Week of Dec. 18-22, 2017

This is our final week before the holiday.  We are going to be very busy this week, and it will still be a week filled with learning curriculum.  As kids get more and more excited for the holidays, it becomes very important to maintain routine. 

Notes:

• The order form for free hot lunch in January went home.  It isn't due back until mid-January, but we recommend getting it back before the break so it doesn't get lost!
• This week is a full week of school.  We will let out for the holidays on Friday at 11:45 a.m.  School resumes on Monday, January 8, 2018.

Curriculum:

• Math: We will explore multiplying numbers by 0, 1, 10 and 100 this week.  You can help at home by practicing these new skills.  Subtraction Mad Minutes are still ongoing.
• L.A:
• Spelling: Because there is only one week before the break, we will not hand out new words until January.
• Writing: Our special project is almost complete.
• Science: This week we are going to finish learning about pulleys.  There will be a quick quiz on pulleys on Monday.
• Social: Before we leave for the break, we are going to finish our journey through the Parkland Region by learning more about natural resources and communities and we will complete a Heritage booklet.  You can help at home by talking about your family's heritage including communities you belong to, languages your family speaks, celebrations you take part in, special foods, family heirlooms, crafts and/or skills that have been passed down, and family stories.

This Week's Schedule:
Monday:

• Samayoa and Rahim library books due
• Choir trip to City Hall

Tuesday:

• Nelson library books due
• Holiday lunch for the whole school (see December newsletter)

Wednesday:

• Caroling in the gym 8:45 a.m.
• Trip to Wilson Middle School for French presentation

Thursday:

• Energy Day Assembly 12:45 p.m.

Friday:

• Last day of school for 2017! 

French Song

Next week we have been invited to visit Wilson Middle School for a French presentation (note with details coming soon!).  They have asked us to sing for them in return and we have chosen to learn "Vive le vent."  Here is the link to a YouTube video of the whole song for kids to practice.  We will be singing just the chorus (words below). 

Vive le vent, vive le vent,
Vive le vent d'hiver,
Qui s'en va sifflant, soufflant
Dans les grands sapins verts, oh!
Vive le temps, vive le temps,
Vive le temps d'hiver,
Boules de neige et Jour de l'An
Et Bonne Année grand-mère!

Here is a link to a page that has the translation to the whole song if you're interested.

Week of Dec. 11-15, 2017

We would like to thank Miss Auer, Miss Shepherd and Miss Barnowski for the time and energy they have dedicated to our classrooms.  This is their last week with us and we wish them all the best in their future endeavours. 

Notes:

• There are lots of opportunities to give going on at our school right now!  If you are able to, we would happily accept your donations but please do not feel pressured to donate to any of them. 
• Bryan in Mrs. Samayoa's class is collecting dark coloured dress shoes for students in the Dominican Republic who need to have them as part of their uniform.
• The class change drives will continue until the last week of school - watch for a note in the agenda for the last day.
• The school is participating in the Sock It To 'Em campaign to collect brand new socks for people in need.

Curriculum:

• Math: We are going to have some fun with multiplication this week.  We will start slow with some skip counting songs and games.  You can help at home by asking your child to sing the songs they learned to help them skip count (warning: they WILL get stuck in your head!).
• L.A.
• Spelling: We will continue with Lesson 6 which is a review of Lessons 1-5.
• Writing: Doing some cool stuff that we can't talk about!
• Science: This week we will transfer our knowledge of wheels to another simple machine: pulleys!
• Social: In the Parkland Region, we get to find out about the animals of the region, and learn a lot about our capital city, Edmonton.  We will finish out the week learning about the natural resources in the area.

This Week's Schedule:
Monday:

• Samayoa and Rahim library books due
• Friday Letters due

Tuesday:

• Nelson library books due
• Tone It Up Tuesday

Thursday:

• Choir 3:30-4:30

Friday:

• Frolicking Friday
• Student teachers' last day

Week of Dec. 4-8, 2017

Wow!  What an amazing concert this weekend!  We were so impressed with all of the students' performances.  This week will be much quieter now that the concert is over.

