Merry Christmas

It is the Fourth Week of Advent already, and December is flying by!  We have had a very busy couple of weeks!  Today was our Advent Mass, and the Kindergarten children, together with their parents,  did a lovely job of the readings and songs.

Last week we enjoyed a concert by the St. Peter's Band.  They played many favourites and Christmas carols to get toes tapping and hands clapping!  It was great to see so many former students playing an instrument and participating in Band.  They encouraged our students to join Band when they go over to St. Peter's.

Our Craft morning was a great success, thanks to the assistance of our parent and grandparent volunteers - Mrs. Chamberland, Mrs. Sinkus, Mrs. Smillie, Mrs. McKay and Mrs. Polecar - who assisted at the various craft stations.  We hope you enjoyed the completed crafts that your children brought home!

Hour of Code was also a great success, the children really enjoyed learning more about coding and stretching their thinking and problem solving skills!  We will continue to work on coding skills throughout the year.

The Gr. 4 students have participated in a number of STEM challenges - most recently designing Santa's sleigh and ramp.  It was a very competitive challenge, and the designs were well thought-out.  If you follow the pictures on Twitter, you may have seen some of the last minute adjustments made.  We will continue to participate in STEM challenges in the new year, as it develops their communication, collaboration and critical thinking skills.

The Gr. 5 students assisted in sorting, counting and packing the donations for the Shepherds of Good Hope Advent project this morning.  They happily sorted and packed over 1 000 items for the Shepherds, ranging from combs and other toiletries to socks, mittens and mugs/cutlery.  Such generosity from the community is wonderful to see!  Thank you so much!

Tomorrow the students will participate in Chantons Ensemble, a sing along arranged by the French Teachers (Mme Corriveau) to promote the French language and Christmas spirit!  We will also have our last Advent Liturgy, for Week 4.

On Friday, we are planning a movie afternoon for students, and have decided to make it Pajama Day as well!  All students (primary and junior) are invited to wear their coziest jammies to school on Friday to watch a movie in the afternoon.  

I'd like to take this opportunity to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!  Have a wonderful holiday with your families, and travel safely.  We'll see everyone in 2017!

Another Snow Day!

Wow, that was a lot of snow that fell this morning, and continued throughout the day! Hopefully everyone got home safely without too much delay.

Our Advent celebration that had been planned for Monday afternoon was postponed until Tuesday afternoon, as most of the children who were to do the readings were absent.  We also have our Faith Assembly in the morning tomorrow, and certificates will be presented for Hope.

Thank you to those students and families who have contributed socks to our basket that we are collecting for the Shepherd's of Good Hope!  Your warmth and generosity will make a big difference in the life of someone this winter!  You can continue to send in donations until Thursday, Dec. 22. if you have not yet had a chance to do so.

We are having a Christmas Craft morning in Grade 5 (homeroom) on Thursday, Dec. 15.  If any parents would like to volunteer to assist with a craft for the morning, please let me know!  We have the materials and instructions for several crafts, and are always open to new ideas!  You can make one of our crafts with the kids, or make a craft of your own - just let us know what materials to have ready for you.  We will be setting up around 9 a.m. and will be finishing up around 11:45 or so,  Thank you!

We are wrapping up our final math topics before the break.  Gr. 4 will be having a review day tomorrow and a short quiz on Wed.  They were told in class that the topics covered would include:
-read, create and understand different graphs (stem and leaf, pictograph, double bar graph)
-label parts of a graph
-answer questions regarding data represented in a graph

Grade 5 will be creating their final double line graph using data we gathered from weighing their schoolbags.  We will be plotting their data along with the data from another Gr. 5 class at Chapel Hill Catholic School, and calculating the Mean, Median, Mode and Range of both sets of data.  It will be interesting to see what conclusions they can draw from the data from both schools!  The other class will be completing the same activity using our data as well.  We will then have a quick quiz on reading graphs - which they have already shown some proficiency at - and calculating Mean, Median, Mode and Range.  I am hoping to be able to have the quiz on Tuesday or Wednesday next week, depending on how many more little interruptions come our way!

In Language Arts, the Gr. 4 have mostly completed their Procedural writing assignments, and many students have shared them with the class.  They were to put 6 steps together with pictures and instructions, using sequencing words, to tell how to do something.  For the most part, they were very well done!  In Grade 5, they are completing their brochures on "How To Be a ....".  Most students are putting a lot of effort into their brochures, and they are turning out beautifully!  I am very impressed with their work!  For those who are finished, in both grades, we will be doing Christmas writing activities.

