Category: We are authors.

Dear families,

We hope you enjoyed your extra hour today!

We are writers.

On Monday, Ms. Kim and I had our second opportunity to team teach. We carried on with our lesson about paragraph writing (about gratitude) to learn about how to reflect on our writing to make it better. We introduced DYRIO? This stands for “Did you read it over?”

This is something I created many years ago when I was on Staff Development teaching writing strategies. I noticed that when I taught it to other teachers, many would message me the next day telling me they tried this and loved it because it worked immediately! In my own practice teaching grades 1-5, I noticed that student writing greatly improved with this one small change: Ask students to re-read their writing at least three times before handing it in.

Click on the DYRIO image to view the full PDF.

On most days after Heart Time (soft start), we review a morning message where we fix Ms. Kim’s or Ms. Chan’s mistakes. We practice editing so they are developing editing skills when they look at their own writing.

When students hand in work, they are asked, “DYRIO?” This is what it means:

• Read – 1st time: Read it like a reader as if you are reading someone else’s writing. The key to any writing is clarity. You can have the right spelling or use proper punctuation but if the message isn’t clear, it is difficult for your audience to understand.

• Read – 2nd time: Read it like a revision expert. Your job is to look for ways to improve your writing. We have many mini-lessons planned to help with this like learning about adjectives, adverbs, synonyms, word choice, etc. Often, I will ask them to show me what they made better. Last week, Ms. Kim taught them how to write “super sentences” to learn how to add more details and “triple scoop words”. “Triple scoop words” is a term used to encourage students to choose rich, descriptive vocabulary, similar to getting a “triple scoop” of ice cream instead of a single. These words go beyond basic language (like “good” or “nice”) to provide a fuller, more vivid picture, adding “extra flavor” to writing.For example:
  • Instead of saying “happy,” students might choose “ecstatic” or “overjoyed.”
  • Rather than “big,” they could use “enormous” or “gigantic.”

• Read – 3rd time: Read it like an editor looking for capitals to start sentences and for names, proper punctuation, spelling and grammar.

This process is actually what publishing companies do when they edit books to be published. Check clarity, make it better, and lastly, editing.

Ways to support at home: For all students, we have a goal to improve written communication skills so writing at home is a great way to improve. Students can keep a journal or write a letter to someone (This is so novel now!). You can have fun co-writing a story together! Bookmaking is one of our student’s favourite activities in school so try it at home with them! Then after they write, ask them to DYRIO to reinforce reflecting on their message clarity, working on improving it, and then editing. Read it with them and talk through your thought processes. You are modelling what a writer thinks during revision and editing stages.

Comfort zone circles

I have been wanting to teach this lesson since September. This is one of my signature lessons on growth mindset! Teacher2Teacher loved my story that they interviewed me and published a blog post about my Comfort zone circles lesson. Feel free to read the blog post. It is titled “A Simple Way I Show Students They’re Growing Every Day.”

I don’t call the red zone the panic zone anymore. It’s now called “Not Yet Zone” which is more appropriate for a growth mindset approach.

We played a game where I moved the carpet to the middle of the room to represent our comfort zone. Then I called out different scenarios for them to decide how comfortable they were doing it. Then they had fun taking turns to come up with scenarios for their classmates. For example:

• riding a bike
• going swimming in a pool, lake, or ocean
• speaking in front of the whole school

Afterwards, students created their own comfort zone circles listing things that were in their comfort zone, stretch zone, and not yet zone.

The key to this lesson is learning that we want to be in our stretch zone. This is optimal and where most learning happens. When things are too easy, we don’t feel challenge and we don’t grow much. But in our stretch zone, we experience productive struggle, take risks, and overcome the hurdles and learn that we can do hard things. We talked about affirmations and shared ideas about what affirmations we can say to ourselves:

• You can do this!
• I am doing my best.
• You can do hard things!

Follow up story: We read a story that one of my friend’s wrote: Cannonball In by Tara Martin. From Amazon:

From the shallow end of the pool, Olivia watches the flippers, the graceful divers, and her favorite—the cannonballers! Wave after wave, she wishes she could make a splash.

But she’s afraid! In the deep end of the pool, she can’t reach the bottom. Plus the dabblers are there, sitting on the side of the pool and laughing at her!

With a little encouragement from her dad and a whole lot of gumption, Olivia heads to the diving board. But will she be brave enough to take the leap?

In this beautifully illustrated picture book, Tara Martin inspires young readers to find their courage and cannonball in—no matter what the naysayers (and the voice of fear) are chanting.

