This week, we continued to focus on words ending in double "l" such as full, pull, spill, and shell during Shared Reading and sentence writing.

In Math, we continued to learn about symmetry. The students were challenged to complete the symmetrical half of a different monster drawing this week. Once completed and coloured, they answered questions in writing about their monster's name, favourite colour, a special talent(superpower), etc. These colourful monsters now hang on the bulletin board outside our room.

We completed the first two pages of our Spring Booklet where the students drew clothing that is worn in Spring as well as activities people participate in during this season.

In Social Studies we began to learn about mapping. We drew and labeled a compass rose and learned about map keys (legends). The students created their own maps using common symbols for landmarks such as shools, hospitals, railroad tracks, police, and parks.

Today, we enjoyed our time with Hal Eaglesmith. He shared stories, teachings, and songs from his Indigenous culture. Many of the students expressed how much they liked listening to the drumming and the songs sung in his language. He is a very engaging speaker and we look forward to working with him more in the future. Please ask your child to share something they learned from him today.

A friendly reminder that there is no school tomorrow for Good Friday nor on Monday due to our Professional Development day.

I hope you all enjoy a wonderful Easter weekend. See you on Tuesday!

This week our Word Work focused on words ending in "all" such as: tall, fall, wall, small, etc.

The students continue to refer to the 5W questions to help them create interesting and detailed sentences when writing about their weekend activities, things they enjoy doing in Spring, and when writing about what they observe in a given photograph.

Next week, we will start to look at story structure. We will be using a model called Somebody, Wanted, But, Then, So, What to break down a story into the main characters, the problem, and the solution. This is our first step toward writing our own stories.

This week, the students started work on a Spring Booklet. We went on a community walk to the Pirate Park and observed many signs of Spring - new grass shoots and leaf buds, lots of bird activity, people gardening, etc. We will work to complete this booklet in the next two weeks.

In Math, we are learning about symmetrical and asymmetrical shapes. The students were challenged to fill in the missing half of a drawing of a monster and a butterfly. We discussed how this work requires close observation of shape, size, and details. We have also been looking for symmetrical shapes in our classroom and in clothing designs.

Everyone was excited to create a shared community using the Minecraft Education program with our Grade 4 Buddies yesterday. Each partner group built their own home and we discussed the challenges of building communities where people can live harmoniously and have their needs met.

We will be going on a field trip to the zoo on Monday, May 26th. I am sending an email to the four parents who expressed interest in volunteering. If, however, they are unavailable I would like to hear from others who may be interested in joining. You will need to have a Police Clearance to join us. Please let me know if you can come. Thank you!

Please see the note below from Mr. Van Sluys regarding Gym next week.

Next week, all PE classes will be held outside as our gymnasium is getting a fresh coat of paint. Please ensure your child comes to school dressed appropriately for the weather, including proper footwear for outdoor activity. We'll continue with fun, active lessons—rain or shine! Thank you for your support and flexibility.

A friendly reminder that there is no school Friday, April 18 due to Good Friday and no school Monday, April 21 due to a Professional Development day.

Our focus this week in Word Work was on the soft c sound in words ending in e. The focus words we used daily in our Shared Reading sentences were: face, race, rice, and dice.

In Math, we continue to hone our fact recall skills with Math Minutes twice a week. The students are given 15 addition facts to solve in one minute. We have been practicing our doubles facts as well as identifying numbers that we can add together to make ten. We will continue to do Math Minutes twice a week for the rest of the year. Next week, the students will be given 15 subtraction questions. The facts have a sum no larger than 10 for these timed "tests".

We continued to work on our Animal Movements booklets in Science and are close to having them complete. We have been focusing on animals that fly, hop, swim, walk, and climb.

It has been very interesting to observe our eagle family this week as the eaglets are growing and changing daily. They are beginning to grow their feathers and are much larger and stronger than they were prior to Spring Break. If you have not had a chance to see them yet, you can view them at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B4-L2nfGcuE.

Today, the students worked on a torn paper art piece of an eagle. They had to tear small pieces of magazine photos and collage them to create this art. We will finish these next week. The finished one below was done by one of our Grade 4 buddies but the Grade 1's art will look very similar!

We continue to work with the 5 W questions (who, what, where, when, why as well as how) when writing sentences. This week, I gave the students the picture below and asked them to come up with an "I wonder" question for each "W". Please see some examples below.

It looks like we will have some great weather for at least the next few days. I hope you can all get out and soak in some sunshine. Enjoy! :)