What's New Archive 2014-2015
June 2015
Plants and Habitats
In Science the Grade 4 students have been learning about structural adaptations, which help animals survive in their habitat. Linking their learning to visual arts, here are some Salamanders our class created that have amazing camouflage adaptations. The Grade 3 students have been busy tending to their bean plants and nasturtium seeds. Each day students eagerly water their plants and check to see how much they have grown.
Plants and Habitats
In Science the Grade 4 students have been learning about structural adaptations, which help animals survive in their habitat. Linking their learning to visual arts, here are some Salamanders our class created that have amazing camouflage adaptations. The Grade 3 students have been busy tending to their bean plants and nasturtium seeds. Each day students eagerly water their plants and check to see how much they have grown.
April 14, 2015
Ahhhh, Spring! Inspired by the warmth and sunshine, we have painted some beautiful kites to bring spring into the classroom. Connecting our Art with our Math topic of Geometry, we have included symmetry in our creative designs. So. . . .Let's Go Fly A Kite!
March 2015
Until the warmer temperatures are here consistently, we continue to dream of the warm sun in our cool oil pastel landscapes! Check out our hallway art display.
February 27, 2015
In Social Studies, our Grade 3’s have been learning about how the natives introduced snowshoes to the early settlers in Upper Canada to help them walk in deep snow. To celebrate the milder temperatures on Friday afternoon, our class decided to try out snowshoes. We had relay races (see left) and played the winter version of Duck-Duck-Goose, which we called Bear-Bear-Wolf (see photo below). Students had a lot of fun and persevered to master this Winter Activity.
In Social Studies, our Grade 3’s have been learning about how the natives introduced snowshoes to the early settlers in Upper Canada to help them walk in deep snow. To celebrate the milder temperatures on Friday afternoon, our class decided to try out snowshoes. We had relay races (see left) and played the winter version of Duck-Duck-Goose, which we called Bear-Bear-Wolf (see photo below). Students had a lot of fun and persevered to master this Winter Activity.
Pink T-shirt Day
In Health we have been learning about various types of bullying; social, verbal and physical bullying, and identifying appropriate ways of responding. Students designed their own anti-bullying t-shirt logos for our hallway display, creating a media message that matters. On February 25, 2015 we encourage everyone to wear something pink to show that we are all working together to prevent bullying in our schools, in our communities and online.
In Health we have been learning about various types of bullying; social, verbal and physical bullying, and identifying appropriate ways of responding. Students designed their own anti-bullying t-shirt logos for our hallway display, creating a media message that matters. On February 25, 2015 we encourage everyone to wear something pink to show that we are all working together to prevent bullying in our schools, in our communities and online.
February 5, 2015 Do You Want To Build A Snowman?
Class artists have been busy creating snowmen on the warm and cool colour backgrounds they painted. Inspired by their art, students created step-by-step procedural writing instructions on how to build a snowman. They even took the time to type up their good copies using google docs, to create this awesome classroom display! Come check it out!
Class artists have been busy creating snowmen on the warm and cool colour backgrounds they painted. Inspired by their art, students created step-by-step procedural writing instructions on how to build a snowman. They even took the time to type up their good copies using google docs, to create this awesome classroom display! Come check it out!
