Update!

It's been a busy time! Here's an update on what we're working on as well as housekeeping items.

Housekeeping

• The water fountains have been removed from classrooms. Please ensure you send your child with a water bottle. We have a cold and hot water tap to fill up bottles.
• Indoor shoes, please!
• The next pizza lunch is December 13. Please use cashless payment system. 
• December 22 is Festive Outfit Day. 
• Used Clothing Drive - if you would like to donate gently-used winter clothing, please send in. We have a box assigned to our classroom.

The Good Stuff and Colds! 

• Cold and coughs. We've all been a little under the weather with colds, coughs, infections, viruses, etc. We've switched desks, cleaned out, thrown out, recycled and I will wash all the desk tops this week.
• Perimeter quizzes have gone home. Please sign and return.
• Area quizzes - a couple of students have been off so we are allowing them time to finish their quizzes before I send them all home.
• Science - Pleasantville projects are mostly complete. Waiting for a couple of students to finish as they have been absent. 
• Coyote slide presentations - marked and ready to go home. Waiting for a final one due to absence.
• Writing - Personal Narratives are still underway. We are working on writing interesting sentences that grab readers' attention. We are using Google Docs for final product. Love how they have been working hard on their writing pieces! 
• Health - Working on healthy and fit kids - mini posters on Google Slides. 
• Reading - comprehension strategy for December is "Adjust Reading Speed." Slow down, re-read. Go back and read again if you don't understand. We are reading a variety of fiction and non-fiction to support content areas. 

I believe that's all for now.

Ms V. 

Clothing Swap

Clairlea's Student Leadership Team is organizing a clothing swap.

Here are the highlights:

• jackets, coats, hats, mitts, scarves, snowpants, boots, etc.
• helmets, skis, skates, pads, etc. 

As students donate items, they will receive one ticket for each item donated. On the day of the swap meet, they are able to choose, with a parent, an item using their ticket.  For example: 5 items donated means 5 swap tickets. 

Swap meet times are:

Thursday, November 16: 3:30 - 7:00

Friday, November 17:  9:00 - 11:30

Stock remaining will be donated to organizations that help newcomers to Canada.

Thank you for your support.

Tuesday, November 7

We had an amazing afternoon in Room 206.

A shoutout to all our kids who stayed on task and worked hard for the whole afternoon.

You kids, ROCK! 

Clairlea Spirit Wear

CLAIRLEA SPIRIT WEAR:
Clairlea Spirit Wear is ready to go.  What you need to know….
1.     All purchases can be made online only using this link.
https://clairlea2017.itemorder.com/ 
2.     This is not through the school cash online system but directly with the vendor.
3.     Orders will arrive the middle of December.
4.     The `deadline to order is November 9^th, orders will not be possible beyond that date.
5.     Sample garments are available at the school for size fitting until November 9^th daily Monday to Friday  from 9:00-4:30pm.
6.     We strongly recommend that you look through the samples to ensure the correct sizing choice.
7.     Items cannot be returned or exchanged.  All sales are final.
8.     Manual orders will not be accepted, all orders are to be placed online prior to November 9th.

Monday, November 6

Housekeeping

1. Friday, November 10 is Clairlea's Remembrance Day Assembly - 10:15 - 11:00. Not a lot of space in our gym, but all are welcome to join us.

2. Parent-teacher interview dates are Thursday, November 16 (evening) and Friday, November 17 (morning only). Please check your child's agenda as I have taped in your interview time. I tried to accommodate everyone's time but there were one or two families that your times didn't work. Please let me know if these are inconvenient and we can reschedule or do phone interviews.

3. School is closed on Friday November 17th as teachers have parent-teacher interviews.

4. Please could you ensure your child has a pair of indoor shoes as the weather begins to change to messy and mucky November.

5. Pizza Lunch is Wednesday, November 8. Sign up online - See Clairlea Blog. Thank you!

The Good Stuff

Media Literacy - deconstructing the new SickKids Fundraising Ad. 

