Monday, Oct. 25th

Welcome to Hallowe'en week!

I'm having a bit of a struggle getting some students to hand in their school work when asked. Could you please review with your child the importance of keeping up to date with school work. Several students are quite far behind and seem to be of the opinion that "if they don't think about it, the work will disappear"!

Spelling test, as usual this week. The students got their lists today, so they should be studying madly. I'm going to bring in a list of challenge words next week, for those students who are easily getting a perfect score on the spelling test. Students who qualify for challenge spelling will complete the regular spelling work in class, but have a more challenging list to study for the test on Friday.

This week's spelling sheet and "Let's Write" exercise was assigned for homework today, to be handed in tomorrow (Tuesday).

Our weekly math drill practice sheet is due on Wednesdays. This is another area where several students have fallen behind in their work. It's only one double-sided sheet, and students have a whole week to complete it.

This week at a glance:

Wednesday - Library books due, Math drills due

Thursday - "3-day Food Record" due (Ms Corraza)

Friday - Hallowe'en parade at 9:00, hot lunch day, possible Hallowe'en "activity" with Ms Corraza in the afternoon.

Tuesday, Oct. 18th

Ah, finally, time to update the blog. Sorry that the updates have been few and far between. It's not something I've trained myself to do regularly yet.

This week is a bit mixed up. Tomorrow afternoon (Tuesday), Mr. Sclater, Mrs. Hagen, and myself will be meeting with Randy Cranston about intermediate literacy and how to better keep kids engaged in school. As a result, there will be a teacher-on-call in the room for the afternoon. Then, on Wednesday, Mrs. Hagen and myselft will be going to a school district-sponsored seminar on assessment and evaluation for intermediate students. Sound exciting? Hopefully it will be!

I've started keeping students in at recess and lunch time if they have not finished work that was due last week, or in some cases, several weeks ago.

Lastly, interim reports came home today. Please read the report, and then sign and return the bottom portion of the page. If you would like to come and talk about anything, please indicate that as well. For a couple of students, I have requested an interview. So I'll be contacting you about that soon.

Homework for today:

Math:     grade 5 - worksheet on patterns and tables, pages 1-4

               all - math drills (x4) due Wednesday

Spelling:  all students should have copied their spelling words into their planners today. Their homework is to finish the corrections from the pre-test and the worksheet on the other side.

Reminders: Scholastic orders due tomorrow (Tuesday)

                    Student information and emergency contact sheets are still missing for a few students.

            

Tuesday, Oct. 12th

Hi everyone,

I hope you all had a restful Thanksgiving weekend. Below is a list of homework,  reminders, and deadlines. Please review them with your child to be sure nothing is falling through the cracks.

Thanks

School forms to be completed and returned:

     student information form (white)

     emergency contact form (yellow)

     earthquake kit (please contact the office for details)

Hot lunch orders are due in by Friday, Oct. 15th at 9:00 am

If you would like to send in a donation for our Vancouver Opera performance on Tues., Oct. 19, please do.

The latest round of Scholastic book orders went home today. If you and/or your child would like to order something, please have the form and money returned by Tuesday the 19th, next week.

Homework:

     Spelling - complete worksheet and study for the test on Friday

     3D Initials (Mr. Weir) - are due on Friday the 15th, this week.

     Canada Map (Ms Corazza) - due Thursday, Oct. 14th

     Social Studies timeline - due Thursday, Oct. 14th
    

Wednesday, Oct. 6th

Our movie afternoon went well today. I think most of the kids enjoyed it. We discussed the differences between the novel and the movie. Thanks to the three families that sent in chips for the kids.

Please look over the student information forms that were sent home, and then send them back to school with any corrections.

Quite a few div. 1 student have not brought in an Emergency Kit. Please contact the school office if you are unclear as what this is for.

There was no homework assigned today. Happy Thanksgiving weekend!

Tuesday, Oct. 5

Homework for today:

Language Arts: sentence combining sheet, p. 12

Handwriting package due Wed., Oct. 6th

2x Math drill practice sheet due Wed., Oct. 6h

Reminder about our showing of the movie Sarah, Plain and Tall on Wednesday afternoon.

Three notices sent home today. Please check the student information form to make sure all the information is accurate.

Sunday, Oct. 3rd

Hi everyone,

We finally know who our second teacher will be! Ms Corazza (pronounced cor-at-za) taught in the class last Thursday and Friday, and has now been officially assigned to Westwood. I hope you'll join me in welcoming Ms Corazza to Div. 1 and that you'll get a chance to meet her over the coming weeks.

This week will see the end of our unit on Sarah, Plain and Tall. Students will be handing in all work done on that novel on Monday, assembling it into all together, and then receiving a mark for the package. Students who are not finished all the questions and assignments will be asked to complete the work for homework each day this week until it's done.

Hopefully your child has been bringing home his or her planner and any homework each day. Students nearly always have something to write in their planners. Sometimes it's homework, other times it's school events or information for parents. It would be great if you could check your child's planner each day, and initial that you've done so. That way, communication is more efficient and nothing gets missed at either end.

Note: library books are due back Tuesday this week, instead of Wednesday. Our library class has been moved for this week only.

Friday, October 1st

Hi everyone,

We're still waiting to find out who my teaching partner will be. Hopefully, we'll know for sure by next week.

Interim Reports will come home on Oct. 18th. This report provides a brief snapshot of how your child is doing so far this term. It does not show academic progress, but is rather focussed on behaviour and work habits. If you would like to discuss your child's progress in more depth, please contact me at school and we'll set up an appointment.

We've now finished our language arts unit on the novel Sarah, Plain and Tall. I'd like to close out our work with a showing of the movie version of this story, starring Christopher Walken and Glenn Close. We willing be watching the movie on Wednesday afternoon this week, and I've told the kids that they can bring snack food if they would like to. Of course, it's always nice to have some to share, but regardless of the amount of food, students will be responsible for any mess and for disposing of any garbage.

That's all for today. More news when it happens! Thank you for following our classroom blog and please do send me an email so that I can compile a classroom email list and save more paper!