November 9 News

Dear parents,

We had a terrific time at the Bug Zoo and Royal BC Museum today! This trip would not have been possible without our parents volunteers: thank you Lisa, Krista, Meri, Atsuko and Erin for helping supervising students. We weren't allowed to use the flash on our cameras, so my pictures are not so great! Anyways, here is a peek at the Bug Zoo visit for those of you who couldn't make it!

Remembrance Day Assembly Tomorrow

There will be a Remembrance Day assembly tomorrow morning at 10:15. Poppies will be distributed to students prior to the assembly and there will be a donation box if you want to send small donations. Students have been working on Remembrance Day posters and poems. We will finish this tomorrow afternoon. 

E-portfolios

I have been working hard at setting up our e-portfolios with the District's app: EdInform. It took my a while to familiarize myself with this new platform and to learn how to upload various types of files. 

On Halloween, students performed their Reader's theatre presentation in front of Kindergarted and Grade 1 classes, or in front of our class. I uploaded the video recording of the presentations on the e-portfolios and I will be sending you an invitation to view your child's portfolio shortly. You will find other things such as the Cube project and samples of writing on your child's portfolio. I will upload more projects and assessments throughout the year. 

We are now learning...

Now that we are done with the various District and Provincial Assessments that filled our month of October, we are working on the following:

• In math, we have been working on reading and making bar graphs. We will keep working on this and start on estimating, adding and subtracting. We will also learn how to solve KenKen math puzzles. These puzzles are a fun way to practice problem solving and computation: they are a great activity for learners who need extra challenge in math. 
• In Social Studies, our big question is "What does Canada 150 mean to the different people who now live in Canada?". We are studying the human history and geography of British-Columbia and Canada, starting with local First Nations culture and way of life before contact with Europeans. Later on, we will study explorers, first contacts, fur trade, and the interactions (cooperation and conflict) between settlers and aboriginal people.  
• In science, we are using the topic of insects to think about the big idea: "All living things sense and respond to their environment" (grade 4 Science Curriculum) and the First Peoples concept of interconnectedness in the environment (grade 5 Science Curriculum). Next week, we will explore these concepts by making "insects habitat and communities dioramas": please send a shoe box to school for your child for this project.
• In English, we are reading the book Hannah and the Spindle Whorl, which connects to our Social Studies Unit. We are also using this book to study the elements of a story (setting, character, plot) and students are planning and writing their own fiction story. We will soon be starting an English spelling program: Words Their Way. 
• In French, we speak French together every morning during morning meeting. We practice active listening, speaking clearly, asking thoughtful questions and making relevant comments. Our daily morning message is an opportunity to learn new vocabulary together and to work on concepts such as punctuation, capital letters, homophones, etc.  In reading, we have been working on reading fluently and with expression. The readers' theatre was fantastic for this and I am on the look for more French readers' theatre scripts to keep the enthusiasm going. 

Home Reading

I have been talking to a lot of parents over the last weeks and I noticed that many students were reading mostly in English at home because they were not bringing French books from school. I reminded the class that, when they write in their agenda, they also need to ensure that they pack the necessary French books home. French library books can sometimes be too hard (advanced vocabulary) to read at home independently: books for home reading should be easy enough for the child to read and understand on their own. We have books sorted by reading level in the pod, as well as easy novels, illustrated albums and graphic novels in the class library. 

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There is no school on Monday, and it is a 2-hour Early Dismissal next Wednesday.

Au revoir!

​Nathalie