Wow! What a show! We are Hip Hop stars! The kids have worked hard during their Hip Hop lessons with Flo Jo for the last two weeks, learning their dance moves and the routine. They enjoyed transforming their black shirts into skeletons! They had opportunities to watch themselves so they could self-reflect, receive feedback, and make changes to improve their personal performance. The Hip Hop Show is truly a memorable one year after year.
In Math, the grade 3’s continued to learn about linear measurement (mm, cm, m, km) and measuring capacity (mL, L). Next is measuring mass. Please feel free to review these concepts at home to reinforce learning. The grade 4’s reviewed polygons before learning about measuring the perimeter of polygons. They quickly created a new book using the Book Creator app to capture their understanding. Those that completed their books uploaded it to OneDrive so feel free to ask your child to login to view.
In Science, we have continued to learn about landforms. They seemed to really enjoy learning about glaciers and icebergs this week. Some asked if we will continue to learn about more landforms because they are really enjoying it! They have become more confident using the Explain Everything app too. I just love their enthusiasm and have enjoyed learning alongside them as I am creating my very own landforms project on my iPad too; I have learned so much about these landforms that I never knew before! In particular, I love it when someone has researched and found a unique fact and shared it with the class as they look for answers to their own inquiry questions. They certainly are getting better at asking and recording questions on their “I wonder” slide.
In Art, Mr. Baumann has continued to do guided drawings. They have worked on drawing a dog. See some of our examples from Ana, Anna, Tyson, and Yoyo. I love how even though Mr. Baumann walks them through, they all look creatively different!
We have some exciting news to share. Next Monday, we have a student teacher from SFU that will be spending time with us. Her name is Ms. Grewal. The main purpose of the week is to observe, get to know the students, and to learn about the daily operations of the school beyond the classroom. After the week, Ms. Grewal will return to SFU for three weeks and then come back for another four weeks total before and after spring break. Please feel free to ask should you have any questions.
Brentwood Park’s Talent Show will be on February 24. Anyone interested needs to sign up for auditions. This is a great opportunity to showcase creativity!
I apologize for no post last week so this post will cover the last two weeks. I was in a ringette tournament last weekend. My own team lost in the semi-finals and my daughter’s team, who I coach, won gold in their division! It was a very exciting fun-filled weekend.
We welcomed our two new students: Anna and Yoo Joon. I am happy to say that students have been very warm and welcoming.
We listened to a story about making New Year’s resolutions, Squirrel’s New Year’s Resolution. Click on image to watch:
Rather than usual New Year’s resolutions, students chose #OneWord2020 and shared on @padlet. Then we dove into our “magnifying glass” writing to record details on why we chose our word, how we are going to remind ourselves, and to come up with strategies when we know we will be challenged. Check out our “one word” resolutions!
For writing, we have listened to a number of stories about snow since we have seen a lot of it lately! Sneezy the Snowman by Maureen Wright, Deep Snow and So Much Snow by Robert Munsch, The Three Snow Bears by Jan Brett, and The First Sign of Snow (animated video). After listening to these stories, students were encouraged to use their creativity and were offered a choice in their writing. They could take any part of the story to change what happens next (almost like a build your own adventure) or they could write a continuation (like Part 2) of the story, or like The Three Snow Bears (which is a variation of Goldilocks and the Three Bears), they were given the option to write their own variation with different characters and different things these characters try before they fall asleep somewhere. I so enjoyed reading these stories because their creativity really shine through and I it makes me feel excited to see examples of how they are taking risks to incorporate new techniques in their writing! Click here to read stories written by Ana and Anna. Happy reading!
The class was introduced to a new app called Explain Everything. It’s one of the most downloaded educational apps and is similar to PowerPoint where they create slides, can add images, videos, audio, and record like an interactive whiteboard. Students are using this app to record their learning about landforms in Science. This unit is like a multi-mini inquiry project. First, we recorded what we think we know about mountains. Some students said they learned about landforms last year but when it was time to record what they think, they did not remember many facts. The next step was to be curious about mountains. Students were encouraged to record what they wonder about mountains. Then after some shared reading and a video, we recorded our new learning on a new Now I Know slide. Any questions that are not answered by our whole class learning then, students researched. This makes their learning personalized as they are able to make new discoveries based on their own curiosities. They have really enjoyed this kind of learning, finding images, and being able to show what they learned in this way! This past week, we learned about deserts. Next week, glaciers! Feel free to discuss what you wonder about glaciers. This thinking will help them with their work tomorrow.
We watched a short video on Wonderopolis on how mountains are formed. Click here to watch or click here for deserts.
