“I am enough of an artist to draw freely upon my imagination. Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world.”
- Alberta Einstein WE HAVE SCHOOL ON MONDAY!!! IMPORTANT INFORMATION Food Band Collection We are still looking for donations for the Food Drive. 1. Nov. 1 –14 Veteran’s Food Drive Since 2007, the Canadian Legacy Project has presented the Annual Veterans Food Drive in support of the Veterans Food Bank and the Calgary Poppy Fund. The support we have received from the Calgary community has been amazing and we have successfully filled two warehouses with food at the Calgary Veterans Food Bank annually, which equates to roughly $300,000 in food donations. As a part of this fundraising initiative we also receive cash donations which are used to purchase Calgary Co-Op food cards which veterans can use to purchase fresh produce, meats, and pharmaceutical products. A key component to the Annual Veterans Food Drive is educating our youth about the sacrifices made by our veterans. In partnership with The Calgary Board of Education (CBE), event information is sent to all schools. The CBE encourages the faculty and students to raise funds and food for the Annual Veterans Food Drive. 2. Dec. 4 – 15 Mayor’s Xmas Food Drive This year will be the 29th annual food drive to support the Calgary Food Bank. IMPORTANT DATES November 17: PD Day - No School. November 22: Fun Lunch (Opa!) November 29: Elder Shirley Hill OUR DAY 46 days under our belt, 134 days to go! Happy Weekend! A reminder that we have school on Monday. Today, student’s finished their pre-assessment for Ways to Make 1000. I will be looking at them over the weekend, and have some fun activities planned for next week to get them up and running. Or jogging. And maybe stopping once in a while to enjoy the view. We finished our poppies, and have added them to the door. It is a lovely burst of red, that soothes the soul. A reminder that we have school on Monday. Students also reflected about peace. They created in their Visual Journals an I See…, I Think…, I Wonder…, which will be used to create a personal reflection of how we contribute to a peaceful class, school, family, community, and world. A reminder that we have school on Monday. Students sang for half an hour, and then ate their snack while I read Rosie Revere, Engineer. This is another great book demonstrating math and scientific literacy, all in rhyme. A reminder that we have school on Monday. We had our Remembrance Day Assembly today. It was a thoughtful observance, that certainly gives pause to appreciate the rights and freedoms we have, and to honor those that have fought and those that sacrificed their lives for our rights and freedoms. A reminder that we have school on Monday. I wish you a mindful and peaceful weekend. Cheerios! Ms Lauf “Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known.”
- Carl Sagan IMPORTANT INFORMATION Food Band Collection We are still looking for donations for the Food Drive. 1. Nov. 1 –14 Veteran’s Food Drive Since 2007, the Canadian Legacy Project has presented the Annual Veterans Food Drive in support of the Veterans Food Bank and the Calgary Poppy Fund. The support we have received from the Calgary community has been amazing and we have successfully filled two warehouses with food at the Calgary Veterans Food Bank annually, which equates to roughly $300,000 in food donations. As a part of this fundraising initiative we also receive cash donations which are used to purchase Calgary Co-Op food cards which veterans can use to purchase fresh produce, meats, and pharmaceutical products. A key component to the Annual Veterans Food Drive is educating our youth about the sacrifices made by our veterans. In partnership with The Calgary Board of Education (CBE), event information is sent to all schools. The CBE encourages the faculty and students to raise funds and food for the Annual Veterans Food Drive. 2. Dec. 4 – 15 Mayor’s Xmas Food Drive This year will be the 29th annual food drive to support the Calgary Food Bank. IMPORTANT DATES November 10: Remembrance Day Assembly at 10:45 am. November 17: PD Day - No School. November 22: Fun Lunch (Opa!) November 29: Elder Shirley Hill OUR DAY 45 days under our belt, 135 days to go! We started off our day with reflecting about our field trip yesterday. I had a professional development last night about graphic recording, and brought that into the classroom. This is a note-taking technique using quick sketches and words to highlight the critical information from an event/talk/lesson. We will be creating over the year a Vocabulary of Icons to help support students in this strategy. Students also began their Ways to Make 1000. I am assuring students to not be frustrated with this as it is the beginning of our understanding, and a starting point. After recess, we had a class discussion about Remembrance Day and what poppies symbolize. This was tied into our ongoing discussion about quality of life, wants and needs, values, and rights and freedoms. We then crumpled up painted filter paper, and painted it red. After lunch, we had PoWer Hour. We do Go Noodle for body movement breaks in our class. Our previous character had maxed out (we reached to the top level and he couldn’t “grow” any more), so we had to pick a new one. Well, it went to a vote. I showed the characters to the students, and they had to write their choice on a piece. We ended up with 7 different selections, totaling 19 votes. Results:
