Can it really be true? Has spring finally started to…well…spring? I sure hope so! The grade 3/4 class is looking forward to a very busy month. Here’s how it’s shaping up:

ELA: Since we have finished our spelling lessons, we have decided to work together to develop our own spelling lists. This will help improve our vocabularies as well. We have begun practicing making inferences while we read – using clues we find in the text, illustrations and our sche- ma. We continue to practice our creative writing often and we finished up How to Eat Fried Worms before the break. We plan to combine some of our ELA time with Social Studies as we learn about the pioneers and First Nations people in early Canada.

Math: The grade 3s are working on multiplication and division. The grade 4s are working on decimals and will soon move on to multiplication and division of longer numbers. Please don’t forget that you have access to Mathletics.com from your home computer! This is a great way to practice and develop skills.

Social Studies: As mentioned above, we’ve started a unit on pioneers and First Nations People. We are really looking forward to having Ms. Rancourt come in and share with us about be- ing Metis.

Arts-Ed: We’re doing some dramatic Reader’s Theatre – lots of fun! We also recently completed some really neat colour wheels.

Phys.-Ed: We’re finishing up badminton and working on developing our running endur- ance. We’re also looking forward to our swimming lessons later this month. Please note that the dates have changed for swimming. We are now swimming May 24th and 25th.

On May 31st we are headed to the WDM for Pioneer Days in the morning and Flip Gymnastics for the afternoon – should be a lot of fun!

Thank you very much to the second group for sending our Easter potluck lunch! The students thoroughly enjoyed it – I was informed by several that more potlucks would ensure that my future students always like me!

Take care!

With only a month and a half left of school, we’re starting to gear down to summer holidays! Mr. Woods-Fehr will be teaching the grade one math until the end of the year, while I teach the grade two’s. Mr. Woods-Fehr decided to leave the geometry unit until June and has been focusing on addition and subtraction to twenty. The grade two’s just finished their unit on geometry, identifying 2-D shapes and 3-D objects. We are now starting to add and subtract to one hundred! In ELA, we are finished learning about Fairy Tales and are moving onto Poetry, where we will read and write a variety of poems. We are finishing blends and moving onto digraphs in phonics and continue with story writing in creative writing. I hope to wrap spelling up near the beginning of June, so please keep practicing just a little longer! We are learning about the food groups and making healthy choices in heath class. We also have lot’s going on in science as well. The grade two’s are working on an inquiry based research project on habitats with our teacher librarian, Mrs. Harder. Once they are done this project, they will teach the rest of the class about their habitat. It should be fun! Meanwhile, the grade ones are learning about motion and will soon learn about plants. As a class, we are also beginning a unit on magnets. Thank you for sending the addresses for our Flat Stanley project. We anxiously await the arrival of our flat people after their worldly adventures!

Wow, Easter is already here! Thanks to all of the parents who sent egg shells for our spring art project that we will complete after the break. We are sailing along in math. The grade ones have just finished learning about numbers to one hundred, while the grade two’s finished off their unit on measurement. Both grades are now beginning to learn about geometry. Please continue to practice mental math skills at home, as we will soon be continuing to add and subtract with larger numbers. In science, we are learning about magnets, in health we are learning about the food groups, our body, and making healthy choices, and in social studies we are reviewing how to help the environment in preparation for Earth Day. We are completing gymnastics in Phys. Ed. and will be moving on to skipping after the break. In ELA, we are delving deeper into blends and digraphs and are working on story writing, focusing on the beginning, middle, and end of a story. Have a wonderful and safe Easter holiday!

The Grade 7s have completed their unit on Dust and are looking forward to a Skype visit from the author, Arthur Slade.  This Skype is tentatively set for the final week before Easter break.  In math, we are wrapping up our unit on “Solving Equations” and will soon be moving onto Geometry and Geometric Properties.  Your child will require a geometry set for this unit. In Health, students continue to look at the 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens.  Science has just wrapped up a unit on Ecosystems and Environmental Cycles.

The Grade 7 field trip has been booked for June 24.  We will be travelling to Blue Mountain Outdoor Adventure Park.  We will be taking part in challenge courses, zip lining, a high ropes course, and team building initiatives.  We will have room for two more adult chaperones.  Once I have sent the introductory letter home, please feel free to contact me if you are interested in joining us.

In closing, as always, if you have any questions or concerns, please contact me at the school (544-2511) or via email.

