Welcome back!

Two weeks have flown by, and it is great to be back with everyone. Third term is going to be excellent, and it's full steam ahead to June!

A few notices to guide the next few weeks...

• We have just begun our novel study for third term, the fabulous book HOLES by Louis Sachar. Each student received a copy of the book today in class, and from time to time your child will be required to read a chapter or two at home. There are several exciting projects to culminate this unit, and that information will be sent home in a few weeks.
  

• Science Fair continues! The Discussion sections are being worked away on in class, and the goal is to have the written components completed in class by the end of the week. We examined four boards in class today, and determined that while the board was nothing to stress over, it was also not something to be left until the night before. Our presentation night is on Wednesday, April 16th from 6 to 7 pm. Therefore, the latest Science Fair presentation boards should be brought into school are Tuesday, April 15th.
  

• Problem Solving homework: Complete the book Mrs. Longworth handed out last week, as well as the Bones and Number Riddle for next Monday.
  

• Traffic changes at Wentworth! Further to the e-mail you received over the break from the school, effective Wednesday, April 2nd, the flow of traffic will be changed any time you come to pick-up or drop-off your child.
  

• Wednesday, April 9th class photos - we'll look sharp in our Number One uniform!

• We continue to work away in our Decimal Unit in Math. Practice your place value knowledge, and play around with multiplying and dividing numbers by ten, one hundred and one thousand to see what you get!

Thank you for all of your support in Term Two; I am really looking forward to the next few months!

Decimal review over the Break

You have all worked so hard in Math this term - don't let it all fade over the next two weeks!

Check out this site for a quick challenge:

http://www.mathgoodies.com/lessons/vol4/challenge_vol4.html

You should know how to express (that means to write) decimals as tenths, hundredths and thousandths. Can you compare two or three decimals, using the greater than, less than and equal signs? Take some time over the break to play around with decimals, using money as an easy resource. Half (1/2) of a dollar is 0.50 cents - you just converted a fraction to a decimal! Can you add 0.75 cents and $1.50? I bet you lined up the decimals before you added. Practice makes perfect!

Photos from our adventures in the mine

We've been doing so many fun things in 5G that the photos keep on rolling in. Here are a few from the adventure yesterday. We learned alot and had alot of fun. The children were so well behaved and represented themselves, the school and their families well. Thank you to Mrs. Morrey, Mrs. Lynch, Mrs. Neill and Mr. Dickinson who were wonderful parent supervisors!



We live on the edge in 5G.




Here we are learning about copper extraction.


A captive audience.











Group shots! We are in a small tunnel in these photographs, learning about the progression of technology in drilling the tunnels. The tunnel we were in was part of 210 km of tunnels in the mine, and carved out from the rock in the late 1910's. It was cold and damp, but fun!














The Concentrator.











Our tour guide, Kevin, was really informative and nice - even though he had a bad cold.

Canadian Trivia in state of emergency

For weeks, I've sat idly as you little ones make your best guesses on our weekly trivia, and I appreciate your participation. This week, however, it has become apparent that you need more Canadian trivia in your lives. Foster Hewitt is famous for the phrase HE SHOOTS, HE SCORES! It's internationally acclaimed! A phrase, and a man, that united this country every Saturday night with our common love for hockey. Born in Toronto and a fan of the greatest hockey team known to humans (The Maple Leafs, obviously), his voice rang out across the air waves to the delight of fans from coast to coast.

So here is your lesson for today (courtesy of Historica Minutes)...

Foster Hewitt was only 20 years old when he was assigned to announce the first radio broadcast of a hockey game by his employer, Canada Covers America First!, a radio station owned by the Toronto Star newspaper. Reporting on the game from a cramped glass box far above the ice, it was during this game that Hewitt first uttered his famous phrase, “He shoots, he scores!” After the broadcast, letters from listeners began pouring it; its popularity with listeners was unprecedented. Though officially a reporter, Hewitt began live broadcasting of hockey, lacrosse, sculling, motorboat and motorcycle races, sailing, football and baseball.

It was broadcasting hockey, however, where Hewitt really made his mark. In concert with Toronto Maple Leafs owner Conn Smythe, Hewitt formed a company and began broadcasting all Maple Leafs games, doing so over the objections of many of the Maple Leafs’ Directors, who felt that broadcasting would hurt ticket sales. Needless to say, the directors were wrong. Soon, companies looking for popular programs in which to place advertising became interested in hockey broadcasts. In 1931, General Motors became the first corporate sponsor of a Saturday Night hockey broadcast, beginning a tradition that continues with Labatt’s Hockey Night in Canada today. This work would make Foster Hewitt a household name across the country, and a near institution in the history of Canadian sport.