January 13., 2015 Winter Symphony
Student quotes about our trip to the National Art Centre:
Today we went to the NAC to watch “Beethoven Lives Upstairs” many other schools went too, we got front row seats! (Samuel) There were only two people, the actors were Christoph and his Uncle. They were talking by letters. (Aya) Christoph was mad because Beethoven was making a lot of noise. (Azar) I liked the background music it was made by Beethoven. (Ahmed) The orchestra helped me understand if they were happy or sad. (Christine) My favourite part was when Christoph and his uncle were throwing papers everywhere and some fell on the floor. (Leah) Beethoven was deaf he couldn’t hear but he can imagine music in his head. (Ahmed) There was something strange about Beethoven he took off his piano legs. (Lawrence) Beethoven had five pianos he took off the legs because he wanted vibrations. (Maida) I liked Beethoven’s 5th Symphony. (Maida)
Student quotes about our trip to the National Art Centre:
Today we went to the NAC to watch “Beethoven Lives Upstairs” many other schools went too, we got front row seats! (Samuel) There were only two people, the actors were Christoph and his Uncle. They were talking by letters. (Aya) Christoph was mad because Beethoven was making a lot of noise. (Azar) I liked the background music it was made by Beethoven. (Ahmed) The orchestra helped me understand if they were happy or sad. (Christine) My favourite part was when Christoph and his uncle were throwing papers everywhere and some fell on the floor. (Leah) Beethoven was deaf he couldn’t hear but he can imagine music in his head. (Ahmed) There was something strange about Beethoven he took off his piano legs. (Lawrence) Beethoven had five pianos he took off the legs because he wanted vibrations. (Maida) I liked Beethoven’s 5th Symphony. (Maida)
January 9, 2015 Light Up Your Life
Our Scientists in the Schools workshop “Light up your Life” was an optical adventure. Students explored how light travels and split light into the colours of the rainbow. We searched for translucent objects, and bounced light to discover the law of reflection. Students tried out a variety of optical instruments, such as kaleidoscopes, kinematiscopes and periscopes to see around corners and over walls. Our class even met Ralph the pig, which we soon discovered was an optical illusion. A wonderful morning of scientific discovery!
Our Scientists in the Schools workshop “Light up your Life” was an optical adventure. Students explored how light travels and split light into the colours of the rainbow. We searched for translucent objects, and bounced light to discover the law of reflection. Students tried out a variety of optical instruments, such as kaleidoscopes, kinematiscopes and periscopes to see around corners and over walls. Our class even met Ralph the pig, which we soon discovered was an optical illusion. A wonderful morning of scientific discovery!
Wonder
We just finished reading an engaging book, called “Wonder”, by R.J Palacio. It is a beautiful story of courage and kindness about a boy August Pullman, a character we will remember forever. Everyday students were eager to hear more, and they even had to wait the whole holidays until we reached the conclusion. By listening to a story with no pictures, students practiced the comprehension strategy of visualizing, making pictures in their head based on the descriptive writing, (see the photo of some of their imagery to the left). Students were questioning why events happened and how come certain characters acted the way they did. We also examined the character traits demonstrated throughout, as we heard the story told through the strong voices of various characters. We made connections between “Wonder” and other books and life experiences that helped us understand the challenges faced by August and empathize with his story. If you are looking for a great book to read with your child, “Wonder” is a good one. We give it two thumbs up!
We just finished reading an engaging book, called “Wonder”, by R.J Palacio. It is a beautiful story of courage and kindness about a boy August Pullman, a character we will remember forever. Everyday students were eager to hear more, and they even had to wait the whole holidays until we reached the conclusion. By listening to a story with no pictures, students practiced the comprehension strategy of visualizing, making pictures in their head based on the descriptive writing, (see the photo of some of their imagery to the left). Students were questioning why events happened and how come certain characters acted the way they did. We also examined the character traits demonstrated throughout, as we heard the story told through the strong voices of various characters. We made connections between “Wonder” and other books and life experiences that helped us understand the challenges faced by August and empathize with his story. If you are looking for a great book to read with your child, “Wonder” is a good one. We give it two thumbs up!
November 20, 2014: Canadian Landscapes
As we learn about the physical land regions of Canada our Grade 3-4 students created their own rugged landscapes. Students freely ripped construction paper and painted the background, in the style of the famous Canadian painters The Group of Seven, in our case we are the Group of Seventeen!
As we learn about the physical land regions of Canada our Grade 3-4 students created their own rugged landscapes. Students freely ripped construction paper and painted the background, in the style of the famous Canadian painters The Group of Seven, in our case we are the Group of Seventeen!
