March 13, 2015

March is Rider Reading Month!
Our class is participating in Rider Reader Month! If our class reads for 15 minutes everyday for the month of March, we will be entered to win a classroom visit from a Roughrider Football Player! We are already big readers in Learning Centre 4, but we have tried to squeeze in more reading minutes into our day whenever possible to challenge ourselves to read even more than before!

Battle of the Books Final Tournament
We have had so much fun with Battle of the Books over the last few months. All teams have done a fabulous job working together to answer questions about the 8 books each team is responsible for reading. We were lucky enough to have many teams interested in Battle of the Books this year that we held 2 separate meeting each week! Unfortunately, there are so many teams, not all teams can advance to the finals! Congratulations to the Rainbow Readers, The Black and Red Ninjas, Puppy Purrfect, The Marshmallows and Warriors of Readerville who will represent GMS at the final tournament at GMS after school on Wednesday, March 18.  If your child is advancing to the finals, please sign and return the permission form that was sent home this week at your earliest convenience.

First Nations Art Inquiry Projects
Students have been busy working on their group inquiry projects, researching First Nations Art. The students will soon use the information they found to create a a large group poster and present their information to the class. Students are researching all types of art work including birch bark biting, quilt-work, powwow dancing and bead-work.

Day of Pink: Stand for Respect!
Day of Pink is just around the corner! On April 1st, students are invited to wear pink shirts in solidarity to show that bullying is unacceptable and to stand for respect. An order form has been sent home this week with more information. If you choose to order a pink shirt, wrist bands or hats please hand in your orders before the deadline on Monday, March 16. 

Grade 5 Students: On March 31st Grade 5 and up students have the opportunity to attend the Day of Pink Rally at the University on Regina. If you allow your child to attend, they return the signed permission form that was sent on on Thursday.

Reading IS exciting!
Parents, please remind your child to continue their 15 minutes of home reading each night! Students, please don't forget to fill out your reading log. Reading logs are due April 1st!

On Friday afternoon during our Rider Reading, students who reached their February home reading goal enjoyed a special treat to celebrate... Ice Cream Sundaes with ALL the toppings!! We are hoping more students will take part in the home reading program so we can reach one of our goals based on our class participating as a whole team. If 80% of students reaching their home reading goal, the whole class will earn a tech-party! We can do it! Each month we are getting closer and closer to meeting this goal as a team!Of course, we will continue to celebrate meeting personal reading goals with a fun treat each month as we work towards encouraging each other to make home reading a habit!

As you've probably noticed, I don't often send homework home, as I feel reading is a much more valuable use of time with benefits that extend far beyond those of worksheets for homework. Make home reading your child's nightly "homework" and the best part is most of our students don't consider reading work! Make it fun and read together, visit the library on a regular basis, and talk about your child's reading with them! Does your child have a particular movie they love or are they looking forward to seeing a movie based on a popular novel? Consider reading the book with your child, then watching the movie with the whole family afterwards! Reading can be so much fun and it's important we help our kids realize this without it being "homework" they have to complete before they can do an enjoyable hobby. Help make reading their enjoyable hobby and model this for your child at home.
In the words of our wise classmate Micaela,  "Reading is exciting, isn't it?!"

Have a wonderful weekend!
Ms. Cameron

Important Dates:
Monday, March 16: Day of Pink Ordering Deadline
Wednesday, March 18: Battle of the Books Tournament at GMS
Friday, March 20: KFC Special Lunch
Friday, March 20: Report Cards are Sent Home
Friday, March 27: Three - Way Conferences
Wednesday, April 1: Day of Pink and March Reading Logs are Due