Homework

My math set tonight needs to have their Math Quiz signed and returned by Thursday, October 2nd. Students are also expected to finish the new booklet up to Question 4, remembering that understanding the place value of decimals requires changing fractions to a denominator of 10 (for tenths), 100 (for hundredths), or 1, 000 (for thousandths). We had a great review in class today, and reinforcing that learning at home tonight would be a smart idea to ensure that the knowledge stays in there!

5G homeroom has a light evening of homework. Twenty minutes of reading is all that is expected, with a few reminders...

• All students will be singing Hope for Resolution in Assembly tomorrow. Practicing tonight is a must! Can't wait to hear you all in the morning!
• Students must come to school in Number One and pack P.E. kit for Spirit.
  
• Music homework must be complete for Friday.
• Ms. Gould's Problem Solving must be complete for Monday.
• Scholastic orders are due on Friday, October 10th.
• Wrapping paper orders are due on Friday, October 10th.
  
• Monday morning (October 6th) is our rise-and-shine 6:30 am start of day!
  

Enjoy your night!

Gift Wrap fundraiser details...

This just in...

...the Innesbrook Gift Wrap fundraiser (orders due on October 10th) has raised the stakes! The class who sells the most gift wrap will win a pizza party complete with ice cream, chips and drinks.

The individual student who sells the most will win a brand new coloured Nano.

Good luck at all!

Problem Solving

Today in Problem Solving, Ms. Gould stumped the class with a difficult logic puzzle, and the kids were excellent problem solvers in their attempts to solve the challenge! If they wanted to practice even more puzzles along the same lines, here are some links!

http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/thelogiczone/

(Navigate your way to 'Kid's Zone' on the left and choose from the levels of difficulty. Click on the 'interactive grid' and go wild! There are many other puzzles on this site to try.)

http://www.puzzles.com/projects/LogicProblems.html

Enjoy!

Reminder -- the booklet Ms. Gould handed out last week is due next Monday, October 6th, so be sure to finish it up throughout the week! :)

Information about the UBC choir performance on Monday, October 6th

On Monday, October 6th, all Grades 4 and 5 students will meet at Wentworth by 6:30 am.

We will board buses to sing at UBC for the opening of the Round Square Conference. This exciting event will be wrapped up mid-morning, and students will be bused back to Wentworth to enjoy a snack, recess time and the remainder of the academic day. Students are expected to wear their Number One uniform, and it will surely be a neat experience! Students will be singing 'Hope for Resolution' and the Music Deptartment sent home these lyrics last week for review.
Need the music to sing along with? Take a listen here!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u62tcHq3moI&feature=related

In the agenda tonight, you will find the new spelling words related to our Canadian Government unit. Quiz on October 3rd. More importantly, students need to understand what the words mean - and question 3 on the Spelling Sorting sheet (creating a well written paragraph with ten vocabulary words) speaks to the importance of that skill. Spelling mastery is more than just memorizing! You can do it!

Tonight, students need to read Chapters 7 and 8 in Underground to Canada. If already complete - dive into a good book for twenty minutes or so and let your imagination soar!

Please remember to come to school in P.E. kits for gym in the morning and pack a complete uniform to change into.

Thank you!

The weekend is here!

Another week has passed, and as I sit in the quiet, empty classroom this afternoon, I find it difficult to believe that 5G has only been together for just over three weeks. We are already a close group and I am confident that our year is going to be an incredible journey of growth and learning.

This weekend, I've asked that the kids read Chapters 5 and 6 in Underground to Canada. We'll turn the heat up next week in terms of actual chapters read - we have spent alot of time discussing character development, and how Smucker as written her characters in such a descriptive way (and then we practiced that skill!) and the concepts of slavery being so wrong. We explored the cost of slavery this week, and expanded our voabulary to include liberty, emmancipation, freedom and equality.

Reminder! 5G's coffee morning will be on Monday, September 29th, and it would so great if you could make it to discuss the fun events of the year, and to share your own ideas of how to make our community even better! Please don't hesitate to share your skills with us - we are so grateful for the support from 5G families!

Enjoy your weekend!

Congratulations 5G!

5G raised an amazing $531.24 for cancer research!

That is an amazing effort, and the Terry Fox Foundation will certainly be grateful for your generosity. Thank you!

Here are the much anticipated 5G Terry Fox Run Photos!

5G showed amazing strength and determination in today's Terry Fox Run. I am so proud of them for working through their pain and demonstrating their best work! Great job!

Round Square, Craig Keilburger and 5G

Reminder...

On Wednesday, October 8th from 1:00-3:10pm, all Grade 5 students will attend Craig Kielburger's presentation at Round Square Conference '08 (at Morven campus).

Students will be bussed back to Wentworth at 3:10pm for regular pick-up at 3:20.

Those Grade 5 students who would normally take the after school shuttle bus from Wentworth to Morven will remain at Morven. The 3:35pm home bus service will depart from Morven as scheduled.

