It has been a short week but a busy one in Division 6. We have had a new addition to our class, Kendrick, welcome! 
We have been working on our Name story paragraphs. Our first drafts needed some work so we discussed how to make our paragraphs more story-like and less like a list.
Some of you have already mastered the art of the paragraph using introductions to start, details in the middle, and a closing sentence at the end. Others of you are still practicing using all the parts. Either way, we have all completed two drafts and are ready to complete the finished product. With each revision, your paragraphs improved in style and polish. Editing is a crucial part of the writing process and is something we will focus on all year long. In addition to our name stories we began to create our Name Mandala’s which will be the art to accompany our stories. 
We learned a little about where Mandalas come from and what they are meant to represent. The word “mandala” comes from Indian language and it means “circle” or “center”. The creation and coloring of a mandala can be calming and promote wellness. Did you feel that way when we started? Do you think it will change as we keep moving forward with making them?
In Math, grade 5’s have moved on from their work on place value and are practicing their rounding/estimating skills. 
The past few weeks we have been working on different strategies to estimate like front-end, compatible numbers, compensation, clustering and even using a number line. We have begun to look at real life uses for estimation and applying estimating skills to real world problems. Next up, we will be moving into operation practice. It is important at this grade level that students learn to become fluent with their multiplication facts up to 12. Being able to recall the facts quickly and easily by memory 
makes division a snap and really helps make problem solving quicker and easier. If you have not already, you should be practicing your times tables and doing your very best to memorize them all. Our mad minute drills are coming soon, be ready!
Our Gummy Worm experiments are going great! This week you and your pod mates chose a liquid to place your worm in to find out how the liquid will affect the worm. After some research on both the worm’s ingredients and the liquid’s, your group was able to create a plan for your procedure and make observations over a few days.
Next week, we are going to write up our conclusions and discuss if our hypothesis were correct or not. Another exciting science event next week will be our visit from a scientist from the Institute of Urban Ecology at Douglas college for an in class workshop about Amazing Amphibians. This visit will be our introduction to our next unit of study which will be comparing humans, plants, and animals survival systems.
You have started the study of Education/schools around the world in Social Studies. You have been warming up your brains to the idea that schools can look very different from ours depending on where in the world it is located. 
On that same theme, we are reading School of Fear by Gitty Daneshvari. The school is very different from our school because it is a summer school that is helping students to overcome their fears. The students we have been introduced to so far are Madeline who is afraid of bugs, Theo who is afraid of death, Garrison is afraid of large bodies of water, and Lulu is afraid of small spaces. Next week we should begin to find out what is different in this school from other more “regular” schools.
Friday was the Terry Fox Run. Did you bring a toonie for Terry? Do you know someone who is fighting cancer, has beat cancer, or has died from cancer? Cancer is something that has touched most families in some way and that is why it is so wonderful to get together as a school community to fundraise 
for Cancer research. If we all do our part and honour our fellow Canadian’s legacy of hope we can continue to help doctors search for better treatment and maybe even a cure for this devastating disease. Thanks for you participation Division 6!
This is a long weekend and we hope you and your families will be spending time together and taking time to think about what you are thankful for. 
We, your teachers, are thankful for all of our wonderful students this year. We have had so much fun getting to know you all so far this year and we are thankful we get to be part of your learning journey.
Happy Thanksgiving to all of you.
Your blog response this weekend is………..
Tell us three things you are thankful for….
Have a wonderful long weekend,
Mrs. Davis and Mrs. Gil