Ways to support: Have a conversation about being brave to take risks.

Diwali

We greatly appreciate Ziya who shared how she celebrates Diwali with her family. We learned about who celebrates around the world, when, why it is celebrated, what it means, and how they celebrate while also learning some variations depending on where they are in the world.

Diwali, the “Festival of Lights,” celebrates the triumph of light over darkness and good over evil. Families decorate with oil lamps and colorful rangoli, light fireworks, share sweets, and exchange gifts. It’s a joyful time of gratitude, reflection, and togetherness.

We are mathematicians.

Students finished up their personal pattern books by doing their self-reflection on their learning. They are proud of their books!

This week, we will begin our unit on number concepts and place value. There will be opportunities to play games and support at home. Stay tuned!

From Ms. Kim:

Dear Division 11 Families,

I hope you are having a wonderful weekend so far!

Here are some of the fun learning happening in our classroom:

Math: Our students have been practicing reading fractions. We took our learning outside, where they drew fractions on a large number line and then jumped to each fraction after reading it aloud. Some were so proud of how long their number lines were and how they could divide them into so many equal parts!

Social Studies: This week, we explored how different cultures honour the passing of loved ones. Many students shared how their families or friends’ traditions they know connect to the traditions we’ve been discussing. I love when students make connections to the real world, so please continue having conversations with them about topics we discuss in class.

Art/Writing: For Halloween, our students were asked to create the “best pumpkin in the patch.” They then worked on descriptive writing about their pumpkins. We were so impressed by their creativity and the detail in their writing!

We are always so grateful for your support too. Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Warm regards,
Cailyn

Patterns Art with Ms. Kim:

Field Trip: Ice Skating!

The field trip notice was sent home on Friday, November 1. Please consider helping us out by being a volunteer driver. If you can skate, it would be very helpful if you can go on the ice to support. Thank you!

We are so grateful for your continued support at home. We are always available to speak to you about how we can work together to better support your child.

With much gratitude, Ms. Chan

Dear Division 11 Families, 

I hope everyone had a fantastic weekend and enjoyed some Halloween festivities! We’ve been getting into the Halloween spirit in class with creative activities and spooky decorations. 

Our students explored positive and negative space in art, creating pumpkin designs that creatively incorporate both. They were so creative with their designs, and now their pumpkins are hanging on our wall, making the classroom wonderfully spooky! 

The students were thrilled to learn that our next unit in math is fractions! We practiced writing fractions on the whiteboards, and they created their own fractions using coloured strips. Some even managed to divide their strips into 32 equal parts! 

I am incredibly proud of the progress our students have made in showing their thinking with Venn diagrams. In small groups, they matched cultures with similar wedding traditions and chose a pair to show what they have in common and some unique things about each culture. 

Sincerely, Ms. Kim

We are writers.

On Monday, both Ms. Kim and Ms. Chan had an opportunity to team teach! As you may recall, students were working on their I Am Thankful poems modeled after the book by Todd Parr (shared in Week 5’s blog post.) They were encouraged to take only one of the things they feel very grateful for to develop their ideas into a paragraph.

One of the things that students in grade 3 need to be able to do by the end of the year is to write a paragraph that contains opening and closing sentences with ideas that are clear, organized, and developed. They should include details, reasons, or explanations that show some critical thinking about the topic. We can’t wait for you to read their paragraphs! We will continue to work on improving our paragraph this week.

This term, we are working on our personal, impromptu writing. This week, they will be introduced to a rubric as part of assessment so they can see how they are doing, to set some goals, and next steps.

Ways to support at home: Practice writing paragraphs together with your child modeling opening and closing sentences along with supporting statements that develop your idea.

Learning About Diversity

On Thursday, my friend, Ms. Woelders, visited our class. She is the Outreach Coordinator working at the B. C. Accessible Resource Centre. 

We learned about celebrating diversity, disabilities, and the new law: Accessible BC Act. She highlighted the importance of lowering barriers so everyone can learn. They got to see and touch a picture book with braille which is meant for people who are visually impaired or blind. She told us that the book costs $300!

She read us a story called “Ish” by Peter Reynolds and did a 4 square activity with them. This is actually one of my favourite books.

Check out some of our work!

 Digital Literacy and Digital Citizenship

Last week was our District’s Digital Literacy and Digital Citizenship week. We learned about what digital literacy means and what is a good digital citizen.

This video (The Power of Words) is designed to help students build empathy by teaching them that the words they use on the Internet can be powerful. It also covers what to do if they encounter cyberbullying.

