Beyond The Desk

Hey there, fantastic Grade 5/6 parents,

It’s been a great week in our classroom so far, filled with French language adventures and hard work.

Exploring French Through Surveys

Today, our French class took a creative turn, and we ventured into the world of surveys. But wait, it’s not your typical survey – we made it fun and real life!

We started by brainstorming a list of French words students already knew. And let me tell you, it was quite a list! Some of these words, we didn’t even realize were French. Can you believe how much French we encounter in our daily lives?

Next, we divided our French word list into two categories: French words related to food and other French words. It was fascinating to see how many words fell into each category. French is all around us, especially when it comes to delicious food!

But here’s where the real magic happened. Armed with our newfound knowledge of French words, we decided to use a key phrase: “Que préfères-tu?” This means “What do you prefer?” We turned our classroom into a survey hub, asking our classmates about their preferences.

We surveyed each other about our favourite foods from the list we had generated. We then tallied up the responses, and started creating a colorful graph that showed our preferences. It was a fantastic way to apply the French language in a real-life context.

Celebrating Hard Work with a Party

Speaking of fun, I’ve been so thrilled that our students have been working incredibly hard this month, focusing on their behaviour and work ethic. I’m super proud of each and every one of the students for their dedication!

To celebrate our achievements, we’re having our first party this Friday! 🎉 But no party is complete without snacks, right? We kindly ask that you send a snack with your child to share with the class on Friday if possible. However, due to allergies, please remember not to include any nuts in your snack.

Our party will be a movie with lots of yummy snacks. It’s the perfect way to unwind and enjoy the end of our first month. Plus, it’s an excellent opportunity to bond with our classmates, especially those who are leaving us.

We’re looking forward to a fantastic party filled with laughter and joy.

That’s all for now, Grade 5/6 superstars!

Au revoir et à bientôt!

Dear Grade 5/6 Students and Parents,

There are several important announcements and events to share with you, including Orange Shirt Day, a day off for Truth and Reconciliation, and details about the upcoming September 28 chapel service. Let’s dive into the details!

Orange Shirt Day Activities (This week)

This Friday, September 29th, we will be observing Orange Shirt Day. Throughout the week, we will be engaging in various activities aimed at helping us understand the significance of Orange Shirt Day and why it is essential to remember and learn from this period in Canadian history. By wearing orange shirts and participating in these activities, we hope to show our support for reconciliation and the healing journey of Indigenous communities. Please note that for Friday, students are greatly encouraged to wear their orange shirts. Any students choosing to not do so may wear their regular uniform (not knight wear).

Day Off for Truth and Reconciliation (Monday)

Following Orange Shirt Day, Monday, October 2nd, will be a day off from school to commemorate Truth and Reconciliation. This is a day when we pause to reflect on the experiences of Indigenous peoples in Canada, acknowledge the historical injustices they faced, and commit to working towards a better future, based on understanding, empathy, and respect.

We encourage all students and families to take this opportunity to learn more about the history of Indigenous peoples in Canada, engage in discussions about reconciliation, and consider how we can contribute to positive change in our community and beyond.

September 28 Chapel List

We are excited to share the chapel list for the upcoming September 28th chapel service. Here is the list of students and their roles:

• Keys: Grayson, Indie
• Vocals: Sophia, Anna, Felisha, Mrs. Van Santen
• Tech: Bianca, Daniella
• Electric Guitar: Jun
• Acoustic Guitar: Maelle
• Bass: Julie
• Drums: Bentley
• Percussion: Carter
• Stage Manager: Jack
• Door Greeter: Audrina, Ezra

Chapel Songs

The chapel service will feature the following songs:

1. “My Lighthouse” (Key of C)
2. “This Is Amazing Grace” (Key of D)
3. “Waymaker” (Key of G)

Please note the arrival times for Door Greeters and everyone else:

• Door Greeter: Please arrive at the usual school time.
• Everyone else: Please arrive at 7:45 AM.

If you are unable to take your turn as a Door Greeter, kindly email ldekoff@highroadacademy.com to make alternate arrangements.

Finally, we are also in need of more volunteers – specifically in the area of pizza lunch and lunchtime supervision.

Sorry for the delay in posts. The subscription for the blog needed to be renewed and there was a delay in doing that!

We had a great day today. The weather was beautiful and the hike was amazing. The kids did so well today! It was a tough climb but the kids persevered and did so well! We had a nice break next to the lake and made it back to school on time! Here are some pics:

We are truckin’ along in our class work. We are performing our Reader’s Theatre pieces on Friday to cap off our unit on Reading Fluency. They should be a lot of fun to see. In Math, we have started our unit on patterns after finishing our introduction to math. We’re hoping that the lessons we have learned about perseverance, resiliency and growing as learners through challenges will help us in the coming year for Math. We have a lot to cover in Math this year, so please expect your child to have homework in this area. While I don’t typically like to give homework, there is so much math to cover that we will quickly fall behind if we don’t push through our units.

