Category: We are artists.

Dear Division 11 Families,

Thank you so much for joining us on Wednesday, even on such short notice. From identifying problems and needs, planning and sketching, to creating their cardboard prototypes, our students worked incredibly hard. It was wonderful to see how proud they were to showcase their work, and we truly appreciate your presence and support. We also had two other classes visit, and it was heartwarming to see how engaged the audience was with our inventions.

In this project, we developed so many of our core competencies of critical thinking, reflective thinking, creativity, communication, and more! Well done, Division 11!

We Are Mathematicians

In math, we have been learning about 3D objects and their properties. Through hands-on activities, such as building with toothpicks and plasticine and using magnetic rods, students explored how to count faces, edges, and vertices. As we worked through these concepts, we discovered patterns. For example, with prisms, we learned that the number of edges can be found by multiplying the number of sides on the base by 3. A triangular prism has a base with 3 sides, so it has 9 edges (3 x 3). A hexagonal prism has 18 edges (3 x 6). In a short time, our students have done an amazing job learning the names and properties of various 3D objects! 

We Are Artists 

Tying into our lessons on geometry, students explored how to use shading techniques to make their drawings look three-dimensional and realistic. They each drew a cone, cube, cylinder, and sphere, then arranged them into a creative “impossible stack.” Shading was a new skill for many, but students rose to the challenge and were excited to see their drawings come to life! 

Important Updates 

Market Day – Monday:
Students from Divisions 1, 2, and 3 are excited to share their amazing handmade products, from jewelry to stuffed toys made from scratch. Prices vary, with most items around $5 and a maximum of $10. Please send your child with an appropriate amount of money they can manage independently. 

Construction Update:
Fences will be going up around the school, restricting access to the back door from the annex/big gym side of the school. Please help your child line up at our usual morning spot by walking around the school close to Kitchener Street. 

Body Science presentations on Tues, June 17:
Students in our class will have their presentation on Tuesday afternoon. The parent information session will be on Monday, June 16 at 6:30pm on Zoom. Please see the email from the office for the zoom link. 

Book Swap on Wed, June 18:
Students who brought in at least one book will go to choose new to them books on this day! Might not be too late to bring in books on Monday! In my previous schools when we did this, almost every child brought in a book to swap. They absolutely love this event and went home super excited to share their books with their families! 

Field Trip to McGill Library and Confederation park on Thur, June 19:
We are excited to join Ms. Forbes and Ms. Rinaldo’s classes this Thursday! Please review the notice by clicking here. Children are usually extra hungry during active field trips so please bring extra snacks. It might be easier for them to wear their bathing suits under their clothes too. 

Thank you, families, for your continued support at home. We hope you have a wonderful weekend. And to our amazing dads, happy Father’s Day on Sunday! 

Warm regards, 

Cailyn and Livia 

Dear families,

It’s hard to believe we are in our last week of May!

We are mathematicians.

Students are progressing well with our division concepts! We continued to deepen their understanding of division by sharing and division by grouping through creating their own word problems. Ms. Kim had them create their own word problems including the solution. They really enjoyed using their creativity in math!

On Thursday and Friday, we learned how to divide by repeated subtraction. They learned that this is the opposite of repeated addition for multiplication. Here, they subtract the divisor until they can’t anymore. Then they count the number of times they subtracted for the quotient. Many found this strategy of dividing straightforward to understand so they quickly showed proficiency. Click here to watch a short video for review.

Ways to support at home: Reinforcing concepts learned at school is a great way to solidify learning especially if you ask your child to teach you. The process of teaching involves higher level thinking (analysis and synthesis) than to just do questions you give them as practice. This further develops  their brain through active retrieval which strengthens neural pathways, improves communication skills, opportunities to monitor their own understanding, and increased confidence.

We are creative.

We read a story called A Squiggly Story by Andrew Larson. After the story, students were given the choice to write their own or to continue the story from the end of this story where the boy leaves on a rocket ship with an alien.

We practiced being creative by using squiggles to help us be more creative. Ms. Chan modelled some creative thinking strategies by creating her own story on the board. One tip: use the phrase “All of a sudden” or “suddenly”. This creates an unexpected turn in the story and increases your audience’s attention.

Another goal of this writing exercise was to develop our writing fluency. This is how quickly we can get our thoughts onto a page. They were challenged to write as quickly as they can. After a solid 20 minutes, we counted up our words. We saw so many really push themselves!

Unleashing Imagination: Why “What If…” Poems Matter!

Our classroom buzzed with imagination this week as students dove into writing their own “What If…” poems. It was more than just a writing exercise; it was a deliberate push to spark their incredible creativity.

You might think creativity is something you’re born with, but the truth is, creativity can absolutely be taught and developed! It’s one of our core competencies too! I was an Odyssey of the Mind coach for five years and saw our team grow immensely in their creative thinking and problem solving skills.

Creative thinking is a fundamental way of thinking and approaching challenges that empowers children to come up with diverse solutions and consider different perspectives. When we encourage this kind of imaginative thinking, we’re not just fostering artistic expression; we’re building essential skills that will serve them well in all aspects of life to think flexibly and inventively.

Ways to support at home: Have fun co-creating your own “What If…” poems! See how creative you can be with your child! Here’s a challenge: Write one with your child or as a family. Have your child bring your family poem to school to share next week! We would love to see your creativity run wild!

Learning about perspectives

We had a discussion about the picture on the left, exploring how both interpretations can be correct—even if they’re different. It’s all about point of view and understanding another person’s perspective.

We then read They All Saw a Cat by Brendan Wenzel, a book that beautifully illustrates how various animals perceive the same cat in very different ways. For example, the way a fox sees the cat is completely different from how a mouse sees it.

