BVM

Here is a bit more info from the museum about our field trip on Friday. Included is an english story that they will read in school. I am attaching it as something to read before we get there on Friday! Also, notes went home in agendas today about driving on Friday. Thank you for all your help!

You will probably notice that this week's dictée is not actually a dictée but instead is a spelling test. This is because when we go to burnaby village museum on Friday, the students will be given an English spelling test. This is to prep them for that! 

Tomorrow, I will be doing a draw of parent driver names to see who will stay with us at burnaby village museum. We can only have 4 stay. If you have volunteered for driving, and would like to be one of the people who does not stay at the museum, please let me know!

Skating!

Remember, tomorrow we are going skating! Please remember to bring skates (if you have), CSA approved helmed (not a bike helmet), warm clothes and mittens. Also, don't forget a booster seat! 

If you are helping drive, please come to the portable for 10:20am 

Dictée and math

You may have noticed, lots of papers came home today! Space and addition papers came home. You may have seen that there are probably some addition worksheets that are not finished. This is on purpose. I always give them lots so that they can keep practicing at home. We did lots of addition with regrouping, so please keep practicing this at home. 

You may have also noticed that dictée this week looks a bit different. There are 10 english words, and 10 french words. The French ones are the translation of the english ones. These words are ones we will need to know when we go to bvm next week. 

Be sure to check the post below to see important information about our next science unit!

Next Science Unit

Hi everyone,

Our next science unit will be structures (on a side note..our next socials unit is changes in community. To get a taste of it, check out this website). This is a very fun, hands-on unit. We will be doing daily structure challenges, including pre-planning, building, and reflection. Some will be with blocks in class, but others will be with every day materials. We receive very limited money for class supplies, so I always put the call out to parents to see if anyone has any of the materials to give to the class. Please don't feel like you need to go out and buy everything. Anything is very much appreciated! If you are buying supplies, dollar store brands are just fine! Please send your donations to school before January 30th, as we will be starting this unit the next week.

If you have something to donate, please leave a comment in the comments section so we don't have 30 packages of spaghetti...

Here is our supplies list:

Long spaghetti
Large marshmallows (about 25)
Small marshmallows (lots!)
Plastic wrap
Aluminum foil
Toothpicks (lots!)
Wood skewers
Gumdrops (don't worry, we aren't eating them)
Red Solo cups
Large news paper
String
Masking tape
Drinking straws
Pretzel sticks

Update on this week

Before I forget, thank you for sending back all the forms asap. I know it's been a lot recently. I am sending back hot lunch forms as we are now away at bvm that day. If you still want to order, and have it saved for your child, please Send it back with a note indicating that is your choice. 

We have had another busy week! I am amazed at how much we have been able to get done since we came back in January! Here are some subject area updates:

Space: This is our last week studying space! We will finish up our book and then send copies home!

Next up is pioneers and then structures. Both are very fun units! Please keep an eye out here for some requests for help with these units. 

Finally, here is a fun picture from today...be sure to ask what it going on!

Dictée correction

Thanks Nancy for catching my Monday morning mistake! In the dictée, it should be utilisé. 

Dictée

Here is this week's dictée 

Research Project

What a busy wee we have had! They are really stepping up and working hard this term so far. We finished our pages for our space book, did lots of math, and refreshed our memories for our daily literacy activities. We had a wonderful hoop dance performance with an inspiring message of peace and connectivity. The performer was wonderfully engaging and the students really enjoyed! If you would like to learn more about the performer, his name is Teddy Anderson and his website can be found here. Students also have a small research project to finish this weekend.

For this project, students need to pick a constellation of their choice. Take a look at sites like this one that gives a list of constellations. Astronomy for Kids, Constellation Legends, as well as the Vancouver Space Centre's website can be useful places to find information.

Students need to write the following on a piece of paper or in their agenda in French. You can use google translate but it would a much more meaningful exercise if you have students translate what you read into simple French. Have them do as much as they can in French and then translate specific words, instead of translating whole sentences at a time.

The information that needs to be included is as follows:
- the name of the constellation
- a drawn picture of the constellation
- the names of significant stars in the constellation
- the mythology or story of the constellation. This can be the ancient European stories, or the First Nations stories. You may even be able to find both, and could compare your findings!
- any other interesting information

As always, let me know if you have any questions. This will be due on Tuesday, and we will be presenting our findings to others in the class!

Be sure to check below as I also did 2 other posts today! 

You may have seen in the agenda that students need to bring a labeled mug. We will be doing tea tasting in class with herbal teas. If you do not want your child to participate in this, please just let me know. Also, if you have a favourite herbal tea that you would like to contribute to our class stash of teas, please send it along! 

FYI

Dear division 1 families 

 

I just wanted to give you a heads up that I will be away from school from February 19th until March 1. There will be a TOC in for me that I will leave very detailed instructions for! They will know all our routines and expectations that are normally in place In the class!

 

I will be away at two different sporting events as a coach. I volunteer my time as a figure skating coach with Special Olympics Vancouver, working with athletes with intellectual disabilities. While I am away, I will be acting as Vancouver head coach at provincial games. I will then be going straight to Canada Games where I will be acting as provincial head coach for the Special Olympics skaters on Team BC. This is a very special opportunity since figure skating is the only sport that has a Special Olympic contingent in the games! 

 

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask me!

 

Mme Jessica 

Cursive

Yesterday, we started cursive writing. This will be one of our choices for daily literacy activities. As I told the students, as our society becomes more technology driven, they may not need to use handwriting for the rest of their lives, but it is still a very important thing to learn. There are so many benefits for brain development associated with cursive. The way I explained it is that it helps make lots of electrical connections in the brain. If you are interested in learning more, you can check out this article. You can find lots of practice pages to print out if your child wants to practice at home! Happy handwriting!

Welcome back!

Happy new year! I hope everyone has a restful and relaxing break! 

We had a great day today, and are easing back into school! Here are a few reminders/some new information that you should know. Pleaee take the time to read it over and let me know if you have any questions. 

Home reading

Don't forget to mark home reading in the agenda. We mark the title, and amount of time read in the agenda on the one page calendar. I look at this every day, so please remember to mark it down. 

Headphones

Some students have not yet brought their headphones in for the listening center. Please send a pair of inexpensive headphones in a labeled zip lock bag. 

Batons 

We have been keeping track of french spoken in class with 'batons'. Up until now, only I have been checking the numbers. It was a 'warm up semester'. Starting tomorrow, students will write the number of batons they have left in their agendas. This way, we can keep track, and you can see it too! Students will get a small prize for every baton they have at the end of the week. 

Dictée 

This week there is no dictée!

A quick note on term 2...

Term 1 was a lot of working on expectations, routines, and basic skills for grade 3. Term 2, while much shorter (there is only 9 weeks between now and spring break!), will be much more focused on content. I spoke to the students today about how we will be 'stepping it up' with math, socials, and science! They all looked keen and ready to learn!