To help the students to participate in the loving act of sharing and giving during this time of Advent, they are invited to collect items to donate to the Shepherds of Good Hope.  At this time of year, there are many items the Shepherds need to assist the people who are staying at the shelter. The Grade 4 students are encouraged to bring in coffee mugs and cutlery; the Grade 5 students are encouraged to donate warm socks. Our class has set a target of 44 items (2 per student!) and we hope to be able to meet or exceed that goal, to make someone's Christmas a little more comfortable and happy. We ask that donations be brought into school no later than Thursday, Dec. 22nd, at which time the Shepherds will come to pick them up. Thank you for your generosity! A print letter will be coming home tomorrow, as will electronic email reminders.

We will be having a wonderful visit from famous Canadian author Eric Walters, who will speak to the students about social justice themes and education.  He is the author of many books which many be familiar to the students, and can be seen on his website at http://www.ericwalters.net/.  You can follow up with your child afterward and ask him/her what they learned from Mr. Walters during the visit!

A reminder on "Snow Days" when the busses are cancelled, the schools are still open.  If you choose to have your child attend school on "Snow Days",  however, you are responsible for ensuring your child arrives to and leaves from school on time, dressed appropriately for outdoor play, and with indoor shoes as usual.  Many students did not have indoor shoes today at school, or came without snow pants and mitts. Students go outside for recess as usual unless it is raining heavily or below -25, even when busses are not running. Kiss and Ride is not in operation during "Snow Days", therefore if you are picking your child up at the end of the day, you must park and come into the school to do so.  Thank  you for helping to keep your child safe!

Grade 4 assignment alert!

Dear Parents/Guardians,

The students are currently working on a SEQUENCING unit in Language Arts.  The writing assignment for this unit will be procedural writing.  To tie this activity in with Christmas, we will be writing HOW To…instructions for a Christmas themed activity.  Examples are:

-put up a Christmas Tree

-set up a Nativity Scene

-make or decorate cookies

-wrap a present                                        

-do a craft

-and many more…

I would like the students to take photographs of themselves doing 5-6 steps in their chosen activity.  They should email those photographs to themselves, or save them to their Google Drive. At school we will then create procedural writing slideshows.  If they prefer, students are welcome to draw clear, detailed pictures for each step.  These photographs or drawings are due at school on Monday, December 5th.

Thank  you in advance for your cooperation.  If you have any concerns, please don’t hesitate to contact me.

Advent - We Prepare for the Birth of Jesus!

Today marks the first Sunday of Advent - the Sunday of Hope.  We have Hope in God's faithfulness to us, and in His promise to us of Eternal Life,  On Tuesday during 2nd block, the junior students will participate in the first of 4 Advent Liturgies to remind us of the importance of Hope in this season, and in our world today.

Our first field trip went very well! It was an interesting and informative experience to be inside the Parliament Buildings, see the view from the Peace Tower, and learn all of the interesting facts at the Mint!  I certainly learned a lot, and I'm sure the students did, too!  The weather, which was worrisome in the morning, turned out much better than expected and we had a pretty good day!  Ask your child the process for how a bill gets passed into law in Parliament, or what the gentleman from Dubai turned his million dollar .99999 pure gold Collector's coin from the Mint into.  That coin, due to the rarity (only 5 were minted), the purity (.99999 is the purest ever refined) and increase in the value of gold on world markets, is now worth 7.8 million dollars - so it's interesting what he made it into!

In Math this week, the Gr. 4 will be writing their survey questions, surveying the students in other classes, then using the data they tally to create bar graphs, double bar graphs, and other charts.  As well, they will be learning about Stem and Leaf plots.  Gr. 5 will be wrapping up the geometry unit with a quick quiz, then they will also be moving on to data management.  The emphasis in Grade 5 is on broken line graphs, among other types of graphs.

In Gr. 5 Language Arts, we have finished reading Beautiful Warrior, The Legend of the Nun's Kung Fu, and learned a lot about Chinese customs in the Ming Dynasty.  We will now be doing a shared reading on a humourous 8 page guide entitled Being a Genie: A Beginner's Guide.

As a  follow-up to this, the students will be designing their own beginner's guide on how to be something else of their choosing (a superhero, an acrobat, a wizard, etc). I look forward to reading their creative guides!  The due date on these will be Friday, Dec. 9 and they will not be presented orally unless students wish to share theirs aloud.

