Hello parents and students of Room 205s! I hope everyone has enjoyed their week. Thank you to all the families who came to Curriculum Night last evening. It was a pleasure to meet all of you. I hope you enjoyed seeing where your children spend their days and viewing all of their amazing work! If you did not receive a cuuriculum package and would like one, please write a note in your child's agenda and I will be happy to send one home.
Terry Fox Run - The Terry Fox Run today was great and the weather was absolutely stunning! Students enjoyed running and walking around the track of the lower field. If you have not sent in your toonie and wish to do so, please make sure they are sent in by next week as the school will be collecting all the money and donating it to the Terry Fox Foundation. Thank you.
Book Reports - Most of the students have shown me the book they are reading for either their paper bag book report or time capsule book report. Once they have finished reading, I strongly encourage them to begin writing their first drafts of the assignment.. This revision and editing stage is an important part of the writing process. I want to make sure they have enough time to complete all the written work correctly. Although this book report is not due for 3 weeks, I would like students to have ample time to prepare their written work, and then practice for their presentation. Thank you for your help. Due date: Monday October 21, 2013. Math Unit - We will be completing our first math unit toward the end of next week on Whole Numbers. There will be a unit test on Monday October 7, 2013. Math Congress - Here is the problem we worked on today...we were all craving a double scoop of ice cream after discussing our strategies and various methods for solving the problem!
Ice Cream Cones
An
ice cream stand has 9 different flavours. A group of children come to the stand
and each buys a double scoop cone with 2 flavours. If none of the children
chooses the same combination of flavours and every combination is chosen, how
many children are there? Explain your answer using PICTURES, NUMBERS AND WORDS.
Reminders:
Please send in your Project Give Back form with either yes or no circled and your information
Please send in the form with your personal information for our class parent
Friday Reports are due this Monday September 30th, 2013
Please fill out the recorder form and return it to school with money (if you're purchasing a recorder and booklet)
HAVE A WONDERFUL WEEKEND!
Thank you again for coming to Curriculum Night last night and supporting your child in their learning!
-spoken by several students in class while completing a math challenge called CALCULATOR FUN
Hello families of room 205s! I hope everyone had a wonderful week and enjoyed the classroom stories your child is beginning to share. We drew and painted our self portraits using water colours and outlined the facial features in black pastel. They are masterpieces! Students are continuing to work hard on their biographies and many have asked me to edit their rough drafts this past week. The good copy should be typed or neatly handwritten on ONE page. The due date for the biography assignment is Monday September 23, 2013. Quote Reflection - The quote reflection this week, stated above, created a great class discussion on the benefits of making mistakes and how we learn from each mistake we make. Some students shared personal examples of mistakes they have made and the learning involved in making each mistakes. We also discussed why mistakes are compared to 'steps up a ladder' and the significance of this statement. Please ask your child about this quote and together, you can think of examples of how it relates to your family or your life.
Media Literary - Thank you to Max Friedman-Cole for introducing the above video to the class entitled, The Scarecrow. This is an advertisement for the restaurant Chipotle and can be downloaded as an app for your smartphone. We watched this short video during Media Literacy and the students really enjoyed it. We had a brief discussion about the meaning of GMO (genetically modified organism) and why large companies would genetically modify their meat and poultry products. This will definitely be an ongoing topic throughout the year and we will continue to learn about genetically modified products as I believe this is a very important and relevant topic in our lives today. Terry Fox Run - Forest Hill will have their annual Terry Fox Run on Friday September 27th, 2013. Student's will run or walk around the school in the afternoon for about 30 minutes. We are asking each student to bring in a "Toonie for Terry" before this date. They money will go toward cancer research in support of the Terry Fox Foundation.
Recorder - We are very lucky to have recorder as part of our music program this year. Mr. Ungvary, our wonderful music teacher from last year, will be back again working with our class once a week. The recorder program will start in approximately two weeks time. More information will be sent home regarding the cost of the recorder as well as the accompanying recorder notebook that will need to be purchased. Please do not go out and buy a recorder as the purchasing will be done through the school. .
