March 14, 2018

Dear Parents,

     We were welcomed with the principal, staff and students this morning at Simon Fraser School.  The students enjoyed the performance and connected with the characters from Alice and Wonderland. The school had all our student names posted around the gym which made us feel the warmth.  Feel free to ask your child about this tonight.

•  

    In humanities we have been looking at how the indigenous people use their land in a sustainable way.  The students will be writing a 5 paragraph persuasive essay next week. We have looked closely at the transportation, food, clothing, shelter, art (petroglyphs and pictographs), storytelling and the Bison as a sacred animal. Please have conversations with your child over the next few days.

Important Information:

• Home reading as usual.  

• Our next field trip will be on April 17 and our class is still looking for volunteers.  Please let me know if you can volunteer for a half day during the morning.

Tfdharamsisa@cbe.ab.ca

Sincerely,

Mrs. Sayani

    

March 7, 2018

Dear Parents,

The students have been learning about an artist named Jackson Pollock. They have painted their own masterpieces`using his style of abstract painting.  Feel free to ask your child about this tonight.

The students were excited to begin our inline skating program today. Tomorrow we are going on our tour to Simon Fraser. The bus will depart promptly at 11:30 a.m.  Please kindly send your child with a couple of snacks or a light lunch as a hotdog lunch is going to be provided by the school at noon.

Just a friendly reminder that the school is hosting a parent night tomorrow as well at 6:30 p.m.

Have a wonderful evening!  Please read for 20 minutes and practise adding and subtracting decimals on IXL.

Mrs. Sayani

Dear Parents,

     Today in Science we explored with the "Makedo" kits. This is a construction system for the 21st century learner. We looked at the screws, screwdrivers,  saws and other plastic tools to ideate about our vehicles. The students are excited to create machines or vehicles that move using cardboard and the makedo kits in the days ahead.

      The students worked through solving subtraction equations using decimals.  We learned that we need some more practise subtracting using regrouping.  Please practise these skills using IXL at home. See example:

0.67 - 0.59                    0.67
                                  -
                                     0.59
                                 _______


Important Information:

• There is an important notice coming home about our visit to Simon Fraser School on March 8.  Please sign the forms and return them back to school promptly.
• Our first field trip will be to Harmony Ridge on April 17.  Our class will need 3 parent volunteers to accompany us.  Please send me an email if you are able to do this.

Tfdharamsisa@cbe.ab.ca

• Parent council fundraiser comes home on Wednesday
• Popcorn day on Tuesday and Wednesday... the cost is $2.

Have a great week!

Sincerely, 

Mrs. Sayani

Feb 22, 2018

Dear Parents,

     The students welcomed their future peers from Simon Fraser Middle School yesterday.  We engaged in activities in our Maker Space together. The students had a task to design a vehicle or machine that moves using either the Maker Cart (hands on materials) or begin learning how to code using a program called Scratch. Feel free to ask your child about this tonight.

Important Information:

• Flex Friday is tomorrow.  We will be doing a school wide art project for our parent council fundraiser.
• Fun Lunch tomorrow for those who have ordered.  Please send your child with a lunch to school if they have not ordered.  It is a 4 hour day and students need to stay nourished.

Sincerely,

Ms. Sayani

Feb 8, 2018

Dear Parents,

     In humanities, the students continue to focus on their writing skills.  They are writing paragraphs using a web to organize their ideas. Each paragraph consists of a topic sentence, main ideas with evidence to support their thinking and a conclusion that ties into their topic sentence and leaves their reader with a hope, wish, or question.

     In Science, we looked at our simple machines and are writing a nonfiction summary on the simple machines we used to build ours and how they connect to the real world.

     During math, the students worked in groups to solve how many magic keys can one create based on a pentomino. This is a polygon in the plane made of 5 equal sides that connect that connect edge to edge. There are 12 different free pentominoes.

Important Information:

• Our grade 4 students are going to be apart of our school wide announcements next week.  They will be discussing "responsibility" with our students. Responsibility is one virtue at Ken Taylor School.  Feel free to ask your child about our green screen presentation.

• Scholastic book orders are due by February 12, 2018.  You may place an order online for your child or send in the form with a cheque as payment.  Please note that cash is NOT ACCEPTED.

Home Reading as usual!  Stay warm tonight...

Ms. Sayani

 

January 30, 2018

Dear Parents,

During literacy, we are reading novels with our groups and working on literacy jobs which are a high yield strategy called reciprocal teaching.  These jobs involve; summarizing, predicting, clarifying, questioning and revups.

Today we began "Number Talks" in our class. This helps the students to build Mental Math and Computation Strategies. Using these strategies, the students break down the equation to problem solve through the process to find the answer.  The process is the key part. Here is what it looks like...

The students learned some math hand signals during our Number Talks today.

Important Dates:

- Kenneth D Taylor Movie Night on Friday. Showtime is at 7pm..

- Home Reading - please read daily! Some students are bringing their novel home tonight so that they can catch up.

- Please, please subscribe to your child's blog

Have a great evening!

Mrs. Sayani

January 23, 2018

Dear Parents,

This week the students have been getting ready for our upcoming student led conference on Thursday January 25 from 3:30 - 7:30 p.m.. I am unavailable on Friday January 26, therefore I would like to open another day which will be on February 9th from 2:30-3:30 p.m.. If you are unable to come on Thursday then please email me about the new date.

