We had a wonderful trip to Summerside, last Thursday! I was so impressed with my students’ behaviour, as they were great ambassadors for our school at both the museum and during the play. Lots of great learning took place, as they had the opportunity to learn more about the Acadian culture and deportation en français 🙂

I’d like to remind parents of the Provincial French Immersion Literacy Assessment that your son/daughter will be writing starting next week (May 6-7, May 13-14). Two letters have now gone home with information regarding this assessment, but if you have any questions or would like more information on this project, please don’t hesitate to contact me 🙂

Parents are also reminded that there will be no classes on Friday May 2^nd as teachers and support staff attend their annual business meetings.

Here is a look at what else is happening inside our classroom this week:

Grade 5

French- This week for our dictée we will continue our work on the imparfait verb tense. As always, students are reminded to complete the assigned sections of their worksheet at home each evening, in preparation for our next quiz.

This week we will continue on with our literacy centers, working on several aspects of our reading. Additionally, we will be looking at some short stories, both informational and narrative, together as a class and will examine some examples of questions related to these stories, in preparation for the literacy assessment that will begin next week.

In writing, we will be working on creating a memoir of an important time in our lives. Last Friday, we worked with the Grade 6 class to create a memoir of our field trip and this week students will get the opportunity to write one on their own.

This week in math, after we finish off our study of capacity, we will begin representing numbers up to 1 000 000 in expanded notation, using base ten blocks, in words, and in symbolic form. Late this week, or early next, we will also be having our 3^rd flashback quiz. Students are reminded to continue to review those concepts that may be causing them some trouble at home, in addition to our work together in class 🙂

In Science, we will finish up our unit on weather and will start exploring the Solar System 🙂

Grade 7 and 8 Science

This week we will finish up our bookable on how heat is transferred through different objects and will explore how heat capacity is measured using calories.

Have a wonderful week!

Madame April Walker

I hope you all had a wonderful long weekend! This week is shaping up to be another very busy week here at Gulf Shore!

On Wednesday afternoon, I will be attending an information session on the Grade 5 Immersion Provincial Literacy Assessment that my students will write next month. Ms. Moase will be spending the afternoon with my students. A letter with more details on the assessment will also be sent home this week.

On Thursday, April 24^th, the Grade 5 and Grade 6 Immersion classes will be travelling to Summerside to participate in two educational activities that will teach them more about Acadian life and culture. We will be leaving the school at approximately 9:00am to travel to the Acadian Museum in Miscouche. There, students will have an opportunity to take part in a guided tour of the museum and get a hands-on look at some artifacts dating back as far as 1720. After our departure from the museum, we will be stopping at the Tim Horton’s/Wendy’s location on Granville Street in Summerside for lunch before heading to the Centre Belle Alliance to watch La Petite Rochelle, a theatre production, where students will learn about Le Grand Dérangement- the Acadian Deportation. Students will return to the school in time for afternoon dismissal. Both of these activities will be in French and will touch not only on outcomes of their Social Studies programs, but also on components of the French Language Arts curriculum.

The school will be covering the transportation costs to and from these activities and the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development will cover the admission price to the play. We are asking that parents provide $3.00 to help cover the cost of admission to the Acadian Museum. Please forward this money to me as soon as possible 🙂

Also on Thursday, April 24^th, Ms. Tammy Hubley-Little from the English Language School Board will be visiting our school for an information meeting with parents about report cards. This meeting will take place in the Science Lab, starting at 7:00pm.

Finally, on Friday, April 25^th, we will be having a “Walk to School Day”. Please make sure you child is dressed for the weather 🙂

Here is a look at what else is happening inside our classroom this week:

Grade 5

French- This week for our dictée we will finish up our work on le passé composé and will start working on l’imparfait. This is another verb tense that is used to express actions that have happened in the past. We will be looking at the verbs être and avoir in this tense. Students are reminded to take a few minutes each evening to go over these verbs, in addition to our work together in class.

