What a fun-filled week of learning about different literacies!
On Monday, we celebrated reading, writing, and listening literacy. Our whole school listened over the P.A. to the story “I Hope” by Monique Gray Smith, an Indigenous author. Every class projected it for all to follow along. Then we talked about our own hopes and recorded one of our own. Every class was asked to place their response sheets on our classroom doors. It’s been great to walk around to see everyone’s hopes displayed. Click on the image for a closer look!
Also on Monday, we worked on our math literacy by completing our understanding of addition with regrouping. Their assessments went home today. For grade 2s, their goal is to be able to add 2-digit plus 2-digit number with a sum to 100. For grade 3s, they aim to have a proficient understanding of adding 3-digit plus 3-digit numbers with a sum to 1000. Student need to understand the idea of regrouping (or some may say carry over). How to support at home? Continue to practice their addition and subtraction math facts for fluency and accuracy. Using a random numbers chart or a deck of cards to review is fun and a great way to practice together!
On Tuesday, the focus was on social emotional literacy. Over the past number of years, learning about our emotions has become more important. This includes expanding our vocabulary for different emotions. On this day, my uncle also came to read “The Name Jar” to us and shared some stories about names and how our culture values names. They also had an opportunity to develop their artistic literacy by following a directed drawing of a dragon. Can’t wait for you to see it when it’s finished!
On Wednesday, we learned more about physical literacy. Stick to School came for a visit to teach us about the importance of education and lacrosse. During Wondering Wednesday, we walked around the school and then went for a story walk to read “The Snowy Day” which is posted along the fence by the flagpole. This day, we also tried some interesting yoga poses! Ask your child to show you “pretzel” and then give it a try with your child. Mr. Klarich walked in just at that moment so we got him to try it too. Fun times! 🙂 I always love it when kids say, “This is the best day ever!” and I heard a couple of kids express that.
Also on Wednesday, we learned about subtraction with regrouping. Please feel free to review at home to develop their proficiency level. A grade 2 example (2 digits only): 52 – 38 = ___. You need to regroup the 2 in the ones place. For grade 3s, they will have questions with 3 digit numbers like 521 – 439 = ___.
On Thursday, we welcomed families into our school for a reading time for cultural literacy. It was so heartwarming to see many of you join us and to see different books brought from home. For those who were not available, we will set up another day because they enjoyed it so much!
Also on Thursday, we had an in-class field trip hosted by Science World. We learned about our changing climate and what we can do about it.
We started talking about Passion Projects. Please have a conversation with your child about what it is they are so passionate learning more about. Their first passion project will be working with a partner so they can continue to develop their core competencies of communication, collaboration, and social competencies. Last year, all but one at the end of the year said that their favourite thing in school was working on Passion Projects! I am excited to see their excitement once they get going. One of the trickiest parts is discovering what they are passionate about learning and then coming up with questions that will drive their research. My hope is that they will learn how to learn, learn that developing passions can be a source of joy, and that they can eventually reflect on all of the core competencies and curricular competencies they are learning as a result!
On Friday, we celebrated all literacies. We met up with our big buddies to work on our Minecraft designs (digital literacy). Each group was given an opportunity to go in front of the class to present their creations. I was impressed with how they used their core competencies of communication, collaboration, and creativity!
Field trip: Ice Skating at Bill Copeland
I created a new Field Trip page. Here you can see information so it is easier to find, rather than hunting through emails or blog posts. Feel free to save the date for our field trip to the Aquarium. We will be travelling by school bus and will need some parent volunteers.
We apologize for the small error on the field trip form. Since our skating time is at 9:30am, parent volunteer drivers, please arrive at 8:55am with your children. School Cash Online is now open for payment. Thank you to parents who have already indicated you would like to be a volunteer driver. We are not able to have these field trips without your support, which we greatly appreciate!
In-class field trip: Telus Wise will be coming on Monday, January 29 at 1:00pm to teach us about digital footprint.
