Category: Field Trips

Dear families,

Your children make work such a joyful place to be. Sometimes I really can’t believe that I have a job that allows me to smile and laugh so often throughout my work day! One thing I am noticing is how new friendships are developing; I am seeing different people spend time with others. Thank you for your continued support at home. I learned this past week that some of the kids have been reading the weekly updates too. What a great real life reason to read!

MONDAY: Last week, students were introduced to numbers with decimals. Since learning about fractions helps with learning about decimals, we dove into fractions this week and will eventually return to decimals next week. I have updated our Mathematicians page to include the learning outcomes for fractions and decimals as outlined in BC’s curriculum so click here to learn more. This page also includes the learning outcomes from the units covered since the beginning of the year.

TUESDAY: In preparation for our Literature Circles, students were taught the “Say Something” strategy. Together, we read a poem about loosing teeth and the tooth fairy (something we all can connect to!). They were encouraged to notice their thinking as they read – their connections, questions, or images they see in their mind. Then they were asked to “say something” to respond to the text. It can be something that reminds them of another personal experience, something that surprised them or an interesting part, an I wonder statement, or comment on how certain words helped create a visual for them (like a movie in their head), for example. This is a great strategy to practice at home so that they become accustomed to sharing thoughts, feelings, opinions, and participate in less structured conversations.

WEDNESDAY: We listened to a story called Creepy Carrots by Aaron Reynolds and created our own! Which one scares you the most? Coincidentally, today was the same day that the school veggie program delivered baby carrots. How fitting! I love this program because students may be introduced to fruits or veggies they may have never tried before. We actually had one student who tried a carrot for the first time!

THURSDAY: Hallowe’en Day. After listening to another story by the same author, Aaron Reynolds, called Creepy Pair of Underwear, students were introduced to a new story telling app named Puppet Pals. Working in pairs, they created stories using their own creepy carrots as characters. Such a fun time working in partners being creative and playful with telling their story. In the afternoon, we shared our creative stories with the class.

If you have an iPad, Puppet Pals can be downloaded for free with limited capabilities or purchase Puppet Pals Director’s Pass for a few dollars to have the ability to add your own characters and settings.

Thank you to everyone for bringing in healthy snacks to share! I enjoyed listening to the stories of their Hallowe’en nights.

FRIDAY: Today, we welcomed Ms. Taylor as a volunteer who will be supporting us. I have known her for years through my ringette community because she is also a coach. Last year, she volunteered in my class too. Ms. Taylor has applied to SFU’s Education program to become a teacher.

We met with our little buddies for the second time. So love watching your child practice their leadership and communication skills with little ones!

The District purchased Tynker licenses (coding) for two intermediate classes per school. We are fortunate to have one of these licenses. Some students were interested to take home their account and password information to try out. On an iPad, you can download the Tynker app. Then have your child sign in with their credentials (username and password). I have asked them to download the course named Programming 101 only because this is a beginner course that will help develop their coding skills. Alternatively, Tynker can be accessed on any browser (like Chrome or Safari), tap Sign In, and enter their credentials (username and password).

Dear students,

We have been together for 8 weeks now. What are your favourite activities or lessons so far? What would you like to do more of? Please feel free to write a comment on this blog post.

Have a fantastic weekend, everyone!

Sincerely, Ms. Chan

An update on Grade 4 FSA testing: Most students have completed the two online and three written portions on reading, writing, and numeracy.

I have added some new pages to We Are Learners tab. To learn more about what has been covered in the curriculum, please check it out!

• Comprehend and Connect (new)
• Creators and Communicators (new)
• Mathematicians (updated)
• Core Competencies (I am still adding to this page.)

Field Trip to World Ringette Championships on November 28th. If you have not done so already, please click here to go to the online permission form to fill out. Thank you. To learn more about the field trip, click here.

I recently found out that our Young People’s Concert will be on the same day at 10:45 AM. We should be back shortly after 12 noon and will head to Bill Copeland sooner after. Thank you to parents who have already indicated that you can drive us and help supervise.

Enjoy watching Creepy Carrots and Creepy Underwear at home!

Being your child’s teacher brings me so much joy. I am blessed to have the privilege to work with them this year.

TUESDAY: In Math, we have been practicing our skip counting by 2s and 10s using a deck of cards to create random numbers. Students flip over three or four cards to make a number; they call out 2 more, 2 less or 10 more, 10 less with speed. This concept helps their addition and subtraction fluency. For grade 3s, they practiced numbers up to 1000 and for grade 4s, they practiced numbers up to 10,000. For Math addition fluency, we practiced a new strategy of making tens by playing Making Tens Go Fish. To learn more about how you can support your child at home in Math, click on our We are Mathematicians page.

WEDNESDAY: Music teacher came in to ask if I teach students to be friendly-yes! He noticed they greet him by saying hi, his name, and look at him in the eye. They have been greeting me in the mornings by saying my name too! They understand how nice it feels when they hear their name. #heartwarmed
*I love it when I hear them greet each other and say their names with a smile too!

THURSDAY: Students didn’t appear to mind walking in the rain to Revs Bowling. They were placed into mixed groups with the other grade 4/5 classes. Here were some of their appreciations: I appreciate Mr. Peters for planning the field trip. I am grateful for meeting new people. I am thankful for my friends who bowled with me.