I asked students how we should proceed. A lively discussion ensued, where some suggested only voting between the top 2 choices, while others thought that all should be voted on again. Some also thought that we should just go with the top vote. I asked students if that would be fair, if that would represent everyone. It got quiet. Faces scrunched up. Goatees and mustaches were stroked. Finally, a hand shot up. “That wouldn’t be fair because the top one only got 6, but 13 others voted for something else. That’s not a majority.” Welcome, students, to how communities decide on things for the community (Gr 3 Social Studies outcome), and democracy. And minority vs majority governments. It went to 4 votes, where Flo Yo came in first with 11 votes and Tiny O’Flexem getting 9. (For those of you counting, a student who did not initially participate joined the voting process.) Some students were sad that their character didn’t win, so we had a quick discussion about making peace with results, and making sure our reactions matched the situation. We finished off our day adding the centres to our poppies for tomorrow, and a quick game of BAM!. Cheerios! Ms Lauf “The world as we have created it is a process of our thinking. It cannot be changed without changing our thinking.”
- Albert Einstein IMPORTANT INFORMATION Indoor Shoes Students brought their indoor shoes on the field trip today. I believe they all were left here, but if you can do a quick check and send any that may have followed your child home, back. Food Band Collection WE ARE COLLECTING NON-PERISHABLE FOODS THIS WEEK! Prince of Wales families are invited to support our local food banks. We have two opportunities to donate non-perishable food to those in need. Boxes are located in our main hall near the office. 1. Nov. 1 –14 Vetran’s Food Drive Since 2007, the Canadian Legacy Project has presented the Annual Veterans Food Drive in support of the Veterans Food Bank and the Calgary Poppy Fund. The support we have received from the Calgary community has been amazing and we have successfully filled two warehouses with food at the Calgary Veterans Food Bank annually, which equates to roughly $300,000 in food donations. As a part of this fundraising initiative we also receive cash donations which are used to purchase Calgary Co-Op food cards which veterans can use to purchase fresh produce, meats, and pharmaceutical products. A key component to the Annual Veterans Food Drive is educating our youth about the sacrifices made by our veterans. In partnership with The Calgary Board of Education (CBE), event information is sent to all schools. The CBE encourages the faculty and students to raise funds and food for the Annual Veterans Food Drive. 2. Dec. 4 – 15 Mayor’s Xmas Food Drive This year will be the 29th annual food drive to support the Calgary Food Bank. IMPORTANT DATES November 10: Remembrance Day Assembly at 10:45 am. November 17: PD Day - No School. November 22: Fun Lunch (Opa!) November 29: Elder Shirley Hill OUR DAY 44 days under our belt, 136 days to go! TELUS SPARK RULES! (And no misplaced adults or children!) Our class is choke full of clever and respectful children! We started our learning at TELUS Spark with Jr Architects, where students built in teams the following: a pirate rocket ship; a rocket ship; a castle with a tower inside; a parkour course; and a playground. All out of PVC tubes and different joints. After a quick refueling, we played with sound, where students had to muffle sound, using a variety of materials, and then amplify the sound using a variety of materials. Mission accomplished for both of them. After lunch, students were able to explore with their groups the different exhibits, and explore they did. They drank out of toilet, lay on a bed of nails, danced to create energy, tested their response time, made dresses, got “sneezed” on (don’t worry, it was water explaining the speed of a sneeze), and checked out circuit boards, just to name a few. Next thing we new, it was time to pack it in, and get on our bus. Our day ended with students snacking on remaining lunches, the Fun Lunch for those that ordered, and a birthday treat from a girl in our class whose birthday was yesterday, and I forgot to hand out the cupcakes. Mea culpa. Please check backpacks for indoor shoes, and send them back tomorrow. Cheerios! Ms Lauf “The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existence. One cannot help but be in awe when he contemplates the mysteries of eternity, of life, of the marvelous structure of reality. It is enough if one tries merely to comprehend a little of this mystery each day."
