Good afternoon!

In today's class the students started off the day by working on language.  The students were asked to use their creative writing folders to create a fictional story about a time they invented something new.  There were a lot of interesting stories that came out of this topic- time machines, body duplicators and jet packs just to name a few!  Ask your child tonight what they created their story about.  As a class we also read the final two chapters of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory today!  It was great to hear the conclusion of the story the class has been so interested in and working so hard on reflecting.  The students got into their groups and completed their final chapter reflections.  Later this week the students will get a 'finishing off' period to add any final touches they would like to add before their novel study gets marked again the rubric we have been referring to for the past month.  Please see a copy of the book study rubric at the end of today's posting.

In our Unit of Inquiry today the students continued inquiring into an important element of writing- run on sentences.  We re-read 'I Will Never Not Ever Eat A Tomato' by Lauren Child and reviewed what we previously discussed about the run-on sentences in this story.  The students had a chance to get into pairs and create their own endings to the story focusing on sentence length.  Each pair presented their stories to the class which was a lot of fun!  Students will be bringing home their marked stories with them tonight to share with you at home.

During math today the students worked on the standard method of subtraction using two and three digit numbers.  This is a review for our class, as our students are doing very well with their addition and subtraction skills!    This review will be very helpful for the numeration unit test that is coming up on Monday, November 4th!


The students also went to PE  and French classes today.

Homework: Read for 2o minutes and record in the reading log, practice weekly spelling words, Cursive pages 36 - 37 and Math pages 52 - 53.

Important information: The next Casual Day is taking place tomorrow.  Students may come to school in their casual clothing if they have paid their casual day fees.

Fall Festival is taking place tomorrow! Tickets may be bought at the door of the event for $4 each.  The event takes place at 7pm here at SJA. This will be a night of fun for the students, where they come in costume and play games with their peers. Dress warm as the events will take place outside (rain permitting). Parents are asked to join if their children are attending. Please contact Ms. Elliott at melliott@stjudesacademy.com if you have any other questions about the event.

We will be having our next math unit test on Monday, November  4th on the numeration unit we have been working on in class.  Keep your eye out for the review package that every student brought home with them tonight.  This review package is for the students to use at home to study.  It does not have to come back to school with them.  We will be completing a second review package in class together.

Please be aware of the temporary change to pick-up and drop-off beginning on November 4th.  The parking lot will be under construction and will not be able to be used at any point during the day.  Families are asked to pull up 'kiss-and-ride' style to the front of the building during morning drop-off or find parking somewhere on Campobello Road.  During the afternoon pick-up, parking will have to be found on Campobello Road.  We are very sorry for the inconvenience we know this will cause for families.  Please let us know if you have any questions.

SJA is holding a candy-drive at the school from October 28th to November 4th.  Families are welcome to send candy with their children to be dropped off in the collection bin.  The candy collected will be donated to the Eden Food Bank for families in need.  If you end up with extra candy in your house during the week of Halloween, please consider sending it in to be donated.  Students who bring candy to donate will receive house points during the morning assembly. 

Halloween/Harvest dress-up day is taking place on October 31st at SJA. Students are encouraged to come to school dressed in a Halloween costume or harvest colours. The school will be having a costume contest in the morning to find the best dressed students! We will be having a small Halloween party in our classroom on that day. Students are welcome to bring in candies and treats to share with their friends during the party. Please don't forget that all snacks and treats must be nut-free to enter the building! 

Best regards,

Mrs. Nelson

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Listening skills while reading	Excellent. Listened very well with no interruptions.	Very good.  Listened well with few interruptions.	Fair.  Listened good with interruptions	Poor. Was not able to listen due to interruptions.
Quality of group work.	Excellent.  Worked well in their group at all times.  Consistently participated well with their group members with no distractions.	Very good.  Worked well in their group most of the time.  Usually participated well with their group with little distractions.	Fair. Sometimes worked well in their group.  Participated with their group a few times.  Often was distracted.	Poor. Was not able to work well in their group. Did not participate well with their group and was consistently distracted.
Quality of written work.	Excellent.  Showed excellent cursive. No errors throughout the writing.  Main points were always well summarized in each chapter with no missing information. Proofreading was consistently evident.	Very good. Showed very good cursive.  Few errors.  Main points were usually well summarized throughout each chapter with no missing information. Proofreading was usually evident.	Fair. Cursive requires improvement. Writing had some errors.  Main points were loosely summarized, with missing or incorrect information throughout some chapters. Proofreading needs improvement.	Poor. Poor quality cursive, with many errors.  Main points were incorrect or missed in a majority of the chapters. Proofreading was not completed.
Quality of illustrations.	Illustrations were always meaningful and reflected the information presented in the corresponding chapter.  Title page showed great effort.	Very good. Illustrations showed good effort and usually reflected the information from the chapter.  Title page showed some effort.	Fair. Illustrations were attempted and sometimes reflected the information from the chapter.  Title page showed little effort.	Poor.  Little to no illustrations that did not reflect the information from the chapter.  Title page was not complete/ had no effort.