Miss Gill's Nifty Nighthawks

Dear Families,

Here we are at the end of our first week of April! They say, "April showers or SNOW in our case bring May flowers!" Let's hope! It sure was a mixed bag this week with rain and snow. We had two full days of indoor recesses. It's neat to see that many students find creative ways to occupy these times. Right now in our class, a few are making colourful bracelets for their peers. Thank you Jakob for making me a green one. You picked my favourite colour, I love it! Enjoy your weekend with your family and friends.

Grade 3 Swimming:
On Wednesday, the grade 3's went swimming. They sure loved it! Upon their arrival back to school, I could see their lit up faces as they shared about their experience with their damp hair slicked back. Lucky them, they get to go another 3 weeks! This is a very meaningful program as it offers "A Swim to Survive." I could sure use a lesson or two myself ;)

Grade 4 Mapping:
In Social Studies, the grade 4's have been working on their mapping skills. This week, they enjoyed using an interactive site which offers various games to help them build their skills in using, reading, and creating maps. Here's the link to access it over the weekend! http://interactivesites.weebly.com/maps--direction.html

Students are working in partners to create a map of our school. We began this task by going outside into the outdoor classroom and exploring the yard for big landmarks e.g., football field, gazebo, kindie yard, basketball nets, etc. They're enthusiastically working on their rough drafts on paper and then using google shapes to make an online version for their published piece. This will continue to be a focus into next week!

Math:
This week, I gave the students division word problems to solve using the 4 Block Problem Solving strategy. We have been using this framework over the school year and it is a very useful tool for students to organize their ideas and communicate their mathematical thinking effectively. Please ask your child about this 4 Block Problem Solving model and what the parts are. I think you'll be pleased with their responses :) Many students are becoming more and more comfortable using it and their answers are becoming more clear and thorough!

Next week, we'll use the 4 Block to solve multiplication word problems!

Invitation for Magic of the Children in the Arts:
On Thursday, I handed out personalized invitations made by the library to each student to come join in on the awards receptions at the Collingwood Public Library which is taking place THIS Sat. Apr. 8th from 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm. Come join if you're able to!