Div.18 Class Website
Hello!
Welcome to Ms. Norris' class website! This page is to help inform you of what's going on in our classroom. This page has some helpful class info (what we're learning, agenda, important dates, etc). There are also some links that we may be using this year.
Be sure to check below each Monday for a weekly update from me!
Sherisse Norris
Territorial Acknowledgement
We acknowledge and thank the W̱SÁNEĆ people on whose traditional territory we live, learn, and teach. The W̱SÁNEĆ people have lived and worked on this land since time immemorial.
Class Information and Special Events: March 10-14
Trail walk is on Wednesday. Families are welcome to join us! We usually leave around 8:55am from our outside classroom door and back around 9:30am.
Math Mornings are on Mondays - parents/families welcome to attend 8:40-9:10ish for card games, dice games, board games, and puzzles! We will have our next one when we are back after Spring Break on Monday, March 31st.
Scholastic orders are due by Wednesday so I can get in an order before Spring Break.
Mathletics homework due on Friday.
Swim Meet is on Thursday afternoon this week.
Early Dismissal is this Wednesday, March 12th at 1:48pm. Lochside is hosting an Open House Literacy Fair from 1:48-4:30pm. Please come see the awesome work our students have been doing this term. We will have our cultural brochures in the gym and please come check our salmon inquiry learning wall (bulletin board by our classroom) and our Salvador Dali artwork inside the classroom.
Report cards will be available online on March 13th via Brightspace. Mrs. Takhar sent information on how to set up your account a couple of weeks ago. This is also a space I can share student work with you. I have posted the video of your child's Cultural Artifact presentation on their Brightspace Portfolio. Please see the district's webpage HERE on how to sign up, sign in, navigate your child's portfolio, along with general information about this platform. Hello Lochside Community,
From Mrs Takhar on Brightspace Report Cards:
I hope this email finds everyone doing well. Starting March 13th, learning updates (report cards) will be shared digitally through a secure online parent/guardian portal. We encourage all parents/guardians to log in to their account now in order to ensure timely access to learning updates. For log in instructions, video tutorial and FAQ please see: https://saanichschools.ca/resources/studentsfamilies/d2l-brightspace
1) click the link above
2) click parent log in
3) the first time you log in you will need to click on FORGOT YOUR PASSWORD
4) follow instructions for password set up in your email - TIP - your email HAS TO MATCH THE EMAIL PROVIDED TO THE SCHOOL, otherwise your name will not be recognized.
5) log in with new password and email that is shared with the school
Once you have set up this account you can access Brightspace at any time through the school website under the parent tab.
If you experience any issues please contact the school office.
Paper copies of learning updates will be made available through the school office on request.
Spring Break starts on Friday. No school from March 17-28. We will see everyone back on Monday, March 31st.
Curriculum Learning
Gym - We are wrapping up badminton this week with more singles and doubles games in the gym. Ask your child what they are good at in badminton and what they are working on.
Math - We continue to investigate multiplication and division with larger numbers. Grade 4s multiply 2 and 3 digits by 1 digit. Grade 5s learn how to do double digit multiplication. Last week we worked on the box method and partial products. This week we will work on the traditional algorithm.
Literacy/Social Studies - Students have wrapped up their research and will be publishing their work into a brochure online. These will be on display for Lochside's Literacy Fair on the early dismissal date on Wednesday, March 12th. Save the date! Families are invited to come in for an Open House from 1:48 - 4:30pm and view the literacy work happening around our school.
Class Information and Special Events: March 3-7
Trail walk is on Wednesday. Families are welcome to join us! We usually leave around 8:55am from our outside classroom door and back around 9:30am.
Math Mornings are on Mondays - parents/families welcome to attend 8:40-9:10ish for card games, dice games, board games, and puzzles!
Mathletics homework due on Friday - I didn't get to posting the homework on Friday so students can do it over the weekend. I've set myself a reminder for this Friday :)
Basketball Jamboree is this Friday afternoon.
Early Dismissal is coming up on Wednesday, March 12th at 1:48pm. Lochside is hosting an Open House Literacy Fair from 1:48-4:30pm. Please come see the awesome work our students have been doing this term.
Report cards will be available online on March 13th via Brightspace. Mrs. Takhar sent information on how to set up your account a couple of weeks ago. This is also a space I can share student work with you. I have posted the video of your child's Cultural Artifact presentation on their Brightspace Portfolio. Please see the district's webpage HERE on how to sign up, sign in, navigate your child's portfolio, along with general information about this platform.
Curriculum Learning
Gym - We are practicing our badminton skills with mini games. Kids are either playing singles or doubles, or trying out both! We are learning how to serve, return the birdie, have a rally, and score keep.
Math - We continue to investigate multiplication and division with larger numbers. Grade 4s multiply 2 and 3 digits by 1 digit. Grade 5s learn how to do double digit multiplication. This week we will start to look at written methods of multiplication (traditional algorithm, partial products, box method).
Literacy/Social Studies - Students have wrapped up their research and will be publishing their work into a brochure online. These will be on display for Lochside's Literacy Fair on the early dismissal date on Tuesday, March 12th. Save the date! Families are invited to come in for an Open House from 1:48 - 4:30pm and view the literacy work happening around our school.
Science - This week we are learning about the life cycle of salmon.
Class Information and Special Events: February 18-21
Trail walk is on Wednesday. Families are welcome to join us! We usually leave around 8:55am from our outside classroom door and back around 9:30am. We'll watch the wet weather this week. It would be great to have kids come on wet days with extra socks, good boots, and rain coats.
Math Mornings are on Mondays - parents/families welcome to attend 8:40-9:10ish for card games, dice games, board games, and puzzles!
I have noticed many students have not been completing their Mathletics homework recently. Please help your child remember to do their assigned work.
Pink Shirt Day is on Wednesday, February 26th. The Lochside community is going to show up in pink that day to take a stand together against bullying. We have been having a lot of conversations in class recently about kindness and being upstanders.
Curriculum Learning
Gym - This week is a games week before our next sport, badminton!
Math - Over the next couple of weeks we will be looking at multiplication and division with larger numbers. Grade 4s multiply 2 and 3 digits by 1 digit. Grade 5s learn how to do double digit multiplication. This week's mental math strategies are learning how and when to use doubling to help multiply larger numbers (Example: 13x4 can be thought as 13x2 doubled), doubling and halving (Example: 8x15 is the same as 4x30), compensation (Example: 19x3 can be 20x3 minus a group of 3), and split (Example: 74x5 can be broken down into 70x5 + 4x5).