In Math, the grade 3’s learned about linear measurement (mm, cm, dm, m, km) and practiced our measuring skills while the grade 4’s learned about regular and irregular polygons. As a class, we explored using our creativity and practiced the concept of symmetry and the line of symmetry. Then we examined how First People’s art often has symmetry and balance with various patterns.
As an introduction to early settlers in Canada, we borrowed Ms. Willis’ classroom and proceeded to use and take their things without the class knowing. (Well, actually, Ms. Willis did inform them we would be using their class for this purpose.) My goal was to help them experience something somewhat relatable so that they can empathize what it may have felt like for the First Peoples when the first settlers came to Canada. Looking forward to diving into further discussions and deeper thinking on this topic in Social Studies.
We watched a whole school performance, Hip Hop Hoop Dance. It is a story between two people from different cultures who teach each other about their people, culture, and dance as they develop a friendship. From Artstarts website:
Our collaborative Hip Hop Hoop Dance tells a story, exploring the topic of truth and reconciliation through the art of live theatre. It’s a sharing of cultures, both between the performer and with the audience. With both of us being people of colour, we realized we had both experienced aspects of colonization and assimilation. We quickly recognized the similarities between our respective cultures’ art forms, traditions and beliefs. We thought, we should celebrate this and build a performative piece that would recognize not only the celebration of similarities between cultures, but to celebrate the differences that are so unique. Terrance says, “… part of reconciliation is educating non-native people about Indigenous history. This show provides that information, to better understand the way of life of my people.”
Young People’s Concert on Monday, January 20: We will be leaving the classroom at 9:00 AM sharp to go to the bus. Please plan to arrive early! The bus will not wait for latecomers. This will be our final show in the Concert series.
Hip Hop: Students have been working hard to practice their dancing. It’s remarkable how quickly they learn. This year, students are to wear all black. If your child does not have a plain black top, feel free to take a shirt and flip it inside out or wear navy blue. Please feel free to bring in a black short or long sleeve shirt starting next Monday so we can add “bones” by using masking tape. The performance will be on Friday, January 24 in the afternoon.
Family Literacy Day and Readathon on Monday, January 27: Envelopes went home on Friday, January 17. They are due on Thursday, January 23rd. Regardless of whether you receive any pledges (collect money), your child is expected to return the envelope as this is their ticket in the gym door. This year, the school will be tallying fundraising pledges by division. The division with the most pledges will win a pizza party. Please have your child practice reading for up to 45 minutes so that they can read, uninterrupted for 45-60 minutes. They are to bring or have enough reading material for 45-60 minues and wear pyjamas and bring stuffies and a pillow if they wish.
Save the date and time! Our time in the Family Literacy Day and Readathon in the gym will be at 1:00 to 2:00pm. Families, please join us in the gym during this time. Parents, siblings, and grandparents are welcome!
Ice skating: We still need parent drivers for skating, please. If you have already volunteered, thank you so much. You should find the Volunteer Driver Authorization form in your child’s planner.
Here are some more tweets from this past week and a snapshot of our learning!
TUESDAY: Important lesson on Digital Citizenship to THINK before you post but really it’s a great reminder when we speak to each other face to face too. My grade 3/4’s dove into O365 Teams and first assignment. Can’t wait to see how communication and collaboration skills flourish!
WEDNESDAY: Yesterday, students wrote I Am Thankful poems. Today, they took only one of the ideas and dove deeper with details, reasons, explanations and experiences. Told students it’s like writing with a magnifying glass which I pulled out as a prop. Such great writing. Students really seeing themselves as writers! Click here to read Yoyo and Ananiah’s writing.
THURSDAY: In Science, we continued to expand our understanding of molecules – how colour and sugar molecules interacted with water molecules. Students enjoyed watching how the colour in the M&M’s dissolved in the water and tried to explain why the two colours did not mix using their understanding of molecules as there is a clear line between the two colours. The next day, we compared an M&M placed in plain water with an M&M placed in water with sugar. Please ask your child to explain what happened!
FRIDAY: @burnabyschoolsSuch gratitude for supporting the love of arts through Young People’s Concert series. Listening to students share reflections and appreciations when we returned was confirming of why it’s an important tradition to continue. Powerful example of people pursuing passions. Thank you!
Grupo America was the dance group that performed for us at the Michael J. Fox Theatre. It is a local Burnaby group!
FOOD BANK: Please continue to bring in non-perishable food items. Thank you.
BOWLING: This Thursday, we will be walking to Revs. Please have your child bring their lunch and a snack.
