Holiday Food Drive

A huge THANK YOU to all the families who participated in the Holiday Helpers Food/Toy Drive.  Our class brought in a total of 193 items which will help support families in need. 

Great job!

Food/Toy Drive

Students are in a tight competition to spread some holiday cheer.  Students are collecting food items for the ACES Express Holiday Helpers Food and Toy Drive. 

To date, our class has brought in 185 items!  Great job class!
Keep the items coming. The winning class will receive a pancake breakfast on Friday December 17th. 
No matter which class wins, the community is the biggest winner of all.  So let's do our best to make this Christmas special for families in need!

Secret Santa

 Secret Santas have been chosen and students are responsible for spreading some holiday cheer by sending small homemade gifts or inexpensive treats to their elf.   This is intended to be a fun experience, so students are reminded that being a good "Santa" means they need to provide at least 3 small Secret Santa surprises for their elf along the way.  Some ideas can be as simple as leaving a candy cane or a homemade card/message in their elf's mailbox.  On December 17th, the class will have a Christmas party where the Secret Santas will be revealed.  On December 17th, students are encouraged to bring one final gift for their elf which may not exceed $5.00.

 

Ho! Ho! Ho!

Outdoor Gym - BE PREPARED!

Students are required to have a pair of indoor shoes and outdoor footware (boots/shoes) to help cut down on the dirt being tracked around the school. 

Every Monday and Thursday, students will spend 40 minutes outside playing a variety of outdoor games during our outdoor gym times.  When the snow arrives, we will be sledding and skating regularly.  Every student must dress appropriately for outdoor gym which includes wearing:

• a hat
• gloves/mittens
• a scarf (when colder)
• snowpants & jacket
• proper winter boots

Students may also want to keep a spare pair of socks in their lockers in the event their socks get wet.
Being prepared for outdoor gym is an expectation that all students must meet.

Internet Safety Awareness Presentation

Yesterday the students attended an internet safety awareness presentation in the gym. Please ask your child what they learned and visit youthprivacy.ca for more information.

In class, we will begin discussing internet safety and appropriate use of technology.  Students will create a mock "Facebook" page (out of paper - not on-line!) and learn about respectful ways to communicate with others in the virtual world.

Grade 5 Bridge Building

The grade 5's tested their bridges today.  Bridges were built with popsicle sticks and white glue only.  Students demonstrated their understanding of structure by creating the bridge that would hold a load.  Every bridge was tested and the surviving bridges held 4kg and could have held more!   

This bridge didn't make it!

Look at all those weights!



Scientists in action



Remembrance Day in the Classroom

We have been researching Canadian War heroes in class.  Students chose a veteran to investigate and made a "Did You Know" information page about him/her.  Also, the artwork we have been working on has turned out beautifully and I've attached a photo for you all to enjoy.
I trust that you will take time to remember all the men and women who sacrificed their lives for our sake.  I encourage you to take in a Remembrance Day ceremony and invite you to remember with the ACES students in the gym from 9:30-10:30 on Thursday November 11th.

Halloween Craft - tomorrow!

Halloween is in the air!  Tomorrow during art class we'll be creating this fun craft. 

Math Contest - A Great Opportunity!

 











Students will have the opportunity to participate in Brock University's Caribou Mathematics Competition on November 17th.  Anyone interested in participating will work on the math problem in the computer lab on the day of the competition.  Mr. Rodger will facilitate the children as they try to solve the problem of the day.  I've included a sample of the types of questions the students would encounter.  You can try some sample questions to help you prepare by going to http://www.brocku.ca/caribou/index.php

Question 1 of 30 (3 points)

A butterfly sat down on a correctly solved problem. What number did it cover up?


1295
1190
1390
1195
1290

Level 4 Math Answer!

Here is a great example of a level 4 math answer.  Each problem needs to be solved by including:
1) Calculations and/or labelled diagrams
2) Answer to the problem
3) Summary of Strategy or Approach

The students solved the following problem:

You have $50 to buy school supplies.  What can you buy?
Look at the page from the flyer.  Explain how you decided between items.  How much change will you get?

