June 5, 2015

Kids on the Block Bullying Presentation
On Thursday we had a special bullying presentation which included a puppet show by Kids on the Block. The students were completely engaged as they interacted with the puppets to come up with solutions for the characters bullying problems. It was an excellent presentation that increased students knowledge about bullying and provided them with tools to navigate similar situations that they may be faced with in the future.

Final Reading Log of the Year!
On Monday, students took home their final reading log of the year! Their goal is to read 16 or more minutes every day for the month of June and our final reading celebration will be the highly anticipated "Tech Party". During this reading party, students who have reached their goal will have time with technology while having fun with their fellow super readers!

Exploring Potash - Learning About SK Resources

Important Dates and Reminders:
Friday, June 12: No School - PD Day
Thursday, June 18: U of R Theatre "New Canadian Kid" in AM
Monday, June 22: School Swim at Regent Park Pool
Thursday, June 25: Last Day of School & Final Report Card Day

May 29, 2015

Library Books
A note went home this week asking students to return their library books from June 8-12th. If your child has books that have not been returned to the library by this due date, payment info will be sent home after the 15th. Classes who have all of their books returned on time will be awarded a prize from Mrs. Frederiksen, our school librarian.

GMS Track Meet
Monday was a beautiful day for our annual school track meet. Students were divided into age groups and visited stations such as the 60,100, 200 and 400 meter sprints, long jump, triple jump, high jump, and ball throw. Students who placed first, second or third in each category will advance to participate at the Douglas Park Track. Our whole class will be attending the Douglas Park Track event on June 5th to cheer on our school. We also enjoyed some ice-cream treats to cool off, and wrapped up our day watching the school relay races. Looking forward to another great track day at Douglas Park!

Congratulations Virtue Winners!
Congratulations to Abdur and Fatima E. who received the award for conscience during Tuesdays Assembly. These are two students who do the right thing, even when no one is looking!

SRC School Dance
On Thursday, we were invited to the gymnasium for a school dance. The SRC raised money by holding a canteen where students could purchase a treat for $1.00. Great music, great friends and great fun!

Important Dates and Reminders:
Friday, June 5: Douglas Park Track Meet
Thursday, June 18: U of R Theatre "New Canadian Kid" in AM
Monday, June 22: School Swim at Regent Park Pool
Thursday, June 25: Last Day of School & Final Report Card Day

May 22, 2015

Writing About Our Reading

Here is a sneak peek of students sharing their writing. Sometimes it is much trickier to explain our thinking in writing than it is to share our thinking out loud, so we have been working to develop this skill in our Reader's Notebooks. I love listening to these students share their thinking.

Track and Field
Our School Track and Field day will be held on Monday. Please make sure your child comes prepared for a day in the sun with a water bottle, sunscreen, hat and proper attire for that day. We have been practicing high jump, long jump, standing long jump, throwing and even learned how to take part in a relay race!  Here is a picture of us learning how to properly "hand off" the baton to the next teammate on our team using the bases on the baseball field. It was the perfect "mini-track" to demonstrate how a relay race goes, as this was the first time our class has experienced this style of race. 

Prevent the Summer Slide with "Bring a Book - Take a Book"
We are having a "Bring a Book, Take a Book" event at our school from June 16-19th. This is a chance for kids to trade their gently used books for some new books to read over the summer months. Students can bring 1-5 books before June 15th. A note has been stapled in your child's agenda with the information as well.

Important Dates and Reminders

Monday, May 25: GMS Track Meet
Friday, June 5: Douglas Park Track Meet
Thursday, June 18: U of R Theatre "New Canadian Kid" in AM
Monday, June 22: School Swim at Regent Park Pool
Thursday, June 25: Last Day of School & Final Report Card Day

May 14, 2015

Congratulations to Our April Super Readers!
On Thursday, I invited the students who reached their home reading goal in April to a special "Super Readers" Lunch in the library. We had a lot of fun hanging out, catching up and enjoying a few treats to celebrate.