Science has us designing Oobleck machines. What is Oobleck you ask? Great question! Oobleck is a mixture of water and cornstarch that demonstrates several strange properties. Adding some green food colouring for fun, we learned that oobleck is liquidy when held in the hand carefully, but turns hard and crumbly when squeezed or handled roughly.

Through our look at Oobleck, students have been practising what it means to be a scientist. They have been exploring the scientific process, experimenting, asking big questions and being creative. We started the process with experimenting on how to make paper airplanes go further. We had a great time experimenting with it and studying it’s properties. Do you remember what properties are? We can find the properties of objects around us by using our 5 senses; what we see, feel, hear, smell and taste. So,

Properties are the things or words we use to describe different objects so we can tell them apart.

We played with and investigated the properties of Oobleck to help us understand what made Oobleck different from other substances like water or play-do. The students had some wonderful properties they discovered as they worked with the Oobleck. It got very busy. We then held a scientific convention to decide upon some “rules” about Oobleck and come up with a set of laws that were true about Oobleck. We are now in the design phase of the process where students are designing a space ship that could travel to and explore a planet of Oobleck using the properties of Oobleck as a design guide. Love the creative ideas!

Oobleck, of course, is a real substance. It’s very distinctive property of being both a solid and a liquid has made Scientists curious for a long time. When left alone, Oobleck will act like a liquid. However, when squeezed, hit or pushed on, it will suddenly act like a solid, cracking and breaking under pressure. Scientists still do not know why it does this .

If you have lots of time and lots of Oobleck, you could do this:

Here is a video showing what Oobleck does when you put it on top of a very loud speaker!!! What do you notice? Would water do this is you did the same thing? Why don’t you try it and find out?

In Bible, we are reviewing the books of the Old and New Testament and looking at how they are organized into different themes.

Just some notes of things:

• Terry Fox day is tomorrow for our class. It’s an important way to celebrate the achievements and the ongoing impact of a great Canadian hero. We will be going outside and doing laps around the field to help remember this incredible person. If you are able to donate a toonie towards cancer research, we would be grateful. There is no obligation however.
• The school has asked us to remind everyone about the pick-up and drop-off procedures:
  • Please ensure that you always follow the procedures for parking lot safety while using the Highroad Academy parking lot.
    1. Follow direction of flow as indicated by the arrows and signage.
    2. Park ONLY in designated parking areas. Do not park in ‘No Parking’ zones including the Drop Off lane on the west side of the building.
    3. Pull into a parking stall when dropping off and picking up students rather than stopping in the driving lane. Do not stop next to the pylons to drop off or pick up your students.
    4. Do not drive alongside the overhang of the main school entrance, north side of the building.
    5. Do not enter through the Chilliwack Central Entrance next to the playing field. This is a Fire Lane, and the parking area is not available for HRA use.
    6. Always be alert for children who may dart out between cars.

We would like to remind everyone that our staff will be supervising the playground until 3:00. With the sunny weather, we have noticed an increase in the number of children and parents using the playground after school. At 3:00, our duty teachers will blow the whistle, signaling that ALL children need to leave the bark mulch and join their parents. For students without parents present, they will be directed to the lobby. Once the duty teachers blow their whistle three times, students who are with their parents can return to the playground. We appreciate your cooperation in ensuring the safety and well-being of all our students. 

Hello Wonderful Parents of Grade 5/6 Superstars!

I hope you’re all doing great and that your kids are settling into the school year with lots of energy and smiles. It’s been lots of fun getting to know the students and share stories about lego!

I wanted to share some cool updates and important dates so you can stay in the loop about what’s going on in our classroom.

1. Highroad Family BBQ – September 13th

Get ready for a fantastic evening of family fun! The Highroad Family BBQ is happening on the 13th. Bring your whole gang because it’s not only a chance to enjoy some good food but also a great opportunity for you to meet your child’s teacher. Can’t wait to hang out with you!

2. Photo Day – Tomorrow

Picture-perfect smiles, please! Tomorrow is Photo Day, so remind your kiddos to wear their snazziest uniforms. It’s their time to shine in front of the camera, and we want them looking their best.

3. Language Arts

In Language Arts, we are currently working on reading fluency to prepare for our Reader’s Theatre group project. Fluent readers possess several key skills, including reading accurately, using punctuation and expression, reading for comprehension, and maintaining a conversational pace. We’re also focusing on improving students’ responses when answering questions by encouraging them to use phrases like “because” and to use the question as a starting point for their answers.

4. Math

Math time is all about building confidence and sticking with challenges. We’re teaching our kids that everyone can rock at math, and that it’s all around us. Speed isn’t the goal (except when it comes to math facts)! We’re building strategies for tackling tricky math stuff and letting them know that it’s okay for math to be a little tough—it’s how they learn and grow.

