Week in Review: November 14 - 18

Figure it was just a matter of time before our luck with the weather changed and the temperatures began their gradual (or not so gradual) descent into winter.  Fortunately for us the snow hasn't really arrived yet - and we were all staying warm working away in class!

This week was  another good one and we managed to knock a few more things off our grade four to-do list!  It was a fun week filled with plenty of group work, some more new concepts introduced, a few review activities, some testing, and a few more learning projects wrapped up and are on display.

And now the curricular info...

In Math we continued to work with multiplication and gaining that much needed fact recall and fluency with solutions up to 100. These basic facts are what form the basis for the next more challenging concepts involving multiple digits which we will be introducing in the next couple weeks prior to the Christmas break.  

In advance of everyone tackling problems involving double digit numbers being multiplied by single digit numbers, i.e. 76 x 7, it is important that students have a good working knowledge of facts.   All students have access to a shared "multiplication links" document on their Google drive accounts - I strongly encourage that the kids visit this document a few times a week to either gain or maintain fluency with equations.

With our next progression in multiplication, problems involving multiple digit equations, the problems will work with basic facts recall in multiplication but also build on the regrouping addition type problems from our previous unit - in that numbers are carried forward and then added to the next columns total.


In Language Arts this week our main focus was on parts of speech, specifically nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs.  Throughout the week the kids were working on being able to identify these different features within example sentences, and then writing their own sentences that would mirror what they had seen in the examples.  We currently have a wide range of understandings so this topic will continue to be incorporated through language program.




In Science this week we continued our study of Simple Machines and begin comparing and contrasting wheels and rollers, and how each machine is similar in that they are designed to make work easier.  In discussion with the kids, the students were surprised by the many uses of wheels beyond simply "cars".  

Beginning next week Monday our learning becomes even more hands on with numerous building projects being planned - cereal box racer, shoe box catapult, etc..  I will be asking the students to bring in "construction materials" for use during our Science classes.  The materials are most commonly recyclables and nothing to fancy. 

Here is a list of some "building" supplies that would definitely help your child to have in the classroom during their construction periods.  Don't worry if you don't have every item, the hope is that folks will send in extras and we can shift the materials around as needed. Any or all of these materials can be sent with your child beginning on Monday (Nov.21):

Building supplies:
aluminum foil
toothpicks
plastic spoons
wooden spoons
craft/popsicle sticks
wood dowels
straws
hot glue sticks
old CDs (make great wheels)
aluminum POP cans

From The Recycling Bin
shoe box (if you have extra please send)
cereal box (if you have extra please send)
paper towels rolls
magazines
egg cartons
milk cartons
clean cans & jars
small plastic containers
styrofoam trays
plastic lids 

Project Bling:
glitter
pom poms
feathers
cotton balls
googly eyes
craft foam
sequins

Papers:
copy paper
construction paper
tag board/card stock
wax paper
colored tissue paper
coffee filters
brown paper bags/lunch bags
newspaper
crepe paper

In Social Studies we wrapped up the last of our student "Alberta Regions" Projects.  Thank you parents for your assistance in guiding your child's projects.   The projects were a great reinforcement of the materials we were covering in class, and served as great review tools for the students in terms of getting ready for next week's unit one quiz related to the six geographic regions.

Parent-Teacher Conferences/Term 1 Report Cards

As I had sent out earlier this week report cards for Term 1 will go home on Friday, November 25, and parent conferences will be held the following week on Tuesday, November 29th, 3:45 –6:00 p.m. and 6:15—8:00 p.m (i.e. last conference at 7:45p.m.). and on Thursday, December 1st, 3:45 - 6:00 p.m. 

Conference times for all students will be arranged on-line only starting on Monday, November 21st.

All Parent/Teacher conference scheduling will be arranged through 

School Appointments - http://whps.schoolappointments.com

Registration Instructions for Parent/Teacher Conference 

As per the information shared in this month's school newsletter here is the procedure for registering and booking your upcoming parent-teacher conference.  Parents click on the “Register” tab and fill in the registration form to create an account. Once parents have successfully registered, they can log-in to the system and then must register their students by name. 

To Book Appointments Select Teachers Parents can schedule appointments for any student that they have added to the system by clicking on the “Appointments” button beside the student’s name. The parent is then taken to a page where they can select the teachers with whom they wish to meet. Multiple teachers can be selected by using the “Ctrl” key on a PC keyboard or the “Command” key on a Macintosh keyboard. 

Teacher Appointment Calendars   Parents are shown the calendars of the selected teachers. It also shows them appointment times that are unavailable for booking. Parents can select appointment times by simply clicking the check boxes or by clicking in the time block beside the check box. Once an appointment time has been selected it will change to green. If no appointments are available, click on the call back button at the top of the list. It is not possible for parents to select more than one appointment at the same time or to select more than one appointment with the same teacher.  Javascript enabled browsers are required for validation on the screen. 

Appointments Booked Successfully   Once the appointments are booked the screen will display the list of appointments for the student. When the parent clicks on the “Return to Home Page” button, they will return to the home page with their students and their appointments listed. They can book additional appointments, or they can book appointments for another student. 

Parents with More Than One Student   If a parent has more than one student at the school, the teacher appointment calendars will have an additional feature displayed when the second (or third, etc.) student bookings are made. If a sibling has an appointment booked, the student’s name will be displayed for a parent, thus making it easier to book adjacent appointments. 

Printing Parent Appointment Schedule   From the home page it is possible for you to generate a PDF document with the list of your appointments. By clicking on the “Print Appointments” button a window will pop-up asking the parent what they wish to do with the document.. In Internet Explorer, it is recommended that people click the “Save” button, save the file and then click “Open” to view the file. IE sometimes has a problem downloading and opening PDF documents that are generated from web sites. Click “Open” after the download is complete to view the PDF. Parent Schedule PDF The generated PDF will list the appointment times, the student and the teacher with whom the appointment is booked. 

If you have any further questions you may contact the school @ 780-986-5991. Thank you.

Important Upcoming Events/Dates

Monday, November 21 - Emily Carr Presentation (PM)

Monday, November 21 - Registration for Parent Conference bookings opens

Tuesday, November 22 - Social Studies Quiz

Wednesday, November 23 - Day 4 Library class: Please return library books today

Thursday, November 24 - Retro Bill Presentation (AM)

Friday, November 25 - Term 1 Report Cards sent home

Tues., November 29th - Parent Conferences 3:45 –6:00 / 6:15—8:00 (last appt. at 7:45pm)

Thurs., December 1st - Parent Conferences 3:45 - 6:00 (last appt. at 5:45pm)