Beyond The Desk

Dear Parents and Guardians,

I’m writing to let you know about a change to our plans for this Thursday.

We had originally planned to take the Grade 4–6 students to the Cultus Lake Waterpark. Unfortunately, due to unforeseen circumstances, we are unable to confirm whether the waterslides will be open in time. Given this uncertainty, and with our ongoing commitment to keeping the students safe, we have made the decision to cancel the waterslide trip.

The good news is that we’ve arranged a fun-filled day of alternative activities instead:

– Skating from 10:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.

– Return to school for pizza and snacks

– A movie in the chapel for the afternoon

Students can arrive to school at our regular scheduled time and bring any blankets, pillows and stuffies they’d like for the movie. Don’t forget a helmet for skating & be dressed for the changes in temperature – lots of layers. 😃

We’re confident the students will have a wonderful time, and we appreciate your understanding and flexibility as we make this change.

Sincerely,

Pamela Goosen

Elementary Department Head

We’ve reached the final stretch of the school year, and there’s still plenty happening in our classroom! Even with the end so close, I’m trying to keep our routines in place to help everyone manage these last few days smoothly. A steady, familiar rhythm is important especially with all the exciting things happening and the end drawing near.

Here’s a look at some other information for the week:

We’re Still Learning!

This week the students are still:

• Working on a science project we’re excited to keep building on
• Completing a few writing activities
• Continuing with our math work

Our goal is to wrap up the year strong, so please keep encouraging your child to stay engaged and bring their best effort right through the week.

Backpacks and Planners — Still Needed!

A quick reminder that students should continue bringing their backpacks and planners each day. After Wednesday, students do not need to bring their planner

On Wednesday, please send your child with their backpack and an extra sturdy bag. We’ll be starting to send things home, and that extra bag will help everything make the trip safely.

Thursday: Our Trip to Cultus

You should already have received a notice with reminders about the trip — please look it over if you haven’t yet.

• You should also have received an email about today’s events at Cultus.

As I receive more information, I’ll be sure to keep you updated — especially if there are any changes.

Friday: Half Day + Class Party!

Friday is a half day, with dismissal at 11:30.

To celebrate everything our class has accomplished this year, we’re planning to have a small party that day! If your child is able to bring a small snack to share, that would be wonderful. (No pressure at all — every contribution helps make it special.)

Thank you, as always, for your support in helping our class finish the year on a high note. If you have any questions about the trip, the party, or anything else this week, please don’t hesitate to stop by the classroom.

Here’s to a great final week together!

Tomorrow is our Elementary Fun Day, and we are looking forward to a fun and active morning together! Students will be participating in different activities outside and enjoying some time with their classmates and students from other classes before the early dismissal.

Students were told their team colour on Monday, so please remind your child to wear their team colour tomorrow. This will help us keep teams organized and add to the fun spirit of the day. Students can wear casual pants along with their team colour shirts. Students should try to wear a shirt that mostly shows their team colour.

Because we will be outside for much of the morning, students may want to bring a hat and wear sunscreen. Please also make sure your child brings a large snack, as we will still be having recess and students will likely be hungry after being active.

A reminder that tomorrow is an early dismissal day. Students will be dismissed at 11:30 a.m., so please plan for pickup at that time.

Thank you for helping your child come prepared. We are excited for a great morning of fun!

We need you! Sports Day is just around the corner, and we are looking for enthusiastic parent volunteers to help make it a fantastic day for our students. This year’s Sports Day will take place on Friday, June 12th (please arrive at 8:20) and will be followed by an early dismissal at 11:30. It’s going to be a fun-filled morning of friendly competition and team spirit and we can’t do it without your help!

• You’ll be cheering on students from Kindergarten to Grade 6 while helping run one of our fun activity stations.
• You will be assisting with smooth transitions between activities
• Helping tidy up your station at the end of the morning

How to Sign Up

We need 2 parent helpers per class. Spots fill up quickly, so please reach out as soon as possible! Please email me by the end of June 8^th if you are able to help.

Thank you so much for your continued support of our school community. Sports Day is always one of the highlights of the school year, and it truly wouldn’t be possible without the generosity of our parent volunteers. We hope to see you there!

Just a friendly reminder that tomorrow is our Book Character Dress-Up Day! This was written in your child’s planner, but I wanted to send a quick reminder home as well.

