March 19, 2002 Video #2

 I decided that I needed to practice getting more comfortable doing videos so I have posted video #2 today.  I am working from home but don't worry I am healthy and I sure hope all of you are staying healthy too.  Spring Break is coming right away so take that time to have some fun with your family.  I will keep all your stuff safe at school until we get back. The classroom is clean and organized and all ready for us.  Have a great Spring Break and I will be in touch with everyone after the break.  Take care

Hello from Mrs. Cooper

Hello families, I have posted a little video below to say hi to the students.  I am missing all the students and hope everyone is staying healthy but also enjoying family time and getting outside to play. Hugs to everyone and see you soon. Take care!

March 15 - Learning Update

Language Arts:
Students have been reading one-on-one with Mrs. Cooper for the past few weeks to assess reading.  Once all the students have been assessed, I will be reorganize guided reading groups based on student's reading goals to restart guided reading groups after the break.  It is very important that your child continues to read at home every day for at least 15 minutes.  Ask your child what they are working on to improve their reading.  Parents can see a sample of their child's reading on IRIS as well as the goal their child has chosen to work on.

In writing, we completed our rough drafts for our letters about naming the RCMP puppies.  We will be working on writing our final copies this coming week.

Word Work - we have a short week this week but we will continue with a new set of words.  If your child is home this week, please have them work on these words following our daily schedule of word work.  Monday - list and sort and record, Tuesday - alphabetical order and Look Say Cover Write Check, Wednesday - 8 great sentences using the words from the list, Thursday - Practice.

Math: Last week the students continued to practice strategies for dividing and multiplying.  Your child should be able to show you at least 2 strategies to solve multiplication and division equations. This week, we will be working on subtracting 2 and 3 digits. This would be a great time to review and practice basic subtraction facts with your child. 

Science: We have completed our research and experiments for Hearing and Sound.  After the break we will begin learning about Rocks and Minerals.  If your child has a collection of rocks or special rock that they would like to share, please put their name on the rock before sending it to school. We will begin exploring what we already know about rocks and what we want to learn.  Students will make observations and do experiments to classify rocks and minerals. 

Social: The students completed their research on schools in Ukraine, Peru, India and Tunisia.  Students also picked one country to compare to schools in Canada using a Venn Diagram.  Beginning on Monday, students will research traditional clothing in the 4 countries and will create clothes for paper dolls to represent what they learn.

FIELD TRIP CHANGE

***********IMPORTANT NOTICE****************
We had to change our field trip to the Glenbow Museum to April 16th because we realize that April 9th was an early dismissal. We will be needing 4 volunteers for this field trip so please let Mrs. Cooper know if you are able to volunteer on April 16th.  THANK YOU

March 8 Learning Update

Language Arts: We are getting closer to the end of our read aloud Pages and Co.  As we are reading, students have been practicing synthesizing using their own schema with the information in the book to make inferences.  We have also been making many predictions and asking questions as we read the book.  Ask your child what book they would like to "book wonder" if they could.

It is very important that students continue to read at home every night for at least 15 minutes.  During and after reading ask your child what images they had in their head while reading, what predictions do they have for what will happen next and if their was any interesting vocabulary or new words. 

In writing, we have been doing a variety of graphic organizers to generate for opinion writing.  For each topic students wrote:
Opinion statement:
Reason 1:
Reason 2:
Reason 3:
Closing sentence:
The students are participating in a letter writing activity that will use the opinion writing graphic organizer to generate ideas about the best name for a RCMP puppy that starts with an "N".  Please see the link below for further information about this writing activity.  Each student will write a letter and then I will submit them all the the RCMP.

http://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/en/news/2020/name-the-puppy-2020-help-the-rcmp-name-newest-puppies

Word Work: This week the students will be working with words with a hard 'c' and a soft 'c'

Math: We have continued to work on building our understanding of multiplication and division with problem solving and games.  The students also did several thinking routines for It is, It isn't which has been a great review of number concepts we have explored throughout the year.