In Gr. 4 Language Arts, the students have completed their cereal box designs and most have filmed their commercials in front of the Green Screen.  They are very cute little media bytes!  I will upload them to their Hapara folders later this week so you can see them if you'd like to.

Keep an eye on the Calendar this week, we have a lot of special events during the week:
*Tuesday  - Advent Liturgy
*Wednesday - Public Health Nurse visits Gr. 5
                     - Eric Walters (author) visit, all grades
*Thursday - Girls Lacrosse - purple and grey

Trip tomorrow!

Congratulations to the Gr. 4 students who received their Bibles at the Bible Blessing Ceremony on Thursday morning.  While I was unable to attend (I was with my Gr. 5 homeroom class) I heard it went very well, and was well attended by parents.  Thank you to everyone who was able to come!

Congratulations also to our students who received certificates for the Gospel Value of Community at our Faith Assembly on Wednesday!  Sydney, Chase, Marcos and Izaac were recognized for:

• For promoting safety in school and on the schoolyard
• For including others
• For welcoming new students and staff
• For helping others during difficult times

Congratulations to the boys and girls who represented St. Clare at the volleyball tournaments:  Grace, Marie-France and Nick.

Our first field trip is tomorrow!  A couple of reminders:
-as we are under a snowfall warning according to the Weather Network - if the school buses are not running to school tomorrow (Snow Day), they will also not run for our trip, so the trip will have to be rescheduled.  Please listen to the radio, check http://www.ottawaschoolbus.ca/ or OSTA @OttSchoolBus on Twitter to stay informed of any cancellations.
-if the busses are running, the weather is going to be messy, so please make sure your child is dressed appropriately for it.  We will be outside for some time, walking from the bus to the Parliament buildings, from Parliament to the World Exchange Plaza for lunch and back, etc.  Boots, weatherproof coats, hats and mitts are recommended.
-students will need to bring their lunch and a water bottle as usual.  A small amount of cash to purchase a souvenir or extra beverage is permitted.  NO ELECTRONICS are allowed.  As students will have to leave their bags on the school bus during the tours of Parliament and the Mint, anything of value is best left at home. For security reasons, no bags are permitted in Parliament or the Mint.
-we are really looking forward to this fun and educational trip!  Let's hope the weather cooperates!

Other upcoming events:
*Gr. 4 students will have a presentation by the Public Health Nurse on Tuesday, Nov 22 at 10:30
*Gr. 5 students will have a presentation by the Public Health Nurse on Wed., Nov. 30 at 10:45


Math:  Gr. 4 students will have a quiz on symmetry, types of angles and quadrilaterals on Wednesday to wrap up our brief Geometry unit.  Gr. 5 students will be wrapping up the unit this week and will have a quick quiz next week, probably Monday, Nov 28 - so practice using those protractors!  Our next unit for both Grades will be Data Management (graphing).

Language Arts: Gr. 4 students are completing their Cereal Box assignment and writing their commercials, which they will film this week in front of the Green Screen.  Gr. 5 students were asked to make sure their Fractured Fairy Tales were completed by Tuesday (as we have a trip on Monday).  Our next unit will be Self-Monitoring, and the read-aloud is Beautiful Warrior. The students really enjoy the story! The follow-up (after the shared and guided reading components) will be a guide on How To Be A Genie, which offers the students an excellent opportunity to express their creativity!

This morning is our Remembrance Day ceremony. All are welcome to attend in the gym at 10:40 a.m.  Each student will be given a poppy to wear to the ceremony, and (optional) donations for the Poppy Fund will be accepted. As always, students who are part of Cubs/Beavers/Scouts/Sparks/Brownies/ Guides etc are encouraged to wear their uniforms to school.  The morning class has proudly made a wreath of poppies to lay at the "cenotaph" in the gym during the ceremony.

Yesterday, the Gr. 5 also participated in an art response activity.  We read a Remembrance Day book, then took the photograph below, cut it into 20 pieces, and each child recreated the piece they were given on a larger piece of paper using black chalk pastels.  Mrs. Sinkus was kind enough to teach them some shading and shadowing techniques before they began.  We then re-assembled the larger pieces into a mosaic that gives their own interpretation of the scene. 

Thank you to the parents who came out to interview night last night.  It was lovely to meet you / see you again!  I have telephoned most of the other parents, and am slowly working my way down the lists, so expect a call if I haven't contacted you yet, just to touch base and see how things are going from your end!