Notes:

• Last week a letter went home about a change drive that each class has started.  To add to that, each teacher will match donations brought in by students up to $25 AND Ms. Scheldrup has told us that the school will also match up to $25 for each class!!
• The Booster Juice fundraiser ends this week.  Please return all forms by Wednesday, December 6th. 

Curriculum:

• Math: This week we will finish our symmetry unit not with a test but with an art project!
• L.A.
• Spelling: Lesson 6 is a review of the first 5 lessons.  There will be no dictation for this unit.
• Writing: Our special project continues.
• Science: There is more to be learned about wheels and axles!  We are going to discover how the axle and wheel don't work the exact same way. 
• Social: Our journey into the Parkland region has begun and we will learn about the landforms, bodies of water and vegetation in the region.

This Week's Schedule:
Monday:

• Samayoa and Rahim library books due

Tuesday:

• Nelson library books due

Wednesday:

• Booster Juice fundraising forms due

Thursday:

• Choir 3:30-4:30

Friday:

• Frolicking Friday

Week of Nov. 27 - Dec. 1, 2017

Thank you very much to everyone who came for interviews!  Great conversations were had and it's great to have the home-school connection and support.

Notes:

• It is Christmas concert week!  The dress rehearsal will be at the school on Thursday at the school and the concert is Saturday at Park Meadows Baptist Church.  See below for times.  For the concert, students are to dress in their holiday best.
• The Book Fair is still running this week for any last purchases that students would like to make.
• If you haven't already, please return your child's signed report card envelope as soon as possible.

Curriculum:

• Math: There will be a quiz on Monday for the time unit and then we will begin our symmetry unit.  You can help at home by continuing to ask your child what time it is throughout the year and getting them to read it on an analog clock.  You can help with symmetry by looking around your home for objects that are symmetrical.
• L.A.
• Spelling: Lesson 5 continued.  Due to concert practice there will be no dictation this week.  Time permitting, classes will play games with their words in their own classes.
• Writing: This week will be the last week for the peace poems and then we will begin a special project for December.
• Science: We get to start learning about wheels and axles this week.  First by comparing them to rollers and then looking at them on their own.
• Social: There will be a test on Tuesday for the Foothills Region and then we will travel to the Parkland Region

This Week's Schedule:
Monday:

• No library for Samayoa and Rahim - a visit to the Book Fair will happen instead.  Students will be able to sneak down to the library on a different day for exchange.

Tuesday:

• Hot lunch if you ordered it
• Nelson library books due
• Family Fun Night in the gym 6:00-7:15

Wednesday:

• Energy Day Assembly 12:30 p.m.

Thursday:

• Dress Rehearsal A-K 9:00 a.m.
• Dress Rehearsal L-Z 12:45 p.m.
• Choir 3:30 p.m.

Friday:

• Frolicking Friday
• No Enrichment

Saturday:

• Christmas Concert A-K 1:00 p.m. (students arrive at 12:30)
• Christmas Concert L-Z 3:30 (students arrive at 3:00)

Week of Nov. 20-24, 2017

Notes:

• Please sign up for parent/teacher interviews!  The link is here on the blog to the right.
• Library exchange is changing!  Students will be able to exchange books early if they have finished them before regular library day.  If a student's work is finished and we are not in the middle of a lesson, there are times where Mrs. Chase is available to do quick book exchanges.
• If you haven't already done so and would like to, please return the permission form for going outside when it's indoor recess.  We had one last week and the kids who were able to go out had a great time!

Curriculum:

• Math: Oops on last week's post!  We did not do patterns but time last week!  The students were learning about how to read calendar dates in metric notation (e.g. 20/11/17) and that there are three ways to do it: day/month/year; year/month/day and month/day/year.  We also started exploring telling time on analog clocks using vocabulary such as quarter after/to, half past, etc. and telling time to the five minute mark (e.g. 3:05 or five after three).  This week we will learn elapsed time (how much time has passed), time to the minute and 24-hour time.  We need your help at home!  Please practice telling time on an analog clock with your child.  With so many digital clocks - alarm clocks, stoves, microwaves, cell phones, etc. kids find this a hard concept to pick up.  On the Math Review page there are some links to games to play to practice.
• L.A.
• Spelling: Lesson 5 starts today, look for the practice words coming home.
• Writing: This week we will start putting the writing responses we've done into a poem.
• Science: In science we will explore using rollers to move objects.
• Social: We have a little bit more traveling in the Foothills Region to do.  We are going to discuss our connections to nature and how to save trees by saving paper and then next week there will be a quiz.  See the "Social Review" page for a study guide.