Some of your children are playing on websites (like Roblox) where they can communicate with others. We talked about ways we can keep ourselves and our personal information safe and private. We do not share our full names, birthdays, where we live or go to school, etc. We also discussed how we can be HAWKS (Helpful Accepting Welcoming Kind and Safe) online with people we don’t know. What we shouldn’t say to someone face-to-face, we shouldn’t say to someone behind our screens. We can be great digital citizens.

Ways to support at home: Click on the video image to visit the page and watch the video at home with your children. Have regular conversations about how they treat others online and how they want to be treated online. If anything ever feels uncomfortable, leave that online space and tell a trusted adult right away. Take time to regularly check their communication with others online. They are or will be learning to navigate this online space and will need your guidance and coaching. Teach them how to be a kind and responsible digital citizen.

Hallowe’en

On Thursday, children are welcome to come to school wearing a costume. We are learning to be culturally responsive, inclusive, and respectful. Please review the poster shared by our District office.

Also, please let us know if your child and family do not partake in Hallowe’en activities so we can find alternate activities. We will be integrating other cultural festivities around this time like Diwali. Please feel free to send me an email so you can share with us so we can learn from you too! Thank you!

There will be a parade and short assembly in the morning on Thursday, October 30.

In the afternoon, we will have a class autumn party. Children are welcome to bring healthy treats to share. They will have more than enough sweets afterwards so I would like to encourage healthier snacks, please. They can also bring a simple board game they may want to play with their classmates. Thank you!

PJ Day

Friday, November 1 is PJ Day! Students are welcome to wear pajamas and bring a stuffed animal and blanket (or bed sheet). We will turn our classroom into forts to read with each other and our furry friends.

Field Trips

We are planning for three morning sessions of ice skating this term. If we get the dates and times we requested, these skating sessions will be on Tuesday mornings. We will leave right after the morning bell. We will need parent volunteer drivers, please. Stay tuned! We will share the dates as soon as they are confirmed by the City of Burnaby! So excited!

We are grateful for your support at home. I would like to suggest that you read these weekly blog posts WITH your child or have them read it TO you as practice. This way, you can ask direct questions about what they learned and then ask lots of questions to model curiosity (and in so doing, you model lifelong learning). Look up the answers online as part of your learning together! Ask them to explain their understanding. If they can teach you and explain it simply, then you know they comprehend it.

Looking forward to another fantastic week full of joy and learning!

With great appreciation, Ms. Chan

Dear Division 11 Families,

Our hearts were warmed by your presence at our Families as Partners conversations last week. We thoroughly enjoyed meeting you in person and learning more about your child through your stories. Thank you for your investment of time to share as we journey and work alongside each other this year.

Patterns
In Math, we continued to learn about different varieties of patterns. For example, a pattern can be different by shape, colour, size, and rotation. We started our Patterns booklet where we got to create our own book cover and demonstrate our understanding of repeating patterns including identifying the core pattern. Next steps: Learn how to identify, create, continue, and describe increasing patterns.

Way to support at home: When you are outside, look for patterns in nature. At home, take out items to create varying patterns that change by shape, colour, size or rotation.

One of our core competencies is personal awareness and identity.

We read a story called I Like Myself! by Karen Beaumont. Watch the animated video on YouTube of the story. The goal of reading this story was to critically think about our strengths, core values, and character traits we appreciate about ourselves. This isn’t an easy task even for some adults! Students had an opportunity to respond to this story by writing about what they like about themselves.

Learning requires exploration of one‘s identity. – First Peoples Principals of Learning

This principle reflects the importance of identity in relation to learning. Identity is what connects people to each other, to communities, and to the land. The exploration of one’s identity includes developing an understanding of one’s place in the world, in addition to being able to identify all the factors that contribute to how people see themselves. These factors include their strengths and their challenges, their innate abilities (gifts) and capacities to learn. In addition to using this understanding to help one grow in life, knowing one’s own strengths and challenges is a part of the responsibility a person has to his or her family and community, as a people are considered to have a duty to use them to contribute to others (family, community, and land). Taken from https://firstpeoplesprinciplesoflearning.wordpress.com/learning-requires-exploration-of-ones-identity/

We are each unique and beautiful but together we are a masterpiece!

Ways to support learning at home: Have a conversation about what they wrote in their writing books. Help them extend understanding of themselves by helping them see some of the positive characteristics they have. Support them in seeing the examples (or receipts in their lives) that demonstrate these positive traits that you see. Developing a positive self image through awareness of strengths and core values is one of the first steps in building a strong foundational relationship with themselves. When they know who they are, what they stand for, and what brings them joy, then they can anchor into these when faced with adversity or challenges. If you were to model this, what would you say to your child?

