Thursday, December 19

Messages and Reminders:
Report cards went home today. Please take time to go through them with your child. The report card is yours to keep but the envelope should be signed and returned after the break. Most students also still need to return signed LA and math quizzes. The first day back at school is Monday, January 6.

Morning recap:
This morning after ignite, we either finished colouring our snow globes from Tuesday or we did word work and made as many words as we could out of the letters in WINTER BREAK. During math, we tried some more winter logic puzzles. We visited our buddies and wrote Christmas mad libs . In the few minutes between buddies and gym, we continued working on our math puzzles. After gym, we did a bit of finish up, cleaned up the classroom, and said our room 20 goodbye. 

Have a happy, relaxing, and safe winter break! 

Upcoming important dates:

Friday, December 20 - non-instruction day
December 21 - January 5 - winter break
Monday, January 6 - school resumes

Wednesday, December 18

Messages and Reminders:
Today's LWW quizzes went home. Please sign and return them (and any other quizzes that have not yet been signed and returned). Tomorrow is fun lunch, the last day of school before winter break, the December pillars of care assembly at 12:30, and report card day. There is no school on Friday and winter break goes until January 5.

Morning recap:
This morning we had a whole school carolling assembly. After helping clean up the assembly, we went up to class and wrote our chapter 13-17 LWW quiz. As we finished, we filled out a venn diagram comparing the book and the play. In math, we wrote a fractions mini quiz and then did Mathletics on the laptops or played math games if our laptops weren't working. We then went over the LWW quiz, got them back (they went home to be signed and returned), and started going over the fractions unit test. After gym, we finished going over the fractions test and put a giant stack of papers in our math folders before lunch. 

Upcoming important dates:

Thursday, December 19 - fun lunch
Thursday, December 19 - pillars of care assembly - 12:30pm
Thursday, December 19 - last day of school - report cards sent home
Friday, December 20 - non-instruction day
December 21 - January 5 - winter break
Monday, January 6 - school resumes

Tuesday, December 17

Messages and Reminders:
Our LWW chapter 13-17 quiz is tomorrow. Many students still need to have previous math and LA quizzes signed and returned. Please send them back before the break. Tomorrow is red and green or Christmas sweater day (the December school spirit day). Thursday is fun lunch, the last day of school before winter break, the December pillars of care assembly at 12:30, and report card day. There is no school on Friday and winter break goes until January 5.

Morning recap:
This morning after music, we finished up yesterday's math problems together as a class. In language arts, we did our December writing sample. It was a bit different this month. Instead of a picture prompt, the guidelines were to write a bonus chapter for LWW. We talked about how it could be a prologue (something that happened before the story in the book), an extra chapter in the middle of the story, or something that happened after the story (another adventure or the story of what happened when the characters returned to our world). Instead of writing by hand this month, the plan was to type our stories on the laptops, but since the laptops are being updated this week and are super slow, many of us ended up writing by hand anyway. During gym, we played a Christmas version of capture the gold. When we went back up to class, our buddies met us there and we did some guided drawing of a winter snow globe.

Upcoming important dates:
Wednesday, December 18 - red and green or Christmas sweater day

Wednesday, December 18 - LWW chapter 13-17 quiz
Thursday, December 19 - fun lunch
Thursday, December 19 - pillars of care assembly - 12:30pm
Thursday, December 19 - last day of school - report cards sent home
Friday, December 20 - non-instruction day
December 21 - January 5 - winter break
Monday, January 6 - school resumes

Notes and Reminders

Ms. Winston is still sick and will be away on Monday. Hoping one more day of rest is all I need to be back on Tuesday! Ms. Yu will be there tomorrow and had lovely things to say about our class last Tuesday, so let's make that happen again. A few reminders for the upcoming week:

• Many students still need to have math and LA quizzes signed and returned. Please send them back before the break. 
• We will write a chapter 13-17 LWW quiz on Wednesday. 
• Wednesday is red and green or Christmas sweater day (the December school spirit day).
• Thursday is fun lunch, the last day of school before winter break, the December pillars of care assembly at 12:30, and report card day. 
• There is no school on Friday and winter break goes until January 5.

The plan for tomorrow is to finish LWW (read chapter 16 and 17). After reading, there are chapter questions to answer and a plot map to fill out. Math this week will be focused on problem solving. Students will solve a variety of winter-themed problems and puzzles. In health, students will be nominating each other for this month's pillars of care awards. Ms. Yu will tally the votes with the class and I will go over them on Tuesday and send notes home with the winners.

Upcoming important dates:
Wednesday, December 18 - red and green or Christmas sweater day
Wednesday, December 18 - LWW chapter 13-17 quiz
Thursday, December 19 - fun lunch
Thursday, December 19 - pillars of care assembly - 12:30pm
Thursday, December 19 - last day of school - report cards sent home
Friday, December 20 - non-instruction day
December 21 - January 5 - winter break
Monday, January 6 - school resumes

Friday, December 13

Messages and Reminders:
Our fractions tests came home today. Please sign and return them for Monday. The Reading... Give It a Shot program officially ended today, but the hockey cards will still be at school if you want to bring your reading logs in next week. Wednesday is red and green or Christmas sweater day (the December school spirit day). Thursday is fun lunch, the last day of school before winter break, the December pillars of care assembly (at 12:30 - notes will go home with our winners next week), and report card day. There is no school on Friday and winter break goes until January 5.

Morning recap:
This morning we began with a quick review and then wrote our fractions unit test. We read silently as we finished. When most people were done math, we all read chapter 15 of LWW either alone or with a partner. After getting our math tests back (it was good news for most of us - they have been sent home for you to look at, sign, and return), we did the chapter 15 questions together as a class. During buddies, we listened to a story about writing letters to Santa and then we wrote letters to BHS Santa with what we hope to do at school in 2020. If we finished our letters early, we did winter activity sheets for some word work and basic fact practice. After saying goodbye to buddies, we cleaned up the classroom and headed down to gym with all the grade sixes.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Upcoming important dates:
Wednesday, December 18 - red and green or Christmas sweater day
Thursday, December 19 - fun lunch
Thursday, December 19 - pillars of care assembly - 12:30pm
Thursday, December 19 - last day of school - report cards sent home
Friday, December 20 - non-instruction day
December 21 - January 5 - winter break
Monday, January 6 - school resumes

Thursday, December 12

Messages and Reminders:
Our fractions unit test is tomorrow. Study your practice tests from yesterday! The Reading... Give It a Shot program is officially over tomorrow, but the hockey cards will still be at school if you want to bring your reading logs in next week.

Morning recap:
This morning after ignite, we did a 3 question fractions mini-quiz before doing Mathletics on the laptops. A mini-quiz on whatever we've practiced in math that week is always our ticket to getting a laptop, but recently some of us haven't been reading the questions very carefully. We see a fraction and automatically just write an equivalent fraction, even if that isn't what the question is asking us to do. Today we were reminded to slow down and read carefully, and many of us did better. After Mathletics, we finished going over the questions on yesterday's fractions practice unit test. We also did some practice questions together to get better at converting fractions to decimals and percentages. In language arts, we listened to chapter 13 of LWW. We took a break to go to gym and then listened to chapter 14 and did a few of the chapter questions together as a class. We didn't visit the library today since all library books need to be back by tomorrow in order for Mrs. Paolini to go through the collection before winter break. We will resume our weekly library visits in January.

Upcoming important dates:
Friday, December 13 - fractions unit test
Friday, December 13 - last day of the Reading... Give It a Shot program
Wednesday, December 18 - red and green day
Thursday, December 19 - fun lunch
Thursday, December 19 - last day of school - report cards sent home
Friday, December 20 - non-instruction day
December 21 - January 5 - winter break
Monday, January 6 - school resumes

Wednesday, December 11

Messages and Reminders:
We have library tomorrow. Our fractions unit test is on Friday. Today's practice test went home so that we can study...and most of us clearly need to study A LOT! The Reading... Give It a Shot program is going on until Friday, so make sure to return reading logs in exchange for hockey cards.

Morning recap:
This morning was a very test-heavy morning. After music, we did our LWW chapter 7-12 quiz and read as we finished. This has been marked and is coming home for you to sign and return so we know you've seen it. In math, we wrote our fractions practice test. It gave us a better idea of what types of questions to expect on Friday's unit test. It has been marked and is coming home for us to study, but it doesn't need to be signed or returned. Most of us did not do well at all, so we really need to study tonight and tomorrow. After math, had some free time on the iPads before ending the morning at dance in gym with all the grade sixes.

