Happy Holidays!

I want to take this time to wish all of you who are a part of 310, a very Happy Holidays. I have really appreciated all of the kind wishes and generous gifts that have come my way. More so than that, I am really appreciative for all of the wonderful moments we've had so far in room 310. It means more to me that we started out a little rough, and have managed to come so far in such a short amount of time. Look at all the things we've achieved! Not only were we able to pull off a very successful Haunted House and make a very meaningful experience for our two student teachers but we've also been able to:

Treat all of the 1-6 homerooms at Churchill to delicious snacks! Thank you, thank you, thank you to Colleen, Patti, and Shauna for coming in to help. I was so sick this week that I really wasn't able to wrap my head around this whole project the way I wanted to. We would not have been able to pull off such a successful Snack Shack without you. Thank you also to all of your donations of ingredients. In case you haven't seen it, here is the menu that the kids wrote up for the school:

Apple Maple Crumble

This crumble is made with soft, light, glorious apples with an extraordinarily natural layer of sweet, loveable, maple. It has been cooked to a crispy golden brown perfection.

California Roll

Fresh, mouth watering, sushi made with pearl white steaming rice cooked to perfection and wrapped around vegetables so tasty that they will drive your senses wild. Surrounded in a delicious wrap that will take you to the oceans of Japan.

Quesadillas

Delicious green peppers freshly cut to perfection mixed with juicy mouth watering salsa on top of succulent Monterey jack cheese sandwiched between two golden brown pieces of crispy pita bread.

Skeletal Veggie Dip

A multitude of your favourite vegetables. This veggie and dip platter soothes your tastebuds with freshly cut vegetables served on a platter in the shape of a skeleton. Delicious, delectable, and scrumptious, this platter will not only swarm your mouth with joy, but it will also infuse your body with tonnes of vitamins and nutrients.

Coconut Macaroons

If you like coconut then this is the treat for you. The coconutty taste is so fresh, that you'll feel like you're eating a coconut straight off of the palm tree. The richest most flavourful chocolate you'll ever taste. This scrumptious sensation leaves you wanting more.

The kids were great cooks, gracious servers, and efficient cleaners. They were so well behaved all day and that's why it was such a success. I'm so proud of them. I will add pictures to the Walmart "Churchill" album for you to enjoy.

We were also able to grant a wish! Anna's crane mobile idea started in our classroom and look at it now! It's so beautiful and we were so lucky to be able to share it with Anna when she came in for a visit.

I'm feeling a glow with happiness and pride for 310 and I can't wait for all of the wonderful things to come in 2008. I hope all of you have the merriest of holidays and I look forward to seeing you in two weeks. Thank you.

What's Left

Alas, I was not able to make it as I hoped I would. I've fallen prey to the evil sickness. My throat is killing, my head is foggy, I'm freezing col, and I'm achey all over. Poor me. I've left the kids in the able hands of two different supply teachers for the next two days and will return on Thursday for the Snack Shack.
As for the Snack Shack, I thank you for all of your donations. At this point, the only things we really need are 25-30 apples and veggies for our veggie platter. That's it. Let me know and keep those magazines and flyers coming.

Someone's In the Kitchen With 310!

Sorry it's taken me so long to post this...I've been shovelling.

On Thursday, we will be filling the following orders:

5 classes want Apple Maple Crumbles
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Apple-Maple-Crumble-Pie/Detail.aspx

4 classes want Chocolate Coconut Macaroons
I've chosen this no-bake recipe

1 cup white sugar
50mL milk
50mL butter
Put on stove and let come to a boil, then add:
50mL rolled oats
250mL coconut
45mL cocoa
1mL salt
5mL vanilla
Drop on wax paper. Cool and refrigerate.

2 Classes want our Skeletal and Veggie Dip
This is a veggie platter that's carefully placed in the shape of a skeleton. We will be making the following dip to serve with it:

INGREDIENTS
250mL sour cream
125mL mayonnaise
15mL finely chopped onion
10mL dried parsley flakes
5mL dill weed
5mL seasoned salt

Two items were not chosen. I have told the kids that we will try to make California Rolls and Quesadillas on Friday for our own little gourmet celebration.

