What wonderful weather!

I think Spring is finally here, it feels great and there are so many excellent activities we can do in the nice weather! I hope you are taking time to enjoy it as well.

The grade 6 class, along with the rest of the school, will be completing CAT 4 tests this week and next week.

They have 1 test on Tuesday (tomorrow), 2 on Wednesday, 1 on Thursday and 1 on Monday May 7th.

Please make sure your child is at school and has gotten a good sleep and nutritious meals. This will help them perform their best! Good luck to you grade 6!!

PAT tests are also coming up soon. You can expect a letter home soon as there have been a few changes this year. The grade 6 class will be writing their Language Arts PAT on the computer. 

*Report cards went home on Friday, please contact the office if you need a copy.
*Parent Teacher Interviews are this Thursday May 3, 2012. I am looking forward to seeing you there!

We are continuing in our preparation for PATs as well as with our Poetry unit. The students have also been assigned a book report due May 31, 2012. They have handed in their sheet with the chosen book and today were given the expectations for the project of their choice. The students will not have school time to complete this so if they need support at home it would be great if you can provide it. 

As always, let me know if there is any way I can help!

Hoppy Easter!

Hello!

What a beautiful weekend and a great day today as well! It looks like spring may be here! Just a quick update and a few reminders.

Thursday April 5: Holy Thursday-the Sr High and Middle School will have an Easter celebration at 9:00am.

Easter break from April 5-April 15, 2012.

Report Cards come out at the end of April.

The grade 6 class will not have any homework over the holiday however, I do encourage them to take some time and enjoy a good book. They may also consider looking for a book to be used in a book report which we will begin once we return. We will also be starting a poetry unit in mid-April as well as continue preparing for Provincial Achievement Tests. A letter will be sent home soon providing the dates of the tests and more information. 

Great work on your "I am" poems! I heard a lot of positive comments at the Open House!

I hope you all have a wonderful break and take some time to enjoy the great weather!

See you on April 16th!!!

Another short week and extra long weekend!

Hello to all!

I hope you are having  a great week so far! A few reminders:

Thursday March 15 is GREEN DAY! Remember to wear green if you can!

Friday March 16 and Monday March 19 are both PD days so enjoy the long weekend!

Wednesday March 28 from 6:30 until 8:00pm is St. Michael's Open House. Please stay posted for more information.

This week in Language Arts we have started to write "I am" poems. There has been a lot going on in the grade 6 class and together we are working on building a safe and comfortable environment where everyone is treated with respect. In creating these poems, we are learning more about each other and working to provide positive feedback. The hope is this activity will help to foster trust and self-confidence.

I am AMAZED by the work that has happened so far! 

Great job to everyone who has been working hard and digging deep to do excellent work!!!!

Remember to think of a creative way to display your poem and be ready to start on Thursday!
(We are hoping to display some poems at the Open House).

We are also continuing on with our newspaper unit and are almost ready to write newspaper articles. Continue to read the newspaper at home when you can and be sure to share these stories with your classmates!

**Last week we also began with Positive Behaviour cards. Students receive stamps when they come into class and get to task right away as well as if they work hard throughout the class. GREAT WORK SO FAR!!!

Let's have a great week together! Have a safe and fun long weekend!

It has been awhile!

It seems like it has been crazy the last few weeks but here is an update. I hope everyone had a great week off!

Lent began on Ash Wednesday during our week off. Since we have returned to school, we have been following a Lenten Journey display in our classroom. Each day, we look at the path I have created and discuss what we can do each day to help us grow closer to God during this Lenten season. The ideas are very simple including saying a prayer for those who are less fortunate than us, donating what we can to children who are suffering, smiling to help brighten someone's day or sending a card or email to someone who is sad. Be sure to ask your child what we are discussing and encourage them to be active participants.

Last week in L.A. we began our Newspaper Article unit. We have engaged in a variety of discussions about the elements of newspapers, what makes an effective and informative article and how students can use information given to them to create their own articles. 
This week students are working on completing an article analysis of an article they are responsible for choosing. We are also examining the role of reporters and how they create questions to ask in interviews. 

At home please encourage your children to look at newspapers (online or paper) and discuss the different elements and what techniques the writers use to keep the reader informed.

A HUGE THANK YOU to those students that have completed all of their Tic-Tac-Toe assignments!!! A lot of hard work has gone into them and I look forward to going through them.

Reminder: if you have not yet completed your assignments, please get them to me as soon as possible.

Let's have a great week :) 

Happy Reading Week!

Hi everyone!
I hope you have a fun and relaxing Family Day and a great break from school! Take some time to enjoy the beautiful outdoors and catch up on missed sleep :)

Thank you very much to those of you who worked hard to get all your novel study questions finished before the break! Great job :)

Reminder that the tic-tac-toe activities are all due on March 1. This is the Friday after we return. Please work on your assignments over the break as you will not have anymore class time for these.

