Sept 29-Oct 3

Thank you for an amazing Trickster week!  The show was fabulous!  The kids were amazing and the memories will last a lifetime.   I will say though that I am glad to be back into a routine this week for our learning.

Notes:

• As the weather gets cooler, please make sure your child is dressed for the weather. We only keep students in for indoor recess when the temperature drops to -19 or is unsafe (e.g. abnormally strong winds or a thunderstorm).

In the Classroom:

• Math - finishing up the graphing unit. Please keep practicing on Splash Math at home.
• LA - we are finishing up our Life Maps and starting a suspense story writing unit. This is our last week of homophones (please practice on spellingcity.com); and our last week for SRA.
• Social - we will resume this subject this week now that Trickster is over and are starting to learn about the Rocky Mountain Region.
• Science - we will be studying how objects are either transparent, translucent or opaque.

This Week's Schedule:
Monday:

• Friday letters were a little different last week.  Make sure your child took the time to write in their own behaviour paragraph.  I enjoy reading the comments and letters you write back to your child. 
• Library books due.

Tuesday:

• Energy Day assembly 12:30 p.m.
• Art Portfolios due - students have had 2 hours of class time and an extra week and a half to complete this project. Please check in with your child to see if they have taken care of this "Big Rock"

Wednesday:

• Life Maps due - this project was started the week before last. The students had all last week to work on it and a little bit of this week. These may come home for homework since so much class time was given. Please check in with your child about this project as well.

Friday:

• Frolicking Friday
• Enrichment starts!

TRICKSTER WEEK - - Sept 22-26

The week we have all been waiting for!!! TRICKSTER IS HERE! And with it, a LOAD of EXCITEMENT!  We had an opening assembly this morning to introduce the students to the high energy program that they will experience all week!  I know I am super excited as are the students!  I know this will be a week they will not forget!

With that being said, the schedule has been a little changed - - all week!  I have asked that the students TRUST me with what will happen this week as we will have to be super flexible with Trickster, learning and practicing. 

I can't wait to see what happens with our Trickster leader Brianna, and I hope you have the discussions tonight with your son or daughter to find out what we did with our session.

Notes:

• We have challenged Mrs. Nelson's class to a reading competition! The class with the most number of reading minutes logged on reading-rewards.com this week is the winner!
• For the Trickster performances, seating is limited so make sure you have sent in your ticket request form. Students will perform at both the Thursday evening and the Friday morning performance. Keep a close eye on the agenda for updated Trickster information.
• If you are able to volunteer at all this week, we would LOVE to have you! The parent command centre will be set up in the staff room to get ready for this amazing event.
• Our school's grand total for the Terry Fox run donations was over $600!! I was very proud of our class; we raised $31 which works out to more than a dollar per student. Way to go!!

In the Classroom:

• Math - this week we will be working on the graphing unit. Please keep practicing place value, comparing and ordering numbers and writing numbers in different ways on splashmath.com.
• Language Arts - we are right into our Life Map project. Students may be coming home asking for details about their lives! I've recommended they look through family photos for ideas.
• Science - we have a couple of loose ends to tie up this week as well as learning about how light travels.
• Social - we are taking a bit of a hiatus in social this week to make room for Trickster.
• French - also going on hiatus.
• Art - we have finished our first project in class which was to create the cover of their art portfolio. Students had the silhouette of their heads traced and then drew their name and things that were important to them inside. No more class time will be given for this project and it is due Sept. 30. This week we will be creating optical illusions.

Monday

• Friday letters returned.
• There will be no library tomorrow (this week) so students can keep their books with them.
• Trickster ticket forms due in.

Tuesday

• Job applications due in
• No Tone it up Tuesday as we will be working with Trickster.

Wednesday

Thursday

• TRICKSTER performance - 6:30 p.m.  (don't forget your tickets!)

Friday

• TRICKSTER performance - 9:30 a.m.  (don't forget your tickets!)

A beautiful sighting...

On our ride in this morning, we were fortunate enough to see a bull moose off in the coulees.  What a great opportunity to take a moment, reflect, and of course, take a picture!  We are so lucky to share this land with the animals and to respect them too. 

Sept 15-22

Welcome back!  One thing I noticed with my personal children this weekend was that they were tired from a full week of routine!  I'm sure you noticed that too.  With another full week, we need to all work together to sharpen the saw and get our daily rest.  (Keeping in mind, next week is TRICKSTER and it is going to be busy and EXCITING!)

