Follow Up

Hopefully you have all received a photocopy of the SMART goal and the support plan which we discussed at goal-setting conferences. I had attached any follow-up for home support to the goals. If you haven't received this yet, please ask your child to check in their desks. They were instructed to put it into the planner pocket but I found a few that wandered back into their desks instead!

In the classroom, we are continuing to focus on teaching students how to work quietly within our space. This is a challenge with 30 students! One way we've addressed this is to reconfigure the desks in the classroom. Please discuss the Check: Review and Reflect self-assessment which students should have completed at the end of the week in their planners.

On Monday, we will be having a Code Red safety drill (emergency lockdown). I went over the procedure with students and addressed some of their questions. This is also a great conversation piece for you to have with your child both before and after the drill.

We have begun a final project in our Social Studies unit on culture. Students have selected a country and started to research that country's culture. They can access the Culture Grams database from home as well if they wish (they are being provided class time). Just go to webcat.vsb.bc.ca and click on the Databases tab. The user name is 39wo and the password is library.To prepare for this research project, students were presented with two important lessons. The first was to help them begin to distinguish between facts and opinions. The second was to begin to recognize stereotypes. There is a homework assignment from Mrs. Prosser asking students to identify a stereotype on TV. This is due back Monday, October 29.

You may have noticed a new list of words in the planners. We have been focusing on number words in word work. Students are learning that good spellers don't try and spell words one letter at a time. Rather, they look for patterns of listen for chunks (-ty and -teen). I have put two number word lists on the Spelling City website for those who wish to practice. We do not have spelling tests. However, I do expect students to begin to be accountable for spelling words that we have introduced and studied in class. They are given many opportunities to practice (ask your child about the Shady Spelling gameboard).

It is volleyball season! We have begun introducing the set to students which is an overhead pass. Students worked in their newly formed colour groups to practice. Next up is the bump pass. Finally, a big congratulations to all the students in our class who participated in Cross-Country this year!

November Virtue:  TOLERANCE