March 20-24, 2023

-

Happy Spring Break to everyone! Before we share a bit about our week, a reminder that the week of March 27-31 is Spring Break for the Calgary Board of Education so there is no school next week.

This week was another full one however, the highlight of our week had to be Science! We finished our Leprechaun Launchers this week, being sure to use the design process:

 

When designing, building and testing our designs, the grade threes were working on being able to say "I can apply procedures to test different designs" and "I can identify and apply methods for making a structure stronger and more stable". The focus for the grade fours was to be able to say "I can construct models of levers and explain how levers are involved in such devices" and "I can use simple forces to power or propel a device"

Both grades were focusing on the following process learning intentions:

  • I can evaluate a design and make adjustments.
  • I can work cooperatively, listen, and use the ideas of others and use my words to solve problems effectively.
  • I can communicate with group members, showing ability to contribute and receive ideas.

We really enjoyed exploring with these materials, the shapes of our bases and the lengths of our levers to get the “best launch”. There were three categories to try to do well in: furthest distance, most accurate and most stable. After launching, we used our measurement skills to measure the distance that our “leprechauns” (aka, aliens) travelled. Ask us how ours did!!

We all loved these activities so much that Mrs. Cooper would like to encourage families to support STEM-like activities at home. With a quick trip to the dollar store or just finding found objects at home (like elastics, popsicle sticks, milk jug lids and lego), students can design, build and investigate at home.

This week was also exciting in science because we had a few developments with our tank inquiry. After making our predictions last week, we learned that our fish are Rainbow Trout. Now that we have this confirmed, we are learning about their adaptations, habitat and life cycle. We also saw them fighting for dominance now that they are getting bigger. On Friday, Dr. Morris came in to tell us more about fish. Some of the things we learned include:

  • that there are about 10 invasive species of fish in Alberta;
  • there are about 55 species of fish that are native to Alberta;
  • a special type of fish hold eggs in its belly and the mother births the fish instead of laying eggs;
  • Three Spined Sticklebacks can stick out their spines and retract them; 
  • fish communicate in many ways including with scales, swim bladders, and through their colour.

Of course that isn’t all! Be sure to ask us about:

  • Comparing and ordering fractions (grade 3) and equivalent fractions and how to put fractions on a number line (grade 4)
  • Our whale research
  • Our personal commitment to diversity and acceptance and why we made this commitment on World Down Syndrome Day
  • What is happening in our Song For A Whale novel
  • The best part of our week.

Finally, Mrs. Cooper would like everyone to know that we begin gymnastics during physical education class on Monday, April 3rd. The gymnastics unit will last four weeks.  Safety routines, cooperation and sportsmanship are taught and reviewed in each class. This physical activity opportunity will help students acquire individual skills through a variety of developmentally appropriate movement activities. 

It is important for students to come to school prepared to be actively engaged. The following guidelines are very helpful… 

HEAD TO TOE - READY TO GO!!!  

Head ....................... long hair pulled back 

Ears/Throat/Wrist ............... jewellery off 

Shirt.................................. one layer shirt 

Waist ................................................tucked in 

Pants.........................sporty pants or shorts, no belts or zippers 

Ankles..........................pants rolled up if ankles are covered 

Toes...............running shoes, gymnastic slippers or bare feet (no footed tights) 

“Playing & moving safely is everyone’s responsibility”

Please make sure that students are dressed appropriately and ready for our unit.

Have a wonderful and safe spring break!

Important Dates

  • March 27-31 - Spring Break NO SCHOOL
  • Monday April 3 - First Day Back after break
  • April 7 - Good Friday Holiday - NO SCHOOL
  • April 10 - System Professional Learning Day - NO SCHOOL

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

June 4-8, 2023

-
Image
  What an exciting and eventful week!! So much happened for us in Room 6 and we had so much learning! On Tuesday the HAWCs helicopter landed in our school field! We were able to hear all about it from the pilot, mechanic and police officer that works on the helicopter. We learned that HAWCs stands for Helicopter Air Watch for Community Safety. We also learned about how it flies, it’s top speed and how much it weighs. We applied our “observing beyond the obvious” as we sketched in our journal. Another exciting part of the week was our guest Rugby coach! We learned how to hold and   pass a rugby ball. We also played a lot of games to practice running, passing the ball and protecting our flags. We also have been doing a lot of watercolour this year in art. On Monday and Tuesday we used a wet on wet technique to make beautiful dandelion pictures that showed movement and applied the “rule of thirds”. We learned that it is important to use this rule to make our art more interesting for
Read more

June 19-23

-
Image
We had such a fantastic week of learning! We cannot believe it was our second last week together. The year has gone so fast! We had two big highlights from the week, learning about Indigenous Culture and our Tower Garden Salad Celebration. Wednesday, June 21, 2023 was National Indigenous People’s Day. It was a great opportunity for the grade 4s to share with the grade 3s what they have learned this month about the history of Indigenous People in Alberta. We also took some time to go a bit deeper into Indigenous Culture, listening to Indigenous music like the song Ukiuk by the Jerry Cans and also learning about the three Indigenous Flags that were gifted to our school. We also had an assembly and the Land Acknowledgement that we did at our sharing assembly was used for this one. We were very honoured that they asked us to use it. Finally, we all went outside for a whole school sit spot. Here are a few more insights from our class about National Indigenous People’s Day and our learnin
Read more

YEARBOOKS

-
  Yearbook Don't forget to order your 2022/2023 yearbook before the end of the year! Yearbooks feature portrait pages of all grades, photos of classroom highlights and memories as well as images from the special events and spirit days throughout the year! The yearbook is created by parent volunteers for your children to enjoy, and proceeds from sales support school council in offering great opportunities for our students. Pre-order yearbooks will be distributed in September of 2023. PAY ONLINE: Go to  ybpay.lifetouch.ca  and enter our school code:  11352723.    If you have any questions regarding yearbook, please email Holly Gray, our yearbook coordinator at  lbsyearbooks@gmail.com .  The school does not have a list of who has ordered.
Read more