September 12th Update! & Approach to Math

Hello Everyone!

We had another great day in MACC, and we are starting to get into some routines!

Schedules:

Just so everyone knows, the schedules in the school for music, library, and gym have not yet been finalized, so we have a temporary schedule until then. When it is all set, I will publish a class calendar. This week: Music on Monday/Thursday; Gym on Tuesday/Friday; Library on Tuesday.

Essential Agreements:

Today we talked about the difference between the rules of the school and classroom and essential agreements. While rules are given to you to follow for the safety and organization of everyone, agreements are what we ALL agree to do to make our community a better place. Here are our essential agreements, as given by the students, so far:

  • Respect others and their things
  • Help people when they need it
  • Be kind and caring to one another
  • Disagree with ideas, not people
  • Use appropriate language
  • Don’t judge people
  • Be honest
  • Be responsible
  • Listen carefully
  • Better late than never (referring to turning in work)
  • Think positively and encourage others

We will review these again over the next two weeks and ensure they work for us!

Mathematics:

We are still finishing math assessments, but today we took a break from those to start our new unit of math. We will have five larger units of math that are connected with our inquiry units. Our first is called Crunching the Data! During this unit we will discuss data gathering, graphs, probability, fractions, decimals, and percentages as related to analyzing information through numbers.

The math in our class will be taught through hands-on activities that have a high ceiling and a low floor design — meaning everyone can be involved regardless of level, applying mathematics while still acquiring all math curriculum from grade 4/5 and beyond. After we finish the assessments, then I can see if anyone will need additional challenge beyond our applied math activities and projects. We will briefly talk about this during our parent intake meetings on Sept. 20/21.

Today I gave everyone a task to see how they could handle their data! We will work on it today and tomorrow. With a partner, students were asked to:

  1. Create a survey question(s) to ask every member of the class and Ms. D.
  2. Make sure it is an interesting question that we want to know about. Make sure it does not involve a yes/no answer and that people can give a variety of responses.
  3. On the large graph paper provided, create a visual graph of your choice (bar graph, pictograph, line graph, pie chart, etc.) that will display the data in an interesting way. You may organize the data in a way you think will be the most interesting to the class. Make sure you include all the proper parts of a graph.
  4. If you are able, include on the graph the percentage of the class who responded for each answer to your survey. If you don’t know how to do this, that is okay, and just show what you do know.

Gym and Library!

We had our first session in both the gym and the library today!

For gym, we talked about how our focus will be discussing how physical activity helps the body, heart health, and some yoga as related to mindfulness, de-stressing, and balance. On gym days, please make sure you have a water bottle, extra shirt, and running shoes. Sandals and outside boots don’t work well for running. The water bottle means you will have water during class and not have to run to the water fountain. An extra shirt is important so you have the option to change if you are sweating a lot from our activities.

For library, we learned about how to check out books and rules of the library space. Students at grade 4/5 may check out 4 books at a time, and they need to physically bring them back each week on our library day, even if they want to renew them. (If students need books for an assignment that Ms. D has given, extras are allowed, but only when we are doing research projects.) Ms. Ho will be providing a letter for parents about the mature reads in the library in the next couple of weeks. If you read at a high level, you will need permission from parents to check out mature reading books that are typically reserved for grade seven students due to some sensitive material.

Unit Question:

Thank you everyone for doing the human body brainstorm last night! Everyone received their first homework mark and we went over the “checks system” together. Remember to bring your journal back to school each day.

Tonight’s task is to ask your family about their medical history, which means asking at home if parents have had any operations, illnesses, or broken bones, etc. This task is not meant to collect information to share out loud in class, and it does not need to be written down if anyone is uncomfortable about the information being shared. The task is to create conversation between parents and children about past medical experiences. Please only share what you feel comfortable sharing. Ms. D shared a personal experience of having her gall bladder removed, as it was an opportunity to talk about organs in the digestive system and how you can live without one of them!