Science: We completed our Science stations for the Hearing and Sound experiments. The students practiced being able to follow procedures and draw conclusions based on the results of the experiments.  Ask your child what their favorite experiment was and what they learned from it.

Social Studies: As a whole group, we watched videos and read books about schools in India and Peru to add to our chart in our visual journal.  Next week we will research and make jot notes about schools in Tunisia. 

Gym: Basketball

March 1 - LEARNING UPDATE

READING: Please help your child to remember to return their February reading calendar.  The March calendar was handed out on Friday so your child should have one in their folder.  Daily home reading continues to be a very important for your child's growth in reading.  Please encourage your child to read for 15-20 minutes everyday and record it on the March calendar. I have been meeting with students one-one-one for reading assessments and the students are recording themselves reading and setting goals in IRIS. 

WRITING: Last week the students were using graphic organizers to write about various prompts that were provided to them.  One of the graphic organizers was used to support them in developing their ideas into paragraphs:
Topic Sentence:
Detail 1:
Detail 2:
Detail 3:
Closing Sentence:

MATH: The students have been using manipulatives to explore division.  They practiced putting a number of blocks into a know number of groups to find the number of blocks in each group.  They then practiced dividing the blocks into a known number in each group to find how many groups there are.  We will continue to work with both multiplication and division next week.  Students have also been working on daily thinking routines focusing on subtraction and numbers to 1000.

SCIENCE: We are continuing to explore hearing and sound with experiments.  The students practiced a simple experiment to discover how balloons can amplify sound.  Part of this first experiment was practicing how to write and record the hypothesis, materials, procedure and discoveries.  Next week, the students will rotate through centers to work in a small group doing various experiments.

SOCIAL: We continued our exploration of Ukraine and learned about the schools in Ukraine.  Students will continue to research and record their findings in their Visual Journal about schools in India, Peru and Tunisia.

PINK SHIRT DAY

To acknowledge Auburn Bay School’s participation in Pink Shirt Day tomorrow, February 26, and to continue the fight against bullying, students and staff will be encouraged to wear something pink. Pink became the color for standing up to bullying when two students in Nova Scotia stood up to bullying in their high school.  A student was bullied for wearing a pink shirt to school and these students showed their support for him by buying pink shirts and encouraging other students to wear them. 

Thank you for helping us to create an environment that is safe and supportive. Together we can make a difference.

February 24th Word work

Please see our list of words for word week below.  We also have sight words that the students added to their personal dictionary: didn't, morning, upon, wouldn't, won't

Field trips, Lion King, Pink Shirt Day

Field Trips

I will be looking for volunteers that are able to be very hands on in helping students completing tasks as well as guiding and delivering learning to small groups. I want to give lots of notice for upcoming field trips so that people can make arrangements. A reminder that you need to have a completed security check with the CBE as well as a completed volunteer session with Donna Diaz at Auburn Bay in order to volunteer. Please e-mail me directly if you are able to volunteer for either or both of these opportunities.

April 9th - Glenbow Museum for two programs; Rock Cycle and Our World, and What is this? (looking at story telling through artifacts).

May 28th - Calgary Zoo for two programs - Scutes, Scales and Slime and Teacher Guided Tour of the Savannah including artifacts.

Wednesday, February 26th - Anti-Bullying Day - Wear Pink 

All students are invited to wear something pink in support of this anti-bullying initiative.  We will be participating in a whole school activity on Wednesday morning with a focus on friendship. 

