Dear 4E and 4F Families,
Wow! It has been a great year! This group of fourth graders was awesome and we had a blast learning and laughing together. I had tons of fun teaching these students and I will miss each and every one of them over the summer. Speaking of which, I hope that all of you have the most wonderful summer ever! Take some time to relax, have lots of BBQ’s, go to the movies and check out all the amazing sights and events in and around Calgary. I wish all my fourth graders the best of luck next year and beyond. I know they’ll enjoy their new teachers and I look forward to seeing the students in the building and keeping in touch. Please encourage your child to email me over the summer holiday and I will always respond. Thank you for all you have done to support your child’s successes in school this year. Many thanks also for the wonderful cards, works of art and gifts. I am so very appreciative and touched by your generosity. Best, Mrs. Ross [email protected]
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Hello Parents,
I hope this blog post finds everyone well and enjoying the last few days of school! I just wanted to take this time to let you know about our plans for a Year End Picnic on Wednesday. The Grade 4 Team will be walking to the park on Nose Creek's field to enjoy lunch and one last afternoon of play together. If students would like to bring a treat or snack to share on this last day of school, they are also welcome to do so. We have 29 students in our class and we will be sitting together as a class on the field to enjoy the snacks that our homeroom students bring. Packing a cold bottle of water, a hat, sunscreen and a small blanket/towel to sit on would also be beneficial for students on Wednesday. Grade 4 students will also participate in a Sports Day in the morning on Wednesday, facilitated by our PE team. Students are asked to dress for the weather as we will be outside for most of the day. Students are also reminded to wear running shoes to school on Wednesday! If you have any questions about this post, please do not hesitate to ask. I am looking forward to our last few days of school and hope you all have a great summer! - Mrs. Ross [email protected] The summer countdown is on! I cannot even believe we only have three full days left at NCS! I hope you enjoy them, Kodiaks!
This week in math, students finished up their learning about decimal tenths, and will move onto learning about decimal hundredths on Monday/Tuesday next week. Students learned that fractions and decimals are different ways to represent the same amount. Throughout the week, students worked on representing and describing decimal numbers concretely, pictorially and symbolically along with the related fraction. They learned how to read and say decimal numbers correctly and also solved various decimal/fraction problems on Prodigy. Students spent some time adding and subtracting decimals numbers, including money amounts, and should continue to explore these concepts throughout the summer break. In science, students wrapped up their learning in the Plants unit! They concluded this unit by researching and then presenting a selected topic with their table group members. I was very impressed with the quality of information presented as well as the students' presentation skills! Bravo, Kodiaks! Each group member will receive a copy their group's grading rubric on Monday. Students have continued to work really hard on their ABC year-end assessment project. They should have the entire project pretty much finished up for Monday, as we'll only have time to put a few finishing touches on things. Parents - please keep your eyes on your email inbox tomorrow. I will be sending out some information about our last day of school once our plans are confirmed! Upcoming Events and Important Due Dates – June 26, 2018: ABC's of Grade 4 Year End Assessment due date & peer sharing June 27, 2018: Last day of school Want to learn more? Click here!
www.canada.ca/en/canadian-heritage/campaigns/celebrate-canada-days/aboriginal-day.html Math – In Math this week, students learned how to use fractions to show and represent equal parts of a set. They explored and completed their tasks by using manipulatives, drawing images and also by examining shaded parts of a set (visual representations). Students also used counters to help identify and find the fractions (including equivalent fractions) of various sets - i.e. 1/2 of 14, 2/6 of 18, 2/3 of 15 and so on. In addition to this work, students enjoyed working collaboratively in their table groupings to solve various multi-stepped word problems involving fractions!