I'm not quite sure how to collect all of your donated ingredients. If you can and want to donate, just email me what you will give and I will continue to update everyone via email as to what we still need.

EVERYONE is more than welcome to come and cook on Thursday. Come whenever you'd like. I'm guessing there will be something to do all day long. Thanks again!

310 Snack Shack

The 310 Snack Shack is opening soon! We have decided on our menu items and are in the process of creating our menu. We will be taking orders soon and then I will know what donations we will be looking for.
As I mentioned in a previous post, I am currently taking Computers Part 1 and I am in the process of completing a research project on blogs. I have a couple of quick questions to ask you.
Do you check the blog?
How often?
Do you feel more connected because of the blog?
Where do you check the blog (home or office)?
Do your children check the blog?
Any other feedback?
Please email me your answers at tiiu.tsao@ocdsb.ca as soon as you can. Thank you for your help with this project.

sharp

I keep forgetting to pass this along...
We are in dire need of some working pencil sharpeners. Our electric sharpener has seen better days and I have one manual one that is working overtime. If you have any spare ones in your home, please send it in.
We have also recently run out of tissues.
Thanks!

I'm back!

Now that Gavin and Scott have finished their practicum and are safely back at the U of O, I have once again resumed my position as your fearless leader. Here are some notes for this week and next, our last before the holidays!

I very much enjoyed meeting most of you during the interviews last week. It's a great chance for me to get to know your sons or daughters from a different perspective. I find it really helpful and I hope you did too.

Please remember that we are skating this Friday. You have probably already filled out a permission form and handed in your money.

The book fair is this Wednesday as is Pizza Day. Sub forms will be sent home tonight and are due back on Thursday.

I know how busy I am with the holidays approaching, that I can only guess what home life must be like for everyone else. I also know that we have some special projects that we are focusing our time on in class that may require some homework. As a result, I am ceasing the regular homework routine until after Christmas. Students are still expected to read for a minimum of 20 minutes each night.

I am currently trying to upgrade my qualifications by taking a computer course. I am currently doing a research project on blogs. I will be making a questionnaire for you to fill out. I would greatly appreciate your cooperation with this little project. Thanks!

We are going to be doing a special project to celebrate this season of giving. We are going to open up our own little Take Out Restaurant! In groups, we are going to be choosing group snack menu items. These snacks will be nutritious, delicious, and somewhat cost effective. Our categories are baked goods, fruit, vegetables, savoury, and a surprise category. The students are then going to have a lesson on persuasive and descriptive language in order to help us create a menu. We will take orders from each of the homerooms (except of kinders-sorry!) and then, next Thursday, we will prepare the snacks, serve them, and clean them up. This will be our gift to the school in order to spread joy.
I will definitely be looking for volunteers next Thursday. Once we have taken our orders, we will also be asking for donations for our ingredients. Any other costs will be made with our class funds. Tomorrow (Tuesday) we will be brainstorming our menu. If you have appropriate cook books, please send them in. Thanks!

Interview Schedule

310 Interview Schedule



2:40
Johan
3:00
Free
3:20
Richard
3:40
Isabel
4:00
James
4:20
Declan
4:40
Kaitlyn
5:00
Free
5:20
Kaden
5:40
Connor
6:00
Jazmin
6:20
Nick K
6:40
Nathan
7:00
Aemon

FRIDAY

7:40
Justin
8:30
Bronte
9:30
Paisley

FOLLOWING WEEK

Chaim

Rowan A

Martha

Darius

Here is the interview schedule so far.

Links

Thank you to those of you who have gotten back to me about interview dates. I'm starting to fill in the slots today and will get back to you about your scheduled time.
We've been doing some very interesting things in room 310. Here are some links.
As an introduction to our Mini Metric Olympics, Scott talked to the class about the 2010 Winter Olympics and the introduction of their mascots. Here is a link to the mascot's site:
http://www.vancouver2010.com/mascot/en/index.php

The other day, we had an interesting discussion about cyberbullying which came after this great video. Check it out:
http://www.digizen.org/cyberbullying/film.aspx
We are going to be doing an interesting assignment on cyber-safety later this week. The final product will be a presentation at the next school sharing which will take place next Thursday.

