Embedded Files
June 24- End of Year Field Trip
June 25 - Grade 4 Talent Show
June 26- Last Day of School
Hi Families!
Wow! Where has the year gone? I always struggle at this time of year because it is so bittersweet spending these last few days as the 4A family that we have created over the past ten months.Thank you all for sharing your kids with me. They have taught me so much and I have truly come to love each and every one of them. We have laughed,cried and had cranky days together, but above all they showed day in and out an incredible amount of empathy,and genuine care and concern for each other. They are a special crew indeed and I will miss them!
A reminder about our field trip tomorrow...Be sure to pack a lunch and water and snacks for the movie theatre if you so choose!
Learning reports will be sent home on the last day which is Wednesday, June 26th.
I wish all my 4A families a Summer with lots of fun, social gatherings with family and friends, and wonderful memories created. Happy Summer Vacation!
Thanks for reading!
Julie
Week of June 10-14
Dates to Remember
June 21- School Fun Day
June 24- End of Year Field Trip
June 25 - Grade 4 Talent Show
June 26- Last Day of School
Hi Families!,
It is hard to believe that we only have a few short weeks left together. It is always a bittersweet time as I look around at the sweet faces of your kiddos and think about how far they have come and what an awesome little community we have built in 4A this year. They are a special crew!
We still have lots to accomplish over these last days together as we work on poetry, reviewing math outcomes, as well as learning about Canada and the different Provinces and Territories.
As the days get hotter we will be heading outside from time to time so sunscreen in the backpack is a great idea!
Talent Show
As part of our end of year celebrations, we have decided to have a Talent Show with all our friends in Grade 4. We welcome any participation, but it is not required. Some examples of talents may include jokes, singing, dancing, gymnastics, a demonstration of some kind, magic or playing an instrument. If your child has an idea in mind feel free to ask if it would fit the bill! We want this to be fun and enjoyable. Later this week, we will have a sign-up sheet available to students.
Thanks for reading!
Julie
Week of May 27-31
Dates to Remember
May 28- Wetlands Field Trip
June 21 - WRE Fun Day
June 24 - End of Year Field Trip
June 25- Grade four talent show
June 26 - Last School Day
Hi Families!
It's hard to believe that we are already moving into the last week of May. The days are flying by as we stay busy focusing on our curriculum outcomes. With the sunny days and longer evenings, it's not uncommon for students to lose a bit of interest, energy, and patience at this time of year. We continue to have daily conversations about the importance of being respectful and responsible learners. Your support in ensuring your child is well-rested and ready for school each day is greatly appreciated.
As we move into June, we will be spending the next few weeks reviewing many curriculum outcomes and completing our last writing unit of study on poetry. This coming week, students will be finishing up our persuasive unit, revising, and editing their final pieces. We will end the week by sharing our pieces with each other with a little in-class celebration. Just a friendly reminder that students should still be reading every night for at least 15-20 minutes.
In math, we have been working on the traditional method of long division. In grade four the expectation is that students will be able to divide a two digit number by a single digit with and without remainders. Please check in with your kiddo to see how they are doing by practicing a few at home.
Wetlands Field Trip
Tomorrow we head to the wetland and unfortunately the weather isn’t looking the best, but we do go rain or shine! Please make sure your child has layers and weather proof clothing as well as rubberboots. An extra pair of socks in the backpack wouldn’t hurt either.
June Field Trip
Just a friendly reminder that permission slips and money need to be in by Friday, June 7th for our end-of-the-year field trip.
Thanks for reading!
Julie
Week of May 20 -24
Dates to Remember
May 28- Wetlands Field Trip
June 21 - WRS Fun Day
June 24 - End of Year Field Trip
June 26 - Last School Day
Hi Families!
I hope you all had a fantastic long weekend! To say I was proud of our crew last week would be an understatement! They knocked my socks off and they should feel so great about their performances, both the dress rehearsal and the show day!
Hard work and dedication really paid off.
Last week most students completed the provincial writing assessment, and this week, we'll be diving into our published piece of persuasive writing. They are putting lessons into practice with the use of rhetorical questions, high modality words and transition words. Reading assessments are also ongoing, and our final unit will focus on Poetry in June.
In Science, our attention will be on the unit about Habitats and Community over the next few weeks. This ties in perfectly with our upcoming field trip to the Wetlands.
In math, we are continuing with our division strategies and will be practicing the traditional method later this week. Additionally, we'll be revisiting and checking in on all the outcomes we've learned throughout the year.
As the year winds down into our final month, there are no official end of year interviews, but if anyone would like to have a final meeting to discuss your child’s progress, please reach out and we will set something up after school.
Field Trip Alert! On Tuesday, May 28th, we're embarking on an educational wetland field trip with Ducks Unlimited. We'll travel by bus to Charlottetown Rural High School to explore wetland ecology and conservation. Students will have the opportunity to use wetland exploration kits and engage in "critter dipping" with an interpreter. As we'll be near water, please ensure your child is dressed appropriately with layers and proper footgear.
Permission slips have also been sent home for our June Field Trip! On Monday, June 24th, we'll be heading out at approximately 9:10 AM to Cineplex to watch the movie Garfield. Following the movie, we'll head to the Murphy Center for lunch (please pack your child's lunch) and some bowling fun. We anticipate returning to school around 2:00 PM. Permission slips and money are due on Friday, June 7th.
Thanks for reading,
Julie
Week of May 13 -17
Dates to Remember
May 14th- Drama Festival Performance 9:30 am Carrefour Theatre (Return to School around noon)
May 20 - Victoria Day / No School
May 28- Wetlands Field Trip
June 21 - WRS Fun Day
June 24 - End of Year Field Trip
June 26 - Last School Day
Hi Families!
I hope you had a fantastic weekend. We have a busy and exciting week this week with our drama festival production and a grade four writing assessment. We will be leaving for the theater tomorrow morning before 9. Please ensure your kiddo gets a good sleep, has breakfast and is at school on time tomorrow. These things will go a long way to set them up for feeling ready and will help keep the nerves at bay. There are no tickets necessary for tomorrow and we perform at 9:30am at the Carre Four theater at Ecole Francois Buote. I am so incredibly proud of the hard work and effort the crew put into this production. They really are a special bunch!
In writing this week we'll be having a writing assessment which will be given to all grade four students in the province. The assessment results are for school purposes only and we will be taking the writing to a PD session next week. The task includes composing persuasive pieces of writing from a given prompt. We're placing particular emphasis on crafting strong introductions, providing detailed reasons supported by transition words, and wrapping up with conclusions that reinforce the writer's stance.
In math this week we are beginning our work on division strategies. The first strategy we will be working on is a partial products method.
With a question like 87/5 Students are asked to use their multiplication facts to get them as close to 85 as possible.
They need to think multiplication: 5x? gets me close to 85 without going over?
If they only know 5x10 they can start there. Then they subtract that answer from the total they were dividing up and keep repeating the process until there is less than the number they were dividing by left. That number becomes the remainder.
87/5
5x10= 50
87-50= 37
5x7= 35
37-35=2
Then they add up the numbers they multiplied by 5 plus any remainders to get their answer: 10+7= 17R2
Field Trip Alert! On Tuesday, May 28th, we're embarking on an educational wetland field trip with Ducks Unlimited. This trip is completely subsidized and there will be no cost to students. We'll travel by bus to Charlottetown Rural High School to explore wetland ecology and conservation. Students will have the opportunity to use wetland exploration kits and engage in "critter dipping" with an interpreter. As we'll be near water, please ensure your child is dressed appropriately with layers and proper footgear. Please be on the lookout for the permission slip sent home today!