This Week's Schedule:
Monday:

• Friday Letters due
• Samayoa and Rahim library books due

Tuesday:

• Storytellers will be visiting from the Lethbridge Public Library

Wednesday:

• Picture retake money due
• After school skate 3:45 p.m. Adam's Ice Arena

Thursday:

• Book fair begins
• Early dismissal for students 11:45 a.m.
• No school in the afternoon for students - parent/teacher interviews

Friday:

• No school for students - parent/teacher interviews

Week of Nov. 13-17, 2017

What a beautiful sunny day!  How nice to be able to really enjoy the outdoors.

Notes:

• Welcome to our three student teachers from the University of Lethbridge!  Miss Auer will be in Mrs. Samayoa's class, Miss Shepherd in Mrs. Nelson's class and Miss Barnowski in Ms. Rahim's class.
• Lots of items are being left behind at school on the shelves, hooks and floors.  Please encourage your children to pick up after themselves while at school.  

Curriculum:

• Math: Keep practicing those basic facts!  Our official unit on adding and subtracting may be finished but the skills are still required for many other areas of math.  We are going to be starting another mini unit on patterns this week.
• L.A.
• Spelling: Practice those Lesson 4 words!  Our dictation assessment will be on Thursday.
• Writing: We continue to write personal responses to different topics related to "peace."  These will all come together in a found poem.
• Science: In our Wheels and Levers unit we are going to learn about force and work.
• Social: This week we will discover more about the Foothills Region, particularly connections to nature and the natural resources in the area.

This Week's Schedule:

Monday:

• Samayoa and Rahim library books due

Tuesday:

• Nelson library books due
• School Council meeting 6:30 p.m.
• Hot lunch orders due online by 10:00 p.m.

Wednesday:

• Rock Your Mocs Day
• After school skating 3:45 p.m. at Adam's Ice Arena

Thursday:

• Alberta Opera presentation, "Jack and the Beanstalk" 9:30 a.m.

Friday:

• Frolicking Friday
• Report cards go home

Week of Nov. 5-10, 2017

Winter has arrived!  Check in with the Helen Schuler Nature Centre to get some great ideas for getting outside in the snowy weather.

Notes:

• Everyone is welcome at our Remembrance Day assembly on Wednesday at 10:30 a.m.
• Thursday is a professional learning day for teachers - no school for students.
• Friday is a holiday for Remembrance Day.

Curriculum:

• Math: We are working on solving addition and subtraction word problems this week and will have a quick assessment to see how students are doing with their adding and subtracting 3- and 4-digit numbers.  Please keep up the basic adding and subtracting practice at home!  We've learned some fun games at school that are great to play as a family.  Some students need practice doing adding and subtracting with regrouping (i.e. carrying and borrowing).
• L.A.
• We are going to write personal response pieces this week to do with peace that will eventually be turned into a poem.
• Science: Our new unit, Wheels and Levers, starts today!
• Social: In the Foothills region, we will finish off with climate and move on to vegetation and animal life.

