Pledge sheets for our annual Children’s Wish Walk for Wishes have been sent home. Sheets and money are due back to me on Wednesday, May 28^th. Our walk will be held on Friday, May 30th. Please dress for the weather 🙂

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

Grade 5

French- For this week’s dictée we will continue studying our “mots difficiles”: commonly misspelled words. Students should review their words at home each night, in addition to our work on these words together in class in preparation for our dictée on Day 6 (Wednesday)

This week we will begin to read the novel “Sophie lance et compte” and will start publishing our persuasive texts. We have also been spending some time in “la causerie”, practicing our oral communication skills and structures in French take sometimes cause us difficulty in our writing and speech 🙂

This week in math we will be starting a unit on statistics (data analysis) and probability (chance and uncertainty). These important branches of mathematics help us make informed decisions in many aspects of everyday life, from playing games to choosing medical treatments.

In this unit, your child will:

•  Learn the difference between first-hand and second-hand data
• Ask questions and decide whether the answer requires first-hand or second-hand data
• Find examples of second-hand data in print and electronic media
• Solve problems by constructing and interpreting double bar graphs
• Use words such as likely, unlikely, impossible, and certain
• Describe the probability of everyday events
• Compare the likelihood of two events

Data analysis and probability concepts can be practiced at home as well as at school. Here are some suggestions for activities you can do at home:

• Watch for examples of tables and double bar graphs in newspapers, magazines, or on the World Wide Web. Ask your child what information the tables or graphs convey.
• Play board games and card games with your child. Compare games that depend on chance (for example, snakes and ladders) with games that depend on skill (for example, chess). Look for games that combine chance and skill.
• Encourage your child to discuss general ideas of randomness, luck, and chance. Is it true that some people are luckier than others? Can you improve your chances by wearing a lucky pair of shoes? What does it mean to say that something happens by chance? Rather than just looking for “correct” answers, enjoy the opportunity to discover more about your child’s thinking as you explore these complex ideas together.

Students are also reminded to keep reviewing their “flashback” concepts, as our fourth quiz is fast approaching 🙂

Grade 7 and 8 Science

This week we will continue our unit on ecosystems, continuing to explore biotic and abiotic factors as well as adaptations animals make in an effort to survive in their environments. On Friday, we will be heading to Summerside to take in a performance at Centre Belle Alliance that will tie into outcomes previously studied on water and water conservation.

Have a super week!

Madame April Walker

I hope you all had a great long weekend! It was refreshing to see so much sun 🙂

It’s hard to believe it but we are almost to the end of May and fast approaching the end of another school year here at Gulf Shore. I would remind everyone though, that there is still a lot of learning yet to happen and although the sun may be here to stay, it is important that our focus continue to remain on working hard in the classroom over the next few weeks 🙂

Parents are reminded of the Home and School’s Annual General Meeting that will take place tomorrow evening in the staff room.

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

Grade 5

French- For this week’s dictée we will have another week of “les mots difficiles”: commonly misspelled words. Students should review their words at home each night, in addition to our work on these words together in class.

With our provincial assessment now complete we will return to our normal routines in reading and writing. This week we will finish up our literacy centers, start reading the novel “Sophie lance et compte” and will continue working on our persuasive letters.

In math, we will continue adding and subtracting with decimals. As always, students are reminded to continue to practice their “flashback” concepts in preparation for our 4^th and final quiz early next month.

Grade 7 and 8 Science

This week we will start into our unit on ecosystems. We will discover what an ecosystem is and how different populations of species live together. We will also examine the differences between biotic and abiotic factors that influence our environment

Have a super week!

Madame April Walker

I think spring and some warmer weather may have finally arrived 🙂 with that, I’d remind students and parents to reacquaint themselves with our school’s dress code and also to remember that there are still some chilly days here on Hilltop, so remember to come prepared for the weather 🙂

This week (May 13^th and May 14^th) we will finish up our Provincial Literacy Assessment. I am very impressed with how mature my students have been in handling these long mornings writing their assessments, and how much they have continually put forth their best work. Bravo! Keep it up!

Again I will remind parents that all I expect from my students during these evaluations is that they try their very best 🙂 There is no need for any extra stress or worry and no extra preparation is needed at home in relation to this evaluation with the expectation of maybe a good night’s sleep the night before and a healthy breakfast the morning of 🙂

In addition to the Literacy assessment there are also lots of other things happening this week here at Gulf Shore:

Our school Track and Field meet will be on Thursday, May 15^th.

On Friday, May 16^th, we will make another attempt at our Walk to School Day. Please dress according to the weather 🙂

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

Grade 5

French- As we will continue to write the provincial assessment, there will be no formal dictée this week. Students are reminded to continue reading at home each evening for 15-20 minutes.

On the days that we are not writing the provincial assessment, we will be continuing to work through our literacy centers, and will continue to examine the persuasive text form, including how to write a persuasive letter.

This week in math, we will finish up representing numbers up to 1 000 000 in expanded notation, using base ten blocks, in words, and in symbolic form and will start adding and subtracting with decimals. As always, students are reminded to continue to practice their “flashback” concepts in preparation for our 4^th and final quiz early next month.

Grade 7 and 8 Science

This week we will have our final test for our unit on heat and will start to explore our final unit on ecosystems.

Have a super week!

Madame April Walker

Today during our technology class we discovered a great website with lots of interactive games and activities. Unfortunately it is in English, but the concepts certainly translate between both languages, especially in Math 🙂

http://interactivesites.weebly.com/math.html

Amusez-vous!

Madame Walker

 

First of all I’d like to remind parents of the Provincial French Immersion Literacy Assessment that your son/daughter will be writing starting this 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 🙂

Students will write the assessment in our classroom during each of the four mornings listed above. They will start with the reading portion of the assessment and will finish with the writing portion after recess. We have had lots of great class discussions surrounding this assessment and have gone through some sample questions together. All I expect from my students is that they try their very best 🙂 There is no need for any extra stress or worry and no extra preparation is needed at home in relation to this evaluation with the expectation of maybe a good night’s sleep the night before and a healthy breakfast the morning of 🙂

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 l’imparfait. After Monday, there will not be any formal homework on this verb tense, but students are reminded that it may be a good idea to review their verbs each evening in preparation for our next dictée on Day 6.

On the days that we are not writing the provincial assessment during the next two weeks, we will continue to work through our literacy centers, finish up our memoirs, and continue to examine the persuasive text form, including how to write a persuasive letter.

This week in math, we will continue to represent numbers up to 1 000 000 in expanded notation, using base ten blocks, in words, and in symbolic form. Last week we had our 3^rd “flashback” quiz. I am very pleased with all the hard work my students have been putting into their math this year. Bravo! As with the previous quizzes, I will be sending home some individual worksheets later this week for children to continue to work on those problems causing them trouble. I’d ask that they complete just a few of these problems each night, in addition to our continued work on those concepts together in class.

Grade 7 and 8 Science

This week we will be finishing up the last outcomes of our unit on heat. We will be putting our knowledge to the test, using the concepts previously studied on how heat is transferred through objects and conductors and insulators, as we attempt to create a “home” that will keep an ice cube safe from melting under the rays of a light bulb 🙂

Have a marvelous week!

Madame April Walker