Also, mark your calendars for our June Field Trip! On Monday, June 24th, we'll be heading out at approximately 9:10 AM to Cineplex to watch the movie Garfield. Following the movie, we'll head to the Murphy Center for lunch (please pack your child's lunch) and some bowling fun. We anticipate returning to school around 2:00 PM. More information and permission slips will be sent home later this week.
I think that is all for now! Thanks for reading,
Julie
Week of May 6 - 10
Dates to Remember
May 14th- Drama Festival Performance 9:30 am Carrefour Theatre (Return to School around noon)
May 20 - Victoria Day / No School
June 21 - WRES Fun Day
June 24 - End of Year Field Trip
June 26 - Last School Day
Hi Families!
I hope everyone enjoyed the beautiful weekend weather. Sure nice to see the sunshine! It was another busy week in 4A last week. We are continuing to work hard each day as we focus on the curriculum outcomes and preparing for our performance next week. In writing, we are working on persuasive writing, and I am very proud of the hard work. This week, our mini-lessons will be focused on developing powerful claim statements, using high-modality words, and rhetorical questions to help convince the reader.
We have wonderful readers in our class, and we continue to read each day in the classroom. Please remind your child that reading homework should happen from Monday to Thursday for at least 15-20 minutes. This will help to continue strengthening your child’s reading skills and help instill positive reading habits for a lifetime of enjoyment!
In math we are working on Area and remembering to express our answers in square units. We will also be working on finding all possible dimensions of rectangles and squares with a given area.
I think that is all for now. Thanks for reading and have a great week!
Julie
Week of April 29 - May 3
Dates to Remember
May 3 - PD Day / No School\
May 14th Drama Festival
MaY 20 - Victoria Day / No School
June 21 - WRS Fun Day
June 24 - End of Year Field Trip
June 26 - Last School Day
Hi Families!
It was such a busy week so far that I almost forgot to post our update. Wow! I was blown away at the bravery and talent our crew demonstrated today at our blocking session at the CarreFour theatre! It is not easy getting up on a real stage with an audience and sound people and a stage manager, but 4A showed everyone what they are made of! We will be tightening things up over the next two weeks and will be ready to blow everyone away come performance time!
We also had our multiplication check in today and the crew did a really good job showing their understanding. We are going to spend some time on Area before moving into division. Please continue to practice the math facts at home. If your child is comfortable with multiplication, try flipping them in to division facts and see how they do!
We are getting along well with our persuasive writing unit and will be generating ideas this week as to how we can use persuasive writing to better something in our home, school, community, or world. We will also be discussing claim statements and how to use these effectively in their work. Our Grade Four writing assessment will take place next week and the genre will be persuasive, so we will be preparing for that as well.
It is very chilly this week so please double check that your kiddo has warm clothes!
Thanks for reading!
Julie
Week of April 22 - 26
Dates to Remember
April 23 - Grade 4 School Photos
April 23 & 24 - Return Coupon Book Orders
April 30th Practice at the Carrefour Theatre for The Drama Festival
May 3 - PD Day / No School
May 14th Drama Festival performance at the Carrefour Theatre (9:30)
Hi Families~
We had a busy week last week that ended with a bang! Thanks for supporting our Easter Seals fundraiser. The Pie in the Face event was a huge hit and the crew was very pleased that their money was well spent when I got my turn. The laughter, excitement and school spirit was incredible. West Royalty School rocks!
We launched our next unit of study on Persuasive Writing last week. We explored what it means to persuade and where we might find this type of writing. This week we will be watching cereal commercials to see the gimmicks and variety of persuasive techniques used. We will also continue to read mentor texts and begin to brainstorm potential topics for our upcoming writing.
In math, we are hoping to finish up our multiplication outcome before too long. This week we will be working on getting comfortable with the traditional algorithm and applying our knowledge to solving word problems. We will continue to have multiplication fact check-ins. Please continue to work on the facts at home. This practice is essential to your child’s confidence and success and will translate directly into a much easier time with division, which we will be tackling next!
Earth Day
We have been having very meaningful discussions around Earth day and our impact on the planet. Last week we decorated grocery bags with pictures and slogans to remind fellow Islanders how important our earth is to everyone. These bags will be used at Sobeys in Stratford today and this week!
Please continue with script practice and reading at home as well. Thanks so much for your support with this.
Thanks for reading!
Julie
Week of April 15 -19
Dates to Remember
April 19 - PD Day/ No School
April 23 - Grade 4 School Photos
April 23 & 24 - Return Coupon Book Orders
April 30th- Practice at Carrefour Theatre for the Drama Festival
May 3 - PD Day / No School
May 14th Drama Festival Performance at Carrefour Theatre (9:30 am)
Hi Families,
I hope you had a great weekend! The Spring weather is really brightening up our spirits in 4A. Hopefully it is a sign of more to come.
In Writing this week we will be showing off the hard work put into our digital magazine projects by sharing them with our classmates. We will also be continuing our introduction to persuasive writing by looking at mentor opinion texts and exploring persuasive techniques through advertising.
In math we are cruising along with our multi-digit multiplication strategies. I am really impressed with how well the crew is getting along with it so far. The strategy we worked on was a partial products “box” method. For example if the question was 8x345 the method would be to break 345 into each place value (300+40+5) and multiply each part by 8 and then add the three products together. We will eventually move on to the traditional algorithm when the conceptual understanding is solid.
Drama Festival: Please continue to practice lines at home for anyone who may need more rehearsal time. The festival will be here before we know it and we want all our crew to feel confident and well prepared.
Easter Seals
West Royalty School is participating in our last fundraiser for Easter Seals. Students can purchase a ballot for $1 in which they can add a teacher’s name if they want that teacher to get a pie in the face. On Thursday, April 18, during a school wide assembly, a number of names will be drawn and the event will occur. This event was completed last year and the excitement and school spirit was amazing. Let the fun begin!
We have also earned our points for another class reward. We will discuss our options tomorrow and I will be in touch about what the plan is. Reward will take place on Thursday as there is a PD day on Friday.
Thanks for reading!
Julie
Week of April 8 - 12
Dates to Remember
April 19 - PD Day/ No School
April 23 - Grade 4 School Photos
April 23 & 24 - Return Coupon Book Orders
May 3 - PD Day / No School
Hi Families!
It's hard to believe that March Break is behind us and we've already completed the first week of April. The next three months will fly by as we focus on completing curriculum outcomes, reviewing material, and assessing progress. With the weather getting nicer and the days growing longer, we will also begin to incorporate more outdoor learning into our weeks.
In our writing sessions this past week, we dove back into our digital magazines with the goal of finishing them up by the end of the week. We will be moving into our persuasive writing unit before long.
In Math, we continue to develop strategies for multiple-digit multiplication. This past week, we utilized base ten blocks to build arrays, aiding in the visualization of multiplication concepts. Please encourage your child to practice their multiplication facts nightly if they aren't yet confident in their recall, as those who are still struggling with this are realizing how imperative it is to the building of strategies.
The Drama festival performance for 4A will be here before we know it! We are aiming that the crew have their lines memorized by the end of next week if possible. This will allow for time to put all the pieces together into a wonderful finished product that the kids can feel proud of. Please check in with your child and see how they are progressing with their lines.
As a friendly reminder, students should be reading for 15-20 minutes each night.
Thanks for reading!
Julie
Week of Mar. 18 -21
Dates to Remember
Mar. 22 - Apr. 1 - March Break
April 8 - School dismissed 2 hours early (Solar Eclipse)
April 19 - PD Day/ No School
Hi Families!
Thank you again for attending Parent Teacher Interviews. It was great to share with you your child’s successes. As we move into our third term, I am excited about all the new learning and things to come as we welcome Spring!
