October 31

Just reminder that Epic! is completely free as Mr. Richardson has an educators account. You do not need to pay any money or make an account to use it. Click login, then educator and student, then enter the class code : ucu1170

In French we worked in groups to try and find as many words as we could that contained the sound OEU and we imagined that a spaceship had landed on the school playing field. We discussed what might happen and how we would feel:

" Maybe they play different sports, we could play football with aliens!"

"I wonder if we could share different types of pets"

" What would they eat? Soup with eyes in it"

For out body break today we danced to thriller!

We read another chapter of the wizard of Oz and in Physical Education with M. Trevor we played Quidditch!

October 30

Tomorrow is Halloween! Students may wear orange and black or a simply costume that does not interfere with learning.

A polite reminder that money for the school photos is due tomorrow also.

Today in science we examined ways in which minerals and rocks are used in our day to day lives such as in wiring, tiles, toothpaste and building.

In English we explored a reading website called Epic! our class code is ucu1170.

We had music with Madame Zdrill and we practised our pointing dog position and vollying.

In French we read a story about a sad Elephant and his friend, the snail.

We talked about Athena, an intelligent and powerful Greek Goddess and how the Romans and Vikings inspired our days of the week.


Ask me:
- to show you Epic!
- what books did I read on Epic?
- who was Athena and how was she born?

October 28

Today in social studies we asked ourselves the question : What is quality of life? We discussed the things in life that we like and compared them to things we actually need in life, the essential things. As much as we love stuffed animals and video games, they aren't needed to have a good quality of life.

In English we read some more of the Wizard of Oz and learnt of the origins of the Wings Monkeys.

One of our goals as a class is not judge other people on the superficial. We discussed Mother Teresa, Elizabeth I and Princess Diana. We looked at how they made a huge impact on the world during their time when others said they shouldn't or couldn't do so.

Some other life lessons that we have discussed and continue to work on include:

1. Money is nice to have, but it isn't the key to happiness. You have value that money cannot buy.
2. You don't need a husband or wife to be successful and happy in life. The only person you need for your own happiness is you!

In science today we also had our evaluation and we had music with Madame Zdrill.

Ask me: What is a good quality of life? What are the things in life I need to feel contented?

October 25

A reminder that on Monday we have a science assessment. A review guide can be found here:


Monsieur Trevor would like to share his blog so that you can stay up to date with the goings on in Phys. Ed. : https://mtrevorphysed.blogspot.com/


Today in French we had centres that included writing stories using story cubes, playing an alphabet game, spelling quizzes with our friends and charades.


We had a lockdown practice today and Madame Brinson was so impressed with how quickly and quietly all the students did it. We are very proud of our students today!

Madame McCann came today and we read The Rescue of Bunny Wunny, a tale about a horrible little girl who was mean to her stuffed toy. We liked the story because the ending was not what we were expecting at all. We  also discussed expectations and strategies for reading alone.


Ask me: What are the three types of rocks? What do we use minerals for in our daily lives? What are some of the benefits of mining? What are some of the disadvantages? What happened at the end of Bunny Wunny?

October 24

Today in gym we made the Varsity Tower in M. Trevor. It was a game of co-operation and communication .
We went to the library to get new books.
In Math with Madame April we played math games on the iPads.
On Monday we have Science evaluation, so in science today we did some practice questions.
Tomorrow is the Halloween dance after school.
In French we read a story about Pénélope a bear who was having bad dreams, we also created short stories by swapping sheets with our classmates and adding extra information onto the story.

Ask me:
-about the books I got at the library.
- about what I want my life to be in the future.

October 23

Tomorrow is library book day. Please remember to place any old library books into our backpacks so we may exchange them.

In Social Studies we read the story of Malala Yousafzai. This story really struck a chord with our class:

" Why aren't the girls allowed to go to school? That's not fair"

" It is sad that the children have to go to work to help support their families"

"If they choose to go to school instead of working, their families might not have the money for food and to pay for their home"

In English we read a chapter of the Wizard of Oz and continued our work on summarizing stories.

In French class we studied the e/eu sound in a short story about a horse. We then wrote out own rhyming poems and then wrote short stories based on our poems. We also did a relay race to fill in the gaps in a story that practised the e/eu sound.

