Embedded Files
Welcome to our class website!
Welcome to our class website!
This site is meant to serve as a window into our classroom as well as provide students with resources and supplementary learning materials.
The Extra Resources page contains many wonderful resource links available through both the Saanich school district or government of BC websites.
Please use this website along with classroom emails to stay informed during the school year!
Jan. 30
Jan. 30
We have progressed on to chapter 7 questions in our Harry Potter unit. I have been impressed with student growth especially with regards to reading comprehension. One of the big differences from our initial lesson to where students are at currently is the ability to provide text based evidence to back up a response. Students are beginning to provide this evidence with much less prompting and as a result, the understanding of material is increasing.
In Social studies, we looked at Christopher Columbus and completed a number of lessons in the field notebooks. One was the "Message in a Bottle" activity where students explored the various reasons why Columbus embarked on his initial voyage. Themes like: ambitions, finances, promises, and encounters were discussed as a class. Students also learned about the importance of perspective in the study of history as we read a fictional account in the perspective of an indigenous community meeting Columbus for the first time. Students then wrote a opinion paragraph about how this experience might have been for Columbus or a member from the Taino people.
Some other highlights of the week include:
*Playing our second round of Settler's of Canada
*Practicing the pivot and movement off the ball in basketball
*Multiplication strategies in grade 4 math
*Celebrating Family Literacy Day with some great costumes and even better guests!
Jan. 23
Jan. 23
Students have been working hard across all of our exciting units!
In English, we are well underway with our Harry Potter novel study. Students have read and completed activities up to the end of Chapter Five, as well as a quiz covering those chapters. In addition, each student created a personalized sleeve to safely store and protect their book.
In Science, students had a very exciting day on Thursday with the arrival of our 100 Coho salmon eggs! Over the next two months, we will have the opportunity to observe and discuss the early stages of the salmon life cycle firsthand in our very own classroom tank. We were also joined by two visitors from the Goldstream Hatchery, Grant and Joscilyn, who delivered the eggs, explained the program, and enthusiastically answered students’ many questions about our local salmon. I’m really looking forward to all the learning ahead.
In Social Studies, we are well underway with our Two Worlds Meet unit. This week, students learned about the fall of Constantinople and how the search for a new sea route to the Orient sparked the Age of Exploration. We explored the historical importance of the spice trade and completed related questions and a quadrant in our field books. Students also participated in their first class game of Settlers of Canada. It was wonderful to see them discussing strategy while learning about trade and resources across Canada.
Some other highlights of the week include:
*Lunchtime basketball starting for those who signed up
*Started a new read aloud book called The City of Ember
*Learning about The Saanich Weave art with Mrs. Molloy
Jan. 16
Jan. 16
The class is well underway with our two biggest units of the term. In Social Studies, all Grade 4/5 students at Lochside participated in a launch for our Two Worlds Meet unit. After being divided into six different groups, students rotated through lessons to learn key terms related to the unit. Some of these terms included perspective, trade, influence, power, cooperation, and more. The theme of this unit is contact between European explorers and the Indigenous peoples of North America. Division 16 completed two lessons in their field notebooks this week. The first focused on Indigenous peoples of Canada, including those local to the Saanich Peninsula. We also learned about some of the earliest explorers to the Americas by acting out skits and answering related questions.
In English, we have been working on our Harry Potter novel study. Students have already answered questions up to and including Chapter Three. I have placed a number of useful resources in Google Classroom to support this unit, including a calendar showing what we have completed and upcoming due dates, an audiobook version of the novel broken down by chapter, and a PDF version of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. Please ensure that your child checks the calendar and stays up to date. Just a reminder that students must sign in using their personal Lochside Google account to access Google Classroom.
Another big highlight of the week was completing our vanishing point art pieces and they turned out beautifully! Enjoy the photos on our class website.
Some other highlights from the week include:
Learning a new basketball drill (3 vs. 2 continuous)
Being introduced to our Settlers of Canada game for the Two Worlds Meet unit
Setting up our fish tank in preparation for the salmon eggs arriving later this month
Thank you, and have a great weekend!
Jan. 9
Jan. 9
We've had a great week back at school and I've enjoyed hearing about all of your holiday hits from the class.
Students started the week with a person search and 3d art activity. We practiced a style of creating a vanishing point in order to give this art a unique perspective. It also helped to prepare students for another art task that we started later in the week. The second art activity involved creating a scene with near and far elements as well as a vanishing point. These will be completed and uploaded to the class website next week. I'm looking forward to having them on display in the classroom!