Family Movie Night
Kitchener School and the PAC will be hosting a family movie night on Friday, February 2 at 6:30pm. For more information, click here to check out the post on the school website. There is no registration necessary.
Thank you for your continued support. It is hard to believe that we are almost halfway through the school year already! Time sure flies when you are having fun! Have a wonderful weekend!
It’s been a great two weeks minus a couple of fun snow days! Welcome back to school and Happy New Year! Thank you for your understanding about no blog post last weekend as my two ringette teams competed in a tournament.
Outdoor Education
Kate from Sierra Club visited on Monday for our in-school field trip. After teaching us about the importance of land stewardship and how the Indigenous People taught us how to respect our land and the animals, we walked to Willingdon Park to learn more about the trees there. Students also had an opportunity to build homes for the bugs.
On Friday, we followed up by studying spruce pine cones. We examined the patterns of the cone and talked about the seeds. We had samples of some that were closed, some that were open, and some that were just started to open. Then we submersed one in water and as scientists, noticed a number of things that started to happen. I loved the curiosity that was brought out. We will find out what happens when we return to school in the morning! After school, ask your child what we discovered!
We are artists.
This is from Ms. Kapusta the first week back:
This week we began an art project tied to New Year’s Resolutions. We began the lesson by talking about what a resolution is and sharing our different goals for the year with the class. Some students chose phrases like “learn to ice skate,” “read more books,” and “become a better story writer” while others chose words like “leader,” “flexible,” and “inventive.” To make the art, we combined two really fun techniques – tape resistance and splatter paint! I loved watching the students experiment with abstract versus straight lines for the taping, mixing colours to create beautiful new shades, and purposefully playing around with the splattering technique. The next step was removing the tape carefully. Next week, we will be adding our New Year’s Resolutions into the white spaces using Sharpie. Creating a unique and expressive piece of artwork and connecting it to affirmative statements is a powerful way for students to recognize their strengths while reflecting on how they can still grow further.
This is from Ms. Kapusta for last week:
This week we switched things up and connected art to literacy and SEL. We read “Lost and Found” by Oliver Jeffers, a thoughtful story about a boy who finds a penguin who appears to be lost. The boy works very hard to find the penguin’s home, and in the process becomes close to the penguin. In the end, it turns out the penguin wasn’t so much lost but alone and it’s a gentle tale about friendship and connection. We talked about putting ourselves in both the boy and penguin’s shoes (perspective taking). Then, students responded to a creative writing prompt titled “If I Had a Penguin,” as well as made their own penguin companions to attach to their writing. We talked about expanding on our writing by answering questions like who, what, where, when. We also talked about the importance of editing our work and doing our best jobs. I was really proud of how hard everyone worked!
ADST
The previous week, we got together with our big buddies and worked collaboratively on creating in Minecraft. We will continue this activity this Friday!
On Friday, students were introduced to PowerPoint. I am building up their skills so that when we start our Passion Projects next week, the tools they will use will be secondary learning. It has been a while since we logged in to laptops so please help your child review their login and password. You can have them log into Office 365 at home to practice using PowerPoint too! Students love becoming proficient and they enjoy being mentor leaders in the classroom.
We are mathematicians.
Students have become more proficient with using the compensation strategy in addition. Please check your child’s understanding by asking them to do a few addition questions at home. What is compensating?
33 + 59 =
Look at the number that is closest to the nearest 10. Here, it would be 59 because it is 1 away from 60.
If you +1 to 59, it equals 60. We call these numbers a “friendly number”. Basically, these are multiples of 10 like 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, etc.
So if you add one to 59, then you need to -1 from 33 so this is the new equation: 32 + 60 = ___
Simply add the tens together and then add the ones: 30 + 60 = 90. Then add 2 = 92.