Hewitt died in 1985. His honours include the Order of Canada, and inductions into the Hockey Hall of Fame and the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame.

Foster Hewitt of Toronto. A Footprint on Saturday Night in Canadian sports.


Your homework over Spring Break, therefore, is to learn more about this wonderful country of ours. Explore the Historica Minutes and encyclopedias. Appreciate more Canadian art (the whole third floor of the Art Gallery in town is yours to enjoy- you can teach your parents about how Lawren Harris and Emily Carr had crushes on each other and wrote letters across the country!). Listen to Canadian singers. Neil Young! Joni Mitchell! Read the paper! Read Canadian authors -- Farley Mowat, Kevin Major, L.M. Montgomery! Check out this link to find some more ideas --

http://www.bookcentre.ca/authors/author_pages.shtml

Look at the scenery along the ocean and know that there are kids looking at the two other oceans connected to our country and also marveling at its beauty. There is much to be proud of and it is up to you to learn about it!

Mining Field Trip!

This just in...

We leave for the BC Museum of Mining at Britannia Beach on Thursday morning just before 9 am. We'll return to the school around lunch time. Because of the nature of the trip, children are encouraged to wear very warm civvies -- ski jackets, boots, toques and mittens. Children cannot bring any electronic games or iPods on the bus - good old fashioned conversation will have to suffice!

Thank you!

Philosopher's Club update

On Tuesday mornings, 5G has been spending some time grappling with life's big questions. So far, we have wondered

• what came first, the chicken or the egg?
• what is philosophy?
• what is violence?

and today we will turn our attention to whether or not the glass is half empty or half full. These questions are directly taken from a wonderful children's book of the same name, and have inspired some incredible discussions that explored whether or not time has a beginning, questioned human beings free will, wondered if washing hands to kill germs is a type of violence and therefore if we need violence to survive (is chopping down trees a type of violence?). As a woman who is passionate about peace, this particular conversation was so interesting as the children really questioned war, peace and the gray areas in-between. These conversations strengthen our Reading Power skills of Questioning, Connecting, Inferring and Transforming, as well as offer opportunity to practice active listening, building upon other ideas to communicate your own and communicating in a group setting without raising a hand (it can be difficult to learn when another person is done speaking and when it is appropriate to share your own idea!). The quality of ideas shared in these discussions is incredible, and I hope that over the course of the study (there are eight big questions I'd like to tackle), 5G achieves the ultimate goal of understanding "what I believe, and why I believe it"

Kenneth Oppel comes to West Van!

We are very excited to announce that famed children's author Kenneth Oppel is coming to West Vancouver on Tuesday, May 13th and that the Grade 5's are going to his author talk. Yesterday, our school librarian challenged the kids to read at least one (but there are many more!) of his books in preparation for the talk. Now there's some great Spring break reading!

Check out his site here:
http://www.kennethoppel.ca/

Problem Solving

This week's Problem Solving homework is due this Friday, March 14th.

• Cast Out Nine's (word problems)
• Toucan problems

Bowling pictures

I ran around with the camera all afternoon, and as I upload the pictures tonight, I realize I didn't catch all of the 2M-5G buddies in action. I'll make sure we have a picture of everyone together before the year is through, and my apologies if I didn't snap one this time around! So, here are a handful of pictures from our Buddies Bowling - a fun afternoon for everyone!

Countdown!

The term has flown by and it is hard for me to believe that we are wrapping up. I have loved being the teacher of this fabulous group, and I thank everyone for being so patient and flexible during the transition.

This week we will focus on Science Fair and essay composition in addition to our daily routines. The decimal unit in Math is underway and any additional support you can offer at home will surely help your child - reviewing place value up to the thousandths will be a great advantage. I have linked some websites to the left for the children to explore.

Thursday is our Mining Field Trip (it's my first time going and I'm excited!), and Friday is Rodeo Day. On Friday, children can come to school in western wear so I'm looking forward to seeing lots of plaid and denim.

More updates to follow throughout the week.

Thank you!

Quote of the day...

Be who you are and be that well.

Saint Francis de Sales

Bowling information for Friday, March 7th

If you would like to join 5G and 2M in our bowling fun, please meet us at the alley (North Shore Bowl, 141 West 3rd Street in North Van) around 12:45 pm.

If you would like to pick your child up from the alley, please be there by 2:15 pm.

It will be a great way to end off our week. It is always so wonderful to see the relationship between the two grades grow as our 5G buddies help the little ones with their school work, carefully choose books to read to them and patiently listen to their 2M buddy tell them about their day. It is a fun time of our week, and I'm happy that 2M has organized this great activity for us!

Ms. Gretzinger loves to take photos...

We had a great time at Joseph! Our class were exemplary audience members, and they make me so proud.