This Week's Schedule:
Monday:

• Friday Letters due
• Samayoa and Rahim library books due

Tuesday:

• Nelson library books due

Wednesday:

• Remembrance Day assembly 10:30 a.m. in the gym
• After school skate 3:45

Thursday:

• District Learning Day - no school for students

Friday:

• Remembrance Day holiday - no school

Week of Oct. 30 - Nov. 3, 2017

Notes:

• For Halloween on Tuesday, students are welcome to wear their costumes all day if they would like.  There will be a regular working morning followed by a Halloween parade in the afternoon and the grade 4 teachers and HR team will be leading centres.  Many students have asked about Tone It Up Tuesday and we will have a dance party

Curriculum:

• Math: We have moved on to subtraction.  We started with estimating differences today and will play some subtraction games for the rest of the week to build our skills.  You can help at home by making sure your child knows how to round to the nearest hundred or thousand, and practice basic subtraction facts.  We also switched to subtraction Mad Minutes this week.
• L.A.
• Spelling: Lesson 3 this week with a dictation assessment on Thursday.
• Writing: We are writing suspenseful paragraphs and will move on to the beginning of a "found poem" unit.
• Science: The unit test was today.  The new unit will start next week.
• Social: In the Foothills region, we will be traveling to learn about the landforms of the region, the Brazeau Dam and the climate of the Foothills.

This Week's Schedule:
Monday:

• Friday Letters due
• Samayoa and Rahim library books due

Tuesday:

• Nelson library books due
• Halloween!

Wednesday:

• After School Skate at Adams 3:45 p.m. - all students must come with an adult and all participants must wear a helmet

Friday:

• Frolicking Friday

Week of Oct. 23-27, 2017

Notes:

• If you are interested in ordering Sigmund Brouwer books, Mrs. Chase is putting the order in on Friday.  There are order forms in the learning commons if your child would like to pick one up.  His website is sigmundbrouwer.com if you'd like more details.
• Feed the Bug is still going on.  

Curriculum:

• Math: We're taking a break from patterns (but they never really go away!) and are moving on to adding and subtracting.  Students in grade 4 need to know how to add up to 10 000 so we will be looking at how to add 3- and 4-digit numbers this week.  You can help at home by practicing basic adding facts with your child.  We find that if students are struggling with the basics, it's difficult to add larger numbers together.  
• L.A.
• Spelling: Lesson 3 starts this week.  You can help at home by making sure your child has cut out the sort and is practicing sorting the words according to the key features (see answer key in agenda).  
• Writing: Our suspense unit is underway and we're having a lot of fun with "messing with people's feelings" like Sigmund Brouwer told us to do.
• Science: This week we are wrapping up the unit "Lights and Shadows" with a close look at different types of lenses.  We are going to do some review in class, and the unit test will be on Monday, Oct. 30.  We know it's not ideal to have a test on a Monday but it's better than Halloween, and certainly better than the day after!  Check out the "Science Review" page here on the blog.
• Social:  Our journey through the Rocky Mountains is coming to an end.  We will learn about the national parks system and the animal life of the Rockies followed by an open book "Show What You Know."  A "Social Review" page will also be added to the blog.

This Week's Schedule:

Monday:

• Samayoa and Rahim library books due
• Family Fun Night 6:00 - 7:00 p.m. - all students must come with an adult

Tuesday:

• Nelson library books due
• Tone It Up Tuesday

Friday:

• Sigmund Brouwer book orders due
• Frolicking Friday

Week of Oct. 16-20, 2017

SORRY!!!!!!!!!  The blog was written on Monday, but you need to hit "Publish"!  Apologies for people who've been waiting for this.

For anyone who went to the Foreigner concert on Sunday, it was so amazing to see our Galbraith kids up there singing their hearts out.  We are so fortunate to have someone like Mrs. Garlock who is so talented and loves to share her passion for music.  If you missed it, CJOC has a video up on their Facebook page.

Notes:

• Teachers have learning days on Thursday afternoon and Friday morning which means no school for students.  This coincides with parent/teacher interviews at higher levels.
• If you are wanting to have free hot lunch, please send in your form by tomorrow (Oct. 17).
• Feed the Bug is ongoing.  Thank you to those of you who have already donated non-perishable food items!
• If you are ordering school pictures, money is due in school or online by Wednesday (Oct. 18).
• A couple of things that your child can work on at home is www.typingclub.com; www.splashmath.com; and www.raz-kids.com.  All three provide great practice and reinforcement of what we are doing in the class. 

