Sunday, March 31, 2019

April Newsletter



Dear Parents, 

I hope that everyone has settled back into routine after the March Break and that we will start seeing the nice weather soon! 

Math

We have started our Geometry Unit, in Math, however, I encourage you to please continue practising Multiplication and Division skills at home with your child as they are very important to know as they move on in Math.  

The expectations are as follows for Geometry are: 

– use a reference tool to identify right angles and to describe angles as greater than, equal to, or less than a right angle 
– compare various angles, using concrete materials and pictorial representations, and describe angles as bigger than, smaller than, or about the same as other angles 
– identify and compare various polygons and sort them by their geometric properties 
– solve problems requiring the greatest or least number of two-dimensional shapes needed to compose a larger shape in a variety of ways 
- explain the relationships between different types of quadrilaterals 
– identify and describe the two-dimensional shapes that can be found in a three-dimensional figure 
– compare and sort prisms and pyramids by geometric properties 
– describe and name prisms and pyramids by the shape of their base 
– construct rectangular prisms and describe geometric properties of the prisms 
– identify congruent two-dimensional shapes by manipulating and matching concrete materials 
– complete and describe designs and pictures of images that have a vertical, horizontal, or diagonal line of symmetry 
– describe movement from one location to another using a grid map– identify flips, slides, and turns, through investigation using concrete materials and physical motion, and name flips, slides, and turns as reflections, translations, and rotations 

Language

The children did a fabulous job with their persuasive writing pieces! I will be sending some of their pieces home soon for you to check out.  We have moved on to Narrative Writing.  The expectations or “Check List” for Narrative Writing are as follows:

  • My events are in order: beginning, middle and end
  • I have included all of the Elements of a Story (Characters,
  •           Setting, Problem, At Least 4 Events, Solution)
  • I used details and described events
  • I used my author voice
  • My story is easy to follow
  • I used many long sentences using linking words
  • I used the Word Wall and other resources to help me spell
  • I used grammar, capitals and ending punctuation properly
  • I used the past tense
  • My writing is neat

 As I always suggest, when your child reads at home, please continue to ask him/her to retell the story with as much detail as possible, ensuring that they include the features of a Narrative text: characters, setting, problem, sequence of events, and the solution.  Ask them questions about the story to see if they are actually understanding what is taking place.  Often children can read lots of words, but this does not always mean that they are comprehending what they are reading. 

We continue to read a variety of texts and work on answering comprehension questions, while making sure that we use enough detail from the story and our own thoughts to display comprehension of what was read.  Again, a major focus this term is the Main Idea of a text.  I often ask the children why the author wrote the story.  Was there a purpose or a lesson to be learned?

Science


We are wrapping up our Science Unit on Forces.  The "Toy Building" project went very well, and I was very impressed with the students efforts and ideas. We will have our Forces Unit test on Monday, April 8.  I will be sending home a review sheet to assist students in studying for this test.

Religion

We continue to prepare for Easter through Lenten activities, class discussions and reading about Jesus’ journey through books, videos and Bible stories. 


Important Dates for April:

The first week of April is Spirit Week for Lent (Please Use Cash Online to donate a toonie or two):

Monday, April 1st: Wear purple for Lent.
Tuesday, April 2nd: Wear blue for Autism Awareness Day.
Wednesday, April 3rd: Crazy Hair Day
Thursday, April 4th: Jersey/Sports Day
Friday, April 5th: PJ Day
Tuesday, April 9th: Bake Sale to raise money for Ryan’s Well.
Friday, April 19: Good Friday - No School
Monday, April 22: Easter Monday - No School

Please continue to look at your child’s agenda and the classroom website daily. 

Thank you all for your support so far this year! 
Ms. Nihmey




Monday, March 25, 2019

Spirit Week is Next week!

Next week St. Anne will be having a Spirit Week! See below for more information.


Thursday, March 21, 2019

Fractions Quiz Monday

We have been studying fractions lately, and so we will be having a quiz on Monday to assess this unit. In fractions we have covered:


  • fractions as a part of a whole
  • fractions as a part of a set
  • identifying the number of items in a set if given a fraction (eg. I have 15 candies, one third are red, how many candies are red?)
Here are some videos we have watched about fractions:

Intro to Fractions:





Fractions as equal parts:





Fractions in word problems:




Fractions as part of a set:





Fractions as a set: (Students find this one difficult)





Here are some sites that can help your child review:

From Khan Academy (Note: If your child logs in using his/her school Google account, I will be able to track their progress)

https://www.khanacademy.org/math/cc-third-grade-math/cc-3rd-fractions-topic/cc-3rd-fractions-intro/e/that-s-not-fair-

https://www.khanacademy.org/math/cc-third-grade-math/cc-3rd-fractions-topic/cc-3rd-fractions-intro/e/cutting-shapes-into-equal-parts

https://www.khanacademy.org/math/cc-third-grade-math/cc-3rd-fractions-topic/cc-3rd-fractions-meaning/e/recognizing_fractions_0.5

https://www.khanacademy.org/math/cc-third-grade-math/cc-3rd-fractions-topic/cc-3rd-fractions-meaning/e/recognizing_fractions

Fractions as a set:

http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/mathgames/fractions/fractionSet.htm

http://www.mathactivities.net/frogs.htm

Watch Our Class Multiplication Video!

Ms. Teeven's has just finished putting together a video made by our class to help us remember our times tables. Enjoy! Thank you Ms. Teevens!




Wednesday, March 20, 2019

Science Project!

We are beginning a science project to wrap up our unit on Forces Causing Movement. Students will be designing and building a car, boat or airplane that has to be able to travel at least 5 metres. See the link below for the project outline and marking scheme.


Please note that students will be completing this at school. I have asked the to bring in any materials that they may need, but they should be making their toy at school. Please do not feel the need to purchase any materials for this. It is much preferable to use "found" materials such as old toilet paper rolls, popsicle sticks, water bottle lids, pop cans, etc.

Thank you for your continued support. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions about this project.