Building Fluency with Reader's Theatre Plays

Why Do We Need Rules and Laws?
As we move into our social unit on government, we had a great conversation about the importance of rules and laws. Why do we need rules? What would our life be like if we didn't have rules or laws? We talked about everything from rules of the road, pollution and its effects on the environment, a variety of safety rules involving many more scenarios. We decided our community would be very chaotic and unsafe if we didn't have certain laws and rules. We came come to the realization that we need rules and laws to live, work and play together safely.

Science Centre and Imax Field Trip
We had a blast at the Science Centre on Tuesday. The Imax Movie, Journey to the South Pacific 3D was fantastic. We ate lunch in the park and had an afternoon of fun in the Science Centre and enjoyed a few minutes on the playground before heading back to school. Here is just a glimpse of our fun!

Science Fair
On Wednesday, we took our buddies into the gym to visit the grade 7/8 Science Fair presentations. Students learned about volcanoes, tornadoes, tsunamis among other natural disasters. Great job grade 7/8's!

Have a great long weekend!
Ms. Cameron

Important Dates and Reminders:

Friday, May 15: P.D Day - No School
Monday, May 18: Victoria Day Holiday - No School

Monday, May 25: GMS Track Meet
Friday, June 5: Douglas Park Track Meet
Thursday, June 18: U of R Theatre "New Canadian Kid" in AM
Monday, June 22: School Swim at Regent Park Pool
Thursday, June 25: Last Day of School & Final Report Card Day

May 8, 2015

Compare and Contrast Activity: Holes by Louis Sachar
Now that we have finished reading the novel "Holes" we were able to watch the movie! We were so excited to see it as we absolutely loved the book! Students had the task of comparing and contrasting the similarities and differences between the book and movie.

This week we also started a new novel that was the winner of last years Willow Awards, called "Peter Nimble and His Fantastic Eyes!" by Jonathan Auxier.  It is the story of a blind orphan named Peter, who has been forced into a life of crime. One afternoon he steals a mysterious box that contains three magical pairs of eyes. When he tries on the first pair, he is instantly transported to a hidden island where he meets the maker of the eyes, Professor Cake. We are excited to continue reading about Peter's magical adventures!

May Book Orders
New book orders were sent home on Wednesday! Please have your orders handed in by next Wednesday, May 13, if you would like to order.

New Reader's Theatre 
This week we started new funny read-aloud Theatre Plays. Our class is working on 3 different plays and have been assigned their own role. At the beginning of the year we did a Reader's Theatre Plasys and it was a big hit - even reluctant readers loved it! As you know, fluency is an important aspect of reading. When a student can read text quickly, and accurately with meaning and expression, they can be said to read fluently. Fluency also involves being able to comprehend the text and research shows that repeated reading helps improve word recognition, speed and fluency.

Our three plays are called "Will Erin Win the Third Annual French Fry Eating Contest?", "A People Story", and "Gwen, the Cranky Sorceress".

Field Trip Reminder: Permission, Fees and Cold Lunch
Please remember that students must bring a cold lunch to the Science Centre Field Trip on Tuesday, May 12. There are still a few students who need to hand in their permission forms and pay for the trip. Please check your child's agenda for a reminder regarding permission and payment if it is still required. It is important that students pay the admission and transportation fees before the trip on Tuesday. Thank you!

Flashlight Friday is Back!

Happy Mother's Day to all of our GMS Moms!! We hope you have an amazing weekend!

Important Dates and Reminders:
Tuesday, May 12: Science Centre and IMAX Field Trip
Wednesday, May 13: May Scholastic Book Orders are Due

Friday, May 15: P.D Day - No School
Monday, May 18: Victoria Day Holiday - No School

Monday, May 25: GMS Track Meet
Friday, June 5: Douglas Park Track Meet
Thursday, June 18: U of R Theatre "New Canadian Kid" in AM
Monday, June 22: School Swim at Regent Park Pool
Thursday, June 25: Last Day of School & Final Report Card Day

May 1, 2015

Procedural Writing
We had quite a giggle together during Writer's Workshop on Tuesday afternoon when I asked the students to teach me how to crack an egg. I followed each instruction exactly as it was said, and the kids were howling with laughter after my first attempt. The instructions... "Mrs. Cameron, you have to hit the egg on the table." This is the result. The students all ran up to crowd around the table once they realized I had only done that one instruction, completely missing the bowl! I wish you could have seen the look on their faces! The students quickly realized there was much more detail needed to properly explain to someone how to crack an egg, and by the third or fourth egg the students were thinking of every little step in great detail.