Reminders:

  • Save the Date: Sept. 20-21 Parent Intake Conferences
  • Pro-D Day/No School on Sept. 25th Monday
  • Save the Date: Sept. 28 Field Trip to Science World with MACC 4/5 Cap Hill
  • PAC Notice went home tonight
  • Cross-Country Running Team Notice went home tonight (only those who went to Monday’s lunch meeting and returned forms to be on the team)

Thank you everyone!

Good night!

Update September 11th: Beginning a new unit!

Hello Everyone!

NEW UNIT:

As mentioned in my beginning of year information, we will approach the curriculum with larger, trans-disciplinary, conceptual-based units that allow us to not only touch upon all requirements for grade 4/5, but also allow us to pursue depth and complexity in the subject areas.

 

Each unit has a unit focus statement to organize the BIG IDEAS we are learning. Our first unit is called BODY WORKS, and the statement is: 

Our personal choices play a role in the interconnected system of the human body.

During the unit, we will talk about these areas which will touch upon areas of the curriculum in Science, Socials, PE/Health, Math, Career Education, Language Arts, and French:

  • The systems of the body and how they work together
  • Diseases and how they impact our community
  • How the body defends itself against disease
  • The factors and strategies that contribute to healthy immunity and well-being
  • Crunching Data: How we gather and analyze data to tell us information we need to stay healthy
  • How art and mindfulness practices are related to mental and physical well being
  • Beginning French & French words for the human body

STARTING THE UNIT:

Today we introduced the unit and how it will work. Students did a pre-assessment activity to see what they already know about the human body by drawing life-size posters of classmates and seeing what parts of the body systems they could identify without looking at books or the web. We have some entertaining posters in the classroom! 🙂

We also began working with our composition notebooks, which will serve throughout the year as a place to reflect, to put down notes about the unit, to do brainstorms, and to record our thinking. These notebooks will go home every night, but should be brought back with you every day. Everyone had to create a cover page, and for tonight, finish a HUMAN BODY brainstorm. Please fill page 2 with all words you can think of related to the human body!

Tomorrow, we will continue our talk about the body systems!

READING AROUND THE WORLD:

As part of their Language Arts Reading marks, students are required to do 20 minutes of reading a night. If they choose, they can participate in the Reading Around the World program. They were given a green duotang today with the information about the program, including a letter explaining how it works. Here are some highlights:

  • There is a book listed in your packet for each country of the world, organized into six continent groups.
  • Sometimes there is a specific book to read, but many times it will say “any book” — it really is any book! Not necessarily anything to do with the country name next to the prompt.
  • As you finish books, you can write them on the list or record them on a piece of notebook paper. Parents can initial to say it was completed.
  • If you are not allowed to read a certain book or have absolutely NO interest in reading the book suggested, tell me another book you would like to use to replace it. I am flexible.
  • Finish a continent, receive a prize, recognition on the blog, and a post-it on the wall calendar in my room.
  • Finish all the continents, then get a free lunch with Ms. D in late June.

REMINDERS:

  • Do the brainstorm in your composition book for tonight. If you don’t have a composition book, please get one soon.
  • Thank you to everyone for turning in the parent questionnaires! They are all in!
  • Thank you to everyone who brought supplies! We really appreciate it!
  • First gym class tomorrow, so be sure to bring runners you can move in AND a water bottle so we don’t have to stop and keep going out for water in the hallway.
  • Parent Conferences Sept. 20/21: Save the date! Notice to come soon!
  • Field Trip on September 28th: Save the date! We are going all day with Ms. Geddes class (the other MACC 4/5 class in North Burnaby) to Science World to study the human body. Notice to come soon!

Have a great night!

Ms. D

Great First Week! MACC Update Friday September 8

Hello Everyone! Thank you for a great first week! Enjoy some pics of our first-day photo booth throughout this entry!  Scroll down to the end for Monday reminders.

