Ms. Swinton's Class

It was wonderful to see so many students wearing orange shirts today to acknowledge and honour the lasting impact of residential schools. We spent time reading stories about Orange Shirt Day and residential schools and reflecting on what school should  feel like, how students of residential schools might have felt, and what we can do to help with reconciliation. More information and activities can be found on the Orange Shirt Day website , in order to continue this important conversation at home. We also started working on rounding numbers in Math and creating a visual journal page in Language Arts that will represent our individual understanding of and reflections on 39 Clues: The Maze of Bones . We also continued to work with numbers in French. Overdue Assignments: Time Capsules Wetland Questions Description of Wetlands notetaker and definition Wetland Field Trip Reflection Personality Swirl Art Important Dates: Sunrise/Sunset Art: Due Friday, October 4

Students participated enthusiastically in the Terry Fox Run today in spite of the less than ideal weather conditions. It was impressive to see the dedication and zeal that they brought to the run, even in the snow! Altogether our class completed a remarkable 83 laps towards Terry's goal, and we are eager to hear what our whole school total is! We are also excited to learn how much money the students were able to raise for the Terry Fox Foundation towards cancer research. Donations will still be accepted early next week, so please feel free to continue sending in money if you haven't already but would like to! It was also nice for students to have the opportunity to hear from a cancer survivor and cancer pathologist first hand! I think listening to  Kelly Guggisberg's own experiences with cancer really helped to personalize this terrible disease and the amazing advancements that have been made in its treatment. We appreciate her taking the time

We have had a really fun Thursday! The highlight of the day for most of the class was, of course, our first Positive Choices reward! Students have worked hard this month and shown lots of kindness, leadership, and work ethic, and have certainly earned this celebration! We had fun showing off our pjs and stuffies, building blanket forts, and having free time on the computers! Students were also excited to discover that we are already halfway towards our next Positive Choices reward! Keep up the great work! Some student thoughts on our reward: “The Positive Choices reward was so great! We get to do it all over the year, all different, all better!” “I was really excited for it and I could barely stop moving I was so excited. I love Prodigy; it’s such a fun game!” We also had fun in Math today, playing the Guinness World Records game in partners. We played this number game on Monday as a full class, but today was our first opportunity to play in pairs, allowing each studen

Today we spent most of our time continuing with work that we had begun earlier this week or the week before, including our wetland plant and animal research, maps of Canada, and wetland watercolour artwork. Today was also the first fun lunch of the year, and the fun lunch leaders were very excited to get to help by handing out students' ordered items in various classes. If you didn't order fun lunch for today but would like to participate in future lunches, you can still do so through Healthy Hunger's online site. Important Reminders: I am still  missing beginning of the year forms for some students. These forms are now a couple of weeks overdue, and it is imperative for the office to get them as soon as possible. We would appreciate your support in completing and returning any missing forms right away. Thank-you! Tomorrow is our first Positive Choices reward! All students in our class will get some free time on the computer, and students are welcome to wear pajamas

Today in Math we used some impressive numbers from the Guinness World Records to practice comparing large numbers as well as sharpening our number sense, use of place value, and representing numbers in words. Ask your child about the game we played! In French, we're continuing to work with numbers , focusing today on writing numbers in words. Some of us have finished up responding to our September quote  in Language Arts, and it will be unfinished work for the remainder of the students.  39 Clues: The Maze of Bones , the novel we're reading together as a class, has hit a very exciting moment, and we're eager to find out what happens next! In Science, we started researching a plant and animal from each of the three wetland zones , exploring their physical appearance, location, life cycle, adaptations, and place in the food web. We will continue this research as the week goes on. Important Dates: Description of Wetlands notes and definitions:  Overdue    Kernels and

Today we continued our work around place value in Math and numbers in French. Students are encouraged to practice their French numbers at home. Here are a helpful song we listened to in class and a list of numbers that might be useful for practice at home. We also paired up with our grade 2 buddies from Ms. Fosier's class for the first time today, and are eager to work more with them throughout the year. In Language Arts, we spent time reflecting on our monthly quote for September , and we tied some Science into Art by beginning wetland landscape scenes using watercolour crayons. Students are encouraged to join the grade one classes in wearing fall colours tomorrow. Important Dates: Description of Wetlands notes and definitions:  Overdue    Kernels and Jugo Juice Fun Lunch:  Wednesday, September 25 Time Capsule (Letter, yarn, hand/foot tracing, envelope):  Due Thursday, September 26 First Positive Choices Reward: Thursday, September 26  (Can wear pjs, bring a stuffie

I think we would all agree that our first field trip of grade 5 was a roaring success! Students relished the opportunity to collect and examine invertebrate specimens from the Heritage Park wetland this morning. A highlight for many students was getting to see a leech! They were fascinated by its two different motions and impressed with its size and speed! The leech was, of course, only one of a variety of specimens we had the opportunity to observe. Students were amazed at just how many different living were hidden in the depths of the wetland! After lunch, we learned more about animals found in the wetland, focusing in particular on their adaptations for moving, breathing, eating, and hiding/protecting themselves from predators. Then students had the opportunity to create their own wetland insects, brainstorming adaptations that would be beneficial to their particular bug and sketching out what it might look like. Next, students were very excited to build their ima