March Break is just around the corner. I wish everyone a relaxing, healthy March Break with lots of fun. When we return, we will begin the first few days with a soft landing and we will continue working on our digital research magazines before beginning our new unit on Persuasive Writing. We will continue to deepen our comprehension of texts read with a focus on ACRAR which supports students’ comprehension through their written work. In math, we will continue our unit in Multiplication.
Read-A-Thon
On Wednesday, March 20 students in 4A will be having a Read-A-Thon. Our Read-A-Thon will be a Beach Theme. Everyone is encouraged to wear their sun hat, sunglasses, and don’t forget your towel and books. Please have your name on your books so they can easily be returned after the event. Let’s hope the sun is shining!
Easter Seals Fundraising
PJ, POPCORN AND MOVIE (Thursday, March 21) … $2 EACH and students will receive popcorn to enjoy while watching a movie. The plan is to watch the movie version of our recent read aloud “City of Ember”. This movie is rated PG. If there are any questions or concerns please reach out prior to Thursday. Thanks so much!
Thanks for reading,
Julie
Week of Mar. 11 -15
Dates to Remember
Mar. 11 -15 - School Wide Book Fair
Mar. 11 - 12 - EAL Parent Teacher Conferences
Mar. 15- Easter Seals Neon Dance Party
Mar.21- Easter Seals Popcorn and movie day
Mar. 22 - Apr. 1 - March Break
Hi Families!
I hope everyone had a nice weekend. It was wonderful to chat with many of you about your awesome kids and their progress. I truly feel lucky to spend my days with them! I look forward to connecting with the remaining families who were impacted by the cancellation of last Thursday. As a reminder, I have a conflict this week and am unable to stay late on Thursday evening. If you would like to meet, please reach out and we can figure out something to suit your schedule.
The crew worked very hard last week and most finished up their final draft of their non-fiction expert writing. I was very impressed with the effort put forth and the quality of the finished products. I will send these home as soon as they finish up with the coloring. This week we will be moving into a mini research project on an animal or place of their choice. This will be a next step with incorporating the research component into the process. This will take us up to the break and possibly after, depending on how things go.
In math this week we are continuing to work on Multiplication. We are exploring the patterns in the multiplication chart and continuing our work with Multiplication Stations, focusing on learning and understanding multiplication facts to 10x10. An information sheet went home a few weeks ago with your child. Nightly practice at home is encouraged to help your child reach mastery. Thank you for the support with this!
Book Fair:
Our class will be visiting the book fair on Tuesday of this week. If you choose to do so, please send any money in a labeled ziplock bag.
Easter Seals Fundraising
Over the next couple of weeks, West Royalty School will be busy raising money for Easter Seals. Please see below for a few events…
NEON DAY (Friday, March 15) …school wide dance the last hour of the day! Pay $2 and wear your brightest colors head to toe!!
PJ, POPCORN AND MOVIE (Thursday, March 21) … $2 EACH and students will receive popcorn to enjoy while watching a movie.
Thanks for reading!
Julie
Week of Feb. 26 - Mar. 1
Dates to Remember
Feb. 28- Pink Shirt Day
Mar. 1 - Parent Teacher Conferences Closes (4:00 PM)
Mar. 4- School Science Fair
Mar. 5 - Learning Reports sent home
Mar. 7 (Evening) & 8 (Day)- Parent Teacher Conferences
Mar. 11 - 15 - EAL Parent-Teacher Conferences
Mar. 22 - Apr. 1 - March Break
Hi Families!
We had another busy week last week and completed assessments in reading and math. The crew is also continuing with adding detail and text features to their nonfiction writing pieces. We are hopeful that these will be ready to share at interviews next week.
In math this week we are working on Multiplication. We are exploring the patterns in the multiplication chart and continuing our work with Multiplication Stations, focusing on learning and understanding multiplication facts to 10x10. An information sheet went home a few weeks ago with your child. Nightly practice at home is encouraged to help your child reach mastery. Thank you for the support with this!
Parent Teacher Conferences
Parent-Teacher Conferences went live on February 21 and will close on Friday, March 1 at 4:00 pm. Please sign up for a time to visit with us.
School Appointments - West Royalty Elementary
Pink Shirt Day
We will be celebrating our Pink Shirt Day on Wednesday, February 28. This is a day to acknowledge the importance of standing up against bullying. Spread kindness like confetti! Be seen in pink!
Thanks for reading!
Julie
Week of Feb. 19 - 23
Dates to Remember
Feb. 21 - Parent Teacher Conferences goes Live (9:00 AM)
Feb. 28- Pink Shirt Day
Mar. 1 - Parent Teacher Conference booking closes (4:00 PM)
Mar. 4th School Science Fair
Mar. 7 (Evening) & 8 (Day)- Parent Teacher Conferences
Mar. 11 - 15 - EAL Parent Teacher Conferences
Mar. 22 - Apr. 1 - March Break
Hi Families!
I hope you had a relaxing Islander Day weekend. We had a short but eventful week last week with Valentines celebrations, a surprise snow day and Winter Wellness Day on Friday. We also managed to squeeze in lots of hard work on our non-fiction writing unit and began our Science unit on Rocks and Minerals. We also completed a beautiful mixed media canvas collage art project that will be on display for you to check out when you come in for interviews in a couple of weeks!
This week in reading we will be using the Atlantic Canadian Reading Assessment Resource (ACRAR) to assess written comprehension. Students will be demonstrating their understanding of a text by using the RACE method of answering questions to ensure their answers are complete and supported by evidence from the text.
In math, we are working on multiplication stations which focus on the learning and understanding of multiplication facts to 10x10. Nightly practice at home is encouraged to help your child reach mastery. Practice, practice, practice!
Parent Teacher Conferences
Parent-Teacher Conferences are soon approaching and the booking system for interviews will go “LIVE” Wednesday, February 21 and will close on Friday, March 1 at 4:00pm. Please mark this date on your calendar as times go quickly for specific times.
School Appointments - West Royalty Elementary
Thanks for reading!
Julie
Week of Feb. 5-Feb. 9
Dates to Remember
Feb. 8- Art Field Trip
Feb. 14 - Valentine’s Day
Feb. 16 - Winter Wellness Day
Feb. 19 - Islander Day/No School
Hi Families!
Wow, what a weekend. I hope everyone is safe and sound and getting shoveled out. My boys sure are loving all the snow and even had me out digging some tunnels over the past few days.
This week in writing, the students will continue to work on their nonfiction writing pieces. We co-created our success criteria and have a clear understanding of what will make their writing a quality piece of informational text. We spent a lot of time this past week learning about nonfiction text features and I can’t wait for them to demonstrate their understanding in their own writing.
We will be continuing to read daily, strengthening our comprehension skills through mini lessons, and our class read aloud.
In math, we are progressing really well with our decimals unit and will likely be ready for our check in by the end of the week. Then we will be focusing on the strategies for learning our multiplication facts, so please continue to review these at home!
In Science, we will be beginning our unit on Rocks and Minerals. Over the next few weeks, we will be exploring the world of rocks through a variety of activities.
Art Field Trip
Just a reminder that we will not be at the school on Thursday as we will be leaving around 9:00 AM and not returning until 2:00PM. Students will need to pack a lunch and bring a water bottle as there will be no food program or a microwave at the Confederation Centre.
Valentine’s Day
Valentine’s Day will be here soon and 4A will be exchanging Valentines. Passing out Valentines isn’t mandatory but, I do ask that if your child is giving Valentines that they give to everyone in the class. I would not want anyone to feel left out. Please see last week’s post for the class list.
Thanks for reading!