IEP's - By now, each family should have received a notice regarding the IEP (Individual Education Plan). I am in the process of writing each child's IEP and would appreciate you filling out the information sheet sent home. All the feedback submitted will assist me in outlining the program for your child this year. Since this is quite a time consuming process and the IEP is a working document that can be revised at any point in time, I'd appreciate only meeting with those families whose child has a dual diagnosis. Otherwise, please fill in the form sent home and return it to school as soon as possible. Thank you for your understanding.
Friday Reports- Thank you for encouraging your child to write their first Friday Report last week. They were a pleasure to read! Please try and sign this report weekly and feel free to write a comment regarding your child's written reflection. I explained to the class that my expectation is to have them fill in the entire section of lines for the reflection piece. They are more than welcome to do this on the computer and hand in a printed copy to me. Your support with this is appreciated.
Language - As part of our language program, students will be working on "paragraph" writing and "recounts" over the next few weeks. We will look specifically at the structure and ideas that go into writing an excellent paragraph using examples in class. Students are also busy writing reflections to our read aloud novel, The Tale of Desperaux, in their response journals. They are really enjoying this book so far!
Math Congress - Below are two examples of the Math Congress problems we have worked on in class over the past few weeks. See if you can solve them! Please ask your child to explain the strategies discussed in class.
Problem # 1 - In the Akimoto family there is one grandmother, one
grandfather and three fathers. Each father has one daughter. Each daughter has
three brothers. Each grandchild has one aunt and two uncles. What is the fewest
number of people that could be in the Akimoto family? Use pictures, numbers and words to solve this
problem.
Problem # 2 - In the National Hockey League, a team gets two points
for a win, one point for a tie, and no points for a loss. One team lost 14 of
their 80 games. They ended the season
with 113 points. How many games did they win? Use pictures, numbers and words
to explain your thinking.
Curriculum Night - A reminder that Curriculum Night will be held on Thursday September 26, 2013. There will be a BBQ that evening followed by a presentation in our classroom. Please see the notice sent home this week regarding the specific details of the evening. Looking forward to seeing you there!
"Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world."
-Nelson Mandela
Hello family members of Room 205s. I hope everyone is enjoying their second week back at school and enjoying the warm and cold September temperatures! The students in the grade 4/5 gifted class are adjusting nicely to the routines of our classroom and are hard at work every day. Thank you very much for purchasing the suggested school supplies on the list and sending in the required items. I really appreciate you doing this. It makes a big difference to your child and their overall organization for the year.
Class Schedule - Each student was given a pink piece of paper with a weekly schedule for our class. This schedule shows the 5 day cycle and when each subject will be taught. Students can use this to prepare themselves for the school day. All students were asked to put this schedule in a plastic sheet cover and place it at the front of their binders.
Biography Assignment - This week, the students were assigned a Biography Assignment in which they were asked to interview, gather and organize information about another student in our class. Student's are asked to write specific questions, gather answers, complete a written one page rough draft and finally, type a final draft of their report. I have asked the class to have their rough draft edited by either an adult at home or myself. Your help is much appreciated and welcomed. This written biography report will accompany a painted self portrait. I'm looking forward to reading and learning about all the students in our class! The biography assignment is due on Monday September 23, 2013.
Quote Reflection - The quote at the top of the page was given to the class this week as part of our B.F.Y.B (Breakfast for your Brain) program. The students were asked to explain, in writing, what they thought this quote meant. They were encouraged to write ideas such as why education is a powerful weapon, why this quote may have been written and knowledge they have on Nelson Mandela. Responses were shared with the class and an excellent class discussion occurred. We watched a short biography on the life of Nelson Mandela and the significant contributions he made to South Africa and the rest of the world. Please ask your child to fill you in on what he/she learned during this discussion.
Math Congress- Every Friday, students will have an opportunity to do Math Congress. Math Congress is a challenging multi step word problem. In small groups of 2-4, students are asked to solve this problem (sometimes they will choose their group and sometimes I will choose it for them!) using pictures, numbers and words. Students are strongly encouraged to engage in discussion and 'math talk' while solving the problem. Congress is culminated with the class meeting in front of the smart board and the groups sharing their strategies and problem solving methods with the class. The students had their first Math Congress problem this Friday and were quite challenged by it! Please ask them to share the problem and the solution with you.
