November 29, 2018

Good Afternoon,

**Reminder tomorrow is our school "Spirit Day!" Here is our spirit cheer if you want to practice at home tonight:
"We got our pencil in our hands and we're ready to learn."
"If we had our way we would do gym all day."
"When we walk down the hall everyone shuts their door"
"Our brilliance is too bright - it makes them hit the floor!"
"Gooooooooo Haysboro!"

We started our day off with music, we are getting ready for the Winter concert.

We had a growth mindset discussion this morning. We learned what the words, "grit" and "perseverance" mean. We also chatted about what to do when we are struggling, as well as what not to do! Please ask me about this.

Ms. Russell read some more of "The Breadwinner" today and we discussed how different our lives are from Parvana's family.

In math we talked more about what "doubling" means and we worked on a problem of the day using doubling. This is the problem:

"Sam the squirrel found a basket of pine cones one morning. He decided that every day he would double the number of pine cones in the basket in the morning and eat 2 pine cones out of the basket in the afternoon. At the end of the third day, there were 34 pine cones in the basket. How many pine cones were in the basket when Sam the squirrel found it?"

In gym today we played volleyball with Mr. Falkners class!

In science we made our "Rocks and Minerals" title page for our unit. We also watched a short video about erosion and what water does to rock.

We finished our day off with a vote on which cheer we want and then we practiced it!

See you tomorrow,

Ms. Russell

Volunteer Reminders

Fun Snack Support -

We are in need of 2 volunteers on December 14 @ 10:45 - 11:15 to help distribute the ordered snacks.

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/70A0F4FA9AC2EA0F49-funlunch

NEW!! - Skate Shack

Dec 10 - 14th our children will be going outside and enjoying the outdoor rinks at the Community Centre.  We are in need of 3 volunteers per class to help with tying up skates, helmets and encouragement.  Please see the sign up genius link below for when each class will be attending this activity.  

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/70A0F4FA9AC2EA0F49-skate

Swimming Lesson Volunteers

Grades K - 3 are heading to Acadia pool for swimming lessons January 21st - 24th.  This activity needs approximately 6 volunteers per class.  3 of those volunteers need to be males!!  You can sign up for one class and watch your children swim or if you are willing sign up to spend the morning at the pool supporting all the classes.  Please check link below for when each class is going.

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/70A0F4FA9AC2EA0F49-swimming

Skiing Volunteers

Grades 4-6 are heading off to C.O.P to learn how to ski or snowboard January 28th - 30th.  We are in need of 2-3 volunteers per day to help with gear, attendance at lunch and supervision of kids needing a break.

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/70A0F4FA9AC2EA0F49-copskiing

November 28, 2018

Good Afternoon,

Ms. Russell introduced us to "Epic Books" today! The link is on her website and our classroom code is: iaz2361 if we want to access it from home. There are read-alouds, chapter books, listen to reading and quizzes we can take to practice our reading at home!

In daily 5 we worked on a new "problem of the day," explored "Epic Books" and wrote sentences using common sight words.

In gym Ms. Shirr taught us a new game called "Bumper Tag!" It was lots of fun and we loved it!

In math Ms. Russell read us a story called, "2x2=Boo!"  We talked about the different strategies we can use to solve multiplication questions. For example: doubling, fingers, mental math, facts that you know, and skip counting on a number line. We also played a fun multiplication team game!

Today we had science and we drew representations of our new vocabulary we have learned.

We are voting on our class spirit cheer tomorrow!

Have a great afternoon,

Ms. Russell

November 27, 2018

Good Afternoon,

This morning we did Daily 5. Students rotated through stations practicing reading comprehension, word work activities, and a new problem of the day!

We had music today! We are preparing for the Winter Concert next Wednesday December 5th at 7pm!

In math we did something new called "number of the day." We used the same number to answer different questions like expanded form, odd or even, place value, and rounding to the nearest 10 or 100. We also learned greater than > and less than <.

In gym Ms. Shirr taught us a new warm-up game called, "Sharks and Minnows!"

In social studies today we talked about some new vocabulary we have learned. We talked about what words such as: poverty, empower, impact, barrier, quality, and vulnerable mean and how they relate to children's rights around the world. After we watched a short video about a girl named Linda who lives in Malawi. Students were watching for whether or not they had access to basic human needs, a quality education, and if they were living in poverty.

We came up with some ideas for our class cheer for spirit day on Friday!

We finished our day with a "Calm Meditation."

Have a great evening,

Ms. Russell

November 26, 2018

Hello Everyone,

*We have a student teacher who has joined us for the next 3 weeks! Welcome Ms. Shirr! 