An alternate way is to compensate after you add the friendly number. Here’s what it looks like: Add one to 59 to make 60. New equation: 33 + 60 = 92. Since you had to add 1, you now subtract 1 so 93-1 = 92. I know it may be harder to understand but here’s a short video that may explain it better.
Literacy Week
We are excited that it is Literacy Week this upcoming week! We will be learning that there are multiple types of literacies.
Take a look at the quick overview of what the week looks like:
Monday – We have a whole school read over the PA. The book will be displayed on the projector for all to see. Then we will have a follow-up activity to share what they hope for. If you would like to read the book with your child after school on Monday, click here to view it on YouTube.
Tuesday – All children will be encouraged to wear any outfit that makes them feel happy! Some suggestions might be pajamas, a sports jersey, a costume, a favourite colour, etc. Be creative!
Wednesday – Throughout the day, we will be doing physical activities. We are invited to read the story “The Snowy Day” outside along the fence. After school, please feel free to walk and read the story with your child(ren) too!
Thursday – In the past, people talked about IQ (intelligence quotient or a person’s ability to reason). Then people started talking about EQ (emotional quotient or the ability to understand and manage emotions in positive ways including communicating effectively). A couple months ago when I was doing some research for my presentation, I learned about CQ (cultural quotient or the ability to adapt to new cultural settings). Understanding our personal and cultural identity is one of our core competencies. Anyway, on Thursday, we invite you and your families to join us for family reading in our classroom! Please feel free to bring other family members and books to share. If you have any books from your culture, that would be wonderful too!
Friday – We will have a celebration of learning at 1:00pm.
One of my favourite times of the day is when I pick the kids up from the undercover area. They make me feel so loved by the way they greet me. I also really love seeing parents as you drop off. It brings me joy to see you too! 🙂
I am very grateful for your continued support at home. I wanted to mention again that if you have not seen your child’s report card yet, no worries at all. Please send me an email to let me know and I will send you a PDF copy. Thank you.
The ice skating notice will go home this week. School Cash online may not be set up yet but I can send you an email to let you know when it is open. We will need parent volunteer drivers and supervisors. If you are a confident skater, please feel free to help out on the ice. If not, we will need parent supervisors at the rink too. This is a new requirement this year at City of Burnaby rinks.
Your children bring me so much joy each day! Looking forward to another full week with them!
I had the greatest pleasure to present to 250 educators in Nevada over Zoom yesterday morning! I shared about how we can shape our mindsets to see CONNECTIONS as the key to being an effective educator and teach students how to build positive relationships with each other, inspire them to see their own POTENTIAL as we lift them up by believing in them and providing opportunities to grow in their stretch zones, and cultivate leadership skills to EMPOWER them to be the best versions of themselves each day.
Every atomic interaction is a moment of connection that offers an opportunity to intentionally uplift others through our love, kindness, and gratitude. We not only brighten someone’s day but also create lasting imprints on their heart, cultivating joy within them and ourselves. I strive to live by this motto and encourage your children to do so too as we work together to foster a connected community of caring learners and leaders.
Ways to support at home: Have conversations about how every interaction can be a positive one to build the kind of relationships we want to have. It takes great self-discipline especially when we are in the midst of challenging situations to have grace for others and to speak with love and kindness so that others feel heard and supported. “I can solve problems in peaceful ways.” Getting along with others and effective communication is key to our well-being. It begins with our mindset about how we value relationships.
It’s always interesting to learn what resonated most with participants in my sessions. Today, it seemed that sharing love and joy struck people most. Here are four of the most powerful statements I shared and say to your children regularly:
I love you.
I appreciate you.
I believe in you.
You bring me joy.
Brushing with Cedar Leaves
Last weekend, I had the greatest pleasure to join our Mentorship Network at Loon Lake in Maple Ridge for an overnight retreat. I have been a part of the organizing committee for five years as a supporter to beginning teachers in our district. One of the sessions was led by Ditta Cross who led us into to the forest to teach us about the Indigenous ways of connecting and respecting our land. One lesson that deeply resonated with me was called brushing. Here’s an explanation found on ChatGPT:
The Coast Salish people have a deep cultural connection with cedar trees, considering them sacred and using them for various purposes, including ceremonial practices and crafting. Cedar leaves, with their aromatic scent, are often used in brushing ceremonies.
