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Friday, December 6, 2013

Good afternoon!

I had a great time meeting with many of the grade 3 parents last night!  Thank you all once again for attending the 2013/14 parent/teacher interview night!
The students started off the day today working on language. In today's class the students had their weekly spelling test.  All students will be bringing home their marked spelling tests with them tonight.  I ask that all incorrect words be re-written ten times each in their spelling books.  During language today the students also worked on their language books where they continued practising homonyms, and contractions.

During our Unit of Inquiry today we had a large class discussion about the next two types of forces we are studying as part of our unit- magnetic forces and static electric forces.  As a class we read books about all these two types of forces and had great discussion about the types of magnets, how we use magnets, the two poles in a magnet, the creation of static energy, the feeling when you get shocked, etc.  Ask your child tonight what they learned!  The students then moved on to working on a review of the 6 types of forces we have learned about to date- muscular, buoyancy, gravity, friction, static electric, and magnetic.  This prep is going to be great for Tuesday's quiz the students will be having in this unit.

During mathematics today the students continued working on multiplication.  In today's class we began working on our ten times tables.  As a class we reviewed how our prior knowledge of counting by tens has already allowed us to know our ten times tables.  The students had a great time working on the lesson from today and were amazed at the skills they already possess.

We also met up with our reading buddies this afternoon, but instead of doing paired reading the students worked on designing reindeer antlers based on their hand prints!  All students will be coming home with their antlers tonight.  Have a look at a few of the pictures from this activity below!

Students also went to PE  and French classes.

Homework: Read for 2o minutes and record in the reading log, re-write incorrect spelling words ten times each, Language pages 75, Math pages 80-81, and complete forces worksheet if needed.
Important information:  After school care forms have gone home with all children tonight.  Payment for the fees are due by Tuesday, December 10th, 2013.

The SJA Holiday Food Drive is on now and running until the night of the Christmas concert on December 18th. Please feel free to donate non-perishable food items for the food drive. All goods collected by the school will be donated to the Eden Food Back for families in need in our community.

The next casual day is on December 18th.

The Christmas concert is taking place on December 18th at 7pm. All SJA families and friends are invited to attend! It is going to be a wonderful evening.

Lunch forms for the month of January have gone home with all students. Forms and money are due back no later than December 13th if you are interested in ordering a hot lunch for your child.

December 19th is a red, green and white Spirit Day at SJA! Students are encouraged to come dressed in red, green and white!

The last day of school before the holidays is on December 19th, which is a full day of school. There is no school at all on December 20th. Families have the option of registering their children for a karate camp on the 20th if they so choose. Please contact Mr. Monaghan for more information. pmonaghan@stjudesacademy.com.

School does not resume until Tuesday, January 7th after the Christmas holidays.

Have a great weekend!


Mrs. Nelson

SKs and the Grade 3 with their reindeer antlers!

Arin's examples antlers!

Thursday, December 5, 2013

Happy Thursday!

The students started off the day today working on language. In today's class the students practiced their letter writing in a fun activity.  They wrote letters to their parents that they are going to hand out during parent/teacher interviews tonight!  During language the students also worked on their Language books where they continued reviewing synonyms, antonyms and homonyms and they worked on cursive.

During our Unit of Inquiry today the students continued inquiring in our How the World Works unit.  In today's class we read a book together that review many different types of forces.  It gave examples of forces in real life examples.  Ask your child tonight what they can tell you about the connection between forces and bowling, forces and ice skating, forces and playground slides, and forces and the wind!  As as class we also took a walk around the school and the students recorded and described the many different types of forces they saw.  They answered some questions about our walk as well.  Ask your child tonight to tell you about it!

During mathematics today the students continued with their new unit on multiplication!  In today's class the students explored how they can use arrays to help them find answers to multiplication questions.  Students were asked to use arrays to find the answers to multiplication sentences, and create their own arrays!   Students will be bringing home their Homework and Practice book with them tonight to practice this new concept.

Students also went to PE, Art and French classes.

Homework: Read for 2o minutes and record in the reading log, practice weekly spelling words, Language pages 73 - 74, Math pages 76 - 77,  Cursive pages 52 - 53 and complete forces worksheet if needed.
Important information:  I am looking forward to seeing SJA families at Parent/Teacher Interview Night tonight!