Showing Our Creativity: Ms. D has been giving everyone opportunities to show their creativity and thinking as I get to know you. We made creations out of playdoh, completed thinking and math puzzles, did the toothpick challenge, and came up with creative names for jobs in our classroom! We do these things for FUN and to practice our creative and critical thinking skills throughout the year.

Roller Coasters!: Everyone finished roller coasters on Thursday, and then we walked around to test the creations and evaluate them for points. Great work! This activity was an example of the many science things we will do this year, as well as an opportunity to collaborate, getting to know peers who will be our colleagues on many projects this year!

 

Music: Thank you to everyone who participated by either singing or playing instruments during the special assembly on Thursday! I was impressed that some students new to our school and to MACC were willing to go in for extra practices during lunch to be part of Ms. Hetrick’s instrument group. Way to go! That was a great example of being a risk-taker.

Learner Profile: Ms. D has a poster with words that represent the characteristics of a successful learner. To be a lifelong learner, you should work on being knowledgeable, a good communicator, open-minded, principled, caring, an inquirer, a thinker, reflective, balanced, and a risk-taker.

 

We had groups do short skits to show our understanding of those words, which are tied to the B.C. Core Competencies in the curriculum. The competencies are a fancy way of saying lifelong skills that help you become the BEST person you can be in all things you do!

Comfort Circle: We talked about how everyone needs to have a GROWTH MINDSET by doing a comfort circle activity. The comfort zone is the place where you are on a couch, reading a book, drinking a soda, playing video games, or doing comfortable activities. The growth zone is the place where you are a little uncomfortable, but you can do it! The panic zone is the place where you are very uncomfortable and the adrenaline is pushing through your body!

Sometimes it is okay to be in our comfort zone, and we need to know the things that can calm us down during stressful times. When we are learning, though, we need to push ourselves into the growth zone, because we learn more if we have a bit of discomfort from doing something new. But, we also don’t want to go too far. If we are in the panic zone and feeling fear, our brains shut off and emotions take over.

In MACC, you may feel a bit of discomfort! Before, you may have felt like most class work was easy or that you needed a challenge. That is why you chose to be in MACC! However, you have to be willing to be a little uncomfortable. You may not see the answer to something on the first try, but that’s okay, just keep experimenting, take risks, try things out, and be willing to work with your peers to figure it out! You will get there, just maybe not right away. Don’t give up! Be willing to accept that you don’t know everything, but that you can learn something new if you try! Each of us has different strengths, so understand each activity will feel different according to your abilities. We have to learn to appreciate one another’s strengths and have resilience! If you feel something is difficult, instead of saying “I can’t” or “I don’t get it” — try saying, “I will get it if I try, if I practice, if I watch and learn from my peers!”

Math Assessments: Everyone began math assessments Thursday, and we are still working through them. Next week you will see a blog entry with more details about our first unit together, as well as information about how we will approach math this year.

Art: We did some ZENTANGLE doodling together to make bookmarks for class! You can look this up on Google and find many designs or YouTube videos on how to do more complicated zentangles. We discussed how drawing repetitive designs like these can be a great way to get the mind to relax so you stress less. Sometimes the best creative ideas appear when we allow the brain to daydream and relax. Also, we can use repetitive doodling when we need to be listening, but we need something for our hands to do!

Fidgets: We discussed how Ms. D has a collection of fidgets in the classroom for use during listening times. However, we all agreed last year, that a fidget is a TOOL not a TOY. There are some rules we created as a class last year, such as:

  • Fidgets cannot disrupt discussion by making repetitive noises.
  • No throwing around of fidgets; they need to stay in your own personal space
  • Once you choose a fidget, please don’t get up to switch it with another one
  • If we are doing an activity requiring you to listen in a group of 2-3, no fidgets
  • If we are doing a hands-on activity where you need your hands, no fidgets
  • If you have a fidget at the table, do it under the table to not distract anyone
  • You have the right to say someone’s fidget is bothering you so they can stop
  • You can bring in your own fidget, but put a name on it and show it to Ms. D
  • Do not leave your own fidgets around class anywhere, or Ms. D may say not to bring it again and keep it in her drawer for you until end of day

