Student Inventions Inspired by Nature!

This week's pictures are all of some of the inventions inspired by nature that students came up with. A lot of creative and innovative thinking went into these items. So much fun! 

Julia has made a cape designed to enable humans to fly! She was inspred by birds for her creation. She cut out the material for her 'glider' and sewed and constructed ia all by herslef. There will be no product testing for safety reasons but isn't it cool?

Naomi has come up with a grooming machine for family pets. It has multiple arms which enable the grooming process to go quickly which is good news for pets everywhere. I am sure she was inspired by her familiy's upcoming plans to get an Australian Labradoodle which was also the subject of her speech! 

Nicky came up with an octopus-inspired robot who is able to help you with any job around your home!. His robot can reach those high, difficult-to-get-to places, responds to verbal commands, can also double as a companion to play sports with, and has all sorts of electronic features. He is a perfectionist at everything he does which is why he is named 'Picky Nicky.' 

Maryam was inspired by marine life for her invention. She read an article about how marine life is threatened by all of the plastic and pollution in the water. Her nifty device has a camera to detect garbage, a remote control, and a vacuum-type suction system, among lots of other features. It can also be used on both land and water!  

May 25th - 29th

Hello, Families,

Wow! Week #10 of distance learning! It seems like yesterday that this all began. Given last week's announcement by the province, we now know that distance learning will continue for the remainder of the school year. Hopefully you are continuing to fine tune a daily routine that works for your individual family and that prioritizes health and well-being which is of the utmost importance.


Last week we had another great turnout to our class hang out. There was a lot of interesting news shared this week. We learned that Mila has a new fire pit in her backyard; Nicky and his family enjoyed a really funny movie at their family movie night; Remi has been playing with his friend down by the creek and enjoying the new metal detector that he got for his birthday; Daniella had a wonderful bike ride with her grandpa along the canal; Jessica has planted cucumbers in her garden and she also got a home manicure and pedicure from her mum; Jacob now has a blow-up pool in his backyard which the whole family is enjoying and he has ordered a new remote controlled A.T.V that he can't wait to receive in the mail; Kristen is fixing up her back yard to include a grassy area, barbecue and a new hammock; Danayit has been enjoying bike rides with her brother to Mooney's Bay; Naomi's family has made a decision to get an Australian Labradoodle which gives her recent speech about these furry friends a real-life application; Sarah has been cleaning up her yard and enjoying picking dandelions; Ramona had a wonderful birthday and has been enjoying watching various you-tubers in her spare time; DeJanelle shared her new Lego creation which included a nifty home office; Layla also shared her new Lego tree house that she has been building and it even has a working slide!

In Math this week we are focussing on probability concepts. Students will learn about probability lines and how we can use them to describe probability in a variety of ways. They will also learn to describe number relationships using probability, make predictions in probability experiments and test their predictions. There are a couple of digital probability games to explore as well. In Language we will read a variety of interesting articles about animal adaptations and inventions inspired by nature. We will also consider the debate that texting may be negatively influencing our writing skills.  There are a variety of learning activities connected to each daily reading. Students are encouraged to write a daily journal entry in their journal document on their drive. Students are also encouraged to carve out time at home for individual reading. You may be through all of your paper book options at this point but the SORA app on the student portal provides endless reading possibilities!


Attention choir members! Mrs. James needs your help! Please read this important message from her:  We are in the process of creating a Thank You to share with our amazing choir directors for all of their hard work and dedication to the St. Augustine Choir. We are inviting all choir members to create a Thank You which will be incorporated into a Google Slideshow to send to them. Please feel free to use Google Docs or Google Slides which makes for easier sharing with Mrs. James @ carol.james@ocsb.ca  OR you could created something and upload it via email to Mrs. James.  Here are some ideas of things you could do: You could write a thank you note, draw a picture (in Google Slides OR draw a picture and upload it to Mrs. James), send a video message of thanks or even a video of you singing a song (which they would really LOVE) - OR - anything else you might think of to express your gratitude.  Please send your entries by Friday, June 5th so the slideshow can be completed and shared with our wonderful choir directors.



