs happen at school tomorrow morning at 7:30am. (Information was sent home today about this club).
(3.) Optional: Tomorrow is “part two” of our ADST toilet paper challenge. This time, students can modify toilet paper rolls in any safe and appropriate way they like. So students are welcome to bring extra materials from home if they choose to do so.
(4.) Welcome Back BBQ tomorrow! Please note that the new time of the BBQ is 4:30-6:30pm. For families who will make it tomorrow, dinner is available for purchase on the intermediate field. We will gather in the gym at 6pm for introductions, then students and families can go to their classes to look around and say hi to the teachers. *Please note that this is a simple “meet and greet” and look around at the classrooms, and there will not be time to discuss students’ progress and needs. Please feel free to wait until our “Parent-Teacher Conferences” in October or send me an email or request a separate meeting if needed.
Here are some highlights from this past week you could discuss with your children to continue the learning connection at home…
Academic Highlights:
This week we focussed on storytelling skills, reading a clock, calculating elapsed time, goal setting, and being creative using the design process.
In Language Arts, we enjoyed reading aloud the story “The Tiger Who Came to Tea” as a creative prompt. Students were invited to create and tell their own spin-off story of “The ____ Who Came to ________”. We talked about storytelling skills and about the upcoming opportunities students will have to tell their stories to our little grade 2 buddies later this term. *Please invite your child to tell you his/her story and offer your support and feedback.
As well, we set up our Personal Spelling Dictionaries, which students will use to record new words, including words I underline and correct for them on their writing assignments.
Reading and Analog Clock
Please Note: I have vetted all the videos I post on this blog as both age appropriate and useful teaching content. The videos can help to reinforce and review our classroom learning.
If your child needs more help with the concepts we covered in class, please help your child to continue study at home in some way, such as watching these tutorials I post.
In Math class we have working on reading an analog clock, and beginning the skill of calculating elapsed time. Here are two videos that review the concepts…
Calculating Elapsed Time: Timeline Method
Calculating Elapsed Time: T-Chart Method
In Career Education, we explored the concept of goal setting and did a creative visualization activity to inspire students to picture themselves in 20 years achieving their own definitions of success. Some students volunteered to share their wonderful work with you here. Come to our classroom to see more!
Great work like this will be safely stored in students’ portfolios (the white binders). This work can be seen anytime you come visit our class, and it will be taken home at report card time.
In ADST (Applied Design Skills and Technologies), we learned about the design process while enjoying a creativity challenge based on transforming a toilet paper roll! What an amazing gallery of new creations! Here are some examples of works students volunteered to share…
Thank you, grade 5s! You helped my son Henry feel very welcome when he visited our class on his first day of Kindergarten. We have some excellent chess players and leaders in our class! You will make great “Big Buddies” when we start that initiative later in the year.
COMING UP…
Mon., Sept. 9 is our first Phys. Ed. class. Please wear gym strip. Also, the Comfort Kits are due back, and please make sure you have all your school supplies. *Some students are still missing important items like binders: please ask your child what he/she still needs and refer to the supplies list. Thank you!
Tues., Sept. 10 – Welcome Back BBQ & Meet the Teacher, 4:30-6:30pm
Fri., Sept. 13 – Grade 5 Soccer Jamboree at Carnarvon Park
Tues., Sept. 17 – Terry Fox Run (Wear Gym Strip this day) at 9am
Fri., Sept. 20 – Pro-D, no school for students
Mon., Sept. 23 – Photo Day, full uniform
Thurs., Sept. 26 – Welcome Back Mass, 10:45am
Mon., Sept. 30 – National Truth & Reconciliation Day, school is closed
I am delighted to welcome you to our class for what will be a very special grade 5 year.
My name is Tiffany Poirier, and students call me Ms. Poirier (pronounced “PWAH-ree-ay”). I am a wife and a mother of three sons—two who are attending this school: one is in grade 2, and another is in kindergarten, and my oldest son attends high school. I have two fluffy cats named Cookie and Mozart, and I love doing art, spending time in nature, being with family and friends, and deepening my faith. I have been a teacher for 18 years, and you can learn more about me by checking out my bio and other tabs on this website.
This blog is your source of information for our 5B class. Please take the time to refer to it regularly and when I send you email notifications about new posts.
This year we will have fun learning and exploring our creativity, discovering new interests and gifts, and challenging our thinking skills. We will build new connections, reflect deeply, and grow in faith as we create and contribute within our supportive class community and beyond.
This first blog post of the year offers a quick introduction; we will have it’s more information to come this week.
I will send you new blog posts and email updates throughout the year—I love working hard for families by sharing frequent communications including photos, videos, and lesson descriptions to help everyone feel connected to our classroom learning.
If you’re curious, you can scroll back to see the blog posts from the last few years. Students and their works are only photographed and featured on my blog with written consent from both parents plus verbal consent from students themselves. I will email you a reminder each time I make a new post, and check this blog frequently for the updates.
Tomorrow will be a lovely morning (8:40am-12:00pm) with a school assembly and then time to settle in, get to know one another, unpack supplies, set some goals, talk about guidelines and our vision for the year.
I’m looking forward to meeting you!
