Week 8 Update

A Visit From Our Elder: Mr. Byrd
We were happy to have a visit from our elder, Mr. Byrd, first thing Monday morning. The students were very excited about the first snowfall and enjoyed listening to Mr. Byrd share several stories about mother nature.

Friendly Letters:
We have been learning how to write friendly letters this week. Each student has completed their own letter to a special friend or family member. Students took their letters home on Friday. I'm encouraging students, with help from their parents, to mail their letters this weekend. Hopefully some of the recipients will even write them back! 

Learning in Action!
Here's a sneak peak of some of our learning activities this week...

Push vs. pull sort using hula-hoop venn diagrams

Forces and Motion: Balloon Rocket Experiment

Each student came up with their own hypothesis, deciding which balloon (small, medium, or large) they think  would travel the farthest distance. Together, we discovered that the larger the balloon, the larger the force. The air from the balloon "pushes" the rocket along the string, spanning nearly the entire length of our classroom! 

Fun Friday: Math Games
This week we have been working with hundreds charts and learning about even/odd numbers. Here students are practicing these skills while playing "Connect 5".  Ask your child to teach you how to play!

Field Trip: 
We will be taking a field trip to the Science Centre on November 6th, 2013.  At the Science Centre we will take part in a workshop called "Everyday Forces", a 3D IMAX movie called Kenya: Animal Kingdom, and of course exploring the Science Centre! The total cost of the trip is $11.00 per student. This covers the cost of admission, the workshop, the IMAX movie, and transportation. Please send exact change to school with your child ASAP (Cash only please). 

*On Friday, I stapled a field trip permission form into your child's agenda. Please sign the permission slip when you sign your child's agenda.  I will collect the forms as I check the the agendas on Monday.

Halloween: 

In the morning, we will be joining the K-2 classrooms for some Halloween fun and games. After lunch we will attend the school's Halloween dance, followed by a special class party! There is a school pumpkin carving contest on this day, if you choose to participate. Please see the pumpkin carving contest note for more details.
 *Our class is allowed to wear their Halloween costumes in the afternoon. 

Mystery Reader: 

Our Mystery Reader this week was Peter's mom, Annabelle! Annabelle read "BOO!" by Robert Munsch while the students enjoyed some delicious Halloween themed cookies! 

Home Project Friendly Reminder:
If you took part in the home project, you can send your car to school once completed. The race will take place at the end of the month, as we wrap our unit on Motion and Relative Position.

Photo Retakes:
Reminder photo retakes are on Wednesday, October 30th.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Ms. Cameron

Week 7 Update

Breaking News: The Mystery Has Been Solved! 
Our Mystery Reader program is in full swing! Our little investigators have been very excited to hear the new Mystery Reader clue be revealed each morning. On Monday we welcomed our first Mystery Reader, Alyssa’s Grandma Darlene, who read “No Clean Clothes” by Robert Munsch.  On Friday we had a bonus Mystery Reader day, with two Mystery Reader guests, Myla's Grandma, Marina, and  Aidan’s mom, Amanda. Marina read "Swamp Water" by Robert Munsch and Amanda read "Pirates Don't Change Diapers!" by Melinda Long.  It’s so refreshing to have family and community members become part of our classroom on a weekly basis.

Check Out the Spelling Bees in Room 125! 
Since it is a short week, the students and I thought it would be best to write our spelling test on Monday, October 21^st, so they have the weekend to practice. I have introduced “Rainbow Writing” to our class, as a way for students to practice their spelling words at school or at home. The students roll a die, and use a key to determine what color of marker they will use to write out their spelling word. (Example: 1 = Red, 2 = Green, 3 = purple…) When you have written the word in all 6 colors, say the word aloud. Continue until you have written each spelling word in all of the colors.

*Supply Request*  Whiteboard Markers: I'm asking students to please bring their own whiteboard markers to school to use during Work on Writing and Word Work. Students have taken interest in practicing their writing on individual whiteboards, which I have supplied. However, there is not always enough white board markers available for everyone to practice this way at the same time. With cold and flu season among us, I believe it's in everyone's best interest to have their own set of white-board markers to use every day.

Parent Portal:
I have published all of your child’s assignment marks online, so you will be able to view them on Parent Portal, if you haven’t already done so. If you did not pick up your username and password from me already, you can stop by the office to pick up your log-in information. Otherwise, you will receive your parent portal information during the parent/teacher conference in November. Thank you for your patience in waiting for the information to be published for parent viewing.

Important Dates and Reminders:
Monday, October 21, 2013                            Spelling Test
Friday, October 25, 2013                               Green Day
Wednesday, October 30, 2013                       Photo Retakes

Week 6 Update

Exciting QSP Magazine Fundraiser News!
Our classroom has been going bananas over the QSP monkey prizes – as I’m sure you have heard plenty about! Friday morning was particularly exciting within our classroom, as Merrick won an iPad Mini after finding the sought after golden banana hidden inside of his monkey prize! What an awesome surprise! Congratulations Merrick!