Students were also introduced to two new units this week. For literacy, we are starting a novel study of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. I very much appreciate everyone who has sent in a copy of the book for their child. If you have any extra copies and are willing to lend them to our class it would be greatly appreciated! Students have been sorted into houses and introduced to some of the expectations of the unit. We've discussed how to earn house points as well.
The class also started making up their field notebooks for our upcoming social studies unit. This will be a big area of learning this term. More details will follow in the near future!
Finally, students shared their amazing brochures with their classmates in the form of a gallery walk and discussion afterwards. I've had an opportunity to look through all of these and must say that I am incredibly impressed with all of the hard work, creativity and research that students completed in order to make their brochures. It was great to hear students share compliments about the work of their peers and take pride in a job well done!
Some other highlights of the week include:
*Starting our basketball unit in gym. We've worked on dribbling, passing and layups so far.
*Review of mental math strategies for subtraction in grade 4 math as well as the basic algorithm for subtraction with regrouping.
*Started a new read aloud book called, "Once upon a Tim."
*Students created SMART goals. These goals are specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and timebound.
Dec.18
Dec.18
What a great first term of the year we've had! When I look back on all of the learning students have accomplished, along with the strong class community that has been fostered, I couldn’t be more proud of all of your amazing children. We had a couple of big projects that we’ve been working on right to the end, and I’m happy to report that they are finished!
To start, the provincial/territorial brochures are complete! Please see the class website for a sneak peek of some of the pages. These will be sent home after the break to allow me time to have a closer look at them, as well as to allow for a sharing day in the new year. The level of detail and creativity make these a real highlight of the year so far!
Another project that took us into the final week was our string art. It was great to see students applying our lessons and safety discussions when creating these little works of art. By popular request of the class, no pictures will be shared until after the 25th, but I’m sure your child’s piece will make its appearance at some point over the break 🙂
I hope that you’ve all accessed your child’s report through the district’s Brightspace portal. This is the second year of online access. As mentioned in the latest parent communication, please get in touch with the office if you’ve had trouble. The parent letter also contains all the information needed to view reports online. Please note that the reports reflect learning up until late November. I am very proud of the growth that each and every student has demonstrated this term!
The new year comes with more exciting areas of learning. Some highlights include our Two Worlds Meet unit in Social Studies, a novel study, and basketball right away. More information will be communicated in the new year.
Wishing you all a wonderful holiday season!
Dec.12
Dec.12
Dear division 16 families,
We may be just days away from the break, but that hasn’t stopped us from diving into a couple of big, exciting projects!
Students have been busy at the tool cart creating their string-art ornaments. The 1x4 blanks were cut down to size, and students carefully sanded all edges until they were perfectly smooth. They then painted each side with acrylics before selecting a template to tape onto their wooden blank to guide nail placement. After a safety demonstration, it was time for the main event—hammering in the nails! The final step will be adding yarn to complete their chosen design, and the results are already looking fantastic.
Students have also been working hard on their province and territory travel brochures. Using the classroom computers, they continued researching natural resources, famous attractions, and other key facts about their region. Great progress is being made across the class; however, a few students will be asked to bring their brochure home to catch up so everyone can finish with confidence.
A few other highlights of the week include:
*Starting subtraction in grade 4 math. We've looked at both the jump and split strategies for mental math.
*Finishing up our floor hockey unit in gym. The passing and positioning has really improved over the course of the unit!
*Read aloud. We are well into our new novel called The Fourteenth Goldfish
*Buddy Gingerbread people with our little buddies!
There are a few important dates to keep in mind for the last stretch of school:
1. Monday, Dec. 15 is Festive Sweater or Hat Day!
2. Wednesday, Dec. 17 is our Cookie Fundraiser. Each cookie is $1 and proceeds go towards our grade 5 yearbooks and grad events!
3. Thursday, Dec. 18 is the Jingle Bell Run. This is also the day that report cards will be available for parents to view on Brightspace after 5:00.
4. Friday, Dec. 19 is P.J. Day and the last day of school before the break!
Nov. 28
Nov. 28
The main highlight of these week has been the introduction of the tool cart! Students participated in a demonstration of the various tools as well as extensive discussions around safety. They participated in a slideshow, sorting activity and finally a safety quiz which will be graded prior to students being allowed to used the cart. We are looking forward to starting a project before the winter break!
