HAPPY EASTER!

Happy Easter everyone and welcome back to school! It seems strange to come back from a week of holidays, only to have another 4 days off (well...at least the students have 4 days!). Disneyworld was everything I had hoped it would be and more! I'm hooked and already planning our next trip in a few years when the girls are ready for the waterparks. From the "buzz" in the classroom this week, I'd have to say that everyone in 5E must have had a fun and rejuvinating Spring Break!
So let's get back to business, shall we?
Here's what we've been up to and what is coming up:

LANGUAGE ARTS:
It seemed like too short of a week to accomplish much but we did manage to squeeze in a couple of quick writes and a T.U.S.C. meeting on our first day back! As you probably already are aware, I've asked the students to write a personal narrative about the day they were born. This is a difficult task to accomplish on their own so they have been assigned the job of interviewing "mom and dad" or reading their baby books to gather the facts. Once they have done their research, they have been instructed to write their "story" as if they had full language ability at the time of their birth (in first person). I hope you have fun sharing such fond and important memories with your child this weekend! They are truly eager and fascinated to learn about the day they were born and it ties in nicely with their Family Life unit with Mrs. Rappaport.
With all our field trips this week and next, we are having a "double" T.U.S.C. event next week with two meetings back to back, Tuesday and Wednesday. The students have been given plenty of warning and hopefully they are able to find some time this weekend to get their roles ready!
Next week we will continue with quick writes and soon begin the process of selecting their favorite stories and revising them carefully, in preparation for final publication in their Chicken Soup books.

MATHEMATICS:
Our study of Fractions continues...on Monday we jumped right back into fractions with a hands-on visual lesson in comparing the values of fractions. The students are learning to compare fractions by deciding if the fraction is closer to 1, 1/2 or 0 by "reading" the numerator and denominators of the fractions. Ask your child whether 7/8 is closer to 1, 1/2 or 0 and how they know that?

SCIENCE:
We continued our investigation of Chemical Changes this week with a look at the active ingredient of YEAST! As in all experiments of science, "you win some and you lose some", our experiment was NOT a success on Monday but after the yeast was given time to rise, our experiment proved a success after all! Check out the picture in the sidebar of our blog.
Ask your child what signs exist that the activation of yeast (as in baking bread products) is a chemical change?

SOCIAL STUDIES:
What a great week for learning about history! I had an amazing time at the Manitoba Museum on Thursday. The students were well-behaved (as always), full of great questions and eager to learn. I like to tease and say, "That was our Fur Trade unit all in one day! I hope you were paying attention!" but in all seriousness, our guides for the Fur Trade gallery did an exceptional job of capturing the students attention and sharing their vast knowledge on the topic! Thank you to Mrs. Meyer for accompanying us for a portion of our day, it helped a lot.
I had some fun creating a slideshow of our day that I posted yesterday, please enjoy!
We are now learning about Life in New France and the various roles of the Europeans who first colonized the province we now know as Quebec.

FRENCH:
It's time for a big push to finish our unit on "La famille"! We are currently working on our next page for their French Family Scrapbook learning how to express family celebrations and verbs in French.

OTHER:

• No School on Monday, April 13th (In-service for PTSD staff)
• Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra field trip first thing Tuesday morning...I've asked the students to dress up for the performance!
• Our visit to the South Winnipeg Technical Center for "Eyes on Techno" on Wednesday morning!
• Our LM Walk-a-thon Fundraiser on Friday, April 17th in the afternoon. If any parents wish to join us or want to volunteer in another capacity, please feel free to come along!
• School Registration update and intention forms due ASAP, thank you!

As I sit here typing this, the sun is beating down into my dining room! I actually lay out on my lounge chair (in the snow) and soaked up some rays this morning! Please enjoy the wonderful weather, family time, Easter celebrations and reassuring signs that spring is on its way!

Mrs. Eby