Week 19

 Dear Parents and Students,

I’m very pleased to welcome everybody back to begin 2023.  I hope you have all enjoyed your break and are feeling refreshed. Our first week back has been a short one, but we have wasted no time in getting back into the swing of things, and we have already accomplished plenty.

 

In the Classroom:

Maths

We began Topic 10 on Wednesday. This topic reviews what we know about fractions, before introducing some new concepts to Grade 4, such as equivalent fractions and expressing fractions in simplest form. We will continue our study of fractions next week, with the topic test to take place the following week.

Literacy Workshop

We had fun reading Heat Wave!, which is a tall tale about how a girl saves her farm from a sudden spell of hot weather. The story is full of hyperbole and exaggeration, making us all laugh. Next week, we will try our hand at writing our own tall tales, complete with our own hyperbole. We will also continue with our grammar unit dedicated to adjectives.

Science

In our study of energy this week, we learned that, if set up correctly, we could knock down a block as tall as a building using just dominoes! By gradually increasing the size of each domino, we can use height energy to keep a chain reaction going. We began building our own chain reaction machines on Friday, and we will add to our designs next week.

Social Studies

We have continued with our study of the American Northeast, with a current focus on how the region looks and operates today. We also learned that one of our favourite authors grew up in the region. By what name is Theodore Geisel better known? We will review the unit next week, with an open-book test scheduled for the week after next.

Other important information

Clubs will resume for one more week beginning Monday. Buses and taxis will depart at the regular club-day times.

Dates to remember:

Mon    Jan 9:        Clubs resume

Fri    Jan 13:    Pizza party (happy birthday, Abby, Sunny, Ivan, and Yi-Kai!

Fri    Jan 13:    Monthly assembly (December and January)

Fr-Th    Jan 13-19    Chinese Week

Jan 20 - 25:        Lunar New Year Vacation