June 5-8, 2023 How do we only have 14 days together? It is crazy to think summer is so close. This week, the patrollers enjoyed attending the Patrol Picnic at Heritage Park. There will be an opportunity for students to express their interest in joining coming shortly. Aside from spending the day in the sun, this week we: -Examined different soil samples, looking at colour, texture, etc. There is a science test on Monday. -Talked about the executive branch in the provincial government, learning about the different roles/responsibilities. -Continued our work on our Multi-Genre Project. Rough version to be finished Tuesday, June 13th. -Played kickball outside, showing amazing sportsmanship! -Completed our figurative language stations. -Read more from Danny Day's Double Life. -Grade 6 math worked on decimal place value and calculating numbers with decimals. -Roa math has been working with 2D shapes, focusing on vocabulary of vertice, edge, face. -Copithorne math has ...
Posts
May 30th-June 2nd, 2023 How are we at June already? It is hard to process that we have 19 days left before summer vacation. Even though the end is approaching, we have been busy with new projects. This week we: -Picked a topic of choice for our Multi-Genre project. Students have selected a topic of interest to research and share their information through 3 different genres of their choice to showcase their learning. It will be due Tuesday, June 13th. -Tested fabric samples and learned about natural vs. synthetic fabrics. -Finished our unit of volleyball and will be completing self reflection about our skills and sportmanship. -Displayed our self portraits with our I am poems. -Discussed election results and learned more about the services of the provincial government. -Worked on sketching skills with our buddies. -Analyzed poetry, looking for use of figurative language. -Grade 6 math conducted surveys and created graphs to show the findings (Due Monday). -Roa math began exploring ...
May 23-26, 2023 My apologies for not posting an update last week. I had a family emergency and was away. However, I am back this week and we accomplished a lot! This week: -Welcome 2 new students! -Finished learning about the different political platforms for the election on Monday. -Wrote about who we would vote for and how we think it would help Alberta/Albertans. -Learned about Chromatography and tested different ink to solve which pen wrote the mystery note. -Analyzed handwriting. -Responded to our Podcast Mars Patel. It is online to stream if your child would like to listen to the next season! -Practiced our graphing skills. -Wrote concrete and acrostic poems. We also published our "I am" or Biographical poem. -Discussed what life would be like if we lived every day twice in anticipation of our new novel the Double Life of Danny Day. -Worked through social scenarios using our conflict resolution framework in Health. -Developed our serving and bumping skills in Volleyba...
May 8-12th, 2023 Even though it was a rainy week, we were fortunate to get to the pond to listen to Elder Harley Bastien. He spoke to us about how we are the future leaders and it is our responsbility to care for the Earth. Today, your child has a sent you an email about the last month of school. We fell away from emails when our student teacher was here, but we are back! Students were asked to share some things they are proud of and one thing they want to work on between now and the end of the year. I will keep this week short since I think most would rather hear from their child than me! :) Students are also coming home with their Social test. I asked students who received under 20/25 to take home for a signature. We also had a 5/6 community meeting with Mr. Lang and Ms. Bonanno to discuss some of the choices that are being made as a 5/6 community. We talked about appropriate language use, respecting personal space and boundaries, and lunch time expectations. A reminder th...
April 24-28, 2023 The 5/6 team would like to share with parents an invitation to a virtual session on Understanding the Relationship between Social Media and Youth Well-Being, Tuesday May 2, 2023 from 6:30 PM to 8:00 PM. The link to the Microsoft Teams Event is here . There is also more information on the University School website about the presentation. This week we started our work with Trickster Theatre. Who knew 31 kids would have so much fun with a plastic sheet! We are beginning to put together our portion of the school play. Students are asked to come to school Thursday evening, starting at 5:30 for a 6pm performance of the play. Please let me know if your child will not be able to attend. Aside from working with Trickster Theatre, this week we: -worked on our final book projects that are due on Wednesday, May 3rd -examined animal tracks, inferring what animal, where/how they travelled etc. -started figurative language stations -discussed the results...
April 11-14th, 2023 Happy Friday! Well happy might not be the best word to describe how our class is feeling today. Today we are saying thank you and goodbye to Mr. I. He has successfully completed his practicum and will begin as a substitute teacher for the CBE in the upcoming weeks. We are so grateful for his time with us, his calm presence and passion for math and science. This week we: -Learned about the similarities/differences in local government in urban and rural locations. -Finished publishing our essays. There are a few students who are not finished. Please follow up with your child to see if it pertains to them! -Recorded and watched our Bill Nye inspired chemistry videos. -Caught up with our book clubs. Books are to be finished for Wednesday and then we will begin our final project next week. -Worked on our string art and personal reflection. -Grade 6 math finished patterns and algebra. We will be moving into geometry next. -Ms. Roa's math group finished fr...