Julie
Week of Jan. 29 -Feb. 2
Dates to Remember
Feb. 8- Art Field Trip
Feb. 14 - Valentine’s Day
Feb. 16 - Winter Wellness Day
Feb. 19 - Islander Day/No School
Hi Families
Last week we started a new unit of study on Information/Nonfiction writing. The students are reading nonfiction and beginning to become aware of what counts in information writing. Our focus was on exploring and understanding the text features found in non-fiction texts. We discussed their purpose and how they help the reader better understand and comprehend the information in the text. As we continue to work on creating our non-fiction books, I look forward to students adding a variety of these text features in their writing.
In math, we have started “Multiplication Stations”. This will begin to prepare us for our upcoming unit on multiplication of large numbers. During station time, students will work at a self-paced level, focusing on the learning and understanding of multiplication facts to 10x10. Nightly practice at home is encouraged to help your child reach mastery. Practice, practice, practice!! Today the crew went home with an information letter that will help support families with home practice.
We are also continuing on with the remainder of our work on decimals. This week we are working on adding and subtracting decimal numbers.
Class Visit:
I heard back from just over half of families regarding a visit to the classroom this week, so I think we will postpone it for now. Thanks to all those who replied and maybe we will try for another visit in the Spring with a little more notice. We also have a couple of kiddos away this Friday so they won’t have to miss out either.
Outdoor Weather
Just a reminder that the cold weather has arrived and students should dress accordingly…snow pants, hats, mitts, snow boots. Outdoor play is much more enjoyable when you are warm.
Food Donations
Thank you to those who have already sent in donations. We will continue to accept food donations until the end of this week. All food donations will be distributed to families in our own school community.
Art Discovery Day
The $4 bus fee is due by this Friday, Feb. 2!
The Grade 4 students at West Royalty School will be participating in an Art Discovery Day at
Confederation Centre of the Arts. We will be attending this event on Thursday, February 8. This will be a full day event with students leaving around 9:00 AM and returning to the school at 2:00 PM. Students will need to pack a lunch and bring a drink. There will be no microwave services available.
Valentine’s Day
Valentine’s Day will be here soon and 4A will be exchanging Valentines. Passing out Valentines isn’t mandatory but, I do ask that if your child is giving Valentines that they give to everyone in the class. I would not want anyone to feel left out. Please see below for the class list:
Lauren
Declan
Mostafa
Nicole
Kristina
Evelyn
Elsie
Rhys
Sawen
Ayden
Jia
Mia
Cameron
Calem
Mya
Jaelynn
Olin
Andrew
Olivia
Harjan
Kris
Lydia
Thanks and have a great week!
Julie
Week of Jan. 22 -26
Dates to Remember
Feb. 8- Art Field Trip
Feb. 14 - Valentine’s Day
Feb. 16 - Winter Wellness Day
Feb. 19 - Islander Day/No School
Hi Families,
We had a productive and fun week last week in 4A. I want to give a huge shoutout to all the crew who have been working so hard over the past several weeks at gymnastics practice. To be consistent, show up and learn a routine, as well as compete in a sport that is new to many, is something that is very impressive and something to be very proud of. Way to go!
Permission slips for both our writing project and an upcoming field trip went home on Friday. Please check backpacks for those and return as soon as is convenient.
We will finish up our Habitat for humanity writing early this week and then begin our next unit of study in Nonfiction. We will begin this new unit with exploration of nonfiction texts and identification of text features.
Last week in math we began some new learning in decimals. We explored how they relate to fractions, money and place value. Check in with your child by asking them about the two new place values we learned (tenths and hundredths). We also learned how to properly read decimal numbers. For example 234.98 would be read: two hundred thirty-four and ninety eight hundredths. This coming week our focus will move into comparing and ordering decimals, and adding and subtracting decimal numbers..
Art Discovery Day
The Grade 4 students at West Royalty School will be participating in an Art Discovery Day at the Confederation Centre of the Arts. We will be attending this event on Thursday, February 8. This will be a full day event with students leaving around 9:00 AM and returning to the school at 2:00 PM. Students will need to pack a lunch and bring a drink. There will be no microwave services available. This activity also requires a permission form to be signed. This form is also attached for signature. Please sign and return ASAP. The Art Discovery Day is free, but we do have to charge for bussing. The bussing fee is $4 per student. Please pay through the QR code that was sent home on the information sheet or pay on line with the link below.
Or link:
https://publicschoolsbranch.schoolcashonline.com/Fee/Details/1683/369/False/True
Outdoor Weather
Just a reminder that the cold weather has arrived and students should dress accordingly…snow pants, hats, mitts, snow boots. Outdoor play is much more enjoyable when you are warm.
Food Donations
Thank you to those who have already sent in donations. We will continue to accept food donations until the end of January. All food donations will be distributed to families in our own school community.
Thanks for reading!
Julie
Week of Jan. 15 - 19
Dates to Remember
Feb. 14 - Valentine’s Day
Feb. 16 - Winter Wellness Day
Feb. 19 - Islander Day/No School
Hi Families,
Happy New Year. I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday!
We had a great first week back at school and everyone seems happy and ready to be back in class! Re-establishing the routines and expectations is important so that we can continue to focus on our learning in the classroom. Thank you 4A, for your hard work and effort and helping to make this transition back to school positive for everyone. We also welcomed another new classmate this week. Lydia joined us from China and I know 4A will make her feel welcome and like part of the crew.
In Language Arts, our focus last week was reviewing our Foundational Learning Outcomes covered so far. Students also created their 2024 digital Vision Boards. It looks like great things are coming for 4A this year!
In math, we spent the week reviewing fractions and the Foundational Learnings we covered so far this year. This coming week we will begin our work on decimals to the hundredths place and how they relate to fractions.
This week we will be introducing a writing contest that we will be taking part in called “Meaning of Home” . It is a contest in support of Habitat for Humanity Canada. Helping families build strength, stability, and self-reliance through affordable homeownership, one entry at a time! The students will each write a short essay about what home means to them. Each entry results in a $10 donation to our local Habitat for Humanity chapter. By participating students will have the opportunity to realize the importance of how giving back to the community can make a difference. It will be a worthwhile and fun activity. Please chat with your child about this important topic. Themes include a home being more than just a building, and what we feel like when we have a safe, secure place to return to each day. Permission slips for entries are required, so be on the lookout for those in backpacks later in the week.
In art last week we explored the works of famous Canadian artist,Ted Harrison. With Harrison’s creative and colorful style as inspiration, we painted landscape images that will beautifully decorate our hallway.
Food Donations
Since the beginning of the school year, each grade level has been designated a month to bring in non-perishable food items to help support our families within our community. Grade 4 students are on for the month of January. We will be accepting donations until the end of this month. Any support you can provide would be much appreciated. Thanks in advance!
Homework
The holiday season is now over and we are back to normal programming. Please make sure your child starts 2024 with good homework habits. Your child should be reading for 15-20 minutes each night from Monday to Friday and beginning to work on their multiplication facts. Best practices include the following:
-quiet space to read
-consistent routine of when homework is to be completed
-weekly check-in with some comprehension questions regarding material read
-reading various genres
-building a love for reading
That was a long one. Thanks for reading and have a great week.
-Julie
Week of Dec. 11 - Dec. 15
Dates to Remember
Dec. 22 - School wide Pajama Day/Last day of classes for 2023
Hi Families!
Last week in writing the students completed their published piece of narrative writing. I am so proud of the hard work they put in on making this piece the best that they could. We shared their work with our book buddies today and will have a celebration of writing later this week.
Today we started on our Social Studies Exploration projects. Everyone submitted a proposal and many have begun to research their chosen area of interest. There were a few proposals that require some support from home in the form of supplies that we don’t have available at school. Please touch base with your child and see what they need, and decide if this is something that is doable, or if they should rethink their topic. This project will carry over into the new year so that no one is rushed through the process.