- Albert Einstein IMPORTANT INFORMATION Field Trip Forms - TELUS Spark Field Trip Between the three Grade 3 classes, we have enough volunteers for our field trip tomorrow. Field Trip Housekeeping Notes:
Food Band Collection WE ARE COLLECTING NON-PERISHABLE FOODS THIS WEEK! Prince of Wales families are invited to support our local food banks. We have two opportunities to donate non-perishable food to those in need. Boxes are located in our main hall near the office. 1. Nov. 1 –14 Vetran’s Food Drive Since 2007, the Canadian Legacy Project has presented the Annual Veterans Food Drive in support of the Veterans Food Bank and the Calgary Poppy Fund. The support we have received from the Calgary community has been amazing and we have successfully filled two warehouses with food at the Calgary Veterans Food Bank annually, which equates to roughly $300,000 in food donations. As a part of this fundraising initiative we also receive cash donations which are used to purchase Calgary Co-Op food cards which veterans can use to purchase fresh produce, meats, and pharmaceutical products. A key component to the Annual Veterans Food Drive is educating our youth about the sacrifices made by our veterans. In partnership with The Calgary Board of Education (CBE), event information is sent to all schools. The CBE encourages the faculty and students to raise funds and food for the Annual Veterans Food Drive. 2. Dec. 4 – 15 Mayor’s Xmas Food Drive This year will be the 29th annual food drive to support the Calgary Food Bank. Field Trip Fee Letter The Field Trip Fee Letter will be sent home shortly. The office is sorting this out. IMPORTANT DATES November 8: Telus Spark Field Trip. November 8: Fun Lunch (Extreme Pita) - Please note: If you order your child a Fun Lunch, they will receive it when we return to the school at the end of day. November 10: Remembrance Day Assembly at 10:45 am. November 17: PD Day - No School. November 22: Fun Lunch (Opa!) November 29: Elder Shirley Hill OUR DAY 43 days under our belt, 137 days to go! The morning started off with students writing their rough copy of The Best Part of Me. We first looked at formatting of poetry, and how for this assignment, students will write one sentence, and then begin the next on a new line. In Science, we learned some more interesting details about the three different types of rocks (igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic). They completed a sort of information under the three types of rocks. I read Ada Twist, Scientist to the students, where we identified the traits of a scientist and how literacy in science looks different than literacy on language. In the afternoon, we looked at some Reader’s Responses samples from, looking at what information they included as well as how they formatted and planned out their information. Students then wrote down the the first thing that comes to their head about The One and Only Ivan. We will sort these and talk about critical information, and how we know it is critical. This will be used both for their responses, as well as in their writing. Students continued with showing how to represent numbers. We looked at an anchor chart of ten different ways to represent a number, and then looked at the examples they gave yesterday in their small groups. Students identified that the most common way they showed was with Number Sentences. We finished math off with students showing Ways to Make 100. Our next step will be to review that, looking for and sharing the different ways, which will springboard into the final pre-assessment of Ways to make 1000. After some bouncing, jumping, and singing in the class, we worked on our portraits. I have been saving the end bits from my laminating for the last few months, which we used to trace our faces from a picture photocopy. Students will be using these to help with their facial proportions for their self-portrait. REST WELL AND EAT A SOLID BREAKFAST IN THE MORNING! Cheerios! Ms Lauf "Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted."
