December 19 - 23

Kindness Week: We will do our Kindness Week activities this week. It will be a wonderful chance to do some nice things for a secret friend. Supplies for activities will be supplied and no one is expected to spend any money. It is about the spirit of kindness! On Thursday, everyone can reveal who their secret friend is!

4D Class Party - A notice will go home early this week with specific information.

Homework: Students will not have any formal homework over the holidays, but everyone is strongly encouraged to continue reading nightly.

Upcoming Events/Important Dates:

• Monday, Dec. 19 - Queen Charlotte Band performing at the school
• Tuesday, Dec. 20 - West Dance Dance club performing at the school
• Thursday, Dec. 23
• School wide Pajama Day
• 4D's class party. Students can bring in a pillow, blanket and stuffed animal. If anyone would like to send in a snack to share with the class, they are welcome to. Please remember to keep it peanut free. We will watch a movie and build forts!
• Last day of school before Christmas Break

• Wednesday, Jan. 4 - First day back 

I wish you all a wonderful and relaxing holiday filled with lots of love and laughter! See you in 2017!

December 12 - 16

The countdown to the holidays is on! There are only 9 school days left, but they will jam packed! Our big project for the next week and half is, of course, our winter/holiday stories. We will be going through the writing process this week in order to have our books completed and ready to share before the holidays!

We will be doing "Kindness Week" during the week of December 19-22. There will be an information sheet coming home with your child about this activity early this week.

We will also be having a class party on Thursday, December 22. It is a school wide spirit day, so students are encouraged to wear their pajamas to school. We have been reading the book "Holes" and will be finishing that up, so we will watch movie that day. Students can bring in a pillow and blanket and will make our classroom into a cozy movie theatre! If anyone would like to send in a snack to share with the class, they are welcome to. In the afternoon, Ms. Young is planning to transform our classroom into a Fort Fiesta! Stay tuned for the details! It should be a super fun day!

Important Dates:

• Wednesday, Dec. 14 - Robyn Hood performance at the Confederation Centre. If you haven't already done so, please ensure permission forms and $10 is sent in to the school as soon as possible.

Winter Stories for Book Buddies

Hi everyone,

I wanted to pass along this important information about a few things that are happening in our classroom.

Book for Book Buddies:

Your children have been working creatively and diligently this week on their stories for their Kindergarten book buddies. Because this is a project that has a “real” deadline, there may be times that your child will need to finish up parts of the project at home. It is important that if materials for the project go home, that they are returned the next day as we will be working on them every day next week. The goal is to share them with our book buddies during the last week of school.

Some students have also asked if they can look up pictures online, print them and colour them in order to use those as their illustrations. This is okay with me as long as the pictures are printed at home. Students can also draw their own pictures for their illustrations.

Thank you for your support for this project. I know all the children are really looking forward to sharing their published work with a real audience!

Word Study:

Due to the busy nature of the weeks ahead, I have decided to NOT send home new word study words until after the holidays. We will resume with our regular word study routine when we return in January.

Important Information!

Hi everyone,

It will be a busy time of year, and there will be many activities happening in the next couple of weeks. Please check in to the blog regularly to ensure you have all the necessary information.

1. Robyn Hood - This Tale's Even Fairlier - A notice and permission slip for this show went home on Thursday afternoon. All of West Royalty will be going to this holiday show! The cost is $10 and your child's permission form must be signed and returned to the school. We will be going on December 14th. Buses are leaving the school around 9:45 and will return by 1:00. Students will eat lunch when they return. Please get the money and permission forms back as soon as possible!

2. Dental Public Health -  Hygienists from the Dental Public Health Preventative Dental Program were at our school today. All students will be coming home with a yellow consent form. Please check whether or not you'd like to give consent for your child to receive dental care at the school. This form needs to be returned whether you provide consent or not. Please return it as soon as possible.

Thank you for your continued support!