Other Reminders:

*Monday is Picture Retake Day - please let me know, via a note, a blog note, a phone call, or email if you would like a retake of your child's school photo.  Also, if you have not yet ordered a photo but intend to, send it in as soon as possible.  Thank you!

*Wednesday morning we will have a lockdown practice.  This is just a practice, to ensure children know what to do and where to go in case of an actual lockdown or emergency situation.  You are welcome to talk about it with your child to alleviate any anxiety beforehand.  We have practiced it in class briefly and answered questions already.

*Our next Faith Assembly is on Wednesday Afternoon, with certificates for Community being presented.  Remember to wear Purple and Grey!

*The Bible Blessing Ceremony for Grade 4 is on Thursday, Nov 17th, at 11:30 a.m.  The invitations made during Religion Class had the correct date, but wrong day, so please come and join the students on Thursday morning.

*Monday, November 21 will be our Field Trip to Parliament and the Mint.  Please refer to the handout that came with the permission slip for details.  Remember that your child needs a lunch, snacks, water bottle, and to dress warmly for approximately a half-hour to 40 minutes of outdoor walking and lunch time. We had so many parent volunteers for this trip, and can only bring 2, that 2 were randomly chosen and will be contacted by this Monday.  Thank you so much to everyone who volunteered!  I would have loved to bring you all, but we only had space for 2 per group on the Parliament and Mint tours.  I'm so sorry!

Crazy Hat and Hair Day tomorrow!

Thank you for the wonderful, generous support you have shown for our United Way fundraiser activities so far!  We have one last activity for the students to participate in tomorrow - Crazy Hat and/or Hair Day!  Bring a Loonie or a Toonie and sport your craziest 'do, or wear your favourite hat indoors for the day!  All of the proceeds go towards supporting students and their families in our OCSB schools.

Also coming home tomorrow is your child's Progress Report.  If you wish to book an appointment to see me, please use the You Can Book Me site, which will open tomorrow, and book a timeslot.  If you need more than 10 minutes, please feel free to drop me a line through the blog and we will meet before or after school some day.  If you would prefer a telephone interview, drop me a note along with the returned Progress Report envelope and I will give you a call.  If you feel an interview is not necessary at this time, you can drop me a note indicating that as well.  On the whole, I am very pleased with the progress of both groups so far - they are a very enthusiastic and engaged group of learners!

On a related note - I was very pleased with the scores on the recent math quizzes!  The Grade 4 students had an average of 98%! and the Grade 5 students had an average of 89%!  Both excellent averages! Congratulations to both groups.

School pictures went home yesterday, orders can be made through the school or online.  Class pictures went home with students today.

Permission forms went home yesterday for our first Field Trip of the year to Parliament and the Royal Canadian Mint. The permission slip is 2 pages - page 1 is the standard permission, money collection and volunteer form; page 2 is a double-sided permission form including medical concerns and acknowledgement of risks.  All 3 sides need to be signed and returned before Wednesday, Nov. 16th.  Thank you!  It should be a fun and educational experience!

We started a new Math unit today - Geometry.  The Gr. 4 students looked at symmetry by reflecting irregular shapes they created using regular polygons in a mirror line;  and the Gr. 5 students created and defined equilateral, isosceles and scalene triangles from straws and pipe cleaners.  Both activities were very hands-on, and they really enjoyed them!

Update

Thank you so much for your support for the United Way fundraiser so far!  Our next event is on Friday, and was going to be Black and Orange Day, but since Halloween is on Monday, we decided to move Black and Orange day to Monday, and have a Pajama day on Friday!  So, send in a loonie or a toonie, and the students can wear PJs all day at school!  They will watch a movie in the afternoon, and can bring a blanket to sit on.

In math, we are wrapping up our short unit on patterning, and will likely have a quick quiz next week on patterns, pattern rules, and T-charts.  It will be a much shorter test than the previous one, as this was a much shorter unit.  Grade 4 are expected to be able to create, describe and extend a variety of numeric and geometric patterns. Grade 5 should be able to identify relationships between growing and shrinking patterns using a table of values.  We will cover Algebra later on in the year.

In Language Arts, Grade 4 have almost completed their All About Me presentations, and have been working on Halloween Super Sentences.  Grade 5 have also almost all completed their All About Me presentations, and are working on writing Fractured Fairy Tales - the graphic organizer and self-evaluation checklist for this assignment is in their Language Hapara folder.