Brushing ceremonies involve gently sweeping or brushing a person with cedar leaves to cleanse and purify their spirit, mind, and body. The fragrant essence of the cedar is believed to carry healing properties, removing negative energy and promoting balance and harmony.
This practice is conducted with reverence and respect for the cedar tree, acknowledging its significance in Coast Salish culture. The act of brushing with cedar leaves is considered a form of spiritual cleansing and renewal, often performed as part of traditional rituals or ceremonies within the community.
This practice has really resonated with many of the students too! There is something very calming about this.
We are scientists.
Water is really important to us!
We are grateful to have had a guest speaker, Diana, from Skye Consulting, come to teach us about the water cycle, local watersheds, water conservation, and to answer these questions:
When we turn on the tap, where do you think this water comes from? What are different ways we use water?
We learned that our water in Burnaby comes from the Seymour Watershed.
Then we had an opportunity to draw the water cycle and do a sort to figure out the order with images.
Ways to support at home: Ask your child to explain the water cycle and tell you about watersheds. Practice water conservation!
Candy cane crystals
Watch a video to learn more about how our Borax crystals formed! If you like, make some more at home following this recipe. I enjoyed seeing the creativity. We didn’t just see candy canes, we saw beautiful crystal stars, snowflakes, and a heart too! Please note that these are made from Borax so if you have young children in the home, it is best to put it out of reach.
OWL (Orphaned Wildlife) in the Classroom
On Thursday, we had an informative session to learn about falcons and owls. We met a barn owl named Alba and a American kestrel, Willa. Check out the videos and more images in SpacesEDU. Students learned:
The function of the OWL Society
The basic biology and behaviour of raptors
Sizes and types of raptors
Dangers to raptors and other wildlife
What students can do to help raptors and other wildlife
Ways to support at home: Ask your child to share five facts they know about owls. Be curious! Model curiosity and tell them what you wonder about. Visit the public library to take out books on owls, go online to look for more facts, or watch videos on owls. Anytime you search online, this is a great opportunity to talk about staying safe as they search and to teach them about using key words to type in the search bar. Adding “for kids” is a simple way to narrow your search, for example.
If you’d like to learn more, visit: OWL Rehab. They offer 30-60 minute guided tours on the weekends (by donation). Be sure to make an online reservation before you go.
They are located at 3800 – 72nd Street Unit 3, Delta, BC.
Critical and Reflective Thinking encompasses a set of abilities that students use to examine their own thinking and that of others. Students apply critical, metacognitive, and reflective thinking in given situations, and relate this thinking to other experiences, using this process to identify ways to improve or adapt their approach to learning. They reflect on and assess their experiences, thinking, learning processes, work, and progress in relation to their purposes. Students give, receive, and act on feedback and set goals individually and collaboratively. They determine the extent to which they have met their goals and can set new ones.
We spent some time reflecting on how we are as learners, what we feel proud of, and set some goals to work on for next term. I also gave them an opportunity to give me feedback on what I am doing well and how I can be a better teacher for them individually and for the class. I want to model reflective thinking and am in constant pursuit of learning and betterment. So, if you have feedback for me, please let me know too. I appreciate your support!
Winter Concert on Tuesday, December 12 (Two Performances)
We have been working hard with our buddies and Mr. Turpin on the songs and actions! Please have your child wear a white top and black bottoms on Tuesday. You should have received two red tickets to attend the evening show on Tuesday, December 12 at 6:30 pm. Please bring your tickets to the evening concert.
6:00 pm (or later) – Bring your child to the Annex – A2 (Strong Start room)
6:00 pm – Gym doors open (The PAC will have a concession stand. Thank you for supporting them!)
