Today we worked on a STEAM challenge. We used only cardboard, markers, and scissors to construct a freestanding 3D tree. Students were given the option to work alone, with a partner or in a group.

 

 

 

"We put a slit on top and did it to all the other pieces of cardboard and fitted it all together."

"We cut slits in triangles and put a circle base. It stands up perfectly!"

"To make it we used a square piece of cardboard to make the base and curved another piece that we hooked together with a piece of cardboard with slits in it."

"My tree is made out of cardboard. I cut 2 triangles and a slit on the top and a slit on the bottom so it would fit together. I had to build a second version because in the first one I cut the slit too low."

"We cut a flat tree and then curved a piece of cardboard to make a base that could make it stand up."

"We started with one plan and it broke so we tried another plan, so we tried another one and it didn't work, and so we built this one. It doesn't stand up well. It needs to be more stable."

"What I did was take a big piece of cardboard and started cutting lots and lots of stars and stacked flat starts on a post of cardboard."

"For my tree I cut a circle and cut 2 pieces of cardboard. I cut a slit and put the two pieces together. Finally, I cut 4 triangle pieces and leaned them against the centre to make it look like a tree."

"We started by trying to build a stand at the bottom, and then we changed it to this. We put notches in both of the triangles and used a cardboard flower at the top. If you take the flower out if collapses."

"I cut out 3 triangles to make it look like a Christmas tree and then I worked to find out how they could lean against each other to stand up. If I had more time I would cut out little triangles to make it more realistic."

Reminders: 
- Students are dismissed at 11:45 tomorrow for the Winter Break
- Conferences Thursday evening and Friday morning
- Carolling Thursday morning at 8:20, families are welcome to join us.

Our day was filled with song today! This morning the DMCS Jazz Band came and did a performance for the whole school and then the Grade 4's were treated to a special post-performance sharing from the band. Ms. Manning showed us the instruments and told us about some of the amazing Music related opportunities we will have a chance to participate in when we move to DMCS next year!

In PE Ms. Nanavaty got us moving in a Dance Play warm up and then we played a game. 

If you have not yet booked a conference please try to find a time to come in. We have been busy working on projects about regions of Alberta and we are all excited to show our families our hard work!

Reminders:

- Popcorn snack tomorrow

- Early dismissal and Conferences on Thursday

- No school and Conferences on Friday

Happy Monday!

It was a messy Monday in Grade 4. We were busy working on Art projects using paint, clay, pastels, etc.

In the morning we had carolling and  a few students from our class were invited to lead The 12 Days of Christmas actions. They did a fantastic job!

In math we read a book about Mystery Math - Algebra and learned more about balancing equations. We did a test on missing numbers and 14 students got it perfect!

We read some more of our novel and learned Nikolas was going to live with the elves and be called Father Christmas. A funny part was when Blitzen reacted to Aunt Carlotta's bad treatment of Nikolas - ask us what he did!

We have climbed 1926km up Mount Everest in Ms. Nanavaty's challenge. Be sure to be on time to help the Yeti reach his destination!

Reminders:
-Early dismissal and conferences on Thursday
-No school and conferences on Friday
-Winter break starts for students at 11:45 on Thursday!
-Popcorn snack is on Wednesday
-DMCS band performance tomorrow at 10:30 (families are invited to attend)

Fantastic Friday!

Today during our sharing circle time we had a chance to share some of the things we are grateful for, things we liked the most about this week, and share some warm fuzzies with the people who made us feel special this week. We also had a chance to reflect on our year so far and celebrated all of our hard work. Our class is such a special group it was heartwarming to hear them share how much they appreciate "a good education", "clean water and having food to eat", and how their classmates "helped me out". They really are growing up - just like our pumpkin seedlings that came home today!

*Report cards were sent home today. Please return the white envelope and book a conference time for next week.

Today we continued work on our Animal projects. They are fabulous! Most of us have finished our animal writing to go with this and are excited to share what we have been working on with you next week.

Thank you families who ordered Fun Lunch it was a nice treat. Next week is a popcorn snack, orders due by Friday.

