Working hard before "Spring" Break!

In French, we have almost finished memorizing the entire play of, "Les trois petits cochons!"  The students have memorized the entire play, regardless of what part they will play.  We will present this play to the younger grades after Spring Break. Ask your child to tell you their favourite lines!

In Social Studies, the students have found the study of the First Nations Peoples extremely interesting.  The students did a fantastic job creating tipi's and decorating them with symbols that were symbolic to the First Nation Peoples and to the students.

Following Spring Break, our student teachers will be hosting an Art Fair at our school, portraying Vincent Van Gogh replica's.   The Grade 4's have replicated Van Gogh's Sunflower painting.   I'll let you know specifics at a later date, but I hope you'll attend this exciting new event at ÉCPS!

In Science, we focus on our Wheels and Levers unit and building things that move.  Using Lego Dacto sets, the students worked in pairs to build a device that focused on the simple machines we have been studying.  They will be writing a paragraph to describe this device and how it works. 

Japan

Thank you to 3M for organizing this very special fundraiser.  Having personal close friends in Japan, this is quite near and dear to my heart as I'm sure it has been to yours as we watch the events unfold.   I was brought to tears to see a 4 month old baby who survived the tsunami and was reunited with its parents. 
I hope that 4C can help contribute to this great cause.  In class, we watched a few videos from CNN on Friday morning.  It was my hope that watching this current event would help make our students more compassionate to others and to realize how lucky we are to live in Alberta.   Please read below for more information.    **Mrs. Campbell will match 4C's donations up to $100. 

Hi everyone,

As a class, 3M has decided to organize a school-wide fundraiser for the Red Cross to help with the crisis in Japan.

We are going to have on display a Japanese Cherry Blossom Tree. With each dollar that is donated by students at ECPS, they will be able to put a pink blossom on the tree. We hope to see the tree in full bloom!

Attached is a letter that you can send home or e-mail to parents. Please discuss it with your students.

We hope to have the tree up in the front hall area by tomorrow.

Thanks and let me know if you have any questions!

Chelsie

Penny Books

How I wish I could share these books with you!  The student's writing has made me laugh and cry!  In our reading comprehension lessons we have been focusing on the use of SEQUENCE.   In our writing we are focusing on ORGANIZATION.   The penny book combines these 2 strategies.  The students wrote 5-6 detailed sentences in order, for each year of their life.   The students really grasped ahold of this project, and I hope that as parents you enjoyed sharing those stories with your child about when they were younger. 
Here's one sample of writing that made me laugh out loud!!  And a couple examples of some great title pages!  And don't you love this dedication!

Improvement...

14/23 kids today had a FRUIT or a VEGETABLE!  YEA!   There are lots of healthy snacks out there but for this challenge we are focusing on fresh fruit and vegetables for our first snack.  

In math we are working on Fractions.  Here's a great web site for practice with your child!
http://www.gridclub.com/subscribers/games/maths/archipelago/help/index.htm

**Report Cards will be going home on Friday, March 18th. 

What we usually eat at 1st recess.

Today's 1st recess snack didn't look too promising for being healthy! I was excited to see 4 pieces of fruit! Please, no pop.

Healthy 1st Recess Snack Challenge!

Healthy First Snack Challenge 2011

During the month of March, students will be encouraged to have fresh fruit or vegetables as their first snack of the day.

Each school day, teachers will track how many students ate fresh fruit or vegetables as their first snack.

          Examples: an apple, an orange, a banana, grapes, sliced fresh fruit/raw vegetables

          (i.e. carrot sticks), etc…

Note: We will not count processed or canned fruits and vegetables due to possible additives and nutrient loss.