This week's Word Work focus was on "Bossy e". The students learned that Bossy e will jump over the consonant in front of it to make the vowel say its name like in the words "tube" and "hide".

In Science, we started our "Book of Animal Movements". We brainstormed many ways animals can move and made our first page about 1 - 3 animals that swim. Each student could choose which animals they wanted to draw for this page. Our booklet will include 5 animals and their respective movements.

Everyone was excited to build a leprechaun this week. We discussed different features that might attract a leprechaun such as; gold coins, rainbows, signs that welcomed leprechauns, and/or advertised "Free Gold". Each trap needed to include a trap door or a one-way door and the students were encouraged to provide a soft landing for a leprechaun, should one fall through a trap door! :) Ladders, ropes, and ramps were built to allow the leprechauns to reach the pots of gold. We are anxious to see on Monday morning if anyone will have been lucky enough to catch a leprechaun and be granted three wishes! :)

In Math, we focused on data collection and graphing. We reviewed how to represent numbers using tally marks and to write sentences using "the most" and "the fewest" to describe the survey's data. The students also completed two Math Minutes, an exercise I plan to use twice a week for the next little bit to develop quick recall of basic addition and subtraction facts.

In Social Studies, we worked with vocabulary to describe a rural community and labeled a photograph of a rural scene. We will move on to mapping skills next week.

We celebrated "Pi Day" with our Buddies today. The students created bookmarks using a variety of circular stickers. They had to choose how many of the numbers in addition to 3.14 that they wanted to represent. Then they chose a coloured sticker for each number and represented Pi in an artistic manner on their bookmark.

Upcoming Dates

March 17                             Wear your Green for St. Patrick's Day

March 19                             Dress like your favourite character from a book

March 19                              Fun Lunch - Subway

March 20                              NO SCHOOL FOR KINDERGARTEN

March 21                              NO SCHOOL

March 20 & 21                     Parent/Teacher Conferences - ONLINE

March 24-28                        SPRING BREAK - NO SCHOOL

April 18                                Good Friday - NO SCHOOL

April 21                                Non-Instructional Day - NO SCHOOL

April 22                                Bow Habitat Station Field Trip - Sharma/Klasen

April 24                                Bow Habitat Station Field Trip - Holt/Pynn/Thomson

April 30                                Grade 3 & 4 students visit McKenzie Highlands School

April 30                                Fun Lunch - Little Caesars

This week we focused on words containing "or" for our daily Shared Reading and Word Work. We continue to work daily on sentence writing using picture prompts and questions. It is great to see the progress the students are making in their ability to come up with sentences that include good description and detail. We have also been practicing identifying mistakes in given sentences. The students are becoming good at identifying incorrect letter sizing, missing punctuation, and spelling errors.

In Math, we continue to build our addition and subtraction skills through daily word problems, worksheets, and games. The students practiced solving equations that used three addends such as 4+5+2. We also started to learn about surveys and graphing. We will continue to do this work next week. The students will be able to create their own surveys and will poll their classmates. They will keep track of answers by using tallies and will then graph their results.

This week, the eagles we observe via webcam had two eaglets. Their third eaglet is pipping and will most likely fully hatch in the next day or two. Please see last week's blog for a link to the webcam. We've been watching Jackie feed the two eaglets and it's been incredible to witness the precision with which she can pass small pieces of fish from her beak to their tiny mouths!

We did not have a chance to go on a community walk this week. We had hoped to go with our Buddies today but had to change our plans. I will take the students for a walk early next week.

Thank you to everyone who sent in a cereal or shoe box with your child this week for Leprechaun traps. We will begin work on the traps on Tuesday. I would like to have all boxes in by Monday. Thank you. :)

Online Parent/Teacher Conferences

With labour action by CUPE Local 40 members limiting access to CBE schools after hours, the decision has been made to move March parent/teacher conferences online.

Conferences will take place on Thursday March 20 and Friday March 21. Bookings will close on Thursday March 20 at 2:00pm.

On Saturday March 15 at 8:00am, please go to your CBE Account to book your conferences.

You will receive an email confirming your date and time and providing a Microsoft Teams link for your online conferences.

I hope you all enjoy a wonderful weekend!

We continue to learn how to identify, read, and spell words containing r-controlled vowels. This week we focused on words with "er". Our focus words for Shared Reading were: tiger, water, paper, and germs.

In Math, we spent most of the week learning about 3D shapes. We identified these shapes/objects both in our classroom at in our homes. The students participated in games and activities that reviewed and reinforced the names of these objects. Next week, we will learn about the properties of the 3D shapes - whether they can stack, roll, and/or slide and we will touch on the terms "faces" and "vertices".

Here is a link to a song about the 3D shapes that the students enjoyed: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2cg-Uc556-Q 

Thank you to everyone who supported your child in completing the 3D Shape Hunt "homework" task I sent home this week. The students really enjoyed sharing some of the objects they found and we had a large variety of examples for each shape.

We have been keeping an eye on Jackie and Shadow - two eagles nesting in Southern California. The pair shares the responsibility of tending to their 3 eggs and we love getting a glimpse of the eggs when we can. "Pip Watch" begins this Saturday. This is when the eggs might begin to hatch. See information from The Friends of Big Bear Valley below. I have also included a link for the live webcam. if you'd like to take a look. I'd highly encourage taking a couple of minutes to check it out.

* Webcam link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B4-L2nfGcuE

This Thursday, we spent a lot of time listening to stories, conversing, and writing/drawing about the importance of kindness, tolerance, and respect to mark Pink Shirt Day. A fantastic organization in the United States called Lifevest Inside made this video about the power of random acts of kindness. The students asked to watch it again as soon as it was finished. Many said they loved it! It's an excellent reminder of the impact a kind gesture can have. It is one of my favourite videos.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nwAYpLVyeFU

***With St. Patrick's Day approaching, the students are going to be challenged to plan and build their own "Leprechaun Trap". Each child will need to bring in their own shoe box or cereal box with which to make their trap. All other materials will be supplied by the school. Please have your child bring in their box this coming week so that construction can begin on Monday, March 10th. Please do not do any work on the trap at home.***

Now that the weather is warming, our playground area and field are becoming very wet and muddy. Please ensure your child comes to school with appropriate footwear and clothing. I would highly encourage you to pack either rain/splash pants and/or an extra pair of pants and socks as we do not have any extra clothing at school. Thanks for your support with this! :)

I hope to take the students on a community walk at some point next week to observe the many different components that make up a neighbourhood - homes, mailboxes, light standards, fire hydrants, etc. This will be weather dependent so your child should be prepared to go any day next week.

I hope you all enjoy a wonderful and relaxing weekend!