Our Classroom Sharing Circle

This week I introduced the concept of the 'sharing circle' to the students or rather the Covid-19 version of the 'sharing circle!' Here's how it works...I may pose a question (e.g. Would your rather be a famous musician or a famous scientist? ), a debate prompt (e.g. Do you think all schools should have uniforms) or allow them to have an open sharing cirlce which means they can talk about anything they would like. Sometimes, I may use the 'sharing circle' to settle a dispute or arguement that is taking place in the class.  Since we can no longer pass the talking stick or talking feather around the circle, I have written up all of the student names on cards which I shuffle and then I randomly pick names from the deck.  The rules are simple - only one person speaks at a time and we must practice active listening by looking at the speaker and carefully considering their ideas. From time to time, I facilitate the discussion or set up the debate prompt by providing information to the students first.  Students are encouraged to give brief answers 1-3 sentences in length (otherwise it takes too long) and to speak in a clear, coherant manner.  

Meet the Teacher Night Slide Deck

 Thank you to all families who were able to join us this evening for our 'Virtual Meet-the-Teacher.' Below is the slide deck from the evening for your reference: 

Meet-the-Teacher Night Slide Deck

Social Emotional Learning in Grade 4/5

Today we had a classroom visit from our school's social worker, Mr. Wayne. He spent most of block one visiting with our class and discussing the social-emotional impacts of Covid-19 and the school shutdown in the spring as well as the tools we can use to manage our emotions.  He was very impressed with the insights shared by our students who demonstrated honesty about their personal experiences and their feelings. He praised them for being brave enough to share with others in a group setting true feelings and encouraged them to continue to be open about how they feel. He was able to clarify some misnomers that the students presented about Covid-19 and reassure the kids that they are doing their part by being safe and socially distancing, washing their hands, wearing masks, etc. The students brainstormed a list of strategies that they use when they are feeling anxious. Here are some of their ideas: drawing/doodling, reading, dancing, going outside for a walk, deep breathing, spending time with family, praying, FaceTiming friends/family, exercising, having socially-distanced visits with friends/family, playing games, talking with their parents.  It was a wonderful block of social-emotional learning!  

Math Update!

Our focus in math during these early days of school will continue to be number sense and numeration skills! 

• basic operations such as addition, subtraction and multiplication 
• math word problems where we SHOW our math thinking AND provide a complete answer to the question asked in the word problem
• expressing numbers in various forms such as standard form (e.g. 353), expanded form (300 + 50 + 3), words (three hundred fifty-three). When reading numbers aloud we are reminded not to use the word and (e.g. three hundred fifty three as opposed to three hundred AND fifty three).  
• comparing numbers by using the correct symbols (<  >  =) and the words greater than, less than and equals. To help us we remember that the open mouth of the crocodile always wants to eat the LARGER number! (e.g. 33 <  45....thirty three is smaller than forty-five.......or 45  > 33......forty-five is greater than 33) 
• mental math strategies to add up larger numbers such as: looking for benchmark numbers (e.g. 5's and 10's), rewriting each number in an equation in expanded form in order to better SEE the groups of 10 and be able to combine numbers to make groups of 10 (e.g. 23+32+21+19.....change it to 20+3+30+2+20+1+10+9......then add up the 10's and rewrite it as....80+3+2+1+9......then think 80+5+10....then add them up to get 95), using number lines as a strategy to help us use benchmarks and solve equations (have your child show you what this means!!!)
• rounding numbers to the nearest 10, 100 and 1000 (grade 4) and to the nearest 10, 100, 1000, 10 000 (grade 5). This poem is one tool to help us remember what to do:  

Mark your place,

Look next door.

5 or greater, add 1 more!

4 or less, let it rest!

Numbers in front, stay the same. 

Numbers behind, Zero's their name! 

We have also been using the following code to add up words. This week we added up word wall words! 