Upcoming important dates:
Friday, December 13 - fractions unit test
Friday, December 13 - last day of the Reading... Give It a Shot program
Wednesday, December 18 - red and green day
Thursday, December 19 - fun lunch
Thursday, December 19 - last day of school - report cards sent home
Friday, December 20 - non-instruction day
December 21 - January 5 - winter break
Monday, January 6 - school resumes

Monday, December 9

Messages and Reminders:
Our LWW chapter 7-12 quiz will likely be on Wednesday. Our fractions unit test is on Friday. The Reading... Give It a Shot program is going on until Friday, so make sure to return reading logs in exchange for hockey cards.

Morning recap:
This morning after ignite we read chapter 11 of LWW and did the chapter questions. As we finished the questions, we did finish up or read to self or someone. In math, we reviewed a whole bunch of fractions concepts. We did a matching activity to find equivalent forms, used the greater than and less than symbols to compare fractions, decimals, and percentages, and placed fractions and decimals on number lines. After gym, we went through the questions together and then began copying a table with more fractions conversions.

Ms. Winston is not feeling well and will likely be away tomorrow. The plan is to get through chapter 12 of LWW so that the quiz can still be on Wednesday. We will also continue with our fraction work.

Upcoming important dates:
Wednesday, December 11 - LWW chapter 7-12 quiz
Friday, December 13 - fractions unit test
Friday, December 13 - last day of the Reading... Give It a Shot program
Wednesday, December 18 - red and green day
Thursday, December 19 - fun lunch
Thursday, December 19 - last day of school - report cards sent home
Friday, December 20 - non-instruction day
December 21 - January 5 - winter break
Monday, January 6 - school resumes

Friday, December 6

Messages and Reminders:
Our LWW chapter 7-12 quiz will likely be on Wednesday. Our fractions unit test is on Friday. The Reading... Give It a Shot program is going on until Friday, so make sure to return reading logs in exchange for hockey cards.

Morning recap:
This morning all grade six students helped put away the equipment and chairs from the winter concert. When we got up to class, we began with read to self or read to someone. During language arts, we listened to chapter 10 of LWW and did the chapter questions together as a class. In math, we did some practice converting improper fractions to mixed numbers. When our buddies came to visit, we did activities that connect to December's pillar of perseverance. Ms. Winston read one of her very favourite books to us. It's called A Perfectly Messed-Up Story and is about a boy who is trying to tell a story but things keep getting in his way. He initially wants to give up but then realizes he can work through the challenges and keep going. After the story, we helped our buddies put some perseverance synonyms in alphabetical order, sorted scenarios into ones that show perseverance and ones that don't, and wrote examples of times when each of us persevered. We also had our lockdown drill in the middle of buddies. We had talked first thing this morning about lockdown expectations and how we needed to set a good example for our little buddies. Most of us did well. After saying goodbye to our buddies, we ended the morning at gym with all the grade sixes.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Upcoming important dates:
Wednesday, December 11 - LWW chapter 7-12 quiz
Friday, December 13 - fractions unit test
Friday, December 13 - last day of the Reading... Give It a Shot program
Wednesday, December 18 - red and green day
Thursday, December 19 - fun lunch
Thursday, December 19 - last day of school - report cards sent home
Friday, December 20 - non-instruction day
December 21 - January 5 - winter break
Monday, January 6 - school resumes

Thursday, December 5

Messages and Reminders:
Our winter concert (with K/4/5) is tonight. Doors open at 6:00 and the concert begins at 6:30. We are going to write a quiz on LWW chapters 7-12 next week, likely on Wednesday (dependent on when we finish the chapters). The Reading... Give It a Shot program is going on until December 13, so make sure to return reading logs in exchange for hockey cards.

Morning recap:
This morning after ignite, we headed downstairs for the grade six winter concert rehearsal. When we got back to class, we wrote a fractions mini-quiz and then did Mathletics on the laptops while getting in the holiday spirit with some Christmas music. Gym was in our classroom today since the gym is set up for the concert, and Mr. Sadowsky had us do Just Dance videos. We ended the morning with library.

Hope to see you all tonight at the winter concert!

Upcoming important dates:
Thursday, December 5 - K/4/5/6 winter concert
Wednesday, December 11 - LWW chapter 7-12 quiz
Friday, December 13 - fractions unit test
Friday, December 13 - last day of the Reading... Give It a Shot program
Wednesday, December 18 - red and green day
Thursday, December 19 - fun lunch
Thursday, December 19 - last day of school - report cards sent home
Friday, December 20 - non-instruction day
December 21 - January 5 - winter break
Monday, January 6 - school resumes

Wednesday, December 4

Messages and Reminders:
Yesterday's LWW and today's computation / basic facts quizzes both went home today for you to look at and sign. Please return them so we know you have seen them. Some of us are volunteering as stage crew at the grade 1/2/3 concert tonight. Our winter concert (with K/4/5) is Thursday evening. Doors open at 6:00 and the concert begins at 6:30. The Reading... Give It a Shot program is going on until December 13, so make sure to return reading logs in exchange for hockey cards.

Morning recap:
This morning we started with our computation / basic facts quiz. As we finished the quiz, we did a critical thinking journal entry for chapters 7 and 8 of LWW. If we finished both tasks, we did read to self until it was time to go help set up for the winter concerts. When we got back to class, we went over yesterday's LWW quiz questions and got our quizzes back. Then we moved onto listening to chapter 9 of LWW. After taking a break to go outside for an icy cold gym class, we did the chapter 9 questions together as a class. During health, we talked about what it looks and feels like to be in the yellow and red zones and then brainstormed strategies we can use to help ourselves move back to the green zone. One of the strategies is deep breathing, so we practiced a few breathing strategies before writing some yellow and red zone strategies on our fortune tellers.

Upcoming important dates:
Wednesday, December 4 - 1/2/3 winter concert
Thursday, December 5 - K/4/5/6 winter concert

Tuesday, December 3

Messages and Reminders:
Our next computation / basic facts quiz is tomorrow. Some of us are volunteering as stage crew at the grade 1/2/3 concert tomorrow evening - you would have received a permission slip on Friday. Our winter concert (with K/4/5) is Thursday evening. Doors open at 6:00 and the concert begins at 6:30. The Reading... Give It a Shot program is going on until December 13, so make sure to return reading logs in exchange for hockey cards.

Morning recap:
This morning we had a double music class to get ready for the winter concert. All the grade sixes were in music from 8:10 to 9:10. When we got back to our classroom, we did our LWW chapter 1-6 quiz. When we were done, we did read to self until everyone was ready to move on. In math, we started by working together to convert between fractions, decimals, percentages, words, and pictures. We learned a trick for going between decimals and percents (move the decimal point two spaces to the right and fill in with zeroes if needed). We then continued practicing converting between improper fractions and mixed numbers. We did some examples as a class, took a break to go to gym, and then did a page of practice questions on our own. If we finished the page of practice questions, we played a new fraction game about mixed numbers and improper fractions.

LWW quizzes have been marked but we haven't seen them yet. We'll go over it tomorrow and then bring it home for you to sign. 8 out of the 16 students who wrote the quiz today got a level 3 or 4 (66% or above).

Upcoming important dates:
Wednesday, December 4 - computation / basic facts quiz
Wednesday, December 4 - 1/2/3 winter concert
Thursday, December 5 - K/4/5/6 winter concert

Monday, December 2

Messages and Reminders:
We are writing a quiz on chapters 1-6 of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe tomorrow. Our next computation / basic facts quiz is on Wednesday. Some of us are volunteering as stage crew at the grade 1/2/3 concert on Wednesday evening - you would have received a permission slip on Friday. Our winter concert (with K/4/5) is Thursday evening. Doors open at 6:00 and the concert begins at 6:30. The Reading... Give It a Shot program is going on until December 13, so make sure to return reading logs in exchange for hockey cards.

Morning recap:
This morning after ignite we caught up on any unfinished work or did read to self. During math, we did a practice basic facts / computation quiz. They were marked and returned to us so that we can bring them home to study for the real thing on Wednesday. When everyone was done the practice quiz, we did a number talk and came up with all the ways we could to represent three and one quarter. In language arts, we continued listening to chapter 8 of LWW. We took a break to go to gym and then did the chapter 8 questions together as a class. We also did a quick review for tomorrow's LWW quiz.

