Monday, April 7th

Hello! We had only a handful of 5G students today (the others were busy snow shoeing Grouse with Montreal buddies!) so we caught up on Science Fair work and Picasso art pieces.

This week, comprehension questions for Holes Chapters 6 and 7 are due tomorrow (Tuesday, April 8th). There will be a quick quiz on Wednesday for Chapters 1 through 7 to ensure we begin this novel with a firm understanding of the material (much more fun activities will soon follow!)

Spelling words this week (quiz on Friday)

• predatory
• prey
• upholstery
• intensity
• stationery
• scowled
• fossilized
• radiated
• appropriate
• engraved
• paranoid
• excess
• presumably
• etched
• evict

Please return Green Camp Squeah forms as soon as possible. As you begin to plan for packing (the back of the white sheet provides you a comprehensive list of necessarily items), remember that students will be responsible for carrying all of their luggage themselves at all times, sleeping bags and all - so do not over pack! Also, please note that students are not permitted to bring their own food (although the mice would love it, I'm sure). Please do not hesitate to talk with me if you have any questions!

Class photos are just a few days away! This Wednesday, April 9th be ready with big smiles!

We will soon begin a new unit on Canadian Government and the history of our Confederation. Wherever possible, making connections with your child in this topic area will help with their understanding. Watching the news together and talking about political parties would be a natural conversation starter if you're looking for ideas!

Enjoy your week!

Art lessons go abstract

On Friday afternoon, 5G will take some time to explore the life and works of the one and only Pablo Picasso. Here is an excellent website where you can design your Picasso portrait using his signature facial components. Remember that his work often depicts one face looking both forward and sideways, so consider adding in a similar flair to your own work! Reproduce your creation with pastels for a stunning fridge adornment...

http://www.mrpicassohead.com/create.html

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!