We started with a "Problem of the Day" today!
"Isabella likes to line up her shoes in her closet. She has 5 pairs of shoes in all. Her ballet slippers are between her sandals and hiking books. Her soccer cleats are between her ballet slippers and hiking boots, which are between her sneakers and soccer cleats. How does Isabella have her shoes lined up? Draw a picture and explain your reasoning."

Ms. Russell read us another chapter of "The Breadwinner" today. We discussed some aspects of Parvana's life that shocked us. Like the fact that she isn't allowed to go to school because she is a girl.

In math we spent more time on multiplication facts. We looked at patterns and strategies to help us solve some of the more difficult ones. For example: doubling, solving a fact you know and adding or subtracting to solve for the one you don't, counting by 2's, 3's, 5's, 10's and using our fingers.

In gym today we played "4 corners" and had a volleyball game.

We started a new read-aloud book today, "The Tale of Despereaux" by Kate Dicamillo.

In social studies we looked at the rights of children with regards to education. "Every child no matter gender, race, religion, family income or home's location has the right to a good education" yet over 124 million and counting children are not attending school around the world. Today we looked at some of the reasons for this and then wrote some questions we have in our journals.

We had library today too!

*Yearbook order forms came home today.

Have a great afternoon,

Ms. Russell

November 22, 2018

Happy "Thursday!"

**Reminder there is NO SCHOOL for students tomorrow!

This morning we had music. Please ask me what we did.

In science we wrote about our rocks and described the texture, color, shape, size and what type of rock it was.

We are working on a class cheer for our Spirit day next Friday! Feel free to write down some ideas you have this weekend and bring them Monday!

We got our math tests back and now we are starting multiplication!

Ms. Russell finished reading "The Hobbit" today! We will start a new read aloud book soon! Any suggestions kids?

For social studies we watched a short clip about the day in the life of an 8 year old girl in Bangladesh.

We had our French quiz today!

To finish off our day we did a calm meditation.

Have a great long weekend!

Ms. Russell

November 21, 2018

Hello Everyone,

We started "The Breadwinner" today.

We are continuing to grow our brains as we learn about growth mindset. Today we made neurons and learned how they work and send signals in our brain every time we learn something new.

In science we learned some new vocabulary about rocks and minerals. We learned: mineral, crystal, lustre, texture, and erosion.

Have a great evening,

Ms. Russell

November 20, 2018

Good Afternoon,

In gym today we played volleyball with the Grade 5/6's. - Ahmed

In math we had a test today on the things we have learned so far. - May

Today we had music, and in music we practiced our winter songs and we also played the xylophone for a game. - Selina

Today in science we watched Bill Nye the Science Guy. We learned some new vocabulary such as: sedimentary, igneous, lava, magma, and metamorphic. - Asyah

In "The Hobbit" the battle of the five armies has started. - Andre

Have a great afternoon,

Ms. Russell and Grade 3/4zzzzzzz

November 19, 2018

Hello Everyone,

*Reminder there is NO SCHOOL for students this Friday November 23rd.

This morning we did buddy reading and had our spelling test.

Ms. Russell introduced us to a site called "Literacy Shed" where there are videos and story starters to help us with writing. Today we watched a short video called, "Buster the Boxer." Then we wrote a short story about it.

In math we did review for our test this week!

In gym we practiced setting and bumping with a partner.

Today in social studies we watched a video of a little girl in India and what daily life looks like for her. Then we made comparisons with our own lives using a Venn diagram.

We started our "Rocks and Minerals" unit in Science today. Ms. Russell read us the story, "Everybody Needs a Rock" and then we went on a hunt for our own rock!

We had library today too!

Have a great afternoon,

Ms. Russell

November 16, 2018

Happy Friday!

Students have brought their yellow spelling duotangs home to study for the spelling quiz on Monday!

We wrote letters to Ms. Russell and responded to one she wrote to us.

In gym we played "Junkyard" and volleyball.

For social studies we did a Venn diagram comparing our daily lives with the daily life of a child from another country.

Ms. Russell gave us some free time on her webpage too!

Have a great weekend,

Ms. Russell

P.S Reminder:

The next School/Parent Council meeting is on November 19th at 7:00pm. Childcare will be available at no cost to parents (sponsored by Parent Council).Your children can enjoy games or a movie with our wonderful Haysboro babysitters.  All are welcome - we would love to see you there!

November 15, 2018

Hello Everyone,

We started our day off today with music. Please ask me what we did.

For writing today, Ms. Russell wrote us a "friendly letter" and we were asked to respond with a letter back.