Free Choice!  Every Friday, unless we have a big project we are working on, we will have Free Choice Time! We had our first one and everyone enjoyed the many games available in the classroom. During this time you can: draw, do some art, fold origami, build something, play games with friends, create games, continue working on a project you are interested in, and more. Ms. D is open to ideas about how you want to use this time. Thanks to those of you who played Sushi-Goh with Ms. D today!

REMINDERS: For Monday, here are some reminders:

  • Letters to Ms. D and Supplies due Monday 
  • Parent Questionnaires and Social Media Consent Forms overdue. Please return ASAP. Forms are on the Notices and Forms Page.
  • Bring jackets and appropriate outside footwear every day. Even if it is raining, you will likely go outside for recess and lunch.
  • Please minimize trash in lunches. Pack out what you pack in, so we can keep our classroom clean. Avoid peanuts/tree nuts as some students have allergies.
  • Heads Up: First field trip on September 28th, Thursday. Notice coming soon!

Have a GREAT WEEKEND! 

Ms. D

Our First Full Day! What a great group!

 

Hello Everyone!

It feels like we did a LOT today! Thank you for your hard work!

Here’s a small picture of our activities together:

 

CLASS MEETING: We had our first class meeting, and Ms. D talked about how class meetings are mainly for talking about the cool things everyone wants to do! We are open-minded to new ideas and suggestions of activities or things we should try, and all of this can be discussed during class meeting.Your MACC experience will be as fantastic as YOU want to make it! Be thinking about what you want to get out of this year!

Together, we played a group game of JENGA, we cheered on each participant, and we managed to all take out a block without having a huge crash! Our year will be about doing things together, collaborating, supporting one another in our learning, and having fun!

TENZI!!!: This term, as we work on math involving fractions, probability, decimals, percentages, data, graphing, and more, we will be doing so through collaborative projects, group discussion, and games. Today, each person was given a tray and ten dice to play speed thinking and math games with new classmates. Have you played TENZI before? All you need are ten dice and you can do it at home!

READ ALOUD, Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library by Chris Grabenstein: We are going to be doing a read aloud of this book in connection with our coming unit and math discussions about games. It has lots of great puzzles and riddles in it that we can solve as a class. Students also had the opportunity to peruse the many books in Ms. D’s library!

ROLLER COASTER ENGINEERING: The Fantastic Amusement corporation challenged the group to build an entertaining roller coaster for their amusement park! Today’s task was to draw up a plan, make a budget for purchasing resources, and build a prototype in the classroom using marbles. The extra challenge was the coaster had to be built with a million dollar budget. Don’t go over! Foam tubes, marbles, toothpicks, and masking tape had to be purchased from the master supplier (Ms. D). Points were given for different features and knowledge of roller coasters. For example, a loop was 5 points, turns were 1 point, spirals were 4 points, and knowing about potential and kinetic energy on your track was 5 points. Eight tracks are built in the classroom! We will continue the project and evaluate the coasters tomorrow morning.

MUSIC: Everyone met Ms. Hetrick our music teacher, and she prepared them for our special assembly tomorrow, which is an annual treat to welcome everyone to school. This is for students only, as we need all the space in the gym, but it is an amazing way to come together with all the other Suncrest classes.

MATH ASSESSMENTS: As mentioned in my beginning of school information, I will begin doing assessments of students’ math skills, possibly as early as tomorrow. During the upcoming parent meet and greet conference in September, I will communicate how those went, so you are aware.

LETTERS, NOTICES, SUPPLIES:

  • A reminder that the letter back to Ms. D is due on Monday, Sept. 11th.
  • The information from parents is due on Friday, September 8th.
  • Please bring all supplies by Monday, September 11th.