Students have worked through our class discussions and activities of the Canadian provinces and territories and have chosen one particular place to research in more depth. The next step will be for each student to create a travel brochure of their choice area to share with I've created a simple note-taking document for students, which is in their Google Classroom. We will be using this to gather information and working through one page of the brochures at a time. Students are welcome to work on any research they'd like to at home.
The class has also been working hard on a hockey unit in gym. We've worked on skill building, defence, offence, and are now starting mini games.
Some other highlights of the week include:
*Working on the standard algorithm for multidigit addition in grade 4 and grade 5 students have been introduced to a Math Board game activity.
*Started another paragraph writing activity on, "Something you are most proud of."
*Introduction to the Google Classroom with Mrs. Molloy and myself
Nov. 20
Nov. 20
We had another wonderful and productive week in Division 16! Students were busy learning across several subject areas, with many great discussions and activities.
Social Studies
This week, we continued our study of the Canadian provinces and territories by exploring Nova Scotia, Nunavut, and the Northwest Territories. Students examined key features such as each region’s location, provincial/territorial symbols, natural resources, and major attractions. They are becoming skilled at comparing regions and identifying what makes each one unique. Once we've studied each province and territory students will focus in on one area to research and learn more about. They will show their learning by creating a travel brochure.
A major highlight of the week was learning about the W̱SÁNEĆ (Saanich) Moons seasonal cycles. We focused specifically on S̱JELḰEŚEN — the Moon of Putting Away Your Paddle in the Bush. After discussing its significance, related cultural traditions, and the economic activities connected to this time of year, students created beautiful illustrations representing this moon. It was a meaningful opportunity to connect our prior science unit on seasonal changes with an important First Peoples perspective.
Math
Grade 4 students worked on the compensation strategy for adding numbers mentally. Students are learning how adjusting one number can make equations easier to solve quickly and accurately. Thank you for helping your child stay up to date on their Mathletics "To Do" list. These activities support what we are learning in class.
PE & Outdoor Learning
We continued building skills in our floor hockey unit, and students showed great teamwork and sportsmanship. We also enjoyed a refreshing trail walk, taking time to notice seasonal changes in the environment.
Thank you, as always, for your ongoing support. It’s been great to see students so engaged in their learning and eager to make connections across subjects.
P.S. Please note that tomorrow is a non-instructional day which means no school for students.
Nov. 7
Nov. 7
Hello all,
In literacy, we continued our work on paragraph writing with a focus on using transition words and phrases to create smoother, more connected ideas. Students practiced drafting and revising paragraphs that showed clear organization and effective use of transitions. This work will support them as we move toward longer written pieces later this term.
Students also completed a creative project inspired by the poem In Flanders Fields by John McCrae. Some students transformed the poem into a concrete poem, while others incorporated the text into an original art piece. The results were thoughtful and beautifully done, and provided a meaningful way to connect visual art with poetry.
Thank you to all families who attended parent-teacher conferences. I appreciated the collaboration and thoughtful conversations about student learning. Your support plays an important role in helping students grow, and it was wonderful to connect and plan together for the months ahead.
A few additional updates from the week:
*Beginning our grade 4 math unit on addition with mental math strategies
*Starting a social studies unit on natural resources
*Construction of a class wreath for the Remembrance Day assembly
Oct. 31
Oct. 31
The major highlight of the week was our field trip to the Observatory! Students began with a slideshow and interactive lesson on gravity, which helped them understand how this fundamental force shapes our universe. They then had the opportunity to tour the Plaskett telescope, learning about its history and how astronomers use it to observe distant stars and planets. It was especially interesting to learn how large mirrors are used to amplify images and that the original mirrors were brought in by horse and wagon.
Inside the planetarium, students enjoyed an engaging presentation about constellations and other fascinating features of space, sparking many great questions and discussions. The visit concluded with hands-on exploration at several interactive stations, where students examined meteorites, worked with models, and discovered how light refraction helps scientists study the cosmos.
A huge thank you to our parent volunteers, Melissa and Chris, for joining us on the trip and helping make the experience such a success!
