What a great day we enjoyed at Swan Lake. We learned how local plants and animals have adapted to survive in their habitats.
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Today in assembly the student service committee presented an intiative which will have us support World Vision. Alexandra Hayes, from World Vision spoke to us about the how the money we raise helps others. She taught us some Swahili to help us understand that when we help children in other countries we can help them have less worries. Hakuna Matata means no worries! With the money we raise we can buy different animals and give the gift of hope to families and communities. The students suggested ways that they could help out at home to earn money to donate. Cleaning, sweeping, washing dishes and doing yardwork were all ways mentioned that students could earn money. What jobs or chores could you do to earn money to World Vision? Using supplies such as; 30 sided dice, cards, double dice, counter and white boards, students in 4J created multiplication games for the other grade 4 class. They shared the rules, the supplies, how to play and how to win with their peers. The concept that needed to be taught and practiced within this game was double digit by single digit multiplication. The students had lots of fun and reflected in their math journals once the game was over. Thanks for playing with us 4H! What math games can you think of to play at home with your families?Students in grade 4 are becoming more and more familiar with using criteria to create and effectively assess their own work. Throughout the assignment, students are encouraged to reflect back on class-generated criteria. Upon completion of the mapping project, students conferenced with a partner to get feedback and assess their own work. The learning and diaogue was rich and meaningful for students; sharing thoughtful suggestions between one another. As part of our habitat unit of inquiry, students have been exploring where different animals live in the world based on what they need to survive. They have been using their knowledge of maps to create their own distribution maps to show the range of their chosen animals. Students have been using a variety of resources to research and learn. What tools do you like to use to explore the world? atlases, maps, google earth, google maps...On Thursday, October 24th we had a visit from Kansai University Junior/Senior High School. The students from this school prepared many fun games so that our students could experience aspects of their culture. We enjoyed ourselves very much. Here are some thoughts from Grade 4J. The activity I enjoyed the most was: • the chopstick game because you got a pair of chopsticks and you tried to pick up beans. I got one bean and my opponent got two beans. (Sam) • writing because I like how Japanese characters look. (John) • writing the Japanese letters because it was a bit challenging and that was what made it fun. Also, it was cool writing letters from a different country. (Willem) • the fishing one outside because the balloon had water in it and was like a yoyo and that was awesome. (Erik) • the balloon one because I think it was hard for me and I like hard games. (Christian) • the paper throw because I got a cool prize and it was fun. (Matthew) • fan-making because of the materials I used to decorate it (origami, glitter pens) and I got to do it right from the start which was absolutely splendid! (Emma) • making a paper fan because you could be creative and also draw and glue on pieces of origami. (Marina) • when you had to put a face together with a blindfold covering your eyes. It was really fun because it was a challenge that was creative. (Bree) • fan making because it was nice that they had so many colours to work with and I never knew that they used different glue in Japan. It was really cool. (Cassidy) • picking up the water balloons with a hook and piece of paper connected to the hook. It was challenging and fun because when paper gets wet it gets mushy and you have to go fast. (David) • where you could paint with some oils or some sort of black paint. You had to choose a picture of a letter or word and then you painted the word. I liked this activity because it was interesting and fun. (Cypress) • the Japanese fan making because it was something I don't get to do a lot and you could decorate with many materials like origami, pens or even sparkly pens. I thought Japanese glue reminded me of white out. (Elizabeth) • making the fans because there were so many things to put on them and the glue was awesome because it was really sticky and easy to put on. (Sofia) A Japanese dance above. A bean counting chopstick race below. We had a great Halloween day. In the morning we enjoyed some spooky Halloween math and writing activities. In the afternoon, the students worked collaboratively to plan and prepare a Halloween puppet play which shared a message about Halloween safety. We also paraded, sang and danced with the entire school. What fun! Our virtue for the month of November is Peacefulness.
Children in Grade 4 shared places and opportunities where they experience Peacefulness in their lives. Click on this link to view the Junior School newsletter. A piece about Peacefulness, written for parents by Tessa Lloyd our school counselor, can be found in this newsletter. |