January 2013

News from grade 4 FI

Lquipe 4e
M m e O C o n n o r , S h i n g l e r a n d T o m s

B I E N V E N U E EN 2 0 1 3!
HOT TOPICS
Bienvenue en 2013 Reminders Whats going on in gr.4 Important Dates 1 1 2 3

We hope you and your family have enjoyed a much deserved break and holiday while celebrating, relaxing and enjoying time with family and friends. As 2013 begins, our team is looking forward to encouraging and supporting a positiver aca-

demic journey together. January is a cold month in which students will be finishing up their first academic term. Finishing up a term means there will be some major assessments in the next few weeks to get a full grasp

of how your child is doing in each subject.

R E M IN D E R S !
If absent, what do I do? Atchou! We are facing a much more aggressive flu season this year. With having gone through the flu in my own household, it is important to do what you can to help prevent or develop an illness. We do recommend that each student has a small bottle of hand sanitizer. Tell your child when are appropriate times to use it (before and after eating, sneezing, blowing nose, coughing). The school does not supply tissues and so we are asking you to bring a box of tissues to get us through the cold/flu season as we will surely need them. A great thanks! Preventative tips: *Washing hands effectively *Sneezing in ones sleeve and not in hands *Staying home when sick to recuperate and to protect others with weakened immune systems *Getting your flu shot Wheres my hat, scarf? To avoid misplacing or losing an article of clothing now that we have extra layers to wear, please label your childs winter clothing. If you know you are going to be absent for a day, let Mme know and any crucial homework assignments that need to be done while you are away can get done. It is important to ask what you have missed in order to stay on top of things. Having a friend to ask or call is a good way of keeping up with what you have missed as well. If away for several days at a time, Mme will need to speak to you and your parents. Homework dates Journal de math: given Wednesday and due every Thursday

Contact with the teacher

If at any time throughout the year you need to speak with me or would like to book a teacher/ parent conference regarding a concern or a question, I encourage parents/guardians to let me know ahead of time in order to get your childs file ready. We can schedule conferences before or right after school. You can use your childs agenda for communication purposes as I will be signing them daily. You can also call at convenient hours such as before or after school (905) 6682225.

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Lquipe 4e

WHAT S
Math: We ended in December with our patterning unit and are now focusing on Perimeter and Area which should be somewhat of a review from grade 3. Students will be required to complete a couple of assignments throughout this unit. The first will be an art activity which requires them to calculate both area and perimeter and the second will be the final project which asks students to create a specific type of environment (ex. A zoo). Students will be given specific numbers to work with and will be asked to add their own creativity to the assignment.

GOING ON THIS

MONTH

IN GRADE

learned thus far in term 1. Science: We are beginning our next unit of study which is pulleys and gears. Social Studies: Our next unit of study, which will begin in late February, beginning of March will be the Middle Ages. Physical Education: This month we will continue working and manipulating different equipment in the gym and use it in games and relay type games. We will soon be moving into basketball.

play different songs. Students are reminded to have their recorders in class for Music. Drama/Dance: We will now be focusing on drama for the next part of the term. We will be combining drama and medieval studies to create a really fun and engaging opportunity to learn about the past.

Health: In Health we will continue our unit on Growth and Development unit where students will learn about the 4 stages of Language: This month, we will life: infancy, childhood, adolescence and adulthood. They will be looking at procedures. We be examining the emotional, will focus on what procedures physical and interpersonal asare, where we find them, why we use them and how we write pects of each stage. them. Students will have a chance to read and analyse difArt: This month, students will ferent procedures (recipes, inenjoy learning first hand how to structions)We will look at use watercolour paints with our what makes a good procedure first art workshop with Marianne and the important components Wooley. We will then focus on that are required .We will be abstract art and then we will looking for a title, a short demove into art that will be more scription of the finished prodmath based. uct, a list of materials, a step by Music: Music is not only about step process, photos/pictures noise, rhythm and beats, it is etc. Proper grammar will be modeled using imperative sen- about symbols and reading. Students will be looking into how to tences beginning with verbs read music and begin using their ending in EZ. Our grammar focus is reviewing major topics recorders and school drums to

News from grade 4 FI

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S O ME H E L P FU L R E S O U RC ES
How to keep math ideas fresh The Nelson Math website link for our unit on Area and Perimeter is available for you as a resource. There are questions, activities as well as other links to help reinforce the concepts learned in class. http://www.nelson.com/nelson/ school/elementary/mathK8/ math4/studentcentre/ studsurf.html#ch8 Here is another link called Math Playground in which there is a lesson on Area and Perimeter. http:// www.mathplayground.com/ area_perimeter.html Reading websites in French: Have your child get into a habit of reading everyday in French whether it is a book, a website, a recipe, a blogHere are two websites which can be useful for reading in French: http:// www.iletaitunehistoire.com/ (Go to sinscrire at the top, then access enfant and sign up for free) http://www.whitbylibrary.on.ca/ clientlogintumblebook (enter your Library card code and enjoy the Tumblebook collection)

Be sure to take a look at the school website calendar for other relevant information and important dates.

KEY DATES TO REMEMBER:

Have Fun!

Marianne Wooley watercolour-Jan. 17th P.A. Day Jan. 25th Pizza Jan. 28th

It is also encouraged that students regularly practice their basic computing skills of addition, subtraction, multiplication and division.

O T H ER N EW S
ITEMS IN NEED We are in need of tissues and paper towel now that the cold/flu season is here. SCHOOL SUPPLIES TO REPLENISH FOR YOUR CHILD Some students need to replenish their pencils, colouring pencils or any other item which is now broken or misplaced.