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Happy Halloween to all our families that are celebrating this evening! Thank you all so much for your generosity today. We had an amazing day today. It was so much fun creating our healthy snacks together. I really appreciate all our families for being so willing to give so much to our classroom!

We started our day off by doing some decorating. We worked in teams to create a chalkboard pumpkin patch outside our classroom. Then we had our annual costume parade in the gym. It was wonderful to celebrate together as a whole school and to see all the unique costumes. Then we began watching a Halloween Math story, with some tricky multiplication problems in it. See if you can finish it at home! After recess, students worked together to create our healthy snacks. I told the students already (more than once) how impressed I was with their teamwork today. They worked so hard at creating their snacks. Everyone even worked together to clean up afterwards. Then we watched "Wayside the Movie" while we were eating our healthy creations. Finally, PEAK students had PEAK and the rest of us had a visit from Samira and Deanna from Composite High School. They are going to be our ENVIROMentors and will be visiting us each Tuesday to share some of the projects taking place in Wood Buffalo to beautify and keep our city green!

Again, I want to thank all the students so much for how hard they worked today! Classroom celebrations can be tricky but I was so proud at how are they worked to decorate the classroom, create their healthy snacks, and then to clean up afterwards. Keep up the amazing work Grade 4/5!

See if you can finish the Halloween Math story at home:

Agenda
Language Arts:
- Read 20 minutes
- Book Orders (November 21st)

French:
- Get Quiz Signed (Amelia)

Other:
- Running Club: FINISHED until Spring
- Choir: Tuesdays until 4:15 pm
- Guitar Club: Thursdays until 4:15 pm
- Boys Volleyball: Wednesdays until 4:15 pm
- Art Club: Wednesdays until 4:15 pm
- Girls Volleyball: Thursdays until 4:15 pm
- CG Recyclers: Day 2, Lunch/Recess
- Chess Club: Day 3, Lunch Recess
- Hot Lunches, order at christinagordon.hotlunches.net
- Benefit Concert, November 2nd
- 3 Way Conferences, Nov. 7th, 8th (Register HERE)
- Fall Market, November 18th

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Agenda
Language Arts:
- Read 20 minutes
- Book Orders (November 21st)

Math:
- Gr. 4: pg. 37 #9-10, 12, 14-16
- Gr. 5: pgs. 41-42 #1-3, 5

French:
- Get Quiz Signed (Amelia)

Other:
- Running Club: FINISHED until Spring
- Choir: Tuesdays until 4:15 pm
- Guitar Club: Thursdays until 4:15 pm
- Boys Volleyball: Wednesdays until 4:15 pm
- Art Club: Wednesdays until 4:15 pm
- Girls Volleyball: Thursdays until 4:15 pm
- CG Recyclers: Day 2, Lunch/Recess
- Chess Club: Day 3, Lunch Recess
- Hot Lunches, order at christinagordon.hotlunches.net
- Classroom Celebration: October 31st
- Benefit Concert, November 2nd
- 3 Way Conferences, Nov. 7th, 8th (Register HERE)
- Fall Market, November 18th

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Please see the following email from Mr. Thorne in regards to our upcoming Three Way Conferences. As with yesterday, if there are parents who are not receiving emails from the school or myself, contact me and I will help to resolve this issue.

Dear Parent,

It’s hard to believe that November is just around the corner and term one is slipping away. This letter is to advise you that our 3 Way Conferences for Grades 1-6 are scheduled for November 7th and 8th, and to encourage you to go online and set up appointments with your children’s teachers. Report cards will be sent home during the last week in November.

For anyone new to the school, I should explain that we believe that early communication with parents and children to discuss the child’s progress is vital, which is why we set up these meetings, usually mid-term. In doing so, parents and child have a discussion prior to the first term report card going home. This allows changes to be made if necessary to ensure the child’s success. This is a more proactive approach than reacting to the report card. Unfortunately with the unexpected growth we have experienced this year and a number of classes being set up since the school year started, we couldn’t schedule these quite as early as we would normally like, usually near the end of October.

Just before the 3 Way Conferences on Nov. 7th & 8th, you will receive a brief progress report for your child in grades 1-6 (not to be confused with the report cards coming home later). This will be helpful to guide discussion at the 3 Way Conferences.

We believe there is much benefit in both the parent and child sitting down and having these discussions, which is why we have 3 Way Conferences involving all parents, student and teacher, instead of the traditional Parent-Teacher Interviews. Please bring your child to these 3 Way Conferences.

For a number of reasons, including the fact that the results of the EYE (Early Years Evaluation) were unavoidably late in coming, we will need to schedule out Kindergarten 3 Way Conferences on Monday, November 27th and Tuesday, November 28th.