Literacy/Social Studies - Our Immigration and Diversity unit continues. We are wrapping up our reading and responses and will be moving onto a research project. Each student will be choosing an immigrant group to Canada to research and create a presentation on. We will be learning about their push/pull factors, where most settled in Canada, hardships, and contributions to Canada.
Science - We are currently researching about salmon. Check out our question pencil in the hallway. We are using our questions to guide our learning. So far we have researched our questions about eggs and hatching. We found quite a few answers and have some more questions after reading about the first step in the life cycle. Today we started to learn more about alevin, the next step in the life cycle of a salmon. Sadly our first batch of eggs were not doing well and we have a new batch of eggs coming on Thursday. We had to retreat the water to get the tank ready for the next batch. On Monday we will have a special salmon dissection presentation. They will show us the inner and outer parts of a salmon. We can't wait!
Class Information and Special Events: February 3-7
Trail walk is on Wednesday. Families are welcome to join us! We usually leave around 8:55am from our outside classroom door and back around 9:30am. We'll watch the snowy weather this week. It would be great to have kids come on snowy days with extra socks, gloves, toques, good boots, and warm coats.
Math Mornings are on Mondays - parents/families welcome to attend 8:40-9:10ish for card games, dice games, board games, and puzzles!
Our skating field trip is THIS Friday, February 7th. We will be on the ice from 9:30-10:30am. If any parents are able to meet us at Panorama, we would appreciate help with tying skates and joining us on the ice. Please send me a quick email if you will be meeting us at the rink. Thank you!
Valentine's Day is coming up next week. We have a non-instructional day on the 14th so if students would like to pass out Valentines, we will be doing that on the 14th. I will send home class lists on Friday to help with writing Valentines.
Curriculum Learning
Gym - We have wrapped up a successful basketball tournament and having a games week before our next sport starts.
Math - Over the next couple of weeks we will be looking at multiplication and division with larger numbers. Grade 4s multiply 2 and 3 digits by 1 digit. Grade 5s learn how to do double digit multiplication. We look at a variety of methods to multiply. We will be starting with some mental math strategies.
Literacy/Social Studies - Our Immigration and Diversity unit continues. Many students have been so invested in their stories and have been sharing thoughtful reading responses during and after reading. This week they will be having their second book club meeting, either on a new book or the book they are finishing up. Some students may bring their books home to read as homework so they can get into a second book. In Social Studies, we are learning about the history of immigration and diversity in our country. Last week we learned about Japanese Internment camps, next we will be learning about the Canadian Pacific Railroad.
Science - Our 100 coho salmon eggs have arrived. Every day the 'lucky ducky' checks on them. We are noting the temperature of the tank and how the affects the ATU (accumulated thermal units) and write down our observations. Ask your child what the salmon eggs look like at present.
Class Information and Special Events: January 27-31
Trail walk is on Wednesday. Families are welcome to join us! We usually leave around 8:55am from our outside classroom door and back around 9:30am.
Math Mornings are on Mondays - parents/families welcome to attend 8:40-9:10ish for card games, dice games, board games, and puzzles!
Our skating field trip is coming up on Friday, February 7th. We will be on the ice from 9:30-10:30am. If any parents are able to meet us at Panorama, we would appreciate help with tying skates and joining us on the ice.
Curriculum Learning
Gym - We started our tournament today. Students grouped in their teams and chose a team name. Ask your child which team they are on.
Math - This week we are focusing on division facts.
Literacy/Social Studies - It is our last week of Cultural Artifact presentations. I have been so impressed by the artifacts and stories that have been shared. Thank you to parents for helping your child prepare for this presentation. I have a video of each presentation and will post these on Brightspace for you next week (along with instructions of how to access the video). This week students will be going to book clubs to discuss common themes in the books, and connect their reading back to immigration and diversity. Mrs. Molloy, our amazing teacher-librarian, has booked an author of one of our immigration and diversity books to come and speak with us on Tuesday this week.
Science - Did you know our class is going to be raising salmon? Our chum eggs will be arriving tomorrow! As we watch them grow and change, we will be documenting our learning through observation skills and collecting data.
Class Information and Special Events: January 13-17
Trail walk is on Wednesday. Families are welcome to join us! We usually leave around 8:55am from our outside classroom door and back around 9:30am.
Math Mornings are on Mondays - parents/families welcome to attend 8:40-9:10ish for card games, dice games, board games, and puzzles!
Family Literacy Day is coming up on this Friday, January 24th. Families are invited to come and join us from 8:40-9:20am for a morning of reading. Students are invited to dress up as a book character. We will be having a 'flashlight Friday' read - the lights will be off so bring a flashlight, headlamp, even the light on your phone works to read together.
Grade 5s - I will be sending an email from the Yearbook committee for photos. Please note the deadlines to get pictures into the yearbook :)
Curriculum Learning
Gym - We continue our basketball unit. This week our focus will be on shooting, defense work, and game play. The tournament will be next week!
Math - This week we are wrapping up rounding. Next up we'll be practicing our multiplication and division facts again.
Literacy/Social Studies - The students have started their first books for immigration and diversity. We are practicing pausing points and noting our thinking on a stickie. We are making predictions, inferences, surprising moments, important events, connections, questions, new words, and favourite parts. After we finish a book, we reflect on either the plot, the characters, or the setting. Alongside our reading we are learning about immigration in Canada. We created a timeline noting the dates of 5 waves of immigration in Canada. We will also be learning about the Gold Rush and how it is connected to immigration and the growth of B.C. We will be noting the positive and negative legacies of this period in our history.
Class Information and Special Events: January 13-17
Trail walk is on Wednesday. Families are welcome to join us! We usually leave around 8:55am from our outside classroom door and back around 9:30am.
Math Mornings are on Mondays - parents/families welcome to attend 8:40-9:10ish for card games, dice games, board games, and puzzles!
Save the date! Family Literacy Day is coming up on Friday, January 24th. Families are invited to come and join us from 8:40-9:20am for a morning of reading. Students are invited to dress up as a book character. We will be having a 'flashlight Friday' read - the lights will be off so bring a flashlight, headlamp, even the light on your phone works to read together.
Curriculum Learning
Gym - We have started a basketball unit. This week our focus will be on dribbling and passing.
