Category: Important Reminders

Dear Parents:

Thank you to Hong, Ashley, and Kathy who came with us to Science World! I look forward to the next trip together! Thank you also to Ms. Geddes and her class who came with us!

Each student has received school credentials to access a Burnaby School District Google Drive account. We will learn how to use this tool to produce and share work in our class. 

Please discuss these points about technology at home to help students use tools responsibly:

• All technology activity for school is monitored and responsible use is important. Please remember you have signed a District Digital Media agreement detailing responsible use. 
• All work for class is done on Burnaby Google accounts please, not personal Google accounts.
• Technology is for school use, not personal use. Please stay focused on the task your teacher has given you and avoid using devices for other purposes. 
• School Google accounts do not have chat or email. We do not use Google accounts for chatting back and forth, except when sharing a document and editing it together for class work.
• Please use positive language and respect when communicating with technology.
• Talk as a family about technology safety at home. I recommend having technology devices in open areas of the home where everyone can see what you are working on. 
• If you have questions or concerns about what you are viewing online, stop and talk to an adult. Only use websites and tools you can understand and that are appropriate for you.
• Monitor how long you are on a device and put it away at least a half hour before bed to avoid problems with sleep.
• When using earbuds, please monitor volume. If you can’t hear people around you, or if we can hear what you are listening to, then the volume should be turned down.
• Should you receive any inappropriate messages or have concerns about technology, please tell Ms. D immediately and she will help you.

Thank you in advance for discussing these things with your child. They will be talked about repeatedly during the year, and with reinforcement at home, Google Drive can be a positive way for us to share ideas and produce creative work together.

​Kindly,

Ms. D

Hello Everyone!

We had another great day in MACC, and we are starting to get into some routines!

Schedules:

Just so everyone knows, the schedules in the school for music, library, and gym have not yet been finalized, so we have a temporary schedule until then. When it is all set, I will publish a class calendar. This week: Music on Monday/Thursday; Gym on Tuesday/Friday; Library on Tuesday.

Essential Agreements:

Today we talked about the difference between the rules of the school and classroom and essential agreements. While rules are given to you to follow for the safety and organization of everyone, agreements are what we ALL agree to do to make our community a better place. Here are our essential agreements, as given by the students, so far:

• Respect others and their things
• Help people when they need it
• Be kind and caring to one another
• Disagree with ideas, not people
• Use appropriate language
• Don’t judge people
• Be honest
• Be responsible
• Listen carefully
• Better late than never (referring to turning in work)
• Think positively and encourage others

We will review these again over the next two weeks and ensure they work for us!

Mathematics:

We are still finishing math assessments, but today we took a break from those to start our new unit of math. We will have five larger units of math that are connected with our inquiry units. Our first is called Crunching the Data! During this unit we will discuss data gathering, graphs, probability, fractions, decimals, and percentages as related to analyzing information through numbers.

The math in our class will be taught through hands-on activities that have a high ceiling and a low floor design — meaning everyone can be involved regardless of level, applying mathematics while still acquiring all math curriculum from grade 4/5 and beyond. After we finish the assessments, then I can see if anyone will need additional challenge beyond our applied math activities and projects. We will briefly talk about this during our parent intake meetings on Sept. 20/21.

Today I gave everyone a task to see how they could handle their data! We will work on it today and tomorrow. With a partner, students were asked to:

1. Create a survey question(s) to ask every member of the class and Ms. D.
2. Make sure it is an interesting question that we want to know about. Make sure it does not involve a yes/no answer and that people can give a variety of responses.
3. On the large graph paper provided, create a visual graph of your choice (bar graph, pictograph, line graph, pie chart, etc.) that will display the data in an interesting way. You may organize the data in a way you think will be the most interesting to the class. Make sure you include all the proper parts of a graph.
4. If you are able, include on the graph the percentage of the class who responded for each answer to your survey. If you don’t know how to do this, that is okay, and just show what you do know.

Gym and Library!

We had our first session in both the gym and the library today!

