We had a lot of fun with science this week! To learn about the rock cycle, students used chocolate to represent each stage of the system. They began by making hypotheses about what they thought would happen to the chocolate, then walked through the entire cycle using heating, cooling, pressure, and even a little bit of weathering. It was a hands-on (and tasty!) way to explore how rocks change over time — and we even managed to make it through without too many groups eating the chocolate along the way!

This year we harvested carrots from our school garden and decided to incorporate them into our Indigenous-inspired dot art projects! Students learned about the tradition and meaning of dot art and even had the opportunity to tour the Royal Alberta Museum Art Exhibit currently on display at NHCS.

They were amazed at how vibrant and colorful dot art can be, and how each design can carry an important message. Inspired by what they saw, students took their own artwork outdoors and created beautiful masterpieces using carrots as part of the process.

This week, we added a little laughter to our learning with a fun drawing challenge!
Students were given whiteboards to place on top of their heads and asked to draw various scenes, like a barnyard, Ms. S, or a house complete with a tree, a driveway, a bird in the sky, and even the sun. The catch? They couldn’t look at their masterpieces until they were completely finished!

The results were hilarious, and the room was full of giggles and smiles. 

To start off our portfolios, we completed our “First Day of Grade 4” sheets, where students shared all about their favourite things! We also went outside, into the trees behind the school, to take our very first back-to-school photo for the portfolio. At the end of the year, we’ll take another photo and complete a new sheet so we can see just how much the students have grown and changed over Grade 4!

To kick off the year with some fun, the students had to solve a mystery—who is their new teacher?

Around the barnyard, I placed clues that required them to use critical thinking and inference skills to piece the puzzle together and discover who Ms. S really is!

Working in groups, the students did an amazing job collaborating and problem-solving. 

This week, we spent time getting back into our routines and expectations—while also building teamwork!

We went out to the arena for a team-building game where students had to keep a balloon balanced between themselves and another classmate while walking from one side to the other. We started in groups of 4, then 10, and finished with the whole class! It was a great challenge in working together and communicating, and the students put in such an amazing effort.

To review our classroom expectations, we added a fun twist with a musical chairs style activity! Each time the music stopped, students had to quickly sit at a desk and answer a question about our routines, such as “When is the best time to use the washroom?” or “How do we line up?” If they didn’t make it to a desk in time or weren’t sure of the answer, they were out. It was a fun and interactive way to practice expectations together!

We took our learning outside this week to read The Book of Mistakes. Together, we talked about how mistakes can actually be wonderful opportunities for learning, and how something unexpected can be turned into something beautiful.

After the story, each student received a blank sheet of paper. I added a small drop of green paint to each page, and students folded their paper in half to reveal their unique “mistake.” Using inspiration from our barnyard, they transformed their shapes into creative and beautiful artwork.

The results were amazing—each piece was completely unique and a wonderful reminder that mistakes can lead to something special!

Our first writing project was all about how we felt on the very first day of school! We explored different emojis and discussed the emotions they represent - nervous, excited, silly, and even a little sad about leaving our cozy beds at home.

Each student chose their own emoji, identified the emotion that matched how they felt, and then wrote a paragraph explaining their feelings. We practiced the full writing process—planning, drafting, editing and finishing with a polished published copy.

It was a fun and creative way to kick off our writing this year!

The students have been loving the chance to spend time with our baby chicks! Each day, we’ve been trying to head outside to listen to our read-aloud while gently holding the chicks. The students have also been eager to share fun chicken facts with me—it’s been wonderful to see how much knowledge they already have!