Happy Thursday!

We had a great day today in our grade three classroom!

We started off the day today with a language period.  As a class we had a lengthy discussion on paragraph writing.  As a class we discussed why we use paragraphs, looked at examples of paragraph writing in various books in our class library, explored the reasons for changing paragraphs, and explored the elements of a perfect paragraph (topic sentence, supporting sentences and concluding sentence).  The students then went on to write their own perfect paragraph on a topic of their choice.  Ask your child tonight what they wrote about!  The students moved on to a review of the use of commas, and also worked on cursive writing.
In our Unit of Inquiry today the students made the final touches on their good copies of their community projects.  It was great to see how hard the students have worked on these projects and how much learning they have gotten out of this assignment on the process of researching a topic which is an important transdisiplinary skill.  There has been a change of plans with the presentation.  I am away at an IB event tomorrow, so the students will be presenting their good copies to the class on Monday.
During math today the children continued working on their numeration unit.  In today's class we reviewed the methods of adding and subtracting two digit numbers that we discussed yesterday with additional whole class examples.  The students were reminded of how to use their knowledge of the tens and ones columns to help them mentally add two digit numbers.  As a class we practiced this technique of 'mental math' out loud.  The students were then asked to work on reinforcing the concepts 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 pages 40 - 41 and Language pages 30 - 31.

Important information:  Hot lunch forms went home with all students yesterday.  If you would like to order a hot lunch for your child please make sure to return the form and monies by October 25th.  I'm sorry but there will be no exceptions for late forms.

The policies for uniforms have now switched to fall/winter regulations. Students are no longer allowed to wear their short sleeved polo shirts to school and are required to come to school wearing their long sleeved button up with their SJA vest. Mock turtle necks are no longer allowed to be worn at SJA as the uniform policy changed this year.  Please let Alpa know if you have any uniform questions or needs by contacting her at uniforms@stjudesacademy.com.

Fall Festival tickets are still on sale this week during first recess! 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 October 28th. Please make sure students are wearing their full, proper uniforms on this 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,