There are handouts for most of the school news items available in the white box to the right. Here’s how you find them:
Use the arrow at the bottom of the box to scroll though the list of handouts. When you find one you want, click on it.
Then click on DOWNLOAD.
Choose a place to save the handout on your computer so you can find it. Then click save.
I am not much of a pet fish owner. It takes too much time to take care of fish and they really don’t do anything fun. They just swim around all day gulping. The class really wanted a class pet though. So, I have found the perfect solution! Virtual fish! If you look on the right top side of our blog you will notice a new addition. Our own class pet! If you click on the aquarium, you will be able to feed the fish. They will also follow your mouse around. Easy, peasy, porridge pie. No mess, no muss!
Speaking of fish and feeding, one of the students in class found a neat video about an amazing discovery. Watch for yourself!
[kml_flashembed movie="http://www.youtube.com/v/9dfWzp7rYR4" width="425" height="350" wmode="transparent" /]
And if you believe that, have I got a deal for you!
Well, unfortunately I was not able to put the spelling words on the blog yesterday as it was a pretty busy day. I was telling the students that right now my after school time is taken up with choir as we are practicing for our concerts this weekend. We are doing a series of Southern Spirituals. It should be really good. Our concerts are Friday night and Saturday night starting at 7:00 at the Bakerview Mennonite Church in Abbotsford if anyone is in the area. 🙂
blood front
wonder dairy
note death
cause bridge
court fair
smoke full
tire mean
check except
till thus
You might have been a little confused with last nights homework. I can just imagine the puzzlement as your child told you, just before bed I imagine, that they had to go outside to see if they could see the moon.
During science class, we had a great discussion on the moon. Using Stellarium, we tracked what was in the sky at that moment (about 1:00pm). We found that the moon was in the south.As we sped up time on the program, we discovered that, if the program was correct, we would not be able to see the moon at night
as it would be under the horizon. We decided to see if the program was accurate. That is why you’re child needed to go outside just before bed. It wasn’t to try and stay up longer, I promise!!!
Anyway, I don’t know what you found out but when I tried at about 9:00, I could not see the moon in the sky. I am very interested to see what the students found out today.
I found a neat song this morning which I will be sharing with the class. It is very cute. Especially since it’s about animals. Take a look.
The grade 3’s began their space unit today. They started with a very exciting activity: a quiz! Actually, it was only a questionnaire. I handed it out to students so that we could begin to see what sort of things they already know about this thing we call space and whether the things they know are actually accurate. This idea might be a good conversation starter for you with your child. For example, one of the questions on the questionnaire was: “Why does the sun look the same size as the moon? Explain your answer and describe the size of each and their distance from us.”
I also got a chance to show the students a number of the websites and programs we will be using as a class. I mentioned this to them as they might like to download or bookmark the sites themselves. All the programs and sites are free to use. I will also try to put them on the links part of the page but I can so far only put so many sites as it is limited to only ten. Here is the list:
Celestia – http://www.shatters.net/celestia/index.html
Premier Planets – http://www.premierplanets.com/
Interactive Universe
http://www.history.com/genericContent.do?id=54499
SkyOrb – http://www.realtech-vr.com/skyorb/download.html
Stellarium – http://www.stellarium.org/
Wikisky – http://www.wikisky.org/
Virtual Journey – http://library.thinkquest.org/28327/main/cockpit.html
Interactive Space – http://science.nationalgeographic.com/science/space/solar-system
Download some of them and spend some time with your child enjoying the awesome wonder that is our Universe!