- Albert Einstein IMPORTANT INFORMATION Field Trip - TELUS Spark Field Trip Forms to TELUS Spark came home today. Forms need to come back ASAP. Our Field Trip is Wednesday, November 8th. The bus leaves at 8:30 am, and returns back to the school at 2:30. The information cover letter has all the information you need. We need 4 volunteers to help out. WE CURRENTLY HAVE 1 VOLUNTEER. Please note that TELUS Spark has strict chaperone to student ratios (1:5), and we will not be able to attend if we not meet these requirements. PICTURE RETAKE DAY - Tomorrow, November 7th If a retake is required, please return your original proof order form/envelope or send a handwritten note for your child to give to the photographer to request a retake. Students new to Prince of Wales School and students who missed the original photo day are also invited to have their photograph taken to included in the yearbook. Please contact Lifetouch if you have questions regarding proof order forms and picture packages. Lifetouch Canada Inc. - 1.866.457.8212 Food Bank Collection Prince of Wales families are invited to support our local food banks. We have two opportunities to donate non-perishable food to those in need. Boxes are located in our main hall near the office. 1. Nov. 1 –14 Vetran’s Food Drive Since 2007, the Canadian Legacy Project has presented the Annual Veterans Food Drive in support of the Veterans Food Bank and the Calgary Poppy Fund. The support we have received from the Calgary community has been amazing and we have successfully filled two warehouses with food at the Calgary Veterans Food Bank annually, which equates to roughly $300,000 in food donations. As a part of this fundraising initiative we also receive cash donations which are used to purchase Calgary Co-Op food cards which veterans can use to purchase fresh produce, meats, and pharmaceutical products. A key component to the Annual Veterans Food Drive is educating our youth about the sacrifices made by our veterans. In partnership with The Calgary Board of Education (CBE), event information is sent to all schools. The CBE encourages the faculty and students to raise funds and food for the Annual Veterans Food Drive. 2. Dec. 4 – 15 Mayor’s Xmas Food Drive This year will be the 29th annual food drive to support the Calgary Food Bank. IMPORTANT DATES November 7: Photo retakes. November 8: Telus Spark Field Trip. November 8: Fun Lunch (Extreme Pita) - Please note: If you order your child a Fun Lunch, they will receive it when we return to the school at the end of day. November 10: Remembrance Day Assembly at 10:45 am. November 17: PD Day - No School. November 22: Fun Lunch (Opa!) November 29: Elder Shirley Hill OUR DAY 42 days under our belt, 138 days to go! Our day started off with Monday Morning Blah Blah:
This was followed by Literacy Centres, which is running tickety-boo. After a brisk recess (with multiple reminders to wear mittens and toques, and to zip up the jackets), we talked about snow staying on the ground, and that we share the snow. We have also received a complaint from a school neighbour that snowballs were thrown at their house, and they were quite upset over this. Mrs Bezugley had asked that all teachers talk with the students about respecting property, and that we do not throw snow at anyone or anything. Our class promised to keep the snow on the ground, and to make sure to be leaders by setting Proper Snow Etiquette Standards for others. We had science before lunch, where we had a whole class discussion about the rock cycle, and how the three different types of rocks could become other rocks in the right circumstances and over vast amount of time. After lunch, I had the students do a pre-assessment showing me in their visual journals different ways to make 10. This was followed by students working in their table groups showing what they know, which was then shared with the whole class. I was looking from students ways to represent a number - pictorial, ordinal, written, tally, Base-ten, expanded, numbers, number sentence, etc… Tomorrow, I will have them show me ways to make 100, and finally 1000. Between each one, we will follow the same as today: individual, small group, whole class. At the end of the Numeracy Unit, I will have the students do a similar showing to demonstrate understanding. We began Ringette in Gym today, starting with basic stick handling skills. We finished off our day with our portraits. A REMINDER WE NEED VOLUNTEERS FOR THE FIELD TRIP, OTHERWISE WE WILL NEED TO CANCEL THE TRIP. Cheerios! Ms Lauf “Imagination is everything. It is the preview of life’s coming attractions.”