Femke

December 5 - 9

Hi everyone,

I can't believe it is December! The next couple of weeks will be exciting and fun filled! I sent home a notice on Friday with some information about our upcoming writing project. I will post it below:

Writing

We will be starting an exciting and fun writing project next week. We will be creating our own holiday or winter books to share with our Kindergarten book buddies. It will be an excellent opportunity for the grade 4’s to use their creative writing skills to write a fictional narrative for a real audience, with a real purpose, and with a real deadline.

I will do several read alouds as models, and they will have a bin of stories they can use for buddy reading and independent reading which can serve as inspiration. Your children are already brimming with ideas for characters and their actual story.

I would encourage you to talk with your children about their ideas, and help them brainstorm their ideas with them. Talking about writing is a powerful way to get and develop ideas. Asking your child to tell you what their story might be about, and to encourage them to add extra details or to zero in on a specific idea will help them get their ideas out more clearly during Writers Workshop. We will do mini lessons on the parts of a narrative (characters, setting, problem, events, solution). They will use the writing process and will eventually publish their book complete with a title page and illustrations.

Word Study -  Due to the very short week this week, I’ve decided to keep the children’s word study words the same for next week. They can do the same activities at home next week and we will have our quiz next Friday instead.

We will continue working on making connections in our reading. In social studies, our focus is looking at and identifying regions. We will be looking at the regions of Canada.

Upcoming Dates/Events:

1. Robyn Hood performance at the Confederation Centre - December 14th - Students from grades 1-6 will be attending this much anticipated holiday performance!

The weather can be quite cold this time of year. Please ensure your child is bringing snow pants, winter coats, mittens/gloves, hats and proper boots for outdoor recess. An extra pair of mittens and socks that are kept in their backpacks would be helpful.

Have a wonderful week!

November 21 - 25

It was really great to chat with each of you during Parent Teacher Conferences last week! I was very happy to talk with many of you to clarify the homework situation. It is always very helpful to have school and home on the same page. I will be talking with the class tomorrow to remind the students of the expectations as well, including:

1. Homework Folders and Communication Books should be brought to and from school daily. 
2. Nightly Reading - students should be reading at least 15 minutes each night. They are to record their reading on their reading logs.
3. Word Study - students should be taking home their word study scribblers each week. These scribblers have the weekly schedule and description of activities for the week. They have the week to complete the activities on the evenings that are convenient for you as a family. 
4. Both reading logs and word study scribblers should be returned the last day of each week for me to review.

As far as I know, the weekly math homework will also continue. I really appreciate your continued support and will keep you posted on the progress!

In Literacy, we will continue to work on Making Connections and on choosing and developing topics for Free Writes.

In Social Studies we are working on the regions of Canada. We have already looked at the provinces/territories and their capitals, and are now moving into physical regions of Canada. There will be a hands on project for students to demonstrate their understanding at the end of this outcome. Stay tuned - details to follow in the near future!

Scholastic Book Orders: I will begin sending home Scholastic Book Orders for anyone who is interested. The first one will go home tomorrow and is due back by Wednesday, November 30th. Please send cash only - NO CHEQUES.

I hope you all have a wonderful week!

Important Information

I have a couple of important things to share with you.

1. A notice went home today with your children. I will post it below as well:

Due to family reasons, I have decided to reduce my teaching time. I will continue to teach Language Arts, Social Studies, Art and Technology in the mornings.

Beginning today, Ms. Shannan Young will come in for the afternoons to teach Math, Science and Health. Ms. Young has worked at West Royalty Elementary in the past and is very familiar with the school and the students. She and I will collaborate to ensure the smoothest transition possible.

Please feel free to contact us (fmhakkers@edu.pe.ca or spyoung@edu.pe.ca)  if you have any questions or concerns.

Thank you for your continued support.

