October 2019 Newsletter

Dear Division 5 families,

It's been fun to get to know each other in September. Here's some of the things that we've been working on, and what's coming in October:

Career Education & Art - Cube project

During the last weeks, students have been completing a Cube about themselves (their characteristics, family, strengths, talents, favorite things, etc). Students worked hard and produced fantastic work on this project! In October, they will use their cube as a support for an oral presentation where they will talk about themselves in French. The class will practice listening actively to a classmate, making connections and asking thoughtful questions. ​

Career Education and Personal & Social Responsibility

In the questionnaires that parents filled out at the beginning of the year, many parents mentioned that their child had a short attention span, trouble listening & focusing, or was easily distracted. Other parents mentioned that their child had a fixed mindset, feared making mistakes or saw mistakes as failure. Indeed, this is a group of fantastic, artistic, energetic, athletic, kind, compassionate students... but I notice that many students' ability to learn is compromised by their distractibility, or by their reluctance to take risks. To address this, the Successful Learner Traits Framework, Mind Up lessons and Growth mindset lessons will be an important area of focus during the months of October and November. 

We have started to learn about about the Successful Learner Traits. So far, we discussed how successful learners are enthusiastic and strategic. Enthusiastic learners are motivated, involved, and engage fully in the learning activities. They look forward to new experiences. Strategic learners plan ahead, are resourceful, and organized (see images below). We practiced being strategic with planning and executing our cube project, keeping track of our progress and taking it home to catch up as necessary in order to complete it by the due date. We are also practicing keeping our duotangs and personal belongings organized. 

We will keep learning more successful learner traits in October, but we are still working on these two as they are not acquired yet for most students. In order to increase the quality of our focus and ability to engage fully during lessons, we have been practicing a simple mindfulness practice that involves listening to a calming sound (singing bowl) and focusing on our breathing.

​Today, we began our first Mind Up lesson. The Mind Up lessons will teach us how to regulate our emotions and focus our attention. A unit on Growth Mindset will also teach us that we grow our brain by taking risks and making mistakes. Students will be encouraged to get out of their comfort zone to stretch their brain. 

Science - Rocks and Minerals

In Science, we have been learning about the Rock Cycle and many students have brought interesting rocks and minerals to school for us to look at. On Monday, we made a simulation on how sedimentary, metamorphic and igneous rocks are formed...using Starburst candy! On Tuesday's field trip, local experts showed us different rock formations and we learned a lot. Many thanks to Karen for organizing this wonderful field trip and inviting our class to come along!  Also, thanks to Meri and Amanda who accompanied the class and supported the students throughout the day. A big shout out to Amanda who also shared some of her amazing crystals with our class! We will continue to learn about rocks and minerals over the next few weeks.

Forest week and French writing

Last week was Forest week and we spent time daily in the forest, observing and making notes, but also playing! We reflected on why trees and forests are important, and what we love to do in the forest. We made a big list of French vocabulary and brainstormed a lot of ideas together. Then, students wrote in French about the forest. There are even a couple letters to the Prime Minister! Way to go Division 5!

Math

In math, we have been working on telling time, as well as numeration, place value, rounding up and estimation. We have also done an assessment of basic math facts (adding, subtracting, multiplication and, in a few cases, division) and students are working on developing strategies for the facts that they don't know. We will be using Power of Ten card games to further develop mental math strategies in October. We will also work on multi-digit computation for adding and subtracting to prepare for a fun Halloween math situation towards the end of the month. 

We are also occasionally using the computer game Prodigy. Prodigy is a fun option for extra math practice at home, and the questions are tailored specifically to each child's level. Parents can create an account and link it to their child's account (using their username and password) to follow their progress. As a parent member, you can can also set goals for your child and give them in-game rewards when they reach their goal. Learn more about Prodigy's features for parents.

FSA - Foundational Skills Assessments

Next week, the Grade 4 students are starting the Foundational Skills Assessment (FSA). For some of the FSA activities, the Grade 4 students who are doing the FSA will work on components of the test while the rest of the class is working on other activities. Other FSA activities will be integrated with the Fall District Assessments (District Wide Write and District Assessment of Reading) and will be done as a whole class. 

Arts and French

One of my professional goals this year is to integrate more French songs and music in my teaching. We are beginning to learn two French songs by Gregg LeRock. C'est comme ça ici talks about positive communities of learners and Sauvons les animaux talks about Endangered Animals. Using the songs as springboards, we will dive into inquiry and art projects (on endangered animals) and song writing (writing our own lyrics that represent our school and other endangered animals). Long term projects include recording our own "cover" version of C'est comme ça ici, with our class-generated lyrics and students singing and playing instruments, as well as making our own music videos for these songs. 

Epic! A resource for home reading

Epic! is great resource for home reading for those students who have access to a tablet or computer at home. There are a lot of English books and a good selection of French books available that students can listen to and read. The words are highlighted as they are read, which can be very beneficial for struggling readers. Even strong readers will enjoy the access to a variety of books on many topics. We will be trying this app in class as part of our reading program so students can get used to it.

* If you have earbuds or earphones at home your child could keep at school to use during reading time, that would be fantastic. 

To access Epic! from home, you can download the app on a tablet, or log in from a computer at https://www.getepic.com/sign-in/educator. Students enter the classcode: gaq8124 and enter their name to access the free classroom account. Give it a try!

Reporting of student progress

Towards the end of October or early November, I will send home a paper portfolio with samples of your child's work in reading, writing, math, and another subject that we have focused on, such as science or career and responsibility. These samples will include feedback and next steps, as well a student self-reflections. This will help you and your child discuss where there are at, develop more specific learning goals and think of ways to work towards those goals. Samples of learning will be sent home regularly during the school year and will be the main way to report your child's progress. There will be 2 Report Cards, using the district's redesigned report card format. If you wish to learn more about this reporting process and about the new report card format, Lisa is offering a parent information session on Wednesday October 9th from 6:00-7:00 (see weekly bulletin). 

Also, please don't hesitate to contact me if you wish to discuss your child's learning on the phone or in person, at any time (before or after I send home the portfolios). 

Happy October!

Sincerely,

​Nathalie