In science we continued to write up our biscuit experiment and compared which extraction method was better for the environment compared to the amount of 'diamonds' we were able to extract.

Ask me: What I thought of Malala's story? Could I live like she did?

Oct 22

A friendly reminder that tomorrow is a math assessment with Madame April. Madame April has provided extra practice here

Today in Intensive French we discussed what we thought the year 3000 would look like:

"We won't have shoes"

" Maybe we will have the iPhone 3000"

" We will have cars that can fly and walk"

" We will have robots so that people won't have to work"

In English we continued to read The Wizard of Oz, and Dorothy defeated The Wicked Witch of the West.

In science we extracted chocolate chip from another cookie, this time we tried to protect the cookie from breaking as much as possible to simulate sustainable mining. We will use the results of this experiment to determine which mining method produced the most diamonds in comparison to its impact on the earth.

We also had a fire drill today. Madame Brinson was so impressed by how well it went.

Photos were sent home today, the deadline for payment is October 31.

The Halloween dance is on Friday, tickets can be purchased at the school office for $5.

October 21

Wednesday there will be a math evaluation with Madame April, Details have been placed our yellow folders and can be found at the bottom of this blog post. Have you signed up for the weekly newsletter for updates from Madame Brinson? Subscribe here : http://calgary.schoolmessenger.com/cbe_subscribe

In English we summarized our favorite stories by writing about the characters, the settings, key vocabulary and important details.

In social studies we looked at the continents and began to look at Tunisia and India. We compared how geography can affect where one might choose to live. We learnt that nearly 1/7 of the Earth's population live in India ( 1.333 billion)

We mined cookies for minerals in science and we played squirrel tails with Monsieur Trevor in Phys Ed.

Ask me : What is squirrel tails?
What did I learn about the land in Tunisia. Where do most people live? How might that affect my quality of life?
How did I do in my music assessment?

Math Place Value Revision – evaluation on Wednesday, October 23

Different ways to represent big numbers

1. la forme symbolique ( en chiffres)

ex 384

2. in words 

ex trois cent quatre-vingt-quatre

3. place value chart / le tableau de valeur de position

centaines	dizaines	unités		centaines	dizaines	unités
3	8	4

4. place value chart with a number exchange

centaines	dizaines	Unites
3	7	14

= 384 

e) using hundreds, tens, ones / centaines, dizaines, unités

384: 3 centaines, 8 dizaines, 4 unités

6. expanded form / forme décomposée

384 = 300 + 80 + 4

206 = 200 + 6

190 = 100 + 90

7. value and position of a digit / la valeur et la position des chiffres

384 un 8 dans la position des dizaines vaut 80

384 un 3 dans la position des centaines vaut 300

384 un 4 dans la position des unités vaut 4

8. drawing with base 10 materials/dessin avec matériel de base 10

              

Comparing numbers

428 < 444 129 > 99 10 + 1 = 11 + 0      Plus grand que / plus petit que/ égale

*the crocodile wants to eat the largest number

Ordering numbers

From smaller to bigger / ordre croissant: 467, 835, 900

From bigger to smaller / 0rdre décroissant 800, 760, 7k50

October 18

Madame Zdrill came to remind us that on Monday we will have a Music Dynamics quiz.

We read another chapter of Wizard of Oz - our friends have just met Oz and were very disappointed that Oz has sent them on a horrible mission to kill the wicked witch.

We had a fire drill today and Madame McCann came into class to read a book about a duck and mouse who live inside a wolf. She reviewed some reading strategies we can use when we come across unfamiliar words in French.

In Science we discussed mines. We learnt there are 2 types of mines : underground and open air.

Ask me about the 4 billion year old meteorite I saw today.

Oct 17

In English today we read another chapter of the Wizard of Oz. We also looked at retelling our favorite stories using the following format:

In the Beginning________________________
Then________________________________
Next__________________________________
The Problem Is_______________________
After That________________________________
Finally __________________

We had maths with Madame Zdrill where we practiced math problems.