• Zooming in on details
• Making connections
• What do you notice about the characters - who is missing? Are all cultures represented?
• Setting - what do you notice? Where does the video shooting take place? 
• How does the music contribute to the emotional impact of the video?
• Who made this video? What is the message? 

Writing - Zooming in on the details as we prep for personal narratives. 

Science - Finishing off our coyotes video, zooming in on predator and prey, finishing off our Pleasantville Neighbourhood mini-project and getting ready to wear our "City of Toronto hats" as we present back to the residents of Pleasantville. 

Math - Measurement - standard and non-standard units of measurement. The importance of building the foundation of measurement so children think about the "space between the numbers" - what is measurement? Why do we have "standard" measurement? What if there was no such thing as a standard way of measuring? How could we make sure we are all understanding linear measurement in the same way? How is linear measurement related to perimeter and area? Can we find the area of something using different materials?

Busy days in 206. 

Tuesday, October 31

Housekeeping

1. Tomorrow is picture re-take day. If you did not like the first set of school pictures, tomorrow is a chance to get a retake.

2. For those of you who haven't yet paid for your pictures, please send your money along.

thanks!

Celebrating Good Things

1. The afternoon class was great, this afternoon. Thanks for your support!!

We can do it! Yes, we can!

Number Sense and Numeration

Math Quiz # 1 was sent home for parents to see, sign and return for student files.

Math Quiz # 2 will be reviewed in class and sent home tomorrow or Tuesday.

The strand of Number Sense and Numeration is the cornerstone to all understanding about numbers, place value and patterns with numbers. It is important that children have a strong foundation in this strand of math. As such, we will continue to work on a variety of tasks within this strand throughout the year. 

Multi-step problem solving is a learning process and we will continue to work on rich tasks that build student knowledge in solving word problems. 

I will be compiling suggestions regarding what you can do at home to help support student learning and posting on this blog. 

As always, thank you for your support.

Hallowe'en 2017

A scary afternoon in Room 206!

Tuesday, October 24.

Odds and Ends

1. Parent/Teacher interview forms went home yesterday. Thank you to those who have returned them with preferred time. Please check backpacks if you have not received yours. Looking forward to meeting with you all. 

2. Friday is Costume Chaos Day at Clairlea. For those who love Hallowe'en, please come to school dressed in your favourite costume. Please be mindful of appropriate costumes: cultures are not costumes; weapons should be left at home; etc. 

3. Hallowe'en Howl is at Clairlea on Friday evening. A flyer was sent home detailing activities, cost, etc.  Also, check Clairlea blog for details. Thank to Parent Council for hosting a wonderful evening for our community.

Thursday, Oct 12

Mindfulness - Being in the Moment

What is this, according to Room 206?

- Shared reading on the carpet area (5 mins)

- Discussion about reading (3 mins)

- Activity related to reading. 

Looks like/Sounds like/Feels like: Your pencil is sharpened. Your water bottle is on your desk. You are sitting AT your desk. If you need to discuss the learning, you are talking in a quiet voice with the person beside you ABOUT what we have read and the activity you are doing. You do not need to leave your seat. You are focused on the activity.  When activity time is finished - class stretch, 20 jumping jacks. 

We are working hard at sustained mindfulness during learning. We can do this! Yes we can!

Writers Often Draw Before They Write

We have been using this strategy for our writing activity this week. Help students focus on what they want to write about, the possible details that would like to put into their writing, creating a setting about their writing and deciding what characters will be in their writing.  I've been using Jan Bordeau Waboose, Morning at the Lake - to guide our process.

Science - Kids Take Action

We watched a video from TDSBs Learn 360 website on the Virtual Library. Theme - Grade 4 - 6 kids in California and Colorado talk about what climate change means for their community. Narration is by Susan Sarandon, music is by the students themselves, Willie Nelson, Ziggy Marley. Students comments about climate change and the positive action they are taking will be used as talking and writing points during Science. Despite the devastating affects of climate change, there is hope and these kids are working positively for change. 

