“Always tell the truth because if you don’t it only makes the problem bigger.”  --Steven

Thank you Steven for providing this quote for us!  We will all strive to use this regularly in our thoughts, words, and actions!

Sensational Steven

Dear Families,

Happy February!  Where did those 5 months go off to?!  I can still vividly remember seeing your child’s bright smiling face enter Gr. 4 J  I look forward to our next five months of purposeful learning together!  I hope you all had a wonderful weekend with your loved ones and have been enjoying fun, interactive ways to enjoy this cool, crisp winter!  The fresh air is certainly welcomed in my family as we find it rejuvenating and refreshing!

Also, I am happy to annouce that our Blog is back to functioning properly.  I can now post pictures again, as well, you will notice that the text layout is now reader friendly (spacing), phewy!  Thank you Mr. Daniels for helping me figure out this glitch that I was experiencing, your time and energy is greatly valued!

“Honesty Recipients:

On Monday, we honoured and celebrated January’s Character Trait of Honesty as a school family.  Congratulations to Ryan, Wyatt, and Paige for being recognized for displaying this trait.  Continue being your truthful selves in and out of the classroom, your actions are making a difference in our school.  I know that your peers admire this quality about you!

This month’s character trait is INCLUSIVENESS – “We invite everyone to play, we never turn anyone away.”  We are fortunate to be in a school culture that is sensitive to the needs of others – staff and students work together to ensure that we foster a community that is safe, strong, and free.  This being said, as your child’s teacher, I will continue to explicitly model, guide, reinforce, and support inclusion so all my students feel a sense of belonging J

Paige

Wyatt

Ryan

Artist Statements:  ‘Point of View’

Last week, I introduced Point of View to my students.  The expectation is the following: 

·         identify whose point of view is presented or reflected in a media text, citing supporting evidence from the text, and suggest how the text might change if a different point of view were used

Using our water colour paintings that we produced from our artist visit (Sean Dawson), I am having the students choose an image from their painting and write from that point of view.  As a class, we brainstormed the different perspectives we could write from – E.g. The Trees, The Sky, The Lake, The Snow, The Ice.  They will describing what it looks like, sounds like, and feels like from one of these perspectives.  The following is our shared point of view that we produced as a whole class on Friday afternoon.

Trista's Vertical Water Colour Painting

Jakob's Horizontal Water Colour Painting

The Sky

I am big, blue, and full of fluffy white clouds.  I am peaceful as I listen and watch the tall, towering trees stand proudly in the deep, magical forest. I feel loose and free as the wind carries me.

This week your child will be producing a first draft of their point of view and we will be sharing them in class.  An emphasis on descriptive word choice is being encouraged.  Students are realizing that rich, descriptive vocabulary is essential in 'hooking' your reader in and keeping them engaged in your writing.

Math Learning Goal:  Measurement

Last week, I sent home a blue sheet with a letter to parents outlining some of the expectations for this new strand of math.  On our math wall in our classroom, I have posted the specific Learning Goal and Success Criteria.  We refer to this on a daily basis to ensure that the students are clear on the expectations and that they apply the ‘I Can Statements’ when answering questions.  

Website of the Week:

http://www.funbrain.com/

Friendly Reminder:  On Friday we will be going on our first outdoor field trip to Nordic Highlands!!!  I know the students and I are really excited for this opportunity to cross-country ski and snowshoe in the fresh air!  Please review the behaviour expecations and essential winter attire as outlined on the note I sent home last week.  Many thanks for your support in this experience!!!

Namaste,

Miss Gill