Reminders:
- No school next Thursday afternoon or Friday.
- Conference booking opens today.
- Please send appropriate clothing for outdoor play.

Today we spent some time working on our animal's of Alberta projects and they are starting to look amazing! We solved some missing number equations and continued to work on math that was unfinished in our books.  A few of us got to work on new word problems because we were all caught up!


During snack today we had a chance to explore a story map about Ivvavik National Park, located in the Canadian Yukon. This story map allowed us to see photographs taken by wildlife cameras. It was surprising to see the diverse population and landscapes of this remote region of Canada. You can check it out following this link: 

http://arcg.is/0X8WyX

Reminders:
- Fun Lunch on December 19 needs to be ordered by midnight on Friday
- Carolling next week - Santa hats welcome!
- Conference booking opens tomorrow
- Report cards home this Friday

Today in math we worked on filling in missing numbers in addition and subtraction equations. It was tricky because many of the questions involved borrowing and regrouping. Lots of mental math strategies were involved in solving these!

In Literacy time we learned about Homophones - words that sound the same but have different meanings. We read a book called Dear Deer.

Reminders:

- Christmas carolling will be happening next week. Students are welcome to wear Santa hats, etc.

- Next Thursday is early dismissal with conferences that evening and Friday, December 21st

- Report Cards come home Friday. Don't forget to book a conference. Please let Mrs. Cose know if you will not be able to come in.

Today we got together with our buddies. We had the chance to read some holiday or high interest books with our friends. It was amazing to see our Grade 4's be such good "big" friends to their buddies. We were helping their friends read, talk about the story and even explaining things like constellations that were found in the books.

Reminder that tomorrow is a PD day. No school!

See you tonight at Warm Feet for the Street!!

We started our day with a Dance party to get our heart rate up. Ms.Nanavaty is challenging our school to climb Mount Everest. Today we got 198km towards our goal. Make sure your child is on time for school so they can help us reach our goal.

Some people started typing their animal writing in GoogleDocs. We are working really hard to make our writing make sense and tell about both the animal and the region it lives in. We started planning projects to go with our writing. Some materials we are going to need are:

- shoe boxes
- modeling clay
- fabric
- rocks
- twigs
- sand
- felt

Reminders:
- Book orders due tomorrow
- Warm Feet for the Street tomorrow 6 - 7:30
- Poinsettia pick up tomorrow 6 - 8:00
- No school on Friday

Today we started working on a descriptive writing piece about an animal from Alberta. All of the hard work we have done this term on developing our skills was evident not only in our writing stamina (we wrote for 45 minutes!!) and in the details we are including in our writing. For example:

-  "As I walk on the moss I feel the soft and scratchiness." TA
- "All the beautiful landforms are my home, but I mainly sit on a tree looking for my prey." KS
- "On the mountain the Bow River streams downhill from the Bow Glacier." NH
- "Weasels kill prey up to half their own body length."KM

In Math we worked on solving equations with missing numbers. We discussed how using our knowledge of fact families could help us solve these. For example, ___ + 45 = 345 could also be 345-45 = ___ .

Reminders:
We play outside every day. Please send appropriate clothing for us to have fun in the snow. Also we MUST have both indoor and outdoor footwear for our day at school.

Monday Monday!

Today we did a math test that involved missing numbers for example 4537 - ____ = 32. Finished our poinsettia art with chalk pastels, and did animal research. In our novel today, Nikolas decided to leave home after Aunt Carlotta fed him turnip soup (made from his doll).

In our Eyeopener we learned about SYNONYMS and ANTONYMS. Did you know synonyms are words that have similar meanings but are spelled differently (big, giant, huge, large) and antonyms are words that mean the opposite (hot/cold, good/bad, silly/serious). In one of our literacy centres we are making Synonym Buns :)

When we made our December calendar we found out about some important dates, check out this photos to see what we have to look forward to in the next few weeks.

Reminders:
- Book orders due Wednesday
- Warm Feet for the Street evening THIS Thursday.

Today we got together with our Grade one buddies for the first time! We worked with them to create some candy cane art. It was nice to have a chance to work with new friends and see all of the beautiful patterns they were able to create.