Lion King Set Design Club

 February 18th, 2020

Dear Parents and Guardians,   We are very excited to invite students in Grades 3 through 4 to join the Set Design Club of Auburn Bay’s Production of Disney’s, “The Lion King Kids.” If your son or daughter is interested in joining the Set Design Club, the form below will need to be filled out and returned to Ms. Koehler by Friday, February 28th^th, 2020. Your child must be picked up at the front entrance or permission must be given that they can walk home. Transportation is not provided from the school.
 The activities included will include gluing and painting. Please send a change of clothes if you are concerned with getting your child’s clothes dirty. This club is completely optional and if too many students wish to attend a draw will be made and individual students will be notified. Handing in this form does not guarantee that your child will be able to participate. It is, however, most important that you help your child understand the responsibility and commitment that comes with being part of a musical.  Excellent behaviour and good manners are expected. Every performer is needed at every rehearsal. It is also important that you explain to your child that the musical is a commitment that lasts from March 2020 – April 2020 and when getting closer to the performance date additional time after school may be needed. Please note there may be other extra-curricular clubs that come up from March – April. Please remind your child that if they join they may not quit to join the other clubs. ***The final production will take place on Thursday, April 30^th in the evening at the First Alliance Church. Ticket information will come out closer to the date*** We will send communication regarding rehearsals, and any other important information via email and the blog so please ensure your email address is clearly printed on the permission slip below. Should you have any questions regarding the Set Design Club please do not hesitate to contact me, makoehler@cbe.ab.ca.  Thank you in advance for your support and we are looking forward to embarking on this creative adventure together! Sincerely,Ms. Koehler and the Auburn Bay Staff   ***Return to homeroom Mrs. Koehler by Friday, February 28^th, 2020*** I have discussed the responsibilities, behaviour expectations and the importance of attending every rehearsal with my child. They understand that rehearsals take place after school every Wednesday, from 2:30-3:30 and that consistent attendance is necessary on their part.  As well, they will be in attendance at the final performance on April 30^th, 2020. I give my child ______________________________________________ permission to participate in the set design club for the time period of February 2020 – April 2020.                               (child’s first name and last name)
 Homeroom teacher _________________________                            Grade ___________________      Parent signature ______________________________                       Date _____________________ Email: ____________________________________________________________________(please print clearly) Phone Number: ____________________________________________________________ 

February 18

UPCOMING FIELD TRIPS:

We  have 2 more field trips booked this year so I am sending the dates early to allow parents to make arrangements if they are able to volunteer. 

Glenbow Museum: April 9

Calgary Zoo: May 28

WORD WORK WORDS:

GOAL SETTING 

The students picked a work sample today that they wanted to put on the bulletin board to show an area of their learning.  Each student wrote an I can.... statement about the work sample.  Tomorrow students will be setting goals that they will be working on over the next few weeks.  Ask your child what I can statement they wrote today and a goal they will be working towards. 

SCIENCE

Ask your child what can cause hearing damage and how we can protect our ears.  

February 10 HOMEWORK

India Story Writing:
We started working on writing the events for our India story.  We reviewed a checklist of what grade 3 writing needs to include.  Students worked on writing their first event.  Some students needed more time to complete this so it is homework.  If your child has their journal at home please have them write only the first event.  We will do the second event tomorrow.  It is very important that your child returns the journal tomorrow to continue with the story. Please see the check list below that the students referred to when editing their work.

Grade 3 Writing Expectations

- Spaces between each word and letters neatly printed between the lines

- Detailed sentences - not simple, no run on sentences

- Paragraphs with 5-8 sentences

- Descriptive words

- Punctuation - periods, exclamation marks, question marks 

- Proper use of capital letters

- Capitalize the word “I"

- Stay on topic

February 3-7

This Week at School
Monday10th, Tuesday11th & Wednesday12th - regular school days
Wednesday 12th - Valentine's Day Card Share (optional) / Grade 2/4 Talent Show 1pm
Thursday 13th & Friday 14th - NO SCHOOL ON THESE DAYS - Teacher Convention
Monday 17th - Family Day - No school

BOOK-A-DAY
Have your child tell you about one of the book-a-day books this past week and how they used a story planner graphic organizer to pull out different parts of the story (setting, characters, problem, solution, juicy words and three events). This activity will continue this week, We previously used a Mountain Climber graphic organizer to pick out different parts of Jan Brett stories. This learning will support students to understand and plan for a detailed story that includes all the above mentioned elements.