Upcoming important dates:
Tuesday, December 3 - LWW chapter 1-6 quiz
Wednesday, December 4 - computation / basic facts quiz
Wednesday, December 4 - 1/2/3 winter concert
Thursday, December 5 - K/4/5/6 winter concert

Friday, November 29

Messages and Reminders:
We are writing a quiz on chapters 1-6 of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe on Tuesday. Our next computation / basic facts quiz is on Wednesday. The K/4/5/6 winter concert is Thursday evening. Doors open at 6:00 and the concert begins at 6:30. The 1/2/3 concert is the same time on Wednesday evening.

Morning recap:
This morning was a busy one! We started off with the pillars of care assembly. After helping take down the assembly, we went upstairs to write our science test. When we were done, we headed to room 20 and did our week in review, worked on any unfinished work, and played fractions, multiplication, or division math games. In language arts we continued reading LWW. Today we took a little break from reading and listened to a recording of chapter 7 and the first few pages of chapter 8. We ended the morning at gym with all the grade sixes.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Upcoming important dates:

Tuesday, December 3 - LWW chapter 1-6 quiz
Wednesday, December 4 - computation / basic facts quiz
Wednesday, December 4 - 1/2/3 winter concert
Thursday, December 5 - K/4/5/6 winter concert

Thursday, November 28

Messages and Reminders:
The pillars of care assembly is tomorrow. All grade six classes will be writing a science unit test on trees and forests tomorrow. We are going to write a quiz on chapters 1-6 of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe next Tuesday. Our next computation / basic facts quiz is next week, probably on Wednesday. The Reading... Give It a Shot program is still going on so make sure to return reading logs in exchange for hockey cards.

Morning recap:
This morning after ignite, we did 3 question mini-quiz on fractions before grabbing a laptop for Mathletics. During buddies, we listened to a story called Chrysanthemum. It is about a girl named Chrysanthemum who loves her name until kids at school start teasing her about being named after a flower and having so many letters in her name. Then a new teacher shares that she also has a long name and is named after a flower and Chrysanthemum realizes her name is great after all. After the story, we worked with our buddies to create a page of fractions about each of our names. Here is an example.

When we got back to class, we did some discussions questions for chapters 5 and 6 of LWW and then ended the morning with gym and library.

Upcoming important dates:
Friday, November 29 - pillars of care assembly

Friday, November 29 - science unit test
Tuesday, December 3 - LWW chapter 1-6 quiz
Wednesday, December 4 - computation / basic facts quiz

Wednesday, November 27

Messages and Reminders:
We have library tomorrow. The pillars of care assembly is this Friday morning. All grade six classes will be writing a science unit test on trees and forests on Friday. We are going to write a quiz on chapters 1-6 of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe next Tuesday. Our next computation / basic facts quiz is next week, probably on Wednesday. The Reading... Give It a Shot program is still going on so make sure to return reading logs in exchange for hockey cards.

Morning recap:
This morning after music, we did a reading comprehension assessment. We did one last month and this one looked very similar. We read a text about trees and forests and then answered questions about it. The answers to some of the questions could be found in the text but others required us to make connections to previous learning. When we finished the reading assessment, we wrote in our journals about yesterday's field trip. During math, we had some time to finish our equivalent fractions booklets. If they did not get done, the last page came home for homework and is due by Friday. We took a break to go to gym and then continued with math. We took notes on the types of fractions (proper, improper, and mixed) and learned the steps for converting between mixed numbers and improper fractions. We did a few practice questions as a class today and will keep working on this skill for the next little while.

Upcoming important dates:
Friday, November 29 - pillars of care assembly

Friday, November 29 - science unit test
Tuesday, December 3 - LWW chapter 1-6 quiz
Wednesday, December 4 - computation / basic facts quiz

Tuesday, November 26

Messages and Reminders:
The pillars of care assembly is this Friday morning. All grade six classes will be writing a science unit test on trees and forests on Friday. The Reading... Give It a Shot program is still going on so make sure to return reading logs in exchange for hockey cards.

Morning recap:
This morning after music, we did read to self. In language arts, we did a November writing sample and wrote a story based on the following picture.

Some of us realized that the photo was from The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe but we were allowed to write any story we wanted. After handing in our writing, we got ready to leave for the theatre. We were respectful during the field trip and the play was amazing. It was a great day!

Upcoming important dates:
Friday, November 29 - pillars of care assembly

Friday, November 29 - science unit test

Monday, November 25

Messages and Reminders:
Our theatre field trip is tomorrow. We will be leaving school around 10:30 and returning for dismissal at 2:30. Make sure students are dressed for the weather and have a lunch with them. The pillars of care assembly is this Friday morning. This month's winners either received their notes at conferences on Thursday night or brought them home today. All grade six classes will be writing a science unit test on trees and forests on Friday. The Reading... Give It a Shot program is still going on so make sure to return reading logs in exchange for hockey cards.

Morning recap:
This morning after ignite, we did our second Edmonton spelling test of the year. These 50 word tests give us an approximate grade level for spelling, but we talked today about how I also look at our class spelling tests and daily writing to determine how we are doing at spelling overall. To start math, we did a number talk. Today's was a bit different. Our previous number talks have all had one correct solution. Today's number talk was 1/3 = ? We shared many possible answers and talked about how we knew they equaled 1/3. Next we did a quick review of equivalent fractions, including talking about how to make equivalent mixed numbers, before continuing to work on the booklet we started last week. If we finished our booklet we played a game called fraction snap. Players take turns flipping fraction cards over. Whoever's fraction is larger gets to keep both cards. If the fractions are equivalent, players flip new cards and the player with the larger fraction keeps the cards from both rounds. Once all cards have been flipped, the player with the most cards is the winner. During gym, e continued with our basketball unit. When we got back to class, we grabbed copies of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and finished reading chapter 5 and 6 before lunch. 

Upcoming important dates:
Tuesday, November 26 - theatre field trip
Friday, November 29 - pillars of care assembly

Friday, November 29 - science unit test

Thursday, November 21

Messages and Reminders:
Booking is still open online for student involved learning conferences. Please book a time to come discuss your child's progress with me tonight or tomorrow. There is no school for students tomorrow because of conferences. Theatre field trip forms and payment can still be dropped off in the office tomorrow if you have forgotten to send them in.

Morning recap:
This morning after ignite, we did a 3 question mini quiz on equivalent fractions and then did Mathletics on the laptops. We saw our buddies today since there is no school tomorrow. Today's buddy activities focused on November's pillar of the month: kindness. We did a picture sorting activity of kind and unkind actions, wrote or drew ways we can show kindness in the classroom, and completed a maze filled with quotes about kindness. When we got back to our classroom, we started reading chapter 5 of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe before gym. In the half hour between gym and lunch, we did our week in review, flagged work we want to share with you at conferences, and cleaned up our classroom. 

Hoping to see most of you tonight or tomorrow at conferences!

Upcoming important dates:
Thursday, November 21 - student involved learning conferences 3:30-7:30
Friday, November 22 - student involved learning conferences 8:00-1:00 (no school)
Friday, November 22 - theatre forms and payment due
Tuesday, November 26 - theatre field trip
Friday, November 29 - pillars of care assembly

Wednesday, November 20

Messages and Reminders:
Booking is open online for student involved learning conferences. Please book a time to come discuss your child's progress with me tomorrow night or Friday. There is no school for students on Friday because of conferences. Many of last week's basic facts quizzes still haven't been signed and returned. Book fair is on until Friday. Theatre field trip forms and payment are due by Friday. The Reading... Give It a Shot program is still going on so make sure to return reading logs in exchange for hockey cards.

Morning recap:
This morning after music, we were back to our regular schedule now that swimming is over. We did finish up or read to self or someone and then talked about fractions in math. Today we reviewed fraction vocabulary (numerator, denominator, improper fraction, etc.) and talked about equivalent fractions. We began working through a booklet to find and create equivalent fractions using numbers and pictures. During library, we visited the book fair to look around. If we had money with us, we were allowed to make purchases. In gym, we started basketball. When we got back to class, we talked more about the zones of regulation in health. Today we focused on what it looks and feels like to be in the green and blue zones. We also brainstormed strategies that can help us move from the blue zone to the green zone. They included getting a drink, going for a walk, eating a snack, and doing jumping jacks. We recorded our ideas on the fortune tellers we started a couple weeks ago.