Please be advised that some of the chosen topics require access to youtube video tutorials. I can give students access to these videos through my account, but have had the conversation that they must show me any video they are going to watch prior to viewing to ensure it is appropriate. With that being said, I can't monitor every moment that they are using the chromebook. If you would rather your child choose a topic that doesn't require any video tutorials please let me know and talk to your child about it as well.
In math, we had a great week of learning around fractions and we will continue to make this our focus for the next two weeks. We will be tackling finding a fraction of a set this week. This is a challenging topic and it requires a lot of practice to master. For example students may be asked to find ¾ of 16. First, they need to think of the denominator as the number of groups they should divide 16 evenly into. In this case 16 divided by 4 is 4 in each group. Then, the numerator tells us how many groups to count. If we count 3 groups with 4 in each, we have 12. Therefore, ¾ of 16=12.
The can collection is going well but we still need 5 more cans to ensure everyone is covered! If you haven’t had a chance to send one in please do so, and if you happen to have any extra this week please send them in as well. Thanks for your support with this!
Thanks for reading and have a great week!
-Julie
Week of Dec. 4 - Dec. 8
Dates to Remember
Dec. 22 - Last day of classes for 2023
Hi Families!
December is here!. I just want to send out a great big thanks to those families who have supported our recent fundraisers and also the Christmas Families event. It is much appreciated and it will certainly make students from West Royalty happy on Christmas Day.
Everyone is working very hard, especially in writing as they type up their good copy of the piece they chose to publish. Composing a personal narrative may sound like an easy task, but students have certainly realized that a writer’s job is much more complex. Writers need to hook their reader, they need to add specific details that show rather than tell, adding powerful leads and exciting endings. They also need to use vivid verbs, and as always students need to include proper conventions. Once they get them typed, next steps are revising and editing. The published pieces will be amazing!
Our work with Fractions is coming along well. This week we will be comparing fractions and incorporating a number line to help our understanding.
We will be starting our Explorer Passion project this week with topic selection and students will be submitting a proposal for what they want to work on. Please chat with your child about their ideas for what they may like to learn about. Please see last week's post for some ideas!
Can Collecting
Please keep the cans coming!!! We had a few of them brought in this past week.. Thanks so much for taking the time to do this. It is much appreciated! All students are to bring in a 28 fl oz can. This would be the large, fat size used for diced tomatoes, stewed tomatoes, pumpkin puree, etc. If anyone happens to have more than one, we would be happy to take it off your hands.
Thanks for reading!
-Julie
Week of Nov. 27 - Dec. 1
Dates to Remember:
Dec. 22 - Last School Day for 2023
Hello Families!
First off, thank you to everyone who came in to chat about your awesome kiddos last week. I have a true appreciation for each of your children and want to see them all succeed at school. Please continue to communicate with me if anything arises.
We welcomed a new student to 4A today! Mostafa comes from Syria and speaks almost no English. The class was very welcoming and I know they will continue to make sure he feels included and part of our class community!
In writing this week we are learning about Vivid Verbs and how adding action to our writing can really bring it to life. Next week we hope to choose one of our personal narratives that we will take through the publishing process of typing, editing and printing.
In math we finished up our adding and subtracting outcome and will be moving into fractions this week. No outcome is done in isolation and we consistently touch back, particularly when it comes to problem solving, as that is an area where more practice is always helpful.
I mentioned to a few families during interviews that the crew will be starting a “genius hour” exploration project that ties in with our Social Studies unit. The kids are responsible for choosing a topic that they want to learn about, but they don’t already know a lot about. They will choose a topic, research and eventually present a project to show their learning. This week please start the thinking process with your child. Ask them what they may want to learn about and have them come up with a few choices. Below is a list of possible topics, but there are infinite possibilities. Please keep in mind when choosing a topic; students will need to present their learning in some way (product, model, poster, slideshow, demonstration), so best to pick a topic where this is possible.
Build a website using WordPress, Wix or Squarespace
Make cartoon using Toony Tool
Learn to code using Scratch
Learn about gardening
Write a poem of a certain genre to perform
Investigate different careers
Learn how to use a green screen
Paint a picture in a particular artists style
Learn some words in a new language
Make a birdhouse
Solve a school issue
Invent something new
Learn about photography
Learn about local history
Identify birds in your area
Make a sculpture
Build a boat
Learn sign language
Solve a rubik's cube
Research a person of interest
Research an aspect of Space
Learn about the deep ocean
Learn survival skills
Learn about how we can combat climate change
Create a STEM challenge
Learn to knit or crochet
Learn how to cook something
Empty Cans
Empty cans needed!!!!! Empty cans needed!
Each child needs an empty 28 fl oz (large, short, fat can)… stewed tomatoes, diced tomatoes, pumpkin puree, etc. for a Christmas activity. Please bring it to school as soon as your child has it. Again, these are the wide, larger cans that are required. If you have more than one please send in as many as possible so we can ensure all students have one! Thanks so much.
Thanks for reading and have a fantastic week!
-Julie
Week of Nov. 20 - 24th
Dates to Remember:
Nov. 21 - Learning Reports sent home
Nov. 23 (Evening) & 24 (Day) - Parent Teacher Conferences / No School
Hi Families!
Just a quick update as we had a pretty short week last week, but there are a couple of things I wanted to note. Firstly, thanks to those who signed up for a parent-teacher conference for this week. I can’t wait to celebrate your child’s learning! If you didn’t get a chance before the booking closed and you would still like to meet, please reach out and we can try and figure out a time that works!
In writing this week we are working on “showing” rather than “telling” our reader what is happening when there are feelings or emotions in our memory writing. For example, instead of saying “I was sad they were leaving” we might say; “My heart sank and my head drooped. I could feel the tears welling up in my eyes as we said goodbye at the airport.” Feel free to practice this “showing not telling” skill with some feelings charades at home!
In math we are going to have our check-in for addition, subtraction and estimating strategies this week. The trickiest part of this outcome is solving word problems, and we will continue to work on these throughout the year. A sheet will go home this week with some word problem practice so you can check in and see how your kiddo is getting along with them.
It is chilly outside and we will be going outside a bit extra over the next couple of weeks to work on our Explorers Social Studies unit so please be sure that your child has all the warm things they need.
Thanks for reading and see you soon!
-Julie
Week of Nov. 13 - 17
Dates to Remember:
Nov. 16 & 17 - PEITF Convention / No School
Nov. 21 - Learning Reports sent home
Nov. 23 (Evening) & 24 (Day) - Parent Teacher Conferences / No School
Hi Families!
First off , if you haven’t had a chance, and you would like to meet to chat about your child’s progress this term, please sign up for a parent-teacher conference by following this link.: https://wrelementary.schoolappointments.com/admin/
The site will close tomorrow so please don’t delay to grab a spot!
I can’t express how proud and impressed I was with 4A at the Remembrance Day assembly on Friday. Their bravery and composure was remarkable. We celebrated well in the afternoon by transforming the classroom into a fort to watch Matilda for our reward time.
We are continuing on with our narrative writing unit and the kiddos are working hard to implement the strategies from our mini-lessons. We talked about improving their writing one small step at a time; they just have to incorporate a few strategies, which will make a big impact on the quality of their work. We will continue mini-lessons next week and hopefully we will be ready to select a piece that they want to polish up from rough to final draft.
In math this week we will be writing addition and subtraction word problems for their classmates to solve.
I am looking forward to meeting with families over the next couple of weeks to celebrate your child’s learning and progress this term.
Thanks for reading and please reach out if anything comes up!
-Julie
Week of Nov. 6 - 10
Dates to Remember:
Nov. 13 - Remembrance Day / No School
Nov. 16 & 17 - PEITF Convention / No School
Nov. 21 - Learning Reports sent home
Nov. 23 (Evening) & 24 (Day) - Parent Teacher Conferences / No School
Hi Families!
