Tuesday, June 21, 2022

 It is officially the first day of Summer!! And what a wonderful day it was honoring Indigenous People's Day. 

Today we: began our day with a virtual smudge, courtesy of Mr. Scout. He explained and demonstrated the traditional cleansing while we practiced in our classroom. Ask your kiddo how to do it and see if they remember.

We spent the rest of the morning doing some art and free-writing using figurative language, mostly personification as the students enjoyed making non-human things into human-like characters. 

After recess, we measured our prisms with rulers and then calculated the area and perimeter of the face we wrote our names on, and then the volume of the entire prism. We then went outside to join the Gadbois Gang for some Indigenous Games, once again taught by Mr. Scout. We threw feathers and bamboo sticks at a target, tried to catch a string with two balls on each end using a stick, and had a stick with a hoop tied to the end and tried to get the hoop on the stick. This was a lot of fun, and sadly we did not have enough time for the kids to try more than a couple of times so see if they can show you how to do them at home! 

After lunch, the class voted on the best choice for a bottle rocket decoration which we will build tomorrow. They went to music, and then we did a City of Ember Kahoot for a short while before going outside for a whole-school drum dance with a very special guest: Clarence Wolfleg, an Elder who visisted to share with us his knowledge on the songs and dances of his people. 

See you tomorrow, Nuggets! 

Monday, June 20, 2022

 Today we: looked at poems in groups and tried to find the use of figurative language in them. They underlined similes with red, hyperboles with green and personification with blue. Each group read their poems to the glass and explained their choices. 

After recess, students made their own rectangular prisms out of printed out nets. They selected one of three choices, cut it out and glued it together. Tomorrow we will measure them and calculate area and volume. Then we read about the Great Depression in Canada and how the low wages and high costs affected families, and the drought and grasshoppers affected crops in the prairies. 

After lunch, we finished The City of Ember! It took longer than planned, but the class was engaged and eager to know the ending so we pushed through. We ended the day with a Kahoot about The City of Ember, and then a gratitude circle to leave on a positive note. 

Don't forget to fill out the survey (and include your child's name!) for the grade five farewell. We will be dying t-shirts on Wednesday, so if you have not already, send your kiddo to school with a plain white t-shirt either tomorrow or Wednesday morning. 

Happy Monday everyone! 

Friday, June 17, 2022

 Today we: had many opportunities to complete assignments and have conferences to ensure the marks were fair. We had our final Word Work session and students handed in their books. We played math games until gym, and then students got their usual hour on the Chromebooks if their work was finished. We attempted to read more of The City of Ember, but by the end of the day, everyone was very wiggly, just itching to get to their weekend. 

Parents, please remember to send a white t-shirt to school with your child on Monday for the Tie-Dying activity for their Farewell! Please check newsletters and your email for any information on this as Ms. Brinson has been communicating the plan. 

Have a great weekend everyone! 

Wednesday, June 15, 2022

 Today we: learned what a Haiku is. We read that the poem type was originally created in Japan and it is very short, and usually about seasonal imagery and nature. The poem has three lines and seventeen syllables. Students had quite the challenge creating their own Haiku, clapping their way through sentences to count syllables. Zak wrote a lovely one about ladybugs that he shared with the class. 

In math, students moved forward from sorting 2D shapes to 3D shapes and comparing the similarities and differences between them. This math concept is largely based on vocabulary and many are finding it difficult to remember all of the special words like parallel and perpendicular. You have to admit it is tough to focus on shapes when we are only 9 more school days away from summer vacation! 

In the afternoon we took a little extra time to read more of The City of Ember. We made it to chapter 16 and they are getting very antsy to find out if Lina and Doon will get out of Ember and find a new city. It was especially interesting to read about their discovery of boats and candles without any prior knowledge of them. 

For the last activity in chemistry, we tested a couple of powders using vinegar and iodine. They discovered that iodine turns baking soda brown, and turns cornstarch into a black solid globule. The vinegar made the baking soda bubble, and the cornstarch made the vinegar milky. 

With a few minutes left in our day, we did a fun activity called "Question or Push-up" where I drew a popsicle stick with their names and they could choose to do a push-up or answer a random question about things we have learned all year. 