WRITING - India Stories
Students continued to work on their story about India.  We have completed a great beginning, characters, setting and the problem.  This coming week we will complete the events and conclusion. This story writing process includes many mini conferences with peers as well as myself. The stories are written to demonstrate students' learning of India through intentional setting, events, problem and solution and of course vocabulary! 

We will not have new words this coming week for word work with it being a short week.  We will do some focus work on adding 'ed' and 's' at the end of a word. 

Math 

Students continued to work on their no excuse multiplication times tables (0,1,2,3,4,5, 10 & 11).  Thank you to everyone for continuing to work on developing their child's recognition of basic addition, subtraction and multiplication facts through the use of cards, dice, games, etc. We have also been working on daily practices covering a variety of math concepts.  The students have worked on some problem solving throughout the week. for example: 

In basketball, a player can only score three-point baskets and two-point baskets. If a player scored 37 points what combinations of baskets could he have made. 

Science - Hearing & Sound -We completed our definitions for hearing and sound and will move on to learning about, sketching and labelling the parts of the human ear.  

Social - We rotated through different stations this week to explore a variety of aspects of Ukraine.  The students also completed an activity using Google maps to learn more about Ukraine. 

Gym - Skipping - Thank you for fundraising! An online $5 donation is rewarded with a skipping rope! It's all about Healthy Hearts!

HOMEWORK - February 3

The students started to write about the main character in their India story.  We learned that a character needs to be described using physical and personality traits to make it interesting.  The students are practicing describing their main character in an interesting way that connects to the story about India.  

Character

Physical Traits: What does the character look like

color of hair, color of eyes, skin, clothes, shoes, boy or girl(gender), freckles, glasses, jewelry, etc. 

Personality Traits: What kind of person they are

kind, caring, sad, shy, athletic, rude, helpful, like to play games, sassy, swimmer, friendly, tv/video games, lazy, energetic, bully, crazy, tired, funny, sick, smart, etc.

Please remind your child to complete the character description of the story.  Students have been asked to NOT write the whole story and to stop after describing their character.  We will be doing the next step, setting, tomorrow.  It is very important that your child brings back their journal to school tomorrow so we can continue with writing the story tomorrow. Thank you 

January 31, 2020

MATHEMATICS - Continuation of Multiplication and Introduction of Division

We are focusing on the 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 10, 11 multiplication facts. The students will begin to recognize the patterns/rules to be able to have quick recall of the facts.  We are focusing on these this week and then they will become what we are referring to as the "NO EXCUSE MULTIPLICATION FACTS".

How can you help at home?
- use one die, roll and then recall the double of the number shown (to help with the 2 times table)
- use flashcards (either homemade or bought, just take out the times tables that are being focused on)
- practice skip counting for each of 2, 3, 4, 5, 10, 11

OTHER WAYS TO SUPPORT YOUR CHILD IN MATH
- continue to practice borrowing and regrouping (2 digit by 2 digit, challenge to 3 digit by 3 digit) with both the stacking and number line methods.

WORD WORK THIS WEEK 

Word Study Week - Your child knows which color group that they are in. This was assessed at the beginning of the school year and then reassessed just before the winter break.
Monday - write out words and then place them into a sorting chart based on the spelling pattern/rule for the week, Tuesday - sort the words into alphabetical order, Wednesday - write five sentences using the word list, Thursday - practice spelling words using a variety of centers, Friday - quiz day. Next weeks list:




Social Studies - We have continued learning through story about the different celebrations and traditions of Ukraine. This week we will be using Google Maps to zoom in and explore the different areas of Ukraine. Students enjoyed doing this for India in November. This time around, students should be able to demonstrate their ability to use their computer skills along with mapping skills in order to examine the different regions and landforms.

Science - Hearing and Sound
Students have been engaged with learning definitions and watching videos about how sound is created. This week we will continue to explore and revisit pleasant and unpleasant sound, anatomy of the ear and protection of our ear.

Gym - Skip Rope for Heart - Forms were sent home on Thursday as well as an e-mail from Auburn Bay school explaining the process. Last year the school collected more than $17,000! We are hoping to surpass this amount this year! With just a $5.00 online donation, your child will earn a skipping rope!

