Today we started preparing for the ELA written PAT by marking previously released PATs from last year to see if we were on the same page as evaluators. On the PAT (May 10th), Grade 6's will have to write a story based on a picture prompt, and a newspaper article using information provided by the test. In math, we worked on solving a 2013 math PAT question that involved area of triangles compared to area of squares. In gym, we played a game of hula-hut throwdown, and during Daily 5, we gave feedback to each others stories.

Today we had the painting and parks and recreation crews down on the project board. The parks and rec crew is working on creating COP, and the painting group was painting Millenium Skate Park. We worked hard this afternoon on creating an Iroquois Confederacy project rubric. The rubric is shared with the students on Google Drive. In science, we watched an episode of Bill Nye about flight, and we had to take notes. One thing the video taught very well was Bernoulli's Principle, which is one of the forces that allows planes to fly.

ALSO today was Administrative Professionals day, and we said a big thank you to Ms. Patsy.

In math, Mr. Stanley gave a 1-day extension to the probability workbook. They MUST be handed in tomorrow. We have Repsol tomorrow, and we are in the pool. In science, we labelled the parts of an airplane and thought about what parts we could include on a paper airplane. In social studies, we chose May 25th as the date to hand in our project about the Iroquois Confederacy - be sure to ask your child what project they choice they made.

Today in math, we continued working on probability. We learned about experimental probability, and theoretical probability. We also did an experiment with cards that showed the difference between them. In social studies, we continued researching Iroquois Confederacy, and talked about the different types of final projects we could do. We will decide on a due date, and create rubrics tomorrow before Mr. Stanley leaves for New York. Today in science, we worked on aerodynamics and we all made our own paper airplane with Mr. Stanley. We will test these designs tomorrow in science.

Today in the morning, we did Daily 5, and the construction, transportation, parks and recreation, and water groups all spent time working on our model of Calgary. We placed our first building (the Calgary Tower) on the board, and Millenium Park was mostly completed. The Grade 4's did a shadow puppet play for the learning celebration, and we completed story plans, and some of us started writing drafts of a story that will be handed in on April 27th - rubrics to follow.

Today we had a special guest come in to talk about Zones of Regulation. Some of the strategies we learned for staying in the green zone will be particularly helpful during PATs for the Grade 6's. We continued exploring phases of the moon, and constructed our own models using flashlights and wooden balls. One of the phases of the moon is new moon, where the moon is almost not visible. In math, we continued working on ratios and solving word problems with ratios. We need to remember that word problems always get word answers - answers written out in full sentences. We continued researching the Iroquois Confederacy, and we paid careful attention to a page that would help us write references.

Tomorrow is a jersey day in memory of the Humboldt Broncos. Students are welcome to wear any jersey, and we will be thinking about the people that were on the bus and their friends and family.

Today in Social Studies, we FINALLY got our Athenian democracy essays back. If we want to use the feedback Mr. Stanley gave and improve our mark, we need to get the improved essay back to Mr. Stanley on Friday. We also continued our research on the Iroquois Confederacy. In science, Mr. Stanley showed his model of the phases of the moon. It was really simple, and required his cellphone flashlight, a tennis ball, and a group of people to represent the Earth. 

Tomorrow is a Repsol day, and we are doing a dryland session, so no need to bring swimgear.

This morning, we talked about the Humboldt Broncos and their tragic bus accident. On Thursday, to commemorate them, we are participating in a national jersey day.

Today we finished a slideshow that we are presenting in an assembly to the school tomorrow. The slideshow is about our solar system model, and it has a slide for every astronomical body. We played a basketball shooting game in gym, and we continued working on our writing portfolios.

Today, in science, we started to design models that would simulate the phases of the moon. We have a very small class, as many students were sick or still on vacation. In math, we reviewed the math tests that we had written before Spring Break. One thing that we've learned about test taking is that you need to read the whole question and answers very carefully before answering a question. In social studies, we continued to research the Iroquois Confederacy. One thing we've learned is that one of the nations in the confederacy was the "leading nation" - the Onondaga.

Welcome back!

Today was our first day back from Spring break and we are ALL so happy to see Mr. Stanley again! HOORAY!

In math, we worked on place value, including place values up to the millions spot, and down to the thousandths spot. In social studies, we started to examine the Iroquois confederacy. We will compare and contrast it with Canadian Government, and Athenian Democracy. In science at the end of the day, we watched a video about the phases of the moon, which include new moon, waxing crescent, first quarter, waxing gibbous, full moon, waning gibbous, third/last quarter (we're unsure about the naming), waning crescent, and then back to new moon.