The SJA Holiday Food Drive is on now and running until the night of the Christmas concert on December 18th. Please feel free to donate non-perishable food items for the food drive. All goods collected by the school will be donated to the Eden Food Back for families in need in our community.

The next casual day is on December 18th.

The Christmas concert is taking place on December 18th at 7pm. All SJA families and friends are invited to attend! It is going to be a wonderful evening.

Lunch forms for the month of January have gone home with all students. Forms and money are due back no later than December 13th if you are interested in ordering a hot lunch for your child.

December 19th is a red, green and white Spirit Day at SJA! Students are encouraged to come dressed in red, green and white!

The last day of school before the holidays is on December 19th, which is a full day of school. There is no school at all on December 20th. Families have the option of registering their children for a karate camp on the 20th if they so choose. Please contact Mr. Monaghan for more information. pmonaghan@stjudesacademy.com.

School does not resume until Tuesday, January 7th after the Christmas holidays.

Best regards,


Mrs. Nelson

Wednesday, December 4, 2013

Good afternoon!

The students started off the day today working on language. In today's class the students had a chance to use their Creative Writing folders to write a fictional story about a time they were principal for a day.  Many interesting stories came out of this idea!  Ask your child tonight what they wrote about.  Students also had a chance to work on their Language books where they focused on synonyms and homonyms.  They also had fun practicing their cursive.


During our Unit of Inquiry today the students continued inquiring in to the many ways we use forces to manipulate objects. In today's class the students read a story based on forces together and discussed information about different types of forces viewed in the story.  The students then used that information to help them label various forces such as "gravity", "buoyancy", "friction" and "muscular force."  Students had a lot of fun answering questions and chatting all about forces! 

During mathematics today the students began their new unit on multiplication!  In today's class the students explored how they can use multiplication sentences to quickly help them find the answer to addition sentences (eg. 5+5+5=15 is the same as 5 x 3=15).  Students had a lot of fun solving and creating their own addition and multiplication sentences.  Students will be bringing home their Homework and Practice book with them tonight to practice this new concept.
Students also went to PE and French classes.

Homework: Read for 2o minutes and record in the reading log, practice weekly spelling words, Language pages 70 - 71, Math pages 74 - 75 and Cursive pages 50 - 51.
Important information:  I am looking forward to seeing SJA families at Parent/Teacher Interview Night tomorrow night!
 




The SJA Holiday Food Drive is on now and running until the night of the Christmas concert on December 18th. Please feel free to donate non-perishable food items for the food drive. All goods collected by the school will be donated to the Eden Food Back for families in need in our community.

The next casual day is on December 18th.

The Christmas concert is taking place on December 18th at 7pm. All SJA families and friends are invited to attend! It is going to be a wonderful evening.

Lunch forms for the month of January have gone home with all students. Forms and money are due back no later than December 13th if you are interested in ordering a hot lunch for your child.

December 19th is a red, green and white Spirit Day at SJA! Students are encouraged to come dressed in red, green and white!

The last day of school before the holidays is on December 19th, which is a full day of school. There is no school at all on December 20th. Families have the option of registering their children for a karate camp on the 20th if they so choose. Please contact Mr. Monaghan for more information. pmonaghan@stjudesacademy.com.

School does not resume until Tuesday, January 7th after the Christmas holidays.

Best regards,

Mrs. Nelson

Tuesday, December 3, 2013

Good afternoon!

The students started off the day today working on language.  In today's class the students explored the use of diagrams.  As a class they discussed how, when and why we use a diagram to present information.  The students then had the opportunity to create their own diagrams.  They had a lot of fun with this activity!  Ask your child tonight what type of diagram they created.  The students also had time to reflect on their weekends by writing in their journals during language today.  Lastly, they also worked on cursive writing.


During our Unit of Inquiry today the students continued on with our new our unit 'How the World Works'.  In today's class the students continued inquiring into the different types of forces.  Students were asked to brainstorm as many ways as they could think of to move an object (examples of pushing, pulling, or using another object to create a force were all explored)   They were then asked to explore an image and brainstorm the examples of pushing and pulling they saw in the image. 