In math we did review of place value, addition and subtraction with regrouping, and standard and expanded form. We will be having a test next week. Ms. Russell has assigned us work on "Mathletics" which we can do at home to practice.

We are nearing the end of "The Hobbit." For reading response today we answered some prediction questions.

In gym we are practicing our volleyball skills. We worked on setting, bumping and serving today.

Today in social studies we finished the story, "The Red Bicycle." We learned that another person used a bike to create an ambulance in a part of Africa that doesn't have cars. This way they were able to transport sick and injured people to the clinic. We also learned about organizations that we can donate used and no longer wanted bicycles to.

For science we worked on "Garage Band" and Ms. Russell introduced us to a band called "Stomp!" They make awesome music using household items and their bodies as instruments!

Have a great afternoon,

Ms. Russell

November 14, 2018

Hello Everyone,

*Reminder tomorrow is Fun Lunch.

We sang the numbers and days of the week in French. - Brody

In social studies we started a story called, "The Red Bicycle." - Annika

In gym we did curling and we were against each other on teams. - Cody

In science we worked on Garage Band. - Gabriel

In math we went over the work we did yesterday. - Jesse

For writing today we wrote a letter to someone of our choice. - Ahmed

Have a great afternoon,

Ms. Russell and Students

November 13, 2018

Good Afternoon,

On the iPads, we experimented with garage band and what you could do with it. It was really fun! - Elle

Today we practiced our winter concert song in music. - Selina

Today we had a quiz on the ear in science. - May

In gym we learned how to curl. - Ahmed

In math we continued learning about expanded form. - Elijah

Have a great afternoon,

Grade 3/4zzzzzzzzz

November 12, 2018

Hello Everyone,

**Fun lunch is this Thursday!

This morning we had a desk change.

We got new spelling words too. They are in our yellow duotang which we will bring home to practice mid-week.

In math we worked on some addition and subtraction assignments Ms. Russell gave us.

We did a final reading response for the story, "A Long Walk to Water." We talked about wonders we have, parts that made us happy, questions we have, and how Salva's story inspired us!

In gym we played "running chaser" and "4 corners soccer."

Ms. Russell read more of "The Hobbit" today.

In science we finished our Earth Ranger animal facts and reviewed what the different parts of the ear do. We will have a quiz on this tomorrow.

We had library today and got new books to read!

Have a great afternoon,

Ms. Russell

November 8, 2018

Hello Everyone,

*Reminder tomorrow is our Remembrance Day Assembly at 10:30am. Families are welcome to attend.

We started with music today. Please ask me what we did.

For writing we wrote acrostic poems about things that remind us of Remembrance Day.

In math Ms. Russell assigned us some work on Mathletics. We can work on this at home too!

We read more of "The Hobbit" and Smaug and Bilbo started chatting.

In gym we have started volleyball. Today we played some starter games using a beach ball to practice our serves and how to hit and pass.

In science we talked about the Earth Rangers presentation that was yesterday. We met four animals: A Porcupine, Harris Hawk, Crimson Toucanet, and a Caiman Lizard. Today we talked about where they live, what they eat, how they adapt, the impact of climate change on this species, and actions we can do to help.

We ended our day with a "Calm" meditation.

Have a great afternoon,

Ms. Russell

November 5, 2018

Good Afternoon,

**Earth Rangers Assembly this Wednesday afternoon from 1-2pm. Families welcome!

*Remembrance Day Assembly this Friday at 10:30am. Families welcome!

This morning we learned about Remembrance Day and why every year we remember. We also learned about animals that helped in the war. We also wrote postcards to Veterans thanking them for their service.

In math we talked about place value and expanded form. For example the number 967 in expanded form is written like this: 900+60+7.

In gym we had our last day of floor hockey. This month we will be learning about volleyball!

Ms. Russell read more of "The Hobbit" today. They have found the secret door into the Lonely Mountain!

In social studies we learned more about "A Day in the Life" of other children, and compared their lives with our own.

We had library today, if you haven't returned your books please do so!

**November Book Orders are due this Friday November 9th.

Have a great afternoon,

Ms. Russell

November 1, 2018

Hello Everyone,

In gym we played "floor hockey" and "running chaser." - May

We wrote the blog together today. - William

In music we played the xylophone and we sung "Mashed Potato." - Rouha

Today we wrote on the computers in Science, we are still learning about the ear. - Asyah

For math we did some addition and subtraction on "Mathletics." - Mackenzie

We finished our "Halloween poems" this morning. - Rouha

Have a great afternoon,

Ms. Russell