We have started to talk about our play. Maggie, Ray, and I have decided to base our play on the Music Book which was a play that Churchill performed a few years ago. We will be writing it as a team. It's going to be a very exciting project.

We have almost reached 1000 paper cranes for Anna. The next step to this project will be to thread the cranes in preperation for displaying them.

Scott and Gavin will only be around for one more week. If you haven't already met them, you may get a chance at the interviews next week. They have been amazing and I know the kids and I will miss them lots. We're going to do our best to enjoy our last week together.

Interviews

I will be booking parent/teacher interviews next week. I like to do interviews for first term rather than student lead conferences because I like to have the opportunity to meet with everyone. I do not mind if they are three-way conferences (the student is present). Scott and Gavin will try to be present for most of the interviews as well.
I will be available next Thursday from 2:30 to 7:00 and again on Friday morning from 7:30 to 11:30. I would like to keep each meeting to 20 minutes. Please email me and tell me when you are available. I will make the schedule and tell everyone when their time will be. If you cannot make it on either day, please tell me and we'll try to find another time to meet.
I'm looking forward to getting together will you!

ps Please remember that marks will NOT be made available this term.

What's New in 310

I hope everyone had a great weekend. It was nice to see so many of you at the craft fair this weekend.
Things are moving along nicely here in 310. Our two student teachers are doing a fine job and are taking over many parts of our day. Both of them are tackling the science units. Gavin is working on Flight and Properties of Air with the grade sixes while Scott and the fives are looking at Properties of and Changes in Matter. Both classes have been doing a lot of hands on work and seem to be having a lot of fun while learning.
This Friday, we will be skating at Dulude. I will send home a permission form tonight. This permission form has all of our Dulude skating dates written on it. Please take note of all of the dates. I would love to have as many parent volunteers as possible. You are welcome to come over on the bus with us or meet us there. Let me know!
I have been busy working on report card writing. As a little treat for myself (and for the kids) there will only be a reading response for homework this week. This week's question will be about making connections with the texts they are reading. Many of the students have been using a graphic organizer to help them plan their responses. This is a great idea and the kids should continue to do so.

This week in 310

Our homework routine will be different this week. The reading response will follow the same routine. This week's question focuses on predicting. There will be no homework duotang. The students have been given a 2-sided graphic organizer to complete for homework instead. It is the first stage of the play that we will be writing and presenting with Ray and Maggie's classes. The grade 5s are to focus on the 1960s while the grade 6s should focus on the 1990s. They may use magazines, books, Internet, or interview people (like their parents) to get their information.
We will use this research to create our play.

Welcome Back

This week we welcome back Gavin and Scott, our student teachers from the University of Ottawa. Gavin and Scott will be with us for the next four weeks. During that time, they'll be taking over some of the teaching and trying their hands at some of the other aspects of teaching such as assessment and field trip planning. We're very lucky to have a pair of such keen and fresh students to come and join us.
Last week's reading responses were very well done. This week's response is about summarizing. Some students found it difficult to get these responses in on time last week. Please try and get them in on Friday.
Last week we learned how to write friendly letters. We read a sample letter and talked about how it was organized into paragraphs. We also learned how to use a graphic organizer to help us plan our letter out. Then, we all wrote letters to Luke Richardson. Luke is an Ottawa Sentor who used to live in Westboro and even went to Churchill. Many of us tried to persuade him to come and visit us at Churchill. We're going to send our letters off this week and then we'll have to wait and see.
This week in Language, we are focusing on a writing assignment that requires the students to write with powerful words. The assignment is based on a beautiful book called "Imagine a Night".
In math, we are going to wrap up our mini unit on data management. So far, we have already learned how to develop a question, tally and collect our data, and create a graph using Microsoft Excel. This week we are going to look at interpreting data from different types of graphs and about mean, median, and mode.
In gym we are focusing on basketball skills and we are also continuing our look at Macromedia Flash.
Last week the students learned how to make paper cranes. Some of them were talking about the story of Sadako and came up with the idea to make one thousand paper cranes for Anna. They are highly motivated. They have spread the word around the rest of the school and are continuing to spend their free time on this endeavour.
Things in room 310 are really coming along. The students are learning how to focus on their work. I'm really proud of them.