Curriculum Night - Forest Hill's Curriculum Night will be held on Thursday September 26, 2013. On that evening, I will be sharing some important aspects of the gifted program with you as well as showing you examples of our daily work and what a 'typical' day in the gifted program looks like. Looking forward to meeting many of you that evening. More specific information about timing of the evening will follow in a school newsletter.
Friday Reports - Every Friday, students will be given a Friday Report that they are asked to complete over the weekend and hand in to me on Monday. The purpose of this report is to reflect, in writing, on the week that passed. This is an excellent way for the students to look back at their week and describe what they liked, learned and were proud of. It's also an efficient and non threatening way to open up the lines of communication between myself and each student. I'd appreciate your help by encouraging your child to fill in this one page report every weekend and return it to school on Monday morning. There is a section for your comments as well. Thank you!
QSP Magazine Drive - Forest Hill will be holding a magazine drive until September 24, 2013. Students are asked to sell magazines to family, friends and neighbours in order to win prizes and raise money for our school. This is a great fundraiser and I hope you will enjoy participating in it.
"An optimist sees the donut, a pessimist sees the hole."
Elaine McLandburgh Wilson
Welcome to our blog and to the grade 4/5 gifted class at Forest Hill Public School! Last year, I found this an excellent way to communicate with the families in our class. I will update the blog once a week and it will list important class information such as assignment due dates, upcoming field trips and a description of what your children are doing in class. If you have any questions, please email me at : stacey.mendelson@tdsb.on.ca.
We're off to a great start and it has been a pleasure meeting all of your children. They have come to school with smiles on their faces and an abundance of energy, very eager to learn! Several of the grade 5's were in my class last year and I am honoured to be teaching them again. For those celebrating Rosh Hashannah, the Jewish New Year, I wish you a wonderful holiday with your families and a very happy New Year.
Quote Reflection - The quote posted above was discussed in class on Wednesday. Students were asked to reflect on the meaning of this quote and relate it to their lives in school, at home and the world around them. Please ask your child to share some of the ideas discussed in class as we had a great discussion about being optimistic versus pessimistic. Students will be completing a quote reflection once a week as part of their Breakfast for Your Brain (BFYB) program.
Transportation to and from school - If you are using the school bus for transportation, please note that the first week is always a little slow as the drivers become adjusted to their routes; however, by next week, things will quickly settle in and the students will become very familiar with their pick up and drop off times. If you have any questions regarding buses, please call the school office and they will be happy to assist you.
School supplies - I hope you all received the pink welcome notice that has the suggested list of school supplies listed on the back. If you cannot get all of these supplies, please do not worry. They are not essential supplies. The large zippered binder, however, is something that I'd like each student to have. This is an excellent way to organize information and hold the papers and assignment students will be receiving this year in our class. Thank you for your assistance with this.
Forms - Please sign and return the forms that were sent home this week as well. Students will receive their agendas on Monday September 9th. They will be asked to write down their work for the week in their agendas every Monday at school. Please have a look at your child's agenda on a daily basis so you can monitor their homework and assignments. If you have a question or a comment, please feel free to write it in your child's agenda and I will respond to it.
French - The students will have French on Days 1, 3, 4 and 5. Madame Pryde will be their french teacher for the year. She will be teaching French in the kindergarten classroom of the junior school building.
Gym - The students have gym on Day 2 and 3. On Day 2, they will be taught gym by Ms. Gunton in the lower gym. On Day 3, I will teach them gym in the upper gym. Running shoes are a TDSB requirement in order to participate in gym. Please ensure that your child has a pair of running shoes that can be left at school once the weather changes.
Student Teacher - We are fortunate to have a Master's student teacher with us from OISE named Ms. Annie Gamliel. Annie has been observing in our class this week, spending some time getting to know the students. She has a wonderful rapport with the students and has been a welcome addition to our first week. Annie will be back in November for her practice teaching block for a month.
HAVE A WONDERFUL DAY!! LOOKING FORWARD TO SEEING YOU ALL ON CURRICULUM NIGHT - THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 26, 2013.