We had a busy and hectic week in 4A last week! Halloween week is always a fun week for students, but also a tiring one for most, and add on a full moon and the first snowfall and it was a lot to take in! I hope everyone had a restful weekend and took advantage of the extra hour of sleep!
On Friday we were busy creating our monster friends for our "Adopt a Monster" project. We will be putting the finishing touches on this on Monday by handing out adoption certificates and then we will be getting back to our personal narrative unit in writing. This week we will be having mini lessons on writing powerful introductions that draw the reader in as well as using a storytellers voice rather than reporting to make our writing interesting for our reader.
In math, we have been working on our addition and subtraction strategies. This week we will be focusing on a new left-to-right strategy which has students adding the place values from left to right. Ex: 876+453=
Add: Hundreds + Hundreds 800+400= 1200
Tens + Tens 70+50 = 120
Ones + Ones 6+3 = 9
Then add H+T+O 1200+120+9+ =1329
This week we will also be diving more into our Social Studies Explorer unit by learning what and why people explore, as well as discussing primary and secondary sources.
Parent Teacher Conferences
I look forward to our upcoming conversations concerning your child’s progress during the first part of the school year. The online booking site will go open on November 6 at 9:00 AM. The booking goes offline on November 15th at 4:00 PM. At that time, you will no longer be able to access the schedule. .
Remembrance Day Entry Form
Our class will be entering the Remembrance Day Legion Contest. Students will be creating posters based on information we learn in class around Remembrance Day. In order to submit our works of art, students need permission slips signed by parents. They will be going home on Monday. Please fill out and return as soon as possible. Deadline is Friday, Nov. 10. Thanks so much for your help!
Thanks for reading,
Julie
Week of Oct. 30 - Nov. 3
Dates to Remember:
Oct.31- Halloween- Orange and Black Day
Nov. 13 - Remembrance Day / No School
Nov. 16 & 17 - PEITF Convention / No School
Nov. 21 - Learning Reports sent home
Nov. 23 (Evening) & 24 (Day) - Parent Teacher Conferences / No School
Hi Families!
It is hard to believe that we are nearing the end of another month at school. It was great to see those who could make it out at the Halloween dance last week. It will undoubtedly be an exciting week this week with Halloween on Tuesday. We will be celebrating Halloween with orange and black day. If you would like to send in a treat for the class to share that would be welcome. Please remember we are a nut free school.
Our days are flying by, and we are busy in both Reading and Writing Workshop! We have been making lots of connections on how they overlap and support one another. In writing, we have been working hard learning about paragraphing, and have put our narrative unit on a brief pause because we have been busy trying to “Adopt a Monster!” Ask your kiddo what this is all about :)
We have finished our “All About Me” Slideshows and will be presenting them later in the week and next.
In math we are making good progress with our adding and subtracting work. We will continue this and incorporate more problem solving as we work through the outcome
We have had a fabulous fall, but it seems the weather is starting to change. Please make sure your child has warm clothes as we will be going outside most days unless it is extremely wet.
Battery Blitz wraps up this week…any lingering old batteries we will happily take off your hands!
Thanks for reading!
Julie
Week of October 23 - 27
Dates to Remember:
October 24th - Deadline to purchase ticket for Halloween Dance Party
October 26th- WRS Halloween Dance Party (6:00-7:30)
October 27th - Professional Development Day / No School
October 31st- Halloween: Orange and Black Day
Nov. 13 - Remembrance Day / No School
Nov. 16 & 17 - PEITF Convention / No School
Nov. 23 (Evening) & 24 (Day) - Parent Teacher Conferences / No School
Hi Families!
What a busy and fun week we had last week. I have to say that our trip to Bonshaw may have been my favorite field trip of all time. The weather was perfect and the kiddos were so keen and we all had so much fun. The students also participated in an art creation with Andy Goldsworthy being their inspiration. We took a picture of each art piece and will send them to Take Me Outside Day: A Celebration Of Outdoor Learning. The photos of their art may be chosen to be used, along with photos from other schools from across Canada, to create a giant mosaic.
This week in writing, we continued to work on paragraph development, focusing on the structure of a good paragraph, while practicing this skill in our personal narrative writing. In Reader’s Workshop, students are continuing to build stamina as readers and are working on identifying the key elements of a story. The expectation is that students will complete and present a book review on a chapter book they have read, before the end of November. This should be a book that they have read since the beginning of this year. Please chat with your child about what they may have in mind. This is a great opportunity for us to share recommendations of some good reads with each other.
In math we continue to build our estimation strategies and will work on addition and subtraction word banks this week to help with problem solving. Be on the lookout for a home practice sheet this week so you can check in with your child and see how they are getting along.
West Royalty School Halloween Dance Party
Time is getting short to purchase your tickets. Deadline is Tuesday, October 24. The cost is $5.00 per person and students must be accompanied by an adult. The event is open from 6:00 - 7:30 PM.
Battery Blitz
Please keep the batteries coming in. The deadline is November 3, 2023.
I think that's all for now! Thanks for reading,
Julie
Week of October 16 -20
Dates to Remember:
October 17, Bonshaw trip (Maybe?)
October 24th - Deadline to purchase ticket for Halloween Dance Party
October 25th- Picture Retakes
October 26th- WRES Halloween Dance Party (6:00-7:30)
October 27th - Professional Development Day / No School
Hi Families!
We had a great week last week in 4A. Your kiddos are creating a real classroom family and you should be so proud of them as little people in the world. We had a visit to the school from an Indigenous Elder who shared stories and songs and taught us more about reconciliation. We also got a great start on our Health slideshows and the crew are very keen to learn all about creating slideshow presentations in google slides.
A huge shout out to our cross country representatives from 4A. They ran with heart and made our class and school proud!
Last week we did a lot of work on the formula for a paragraph and identified the parts and practiced writing a few. This is important work as we lead into our first big writing genre of the year. This week we will be beginning our personal narrative (memory) writing. We will be using the kiddos pictures as prompts for their work. It isn’t an easy task to write about ourselves, and something that can be very beneficial for all writers (particularly reluctant ones) is an opportunity for oral rehearsal. Talk to your child about some of their memories and stories. Help them go through the memory in a chronological way and tell their story aloud. This will set them up with a bit of a plan prior to writing time!
In math we will be moving from estimating and rounding to estimating sums and differences. Later this week will be moving on to adding and subtracting numbers to 10 000 and we will be using base ten blocks to show regrouping concretely.
Bonshaw Provincial Park Field Trip
Because of the wet weather on Friday, we are hoping to be going on our field trip to Bonshaw this Tuesday. The weather is still not looking great for then, so we may look into another postponement if necessary. A follow up email will go out with further details about the plan.
West Royalty School Halloween Dance Party
Tickets can be purchased by filling in the form sent home on Thursday. The cost is $5.00 per person and students must be accompanied by an adult. A ticket is required for each individual attending (Adults as well), and only families from our school may attend. The event is open from 6:00 - 7:30 PM. Deadline to purchase tickets is October 24!
Battery Blitz
Please keep the batteries coming in. We Have already filled one box! The deadline is November 3, 2023.
Thanks for reading!
Julie
Week of October 9-13
Dates to Remember:
October 11th- Cross Country meet
October 13th-Field trip to Bonshaw (Rain date Oct. 17th)
October 27th - Professional Development Day / No School
I hope everyone is enjoying their Thanksgiving weekend! We had a busy week in 4A last week and finished up the week with an art project that incorporated the use of pointillism to create sunflower paintings. We will finish these up on Tuesday.