Curriculum:

• Math: Our work with patterns continues in our review unit.
• L.A.
• Spelling: Spelling will resume next week.  Instead we will continue working on editing.
• Writing: We are starting a suspense unit.  You can help at home by having your child tell you a story.  Does it stay on topic?  Do they tell you details?  Does it have a beginning, middle and end?  As we progress through the unit, does it build suspense?
• Science:
• Social:

This Week's Schedule:
Monday:

• Samayoa and Rahim library books due
• Friday letters due

Tuesday:

• Hot lunch forms due
• Nelson library books due

Wednesday:

• Picture money due

Thursday:

• No school in P.M. for students

Friday:

• No school for students

Week of Oct. 9-13, 2017

This is a quick week and boy are we packing a lot in!

Notes:

• Mrs. Samayoa's and Ms. Rahim's classes will not have library this week.
• Our author visit is this week!  We hope you will join us on Thursday for the Rock and Roll Literacy family evening with Sigmund Brouwer from 6:30-7:30 p.m.
• Next week is another short week due to middle school parent/teacher interviews and elementary school teachers' professional learning.  Students will be dismissed at 11:45 a.m. on Thursday the 19th and will have no school on Friday the 20th.

Curriculum:

• Math: Our first patterns unit starts this week.  You can help at home by having your child hunt around for patterns.
• L.A.
• Writing: Our main focus is our author visit this week, but we will also do some work with editing.
• Spelling: Due to the short week, we will take a brief hiatus from spelling until we can get back into proper rotation.  It doesn't hurt to take this as a time to review the first two lessons at home.
• Science: This week we only have one science period but we will make the most of it by learning about shadows!  You can help at home by exploring with your child how shadows move depending on where the light source is.
• Social: Our trip through the Rockies will have us discovering the vegetation, animal life and natural resources of this beautiful region.  You can help at home by asking your child questions about the Rocky Mountain Region related to these topics (e.g. "What kind of plants grow in the Rocky Mountain Region?")

This Week's Schedule:
Monday:

• Happy Thanksgiving!

Tuesday:

• Teachers busy learning about literacy

Wednesday:

• Nelson library

Thursday:

• Author visit - we will meet twice with Sigmund Brouwer during the day
• Rock and Roll Family Literacy event 6:30 p.m.

Friday:

• Frolicking Friday

Week of Oct. 2-6, 2017

Our first month is under our belt and we really feel like grade 4's now!  A lot of hard work has been done and many routines established.  What a group of troopers!

Notes:

• Thank you to all who contributed treats for our "Unbirthday" party.  We had a great time!
• Thanks to all who donated "Toonies for Terry!"
• We are starting the annual "Feed the Bug" campaign.  We will have a box in our room if you would like to donate a non-perishable food item.
• If your child would like to participate in the FREE hot lunch, please fill out the little orange

Curriculum:

• Math: The unit test for graphing will take place on Tuesday.  You can help at home by going over the study guide with your child (if you need a copy, see the "Math Review" tab).  On Thursday, we will begin our first patterns unit.
• https://www.mathsisfun.com/data/bar-graphs.html
• http://www.softschools.com/math/data_analysis/pictograph/
• L.A.
• Spelling: Lesson 2 continues and our dictation assessment is on Thursday.  You can help at home by asking your child to sort their words and practice them.  If you would like to give a practice test, make up some sentences that include the list words and have your child write down the whole sentence.  How did they do?  Did they get all the words in the sentence right?  Did they start each sentence with a capital?  Did they end each sentence with the correct punctuation? 
• Writing: Our Small Moments stories have been published and we have a good idea now of where our students are at with their writing.  This is a good skill and you can help at home by having your child tell you a story about one moment.  Did they stay on topic?  Did they include interesting details?  Did they vary their sentences?  Did they have a clear beginning, middle and end?
• Science: This week we will look a little bit more at the subject of the reflection of light and then how we can bend or refract light.  You can explore these concepts at home by looking at objects in water and finding things that reflect light.
• Social: Our journey through the Rockies is underway.  We will explore how the mountains were formed, what it's like on a glacier, and how the Rockies are responsible for many of Alberta's rivers.