For gym, we talked about how our focus will be discussing how physical activity helps the body, heart health, and some yoga as related to mindfulness, de-stressing, and balance. On gym days, please make sure you have a water bottle, extra shirt, and running shoes. Sandals and outside boots don’t work well for running. The water bottle means you will have water during class and not have to run to the water fountain. An extra shirt is important so you have the option to change if you are sweating a lot from our activities.

For library, we learned about how to check out books and rules of the library space. Students at grade 4/5 may check out 4 books at a time, and they need to physically bring them back each week on our library day, even if they want to renew them. (If students need books for an assignment that Ms. D has given, extras are allowed, but only when we are doing research projects.) Ms. Ho will be providing a letter for parents about the mature reads in the library in the next couple of weeks. If you read at a high level, you will need permission from parents to check out mature reading books that are typically reserved for grade seven students due to some sensitive material.

Unit Question:

Thank you everyone for doing the human body brainstorm last night! Everyone received their first homework mark and we went over the “checks system” together. Remember to bring your journal back to school each day.

Tonight’s task is to ask your family about their medical history, which means asking at home if parents have had any operations, illnesses, or broken bones, etc. This task is not meant to collect information to share out loud in class, and it does not need to be written down if anyone is uncomfortable about the information being shared. The task is to create conversation between parents and children about past medical experiences. Please only share what you feel comfortable sharing. Ms. D shared a personal experience of having her gall bladder removed, as it was an opportunity to talk about organs in the digestive system and how you can live without one of them!

Reminders:

• Save the Date: Sept. 20-21 Parent Intake Conferences
• Pro-D Day/No School on Sept. 25th Monday
• Save the Date: Sept. 28 Field Trip to Science World with MACC 4/5 Cap Hill
• PAC Notice went home tonight
• Cross-Country Running Team Notice went home tonight (only those who went to Monday’s lunch meeting and returned forms to be on the team)

Thank you everyone!

Good night!

Hello Everyone! Thank you for a great first week! Enjoy some pics of our first-day photo booth throughout this entry!  Scroll down to the end for Monday reminders.

Showing Our Creativity: Ms. D has been giving everyone opportunities to show their creativity and thinking as I get to know you. We made creations out of playdoh, completed thinking and math puzzles, did the toothpick challenge, and came up with creative names for jobs in our classroom! We do these things for FUN and to practice our creative and critical thinking skills throughout the year.

Roller Coasters!: Everyone finished roller coasters on Thursday, and then we walked around to test the creations and evaluate them for points. Great work! This activity was an example of the many science things we will do this year, as well as an opportunity to collaborate, getting to know peers who will be our colleagues on many projects this year!

Music: Thank you to everyone who participated by either singing or playing instruments during the special assembly on Thursday! I was impressed that some students new to our school and to MACC were willing to go in for extra practices during lunch to be part of Ms. Hetrick’s instrument group. Way to go! That was a great example of being a risk-taker.

Learner Profile: Ms. D has a poster with words that represent the characteristics of a successful learner. To be a lifelong learner, you should work on being knowledgeable, a good communicator, open-minded, principled, caring, an inquirer, a thinker, reflective, balanced, and a risk-taker.

We had groups do short skits to show our understanding of those words, which are tied to the B.C. Core Competencies in the curriculum. The competencies are a fancy way of saying lifelong skills that help you become the BEST person you can be in all things you do!

Comfort Circle: We talked about how everyone needs to have a GROWTH MINDSET by doing a comfort circle activity. The comfort zone is the place where you are on a couch, reading a book, drinking a soda, playing video games, or doing comfortable activities. The growth zone is the place where you are a little uncomfortable, but you can do it! The panic zone is the place where you are very uncomfortable and the adrenaline is pushing through your body!

Sometimes it is okay to be in our comfort zone, and we need to know the things that can calm us down during stressful times. When we are learning, though, we need to push ourselves into the growth zone, because we learn more if we have a bit of discomfort from doing something new. But, we also don’t want to go too far. If we are in the panic zone and feeling fear, our brains shut off and emotions take over.