Language Arts Update

This week we read two books by local authors all about life during the shutdown in the spring and life during this time of the Coronavirus. The first was called 'Together, Apart' written and illustrated by the local mother-daughter duo Katerina Mertikas and Loukia Zigoumis. 

The second book is called 'The Great Pause' by the Sketchbook Project. Local artist, designer and Algonquin College Professor Andrea Lesia Emery, did the beautiful artwork in the book. 

We used the 'making connections' reading strategy in order to make text-to-self connections to both stories. We reflected on our time during the school shutdown that began in March and shared our experiences during this strange time.  Next, the students will begin to write about their own shutdown experiences last spring! 

Our Classroom Promise

September News From Grade 4/5 Immersion

 Dear Parent(s)/Guardian(s),       September, 2020.

We are happy to have your child in our Grade ⅘ Immersion Class this year! While we met many of you at the Google Meet the week before school (and we know many of you from last year) we wanted to take the opportunity to introduce ourselves once again and touch base with you during these early days of school.  A special welcome to any families who are new to our St. Augustine School Community - we are so pleased that you are with us!  

The focus during the first couple of weeks of school will be establishing new routines (there are many new routines to learn), getting to know each other as well as reintegrating ourselves back into the school setting and in-person learning. We experienced an unexpected interruption to our previous year of learning and are all adjusting to the new realities brought on by Covid-19, therefore we need to be patient with each other and allow everyone time to get settled. Your child may experience a range of emotions as they process all the changes to their school environment and their return to the classroom.  As your child’s classroom teachers, our goal is to support them as they begin this new learning journey and school year.   

Your Child’s Teachers

Ruth Stratford is your child’s morning English teacher and will be teaching Math, Language and Family Life.  Ms. Hardick will be teaching Religion.   

Sarah D’Aoust is your child’s afternoon French teacher and will be teaching French Language, Social Studies, Science, Physical Education and the Arts.   

Agendas

Your child has brought home an agenda.  The agenda will be used to communicate reminders, homework, upcoming events, etc.  It is also a key communication tool between home and school. If you have any questions or wish to convey an upcoming appointment or absence, jot a note in the agenda. If you wish to speak with one of your child’s teachers, write a note in the agenda and we will call you as soon as we are able. Make sure you include the phone number you wish to be contacted at.  Please remember to read your child’s agenda, initial it and return it to school daily in the ziplock bag provided. This year, teachers in the OCSB have access to ‘School Messenger’ so from to time you may receive a message in the school messenger format. 

Additional Methods of Home-School Communication

Mrs. Stratford has a classroom blog. The blog address is pasted in the front of your child’s agenda. The learning focus in the areas of math and language are communicated on the blog. It is also used to celebrate the learning happening in the classroom, share resources and convey reminders. Please sign up to receive notices of updates to the blog which will make it easier for you! Once you sign up, Blogspot will send you an invitation email which you MUST reply to in order to complete the sign-up process. The blog address is: https://mrsstratford.blogspot.com/

Mme D’Aoust will be using Twitter to communicate learning updates and classroom happenings @DaoustMme. The twitter address is: https://twitter.com/DaoustMme 

   

Snacks/Lunches

Please pack a minimum of 2 healthy, nut-free snacks and a lunch. There is no food sharing at school so make sure your child has enough to get them through their day.  We practice ‘Litterless Lunches’ at St. Augustine school which means that all garbage/food waste comes home at the end of the day. You may find it helpful to include a large ziplock bag for waste - it’s up to you to figure out the best system for managing lunch waste.  

Masks

Students in grades 4-6 are required to wear a mask to school daily (reusable or disposable). Please consider packing a spare mask for your child so that they may change their mask mid-way through the day. Sometimes masks get wet or soiled so it is a good idea to pack a spare! If you are using environmentally friendly reusable cloth masks, please wash them between uses.  Students must wear masks when they exit and enter the school for recess. You might consider giving your child a small ziplock bag, fanny pack or ‘break-free’ lanyard, in order to safely store their mask when they are outside for recess. We want to avoid masks dropping on the ground and getting lost or soiled. Teachers will not be responsible for finding owners of lost masks.  

