Dear Families,

First off, I would like to say thank you to all the students and their parents for taking the time to visit our Classroom Blog each week!  It is an opportunity to listen, learn, see, and celebrate what's happening in our Learning Community!  I'm encouraging you to continue to do so as your child is working extremely hard to improve his/her achievement academically, socially and behaviourally to put in their personal best to help them REACH FOR THE TOP! 

Dairy Presentation:
To link to our Health learning, Mrs. Johnson our librarian organized a special presentation for students in Grades K-6.  Charlotte a dairy farmer came to our school to teach us about the importance and nutritional value of consuming milk in our diets.  She also made note of different types of milk as there are students who have a dairy allergy.  Charlotte taught us all about how the process of milk comes from the cow to our table at home.  Students were intrigued from the beginning of the lesson to the end.  Farmer Charlotte provided a very engaging lesson using the SmartBoard to show us live videos, photographs, and to play hands on games.  Students were active and attentive throughout the presentation, it was a delight to see!  Please ask your child over the weekend about this experience and what they learned :) We had a mooreffic time!

Ask your child about this FUN game :)

Fleet Wood Dance Presentation:
To help promote dance and D.P.A. (daily physical activity), we had the pleasure of participating in another special presentation on Monday!  Fortunate ones we are :) Jonathan Fleet a well known dancer and instructor from Collingwood came to our school to teach my students various dance routines.  In anticipation for Halloween, he taught us a dance to Thriller!  Students loved it!  It was great to see ALL kids involved and putting in their personal best despite for some dance being out of their comfort zone.  Everyone did their best!  Check us out! 

Cross-Country Counties:
Wesley and Hunter participated in the Cross Country County finals on Tuesday in Moonstone.  Both boys represented our school with pride and shared their exciting news of placing in 30's and 60's out of 100 runners, way to go boys!!  You have inspired us to keep active, never give up, and have FUN just like Terry Fox did!

     
Healthy Kids Community Challenge:
As part of our Health learning in class and as a school wide initiative, students and staff are encouraged to 'Bring a Water Bottle to School' beginning Oct. 25th (Tues.) and continue doing so for 30 consecutive days.  Do you think we can do it?!  Oh yeah, definitely!!  

I know there are several families who already pack their children fresh water everyday, thank you!  We are now trying to promote this for EVERY CHILD in our school.  Like many things, I strongly believe in taking this action EVERYDAY as opposed to just the designated days as water is such an essential ingredient to maintain good health.  I will be honest, I need to work on this too!

Why choose water first? 

• sugary drinks are the single largest source of sugar in most kids' diets
• children need water to stay hydrated and healthy
• water contains no sugar, calories, caffeine, or added ingredients and it's FREE
• drinks that contain added sugar risk replacing foods that children need and add extra calories to children's diets
• sugar sweetened drinks are the single largest source of sugar in children's diet
• too much sugar contributes to chronic disease including heart disease, dental cavities, and type 2 diabetes
• when children are used to consuming water at a young age, they are more likely to drink water later in life
• from ages 4 to 18, around 20% of the calories children and teens consume comes from  beverages

WATER DOES WONDERS!  SUPPORT OUR COMMUNITY CHALLENGE!

Grade 4 Science:
Our science investigation and inquiry continues to be on Rocks & Minerals.  Our field trip to Nordic Highlands was an excellent introduction into this unit of study and has gotten many learners excited!  An example of this excitement has been shown by some students who have taken initiative to bring their own rock collections to school so we can explore their characteristics further.  Check us out in our lessons this week!

Please Note:  Mrs. Johnson is teaching and supporting our Grade 3's in their science learning in the library which is on Forces and Movement.  She provides many engaging hands on learning experiences.  Ask your child what he/she has built and created so far!

Math:
This week, we learned about Rounding numbers to the nearest 10, 100, and 1,000.  The expectation for Grade 3's is to round to the nearest 10 and 100; Grade 4's are to round to the nearest 10, 100, and 1,000.  This can be a tricky concept, but with practice, we can make progress!  I have a useful link (see below) for students to watch to further consolidate their learning from this week specifically in rounding to the nearest 100.  

You may wish to give your child a number from 0 to 1,000 and have them round that numeral for you to check their understanding!  I have taught students how to draw a number line with benchmark numbers and the midpoint to assist them in this.  Your continued support is always appreciated!  Remember, rounding numbers helps us in our everyday life as we can make friendly numbers to work with as we shop at the grocery store. 
  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X_A8kluwQt0

Picture Day MONDAY OCTOBER 24th:

A friendly reminder that Monday is picture day for our staff and students.  Boys and girls, come prepared with your bright eyes and smiles :)  This is an opportunity to get our CLASS FAMILY photographed.  I look forward to it!  I may even wear my 'hair down' which is rare!

Hair down once in a blue moon!  Hehe.

Growth Mindset Quote:

"Be kind.  Help others.  Be truthful.  Be responsible.  Be a good friend.  Work together.  Play fair.  Share.  Have respect.  BELIEVE IN YOURSELF!"  

Namaste,

Miss Gill