Upcoming important dates:
November 19- 22 - book fair
Wednesday, November 20 - spirit day: reverse day (students dress as teachers)
Thursday, November 21 - fun lunch
Thursday, November 21 - student involved learning conferences 3:30-7:30
Friday, November 22 - student involved learning conferences 8:00-1:00 (no school)
Friday, November 22 - theatre forms and payment due
Tuesday, November 26 - theatre field trip
Friday, November 29 - pillars of care assembly

Tuesday, November 19

Messages and Reminders:
Booking is open online for student involved learning conferences. Please book a time to come discuss your child's progress with me on Thursday night or Friday. There is no school for students on Friday because of conferences. Many of last week's basic facts quizzes still haven't been signed and returned. Book fair is on until Friday. Our class will visit book fair tomorrow and you can also go during student involved learning conferences. November's school spirit day is tomorrow and is "reverse day" - teachers can dress as students and students can dress as teachers. Theatre field trip forms and payment are due by Friday. The Reading... Give It a Shot program is still going on so make sure to return reading logs in exchange for hockey cards.

Morning recap:
This morning after music, we had a bit of time to catch up on The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe work before starting fractions in math. Today we jut did a pre-test to show what we remembered about fractions from last year. This will allow us to see what we need to focus on in this unit. If we finished early, we helped put papers in our math and LA folders. We headed to the pool for our last day of swimming lessons and then came back and continued doing LWW work or organizing our folders for the few minutes before lunch. Swimming reports should arrive at school in a few weeks and will be sent home with students as soon as we receive them.

Upcoming important dates:
November 19- 22 - book fair
Wednesday, November 20 - spirit day: reverse day (students dress as teachers)
Thursday, November 21 - fun lunch
Thursday, November 21 - student involved learning conferences 3:30-7:30
Friday, November 22 - student involved learning conferences 8:00-1:00 (no school)
Friday, November 22 - theatre forms and payment due
Tuesday, November 26 - theatre field trip
Friday, November 29 - pillars of care assembly

Monday, November 18

Messages and Reminders:
Booking is open online for student involved learning conferences. Please book a time to come discuss your child's progress with me on November 21 or 22. Last week's basic facts quizzes need to be signed and returned as soon as possible. Our last day of swimming is tomorrow. Book fair will be taking place in the library from tomorrow until Friday. Our class will visit book fair on Wednesday morning and you can also go during student involved learning conferences. November's school spirit day is on Wednesday and is "reverse day" - teachers can dress as students and students can dress as teachers. Theatre field trip forms and payment are due by Friday. The Reading... Give It a Shot program is still going on so make sure to return reading logs in exchange for hockey cards.

Morning recap:
This morning we jumped right back into our novel study in language arts. We read chapter 4 and then completed a journal response based on topics from chapter 3 and 4. When we finished our writing, we had time to complete the chapter 3 and 4 comprehension questions. We took a break to go to swimming and then continued our novel study work before lunch.

Upcoming important dates:
Tuesday, November 19 - swimming lessons
November 19 - 22 - book fair
Wednesday, November 20 - spirit day: reverse day (students dress as teachers)
Thursday, November 21 - fun lunch
Thursday, November 21 - student involved learning conferences 3:30-7:30
Friday, November 22 - student involved learning conferences 8:00-1:00 (no school)
Friday, November 22 - theatre forms and payment due
Tuesday, November 26 - theatre field trip
Friday, November 29 - pillars of care assembly

Friday, November 15

Messages and Reminders:
Booking opens online today for student involved learning conferences. Please book a time to come discuss your child's progress on November 21 or 22. Yesterday's basic facts quizzes need to be signed and returned as soon as possible. We are swimming again on Monday and Tuesday. Make sure students have a bathing suit, towel, and plastic bag each day that we are swimming. Book fair will be taking place in the library next week. Our class will visit book fair on Wednesday morning and you can also go during student involved learning conferences. November's school spirit day is on the 20th and is "reverse day" - teachers can dress as students and students can dress as teachers. Theatre field trip forms and payment are due by Friday, November 22. The Reading... Give It a Shot program is still going on so make sure to return reading logs in exchange for hockey cards.

Morning recap:
This morning we jumped right into our novel study in language arts. We read chapter 3 and then had time to catch up on all the chapter questions. If our questions were not complete for chapter 1 or 2, we signed out a copy of the book and have brought it home with the questions for homework. They need to be returned on Monday, as we will be moving on with reading and will need all the books back in class. After LA, we were on the laptops, either finishing typing up our Iris learning goals or doing Mathletics. Our buddies came up to see us so that we could help them type up their learning goals now that we are experts. We also had a few minutes to play online math or literacy games with our buddies once the goals were complete. We ended the morning with a quick classroom cleanup and then headed down to gym with all the grade sixes.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Upcoming important dates:
Friday, November 15 - online booking opens for student involved learning conferences 

November 18, 19 - swimming lessons

November 19 - 22 - book fair
Wednesday, November 20 - spirit day: reverse day (students dress as teachers)
Thursday, November 21 - fun lunch

Thursday, November 21 - student involved learning conferences 3:30-7:30

Friday, November 22 - student involved learning conferences 8:00-1:00 (no school)
Friday, November 22 - theatre forms and payment due
Tuesday, November 26 - theatre field trip

Friday, November 29 - pillars of care assembly 

Thursday, November 14

Messages and Reminders:
You may have heard that swimming lessons were cut short today. The pool staff let us know that there was contamination in the water. They got students out of the pool as soon as they noticed, and students were all told to shower with soap. There is no cause for concern. Students returned to school about 10 minutes earlier than normal and carried on with the morning as usual.

Today's basic facts quiz was sent home with students. Please sign and return as soon as possible so we know you have seen them. Booking opens online tomorrow for student involved learning conferences. Please book a time to come discuss your child's progress on November 21 or 22. No swimming tomorrow but we are back at the pool on Monday and Tuesday. Make sure students have a bathing suit, towel, and plastic bag each day that we are swimming. November's school spirit day is on the 20th and is "reverse day" - teachers can dress as students and students can dress as teachers. Theatre field trip forms and payment are due on Friday, November 22.

Morning recap:
This morning after ignite, we wrote our triweekly basic facts / computation quiz in math. Our overall class average went up 13% from the last quiz, which is great, but we still have lots of room for improvement so keep on practicing. Quizzes were sent home today for you to sign and return. When we were done the math quiz, we finished reading chapter 2 of our novel study and got a brief start on the chapter questions before swimming. When we got back from swimming, we had just enough time for a quick library book exchange.

Upcoming important dates:
Friday, November 15 - online booking opens for student involved learning conferences 

November 18, 19 - swimming lessons

November 19 - 22 - book fair
Wednesday, November 20 - spirit day: reverse day (students dress as teachers)

Thursday, November 21 - student involved learning conferences 3:30-7:00

Friday, November 22 - student involved learning conferences 8:00-12:00 (no school)
Friday, November 22 - theatre forms and payment due
Tuesday, November 26 - theatre field trip

Friday, November 29 - pillars of care assembly 

Wednesday, November 13

Messages and Reminders:
Some students have still not handed in poetry anthologies or math multiplication and division homework, both of which were due last Friday. We are swimming again tomorrow. No swimming on Friday but we are back at the pool next Monday and Tuesday. Make sure students have a bathing suit, towel, and plastic bag each day that we are swimming. Our basic facts quiz is tomorrow. We have library tomorrow. November's school spirit day is on the 20th and is "reverse day" - teachers can dress as students and students can dress as teachers. Theatre field trip forms and payment are due on Friday, November 22.

Morning recap:
This morning flew by. After music, we continued typing up our learning goals on Iris. As we finished, we did read to self or read to someone or played math games until swimming. When we got back from swimming, we started reading chapter 2 of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. 