Grade 4 students will soon be coming home with an invitation to the Bible Blessing Ceremony from the Religion teacher, Mrs. McKittrick.  The Ceremony itself is on November 17 at 11:30 a.m., and parents are invited to attend if they so choose.

Waste Reduction Week and United Way Events

This week is Waste Reduction Week ( I know, it was news to me, too!).  We are encouraging litterless lunches all week, as well as recycling plastics and paper as much as possible.  Thanks to those who sent in litterless lunches today - great job!

This week has a lot of other things going on as well:
-Picture day is Wednesday - bring your best smile!
-Jelly Bean Guessing Jar for United Way - we have a big mason jar full of Jelly Beans - children can guess how many are in the jar for 25 cents a guess or 5 for a loonie.  All proceeds go towards our United Way Fundraiser and are directed towards the Catholic Education Fund for students in the OCSB.  Guess ballots will be sold on Wed, Thurs and Fri this week, with the winning guess awarded on Friday.
-students wishing to rewrite the math test (or who were absent for the math test originally) can rewrite the test on Wednesday
-Board Game Day for United Way is on Friday - students bring a board game to play against classmates and friends for a block today (no electronics, please) for a donation (we suggest a loonie or twoonie).  Thank you!
-we will continue to work on All About Me, and begin presentations this week.  We were unable to begin today, as the internet was not working this afternoon.  Hopefully, that will be fixed by tomorrow!

Have a great week!

First Language Arts Assignment, and please return signed math tests

Thank you for your generosity towards our St. Vincent de Paul Thanksgiving Food Drive.  The food was picked up early this morning, and they were very thankful to have so much!  It will certainly help them to restock their supplies, and assist many individuals.

Our Thanksgiving Mass was made even more special by the great leadership of our Grade 5 students, who practiced the readings, carried the gifts, and brought forward the offertory.  Our reading buddies, Mrs. Fitzpatrick's Grade 1 students, presented a lovely book "Thanks For Thanksgiving".  It was one of the first Masses said by the newly ordained Fr. Matthew Keshwah, and the students really enjoyed his homily.

Our first big math test was completed last week (although a few absent students have yet to write it) and it was very well done!  The Gr. 5 students had a class average of 87%  Wow!  The Gr. 4 students had a class average of 77%, with some students yet to write.  Still, very impressive!  Please return the signed math tests, so that I know you are aware of your child's strengths and needs in the last unit.

We are wrapping up our addition and subtraction of decimals review with an authentic rich task tomorrow.  Students have prepared items to "sell" in their pretend shops tomorrow, and will have "debit" cards with which to purchase items from each other's stores.  They must keep track of their sales on a sales tally sheet (addition of decimals) and keep track of their spending by subtracting their purchases from the $25 on their "card".  It is usually a popular activity!

The Grade 4 students participated in our first Mystery Number Google Hangout with Mrs. Chamberland's class at Chapel Hill this afternoon.  They really enjoyed having the other class guess their number, and seeing Mrs. Chamberland, her students, and Mrs. Powell on the Smartboard!

In Language Arts, the Gr. 5 are listening to the final chapters of Rapunzel while beginning work on their All About Me presentations.  The rubric for these presentations are in their language Hapara folder in their Google Drive.  The Gr. 4 students will be starting a similar assignment tomorrow, and the associated rubric will be in their Hapara folders then.  They will need either 3 artifacts that have meaning to them - ribbons, trophies, pictures, rocks, coins, etc OR photos of them to upload to their slide presentation.  I would prefer the photos - then the artifacts can't get lost or broken at school.

Finally - the United Way Campaign kicked off today in our school.  We have some upcoming events for the children, to help raise money for the United Way.  A school email will be coming out to outline the events and dates, and they will be posted on the class calendar as well.  We are hoping for full participation!  All of the money raised in the school goes towards the Catholic Education Foundation, a charity that helps students and families in OCSB schools with emergency funds.  If a student needs glasses, but the family is unable to afford them, the principal can request funds from the Catholic Education Foundation, and the glasses will be paid for.  If a family has their power cut off and can't afford light or heat, the principal can request help for them, too.  That is why we participate in the United Way Campaign every year - to help the students in our schools.  Thank you for your support!

