Category: Class News

Parents as Partners Conferences: I am looking forward to meeting with you this Thursday, September 19th. Click here to view the notice from the school office that provides more details.

To inform me of your preferred conference time, please click here fill out the online form.

We had a great start getting to know each other last week. To capture some of our moments, I tweeted it out every day last week. Here is a glimpse into our week:

MONDAY: Meeting new students at #Brentwood Park made my day. Students chose a special rock. Interesting how they asked for it back after recess & lunch. By end of day, names were on them. Students found it soothing and calming to hold. I do too. One said it’s comforting in a new environment. #NewPetRock

TUESDAY: We started our morning with tennis lessons at #Brentwood Park. It was the perfect segway to our growth mindset lesson that followed. Oh, we have a long way to reach our 10,000 hours before we become an expert! Such power in the word YET!

WEDNESDAY: Started Math lesson hearing lots of mumbling about not liking or not being good at it so I asked students to write down thoughts, feelings, fears in Math journal. Goal is to change their mind about Math by end of year. If my son can change his attitude about Math in grade 11, so can they!

THURSDAY: Warmed up our brains by learning about SMART: strategies to increase creative thinking. Then a hands-on challenge to build the tallest structure. A group had tower lying on its side but most powerful reflection, “no one was being left out so we reached our goal of all working together!”

FRIDAY: Our class talked about making mistakes. Why are mistakes important? What can we learn from them? Students each shared a story about a mistake and what was learned. Some funny stories were told and we realized that learning and laughing about them can both be great results from making mistakes!

September forms: Please return all the forms and pay online. Special note: Please consider the great opportunity for students to attend the Young People’s Concert series. The shows are not all concerts but vetted quality performances presented at our Michael J. Fox Theatre; all students in intermediate classes (including our grade 3’s) can enjoy! Please let me know if you need another form.

Allergies: We have students in our class with life threatening peanut and tree nut allergies. Please refrain from sending food items that contain peanuts or tree nuts. This will avoid possible cross contamination and keep your child’s classmates safe. Thank you for your cooperation.

Plastic cutlery: Students sometimes come to school without a utensil to use in order to enjoy their lovingly packed lunches. If anyone has an excess of forks and spoons, please feel free to send it to school. We will keep a stash for anyone who may need one. Thank you.

To learn more about our classroom about arriving early, Planners, and Scholastic orders, click here to go to our About our Class page.

Dear families,

Welcome to Division 9! I am so excited to be your child’s teacher this year and to be a part of your child’s learning journey. Eight years ago, I taught here at Brentwood Park so I am absolutely thrilled to return after holding a position on the Staff Development team in Learning Technologies and spending one year at University Highlands. It has been such a warm welcome back.

I believe in building a strong community by making your child’s school experience safe and enjoyable, filled with many opportunities to learn about themselves, each other, and the world around us. I am committed to making this year a positive and memorable one where they will be cared for, valued and respected.

I am looking forward to meeting you and to work as partners in your child’s education. Please save the date as we will have Parents as Partners meetings on Thursday, September 19th in Portable 27. More information will be shared soon. There will be an early dismissal at 2:00 pm this day and on September 20th as well.

In the coming days, I will be sharing more information. The blog will be the primary place to learn more about what is happening and what we are learning about. I see it as a one-stop shop for everything you need to know. A number of notices have gone home today. To view a checklist of what is to be returned, please click here.

Hope to meet you very soon,

Ms. Chan

During last Friday’s assembly, students had an opportunity to proudly showcase our process of inquiry on various sea creatures. It all began with asking questions and lots of them. Then with access to resources like books, websites, videos, and a visit to the Vancouver Aquarium, students researched information together with a partner. They took notes on paper and then organized them using Kidspiration:

Click to enlarge.

which helped them publish their writing:

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and eventually, supported their formal presentation. Here is one by Isla on Starfish (click on image):

Click on image to view Owen’s presentation.

Click on image to view Riley’s presentation.

Safe Bodies Strong Kids is an evidence based child abuse prevention program for grades 1-3 students.  The program was developed by the BC Lower Mainland Child Abuse Prevention Educators and is based on the most recent child abuse prevention research. 

We have learned about five safe and respectful reasons for touch: Caring, Helpful, Fun, Healthy, and Clean. Students had opportunities to study and sort images into categories. They discovered that many overlap.

Our last lesson taught us how to be safe online and to really think about what we say to others online before we post or hit send. Please have a conversation with your child about what they have learned so far. 

Here is the video we watched on consent:

Students will be presenting our learning on the water cycle and inquiry projects on our local sea life tomorrow at the Celebration of Learning. Please join us at 9:00 am!