Subtracting with Regrouping

How can you take 8 or 9 or 7 away from nothing? What do we do? Why do we change tens into ones? Why do we change hundreds into tens? What does that look like? How do I know I'm correct? What does it look like with base ten blocks? What does it look like in a stacked equation? Can I estimate my answer before solving? 

A busy week in 206.

 

 

Picture Day Tomorrow!

Hi all

Just a reminder that it's Picture Day tomorrow. Looking forward to seeing all those beautiful smiles!

Ms V.

Friday, September 29

Math Quiz ...

• Has been marked and I have gone over the problem areas with the class. I will send it home next week. These are formative assessments (a quick quiz to see how the class is doing and to see where I need to focus for the next week or two).  These marks will not be on report cards. 
• Mostly, the issues are around students not reading the questions fully / completely / carefully and not checking their work. We will continue to work on this in class. 
• As well as Math homework every week, I will now be sending home Reading and / or Writing. Stay tuned.  

Just a reminder that the next pizza lunch is Wednesday, October 11 - and payment for pizza is only through Online payment - Cashless Schools. A note was sent home as a reminder - if anyone is still having problem accessing or using Cashless Schools, please call the office. 416 396 6165. (Not sure if President's Choice Mastercard is now a payment option.)

Have a great weekend, everyone! 

Thursday, September 28

Today was a great day in Room 206!

All the Grade 4s took part in a coding workshop this afternoon and worked with the programming language Scratch, building an animation story, choosing characters, creating what the characters say (they chose a comedian to tell a joke), when the character tells the joke, and a laughter soundtrack. Ask your kids to tell you all about it!

After recess, Clairlea staff and students took part in a community Terry Fox Run.  How many laps around the school and neighbourhood did they run? Better ask them! Thank you for the generous support (way to go Matthew!) for the Terry Fox 2017 campaign. Some students gave so generously from their own pockets (wow!) and some students are still interested in donating. You can donate online or send in a cash donation until next week. Thank you for your support! 

Orange Shirt Day Reminder - Every Child Matters

Just a reminder that Friday (tomorrow) is Orange Shirt Day at Clairlea where we continue the ongoing discussions around residential schools. We remember the First Nations children who were removed and isolated from their families and forced to attend government-sponsored religious schools. Looking forward to seeing you all in orange tomorrow. My shirt is ready. 

Tuesday, September 26

Hi all

Another date for your calendars.

Wednesday, October 4th is Picture Day. 

Thanks

Ms V. 

Hot and Sticky Monday

Homework for this week:

"Friendly Numbers" - Strategy for adding three-digit numbers. Introduced this morning in class and we will continue to work on addition strategies this week.

Also, I will be sending home 3x tables for memorization. I will help kids with memory work as there are a couple of strategies they can use for remembering their multiplication tables. While there are many opinions about whether kids should be memorizing times tables, I tend to side with the opinion that if kids have these tools in their back pockets, solving math equations and problems becomes a little bit easier.

For your calendars:

Thursday afternoon is our Terry Fox Run. Please have students come to school dressed for the weather with water bottles, sun screen/hats and running shoes.

Wednesday is Pizza Lunch Day. 

Friday is Orange Shirt Day. I will be helping our class to understand the relevance of orange shirts as it pertains to First Nations, Residential Schools and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC). If your child has an orange shirt, Friday is the day to wear it for a specific meaning. Thank you.

Our classroom continues to be very, very hot. Please ensure you send water bottles to school.

Behaviour was exceptional this afternoon. I'm thrilled at the effort our kids have put into following routines quickly and listening to instructions. Thank you for your support on the home front.  I forgive them the last 20 minutes of the day. It was hot and we were all desperately waiting for the final bell. Great job, everyone!