We are scientists.

Big idea: All matter is made of particles.

You may have seen a yellow sticky note come home in their planner with the word “matter” written on it. We went around the room and in the hallways to “label” everything we saw as matter to demonstrate our understanding that matter is anything that has mass and takes up space. They were asked to tell you what we did with the sticky note and show you examples of matter in your home.

We also talked about atoms. Their minds were blown away when they learned how many atoms are on the top of a pinhead!

Orange Shirt Day

During our Orange Shirt Day assembly on Friday, we learned about why we wear orange shirts. Why? An orange shirt was taken away from a residential school Survivor: Phyllis Webstad. This day raises awareness of the residential school system in Canada. Wearing orange reminds us of the impact of residential schools still felt today. We also went for a short walk around the school.

On Monday, September 30, the school will not be in session for National Day for Truth & Reconciliation. This is an important day of reflection to honour Survivors, families, communities, and remember the ancestors that never made it home. For me as a mother, I can’t help but feel emotional when I think about children being separated from their families. Some children may have emotions about this too when they try to empathize. Please have a conversation to help them understand our history and why National Day for Truth & Reconciliation is an important day. Thank you.

Ways to support at home: Please feel free to visit the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation website to continue the learning and reflection at home. Feel free to watch the video we also watched at our assembly.

Scholastic Book Orders

One of the ways we have built up our classroom library is through the Scholastic Reading Club. The books in these flyers are generally wonderful and are very reasonable. Teachers are awarded points to use toward books and classroom supplies when students place orders. We will be sending home flyers regularly. Learn more.

Our class code: RC235868

Some of our class books were donated by previous students. This is so appreciated! If you have books at home that your child is no longer interested in, please consider donating them to the classroom. Children need an interesting variety of books to be motivated to read and we do a lot of reading! If we cannot use them, we know many new teachers who can. Any unwanted craft supplies, puzzles, or games are also greatly appreciated. 

Thank you for your support at home. If you returned the student information forms that went home last week, thank you! If you have not yet, then please return this week.

Looking forward to another great week at school!

With gratitude, Ms. Chan

A message from Ms. Kim

This week in art, our students learned about the artist Keith Haring. We explored the concept of pop art and discussed his unique style. Next week, the students will create Keith Haring-inspired family portraits and learn about complementary colors through his artwork.

We spent a significant amount of time in class discussing Orange Shirt Day and the importance of this day. This year, the National Day of Truth and Reconciliation event will be taking place on Sunday, September 29th, 2024 at Memorial Peace Park in Maple Ridge, beginning at 10am until 3pm. This will be a good opportunity for students to learn more about the significance behind this day.

In math, we are continuing our work on data analysis. The students have been developing their own survey questions to gather and display data.

In Social Studies, we read a wonderful book called A Family is a Family is a Family by Sara O’Leary. This book celebrates all types of families, and we will continue our conversation about families into next week, eventually exploring family traditions from around the world.

As always, I am thankful for your support in your child’s learning journey.

Kindly, Ms. Kim

Dates to Note:

• Wednesday, October 2: Picture Day
• Friday, October 5: Painting our fish for Stream of Dreams; send children with clothing appropriate for painting just in case. I am not sure if the paint is washable. These fish will replaced the ones currently on the fence along Gilmore Ave.
• Every Friday: Conversation Circles for English Language Learners newer to Canada. Come practice your speaking and make new connections at school!
• PAC fundraiser: Apples! Last day to order is October 9.
• Friday, October 18: Family movie night. Save the date!

This was our writing and art about our names! Look at all of the cool designs we made with our names!

Dear families,

Our first full week of February was filled with engaged learners!

Ice Skating on Monday, February 12 and 26 at 9:30 AM

To bring:

• Booster seat – CLICK HERE for ICBC child car seat requirements.
• Gloves or mittens to protect their hands (mandatory)
• Wear long socks (Highly recommend! Sometimes the top of the skates dig in to their legs but the longer socks protect them.)
• Ski or snowboard helmet but the rink will have them to borrow. There is no need to go out to buy unless you plan to use in the future. It’s just nice to have your own.
• Waterproof pants are recommended but this is not necessary so you do not need to go out to buy.
• Dress in layers. While it is cold at the rink, once they start moving around, they get quite warm.