It's been a while...

I'm sorry I haven't had a chance to post anything lately. What with the Haunted House and loose ends around here, I haven't been able to find the time.
I am still working on getting the class pictures uploaded so that I can share them with you. I think I am going to go with Walmart. They have a site where I can upload the pictures and then share the pictures (via email) with you. Once you login, you can view the pictures and choose to print some. I have emailed a few of you who did not give permission with the media consent form. Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns with this.
The Haunted House was a huge success. The kids worked really hard to stay focused all day. So many students and parents have come up to me to say how great it was. The students should feel really proud of their hard work.
I spent the weekend marking the Social Studies brochures. I have sent home the brochure along with the rubric. Please sign the rubric and have your student return it. You may keep the brochures.
The brochures were very well done but I have decided that the students may need some more guidance with research projects. We will be doing another research project but this one will be done entirely in class so that I can guide them through each step.
This week we are working on a special presentation with Ray's class for the school's Remembrance Day ceremony on Friday at 10:00. We are finishing a mini data management unit in math reflecting upon Halloween where we are going to learn how to use Excel. We are also going to learn about letter writing in Language.
The other piece of news has to do with the reading response. I handed out a regular homework booklet today. We are going to be starting the reading response homework this week as well. Each week, the student's will be required to write one reading response. There are 6 different types of questions that the students can pick from. I will be modelling an appropriate answer to each of these questions in class by covering one type of question each week. Therefore, for the first 6 weeks, I would like the students to answer the type of question that I have modelled that week. This week's question has to do with characters. After I have covered all six, the students may choose which type they do. Please see the instructions and the different types of questions which will be glued in their reading response books. They should bring these home tomorrow. If you have any questions regarding this routine, please let me know.

Boo!

Our Guide Rock teaching us about the love story between high pressure and low pressure

Our student teacher Gavin taking it all in

Wow! What an amazing overnight. I am so proud of everyone in 310 for their behaviour, respect, and for how much fun we had as a team. The programming was awesome and I think everyone learned a lot. Great job everyone!

I took a lot of pictures and will be taking more this week during our haunted house. I'm trying to find a way to share all of these with you in a secure manner. What I am thinking of doing is posting them to the Shutterfly service. This will be a secure place where only the people I invite can browse the pictures. If anyone has any different ideas, or if this is something you are not comfortable with, please contact me and let me know.

Our next team goal is to be successful at scaring the pants off of everyone at our haunted house. To be successful at our goal, we have a lot of hard work ahead of us. So far, we have had a great start with building our sets and some of our costumes. Tomorrow will be our first opportunity at setting things up on the stage and having our first dry run.

As a class, we discussed some of the things that we still need. I have asked the students to bring in anything and everything that they think we can make use of. They should start bringing these things as soon as possible.

Some of these things include:

Indiana Jones type costume accessories (hats, khaki adventure type things)

fake blood

fake cobwebs

costume armour

leather belts



I am also still looking for one last cardboard box large enough for a child to fit into.

Other than that, students are responsible for their own costumes. Please ask them if there are any parts of it that they have yet to secure.


I would love some help on Wednesday. We will definitely need some help first thing Wednesday morning with costumes and makeup. We should be ok for the remainder of the day but you are all welcome to come and get spooked. We will be giving tours for most of the day.

Please remember that this Friday is a PD day. As this is a short week that includes Halloween, our haunted house, and the social studies project due date, I have decided to cancel the homework book for this week. Enjoy the week off!

Costumes and Props

Here is a list of some things that we need for the Haunted House:
white sheets
extra large white t-shirts
black wigs
fake cobwebs
volunteers

We will be working on our haunted house at these times:
Wednesday from 10:40-11:20
Thursday 9:20-11:20 (with a recess break in there)
and
Friday when we get back from our overnight

If you can make it in, just drop by. Thanks!

Big Week

Before I start to prepare everyone for the big week coming up, let's first reflect on the wonderful performance we were treated with on Friday.