Sincerely, Ms. Tiffany Poirier
TO DO: Please make sure you have completed the online form for field trip and photo permission. Click here to do the form:
Wed., Sept 4 – Welcome Back, school starts at 8:40am and dismissal is at NOON. Wear your regular uniform and bring all of your school supplies as we will be organizing them into desks. *Make sure to bring your INDOOR SHOES for this day (black dress shoes and gym shoes)
Thurs., Sept. 5 – Assembly – Wear FULL UNIFORM! Out of School Care begins for students registered in the program
Fri., Sept. 6 – Welcome Back Coffee, primary playground 8:45am
Mon., Sept. 9 – Phys. Ed. Day – Wear gym strip.
Tues., Sept. 10 – Welcome Back BBQ & Meet the Teacher, 5:00-7:00 pm
Fri., Sept. 13 – Grade 5 Soccer Jamboree at Carnarvon Park
Tues., Sept. 17 – Terry Fox Run (Wear Gym Strip this day) at 9am
Fri., Sept. 20 – Pro-D, no school for students
Mon., Sept. 23 – Photo Day, full uniform
Thurs., Sept. 26 – Welcome Back Mass, 10:45am
Mon., Sept. 30 – National Truth & Reconciliation Day, school is closed
REMINDER: NO NUT PRODUCTS PERMITTED
As we have students and staff with life-threatening allergies, do not send lunches with nuts or products containing nuts. If your child has nuts at home before school, make sure that hands and face are washed and teeth are brushed. Thank you for helping keep everyone safe!
ROAD WORK & DELAYS:
Please note that there’s a lot of roadwork around the city, causing delays. Fort St. is particularly affected. Consider parking elsewhere and walking in. Do not park in the VIHA lots to avoid being ticketed, as enforcement is strict.
If picking up by car, please stay in your vehicle and watch for your child to keep traffic moving. Follow staff directions for traffic control.
HEALTHY EATING AT ST. PAT’S:
We are not to distribute food items to our classes (such as cupcakes for birthdays). We encourage families to avoid sugary items in lunches/snacks where possible. Thanks for your support.*Gum and candy are not to be brought to school. Thank you!
WASTE-FREE CLASSROOM:
We encourage a waste-free lunchbox where possible. All packaging will go home in your child’s lunch kit. Thank you for your time packing lunches in re-usable containers. We appreciate your support of this environmental initiative. (Please also note that we eat snack inside the classroom, and no food is allowed outside.)
WEEKLY SCHEDULE:
UNIFORMS:
Mondays and Wednesdays: 5B students wear GYM STRIP (even though we have our monthly assemblies on Mondays, our class can wear gym strip unless specifically requested to wear full uniform.)
Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays: 5B students wear regular uniform
Any Mass days, special assemblies, or other special events: FULL UNIFORM (this includes the white dress shirt, tie, and crested v-neck sweater)
SCHOOL SUPPLIES:
Please bring all of your school supplies to school on the first day.
It has been a truly wonderful year of learning with 19 fabulous students. I thank you from the bottom of my heart for your support of learning this year and for your generous gifts and cards and kind words. Although this is my last blog post for the school year, you are all forever in my heart and prayers. Always feel welcome to come and visit me—I love to stay in contact with students and families!
“The Parable of the Lost Sheep” Thank you for coming to our “5B Celebration of Learning”! It was such a joy to share this glimpse into our learning this year of students dancing, singing, playing piano, giving speeches, performing their parable plays, and doing impromptu speaking games.
“The Parable of the Ten Bridesmaids”This student’s wonderful personal interest project took us back to a scene in the Devonian time period approximately 400 million years ago.“The Parable of the Ten Bridesmaids”Asher’s fascinating personal interest project involved building a model of an eco-friendly home and presenting its many features to folks in our class. Ansley shared her two part personal interest project: (1.) doing a presentation on the topic of imagination involving touring us through her creative small world display, and (2.) showcasing the wide assortment of woven and beaded bracelets she made. The students wear delighted to each receive one of these custom creations!Princeton taught our class all about the amazing world of Ugears! Becca shared her creative magnet making project that turned into a profitable business. Amelia shared her creative journey through a personal interest project of making bookmarks.Dustin shared the simple machines found in his Lego creations Gabriela’s Simple Machines Another personal interest project involved detailed discussion comparing the features and benefits of various Lego cars that two students had built.
Students were discussing their own observations about significant numbers mentioned repeatedly in the Bible—sparking a fun new inquiry path on the last day of school. We hope to hear more of these reflections when we catch up again in September.Blenkinsop Mini Golf Picasso-style art
LOOKING AHEAD TO GRADE 6: Here are some of the projects we enjoyed checking out and taking inspiration from at the grade 6’s entrepreneurial fair on Tuesday…
The grade 5s made their own cross necklaces and also made one for each grade 2 buddy. We said goodbye to our wonderful little grade 2 buddies by exchanging a cards and the necklace gifts—and wrapped it all up with a special yummy surprise thanks to Mrs. Sikkel! Congratulations to Sarah on her special honour for Christiand Leadership! Wishing Father William a wonderful new adventure in his next parish leadership role. Thank you for your inspiration andHave a happy summer! You are all wonderful children who have grown so much! Thank you for a fabulous year— I hope to see you soon!
Tiffany Poirier 