Math - This week we will be reviewing our number sense. We will be breaking apart numbers (decomposing) into expanded form and work on rounding numbers.
Literacy - This week we will 'floss like a boss'. In this spelling pattern, short one-syllable words with a short vowel, the final F, L, S, or Z is doubled such as in floss, boss, buzz, miss, and fluff. This rule still applies when a prefix or suffix is added. We will be reading a passage with several words that follow this pattern and practice pulling out the main idea and supporting details from the text. The morphology pattern this week is on the suffix <ful> and <less> and how these suffixes can change the meaning of a root word such as harmful and harmless.
Social Studies - We have started the cultural artifact presentations for our immigration and diversity unit. We will be keeping track on a world map of where we all come from and noting families who have been in Canada since before it was even called Canada. This term we are focusing on the Big Idea that Canada’s policies and treatment of minority peoples have negative and positive legacies and immigration and multiculturalism continue to shape Canadian society and identity. On Tuesday we will be meeting with all the Grade 4/5s and be introduced to the literature part of this project. Over the next few weeks students will be reading picture books and novels that connect to these big ideas. While they read they will be connecting their stories to these key questions: 1. Why do people move and migrate?; 2. Is Canada fair to everyone who wants to come? Explain; 3. What challenges do immigrants and refugees face?; and 4. What contributions do immigrants bring to their new country? Students will primarily be reading these books in class but may take books home if they choose or need to catch up. Students in all Grade 4/5 classes will meet with others for a book club to discuss the key questions and how they connect back to their books. These book clubs will start up soon.
Minecraft Education - We are also learning about the natural resources in Canada and learning about how the Coast Salish Peoples have used these resources in their culture and traditions. It has been fun to watch the kids learn as they play in Minecraft - they sure are teaching me a lot about Minecraft!
Class Information and Special Events: January 6-10
Trail walk is on Wednesday. Families are welcome to join us! We usually leave around 8:55am from our outside classroom door and back around 9:30am.
Report cards went home before the break. Please keep the report card and return the envelope to be reused for next term.
Indoor shoes need to come back to school.
Math Mornings are on Mondays - parents/families welcome to attend 8:40-9:10ish for card games, dice games, board games, and puzzles!
Curriculum Learning
After the break we will be focusing on getting back into our routines.
This week is a whole school focus on Digital Literacy. In Division 18 we will be talking about how to have positive interactions while online, sharing information carefully, and discussing media influences.
We will be having a games week in gym and starting basketball next week.
In Math we will be working on puzzles and challenges to start off the year.
We had our book exchange today and students have already jumped back into their reading challenge and updated their reading logs. Most students are trying to read 40 books in one school year.
Class Information and Special Events: December 16-20
Trail walk is on Wednesday. Families are welcome to join us! We usually leave around 8:55am from our outside classroom door and back around 9:30am.
This Wednesday, December 18th is the Winter Concert for Division 18. The concert will be starting at 1:30pm. Hope you can make it! I believe the gym doors open at 1pm if you'd like to come early and get a seat. Division 18 is on the risers on the left hand side (while standing in the audience). Mrs. Alexander has asked the school to wear concert clothes (holiday dressy; no hoodies).
Report cards go home on Thursday. Please keep the report card and return the envelope on Friday to be reused for next term.
Friday is our last day before the winter break. Lochside Lizards are invited to wear their festive clothes and make it a PJ day as well! In Div.18 they are welcome to bring a stuffy, a mug for hot chocolate (I will provide the hot chocolate), and a small baggie of treats for themselves (popcorn, chocolate, etc). We will wrap up a fantastic first term together with a movie :)
School will be back in session on Monday, January 6th. We will start off the near year with our Math Morning - parents/families welcome to attend 8:40-9:10ish.
Curriculum Learning
We will be wrapping up a few assignments this week and adding in a few special activities to finish up our first term. We'll be busy bees (or elves!) getting our art and writing projects completed so we can have them up for parents to see on the concert day. We will be back to our regular learning in the new year.
Class Information and Special Events: December 9-13
Trail walk is on Wednesday but will be with our buddies in the afternoon. Families are welcome to join us! We are meeting our buddies at 12:30pm and will bring the cardboard wreaths with us. We will be going with our little buddies for a trail walk to gather evergreen branches and assemble our wreaths together. Most families have sent in their cardboard wreath already- thank you! We are also collecting bows, cut holly, pine cones, dried oranges, etc. and any special items your child would like to add to their wreath. You can pop these in a bag with their name on it for Wednesday. Feel free to send in any special items that can be shared with others as well :)
NO Math Morning next Monday. We will be attending the concert dress rehearsal during that time.
Please save the date - December 18th is the Winter Concert for Division 18. The concert will be starting at 1:30pm. Hope you can make it!
Curriculum Learning
Writing - This week we are working starting to write our Gingerbread Houses descriptions! Thanks to our special guest realtor with his handy tips, we have lots of good ideas, new vocabulary, and realtor tips and tricks to entice our buyers! To help us with using more vivid words in our writing, we will be starting to carry notebooks to 'collect' words we might like to use in our writing. We will start these notebooks in class and keep them nearby as we read. I will send them home on Fridays for them to collect more words as they read for homework, and ask them to bring it back to school on Wednesdays for our writing classes for the rest of the week. We didn't get to these last week so hoping these will get started this week and sent home for the first time on Friday :)
Math - We have started reviewing multiplication facts and will soon move on to division facts. We are looking for patterns and using strategies to help us multiply quickly and accurately. We have been playing Multiplication Fact Flip with a deck of cards and a target number. So far our target number has been x5, x10, x2, x4, and x8. Next up is x3, x6, and x9. This is a great game to play at home to strengthen their math facts. The students should be able to explain how to play the game. Ask them their strategies. Hint: for x2, x4, x8 is involves doubling.
Science - This week we are continuing to learn about rocks and minerals. We will be doing some online research on minerals and metals. Last week we learned about open pit mining and underground mining. We read some articles together and noted the advantages and disadvantages of both.
PHE (Physical and Health Education) - It's games week! We played a new game we learned last week (Mystery Number Tag) and learned a new dodgeball game called Around the World. Please note: the gym is getting set-up for the Winter Concert so Thursday and Friday's gym classes will be outside (weather permitting).
Art - We have been working on a fun art project - Scarf Selfies! This is a multimedia art project. We have just finished the pastel part and designed patterns into our scarf. Next step is to paint the background for our selfies. Can't wait to see these completed! Have you noticed our windows? We are using chalk pens to design a winter village on our windows. It is coming along and getting our classroom winter ready!