Today we spent some time exploring and practicing our numbers in French from 1-100. We listened to some very catchy songs and also used the helpful list below. Students are encouraged to practice their numbers at home. We are very excited for our first field trip of the year tomorrow, to the wetland at Heritage Park! We will be departing just after the morning bell, at 9:15, so it is very important that students arrive on time and are ready to go. Please dress to be outside for a good portion of the day, and rain boots might be helpful for the wetland environment. Students need to bring a lunch (preferably wasteless), water bottle, snack, and clothing layers. Adult volunteers will also need to bring a lunch as there isn't anywhere to purchase food nearby. Students are reminded to be respectful and on their best behaviour during the trip, as they are representing our school and our classes, and we also want them to get as much out of this experience as possible. This hands on

Today we continued working with place value and different ways to represent numbers through "Roll-A-Number" in Math. In Science we finished watching and taking jot notes from the Bill Nye wetland video, which you can rewatch here . We also began to explore the different zones of a wetland and the variety of plants and animals that can be found in each zone. We also began to create rip collage artwork inspired by a sunrise or sunset, and reviewed les jours de la semaine (the days of the week) in French. Overdue Items: All About Me in Equations 5 Questions Beginning of the year forms Heritage Park Wetland Field Trip form * if these forms are not handed in before Thursday, students will be unable to attend this field trip* Upcoming Due Dates: Wetland Questions  *Due Wednesday, September 18* Description of Wetlands notes & definition  *Due Monday, September 23* Time Capsules (letter, yarn, hand/foot tracing, and envelope)  *Due Thursday, September 26

Today in Science we shared our brainstorming about different living and non-living things found in wetlands, began to consider what kinds of interactions occur between living and non-living things in wetlands, and started to watch the Bill Nye Wetlands video and take jot notes. In Social Studies we continued to work on our map of Canada's provinces, territories and capital cities, and also began to map the six physical regions of Canada. Today we also had the privilege of working with Valmai Goggin, the librettist from Calgary Opera who will ultimately be writing the script for our school's opera based on ideas that students come up with. She explained the different elements of a story and the dramatic arc that a plot follows, then students came up with "What If?" ideas that could ultimately become the inspiration for our opera. One family count notice came home today, about the Muffin Breakfast on September 27. Please remember to order your food through

Thank-you to everyone who came out to Meet the Teacher Night last night! It was wonderful to meet so many families from our classroom community. If you were unable to attend or just want to review the information I shared with you, my PowerPoint presentation can be accessed here . You are also able to access an online version of the Grade 5 at a Glance curriculum summary here . Students were very excited to get a first taste of the opera today as we prepare to begin our work with Calgary Opera throughout the year. We begin working with the librettist on Monday, and it will be exciting to see what ideas our students come up with! We also spent time today putting together our time capsules, identifying living and non-living elements of a wetland, and finishing up some ongoing work. We also explored just how big some very large numbers are with the book Can You Count to a Googol?  by Robert E. Wells. A googol is a very large number indeed! I am still missing the beginning of the

Today we practiced representing large numbers in a variety of ways (in standard form, written form, expanded form, on a place value chart, with money, and with base ten blocks) by rolling random numbers with dice. We finished sharing our All About Me bags, and students discovered even more connections with one another! Our novel read aloud, The 39 Clues: Maze of Bones , continues to be full of intrigue and excitement, and the section we read today literally ended with a bang! In science we brainstormed living and non-living things, looking for commonalities and ultimately coming up with defining characteristics for these categories, and in social studies we continued to work on our maps of Canada. Two notices are coming home today: a family count notice about Fun Lunch, and a field trip form for our first exciting field trip to the wetland at Heritage Park! As our field trip is only a week away, please complete and return these forms ASAP! A reminder that all coloured forms from

Today in math we worked with place values up to a million and played a fun game where we had to figure out a mystery number taped to our backs by asking only yes or no questions. Every student was able to successfully identify their number, and then our two classes together were able to put the numbers in order from least to greatest! In science we continued to explore the characteristics of wetlands, and in social studies we brainstormed what a map should include, and began to work on a map of Canada's provinces, territories, and capital cities. A reminder that the All About Me page of questions and the 5 Questions (available on yesterday's blog post) are due tomorrow, and that All About Me in Equations is due Monday. It is important for students to have their work completed on time. A reminder as well that tomorrow is Meet the Teacher Night! I look forward to seeing all of you at one of two identical presentations at either 6:30 or 7:00 pm. This presentation will includ

Today we spent time doing a math pre-assessment to help us understand where to begin in reviewing operations (addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division), as well as writing number sentences to equal ten and representing numbers in a variety of ways. We continue to enjoy reading 39 Clues: The Maze of Bones , and are excited to see what happens next! We're beginning to delve into the characteristics of a wetland and what distinguishes living from non-living things, as well as practicing our note taking skills. Students also had the opportunity to challenge themselves by drawing and labeling a free-hand map of Canada. There are some upcoming due dates of which students need to be aware. This is all class work that we have spent time on already as well as being an option during unfinished work time. Now students who are not yet finished this work are encouraged to take these assignments home to complete in order to ensure that they hand them in on time. Upcoming Due Dates

Welcome to the second week of fifth grade, and our first Monday of the school year! This week we are starting to shift more into curriculum related concepts, in addition to wrapping up some community building and "get to know you" activities. In math, we began looking at representing and rounding numbers, as well as creating a variety of number sentences. In science, students started thinking about what characteristics might define a wetland, and what the differences between living and non-living things are. We also began our time capsules with a letter to our future selves. We will be adding other artifacts throughout the week. It was wonderful to hear from the first four students who shared their All About Me bags today. Students are already finding so many connections and shared interests with one another! If your All About Me bag was not complete for today, please make sure it's here for tomorrow! Please return any remaining forms from the package by the end of