In MACC, you may feel a bit of discomfort! Before, you may have felt like most class work was easy or that you needed a challenge. That is why you chose to be in MACC! However, you have to be willing to be a little uncomfortable. You may not see the answer to something on the first try, but that’s okay, just keep experimenting, take risks, try things out, and be willing to work with your peers to figure it out! You will get there, just maybe not right away. Don’t give up! Be willing to accept that you don’t know everything, but that you can learn something new if you try! Each of us has different strengths, so understand each activity will feel different according to your abilities. We have to learn to appreciate one another’s strengths and have resilience! If you feel something is difficult, instead of saying “I can’t” or “I don’t get it” — try saying, “I will get it if I try, if I practice, if I watch and learn from my peers!”

Math Assessments: Everyone began math assessments Thursday, and we are still working through them. Next week you will see a blog entry with more details about our first unit together, as well as information about how we will approach math this year.

Art: We did some ZENTANGLE doodling together to make bookmarks for class! You can look this up on Google and find many designs or YouTube videos on how to do more complicated zentangles. We discussed how drawing repetitive designs like these can be a great way to get the mind to relax so you stress less. Sometimes the best creative ideas appear when we allow the brain to daydream and relax. Also, we can use repetitive doodling when we need to be listening, but we need something for our hands to do!

Fidgets: We discussed how Ms. D has a collection of fidgets in the classroom for use during listening times. However, we all agreed last year, that a fidget is a TOOL not a TOY. There are some rules we created as a class last year, such as:

• Fidgets cannot disrupt discussion by making repetitive noises.
• No throwing around of fidgets; they need to stay in your own personal space
• Once you choose a fidget, please don’t get up to switch it with another one
• If we are doing an activity requiring you to listen in a group of 2-3, no fidgets
• If we are doing a hands-on activity where you need your hands, no fidgets
• If you have a fidget at the table, do it under the table to not distract anyone
• You have the right to say someone’s fidget is bothering you so they can stop
• You can bring in your own fidget, but put a name on it and show it to Ms. D
• Do not leave your own fidgets around class anywhere, or Ms. D may say not to bring it again and keep it in her drawer for you until end of day

Free Choice!  Every Friday, unless we have a big project we are working on, we will have Free Choice Time! We had our first one and everyone enjoyed the many games available in the classroom. During this time you can: draw, do some art, fold origami, build something, play games with friends, create games, continue working on a project you are interested in, and more. Ms. D is open to ideas about how you want to use this time. Thanks to those of you who played Sushi-Goh with Ms. D today!

REMINDERS: For Monday, here are some reminders:

• Letters to Ms. D and Supplies due Monday 
• Parent Questionnaires and Social Media Consent Forms overdue. Please return ASAP. Forms are on the Notices and Forms Page.
• Bring jackets and appropriate outside footwear every day. Even if it is raining, you will likely go outside for recess and lunch.
• Please minimize trash in lunches. Pack out what you pack in, so we can keep our classroom clean. Avoid peanuts/tree nuts as some students have allergies.
• Heads Up: First field trip on September 28th, Thursday. Notice coming soon!

Have a GREAT WEEKEND! 

Ms. D

Congratulations, everybody, on a successful independent project presentation for 2017! And thank you to all of our guests who made this an exciting day by sharing in the learning!

Everyone should send Ms. D a copy of their website links, PPT presentations, etc. either by sending it to my main email address or by sharing it via google drive to the T05 account we always use. Thank you!

Also, congratulations to everyone on their peer-voted, MACC Awards! These are peer awards, and they are an opportunity to recognize the many types of strengths we have in our group. Please make sure you show your certificate at home. Thank you to everyone who participated in voting!

Next week, here’s what’s left!

Monday:
–Fill out the Independent Project Presentation Rubric, to reflect on how it went!
–Put felt and elastic on the masks so you can wear them!
–Finish our mask character poems
–Cardboard Mania: Your challenge will be to either complete the MACCadia games you started or to create something out of cardboard to use. More on this Monday.
–Read Aloud: Complete The Skeleton Tree
—Talk about advertising/fake news – Make Your Own Ad
–Water Park! Bring your suit, towel, sunscreen, water shoes to cool down end of day at the park.