Interested in learning more? http://www.collingwood.org/round_square/keynote_speakers.html

A Terry Fox Run preview

In preparation for our exciting Terry Fox School Run, here are some photos from the wildly successful West Van community run. Ms. Murphy and I are so thankful that you could join us for the fun - thank you! Next up...the Sun Run!!

Wednesday, September 24th

Good luck to our Girl's Soccer team as they have their first game tonight! 5G hopes you all play your best and have a great time.

There are two new Scholastic order forms coming home tonight - do not be alarmed that our first order has not yet come in! I expect it to be here by the end of the week, and since their Hallowe'en forms are already here, I thought it would be fun to look through them as a family. Your support for the first order was tremendous - thank you! This round is due on October 10th. Thank you!

The Senior school has a gift wrap fundraiser, and the information about this project is also coming home tonight in the agendas. Have a look at the catalouge and if you are interested, please return to the school by October 10th.

Enjoy your night!

The Charter of the Rights and Freedoms

Congratulations to the students who correctly named Pierre Elliot Trudeau as the Prime Minister who was in power at the time of the Constitution Act (1982) and therefore, oversaw the writing of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms (sometimes people just call it the Charter). This document is a very important feature of our government, outlining our rights and responsibilities as Canadians. These rights are guaranteed to us, and protect us from unfair (or unconstitutional) actions of our government. It would be an excellent idea to review three rights in this document (in your Government notes), and to ponder how these rights translate into the responsibilities you must uphold as a Canadian citizen. How might our lives be different without this important document? We are so lucky to live in Canada!

Norval Morrisseau

5G created an absolute masterpiece in Art class on Friday. Norval Morrisseau's Observations of the Astral World was our inspiration for this pastel beauty. Each student received one small piece of the original and when the final product was assembled, it was clear that building community means that what we create together is far more beautiful than any one individual. Congratulations, 5G! Follow this link to see a close-up of the original and to learn more details about the artist:

http://www.gallery.ca/exhibitions/exhibitions/Norval_Morrisseau/english/index.html

New spelling words and tonight's homework!

It's going to be a great week!

Coming home tonight with your child are two spelling sheets:

--The blue copy is for you to keep at home, to prepare for the spelling quiz on Friday, September 26th.
--The purple copy is a double sided worksheet to help students understand the words of the week (all of the words are taken from Chapter 1 to 4 in Underground to Canada). Students should complete the organization of the words on the purple sheet (Questions 1 - 6). Writing them out on the back is an optional suggestion.

The Music department has sent home the lyrics to a song that needs to be practiced before Music class on Friday.

The Terry Fox Run will be on Friday, September 26th! Keep those pledges rolling in!

Our day begins with P.E., so please come dressed in P.E. kit, and pack your uniform to change into!

Enjoy your night!

Daily Physical Activity

We have been busy in 5G today - getting our heart rates going and our brains turned on! Here is an inside look into our DPA for Monday! Look at these moves!

Way to go, 5G!

Happy Friday!

Another great week is coming to an end and it has been a really fun one! We have had great DPA this week - learning African tribal moves as well as some wild dance funky grooves - what a great 5 minute blast of energy to get our minds working for the day! We are learning about the responsibilities of each level of government (federal, provincial and municipal) as well as the internal structure of the federal government. Reviewing this over the weekend would be a great idea. Remember your government stretches to practice which level of government is responsible for each service you think of (i.e. education, health care, road work, environment, budget, mail delievery). Can you think of any situation that requres the co-operation of several levels of government to work through?

In Math, we continued to explore patterning of numbers and 5G developed some really sophisticated relationships between number (81, 9, 1 -- each step divides by 9). We developed patterns and then tried to stump the rest of the class. I am impressed! Continue the great work and complete page 27 in the Jump book for Monday.

Reminders for the weekend:

• Please bring an old t-shirt for painting projects to be stored in the lockers.
• Please send in a pair of earphones for laptop use, also to be stored in the lockers for individual use.
• Photo orders are due on Monday. Retakes will be at the end of October (the 28th).
• Comfort kits need to be updated and returned to school.
• The pink risk consent form should be making its way back to school.
• Problem Solving for Ms. Gould (yellow duotang) is due for her on Monday.
  

Enjoy your weekend!

It's Meet the Teacher night and Ms. Gretzinger assigns homework!

It's here! I am really excited to greet you all formally in 5G, although many of you have popped by for a visit, which I love! If you're not able to make it tonight, don't fret - all of the information will be given to you on the blog, and if you require a paper copy of anything, just ask! I'd be happy to print anything off for you.

Tonight, students will be practicing their word problem math skills by choosing 3 from a page of 10 questions. They will complete this work on a lined piece of paper in their agenda. Neatness and organization is important when doing math!

Our on-going goal of reading twenty minutes an evening is still in effect - students should be gravitating towards more complicated novels at this stage, and I have plenty of ideas (and so does your local library!) if you're stuck.