You will need:
paper or notebook, binder, pencil, pen, eraser, ruler

(there was a list of items for sale as well).


Look at your math answers and decide if they are a level 4 too!

Wordle!

Students will be creating Wordles on Monday.  Check out the sample Wordle by clicking the link to the right.

Progress Reports

The new Progress Reports will be issued on November 4th.  Please note that there is a change in the reporting procedures as of this year.  The Progress Report will not include traditional grades, but will indicate whether a child is progressing well, progressing very well or progressing with difficulty. Parent-Teacher interviews will be held the following week to discuss the progress of your child to date.
You may find more information at http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/policyfunding/success.html

A full report card will be issued in January and in June.  As usual, if you have any questions, please feel free to email me directly.

Meet the Teacher

Wednesday October 6th

4:30-6:30

Come see the classroom and meet Mrs. Corrigan!

also...

Family Photo Night

Creativity!

Take a look at our living sculptures!  Students are moved into their poses by the artist.  Each sculpture has a name.

A clown juggling

A Little boy



Cleopatra's mummy

 

Old Lady Reading







A Confused Super Star



A Man that was Attacked by a Shoe



Art

The students were working at different activities yesterday.  Some were finishing their watercolour paintings and others were creating their art portfolios.

 




Thinking hard about art!



Grade 5 Government Project

Grade 5 students have been collecting and labelling photos of our political leaders.  An outline was sent home over a week ago and photos are due on Thursday September 30th.

Driven by Purpose

The class has been exploring what it means to be driven by purpose.  The boys and girls established that even at 10 or 11 years of age, they are able to make a difference.  They identified that their purpose is to:

1)  Rise up to be the next generation
2)  Be willing to learn
3)  Be wise consumers of the environment

As a class, we brainstormed ways that we could make a difference at ACES this year.  Students expressed interest in starting a Recycling Club, create a recycled goods art club, and do fundraising to purchase books for the library.  After further discussion, the entire class has decided to bring in gently used books with the idea of adding to classroom libraries in need. 

If you have gently used books that would be suitable for a grade 1-6 classroom, we would gladly accept your donation.  Students will be creating identification tags which will be placed on the inside of the books to indicate the name of the family who has made the donation.  We hope to encourage and inspire other students to think big and make a difference in their school as well. 

We are ready to move forward with our book drive immediately.  Students are encouraged to bring in their books by October 8th so that we can organize the material by reading level.

With your help, we look forward to making a difference!

PS.  Our class will also organize a Recycling Club.  Stay tuned for more news on our progress!

The Case for Cursive

I found this article in the August issue of Canadian Family magazine.  If you were wondering why cursive handwriting is important for students, take a read.

http://www.canadianfamily.ca/blog/familyjewels/education/2010/09/20/is-handwriting-old-school/

Interesting article on sleep

Canadian Family Helping your teen adjust to a regular sleep schedule

Math Geniuses!



Searching for just the right question



"I know I can....I know I can!"



Decoding the secret messages.



Got it!

More Mathlete Fun



Perseverance

We had a great day solving math problems.  Students worked in teams to solve problems which gained them points for their team.  In one day, there were over 5000 math problems solved by the ACES junior students.
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Finding the teams



Mathletes

Today we're enjoying a fun day of math learning.  Students are rotating through a number of math activities which challenge them in algebra, spatial sense and problem solving.  More fun photos to come!

Welcome!

Welcome to our grade 5/6 class blog!  Thank you for being patient with me.  Blogging provides the opportunity to share all the exciting things that go on every day in the classroom.  I will try to keep things up to date so that everyone can follow the learning that is happening every day.

Since we are a combined classroom, there are a LOT of activities going on at once.  For example, the grade 6's will be starting a Powerpoint project dealing with international trade and the grade 5's have formed political parties and are campaining for their upcoming election.

Students have also been trying some problem solving strategies in math through Bansho.  I will be posting student work shortly so that you can learn more about this method of teaching through problem solving.

If you ever have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me.  I look forward to a terrific year!