Up and Coming....

Parents(s),

Just some informational items for this up and coming week. In the next couple of days, I will post another blog message that will include both curricular updates and photos.

Monday, October 7th - School Photos
Tuesday, October 8th - School Council Meeting at 7:00 p.m.
Wednesday, October 9th - Constable Valstar will be visiting room 4 in the afternoon
Thursday, October 10th - Poet - Miranda Krogstad Kick-off assembly at 10:15 a.m.
Friday, October 11th - Non-Instructional Day - no school for students
Monday, October 14th - Thanksgiving - no school
Thursday, October 17th - Pizza Lunch
Friday, October 25th - Hallowe'een Hey Day

S4 - Constable Rich Valstar (our school resource officer) 

Start Smart Stay Safe is a proactive, strengths-based model of teaching and learning where police, families and schools partner together to actively build positive relationships, create safe communities and prepare children for the challenges of our complex, changing world. It is a collaborative initiative between the Calgary Police Service and the Calgary Board of Education.

Start Smart Stay Safe brings police officers in the classroom to work with the teachers and engage the students in strengths-based lessons.  Police encourage students to use their strengths and to continue to develop their skills to keep themselves and their communities safe.  Lessons shared by police officers, teachers and families help children build strengths in the following areas:

• Using problem solving skills
• Making healthy choices
• Using respectful communication skills
• Building healthy relationships
• Being digitally safe
• Being safe at home, at school and in the community
• Serving others to build an inclusive, resilient community

For more information regarding S4 please go to www.startsmartstaysafe.ca.  Also, there is a good video about Strengths-Based inserted below.  Feel free to take a look!

The particular lesson that Constable Valstar will be teaching to the class is called Emotions Scale. If you have any questions or concerns about the lesson please don't hesitate to contact me at my school email address.

Bye for now,

Ms. LeVesconte

First Blog for 2019-2020....

Parent(s),

Thank you to all of the parents who attended Parent/Teacher Conferences last week.  The information that you provide me with allows me to gain a better understanding of your child as well as to develop a strong student and teacher rapport.  Since this is the first blog of this school year, it will highlight a variety of things in a brief and concise manner.  As we get into more school assignments and projects it will become more detailed.    

Terry Fox School Run:

Although several messages have already gone out via School Messenger, I just wanted to remind you that the Terry Fox School run is this coming Thursday.  Students have been asked to bring in a small donation in the form of a Toonie for Terry.  All donations go directly to the Terry Fox Foundation for cancer research.  During the run students will be wearing a sticker that says:  "Terry Ran For Me I AM RUNNING FOR..."  Please talk to you children about a possible individual that they could run for.  It could be family member or a friend who is either a cancer survivor or has lost their life to cancer.  Students need to have their individual's name by the morning of Sept. 26th so that it can be written on their sticker before the run.  There will be a short 'kick-off' assembly in the gym at 2:40 p.m. and the run at Green Park at 2:50 p.m.  Everyone is welcome to attend and we hope to see you there!

Learning Highlights: 

(from the past couple of weeks)

• creating an 'I Am Unique' Thumbprint poem in Language Arts 
• students collected and took photos of personal artifacts that tell a story about them, predicted which students belonged to each personal artifact photo, were given another student's personal artifact photo and then asked to write the story they think the artifacts tell, began to type up the selected student's artifact photo story, and then were provided with a photo reveal for six students (more photo reveals will be done this coming week)
• participated in Fire Writing where students write about topics they are interested in
• explored different types of page borders so that students could create a journal page about Terry Fox
• began to create a Terry Fox visual journal page
• using the pictorial biography Terry to learn more about him and why he is considered one of Canada's greatest heroes
• began to use name art to decorate student's visual journals
• completed a baseline math assessment so that I can see where they are at and what areas or skills need to be reviewed or taught
• explored shape and number patterns through small group activities
• reviewed number patterns and how they can increase or decrease and what the number pattern rule is
• read the shared novel Wishtree and explored concepts or themes in the story through class discussion and activities (e.g. drawing the main character 'Red', discussing why the neighbourhood isn't being very accepting or individuals who are different, and researching Red Oak trees)  
• begun looking at mapping skills by having students attempt to write directions as to how they travel from home to school

Students looking closely at the artifact photos.

Predicting who the artifact photos belong to.

Up and Coming:

1.  September 26-p.m. -Terry Fox Run - 'kick-off' assembly at 2:40 p.m., 
                                                       run at 2:50 p.m. - Green Park

2. September 30th - Orange Shirt Day (more information to come)

3.  October 7th –Individual school photos

4.  October10–Miranda Krogstad, Poet –‘kick-off’ assembly @ 10:15 a.m. 

Bye for now,
Ms. LeVesconte