Reading - We are working our way through the genre challenge and keeping track of the books we are reading. You can almost hear a pin drop in our classroom. We certainly have a room full of readers!
Word Work - This week's pattern is words that end with -ck. We learned that short one-syllable words with a short vowel sound that end with a /k/ sound uses -ck. For example shock, unlock, and checkers. If there is a consonant in between, use -k (no c) such as pink. Our morphology pattern this week is the prefix <un> which means not or opposite such as unplugged or unfinished. As you read with your child this week, have them point out any words that have the /k/ sound and note if it uses -ck (with the short vowel) or -k (if there's an extra consonant in between the vowel and -k). You can also pause to note the prefix un- and note how the base word meaning changes with un- in front of it.
Class Information and Special Events: December 2-6
Mrs. McDonnell is hosting a pizza party for lunch monitors tomorrow (Tuesday). Please ask your child if they are going to this - they have already put in an order of 2 pieces of pizza with Mrs. McDonnell of their choice (cheese, pepperoni, Hawaiian). This is only for those who have volunteered to monitor the primary classes during lunch.
Trail walk is on Wednesday from 8:55-9:35am. Families are welcome to join us! Meet us by our outside door around 8:55am. Please help your child dress for the weather. It has been very wet recently so an extra pair of dry socks in their bag is always helpful.
This week is Lochside's Holiday Book Shop. Students who would like to participate can bring a donation for LEPAC and choose a couple books to get wrapped up as gifts for their family members. Our class will be going on Thursday.
Math Morning every Monday. Families are welcome to join us from 8:40-9:10ish to play dice/card/board games, puzzles and other math challenges.
Please save the date - December 18th is the Winter Concert for Division 18. The concert will be starting at 1:30pm. Hope you can make it!
Today students brought home a wreath template. On December 11th, we will be joining our little buddies on trail walk and building our wreaths as we walk. Students need to use the template and trace is on to a thick piece of cardboard and cut it out. Please label it and bring it to school this week.
Reflex Math - a couple of weeks ago I reached out to some Div.18 families about Reflex Math. We were hoping to use a grant and use it as a tool to support kids with their basic facts. We just got the news that we are unable to use Reflex Math at this time. Thank you for the responses and interest in this tool. We will continue to work on building capacity with basic facts in class. For those looking for ways to practice at home, I will share a list of games and resources soon to support this area.
Curriculum Learning
Writing - This week we are working on strengthening our sentences and descriptive writing by adding in adjectives, adverbs, and prepositional phrases. We have an exciting writing activity started! To help us with using more vivid words in our writing, we will be starting to carry notebooks to 'collect' words we might like to use in our writing. We will start these notebooks in class and keep them nearby as we read. I will send them home on Fridays for them to collect more words as they read for homework, and ask them to bring it back to school on Wednesdays for our writing classes for the rest of the week.
Math - This week we are wrapping up the standard algorithm of subtraction and will be reviewing multiplication and division facts.
Science - Today Archaeologist Angela paid the classroom a visit and we started learning about the rock cycle. We learned about the 3 types of ropes and recreated them using Starbursts. Ask your child if they remember the rock types and how they are formed. Alongside learning about the rock cycle, we will also be learning about the natural resources we have in Canada. Lucky us, we'll be learning about this through Minecraft Education: A Pacific Northwest Coast Experience. I think the kids will have a lot of fun with it! They were already making connections in class today about the rocks and minerals and Minecraft.
PHE (Physical and Health Education) - It's games week! We played a cooperative game today to warm up, we learned Backboard Dodgeball, and wrapped up our lesson with Crows vs Cranes.
Class Information and Special Events: November 25-29
Trail walk is on Wednesday from 8:55-9:35am. Families are welcome to join us! Meet us by our outside door around 8:55am. Please help your child dress for the weather. It has been very wet recently so an extra pair of dry socks in their bag is always helpful.
Math Morning every Monday. Families are welcome to join us from 8:40-9:10ish to play dice/card/board games, puzzles and other math challenges.
Please save the date - December 18th is the Winter Concert for Division 18. The concert will be starting at 1:30pm. Hope you can make it!
Curriculum Learning
Writing - Most have finished their 'The Day the Crayons Quit' letter and we will be starting another persuasive letter activity shortly. We are learning how to be effective editors and revise our work carefully to improve it in some way.
Spelling Focus - We are currently focusing on digraphs (two letters that join together to make a whole new sound). The letter's original sound cannot be heard. Examples are selfish (sh), enchanted (ch), bathtub (th). Have your child notice digraphs while you read together at night. Some other common digraphs are qu and wh. Our 'heart words' this week (words that don't 'play fair') are want, wash, wasp, what, water, watch, squall, and quadrant. These words have the letter 'a' that when followed by letters w, qu, or l, often make a rounded sound called Broad A. The 'a' sound becomes more like a short 'o'.
Morphology Focus - This week we continue to review the suffix <es>. We use <es> when the base words end in the letters: -s, -sh, -ch, -x, or -z.
Math - This week we will moving on from the standard algorithm for addition and start in on subtraction. Don't forget that Mathletics homework is due on Friday!
Science - We are wrapping up our solutions and solubility unit. We have an awesome Science class on Friday when we made slime and we certainly enjoyed the class mixture (trail mix) and solution (hot chocolate). We learned that the hot chocolate powder is a solute and it dissolves in the solvent water to make a solution. Science class can sometimes be messy and sometimes be delicious! Students can bring a mug again on Friday and they can create their own tea blend using our district's Indigenous Tea Kit. Students can create a blend with chamomile, dandelion leaf, fireweed herb, hawthorn berry, labrador tea, lavender, milk thistle, nettle leaf, oregon graph root, peppermine, red raspberry leaf, rosehips, and wild celery seed. Students will have a chang eto read the resource cards to learn about each and its benefits to help them create their own tea blend. We will be moving on to the rock cycle next. We will be exploring the Big Idea that Earth materials change as they move through the rock cycle and can be used as natural resources.
PHE (Physical and Health Education) - Floor hockey continues this week with our tournament. Ask your child which team they are on.
Class Information and Special Events: November 19-22
Trail walk is on Wednesday from 8:55-9:35am. Families are welcome to join us! Meet us by our outside door around 8:55am. Please help your child dress for the weather. It has been very wet recently so an extra pair of dry socks in their bag is always helpful.
