October 19th, 2017

Today was: Day 1
Tomorrow is: Day 2

I know I didn't write much this week, so I'm going to jump around a bit today to update everyone on where we are in each subject.

Today in Science we discussed biodegradable vs. non-biodegradable materials. I think many of the students were very surprised to learn how long it takes some of the non-biodegradable materials to eventually degrade. Without decomposers to help with decomposition, an item like a glass bottle can take one million years to degrade. Even simple fishing line can take 600 years! This lead us to have some great discussions about the need to find other ways to dispose of garbage, instead of just sending things to the landfill. We will be learning more about the landfill and alternative methods of disposal in upcoming classes.

Yesterday in Social Studies we used the same rubric that we will be assessed with the assess the Grade 6's projects from when they were in Grade 5 last year. It was a lot of fun getting to look closely at these projects and to really consider what they did well and what they could have improved upon. Students did a great job noticing which projects were more detailed or which projects struggled with spelling. It will be great to see how this knowledge impacts our own work on our own projects. We will be beginning our regions projects next week with Grade 4's working on regions of Alberta and Grade 5's working on regions of Canada. 

Both our Grade 4's and 5's are finished their first Math unit. The Grade 4's have completed Data Analysis and the Grade 5's have completed Statistics and Probability. We will be working on a culminating Math project for both of these units next week. 

In Language Arts today, students worked on the final planning pages of their Genius Hour projects. Students are getting really excited to get started on researching and building their projects and I am getting really excited to see them start to come together. Starting next week, I will meet with each student/group to provide feedback on their initial plans and to assist them moving forward. 

Agenda
Language Arts:
- Read 20 minutes

French:
- Get Quiz Signed (Josh, 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
- Fall Market, November 18th