Upcoming important dates:
November 14, 18, 19 - swimming lessons
Thursday, November 14 - basic facts / computation quiz

Friday, November 15 - online booking opens for student involved learning conferences 

November 19 - 22 - book fair
Wednesday, November 20 - spirit day: reverse day (students dress as teachers)

Thursday, November 21 - student involved learning conferences 3:30-7:00

Friday, November 22 - student involved learning conferences 8:00-12:00 (no school)
Friday, November 22 - theatre forms and payment due
Tuesday, November 26 - theatre field trip

Friday, November 29 - pillars of care assembly 

Tuesday, November 12

Messages and Reminders:
Some students have still not handed in poetry anthologies or math multiplication and division homework, both of which were due on Friday. We are swimming again tomorrow and Thursday. Make sure students have a bathing suit, towel, and plastic bag each day that we are swimming. Our basic facts quiz has been moved to Thursday. We have library on Thursday. November's school spirit day is on the 20th and is "reverse day" - teachers can dress as students and students can dress as teachers. Theatre field trip forms and payment are due on Friday, November 22.

Morning recap:
This morning after music, we spent some time writing our learning goals for this year. Each year, students develop goals in language arts, math, and a third subject area (usually health/wellness, but sometimes music or physical education). This year students were asked to develop goals that align with our school development plan, so the areas of focus are reading comprehension, numeracy, and pro-social behaviour (getting along with others by developing self-regulation and conflict resolution skills). Students selected goals and strategies and began typing them into their Iris learning plans today. When they are finished, you can have students log onto Iris at home so you can see their goals, and you will also see them as they guide our discussion at student involved learning conferences on November 21 and 22. Once we put the laptops away, we headed down to the bus for our first day of swimming lessons. We were quite loud but otherwise did a great job representing BHS and being respectful at the pool. When we got back to school, we spent the few minutes before lunch finishing up planning our goals, doing the zones of regulation work we started on Friday in health or reading.

Upcoming important dates:
November 13, 14, 18, 19 - swimming lessons
Thursday, November 14 - basic facts / computation quiz

Friday, November 15 - online booking opens for student involved learning conferences 

November 19 - 22 - book fair
Wednesday, November 20 - spirit day: reverse day (students dress as teachers)

Thursday, November 21 - student involved learning conferences 3:30-7:00

Friday, November 22 - student involved learning conferences 8:00-12:00 (no school)
Friday, November 22 - theatre forms and payment due
Tuesday, November 26 - theatre field trip

Friday, November 29 - pillars of care assembly 

Friday, November 8

Messages and Reminders:
If our poetry anthology was not handed in today, it is now late and needs to be submitted on Tuesday. Many students also still need to hand in the math homework that was due today. There is no school on Monday because it is Remembrance Day. We begin swimming lessons on Tuesday. Make sure students have a bathing suit, towel, and plastic bag each day that we are swimming. If you have not returned the forms, students will not be going swimming and will join a grade five class at school while we are gone. Our next basic facts / computation quiz is on Wednesday. November's school spirit day is on the 20th and is "reverse day" - teachers can dress as students and students can dress as teachers. Theatre field trip forms and payment are due on Friday, November 22.

Morning recap:
This morning after writing our social studies unit test, we completed our week in review and then did read to self or read to someone. During math, we did some multiplication word problems using a graphic organizer to clearly show our work. Here is an example:

In health, we reviewed the zones of regulation. There are four zones: blue, green, yellow, and red. They correspond to different emotional states. If we're sad or tired, we're in the blue zone. Being in the green zone means we're feeling okay and are ready to learn. If we're worried, frustrated, or hyper, we're in the yellow zone. Being in the red zone means we're out of control, which usually means being angry or terrified. This year we will practice lots of strategies to help us move back to the green zone. Today we began making fortune tellers that will help us review the zones. We listed the emotions associated with each zone and wrote what it looks like to be in the green zone.

After a quick classroom cleanup, we headed down to the Remembrance Day assembly. We spent the last 15 minutes of the morning either doing finish up in Mr. Mueller's room or at gym.

Have a wonderful long weekend!

Upcoming important dates:
Monday, November 11 - no school (Remembrance Day)
November 12, 13, 14, 18, 19 - swimming lessons
Wednesday, November 13 - basic facts / computation quiz
Wednesday, November 20 - spirit day: reverse day (students dress as teachers)
Friday, November 22 - theatre forms and payment due
Tuesday, November 26 - theatre field trip

Poetry anthologies

Remember that if you have not shared your poetry anthology with me (siwinston@educbe.ca), you will not be printing it at school tomorrow.

Thursday, November 7

Messages and Reminders:
Our poetry anthology project is due tomorrow. We also have a page of math homework (multiplication and division) due tomorrow. The Remembrance Day assembly is tomorrow at 10:30. Swimming forms and payment are due tomorrow and theatre forms and payment are due Friday, November 22. There is no school on Monday. We begin swimming lessons on Tuesday. Make sure students have a bathing suit, towel, and plastic bag each day that we are swimming.

Morning recap:
This morning after ignite, we did word work and made as many words as we could out of the letters in REMEMBRANCE. During language arts, we continued working on the questions that go with chapter one of The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe, which we read yesterday. During math, we did a quick number talk and discussed the ways we knew the answer to 88.8 divided by 8. Then we completed a 3 question mini quiz on division, had a few minutes to print poetry if needed, and then did Mathletics on the laptops. We ended the morning with gym and library.

Upcoming important dates:
Friday, November 8 - poetry anthology project due
Friday, November 8 - swimming forms and payment due
Monday, November 11 - no school (Remembrance Day)
November 12, 13, 14, 18, 19 - swimming lessons
Wednesday, November 13 - basic facts / computation quiz
Friday, November 22 - theatre forms and payment due
Tuesday, November 26 - theatre field trip

Wednesday, November 6

Messages and Reminders:
We have library tomorrow. Our poetry anthology project is due on Friday. We also have a page of math homework (multiplication and division) due Friday. Swimming forms and payment are due this Friday and theatre forms and payment are due November 22. There is no school on Monday. We begin swimming lessons on Tuesday. Make sure students have a bathing suit, towel, and plastic bag each day that we are swimming.

Morning recap:
This morning after music, we did read to self or read to someone. During language arts, we started our novel study. We will be reading The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe together as a class. Today we began by talking about the book and making predictions, reading chapter one, and starting to answer some comprehension and critical thinking questions. We got together with our buddies today to create our class wreaths for Friday's Remembrance Day assembly. We talked about why poppies are the symbol for Remembrance Day and we made paper handprints and poppies to create our wreaths. We ended the morning at our Wednesday dance class in gym with all the grade sixes.

Upcoming important dates:
Friday, November 8 - poetry anthology project due
Friday, November 8 - math homework page due
Friday, November 8 - swimming forms and payment due
Monday, November 11 - no school (Remembrance Day)
November 12, 13, 14, 18, 19 - swimming lessons
Wednesday, November 13 - basic facts / computation quiz
Friday, November 22 - theatre forms and payment due
Tuesday, November 26 - theatre field trip

Tuesday, November 5

Messages and Reminders:
Our poetry anthology project is due on Friday. We also have a page of math homework (multiplication and division) due Friday. Swimming forms and payment are due this Friday and theatre forms and payment are due November 22.

Morning recap:
This morning after music, we did read to self. During math, we wrote a practice basic facts / computation quiz so that we could get some extra practice in and have something to study before next Tuesday's quiz. It was very similar to the one we wrote two weeks ago, but of course had slightly different numbers. If we have questions about any of the problems on the practice quiz, we will have opportunities to talk about them this week during math. In language arts, we worked on our poetry anthologies for the last time. They are now homework and are due on Friday. We took a break to go to gym, where we played dodgeball games. Ms. Winston had to leave for an appointment so Mr. Hebert spent the last half hour of the morning with us while we continued working on our poetry until lunch.

In case you missed it in previous posts, here are the expectations and rubric for the poetry anthology.

Upcoming important dates:
Friday, November 8 - poetry anthology project due
Friday, November 8 - swimming forms and payment due
November 12, 13, 14, 18, 19 - swimming lessons
Wednesday, November 13 - basic facts / computation quiz
Friday, November 22 - theatre forms and payment due
Tuesday, November 26 - theatre field trip

Monday, November 4

Messages and Reminders:
Our poetry anthology project is due on Friday, November 8. Many of us also have math homework due Friday. Swimming forms and payment are due Friday and theatre forms and payment are due November 22.