April 3rd - 6th, 2023 I hope everyone had a wonderful relaxing spring break. I always look forward to coming back and reconnecting with the class. This week we: -Researched our own topic of choice to write a research essay. -Learned about the responsibilities of the municipal government. -Had Gian-Carlo Carra Ward 9 councilor come speak to use about his responsibilities of being a city councilor and the vision he has for the future of Calgary. -In preparation for our guest speaker, we discussed what puddle, lake and ocean questions. Ask your child what questions they came up with. -Met with our book clubs. A number of students have jobs incomplete marked in their orange duotang. Please follow up with your child if this pertains to them. Their next meeting is Wednesday and they should be prepared with a completed job and their book read to their goal. -Started badminton and played King's Court. -Watched exemplars for our self-made Bill Nye Chemistry videos. -Continued our con...
March 13-17th, 2023 Thank you everyone for coming out to the spring concert. The class has worked so hard on their piece that they were excited to finally share it! This week we: -Observed reversible and irreversible reactions in chemistry and discovered 4 different ways to know if a chemical reaction has occurred. We also completed a lab testing powders and using our reasoning to figure out what the mystery powder was! -Learned about collective identity and the La Grande Paix de Montreal, a peace treaty between the Haudenosaunee and the French. -Worked on writing paragraphs with a clear topic sentence and supporting details. -Met with our book clubs to discuss our new books and reading jobs. We also completed our first reading reflection in the Google Classroom. -Grade 6's completed their unit on fractions, percent, decimals and ratios and had a math test. -Roa math continued practicing equivalent decimals and placing fractions on the number line. -Copithorne ma...
February 27th to March 3rd, 2023 I love how much time we were able to spend outside this week. Not only we had a chance to play games outside with our buddies, we also participated in Take Me Outside Day, the Winter Edition! This week: -Began learning about Mental Health and the importance of using proper language to describe feelings/experiences. -Completed a science lab making homogeneous and heterogenous mixtures to separate. -Evaulated our news articles and set a goal before we wrote our last article. Next week, we will edit, revise and publish. -Finished our slideshow on the Iroquois Confederacy. A few students have a little work to do finish to polish up their slides (please ask your child if this pertains to them). -Reviewed our close reading strategies by reading a passage on water and its physical states. -Grade 6 math continued to practice converting improper fractions/mixed numbers. We then began learning about relationship of fractions, decimals and percentage....
February 21-24, 2023 Even though we were stuck inside this week, we had a lot fun and survived listening to Ms. Field's squeaky almost non-existent voice! This week we: -Created skits connected to Pink Shirt Day and how to be a good friend. We even had a read aloud from Ms. Rowley for Pink Shirt Day and connected with our buddies in Gr. 1/2. -Learned about Wampum Belts and their design for different Treaties. -Practiced the Scientific Method and were thrilled Ms. Field had another song to help us remember the steps. -Expanded our vocabulary with new science words such as solution, solvent, solute, solid, liquid, gas, and bond. -Grade 6 math had students applying mixed numbers and improper fractions on the number line. -Ms. Roa's math group built different fractions with pattern blocks and used this to connect to equivalent fractions. -Mrs. C's math group continued with division strategies are becoming quite the pros! -We finished our space infographics and had our unit test...
February 13-15, 2023 I'll keep this week short since well...it's a short week! -Science infographics are due next Wednesday, February 22nd. -There is a science review guide in the Google Classroom. We are having a test on sky science February 23rd. -We wrote our first news articles. We will be comparing our articles to exemplars next week, setting goals for our next articles. -In math, Grade 6's began working on improper fractions and mixed numbers. -Ms. Roa's math group has begun learning about equivalent fractions. -Mrs. C's math is finishing up division. -We learned about the wampum belt and how it represents collective identity. -Met with our buddies to draw portraits. -Began exploring why we use the scientific method and its process. -Had a performance by Evergreen Theatre titled "The Wicked Witch of the Wetlands". See you on Tuesday, February 21st.
February 6-10, 2023
February 6-10, 2023 Today you should have received an email from child highlighting some of their learning they are feeling particularly proud of and activities that they connected with. I know my highlights this last month outside of art school include watching students challenge themselves with presenting to their peers, learning motion geometry through building, making beautiful music together after only 2 music practices and demonstrating their curiosity about space. This week we also: -practiced organizing ideas to create a news article -reviewed adding in our $100000 challenge -demonstrated our understanding of transformations by having a math test (which is coming home today) -participated in mission impossible in gym -learned about matrilineal societies -started exploring space technologies and missions We were fortunate to have a bonus art school session Wednesday with Bubba B, the MC. Students worked with Bubba B to create a collaborative rap about the things they care f...
January 30-February 2, 2023 What a cold week! I was hoping to get us outside for Winter walk day but that wind had a bite! This week we: -Learned about decision making in the Iroquois Confederacy and referred back to the start of the year on how decisions are made in Canada. We compared the advantages and disadvantages of each. -Explored the roles of men, women and children in Iroquois society. -Practiced our transformations and applied our understanding in creating a visual to reflect this on the cartesian plane (will complete next week). -Began learning about newspapers and news articles. We used our close reading strategies to extract the W5's and how to summarize. -Used our planner for our upcoming article of the day presentations to practice the expectations. In the Google Classroom is the assignment and dates for presentation. Please have your child share this with you so they don't forget their presentation date. -Added to our scientific vocabulary comets,...