ART -  Please send in any hammers ASAP that you can lend us for the next two weeks for a special project!

HOMEWORK

A few students have homework in writing tonight. We are moving on to start the great beginning of their story tomorrow so all the plans need to be completed.  The plan includes jot notes about the characters, setting, problem, 3 events and a solution.  The story needs to take place in India.  The events are connected to the problem and should be 3 separate events.  Remember the solution has to be different from the 3rd event.  Please remember to bring back your writing journal in the morning if you have homework. Thank you.

January 27, 2020

It's great to be back in the classroom teaching.  We worked today getting back into routine and reviewing work expectations.  The students were excited to use the yoga mats for mindfulness time after lunch today!

Word Work: please see the list below for the words we are doing this week.

Writing: We are continuing to work on our plan for our story about a trip to India.  The plan includes the setting, characters, problem, events and solutions.  We will be exploring how to make the events interesting by looking at several story samples and plotting the events on a 'mountain climb' chart. 

Math:  We learned a game called Don't Break the Bank which gives the students practice adding tens and ones.  We will be continuing with multiplication the rest of the week.

Social: The students shared what they have learned so far about Ukraine and then they brainstormed for wonders they still have about Ukraine - we a have a lot of questions to find the answers to! We completed a chart after reading 2 stories that took place in Ukraine.  

January 15 Update

Math: We are currently learning multiplication.  We have been practicing equations through the use of pictures, repeated addition and arrays.

We have also been focused on practicing problem solving, using questions that involve the use of arrays.

Example: Ants Marching   (Multiplication Arrays)   

Paradehttp://mathwire.com/problemsolving/thirdgradeparade.pdf

The ants are marching in the annual parade. There are 12 ants. They must march in equal rows and each row must have more than one ant.

·       Show all the different ways the ants can march in the parade.

·       How many different ways can they march? Explain your answer.

A great game for practicing multiplication math facts is Multiplication Miner under the abcya math site.

Writing: We are continuing to work on writing captivating beginnings.  The students have learned how actions and dialogue together with the use of descriptive words can make a more interesting story beginning.

Science: We have started a new Unit in Science on Hearing and Sound.

Social Studies: We have started learning about Ukraine. Last week we learned about how Ukrainian Christmas is on January 7^th.  We had an opportunity to act out a Ukrainian folktale with the Grade Threes in Mrs. MacQueen’s and Mrs. Ashby-Winter’s classes.  This week we have also been discussing the events around Chinese New Year and comparing them to the Canadian New Year.

We have started handwriting.  So far, we have learned the capital and lowercase letters for C and A.

The Lion King

We are very excited to invite students in Grades 1 through 4 to join the musical production of Disney’s “The Lion King Kids”

Rehearsals will begin on Tuesday, January 21st, 2020 and will continue to take place every Tuesday AND Thursday.  Students MUST bring their lunches on rehearsal days.  Rehearsals will take place from 11:45 – 12:15 every Tuesday and Thursday at lunch.

If your son or daughter is interested in performing in the musical, the on Mrs. Bourgeois blog will need to be filled out and returned to the Mrs. Bourgeois by Friday, January 17th, 2020. 

***The final production will take place on Thursday, April 30th in the evening at the First Alliance Church. Ticket information will come out closer to the date***

Should you have any questions regarding the musical please do not hesitate to contact me hmbourgeois@cbe.ab.ca.  Thank you in advance for your support and we are looking forward to embarking on this musical adventure together!

Cheers,
Mrs. Bourgeois and Auburn Bay Staff

Phys Ed - Gymnastics

Students will be studying gymnastics during Phys Ed from Tuesday, January 7^th till Thursday, January 24^th.

*Please wear clothing that is easy to move in and comfortable. Sweats and a t-shirt are great clothing options (Remembering not to have TOO loose of a top on)

*Please try to avoid dresses or skirts 

*If you have long hair please try your best to have it in a ponytail so that it does not go in your face