Students began their studies in the decimals unit this week. We began by watching a video about decimal numbers, which led to various class discussions and debates - i.e. fractions vs. decimals, how decimals are used/what they can represent and how they are used in the real world. Here is a link to the video we watched in class: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xiMuFg9UqNY Students should have completed the "Exploring Tenths" activity involving decimals. In this activity, students learned to represent both fractions and decimals for base ten blocks, as well as various images. We will continue our learning with decimal numbers next week! Prodigy – If students were absent from school today, please ensure they complete the assigned task online in Prodigy. For this task, students will determine and explain, through investigation, the relationship between fractions (i.e., halves, fifths, tenths) and decimals to tenths, using a variety of tools and strategies. Science – In Science, students continued their work in the Plants area of the curriculum. Most students finished up their online independent research for various plants topics and have moved onto the group research/presentation portion of the study. Students were asked to complete #'s 1-7 for their independent research for this coming Monday's class. The group presentation will be due at the end of next week and students will help build the grading rubric for this portion of the study. Students are encouraged to read and study their assigned chapter for the group presentation. I have listed the website chapter links below. ABC's of Grade 4 Year End Assessment – Most students have been using their time wisely in class each day to stay on top of their ABC's of Grade 4 Year End Assessment project. Students should have finished letters A-L in their good copy, in addition to their cover page. We will continue working through this assessment project in class each day next week. A reminder that this project is due on: Tuesday, June 26. On this day, students will share their three favorite letters with their peers and I will assess their project for distribution on: Wednesday, June 27 (the last day of school). Keep working hard on this assessment project, Kodiaks. Your work looks amazing and it is evident that you learned a ton this year! Upcoming Events and Important Due Dates – June 20, 2018: Healthy Hunger (Booster Juice) June 21, 2018: Grade 4 Multicultural Fair June 26, 2018: ABC's of Grade 4 Year End Assessment due date & peer sharing June 27, 2018: Last day of school Heritage Park Historical Village, see and feel the past as it comes to life in front of your eyes!Wow! What a week! Between the Triathlon, Heritage Park field trip, Taste of the Arts evening and baking cakes in the Foods Room today for Math... it sure was a week filled with endless fun and excitement! Congratulations on a job well done to all Triathlon and Taste of the Arts participants, and many thanks to our many volunteers who assisted with 4F's field trip and with baking cakes in 4E/4F: Ms. Johnson, Ms. MacIntyre, Ms. Peterson, Ms. Tollefson, Ms. Wells, and Ms. Williams! Math – Our studies continued in the fractions unit this week. Students learned about fraction benchmarks and used number lines to solve and represent their learning. Students compared fractions using "<, >, =" symbols and also explored real-life word problems. Students also spent some time in Prodigy solving various fractions challenges, and baked cakes to further explore fractions concepts as they measured and mixed fractioned ingredients and then had to divide their cake into equal parts for consumption - see photos below! The cakes were enjoyed by all, and many thanks to the parents for sending in delicious toppings such as icing and sprinkles! Students are reminded that the "Book of Fractions" task (received early last week) is due on Monday for evaluation. Prodigy – If your child was absent from class yesterday (Thursday, June 7), please ensure they complete the fractions task online in Prodigy. Science – Students began their online research project for the plants unit. They were busy reading and sifting through information on laptops to answer questions on their task sheet. Next week, students will share and combine their research findings with an assigned group. They will work with their group members to present their information to the class. ABC's of Grade 4 Project - Students should now be finished completing the rough copies of the year end assessment project: The ABC's of Grade 4. Students will spend some time discussing and reflecting on the rough copy process on Monday, and will also complete further peer editing. Most students have now started their good copies of the project! They are beginning to put final touches on their title pages, and a few have completed the first couple letters! We will continue with good copies next week and students will be able to access many art supplies to brighten up their pages! ABC's of Grade Four - timelinesMonthly Letters – Many "Monthly Letters" books have still not been returned from last week. I will send a reminder email out to parents early next week if they are not returned on Monday. Please ensure your child has returned their Monthly Letter book. We will need it for our final monthly letter task!
