This Week in School: January 24 - 28

 Our first full week back in school was a busy one!  We started the week off evaluating movie posters in Media.  This week we used the persuasive strategies we learned about last week to evaluate the poster for the movie Finding Nemo:

Our shared reading this week was the text Dear Bully of Mine by Vicki Fraser:

Our writing focus continues to be on report writing.  This week the students began working in pairs to practice their report writing skills.  They are working on writing a report about the animal of their choice.

The students had some opportunities to practice and present their mini-speeches this week.  They are reminded to continue practicing, as all students are expected to present several mini-speeches to help build their skills and confidence.  We are working toward confidently presenting a full-length speech soon!

We also continued working on our Happiness Project, discussing the importance of social connections, and thinking about the people we have in our lives who can support us.

In Math this week both Grades learned how to divide three-digit whole numbers by two-digit whole numbers.  They also learned how to multiply and divide whole numbers by 10, 100, and 1000.  The Grade Fives also learned about rates and ratios, and how to multiply whole numbers by decimal tenths (0.1) and decimal hundredths (0.01).  The Grade Sixes learned about divisibility rules and how to multiply three digit whole numbers by decimal tenths.

The Grade Fives researched different natural forces, such as tornados and earthquakes, in Science.  The Grade Sixes explored the varying perspectives different groups of people might take on different issues related to flight.  For example, what opinions might farmers, environmental groups, and medical professionals have about the use of planes for crop dusting, allowing the chemicals to spread quickly over large crop areas, which is critical to pest control and crop protection. However, the planes cannot direct the chemicals onto the target crop with precision, so the chemicals spread where they are not wanted.

In Art this week, the students explored sand art, using the website This Is Sand.  

This week the students were finally able to present their fitness routines in Gym.  On Friday, we also had fun using the scoops to play catch!

This Week In School: January 17 - 21

Our week got off to an interesting start with a major snowstorm that closed our school for two days.

On Monday, students were able to choose from a variety of asynchronous learning activities.  I hope that they also took some time to help out with snow shoveling efforts!

On Tuesday, we continued our learning online for an extra day.  The students read a text about how drones are used for deliveries and answered some follow up questions.  They also had time to play a game of Boggle, work on their coding skills, and choose various STEAM activities from the Virtual Maker Space Choice Board.

We were FINALLY able to get back to school on Wednesday!

In Literacy, the students wrote journals about a blizzard, for which they were able to use their own lived experiences, or make up a fictional story.  We were also able to continue our read aloud of the novel The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate.

In Math, the students learned how to divide two- and three-digit numbers by one-digit numbers.  On Friday they completed a 'Mini-Quiz' to check that they understand all the skills they have learned so far in the unit on multiplication and division.  Students are responsible for seeking help from the teacher for any concepts or skills they are struggling with.

The Grade Fives got to test out their engineering skills in Science this week, as they constructed and then tested bridges.  The Grade Sixes discussed and evaluated the benefits and drawbacks of human-made flying machines and devices.  They also had an opportunity to test out the different paper airplanes that they made at home during the online learning period.

On Wednesday, we got out to enjoy the snow for Gym.  On Friday, students worked on making any final adjustments needed for their fitness routines.  They will present these routines to the class, with their groups, next week.

Accessing the Google Classroom

 To access the Google Drive or Google Classroom from home, follow these steps:

1 - Go to the board website: http://www.yrdsb.ca/Pages/default.aspx

2 - Click on the "Student Support" tab on the right hand side of the page.

3 - Then click on the "Online Student Tools" tab (It should be the first tab on the list).

4 - Next, scroll down and click on "Google Classroom" for the Google Classroom, or "GSuite" for the Google Drive.

5 - Students will then be prompted to enter their username and password.  This is the same username and password that they use on the school computers.