Photos From Our Terry Fox Walk!

This Week in 5/6R

We are heading into October with a bang! Thanksgiving is around the corner and I have to say I am thankful for these wonderful children I get to spend every day with!  Also, welcome to our new student, Maya!

Math: We are working on long division this week. This is tough for kids so it would be helpful if you would sit with your children if possible and give them examples to solve at home. A sample question would be for he fifth graders 246÷2, or 2468÷12 for our sixth graders.

Literacy: We have wrapped up our unit on connections and we are starting to analyze elements of a narrative. We will be writing our own narratives this month as well.
Students have a paragraph based on a classmate due tomorrow.

Science: Grade 6 is finishing a project based on invertebrates and vertebrates. Grade 5s are studying the respiratory system.

PhysEd: We continue our workouts.

Religion: We are studying the 10 commandments

Drama: We continue to perform improvisation skills.

Terry Fox, Making Connections, and Outdoor Education

Fall is a great season for spending time outside.  It's got that crisp tinge to it that makes the air seem a little cleaner, and everything look a little more sharp.  We took advantage of the first beautiful Fall day on Wednesday.  

We have been working on making connections in Literacy class.  I read the students a biography of Terry Fox and we talked about who our own personal heroes are.  From there, I gave the students a handout and on it I asked them to make a connection between Terry Fox and their own personal hero.  I decided to take them down the street to the park to do this.  I told them if they worked hard and really reflected on the activity, they could run and play.  Everyone was successful at this task, and a fun time was had by all.  Some personal heroes were Mom, Dad, Grandma, Grandpa, Martin Luther King, pets, and even our own Mr. Seguin!  Below are some photos of our kids enjoying the beautiful outdoors!

We've had some new students join our class this week, and below is one of them.  She was asked to complete the statement "I Am..."  She proudly finished with "kind."  That's the best thing you can be.  

This Week in 5/6R

This week we will be delving deeper into the following:

Math:  Multiplication and division.  We will be multiplying 3 and 4 digit numbers, and reviewing long division.

Language:  We are wrapping up connections with an activity rooted in the story of Terry Fox, and we are continuing to sharpen our skills of paragraph writing.

Science:  We delve deeper into the systems of the human body in Grade 5 and into further classifying living things, specifically vertebrates and invertebrates in Grade 6.

Religion:  We are wrapping up our discussions and activities on the history of the Apostle's Creed, and are publishing our own personal Creeds.

Phys-Ed:  We are continuing with our work-outs on Tuesdays with the beep test and HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training), and our sport days on Thursdays.

Drama:  We are continuing to explore improvisation

This Friday we walk Malden Park to celebrate the legacy of Terry Fox, a true Canadian Hero.

Don't Forget Tuesday is Meet the Teacher night!  I can't wait to meet all of our families!

Number Talks and Microscopes

Today in Grade 5/6 we started our "Number Talks" for the year. The kids loved it! Number Talks are discussions over equations in which we ask the students to perform the Math required to solve these equations in their heads, and then share our strategies on how we reached our answers. It's really interesting to see how differently we all think, yet are still able to reach the same answer. The hope is that the students will increase their love of Math and build their skills at the same time.

We also explored an onion cell under a microscope. The students prepared their own "onion slides" and were able to see different structures of the cell. Very fun! We also explored cells further on our chromebook through a kid's Web quest.

5/6R is Working Hard!

Here is some insight on what's going on in 5/6R!

What's Happening in 5/6R?

We are already working hard in Grade 5/6 here at St. James and the "Spirit" is flowing!

Math:  We are working on a unit in whole numbers.  The 4 basic operations are being explored (addition, subtraction, multiplication and division) as well as applying these operations to real life problems.  We are also really working on getting our "times tables" down, so please practice with your kids at home!

Language:  In READING we are working on making connections and writing a proper reading response with an opening statement, citing the text for evidence to support our answers and making a closing statement.
In WRITING we are working on writing a proper sentence and a proper paragraph. 

Science:  The Grade 6s are working on exploring the "Diversity of Living Things," and in the fifth grade we are working on exploring the different systems (respiratory, circulatory, muscular) of the human body.

Phys Ed:  Tuesdays we will be running the beep test and doing a variety of aerobics, yoga, strength training activities.  On Thursdays we will play sports and games of low organization. 

Religion:  We are currently exploring the Apostle's Creed and writing our own creeds as well.

Arts:  Mrs. Knight will be teaching the students Visual Arts throughout the year and in our classroom we are currently exploring "Improvisation" in Dramatic Arts.

Walking Forms:  We are still waiting for 2 students to return their walking forms.  Please do so as quickly as possible so that we are prepared for the Terry Fox walk at Malden Park next week!

Reading Buddies:  We have teamed up with Ms. Daragon's class (Gr 1/2) to read together, and do different activities throughout the year.  The kids are loving it!

The kids seem to be adjusting well to their new grade and classmates and I have to say I love our little school...feeling very blessed to be part of the "Spirit!"

Below are some photos we took this week in class! 

Monday, September 10

Homework tonight:

Math
Grade 5:  Page 30 #2 and 4

Grade 6:  Page 41 #1, 2, and 4

It's a good idea to have your child practice their multiplication tables.  Today in class we each had a die.  We found a partner and rolled the dice.  We multiplied to two numbers together.  The kids had fun!  It's always a good idea to reinforce this practice.



We are working on making connections in reading during our literacy block right now.  It's always a good idea to read to your children, and no matter what you read try discussing the material and making connections to the world around you or to their previous experiences or something they've read before.

School Supplies

If you would like to purchase school supplies for your children, they will use the following items throughout the year:

• calculator
• geometry set
• ruler
• glue
• scissors
• pencils
• colored pencils
• markers
• a highlighter
• red pen
• 4 duo tangs (red, green, blue, black)
• Lined paper
• 
  

Using the Vertical Surface

The Grade 5/6 students were using the vertical surface in Math class today and working in our own comfy spaces.  We were working through word problems and writing numbers in words using number lines, wipe boards, and input from partners.  Great job!