Our next Math Morning will be on Monday, November 25th. Families are welcome to join us from 8:40-9:10ish.
Homework: In addition to reading each night, we will be starting math homework. Each week I will post 2-4 activities to be completed on Mathletics - these will be due by Friday. Students can do one each day or get them all done in one day. After they have completed the assignments, other activities will open up on Mathletics for them to explore if they'd like. These activities will follow along with what we are learning in class for extra practice. Students have logged in to their Mathletics accounts a few times already this year. You can find their login information written on their password page at the beginning of their agendas.
The soccer jamboree is on Thursday afternoon this week. Soccer players have already brought home information on this day. Good luck soccer players!
Curriculum Learning
Writing - This week we are finishing up our persuasive writing piece based on 'The Day The Crayons Quit'. This week we will finish our rough drafts and spend some time learning how to revise and edit our work to make is sound and look better.
Spelling Focus - We are currently focusing on blends (two or more letters that join together to make a quick sound, but both individual sounds can still be heard) such as plenty, tracks, and spotted. Blends can go in the beginning or end of a word. The most common letters that make beginning blends are: r, l, and s. We call them the Really Stuck Letters.
Morphology Focus - This week we continue to review the suffix <ing>. Adding it to a base word can make it a verb that is happening now (skipping down the street) or an adjective (splitting headache).
Math - This week we will moving on from mental math and looking at the standard algorithm for addition.
Science - Last week we learned what a mixture was. Their homework was to bring an example of a mixture in a small container for Tuesday.
PHE (Physical and Health Education) - Floor hockey continues this week with passing and learning the rules of the game.
Class Information and Special Events: November 11-15
Thank you so much to parents for coming in last week for conversations around student learning. I appreciate the time you took to meet and discuss where your child is at and where they are headed.
We had a wet trail walk is today! Hopefully next Wednesday will be dry!
No school on Monday, November 18th for students; teachers only in session.
Our next Math Morning will be on Monday, November 25th. Parents and grandparents are welcome to join us from 8:40-9:10ish.
There are several fundraisers happening at the moment. Please note the October Newsletter that Mrs. Takhar recently sent out for details on the card project ordering (priority Nov.3, final deadline Nov.17), spirit wear (due Nov.17), and coffee orders (due Nov.15).
Homework: In addition to reading each night, we will be starting math homework. Each week I will post 2-4 activities to be completed on Mathletics - these will be due by Friday. Students can do one each day or get them all done in one day. After they have completed the assignments, other activities will open up on Mathletics for them to explore if they'd like. These activities will follow along with what we are learning in class for extra practice. Students have logged in to their Mathletics accounts a few times already this year. You can find their login information written on their password page at the beginning of their agendas.
Curriculum Learning
Reading - We continue to focus on summarizing what we have read when reading fiction. We will be using the phrase: Somebody Wanted But So Then to help us summarize what we have read. Some students have been finishing up genres, meeting with the teacher, and collecting a bead for their good reading. Ask your child if they have collected a bead yet for the genre challenge.
Writing - This week we are learning about persuasive writing. We read 'The Day The Crayons Quit' for inspiration and started to brainstorm an item of ours that might persuade us in the form of a letter to 'quit'.
Spelling Focus - We have wrapped up closed syllables and focusing on blends (two or more letters that join together to make a quick sound, but both individual sounds can still be heard) such as plenty, tracks, and spotted. Blends can go in the beginning or end of a word. The most common letters that make beginning blends are: r, l, and s. We call them the Really Stuck Letters.
Morphology Focus - Last month our focus was on adding -s and -es (suffix) to make a noun plural such as brushes, toads; or on the end of a verb such as hops, plays. Many students use an apostrophe 's when they shouldn't be. We will continue to look out for this and correct it in their daily writing. This week we are reviewing the suffix <ing>. Adding it to a base word can make it a verb that is happening now (skipping down the street) or an adjective (splitting headache).
Math - This week we continue to work on mental math. This week the focus is on subtraction while still using strategies such as jump, split, and compensate to help our mental math.
Science - Ms. Norris was sick last week so this week we will focus on the differences between mixtures and solutions.
PHE (Physical and Health Education) - Floor hockey starts this week with some stick handling and learning proper posture.
Class Information and Special Events: November 4-8
Early Dismissals are this week. On Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday (November 5/6/7) students will be dismissed an hour early at 1:48pm. Parents can sign up for a parent-teacher conference HERE. Before the conference, please think about your child's strengths and stretches, and any goals you'd like us to work on this year. Parents of children with IEPs who have already had a meeting are welcome to sign up for these conferences as well; I will be sharing the recent class assessments with you to give you an idea of where they are at in literacy and numeracy. Please note that there is space for one conference per student.
The book fair with Russell Books is open in the library on Tuesday and Wednesday. Families are welcome to browse and make purchase before school, at lunch, and after school.
Photo Retakes are on Tuesday. Please let your child know if they are to have a retake tomorrow.
Trail walk is on Wednesday from around 9-9:30ish. Parents are welcome to join us!
Book orders went home on Friday. Please have orders in by Thursday this week. Thank you!
No school on Monday, November 11th for Remembrance Day.
Our next Math Morning will be on Monday, November 25th. Parents and grandparents are welcome to join us from 8:40-9:10ish.
Grade 5 parents are hosting a fundraiser and selling holiday plants through Growing Smiles (please see information HERE for ordering).
There are several fundraisers happening at the moment. Please note the October Newsletter that Mrs. Takhar recently sent out for details on the card project ordering (priority Nov.3, final deadline Nov.17), spirit wear (due Nov.17), and coffee orders (due Nov.15).
Homework: In addition to reading each night, we will be starting math homework. Each week I will post 2-4 activities to be completed on Mathletics - these will be due by Friday. Students can do one each day or get them all done in one day. After they have completed the assignments, other activities will open up on Mathletics for them to explore if they'd like. These activities will follow along with what we are learning in class for extra practice. Students have logged in to their Mathletics accounts a few times already this year. You can find their login information written on their password page at the beginning of their agendas.
Curriculum Learning
Reading - This week we are focusing on summarizing what we have read when reading fiction. We will be using the phrase: Somebody Wanted But So Then to help us summarize what we have read.
Writing and Art - This week we will be reflecting on Remembrance Day and responding both in writing and art as we remember, reflect, and be grateful for safety and peace in our lives.