"First you will need an egg and a bowl. After gathering your materials, pick up the egg and GENTLY (emphasis on gently!) crack the egg on the edge of the bowl. Hold the egg above the bowl as you push both thumbs into the crack of the egg..."

The students decided I got an "Egg +" (A+) on the final attempt, but only because their instructions became much clearer! Students then returned to their desks to create their own step by step instructions in writing. I think it's safe to say that these students will always remember how to crack an egg!

Having Fun in the Sun!
On Monday the weather was so beautiful we decided to take our Phys. Ed class outdoors! Many of our students had never played kick ball before and it was the perfect day to learn!

Science Centre Field Trip and Upcoming Events
This week a permission for was sent home for our upcoming class field trip to the Science Centre on Tuesday, May 12. Please sign and return the permission form at your earliest convenience. The cost of the trip is $9.40 and payments can be made online using "School Cash". This fee covers your child's admission to the Science Centre, the 3D IMAX Movie, Journey to the South Pacific, and bus transportation.

**Please Note: I have also sent home several field trip and event permission forms for the remainder of the school year. We will attending a play at the U of R called "New Canadian Kid" (Cost is covered by the SCC), Track and Field Permission form, and our year end school swim at Regent Park Pool ($1.00). Please see the permission forms for more information about these events and return at your earliest convenience. We have lots to look forward to in Learning Centre 4!

Holes by Louis Sachar
On Tuesday we finished reading the novel Holes by Louis Sachar. What an AWESOME book! I have never seen a class so drawn into a read aloud like this class with the book Holes. We were left in suspense at the end of almost every chapter and the students would beg me to keep reading! We had such great conversations throughout this novel, trying to put the pieces together, and I feel a bit sad that it's already over! It also served as an excellent mentor text to share our thinking, learn about different literary elements used in good writing, and model various reading strategies. The students can't wait to watch the movie next week, where they will have to compare what was the same and different between the book and the movie.

Oratory at the Huda School
On Friday morning we walked over to the Huda School for our annual Oratory. Our class recited the poem "I Never Want to Go to Bed" by Kenn Nesbitt. This week we added some actions to our poem and our class did a wonderful job reciting the poem!

Expanding Our Vocabulary in Word Work
Check out how Abiha and Micaela have challenged themselves with their independent word work this week! WOW!

Important Dates and Reminders:
Tuesday, May 12: Science Centre and IMAX Field Trip

Friday, May 15: P.D Day - No School
Monday, May 18: Victoria Day Holiday - No School

Monday, May 25: GMS Track Meet
Friday, June 5: Douglas Park Track Meet
Thursday, June 18: U of R Theatre "New Canadian Kid" in AM
Monday, June 22: School Swim at Regent Park Pool
Thursday, June 25: Last Day of School & Final Report Card Day

April 24, 2015

Congratulations to Our April Virtue Winners!
Congratulations to Anthony and Abdullah K. who received the virtue award for Fairness at Friday's assembly! Great job boys!

In Learning Centre 4, we take ownership of our learning! Check out these independent rockstars working towards their individual goals!

Creating a "Pocket Book of Change"
As students rotate through various experiments about the Properties and Changes of Materials, they document their learning in a book they each created called a "Pocket-book of Change". Here are a few of our stations this week.

Combining Our Love for Music and Movement with "STOMP"

This week we have also started a "STOMP" routine in Arts. Ed. Stomp is a style of dance that involves creating a rhythm using only your body through a series of stomps and claps. The routine is fairly challenging, but our class are true professionals! They have been practicing so hard, it amazes me how far they have come with following a challenging beat, in just two classes!

Such Powerful, Positive Messages in Our Classroom This Week!

With these positive attitudes, I have no doubt that our students will achieve their dreams by not let excuses stand in their way!

Important Dates and Reminders:

Friday, May 1: Oratory at the Huda School in AM
Friday, May 15: P.D Day - No School
Monday, May 18: Victoria Day Holiday - No School