2. We have been asked to forward the following to you regarding the QSP Gift Item pick up:

We would like to thank everyone for their support and fundraising efforts!!  Now that our campaign has come to a close we would like to notify parents that gifts that have NOT been picked up and are unbreakable or small have been sent home in your child's backpack today. For orders that were larger or contained breakable items your orders are at the school and will be ready for pick up on Thursday night (parent teacher interviews) between the Times 5-7:30.
If you need to make alternate arrangement or have any questions or concerns with your order  please contact the QSP committee chairs
Joanne Condon - j-condon@hotmail.com
Lisa Munn - lmunn@live ca

November 14 - 18

I hope everyone enjoyed a wonderful long weekend!

Learning Reports will be going home on Tuesday, November 15th, and there will be Parent Teacher Conferences throughout this week. I am really looking forward to meeting with you all to discuss your child's progress!

This week our reading comprehension strategy continues to be making connections. I encourage you to discuss possible connections your child is making during their reading at home. Talking about what your child is reading is a wonderful way to support their overall understanding of the text they are reading.

Homework will be as usual this week. Please continue to have your child fill in their reading log nightly, and ensure all homework is being returned in their homework folder for the end of the week. Students will have new word study words this week, as well as a math sheet for additional practice in adding 3 digit numbers.

Important Dates/Events:

1. Wednesday, November 16th - Pajama Day in support of "Help Children Wear Shoes in Peru". A donation of a loonie or toonie is greatly appreciated!
2. Friday, November 18th - NO SCHOOL for students due to Parent Teacher Conferences

Nov. 7 - 11

We have another short week coming up. The weather is unpredictable this time of year. Please ensure you continue to send warm layers, hats, mittens and boots for recess.

Literacy:

We will be finishing up our recounts, and doing some mini lessons on how to do "Free Writes". It is important for developing writers to have opportunities to write authentically about topics that have personal significance. We will have discussions, and I will model, how to choose and develop topics with a particular purpose in mind. We will also be learning about different "forms" writers use, such as posters, pamphlets, stories, newspaper articles, informational articles, etc.

We will spend some time reading and doing follow up activities in honour of Remembrance Day this week.

Math:

Using personal strategies to add 3 digit numbers will continue to be our focus in math this week.

Homework:

Because this is a short week there will be NO word study or math homework this week. Please continue to read and discuss the reading with your children nightly. Thank you for your continued support. 

Important Dates/Information:

1. Wednesday, Nov. 9 - There will be a Remembrance Day assembly at school for students
2. Wednesday, Nov. 9 - Pajama Day - please bring in loonie or toonie in support of "Help Kids Wear Shoes in Peru"
3. Thursday, Nov. 10 - PD Day for Colonel Gray family of schools. NO SCHOOL for students.
4. Friday, Nov. 11 - Remembrance Day - NO SCHOOL

Online parent/teacher interview schedule - Just a reminder that you can go online to sign up for a parent/teacher interview time. You can use the following link:

https://wrelementary.schoolappointments.com/

Have a wonderful weekend!

Parent Teacher Interviews

There is a change in how to set up your parent teacher interview times this year. It will be an online process this year. There is a detailed explanation in the newsletter that went home this week, and the following is also posted on the website.

Dear Parents/Guardians,

West Royalty School is now using On-Line Bookings for Parent-Teacher Conferences for November 17th and 18th. A link is located on our school web page where you can register and book parent-teacher conference times.https://wrelementary.schoolappointments.com/

We would like all parents to go on line and create an account and book your child(ren)’s time(s). ON LINE APPOINTMENTS WILL OPEN ON NOVEMBER 4 FOR BOOKING. YOU CAN REGISTER AND BOOK YOUR APPOINTMENT TIME ON THIS DATE UNTIL NOVEMBER 11th at 3:00 pm.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact the school.

I look forward to seeing you all soon!

Femke Hakkers

Oct. 31 - Nov. 4

Happy Halloween to everyone!

Tomorrow will be a very exciting day for many! We will be having an Orange and Black Day tomorrow as part of the celebrations at school. It is asked that all costumes (and parts of costumes) please remain at home.  We will also have a bit of a special afternoon in 4D with some Halloween stations.

As the treats fill your house tomorrow evening, please keep in mind that nutritious lunches are very important to a successful day at school. Please try to keep Halloween candy at home.

