Hi Families,

If September is any indication of how fast the school year is going to go by, then we will have no time to waste! We have been working hard in 5B and I am proud of the student's work ethic, so far. 

Just a reminder, Monday is Orange Shirt Day at West Royalty. Also, if you have not yet filled out the Student Information form that is also linked above, please do so at your earliest convenience. Finally, I am collecting forms and $6 for Orwell Corner (due by Thursday) and batteries for our Battery Blitz Campaign!

Students have an opportunity to participate in a school-wide Orange Shirt Day design contest in honour of Truth & Reconciliation. The winner has their design printed on a t-shirt to take home! All entries are due by October 9th. I will send home the template today so students have the weekend to work on it, if they wish. I will devote some class time to it, next week, so students will need to make sure it is in their bags on Monday if they bring it home. We have been reading various picture books and engaging in rich discussions not only about what Truth & Reconciliation means, and we continue to ask ourselves "What important lessons we can learn from indigenous peoples, then and now, that can help us live in a good way?"

IXL is now up and running and your child has their previous username and password from last year (or a new one if they are new to West Royalty). It would be a good idea to spend at least 10 minutes per night refreshing their skills from grade 4 or tackling Grade 5 skills on place value as we move forward. I am pleased with the prior knowledge students are bringing to the classroom and I feel we are ready to move on to more challenging math, next week. The Math Page in the Student Portal has been updated with videos, pictures, and independent work. 

Thank you for your support during a very busy month. The students and I are lucky to have you all behind us!

Have a great weekend,

Meredith

Hi Families,

We have had a great week in 5B. We capped the week off with an Earth Rangers assembly. You may remember this is an event that kicks off our annual school battery collection, "Battery Blitz". The top classes receive a reward such as a pizza party, and the top school receives up to $3000. If you have any old batteries lying around the house, feel free to send them in. Additionally, if anyone works at an establishment that runs through a good amount of batteries and would like to send them our way, we can take care of them for you!

Next week we are running in honour of Terry Fox. We continue to collect monetary donations in support of cancer research. Thank you for your support!

In Writer's Workshop, we continue to add to our Writer's Notebook and gather ideas for our first Writing unit - Recount writing. The children have been working on strengthening their writing stamina, and I am impressed with their abilities so far! We will continue to explore student writing and mentor texts to deepen our understanding of what makes a good writer! 

This week, the students have been revisiting previous grade-level math outcomes. We have completed two check-ins that I will send home next week. Students now have IXL accounts that they can use (website or app) to practice their math skills. Some students need to work on subtracting and regrouping, while others need to revisit how to multiply and divide 2 or 3-digit by 1-digit numbers. Next week, we will begin N1 - Representing numbers to 1 million. 

Students have been thinking deeply about the important lessons we can learn from various groups of people to help us live in a good way. We will continue that learning next week when Julie-Pellishier Lush comes in to present in honour of Truth & Reconciliation. We will take that knowledge and try to answer the question, "What important lessons can we learn from Mi'kmaq Peoples then and now that can help us live in a good way?" Students are challenged to create an infographic at the end of this inquiry unit that teaches their peers the most important lessons they have learned along the way!

Please don't hesitate to reach out if you have any questions or concerns!

Happy weekend,

Meredith

Hi Families,

Well, the week has certainly flown by, and it feels like we have been together for months! September in the classroom is a bit more chaotic than I remember, but the students have been helping me get through it! I am so grateful for their leadership and kindness. 

Thank you for attending Meet the Teacher. It was great to reconnect with many of you and meet some of you for the first time. I hope your child is enjoying 5B so far. I know we will have a great year together!

I have received almost all of the student information forms that went home on the first day. If you could please return those by Monday, I would appreciate it. We are also collecting for the Terry Fox Run. If you are able, a $2 or more donation would help us meet our school goal of $1500! Thank you.

This past week, we have been building on our routines, procedures, and expectations while participating in various Getting to Know You and STEM activities. We have also started our Writer's Notebooks, planting seeds and gathering ideas for our first Writing Unit - Recount writing. We have kicked off our work in Integrated Arts with a History Box from the Canadian Museum of History. We are using artifacts from Early, Colonial and Modern Canada to help us answer the question, "What can we learn from diverse groups of people to help us live in a good way?" We are soft-launching into Math by reaching back to previous grade-level expectations. I plan to start our first unit on Representing Numbers to 1 000 000 next week. Yesterday we had our first Book Buddy session with one of our Grade 2 classes, and it could not have gone more smoothly. Kudos to 5B for being such great conversationalists, especially with the children who have limited English. 

I will be out on Monday and Wednesday of next week. Mr. Jamie Jones (one of our regular Guest Teachers) will be in for me. He knows the children and routines well. If you need to contact your child, please do so via the office.

Have a great weekend,

Meredith

Hi Families,

It has been a wonderful 2 days getting to know your children. I told them today I was worried and nervous about coming back to teaching after being out of the classroom for a year. Still, their kindness and respectful attitudes have helped make my own transition back to school a positive experience. I hope they are as excited about the year ahead as I am!

In an effort to get to know your child on a deeper level, I would appreciate it if you could fill out the Google Form, which is also linked above. Some of the required information is a bit redundant at the start of the school year, but it is helpful for me to access this information in a pinch. 

As in previous years, I am also asking students to bring in an inexpensive set of headphones/earphones to leave at the school for the year. 

Below are a few pictures of one of the collaborative activities we took part in today. It's called Heads Together and helps set the expectations for what group work will look like this year. The students had a lot of fun, and I'm sure they would be excited to tell you about it. :)

Have a great weekend,

Meredith