Week #6: Oct. 11th - 14th

Dear Families,

First off, I would like to say thank you to all the students and their parents for taking the time to visit my Classroom Blog each week!  It is an opportunity for you to SEE, LEARN, and CELEBRATE what's happening in our Learning Community each and every week.  

As you can see from all my posts I've shared thus far this school year, there's a lot of meaningful teaching, learning and growing :-)  I strongly believe the blog is an important and valuable tool for us to connect weekly.

I want you all to know, I feel deeply connected with each of you as I can see, hear, and feel your support through your child's daily thoughts, words, and actions at school.  Thank you for this!! 

I look forward to connecting with you face-toface again for the student-led conferences in November.  I will work hard to ensure it's engaging, interactive and special for us all :)  Stay tuned!

THANKFUL STONE SHARING:

It was wonderful to hear about all the heart warming thankful stone sharing families did over the Thanksgiving long weekend.  It brought happiness to my heart!  

Thank you for embracing and carrying on my teachings from school to your homes, it means a lot to me.  There is always something to be thankful for and I am thankful for each and every one of YOU!  

GOOGLE CLASSROOM:

Your child is now set up and part of our Google Classroom for 2022/2023 school year.  Perhaps he or she has shared this with you already, which is great!  If not, now's the time to ask about this and check it out over the weekend please :)

We are using this tool in class (see photos below), and now, I encourage students to also access it at home to work on assigned online tasks.  Currently, everyone is working on an Autobiography Assignment which is due  Oct. 24th.  

Please set aside some time over the weekend for your child to work on it for 20 minutes Sat. and 20 minutes Sun.  I would appreciate this :)

Students must use their google drive account to sign in.  Example -  User:  pare0322@scdsb.on.ca  Password:  kids know their passwords

MATH:

This week's math focus has been on Representing Whole Numbers and solving "The Money Problem."  See photos below.  

Students completed a guided task with me today and will work towards the independent task next week :)

I am so proud of my students putting forth their personal best on these math problems with a positive math mindset!  It is important for me that I provide guided lessons so students break down the problem into steps using the 4-Block Method (Understand, Plan, Solve, Explain). 

The image below is an example of what I'm looking for in completed math tasks.  How we organize our mathematical thinking is crucial to ensure all our steps are included for a level 3 to 4 answer.  

There is not one way to do it, I keep this fairly open ended and allow students to figure out how they'd like to approach the problem on a blank page.  All I request is that it is legible and uses P, N, W!

As the school year progresses, there will be a gradual release in which students will be asked to work through math problems more independently to show what they know and have learned :)  I am optimistic they will do great!!  As parents, I value all the support you're providing at home too through the math practice that comes home weekly (Tuesdays).

MATH ASSESSMENT:

On Wed. Oct. 19th, students will have a math assessment which will focus on 'Representing Numbers' in a variety of ways.  

For several weeks, we've worked on this in class and also with our extra math practice homework so I am confident, students will be well prepared.

In class, we have talked about how I am only looking for students to put in their personal best.  I am NEVER looking for perfect.  

An assessment aka test - is an opportunity to celebrate my students STARS - their strengths and ARROWS - areas to improve upon.  This IS and WILL CONTINUE to be the focus :)

I do not want to cause any stress, worry, or anxiety for my students.  I promise to be there for your child every step of the way to ensure they feel safe, supported, and loved in all learning situations :)

ROUNDING VIDEO:

An expectation for grade 3 is rounding up to four-digit numbers to the nearest ten and hundred. This can be a tricky concept so I have posted the video below for you and your child to check out.

Please take some time to assist in practising this lesson and pause the video at specific parts to try out the questions :)

Please note, we did this in class earlier this week so this is just a reinforcement to help consolidate this learning. Many thanks in advance for your support.

LANGUAGE:

Students have been working on writing Recounts - retelling an event in sequence.  This week, we wrote about our Thanksgiving weekend.  I have been enjoying reading their entries so far!  In the coming days, I will provide a detailed rubric (scoring guide) and written feedback for this piece of work so you too can celebrate your child's achievement (strengths & areas to improve). 

Before we began writing, I did a mini-lesson on how good writers add detail to their writing by using adjectives to describe nouns.  As a reader, it is important to be able to visualize (create mental pictures) as you read and an effective writer helps the reader do this through their word choice in their writing.  

It is wonderful to see students try their best every time they write.  To further assist in getting our ideas flowing, we ensure that we take time to collaborate with our THINK, PAIR, SHARE partners to help inspire our writing!  Check us out below :-)

At this point in our school year, many require reminders to slow down as they write and proof-read their work carefully by asking themselves:  Does it look right?  Does it sound right?  Does it make sense?, and utilizing an editing checklist to make necessary changes.  This will be a continued goal for us throughout term 1.  With PRACTICE COMES PROGRESSION :)  

WHAT IS FEEDBACK?

In class, we are learning about the importance of feedback.  As a teacher, it is very important to me to provide students with timely and ongoing feedback to continually help them improve their achievements in various subject areas.

Throughout the year when writing pieces come home, you will notice my feedback where I take the time to recognize your child's STARS (strengths) - "what they did well" and ARROWS (next step) - "what they can improve upon next time."  Thank you in advance for taking the time to read and celebrate your child's progress in writing and math thus far! 

The next goal for students will be to learn how to self-assess their own work.  This will be a very valuable tool because if we can acknowledge and recognize our own strengths and needs, we are more likely to make the necessary changes in our work to effectively BUILD OUR SKILLS!

BOOK EXCHANGE:

Mrs. Johnson and I have now set up our weekly book exchange day and time.  It will take place on DAY 1's at 12:30 - 12:55PM.  Please ensure your child brings his or her book back from home for renewal or signing out a new text :)

The kids really enjoy their time in the library as it gives them the opportunity to BUDDY READ which they love to do!!  Reading is thinking and what better way than to collaborate with a bestie :)

Check us out below as we snuggled up and read with a friend(s)!

YOGA FOR KIDS:

Exciting news!  Now that we're able to host extra-curricular activities in the school, Mrs. Mortimer has kindly set up a weekly YOGA FOR KIDS SESSIONS!  Yes, that's right!

Every gym class, I teach a new yoga pose.  Has your child shared this with you yet?  If not, ask them about this :)  To me, yoga is a very important mindfulness activity and I will list all the reasons why below!  

Yoga has been shown to improve both physical and mental health in school-age children (ages 6 to 12). Yoga improves balance, strength, endurance, and aerobic capacity in children. It also offers psychological benefits for kids as well.

7 Benefits of Yoga for Young Kids

• Yoga helps children manage their anxiety. ...
• Yoga improves children's emotional regulation. ...
• Yoga boosts children's self-esteem. ...
• Yoga increases children's body awareness and mindfulness. ...
• Yoga enhances children's concentration and memory. ...
• Yoga develops children's strength and flexibility ...

Arie meditating during our mindfulness today :)  He's calm, focused, and in the present moment!!

If interested --  "YOGA FOR KIDS SESSION 1" - Fri. Oct. 21st @ 8:30AM in the gym.  Sign up with Mrs. Mortimer :)  Thank you to our principal for initiating this amazing activity for our students!

MINDFULNESS:

A pep talk about a call to action to people all over the world.  Sure, there's lots of work to do, but there's lots of awesome people out there in the world like YOU!

Find out ways to make our world MORE AWESOME from this engaging and quick witted young boy named Kid President!

GROWTH MINDSET:

"Instead of, I can't make this any better, try thinking - I can ALWAYS IMPROVE!"

Meegwich,

Ms. Gill