This Week's Schedule:
Monday:

• Rahim and Samayoa library books due
• Friday Letters due (Thanks to parents for writing back to their kids!  This is great modeling!)

Tuesday:

• Nelson library books due
• Tone It Up Tuesday - our first Indy 500!
• Math test (graphing)

Friday:

• Enrichment begins (this week, not last week!)
• Frolicking Friday

Week of Sept. 25-29, 2017

Curriculum:

• Math: This week we will continue to look at pictographs and bar graphs.  Students need to be able to create, interpret and compare each of these graphs.
• LA
• Spelling: New sorts, Lesson 2, will come home today.
• Writing: This week we will draft, edit and publish a small moments story.
• Science: We are looking at how light travels, and what the words transparent, translucent and opaque mean.
• Social: We get to board a train and begin our imaginary journey through this great province of ours.  First stop: the Rocky Mountain Region!

This Week's Schedule:
Monday:

• Rahim and Samayoa library books due
• Friday Letters due

Tuesday:

• Nelson library books due
• Bus evacuation practice
• Tone It Up Tuesday
• Hot lunch
• Energy Day assembly 12:45
• Family Fun Night 6:00-7:15 p.m. in the gym - students must be accompanied by an adult

Thursday:

• Terry Fox run
• Whole class birthday party

Friday:

• Orange Shirt Day
• Enrichment begins
• Frolicking Friday

Week of Sept. 18-22, 2017

The weather has certainly cooled off from a couple of weeks ago, so please make sure kids are dressed for the weather.  Layers are a great way to dress in this fall season.  It's still important to bring a water bottle to class to stay hydrated and help our brains learn.

Notes:

• We are collecting Toonies for Terry for our Terry Fox run

Curriculum:

• Math: We will finish working with whole numbers on Monday and have a quiz on Tuesday.  Students need to be able to read, write and represent 4- and 5- digit numbers in word form, expanded form, base 10 blocks and standard form.  On Wednesday we will begin our graphing unit.
• L.A.
• Writing: Our small moments unit is underway.  We will continue working on our stories this week using descriptive writing.
• Spelling: Week 1 will continue this week and will end with a dictation assessment on Thursday.
• Science: We will learn about reflectors and sources of light.  You can help at home by discussing items in your home and classifying them as sources or reflectors.  We will also look at good and poor reflectors and the angle at which light is reflected off of a mirror.
• Social: We will take a virtual trip to the Royal Tyrell Museum, put on our paleontologist hats and finish up with Alberta's beginnings by the end of the week.

This Week's Schedule:
Monday:

• Samayoa library books due
• Rahim library books due
• Friday Letters due

Tuesday:

• Tone It Up Tuesday - be sure to have a water bottle and dress to get sweaty!
• Nelson library books due
• Math Whole Numbers quiz

Friday:

• Frolicking Friday - dress to walk/run outside

Week of Sept. 4-8, 2017

What a great start to grade 4!  It's going to be an amazing year!  If you're reading this it's probably because your child showed you their agenda - well done! 

Notes:

• Your child went home with two letters today: one about how to communicate with us and one about our Classroom Economy.  Please read carefully and let your child's teacher know if you have any questions.

Curriculum:

• We will be jumping right into curriculum this week - no time to waste!
• Math: We will first explore whole numbers and numbers that are important to your child.  You can help at home by making sure your child knows important numbers like their phone number, address and postal code.
• Language Arts: Each class has started a read-aloud novel.  Ask your child what his/her class is reading.  We will begin with some initial testing this week as well.
• Science: Our first unit will be the scientific method and learning how to be good scientists.
• Social: We will first start by exploring our textbook and learning some important terms.

This Week's Schedule:
Monday:

• Labour Day

Tuesday:

• First day of school!

Friday:

• Welcome Back Assembly 9:00 a.m. - parents welcome
• First Frolicking Friday - dress to walk/run outside

Welcome!

Welcome to our brand new blog!  The Grade 4 Team has joined together to create this site to help you navigate the year.  Please explore this work in progress and make yourself at home!  We will use this site to share our goings on with you.  Check weekly to get all the latest updates!