Last week we were also busy building writing stamina. We have wonderful authors in our class who are eager to write. Our lessons have been focused around generating ideas. Thank you to those who emailed some pictures to your child. We will be using these this week for writing time as well as Health. As we move forward into our personal narrative unit over the next few weeks, I look forward to watching these young writers continue to grow and develop.
This week in math we will be discussing when it is appropriate to estimate versus calculating an exact answer. If you are out and about this week, have your child look for opportunities when it would make sense to estimate (apple picking, how many pumpkins in the patch) and when it is important to be precise (paying for groceries). We will also be learning some strategies for estimating such as rounding numbers.
Bonshaw Provincial Park Field Trip
On Friday we will be traveling to Bonshaw for our field trip. Please make sure your child is dressed for the weather. Layers are best, and don't forget proper walking footwear. Students will need to bring lunch and a water bottle and may be extra hungry with all the fresh air and exercise, so a few extra snacks might be welcome. We are all very excited about this outdoor learning day! If you haven't had a chance to send the permission slip in, please do so as soon as possible.
Battery Blitz
West Royalty School has begun our annual battery blitz for 2023. We will be collecting batteries for the month of October. The top 3 schools with the highest weight of batteries will win a cash prizes ($3000 for first, $2000 for second, and $1000 for third.
Colder Weather
The weather has been exceptionally beautiful for October, but as we know it can be very unpredictable so layers are a good option as some days are warm and others are cool. When we are dressed for the weather, recess is much more enjoyable.
Utensils
The PEI School Food Program and the Hot Lunch Vendors do not provide single-use plastics such as straws and cutlery to our students. Students must bring their own cutlery to school. Please ensure you send in utensils with your child’s lunch if they require them.
Homework
Just a reminder that your child should be completing homework every night between Monday and Thursday. A few things to keep in mind…
Building reading stamina is very important in Grade 4 which includes length of time on task and also continuous reading of the same book over a number of days ( longer book / chapter book).
Comprehension is more detailed as we enter the elementary level. Questions that focus on the main events of a story and the author’s message are areas that students need practice with at this point in the year. Your help at home is always appreciated.
Students can also spend time on math IXL and xtra math a few times a week
I think that is all for now! Have a fantastic week and thanks for reading,
Julie
Week of October 3 - 6
October 9th - Thanksgiving / No School
October 27th - Professional Development Day / No School
Hi Families!
I hope everyone enjoyed this absolutely gorgeous weekend! Hard to believe we are into October already. We had a great week in 4A last week. We had our reward celebration and the crew are already working on getting more points and thinking about what they would like to work toward next! Please remember that this time of year layers rule as the temp. can vary significantly throughout the day. Even in grade four an extra change of clothes (especially socks) in the backpack is wise action!
In many ways it was a heavy week covering topics such as Terry Fox and Truth and Reconciliation. The class was so open and mature and we had great discussions around these important topics. Your child came home with a doll they made as a symbol of remembrance and reconciliation. Be sure to ask them the story behind why we made Ma’git’s Dolls.
This week is short but busy. We have an assembly to kick off our battery blitz campaign this week. Please send in any and all old batteries! The class who collects the most wins a special prize!
We didn’t get to our math assessment on Thursday, so we will do that on Monday and then we will be moving into estimation and rounding numbers to the nearest 10, 100 and 1000. In writing this week we will continue our work on generating ideas and building stamina as a writer.
We will be starting our Health slide show this week so I will re-post the section from last week regarding how to send pictures to your child's email for us to use….
In preparation for one of our writing mini lessons, and an upcoming health slideshow presentation that the crew will be working on, I am asking for caregivers to email some pictures of your child doing some of their favorite things to their gmail (cloud account email) that was sent home last week on the cue-card. These pictures can include their family, friends, hobbies and activities they enjoy. 4-5 pictures would be awesome! We will be using these pictures in a couple of ways; First, to help them re-experience the memory from when it was taken to inspire their writing, as well as for a health slideshow project in which they will demonstrate the ways they keep themselves healthy, mentally and physically. Again, please send to your child’s email rather than mine as it provides a great teaching opportunity in which they can check their email and save the photos to their drive. Thanks so much for your support with this!
Other exciting news…We are going on a Fall field trip! All the grade four classes will be heading out to Bonshaw Provincial Park for a day of hiking and exploration on Friday, October 13th (Rain date Oct. 17th) . More information will follow as well as a permission slip.
Thanks for reading and have a super week and a Happy Thanksgiving weekend.
Week of September 25 - 29
Dates to Remember:
September 27 - Terry Fox Run/Walk
September 28th- Orange Shirt Day for Truth and Reconciliation
September 29th- Professional Learning Day/ No school
October 2nd - National Day of Truth & Reconciliation / No School
October 9th - Thanksgiving / No School
October 27th - Professional Development Day / No School
Hi Families!
I hope everyone enjoyed this beautiful weekend that welcomed us into Fall. Quite a difference from a year ago! We had a fantastic week in 4A last week and I have been so impressed with the efforts put forth, and the progress we have made in just a couple of weeks.
We launched our Writer’s notebook last week and personalized them with collage. They turned out super unique and artistic. We also looked at some sample notebooks and noticed and named “what counts” in a good quality writer’s notebook. This week we will talk about building our writing stamina and brainstorm some lists of our “favorites” to inspire our work.
In preparation for one of our writing mini lessons, and an upcoming health slideshow presentation that the crew will be working on, I am asking for caregivers to email some pictures of your child doing some of their favorite things to their gmail (cloud account email) that was sent home last week on the cue-card. These pictures can include their family, friends, hobbies and activities they enjoy. 4-5 pictures would be awesome! We will be using these pictures in a couple of ways; First, to help them re-experience the memory from when it was taken to inspire their writing, as well as for a health slideshow project in which they will demonstrate the ways they keep themselves healthy, mentally and physically. Again, please send to your child’s email rather than mine as it provides a great teaching opportunity in which they can check their email and save the photos to their drive. Thanks so much for your support with this!
In math this week we will be wrapping up our first couple of outcomes (N1 and N2) Representing and comparing numbers to 10 000. This includes being able to use place value to explain the meaning of digits in a given number, as well as showing numbers using a variety of representations such as written, expanded form, and with base ten blocks. We will have an assessment of learning later in the week and if all goes well, we will be moving into adding and subtracting before long!
We had a ton of fun on Friday with a lego STEAM challenge. I hope you heard all about the fantastic settlements they designed which met all their basic needs.
Last week we also earned our 100 points!! Wahoo! Way to go 4A! A lot of caring, helping, teamwork and showing up for each other went into earning those points! The class voted and have decided that they would like to have a pajama/ day and some electronic time in the afternoon. This reward will take place on Wednesday so P.J. wearing doesn’t interfere with Orange Shirt day and our activities surrounding Truth and Reconciliation. Pajamas are completely optional and the kids may pack a small stuffy as well if they like. As for electronics, any devices brought in must be with family permission and with the understanding that accidents can happen when things are brought from home. The students will have permission only to use the device they bring (no sharing) and must be aware that there is no filming and no access to wifi, so any games must be available to play offline and must be appropriate for school (no violence). I am aware that not all of the kiddos have devices and/or families may not be comfortable sending them, so I will have the chromebooks available as an option. They may also choose to read, draw or play a boardgame if they like! If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to contact me.
Truth & Reconciliation
Because National Day of Truth & Reconciliation is a holiday, we will be acknowledging Orange Shirt Day on Thursday, September 28. Truth & Reconciliation Day is an opportunity to create meaningful discussion about the effects of Residential Schools and the legacy they have left behind. Every Child Matters, is an affirmation of our commitment to raise awareness of the residential school experience and to ensure that every child matters as we focus on our hope for a better future in which children are empowered to help each other.
