Dear Families,
Elephant Thoughts:
On Wednesday, we had the pleasure of participating in an in-class virtual lesson by Elephant Thoughts on Robotics & Coding!! I'm sure your child came home enthusiastic to share this experience with you :) I received a note in the agenda from Lilia's Mom sharing her daughter's excitement. This brought a smile to my face; I love hearing that students are enjoying programs organized by our school!
It was a very meaningful and fun filled 3 periods of coding and building a robot! Check out the photos below of students in action! In class, we will be using coding programs to hone our skills in this area of computer science :)
IXL:
Thank you to our school team for purchasing this meaningful program which helps students gain fluency and confidence in math! IXL helps children master essential skills at their own pace through fun and interactive questions, built in support and motivating awards.
We will be utilizing this program weekly! If you've already checked it out, you will have noticed that there are LOTS of activities to choose from on IXL. To help utilize this program in a purposeful manner, I will assign specific math skills that I would like your child to practice and complete to help reinforce what I'm teaching in class. This will help keep us focused and on track to what we're learning on a current basis.
This being said, if there is an area in math that you feel your child can use further practice and benefit from, by all means, have them choose that skill and complete the questions (e.g., telling time to the quarter hour). I can't stress enough how beneficial and fortunate we are to have this paid subscription. Thank you Mr. Perry!
Math:
This week's math focus was on solving the word problem titled "Pizza Counting." See photo below. Students completed the guided task with me and will work on the independent job on Monday. I am so proud of everyone doing their personal best on these math problems with a positive math mindset! I take lots of time to ensure that I provide guided lessons so students break down the problem into steps using the 4-Block Method (Understand, Plan, Solve, Explain).
As the school year progresses, there will be a gradual release in which students will be asked to work through math problems more independently to show what they know and have learned :) I am optimistic they will do great!!
Language:
Students have been working on writing Recounts - retelling an event in sequence. This week, they wrote about their Thanksgiving weekend. I have been enjoying reading their entries so far! In the coming days, I will provide a detailed rubric (scoring guide) and written feedback for this piece of work so you too can celebrate your child's achievement (strengths & areas to improve).
Before we began writing, I did a mini-lesson on how good writers add detail to their writing by using adjectives to describe nouns. As a reader, it is important to be able to visualize (create mental pictures) as you read and an effective writer helps the reader do this through their word choice in their writing. It is wonderful to see students try their best every time they write.
At this point in our school year, many require reminders to slow down as they write, proof-read their work carefully by asking themselves: Does it look right? Does it sound right? Does it make sense?, and utilizing an editing checklist to make necessary changes. This will be a continued goal for us throughout term 1. With continued practice, there will be PROGRESS :)
What is Feedback?
In class, we are learning about the importance of feedback. As a teacher, it is very important to me to provide students with timely and ongoing feedback to continually help them improve their achievements in various subject areas.
You will have noticed that some writing pieces have come home with feedback where I have recognized your child's STARS (strengths) - "what they did well" and ARROWS (next step) - "what they can improve upon next time." Thank you for taking the time to read and celebrate your child's progress in writing and math thus far!
The next goal for students will be to learn how to self-assess their own work. This will be a very valuable tool because if we can acknowledge and recognize our own strengths and needs, we are more likely to make changes in our work and continue to BUILD OUR SKILLS!
Health:
In Health, our focus will be on learning about Healthy & Active Living. This is a topic that is near and dear to my heart and I think it's very important for us all to be mindful and conscientious of our physical, mental, and emotional health / well-being.
- describe the benefits of healthy food choices, physical activity, and healthy bodies
- describe a variety of ways to prevent tooth decay (E.g., brushing, making appropriate food choices, rinsing the mouth)
- ways to incorporate daily activity in your life to increase your physical and mental well-being
Music Performance:
Thank you to Mr. Morin for facilitating and organizing an outdoor fun-filled afternoon of music on Wednesday! Students from K-8 performed to a specific song accompanied by learned hand drumming movements. It was a delight to see!
All participants were actively engaged and keeping up with the rhythm and beat! You may wish to ask your child to perform this musical piece at home. I'm sure, it'll get you rockin' out too ;)
Lily:
Thank you Lily for your contributions to our science learning!! Lily prepared a small succulent garden that she made herself (see photo below)! She also did a write up that she shared in class talking about the types of plants. This garden will be placed in our class to enjoy all year! AMAZING!!
Mrs. Johnson, your peers, and I are so grateful for your enthusiasm for plants and taking the time to provide us with all your knowledge and understanding too! We look forward to watching these plants GROW!!
Ben:
Thank you Ben and family for yet again demonstrating empathy - "Thinking about the feelings of others!" I appreciate you purchasing extra hand sanitizer for our classroom. As the weeks roll by, it will definitely come in use for us.
Hand hygiene is of utmost importance as we continue to face the challenges of Covid-19. Sanitizer certainly helps fight off germs! Thank you! Thank you!
Payton:
Thank you Payton for donating a book for our Nottawa school library! Mrs. Johnson and I appreciate your generosity and we know other students will enjoy reading this novel too. Reusing is terrific!
Jamie:
Here is another BUCKET FILLING MOMENT that I would like to share with you all. Earlier this week, Jamie came in from second recess and quietly said, "Miss Gill, I found this coin on the field. It doesn't belong to me so I thought I'd give it to a teacher."
Jamie's act of kindness and HONESTY is something I value and am grateful she has joined our class family. It's her first year at Nottawa and she's already setting a positive example for us all. "Honesty is the BEST POLICY!" Growing up, I remember my Mom sharing this with me in my daily life. Now to see these values instilled in my students brings sheer joy to my heart! I am so proud of YOU, Jamie! Keep being magnificent YOU!!
Please check out the video posted below of a child displaying honesty. The little boy's actions remind me of Jamie so I wanted to share this with you all.
Mindfulness:
A pep talk about teamwork and leadership! What traits do you need to be an effective leader? Remember to never give up even when things get difficult! Keep a POSITIVE MINDSET. Try! TRY! TRY!
Growth Mindset:
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