Tuesday:
–Work on mask movement and poem read alouds
–Continue cardboard mania
–Recognition Assembly 9:15 AM
–Math Puzzles, Pickle Math
–Read Aloud: Complete The Skeleton Tree
—Talk about advertising/fake news

Wednesday:
–Grade 7 Graduation Assembly 9:15 AM
–Finish mask movement, read alouds
–Read Aloud: Complete The Skeleton Tree
—Cardboard Mania finish, free choice/play cardboard games
–Class Party, Sundaes

Thursday:
–Pick up report cards and say goodbye for the summer! One hour only!

Hello Everyone,

Quick post about some important things coming up!

Independent Projects:

Now we are into crunch time! I enjoyed watching many of you beginning to build dioramas, make handouts, create PowerPoints, make cartoons, write explanations, and more to display your information. Great work! 

PLEASE think about how your presentation will be interactive. On the day of presentations, you will be set up around the room and visitors will come through to look at all the tables. They may not have time to watch an entire PowerPoint! What visuals will be up around your station or attached to your table so you get their attention? Each of you will have a sign with a name and your topic, but the rest is up to you.

REMINDER: All handouts, brochures, zines, etc. that need to be photocopied must be to Ms. D by Thursday morning.

REMINDER: Your bibliography must be printed and visible at your station on presentation day.

INVITE: Tell your parents that we are doing the presentations from 12-2 on June 23rd, Friday, We will have lunch early, then set up, followed by clean up and free choice time to celebrate.

Deep Cove Kayaking Tuesday, June 20th:

We are off to Deep Cove on Tuesday! Yay! Please note the following to prepare for the trip:

Be on time, we leave at 9AM so we can go find parking, get settled, and check in for our 10:15 kayaking time.

Eat a breakfast with a protein and good carbs, so you are ready! We are on the water for two full hours from 10:15-12:15.

Bring a small snack you can have when we arrive, before we get in kayaks.

Bring a lunch to have afterwards, as well as something you can sit on, such as a towel or small blanket. No beach chairs or bulky items please. Make sure everything in your lunch is disposable. If you have cold items, don’t forget to put in a cold pack.

Don’t bring valuables please. Backpacks will be left in the hut at the beach, but I don’t want any valuables. No cameras or phones left behind in backpacks. If you have those items, we should probably lock them in the car. You won’t be able to take pictures while boating because you have a paddle in your hands. We will potentially get wet while boating.

Dress appropriately. We go rain or shine. Look at the weather report. Wear light shirts and jackets that can comfortably go under a life jacket. Shorter jackets are better because you sit down inside the kayak and you will be more comfortable. Do not wear heavy clothing such as jeans or bulky coats! 

Wear water resistant shoes! We will get our feet wet when getting into the boats because we enter from the beach. Water shoes that are snug on your feet are best, because flip flops often come off when trying to walk in the water. No runners.

Bring a change of clothes just in case: You may get wet and want to change.

Wear sunscreen, even if it is raining! The water creates a glare, so even when it is cloudy or raining you still need it. Put it on before you come to school.

Bring a hat and sunglasses that will stay ON. You don’t want to lose your hat or glasses out on the water, so make sure if you wear a hat that it is not uncomfortable, it is secured, and you can wear it the whole time, or don’t wear them. There’s not a place to put anything in the boat.

Partners: If your parent is coming with us, you are partnered with them. Otherwise, you are with an assigned partner, as we are all in double kayaks.

Bring water! — for both after the boating and for lunch.

After we boat: From 12:15-1:15, we will be having lunch and then, depending on how many parents are with us and how quickly you eat, having a small group go to the playground, another to go walking at the beach, and a small group that can go up the street for ice cream if they want. If you bring money, put it in a plastic sandwich bag and keep it in a pocket on you, not in your backpack. BUT, we all need to meet back at 1:15 to get ready to leave.

LEAVE AT 1:15! We will all meet at the grass area near the beach at 1:15 and leave no later than 1:30 from Deep Cove to return to school, just so we beat any traffic.

See you next week!

Ms. D