We Love to Read!

With the month of February just around the corner, we welcome in I Love To Read month and all the activities that go along with it. There will be an assembly in the gym Monday morning at 9 am, which all families are welcome to attend. I also hope to see most of you at the Family read In on February 4 from 6-7 p.m.

In Social Studies, we are currently learning about the 7 continents. Students have been listening to a song which provides facts about each continent, as well as using a special children's atlas to record facts about each continent.

In Science, we have continued to use magnets to explore how they work, as well as ways we use magnets in our every day lives.

In Math, we have continued to work on graphing and writing story problems. We have also really been working hard on some open-ended problem solving. This has proven to be very difficult for students, especially when it comes to showing and organizing their work, and clearly explaining their thinking. This will continue to be an area of focus throughout the year, as we attempt to integrate problem solving in to our daily routine and across subject areas.

DAYS TO REMEMBER...
assembly Monday
library book are due Tuesday
early dismissal Tuesday

Baby, it's cold outside!

It has been a cold week with lots of indoor recess. Students have lots of options for indoor recess such as the gym, cup stacking in the library, go noodle in the French room, walking club on the main floor, or visiting friends in other rooms.

This week we have begun writing story problems during our math and writing periods. All students are working on putting capitals in the correct place and writing in complete sentences. We have also continued to work on putting data on to a bar graph, and writing sentences about the information displayed.

In Social Studies we have continued to explore maps if the world, and are learning to identify the equator, North Pole, South Pole, Northern hemisphere and Southern Hemisphere.

Drawing our own maps during free time.

Creating owls in art using oil pastels and watercolour paints.

Pattern blocks continue to be a favourite activity for many!

Next week library has been cancelled due to some inservicing happening. Early dismissal on Tuesday.

Back to School

Welcome back, I hope everyone had a restful winter break, all the best for 2016! We have been busy starting new units and getting back into the swing of things. There were lots of tired faces to start the week, but it was wonderful to see everyone.

As the weather gets colder, please remember to have your child dressed appropriately for the weather. Ski pants and boots, scarf and hat, and water resistant mitts are what I hope everyone is wearing outside. Indoor recess occurs when it reaches -28, with or without the windchill, and it can be cold especially over the longer lunch recess.

We have started our new unit in Science...."Forces That Attract and Repel". We begin this unit looking at magnets, their uses and how they work. And of course, we have lots of fun playing and exploring with them!

We also wrote New Years resolutions this week, and did some peer editing with classmates.

In Math, we have started working on data management. Students are learning how to collect and organize data on to a bar graph, as well as write statements comparing and contrasting the information shown.

Next week, we will continue to focus on data management, and will begin writing our own story problems. We will also continue to work on problem solving and mental math.

In Social Studies, we have begun our unit "Exploring the World". We begin by looking at maps and globes and learning the names of the continents and oceans. We will then move on to comparing our lives to the lives of children in other parts of the world.