Literacy:

We will continue on with our recounts. Students are immersed in the writing process! Many are currently working on their first draft. We have had mini lessons on writing effective leads (hooking the reader), and about using transition words to keep our work organized. Below you will see how we looked at the different phases of the writing process. Students are moving their name through each phase as they complete it.

Below is a photo of the Success Criteria we developed as a class. We looked at a variety of excellent examples of recounts, and the students noticed and named all the things that matter most in writing a fantastic recount. We then created headings and examples and students are using this as a guide to writing their recount.

Math:

We will look at front end estimating and adjusted front end estimating as additional strategies for estimating sums. For example:

Front End Estimating - 237 + 546

                                           200 + 500 = 700

Adjusted Front End Estimating - 237 + 546

                                                            200 + 500 = 700 + 30 + 40 = 770

There will be a quick assessment on estimating strategies this week.

We will also begin working on solving addition problems using manipulatives, pictures, numbers and words.

Homework:

The math homework sheet for this week is a sheet we started in class. Students can finish it at home this week. It is a great review on using a variety of estimating strategies.

Important Dates/Events:

• Monday, Oct. 31 - Orange and Black Day
• Tuesday, Nov. 1 - Picture Retakes
• Thursday, Nov. 10 - PD Day - No School for Colonel Gray family of schools
• Friday, Nov. 11 - Remembrance Day - No School

Art Display:

For your viewing pleasure :)

Frankenstein art based on the works of Picasso's cubist technique.

"Fall Trees" - created with water colour and acrylic.

Have a happy and safe Halloween!

Word Study This Week

I forgot to mention in my weekly post that we will NOT be having Word Study this week since it is such a short week.

Oct. 24 - 28

This will be a short week as the Annual Teachers' Convention will be held on Thursday and Friday. Therefore there is NO school for students on October 27th and 28th.

Literacy:

We are beginning to look at "Making Connections" as our next reading strategy. Readers have their own personal experiences (schema) which effects the way we understand texts. Making connections to texts helps us to put information into context, and therefore helps us to better understand the texts we are reading. Connections can be text-to-self, text-to-text, or text-to-world. What we read can remind us of ourselves, of other texts we have read or of things that are happening in our world. We will focus on looking at each type together, and students will have opportunities to make and share connections in the next couple of weeks.

In writing we are using the writing process to create recounts. Students have started their own "seed" idea - a very specific, memorable moment in their lives. We will look at how to "hook a reader" with an effective lead, how to organize our writing, and to edit for capitals and end punctuation.

Math:

We will continue to work on estimating sums. We have been working on rounding, and we will also look at front end estimating as a strategy.

Social Studies:

The focus in Social Studies for the coming weeks will be Canada. We will look at provinces, territories, and their capitals. We will also be discussing the different regions in Canada and what makes them each unique.

Art:

With Halloween around the corner, I thought it would be fitting to do a Frankenstein activity using the cubism technique of Pablo Picasso. We will work on these on Wednesday so make sure you keep your eye out for them at the Halloween Dance on Friday evening.

Our class also did a lovely job on their Fall Trees paintings. They are proudly displayed just outside our classroom in 4D's Art Gallery. Students used water paints to blend shades for the background, and then used acrylic paint to create the tree. They used smudging techniques with Q Tips to create the leaves. They are all very unique and creative!

Important Dates/Upcoming Events:

1.  Thursday, Oct. 27 - Halloween Dance. You can purchase tickets up until Wednesday, Oct. 26th. They are $2.00 per person. Parents also require tickets to get in. Tickets will NOT be sold at the door.
2. Tuesday, Nov. 1 - Picture re-takes.

Math Foundational Learning Report

Hi,

I sent home a Math Foundational Learning Report with each of your children last Friday. This is a summary of the outcomes your child achieved, and which they may need more practice with for N1 and N2. If they require additional practice, I included some resources that you could use at home to also support your child's learning.

