It was a beautiful caroling assembly today and it really made it feel like Christmas! The Grade Four classes learned the lyrics to Mariah Carey's "All I Want For Christmas Is You" and we sang along to the picture book. Today, we watched the movie together and munched on the lovely food that you sent in! There was just the perfect amount of the perfect food. And, the children were in love with the marshmallow snowmen that Cadence and her mom made! It really was a special morning in Room 14! I want to thank you all for the gift your children have been showering me with all week. The Starbucks, chocolate, crafts and cards are so thoughtful and heartwarming. Today, I received a class gift that was filled with so much love. There was a class photo and a set of the best smelling candles ever! There was also a generous gift card. Thank you all so very much! It is deeply appreciated and will be so much fun to use. Thank you to Kelly Way for organizing it and for organizing the food for today. Merry Christmas to all of those that celebrate and I hope that everyone has a very safe and happy Winter Break. The first day back for students is Tuesday, January 8.
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Today we met with our buddy class and taught them how to make a little hat! I am so impressed with how much this class cherishes their buddies. I am also surprised with how much they like to make little hats! They delivered their holiday wishes letters to the Grade Twos too. We had a caroling assembly this afternoon and the Grade Fours led the Mariah Carey Song "All I Want For Christmas IS You". It has been made into an adorable picture book about a girl wanting a puppy for Christmas. We learned who Ruben Goldberg was and the history of the machines that he liked to design. Students loved seeing him and hearing his speak. Here is the link to the video we watched. (We did skip part of the middle out because it was more about perpetual motion than Rube's machines) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O4GxlDvA2KM We talked about how screwdrivers are wheel and axle simple machines. The force on the large end translates into a greater force and mechanical advantage on the smaller end. We compared screwdrivers to doorknobs too. Here are some links we have used over the last couple of months that the students have been asking for: The Lemonade Machine : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Av07QiqmsoA Hot Wheels Race: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vNds3PIBqnQ Hot Wheels Behinds the Scenes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X6cC_n1lr4U Reminders:
As part of our Waste In Our World science unit, we will be examining over-packaged products. Over the holidays, students are challenged to find, save and bring to school examples of products that have much more packaging than needed. We will collect these examples and write some respectful emails to companies offering suggestions about how to make their packaging more environmentally friendly. Here is a good example: The tiny pair of solid earrings was wrapped in a tiny plastic envelope and then placed into a large bubble envelope. The bubble envelope was put in a cardboard box with several inflated air pockets. True story.
The over-packaged products are not limited to one that has come in the mail. It could be an item like Crayola Twistable pencil crayons with their plastic holders and spring mechanisms or candy like Push Pops, Juicy Drop Pops and Baby Bottle Pops with their thick plastic cases that look like toys to attract children. In current events, and coincidentally also math (wink, wink), we took a look at what it takes to be considered a white Christmas in Calgary. Turns out there needs to be a minimum of 2cm of snow on the ground. We studied this graph: We discussed how it represents data in a visual and friendly way. It captures our interest and contains a lot of information. It has a title so we know what we are looking at, a legend so we know what the symbols mean and a simple iconic symbol so it is clear and easy to read. The only thing that changes with the symbol is the colour.
We then took a look at the weather report. Christmas Day forecast will not be up until tomorrow. Students are still optimistic that there is hope for snow! Here is the link to the White Christmas news story: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/white-christmas-southern-alberta-calgary-1.4948921?fbclid=IwAR29OVn-mgB1nlacezYZNwmc7Ou-lXWwBq5HSfd77P2Zb-wBXtVRo2wl_EY Here is the link to Environment Canada weather at COP https://weather.gc.ca/city/pages/ab-61_metric_e.html In language arts, we wrote Christmas/seasonal/holiday letters to our Grade 2 buddies. You child may have brought it home as homework if they did not complete it in class We are going to visit them tomorrow morning so it needs to be ready. Mrs. Adams joined our class for the morning today so we had lots of extra hands to help us with our hat factory! Everyone practiced making cute little hats so that when we get together with our buddies on Wednesday morning, we can teach them how to create their own! Your child will have theirs with them today. We talked about homophones today in Language Art, those pesky words that sound the same but have different meanings. Students created a booklet about to, too and two and they're, there and their and our/are. We received our class photo today. Check your child's backpack for an envelope. Reminders:
Here is our Beakerhead challenge and submission! It was Ms. Talion's last day official day today and we were sad to see her go. We wish her all the best with her last semester at university and final practicum.
Have a wonderful weekend! We finished Rube Goldberg machines and they were amazing! Our Grade 2 buddy class came to see them and the Grade 4s were so proud to show them how they worked. We finished the dioramas today too and they came out beautifully! Tomorrow, we will finish the Beakerhead challenge! That will complete the three design challenges that we had this week. Reminders:
Today was a busy one! Students worked enthusiastically on their Rube Goldberg machines. We took breaks for gym, French and the Winter Concert dress rehearsal. Reminders:
Ms. Talion's time with us is coming to an end this week. She took on the challenge of teaching the full day today. She started with a more complex version of I Have Who Has as an energizer in math. Students flew through cards such as: After gym, students continued to work on blueprints for their Rube Goldberg machines. The machines are required to have at least four of the simple machines that students have been learning about in the wheels and levers unit of study. They worked in small groups to design and then test some of the components that they will use tomorrow. Tomorrow is build day and students will put it all together and share it with the class. There is much enthusiasm for this project! The afternoon was all about building the dioramas. Students are engaged in this activity and they are coming out well! Here are some pictures of the work in progress: Reminders:
Homework Links:
For extra practice with numeration, here are some links: http://www.math4.nelson.com/quizzes/math4quizzes/m4ch2l5.htm http://www.math4.nelson.com/quizzes/math4quizzes/m4ch2l4.htm It was great to see everyone at interviews on Thursday and Friday. The students were very excited to share all of their work with you!
The Me to We club is sponsoring several fun spirit days from now until the holidays. This week, Thursday is Candy Cane Day so students, remember to wear red and white. Friday is holiday headwear day so students are invited to sport their favourite holiday hat. Me to We is raising money for the Me to We's WE Villages Program and they are asking students to bring in a loonie or toonie when participating in festive theme days. Bring in some change and let's make a change! Have a wonderful weekend! Reminders:
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Karen Cooper
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