Dear Families,

It is with an open heart that I wish you all a Happy New Year!!  It was an absolute highlight for me seeing your child's bright, enthusiastic, and warm smile on Monday!  I am delighted to be reunited to continue our journey of learning and growing :) I do hope you are able to access our blog weekly as I will continue to provide detailed evidence of what your child is doing at school so that you too can help reinforce these concepts at home.  Together we CAN and WILL make a DIFFERENCE!

January’s Character Trait:

This month’s character trait is HONESTY – “We will always tell the truth.”  I have encouraged my students to always tell me the truth if they're experiencing any difficulty. Being dishonest only makes a problem / concern escalate and get bigger.  I look forward to reinforcing honesty is the best policy throughout this month through books, media presentations, and student action!  I am delighted to say, our class is filled with trustworthy students, how blessed we all are :)

Math Learning:

On Monday, I introduced our new unit in mathematics which will focus on “Linear Measurement.”  I hope you were able to read over the 'math note' I sent home with your child on Thurs. :) In it there are suggested activities you can do with them to help reinforce concepts taught at school.  Here are two photos of the girls in measuring action!

   

Speech Writing Tips:

I would like to acknowledge and thank all those students (also many thanks to the parents for ALL your support too) who have actively been brainstorming, researching, and drafting their speeches thus far.  Many of you shared with me that you used valuable time over your Break to work on this writing task.  I am so proud of you and can't wait until your presentations!  To help further, below I have tips to guide students for their speech.  I will have these tips posted in our classroom too :)

SPEECH WRITING TIP #1:

KNOW - Know your audience and be sure to pick a topic that members are likely to enjoy.  Make sure word choices are appropriate for your audience. 

SPEECH WRITING TIP #2:

BE REAL - Write about things you know.  If you choose a topic you are interested in, chances are your enthusiasm will spill over into your speech.

SPEECH WRITING TIP #3:

BRAINSTORM - Carry a rough paper to write on with you at all times.  You never know when ideas, phrases or thoughts for your speech will come to you.  Be prepared to write them down so you won't forget them.

SPEECH WRITING TIP #4:

ORGANIZE - Every speech should have a strong introduction, body and conclusion.  Organize your ideas, data and scraps of paper into clear and logical sections.  Anything that doesn't fit into a few major points should be discarded.

SPEECH WRITING TIP #5:

REVISE - Chances are the first written draft of your speech won't be perfect.  Read over your speech to revise and edit for content, word choice and timing.

SPEECH WRITING TIP #6:

AUDIO EDIT - Read your speech aloud and hear it as the audience will hear it.  Replace any unclear words or phrases with more effective ones.

SPEECH WRITING TIP #7:

THINK - Think of an attention getting, sparkling introduction and an impact-making, memorable conclusion to your speech.

SPEECH WRITING TIP #8:

KNOW - Practice and time your speech in front of friends, relatives and the mirror.  People tend to speak more quickly when they are nervous so keep this in mind when timing your speech at home.

Speech Presentations:
Your child has signed up for his or her speech presentation day.  I will share the presentation dates below for your reference in a chart so you can help prepare your child too.  While your child is presenting, please note, his or her peers will be using a success criteria (see picture) to grade each presenter.  The top two Grade 4 students with the highest scores will be selected to present their speech in the gym on Jan. 25th.

The Grade 3's will have the opportunity to experience sharing their speech solely in class, but then next year, they have the opportunity to advance.  This is a building and growing year for them. Please know, Grade 3's will be welcome to watch the speeches in the  gym on the 25th to learn from their older peers.  Thank you in advance for your care and understanding in this.

Speech Presentations 2017

Wed. Jan. 18	Thurs. Jan. 19	Mon. Jan. 23	Tues. Jan. 24	Thurs. Feb. 2
Jack	Wesley	Katelyn	Hannah N.	Tristan
Hunter	Nathan	Tate	Jakob	Riley
Marissa	Kevin		Pierce
Graydon	Lola		Hannah W.
Alexis	Brock		Isla

Social Studies:
This week, the Grade 4 students began their unit on Canada's Provinces and Territories.  On Monday, we talked about and learned the continents in the world, and I challenged the students to find out and name all of them.  Today Tate, Kevin, and Graydon excitedly shared the one they were missing - Antarctica!!  Way to go, guys!

In today's social studies lesson, I introduced an interactive game which the students played with a chosen peer.  They were so excited!!  Please ask your child about this experience and if they can name some of our provinces and territories.

I've also shared the link below if your child would like to play it over the weekend.  I also did a mini-lesson about the Great Lakes.  Ask your child if they can name them using the helpful acronym H-O-M-E-S (Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie, Superior).      

http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/Canadian_Geography.htm

Growth Mindset Quote:

"Be the BEST you can be."

Thank you Tate and family for this wonderful gift!  You know me too well :)  I adore inspirational quotes and teaching my students to BE THE BEST THEY CAN BE in their thoughts, words, and actions!  I will cherish this gift and post it in ALL my future classrooms.  It means a lot to me!!  

Namaste,

Miss Gill