I hope everyone had a great weekend! I know I did!

I was lucky enough to attend this year’s EdInnovation Conference, and I had the honor of meeting Colonel Chris Hadfield, attending many workshops, and learning so much my brain hurts! It was a weekend filled with amazing ideas and experiences. What does this mean for you? Just you wait and see!

This week:

Language – we will continue to read “Pax” by Sara Pennypacker. It is such an amazing book, and we will be diving even deeper into the hidden meanings in this book, as well as continuing to learn about character traits.

Math – adding decimals will be reviewed and we will start to subtract decimals, including money amounts.

Science – 

• Grade 4: Learning about the Rock Cycle and exploring the three different rock types.
• Grade 5: Presenting their findings on sources of energy and learning the difference between non-renewable and renewable sources of energy.

School Events

Tuesday:

• Picture day! Don’t forget to brush your hair!

Friday:

• Play for Change (see attached poster made by the Grade 6s)
• Halloween Dance (6-8pm)

Let’s have another great week!

Hello everyone!

This week we will be finishing up our place value unit in Math, and students will have the unit test on FRIDAY. They will be bringing home a review test to study, and they can use Khan Academy and the other links on the blog to practice. We will continue learning about Energy and Rocks and Minerals in Science. In Language, we are gearing up for the Global Read Aloud, which starts on October 3rd. We will be reading Pax, and will be starting some anticipatory activities this week!

Events:

Monday: School Mass from 1pm – 2pm

Thursday: Mystery Skype with our Global Read Aloud partners…who will they be?

Friday: Terry Fox Walk in the morning AND Unit Test for Place Value

Have a great week everyone! And remember to try and read everyday because strong readers make strong writers!

What a busy week we’ve had at school. Our blogs are now up and running! If you haven’t had a chance to visit, please do so. Feel free to share the link with grandparents, aunts, uncles, and friends. Our students are very talented, and love to share their work. Remember kids, the more you read, the better writer you will become. Take some time to read each other’s work, and provide quality comments. On our blog homepage, you will find the links to Mr. MacKenzie’s two Grade 5 classes, as well as Mrs. Hanna’s Grade 5 Class. We also have a class from Ohio following our Blog. Feel free to visit and comment on their writing as well. Our 100 Word Challenge prompt writing has been uploaded to the Global Community, now we wait for some comments from teachers around the world.

The kidblog link can be found on the right side of the page under “Links”, here it is if you’d like to copy and share it with family.

KidBlog Link

In Math, we’ve been working on representing whole and decimal numbers in pictures (base ten blocks), numbers, expanded, and words.  We’ve touched on locating decimal numbers on a number line and will continue this week. This week, we will begin rounding decimal numbers and whole numbers, practice writing numbers in expanded form, and ordering numbers.
Before you know it, within the next 2 weeks, we will have our first unit test. Are you practicing these concepts on Khan Academy? Remember to do the tasks I’ve assigned, by clicking your name in the top right corner. You can also prepare for the test by working on the links provided in Math section of the blog.

In Science class, we are going to be presenting a few facts that we learned about our personal inquiry research activity. We will also be starting our first Science Unit. We will be focusing on ways to conserve energy for the Grade 5s and we will be focusing on rocks and minerals for the Grade 4s.

What’s Up This Week?

Thursday Sept. 22 Pizza Supper / Open House : I am really looking forward to meeting all the parents and families. Remember to return the blue pizza order form. You pay for the pizza that night, but MUST order in advance.

5:00-6:00 Pizza Supper (served in the gym)
6:00-7:00 Classroom Visits

Reminder: Many, many forms went home last week.  Please complete them and return them to school as soon as possible.
Activity Fee: $30 (payable online, cash or cheque)
Media Release…to sign
Personal Info….update and sign

Have a wonderful week. Please email me or call if you have any questions.

Hello parents and students!

My name is Melanie Gill, and I am so excited to be teaching Grade 4/5 this year at St. Gabriel. I look forward to displaying students’ learning journeys as they explore their world, collaborate with one another, and take on fun and engaging learning challenges.This year will be fun, engaging, and full of learning!

I believe that a good parent-teacher relationship is necessary for maximum school success. Throughout the year I will communicate with you telephone calls, progress reports, report cards, Twitter, the classroom blog, and parent-teacher conferences. I encourage you to contact me if you have any questions or concerns. You can call me at the school, email me, and you can follow the class blog. Also please feel free to follow your child’s learning on Twitter @mrs_gills_class.

Please fill out and return the student information sheet that will be sent home Tuesday, September 6th, and return it to the school at your earliest convenience. I look forward to working with you and your child this school year.

Your partner in Catholic Education,

Melanie Gill

613-271-6181

melanie.wood@ocsb.ca