APRIL SHOWERS, BRING MAY FLOWERS (or targets!)

It's been an unbelievably busy week in 5E...and we're loving every minute of it! I think the highlight of our week was the realization of our Chicken Soup publications on Thursday (or maybe it was our Open House T.U.S.C. meeting on Friday!) Either way, the students have once again proved how hard they can work...even under a bit of pressure! We've even managed to squeeze in some time to reflect on our targets and set some goals for our last couple of months of grade 5. The students' "Target Binders" will be coming home on Friday for you to share TOGETHER with your child before our Tri-conferences next week.

It seems that all of our units are finishing at the same time, so we are wrapping up unit projects, writing final assessments and getting ready to begin our final units for the year over the next week.

So here's what we've been up to and what is coming up:

LANGUAGE ARTS:

With our Chicken Soup books finally published, the students have been given the weekend to add any "finishing touches" to their stories and the overall TLC of their books. They must also take the time to self-evaluate their work before submitting it to me on WEDNESDAY, MAY 8TH! They are really proud of their finished products (as they should be!).

Before we jump into our final round of Literature Circles, I wanted to have some fun with Poetry this month. April is the "official" National Month of poetry but we're going to extend it to May for a fun look at this genre of literature. I have a special surprise for the students on Tuesday to kick start our unit! Along with this poetry theme, the students have been working on their book report for April. The due date for this has been set for Tuesday, May 5th. Several have been handed in already and are hanging on our "Poet-tree" in the classroom!

Thank you so much for such a great turn out to our OPEN HOUSE T.U.S.C. meeting on Friday. The students were so excited to "perform" for you and I think we were all thoroughly entertained. It's an incredible platform for the students to not only build their self-confidence and public speaking skills but to research topics that interest them and then have the opportunity to teach it to their peers in the form of an organized speech! I can't rave about it enough! We have about 8 more meetings before our program comes to an end. Next week we have only one meeting on WEDNESDAY!

MATHEMATICS:

The students did a fantastic job on their Fraction test this week! Thank you for signing the tests and returning them so promptly. Here are some photos of the students practicing fraction concepts in center-based activities:
BubbleShare: Share photos - Play some Online Games.



We have jumped back into Problem Solving this week, looking more closely at the strategy of "Looking for a Pattern". It's a nice culmination of some of the previous strategies we have looked at over the year. Next week we will finish up practicing this strategy and assessing their understanding on Thursday with a quiz.

SOCIAL STUDIES:
This week in Social Studies, we took a closer look at the Seigneurial System used in New France. The students worked on reading expository text in order to find information.

SCIENCE:
It's been a fun week in Science as our unit comes to an end! The students have been working in teams for the "Engineering Challenge" to create a container that acts like a thermos. On Tuesday the students will be testing their "inventions" by pouring a cup of hot water into their containers and recording the temperature to see which container holds in the heat the longest!!
Along with this experiment, the students must write up the challenge in correct scientific procedure on a poster and present their findings to the class!
As the unit has come to a close, the students will be assessed on their understanding of the concepts we've covered involving Chemical Changes. A review will be going home on Tuesday with the final unit test on Thursday, May 7th!

FRENCH:
Our Family unit has also come to the end! The students have been working hard to put their "Album de Famille" together. They have been asked to submit their projects for Tuesday, May 5th. As with all our units, the students will be assessed on their comprehension of the vocabulary and verbs learned during this theme with a quiz. We will review the vocabulary and concepts this week with the quiz on Tuesday, May 12th.

OTHER:

• Tri- conferences are coming up next week! I look forward to seeing many of you Thursday evening or Friday. If you were unable to book an appointment this term, I will be giving parents a quick call to just "touch base" or answer any questions you may have after viewing your child's Target Binders.
• Just a reminder that there are no classes on Friday, May 8th!
• The students are off to Winnipeg Harvest on Monday, May 4th with Mrs. Rappaport. What a wonderful learning service experience and ties in nicely to our Empty Bowls project! More information will be coming home soon regarding our Empty Bowls event this year...book your calendars for June 4th from 4:30 - 5:30 for this worthwhile and fun event!
• Thank you to the parents who were able to come in on Thursday to help us put our Chicken Soup books together. It's a big undertaking and I appreciate all the help I can get! Please enjoy our little video production of "Chicken Soup Publishing in Action":
  
  
  

Have a super weekend!

Mrs. Eby