Numbers to 100:

We are currently working on our second math unit: Numbers to 100. Students have also been working closely with number lines, while practicing how to skip count both forwards and backwards by 2’s, 5’s and 10’s.  I have introduced a new math game to students called “What’s My Number?” The game is great for building one’s number sense. It can be played at home, (or even in the car), and has become a quick favorite within our classroom. I pick a “secret number” from 1- 100 and students take turns asking “good questions” to determine the secret number.
“Good Questions” include:

• Is it even?
• Is it odd?
• Is it greater than ____
•  Is it less than _____
• Is it between _____ and _____?
• How many digits?
• Is there a __ in the tens place?
• Is there a ___ in the ones place?

This is a quick, easy and most importantly fun way to work with numbers at home! I encourage you to practice skip counting by 2’s, 5’s and 10’s both forwards and backwards and continue to practice basic math addition facts/strategies with your child.

New Theme & Optional Home Project:
We have started our new theme on Motion and Relative Position, this week focusing on positional words. Concepts such as “above, below, to the right, to the left, between, beside, in front, and behind” are all examples of positional words. I sent home an optional home project with your child titled “Building a Balloon Car”. This project is entirely optional. It is a possible idea for parents who are looking for a fun way to make learning connections between home and school. Students are encouraged to work together with their parents to build their own moving car, using objects that can be found at home. The car may be self-powered using a balloon, but it can also move by simply pushing it, or using our classroom ramp. If you and your child have your own idea that is different from the example – go for it! Students are encouraged to bring the car to school to share with the class.  We will race the cars that are brought to school, together as a class, once our unit is complete.

"A Little Birdie Told Me..." Art Project:

I wish it was possible to share everything we have been working on, as it is often hard to choose the highlights of our week! I do want to share some beautiful art which the students have been working on during our All About Me Theme that we have been calling “A Little Birdie Told Me…”  The students have been waiting to bust out their new pastels and I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to do so. After creating the background, our "little birdies" wrote personal compliments to each of their classmates. Students were encouraged to write a “feel good message” to their peers, highlighting their admirable qualities and talents that we have learned about over the past month. 

Speaking of art, we also created some Thanksgiving paintings this week. Not only did we get to paint our hands, but we also used Q-tips as our paint brush to create the leaves within our fall scene. Students also had the chance to reflect and record 6 things they were grateful for this Thanksgiving season. 

Important dates and Reminders:
Monday, October 14^th: No School – Thanksgiving
Thursday, October 17^th: QSP Collection Day
Thursday, October 17th: Food Drive Away Hunger Pick Up
Friday, October, 18^th: Green Day  (Go Riders!)

Wednesday, October 30th: Photo Retake Day

I'm thankful for the opportunity to work with amazing students and families every single day!

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving Weekend!
Ms. Cameron

Week 5 Update

Jack MacKenzie's 86th Birthday
This week was a very special week here at Jack MacKenzie School. Wednesday, October 2^nd was Mr. MacKenzie’s 86^th birthday! Each class came up with a birthday wish for Mr. Mackenzie and attached the wish to a helium balloon. Student representatives presented their decorated class balloon to Mr. MacKenzie during our birthday celebration assembly on Wednesday afternoon. Alyssa presented the balloon to Mr. MacKenzie and our entire class wished him a happy birthday by singing him a birthday song. Of course, no birthday is complete without cake! Happy Birthday Mr. MacKenzie!

So Long September! Hello October!
We are currently wrapping up our September units, including our All About Me writing and our Math unit on patterning. We have been working on creating, extending and describing increasing patterns.

Reading Links:
Please check out the new page I have added to our blog called “Reading Links”. The “Reading Links” tab can be found along the top toolbar, next to the “home” page. We have been using an online program called Tumble-books during the listen to reading component of the daily 5. Students are familiar with entering the username/password and can use this link to access tumble-books at home!

I have also added the link to Raz-Kids. Raz-Kids is also an online site containing e-books for children and is a great way to motivate your child to read at home. What makes Raz-Kids so special is that every student has their own account which is personalized to their own reading level. Students are often excited about an additional feature on Raz Kids called “The Raz Rocket”. Students can access the Raz Rocket and buy items, using their earned stars (points), to personalize their rocket. We will be using Raz Kids during The Daily 5; however this is a great way to add some extra excitement to your home reading routine. Students wrote the “username” in their agenda so they can access the site from home.

QSP Magazine Fundraiser:It's that time of year again! Today was our annual QSP assembly and students were given the information package to take home. The collection days are as follows:
Monday, October 7th
Friday, October 11th
Tuesday, October 15th
Friday, October 18th

Reminders & Important Dates:
Friday, October 4^th: No School
Monday, October 7^th: This week’s spelling test
Monday, October 7th: The first QSP Collection Day
Thursday, October 10^th: School Picture Orders are Due

Thursday October 10th: QSP Collection Day
Friday, October 11^th: October Book Orders are Due
Monday, October 14th: No School - Thanksgiving
Thursday, October 17th: QSP Collection Day