September 19–23

Hello everyone,

I'm very excited to be starting my 4th year at Peace Arch Elementary. I'm looking forward to an amazing year to end your child's elementary school experience.

This year you will see some changes in the reporting system. Freshgrade is no longer supporting Canadian schools as it has been purchased exclusively for a school in the United States. What does this mean for report cards? The school district is promoting a new online portfolio site called spaces. I have been selected to attend a training session to fully understand how this new site will work for teachers, students and parents. I'm looking forward to working with you as we navigate this new reporting system.

This Week

Monday 19th – Day off to observe the passing of Queen Elizabeth II

Tuesday 20th – Terry Fox permission forms due (Students are asked to bring in $2)

Wednesday 21st –

Thursday 22nd – Meet the Teacher night (6 – 7pm)

Friday 23rd – Terry Fox Run @12:50 (gr. 4-7 running through the community)

Language Arts

Read to me – I will get to know about your child's strengths and areas that need improving by doing one-to-one reading with them this week. After this week we will doing group reading work where we focus on specific areas to help us improve our reading and comprehension skills. We will also be reading different literature throughout the term that will help us with our reading strategies and our understanding of what we are reading.

Spelling – Students will be looking at enhancing their vocabulary and phonetic awareness by studying a section of words throughout the week, learning the definition and how to use it in context. On Friday we will have a spelling check in where students will check in to see if they can write the word and accompanying sentence. Here are this week's sentences below:

1. The soccer team bought new equipment this year.

2. Juan and his brother had a heated argument over the chores.

3. Mrs. Carson’s science class conducted an experiment on solar energy.

4. My sister is an excellent driver in snowy weather.

5. Kara played the part of Juliet’s servant in

Romeo and Juliet.

6. It was not convenient for Chris to meet us after school, so we’ll meet Saturday instead.

7. The treaty promised a permanent peace between the two countries.

8. It was a pleasant day for a picnic in the park.

Writing – Students have been working on a piece of writing that mimics the style of Roger Hargreaves (Mr. Men and Little Miss Books) Students will be editing their stories for grammar, punctuation and honing their skills as story tellers. They will also peer edit other students work to practice their editing skills as well as learning how to deliver constructive criticism.

Technology – Students will have the chance to take their writing off the pages and create their books on an online program called story jumper. This program helps them plan out the pages and illustrations that will accompany their story.

Math

This week we will continue to look at the Cartesian Plane, ordered pairs, plotting points and designing within quadrants.

Cartesian Plane / Coordinate Grid online games

Videos

What is the Cartesian Plane

What is the Cartesian Coordinate System

Social Studies

For the next 2 weeks we will be exploring the following statement "Media sources can both positively and negatively affect our understanding of important events and issues"

Sample topics:

– ownership of media

– propaganda

– editorial bias

– sensationalism

– freedom of the press

Key questions:

– How does the media influence public perception of major events?

– Are some media sources more trustworthy than others? Explain your answer.