Paper Bags and Time Capsules here we come!

Book Report presentations - The students presented their book reports over the past two days. We enjoyed listening to the summaries, character descriptions, letters and viewing the artifacts and rhyming couplets. Here are pictures of the presentations...(sorry the photos are on their sides...the program would not allow me to rotate them vertically).

THEIR WORK IS AMAZING!!! I CAN SEE HOW MUCH EFFORT WAS PUT INTO COMPLETING THESE REPORTS...

We started Project Give Back!

Hello families of room 205s! I hope everyone has had a great week. By now, you have received your child's IEP. Thank you to all the parents who have signed the original copy and returned it to school. Just a reminder to please sign the original copy and return it to school with your child next week. One copy is for you to keep at home for your records and the other copy will be kept at school. Thank you!

Project Give Back - Michelle Witlin, our Project Give Back teacher, came in this past Wednesday and introduced the student's to this wonderful program. She showed the students the Project Give Back website which gives an excellent overview of the program with testimonials from both teachers and students (www.projectgiveback.com). The students were given their own Project Give Back folder that they will use throughout the year. She assigned one sheet for homework that is due next Wednesday. Students are asked to choose one charity that is near and dear to them that they will do a project on later on in the year. The Project Give Back website lists many charities as well as their phone numbers. Michelle suggested the student's speak with their families about choosing a charity. We will have Project Give Back every Wednesday afternoon throughout the school year. It promises to be a very enriching and fulfilling program for our students.

Book Reports - The Paper Bag Book Report and the Time Capsule Book Report are due this Monday October 21, 2013. Students will be asked to present their book reports to the class on this day. Please have your child practice their presentation at home this weekend so they are enthusiastic and confident when presenting. Your help is greatly appreciated. I'm looking forward to seeing all the hard work and effort students have put into their paper bags and time capsules!

Magazine Art - Displayed in our hallway are the magazine artwork masterpieces our students completed this week! The students were asked to find a picture from a magazine that appealed to them and cut out a square shaped piece of it. The task was to extend the magazine picture and create a scene that revolved around this picture through the use of sketching. Enjoy the pictures!

Math Unit - We have been working on Unit 1, Patterning, for the past few weeks. Since it's a short unit, we will be completing the last chapters next week and then reviewing the work. The Unit 1 math test for grades 4 and 5 will be on Thursday October 24, 2013. Our next unit will be Geometry (Unit 3).

MATH CONGRESS

Wacky Walter

Walter and his parents are a little unusual. If he does an acceptable job of doing his chores, he gets paid $3.33 for that day. If he does an outstanding job, he gets $3 more. During one 10 day period, Walter received $42.30 for his work. How many days did Walter earn the extra money? Use pictures, numbers and words to solve this problem. Show all your work!

These are students in our class very hard at work trying to solve this challenging problem!

 

Responsibility - We began talking about the 6 Learning Skills found on the report card this week and what these look like in class. We brainstormed ideas for RESPONSIBILITY and what they think being responsible means. We created a graphic organizer outlining how they can demonstrate responsibility at school. The students had some excellent and mature ideas. We then decided on one goal to focus on for the week as a class. The goal is "I LISTEN AND FOLLOW DIRECTIONS THE FIRST TIME THEY ARE GIVEN". This goal is posted clearly in our classroom and I make several references to it throughout the day. 

Next week, we will decide on another goal to work on and it will fall under the category of ORGANIZATION. I think goal setting is very important among the students as it sets them up for success and gives them something concrete to strive for.

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!

Thank you for your ongoing support.

Mrs. Stacey Mendelson

We learned about Mahatma Gandhi...

Hello families of room 205s! I hope everyone has had an enjoyable week. This week was a short week and please remember that there is no school on Friday October 11, 2013 as this is a PA Day. There is also no school on Monday October 14, 2013 as it's Thanksgiving. For those of you celebrating Thanksgiving, I hope you have a wonderful holiday with your family and friends.

Never give up on anybody. Miracles happen every day.

-Mahatma Gandhi

The above quote was discussed this week during B.F.Y.B for our quote reflection. Students wrote and reflected upon not giving up on something in their lives. They discussed personal examples of when they persevered and experienced positive results. We also discussed miracles and how they can randomly happen at different times in our lives.The students were interested in finding out more about Mahatma Gandhi and what his contribution was to our society. We watched an excellent and informative video on you tube explaining his significance and the contributions he made to the world, especially in India. Students connected him to famous leaders such as Nelson Mandela and Martin Luther King. I have attached a link to the video below.

CASI Assessment - This week the grade 4's and 5's completed a CASI Assessment. This is a standardized writing assessment. Students were asked to read a fictional story and then answer approximately 8 questions based on the facts and information from the story. As I assess these, I will look at areas of strength in their writing as well as areas of need hat I will focus on throughout the year.

Welcome new students! - I would like to officially welcome four new grade 4 students to our classroom. These students started our program at different times in the last few weeks. We are very happy to have them join us.  Their kind natures, friendly manner and  excellent work ethic has allowed them to fit in very well to our grade 4/5 gifted class! These students are: Deniz, Bridget, Christine and Shuyu.