Math - This week we will be starting mental math. We will practice strategies to help us add and subtract without needing to write it down. We will be learning how to jump, split, and compensate to help our mental math.
Science - Last week we did a 'pumpkin lab' to start off our solutions unit. This week we will be focusing on the differences between mixtures and solutions.
PHE (Physical and Health Education) - We will be having a games week before we start our next unit, floor hockey.
Buddies - Last week was Diwali - Festival of Lights. Our buddies have invited us to build nature rangolis this week.
Class Information and Special Events: October 28 - November 1
Trail walk is on Wednesday from around 9-9:30ish. Parents are welcome to join us!
Halloween Safety with our community liaison Alex Omoding is on Wednesday from 12:50-1:15pm.
Halloween is on Thursday this week! Students are welcome to wear their costumes to school, but it is a good idea to leave important loose pieces at home such as masks or accessories that could get lost or broken. I spoke to the class today about remembering to not include anything gory/violent that other Lochside Lizards may find scary. Lochside will be having a costume parade in the afternoon and admin will be hosting a sock hop during lunch playtime in the gym. It's going to be a great day!
On Friday Lochside staff and students are invited to have a PJ day! We will also be doing a 'burn off the candy' run. Sounds perfect after a night of Halloween fun.
Our next Math Morning will be on Monday, November 4th. Parents and grandparents are welcome to join us from 8:40-9:10ish.
Grade 5 parents are hosting a fundraiser and selling holiday plants through Growing Smiles (please see information HERE for ordering).
There are several fundraisers happening at the moment. Please note the October Newsletter that Mrs. Takhar recently sent out for details on the card project ordering (priority Nov.3, final deadline Nov.17), spirit wear (due Nov.17), and coffee orders (due Nov.15).
Early Dismissals are coming up next week. On Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday (November 5/6/7) students will be dismissed an hour early at 1:48pm. Parents can sign up for a parent-teacher conference HERE. Before the conference, please think about your child's strengths and stretches, and any goals you'd like us to work on this year. Parents of children with IEPs who have already had a meeting are welcome to sign up for these conferences as well; I will be sharing the recent class assessments with you to give you an idea of where they are at in literacy and numeracy. Please note that there is space for one conference per student.
Curriculum Learning
Reading - We continue to wrap up our learning around closed syllables this week. Most Grade 4s have finished their FSAs and fall district literacy assessment. Most Grade 5s have finished their fall district literacy assessment.
Writing and Art - This week we are working on spooky stories to go along with our Haunted house painting. We are learning that writers make a plan before writing then use their plan to write a rough draft. Before we make a good copy, we will go back and edit (make our writing look good) and revise (make our writing sound good) our stories. We can't wait to share our work!
Math - This week we will wrap up working on expanded notation, trading, rounding, and estimating larger numbers. We will also go over the importance of 'zero' in place value. I am excited to use some of the new tools I learned at the math conference on Friday to enhance our lessons and support student learning.
Science - We will be starting a solutions and solubility unit soon. It is always a fun unit this time of year!
PHE (Physical and Health Education) - We have finished our soccer tournament and are having a games week. Today we played Home Alone and Pin Down. Ask your child which game they enjoyed most. Both games required us to be on our toes and defend a pin or bean bag. Ask your child their tips for successfully defending their pin/bean bag.
Buddies - We met our Grade 1 buddies today from Ms. Miller's class! We taught them Knock Off the Clock. Some little buddies were away today but little buddies will join us again on Thursday for some Halloween dancing in the gym. We can't wait!
Class Information and Special Events: October 21-25
Trail walk will be on Wednesday this week. It is 'get outside' challenge at Lochside. If the weather holds up, we will bring a pocket snack with us and head to McMinn for a morning action break and a short lesson. This will be a bit of a longer trail walk. We will be back between 10-10:15am.
No school on Friday. I am excited to be attending the Northwest Math Conference this ProD day with colleagues from Lochside.
Our next Math Morning will be on Monday, October 28th. Parents and grandparents are welcome to join us from 8:40-9:10ish.
Grade 5 parents are hosting a fundraiser and selling holiday plants through Growing Smiles (please see information HERE for ordering).
Curriculum Learning
Reading - We are wrapping up our learning around closed syllables this week. Grade 4s will be finishing up the literacy part of the FSA booklets in class with me. Grade 5s will be working on the fall district literacy assessment.
Math - This week we will be working on expanded notation, trading, rounding, and estimating larger numbers. We will also go over the importance of 'zero' in place value.
Social Studies - The students were very interested in the election this week. Today we looked at the Student Vote results. We looked at how Lochside voted (Royal Oak and Claremont too!). We also looked at how students voted overall in our electoral district. Finally we looked at how students around the province voted. We had a good discussion around our election this past weekend and can't wait for the final count next week. As we wrap up our government and voting unit, we looked at Indigenous self-government.
PHE (Physical and Health Education) - We are well into our soccer tournament. The teams have been fantastic playing together. One more tournament day to go! Students who signed up for soccer intramurals started today. Ask your child which team they are on.
Class Information and Special Events: October 14-18
Our field trip to the fire hall is tomorrow. I mentioned to the class today that a few stations are outside so they should come dressed for the weather. We are travelling by school bus and leaving by 8:50am. Please make sure students are on time tomorrow.
Our next Math Morning will be on Monday, October 21st. Parents and grandparents are welcome to join us from 8:40-9:10ish.
Curriculum Learning
Reading - This week we are talking about closed syllables and short vowels. We learned how to do 'syllable surgery' today to help us when we come across larger new words (multisyllabic). We will continue to work on this important skill as we learn to read new words and expand our writing vocabularies.
Math - Students are currently working on reading and writing larger numbers. They have chosen a mild, medium, or spicy assignment to work on to practice and show their learning. Ask your child which level they are currently working on.
Social Studies - We are gearing up for the student election on Friday! We are going over the election process and learning about the candidates in order to make an informed decision for the vote on Friday. I can't wait to share the results with them....after the adults vote first :)
PHE (Physical and Health Education) - Yesterday we had a special visit from the Claremont rugby team. Ask your child what their favourite station was. On Friday we will start our soccer tournament. Students will be placed on a team and will come up with a team name.
Class Information and Special Events: October 7-11
Trail walk is on Wednesday this week. Please help your child dress appropriately for the weather - we go rain or shine! Boots, umbrellas, and a good raincoat are great for rainy days. Parents/guardians are welcome to join us on these walks! We usually leave around 9:00am from our outside classroom door and typically come back around 9:45am.