Hand Sanitizer

We do not have a sink or running water in our classroom therefore we will be using hand sanitizer.  If you choose to provide your child with their own small bottle of hand sanitizer, please make sure it is unscented and free of perfumes, in keeping with our scent-free policy. Students may refill their individual hand sanitizer bottles in the classroom with the OCSB provided sanitizer and the help of the teacher!    

Water Bottles

Please send your child to school with a full, non-leaking water bottle that is labelled. Drinking from the water fountain is not permitted however, water bottles can be refilled at the fountains/refill stations. Please avoid sending bottles filled with juice as they make a huge mess in the classroom if they spill. 

Indoor Recess

We have asked the children to find a quiet activity that they may do on their own in the case of indoor recess (e.g. a doodle book, a book to read, writing journal, small puzzle like Kanoodle, a Rubik’s Cube, etc.). The use of personal electronic devices during indoor recess will not be permitted as it encourages sharing and makes social distancing difficult.   

Classroom Workstations & Personal Belongings

Your child has their own desk to house various learning materials. They also have a small bin where they can store their pencil case and other school supplies. These items may stay at school to alleviate the number of things they transport back and forth each day. For now your child will not have a hook or cubby area but will keep all of their own belongings in their personal workstation/bubble. Backpacks will be hung on the back of their chair.  Thank you to those parents that have already sent in a labelled pair of headphones for their child.     

Kind regards, 

Ruth Stratford & Sarah D’Aoust

Grade ⅘ Immersion Teachers

Word Study in Grade 4/5

Dear Parents, 

We have started weekly word study in grade 4/5. Students in grade 4 will be given 12 new words and students in grade 5 will be given 15 new words. Students will write them in their agendas at the beginning of each week.  The words will all contain a common sound or spelling pattern (i.e. short and long vowel sounds, combined vowel sounds, word ending patterns such as ‘ing’ or ‘ed’, etc.). By examining the spelling patterns in the words we aim to build word knowledge that can be applied to both decoding skills when reading and spelling when writing. Students should familiarize themselves with their words at home (i.e. have a family member test them orally on their word list, independently practice writing them out as a list, orally use the words correctly in a sentence, etc.). There will be a word study quiz each Friday. 

Mrs. Stratford

Class Read Aloud

Today we began to read the novel 'Wonder.' While many of the kids have seen the movie, the novel is so much better! We will be reading it in English in the mornings and Madame D'Aoust will also be reading it to the class in French! It is a fantastic story that has a central theme of the importance of being ourselves and celebrating each person's uniqueness. Talk to your child about what we have read so far in the story:  Who is the main character? What are his biggest challenges? How does he view himself? What do you think will happen next in the story?

 

Wednesday, Sept 9th: The First Day of School

Hello! 

Considering we have been away from school and school routines for nearly 6 months and absolutely EVERYTHING has changed at school, the students had an amazing first day! I was impressed by how well each and every one of them listened to each other and their teachers.  We will spend this week getting used to new routines and systems and getting to know each other. Since you are reading this, there is a good chance you have already read the notes in your child's new agenda! If you are already subscribing to the blog and that is the reason why you are reading this, make sure you read your child's agenda.  Their task tonight is to look at the blog together with you and take you on a tour of the classroom (using the photos below as prompts).  They should be able to explain to you the routines both within the classroom, the hallway, out on the yard, etc.  An important part of your job tonight is to click on the 'follow by email' icon on the right side of the screen in order to sign up for blog updates. Please remember that you will be sent an email and you must open the email and confirm that you would like to receive updates....it is a 2 step process. Be sure to check your junk folder too as sometimes the confirmation email goes there... 

Breathe a sigh of relief. Your child (and you!) survived the first day of school! Please remember to ask them all about their day. I am sure they will be very tired.  I am so happy to be teaching your child this year. 

Mrs. Stratford