- Albert Einstein IMPORTANT INFORMATION Field Trip Forms - TELUS Spark Field Trip Forms to TELUS Spark came home today. Forms need to come back ASAP. Our Field Trip is Wednesday, November 8th. The bus leaves at 8:30 am, and returns back to the school at 2:30. The information cover letter has all the information you need. We need 4 volunteers to help out. Please note that TELUS Sark has strict chaperone to student ratios (1:5), and we will not be able to attend if we not meet these requirements. IMPORTANT DATES November 7: Photo retakes. November 8: Telus Spark Field Trip. November 8: Fun Lunch (Extreme Pita) - Please note: If you order your child a Fun Lunch, they will receive it when we return to the school at the end of day. November 10: Remembrance Day Assembly at 10:45 am. November 17: PD Day - No School. November 22: Fun Lunch (Opa!) November 29: Elder Shirley Hill OUR DAY 41 days under our belt, 139 days to go! We started off our chilly day doing some housekeeping: students reflected on their goals, wrote our What we did in October cards, and practiced their knot skills by adding ribbons to their personal bookmarks. Before music, students put their thinking caps on, as I gave them an assessment for the pattern problems we have been working on in class for the past while. I assured students that if they found it challenging, not to worry, because they have until end of Grade 3 to understand the outcomes. I will review their problem solving skills, and see where I need to support them. This may include some practice work at home. I read Wemberley Worried, written by Kevin Henckes, while students fueled up for the last part of the short day. I gave some students some extra time to complete their pattern assessment, while others did quiet Read to Self, or worked on their Visual Journal I Am… Zentangles. The sad part of the day was saying goodbye to Mrs Pulfer. We presented her with a collage listing all the fine qualities that she is, and sent her off with Kleenexes and a big group hug. We will miss her greatly here at the school, and we wish her all the happiness that she deserves. We finished off our day beginning our portraits. I had students draw what they think they look like (I’m a little intrigued about the elf ears, multiple facial piercings, and sharp teeth…), and then showed them a picture of a drawing on transparency on top of a face. I will do this exercise with the students next week, so they can develop a better understanding about facial proportions, as well as making visual observations. This will be a 2-3 week long process. I am giddy to see the progress they make. Please stay warm and safe this weekend! Students of Room 18! Please remember your winter attire. Ask your parents how you can remember everything you need. (List, photo, lay out what you need the night before…) Homework: Practice tying knots - and excellent skill for small muscle dexterity. Cheerios! Ms Lauf “Imagination is everything. It is the preview of life’s coming attractions.”
- Albert Einstein IMPORTANT INFORMATION Yarn! We still need more yarn for our Peru centres. IMPORTANT DATES November 7: Photo retakes. November 8: Telus Spark Field Trip. November 8: Fun Lunch (Extreme Pita) - Please note: If you order your child a Fun Lunch, they will receive it when we return to the school at the end of day. November 10: Remembrance Day Assembly at 10:45 am. November 17: PD Day - No School. November 22: Fun Lunch (Opa!) November 29: Elder Shirley Hill OUR DAY 40 days under our belt, 140 days to go! Our day started off first with a game of Scattergories (Letter P), and then another session with Ms Purkiss, where students were (re)introduced to a program called Superflex. This program teaches us about behaviors that can take our that prevents our thinking, called Unthinkables. Some Unthinkables are: Rockbrain, who makes people get stuck on their ideas Glassman, who makes people have huge reactions Body Snatcher, who makes people move their bodies from the group Brain Eater, who distracts others by being off topic, gets in personal spaces, and making noises It’s a great program that helps students learn the two BIG strategies to overcome the Unthinkables, by taking deep breaths and using positive self-talk (“Not a big deal.”). We will be working with the class throughout the year with this program. This was followed by The Best Part of Me Writing, where we discussed formatting of the good copy, and how it should look like. Students are now writing a final rough copy, focusing on the formatting. Most students are almost ready for publication. Huzzah, students on your thoughtful work! After lunch, we did another round of Science Centres. I have now paired up students to wok together, and it was much more successful. We will continue to rotate through the centres. On