Two field trip notices went home last week - one for the parliament building this Friday and the other for the fire hall. I have already had 2 parents confirm that they are joining us on the parliament trip this Friday - thank you to those parents! We do not need anymore for this trip and the fire hall is just for teachers and students. We will have other trips parents/guardians can join us on. Now is a good time to check in on your CRC with the district. Some are expiring this year. Please see our school district's policy HERE and start the process as soon as possible.
Please note that our field trip on Friday will take up all morning and into lunch. Please make sure your child has a good breakfast on Friday and pack a small snack that can fit in their pocket. We will eat a small snack from their lunch before we go, bring a pocket snack with us, and have lunch when we return before around 12:45pm. Please watch the weather too to see if they will be needing boots and umbrellas as we will be walking approximately 15 minutes from the bus stop to the parliament building.
We had a wonderful first Math Morning today - thank you to those parents/grandparents who could join us. Next one will be on Monday, October 21st since it is Thanksgiving (no school) next Monday.
Curriculum Learning
Reading - This week we will be working on our oral language and reading aloud for the teacher....well, sort of! We are going to use a fun app to record our reading and share it with Ms. Norris. My hope it to post this reading to your child's digital portfolio. Our district uses D2L Brightspace. You are read about it HERE off our district site and sign up for an account - scroll down until you see 'Brightspace Parent Account Setup.' I don't use this portfolio a ton but it is an easy way to share special projects, such as videos. I will let you know when I've posted something so you can have a look - and comment!
Math - Grade 5s are wrapping up transformations tomorrow. Today we looked for transformations (translations, reflections, rotations) in the class and outside. It was incredible how many we found. Ask your Grade 5 child about it (and the Grade 4s who aren't writing the FSAs). This week students will be starting their levelled assignments on place value. Grade 4s will be working with numbers to 10 000 and Grade 5s will be working with numbers to 1 000 000 and beyond for those who are ready for a challenge. In our class students will choose from mild, medium, and spicy assignments. Each student will be working at their 'just right' level.
Social Studies - This week we are watching videos about voting and elections while we are reading and taking notes on the municipal, provincial, and federal governments. Ask your child about the types of services municipal government takes care of. Students are invited to bring in information pamphlets about the Saanich South leaders. We are hoping to collect as many as we can so we can learn about the leaders and the issues and decide who they'd like to vote for when we participate in a student vote on October 18th at school. Students may want to watch the leader debate tomorrow night (Tuesday) at 6:30pm. Later this week we will be learning more about the election process and political parties.
PHE (Physical and Health Education) - So far in soccer we have been working on dribbling, passing, tackling, and trapping the ball. Later this week we will work on scoring, defending, and goalkeeping. Our soccer tournament is next week!
Technology - Last week we signed into our Google Classroom accounts. This is an online platform Saanich teachers use to share resources, class materials, and assignments with kids. We have recently glued a password/login sheet into our agendas to help us out in case we need to login to this site from home. If you need further support, check out THIS Saanich video to see how to login from home.
Class Information and Special Events: October 1-4
Trail walk is on Wednesday, October 2nd. Please help your child dress appropriately for the weather - we go rain or shine and had quite a few soggy kids last week. Boots, umbrellas, and a good raincoat are great for rainy days. Parents/guardians are welcome to join us on these walks! We usually leave around 9:00am from our outside classroom door and typically come back around 9:45am.
A field trip notice will be going home later this week for our first trip to the parliament building on Friday, October 11th - please sign and return as soon as possible. We would love parents/guardians to join us on this field trip but they MUST have a criminal records check on file with the school district PRIOR to the trip. Please see our school district's policy HERE and start the process as soon as possible.
Grade 4s have started the FSAs. This week they have 2 sessions in the computer lab with Mrs. Sinclair-Wise. These are practice sessions for literacy and numeracy. Next week will be the live sessions. Following Thanksgiving, I will be helping the kids complete their booklet sections on literacy and numeracy. I spoke to the kids today about these assessments and reminded them that it is normal to feel nervous and their job is to do their best. This is one assessment and one snapshot of their learning. The Grade 5s in our class were very sweet and offered words or wisdom and tips for their Grade 4 peers. You've got this, Grade 4s!
Grade 4/5 students were invited to a meeting at small recess for those interested in intramural soccer at lunch. Students will practice once a week with their team and at the end of the term will be invited to the soccer jamboree where teams get a chance to play other school teams. The jamboree happens during the school day - there are no after school games. Ask your child if they went to the meeting today - many students from our class were interested!
Our first Math Morning will be coming up on Monday, October 7th. Each Monday parents/guardians/grandparents are invited to join us in class for a morning of math games. We have learned 3 games so far this year and we have a variety of board games and math challenges the students can work on as well during this time. Math Morning will run each Monday from 8:40-9:10ish. Please note that we will be missing most of our Grade 4s for our first one since they have an FSA to start at 9:00am with Mrs. Sinclair-Wise. Hope to see some parents on Monday morning!
Curriculum Learning
Reading - In class we are keeping track of the books we are reading and are starting to think about the genres we enjoy reading. Ask your child if they have a favourite genre they like to read from (realistic fiction, fantasy, historical fiction, mystery, science fiction, informational, poetry, auto/biography, etc.). Mrs. Molloy reminded us that it is good to read a variety of books and to balance reading graphic novels with chapter books and novels to give our brains a chance to picture and visualize the story.
Math - During the FSAs, Grade 5s will be working on transformations. We are looking for translations, reflections, and rotations of shapes in art, in nature, in buildings, and of course with shapes in Math. We will learn more about transformations in class through games, art, and activities. When we have the whole class together for math, we will be starting off the year reviewing place value. Grade 4s will be working with numbers to 10 000 and Grade 5s will be working with numbers to 1 000 000 and beyond for those who are ready for a challenge.
Social Studies - Today we kicked off our government unit by brainstorming on what we already know about government and voting and also noting any questions we have and what we'd like to learn. We are participating in Student Vote where we get to go through the whole process of voting after doing our due diligence of researching and learning about the candidates and the parties. It is always an exciting time. Today we watched videos on democracy and the levels of government in Canada. We also played a 'Who's Who' game of Kahoot to see what we know about leaders in our world.
PHE (Physical and Health Education) - Each month we will have a sport to focus on. We will be building our skills for 2 weeks and then have a 3rd week to put our skills together and participate in a tournament week with the class. Our class is very excited that soccer will be the first sport up!
