Week 37

Dear Parents and Students,

We have had a relatively normal week, with the exception of our 'bonus' Performing Arts and Physical Educational classes that took place to account for last weeks postponements. The summer seems to have properly arrived, and we can all sense the end of the semester, but it hasn't prevented us from being productive in class.

In the Classroom:

Maths

We have all but completed Topic 19, and our test will take place next Tuesday. We will then begin our final topic for the year, which focuses on probability of outcomes and how they can be expressed.

Literacy Workshop

We celebrated the completion of our final major writing assignment with a publishing party on Friday. We read one another's work and there is a lot to celebrate, with some very high quality Persuasive Essays published.

Science

We completed our studies of adaptions this week, and we have turned our attention to ecosystems as a whole. We will continue our investigations throughout next week.

Social Studies

We have continued to prepare our Regions Projects, both in the classroom and through online collaborations. Presentations will take place next Wednesday and Thursday.

Extra

As a special treat, and to make up for our partially rained-out Race Day, Mr Keller has organised a special afternoon of fun to take place next Wednesday, 10^th June. Soccer matches and other activities will be held on the athletics track behind the school. This will take place instead of our regular PE class, but PE uniforms may still be the most appropriate attire for the day.

Other important dates are listed below, as usual. I hope you all enjoy the weekend, and I'll see you all on Monday!

Dates to remember:

Tue. June 9: Maths test – Topic 19

Wed -Thu June 10-11: Social Studies presentations

Wed. June 10: Afternoon of Fun – athletics track

Fri. June 12: G4 birthday party

Fri. June 19: End Semester 2!

Students of the Week, Week 37

Congratulations to Suin and Yolanda!

Suin and Yolanda have gone out of their way to help a classmate this week. Having already worked hard together on their own assignment, they helped solve a problem by finding a way for a third member to join their group and make a valuable and useful contribution.

Such outstanding social awareness, consideration for others, and problem solving skills are an inspiration to us all. Thank you both, and well done!

Homework, Wednesday 3rd June

Maths: Practice 19-4 Congruent Figures Enrichment 19-4 Similarity
Writing: Be ready to publish your Persuasive Essay tomorrow.

Homework, Tuesday, 2nd June

Writing: Persuasive Essay - be ready for proofreading tomorrow; publishing Thursday.
Spelling: Review List 25   Click here for Spelling City activities

List 25 – VCV pattern

Core Words

pilot	depend	visit	human
seven	chosen	paper	reason
become	parent	never	modern
tiny	tuna	event	fever
moment	prison	basic	open

Challenge Words

alert

license  [licence*]

select

radar

feature
*outside the USA, license is a verb, and licence is a noun

Homework, Monday, 1st June

Maths: Practice 19-2 Reflections; Practice 19-3 Rotations
Do you REALLY need to better understand rotations?  Click here for Asteroids, in which the spaceship must rotate to shoot the asteroids. (Needs Adobe Flash)
This is all part of your Maths study, of course!

Spelling: Review List 24 Click here for list and links.

If you would like to watch the video about symbiosis again...


... kung fu dung beetles...

Week 36

Dear Parents and Students,

Congratulations to Kindergarten and Grade 6, whose graduation ceremonies took place on Monday and Tuesday respectively. In addition, our Art Exhibition took place on Thursday; thank you to Mr Johnson and all who helped to set it up. We have a very talented school of artists! We then finished our week with the monthly assembly. Despite the distractions, we have been very industrious in Grade 4, and we have managed to accomplish a great deal.

In the Classroom:

Maths

We completed Topic 18, and had our test on Thursday. Topic 18 was largely focused on algebra, and it was very pleasing to see how everybody was able to take the new concepts on board. We are expanding our range of problem-solving skills and learning new ways to express and communicate mathematical problems and functions. We have already begun Topic 19, which we will continue to study throughout next week.

Literacy Workshop

We have been planning and drafting our Persuasive Essays. We will continue to revise them next week, with the aim to publish them on Thursday. In grammar, we have continued with our study of adverbs, and we will move on to prepositions next week.

Science

We have been investigating how plants and animals respond and adapt to their environments. We have learned that physical traits are inherited, as are many behavioural traits. Some behaviours, however, are learned. We spent time discussing how all of these traits, inherited or learned, can help a species survive and reproduce in its natural environment. We also observed a fascinating example of symbiosis.

Social Studies

We have been preparing for our next Social Studies assignment. Each group will focus on a specific region and topic. We will then spend next week researching our topic and preparing our presentations, which will be presented the following week.

Extra

Last Monday's regular Performing Arts and Physical Education classes did not take place due to the graduation ceremonies, and have been rescheduled for next week. An extra Performing Arts class will take place on Tuesday, and an extra PE class will take place on Thursday. I'm sure Mr Keller will understand if you are unable to wear your uniform for all three PE lessons, but please remember to wear something suitable!