Freezies for everyone on this very hot afternoon!

Good to Meet You!

Hi everyone - so great to meet you on Curriculum Night!

As we discussed, to have three classes (Vincent, Gr. 4; Purvis, Gr. 4 and Home School Program) merge into one large class in the afternoon has proven to be challenging because the kids are always so excited to see each other for the afternoon. The energy level is exactly what I LOVE about this class but it can get out of control.

Our Friday afternoon class ran so well and students promised me that they would work harder at active listening and focus in the afternoons.

Once again, thank you for working with me on this.  Please do not hesitate to contact me.
 416 396 6165 or carol.vincent@tdsb.on.ca

Next Week

I will be taking Room 206 to the bookfair during the week to preview or purchase!

Looking forward to seeing you all on Curriculum Night! 

Tuesday, September 12, 2017

Good afternoon.

A quick update:

• This is the second afternoon of having all of the Grade 4s together with me as their afternoon teacher. We are getting used to routines, active listening, participating and following instructions promptly. 
• Homework: Orange homework duotangs have been sent home today. Homework is due on Thursday of every week.  There will be practice questions for the current strand of math. In addition, students should be reading 20 minutes per night. 
• Thank you for the returning of 1st day packages of signed permission forms, medical forms, etc. There are still one or two outstanding. Thank you. 
• School Cash Online - Going forward, all activities that require payment will be done through our new School Cash Online. Please register online (takes about 30 seconds!!).  Below is the link and instructions that have been forwarded via Office Administrator, Michelle Carson. 

School Cash Online - please see below email and link regarding paying for agendas, school trips, school fees, pizza lunches, etc. online. 

Hello Clairlea parents/guardians,

The TDSB is launching Cash Online for school fees, pizza lunches, field trips, etc.  Attached is the letter & step by step instructions. Please register over the summer so your child doesn’t miss out on any of the items mentioned above.

Please register online over the summer & if your child is changing school’s it will go with them at their new school.

 and here is the link.    https://tdsb.schoolcashonline.com 

• Reminder that Curriculum Night is Thursday, September 21st. Looking forward to seeing you all there.

Wednesday, September 6 Update

Hi everyone!

Just a quick update on this second day of school!

I'm having a great time with this Grade 4 class! They are a lot of fun and have tons of energy! We are continuing the practice of routines: community circles, quiet line ups, following instructions quickly and eagerly, being kind and inclusive.

We have started our Number Sense Math unit, and have been thinking about the number 1000 - working our way to 10 000. This afternoon, I did reading comprehension assessments that will help me plan for teaching Reading this term.

Thank you to those of you who have returned the first day packages with paperwork signed. Looking forward to receiving the balance - please try to have them in as soon as possible.

Thank you to those who have sent in indoor shoes.

Snack program envelopes and Scholastic book orders will be going home by the end of the week.

We have had a productive start to our Grade 4 year!

________________________

School Cash Online - please see below email and link regarding paying for agendas, school trips, school fees, pizza lunches, etc. online. 

Hello Clairlea parents/guardians,

The TDSB is launching Cash Online for school fees, pizza lunches, field trips, etc.  Attached is the letter & step by step instructions. Please register over the summer so your child doesn’t miss out on any of the items mentioned above.

Please register online over the summer & if your child is changing school’s it will go with them at their new school.

 and here is the link.    https://tdsb.schoolcashonline.com 

Here are a few pictures of our Grade 4s working on their Math problem this morning. 

Number Sense in Partners - How can you show 1000 in equal amounts? How many ways can we build the expression? 

Welcome!

Welcome back to school, everyone!

I've created our blog for families and students to get a glimpse of some of the things we like to do and learn about during the day, here in 206 - it's a great way to share information and pictures. I'm hoping to post a couple of times per week, so put the blog URL in your device or bookmark it on your computer and be sure to visit regularly.