In Art we finished our Skrimsli and we wrote letters in French for Madame Jenn. In French we finished the book Copains comme cochons about two pig families who were at war. They learned to put their differences aside and work together to get their tails unstuck. They soon became good friends. We discussed how animals make different sounds in French and danced to a song about those noises.

During lunch we read a book about feelings.


Ask me :
If I can retell my favorite story using the sentences above.
What did I write about to Madame Jenn?

October 16

In English we read the next chapter of the Wizard of Oz and wrote sentences using words from our Wonderful Word Wall.

In Science we reviewed the rock cycle and we reviewed position and value with Madame April in Maths.

Madame Zdrill will be teaching us Maths on Friday and we are all very excited!

In French we started to read Copains Comme Cochons - a book about two pig families who were at war. This linked in nicely with today's lesson in Social Studies. We looked at how were are all parts of multiple communities such as where we live, our interests and our heritage.

Ask me:
-What communities I am part of.
-To explain what some of the following words mean from our Wonderful World Wall: Keen, bounded, sight, caught, dismal, abundance, reproach, smug, frail, aisle, lonesome, mishap, essential, curiosity, scampered, precaution, bicker, quibble, quarrel and brook
- If I can use some of the above words in sentences.

October 15

Today in French we discussed our perfect day and what it might look like. We also shared what we did over the weekend

We read the book 'Arnie the Doughnut' about a niave little doughnut and his journey home from the bakery. We also read 'The Hula-Hoopin' Queen ' a story of a hula-hooping obsessed young girl called  Kameeka who owns up to her own mistakes to try and make things better. It is a tale of morality, community and sense of duty.

We went to library. Students who forgot their library books are reminded to bring them in as soon as possible.

We received a flyer about the school Halloween part on Friday 25 October. Tickets are $5.

In science we discussed how scientists can categorize rocks by lustre, colour and hardness. We went on to discuss scientific theories. We learnt that scientists use information available to them to form theories but that these theories are subject to change as scientific understanding advances. One such theory we looked at was a theory of how our moon was formed and how scientists are studying moon rock to give us clues of events over 4 billion years ago.

Ask me : How do you think the moon was formed? What would your perfect day look like?

October 10th

With Thanksgiving just around the corner, discussion today was centered around what we are grateful for in our lives. Students shared some wonderful ideas and then wrote them in their journals.

While reading some more of The Wizard of Oz, we wondered why some of the vocabulary was so similar to French words that we know such as : obliged / obligé . This started a talk about the Battle of Hastings and the Bayeux Tapestry!

We had photographs today and Mr. Richardson was so pleased at how well-behaved everyone was. We then had an activity break and danced away some of our excess energy.

In Art we started to make our own Skrimsli which we hope to finish next art class and put on display in the corridor.

We will have library on Tuesday.  Please remember to bring any finished library books into school so that they may be returned.

Ask me: What am I grateful for? What does my Skrimsli look like? Why do English and French share some words?

October 9

Tomorrow is picture day!

Today we read another chapter of the Wizard of Oz wherein Dorothy made friends with a cowardly Lion.

Levi : I think they will fight the Wicked Witch of the West.

Paasha: Maybe they will befriend someone else who needs something from Oz.


In the morning we wrote about what we wished for the world. We discussed what we would change if we could, to make the world a better place.

In science we categorized rocks and minerals based on their color, their hardiness using the Moh's Scale, their lustre and their transparency.

We had Phys. Ed. with M Trevor.

We watched some of our FlipGrid videos from yesterday and offered feedback to our peers.

October 8

In French we finished reading Le Géant de Zeralda.

In Science we made FlipGrid videos to share our knowledge with the rest of the class. In Social we answered questions such as : What does community mean to me? What is important to me?

Today we looked at long and short I sounds in English and read a chapter of the Wizard of Oz. We discussed what we think may happen next in the story:

"I think they will find a nice lion next"

" Maybe the lion will wish to become a king"

"The Lion wants to have a friend because he might be sad."

in P.E. with M.Trevor we practiced our communication and cooperation skills by playing a Rubiks cube game with shapes on the gym floor. We also practiced our pushups!