Well, the grade 9’s have been learning up a storm lately while still managing to let our creative side show. Especially in Art, where we’ve been doing scratch art. In science, we’ve been studying chemistry and the make-up of atoms. Mr. Herman has been promising to take us up to the lab to study chemical reactions, but so far we haven’t been allowed to blow anything up. Well, not officially, anyway… In math we’ve been studying scale factors and symmetry. In ELA we’ve been studying Romeo and Juliet AND the war in Sierra Leone. Home Ec has us sewing like mad. In IA we’ve been repairing small engines and learning how to weld. We’ve been fitness texting, I mean testing, in Phys Ed. The Middle Ages and the Black Death have been the focus of our studies in Social. We’ve been checking out the different educational requirements for jobs in Careers. And, last but not least, we finished up reading Tarzan and are studying the ill effects of gambling in Health class. Have a great Easter Break everyone!
Thanks to Monica for her invaluable assistance in creating this newsletter item.

Here’s what’s happening in the 3/4 room these days…
Science: We had a wonderful field trip to Gardenscape where we planted some beans, learned about composting, insects and the parts of a plant. A very special thank you to Mrs. Leuschen, Mrs. Cory and Mr. Harder for coming along with us. We are just wrapping up our rocks and minerals unit and will be moving on to predicting weather, next.
ELA: We are just finishing the novel How to Eat Fried Worms. Our approach to this book has been a little different than the other novels studies we’ve done. This time around, each student was assigned on chapter (or two, if they’re short) to develop a presentation on for the class. It’s been really fun to hear each person’s interpretation of a chapter and to have them share their questions and connections!
We continue to focus on the writing process and grammar. We are getting quite good at proof reading – try to stump us! Of course we also continue to develop our phonics and spelling skills as well. Our current reading comprehension strategy is making inferences.
Math: The grade 3s are just beginning a unit on fractions. The 4s are also working on fractions as well as decimals.
Social Studies: We will be beginning a unit on Saskatchewan.
Phys-Ed.: We are developing some badminton skills.
We have also started on some triathlon training. Please watch for more information coming soon as the date is quickly approaching!

Sincerely,
Alana Wilson and the 3/4 Class!

Welcome Ladies and Gentlemen, speaking on behalf of the grade 11 class, its Tanner.

In art class, with our good teacher Mr. Graham, the boys are making dioramas. Industrial Arts has us busy as bees drawing plans for our sheds. In Home Ec., they are decorating cakes like “Cake Boss” and soon will be starting international foods. With Mr. Kirk in Media Studies, they are looking at the conventions of media. Mrs. Prakash has taught us Physics and we are finished our projects on different types of Physics in the world. Mr. Anderson has the girls in Gym. They have been playing badminton, floor hockey and pumping iron to get jacked! In History, we are working on projects that we picked from anything that has changed the world. We just wrote a text on complex number in Math. It was very complex. Law has us learning the rules of law with Mrs. Prakash.

We would like to welcome the new student Cody to our class.

Well, in spite of our best efforts, our teachers have managed to keep us busy since the break. We’ve been solving up a storm of equations in mathematics, seeing a storm of romance and deception in Romeo and Juliet, and read about the storms of war and the plight of child soldiers in English. In Social, we finished with the Romans and are studying medieval times. Health has seen us examining the evolution of the tobacco industry. We’ve been skating and curling in Phys. Ed. IA has us welding and putting together engines, while we’ve been studying measurement in Home Ec. (but we really just want to make soup). Science has us studying cells and various forms of reproduction. We’ve been making our own personal Coats of Arms in Art. And finally, we’re looking up various careers on the internet in Careers! Happy Saint Patrick’s Day! Special thanks to Kaitlyn and Nickole and the Peanut Gallery.

In Social Studies we are looking at Canadian identity and our knowledge of Canada as if we were immigrants ourselves. In Physical Education we are finishing winter activities at the Skating and Curling Rinks. We start Fitness testing next week! In Math we are working on Probability right now. While in English we finished the novel “The Giver” and we will start some wrap-up activities for it. In Art we are doing some Drama now. In Industrial Arts, we are drafting BIG Isometric drawings. Finally, in Home Ec., we are working finishing our Foods and Food Safety Unit.

Students have been enjoying the warm weather as of late; as a result, they have had the opportunity to venture out to the curling rink and arena in their Phys. Ed. Classes. In ELA, we have just finished reading the book, Dust, and will be completing assignments which explore the elements of the novel. It was quite the entertaining story! In math, we have just written our unit exam in Measurement. Please expect to see your child’s exam shortly. I would ask that you review it, sign it, and return it to the school. In Health, the students continue to explore the Seven Habits of Highly Effective Teens.

Winter Carnival activities are taking place on Friday, March 18. This is a day when we can all get together and enjoy each other’s company, engage in some friendly competition, and appreciate the fabulous weather. Please remind your child to dress appropriately as we will be spending most of the day outside.

Interim reports will be mailed out on Thursday, March 17. If you have any questions in regard to your child’s progress, please feel free to contact me at the school at any time. Additionally, Parent-Teacher Interviews are scheduled for next week. Please feel free to contact the school to make an appointment.