Please read through this report, sign it, and return it to school with your child.

Thank you for your continued support.

Femke Hakkers

Oct. 17 - 21

I hope everyone enjoyed the beautiful weather this weekend!

Here is our outlook for this week:

Literacy:

We will continue our work on recounts this week. The goal is to get a solid start on students' own recounts based on the examples and criteria we have looked at in class together. 

Math:

This week we will begin to look at estimating and adding numbers to 10 000. Continued practice at home with mental math and math facts is strongly encouraged!

Important Dates/Events:

• Monday, Oct. 17th - We will have our Electronics Day as our celebration for filling our classroom jar.
• Friday, Oct. 27th - The Halloween Dance. Tickets are on sale for $2 per person. Parents also require a ticket.

Wishing you all a wonderful week!

Celebration Time!!

Happy Friday, everyone!

It's an especially happy one in our classroom today! We have been working very hard to fill our Super Happy Fun Jar! Every time I notice students doing something positive, I add marbles to the jar. They filled it because they have been focused, on task, prepared for class, and for being inclusive group members and classmates. So, a celebration is certainly in order!

We will be having an Electronics Day on Monday, Oct. 17th. With your permission, students can bring in electronics from home which they can play for the last hour of the day. This may include phones, tablets, Ipads or Ipods. We will keep them locked in our classroom for safe keeping during the day. If you prefer not to send an electronic device with your child, not to worry! I will also provide Chromebooks to anyone who would like to use those.

The rules include:

• They are only to be used during the last hour of the day. 
• They must stay in the classroom at all times.
• Games must be school appropriate.
• Devices must be treated with care and respect.

We are all looking forward to the well deserved celebration. Please let me know if you have any questions at all!

Congratulations, 4D!

Ms. Hakkers

Oct. 11 - 14

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! I hope enjoyed the long weekend and were able to spend some extra time doing the things you love best!

Literacy:

We will begin a genre study in Writer's Workshop this week. Our focus will be on personal narratives, in particular writing a recount or memoir. We will look at several examples, identify the success criteria in writing a recount, narrowing our focus, and write some of our own!

Math:

We are wrapping up N1 and N2 - representing numbers. Your child will be coming home with a FL Report this week. This is a way for me to communicate to you how your child has done with these particular outcomes. If there are any areas they require additional practice in, I will send home some resources. Please sign these reports and send them back to the school. If you have any particular questions, please let me know.

Our next area of focus will be N3 - Addition and Subtraction. Over the coming weeks we will work on using personal strategies for adding and subtracting, estimating, and problem solving. Continuing to review math facts and using mental math strategies are encouraged.

Homework:

Thank you very much for your continued support with homework! Reading logs and math review sheets have been coming back consistently. Last week was our first week with Word Study homework, and I was missing a number of the children's scribblers or activities. They should have a scribbler in their Homework folder which has a list of the activities and instructions for each one. Students will each come home with a copy of their words for the week which they can keep at home in order to complete the activities. It is important that the scribblers are returned at the end of the week with the reading logs and math homework.

One that note, since we did not have school on Monday they are not responsible for Monday's homework. They can carry on with the activities starting on Tuesday.

Important Dates/Information:

• Poster and Literary Contests - The Legion is having their annual contest for Remembrance Day again this year. Information has been given to each student.
• Friday, Oct. 14th - Inside Out Day for Autism - Wear clothing inside out in support of autism. Donations of a loonie or toonie are appreciated.
• Library Open Book Exchange - I have been noticing that we do not have enough time to get through everyone on just Day 2, so I have decided to divide our library time to Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Anyone who is interested in exchanging books will have an opportunity of those days. Hopefully this will ensure it goes a bit more smoothly.

Information for Tomorrow

Hi everyone,

Just a couple of important reminders:

1. Library Book Exchange - please return library books, so students can sign out new books tomorrow.
2. Cross Country - The cross country meet is tomorrow morning in Eliot River. Please ensure all permission forms are returned, and that students have appropriate running clothing, healthy snacks and a bottle of water.
3. Food Drive - West Royalty Elementary is doing a Thanksgiving food drive for Anderson House. If you are able, please send in any non perishable food items. Thank you for your support!