Lochside intermediate students had an energetic and exciting time participating in a rugby session led by Claremont Secondary staff and students. During the session, students were divided into groups and rotated through a variety of stations that included skill-building drills, fun challenges, and even tackling the dummy bags! It was wonderful to see everyone so engaged, active, and enthusiastic throughout the activities. A big thank you to the Claremont team for providing such a fun and physically active learning experience!
Some other highlights of the week include:
*Open book science challenge
*4 Corner Soccer in the gym
*Designing and painting a Literary Pumpkin for the school display
*Halloween Dance for those who attended!
*Gr. 4 place value quiz
***Please remember to double check your sign up time for our parent/teacher conferences next week. I'm looking forward to meeting with you!
Happy Halloween!
Oct. 23
Oct. 23
It’s been a busy and creative week in our Grade 4/5 classroom!
Paragraph of the Week:
Students have been working through the full writing process as they developed their Paragraph of the Week. We began by brainstorming ideas, then moved on to adding supporting details and explanations. Next, students focused on crafting strong topic and closing sentences. Finally, they put everything together into a complete, well-organized paragraph with smooth transitions. This step-by-step process is helping students build confidence and independence as writers.
Triple Scoop Words:
To expand our vocabulary, students have been creating Triple Scoop Words—groups of synonyms that help make their writing more descriptive and precise. This activity encourages students to choose “juicier” words instead of simple ones. You can see examples of their creative word collections below.
October/Halloween Silhouette Art:
In art, students created striking Halloween silhouette pieces using colour blending and contrast. These seasonal artworks are visible here as well—be sure to take a look to see the spooky creativity on display!
Thank you for your continued support at home. We’re excited to keep learning, writing, and creating as we move through the fall season!
Oct. 17
Oct. 17
To start, I’d like to introduce our wonderful class rep, Lindsay Holland! I’m very grateful to Lindsay for taking on this role to help with organizing volunteers, sharing information about upcoming events, and more. Lindsay would like to create a class contact list to stay in touch with families by email. If you’d like to be included, please send her a short message with your name, your child’s name, and the email address you’d like her to use. Please note that your contact information will not be shared with others and will only be used to communicate class news and updates directly with you.
Although the week was short, it was crammed with a lot of learning! In literacy, we worked on brainstorming and topic sentences before moving onto vocabulary development. Students worked on the idea of turning a basic word into a Triple Scoop word to make it more engaging to the reader. Next week students will brainstorm, draft and revise entire paragraphs as we focus on organization.
Students also had a great lesson on researching, paraphrasing and citing work from World Book Kids with myself and Ms. Molloy in the learning commons. These are great and important skills as students move towards research projects that will occur later in the year. Ms. Molloy has also given students a number of lessons on internet safety, the latest being the importance of checking your sources to ensure that information is from a good source.
Some other highlights include:
*Our first spelling quiz. Please remember to check agendas to help your child prepare and complete homework.
*Class lesson on Diwali and Diya painting check out the class website for pictures!
*Place value in grade 4 math. Students learned about representing numbers in the expanded form or with base ten blocks
*Completing our Raccoon art
*Making Rangoli's with found materials outside with our buddy class
*Learning about our upcoming field trip to the Center of the Universe Observatory! Our class has been learning how Earth’s axis, rotation, and orbit create local changes such as day and night and the seasons. We’ve also explored how the relative positions of the sun, moon, and Earth cause phenomena like tides and moon phases. The field trip will take place on Oct. 29 and will be a great opportunity for students to complete the unit with a real world experience.
Oct. 10
Oct. 10
It was wonderful to have a full week of learning in Division 16!
In writing, we continued our paragraph unit with a focus on topic sentences. Students explored different ways to open a paragraph, learning that list statements and number words are both strong options. We also discussed how effective topic sentences grab the reader’s attention and set the stage for the rest of the paragraph.
In science, students have been working hard to understand local changes caused by the Earth’s axis, rotation, and orbit. Our most recent lesson explored the effects of the moon—and to a lesser extent, the sun—on Earth’s tides, including lunar, solar, diurnal, and semi-diurnal tides. We were especially fascinated to learn why the Bay of Fundy experiences such unusually large tides due to a combination of unique geographical conditions.
Other highlights from the week include:
Continuing our new spelling unit (booklets are due Tuesday!)
Exploring place value in Grade 4 math
Playing soccer in gym, with a focus on game skills and strategies
Creating raccoon art (ask your child to tell you more!)
Working on a fun STEM challenge, building unique structures with pipe cleaners and straws
Please note that Monday, October 13 is a holiday, and there will be no school in session.
