Sunday 23 June 2019

Hello Everyone,
Last post of the year........
In Math, our class played educational games to practise their multiplication and division facts. Ask your child which clues they used to describe facts about themselves and whether they used a multiplication or a division sentence.


In Science, we dug a little deeper into pollination. Ask your child to tell you what the labels would be to these plant parts and to tell you the difference between self-pollination and cross-pollination.
We also explored the topic of composting.  In the photo below, I left out two strawberries in a sealed bag to observe the changes that occured. Ask your child how long we left the strawberries for. I think you'll be very surprised! Look at how much the strawberries decomposed already!

We have concluded our dance unit. Below you can see an example of a partner dance, a line dance and a group dance. Ask your child to show you his/her moves to each dance.

Thanks to Mrs. Alexander, the grade 3s were treated to a wonderful art afternoon this past Friday. Their works of art will be coming home shortly.

A FEW THINGS TO REMEMBER........
  • Report cards will go home with your child on Wednesday.
  • Last day of school is on Thursday. There is no school on Friday.
  • Things will start coming home with your child on Monday. Can you please ensure that those items stay home so there is space in your child's school bag for the next load.
  • Finally, it has been an honour to teach your child with you this year. I wish you and your family a peaceful yet memorable summer.

Sunday 16 June 2019

Hello Everyone,
The push is on to get all our loose ends taken care of before we're out for the summer.

In Math, we have finished off our unit on transformations (translations, reflections and rotations). The class seems to have a good handle on translations and reflections but we needed to go back to revisit rotations. The class is used to doing quarter turns for rotations and were confused when one of our challenges was asking for half rotations. We needed to go back, connect to what we already knew about fractions of a whole (one quarter and one quarter is the same as a half) to move forward with the task at hand. Mission accomplished.

The students were very engaged in making a digital comic strip to persuade others to make a good or even better healthy lifestyle choice. Here is a three panel comic strip. Some conversation starter questions to ask your child could include what his/her comic was about and how many panels did they use to get their point of view across to the reader?

We have had our last official visit to the Learning Commons this past Wednesday. Some students still need to return the last of their books. Please see the photo below of how we do cross curricular lessons with Ms. Sherwin. The students enjoyed being physically active with the drumming paired with doing rotations to hit the drums to the left and right of their own.

A FEW THINGS TO REMEMBER.......
  • This coming Tuesday is the last pizza day of the year.
  • St. Rita Annual BBQ this Tuesday June 18th at 5:30pm in the schoolyard. Please see the St. Rita website for more details.
  • Numerous assessments went home on Tuesday to be reviewed signed and returned to school.
  • The grade 3s will be having an Art Afternoon this coming Friday afternoon in the gym. Painting will be involved. Please note that despite our efforts to keep everything clean, there is a chance of spills or smudges so please dress accordingly.
  • Last day of school is Thursday June 27th. 

Sunday 9 June 2019

Hello everyone,
Some odds and ends to our short week. A good strategy would be to ask your child to explain the purpose of what was going on in the photos to give your child the opportunity to extend his/her learning by answering any questions you may have.

This Sunday is the holy day of Pentecost (and the feast day of St. Anthony). Ask your child to compare  New Year's Day and Pentecost.

In Math, we have wrapped up our unit on Probability by conducting many experiments to see what the outcomes would be. Below, you can see 2 of the experiments. A good question to ask your child is to ask which game was fair and unfair and, more importantly, why.


We are exploring what it means to be dependent on a substance in Health. The top 2 headings of the anchor chart would be classified as illegal substances for our grade 3 audience. In our class, we will be digging a little deeper on the advantages and disadvantages of screen time.  The purpose of this is to see how too much screen time can turn into a dependency and a loss of other age appropriate activities.

A FEW THINGS TO REMEMBER...

  • The grade 3s are organizing the mass this coming Wednesday at 10:15 am in the gym. All are welcome to attend.
  • School BBQ is Wednesday June 18th at 5:30. Stay tuned for more details.
  • With the nice weather upon us please apply sunscreen on your child before he/she comes to school so they are protected throughout the day and not needing to stay in to put on the first application at recess. You can imagine the glitches when a child tries to spray an aerosol can of sunscreen while others are getting ready for recess:)

Sunday 2 June 2019

Hello Everyone,
The students did a fabulous job connecting what they learned in Language to authentic learning opportunities in school. First, they persuaded Mrs. MacAulay to allow us to have popsicles (giant freezies) after we finished our EQAO testing. Then, the students wrote me a letter to share their opinion of homework with me and state whether we should continue with homework in the month of June or not.


It was unanimous! Not one child wanted to continue into the month of June. Some of the reasons were very valid while others made me giggle! Nonetheless, there will be no homework given in June.