The Brothers Chaffey came in and played for all three of the 5/6 classes. The boys, Matt and Curtis, played a variety of blues, bluegrass, and rock and roll and included some covers and some original songs. They talked about the hard work that it takes to be in a band and play an instrument. They also talked about the music: the stories behind some of the songs, their instruments and how they work, some of the artists that they play, how they write their own songs, and so on. It was awesome. If you are interested in hearing more, their album can be purchased at Retrotown and next door at Fab Gear. I posted their website a couple of days ago and you can check it out for some of their upcoming gigs.

This week is going to be really busy. Here is the scoop:

On Monday, we are going to be welcoming two student teachers to 310. It will be great to have their enthusiasm and energy on our team. I look forward to introducing you to them on the blog.

This week also marks the beginning of our group snack. Please consult the schedule that was emailed to you.

We are going to be busy building the sets for our Haunted Civilizations this week too. I will be posting some specific things that we will be looking for. Please talk to your student about their costume needs. If you'd like to help, drop me a line and I will let you know when we will be working on it. In class, the students will be working on developing their characters more fully through research and an in class writing assignment.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading the students' Halloween Brochures this weekend. We have many creative and humourous writers in our class. We will be sharing these brochures with our Reading Buddies on Friday and then I will send them home for sharing.

Their will be a regular homework book this week. Please note that this is the last full week to work on social studies projects. Those of you following the mini deadlines should have your questions formulated and answered. At this point, you are taking those answers and formatting them into a brochure along with adding your pizazz!

On top of all of this, we have our Aviation Overnight! Please remember to check the notice I sent home before packing. We will be meeting at the museum at 6:00 after you eat dinner. Remember that the students will have a lot of gear to bring home with them on Friday. I am looking for a volunteer or two that can help to make lunch on Friday. We will be purchasing hotdogs and juice. Please email me if you can help.

Friday Blues

Tomorrow we will be having special guests come in and perform for us. The Brothers Chaffey are actual brothers and have been playing music for their entire lives. Most recently, they have formed "The Brothers Chaffey" and perform all over Canada and have recorded a CD with their own blues-folk-grassroots songs. Check out their website here: http://www.myspace.com/brotherschaffey
Can't wait!

Field Trip Forms

Hello all. I wanted to remind everyone that field trip forms are due this Friday. I need to know our confirmed numbers by then so please pass your forms in.
Social Studies Projects are due on the 29th. At this point, everyone should have their questions formulated and their resources collected. Many have moved on to answering their questions. Great start! If you have misplaced your copy of the project outline, make sure you come and get another one from me please.
In class we have been discussing possessives in language. I am excited to see the students' funny possessive plays later today. We are also finishing up our Halloween brochures in class. Soon we will be able to share them with our reading buddies. In math, we have divided all of the 5/6s up into 3 different groupings so that some are with Maggie, some are with Ray, and some are stuck with me. It's been really fun to mix it up. We've started working on our Haunted Civilizations of the Past tour. We will be focusing on Ancient Egypt, Greece, China, Rome, and the Mayans.

Haunted Civilizations and Homework

I'm so excited! Today we decided on a theme for our haunted house. We'll be doing Haunted Civilizations where each section of the haunted house will be a different ancient civilization. Our tour guides are going to be Indiana Jones-esque people. If you have any props/costumes that you think might help, please bring them in.

I had told you that this was going to be the week where we started doing reading responses as part of our homework. With the Social Studies projects due in 2 weeks, I have changed my mind and will start them in November. This will give me time to model the kinds of responses I'm expecting and will give them more time to concentrate on their brochures.

Many of the students are following my mini deadlines. Several kids brought in their formulated questions and some of their research materials. I mentioned to the class today that some of their research materials should include books or magazines. It shouldn't all be web-based. We are going to do a lesson in class about plagiarism and citing on-line resources.

Take Note

A lot of notices went home today. I sent home the QSP package, a newsletter about the multicultural potluck, a notice about Unicef, and the Aviation Museum Overnight package including the field trip form. The field trip form is due on or before next Friday (October 19th).

Thanks to Hayley and Colleen who came out and helped us to improve our Ultimate skills. We also learned that it's called a disk and not a Frisbee!

Now that our hooks have been installed, I was able to play around with our furniture a little more. The students are now sitting in pods and have team names and roles.

Last block, we learned that all of the 5/6 classes are going to be doing a musical! We're super excited. Ask them about it at home!