See you all on February 27!

A busy week!!

I hope you all took time to enjoy the wonderful weather over the weekend, it was great to see so much sunshine!

This week we are continuing on with The Breadwinner and hoping we will finish the reading and questions by the end of the week. If not, definitely on Monday of next week! Please make sure all questions up to Chapter 10 are complete. There are a few students who have still not completed up to Chapter 4 and these need to be done right away!
The students continue to work on their Tic Tac Toe activities. Lots of time and effort have been put in so far and I really look forward to seeing the finished projects! These are due tentatively on Feb 16 although we may have to extend the deadline!

Keep working hard Grade 6!

Reminders:
Friday Feb 10, 2012 Family Dance at St Michael's. Your child should have received a notice with all the important information. Thanks again for all the items brought in for the basket!
Tues Feb 14, 2012 Day 2 of Skiing for Middle School. Those students that are not skiing are still required to come to school for the day.
Report cards were sent home last Friday. Please make sure you have a look at your child's report card and contact the teachers if you have any concerns!

Have a wonderful week!

Reminders!!!!

There is NO SCHOOL tomorrow January 31, 2012. This is the semester break for High School.
School resumes on Wed Feb 1, 2012. Have a great day off!

All students have received a letter about the Family Dance on Friday Feb 10, 2012. Each grade has been asked to bring items/money to make a basket. The grade 6 basket is for a "tween" girl. Please send items/money by Friday Feb 3, 2012.

Thank you very much to those of you who have already brought stuff in!!!!

Week of January 23-27, 2012

After a cold week last week, it looks like the weather should be a little bit more comfortable this week! I hope everyone enjoyed sleeping in on the snow day :)

Great work last week Grade 6! Keep working hard on your writing!

We will be continuing on with our novel The Breadwinner. We have completed the first 4 chapters along with Chapter questions and other small daily assignments. Please make sure your child has their duotang to keep all the questions in. Also, if students are not finished their questions in class they are required to sign out a book and complete them at home. Make sure to ask your child if they have any to catch up on.

This week I will also be introducing the Tic-Tac-Toe activity that will be due on February 16th, 2012. I will attach the activity chart from which students must choose 3 activities. The specific details for each activity are provided on a separate sheet which students take from the file folder in class. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.

http://www.scribd.com/doc/79038702/The-Breadwinner-Tic-Tac-Toe 

IMPORTANT:

Wed Jan 25 is Ski Day for Middle School. Please make sure your child has returned their forms and money. We will be leaving the school at 8:00am therefore please make sure your child is at the school on time. We will also be returning late (4:00-4:30pm) so please make necessary arrangements.

Thursday Jan 26 I will be away at a Beginning Teacher Orientation. The students will have a wonderful morning with Mrs. Shelley Schuler.

Brrrr!!!

Grade 6 students, I sure hope you remember the 5 elements of a story!!!! 

Today we watched a video about these 5 elements which included a rap describing each and providing examples. I know I have the chorus running through my head!

Remember to review these and stay focused as we identify each of the elements of The Breadwinner. We will be continuing on with chapters 3-5 this week.

Make sure you do not fall behind on the questions!

I have been reading the "Letters to the future me" written last week. Many are well-written and identify a variety of great goals. I think the students will really enjoy reading them in June!

In relation to this and other writing activities, students will be given a chance to evaluate their own writing and decide what their strengths and areas of improvement are. As a class we will be looking at samples of student writing and identifying positives and mistakes. By examining exemplars, I am hoping students will strive to improve and always do their best! I am finding many are settling for just "good enough".

Let's work hard this week Grade 6!!!

Welcome to 2012!!!

We are into the second week of school in 2012 and back into the swing of things! I hope everyone enjoyed the holidays and didn't get blown around too much!

We started our novel study last week by recording known information about Afghanistan in a KWL chart. The students will continue to add to the chart as we read The Breadwinner by Deborah Ellis. We also viewed some pictures and a short video which gave the students a quick look into the lives of people living in Afghanistan.

This week we will begin reading the novel and completing chapter questions and related activities. We will identify and discuss elements of the novel as well as character traits and development. Make sure to ask your child to share what is happening in the book. There will also be a Tic-Tac-Toe activity sheet in which students will choose 3 activities to complete. This will be handed out soon and I will try to post it here as well!

I have also asked each student to bring in a duotang to keep their novel study work in. Please make sure to send one with your child. If this is a problem please let me know, I do have a few extras!

On the days in which the Grade 6 French are not with the class, we will be working on a "Letter to the future me". Last week we brainstormed ideas and recorded them in graphic organizers. Students have begun writing their rough drafts, following this they will do some peer editing, self editing and finally a good copy. I will keep these letters and deliver them to the students at the end of the year!!!

The plan is that students will begin to have homework at least once a week. I will keep that posted on here so make sure to check as well as ask your child!

Take care!