Inspired by the book, we created our own “cat perspective” art. Students illustrated the cat from two different viewpoints, thinking carefully about how perception can change based on who is looking.

Our students have been working very hard, and they’re excited to share their artwork with everyone soon!

We are athletes.

Tennis lessons continued last week. This week will be their final sessions.

Passion Projects

Students are moving along with their Passion Projects. We reviewed the single-point rubric that we will use to assess. Click on the image or click here to view the PDF.

They are learning to analyze and synthesize the information they find on websites and decide how to present these facts on their slides.

They are becoming more proficient with inserting images and text boxes.

We love how excited they get when we pull out the laptops! We enjoy seeing how hard they work on learning and developing their ideas in a digital form. Here are some of this important skills they are developing:

• reading, researching, and information gathering to develop curiosity and independently seeking knowledge (Core competency: Thinking skills)
• organization and planning – students must decide on the information they want to share (synthesize), what information goes together, and how to organize the information like one idea per slide for clarity
• communication skills – writing skills to paraphrase in their own words, making it easy to understand, and being concise by using bullet points
• digital literacy and technology skills – navigating between website and PowerPoint project, inserting text, adding images, and resizing fonts, for example.

Save the Dates

• Thur. May 29 at 1:30pm – Volunteer Tea in the gym
• Fri. May 30 at 2:00pm – Early dismissal
• Fri. May 30 at 2:00pm – $2 Ice cream sandwich and $1 freezie sale. Click here to learn more. Cash only in the undercover area where we usually line up.
• Mon. June 2 – All library books are due
• Fri. June 6 – Pro-D day; school not in session
• Wed. June 18 – Book swap
• Thur. June 19 at 9:15am (all day) – Burnaby Public Library visit & Confederation Park travelling by public transit.
• Wed. June 25 –Last full day of school
• Thur. June 26 – Early dismissal at 10am

Our hearts are full of appreciation for your continued support.

Gratefully, Ms. Kim and Ms. Chan

Dear Division 11 Families,

We hope you had a wonderful weekend! It’s hard to believe we’re already nearing the end of Term 2 and that this is the last week before Spring Break. It feels like we just met the students, but as they say, time flies when you’re having fun!

Vancouver Warriors
Our class had an incredible opportunity to learn from the pros; the Vancouver Warriors came to our school! We participated in a session where we learned about the history and fundamentals of lacrosse. Students learned the basics of passing, catching, and shooting, while also gaining insight into the sport’s connection to Indigenous history and culture.

Kindness Rocks!
This week, our class took part in a simple but meaningful project; Kindness Rocks! Each student painted a rock with inspiring words and creative designs. We talked about how small acts of kindness can make a big difference, whether it’s a kind word, a smile, or even a painted rock left for someone to find!

Science 
Exploring Ecosystems: Everything is Connected!
This week in science, we learned how everything in an ecosystem is connected! We explored what organisms look like, where they live, and the roles they play. We had the opportunity to observe them up close.

Language Arts

Our students worked on the introductions of their stories. We explored what makes an introduction engaging and focused on three key techniques:

• Sparking curiosity to make readers want to keep reading.
• Creating a vivid picture in the reader’s mind.
• Evoking emotions by incorporating sensory details.

After learning about these techniques, students applied them to their own writing. They also dedicated a day to editing and refining their introductions.

Math

We are wrapping up our unit on addition and subtraction. As a class, we reviewed the three strategies together before going on a scavenger hunt around the classroom to find math problems. Students had to solve each addition or subtraction question using a specific strategy based on the color of the paper. For example, if the problem was on pink paper, they used the compensation strategy.

To conclude, we reflected on which strategies they preferred. Many students chose multiple strategies, demonstrating their flexible thinking and problem-solving skills!

Social Studies

Our students participated in an invention scavenger hunt! Working with a partner, they read about different inventions and identified the need each invention addressed. They were excited to recognize some familiar inventions and discover new ones they had never heard of before.

Primary Days of Music Field Trip – This Thursday!

Thank you for submitting your forms!

Families, we are so grateful for your support! Thank you for being a part of our learning journey.

Warm regards,

Cailyn, Livia, and Jake

Dear Division 11 Families,

February is the Month of Love!

We are launching our Month of Love, starting with “Love Myself.” We read Remarkably You by Pat Zietlow Miller, encouraging our students to embrace what makes them unique and special.

Next, we brainstormed messages to write on paper candy hearts—messages students wanted to send to themselves.

For our art project, we designed our hearts with a base layer of oil pastels, followed by a layer of wet acrylic paint. Then, using sharp pencil crayons, students scratched their messages onto each heart. Our classroom wall is now filled with these heartfelt reminders, reinforcing positive self-talk and self-love.

Social Studies

We are wrapping up our We Are All Connected unit by exploring our connection to the land. We began by studying the moon—its phases, their names, and the science behind them. Then, we read Taan’s Moon and learned how the people of Haida Gwaii named the moon phases based on knowledge passed down through generations.

Math

We are so proud of the growth our students have shown in the past few weeks! Many are challenging themselves with three-digit addition and subtraction problems. They are doing a fantastic job communicating and representing their learning in different ways. This week, they will focus on another strategy, decomposing.

Story Writing

Our students are becoming skilled at writing dialogue using quotation marks! We worked on making our writing more engaging by using descriptive words instead of repeatedly writing “said.” We also explored how to describe a character’s actions and emotions while they speak.

A great example of this is the book How I Met My Monster (part of a series—check out the other books by the same author!). This book does an excellent job of showing how dialogue can make writing more dynamic and engaging.

📖 How I Met My Monster Read-Aloud:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YunBFPyF37U

Please join us tomorrow for our weekly Family Reading in our classroom from 9:00–9:15 AM.

Thank you so much for your support!

Warm regards,
Cailyn & Livia