Have a great evening!

October 3-9

It is hard to believe October is already here! Please ensure children have appropriate clothing at school for those cooler days.

Literacy:

As we continue to focus on Self Monitoring, we will begin to apply our strategies to non fiction texts as well. We will be looking at a variety of text features of non fiction texts (i.e. table of contents, index, glossary, text boxes, sub headings, illustrations, etc), and how these features can help us to better understand these types of texts. I have included a list of our strategies, so students can use them during their home reading as well. 

Don’t Get Stuck on the Reading Escalator!

How to Self Monitor to Understand the Author’s Message Readers notice when something doesn’t make sense. They have different ways to solve the problem.

Readers stop and think about what they know (connections)

2. Readers go back and reread the sentence or paragraph to check for the author’s meaning.

3. Readers continue reading and look for more information.

4. Readers ask questions, and search for answers as they read on.

5. Readers ask for help with understanding.

Ways Readers Solve Words

Readers look at the letters and the chunks to sound out words.

2.  Readers look at parts of the word.

3.  Readers use what they know about other words to figure out new words.

4.  Readers think about what would make sense in the sentence.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VrSUe_m19FY - this video highlights the importance of being willing to problem solve, just like we are doing as readers when we are self monitoring :)

We will also be reading a number of "recount" or "memoir" read alouds. These will be great references and examples for when we begin creating our own recounts. In the meantime we are continuing to build our writer's notebooks. I am very impressed at the variety of ideas that the students are coming up with, and am very much looking forward to some of the writing projects that will emerge from these "seeds" in the future!

Math:

We will be wrapping up our first unit on representing numbers (N1 and N2). We will have a short quiz at the end of this week. We will be moving on to Estimating Sums and Differences. It is important to review math facts (addition and subtraction) at home. 

Homework:

Thank you for your diligence with homework last week! We are starting with Word Study homework this week. You will see word study scribblers coming home in your child's homework folder. Inside the front cover you will find a schedule of activities, as well as explanations of these activities. Please ensure this scribbler is returned by, or before, Friday along with the reading logs and math sheets. Thanks again for your support!

Important Dates:

• Monday, Oct. 3 - Magazine Campaign wraps up. Please ensure any subscriptions and money are sent into the school. 
• Tuesday, Oct. 4 - Cross Country Meet
• Wednesday, Oct. 5 - Annual Walk to School

Library Tomorrow

Tomorrow is Day 2, so students will have a chance to sign out new library books. In order to do so, they must return their books from last week.

September 26 - 30

Hi everyone!

A quick update on the week ahead.

Literacy: 

We will continue with Self Monitoring strategies through read alouds and teacher modelling. Students will also be applying these strategies during independent reading. Please continue to discuss your child's reading with them at home and ask them how they are figuring out challenging parts in the text.

We are building our ideas in our Writer's Notebooks this week. Most covers have come back in - thank you! If you still have one at home, please send it in as soon as possible.

We will wrap up the examples of activities in Word Study, so students should be getting their own words next Monday to start Word Study homework.

Math:

We will continue our work in representing numbers and the value of digits in a number. The first math homework sheet will be coming home tomorrow.

Homework:

I had many reading logs come back in! Thank you for your support. Just a reminder to please ensure students are recording their reading nightly. Math sheets are included this week, and are due back with reading logs on Friday, September 30th. Students all have access to Xtra Math - feel free to use this at home in order to improve their math facts!

Other News & Important Dates:

1. Monday, Sept. 26 - I will be out tomorrow for another mandatory PD session. I know the students of 4D will be fantastic hosts for Ms. Schneider!

2. Wednesday, Sept. 28 - We will be having Terry Fox Fun. If you are able, please send a loonie or toonie to donate to this very important cause.