A few reminders and updates:

-Pizza and Milk orders went home last week, please return them with a cheque as soon as possible if you want to order either for your child

-Tuesday will be Purple and Grey day in support of our Cross-Country Running Team - Go Stars!

-Wednesday both grades will have a math test - see the previous blog post about topics to be covered.  A review sheet came home on Friday to help with studying and review.  It does not need to be completed or returned to the school; however watching your child complete a few of each question will give you a good indication of how well they understand the topic (Place Value, Addition and Subtraction with and without regrouping)

-Thursday is our Thanksgiving Mass.  Some of the Grade 5 students will be reading, others will be bringing up non-perishable food donations to the altar.  You are, as always, invited to join us for Mass.  Please send in non-perishable food donations with your child for our Thanksgiving Food Drive - your generosity is appreciated by those less fortunate in our community!

-Friday is a PD Day - there is no school for students.  Staff will be at the Shaw Centre celebrating Mass with the Archbishop and participating in Christian Community Day activities.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving with your families!

Math Test Next Wednesday!

There will be a math test next Wednesday (Oct 5) for both Gr. 4 and Gr. 5.  Topics include:
Grade 4:  Place value (standard form, expanded form, written form) to the 10 000 place;
                 addition and subtraction with regrouping (borrowing) to the 10 000 place
Grade 5:  Place value (standard form, expanded form, written form) to the 100 000 place;
                 addition and subtraction with regrouping (borrowing) to the 100 000 place

We have been working hard on all of these topics, and solving problems involving numbers in all of the various forms.  Tomorrow, students will be working on review sheets in class that they will then be bringing home to use for review.  These sheets are for practice and review as necessary - do as many as your child needs to complete to show they understand the concept, then recycle them.  You don't need to send them back to school.  You don't need to complete each and every question.

Here are some anchor charts to help:

Thank you!

A big THANK YOU to everyone who participated in our Annual Terry Fox Walk/Run.  It was a huge success, thanks to the parents, grandparents and other volunteers who assisted with supervision, and to everyone who sent in a donation.  We are inching towards our goal and more money is coming in every day.  I will post a total when we wrap it all up.

A few little items:
-Pizza and Milk order forms will be coming home tomorrow.  Please check your child's backpack and send in your order with payment if you wish to order either pizza or milk. Extras can be downloaded from the school website if yours gets misplaced.

-Scholastic orders are due tomorrow if you or your child wishes to place an order.  You can send in an order with a cheque to me OR order directly through Parent Pay at Scholastic.  I will order the books on Wed morning

-both classes will be participating in Bus Evacuation safety drills on Wednesday, Sept 28th.  They will watch a short safety video in the Learning Commons with a facilitator to answer their questions.  They will then board a school bus in front of the school where another facilitator will lead them through an evacuation drill, showing them how to safely leave the bus through the rear exit doors.  While not all students ride a school bus regularly, it is important that they know how to evacuate safely in case of emergency while on a field trip or other outing.  The school bus will not be in motion or leave the school property during this drill.

-we will soon be beginning our Thanksgiving Food Drive - more details will be coming shortly, but please keep it in mind while at the grocery store.  Picking up an extra non-perishable food item or two can really help someone else in our community.

-the Grade 5 class is all set up on Raz kids, and can log in at https://www.raz-kids.com/ with the teacher name amartinuzzia and their passwords to practice their reading and complete comprehension quizzes at any time at home.  The Grade 4 class is not yet set up, but should be shortly.

-both classes are set up on Prodigy, and can log in at  https://prodigygame.com/ with their login and passwords to practice their math facts and strategies at any time at home as well.  Prodigy is a very engaging game for the students.  They are reminded not to use calculators, as the questions only get harder!

-you can see what your child is working on at any time by logging into their Hapara work folders on their Google Drive and looking at their work.  You can do this by logging into gmail using firstname.lastname@ocsbstudent.ca, going to Drive, and opening Language or Math.  Your child can show you what they have been doing.

-follow us on Twitter!  I try to tweet at least once or twice a day!  It's a great way to see what's going on in the classroom.

Grade 4 have just completed their first CASI reading test, and I will have them marked soon.  Most students used Google Read and Write to complete the test, and you can view it in their Hapara folders.  We have also completed the reading of Catching the Moon, written a summary of it, and found the main idea.  We will now be moving on to Zero's Math Adventures, which is a shared reading activity.  In math, we have completed our place value work and have moved on to addition strategies with and without regrouping.

