Good afternoon!

We had a great deal of fun in our grade three class today!

 In today's class the students started off the day working on a language activity.  As a class we reviewed the steps to writing a perfect paragraph (topic sentence, developing sentences and a closing sentence) by creating our own class paragraph on 'The Zoo'.  We discussed how paragraphs may only be about one topic, and that 3 - 4 developing sentences are the perfect amount to fully develop the topic.  The students had a chance to practice writing their own paragraphs in their Ontario Writing books.  Ask your child tonight what their paragraphs were about!  In language the students also worked on reviewing the proper ways to use periods and commas.

In our Unit of Inquiry today we continued exploring the concept of genres.  We reviewed what we know about genres so far, and added some questions we have about genres that we hope to answer.  The class was then broken into groups and given a number of books.  The students were asked to use some sort of method of sorting the books out.  When the groups presented their sorting technique, we saw how useful genres are when sorting and organizing books!  Using the assortment of books the students saw examples of genres such as non-fiction, horror, fairy tales, adventure, and westerns.  Each group then created a poster to advertise a different genre of writing!  Ask your child tonight what genre they were responsible for creating!

During math today the students used their knowledge of mental math solutions to work on estimating totals of large numbers.  The students were asked to look at the sums and differences of large numbers and estimate what they think the answer might be using their mental math strategies from previous lessons.  As a class we discussed the importance of estimating, when we use estimating, and how estimating does not have to have the correct answer.  The students worked on practising the concept in their Homework and Practice books.

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, Math Homework pages 44 - 45, Language pages 36 - 37.

Important information: Hot lunch forms and monies are due on October 25th (this Friday). I'm sorry but there will be no exceptions for late forms.

An important notice came home with all children yesterday, and an email went out to all families indicating a 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. 

Fall Festival tickets are still on sale this week! Tickets are $3 each and will be sold for the event which takes place on Wednesday, October 30th 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. Parents are welcome to join in for this event for $3 a ticket! Please contact Ms. Elliott at melliott@stjudesacademy.com if you have any other questions about the event.

Picture Day is taking place on Monday, October 28th. Please make sure students are wearing their full, proper uniforms on this day. A form went home with all students tonight that needs to be completed and sent back before Picture Day.

The next Casual Day is taking place on October 30th.

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