Morning recap:
This morning after ignite, we did read to self. During math, we began with a number talk. We looked at the question 25 x 5 and talked about the different ways we could solve it in our heads (without having to write it out on paper). We noticed that there were many ways to arrive at the same answer. Then we continued working on our long division booklet and began a page of multi-digit multiplication and long division practice questions. This page is now homework and will be due on Friday. There is a must section that all students need to complete and a could section that is available for an extra challenge. If the long division booklet wasn't finished, it is now homework as well. If all work was complete, we played the division game we learned last week. In language arts, we worked on our poetry anthologies. These are due on Friday, and tomorrow will be our last class time to work on them. Poem checklists were handed out to us today so that we could see our progress and make a plan for what we have left to complete. We took a break to go to gym and then continued working on our poetry until lunch.

Upcoming important dates:
Friday, November 8 - poetry anthology project due
Friday, November 8 - math homework page due
Friday, November 8 - swimming forms and payment due
November 12, 13, 14, 18, 19 - swimming lessons
Friday, November 22 - theatre forms and payment due
Tuesday, November 26 - theatre field trip

Thursday, October 31

Messages and Reminders:
There is no school tomorrow. Our poetry anthology project is due on Friday, November 8. Swimming forms and payment are due November 8 and theatre forms and payment are due November 22. Please remember to check Mr. Mueller and Mr. Shackelton's blogs for updates on what we are doing in science and social studies, as we had projects due in both classes this week and many have not been handed in.

Morning recap:
This morning after ignite, we did some word work. We made as many words as we could out of the letters in HALLOWEEN. In math, we learned a new long division game and played if we were done our booklets. We visited our buddies since there is no school and we won't see them tomorrow. We worked together to colour some Halloween pictures and then helped our buddies practice their listening skills while we played Halloween bingo. After a quick week in review and classroom cleanup, we went to gym and then ended the morning at the library.

Have a safe and happy Halloween if you're celebrating, a great day off tomorrow, and a wonderful weekend!

Upcoming important dates:

Friday, November 1 - no school - PD day
Friday, November 8 - poetry anthology project due
Friday, November 8 - swimming forms and payment due
November 12, 13, 14, 18, 19 - swimming lessons
Friday, November 22 - theatre forms and payment due
Tuesday, November 26 - theatre field trip

Wednesday, October 30

Messages and Reminders:
Tomorrow is Halloween, which we will be celebrating at BHS with black and orange day. We have library tomorrow. The pillars of care assembly is tomorrow at 12:30pm. There is no school on Friday.  We have moved the poetry anthology due date to Friday, November 8. Swimming forms and payment are due November 8 and theatre forms and payment are due November 22. Please remember to check Mr. Mueller and Mr. Shackelton's blogs for information on our science and social studies classes - there have been projects due this week in both subjects and many students have not handed them in.

Morning recap:
This morning after music, we did a reading assessment. Since we have been learning about trees and forests in science, all grade six students received a passage about trees and then answered a series of questions. It was read aloud once to everyone and then students had time to reread it as many times as they wanted. The questions were designed to see how deeply students were comprehending what they had read. We will continue this type of reading assessment throughout the year, with the goal to develop strategies to help deepen our reading comprehension. During language arts, we continued working on our poetry anthologies. In math, we completed a 3 question division mini quiz, worked on our long division booklets, and then did Mathletics on the laptops. We ended the morning at our Wednesday dance class in gym with all the grade sixes.

Upcoming important dates:

Thursday, October 31 - black and orange day (no costumes at school please)

Thursday, October 31 - pillars of care assembly - 12:30pm
Friday, November 1 - no school - PD day
Friday, November 8 - poetry anthology project due
Friday, November 8 - swimming forms and payment due
November 12, 13, 14, 18, 19 - swimming lessons
Friday, November 22 - theatre forms and payment due
Tuesday, November 26 - theatre field trip

Tuesday, October 29

Messages and Reminders:
Thursday is Halloween, which we will be celebrating at BHS with black and orange day. The pillars of care assembly is at 12:30pm on Thursday. There is no school on Friday. Swimming forms and payment are due November 8 and theatre forms and payment are due November 22.

Morning recap:
This morning after music and read to self, we continued practicing long division. We did a few more questions as a class and then worked through the rest of our booklet on our own. If we finished all questions in our booklet, we started on a review page with long division and multi-digit multiplication. Our pumpkin group also decorated the room 20 pumpkin during this time. In language arts, we worked on our poetry anthologies. We took a break to go to gym and then continued working on our poetry until lunch.

Upcoming important dates:

Thursday, October 31 - black and orange day (no costumes at school please)

Thursday, October 31 - pillars of care assembly - 12:30pm
Friday, November 1 - no school - PD day
Friday, November 8 - swimming forms and payment due
November 12, 13, 14, 18, 19 - swimming lessons
Friday, November 22 - theatre forms and payment due
Tuesday, November 26 - theatre field trip

Monday, October 28

Messages and Reminders:
Last week's basic facts quizzes went home with students today. Please look over, sign, and send them back to school tomorrow. See Friday's blog post for more info on the basic facts quiz. Book orders are due tomorrow. Thursday is Halloween, which we will be celebrating at BHS with black and orange day. The pillars of care assembly is at 12:30pm on Thursday. Notes went home with room 20's winners today. There is no school on Friday. Swimming forms and payment are due November 8 and theatre forms and payment are due November 22. We are taking another week off spelling to focus on our ongoing projects.

Morning recap:
This morning after ignite, we had a special guest speaker. Officer Kovacs, our school resource officer, came to speak to us about what he does as a police officer and how we can help keep ourselves and others safe, through things such as refraining from fighting and being safe online.

After our guest speaker left, we took a few minutes to draw a pumpkin design. Many classes in the school are designing pumpkins this week. The rule is that the design must be based on something we are learning. The pumpkins will be on display in the library on Wednesday and Thursday. Room 20's pumpkin is going to be about math because Halloween often involves scary things and many of us think that math is very scary! Alone or with a friend or two, we designed a math pumpkin. Once everyone was done, we voted on which design we'll actually use. The winning design was drawn by Joshua, Haider, and Gregory, and they will execute their design on our pumpkin tomorrow morning.

In language arts, we worked on our poetry anthology. After LA, We went to gym and then we finished the morning by going over our basic facts quiz (which needs to be signed and returned) and watching part of a long division review video.

Upcoming important dates:

Tuesday, October 29 - book orders due

Thursday, October 31 - black and orange day (no costumes at school please)

Thursday, October 31 - pillars of care assembly - 12:30pm
Friday, November 1 - no school - PD day
Friday, November 8 - swimming forms and payment due
November 12, 13, 14, 18, 19 - swimming lessons
Friday, November 22 - theatre forms and payment due
Tuesday, November 26 - theatre field trip

Friday, October 25

Messages and Reminders:
Please remember to check Mr. Shackelton (https://gr6bhs.blogspot.com/) and Mr. Mueller's (https://mrmuellerbhsgr6.blogspot.com/) blogs for details on our social studies and science projects. Book orders are due by Tuesday and can be submitted online or by returning forms to Ms. Winston. Thursday is Halloween, which we will be celebrating at BHS with black and orange day. The pillars of care assembly is at 12:30pm on Thursday. Notes will go home with our winners next week. There is no school for students next Friday. Swimming forms and payment are due November 8 and theatre forms and payment are due November 22.

Morning recap:
This morning all students in division two (grades four, five, and six) spent the morning with presenters from the Junior Achievement program. In grade six, we learned all about businesses and worked together to develop a business of our own (a custom order candy store). We got to watch some clips from Dragon's Den to see how other children pitched their businesses in real life before designing a business plan together as a class. We also practiced working individually and as an assembly line to see which was more efficient when building pens. We played games including Jeopardy to identify popular logos and broken telephone to pass along customer orders. At the end, we played a review game to see how well we had been listening this morning. Everyone received a certificate for participating in this program.

Yesterday's basic facts quizzes have been marked, but students have not seen them yet because we were with Junior Achievement all morning. As a class, we didn't do very well on this quiz. This quiz was significantly more difficult than the first one, so it was expected that scores would be lower. The questions on this quiz better reflect what we will see on our triweekly basic facts quizzes throughout the year and what we will see on the math PAT. We will have many chances to improve, which means there is not reason to be concerned about marks at this point in the year; however, I want to make this clear and go over the quiz with students before handing them out because I don't want anyone to see their scores without an explanation and be upset. We will go over the quiz together on Monday, and then quizzes will be handed out for students to bring home, have a parent/guardian sign, and return to school.