5. Science

Our science lessons are off to a fantastic start as we explore the question: “How do scientists know so much?” We’ve engaged in fun activities that highlight the importance of careful listening and teamwork. This week, we’ll be delving into the mysteries of some intriguing substances, sparking your child’s curiosity about the world around them.
 

6. Bible Memory Verses

We’ll be diving into Bible memory verses soon towards the beginning of October. Feel free to chat with them about these verses to help deepen their understanding and make it a meaningful experience. I’ll have more information about bible memory verses as we get going and I’ll share the rubric I will be using to mark your child’s recitations. I’ll also provide more information about the student led devotions that we will be starting in October.

7. Chromebooks

Guess what? We introduced Chromebooks today, and the kids couldn’t be more excited! We’re planning lots of fun projects that will put these devices to good use. It’s a fantastic way for your child to develop digital skills and make learning even more exciting.

We hope this update keeps you in the know about what’s happening in our Grade 5/6 classroom. If you ever have any questions or thoughts, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with me. I’m always available after school if you want to pop by the classroom. I’m super excited about the journey ahead and can’t wait to work together to make this school year amazing!

Thanks for being awesome parents and partners in our school adventure.

Well, it’s the end of the first week of school! The week went incredibly fast. It was so fun being with the kids this week and feeling the energy, creativity and learning happening. The students worked hard this week.

Our first field trip is going to be coming up soon. We will be joining Mrs. Goosen and Mr. Wolfsen’s classes for a hike to Lindeman Lake. The field trip permission form is in your child’s planner.

There is also a form regarding our Chromebook Usage policy. If you could please read that, then hop on the link below. The IT department is asking each family to fill out an acceptable use policy for the chromebooks we use in our classroom.

Please fill this out as soon as possible.  http://link.highroadacademy.com/chromebook/

It’s been a great couple of days. Lots of great things happening already. I will post more about what’s happening later.

I just wanted to send out a quick note regarding nut allergies. As we do have some students with nut allergies in our class this year, please do not send food items containing peanuts or any other nuts in your child’s lunches. I appreciate your cooperation in this.

I know it has seemed awhile since I posted last. It is a busy time of the year with lots of moving pieces. However, we are now on the last week of school and we are looking to wrap things up.

That doesn’t mean that there are not things still happening!! And I wanted to let you know of the events still happening this week and give you some more information.

1. Fun Day: The name Fun Day is a bit of a misnomer as it is actually just the afternoon. Tomorrow morning will be a regular school morning. The Fun Day events will start right after lunch in the gym. The intermediates will all be gathering together and having some fun together doing lots of silly activities. Students should all have received their team colours to wear tomorrow listed in their planners.
2. Cultus Waterpark:When: Wednesday, June 21, 2023

   Where: Cultus Lake Waterslides

   Time: Leaving School at 8:30pm. Returning to school at approx. 3:00.

   Cost: There will be no cost to HRA Grade 4, 5 and 6 students. Parents are welcome to join us and will pay $25 at the gate.

   On Wednesday, June 21, 2023, the Grade 4, 5 and 6’s will be going to the Cultus Lake Waterslides for their year-end fieldtrip. We will be leaving at 8:30 and returning at approx. 3:00.

   Parents and small children are welcome to come along for the day, but due to the high number of students, we will not be able to provide transportation. Students in Grades 4, 5 and 6 have already paid for this fieldtrip through their fieldtrip fund. Parents and siblings 4 and under who wish to come along may pay $25 at the park. In order to respect our grade specific fieldtrips, please do not pull other school age children from class to go to the waterslides. Students who go to the waterslides on the bus must return on the bus.

   In bathing suit selection, please refer to our non-uniform standard. Please err on the side of modesty to help make staff, parents and students feel comfortable. In the event that a child’s bathing suit does not meet these standards, they may be asked to wear a t – shirt.

   This will be a rain or shine fieldtrip so please have students come prepared!

   Students should have the following items:

   · Sunscreen

   · Hats

   · Swimwear

   · Clothes to change into

   · Towels

   · Money (optional – for the canteen)

   · Backpack

   · Lunch/snack

3. Last Day: Our last day of school is Thursday. It is a half day with students dismissed at noon. Please have students bring a backpack, a bag and a binder if they don’t already have one at school.

Thank you for everything this year and all your support.

As part of our poetry unit, we are having a class poetry recital on Thursday, June 15th.

We would like to extend an invitation for you to share in this event by joining us for tea and cookies and live performance.  The recital will start at 2:00 pm.  Please come to our classroom and join us for this end of year event.

Students are invited to dress in costume, if appropriate for their poem, or to dress in their “Sunday best.”  If you have any questions, please email me (Mrs. Willms).

If you would like to donate cookies for our poetry recital please send me an email as well.  Thank you for your support.