Ask me : What does community mean to me? What is important to me? What are some words with a long I sound in them? What are some words with a short I in them. What is the difference between a long and short vowel? How many push ups did I do today?

October 7

We continued to read the Wizard of Oz in English and we wrote examples of long and short vowels in our books.

In French we started to read the book on le Géant de Zeralda and wrote about why we love or hate winter.

With Madame April we looked at the value and placement of numbers.

In Science we had a practice quiz about rocks and minerals. We looked at how the Romans used rocks to build and make straight roads. We discussed how the Ancient Egyptians used limestone to build the pyramids. We talked about how weathering has affected the Sphinx and we wondered what it would have looked like 5,000 years ago when it was built!

Ask me : How did the Romans build their roads? What do I love/hate about winter.

October 4

This week we started reading the Wizard of Oz and Madame McCann came in to talk to us to share some top reading tips:

1. We should be able to understand what we are reading. If not, we can choose another book and come back to this one in the future.
2. We should be interested in what we are reading about.
3. If we don't know a word we can sound it out and see if it makes sense in the sentence. If it doesn't make sense, go back and try again.
4. We can use pictures and other pieces of information in the book to make sensible guesses when we come across new words.

We talked about our ' Wonderful Word Wall'. If I find any words during my reading that I find interesting, I should write them down to share with the class and write on our word wall. 

We also discussed personal space today and listened to the story, Personal Space Camp about a boy going to personal space camp to learn how to interact properly with others. We talked about keeping our hands to ourselves, respecting other people's personal boundaries and using our words politely and firmly with others: 

" Could you please not do that, I don't like it"

" Could you please scoot over? I am a little bit squashed here"

One point that came up is how words can be used hurt people  : 

" You look ugly and I hate you"

Or we can use our words as a superpower - to make people smile and feel amazing about themselves :

" I love your outfit, you look amazing!"

" Thank you for being you. You are such a good friend and a kind person"

" You are awesome!"

Ask me :
How can you use your words to make someone feel great about themselves?
What can you say if someone invades your personal space?
What do the words : quarrelling, bickering and squabbling mean?
What do you think about the Wizard of Oz so far? What do you think might happen in the story? What has happened in the Wizard of Oz so far?

October 3

In English we started to read the Wizard of Oz and we brainstormed some words with a long E and short E vowel sound : bit/bite/ kit/kite and watched a video about how E at the end of words changing vowel sounds.

In French we read a book called 'Le Caillou Magique' about a Donkey who found a magic pebble and accidentally turned himself into a rock. 

In science we did an experiment with Starburst to show the different stages of The Rock Cycle. We had a lot of fun cutting them up into 'sediments', compressing them into sedimentary rocks and then adding pressure and heat to turn them into metamorphic rocks. M. Richardson then melted one into 'lava'.

We continued to share our photos and objects which we hope to continue tomorrow.

Ask me:
For some examples of long and short vowel sounds using the letter E.

October 2

I played snakes and ladders in English where we learned long and shorts vowel sounds. We watched a video on Magic E who makes short vowels.

We played a card game with Madame April in Math.

We revised different types of rock and how they are formed.

We had gym with M.Trevor. We played a game called cooperation. We had to listen to each other and work as a team to win. We practiced our planking, which is really tough!

We shared some more of our photos and important objects which we will continue tomorrow!

Ask me to give some examples of long and short vowels. Ask me to demonstrate a good plank technique!


Mr. Richardson is not able to easily access parent contact information just yet, if you would like him to reach out to you, please could you include an email and/or phone number?

I learnt about the water cycle today and how it is important to keep rubbish out of the sewers. I also painted a fish which will be added to a school mural next week.

In Math with Madame April we played Yahtzee.

In English we finished reading the Skrímslis of Lavaland. We discussed the moral of the story : When we work together as a group, we can achievement so much. Nobody is good at everything, but everybody is good at something!

For one of our Brain Breaks today we sang a fun song practicing how to say a really long place name in Wales

In social studies we shared our photos and artifacts that were special to us. We discussed why the people in the photos are special and important to us. We unfortunately did not have time for everyone to share the objects they brought in. Our next social studies class is Thursday and students who did not get time to share today, are invited to do so then.