I hope everyone has a great weekend!

Quick Notes

Here are some quick things:

Indoor shoes would be greatly appreciated. I'm sitting here typing this watching Kevin sweep up a enough sand for me to kick off my shoes, put out a towel, and lounge. Shoes that aren't slippy can stay here on our newly assembled hooks/shelf!

I have some jobs that I just can't seem to get to. I'm looking for a couple of more empty and cleaned out pop cans (about 10). Once I've collected those, I'm looking for someone that can arrange them in the front window display. I will also soon have a lovely collection of alphabet cards. Once they are complete (early next week), I'm looking for someone to laminate them, cut out some word wall words, and (using a ladder of course) stick them up on our walls. Let me know if you can help.

I think that's all for now...

Projects

In Social Studies today, I handed out a project outline for the students' brochure projects. Grade 5s are to create a brochure on a civic building or symbol. I listed a few examples in the project outline but students have been told that they can choose a different building or symbol as long as they check with me first. Grade 6s are to create a brochure for one of Canada's top trading partners. Countries were assigned in class today. We went over the steps of completing a research project in class and will soon go over the proper bibliography format as well. Projects are due on October 29th but there are mini deadlines that students can also follow. Please review the project outline with your student at home.
Our class coordinator, Stephanie Griffin, has now been given a class list with your email addresses. She will be creating a group snack schedule which will begin next Monday. Please remember to keep the snacks healthy and as non-perishable as possible.
Although it is a shorter week, there will still be a homework book. Students should make sure they are completing their corrections from the week before.
I hope everyone had a great long weekend!

Haunted House

We are still in the beginning stages of planning our Haunted House. We have done a piece of procedural writing so we are well on our way of knowing what we need to do to scare the pants off of everyone. If you have extra Halloween decorations at home, we would love it if you could set them aside for us. Thanks!

Thankful

I have many reasons to be thankful these days...


I am thankful that I had two lovely parents help me with our dream catcher craft this morning. I would have been lost in a sea of knots if it weren't for them. Thank you Shauna and Sharron!

I am thankful that we all got to experience Student Vote today. The polls are now closed and the results will be released soon.


I am thankful that we had such a great class meeting the other night. Thank you to everyone who came out. I hope I was able to answer as many questions as possible. If you are still wondering about something, please do not hesitate to drop me a line.

I am thankful for a great week with the kids in 310. I have enjoyed singing songs with you, finding out how to survive zombie attacks, watching you sweat during our gym stations, seeing you work quietly during math and language, and hearing all of your interesting questions during social studies. I am also thankful that many of you found our new method for division helpful. Please come and ask me for help if you are still having some trouble with division and multiplication.

I know I will also be thankful for all of the wonderful writing assignments that you will all finish soon. I am looking forward to reading your four paragraphs, your procedural writing for our haunted house, and your brochures for Halloween Fun.

Next week, I will be thankful when we work together and have a succesful freezie sale. We also can be thankful that we have a fun haunted house and field trip in our near future.

I hope you have many reasons to be thankful too. Enjoy your long weekend!

Clean and Spiffy

Picture day is tomorrow. I hope everyone come all shiny and spiffy.
Our class meeting is also tomorrow. Hope to see you all there. I promise...no longer than an hour. See you tomorrow!

Terry Fox

A reminder to everyone that our Terry Fox Run is tomorrow. We will be going rain or shine. Students should dress appropriately and bring a water bottle. We will be eating our second nutrition break at the park so the more litterless your lunch is, the better.
Students from 207 are collecting Toonies for Terry and pledge forms for the run can be brought in at any time.
I have heard back from many people about the class meeting. I hope that most of you will be able to attend.
Thank you to everyone for handing in your homework on time!

Referendum

We have been taking a close look at the Ontario election in our class. Today we discussed the referendum. If you don't know what the referendum is about, ask! Someone from our class should be able to help you understand the question so that you can make an informed choice.

Our class meeting will be next Tuesday at 6:00. I hope everyone can make it to this very important event.