HAVE A GREAT EVENING!  ðŸ™‚

Welcome Everyone! Great First Day!

Hello Everyone!

Well, here we go with another year of grade 4/5 MACC! Please do check the blog for updates. Some quick notes from today:

Parent Notices: Your child went home with a letter from our new principal, a classroom packet from Ms. D, a parent questionnaire, and a social media permission slip to sign. Thank you in advance for filling out the handouts!

Student Letter: Ms. D sent each student a personal letter. Each student should read it (parents are welcome to read it, too) and then respond by writing a letter back to Ms. D. The letter is due Monday, September 11th. Email, Google Drive, hardcopy, handwritten, pencil, pen, marker —  all formats are okay as long as I get it AND I can read it.

Photo Booth! We did a funny photo booth today! Not all students had an opportunity to do it, so anyone who missed this can do it tomorrow, and then I will post funny pictures on the web of our new MACC class.

Chain of Strengths: Today each person wrote down two strengths they will bring to MACC and we included it in a paper chain of strengths for our class, which is now hanging on the board! If you didn’t finish your slips of paper for the chain, please do it tomorrow.

KAHOOT! To learn more about everyone, I asked each person to write down 2 truths and a lie about themselves, so we can guess which one is the lie on the interactive APP Kahoot! If you haven’t finished yours, please bring it with you tomorrow or do one in class before end of day Wednesday.

Assembly! We met Ms. Driussi! Check out the bulletin board across from the office. Students from her last school wrote some things they thought you should know about our new principal. Very cool!

SUPPLIES: Please be looking for supplies and bring them in by Monday.

HAVE A GREAT EVENING AND LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING YOU WEDNESDAY ALL DAY!

MS. D

Welcome Back 2017-2018!

 

Hello Everyone!

I hope you have had a lovely summer! Just a few quick notes for start up this year:

 

  • School starts on Tuesday, September 5th! We only have class that day from 8:55-10:00. All students in grade 4/5 MACC can report to me directly at Classroom Building 3 at the back of the school where our parent orientation was last year.
  • Parents are invited to go to the gym as the PAC usually has coffee available and you can meet other parents.
  • Sept. 6-8, Wednesday-Friday, are normal school days from 8:55-3:00. I recommend showing up no later than 8:50 every day so you have time to get organized. Please bring snack, lunch, and shoes you can run in!
  • If you are in grade six MACC you do not need to check in with me. Please go directly to Mr. Gaiten’s class next door.
  • Supplies info can be found here: Notices and Forms  Please try to have all supplies in by Monday, September 11th. I have supplies for everyone to use the first week. If you bring in items early, please put them in the boxes found in the classroom, which are sorted by type of supply. Please read the supply list about items that need names. Thank you!

I look forward to working with all of you! Stay tuned for more info, as this blog is the main source of information for our class! Please let me know if you have any questions. Enjoy the last two weeks of summer!

Kindly,

Ms. D

Summer!!

I hope everyone has had a good year! I know I have enjoyed watching you make rumblebots, create projects with new technology, play at Science World, build towers, imagine playgrounds, mix up glitter jars, avoid hail at the watershed, and work hard while dragon boating and kayaking. You are all an amazing group of people! I hope you all have a lovely summer!

To my grade fours, we will see you on a September 5th! I look forward to another year with you….new units, new field trips, new thinking, and exciting learning.

To my grade fives, I will miss you!! You are the first group of students I have had for two years in a row. It has been my pleasure teaching you, and I will miss all of you for understanding Ms. D’s quirky sense of humour. 🙂 Make sure you drop in and say hello. Just because you are in grade six doesn’t mean you can ignore me! I know you will enjoy Mr. Gaitens, and I also hope to work with some of you again on Science Games, Float Your Boat, and new things that may come up next year. All the best to you!

Reports are handed out tomorrow. Please make sure you also take your beautiful masks home! Thank you for posting your poems or sending them to my Google account. Thank you for the laughs on those ads this afternoon. And congrats to everyone on their awards!