After the 6 days of EQAO testing the 3 grade 3 classes enjoyed some fresh air and collaborated on a group dance. Ask your child to sing the catchy song to you and even show you the actions to the song.

The forecast was to have been a nice day so we thought the freezies would have been a welcomed treat after our dance. As you can see in the photo below, the weather wasn't cooperating but most still enjoyed the time outside of the classroom with all the grade 3s.

Below is a photo of our last visit to the Learning Commons. Ask your child how an ozobot can travel along each and every line that was created.

Not one of our best anchor charts but our class wrapped up our unit on plants by diving deeper into the process of photosynthesis. Next week, we will extend our thinking by connecting to the importance of soil in our lives.

A FEW THINGS TO REMEMBER.........

  • I believe this Wednesday is the last day to take out library books
  • PD Day this Friday June 7th. No school for the students.
  • Year End Mass on Wednesday June 12th at 10:15 am. The grade 3s are hosting.Details to follow.
  • School BBQ on Tuesday June 18th at 5:30 pm. Details to follow.




Sunday 19 May 2019

Hello everyone,
It's finally here!
   
E. Q. A. O.
Your child will be doing 6 blocks of daily EQAO testing starting on Thursday May 23rd to Thursday May 30th. Our class is prepared and ready to take on the challenge! All that is needed is some words of encouragement, some good night's sleep, some healthy food to fuel up your child and away we go!!! They've got this! 
You can review our year's work by looking back at this blog to look at anchor charts, student work and success criteria that we have covered throughout the year.

A big thank you goes out to the parent volunteers in our class and our school's parent council who made our trip to the museum a huge success for all grade three classes. 



We started a new unit in gym this past week. Ask your child what the unit is and what are the students
doing in this photo below.

A FEW THINGS TO REMEMBER.....

  • A reminder that this Tuesday is Spring Walk to School Day. We will be having a rally first thing Tuesday morning to celebrate those who have walked, rolled or scooted to school.
  • EQAO Thursday May 23-30th as already stated at the top of blog. Please arrive to school on time.

Friday 10 May 2019

Hello everyone,
Take a look at some of the events your child participated in during Catholic Education Week from May 6th -10th. Ask your child to explain the photos below in more detail to practise their oral language, recall and summarizing skills. 






A FEW THINGS TO REMEMBER........
  • There will be an assessment of the 5, 6 and 7 X facts on Friday
  • Tuesday May 14th is St. Rita's Spring Walk to School Day
  • The grade 3 classes are going on our outing to the Museum of Nature on Wednesday May 15th from 9:00am to 1:30pm
  • EQAO testing will start for the Grade3s on Thursday May 23rd - May 31st. Please try your best to avoid scheduling any appointments for your child during those days if possible.
  • With the warmer weather approaching, please ensure your child has sunscreen applied BEFORE coming to school and a spill proof water bottle already filled with water BEFORE coming to school if possible

Friday 3 May 2019

Hello Everyone,
 My apologies on the picture taking this week. I am not sure what I was thinking but I forgot to take photos of our anchor charts. I am hoping many of you will be coming in for the Open House so you can see them for yourselves!

In Math, we worked hard to add more connections to what we know about MEASUREMENT. Ask your child what the units of measurement are to measure the capacity of something. We also explored mass. Ask your child to find something in your home that has roughly the same mass as our math textbook which is 1kg. Below are some everyday examples of capacity. Sorry no photo of our examples of mass. 


The students are always excited to see the development of their plants. These will go home with a parent if you come in for Open House.

We also created a bulletin board with a question for any parents coming to Open House. Can you guess which self portrait your child drew?


We had a presentation about pedestrian safety to remind us all of the avoidable dangers AND also of the benefits to walking to and from school with the help of a crossing guard at road intersections. Our school had another successful Cake Walk thanks to our wonderful School Council volunteers.

The Scholastics Book Fair is open to any parent coming to Open House on Monday morning. As well, our class will have an opportunity to go on Tuesday 4th  block to purchase books as well.

A FEW THINGS TO REMEMBER....
  • Homework is back up and running. It still goes out on Monday and is expected back to school on Friday.
  • There will be a multiplication quiz on the 3 and 4 times tables this coming Friday
  • Our outing is coming up on May 15th. Thanks to those who volunteered to come with us. Please check your child's agenda for a note regarding the details of the day. Some may have to meet us at the Museum as our one bus can only accommodate 64 students and 4 adults. Doing some problem solving with my teaching partners so stay tuned.
  • Please refer to the pamphlet your child received outlining our Education Week activities or consult the school website to stay informed.

Hello Everyone, Last post of the year........ In Math, our class played educational games to practise their multiplication and division fa...