3. Thursday, Sept. 29 - School pictures for KA, KB, grades 2, 4 and 6. Please send your forms back in your child's homework folder.

4. October 3rd - The end of the Magazine Campaign.

5. October 4th (a.m.) - Cross country meet - the rain date is October 5th.

Have a great week!

Femke

Thank you!

I wanted to thank all the students and parents for the way they handled the evacuation yesterday! The students listened well, were responsible, and were calm in an unknown and uncertain situation. Although I did tell the students that we needed to leave the school to ensure everyone's safety, I did not tell them it was specifically because there was a bomb threat. Everyone prefers to handle this in their own way and with their own explanations and reassurances. We will be back at school today, and there will be counselling services available to anyone who feels they might need that. I hope you all spent some extra family time together yesterday. I know that I certainly felt the extra appreciation as I played in the sunshine with my kids and enjoyed some extra snuggles with them throughout the day!

Follow the Blog

Hi again,

I wanted to let you know that you can follow the blog now. If you add your email address under the "Follow by Email" spot on the top right of the blog, you will receive notifications when I add a new blog entry. Mind you, the notifications may not be immediate but hopefully they will be timely. There seemed to be a glitch today, but I am hoping that won't be an issue in the future.

Please let me know if you have any questions :)

Dynamic Digits

Dynamic Digits Questions:

Choose any 4 digit number.

*Start with reading the number out loud! Remember, don't say "and" (ex - five thousand two hundred sixty-two)

1) What is 1 more than that number?

2) What is 10 more than that number?

3) What is 100 more than that number?

4) What is 1000 more than that number?

5) What is the value of the ones place?

6) What is the value of the tens place?

7) What is the value of the hundreds place?

8) What is the value of the thousands place?

September 19 - 23

I hope everyone had a restful weekend! Here is what is on the agenda for 4D this week:

Literacy:

We will continue our focus on Self Monitoring through read alouds this week. This will continue to be our comprehension focus for reading for the next few weeks. Students will also have an opportunity to use a variety of strategies when they encounter challenging words or sections in their independent reading. This would include using context clues to understand an unknown word - "what makes sense?". It is also important that they are stopping and asking questions to themselves as they are reading to deepen their understanding. When your child reads to you at home, you can support them by stopping every now and then to discuss what is happening in the story.

In writing, we will be beginning to develop our Writer's Notebooks - aka our Writer's Treasure Chests. This notebook will be a haven to house any ideas, or inspirations they have that could become part of their writing. Just a reminder to please send back any finished cover pages by this Thursday, September 22nd as Friday is a PD day.

Math:

We will continue our work on Place Value. This past week we reviewed the variety of ways to show a number up to 1000 including standard form, expanded form, written form, and by building and drawing a number in a variety of ways. This week we will focus more on representing numbers up to 10 000 and what the value of each digit is. 

We have played "Dynamic Digits" in class, and it would be an easy one to practice at home. See my next post for instructions.

Also, your child will come home with an information sheet about Xtra Math. It's a great website to practice math facts. I have signed all the children up under our class so that I can track how they are doing. It moves them along at their pace, so they are getting practice with what they need. They should be able to access that at home. They should be practicing their math facts for 5-10 minutes a night. There will be some class time available for them to use Xtra Math as well.

Social Studies:

This week we will begin our social studies unit on Explorations. We will begin to talk about what exploration means, and we will look at ways we can explore places, other people and ideas.

Homework:

Homework will start this week. I will send a reading log duotang home with your child. Reading at home is one of the best things your child can be doing. Please help them fill out their reading logs each night. I will collect them on Thursday. Word Study and math homework will be included in the coming weeks.

Important Dates/Information:

1. Magazine Campaign - the packages were sent home with your child this past week. We ask you keep orders and money at home until the end of the campaign, if possible. We appreciate all your support with this fantastic fundraiser!

2. Picture Day - forms were also sent home for picture day. Grade 4 pictures will be taken on September 29th.

3. Class Wish List - Kleenex boxes - it is always useful to have extras stashed away. Thanks!

4. PD Day -  There is a PD Day on Friday, September 23rd, so there are no classes for students.

Have a great week!