Enjoy your evening, and don't forget to vote on the poll to the left!

Tuesday night fun!

Check out those cute kids! Photos are coming home today with your child, and they sure are a good looking group. Please return the order form to me by Monday, September 22nd.

The yellow problem solving duotang is the place that all of Ms. Gould's problem solving work will be organized. This week, students are expected to complete both sheets in the duotang. This needs to be completed for class with Ms. Gould on Monday, September 22nd. 5G wowed Ms. Gould with their critical thinking and problem solving abilities - it will doubtlessly be a successful program with her this year!

Also making its way home tonight is the Terry Fox pledge form in preparation for the school wide Terry Fox run on Friday, September 26th. Collingwood Junior School raised a record $16, 000 one year for cancer research, and we can be inspired by that effort again this year. Pledges can be collected with cash or cheques, and most conveniently, on line! Direct interested pledgers to www.terryfoxrun.org to donate in the name of our school and also your child. Cheques should be made payable to the Terry Fox Foundation, and tax receipts are available for donations of $20 or more.

Tonight, students should read for twenty minutes and record the author and book title in their agenda.

I'm looking forward to seeing all who can join us tomorrow night at 4:30 pm for Meet the Teacher night!

Changes to dismissal times for Grade 5 (effective Thursday)

Mr. Hatch has just issued a bulletin to staff about the changes to dismissal times for Grade 5 to ease the drive-through situation and decrease your wait time.

Effective Thursday, September 18th, Grade 5 will be dismissed
at 3:20 pm.

If your child has younger siblings, you can collect all of them at this time. R.J. will direct you into the Grade 5 line and this should greatly help your after school experience. Shuttle children to Morven will still be dismissed in time to catch the bus.

I appreciate your patience as we work out the small kinks to our transportation system - you have all been great, understanding and punctual! Thank you!

Homework

What a beautiful way to start off our week together. I continue to be impressed with 5G and their level of thinking as we critically look at new material. Today we jumped into the three levels of government (federal, provincial and municipal) and looked at what leadership is like at each level. We will continue to examine this in the upcoming weeks, but reinforcing these terms at home would be a great help. 5G discussed the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and what responsibilities we had in relation to those rights. This learning is on-going, and will certainly not stop in June!

In the agendas you will find a few tidbits of information:

• Come to school dressed in P.E. kit and pack the proper uniform.
• Read the article about voting ages. Decide what you believe and why you believe it. Discuss the issue with a loved one at home, finding out what they believe and why they believe it. Be ready to discuss in small groups tomorrow and to have a debate on the issue.
• We did loads of practice with LCMs in class today. To ensure you remember how to do it, find the Lowest Common Multiple of 6, 8 and 10. Write the number in your agenda for me to check in the morning!

Enjoy your evening, and remember that...

Be not afraid of growing slowly,
be afraid only of standing still.
Chinese Proverb

Thinking about peace

A big focus of last week was peace and what it means to live peacefully. Here are some thoughts about different aspects of peace and happiness from 5G...

new Prep Talk online, and the Risk Consent Form information...

Here is the link to view the new Prep Talk for September. You'll find some good information here for the upcoming Meet The Teacher night.

http://www.collingwood.org/junior_school/index.html
(Click on 'Prep Talk Newsletter' on the left hand side)

The risk consent form should be returned to me by Tuesday, September 30th. This can also found on the website under 'August Mailouts'.

Thank you!

Socials Studies curriculum overview for Term One (and homework)

We began our Government of Canada study today by discussing the upcoming election. It is important to learn about our own local government, so tonight students are expected to learn in what riding they live and who their Member of Parliament representative is. I imagine that parents may need to be involved in this process! Our unit will cover the three levels of government in Canada and responsibilities of each, the election process, examining the history of Confederation and its influence on our country, the Charter of Rights and Freedoms (one of Ms. Gretzinger's favourite things about Canada) and finally a study into how First Nation governance in Canada compares and contrasts to federal, provincial and municipal responsibilities. I think that overviews are important for you at home to know where we are going!

Tonight for homework:

• Complete Elections sheet.
• Review the provinces and territories of Canada (the back page of the agenda is useful for this!) Spend ten minutes reacquainting yourself with our geography to ensure you get the most out of our Socials curriculum this year!
• Read for twenty minutes. Have a good novel on the go for any free reading time we have in class!
• Reminder: Meet the Teacher night is Wednesday, September 17th at 4:30 pm.
  

Thank you!

5G and 2M: Best of Buddies

The Buddies Program is a superb opportunity for Grade Five students to develop their leadership skills, and to make valuable connections with the younger students at Collingwood. We met our buddy class, Ms. MacRitchie's Grade 2 class, today and it was a big hit! The students took turns reading to each other and then capped it off with a mini dance lesson to contribute to our focus of healthy bodies and healthy minds.

We do lots of great activities with our buddy class throughout the year, and we have plenty to look forward to!

Daily Physical Activity: Macarena Style!