6:30 pm – Concert begins
After the performance – Pick up your child from the Music room in the Annex.
*Please let me know if you do not plan to attend so I can expect their absence. Also, we can release your tickets to other families when you return your unused tickets to school.
1:30 pm Concert – An option for families with young children or if you don’t have enough tickets for the evening performance. You do NOT need a ticket for this concert.
To practice the songs at home, check out our Musicians page. Here, you will also find the overview of what was taught this term by Mr. Turpin, which you can refer to when you receive your child’s Learning Update on December 20.
Gingerbread House Making
This Friday, December 15, we will be making gingerbread houses with our big buddies. Please have your child bring small assorted candies (nut free) in a labelled bag to decorate their own houses. They can start bringing them to school anytime next week.
Every student will be provided with a paper plate, royal icing, and graham crackers to build their houses. We are looking forward to this fun community building activity and can’t wait to see the creativity and joy that this activity will bring! Thank you for your ongoing support in making these moments memorable for our students.
Field Trips in the New Year – Save the dates because we will need parent volunteer drivers, please. Thank you for your support!
Friday, January 12 – South for the Winter at Michael J. Fox Theatre (Collaborative dance performance with four Burnaby secondary schools). The notice will come home early next week.
Monday, February 12 & Monday, February 26 – Ice skating at Bill Copeland from 9:00 to 11:00 am.
Every time I get to present to educators, I cannot help but feel so appreciative that I am your child’s teacher. Thank you for sharing them with us and for your part in supporting their education with me. I appreciate you!
We continued to use the word “self-discipline” to practice self-regulation skills so we can build the habit as a character trait. I encourage you to use this word at home to remind them to follow expectations even though they may not feel like it. Remind them this is to build a healthy habit of focusing on doing what they need to do despite distractions.
Here’s how ChatGPT would explain self-discipline to an 8 year old. Perhaps it resonates with you and you’d like to share it with your child:
Self-discipline is like having your own superpower! It means being able to control yourself and make good choices, even when something fun or distracting is around. It’s like being a superhero who can focus on what needs to be done, like finishing homework or chores, even when you really want to play or do something else.
Just like a superhero follows a plan to save the day, self-discipline helps you stick to your plan or goals. It’s about staying determined and not giving up easily. So, when you want something, self-discipline helps you work towards it step by step, even if it’s hard sometimes.
Having self-discipline doesn’t mean you can’t have fun or enjoy yourself! It’s about finding a balance between having fun and doing what you need to do. It’s a skill that grows stronger when you practice it, and it helps you become really good at things you love doing!
We are authors.
We wrote a letter to Santa or to our family. On Thursday, we walked with Ms. Santorelli’s and Ms. Tai’s classes to drop off our letters in the mailbox. Please check SpacesEDU for our picture! There are a few more families who have yet to initiate access to SpacesEDU. I re-sent an invite on Thursday evening so you can view the reflection posts your child has created.
We are mathematicians.
We started learning about fractions. Here is the grade 3 curriculum on fraction concepts.
Big Ideas:
Fractions are a type of number that can represent quantities.
Students are expected to know the following:
Fractions are numbers that represent an amount or quantity.
Fractions can represent parts of a region, set, or linear model.
Fraction parts are equal shares or equal-sized portions of a whole or unit.
Provide opportunities to explore and create fractions with concrete materials.
recording pictorial representations of fraction models and connecting to symbolic notation
equal partitioning
They are quick learners! We learned that the top number is called the numerator and the bottom number is the denominator. One key understanding is that fractions must be equal parts.
We first learned about fractions of a whole like pies and pizzas. We can slice these whole items into equal parts.
Then we learned about fractions in a set. I absolutely love to plan hands-on, interactive activities where students use higher level thinking which include two of our core competencies: critical thinking skills and communication skills. They created increasing levels of difficulty for classmates to practice naming the fractions.