January 23-27, 2023 It was great to be back in the classroom this week. We completed a lot of work and enjoyed being able to reconnect with the other 5/6 learning communities. This week we: -Created "Zines" that provided instructions on how to do a specific activity. -Finished our planet cards. -Began transformations in math (motion geometry). We learned about slides, reflections, rotations and the cartesian plane, plotting coordinates. We will be continuing with this next week, moving from one step to two step directions. -Practiced using non-fiction text features by completing a textbook scavenger hunt. -Learned about the longhouse and are creating a visual replica. -Had a virtual meet with Elder Alice Kaquitts who shared the story Caretakers of the Land. -Read with our gr. 1/2 buddies. -Held balances and practiced different ways to travel in gymnastics. -Focused in on our reading comprehension by examining the main idea in a body of text about the rover Perseverance....
January 16-20, 2023 What an incredible week of exploration and creating! Our 4 days at art school were amazing. I am sure students came home each day with plenty to share. Some of our highlights were: -Riding in the freight elevator. -Walking across the lighting grid in the Martha Cohen Theatre (the clancy). -Exploring underground and all the pipes in the Arts Commons building. -Getting our own personal harmonicas (sorry parents!) -Working with Kevin Burt and hearing his music. He was also a great harmonica teacher. -Having the TV crew there! -Learning how lighting in the theatre works. -Jack Singer Concert Hall and its amazing pipe organ (6040 pipes to be exact!) -Creating our own optical illusion. -Collaborative string art installation. -Capturing our days by creating event maps. -Stretching our thinking by connecting different words to our big question of "How do we care for the things we love?" -We got to use lockers! -Playing down at Olympic Plaza. -Riding the school b...
January 9-13, 2023 Welcome back! We had a great week back reconnecting and getting ready for Art School! A few things to note for our field trip to Arts Commons next week (Monday, January 16th to Thursday, January 19th): -Bussing is slightly delayed in the morning and we will now depart at 8:45am. -Please dress for the weather as we will be going outside. -Pack a lunch, water bottle and bring your indoor shoes. -Students are asked to keep cell phones in their backpacks during the field trip (just like a regular school day). -We are still waiting for the payment to be posted in PowerSchool. Hopefully it will show up online next week. Parents who are volunteering, I will send you a separate email outlining the week. I really appreciate you taking the time to join us. Aside from preparing for Art School, this week we: -Set our intentions for the year by selecting a word to reflect upon throughout 2023. It is in Google Slides so your child can share it with you! -Had...
December 12-16, 2022 We had another busy week of learning. This week we: -Created brochures about the different places in ancient Athens and how they were important to Democracy -Explored the constellations, learning the different stories of the night sky. We also made star finders to go along with the moon tracking sheets that are due on Thursday, Dec 22. -Continued writing our adventure stories. They will be finished before leaving for Winter Break. -Looked at infographics related to space and learned about NASA and exploring the moon. -Ranked items based on important to least important for survival in space from NASA. -Made cards with our buddies. -Practiced zoom in/zoom out art techniques. -Had combined 5/6 math exploring a TedEd riddle. -Grade 6's worked on volume in math. Next week they have a design project using area and perimeter. -Grade 5's polished up multiplication and division and connected it with area and perimeter. A reminder that the Art School field t...
December 4-9, 2022 Happy Friday! Today we are saying goodbye to Mr. Ikenouye. He will be returning mid February to complete the final portion of his practicum. We all have loved having him here, sharing his passion for math and science. This week we: -Practiced our close reading strategies and answering questions in complete sentences by reading an article about World Cup. -Learned the phases of the moon. Reminder that moon tracking sheets came home last week and are to be completed daily until the last day before winter break. -Started exploring the constellations. -Grade 6's worked on area and perimeter. Next week, they will begin learning about volume. -Grade 5's in Mrs. Copithorne's math group worked on division and were challenged with a TedEd riddle. -Ms. Roa's math group learned about coding by using micro:bits. -Developed our vocabulary by building word lists related to the setting of our adventure stories (we also planned a new story). -Explored our own inte...
November 28th-December 2, 2022 Thank you parents for taking an opportunity to speak with me regarding your child's learning the last couple of weeks. I always love celebrating the progress each student makes. During this extra cold week, we have: -Learned about the seasons in regards of Earth's rotation, revolution and being on an axis. -Started exploring the phases of the moon. Each student has been given a moon tracking sheet to be completed daily between now and December 22nd. -Practiced our listening skills by listening to the 6 minute podcast. -Learned about how the citizens in Ancient Athens participated in decision making. -Had an opportunity for free writing now that we finished our fractured fairy tales. -Began looking at the food guide and learning about free/natural sugars. -Worked on our reading comprehension challenge. -Continued developing our multiplying and dividing skills, applying to word problems. -Had combined 5/6 math with all 3 classes to ex...