Ms. Swinton's Class

We began the day with Math, completing our number sentences as usual, and then continuing to work with three digit by one digit division. Mr. Risdon taught us about "The Long Division Family" as a way to remember the steps in long division. We had an assembly about the opera during which Mr. Darrin shared more of the music that he has composed for our production and allowed students a chance to share in singing some of the parts. The assembly was followed by a period of Drop Everything and Read, during which student were very engaged in reading a book of their choice silently and independently. After our break outside, we had our Circle sharing time and Phys. Ed. Then we ended the day with a school-wide mental health activity of mindfully colouring, which was very calming and peaceful. Lunchroom childcare tax receipts are coming home today for the period of January - June 2019 (the end of last year), so please ensure that your child gives this to yo...

Today in Health we continued working on our puzzle pieces based on four of eight strategies for building resiliency. In Math we reviewed basic division with remainders, and then moved on to exploring strategies for dividing three-digit dividends by one-digit divisors. So far we have focused on traditional long division, but we will introduce alternate strategies (such as repeated subtraction) soon. We played Belly Ball once again in Phys. Ed. (with one student kicking a home run!), and then we read the final chapter of The Boundless  in Language Arts. We began the afternoon, as usual, with Quiet Reading/Unfinished Work, and then moved into taking jot notes about the Great Lakes - St. Lawrence Lowlands region of Canada in Social Studies. We wrapped up the day with Science, finishing up our resistors experiment from earlier in the week and then practicing identifying and explaining unsafe uses of electricity. Volunteer field trip forms are coming home for the five p...

Happy Pink Shirt Day!  It was wonderful to see so many students wearing pink today in a commitment to treat others with kindness and to stand up to bullying. This is such an important and relevant issue, and I hope that students will take this commitment seriously! Nobody ever deserves to be treated with anything but respect. We began the day with Math, exploring basic fact division problems that included remainders (for example 38 / 6 = 6R2). To solve these problems, students needed to apply their knowledge of basic facts (in the problem above, for example, they would need to use 6 x 6 = 36 or 36 / 6 = 6). A reminder once again to continue practicing these at home! In French we began learning wild and farm animal vocabulary using Quizlet. Then in Language Arts we worked on descriptive writing, being deliberate about incorporating all five senses. Our afternoon was focused on Pink Shirt Day, first writing poems from the perspective of either the bully, the bullied, or the...

We wrapped up our fourth and final Winsport day today! Students did such an amazing job in their lessons, and showed so much improvement over the four days! Thank-you for all of the parent support that made this all possible! 😊 A reminder that tomorrow is Pink Shirt Day !! Looking forward to seeing all of that pink in support of anti-bullying initiatives! 

We began the day with Health, discussing what resiliency is and some strategies for improving our own resiliency. Then students began illustrating/describing four of these eight strategies on puzzle pieces, which we will continue on Thursday. In Math we corrected the basic division fact questions that we had completed on Friday and then began answering word problems involving basic division facts. Students had to read carefully and weed out irrelevant information in order to answer each question. In Phys. Ed. we played Belly Ball, and one of the students from our class scored an extra five runs by kicking the ball through a basketball hoop!! It was really cool! In Language Arts we wrote written reflections about our monthly quote for February. Following our usual Quiet Reading/Unfinished Work block after lunch, we began exploring our next region of Canada: The Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Lowlands. Then we wrapped up the day with Science, completing an experiment involving ...

We started our day with Circle, which included our regular sharing Circle and our weekly compliment Circle, Words of the Day defining, and the passing of Ducky and Goosey. We had a solid chunk of Drop Everything and Read time, during which students were very engaged in independently reading a text of their choosing. In Math we reviewed how division and multiplication facts are related and summarized strategies for solving basic division facts. (Here, once again, are l inks to online multiplication and division basic facts practice , which would be useful for reinforcement at home.) Then students completed basic division fact questions before moving on to two different problems: the Four People Travel Puzzle and Leo the Rabbit . We finished up and did our storyboards for chapter 15 of The Boundless, which was jam-packed with exciting events! The day concluded with an assembly in preparation for Pink Shirt Day , which is Wednesday, February 26 . I was so impressed with the student from ...

We had another great day at Winsport! Our final ski/snowboard day is Tuesday, February 25 . Important Dates: French Journal Page : *OVERDUE* Math Textbook Pages 90-91 #1, 3, 5, 7, 10-13 *OVERDUE* Mock Fur Trade Reflection: *DUE FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 21* Pink Shirt Day Assembly: *FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 21 at 12:30* Science Visual Dictionary: *DUE MONDAY, FEBRUARY 24* Winsport: *TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 25* Pink Shirt Day : *WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 26* Here are links for the Mock Fur Trade Reflection questions and the textbook definitions for the Electricity and Magnetism visual dictionary , which have due dates soon!