To book appointments grades 1-6, please go to our school website or follow this link:

http://christinagordon.fmpsdschools.ca/view.php?action=signin

If you haven’t already set up an account, you will be asked to do so at that time.
Information regarding sign up for Kindergarten appointments will be sent out mid November.

Sincere regards,

- Rick Thorne

Agenda
Language Arts:
- Read 20 minutes
- Cinderella Character Worksheet

Math:
- Gr. 4: pgs. 12-13
- Gr. 5: pg. 38 #2, 3, 5

Science:
- Quiz (Thursday)

French:
- Get Quiz Signed (Amelia, Emma H., Mason)

Other:
- Running Club: Mondays until 4:15 pm
- Choir: Tuesdays until 4:15 pm
- Guitar Club: Thursdays until 4:15 pm
- Boys Volleyball: Wednesdays until 4:15 pm
- Art Club: Wednesdays until 4:15 pm
- Girls Volleyball: Thursdays until 4:15 pm
- CG Recyclers: Day 2, Lunch/Recess
- Chess Club: Day 3, Lunch Recess
- Hot Lunches, order at christinagordon.hotlunches.net
- Family Dance: October 26th
- Classroom Celebration: October 31st
- Benefit Concert, November 2nd
- 3 Way Conferences, Nov. 7th, 8th (Register HERE)
- Fall Market, November 18th

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October 24th, 2017

10/24/2017

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Please see the following email sent home today in regards to School Council, the Family Dance, Spirit Week, and our Halloween Celebrations. Again, if there are any parents that are not receiving emails from myself or the school, please contact me ASAP so that we can resolve the issue.

Good afternoon,

Just a few updates of activities and events taking place at school. First, a reminder to all parents that there is a School Council meeting tomorrow, October 25th at 6:30 pm. All parents are members of School Council and are invited to attend all meetings. It is a great way to have input into what our school becomes. The School Council Executive is made up of:

Chair: Allison Fagan
Vice Chair: Alethea Austin
Secretary: Jen Hoilund
Communications: Kailey Sutherland
Teacher Rep: Tanya Drover
Networks Rep: Allison Fagan and Alethea Austin

The Family Halloween Dance will take place this Thursday, October 26th from 6:00-7:30 pm. Dress up and bring the entire family! We will be accepting donations at the door with the proceeds going towards our Athletics Programming. There will also be a photo booth, glow sticks and popcorn will be for sale, and there will be a pumpkin carving contest. Families bring an already carved pumpkin from home to enter into the contest. Just a reminder that parents are expected to attend with their students and to consider that we are an ECDP-Gr. 6 school when making costume choices. Some of our students are as young as 3 years old and many will have younger siblings in attendance. We want this event to be fun and enjoyable for all.

As part of the Fort McMurray Public School District's partnership with United Way, we will be holding a Spirit Week next week, October 30th-November 2nd, to assist with raising money for our community. Students are encouraged (but not expected) to bring a $2 donation to participate in each day's theme. The daily themes will be:

Monday: Wear a Hat
Tuesday: Wear a Costume
Wednesday: Pyjama Day
Thursday: Wacky Hair Day

Finally, Tuesday, October 31st we will have a Classroom Celebration. Being mindful that not all of our students celebrate Halloween, the students and I have worked to plan some activities that everyone can participate in. First, in Health we have been exploring the four food groups and developing healthy eating habits. Students have worked in teams to plan a healthy snack that they will prepare for the class on that day. Students will be preparing: Popcorn Hands, Ghost Parfaits, Graham Cracker Bandaids, and Fruit Kabobs. As with our Smoothie Reward Day, if parents are able to supply an ingredient to assist in this activity it would be appreciated but is in no way expected. I will provide whatever is needed for all groups to participate. Click HERE to access a Google Doc from which parents can sign up to provide a necessary ingredient/supply. As before, if you cannot access or edit the document, let me know and I will add your name to the list. Remember, there are 22 students in our classroom, so we will be making 22 of each of the above. Any items that parents are able to send pre-sliced or cut would be greatly appreciated. Second, we recently finished reading "Sideways Stories from Wayside School" by Louis Sachar. As part of our celebration, while students enjoy the snacks that they have made together, we will be watching "Wayside: The Movie" based on the Wayside books by Louis Sachar. Students are permitted to wear costumes to school on Halloween, however, please take into consideration (as with the dance) that we are an ECDP-Gr. 6 school. There are students in our school as young as 3 years old. Costumes should be appropriate for school so that all students feel safe and enjoy any costumes that are worn to school on that day. As in the past, the Fort McMurray Public School District does not allow students to wear masks during the day for safety reasons. If a student brings a mask as part of their costume, I will ask that they remove it during class time and when moving around the school to prevent accidents or injuries. As always, if there are questions or concerns in regards to any of the above, please do not hesitate to contact me. Thanks everyone,

Ashley Barrington, Grade 4/5 Teacher