Terry Fox Run/Walk
West Royalty will be participating in our Terry Fox Run/Walk on Wednesday, September 27. We typically ask for a $2 donation per student. Students are welcome to bring more if they wish. Also, you can donate online… https://schools.terryfox.ca/WestRoyaltySchool
Headphones
Just a reminder about sending in a pair of headphones for your child. Please have them in a Ziploc bag and labeled. Thank you to those who have already done so.
Wow! That was an epic update…Thanks for reading and they won’t always be this long I promise!
-Julie
Week of September 18-22
Dates to Remember:
Sept. 27th Terry Fox Run
Sept. 29th Professional Learning Day / No School
Oct. 2nd - National Day of Truth & Reconciliation / No School]
Oct. 9th- Thanksgiving / No School
Hi Families!
We had a busy and very productive week in 4A! Thanks so much to the kiddos for their enthusiasm and effort this week. In Reader’s workshop, we continued on with our author study of Patricia Pollacco. She writes about important themes such as bullying, inclusion and celebrating individuality; all very relatable topics in grade four. We will continue to explore more of her work in the coming weeks. We also talked about how readers choose books and how to tell if a book is in our “just right” zone.
We are also getting comfortable with some of the technology sites that we will be using throughout the year. I will send along some login and password information early next week so those who want to incorporate them into homework can do so. I highly recommend spending 10-15 minutes a few times a week on Math IXL for anyone wanting extra practice.
This week we have been talking about having a “growth mindset” and setting personal goals, as well as having grit and sticking with something even when it is hard or challenging.
We finished our day today with a neat art project utilizing line width, patterns and vibrant colors! A few still need to finish up Monday but they are looking fantastic in the hallway outside the classroom for all to enjoy.
Next week we will be launching our Writer’s notebook by brainstorming what counts in a quality notebook and then we will use the medium of collage to personalize them and make them unique to each child. We will also be continuing with learning about representing and comparing numbers to 10 000 in math.
Homework
Homework will officially begin this week. Please have your child reading a minimum of 15-20 minutes each evening, Monday through Thursday. Bonus if you can also squeeze in a weekend session too! Also, practice on some of the class sites would be beneficial for math if that fits into your schedule. Passwords to come as mentioned above.
Class Points
Everyone in 4A has been working extremely hard on establishing a classroom that is respectful, safe and caring for all. When positive behavior and choices have been made, we celebrate by putting points up on the whiteboard. We need to earn 100 points for reward and the tally is currently at over 80, so no doubt a reward will be coming soon! I was praising the crew, as this is the fastest my class has ever earned this many points. Amazing job!
Terry Fox Run: A message from Mr. Bromley…
I just wanted to give you some information about our school Terry Fox School Run/Walk. We will be having it out on the Cross Country course on Wednesday, September 27th at 2pm (rain date is Thurs Sept 28th).
We typically ask for a $2 donation per student. Students are welcome to bring more if they wish. Also, if they wish to donate online… This year we have a link that they can use for that: https://schools.terryfox.ca/WestRoyaltySchool.
Headphones
Just a reminder about sending in a pair of headphones for your child. Please have them in a Ziploc bag and labeled. Thank you to those parents who have already done so.
Thanks for reading. Have a super weekend despite the weather and please reach out if you need anything!
Julie
Week of September 11 - 15
Dates to Remember:
Sept. 12 - Meet the Staff Night- sessions at 6pm and 6:30pm
September 29th- Professional Learning Day/ No school
October 2nd - National Day of Truth & Reconciliation / No School
Hi Families,
We have just finished our first couple of days of school and it was absolutely wonderful. I have enjoyed starting to get to know your amazing kiddos and I am totally impressed with each and every one of them. I have a great feeling about this year! . Everyone seems to be settling in well and we are already working on routines and expectations. My main focus has been getting to know your child and helping to make them feel safe and relaxed so learning can happen.
As we move into our first full week, we will continue on with team building activities that encourage inclusiveness and supporting one another. We will also get up and running with our Google classroom , and we will introduce Reading and Writing Workshops.
We are asking all students to bring in a set of inexpensive headphones that can be used throughout the year when using the chrome books. They will remain at school and will only be used by your child. Please have this item in a plastic bag and labeled with your child’s name. We would like to have these in by next week so we can begin using them. Thanks so much for your support.
If your child will be participating in on-line lunch ordering please make sure to register your child through the West Royalty Home Page. On-line lunch orders will begin Monday, September 11th
I am looking forward to meeting everyone at “Meet the Staff Night'' on Tuesday, September 12th. There will be 2 sessions beginning at 6 and 6:30. .
Thanks to those who sent along the forms packages! For those who haven’t had a chance, please just send them in as soon as is convenient.
Please reach out if anything comes up! Have a great weekend!
Julie
Week of April 17 -21
Dates to Remember
Apr. 21 - PD Day / No School
May 5 - PD Day / No School
Hi Families,
I hope you are enjoying this beautiful weekend! The Spring weather is really brightening up our spirits in 4A and we had so much fun playing outside for our reward on Friday. I certainly got my steps in!
This week we will be having a writing celebration with our friends in 4B and 4C to show off the hard work put into our digital magazine projects. We will also be continuing our introduction to persuasive writing by looking at mentor opinion texts and exploring persuasive techniques through advertising.
In math we are making steady progress with our multiplication unit and this week will be using base ten blocks to represent multi-digit multiplication problems as well as using the “box” method to multiply; more on that to come. Please keep at the facts and be on the lookout for another fact check-in this week.
For Health, we will be exploring and learning about tobacco and its effects on a person’s health. Please be aware that we are mindful that this topic can sometimes feel difficult for some students.
I think that is all for now. Thanks for reading and as always, please reach out if you need anything.
-Julie
Week of April 24-28
Dates to Remember
Apr. 25-26- Coupon Forms Returned
May 5 - PD Day/No School
May 19 - PD Day/No School
May 22 - Victoria Day/No School
Hi Everyone,
We accomplished a lot in 4A last week. We had our writing celebration with 4B and 4C for our digital magazines and kicked off our new persuasive unit of study. This week we will be checking out some advertising techniques used in commercials and reading lots of mentor texts in this genre and forming our own opinions on a variety of topics. We also celebrated Earth Day by picking up garbage with our book buddies and we made an awesome mural with our waste from snack and some old pizza boxes. I will post a picture below!
In math we are cruising along with our multi-digit multiplication strategies. I am really impressed with how well the crew is getting along with it so far. The strategy we worked on was a partial products “box” method. For example if the question was 8x345 the method would be to break 345 into each place value (300+40+5) and multiply each part by 8 and then add the three products together. We will eventually move on to the traditional algorithm when the conceptual understanding is solid.
We will also continue our mini tobacco information unit for Health. I think that is all for now. Thanks for reading and have a great week!
-Julie
Week of April 17 -21
Dates to Remember
Apr. 21 - PD Day / No School
May 5 - PD Day / No School
Hi Families,
I hope you are enjoying this beautiful weekend! The Spring weather is really brightening up our spirits in 4A and we had so much fun playing outside for our reward on Friday. I certainly got my steps in!
This week we will be having a writing celebration with our friends in 4B and 4C to show off the hard work put into our digital magazine projects. We will also be continuing our introduction to persuasive writing by looking at mentor opinion texts and exploring persuasive techniques through advertising.
In math we are making steady progress with our multiplication unit and this week will be using base ten blocks to represent multi-digit multiplication problems as well as using the “box” method to multiply; more on that to come. Please keep at the facts and be on the lookout for another fact check-in this week.
For Health, we will be exploring and learning about tobacco and its effects on a person’s health. Please be aware that we are mindful that this topic can sometimes feel difficult for some students.
I think that is all for now. Thanks for reading and as always, please reach out if you need anything.
-Julie
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