FRIDAY: This week, students worked on heart maps, story maps and dove in to our inquiry into what makes a good story. Students are becoming more proficient in using O365. Can’t wait to use the commenting feature to provide descriptive feedback and see how they respond and improve in writing over time.

Optional: To access Office 365 at home, use the O365 link or go to our Brentwood Park website and click on Office 365 tab (black menu) on the top bar. Students will need to know their student number. Login looks like this: ######@edu.burnabyschools.ca

Students were so excited to meet our little buddies in Ms. Brolin’s class for the first time on Friday. Another heartwarming event to watch them all in action as they shared about things they have in common and shared a book with them too.

Healthy eating: With Hallowe’en approaching, this is a great time to talk about bringing healthy foods to school. Click here to read about Kids, Sugar, and Healthy Eating by Dietitians of Canada. For the remainder of the year, please refrain from sending snacks that have high sugar content like chocolate and lollipops, for example. Thank you for your support.

Please continue to bring in non-perishable food items for our We Scare Hunger campaign. Thank you.

Inside shoes: With our Westcoast weather, it would be very helpful for your child to bring or keep a pair of inside shoes at school. Wearing shoes is more comfortable than wearing boots all day and it helps keep our classroom cleaner. Thank you.

Hello families,

We have continued to have new experiences and new learning this week. We learned about our brain and how much it grows in the first ten years of our lives and why new or novel experiences are important to our brain’s development.

MONDAY: Our gym time emphasized moving around in the gym safely being mindful of our bodies as we navigated the larger space. In class, we regularly have movement breaks where we dance to music, do jumping jacks, burpees, or hold a plank for as long as we can; their repertoire of exercises will continue to grow over time. Students seem to enjoy these energized moments to help them reset and increase the oxygen in our brain for further learning.

TUESDAY: We did a team building activity called Ha, Ha, Ha. We all stood in a circle. The one person in the middle tried to make others smile. Once they smiled, they joined the person in the middle to try to get others to smile until almost the whole class was in the middle! We learned how smiles were so contagious and it didn’t take very long before they were all in the middle. They asked to play it again!

We read a book called Your Fantastic Elastic Brain and learned about the different parts of our brain, how it can be stretched, and how important it is to us. Click here to read reflections written by Lucas L. and Steven. Feel free to watch the book:

We had an important lesson on Digital Citizenship. We learned about being really mindful of what we say to others online and to THINK before we post anything. This acronym is great for all of us to think about even before we speak to others face-to-face, isn’t it?

Microsoft Office 365 was introduced. Students quickly learned how to log in to Teams and to find their assignment about describing themselves. This online platform will allow me to support your child’s writing in an augmented way. Students will be given the opportunity to revisit, revise, and revise their work again often after mini-lessons or receiving descriptive feedback. As well, they will be offered options to collaborate with classmates on future projects. Using Office 365 provides students with knowledge and experience that will support all aspects of our revised curriculum’s core competencies: communication and collaboration skills, creative thinking as well as critical and reflective thinking, personal awareness and responsibility, positive cultural and cultural identity, and social awareness and responsibility. To learn more about our Core Competencies, click here.

If your child does not have a set of earbuds with a volume control and a mini microphone, please send to school at your earliest convenience. There is no need to purchase an expensive one; I have seen some at a dollar store. I do have some large headphones students can use. This offers them the ability to listen to their own work privately as well as record their voice without picking up the classroom’s ambient noise.

FRIDAY: We will be going to Young People’s Concert at Michael J. Fox Theatre. All students have been asked to arrive at 8:45 AM. The bus will be leaving promptly at 9:05 AM. Thank you for your cooperation.

FOOD BANK: Our school initiative is to Scare Hunger by donating non-perishable food. The goal for each class is to collect enough to fill two boxes. Please continue to bring food in. Thank you for your generosity!

BOWLING: If you have not yet returned the form and paid for bowling, please do so as soon as possible. If you need another form to fill out (or need details), please click here to print out a copy or simply write a note in the planner giving your consent and record the online payment confirmation number. I am still looking for one more parent volunteer to walk with us to Revs, please. Thank you.

SCHOLASTIC: Orders are due on Saturday, October 12 at noon. To learn how to place an order online, click here. If you need the flyers sent home again, please let me know.

INSIDE SHOES: If your child does not have a pair of inside shoes, please send. With the beauty of our west coast weather, it really helps in keeping our classroom space cleaner. It is also more comfortable for your child to wear runners than heavy boots all day. Thank you.

Our little scientists’ inquiry on local sea creatures is well on its way! They have been enthusiastically and diligently researching websites on their animal. This week, we will be receiving a Virtual Reality kit which include Google glasses to virtually dive deep into the ocean to take a closer look! 

In support of our inquiry, Division 8 and 9 had an exciting field trip to the aquarium. We had some free exploration time on our own. Otherwise, we came together to watch the sea otter feeding, dolphin, and sea lion show. Our classroom workshop experience focussed on learning more about our local coast animals. Students had an opportunity to touch a jellyfish, sea cucumber, sea urchin, and try on a turtle’s shell to name a few things.

We are very grateful to parents who have volunteered to help drive and supervise students. 

Dear students,

What were your highlights of the trip? What was the most interesting fact you learned? Please feel free to write a comment on this post. Thank you!