It's Settled

Well, it looks like we're all here to stay. There will be no changes in the junior grades so we can all take a collective sigh of relief. Now that we know that no one is moving, we can look at booking our Class Meeting. I would like to have one as soon as possible but I would also like to maximize participation. I am going to propose next Tuesday at 6:00. This will be an opportunity to discuss homework routines, future projects, group snack, and any other issues. I hope at least one member of every family can attend.
The second homework booklet was handed out today. Please continue to make homework a priority at your house.

Sick

As you've no doubt heard, I went home sick today. It seems as though we're dropping like flies in room 310. I encouraged everyone to try and stay healthy today.
I will be off again tomorrow. This time it will be to take my son to two appointments. I am going to do my best to stop by the Family Breakfast first.
In class, we have successfully conquered multiplication. Yeah for us!
In Language, we've moved on from sentences to paragraphs. The students are busy writing one of each of the four different types: descriptive, expository, persuasive, and narrative.
We are also in the midst of a hot election. To better understand the election process, we've been participating in a mock activity. The students have been divided into "political parties" based on their hotdog topping preferences (why have all our social studies lessons been food based?). Some parties are bigger than others and thus have more representatives to send out to the "ridings" at our school. The votes have not all been cast yet but I'll be sure to update you on the winner as soon as all the ballots have been counted and recounted.
Have a great weekend.

Multiplying Methods

Today in math we began our look at multiplication. We discussed three different methods: the old school way, the break it down method, and the new school way (aka lattice method). By the end of class, most students said they were feeling fairly confident with at least one of the methods. Ask your student which way they multiply!

We began a new routine calle Goal Setting today. This is a weekly assignment we will complete in class. It requires the students to set two meaningful, realistic, and measurable goals. One goal will be an academic goal and one will be a personal goal. Ask your students which goals they set for themselves this week.

Please continue to hand in the Parent Questionnaire forms.

Peanut Butter sandwiches, homework, and Broadview

For those parents who are interested, Broadview is inviting all interested parties to their instrumental concerts. This is an opportunity for you to get a peek at what they have to offer in case you are considering Broadview as an intermediate school. Check out their website for a schedule of upcoming concerts.
http://www.broadviewmusic.ws/

On Friday, the class played an interesting game to get us ready for our social studies unit. It involved the kids working within a small group that represented a country. The goal of each country was to collect the pieces necessary in order to make "peanut butter sandwiches". They had to decide on what type of government they wanted to elect (monarchy, dictatorship, democratic). They were given a brief description of their country's economic state and some initial supplies as well a list of what they needed to survive. It was a very interesting game and I'm sure the students will have lots to say about it if you ask them at the dinner table.

A new piece was added to our homework routine this week. It is a homework duotang. It will be handed out on Mondays and due on Thursdays. We will be easing them into this routine so the sheets are fairly manageable this week but the workload will increase soon. There is a homework policy and a homework plan that needs to be completed. I am trying to encourage the students practice these habits so that later on in their scholastic careers, these habits will be easier to stay on top of.

Today there is an added piece of homework. Students in grade 5 were asked to find the names of the three main candidates in the upcoming provincial election. Grade 6 students were asked to take a look at the food labels in their kitchens. They should jot down a list of the different countries that the food items were produced in.

A reminder that the Family Breakfast is this Friday. I sent home a note about it today.

Sentences

We're nearing the end of our second week together and we're starting to get into a bit of a groove. I think the students and I are starting to get to know each other a little better and we're working on getting into some routines so that we can all get our work done and have fun too.
In Language Arts, we continued our look at the four different types of sentences. The students worked in a group to create a mysterious skit. Each character in the skit represented a different type of sentence and could only speak using that sentence type. The skits were very entertaining.
In Math, we are continuing to review number sense, addition, and subtraction. Today, we focused on setting up our math books properly so that our answers are easier to interpret. Next week, we will start looking at multiplication and division. We will be discovering different methods and working together to help everyone get more comfortable with these two operations.
We began an exciting art project today that focused on the elements of design and branding. By examining some pop cans, we looked at some of the tricks that companies use to generate certain feelings and convey different messages with their brand names, logos, and the colours that they use. Students brainstormed some original flavours and names of their own brand of pop. Aemon's dad, a graphic designer, will be coming in to give us some tips with this project as well. We are also going to be looking at the nutritional information on the pop cans and interpreting what it really means. So far, I have seen some very creative flavours and some brands that I wouldn't be surprised to see on the shelves of grocery stores one day.
On Wednesday, I sent home a parent questionnaire. Please find some time to fill it out. I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

