It's Finally the Holiday Break!

It was a very busy week but we did not get a lot of school work done. With theme days everyday and many interruptions, we used most of our class time for catching up on all of our unfinished work before the holidays. Then there were lots of concert practices. I was really disappointed to have to leave soon after the start of the school day sick on Wednesday. I had to miss all three holiday concert performances that we had prepared so much for over the past few weeks. I have wonderful colleagues who stepped to help on Wednesday evening. 

Although not at 100%, I did not want to miss anything else this week. Thursday was Mrs. Miller's Goodbye Assembly. Elsa (Mr. Perkins) made an appearance to the amusement of all the students. Thursday afternoon, we enjoyed the music from the Ernestown Secondary School band. 

After a busy and tiring week for all, we spent some time working this morning and then enjoyed a movie (en français). They made themselves comfortable...blankets, pillows, stuffies, spreading out across chairs. Some students chose to draw, read, or write stories instead. It was a well-deserved break for all! We finished the day in the gym with a few different activities that Mme Judd had planned, including a lively snowball fight with socks. 

It's been a great 4 months with the class and I'm looking forward to all the great things they will accomplish in the new year. I hope everyone has a relaxing break with family and friends. See you all in 2016!

Practise, Practise, Practise

This week in Language, we read "Le loup qui n'aimait pas Noël" for shared reading. We having finished both reading and writing centre cycles and will not begin again until the new year. We will spend the next week finishing up any incomplete work. 

In Math, we finished another cycle of Daily 5 math centres. We will finish up the graphing activities over the next week ready to begin our next unit on 2-D shapes and 3-D solids. We also spent some time learning how to properly use a calculator. 

In Science, we learned about how material choice affects stability, depending of the solidity, the flexibility, and the durability. We also looked at how triangles and arches are the strongest shapes and make objects more stable. I will be collecting empty paper towel and wrapping paper rolls over the next few weeks for a structure building science project in January. 

In Social Studies, the class completed all of their maps and we began looking at maps of Ontario. 

We spent almost all of our Arts and Phys. Ed. time practising for the Holiday Concert and the goodbye assembly for Mrs. Miller, who is retiring at the end of next week. The Holiday a Concert takes place on Wednesday, with a matinee performance at 11:30 and evening performance at 6:30. Thursday's assembly is also at 11:30. 

There will also be theme days each day next week.

Monday - Red Day

Tuesday - Green Day

Wednesday - White and Sparkly Day

Thursday - Holiday Hat Day

Friday - Pyjama Day 

Have a great weekend and enjoy our unseasonably warm December weather!

Getting Into the Holiday Spirit

This week in Languuage, we read "Le rêve de Bananè" for our shared reading. We looked at the "è" sound and all of its spellings. The class had some challenging new words in this week's words and sentences. We started a new cycle of reading and writing centres. In Reading, they are reviewing rhyming words. In Writing, they are looking at the difference between nouns, verbs, and "déterminants" (le, la, un, une...) The students are working on posters which also ties in nicely to media. 

In Math, the students completed surveys and are graphing the information. In their math games, they practised odd/even numbers, ordering numbers, and greater than/less than. 

In Science, we looked at what a stable and non-stable structure would be. We discussed that animals are not structures so we need to go back next week and look at that a bit more and make some corrections to this week's work. We also spent some time looking at the difference between solid and stable. 

In Social Studies, we continued to practise mapping. This week the students were making maps of small locations of their choice. (A room, the class, backyard...)

In Phys. Ed. the students continued to build their endurance in running. As we started a new month, we added another lap. We are now up to 6 laps from 3 in September. To help them (and me) keep track, they start with 6 Popsicle sticks and hand one in at the completion of each lap. In addition to the cooperative games we played, we've been practising our song and flag dance for the Holiday Concert. Mme Judd has been working with the students on the dance while I've been working with the students who just want to sing. 

Friday was a very busy day. We had both a bus presentation and the Jingle Bell Walk. We also had a Book Fair at school this week. We did not exchange library books as the library was closed all week for the Book Fair. 

I have added a page at the top of the blog with any of the important upcoming dates between now and March that I know of. Swim/Skate dates are included as well as a class trip in February. 

Thank you to all of the families who sent in non-perishable goods for those less fortunate this holiday season.