We have all been working hard on our individual reading goals. Bravo! This week, we will be starting some literacy centers during our reading periods. Here students will have the opportunity to work many different reading and writing strategies and concepts including; fluency, inferencing, expanding vocabulary, parts of speech, comprehension, making connections and will also have the opportunity to work on their individual needs with me, during guided reading sessions.

In writing, we will finish up publishing our piece of writing in the past tense, will continue to explore the persuasive text form, and later in the week we will begin the planning stage of our memoirs.

This week in math, we will be finishing up our unit on measurement and our study of capacity and volume. We will continue to review our flashback concepts and we will look ahead to representing numbers up to 1 000 000 in expanded notation, using base ten blocks, in words, and in symbolic form.

We will also start into our final topics of our unit on weather in science and on explorers in social studies and will be looking ahead to starting a new unit in science on the Solar System in the coming days.

Grade 7 and 8 Science

This week, we finish up our study of how heat is transferred through objects and we start to examine how we use different sources to heat our homes and how each one works.

Have a fantastic week!

Madame April Walker

This week is shaping up to be another busy one here at Gulf Shore as we look ahead to the Easter Weekend.

On Tuesday, our school will be visited by Mr. Brett Robinson, this year’s Easter Seals ambassador. Brett will be visiting Gulf Shore to share his message “Think it….Dream it… Live it” with our students and we will be presenting him with our school’s donation to this year’s Easter Seals campaign.

On Thursday, April 24^th, the Grade 5 and Grade 6 Immersion classes here at Gulf Shore will be travelling to Summerside to participate in two educational activities that will teach them more about Acadian life and culture. We will be leaving the school at approximately 9:00am to travel to the Acadian Museum in Miscouche. There, students will have an opportunity to take part in a guided tour of the museum and get a hands-on look at some artifacts dating back as far as 1720. After our departure from the museum, we will be stopping at the Tim Horton’s/Wendy’s location on Granville Street in Summerside for lunch before heading to the Centre Belle Alliance to watch La Petite Rochelle, a theater production, where students will learn about Le Grand Dérangement- the Acadian Deportation. Students will return to the school in time for afternoon dismissal. Both of these activities will be in French and will touch not only on outcomes of their Social Studies programs, but also on components of the French Language Arts curriculum.

The school will be covering the transportation costs to and from these activities and the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development will cover the admission price to the play. We are asking that parents provide $3.00 to help cover the cost of admission to the Acadian Museum. Please forward this money to your child’s homeroom teacher on or before Tuesday, April 22^nd. Additionally, students will be responsible for paying for their own lunch.

Grade 5

French- We will continue working on the passé composé again this week. We will also be reviewing how to use our Bescherelle to help us conjugate verbs when we get stuck.

With our book clubs now complete, we will be getting back to our regular routines in Reader’s Workshop, working on our independent reading goals, learning new reading strategies, responding to what we’ve read in our “Carnet de lecture” and we will be back into our guided reading groups working.

In writing, we will be publishing our creative writing piece written in the past tense and if time permits, we will begin to start reviewing how to write a persuasive piece.

In math, as continue through our unit on measurement, we will be finishing up our study of volume and will be looking deeper at capacity. Additionally, students will continue to work on their “flashback” concepts in preparation for their 3^rd quiz later on this month.

Measurement provides a strong connection between what students learn in math and their life experiences. Measurement is a skill that is used ineveryday life and in building, designing, and constructing any kind of project.

Here are some suggestions to help support your child’s learning:

• Have your child draw a new floor plan for a room that indicates the positions of and measurements for each piece of rearranged furniture

.• If you are cooking or baking, have your child help measure the ingredients.

• If you are hanging a mirror or picture, have your child measure to find the best place for it on the wall.

Our study of weather in science class continues, as we look at how clouds are formed, different types of clouds and talk about the differences between weather and climate.

Grade 7 and 8 Science

This week, we will continue to experiment and learn how heat is transferred through different substances; looking at convection, conduction and radiation.

Have a super week and a safe and wonderful Easter holiday weekend!

