Happy Friday!

BFG FUN

Wow!  Today was fun.  We had BFG...Big Friendly Groups, where kids in kindergarten to grade 4 get mixed up and go to their BFG teacher's classroom.  Today, grade fours got to be helpers and leaders to the younger students of the school! 

Today, we listened and watched this SNEAKY STORY! It has some tips for this Tuesday, March 17th!  As small groups in our BFG we had a building challenge with: tape, straws, a little cup and our imaginations!  Each group needed to make a trap for these sneaky little legends!  I guess we will have to wait and see what happens on Tuesday.... will our traps work?

BUDDY BOOKS.....

Many students are working hard to write - complete sentences, with punctuation, capitals and correct spelling.  Students and families, you can go on BOOK CREATOR this weekend and try to edit your story so it is EASY for grade 1 buddies to read.  Mrs. Ross has been telling you to 'keep it super simple' for our audience...the grade 1 students who are learning to read!  Please no backgrounds.  Also, we will be printing in black and white on Monday or Tuesday.  Some kids want colour, but that would have to be with permission from home.  THE CODE IS 6275M.  Please only edit your book!

The weather forecast....SNOW and more SNOW!  Please remember to read, we are finishing up our Read-A-Thon!  The calendar is due this coming week.  But, our March book report is still going strong.  This snowy weekend might be a good time to curl up with your NOVEL!  I will share your newest book report with you next week in class! 

DRESS UP AS YOUR FAVOURITE BOOK CHARACTER WAS A SUCCESS!  

Thanks for your effort kiddos!  

DRESS LIKE YOUR FAVOURITE CHARACTER DAY - Friday the 13th!

REMEMBER: 
DRESS LIKE YOUR FAVOURITE CHARACTER DAY - Friday the 13th! TOMORROW! 

Friction Experiment - Which is faster?  Why? 
Today in we tested materials' speed.  We were learning about FRICTION and how it impacts FORCE.  Students were shocked to learn we used an INCLINE PLANE in this experiment (a simple machine).  Students worked in groups to test out their hypothesis. 

Good news! Our students are amazing!

Today was an exciting day for some of our students, a normal day for others and a challenging start to the day for the a few students as well. 

1) Firstly, I would like to APPLAUD and thank those students who took the time to write a job application for our BMO Learning Partnership  business - Coppercares.  All applicants were qualified and tried their best.  Mrs. Ross, Mrs. Duha, Mr, Dunlop (Mrs. Samphire) and Mr. Marino really were impressed with everyone's interviews.  Jenny and Brooke from BMO couldn't believe the preparedness, courage and effort our kids put into their answers during their interview last week.  As a group of adults we met to share our reflections from interviews and to decide on our executive for this year's Coppercares. 

2) We announced the executive today.  All students handled the news well!  Some students seemed a bit disappointed.  I reminded all students that is normal, but that they should feel proud they tried their best and keep in mind they already have awesome experience should another job come their way in grade 5 or in the future! 

I am sure your child can share the results with you, if you are interested!  We will have our first Executive Meeting at lunch early next week, a note will come home to those families at the end of the week. 

REMEMBER, FRIDAY is 

DRESS AS YOUR FAVOURITE BOOK CHARACTER DAY! 

Keep READING for the mintues and the pledges!  

The Read-A-Thon is in its last week! 

Another Guest Reader - We are SO LUCKY!

Thank you to Mr. Hartl, the principal of DMC came to talk to us and read The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales.  We laughed at this funny picture book.  Many of us made connections to the silly old fairytales that the author and illustrator have updated.  

Remember to read each day and TRACK YOUR MINUTES for the Read-A-Thon!  It is dress as your favourite book character day on Friday.

We welcome a new student and NEW routines today!

WELCOMING A NEW STUDENT:
We have a new student, ask your child about her!  She arrived on a Monday, where we shared our class with CanLearn and we had our Community Circle in Mrs. Duha's room (while they were at gym)!  Of course we are going to show her what a wonderful school we have and all be kind leaders to help her figure out our school and class routines.

NEW HYGIENE ROUTINE:
Before snack and lunch, I am reminding students to wash their hands.  I have always reminded students, as this is a habit of mine (and we have a large sink in our room) but now I am really encouraging this healthy habit!  We watched a funny video about how to wash our hands....CLICK HERE FOR VIDEO.


SCIENCE - SIMPLE MACHINES and COPPERCADE!
A few years ago I was inspired by Cain and his cardboard arcade.  Now Coppercade is a yearly tradition.  Students watched the video today.  They reflected on:
-How is Cain an entrepreneur?
-What did Cain do?
-What challenges did Cain overcome?
Then along with a partner, students did a Google search on CARDBOARD ARCADE GAMES.  They are trying to see and think of ideas to create their own game.  But there is a catch!  They need to create a game using RE-PURPOSED materials and INCLUDE AT LEAST 2 SIMPLE MACHINES...lever, wheel and axle, screw, pulley, incline plane, wedge!  These should make our games EASIER to play!  Remember what we have learned from Scientist Jill (from Scientist in School a few weeks back) and from our lessons/building challenges in class!  There will be more to come too.  Students will be building these games (alone or with a partner) at school.  They can get started on researching, planning and drafting ideas at home if they want though.

Coming Soon!
Announcements for successful job applicants Learning Partnership (EA) with BMO will be coming soon! Thanks to the students who took a chance and interviewed on March 5th!  Jenny and Brooke form BMO were sure impressed by your confidence, knowledge and eagerness to apply!  Good job everyone.  This is a hard choice, as all interviews were handled with skill and effort!  The grade 4 teachers are meeting to discuss, and look over our notes with Brooke and Jenny to make final decisions.  We hope to announce our NEW EXECUTIVE by mid-week! THANK YOU FOR YOUR PATIENCE as we make important decisions! 

Coming HOME TODAY! 

• MLA Ric McIvor was our special guest reader last week!  As part of the Read-A-Thon, he read The Legend of Rock, Paper, Scissors.  We decided he is a good reader and gave us a gift!  We each get an Alberta pin as a souvenir of his visit!  We even played Rock, Paper, Scissors with him. Our grade 1 buddies joined us for the event.  We sure enjoy time with our buddies.  

• You are getting an IDLE FREE bookmark too!  This is from School Council Traffic Committee!  

REMEMBER TO READ!  

This FRIDAY, MARCH 13th is DRESS AS YOUR FAVOURITE BOOK CHARACTER DAY!  I can't wait to see who you become.....