Well, I hope you all had a wonderful Spring Break. My wife and I enjoyed our time together and especially enjoyed our trip to New York. All the sights and sounds! It was amazing! If you ever have a chance to go, take it! New York is an amazing city and very safe. My wife and I went to a lot of galleries and art museums. We also saw three shows including The Little Mermaid. Here are some excerpts:
[kml_flashembed movie="http://www.youtube.com/v/3RdrQy0j39E" width="425" height="350" wmode="transparent" /]
[kml_flashembed movie="http://www.youtube.com/v/2DUXVAg7oWg" width="425" height="350" wmode="transparent" /]
In class today, we started our look at fractions relating the use of fractions to scores on tests and pieces of pie. The students are picking it up very quickly which I am pleased to see. In social today, we did a quick review of aboriginal communities in B.C. We will be adding the aboriginal community that is local to our map of the physical features of British Columbia. One of the questions we will be asking is why they think our local aboriginal group decided to settle in this area of the province.
We will be starting our new unit on space tomorrow with a little quiz to find out what students already know about the solar system. It should be very interesting to see the information the students have already learned and synthesized about this unit. It will also be interesting to see what misconceptions about the universe the students have. I think it will be a great unit, especially with all the great interactive materials for the smartboard that are available.
honest fresh
rough wise
wide plain
actual sure
dependent delight
future choice
least young
pair faith
always steal
[kml_flashembed movie="http://www.youtube.com/v/Ahg6qcgoay4" width="425" height="350" wmode="transparent" /]This is what some kids experience in class all the time! How do we teach our kids to focus amongst all the distractions of life?
It was a great day today. Everything went as planned and the students all had a wonderful time. We had a great set of parent helpers, as well. It could not have gone as smoothly without their help!
We got to Science World at 10:30, got through the registration and had lots of time to wander around discovering. There were a lot of neat exhibits there and many of them were very interactive. The students all had a great time trying out the virtual skier! They also got to see a presentation on fire which was really cool. Students learned that the three things a fire needs to burn are fuel, air and heat. They also learned that different things burn with different colours depending on the type of material. The groups then went up and did a workshop on structures. During that session, students reviewed different types of structures, that the triangle is the strongest shape in the world and that not only are buildings structures but trees and people are structures as well. Anything that can stand without falling, is made up of little things and can support something else is a structure. Students then got to build a some structure with big triangles. Students had a challenge organize the building and a lot of fun playing in their structure when they were done!
Students then had lots of time to wander around and look at the various exhibits. If you have not had a chance to go, I would highly recommend taking your child and letting them have a little longer to really get into the exhibits and the science that goes with them.
Tomorrow is a half day at school. At 11:15 we are having an Easter assembly which you are invited to come to if you would like. After the assembly students will be given their report cards and dismissed.
Have a great Easter and Spring Break and we will see all of you when school starts again at the end of March!
Well, we’re off to science world today. The students are very excited! Please pray for a safe trip and a wonderful learning experience. Students will get the opportunity to wander around the exhibits as well participate in a workshop on structures. We will be getting back a little late today due to the timing of the workshops and the traffic but we should be back at approx. 4:00.
If you haven’t seen the March Newsletter, your child received it on Tuesday. Please take a look when you have the opportunity. If you have misplaced it and would like another copy, please download one from the right column in the box.net box. Simply click on the document you would like and download load it to your desktop. From there, you will be able to open it and read about all the neat things happening in the class.
I will post more information on the field trip when we return this afternoon!!
Have a great day!
Open house has come and gone. It was an interesting experience for me; this being my first year at Highroad. It was quite strange to keep glancing up as I was teaching and seeing another group coming through the door. However, we made it through and everyone seemed happy and interested in our school.
We only have a couple of days left and still lots to do. We are leaving for Science World on Thursday and I think it will prove to be a great day. Today we also had a closer look at the physical features of B.C using Google Earth. Our Google Earth seems to be really choppy unfortunately. We also read from Luke and discussed the resurrection of Jesus. We are preparing an Easter project to do with Easter and this was a nice reminder of the true reason behind why we celebrate. I was telling the students that it was hard finding a project to celebrate Easter as everything seemed to focus on bunnies and easter eggs and chocolate. It is very unfortunate. We talk a lot about losing Christmas to commercialism but I think think we also are affected by commercialism at Easter.
It was a good day. Look for some more poetry on the blog soon!