Other important dates are listed below, as usual. I hope you all enjoy the weekend, and I'll see you all on Monday!

Dates to remember:

Tue.      June 2:             Extra Performing Arts class

Thu.     June 4:             Extra Physical Education class

Fri.       June 19:           End Semester 2!

Click here for more photos of our Art Exhibition.

Student of the Week, Week 36

Congratulations to Yuma!

Yuma has been quietly making progress in all areas. He has increased his work ethic, and his performance has improved as a result.  Well done, Yuma!

Homework, Thursday, 28th May

Maths: Practice 19-1 Translations; Enrichment 19-1 What Doesn't Fit? 
In the classic video game, Space Invaders, the space ship would translate left and right across the screen. Ask for your parents' permission first, then click here to play Space invaders. (Requires Adobe Flash)
Writing: Persuasive Essay - be ready to draft tomorrow.

Homework, Wednesday, 27th May

Maths: Review Topic 18  pp.442-445  (test tomorrow)  Answer key below
English: Make sure you have your goal, three reasons, and details to support.
Social Studies: Leaf trough Units 5 and 6 in your book to see what interests you. We will be discussing project ideas tomorrow.

Practice Test 18 Answers

1. B      2. B      3. C      4. B      5. A     6. C      7. D     8. C      9. D     10. C    11. A   12. C    13. D

Topic 18 Extra Practice Answer Key

Set A 1. true 2. false 3. true 4. true 5. 6 6. 2 7. 4

Set B 1. 11 2. 46 3. 24 4. 50 5. 15 6. 25 7. 10 8. 31 9. 15 10. 30 11. 79 12. 15

Set C 1. 9 2. 360 3. 3 4. 30 5. 25 6. 28

Set D 1. s < 10 2. m > 5 3. j > 25

Set E 1. 99 tickets

Check out how these amazing octopods adapt to their environments.

Homework, Tuesday, 26th May

Maths: Practice 18-4 Understanding Inequalities; Enrichment 18-4 Common Inequalities
English: Decide on your Persuasive Essay topic. Who will be your audience? What reasons do you have to support our idea?

Spelling: Review List 24       Click here for Spelling City

List 24 – Commonly Misspelled Words

Core Words

brought	enough	buy	guess
Saturday	January	February	favorite (favourite)
lying	tying	around	swimming
heard	also	tried

Challenge Words

choose

chose

loose

lose

millimeter  (millimetre)

Homework, Monday, 25th May

Maths: Practice 18-2 Solving Addition and Subtraction Equations; Practice 18-3 Solving Multiplication and Division Equations
Writing: Think about a topic for your Persuasive Essay.
Social Studies: Unit 4 team test tomorrow

Week 35

Dear Parents and Students,

It has been a very busy week. We began the week with in-class Science Fair presentations, the Science Fair itself took place on Tuesday, and then we presented again to Grade 2 on Wednesday. On Friday we were able to celebrate with the birthdays of Lucas, Janae, and Luke.

In the Classroom:

Maths

We held our Topic 17 test on Wednesday, and began Topic 18 on Thursday. Topic 18 returns our attention to equations and extends our understanding of algebra. We will continue with the topic next week, and the test will take place next Thursday.

Literacy Workshop

We read a biography of Gloria Estefan this week, and discusses why she might be considered a hero. We also began our final grammar unit for the year, which is dedicated to adverbs and prepositions. Next week, we will begin planning our final major writing assignment for the year: Writing to Persuade. After so many high-quality Opinion essays were submitted last week, I am confident that our persuasive writing will be quite effective!

Science

Our week was dominated by our Science Fair presentations. The presentations were of a high quality. All of the hard work over the past two months has certainly paid off, and everyone should be very proud of your work! Photos are available via the link at the end of this post. Our final unit dedicated to Life Science will be our primary focus in Science for the rest of the semester.

Social Studies

We are reviewing what we have studied about America’s Midwest, and we will be having a team-test on Tuesday. On Wednesday, we will begin discussing our final project for the year, in which groups will present a region to the rest of the class.

Extra

Kindergarten and Grade 6 will have their graduation ceremonies next Monday and Tuesday. To accommodate these, it has been necessary to reschedule some of our specialty classes. As a result, Monday's Performing Arts and Physical Education classes will be postponed until the following week. There will be no Performing Arts or PE on Monday.

Other important dates are listed below, as usual. I hope you all enjoy the weekend, and I'll see you all on Monday!

Dates to remember:

Tue.      May 26:          Social Studies team test – Unit 4

Thu.     May 28           Art Exhibition

                                    Maths test – Topic 18

Fri.       May 29:          Monthly Assembly

Click here for Science Fair photos.

Click here for birthday party photos.

Student of the Week, Week 35

Congratulations to Janae!

Janae has had a great week. She presented very well during the Science Fair and her display was one of the most popular. She has also been working hard in all other areas, producing some very good work. To complete the week, she celebrated her birthday along with Luke and Lucas today!