Merry Christmas!

Today was the last day of school before the Christmas break and we had a wonderful time singing Christmas Carols in the gym with the school choir. We also created some lovely Advent wreaths to decorate our tables for Christmas dinner.

Thank you to all the students and parents for the thoughtful Christmas gifts. Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! See you in January!

Thanks Sens @ School!

We had an amazing time at the Sens game last night! I am so happy every single student could come out to watch the Sens beat the Kings 5-3. Thank you to all the parents who made this special night possible and thank you to all the students who read every night. Go Sens Go!

Shoeboxes for the Shepherds of Good Hope

Today we sorted and wrapped our shoe boxes for the Shepherds of Good Hope.

The Shepherds of Good Hope offer many life-giving programs and services to the more than 1,600 men and woman who come through their doors each day. We are hoping to make Christmas morning a little brighter for some of them with a gift of a shoe box stuffed with things like socks, underwear, hats, mitts, toiletries and treats. The students also wrote personalized cards and wrapped the shoe boxes themselves. 

Thank you parents and students for supporting this worthwhile cause. It will truly be a memorable Christmas for some of the most vulnerable people in Ottawa. 

We are looking forward to having a representative from the Shepherds of Good Hope come into our classroom next week to pick up the presents. 

Christmas Cards for Safyre

Today we created Christmas cards for a brave little girl named Safyre. Her father and three siblings died in a fire 2 years ago and now she has a simple holiday wish: she wants enough holiday cards to fill up her Christmas tree. Even though she has experienced unimaginable tragedy, she is the true definition of hope, faith and love. God Bless you Safyre and Merry Christmas from our grade 4 class. 

If you are interested in making Safyre's Christmas wish come true, you can mail your cards to:

Safyre
P.O. Box 6126
Schenectady, New York
12306 
USA

Spartacat's Visit

Unfortunately, Spartacat won't be able to visit our class this Wednesday. He will reschedule his visit for January 12th at 12:15pm. But don't worry, we will still be going to the game on Monday, December 14th where we can see Sparty in person. 

Go Sens Go! 

Some Exciting News!

Since September, the grade 4's have been tracking their weekly reading and were entered in the Sens @ School - Read to Succeed contest. Well, I have some exciting news.

Our class was selected as the GRAND PRIZE WINNER for the month of November! We have won a pair of tickets for each student to an upcoming Sens game. The game will be on Monday, December 14 at 7:30pm vs. the Los Angeles Kings. It's also bobble-head night for the first 7,500 fans! Please note it is the parent's responsibility to provide transportation to and from the game.

We have also won a pizza party with Spartacat which will take place on Wednesday, December 9 at 12:15pm plus we've won some cool Sens prize packs. Students are asked to please wear their Sens gear this day.

Please check your child's agenda for a note regarding this exciting event.

Looking forward to seeing everyone at the game! 

Recount Writing

Today, we finished chapter 1 of "The Worst Best School Year Ever" by Barbara Robinson.

Ask your child to give you a summary of what we've read so far. I guarantee you will want to read it too! :) 

We also discussed recount writing. We used this anchor chart as an example. The sentences were in the incorrect order and the students were asked to arrange the sentences in the correct order. 

We outlined all the things a recount has: 

• a title
• a main idea
• tells about who, what, when, where and why
• sequence words (first, then, after, next, finally)
• feelings and thoughts

Welcome!

Welcome to our classroom blog! Please check this page regularly for important updates, samples of student work, and a glimpse into our daily learning.

Don't forget that reading is homework every night! Our class has signed up for the Sens at School - Read to Succeed program where our nightly reading can turn into amazing prizes. Check out their website for more details.

Language

• In September and October, our class focused on descriptive writing and making connections. We wrote descriptive paragraphs using the hamburger model about our emotions and the best part of our community. We edited our writing using an editor's checklist. We had to make sure our work had: correct punctuation, correct spelling and capital letters and we also had to make sure our sentence made sense. We had our peers edit our work.
• We also made text-to-self, text-to-text and to text-to-world connections with books like Amazing Grace, The Lorax, The Great Kapok Tree and Enemy Pie.

• In November and December, we will be focusing on recount writing and predicting. 

Religion / Family Life

• In September and October, we focused on belonging, gathering and being created and loved by God. We discussed belonging to our families, the community and to the Catholic Church. We discussed our uniqueness and how we were created in God’s image. We also discussed Jesus’ parables and the importance of prayer. We researched patron saints and discussed their importance to the Catholic Church.
• In November and December, we will be focusing on Jesus as a Storyteller and the celebration of the Christmas season including advent and epiphany. We will also be focusing on living in relationships.
• Our class will also be participating in the Shepherds of Good Hope Christmas Shoebox program. We will be collecting items to help homeless men and women in our community. Please check your child’s agenda for a note outlining this program. The deadline for items to be brought to school is December 9th.