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