Have a great weekend!

Upcoming important dates:

Tuesday, October 29 - book orders due

Thursday, October 31 - black and orange day (no costumes at school please)

Thursday, October 31 - pillars of care assembly - 12:30pm
Friday, November 1 - no school - PD day
Friday, November 8 - swimming forms and payment due
November 12, 13, 14, 18, 19 - swimming lessons
Friday, November 22 - theatre forms and payment due
Tuesday, November 26 - theatre field trip

Thursday, October 24

Messages and Reminders:
Field trip forms went home today for our Tuesday, November 26 field trip to see the play of The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe. Forms and payment must be returned by Friday, November 22. The Halloween dance is tonight. An adult must be present with students at the dance. Tomorrow morning we will be participating in a program by Junior Achievement. Book orders are due by Tuesday. Swimming forms and payment are due by Friday, November 8. Our poetry anthology is due Tuesday, November 5, and we will have more class time to work on it next week. Please remember to check Mr. Shackelton and Mr. Mueller's blogs for details on our social studies and science projects.

Morning recap:
This morning after ignite, we wrote our basic facts quiz. We didn't have time to peer mark, so Ms. Winston marked them and we will see our marks on Monday. We saw our buddies today since we have a special program (Junior Achievement) all morning tomorrow. This year, in addition to the four constant pillars, BHS has a monthly pillar too. Since October's monthly pillar is respect, we did some respect activities with our buddies. We wrote words or drew pictures of ways to show respect at home, in class, and on the playground. We also wrote acrostic poems for respect. When we got back to class, we talked about the next rotating pillar of care. The teachers decided on the first two (belonging and respect) but this month it was turned over to the students. We went through the same process as the teachers: a group brainstorm about potential pillar ideas, table group discussions to choose the best idea, and then a whole class vote on the ideas from each group. The pillar that room 20 will be suggesting is loyalty/trust. Tomorrow at the staff meeting, teachers will each submit their students' ideas and we will determine the November pillar to be announced at next week's pillars of care assembly. We ended the morning with gym and library.

Upcoming important dates:
Thursday, October 24 - parent council Halloween dance - 6:00pm-8:00pm
Tuesday, October 29 - book orders due

Thursday, October 31 - black and orange day (no costumes at school please)

Thursday, October 31 - pillars of care assembly - 12:30pm
Friday, November 1 - no school - PD day
Tuesday, November 5 - poetry anthology due
Friday, November 8 - swimming forms and payment due
November 12, 13, 14, 18, 19 - swimming lessons
Friday, November 22 - theatre forms and payment due
Tuesday, November 26 - theatre field trip

Wednesday, October 23

Messages and Reminders:
Swimming lesson field trip forms went home today. The letter and calendar are yours to keep so you have the information. Forms (acknowledgement of risk, medical, and swim ability) and payment ($26) must be returned to school by November 8. We swim on November 12, 13, 14, 18, and 19. We will be writing our next basic facts quiz tomorrow morning. We have library tomorrow. The Halloween dance is tomorrow evening. An adult must be present with students at the dance. Book orders are due by Tuesday. Please remember to check Mr. Shackelton and Mr. Mueller's blogs for details on our social studies and science projects.

Morning recap:
This morning after music, we did read to self or read to someone. In language arts, we continued working on our poetry anthologies. Laptops were available today if we wanted to begin typing our poems. During math, we completed a 5 question mini quiz to see how we're doing with decimal multiplication and basic division. Then we either finished our decimal multiplication bingo cards or grabbed a laptop and did Mathletics. We ended the morning at our Wednesday dance class in gym. 

Upcoming important dates:
Thursday, October 24 - basic facts quiz
Thursday, October 24 - parent council Halloween dance (evening)
Tuesday, October 29 - book orders due

Thursday, October 31 - black and orange day (no costumes at school please)
Friday, November 1 - no school - PD day
Friday, November 8 - swimming forms and payment due

Tuesday, October 22

Messages and Reminders:
Book order flyers went home today. Orders must be in by Tuesday, October 29 and can be placed online or by sending in a cheque with your order form. You also never know when a free book coupon might be earned for hard work...We will be writing our next basic facts quiz on Thursday morning. The Halloween dance is Thursday evening. A parent council notice went home with details about the dance on Friday. Please remember to check Mr. Shackelton and Mr. Mueller's blogs for details on our social studies and science projects.

Morning recap:
This morning after music, we did read to self before moving onto math. We spent a few minutes finishing up our decimal multiplication bingo cards and then we talked about division. We watched two Math Antics videos about the steps and then practiced some questions as a class. The division we are doing right now should be review from last year, but we will soon be moving onto division involving decimals.

During language arts, we had time to work on our poetry anthology project. If we accomplish about two poems a day, we should be able to get our project done during class time over the next couple weeks. We took a break to go to gym, where we played soccer, before continuing to work on our poetry until lunch.

Upcoming important dates:
Thursday, October 24 - basic facts quiz
Thursday, October 24 - parent council Halloween dance (evening)
Tuesday, October 29 - book orders due

Thursday, October 31 - black and orange day (no costumes at school please)
Friday, November 1 - no school - PD day

Monday, October 21

Messages and Reminders:
BHS is participating in the Reading... Give It a Shot program this year. A reading tracking sheet went home with students today. For every hour that grade 6 students read, they will earn a hockey card. There are 24 player cards and 1 surprise card to collect. If we do well as a school, we will have a chance to win a visit from the Calgary Flames. This program goes until December 13. We will be writing our next basic facts quiz on Thursday morning. The Halloween dance is Thursday evening. A parent council notice went home with details about the dance on Friday. Please remember to check Mr. Shackelton and Mr. Mueller's blogs for details on our social studies and science projects.

Morning recap:
This morning after ignite, we did read to self before talking about our poetry anthology project. We will have lots of time this week and next week to work on this project and are also welcome to work on it at home. Here are the details:

In math, we continued working on decimal multiplication. We had work to finish from Friday, including creating decimal multiplication bingo cards. Gym was outside this morning because our gym was being used as a polling station for the federal election. 

Upcoming important dates:
Thursday, October 24 - basic facts quiz
Thursday, October 24 - parent council Halloween dance - 6:00pm-8:00pm

Thursday, October 31 - black and orange day (no costumes at school please)
Friday, November 1 - no school - PD day

Friday, October 18

Messages and Reminders:
The Halloween dance is Thursday evening. Check Mr. Shackelton's blog for detail on the social studies project that is due at the end of the month. We are taking another week off spelling because we have lots of projects starting next week and also a presentation on Friday.

Morning recap:
This morning we did read to self or read to someone before learning about bio poems. These are poems that tell the story of one particular person, including what they love and where they live. We wrote one as a class about Maks and then had time to write our own in our journals. Some of them were pretty funny. In math, we reviewed how to do multi-digit multiplication involving decimals. It is just like regular multiplication but we have to remember to count the number of places after the decimal in the questions to make sure the answer has the same amount. For example. 0.34 x 0.68 has 4 numbers after the decimal, so the answer will as well (0.2312). We did some practice problems and then started creating bingo cards so that we can play decimal multiplication bingo in an upcoming math block.

During buddies, we helped them create their classroom alphabet. We created letters using cotton balls, stickers, or tissue paper. We also read with our buddies and acted out different problems we might have at school so that we could talk about how to solve them and how big each problem is. For example, breaking a pencil is a level 1 problem that we can solve by ourselves, whereas falling off the slide and breaking a bone is a level 5 problem that requires a lot of help. We ended the morning playing bench dodgeball with all the grade sixes at gym.

Have a great weekend!

Upcoming important dates:

Thursday, October 24 - parent council Halloween dance (evening)

Thursday, October 31 - black and orange day (no costumes at school please)

Friday, November 1 - no school - PD day 

Thursday, October 17

Messages and Reminders:
The Halloween dance is next Thursday evening.

Morning recap:
This morning after ignite, we did our October writing sample. This was the picture we wrote about this month.

In math, we did a multiplication mini quiz before grabbing a laptop for Mathletics. This week's mini quiz included multi-digit multiplication as well as decimal multiplication, which we will be reviewing and practicing tomorrow. We ended the morning with gym and library.