top of the centres, I will have the students reflect on each centre, focusing on what they did and WHY. Always the WHY. As educator John Dewey says, “we learn from reflecting on experience”. The afternoon started with our 4th session of PoWer Hour. Gym came right after. We closed the day off with reflecting on our learning in October, as well as how amazing Mrs Pulfer is, as tomorrow is her last day at Prince of Wales School. We are creating a “We Love You!” collage, which we will give to Mrs Pulfer tomorrow. Mrs Pulfer, if you are reading this, these are not the droids you are looking for. Cheerios! Ms Lauf “The most beautiful experience we can have is the mysterious. It is the fundamental emotion that stands at the cradle of true art and true science.” - Albert Einstein IMPORTANT INFORMATION Yarn! We need more yarn for our Peru centres! IMPORTANT DATES November 7: Photo retakes. November 8: Telus Spark Field Trip. November 8: Fun Lunch (Extreme Pita) - Please note: If you order a Fun Lunch for your child, they will receive it when we return to the school at the end of day from Telus Spark. November 10: Remembrance Day Assembly at 10:45 am. November 17: PD Day - No School. November 22: Fun Lunch (Opa!) November 29: Elder Shirley Hill OUR DAY 39 days under our belt, 141 days to go! Students began the day diving into Literacy Centres. I am slowly acclimatizing them to the 20-minute sessions for the centres, and supporting them in managing their time and giving them strategies of what to do (independently) when they get stuck. Music followed Literacy Centres. Tra-la-la! I introduced Scattergories (a personal favourite of mine) to the students. I love this game, as it helps students observe their surroundings a little more closely, not to mention thinking of spelling, words that begin with a certain letter, and synonyms. After recess, the students ate their snack and listened to The One and Only Ivan. IN the story, Ivan as tired, but not sleepy. It tuns out he is tired of his domain, a concrete room, with 3 walls of glass and one wall with a mural of a jungle scene, as well as a tire swing. Ivan also went through all his handlers, listing off what they did to or for him, stating his favourite was the one that gave him plump, juicy strawberries. This was a nice segue to an email I had received from Zoo School, which I shared with the students. Here is the flyer they sent to us. We then had a discussion about quality of life, wants and needs, and how this compared between Ivan’s life and the life of the animals at the zoo. Science Bins followed. This was our first time using them, and it took a few turns of the key before we were off! It’s good for the students to see how the beginning of something might now work out as planned, and that we just need to keep trying. In this case, it was helping students remember where to look in the booklet for their centre, reminding them to read the whole page, and to look at the supplies. I participated in a Professional Development Session with our school occupational therapist about fine motor control, hand printing and hand writing. I have some new tricks up my sleeve to support the class in mastering the pencil grip. I am excited to share this with the students. Today, we had our first lesson, where we learned our hand has two different sections: thumb, index and centre fingers provide the grip and control the ring and pinkie fingers to provide strength to the other group We also did some warm-up exercises (mirroring spiders, engaging the core, shoulder raises) and large movements. My next focus will be practicing proper letter formation (aways starting letters from the top) with proper letter height. Practicing this helps develop those fine motor muscles (for small movements used in jobs such as dentistry, surgery, fine mechanics, art, design, engineering/drafting, electrical work, etc, ….), build stamina, and alleviate muscle strain. We also looked at the 31-Ice Cream Double Scoop combinations from our math pattern bins as a whole class. Students shared their learning, where we went through the problem together. I showed them some tricks on how to keep the information organized, as well as adding a third column to the t-chart to really help see the pattern. More students had a-ha moments. I will go through one or two more bins tomorrow, and on Friday, I will give them a wee assessment to see where they are at. Even though we are moving on, I will still address patterns throughout the year. After gym (more volleyball moves), we had library, and then reviewed/reflected on our weekly goal. We finished off the day with a delightful story called The Big Adventure of a Little Line, written by Serge Bloch. Cheerios! Ms Lauf |
AuthorMs Lauf Archives
June 2018
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