Grade 5 are still reading the Fractured Fairy Tale Rapunzel.  They are adding new ideas that they have learned about the story and the characters to their chart in their Language Hapara folders after each day's reading.  In math, we have completed our place value work and addition, and have moved on to subtraction strategies with and without regrouping to the 100 000 place.

As always, you can reach me at any time through the blog or by phone at the school.

Introducing Miss Stabile

The students met our new Teacher Candidate from the University of Ottawa today - Miss Stabile.  Miss Stabile recently completed a degree in Criminology, and comes to us with a wealth of experience with children; as a camp monitor and school volunteer.  Miss Stabile will be with us each Wednesday throughout the year as a First Year Teacher Candidate.  She will make a wonderful addition to our school community!

Just a reminder about the Terry Fox walk on Friday - please return signed permission slips if you have not yet done so.  Pledges and donations can be dropped off at anytime.  Traditionally, the walk has gone forward rain or shine, so unless there is thunder and lightening happening, we will likely be walking.  Send a change of clothes, shoes and appropriate outdoor clothing with your child on Friday.  They will have an opportunity to change out of wet clothing on completion of the walk.  Check the forecast on Friday morning, and dress your child appropriately.  Thank you!

Keep watching Twitter to keep up to date on the happenings in the classroom this week!

Purple and Grey Day, tomorrow!

First, a reminder that tomorrow is Purple and Grey day!  Our Opening Liturgy of the new school year is at 9:30 a.m., and as always, we wear Purple and Grey when we gather as a school community.

A big Thank You to all of the parents who were able to take time out of their busy schedules to pop by our Curriculum Evening Wednesday night!  I know it is a very busy time of year, and there is a lot going on, however it is always nice to meet the parents of the students I spend my day with. If you were unable to make it last night, (and believe me, I completely understand!) there is a link to the presentation in my last blog post below.

The permission forms and an information sheet regarding our annual Terry Fox Run fundraiser for the Canadian Cancer Society went home with the students Wednesday.  Please return the signed permission slip, and consider a donation to the cancer society in support of our run.  As well, we are always looking for volunteers to assist in supervision, particularly at crosswalks and along the route.  If you are available to help out that morning, we would love to hear from you!

Here’s what we’ve been doing so far:

In Math, we have completed the Youcubed Week of Inspirational Math lessons from Jo Boaler from Stanford University.  These lessons are designed to grow their math brains, and impress upon the students the importance of struggling to solve difficult math problems, and to believe in their math ability.  We have tweeted out many pictures of the students working through these problems, and Jo Boaler not only “liked” and retweeted many of our tweets, she also included us in the Stanford University Newsletter!  You can see it here.  The students were very excited to be recognized by such an elite global math community!  We have now moved on to place value in both Grade 4 and Grade 5.  We want to make sure students have a solid grasp of numbers and their value before moving on to operations.

In Language Arts, we have modelled a read-aloud in each grade.  Grade 4 have listened to Self-Monitoring strategies modelled while enjoying the book Catching the Moon: The Story of a Young Girl’s Baseball Dream by Crystal Hubbard.  The students have anchor charts listing “fix up”strategies in their Hapara Language Arts folders.  Grade 5 are listening to Rapunzel told from a different point of view, and are Making Connections to it as we read.  They have a chart comparing what they know of Rapunzel and her prince from previous stories to what they are learning from this different story, in their Hapara Language Arts folders in their Drive.  They are also listing some character traits of one of the main characters.  You can see what your child has written at any time by logging into their drive and looking at their notebooks.

Today's Mail:

Notes coming home today include:

• an invitation to support Braeden's 6th Annual Lemonade Stand for Cancer Research and Patient Care
• St. Clare Terry Fox Run/ Walk permission slip and volunteer form
• Terry Fox Run Pledge Form
• Drawing Classes for kids information sheet (OCSB)
• Gloucester Skating Club CanSkate program info
• Lunch Lady order form

*Remember to check your child's school bag for these forms today, on Mail Wednesday!  Thank you!

Don't Forget!

Don't forget that tomorrow is Meet the Teacher night!  Mme Mitton will introduce herself in the gym at 6:45, followed by short presentations in the classrooms.  I will be in room 110.  Please remember that curriculum night is for parents only. Come and see the work they have done so far!

For those unable to attend, here is a link to the presentation: Curriculum Night Presentation, 2016-2017

Tomorrow (Wednesday) a number of papers and more forms will be coming home.  Wednesday will be mail day each week, so please check your child's school bag on Wednesday evenings for forms and notes.  Most mail will be kept until Wednesdays to be sent all at once.

