Week of September 23-27

• I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend!  Welcome to the first day of fall!
• Hot lunch orders are due tom.
• I am hoping the books are going to be in from the book order by the end of the week. Looks like there were some great books ordered.
• A reminder to be reading 20 min. each night. Parents don't forget to ask some of the comprehension questions that were sent home.
• On Thursday, we started brainstorming for our Recounts. The purpose of a recount is to tell about past events (personal or others' experiences). Some of the key features of a recount include the following: writing in first (I or we) or third (he, she, they) person. I noticed most students are writing in first person, the key events are in logical order with relevant details. Students will use transition words (first of all, secondly, next, after that, finally, etc.) to guide the reader through the writing. We will be working on how to write a great "lead" on Monday. We haven't decided on a due date for these yet.
• Grade 5 math students should be reviewing all math facts this week (x- 0-11). We will also be starting to look at how to use estimation strategies. Estimation is a useful skill in students' lives and to be efficient when estimating sums and differences mentally, students must be able to choose a strategy quickly. Three that we will be looking at will be: 1) Front-end rounding- for example thing for 37 +26, think: "30 and 20 is 50 and 7 and 6 is 14; 50 plus 13 is 63." 2) Compensation- this refers to increasing one value and decreasing the other. For ex. 355 +57 might be estimated as 30+60. 3)Compatible or friendly numbers- this strategy for addition involves looking for pairs of numbers that combine to make a sum that will be easy to work with. For ex. 25+47+75 think 25 and 75 is 100, so 100 and 47 is 147.
• We will be having our Terry Fox walk at the school on Thursday afternoon.
• Health posters are due this Monday. Students were to illustrate something that causes them stress and they need to show a strategy that helps them deal with this stressor.
• Have a great week everyone!

Week of September 16-19

• I would like to thank everyone for coming out to "Meet the Teacher" night. If you couldn't make it and have any questions, please contact me at the school.
• There will be no school for the students on Friday, September 20 due to a PD day.
• Hot lunch program starts this week.
• Book orders are due on Monday.
• Grade 5 math students should be reviewing all of the 5's, 2's, 9's, 10's, 1's, 0's, and the 3's multiplication facts each night this week.
• I would like students to be reading 20 min. each evening.
• We are reading Where the Red Fern Grows in class and the students are loving it! It would be great for parents to ask your child to talk about what is happening in the story. 
• I want to thank all of my students for all of their hard work this week and I am looking forward to another great one!

Week of Sept. 9-13

• Wow! What a great first couple of days. They felt like they were about five minutes long. The students worked so hard and were very respectful. What wonderful manners! I love it.
• In grade 5 math, we will be reviewing basic numeracy skills this week. This includes adding, subtracting, place value, and multiplication facts. I will be asking students to be reviewing the multiplication facts each night.  The grade 4 students have Mr. Martin for math this year.
• Meet the teacher night will be this Thursday evening starting at 6:30. I am looking forward to seeing everyone there. Thank you so much for returning the student information forms, answering my letter, and sending notes if there are going to be changes at the end of the day.
• Lunch orders will be due tom. morning (Monday) and I will be handing out the book orders tom.
• Each student will be getting their "reading passports" tom. I have explained these to the students on Friday and I will be reviewing them again tom. Basically, the students are required to read 20 min. each night for homework and then the parent/guardian initials the passport. When they finish the passport, they turn it in to me and they will receive a new book from the book order (five dollars or less). 
• I am looking forward to an awesome first full week of school with your children!

Welcome Back!

• I am so excited to see everyone on Thursday. I hope everyone is looking forward to getting back to school.
• Our "Meet the Teacher" night will be held on Thursday, September 12th. Time and schedule will be sent home from school. I hope to see everyone there.
• On the first day of school, I will be sending home a letter for parents to read and answer a few questions/add comments.  This will help me get to know your son/daughter better.
• Lunch orders will be sent home at the end of the week and they will start on Monday.
• On Thursday evening, I will be asking the students to take a paper bag and put 3 or 4 items into it that represents themselves. Please no valuables. I will present mine on the first day and they will present theirs on Friday.
• One more sleep! See you tom.!

Last Full Week of School!

• Wow! I can't believe that this is our last full week together.
• I will be sending out the permission forms for our end of the year field trip on Monday. The grade 5's will be going to Shining Waters and the grade 6's will be going to Sandspit.  I am looking for one parent chaperone to go with the grade 5's to Shining Waters.  A reminder to pack a towel, sunscreen, water bottle, etc.
• We will be having a small science quiz tom. morning (Monday). The students had a review on Friday.
• I want to take this opportunity to say a huge "thank you" to all of the parents and students for another wonderful year. I look forward to walking into my classroom every morning and it is because of the wonderful kids. I will miss them all very much next year.
• Let's have a great week everyone!
• Have a wonderful Father's Day!

Week of June 10-14

• A reminder that the math assessments are on June 10 and 11 for the Gr. 6 students.
• Grade 5 boys will be having their geometry test on Thursday along with their math facts quiz.
• I want to thank everyone for finishing their book club books.
• I have discussed our health assignment with both grades and I will be giving them a typed description of it in the morning.  This will be due on Friday.
• Please continue reading 20 min. each evening.
• I am very excited to be sending our scrapbooks home on June 20th! Please keep your eye out for them. The boys and girls did a wonderful job!
• Have a great week everyone.

Last Month of School!

• I can't believe that it is June! How quickly the year has gone by. Three weeks and two days left.
• Our last lunch order is due tom. morning.
• I would ask all students to have their book club books finished up for Thursday. They will have the choice between their book club book or another book for their novel response.
• The grade 5 boys are into our Geometry unit and they are doing a great job! I would remind them to be reviewing their multiplication and division facts each night because I will be giving them a quiz on Thursday, June 13th.
• I will be sending home information to parents on Monday regarding the Grade 6 math assessment that will be taking place on June 10 and 11. Mr. H has been working very hard with them, but if you have any questions regarding the assessment please call myself or Mr. H.
• It was a pleasure seeing everyone at the art show on Saturday morning. What a talented group of students we have at ACC!
• Have a great week everyone!