Saturday, March 16, 2019

5 days to go until spring break - March 16, 2019

Spring is in the air with only 5 more school days left until spring break - YAY!!!

A quick wrap-up from last week... and
... some IMPORTANT messages for the upcoming week - see below!

It is not easy to once again sum up all we did last week, but I will try.
Math:
- Finished calendar and reading analog clocks including 24 hour clocks
- Worked through review activities within Mathletics
- Next we start area and perimeter with a project at the Calgary Tower
- Continuing with daily multiplication quiz and will be reviewing past material too.
- Working on more word problems as well.
English:
- Continued reading Wonder
- Next, we will be looking at a writing project and finishing Wonder
French:
- Continued to work on our grammar booklets
- Will start working our way through Les bas du pensionnat
Social:
- Finished Kokopelli Flute Player Pictographs (Art)
- Will continue exploring First Nations history and the arrival of Europeans
Art / Music:
- Kokopelli Pictographs (linked to Social)
- Clay for Kids - Alberta Treaty Mural tiles for school mural
- Starting this week, we will refocus on music again
Coding:
- Continued exploring Scratch
- Will be getting into groups and choosing our program topics

Here are some pictures to show and not just tell what we did :)

Helping Grade 1s with Leprechaun Traps / practicing their Theater pieces
This week, the grade 4 students had the opportunity to help their grade 1 buddies with their Leprechaun traps and with practicing their theater pieces that Mme Celine had assigned to them.  As usual, our grade 4 students took their job very seriously :).

Kokopelli Flute Player Pictographs
The process of creating these pieces of art took about 2 weeks.  The students first created a design of the flute player surrounded by rocks, as it would have been seen in the Grotto Canyon once.  They then recreated their design on cardboard and worked real hard to cut out the pieces which were then glued onto a large piece of cardboard.  This helped give the pictographs a 3D feel.  The next step was done by me, as it involved covering the cardboards with lacquer, and then the students were ready for the final steps.
During the final stage, the students put 1-2 layers of paint on their Kokopelli cardboard layouts and then immediately placed a piece of sketch paper on top to create the final pictographs.  Here is a small sampling of the process and the final results.  The entire collection will be posted in the hallway across our classroom.
 

Alberta Treaty Mural (Clay for Kids)
Here are some pictures of the beautiful work our students did for the Alberta Treaty Mural with the help and guidance of two wonderful ladies from Clay for Kids.  
We cannot wait to see the final mural. :)

As an extra treat, we also had Scarlet demonstrate a beautiful Irish costume and dance steps.  She went all the way around the school and did a short demo in each class.  Thank you Scarlet!
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Calgary Tower Field Trip 

(Monday, March 18)

Monday (March 18) is our Field trip to the Calgary Tower.    

Here is the approximate layout of our day:

Boarding the Bus at 9:05
10:00am
Arrive at the Calgary Tower, meet the Education Coordinator, go over Tower rules, and move to the Observation Deck
10:10am
Drop off belongings on the Upper Deck, time for a quick pocket snack, and free time to explore the Observation Deck
10:30am
Theatre Room
10:40am
Move back to the Upper Deck, and listen to a Tower Presentation
Q&A
11:15am
Observation Deck Tour with Tablet Technology Activity
12:05pm
Stair Climb (802 steps)
12:30pm
Lunch on the Upper Deck
1:00pm
Hands-On Activity: 360° of Math
1:45pm
Wrap up, gather belongings, and additional time to explore the Observation Deck
2:00pm
Time to Depart
Arrival back at the school: 2:30 PM

Please pack a regular lunch and snacks for your child along with a bottle of water (they will get thirsty after the Stair Climb).  We will not be returning to the school until the end of the day.  Thank you to our two volunteers who will be spending the day with us and hopefully helping push Mme up the stairs :).

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Alberta Champions Story Contest

As we are learning about the history of Alberta and its many peoples, this contest is a great fit for many of the students in Grade 4.  This is optional, however, I know some of the students would do great in this contest.  Here is a link to the details:

For this contest, the students choose an Albertan who had great impacts on the people and history of Alberta (past or present) and write a short story (up to 1000 words) describing a meeting with this individual.  The story must include and be based on a number of biographical details and accomplishments of the chosen Albertan.  More details can be found at the following link:

If anyone wishes to participate, I would love to help with the research process, the writing aspect and, ultimately, the submission steps.

The deadline for submissions is April 5th.

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Spring Variety / Talent Show

APRIL 25, 2019

Last week we sent home a flyer about a talent show coming up.  Please make sure the form is returned by March 14th for consideration in the show.  The show will take place April 25th from 6:30 - 8:30 PM.

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District Satisfaction Survey (2019)

Dear parents,
Please lend your voice to St. Gerard School and complete the district satisfaction survey.
Your feedback is very important to us!

https://tinyurl.com/satisfactionsurvey2019

Thank you!

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Homework: 
- Raz-kids French books (Assignment Mar 18 - 22) - due April 1
- Math Homework - Week 23 - due April 1 
- English Homework - Week 7 - due April 1
- Spelling tests: English, French 

Upcoming Important Dates:
Monday, March 18 (Jour 5)
(Prayer: TBD)
- Knitting Club @ lunch
- Calgary Tower

Tuesday, March 19 (Jour 6)
(Prayer: TBD)
- Gym

Wednesday, March 20 (Jour 1)
(Prayer: TBD)
- Popcorn day

Thursday, March 21 (Jour 2)
(Prayer: TBD)
- Hymn Sing
- Knitting Club @ lunch

Math Quiz

Friday, March 22 (Jour 3)
(Prayer: TBD)
- Last Day before March Break


LOOKING AHEAD:

MARCH PRAYERS - Grade 4
- March 18 - Field Trip to Calgary Tower
- March 25 - 29 - SPRING BREAK

Have a beautiful weekend!