Thank you, as always, for your continued support!
P.S. I’ve truly appreciated your engagement with the Book of Thoughts. The responses to your child’s letters has been so encouraging—it really reinforces that learning is a shared experience between home and school.
Sept. 26
Sept. 26
I hope this message finds you well! Students have started a unit on paragraph writing by working on a colour coding activity. We've discussed how paragraphs are organized; containing topic sentences, details/explanations, and finished with a closing sentence. Students worked in groups to make their own paragraphs as well. The class has also started working on an art project in the style of Ted Harrison. These are looking wonderful with each child adding their own person touches to make them unique. This art will be used for the Card Project. Stay tuned to find out more about this!
Another big event this week was our first trail walk. We started by discussing safety considerations and appropriate behaviour before setting off. It was great to get some fresh air, discuss some of the seasonal changes and make observations in the community.
Some other highlights of the week include:
*Playing Numbers in soccer. Ask your child to explain the game!
*Finishing up the Terry Fox booklets (Almost all are finished:)
*Spelling. Thank you to everyone who helped their child complete their spelling homework!
*Making nature art with our little buddies
Sept. 19
Sept. 19
I want to start by saying how nice it was to see everyone who was able to make it to our open house yesterday! It was a great opportunity to connect, share what we’ve been working on, and learn a little more about what makes your child unique.
We're off to a great start on a number of our units. Students started a spelling booklet this week and continued working on sentence writing. We will be moving onto paragraphs next while learning about topic sentences, supporting details, and closing sentences. We've also worked on some mapping and lessons related to Terry Fox in social studies which was capped off with our run today.
Another big event of the week was our bike lessons with Capital City bikes. Our presenter, Nicholas, did a great job of explaining and demonstrating skills and safety tips. Students worked on signalling, shoulder checking and understanding a number of road signs. Ask your child if they can remember the ABC quick check of their bike or the 2 V 2 check of their helmet!
Some other highlights of the week include:
*Soccer skills in gym. We worked on passing with a game called bumpers
*Meeting our Buddy class and making friendship bracelets
*Starting Mathletics in Math **Please check your child's To Do list this weekend to ensure that they are up to date. These activities supplement what we do in class and are considered home work.
*Making "word Art" during our Tech time with Mrs. Molloy
Have a great weekend!
P.S. A reminder that Monday, Sept., 22, is a non-instructional day. No school for students.
Sept. 12
Sept. 12
What an awesome first full week of the new school year we've had! It was great to look over our sticker survey to see some of the things that makes this group of learners unique. You can check these out below!
Students have started units in a number of subject areas and taken the time to organize supplies and set up learning booklets. We've had great discussions and completed activities about our class beliefs and expectations that will carry on through our entire school year. As you've probably already heard, grade 5 math will be taught by Mr. O'Connor and I will be teaching the grade 4's from both of our classes. Both classes have completed a "Math About Me" activity as an initial task. Grade 4 students will be working on patterns and place value as our first unit.
Students have also completed self-portraits in the style of Amedeo Modiglianni. These are on display in the class but I've also uploaded them onto our class website for you to check out. See if you can spot your child and ask them about this style of art! Also, please remember to bookmark our class website.
In Literacy students have received their reading logs and are starting to record each morning reading time. We've discussed the importance of a quick morning transition and how that translates into more reading time. We've also started a unit on sentences. Ask your child if they can tell you what a subject, predicate and verb are and why they are important in sentences.
Some other highlights of the week include:
*Starting a soccer unit in gym
*Beginning our new read aloud book
*Completing Summer re"CAP" activity.
*Starting a mapping activity in social studies
*Participating in a library orientation. Students can start signing out books next week!
*Setting up and writing in The Book of Thoughts. These should be in your child's backpack and are ready for you to read. There is a description of the activity on the inside cover which includes very important information for you. In a nutshell, this is an opportunity for your child to share some highlights from the week in the form of a letter. This is not a time to discuss spelling accuracy or punctuation and grammar. We have plenty of other opportunities to practice these skills in the classroom.
We often use Google Classroom to complete assignments. Use this link to log in!
Use your SD63 Google Account. This is the same account you use on our Chromebooks.
Click the link :)
Here is an instructional video to support you at home! Remember to ensure that your child is signed in to their google account and not yours. Log in information can be found in your child's agenda.
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