Lent

Last Wednesday, our class attended the Ash Wednesday liturgy and your child was invited to participate in St Clare's Two Lenten Projects at our school liturgy to mark the beginning of Lent.

The international project we are supporting is Hope Child Development Program in Kenya, whose mission is to provide support and care for Orphans and Vulnerable Children, with a view of developing their full potential.  Funds collected will go towards safe housing, nourishing food, health care and school fees.  Volunteers from this project spoke to the children at our Ash Wednesday Liturgy today.

In addition, the funds collected on Crazy Hair and Hat Day will be donated locally to Hair Donation Ottawa whose mandate is to raise funds for child and adult cancer research and to support kids with hair loss by providing them with good quality wigs free of charge.  A presentation by this organization is planned for next Monday for the students.

The children will have jars in the classroom for collection and they are invited to bring in coins any time during Lent.  To help encourage the children we will have a few special events planned for Fridays.

On our event days, a loonie or toonie would be greatly appreciated.

On March 3th, we had Crazy Hair and Hat Day

On March 10th, we will have a movie afternoon.

On March 24th, the children will have a board games block (no electronics!).

On March 31th Twin Day

On  April 7th  Stuffed Animal Day

Fully Alive, Unit 3 (Grade 4s)

We have covered the first 2 units of the Fully Alive program, and are ready to teach Unit 3. Fully Alive is a Family Life education program sponsored by the Assembly of Catholic Bishops in Ontario. In Theme 3: Created Sexual, Male and Female, the students learn that each person is precious, we are all made in the image and likeness of God, and created in a loving relationship. Each year builds on information from previous years, and is given at an age appropriate level. The terms used and topics covered can be found here, in each grade's letter from the ACBO:

Grade 4 Parent Letter

Please read the letter and discuss the topics with your child, so that they can be prepared. We will begin on February 13th. Don't hesitate to contact me if there are any questions or concerns.

January Update!

It has been a busy month! The weather has been fairly nice, so we have been able to go sliding during Phys. Ed. and enjoy being outside. Students have been working hard finishing up projects and completing our Science units. We were lucky enough to have "PGL on the Road" visit us last Friday to do a #STEM Challenge with us. Students had a great opportunity to practice the 6 C's (collaboration, critical thinking, creativity, communication, and character). The grade 4s are just about to wrap up our measurement unit with our Quiz on Wednesday. There has been a lot of learning going on this month and here's a few pictures to show you what we've been up to!

Upcoming dates:
Tuesday, January 31st and Thursday, February 2nd we will be going snowshoeing during Phys. Ed., so be sure to dress extra warm on those days.

Wednesday, February 1st is the measurement quiz for the grade 4s. Be sure to practice both area and perimeter! We will be reviewing in class on Tuesday.

Thursday, February 2nd is not only Groundhog Day, but it is also Sweater Day! Our Eco Team will be turning the heat down by 2 degrees to conserve energy, so be sure to wear your sweater!

Friday, February 3rd -Winter "Glow Party" Family Dance at St.Peter's High School 6:30-8:30pm

Grade 4 Math Quiz - Wednesday, February 1st

This is a small quiz. Students will need to be able to demonstrate the following skills:
-finding the perimeter of a polygon
-finding the area of a square or triangle
-finding the perimeter of a polygon with a missing side
-simple conversions between millimeters, centimeters, and m
-linear measurement of an object (mm, cm, m)
-identify an appropriate unit to measure (Ex. you wouldn't use mm to measure the width of the classroom)
-understanding of volume and capacity (ml, L)

Genius Hour- Grade 4/5 Science

This week we have started our individual research projects during "Genius Hour." During this time, students (sometimes with some teacher guidance) come up with a big question that they would like to explore. The question needs to be open-ended and can't be answered with a simple google search. The purpose of this project is to encourage student-led inquiries and see where their curiosity takes them. Students will be given approximately 1 block per week to work on this project.

Students will be responsible for gathering information and presenting it to the class. They can choose the method in which they present (Slide deck, movie trailer, etc). This is a passion project, so the students have more choice. I can't wait to see what questions they come up with!

Sliding Tomorrow! (Thursday, January 26th)

Please ensure your child is dressed for the winter weather and bring your helmet (if required). Hopefully, mother nature will be cooperative!

Sliding Tomorrow! (Tuesday, January 17th)

Just a quick reminder that we will be going sliding tomorrow morning, so please dress for the winter weather and helmet (if needed). Hopefully, the weather will be cooperative!

Mrs.Marchant