NEW FIELD TRIP: Burnaby will be hosting the World Ringette Championships at the end of November. We will be going to watch a game on November 28th! We will need parent volunteer drivers, please. Save the date! Click here for more information.
Finally, our class is complete with our last two students joining us this week. Welcome to our class, twins!
Here were the daily tweets for the week with additional information:
Click on image to learn more about the book.
MONDAY: Staff had a great day diving into our new school goal of writing. We started our day reviewing our social emotional goal with Jillian. There was excitement about maintaining an existing goal and taking on a new one.
TUESDAY: Read The Orange Shirt Story. During our discussion, students quickly came to realize how fortunate they are. It seemed to hit them when thinking about what it might be like to be away from their families for 300 consecutive days during the school year. Although Phyllis only spent one year in a residential school, many other children spent many more years away from their families. It was really quite difficult for them to fathom but I believe they understood why it is important to acknowledge Orange Shirt Day. To learn a little more, click here to read recent CBC article.
Click here to read reflections written by Kiana and Lucas C.
WEDNESDAY: Theme of the day – Trust. Started day with car and driver team building game. In partners, students in front were cars with eyes closed. Students in back drove car around room being careful and mindful not to drive too fast or to crash their vehicles! Great discussion about trust. End of day, learning about solids and matter. Ultimate trust to hold nail while partner hammers!
In Science, we continued our learning about matter to include the three states: solid, liquid, and gas. We all tried hammering a nail, comparing a bottle with air and then a bottle with water in it. Students were amazed at the enormous number of atoms or molecules in just one drop of water. Can you guess how many? Answer is at the bottom of this post.
THURSDAY: Being friendly can be taught. Team building activity: practiced just waving at our partner, then waving & smiling, then waving, smiling & saying hi, then waving, smiling, saying hi & their name. Last bit, created a special handshake. Move to new partner to do the same. Smiles and fun had by all! All smiling was good practice for our individual photos later in the morning!
FRIDAY: Partners used a deck of cards to make random numbers to compare smaller/larger numbers (like war but with 3-4 cards each). Same practice on a worksheet? Yes but so much more engaging and fun to learn together to practice not just a number sense concept but communication and social skills. Students recorded their number comparisons in their Math notebooks. To learn more about our new Math unit on Number Sense, the learning outcomes, and ways to support at home, click here.
We met with our buddy class for the first time in Mr. Jung’s grade 6/7 class. Students enjoyed getting to know their buddies by playing card games and reading with them.
Important Dates:
Friday, October 11 – Young People’s Concert – bus leaves for Michael J. Fox Theatre at 9:00am
Friday, October 11 – Scholastic and Revs Bowling permission slips are due
Monday, October 14 – Thanksgiving; school closed
Answer: It turns out there are over 1.5 sextillion molecules in a drop of water and more than 5 sextillion atoms per droplet. That’s 1 500 000 000 000 000 000 000 or 5 000 000 000 000 000 000 000, respectively in one single drop of water!
Dear families,
In Math, the grade 3’s continued to learn about linear measurement (mm, cm, m, km) and measuring capacity (mL, L). Next is measuring mass. Please feel free to review these concepts at home to reinforce learning. The grade 4’s reviewed polygons before learning about measuring the perimeter of polygons. They quickly created a new book using the Book Creator app to capture their understanding. Those that completed their books uploaded it to OneDrive so feel free to ask your child to login to view.
In Science, we have continued to learn about landforms. They seemed to really enjoy learning about glaciers and icebergs this week. Some asked if we will continue to learn about more landforms because they are really enjoying it! They have become more confident using the Explain Everything app too. I just love their enthusiasm and have enjoyed learning alongside them as I am creating my very own landforms project on my iPad too; I have learned so much about these landforms that I never knew before! In particular, I love it when someone has researched and found a unique fact and shared it with the class as they look for answers to their own inquiry questions. They certainly are getting better at asking and recording questions on their “I wonder” slide.
In Art, Mr. Baumann has continued to do guided drawings. They have worked on drawing a dog. See some of our examples from Ana, Anna, Tyson, and Yoyo. I love how even though Mr. Baumann walks them through, they all look creatively different!
We have some exciting news to share. Next Monday, we have a student teacher from SFU that will be spending time with us. Her name is Ms. Grewal. The main purpose of the week is to observe, get to know the students, and to learn about the daily operations of the school beyond the classroom. After the week, Ms. Grewal will return to SFU for three weeks and then come back for another four weeks total before and after spring break. Please feel free to ask should you have any questions.