Madame April Walker

It’s so nice to look forward to a full week ahead after all those crazy storm days over the last couple of weeks. With hopefully no interruptions, we will be making up for lost time and working very hard all week long 🙂

On Friday, we will be having at Hat Day here at Gulf Shore. Students will be permitted to wear their hats all day, with a $1.00 donation to Easter Seals.

Grade 5

French- Our dictée this week will be on Day 6, as we return to our regular routines after March Break and all those storm days. We will be working on this verb tense again over the next few days through centres in class and at home each evening. Students are reminded of the importance of completing each section that is assigned, in preparation for both the quiz and the next day’s activities.

This week we will hopefully finish up our book clubs. This has been a great way for students to explore some books by Gilles Tibo, a great francophone children’s author and I am so excited to see their interest in continuing on with many of the series we have been reading in class. This has also given us the opportunity to communicate with one another in French, as we discuss what we’ve read during our group meetings. As we look ahead, we will be getting back to our regular routines in Reader’s Workshop, working on our independent reading goals, learning new reading strategies and getting into our guided reading groups.

Using our knowledge of le passé compose, we will continue our creative writing pieces in that verb tense. Students will have the opportunity to publish one piece of writing using this tense this week and we will also start working on a memoire, a personal narrative piece, exploring a special memory or time in our life.

In math, we have now completed our 2^nd flashback quiz. Once again, I will be providing those students who may struggle with certain concepts some individual instruction and worksheets to help them improve on their results when they write their 3^rd quiz early next month. We will also be continuing our study of volume and capacity.

Grade 7 and 8 Science

This week, students will be tested on the first sections of their unit on Heat, including how heat is measured using different instruments, the differences between heat and temperature, and how substances change through states of matter and using the atomic theory to describe these changes. We will then shift our focus onto how heat is transferred through different substances; looking at convection, conduction and radiation.

Have a fantastic week!

Madame April Walker

Just a quick note to remind everyone that we will be having regular classes instead of our scheduled PD Day on Friday, April 4th.

Because of this change, our next “flashback” math quiz will now be held on Friday, so keep reviewing those concepts that are causing you any difficulty at home tonight and tomorrow 🙂

It’s so great to be back!

Mme Walker

Wow! What a crazy few weeks we have had with all that snow! Our short weeks have blasted us into the month of April, and hopefully towards some nicer weather in the days ahead. I am anxious to return to our routine and to see my students after all these stormy days 🙂

The PEI Science Fair is now postponed until Thursday, April 3^rd. I will be accompanying those students who have moved on to the Provincial Science Fair, as they present their projects at UPEI. Those students attending the fair are reminded to be at UPEI between 7:30-8:00 to set up their projects 🙂

Here are just a few notes on things that are happening in our classroom this week:

Grade 5

French- For our dictée this week, we will continue on with le passé compose. We will pick up where we left off last week in our activity worksheets for homework. Many students may have already continued on at home, and those who haven’t may have a little extra assigned each evening in addition to our work together in class.

We are halfway through our book club activity. We will continue to read, respond and discuss with our groups this week. From time to time I may ask that students complete their assigned reading each evening as part of their reading homework, in order to make up some class time that was lost due to the recent storms.

As we explore le passé compose, we will continue our creative writing pieces in that verb tense.

In math, we will begin to look at how volume is calculated and tomorrow we will have our 2^nd flashback quiz. I hope that everyone was able to take some time over these last few days to work on those concepts that have been causing them some difficulty 🙂

We have lots to inspire us in science class, as we continue our unit about the weather. I hope that you all had the time to fill out your weather journals, that I’m sure will make for lots of interesting discussions as we talk about how March really did come in like a lamb and out like a roaring lion. We will also discuss how weather impacts many jobs and how clouds are formed in our next few classes. 

Grade 7 and 8 Science

As we reach the halfway point of our study of Heat, students will be reviewing for their quiz and will applying their knowledge to create a real-life object to measure temperature using the principals we have studied together. I will have review sheets and more details on the quiz for you in class tomorrow.

Have a marvelous week!   

Madame April Walker