Technology - This week we will be signing into our Google Classroom accounts. This is an online platform Saanich teachers use to share resources, class materials, and assignments with kids. We have recently glued a password/login sheet into our agendas to help us out in case we need to login to this site from home.
Class Information and Special Events: September 23-27
I hope the kids enjoyed their day off today! I enjoyed learning alongside our Saanich colleagues up at Claremont today centered on Indigenous Education. I attended a workshop on Indigenizing Minecraft Education and look forward to exploring that in our class this year. I also attended a workshop on using storytelling to explore fractions and look forward to trying it out in our math class as well this year. We had a wonderful keynote speaker Dr. Lisa Gunderson whose work centers around justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion. I am proud to be part of a school district who prioritizes these important issues.
We are coming up to the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. Lochside staff and students are invited to wear orange shirts on Friday. This week we will be remembering and reflecting on orange shirt day through a variety of activities in class. No school on Monday September 30th for staff and students as we honour this day.
Scholastic orders will be going home this week. If you would like to put in an order with our class code, please do so by Friday this week. Our class code is on our class website under LINKS.
Grade 4s have now logged into the computers at school last week with our teacher librarian Mrs. Molloy. Grade 4s have new passwords for their school account. Grade 5s have used their old ones but some have reset their if they forgot. We will be putting an important sheet in the front of their agendas to help the students keep track of their usernames, passwords, and email address as we will be using these frequently throughout the year.
Throughout the year we may be needing parents/guardians to join us on field trips. Please see our school district's policy HERE and start the process as soon as possible. We have a field trip coming up in October and will be needing parent/guardian support for that trip. More info to come on that trip later.
Grade 5 parents - This is for you!
*** ATTENTION GRADE 5 STUDENT FAMILIES ONLY ***
LEPAC has opened the sales for the Grade 5 Grad hoodie. The store is live now and will close on Sept. 29th. There will NOT be another run of grad hoodies.
Please let us know if you need financial support with the purchase of this hoodie.
Class Information and Special Events: September 16 - 20
Thank you so much for getting all of the forms back so quickly. We are almost there and just missing a few more.
The class is getting into the routine of writing in their agendas each day. I am checking their agendas at the end of the day to make sure they are writing in it correctly. I ask students to check their agendas first thing in the morning in case there are notices to hand in or notes for the teacher. Thank you for helping them out with this at home. A few have paid for their agendas already. Agendas are $7 payable online, cash, or cheque.
Photo Day is tomorrow! Our class time is around 12:50pm or sooner if possible.
I am excited to invite families to 'Meet the Teacher' night this THURSDAY from 4:30-5:30pm. Please come by the class with your child to meet me and see around the classroom.
Lochside is having our Terry Fox run on Friday at 1pm. Students should come dressed to run and be active outside. Students are invited to bring a toonie for Terry if they'd like to donote to his foundation.
Curriculum Learning
Reading - Students have got a hang of reading in our class each day for 20 minutes, usually at the end of the day. We have visited the school library twice now and have a class library to choose from too. We read in the class where our brains and bodies read best. Ask your child where they like to read and the book they are currently reading. I check in with the students 1-2 times a week to see what they are reading and will have a brief chat with them about their books. I also watch to make sure they are reading a just right book and encourage them to read a variety of books throughout the year.
Writing - Last week we started writing in our Friday Journals. These went home on Friday and should have been returned today. Thank you for taking the time to read them and write a short note or letter back to your child. They love to read these on Fridays! This week I will be doing a short assessment with the class and individually to see where they are at with their spelling. This will help me determine where to start with our lessons this year.
Math - We have learned 3 games in Math: Game of 50, Addition Pyramid (or level up and play the Multiplication version), and Knock off the Clock. We play math games to start the week on Mondays and will be invited parents/grandparents to join us in the class. Each Monday from the morning bell until 9:10ish. There is no school the next two Mondays so our first math morning with parents will be Monday, October 7th - mark your calendars! This week we will be completing a math assessment to see what we learned last year in number sense and see what we need to work on this year.
Social Studies - We will be starting the year with learning about the government in Social Studies (Science will be after government). Today we started off by reviewing our place in the world. We looked at our country, our province, our city, and learned about the local territory of the W̱SÁNEĆ people. In class we learned about the Saanich moons and practice saying them in SENĆOŦEN. This week we will be learning about Terry Fox as we prepare for the Terry Fox run on Friday at school.
PHE (Physical and Health Education) - In gym we are playing group games together and learning to be fit, have fun, stay on our feet, and play fairly. Ask your child which gym game they've liked best so far.
Hello Div.18 families! This is the space I update each Monday with important information, upcoming dates, and other details about the class.
I sent home a package today with information about the class and about me along with a permission form for our weekly trail walk. We will wait until all forms come in so we won't start trail walk this week. Please send them in as soon as possible.
The school start-up permission form package from the office went home on Friday. Please check/update the information and send the forms back at your earliest convenience.
Thank you for sending in the school supplies so quickly! On Friday I sent home a reminder list of the required materials. I asked the students to write down the extra supplies our class will be needed. The students tried to highlight the supplies they still need. Please check the list that went home on Friday and send in the following extra supplies as soon as possible:
Water Colours Paints Set
Oil Pastels
Clipboard
Labeled ziplock bag for headphones
Box of Kleenex
Indoor gym shoes to be kept at school
Calculator (optional)
This week I will invite the students to bring in one school supply that is not on the list. Either an extra duotang or a small blank notebook to use as a 'doodling book' would be wonderful as I read aloud to the students each day and some may choose to doodle if it helps them listen.
We wrote in our new agendas on Friday. Agendas are one organizational tool students can practice using in elementary school. Please have a look at your child's agenda each night with them and help them remember it by placing it in the same spot at home at night to come to school each day. Perhaps putting it back into their backpacks together each night, keeping it by the door to grab on the way out, or at the kitchen table where they eat breakfast in the morning is helpful. Agendas are $7 payable online, cash, or cheque.
Sometimes I may hand out a small treat such as a jolly rancher or a starburst to students in class. If this is something you would not like for your child, please let me know. Feel free to send in an alternative if you'd prefer.
It has been a wonderful start to year. We have a fabulous group of Grade 4 and 5 learners. We have been busy learning each other's names, learning the class routines, playing games together, and other activities to get to know one another. It's going to be a great year!