November 2014: A Bear in War
With a theme of war and peace, we read the book “A Bear in War” which is a true story about a family in Canada and how they communicated throughout World War I, with their father who was working as a medic in the war. The young girl in the story, sends her father her small teddy bear to keep him company. While the father, Lawrence Browning Rogers does not make it home from the war, the bear can be seen at the National War Museum here in Ottawa. Our Grade 3-4 students created letters, trying to capture the voice of the characters in the story, and how they would sound back in 1916. Here are a few examples of their beautiful letters. |
November 11, 2014: Remembrance Day
At our school Remembrance Day assembly our class sang the song “Highway of Heroes” by the Trews to remember fallen Canadian Soldiers. We had the honour of having Hadrian’s parents Major Krista Bouckaert and Major Glen Dunlop, along with another parent in our school, Luis Solis march in the procession. Having them participate in our assembly made it extra special. Afterwards Hadrian’s parents joined us in the classroom to explain about their jobs with the Canadian armed forces, and answer student questions. We greatly appreciated their informative presentation and patience for our curiosity.
At our school Remembrance Day assembly our class sang the song “Highway of Heroes” by the Trews to remember fallen Canadian Soldiers. We had the honour of having Hadrian’s parents Major Krista Bouckaert and Major Glen Dunlop, along with another parent in our school, Luis Solis march in the procession. Having them participate in our assembly made it extra special. Afterwards Hadrian’s parents joined us in the classroom to explain about their jobs with the Canadian armed forces, and answer student questions. We greatly appreciated their informative presentation and patience for our curiosity.
October 30, 2014
Our class went to Arts Court to see Opera Lyra perform “The Magic Flute”. Upon our return students wrote some reviews of the terrific performance:
“The Magic Flute was the best opera I have seen. In particular I loved the bird guy Papgeno, the Evil Queen, Tamino and Princess Pamino. They were all very talented and Papageno was funny. I liked all the songs and the props, like the cool goggles that Pamino wears and the real partridge feathers that Papageno wears.” by Hadrian
“My Favourite character was the Queen of the Night. I liked her because she was very talented and I loved her dress it was red with peacock feathers. I also loved her facial expressions. My favourite part was when the queen was smiling and then when Tamino turned around she was evil and nasty.” by Ines
“The Magic Flute was a good story. My sister Hildana played the part of Sarastro! I think Papageno, the bird guy, was the funniest.” by Samuel
“My favourite actor was the Queen of the Night because she had a good voice and her dress was awesome! She changed her mind to the two sides of the planets because she saw love and happiness in Prince Tamino and Princess Pamino.” by Leah
“Whenever Tamino the space man looked at the queen she would act all adorable but when he would turn around she would be all mean and nasty. My favourite part was when the queen was guffawing evily”
by Aya
September 18, 2014
We are off to a great start this school year in Grade 3-4! By working together to establish the expectations within our classroom, students are taking a strong sense of ownership for our Grade 3-4 community. We have been learning about character traits and the positive citizens that we want to “Be” everyday. Together we brainstormed some descriptive traits and students made their own selections for this display. Be courageous, Be kind, Be helpful, Be responsible, Be generous, Be respectful, Be friendly, Be grateful, Be cooperative, Be happy, Be understanding, Be honest, Be safe, Be awesome, Be punctual, Be polite, Be calm, Be unique, Be open, Be confident, but most importantly Be Yourself!
We are off to a great start this school year in Grade 3-4! By working together to establish the expectations within our classroom, students are taking a strong sense of ownership for our Grade 3-4 community. We have been learning about character traits and the positive citizens that we want to “Be” everyday. Together we brainstormed some descriptive traits and students made their own selections for this display. Be courageous, Be kind, Be helpful, Be responsible, Be generous, Be respectful, Be friendly, Be grateful, Be cooperative, Be happy, Be understanding, Be honest, Be safe, Be awesome, Be punctual, Be polite, Be calm, Be unique, Be open, Be confident, but most importantly Be Yourself!
September 2, 2014
Welcome Back to School! I hope everyone had a fantastic summer break and that you are as eager as I am to get the school year started.
Welcome Back to School! I hope everyone had a fantastic summer break and that you are as eager as I am to get the school year started.