Reminders:
- Warm Feet for the Street collections needed. Evening celebrations next Thursday
- Fun lunch next week
- Book orders due Thursday

Happy Thursday!

This morning we continued working on some poinsettia art. This project will take a few steps. Yesterday we worked on sketching and today added glue to outline our flowers. A few of us were surprised when our outlines "disappeared" when dry. Stay tuned for some pics of the results!

Today we continued researching our animal and the Alberta region it lives in. Next week we will begin writing using our notes and start on some projects. Kids talk to your families about your animal and where it lives. What kind of project do you think you could create to showcase what you have learned??

If you are looking for a fun way to countdown to Christmas follow this link for a yoga advent calendar. Starts on December 1st :) Cosmic Kids Advent

Reminders:
- Book orders due Wednesday
- Warm Feet for the Street donations are being collected. Stuff a sock night is next Thursday!
- Plant orders will be available for pick up next Thursday
- A&W Fun lunch orders need to be placed ASAP.

Warm Feet for the Street

Great items to donate are:

• soap
• toothbrush/toothpaste
• lip balm
• travel sized: shampoo/conditioner, deodorant, razors
• Tim Horton’s gift card
• Bus tickets

The event is on December 6 from 6:00 to 7:30. If you are still wanting to come, it is $5 per family to stuff a sock. Please make sure you RSVP by December 3rd!

Thank you for your support as we work together to help others in need. 

From: The Grade Twos

Today we started researching Animals of Alberta, focussing on the region the animal lives in. Each student has chosen a different animal for their project. Families you can look forward to seeing the results of this research and the related artifacts we create at conferences in a month. To help us with the artifacts we are seeking donations of cardboard boxes, yarn, clay, etc.

We had a math test today to see how we were doing with addition and subtraction. Most of us did well and are ready to try some new challenges. A reminder to families that reviewing basic facts is a beneficial activity for everyone, as we begin to work with larger numbers counting on our fingers is a slow inefficient strategy when adding to 18.

FYI-
- photos orders were sent home today
- book orders sent home today
- donations for Warm Feet for the Street are needed.
- Warm feet for the Street night next Thursday

This week we explored Owl Pellets in our Wonder station.

We completed our research on the six regions of Alberta and chose animals to study starting next week. Ask your child which animal they chose and what region it can be found in.

In Math talked about subtraction and the different strategies we can use to solve 16-7. We came up with six different strategies, can you think of more?

Reminders:
- No school tomorrow
- containers and soil are needed for our pumpkin plants
- cardboard boxes are needed for an upcoming project

We started our day today with a Word Scramble. It was a tricky one and no one figured out the 'Mystery Word'. Can you figure it out?

a b c i n o r s t t u

In our novel today we read about a secret package that was lost and then found. We made lots of predictions about what this package might hold. Such as: war plans, photographs, secret documents, instructions, etc. Number the Stars has really inspired us to think about life in another place and time!

We had a special visit from some students from Grade 2. They were reminding us about Warm Feet for the Street. This is our 3rd annual collection in support of the Mustard Seed. Any donations are much appreciated by those in need.

Reminders:

- Donations for Warm Feet for the Street are needed!

- Christmas plant orders are due tomorrow

- Fun Lunch tomorrow

- No school Friday

Today we worked on some writing about a Big Horned Sheep. Did you know that these animals live in the Rocky Mountain region of Alberta? They have amazing eye sight and can see up to 1 km away! If you want to know if you are looking at a male or female big horned sheep you look at their horns. Males have large horns that curl all the way around, females and young have shorter horns.

In math we have been working on solving word problems involving addition of numbers to 10000. We are using estimation and opposite operation to check our work!

Reminders:
- Plant order forms are due by Thursday!
- Donations for Warm Feet for the Street are being collected. Mark your calendars! Our family "stuff a sock" night is December 6th.
- Fun Lunch Thursday
- PD Day Friday, No School

Lost and Found

Our Lost and Found collection has quite a few long term residents, which are looking to return to their owners.  Please take a look at the photos below and see any items may belong to your child.  On November 30th, the items remaining will be donated.