Tuesday, June 14, 2022

 Today we: did our morning workout followed by word work. I have really been seeing a difference in their writing and spelling now that their sight words have increased. We had a little bit more catch up time, and those who finished were challenged with writing their own limerick following the pattern of a, a, b, b, a. Tomorrow we will learn about a Haiku. 

In math, students further practiced their understanding of shapes by naming categories that shapes could fit into, like parallel lines, right angles, identical or different sides, symmetrical shapes, etc. Tomorrow we will practice sorting shapes based on these categories. 

We read about how World War I changed Canada, how women joined the work force, children were put to work, and the Spanish Flu was introduced to the country sparking a pandemic. They really related to this, and many opinions were shared. We discussed feminism and women's rights, child labor laws and the difficulties they faced in the factories, and how men at war left jobs that needed doing. 

We had an indoor day for recess because of the rain and wind. We watched Ratatouille at lunch, and played wax museum and silent ball to stay occupied. After lunch we read chapter 14 of The City of Ember and they were off to music again. 

In P.E. they played kickball and had a great time running, kicking, catching, and dodging. Afterwards, we took the time to write our social Diary entries with opportunities to have them edited by the teacher. 

Tomorrow is career day, so remember to dress like what you want to be when you grow up!!  

Monday, June 13, 2022

 Hello families! I was away on Friday and I am happy to be back with my nuggets. Allergies have been really tough with the pollen overflow this season! I did not choose the guest teacher, and I apologize for any grievances that occurred. Rest assured, I will be present for the remainder of the school days.

Today we: took some time in the morning to return some marked assignments and have time to catch up on anything that has been unfinished. Some students are also being given a chance for a conference to make up some marks after their extra busy week last week. I think they had a wake-up call this morning after seeing the effect of their distracted behavior and lack of effort now that the end of the year is coming. 

In math, we discussed what particular shapes are called and why. We looked at a rhombus, parallelogram, trapezoid, polygon, and what horizontal and vertical lines are. They worked in table groups to answer some tricky questions that helped specify the rules of each shape. 

In the afternoon, we read some of chapter 13 in The City of Ember, and then the students went to music. When they returned, we looked at the petri dishes we made crystals in after they have evaporated, and we drew pictures of the crystals with observational notes. Then the class went to P.E. for some fun with Mr. Newton. 

Thursday, June 8, 2022

Today we: made a lovely little booklet of Thank You cards for Ms. Grace who visits our class for support every morning. She really appreciated the gift. 

We did two labs in science today! First, students used red and blue litmus paper to determine whether our liquids are an acid, or a base. We tested regular water, colored water, vinegar, lemon juice, soapy water, tea, and baking soda mixed with water. They recorded their results in a chart glued into their visual journal before they started the second lab. We are going to make crystals by using a petri dish and evaporating a salt and water solution to see how it forms crystals when it dries. 

In the afternoon, we did some practice on the cubic centimeter and cubic meter. We introduced quadrilaterals and had some conversations about shapes before we turned it over to social. They had some independent time to complete their History of Canada diary entry, read the next set of pages in the textbook with a partner, and if they finish all of it, to practice math on Prodigy. 

Check below for some important messages. See you tomorrow NLS families! 

Are you leaving NLS next year and you haven't let us know yet?

If you will NOT be at Northern Lights School, and you HAVE NOT yet told us, can you please reply to this email as soon as possible.   Our planning for next year continues and having the most accurate number of students is essential. If you are staying at NLS, please disregard this email.   If you are leaving NLS but you already let me know, please disregard this email. Thanks so much!

Interested in helping to name the new North High School?

We require a parent / guardian from Northern Lights School to be part of the naming committee for the new North High School being built in Coventry Hills.  When it is open, the school will serve many North Calgary communities, including Coventry Hills and Harvest Hills. The committee will meet starting in the fall and there will be approximately three meetings to attend. Each meeting will less than an hour and will be booked flexibly to accommodate for everyone’s schedules.  The people on the committee cannot be employees of the CBE. If you are interested, please email Mrs. Brinson as soon as possible so she can provide your name and email to the Area 3 Education Director to have you added to the committee. Thanks!