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