Attention to all students interested in joining craft club!  If you are interested in joining an online carft club hosted by our Educational Assistant, Mrs. Mona Heagle, please attend the google hang out to express your interest in this club on Tuesday, May 26th, 2:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. An invitation to the hangout was sent out to the entire school community via email but here is the link again just in case you missed it: https://meet.google.com/gri-cecr-kjs

Have a wonderful week!  If you have any questions or concerns or need to touch base with me for any reason, I can be reached each morning via email at: ruth.stratford@ocsb.ca

Sincerely, 

Mrs. Stratford

Photos of the Week!

Naomi building a garbage and recycling bin with her Dad! A real-life application of measurement concepts!

Kristen has been busy crafting at home. Look at all the cool things she has made! Another real-life application of measurement concepts!

May 19th-May 22nd

Dear Families,

It is hard to believe that we are entering our 9th week of distance learning. I hope that everyone had a good Victoria Day Weekend and holiday Monday. It was unusual for my family to stay at home on this annual holiday weekend but due to social distancing we were not able to get together with our extended family as we traditionally do. We made the best of it by going on big bike rides, family walks and playing games together.  With warmer weather on the horizon, I expect many of us will be taking to our backyards in the coming days!

Here is the link to the current slide deck which outlines daily learning goals:
Gr.4 Weekly Work (May)
This document has also been uploaded into student Drives (within the  Language folder).  The April Google slide deck continues to be available as well for your reference.

Many students had the chance to record their speeches on Flip Grid. If you still need to record your speech, the link can be found on slide #52 (Friday, May 15th Language slide).  I want to congratulate everyone for an excellent effort on their speeches - I have been truly impressed!

In Language this week students will read an article about a zoo chef from the Columbus Zoo in Ohio and take a virtual field trip to the Sand Tiger Shark Tank at Ripley's Aquarium in Toronto.  Students will also read an article and consider both sides of the debate about social media use and kids.

In Math our focus has shifted to the Measurement of Mass, Capacity and Volume. The learning goals are: to estimate and measure mass using both grams and kilograms; to estimate and measure capacity using both millilitres and litres; to recognize that the volume of the object tells how much space the object takes up.

We had another fun and productive Google Hang Out last Wednesday. We had fifteen students attend which was awesome! Mrs. OBrien dropped in again at the beginning of our Hang Out so that she could say hello to the students. We are usually greeted by her each morning when we enter the school, so it was really nice to begin our meeting with a visit from her - it was almost as good as her in-person greeting!

Following her visit, we shared our news highlights with eachother. Here are this week's updates:  Ms. Carisa's wasp problem seems to be dying down; Jessica has built the walls for her garden; Julia's baby sister is navigating the stairs on her own now but still needs to be supervised; Layla celebrated her uncle's birthday on Mother's Day; Maryam has two wiggly molars; Mila's dog Maddy had her first trip to the vet as did Remi's dog Loki; Nicky continues to have on-line visits with his cousins each week; Sarah has been doing a lot of colouring and playing outside more in order to get fresh air; Jacob got a new scooter from his grandparents and continues to build lots of things; Iviya and her family are visiting her new house once per week in order to prepare it for their move; Austin has been biking each day with his mum on his new bike; Daniella went for an early morning excurstion for an hour with her mum; Danayit's brother's birthday gift of LED lights finally arrived in the mail after a long delay; Kristen DID get the new puppy she mentioned last week and her name is Camilla (she is really cute); and Naomi is excited about her cookie dough ice cream birthday cake from Baskin Robins!