Today we began Math with number sentences, as usual, equalling 19. Some students explored incorporating the two-digit by two-digit multiplication that we've been working with by multiplying 19 by another two-digit number (for example 19 x 23 = 437), and then using the related division fact as a number sentence (437 / 23 = 19). This allowed students to write more complex division sentences than their division skills might currently allow. After number sentences, students had a chance to look over the multiplication check-ins that they wrote last week. Almost all students now appear to have a two-digit by two-digit multiplication strategy that works for them! The check-in was a good reminder for some of them to practice their basic facts, to read questions carefully, and to check their work over thoroughly. We finished up Math by using Prodigy to continue practicing our multiplication skills. We had a lengthy Circle time today as students had lots of exciting stories to share from...

We had another great day at Winsport! Thank-you again to the volunteers who made this possible, and to everyone who ensured that students arrived ready today, dressed for the weather and with lunches, snacks, and water bottles packed and ready! Tomorrow is a regular school day, and then Thursday is our next day at Winsport. Important Dates: French Journal Page : *OVERDUE* Math Textbook Pages 90-91 #1, 3, 5, 7, 10-13 *DUE WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 19* Winsport: *THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 20 and TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 25* Mock Fur Trade Reflection: *DUE FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 21* Science Visual Dictionary: *DUE MONDAY, FEBRUARY 24* Pink Shirt Day : *WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 26* Here are links for the Mock Fur Trade Reflection questions and the textbook definitions for the Electricity and Magnetism visual dictionary , which have due dates in the next couple of weeks.

In Math today we wrote a check-in about two-digit by two-digit multiplication. It looks like most students do  have a strategy that is working well for them, so that's great to see! For the students who need a bit more support with this, we will continue to work with them, but I was impressed overall! In French we played Quizlet Live with Valentine's Day vocabulary . In Language Arts we continued working on "Show, Don't Tell," and shared our work with one another. In Social Studies we continued working on our fur trade diary entries. We also had some Quiet Reading/Unfinished Work time, and, of course, handed out Valentines cards and treats! Thank-you to everyone who brought these in to share!! A reminder that there is no school until Tuesday, February 18, and that this first day back after the 5-day weekend is a Winsport day. Please come dressed for skiing/snowboarding and have your Winsport tag on your jacket! Important Dates: No School (Teachers...

Today in Math we began with number sentences equalling 11, and I continue to be impressed with how students are pushing themselves to experiment with challenging math concepts. Following number sentences, students checked what they've done so far on textbook pages 90-91 and 94-95 to ensure that they have a multiplication strategy that works consistently for them. Then they continued to work on these pages. A reminder that we will be doing a short check-in tomorrow about two digit by two digit multiplication. In French we went over Valentine's Day vocabulary and began working on a word search with these words. In Language Arts, we continued our independent practice with showing instead of telling writing. Students have created some really interesting and descriptive passages, and are paying particular attention to their word choice. We began our afternoon by creating a super cute Valentine's themed craft with our Grade 2 Buddies. In Social Studie...

We started off the day with Circle time and passing Ducky and Goosey. For the remainder of the year, the students who have Ducky and Goosey each week will now be the ones to choose the next recipients based on "A Lesson from Geese." In Math we reviewed yet again the two-digit by two-digit multiplication strategies. It seems like most students at this point have a strategy that consistently works effectively for them, but if they do not, they are encouraged to talk to me about it and I can help them find one. We will be doing a very short check-in on Wednesday to make sure that all students are able to solve these types of problems. In Language Arts we continued our work with "showing instead of telling," moving away from our focus on emotions to other types of examples. As a whole group, we took the telling sentence "It was a beautiful summer day." and rewrote it as: "The sun blazed down on my bare shoulders. The popsicle I was clenching dri...

We started off our Friday with our regular Circle sharing and compliments time, as well as discussing and sharing the meanings of the Words of the Day for the week. We followed this with Social Studies, during which time some (most!) groups volunteered to share their newscasts about the Interior Plains region of Canada. Students worked very hard on these newscasts, and they turned out really well! Be sure to ask your child to show you theirs! (It should be on their Google Drive account.) We had Phys. Ed. time with Ms. Raude's class for a change, enjoying a choice day. Then we finished up our mug art in Art. These look fantastic! Way to go! For students who are not yet done this artwork, it is now Unfinished Work. After break, we finished chapter 14 of The Boundless  and did our storyboards. Then we started on the whole school literacy activity of creating a kindness tree for our buddy class. We listened to the book Have You Filled a Bucket Today? , and talked about how we can ...

Today in Math we continued to review and apply our 2-digit by 2-digit multiplication strategies. Students continue to be encouraged to use estimation to check that their products are reasonable . In French, we played a couple more rounds of "J'ai... Qui a...?" and worked on word scramble and secret code puzzles related to French clothing vocabulary. In Language Arts we continued our work with showing instead of telling by collectively brainstorming ways that people show different emotions. The charts students began creating will be useful resources when they are writing later on. In Science students created circuits to test whether different materials are conductors or insulators. We also had Music, some Quiet Reading/Unfinished Work time, and began chapter 14 of The Boundless . I am looking forward to seeing everyone at Family Math night tonight! There will be lots of fun and educational activities, as well as opportunities to win awesome prize...