Last week we had the opportunity to create our problem for Trickster.  The entire show comes from ideas and thoughts brainstormed from the class.  I can't wait to see what the final outcome will be!!  A couple of things in regard to Trickster

1. They are looking for large pieces of cardboard.  They can be brought into the school and the office will help you out.
2. Parent volunteers...if you are able to spare an hour or two, that would be fabulous!  Again, I sent home a grey sheet if you haven't filled it out already.  Thank you.

What we are learning...

Language Arts

• Spelling - working on no excuse homophones. Spelling City is up and running with an assignment set for students to practice these important words starting on Wednesday. (See the Student Logins tab for details).
• Reading - we are working on the SRA Reading Laboratory which allows students to work independently at their own level. This program will run until the end of September. Students should be reading a minimum of 15 minutes a day at home. Don't forget to log their minutes on reading-rewards.com for prizes!!
• Writing - we are just about to start a Life Map writing project.

Math - we are just finishing up our unit on whole numbers. Splash Math has some really great activities to help kids practice place value, comparing and ordering numbers and writing numbers in different ways. We will be heading into our graphing unit later this week.

Science - our Lights and Shadows unit has just got underway. Hopefully you read about the experiment we did last week in your child's Friday Letter.

Social - last week the students were introduced to the prehistory of Alberta and to Alberta's six regions. Ask your son or daughter about the cool map they made!

Monday

• Friday letters due.  Thank you to the parents who have taken the time to respond to your child's writing. 
• Library books due.

Tuesday

• Tone it up Tuesday.  Bring a water bottle and yoga mat (optional)
• Library day today!

Wednesday

• PICTURE DAY!

Thursday

• Bus evacuation practice

Friday

• Terry Fox assembly and run at 9:00 a.m.  As a school, we are committed to the Terry Fox foundation and again we are collecting donations for cancer research.  Our school goal is for every child to bring in $1, just as it was Terry's goal. 
• Classroom JOB applications will be coming home and need to be returned Tuesday, September 23. 

Saturday:

• Pig and Pumpkin festival at Broxburn Vegetables and Cafe - proceeds go to our school!!

Sept. 8-12

Week 2 is under way with a full week of learning ahead!  Thank you for a great first week and I look forward to more to come.  

We are working on our routines, getting to know each other and the expecatations we have of each other.  I look forward to great things this year from your child and their peers!


Monday:

• Friday Letters to be returned.  Thank you to the parents who wrote back to their child.  I enjoyed reading the feedback this morning. 
• ME Museum Projects were due in today.  We will be presenting them all week and I look forward to learning more about you.
• We started French today!  Ask your child what they learned.
• Parent Council tonight at 6:30 (and as I shut down my computer for the night and leave the meeting, I realized that I did not hit publish on this document!  My apologies!)

Tuesday

• First day of library!
• Tone It Up Tuesday - bring a water bottle.

Wednesday:

• Family BBQ and Meet the Teacher Night - I look forward to meeting with all of you that night!

Friday:

• Frolicking Friday - please make sure your child is dressed for the weather and has good shoes for running and walking

Sept. 2 - 5 - WELCOME BACK

I am so excited to welcome you to my class this year! I can't wait to see the awesome learning and adventures that you child and myself will embark on. It was a pleasure to meet some of you this morning as well as your child and I'm thankful that they are here. I only ask one thing of your child and that is that they try their best. Please take the time to ask your child what the rules are of the classroom (and they should be able to tell you as I only have two!)

I use this blog as a tool to help keep you informed with upcoming events, learning happening in the classroom and little things that can be done at home to help out the school environment. I do my best to update this blog once a week (every Monday) but I would like to make it a goal this year to add some other posts.

A couple of other pieces of information before I give you the weekly update:

1. Please read and sign your child's agenda. Please do this every day even if there is not a message.
2. Home Reading is a very important component of a child's learning and it starts now!  The expectation is that your child reads for 15 minutes a night. 
3. There is an option to the left to "Follow by Email." If you would like to receive email notifications of when my blog is updated, please sign up.
4. LOGINS - we use a variety of computer programs.  The logins will be posted shortly.
5. Reminder about the 2 shoe rule.  If this is a concern to you, please come and see me. 

Lastly, you can reach me at kristy.nelson@lethsd.ab.ca for any other communications.   

This week at a glance:

Tuesday:

• Welcome to school! 

Wednesday:

• ME Museum project coming home - due next week Monday, Sept. 8.

Thursday

• Recycling will start.  Each grade 4 student will take part this year for 4 or 5 weeks.  I am the supervisor in charge.  This is part of the Grade 4 curriculum and the rewards will go back to the grade 4 classes.  We also bring in a production for the whole school. 

Friday:

• Welcome Back Assembly 8:30 a.m.
• First day of Frolicking Friday - wear appropriate outdoor footwear.

Thank you for leaving your child in my care this year. It is an honour.