New Math Unit - This week, students wrote a math test which covered the chapters and concepts from Unit 2 in the textbook. We have started working on Unit 1, Number Patterns and will continue to work on this unit for the next few weeks.

Math Congress - Strawberries all around!! This week's congress had a theme of strawberries. Students were challenged but felt that it was an easier one to tackle than last weeks congress. They were randomly placed in groups of 3 and I'm very very proud of the collaboration and math dialogue that I observed during this time. They all worked very well together and were proud to share their strategies and final results with the class at the end of the period Well Done grade 4/5's!! Enjoy the pictures. We had a good laugh as one of the strawberries turned into a jalapeno pepper!

MATH CONGRESS

Ammie passed around a basket of strawberries to the girls at her party. Before the party, she at 5 strawberries and gave a friend 3. Eight girls arrived at the party. The first girl took a strawberry, the second girl took 3 strawberries, the third girl took 5 strawberries and so on. After the last girl took her strawberries, the basket was empty. How many strawberries were in the basket at the beginning of the party? Solve using pictures, number and words.

Book Reports - The Paper Bag Book Reports and Time Capsule Book Reports are due on Monday October 21, 2013. Please encourage your child to manage their time wisely and work on these at home this weekend. At this point in time, they should be almost finished writing their first drafts. These must be edited by either myself or a parent at home. I will review my expectations for this assignment again in class next week. The students should also be preparing for their presentation next weekend ensuring that they have good eye contact, enthusiasm in their voice and very good knowledge of the material in their book to share with the class.

IEP's - The IEP document will be sent home for your perusal on Tuesday October 15, 2013. I will be sending home two copies of the IEP document. Please keep one for your records and return one to school signed and dated. Your signature is required on page 5 of the IEP.  Please send this back to school with your child by Monday October 21, 2013. Thank you.

HAVE A WONDERFUL LONG WEEKEND WITH YOUR FAMILIES.

Thank you for your ongoing support.

Mrs. Mendelson

Media Literacy - Kid President!

“Only surround yourself with people who lift you higher.”

 Oprah Winfrey 

This quote was discussed in class this week as part of our "Breakfast for your Brain" program. Students were asked to give examples of people who lift them higher in life and the reasons why. During our class discussion, students shared people such as their parents, grandparents, siblings and teachers who lift them higher and encourage them in life. They also shared personal examples of how they've been encouraged to do something in their life that may have at first been uncomfortable with or feared but then succeeded in trying.

Math - Our unit math test has been postponed to Tuesday October 8, 2013 due to the cross country meet on October 7th at Ashbridges' Bay. Several students in our class will be attending the cross country event and I did not want them to miss the test. The students are encouraged to study using their textbook this weekend. The test will cover all of the chapters from Unit 2, Whole Numbers. We have been reviewing the material covered in class all week and I encouraged the students to come and see me with any questions they may have. I do not want them to feel pressure or stress over this math test. It is the first math test for many of them and I'm only interested in tracking their progress to date. I do expect them to study for the test and complete the daily math assignments for practice  This is all part of my assessment techniques. I've reviewed the best ways to study for a math test with them in class as well.. 

Our next math unit will be Number Patterns (Unit 1) which we will be starting on Monday October 7, 2013.

Math Congress - They were stumped and challenged this week!!! Students worked VERY HARD in groups of 3 trying to solve this challenging math problem. I overheard some excellent "math language" being used as well as discussions among peers on how to begin the problem. Here is the problem....see if you are able to solve it!

MATH CONGRESS

Sandra has a lot of cats (which have four legs) and parakeets (which have 2 legs), but she has no other pets. Among her pets, Sandra counts 57 heads and 176 legs. How many cats does Sandra have? Use pictures, numbers and words to explain your answer.

Media Literacy - This week in media literacy, we looked at several videos from a very young, astute boy who refers to himself as Kid President. His message is one of encouragement, hard work and perseverance. He is very funny and the students really enjoyed watching him. This video is connected to Life Vest Inside, Acts of Kindness and the importance of positive thinking. Enjoy it!

Paragraph Writing - For the last few weeks, we have been looking at strong paragraphs and the characteristics of an excellent paragraph. Students were asked to write a paragraph on any topic of their choice. The final copies of these paragraphs are due on Monday October 7, 2013. Paragraphs should be on one page and include a coloured and neat illustration. These are displayed outside our classroom...

Notices - Just a reminder to please send in any notices that you may have at home. I am still missing some of the students:
1. Project Give Back forms
2. Personal information forms for our class parent's email list
3. Recorder money and order forms

Reminders:

• Friday Reports are due on Monday October 7, 2013
• Paragraphs are due on Monday October 7, 2013
• Students should be working on their first draft of their book reports now. The due date for either the paper bag book report or time capsule book report is Monday October 21, 2013
• PD Day - Friday October 11, 2013. There will be no school for students that day.

HAVE A WONDERFUL AND RESTFUL WEEKEND!

Thank you for your support.

Mrs. Mendelson