Students are invited to come dressed as a favourite character from a book they have read or enjoyed. Costumes do not need to be fancy or complicated — simple is perfectly fine! A hat, a prop, or a few creative details can be more than enough to show a character.

Students should still be able to participate comfortably in regular classroom activities throughout the day, so please make sure costumes are school-appropriate and easy to move around in. As always, please leave toy weapons or anything that could be distracting at home.

Students who do not wish to dress up are, of course, welcome to wear their regular school uniforms.

We are looking forward to seeing the creativity and celebrating some favourite book characters together!

The class is all excited for our upcoming Spring Showcase concert! The students have been practising and preparing, and it has been wonderful to see their confidence grow as they get ready to perform.

Our Spring Showcase performance for parents will be on Friday, May 29 at 1:00pm. We hope many of you are able to join us to hear the students as they share what they have been working on.

For the concert, students should wear jeans and a plain coloured t-shirt. Any plain colour is fine. Please avoid shirts with large logos or writing. This helps keep things simple while still giving the group a coordinated look on stage.

Thank you for your help in making sure students are ready for the day!

We are at the end of our experiment involving tomatoes and space. Now, I know you are probably wondering what the two have in common. The Canadian Space Agency is involving schools in a very real experiment to test whether or not it is possible for plants to grow food in space – in zero gravity environments. This is the only way we are going to get astronauts to places like Mars as there is not enough space to carry the amount of food needed to reach there and back without being able to grow our own food.

As part of the experiment, we grew two types of seeds; seeds that have actually been in space – and thus have been exposed to zero gravity – and ordinary seeds. However, we did not know which ones were which as the Agency does not the results to be biased.

Over the past few weeks, we have been watching our plants grow, or not! Students drew and wrote about their tomatoes. To be successful, the tomato plant needed to produce at least 2 leaves. Most of the plants did but there were a couple that did not!

Today was our last observation and conclusion to the experiment. Students took both the x and y tomato plants back to their seats in cups and drew their final observations, as well as recording in words what they saw, felt and smelled. They also wrote some conclusions to questions about the experiment. Finally, it was time to submit the results and see which tomatoes were the seeds that had gone to space. And the space tomatoes were…….

THE Y SEEDS!!!!!

This was very unexpected to the students! Most of them chose the x seeds as being the ones to have been exposed to zero gravity. We all had a lot of fun with growing the seeds. The students were fascinated by the process. Every morning they would gather around the plant trays and see how their plants were doing.

Students also got to take their tomatoes home today so you may be seeing some cups with plants in them. You’re welcome! 🙂 The plants will need to be transferred to a slightly larger container and have some more soil added to them. They can live on a windowsill or other sunny spot until they can be planted outside. You may be able to keep them planted inside but will likely need a larger pot and some way to stabilize the stem as it gets taller. I look forward to hearing whether any tomatoes actually come from the vines!

It’s finally here!!!! It’s May the fourth today! May the fourth be with you!

Just a reminder that even though May the fourth is today, students can still dress up as their favourite Star Wars character or superhero tomorrow. Students not wishing to dress up can wear their normal uniforms.

It’s May the Fourth and you know what that means! It’s Star Wars day! (Get it? May the Fourth be with you?).

In honour of the day and the cool factor, I have put a bunch of my favorite Star Wars videos on the blog today! Have a great day!

 

 

 

 

What If Dr. Seuss Wrote Star Wars!

Here is a fun Star Wars video I found made entirely out of paper!

Finally, here is a great lego stop motion of one of my favorite scenes from The Empire Strikes Back along with a bunch of great Star Wars videos!

 

A quick and exciting reminder that tomorrow we will be celebrating Star Wars Day – May the Fourth!

Students are invited to join in the fun by dressing up as their favourite character from the world of Star Wars — whether that’s a brave Jedi, a daring pilot, a wise droid, or even a mysterious Sith. If Star Wars isn’t quite your child’s thing, they are also very welcome to come dressed as a superhero of their choice.

A few quick guidelines to help the day run smoothly:

• No toy weapons, please. (Lightsabers can stay at home for this one!)
• Costumes should be comfortable and appropriate for a full day of learning and play.
• Students who prefer not to dress up are absolutely welcome to wear their regular school uniforms as usual.

We’re looking forward to a day filled with imagination, creativity, and just a little bit of galactic fun in the classroom.

Thank you for your support—and may the Fourth be with you!