How to support at home: Find items at home your child can use to create fractions of a set. Ask them to tell you what the fraction is and to explain how they know. See if they can remember that the top number is called the numerator (how many as part of the set) and the bottom number is the denominator (how many total in the set).
Addition Fact Fluency
This week, we have been practicing our doubles: 1 + 1 = 2, 2 + 2 = 4, 3 + 3 = 6, 4 + 4 = 8, etc. to 10 + 10 = 20
If you don’t have one yet, please create a random numbers chart to practice 3-5 minutes every day. I can tell you that this goes a long way in helping your child feel more confident with learning their facts. In December, we will start learning about addition so having these facts solidified will allow your child to focus on addition concepts and not have to also worry about accuracy when calculating. So far, here are the ones we learned:
+1, -1
+2, -2
+10, -10
Making tens
Next will be practicing our doubles +1 (1 + 2 = 3, 2 + 3 = 5, 3 + 4 = 7, etc.) so learning the doubles will be the key to success to learning doubles +1.
Alternate game to practice doubles: Take a deck of cards. Remove the Jack and King. The A = 1 and the Queen = 0 (zero). Shuffle the cards and divide them equally. Play Doubles Race. Each player takes a turn to flip over one card at a time. The first person to call out the sum for the double, takes the card. For example, I flip over a 5 and I call out 10 before my partner. Then I keep the card. Then my partner flips over the card. Whoever calls out the doubles sum first gets that card. Take turns flipping over one card at a time. Have fun!
We are scientists.
We learned about different water sources including local watersheds like oceans, lakes, rivers, wells, and springs. We discovered that the majority of fresh water is stored underground and in glaciers. We also learned that less than 3% of earth’s water is fresh water and only about 0.5% of this fresh water is accessible so we need to do our part to conserve it. Our fresh water is a limited resource and is not being replaced at the same rate as it is being used.
We learned about the water cycle. Check out this video that explains the water cycle. Students loved dancing to this song by Blazer Fresh on GoNoodle! Me too!
On Wednesday, Ms. Cramb, our grade 5 teacher down the hall, gave us a special presentation! Thank you to her dad and her dad’s friend from SFU, she was given some liquid nitrogen to share with almost all of the primary classes.
She taught us about states of matter and introduced us to dry ice or liquid nitrogen.
They got to witness how it froze a banana, strawberry, blueberry, eraser, pencil, rubber tube, metal rod, and balloon!
I was impressed with not just the questions they asked, but the many meaningful sentiments of appreciation they individually shared with Ms. Cramb at the end of the presentation.
Ask your child what they thought and how they felt about the presentation. Then to push their curiosity, ask them to come up with three more questions they are wondering about. Then feel free to learn together by researching the answers! I wonder what you can learn together! Have fun!
ADST & Science inquiry
Each week, we have one to two opportunities to learn with the laptops through thoughtfully planned scaffolded learning. On Friday, we learned some tips on how to do effective researching and how to keep us safer.
Our curricular competencies for ADST: Applied Skills & Technologies
Use materials, tools, and technologies in a safe manner in both physical and digital environments
Develop their skills and add new ones through play and collaborative work
Explore the use of simple, available tools and technologies to extend their capabilities
First, we sparked curiosity by brainstorming questions about owls. Then we practiced how to search facts about owls. Within minutes, they were sharing cool facts about owls with each other!
How to support at home: Ask your child what they learned about owls so far and record 3-5 new things they wonder about. Encourage them to use their core competency of critical thinking skills to come up with new questions. Then have fun researching and learning together!
We are artists.
Ms. Kapusta says: This week, students began planning for a communal art project we will be making together as a class in the upcoming weeks. We will be using coloured paper to create a dynamic winter scene inside the classroom. We took a vote on what we wanted the scene to be and we settled on Santa’s North Pole! Students used their Creative Thinking skills to plan out what they want the scene to include and sketch out their vision. Through this communal art project students will “create an artistic work collaboratively and as an individual using ideas inspired by imagination, inquiry, experimentation, and purposeful play” (BC Curriculum, Arts Education 2/3).