During mathematics today the students had their geometry unit test.  Marked unit tests will be coming home with all students shortly.
 
Students also went to PE, Art and French classes.
 

Homework: Read for 2o minutes and record in the reading log, practice weekly spelling words, and Cursive pages 48 - 49.



Important information:
 
 
 
 
 
Parent/Teacher interviews are Thursday, December 5th. The interview forms went home with all students last week to inform parents of the time they have been scheduled during the conference period. Please keep an eye out for this important form tonight!

The SJA Holiday Food Drive is on now and running until the night of the Christmas concert on December 18th. Please feel free to donate non-perishable food items for the food drive. All goods collected by the school will be donated to the Eden Food Back for families in need in our community.


The next casual day is on December 18th.

The Christmas concert is taking place on December 18th at 7pm. All SJA families and friends are invited to attend! It is going to be a wonderful evening.

Lunch forms for the month of January have gone home with all students. Forms and money are due back no later than December 13th if you are interested in ordering a hot lunch for your child.

December 19th is a red, green and white Spirit Day at SJA! Students are encouraged to come dressed in red, green and white!

The last day of school before the holidays is on December 19th, which is a full day of school.  There is no school at all on December 20th. Families have the option of registering their children for a karate camp on the 20th if they so choose. Please contact Mr. Monaghan for more information. pmonaghan@stjudesacademy.com.

School does not resume until Tuesday, January 7th after the Christmas holidays.

Best regards,

Mrs. Nelson

Monday, December 2, 2013

Happy Monday!

The students started off the day today working on language.  They were asked to copy down their new weekly spelling words.  The words of the week this week focus on words with 'sh' and 'th' digraphs.  The students were then asked to reinforce the words by working on them in their Spelling Workbooks.  The students were also asked to work on a review of ' is' and 'are', as well as an exploration of synonyms. 


During our new Unit of Inquiry today the students began our unit How the World Works.  Is this unit we will be inquiring into forces, and the way we can manipulate objects using forces.  Please have a look at our new Central Idea and lines of inquiry listed just on the right on the side bar of this page!  In today's class the students had an introductory discussion about what forces are and how we use forces.  They were then asked to explore an image and brainstorm the forces they saw.  The students had a lot of fun exploring this new unit!

During mathematics today the students had one final period to review for tomorrow's math unit test.  As a class we once again worked through the textbook and reviewed the major concepts learned in this unit.  Students also had time to work with a partner to study and quiz each other on the concepts.  The pairs of students worked on identifying the major concepts, summarizing them in their notebooks, and testing each other on their skills.  The students also worked on their multiplication skills in their Abeka Arithmetic books today.

Homework: Read for 2o minutes and record in the reading log,  practice weekly spelling words, complete math review package for tomorrow's math test, Language pages 68 - 69, Spelling Workbook pages 57 - 60, and Abeka Arithmetic pages 37 - 38.


Important information:All students brought home a math review package with them earlier last week to help them study for the math unit test coming up tomorrow.  Tonight is the last night to complete this package.  It does not need to come back to school to be marked.  It is a tool to be used to help students develop their study skills.

Parent/Teacher interviews are Thursday, December 5th.  The interview forms went home with all students last week to inform parents of the time they have been scheduled during the conference period.  Please keep an eye out for this important form tonight!

The SJA Holiday Food Drive began today and is running until the night of the Christmas concert on December 18th.  Please feel free to donate non-perishable food items for the food drive.  All goods collected by the school will be donated to the Eden Food Back for families in need in our community.


The next casual day is on December 18th.

The Christmas concert is taking place on December 18th at 7pm. All SJA families and friends are invited to attend!  It is going to be a wonderful evening.

Lunch forms for the month of January went home with all students tonight.  Forms and money are due back no later than December 13th if you are interested in ordering a hot lunch for your child.

December 19th is a red, green and white Spirit Day at SJA!  Students are encouraged to come dressed in red, green and white!

There is no school at all on December 20th.  Families have the option of registering their children for a karate camp on the 20th if they so choose.  Please contact Mr. Monaghan for more information.  pmonaghan@stjudesacademy.com.

School does not resume until Tuesday, January 7th after the Christmas holidays.

Best regards,

Mrs. Nelson