After we shared our news for the week we debated the issue of the schools reopening in Quebec. I presented the students with some key issues and ideas on both sides of the debate, gave them a minute to think and gather their thoughts,  and then asked them to provide their opinion. Three out of fifteen students agreed with the reopening of elementary schools and they were able to provide some very interesting ideas to back up their opinion such as reducing the number of students who attend, alternating days or half days to reduce the number of kids at school each day, etc. The majority thought it wasn't a good idea to return to school at this time mainly because they felt social distancing would be difficult to maintain and the risk of spreading the virus is still just too high. It was certainly an interesting and timely discussion that we could all relate to and in which everybody was able to provide an opinion!

The last part of our Google Hang Out was devoted to a math 'Number Talk.'  This was our second Number Talk and it worked quite well.  We will continue to do this each week during our hangouts.  Students are reminded to bring paper & pencil, or a mini whiteboard/chalkbaord to the meeting! Invitations for this week's hangout were sent out on Friday. Students are asked to show up for the hangout no more than five minutes prior to the start time of 10:00 a.m.

Please remember to continue share photos with me so that I can put them on our class blog! It's a wonderful way to share all of the interesting things that are happening at home!

Another sincere reminder that the health and well-being of everyone is an on-going priority for everyone. Families must make decisions about daily schedules and distance learning that suit their individual needs. I continue to work each morning.  If there is any way that I am able to support learning from home, please send me an email: ruth.stratford@ocsb.ca      

Cheers,

Mrs. Stratford

Pictures of the Week!

Looks like she had a great day! Do I see a new pair of soccer shoes? 

Nicky has been having fun biking with his brother and having online visits with his cousins! 

May 11th - 15th

Dear Families,

I hope that all of the mums had a wonderful Mother's Day yesterday! I had a great time with my family. I was served a delicious breakfast in bed. Then we enjoyed a long family bike ride which is a bit of a tradition for our family each Mother's Day. We also played some board games together.  It couldn't have been a better day (except perhaps a bit warmer).

We are entering our 8th week of distance learning. The health and well-being of everyone is an on-going priority. Families must make decisions about daily schedules and distance learning that suit their individual needs.

Here is the link to the current slide deck which outlines daily learning goals:
Gr.4 Weekly Work (May)
This document has also been uploaded into student Drives (within the  Language folder).  The April Google slide deck is still available for reference.

In Language we are wrapping up work on our speeches. At this point, students should be at the editing phase. On Friday of this week's slide deck there is a link to a Flip Grid whereby students can share their final product. In addition to speech work, there are several reading and writing tasks outlined for this week. All of the details are outlined in the slide deck.

In Math our focus has shifted to the Measurement of Time. The learning concepts covered in this topic will be using a clock to read and estimate the passage of time. Students will also be learning to estimate and measure elapsed time (time that has passed) within a 24-hour period. Another goal of the unit is recognize and consider a variety of factors when chooing units to estimate or measure long amounts of time (months, years, decades, centuries, etc.).

We had another fun and productive Google Hangout this past week. We had fifteen students join our Google Hangout which is our biggest turn out so far! We had a special guest at the beginning of our hangout: Mrs. OBrien! It was so great to have her join our hangout. After Mrs. OBrien left our hagout, we had our 'sharing circle' and got to hear eachother's news. There is a lot going on! Here is what we learned: Ms. Carisa is dealing with a wasp infestation on the outside of her house and we hope she is able to get that sorted soon! Iviya is moving to a new home and is pretty excited about it. Jessica's family has plans for a veggie garden.  Nicky's has been enjoying virtual visits with all of his cousins.  Kristen may be getting a new family dog (fingers crossed). Jacob and his family have been having fun exploring around Hog's Back Falls.  Remi has Judo lessons over Zoom. He was also happy to report that Loki (the new dog) was found after esaping the yard and that they now have plans for a fence. Naomi has been having online soccer practices. Mircuel thinks her cat is going to have kittens. Julia has been enjoying playing with her family and using her new outdoor ninja course. Mila told us that her friend got a dog. Maryam said things are pretty much the same but she really wants the social distancing to end. Mrs. Heagle continues to work away in her garden. 

