Week ending March 31

This week at school...


Language                        

Today the students shared their descriptive paragraphs written about each other in our community circle. They were randomly given a name of a friend to write about, making sure to use the literary devices we have been studying such as alliteration, similes, and metaphors. 

I was pleasantly surprised and deeply touched at the beautiful words written about each other. As each student read their paragraph, it struck me how poetic their writing sounded, in rhythm and in the power of words to create vivid images and evoke strong emotions in all of us. Bravo to all the grade fours! 



Toonie 4 Autism

April 2nd is lnternational Autism Awareness Day, and Beckett Farm PS is hosting Autism in Mind's (AIM) Toonie 4 Autism program. AIM is a local registered charity committed to making a difference in the lives of children with Autism in the GTA. They focus on providing early intervention services such as school readiness and social skills programs, and Intensive Behaviour Intervention (IBI) therapy for children from ages 2.5 -10. Their ultimate goal is to equip children with the ability to integrate into their communities and their local school system.

The Toonie 4 Autism campaign will start on Monday, April 3, 2017 and run for the whole month of April. Students are asked to bring in a toonie ($2), then write their name on a support leaf to be placed on our school tree.

In addition, students from our class will be making a visit to the Community Class (Autism) in our own school.


Scientist in Schools  
We are excitedly anticipating the visit from the SIS on Tuesday, April 4th, to get our hands on pulleys and gears. Today, we began thinking about pulleys and gears in our everyday lives and the ways they help make our lives easier.
                                                       

Thank you to everyone for encouraging your child to always be the best he/she can be! It means the world to them.

Sincerely,

Mrs. McIntosh

Week ending March 24

Language

We have been learning about many fun literary devices such as alliteration, similes and metaphors, to help us infuse interest and "flavour" into our writing. So far, we have co-written one Pourquoi or creation story together entitled, "How the Leopard Got its Spots". This week, students will begin creating their own legendary stories!

Mathematics

We are continuing to investigate many strategies to help us become efficient when multiplying single and double digit numbers. We have been practising using known facts to answer equations with larger factors and products. As well, students have been applying these skills to problem solving questions where it is essential to always show and explain their thinking. 

A gentle reminder to all: problem solving questions are assigned each Friday on Google Classroom. Many students are still not completing this homework. If there are any problems, please send a note or email to let me know. Thank you!

We have begun our inquiry into Early Societies for Social Studies. So far, students have showed their understanding of the importance of learning about the past and how it affects us today. They have also looked at various ancient civilizations and located these societies on a world map.

This week, we will begin our next Science unit - Pulleys and Gears. We are looking forward to the hands-on workshop with "Scientists in the School" on Tuesday, April 4th where students will get the opportunity to explore and conduct experiments with pulleys and gears.

Art - In celebration of Canada's 150th birthday, the students have created an absolutely amazing collection of images that represent their Canada using the template of the official logo below. 

We are currently working on using watercolours to create unique Kente Cloth patterns from the country of Ghana. The students are carefully designing these patterns and will begin to paint this week using the meaning and symbolism of each colour to guide their choices. 

Your continued support is much appreciated. Please continue to encourage your child to be his or her best. The results are amazing!

Sincerely,

Mrs. McIntosh

Week ending Mar 10

Dear Parents and Guardians,

Our trip to Vivian Outdoor Resource Centre was a huge success in spite of the rainy weather. We were fortunate to have a relatively warm day so the students were able to particpate in the outdoors without the frigid temperatures like today! We saw squirrels and many species of birds come right up to our window to feed, and watched a live camera view of various birds and their chicks all around the world.

Listening to Teacher Gina as she explains the rules of the activity

In the classroom watching birds around the world and
learning about Ontario's animals on the endangered list

A visitor at the window

Our outdoor activity, Threshold of Extinction, had us become species of animals on Ontario's endangered list, as well as threats to their survival. The goal was to find as much food and water as possible without getting 'tagged' by a threat, which meant a deduction of points! Our afternoon Habitat Walk showed us the grounds, including some poison ivy, and a Ruffled Grouse's 'kitchen'.  

Heading out for our Habitat Walk

                       

Walking in the woods

                     

On Thursday, March 9th, Beckett Farm participated in the Great Big Crunch! As March is Nutrition Month, our school participated in this schoolwide, nation wide crunching of apples to promote healthy eating. Our class were excellent ambassadors as we delivered the apples to all the classes, and collected the apple cores for the green bin. Here's to healthy snacks!

Over the March Break...

Pixton is here! As we dive right into narrative story writing, I have introduced students to another way to write stories through Pixton. Pixton uses technology to create stories through comics or a graphic novel. I have asked everyone to explore this site over the March Break if possible, in order to familiarize themselves with the features before we apply it to our work at school. They have all selected a username and password to give them access at home.

As we continue our unit into multiplication and division, I have asked students to practise their multiplication facts to assist with more immediate recall. Once the concept of grouping, multiples and factors have been grasped, the fast recall of facts will assist them as they move on to learn other concepts in mathematics. 

I hope all families have some time over this March Break to spend with each other. It is a time to relax, rest and rejuvenate as we head into the 'home stretch' of the school year. Don't forget to encourage your child to continue to read, read, read! Wishing you all a safe and happy week.

Sincerely,

Mrs. McIntosh

Week Ending Mar 3

Dear Parents and Guardians,

There seems to have been a glitch in last week's posting and some families did not receive the weekly email. My apologies! Please check the blog site to catch up on last week's news! 


Our class trip to Vivian Outdoor Resource Centre will take place rain or shine on Tuesday, March 7th. Please see the letter sent home on Friday with notes on how to prepare for this trip, including appropriate wear and healthy and litterless lunches. We are sure to have a fantastic time together in spite of the rain that is forecasted for this day!





Winter Activity Day and the Tubing trip to Lakeridege Ski Resort has been cancelled for this Monday, March 6th.




March Break is fast approaching. There will be no school March 13-17 - enjoy this break as we anticipate the arrival of Spring!


This week's news...

Congratulations to Daniel, Saumya, Selin, Zachary, and Zoe for their tremendous effort in the final round of this year's Spelling Bee contest. They all showed a great deal of courage as each challenging word was announced for them to spell. Well done to you all. You should all be extremely proud of yourselves!

Math
On Monday, we will be having a quiz on number patterns. Students will be asked to create, identify and extend number patterns and identify their pattern rules. The concept of number patterns leads us right into our next focus - multiplication and division.

Language
We continue to sharpen our "investigative" skills by using clues, along with our own schema to make inferences in texts, pictures, and media. This week we viewed a touching commercial and examined the various inferences we made while watching, followed by the message of the commercial. They liked this clip so much and have asked to have it available on Google classroom. Ask your child to share this video with you. 

Science
The students have begun to create Mind Maps to demonstrate what they have learned during our studies in Light and Sound. Mind Maps are a visual thinking method that captures all cognitive functions, including memory, learning, creativity, and analysis. This task will be used to summarize their learning in this unit.

Health
This week, we began our new unit on Substance Misuse with a focus on tobacco. The students identified some of the harmful substances contained in cigarettes. Next week, we will look closely at its effects on our bodies.


As always, thank you for your continued support. Have a wonderful weekend.

Sincerely,

Mrs. McIntosh