If any parents or grandparents are available to supervise during during our annual Terry Fox Walk, we can always use the help!  It will be held this year on Friday, Sept 23 at 9:30.  Come and walk with us, or supervise a station!

Sept. 9, 2016
Dear Parents,
Your child is coming home with a number of papers and forms today.  Please check their schoolbags for these important forms as many need to be signed and returned:

• a school year calendar -for your reference at home
• a green checklist of forms - to keep you organized!
• a Student Verification Form (white) - please verify the information, make any necessary changes, sign and return with your child
• the Acceptable Use of Technology Agreement (blue) - read it over with your child.  Both your child and yourself need to initial and sign both sides, then return it to school.
• Informed Consent for Student Participation and Acknowledgment of Risks (yellow) - please read this form carefully, complete, sign and return
• Permission letter (pink) - to go on Learning Walks and to the park at Arc-en-Ciel, please sign and return
• Volunteer Form (purple) - please sign if you are able to lend a hand in any area!

Most teachers will not be using agendas in the junior grades, we will be making use of classroom websites and blogs to pass along information. You can follow my blog by subscribing at the bottom of the blog.  
Mme Corriveau has her blog at http://madamecorriveau.blogspot.ca/ 
Mme Grenier's blog is forthcoming
Mrs. Marchant's blog is http://mrsmarchantclare.blogspot.ca/

Please feel free to drop me a line or leave me a message using my parent contact form on the side of the blog.  If your child is going to be absent, or late, or you would like to set up an appointment, or you just want me to be aware of something that may be affecting your child, it's easy to reach me.  

I look forward to seeing you all at Program Night next Wednesday at 6:45.

Welcome Back!

Dear Parents and Students,

Welcome to a new school year at St. Clare!  And a special welcome to our new students!  We hope that your family had a wonderful, fun-filled summer, and are returning to us with enthusiasm for new challenges.  We look forward to working together in the upcoming year.

My name is Alane Martinuzzi, and I am very excited to be your teacher this year! This is my 28th year teaching, and I believe we need to work as a team to make our class a happy, productive place where everyone can learn and be successful.  Parents, please don’t hesitate to contact me with any questions or concerns that may arise over the school year.  You can contact me directly through the form on the class blog - http://martinuzzi1617.blogspot.ca - or by calling the school at 613-834-6334. Check the blog regularly for upcoming events, important information, and our class calendar.  You can also follow the Clare Calendar of upcoming events and our Twitter feed there!

Our homeroom will be Room 110 this year.  Each student will be bringing home a schedule of their day and a list of their teachers for your reference.  This year, I will be teaching Math and English Language Arts to both Grade 4 and Grade 5.  Grade 4 and 5 students in the extended French program will have Mme Joly as their French teacher.  Grade 5 students in the immersion program will go to Mme Grenier, who is replacing Mr. Karpinski for this academic year. I am very excited to welcome my new Grade 4 partner, Mrs. Kyla Marchant!  We hope to do a lot of team and co-teaching in the afternoons as we integrate technology and the New Pedagogies for Deep Learning.

As our classroom is essentially a paperless classroom, the students will not require much in the way of traditional school supplies. They may want to purchase a few supplies of their own to bring to their French class.  Each child will need a pair of indoor running shoes with non-marking soles for use in the gym and the classroom.  We also welcome boxes of Kleenex for general classroom use at any time during the year.

Please remember that the safety and well-being of our students is of the utmost importance.  St. Clare is a nut-free, peanut-free and scent-free school.  Please check the ingredients of lunch and snack foods carefully, and enjoy any containing nuts or peanuts at home only.  As well, parents volunteering at the school are asked to avoid the use of perfumes and other scented products for the comfort and safety of students with environmental sensitivities.  Your cooperation is very important and greatly appreciated.

Students are encouraged to bring a water bottle to keep on their desk throughout the day.  Staying well hydrated, together with eating healthy snacks, helps to improve energy, concentration and alertness, and builds better eating habits for a healthy lifestyle.

I look forward to meeting you all during our Curriculum Night, Wednesday September 14th at 6:45 p.m. If there are any concerns you would like us to be aware of now, or at any time in the school year, please don’t hesitate to contact us.  Thank you!

Your partner in education,

Alane Martinuzzi