After we each shared all of our news, we had a math 'Number Talk.'  This was our second Number Talk and it worked quite well. We will continue to do this each week during our hangouts.  Students are reminded to bring paper & pencil, or a mini whiteboard/chalkbaord to the meeting! Invitations for this week's hangout were sent out on Friday. Students are asked to show up for the hangout no more than five minutes prior to the start time of 10:00 a.m.

Please remember to continue share photos with me so that I can put them on our class blog! It's a wonderful way to share all of the interesting things that are happening at home!

If there is any way that I am able to support learning from home, please contact me via email: ruth.stratford@ocsb.ca 
I will continue to be availiable each morning.    

Mrs. Stratford

Photos of the Week!

 

Noah has been busy filling water balloons!

Daniella has been enjoying going cycling with her Grandpa and reading her 'Where's Waldo?' books!

Mrs. Heagle wanted to share this photo of her beautiful backyard garden which was taken last summer. She has been working away in her garden this spring and hopes it will look like this again very soon!  

Naomi worked hard on foot drills during her virtual soccer practice and worked hard on her school work!

 

She's also been having fun biking and exploring the creek and woods with her family!

.....and hanging out with her sister of course! 

May 4th-May 8th - Catholic Education Week

Hello, Families,

We are entering our 7th week of distance learning. The health and well-being of everyone is an on-going priority. Families must make decisions about daily schedules and distance learning that suit their individual needs.

This week is Catholic Education Week which is a week to celebrate the wonderful gift of our Catholic Education. You are invited to a virtual 'Praying in Colour' session today at 2 p.m. The students have had lots of experience with our school-wide 'Praying in Colour' sessions so they should be able to explain this to you but there are more details and instructions about today's 'Praying in Colour' session in this week's school newsletter.  Here is the link to the Google Hang out for those that wish to participate:  https://meet.google.com/anv-euza-ion
Another fun activity planned for this coming week is the virtual family talent show.  Again - there are more details in this week's newsletter but here is the link: Virtual Family Talent Show Flipgrid

We have a new Google slide deck for the month of May. Here is the link: Gr.4 Weekly Work (May)
The April Google slide deck is still available for access in student Drives if you need it. 

In Language we continue to work on our speeches. Many students have had their speech topics approved by me but I am still waiting on several others. At our Google Hangout this past week, the students expressed that when the time comes to perfomr their speeches, they would prefer to do so on Flipgrid rather than in a Google Hangout.

Several students did a 'show and share' of their time capsule project on Flipgrid. The link which can be found in the April slidedeck, will remain open for those that still want to share.

In Math we continue to focus on Geometry. This week we will be learning all about angles and how to use benchmark angles to identify various types of angles. On Wednesday we will move on to the concepts of locating items on a grid, identifying and symmetry, using reflections to create lines of symmetry.

We had 14 students join our Google Hangout this past week.  It was a very eventful and productive visit.  We began our meeting by sharing '1 Star and 1 Wish' with eachother. We learned that Austin got a new bike and Jessica's fixing her electric scooter. Jacob has been building things with scrap wood in the backyard and even made his sisters a teeter-totter!  We also got to meet Ramona's gerbil 'Cupcake' and sing her a happy birthday!  We all agreed that singing happy birthday in person is a lot more in-tune.  After we each shared our news, we did a math 'Number Talk.'  We will try this again this coming Wednesday as it seemed to go quite well. Students should bring paper & pencil, or a mini whiteboard or chalkbaord to the meeting - it just makes it easier to share answers! Invitations for this week's hangout were sent out on Friday. Students are asked to show up for the hangout no more than 5 minutes prior to the start time of 10:00 a.m.

Please remember to share photos with me so that I can put them on our class blog! I would love to see all of the interesting things you are doing at home!

As always, if you have any questions or concerns, or there is any way that I am able to support learning from home, please contact me via email: ruth.stratford@ocsb.ca

Please note that I continue to maintain my half-time teaching schedule and can only be reached in the mornings.  

Mrs. Stratford