Hello Families of Fabulous 4/5s,

We have been learning about wetlands in science. We are creating an informational cube to help us teach each other about different types of wetlands. We have been learning about animal food chains in the wetlands. We also wrote riddles about different animals.  We will be sharing our learning on Iris (stayed tuned for more information in the coming week).

We have been learning about gorillas and are now using the internet to help us create posters to display all the information we have learned.

We are playing different games with our friends in math.  We are learning place value.  We finished learning about patters.  We drew a giraffe to help show animals that have patterns in them.  We learned the 3 different ways to write numbers.  We write them in written form (one hundred twenty-three), standard form (123) and expanded form (100 + 20 +3).  We have also used dice to play games, we try to beat the teacher in math (ask me how).

In Physical Education we are playing different tag games and playing badminton. We play RPS Tag, Line Tag, Octopus Tag, British Bulldog Tag.

We have been learning about the land with Ms. Watkins.  We walked over a kilometer last week to help us learn about the land. We learned about Charlie Windjack.  He tried to walk home but due to hunger, cold and no water he didn't make it. It taught us about Residential Schools and their impact on Indigenous People.

Mrs. Mahon wants you to know that Parent/Teacher Conferences are online next Thursday evening and Friday morning.  You will be able to go online to MyCBEAccount to book a time when you would like to chat with her about our learning.  

Mrs Mahon's Grade 4/5 Class

 Happy Friday Families,

This week we have been learning about Terry Fox.  We used what we learned to write about our heroes.  A hero is someone who is a survivor, ordinary, someone who helps, creative, fun, someone who motivates you to do what you love, and is a fighter (in a good way). We finished off the week by participating in our own Terry Fox Run.  We ran over 1 and a half kilometers this morning.

We learned about Orange Shirt Day as well this week. We spent time with Ms. Watkins and she helped us learn about the meaning behind Orange Shirt Day. We read Shi-Shi Etko and When I was Eight to help us learn and understand more about Residential Schools and Reconciliation. We made our own memory bags and drew pictures of what is most important to us, as well, we wrote about how we might feel if we had to leave our families. 

In math we have learned about probability.  We use words to help us: likely, unlikely, equally likely, certain, impossible, possible. We were able to make our own spinners and come up with our own data to help us.

In art we drew our heroes, gorillas and canoes. We were able to draw our own shirt and it helped us talk about what school should be like.

We play a lot of non contact tag games in Phys. Ed.  Next week we will be doing other fun activities both inside and outside depending on the weather.

In health we are learning about feelings and how they impact us others around us.

We had our first practice/fire drill this week as well.  We did fabulous.

To finish off every afternoon we share about our favorite part of the day in our circle time.

Have a great weekend and stay tuned for more next week.

Mrs. Mahon's Marvelous Monsters

 Happy Friday,

Another week has passed and we have had 4 fabulous days of learning this week.  I hope that you are all enjoying the little bit of extra time you get to spend together.

We have finished up our graphing unit in math, and will be moving on to probability.  When they come home next week, don't forget to ask them about their learning.

In writing, we have continued to learn about gorillas and have begun learning about different rules when writing.  We have started with learning about the apostrophe.  Ask them when we use an apostrophe, and see what they remember.  We will continue with this throughout the year. Next week we will be writing about Orange Shirt Day.  It is on September 30.

In social studies we will be learning all about Terry Fox and what he did. We have also learned about the map of Canada, what is on our borders and the 10 provinces and 3 territories.  When we move forward we will learn all about Canada's and Alberta's history.

Wetlands is the focus in science. We are learning about the types of wetlands and will be learning about the animals that live in wetlands and their adaptations to live and survive. We also had a wonderful time have Inside Education join our classroom through Google Meet on Monday to share information on wetlands.

Scholastic book orders went home this week. Things look different as orders are now done online for all parents.  If you go to scholastic.ca, click on the link on the left hand side that is labeled "Parents New to Learning Club", it will guide you through making an account. Books you order for your child will now be shipped directly to your house.

Have a fabulous weekend, and I can't wait to see my wonderful students on Monday.

Mrs. Mahon

First Blog of the 20/21 School Year - Room 16

 Hi,

We have been learning about wetlands in science.  Wetlands have water and soil underneath it. There are wetlands in the middle of Canada around the Hudson Bay. Swampy wetlands are covered in trees. Wetlands is a safe place for animals to live.

We are learning about graphing in math.  We have done bar graphs, line graphs and we are learning about calendars and dates.

We have been learning about gorillas. Koko was a Lowland gorilla that could speak ASL (American Sign Language). We have learned a little bit of sign language ourselves. Koko learned her sign language from Francine Patterson. Koko was born on July 4, 1971 and died in her sleep on June 19, 2018. Gorillas are 98% genetically connected to humans. They eat bamboo, thistles and bugs. Gorillas can also get human diseases. Silverback gorillas are the leaders of the troops.