Upcoming important dates:

Thursday, October 24 - parent council Halloween dance (evening)

Thursday, October 31 - black and orange day (no costumes at school please)

Friday, November 1 - no school - PD day 

Wednesday, October 16

Messages and Reminders:
Fun lunch is tomorrow. We have library tomorrow.

Morning recap:
This morning after music, we grabbed laptops to do our poetry quiz. It covered the terms we have been studying for the past couple weeks. Once laptops were put away, we talked about two more forms of poetry: diamantes and limericks. Ms. Winston wasn't feeling well and left mid-morning, so Ms. MacDonald subbed and the plan was to write some diamantes and limericks and continue practicing multi-digit multiplication. We ended the morning at gym with all the grade sixes for our Wednesday dance class. Ms. Winston should be back tomorrow.

Upcoming important dates:
Thursday, October 17 - fun lunch

Thursday, October 24 - parent council Halloween dance (evening)

Thursday, October 31 - black and orange day (no costumes at school please)

Friday, November 1 - no school - PD day 

A few reminders.

Hi Room 20 Students and Families,

I hope you are having a wonderful long weekend. Just a few notes about the upcoming week:

• We are going to write a short (15 question) quiz on Wednesday on the poetry terms we have been studying for the past couple weeks. You will need to be able to identify rhyme schemes (ABAB, ABBA, etc.), alliteration, similes, metaphors, onomatopoeia, personification, rhythm, and a few of the forms of poetry we have practiced (couplets, tercets, cinquains, haiku, etc.). If you've been paying attention in class, you will do fine. The quiz is multiple choice and will be completed on the laptops.
• There are no new spelling words this week because it is such a short week. 
• We will be practicing a few more forms of poetry this week and then we will get to work on our final poetry project which will be due at the end of the month.
• It is crazy hair day on Wednesday. 
• Grade 6 vaccinations are happening on Wednesday if forms were returned.
• Fun lunch is on Thursday.

Enjoy your Monday and Tuesday off school! Whether you celebrate Thanksgiving or not, take some time to be grateful. I'm grateful for the 20 of you and for our school community at BHS. See you on Wednesday.

- Ms. Winston

Thursday, October 10

Messages and Reminders:
Fun lunch orders are due online by tomorrow. There is no school on Friday, Monday, or Tuesday. Wednesday is crazy hair day and also the day grade six students will get their vaccinations if forms were returned.

Morning recap:
This morning after ignite, we did something different in word work. We did an activity called money words. Each letter of the alphabet is given a different value and we practiced adding decimals by seeing how much each our spelling words was worth. This gave us one last chance to practice for our spelling test, which we then wrote and peer marked before heading downstairs to do a Thanksgiving word search and read with our buddies. We came back upstairs for a quick week in review and classroom cleanup and then we were off to gym and library.

Have a great long weekend and a very happy Thanksgiving if you are celebrating.

Upcoming important dates:
Friday, October 11 - fun lunch orders due online
Friday, October 11 - no school - PD day
Monday, October 14 - no school - Thanksgiving
Tuesday, October 15 - no school - PD day
Wednesday, October 16 - grade 6 vaccinations
Wednesday, October 16 - crazy hair day
Thursday, October 17 - fun lunch

Wednesday, October 9

Messages and Reminders:
Our spelling test is tomorrow, so homework is must be returned. We have library tomorrow. Fun lunch orders are due online by Friday. There is no school on Friday, Monday, or Tuesday.

A note from Mr. Mueller: The layers of the forest project was due on Tuesday. If it was not handed in, it became homework and must be handed in tomorrow.

Morning recap:
This morning we did read to self or read to someone when we got back from music. In language arts, we filed a bunch of papers in our language arts folders and then talked about odes. We looked at examples of this form of poem, wrote one as a class (ode to sprinkles), and then wrote our own. In math, we completed a few multiplication problems and then did Mathletics or Splash Math on the laptops. It's Wednesday, which meant we ended the morning learning from our special guest dance instructor in gym.

Upcoming important dates:
Thursday, October 10 - spelling test / spelling sentence homework due
Friday, October 11 - fun lunch orders due online
Friday, October 11 - no school - PD day
Monday, October 14 - no school - Thanksgiving
Tuesday, October 15 - no school - PD day
Wednesday, October 16 - grade 6 vaccinations
Wednesday, October 16 - crazy hair day
Thursday, October 17 - fun lunch

Tuesday, October 8

Messages and Reminders:
Spelling homework is due on Thursday, the day of our spelling test. When completing this week's homework, students may write a sentence using the word, the definition of the word, or an example  in cases of literary devices such as simile. We have library on Thursday. Fun lunch orders are due online by Friday. There is no school this Friday or next Monday or Tuesday.

A note from Mr. Mueller: The layers of the forest project was due today. If students are not finished, it is now homework and must be handed in by Thursday.

Morning recap:
This morning we did read to self when we got back from music. In math, we did a few multi-digit multiplication questions a class to review the steps and then we kept working on our booklet from yesterday. If we finished all our work, we played multiplication or division games with a partner. In language arts, we analyzed different types of poems and looked for examples of the literary devices we have learned. We did some as a class, took a break to go to gym, and then analyzed one or two poems on our own. We used different colours to underline or highlight different literary devices such as alliteration and personification.

Upcoming important dates:
Thursday, October 10 - spelling test / spelling sentence homework due
Friday, October 11 - fun lunch orders due online
Friday, October 11 - no school - PD day
Monday, October 14 - no school - Thanksgiving
Tuesday, October 15 - no school - PD day
Wednesday, October 16 - grade 6 vaccinations
Wednesday, October 16 - crazy hair day
Thursday, October 17 - fun lunch

Monday, October 7

Messages and Reminders:
Spelling homework is due on Thursday, the day of our spelling test. When completing this week's homework, students may write a sentence using the word, the definition of the word, or an example  in cases of literary devices such as simile. We have library on Thursday. Fun lunch orders are due online by Friday. There is no school this Friday or next Monday or Tuesday.

Morning recap:
This morning we did read to self when we got back from ignite. In language arts, we continued looking at different types of poems. We also had some time to work on our spelling homework since this week's words are poetry words. In math, we reviewed multi-digit multiplication. We watched Math Antics videos to remind us of the steps and did some practice  questions as a class. We took a break to go to gym and then began working on some multiplication practice questions on our own. We will continue working on this tomorrow.

Upcoming important dates:
Thursday, October 10 - spelling test / spelling sentence homework due
Friday, October 11 - fun lunch orders due online
Friday, October 11 - no school - PD day
Monday, October 14 - no school - Thanksgiving
Tuesday, October 15 - no school - PD day
Wednesday, October 16 - grade 6 vaccinations
Wednesday, October 16 - crazy hair day
Thursday, October 17 - fun lunch

Friday, October 4

Messages and Reminders:
Fun lunch forms went home today. Order online by next Friday if you want Subway on October 17. Picture day is on Monday. New spelling words went home today and are also listed below. The sentences are due on test day, next Thursday.

Must:

1. rhythm
2. rhyme
3. repetition
4. alliteration
5. imagery
6. simile
7. metaphor
8. syllables
9. stanza
10. couplet

Should (if not ELL or on an IPP):

1. haiku
2. hyperbole
3. synonym
4. personification
5. onomatopoeia

Morning recap:
This morning we either finished our Terry Fox doodle art shoe or did read to self or read to someone before we were interrupted by a fire drill. Most of us did a great job during the drill. In math, we played noggle. It's just like boggle but with numbers. We had to write all the multiplication and division sentences we could find (they don't have to be touching in noggle the way they do in boggle). One example is 3 x 5 = 15. How many can you find?

We also went over the steps to solving a word problem and did some multiplication and division word problems. If we finished all the problems, we played math games. We did a quick week in review and classroom clean up before going down to see our buddies. We walked around the school looking for leaves and then we came in and created leaf art. We ended the morning at gym with all the grade sixes.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Upcoming important dates:
Monday, October 7 - picture day
Thursday, October 10 - spelling test / spelling sentence homework due
Friday, October 11 - fun lunch orders due online
Friday, October 11 - no school - PD day
Monday, October 14 - no school - Thanksgiving
Tuesday, October 15 - no school - PD day
Wednesday, October 16 - grade 6 vaccinations
Wednesday, October 16 - crazy hair day
Thursday, October 17 - fun lunch