Remember and Reflect

This week was one spent reflecting and remembering. We spent some time each day thinking about how we have been growing and changing over these first few months of school. We have asked you to take time to think about your strengths and stretches. We have also asked you to set goals and plan how you are going to achieve them. As the week came to an end, we were asked to remember the soldiers who have served our country to bring us the peace we enjoy in our daily lives. Do your brains hurt? They should, that is a lot of deep thinking going on!

When we started talking about goals last week, we discussed how important “perserverence” can be when we find things challenging. We set goals for ourselves using SMART thinking. We made goals for ourselves that were

Specific, Measurable , Achievable, Realistic and Timely. It is important to remember that you always want to set goals for yourself that are really going to help you improve but also, are goals that you will be able to achieve. The way to ensure you will be successful is to be really clear on what you want to do (specific) and make sure there is a plan (time and place) for when you are going to work on that goal. If you can master the art of creating achievable and realistic goals for yourselves, you will all be successful at whatever you put your minds to!

We were busy in science this week.  The systems we covered this week were:

Movement, Protection, Circulation, and Digestion.

We challenged you all to work on reading the information in front of you and summarizing it into short, clear, scientific notes. This is still a challenge for some of you but as we practice and share our work with one another, we are learning how to make sure we are using scientific vocabulary in our work, to synthesize what we are learning into clear statements. While this week we did all our work in small groups to help each other and learn from each other, next week you will be asked to demonstrate you summarizing skills independently. We know you have practiced these skills and are ready to tackle the next two systems, circulation and senses, on your own!

“Two heads are better than one”, and “None of us is as smart as all of us”, are both  very true statements and we certainly made use of each others’ learning around The Dr. David Suzuki Public School.  In preparation for our assessment on Friday, we had the opportunity to study together in small groups as we worked through a collection of activities.  We had to illustrate text, define vocabulary in context, write captions, and recall what we learned about the school. Working together REALLY helped us remember some of the smaller details that we may have already forgotten.  On Friday, when we saw the ACTUAL quiz, we were quite surprised to see that it was EXACTLY the same as the ‘buddy study” activity! NOW we know what Mrs. Davis meant when she said she was “setting us up for success”!

Our study of unique schools has entered its next phase!  We have compared and compiled our research with our group members and are now on the ADST portion of our project. ADST stands for “Applied Design, Skills, and Technology”.  Regarding this project, we are focusing on the “design” aspect of ADST in that we are designing a 3-D model of the unique school we researched.  On Friday we spent a good portion of our afternoon planning what our model will look like, what materials we will need to build it, and sketching and drawing some initial ideas of what we’re imagining.  This is an important step and one that might change as we get into the actual building of our model.  Start collecting the items you need for building, because next week, once your plan has been approved, your team can get started!

Math continues to be all about Multiplication. Many of you have got your basic facts memorized and are getting through your mad minute drills with time to spare, well done! Some of you still need to be practicing those facts at home because knowing those facts and being able to recall them efficiently is going to help you as you move onto the upper grades. Do not forget there is a times table chart in your planners to help you if you need it. Maybe this could be an academic goal for some of you next week? All of you have shown you know how do multiply 1×1 and 2×1 digit multiplication problems and we are now moving on to practice 2 and 3 by 1 or 2 digit multiplication problems. Once we have practiced those skills, we will be turning our attention over to division. Most of you already know that division is just the opposite of multiplication so, if you have memorized your times tables up to 12, division is going to be a snap for you!  We added a few more games to our skill reinforcement collection as well.  We played “Multiplication Scramble” “T-Ball multiplication”, and “High Times/Low Times” in small groups.  These are games you could teach your family and play at home too… how about teaching them one over the long weekend?

Every other week we get to visit with our buddies, so this week was our chance to see them again. We continued to work on our buddy books with them so we can learn about each other. Also, we are starting to model reading with them and it is going to be one of our jobs to help them practice their letter sounds. It is so wonderful seeing you all be so kind and warm with the K’s. They look up to you all and it is great to know they will have you as their role models all year. Make sure you say hi and visit with them on the playground if you see them. Ms. Di Spirito always says that makes their day.

Your Blog Response Question For this Week is……

Tell us about 2 strategies you are using to make sure to work on your academic and personal goals every week.

Have a wonderful LONG weekend Division 6!

We hope that you take a moment on Saturday (Remembrance Day) to pause and reflect on the sacrifices that were made for us so that we can  live in the freedom we enjoy here in Canada.

Mrs. Gil and Mrs. Davis