Femke Hakkers

Writer's Notebook Cover Pages

Hi everyone,

Today I sent home 2 pieces of yellow paper with your child. They are asked to decorate them as a collage using photos, pictures, computer images, or drawings of things that define who they are and what is important to them (i.e. family photos, pets, hobbies, special trips, fond memories, favourite foods, etc.). They also need to ensure their name is on the front. They will need to design the front cover, but the back cover is optional. These collages will be attached as special covers to their Writer’s Notebooks. Please have your child return their collage by Friday, September 23rd, or sooner if completed.

We did discuss this at the end of the day, but I realized I did not send information home for parents. I will include an information note in their folders tomorrow.

Also, I have included a few samples below. Happy decorating!

Thank you for your support!

September 12 - 16

This past week we developed our classroom criteria. We all contributed our ideas of what is most important in a productive and positive work space. Then, as a class, we sorted them and came up with headers that represented what mattered most to us. I have no doubt that this will be a wonderful classroom to work in!

Now that the routines and expectations in our classroom have a solid start, we will be delving into more curriculum this week. Here is our focus for the week ahead.

Literacy:

We will continue to have mini lessons to establish the set up of our Reader's Workshop. So far students have been introduced to the classroom library and to the expectations during Independent Reading. We will focus on choosing Just Right books (see a "handy" guideline below), and how to "buzz" (discuss respectively) with our partners. We will also begin working on our first FL's (Foundational Learnings). During read alouds we will begin working on Self Monitoring. This is what we do as readers to ensure our understanding. It is one thing to be a fluent reader, but it is also crucial to notice when words or sections of a text don't make sense, and to use strategies to self correct in order to understand what it is we are reading.

In writing, we will begin looking at our Writer's Notebooks. These will be very special notebooks in which students will have a place to record ideas, observations, wonderings or anything else that may inspire them as writers. I will be sending home a cover page for this notebook to be completed at home. Students may personalize it as they wish to represent themselves. It is due back by next Monday, Sept. 19th. 

Math:

We are starting on our first FL in math as well, which is N1 - Representing and describing whole numbers to 10 000. Through different activities we will establish some of the different ways to write numbers (in place value charts, standard form, expanded form, written form, etc.).

Important Dates:

Tuesday, Sept. 13 - Meet the Staff Night - There will be 2 sessions available. The first session starts at 6:30 pm in our classroom (#183 - the old computer lab). Each session is about 20 minutes. Please come directly to our classroom instead of heading to the gym first.

Wednesday, Sept. 14 - Kick Off for the Magazine Campaign -  This is an incredible fundraiser for the school and we are looking forward to all the excitement that will bring!

Have a wonderful week!

Femke Hakkers

September 6 - 9

Wow!! What an incredible first day! There was so much positive energy, respect and eagerness to tackle new challenges today. I am so excited to be on this adventure with your children this year!

This week will be focused on lots of ice breaker activities, get to know you games, and establishing classroom routines and expectations. We will be working together to develop what we believe to be important in our classroom in order for us all to have a productive and positive work space to learn in every day. Stay tuned for the results!

In Language Arts, we will be starting Reader's Workshop, and we'll be having conversations about how to use our classroom library effectively, as well as appropriate book choice. We will also begin our first read aloud novel - "Holes" by Louis Sachar.

Several forms were sent home with your child today. Please ensure they are returned to the school by Friday, September 9th.

In other news:

• There will be a Math Club this year run by Karma McCallum. It will be held on Wednesday afternoons for grade 3 and 4 students. It is focused around partaking in enriching activities to further develop math skills in a fun way! If anyone is interested, please let me know.

I hope everyone is enjoying the gorgeous weather. Please don't hesitate to contact me via your child's Communication Book, email or phone at any point if you have questions or concerns. The first week is always one filled with many organizational details - let me know if you require any additional information.

Have a great week!

Femke Hakkers