Have a good summer!

Ms. D

Great Job Today! Last week!

Congratulations, everybody, on a successful independent project presentation for 2017! And thank you to all of our guests who made this an exciting day by sharing in the learning!

Everyone should send Ms. D a copy of their website links, PPT presentations, etc. either by sending it to my main email address or by sharing it via google drive to the T05 account we always use. Thank you!

Also, congratulations to everyone on their peer-voted, MACC Awards! These are peer awards, and they are an opportunity to recognize the many types of strengths we have in our group. Please make sure you show your certificate at home. Thank you to everyone who participated in voting!

Next week, here’s what’s left!

Monday:
–Fill out the Independent Project Presentation Rubric, to reflect on how it went!
–Put felt and elastic on the masks so you can wear them!
–Finish our mask character poems
–Cardboard Mania: Your challenge will be to either complete the MACCadia games you started or to create something out of cardboard to use. More on this Monday.
–Read Aloud: Complete The Skeleton Tree
—Talk about advertising/fake news – Make Your Own Ad
–Water Park! Bring your suit, towel, sunscreen, water shoes to cool down end of day at the park.

Tuesday:
–Work on mask movement and poem read alouds
–Continue cardboard mania
–Recognition Assembly 9:15 AM
–Math Puzzles, Pickle Math
–Read Aloud: Complete The Skeleton Tree
—Talk about advertising/fake news

Wednesday:
–Grade 7 Graduation Assembly 9:15 AM
–Finish mask movement, read alouds
–Read Aloud: Complete The Skeleton Tree
—Cardboard Mania finish, free choice/play cardboard games
–Class Party, Sundaes

Thursday:
–Pick up report cards and say goodbye for the summer! One hour only!

Battle of the Books — Congratulations!

CONGRATULATIONS!

Today we had our BATTLE OF THE BOOKS! Students had been reading a selection of 11 books over the last two months, and today was the battle between our six teams!

Ms. D asked a series of questions that begin with, “In what book….” followed by some specific details from one of the eleven books. Then, teams had to guess which book and hold up the correct book sign within five seconds. We have some amazing readers, so it was a tight race! Our teams were: Book Geniuses; Cool Kids; Potato/Potato/Potato; Blanks; Savage & Salty Potatoes; and The Infernos. Congratulations to Cool Kids for winning the top prize!

It seemed everyone had a good time doing this competition, and Ms. D was glad to see it provided great incentive to read a wider selection of books. Maybe we can do this again next year! As a reminder, here are the books we read: 

  • The Secret of Platform 13
  • Wings of Fire
  • Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes
  • Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH
  • Troubletwisters
  • A Year in the Life of a Total and Complete Genius
  • The Eight Keys
  • Island of the Blue Dolphins
  • 13 Treasures
  • Arthur, The Seeing Stone
  • Among the Hidden

Congratulations again to everyone for their participation! 

Reminder: Independent Project Presentation Tomorrow 12-2 PM

Hello Everyone!

Reminder that the Independent Project Presentation is tomorrow, June 23rd, Friday, from 12-2 PM in our classroom.

Please note that the emphasis for the projects is the research process, not necessarily the final product, so it will help to ask students about how they found their information.

Students need to have a printed bibliography. If you haven’t printed one, please do it in the morning.

If anyone has a handout still, then I can try to do last-minute copying at recess.

Lunch will be at 11:20 so we will be ready to go at Noon.

On Monday, we will be doing a sharing of projects with the 6/7 MACC class, as they are away tomorrow, and many students from our class missed seeing the science fair today as they finished up last-minute details on their projects. We will do this on Monday afternoon. Please leave all projects at school on Friday.

Blue and red binders have been sent home. If anyone is going to be absent next week, please send an email to Ms. D. Thank you!

Have a great evening and all the best for tomorrow! 🙂

 

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