We are learning to draw different animals like frogs, gorillas and fish.  We learned to draw trees.  We are hoping to get outside more often to draw what we see in nature as we learn to protect and care for it.

We participate in modified circle time by sharing how our day went and other things we want our classmates to know.

In social we have been learning about the continents, and what borders the country of Canada. Next we will be learning about the provinces and territories.  We have had many discussions about what it means to be Canadian, and what we thought about what Canada is.

We are learning about friendships and respect.

In Phys Ed we have been playing Shadow RPS tag outside on the hill. We have learned to pass and trap a soccer ball, learning to not use our hands at all. 

Just a reminder, there is no school tomorrow, Friday, September 18, 2020.  

Stay tuned next week for an update from Room 16.

Mrs. Mahon's Marvelous Masked Monsters :)

Update

Hello Friends and Families,

It has been an awesome week.

We have planned and researched meals on flyers, and then priced out what it would cost to feed 4 people for under a day.  We used a limit of $100.00 and the students were really engaged in the activity and really excited to be able to add and subtract decimals.

We edited our writing a bit, did some free writing and learned more about the figures of speech (synonyms, antonyms and homonyms) from our wonderful Ms. Reid.

We have done more directed drawings of animals this week and learned how to draw a sea turtle and a sloth.  We are both creative and imaginative.

We began building/creating our 3D sections of our maps of Alberta and Canada in Social Studies.  It has been a fun-filled, creative learning experience.  We can't wait to show you what we have learned on the 19th/20th.

We have a field trip coming up on March 16th for the morning only.  Forms went home yesterday, are due back by the 13th and we need 2 - 3 volunteers from our classroom. Please let me know if you can.

Parent/Teacher Conferences are coming up on the 19th and 20th of March.  Please book in as soon as you can as time slots fill up fast, especially on Thursday.  If you are unable to book online, please let me know and I will help.

Have a great weekend.

Mrs. Mahon

Happy Tuesday,

It has been a while since our last blog, but be prepared, it will begin happening more often as the students will be doing the official blog 2 - 3 times per week starting next week.

We continue reading daily in Guided Reading. 

In music, we are doing bucket drumming.  We are learning to count beats and rhythm.  Did you know that chocolate milk and potato chips can help us keep the beat?  It is pretty cool.  We might learn to play the recorder soon.

In Mathematics we are learning about money.  We have been shopping with flyers and are learning how to add and subtract different totals of money.

According to Waleed we learn all about electricity in Science.  We are learning how to build circuits using a Snap Circuit kit.  We created circuits that make a siren sound, and one that sings Happy Birthday.  Today we learned about opening and closing circuits.

In Phys. Ed we are playing badminton. We are hoping to soon play games.

Ms. Reid, our student teacher is reading a book about word play titled, The Phantom Tollbooth.  We are learning about synonyms, homonyms, homophones and eventually antonyms. 

In writing we learned about fireflies and what is causing them to be endangered.  The paragraphs we wrote will soon be available for you to read on IRIS. 

In Classroom Champions we have set long and short term goals.  We hope to achieve them as the year progresses.

In Social Studies we are continuing to learn about the regions of Canada and Alberta.  We will start building our 3D maps tomorrow.  You will be able to see them at Parent/Teacher Conferences on the 19th and 20th of March.

We are having a half day (fully funded) field trip on March 16th. It will take place from 8:30 - 12:00 PM at the Arts Commons in downtown Calgary.  We need at least 7 volunteers to make this a successful trip.  If you have a current police clearance and can take the time, please let Mrs. Mahon know as soon as possible.

Stay tuned for notices for both the field trip and parent/teacher conferences.

Mrs. Mahon and her Munchkins from Room 16

2 great weeks of learning

Hello Families,

The students in room 16 have had 2 amazing weeks of learning.  We have enjoyed learning about fractions in math, we have learned about friendships, respect and being our best selves.  In writing we are learning about paragraph writing, and also creating new friends across the ocean.  We have a chance to communicate with pen pals in Japan.  We are learning about electricity and circuits in science.

We have had the pleasure of learning from Elder Shirley Hill these past 2 weeks.  She has shared with us her knowledge, ways of knowing, understanding and reflections.  We participated in discussions around nature and natural resources, the land and dancing.  The learning experiences had by all will be remembered for a very long time to come.

There is no school for students today, tomorrow or Monday.  We will see them back on Tuesday for a regular, full day of learning.

Ms. Helen Dang will be in our classroom for the next week starting on Tuesday as Mrs. Mahon is away for the week. 

We are still looking for recyclables to help us with our map creation.

Thank you for raising wonderful students, and let's have another great week of learning.

Mrs. Mahon and her Room 16 Munchkins