Tfdharamsisa@cbe.ab.ca

In math we have been practising SPLAT. This is a POWERFUL, highly interactive number sense strategy that can be used at any grade level. We have also been looking at estimation and addition and subtraction of three digit numerals.

http://www.stevewyborney.com/?p=893

Important Information:

Please read daily for 20 - 30 minutes.

There is a book fair at our school this week. Your child is able to purchase books on Thursday during the day and during the conferences in the evening.

No school on Friday due to our Student Led Conferences

No School on Monday due to Professional Development


Photos of our Learning:









Sincerely,


Mrs. Sayani

January 11, 2018

Dear Parents,

Welcome Back from the break. The students have settled back into our routines nicely and are engaging in their learning. This week we are completing our essay writing on the novel “Fatty Legs”. The students will share these with you during our upcoming student led conferences at the end of the month. All students are following a rubric for success in their writing.

In math we have been practising both multiplication and division facts. Please remind your child to use the IXL website during their free time at home. Another great site that includes videos on how to solve equations step by step is by Khan academy. This is a free website:

https://www.khanacademy.org/


Important Information:

The grade 4 team will be building their simple machines next week on Tuesday and Thursday. Your child has ideated using the design thinking approach. Their ideation includes a diagram, labels and materials required to build it. We will be using the maker cart, however, if your child has recycled items or objects at home that would benefit their project, please kindly send them to school. They will be able to bring the materials back home after their project is complete.

• Home Reading daily - Please remember that the book your child reads can be from our classroom, learning commons or a book of choice from home. I am awaiting time trees for our math activity. 

• Our Learning Commons time is every Monday @9:50 a.m.. Please kindly return all books on Monday’s. 

• Popcorn day is on January 17 and 18. If your child would like participate then send a toonie with him/her to school. 

• Fun Lunch is on Friday January 19, 2018. 

Sincerely,

Mrs. Sayani

Dec 20, 2017

Dear Parents,

Tis the Season! We had an amazing community building activity with our grade 4 team.  The students are involved in various centres designing a holiday gift for your family.  They are excited and doing a fantastic job. Please DO NOT ASK your child about this as it is a surprise.

Our class has been working on an opinion writing piece based on the residential schools that existed long ago in Alberta. They are learning how to write using a thesis statement, reasons with evidence and a conclusion.  They are organizing their work with the use of paragraphs.  We are looking forward to sharing this work with you in January during the student led conferences.

Our winter celebrations have begun.  Our class will be performing tomorrow afternoon (Wednesday) at 1:30 p.m. All parents are welcome to attend.

Important Information:

• Report Cards come home today
• Please return envelopes back to school
• If your child is on an IPP, please sign the signature sheet and return it school the next day.
• Pajama day - Wednesday Dec 20
• Candy cane day - Dec 21
• Early dismissal on Dec 21 @ noon.  Please send your child to school with a snack and lunch.

Sincerely,

Mrs.Sayani

December 18, 2017

Dear Parents,

Tis the Season! We had an amazing community building activity with our grade 4 team.  The students are involved in various centres designing a holiday gift for your family.  They are excited and doing a fantastic job. Please DO NOT ASK your child about this as it is a surprise.

Our class has been working on an opinion writing piece based on the residential schools that existed long ago in Alberta. They are learning how to write using a thesis statement, reasons with evidence and a conclusion.  They are organizing their work with the use of paragraphs.  We are looking forward to sharing this work with you in January during the student led conferences.

Our winter celebrations have begun.  Here is a glimpse of one of today’s performances:

Our class will be performing on Wednesday afternoon at 1:30 p.m. All parents are welcome to attend.

Important Information:

• Holiday hat day tomorrow!
• Report Cards come home
• Please return envelopes back to school
• If your child is on an IPP, please sign the signature sheet and return it school the next day.
• Pajama day - Wednesday Dec 20
• Candy cane day - Dec 21
• Early dismissal on Dec 21 @ noon.  Please send your child to school with a snack and lunch.

Sincerely,

Mrs.Sayani

December 8, 2017

Dear Parents,

Another great week of learning… The students spent time with their Kinder Buddies from Ms. Steckley’s class. They helped them fill out a survey about themselves and read books together. It is amazing to see the leadership within our Grade 4 students.

Important Information:

• The grade 4 team is in need of small glass jars ( baby food jar) for a project.  If you have any that you can send to school then please kindly do so by next Friday.

• Home Reading daily - Please remember that the book your child reads can be from our classroom, learning commons or a book of choice from home. I am awaiting time trees for our math activity.
• Our Learning Commons time is every Monday @9:50 a.m.. Please kindly return all books by Monday December 15.

Have an awesome weekend!

Sincerely,

Mrs. Sayani

December 1, 2017

Dear Parents,

This week we spent a lot of time preparing writing our essay on the impact of residential schools on the Inuvialuit culture.  The students worked in groups to look for evidence in the novel “Fatty Legs”.  Here are some of our findings…

During math, the students have been using mental math strategies to practise multiplication facts.  I am happy to announce that the school has ordered IXL subscriptions for the grade 3 and 4 classes. The students do not know this yet so please let them know.

The students completed our class generated rubric on our biodegradable packages. We worked with Mrs. Hargreaves class on the design thinking process. Feel free to ask your child about this tonight.

Important Information:

• The grade 4 team is in need of small glass jars (baby food jar size) for a project.  If you have any that you can send to school then please kindly do so by next Friday.

• Home Reading daily - Please remember that the book your child reads can be from our classroom, learning commons or a book of choice from home. I am awaiting time trees for our math activity.

Sincerely,

Mrs. Sayani