It will also be a great way for students to grow their Social Awareness skills as they’ll be working together towards contributing to the classroom community in a positive way. In the afternoon, we practiced some community-building by working together to decorate the classroom for the holidays with paper chains and snowflakes. You might be able to catch a peak of students’ snowflakes hanging in our classroom windows. They turned out really beautiful!
We are musicians.
For the past two weeks, we have been practicing our songs with Mr. Kenney’s class. Some students can use some extra support at home to learn the words to our songs so please practice. Thank you for your support at home.
Here are the links to the two songs we will be performing on Tuesday, December 12. There will be an afternoon performance at 1:30 pm and an evening performance at 6:30 pm. Students are asked to return to school at 6:00 pm (not earlier, please). Mr. Turpin would like them to wear black bottoms and a plain white top, please.
Since the beginning of the year, I have been teaching them different American Sign Language signs. They love it! Here are some of the ones they learned so far. I wonder how many you can learn from them?
amazing
and
appreciate
bathroom
beautiful
better
book
carpet
change
cold
come
cookie
dance
day
different
drink
eat
eight
excited
find
finish
five
four
go
happy
help
hot
hungry
hurt/pain
I love you.
jump
kindness
learn
learner
listen
Me too!
milk
minutes
more
name
nice
nine
no
one
pay attention
play
please
read
sad
same
safety
see
seven
sit
six
smile
sorry
stand
stop
ten
thank you
three
time
tired
two
wait
want
water
welcome
what
where
write
world
yes
you
Ways to Support at Home
A great way to connect with your child about what they learn in school is to read these blog posts together! If your child is ready, have them read the blog post to you. This is a meaningful way to have them practice their reading while also talking about what they learned. Ask your child to teach you what they learned. Being able to teach a concept to someone requires a deep understanding of the material. When they explain something in simple terms or teach it effectively, it can also solidify their knowledge which makes it easier to recall and apply the information in different contexts too.
Also, when you see a note in the planner stating what we learned that day, this is a phenomenal opportunity to ask them to teach you about it. If new concepts are reviewed within 24 hours, their understanding sticks better and if you ask them to teach you, it’s even better!
Next week
We have some exciting things happening next week!
On Monday at 9 am, we have Metro Vancouver visiting our class to present a workshop on the Watershed Water Cycle! This is a free workshop and will directly enhance our Science curriculum.
On Wednesday at 11:15 am, we will be making crystal candy canes. We will need some parent volunteers. If you are available from 10:30 to 11:15, please send me an email at Livia.Chan@burnabyschools.ca to let me know and I will send you more details. Thank you so much for your help!
On Thursday, we have our OWL in the Classroom workshop! If you haven’t paid on School Cash Online yet, please do. Then please fill out this online form as soon as possible.
We will also need your child to bring in a glass jar, please. If you have extras, please send those to school too in case others do not have one. Thank you so much! We need these to make our crystal candy canes on Wednesday, Dec. 6. Your glass jars will be returned after the activity.
I am deeply grateful for your continued support by encouraging daily reading and writing, practicing math concepts and addition/subtraction facts, talking about what we learned at school, and using the same language we use for social emotional learning (for example: stretch zone, self-discipline, teamwork, determination). The more we notice and name what we see, the more effective we are at nurturing the character skills that will become habits through to adulthood. Being able to master self-discipline has the potential for future success in many areas of their lives. If this resonates with you too, let’s both work together to use the same language for consistency! 🙂
What a fun-filled week of learning about different literacies!
On Thursday, we welcomed families into our school for a reading time for cultural literacy. It was so heartwarming to see many of you join us and to see different books brought from home. For those who were not available, we will set up another day because they enjoyed it so much!