Here are some photos from last night's Taste of the Arts evening. It was such an amazing night celebrating and showcasing students' artwork and artistic skills! Bravo, Kodiaks! Math – In Math this week, students learned how to represent fractions using concrete materials, words, drawings and standard fractional notation. They learned about the meaning of the denominator as the number of the fractional parts of a whole or set, and the numerator as the number of fractional parts being considered. Students enjoyed playing Fraction Bingo, which had them identifying equivalent fractions. 4E and 4F's also identified and compared fractions by participating in a collaborative group task involving math cubes (see photos posted below). Next week, students will learn and practice ordering fractions. They are also very excited to use their understanding of fractions to bake a cake in the Foods Lab... from scratch! Please check your email for a message I sent out regarding the fraction cakes task coming up next Friday, June 8 for both 4E and 4F students! Prodigy – 4E and 4F students are encouraged to log in to their Prodigy accounts to complete the Fractions task I have set up for them. Good luck! Science – This week, students learned about the parts of a flower and pollination. They created two foldables in their Creative Journals and also studied a plant dissection online. The foldable tasks and the video helped students better understand the parts of a flower (see photo posted below). Students learned all about pollination and pollinators. They learned that flowers make pollen and that pollen is a fine powder. It's usually yellow and it can make you sneeze! Flowers use pollen to make seeds through a process called pollination. Pollen can't move by itself so it needs the help of pollinators. Pollinators such as honey bees, are pollen helpers. They move the pollen to the flower's pistil so the flower can make seeds. Did you know that wasps, beetles and hummingbirds are pollinators too? Monthly Letters – 4F students spent some time reflecting on the month of May and their learning at NCS. They completed their 9th Monthly Letter and it was sent home with them today. Parents, please take some time reading and discussing your child's monthly letter over the weekend. I did not prompt or assist them in any way with this month's letter! Flex – 4F students created a report about their Pysanka Eggs Artist in Residence workshop on Google Docs this week. I gave them a few tips and taught them a few tricks to better use the online program for their report. Most students have finished their report and have shared it with me. They look amazing! Year End Assessment (YEA) - Yesterday, all grade four students were introduced to the year end assessment project entitled “The ABC’s of Grade 4.” This is a culminating project that allows students to demonstrate their learning and understanding across the curriculum from throughout the year. This major assessment project will be due for all students on Tuesday, June 26th. Each day, students will be working on their YEA and will receive guidance from their core teachers. They will also have access to some supplies in class to get creative with, such as: stencils, magazines, newspaper, coloured paper, stickers, stamps, and laptops to google/print images. Art material donations would be greatly appreciated for this project and students are permitted to bring in their own supplies to add to their scrapbooks if they wish. If you would like more information about the YEA project, including the project outline and exemplars, please refer to the main page of this blog. Heritage Park Field Trip – Grade four students are looking forward to our upcoming field trip to Heritage Park next Wednesday. An additional permission form regarding the rides at Heritage Park went home with students yesterday. This form also needs to be signed by parents and returned if students would like to go on the rides at Heritage Park during their field trip. There is no additional cost for students to go on the rides. If this rides form is not returned by Wednesday, students will not be permitted to go on any ride at Heritage Park. Students are reminded to dress for the weather on Wednesday and to wear comfortable shoes (i.e. running shoes). They must remember to bring a bagged lunch and a water bottle in a backpack. Students may also bring some money for a treat at the bakery or candy shop. Many thanks in advance to our parent volunteers for assisting us with this trip! Upcoming Events and Important Due Dates – June 4 - Volunteer Appreciation (5:00-6:00pm) School Council (@ 6:30pm) June 5 - Triathlon / Band Concert at the Rozsa Centre June 6 - Grade 4 Heritage Park Field Trip June 7 - Taste of the Arts Night (6:00-8:00pm, doors open at 5:45pm) June 8 - 4E / 4F will Fraction Cakes in the Foods Lab (4F is at 8:45am, 4E is at 10:45am) June 26 - End of Year Assessment: The ABC's of Grade 4 is due for all grade four students June 27 - Last Day of School / Report Cards go home Learning about fractions...Flower foldable...As you know, the Grade 4 team is visiting Heritage Park on June 6 as a year-end exploration across all curriculums. Areas of Heritage Park include: train rides, wagon rides and an amusement park. As part of the admission price, students have access to these rides. For our students to gain the full experience from the day, we would like your permission to allow your child to partake on these rides. As with many experiences, there is a possibility of injury or accident while on the train, rides and/or wagon. The students will be in small parent/teacher directed groupings to help support and minimize incidents during these exciting events. If you give your child permission for these experiences, please sign and return the rides permission form sent home with students today.
Note: Six students in 4F have not yet returned their permission forms. Parents, please take some time to complete the permission forms tonight if you haven't done so already. Field trip permission forms are due tomorrow. The rides permission form sent home today is NOT the form required to attend the trip. Please let me know if you have any questions about this email. Many thanks in advance to the parent/guardian volunteers who have agreed to attend this trip with us next week. I'm pleased to say that we do have enough volunteers to attend! - Mrs. Ross |
Mrs. Ross[email protected] Archives
June 2018
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