For parent volunteer drivers:

• We have such appreciation for the overwhelming response to help drive us to the rink. We will be leaving right after attendance is taken. When we arrive at Bill Copeland, the rink and skate shop is on the lower floor. There are a set of stairs from the outside that will lead you there.
• BEFORE: Please help children line up to get their skate rentals. The helmets will be in a bin off to the side. For better selection, get the helmets BEFORE they put on skates. Please help children tie skates.
• DURING: Some students may want a break and come off the ice. Please encourage them to take a short break and then ask them to go back onto the ice to maximize their skating time.
• DURING: If you will be on the ice, please support help us support our beginning skaters as much as possible. I will be leading a short lesson at the beginning to teach them a few skills. This is a very large group so everyone’s support during this time will be greatly appreciated.
• AFTER: Help remove skates and wipe down the blade. There should be a towel close to where they return the skates. If you return to school before I do, please bring them to class so they can eat their snacks.

How to prepare your child:

• For most students, this will be their first time skating. Please talk to them about having a growth mindset. Falling, getting back up, and perseverance with a positive and “I can do it” mindset is a part of learning a new skill. “Learning involved patience and time.” – First Peoples Principles of Learning
• Feel free to watch these videos to learn more and share with your child: Growth Mindset vs. Fixed Mindset or this Growth Mindset vs. Fixed Mindset.
• There will NOT be enough bars for all beginning students to use as they learn to skate. In my experience, these are often crutches and those who rely on these tend to learn to skate a lot slower. Please encourage your child to try the skills I will teach them during the lesson. They will make the most progress WITHOUT the bars or seals to hold on to.
• Please arrive at school on time.

Passion Projects

Students are excited to continue working and learning about their topics. What excitement a few students shared right at the door on Monday morning! They told me how they were working on their PowerPoint presentations while at home over the weekend. Thank you so much for your support and for fostering their love of learning at home! They are making good progress!

We are mathematicians.

We learned about the passing of time and also learned how to tell time. Your child should have brought home a clock to teach you how to tell time. Please continue to review.

Make it fun! Take turns asking each other what time it is. In Math, I often provide different levels of difficulty. They love challenging themselves!

Time concepts – Grade 3 Math curriculum

While telling time is not expected, it’s a basic skill to know how to tell time.

Lunar New Year

We learned about Lunar New Year traditions and watched a lion dance along with a cool competition.

They enjoyed making bubble waffles on Wednesday! This was one of my mom’s favourite street snacks when she lived in Hong Kong as a child. She reminisced how she would go down to the streets to buy when she was given some extra spending money. These treats have become locally more popular in the past decade. If you would like to try, there is a stall at the Amazing Brentwood food court called Bubble Waffle Cafe.

Click here for the recipe I used from Pampered Chef.

Click here for the bubble waffle maker I purchased on Amazon.

We are authors.

On Thursday, we invited Ms. Sutton, our District Literacy Enhancement Teacher, to teach us about book making. Unfortunately, I was in the office on Thursday and Friday because Mr. Klarich was away so I did not get to see her presentation but I did see their excitement. As soon as I stepped into the classroom, so many of them wanted to share what they were working on!

Valentine’s Day

CLICK HERE to see the notice that was sent home. Thank you for returning the bottom portion to let me know which fruit(s) your child will be contributing. Thank you for your fruit!

Please also send a plastic bowl and spoon in a bag to be environmentally friendly. Feel free to send a container with a lid instead just in case they don’t finish their portion.

Save the Dates

• Friday, February 16 – District Professional Day. No school for students.
• Monday, February 19 – Family Day. School is closed.
• Monday, March 4 to 8 – Hip Hop lessons
• Monday, March 11 – Whole school performance (AM)
• Monday, March 18 to Monday, April 1 – Spring break, school closure, and Easter Monday
• Thursday, April 11 – Student Led Conferences from 3 to 6 PM (Families are invited to celebrate learning. Your child will lead the conversation and show you what they’ve learned so far.)
• Friday, April 12 – Early dismissal at 2 PM
• Monday, April 29 – Pro-D day. No school for students.
• Friday, May 10 – We will be going to the Vancouver Aquarium by school bus with Ms. Santorelli and Ms. Tai’s classes. We will need parent volunteers to help supervise. Thank you!

I appreciate all of the love and care your children demonstrate to me and each other. I really do love and adore your children very much. They bring me so much joy! Many of them often share in our Community Circle time how grateful they are for their classmates. I always feel so very blessed and grateful to be their teacher and to work alongside you too. Thank you for your ongoing support.

Happy Lunar New Year! May you continue to experience love, joy, peace, prosperity, and good health! Sorry, we forgot to send home the Chinese paper lanterns on Friday.

With much gratitude, Ms. Chan