A Call to Order

What a great start to our business meeting routine. We had many excellent presentations and got through our agenda in such an orderly fashion. We discussed the benefits and negatives of having a class pet, classroom jobs, homework tips, lunch and snack ideas, our classroom library, our classroom games cupboard, and our rights and responsibilities as students in 310. Excellent participation everyone!
In class we also played a very spirited game involving puzzles in order to introduce the grade 6 social studies unit on trade. Ask the kids about the wheeling and dealing that they did.
We also learned about the four different types of sentences and some funny actions that we can use to help us remember them. In math, we are reviewing the four operations and number value.
Please remember to keep using that agenda to chart your reading homework!

Business Meeting

A reminder that our first official Business Meeting will be tomorrow (Tuesday, September 11, 2007). Appropriate business attire is recommended.
This will be the last week to make your reading homework a routine before more homework is added to the routine. Please make sure you are reading a minimum of 20 minutes each evening and putting this information in your agendas.

Reading Reminder

Thank you to everyone for doing such a great job at our homework reading routine. Almost everyone has remembered to read for a minimum of twenty minutes, write down what they are reading in their agendas, and ask an adult to sign their agendas. As the weeks progress, more elements will be added to our homework routine so it is a good idea to start making these routines a habit while the workload is light.
We started the day with a very difficult Daily Problem where our focus was on our method and not necessarily a correct answer. Letting cool heads prevail turned out to be another lesson learned.
Thank you to everyone who has returned the many forms coming your way. Please keep them coming!

Student Registration Verification

I have sent home a two-page form tonight. It is the "Student RegistrationVerification" form. Please review the information and make any corrections necessary. It should then be signed and returned as soon as possible.
Today we began a silhouette art project and focused more on our daily routines. We also began the day with a daily problem which is something that we will be doing to start each of our days. We read a book called "Little Mouse's Big Book of Fears" and talked a bit about phobias. In order to see how far we will go this year, each student created a time capsule that included a questionnaire and some math fact sheets. We also began preparing for our upcoming business meeting. However, if you ask the kids, the only thing that they will probably tell you about is that we had gym today. Go figure...
Have a great evening.

ps I will have some laminating to do soon if anyone is interested...

First Day

We had an excellent first day in room 310. I enjoyed meeting everyone and I especially appreciated all the kind words on my first day back from my maternity leave.
Today we discussed the new balance day schedule and how it might effect the types of food the students should be packing. It would probably be a good idea to pack two smaller meals rather then one large one.
I have been thinking about group snack and how it might work with our new schedule. What I would like to propose is that we think about group snack a little differently this year. I would like to put out a group snack near the beginning of the day and leave it out for the rest of the day so that the students can take from it when they are feeling hungry. For this reason, it would probably be easier to choose snacks that the students can grab and go. Items such as granola bars, fruit, cheese and crackers would all work well. Other snack items that may be messier or might not keep well if put out all day would not work out as well (yogourt, veggies and dip, chips and salsa). This could be something that we discuss at our class meeting. Until then, we will have to hold off on the group snack.
I hope that everyone is working to complete all of their homework. For now, that entails reading a minimum of twenty minutes and writing down their reading in their agendas. It is also important to go through all of the notices that were sent home. I would also like it if an adult from home could sign off the agenda each night.
I look forward to meeting you all very soon and I trust that the students all came home with good news about our first day together. I know that I had only good stories to share with Hayden and Scott at our dinner table. See you all soon!

Welcome!

Hello and welcome to Room 310s very own blog! What is a blog you may ask? This blog in particular is a place that I will use to post information. Postings may be reminders about homework, field trips, or upcoming important dates. They may also include links to interesting sites that correspond with what we are doing in class. I plan on using this blog regularly to keep everyone on the same page so check back every week for new postings.
If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to email me at tiiu.tsao@ocdsb.ca. That is probably the most efficient way of getting a hold of me but you can also call the school at 613-722-4474.
I'm so excited for this brand new start and I hope you are too. I'm looking forward to a fantastic year!