JibJabs

The students asked that I post the link here for the JibJabs I made for them for our class party. I am linking three of them here. They asked I make a few more to include the whole class, so I will add more after Christmas. The link will stay active only for two weeks.

Penguin Rock:
https://www.jibjab.com/view/make/winter_wonderland/37790ff5-eb7c-433a-a989-d599f6168086

Snowman Scurry:

https://www.jibjab.com/view/make/snowman_scurry/1aba932d-48d7-42a4-a7a4-68cb1afc32a2

Sled Race:

https://www.jibjab.com/view/make/sled_race/29cf6b88-de4a-4176-ae11-05d18aad95b5

Class Dojo Christmas Break Challenge

Try this at home...if time allows! Bonus points if you get a Bingo...even better if you collect EVERY square!

Merry Christmas

A very Merry Christmas to all our Grade 5 Sturgeonites! Miss.Sturgeon and Mrs. Varanda wish you all a fun filled break, filled with joy and surrounded by those you love.

On that joyful note, Miss.Sturgeon is sharing her favourite JibJab starring herself and Mrs. Varanda. Have a laugh and Merry Christmas to all!
Click below to watch:

https://www.jibjab.com/view/make/snowman_scurry/7e9a4ae5-187e-4454-af75-44a24dcf23a0

Homework

This week's homework is short and optional, since this week is so busy! Its a mini punctuation activity.

Math Test

Out Pattern Unit math test will be tomorrow morning! The homework tonight is just to review the guide that came home on Friday.

Small Study Guide Coming Home

A short Patterning Math Unit study guide will be coming home this Friday. The test will be on Tuesday, December 17th. It will not be quite as long as a regular math test.

Welcome News!

We have a student teacher joining us from today all the way until Christmas! Miss. Xiong will be teaching in the morning with a focus on math graphing and properly formatted letter writing.

There will be a brief study guide that will come home next week for a Patterning Quiz. It will be slightly smaller than a unit test, as Miss. Xiong needs to start her practice teaching right away.

Stay tuned for Advent news and any Christmas information.

Last chance to bid on a Christmas Basket in our foyer is this week.

EVERY FRIDAY of Advent (starting this Friday) is a pay $2.00 and wear your Pajamas

Raz Kids

Raz Kids login cards were handed out today for our Sturgeonites! They were glued in the front of the agenda, near the Prodigy login. Some students are forgetting their agendas at home, so they just carried the cards loose in their backpacks, so look for the login and glue it in at home.

Raz Kids has access to many books that your child can read at night, and the program will even read to them, highlighting the words. There are comprehension quizzes after each selection. Try to access at home for extra reading practice. Students are to notify Miss.Sturgeon if the readings are too easy or too difficult.

Book Fair

Our SCHOLASTIC Book Fair is now on in our Learning Commons (library). Our Grade 5 Sturgeonites get to preview everything tomorrow and then our actually shopping purchase time is on Thursday! Students should bring home a small list of their favourites tomorrow.

PD Day

The teachers were hard at work today discussing the use of number lines in math, AND learning about music in math AND learning all about our new school resources: Our school purchase bucket drums for students to learn drumming! Exciting!

SNOW DAY

Today is a snow day. Busses are not running and there will only be basic review work done in class as we usually have very few students.

Photo Retakes

School photo not what you were expecting? 

Retakes by request are this THURSDAY!! (Or if you were absent). Please send a note in the agenda!

Math Test

The BLUE DUOTANG came home today with the math unit test. Please sign and return tomorrow or at least by Thursday. We are going to fill it Thursday with many other assignments and tasks.

Christmas Baskets

Our class Christmas theme basket is all about CATS...items for a pet cat, and items that someone who loves cats would enjoy!

This is Miss. Sturgeon's Siamese cat:

Progress Reports

Please sign and return the Progress Report slips. Envelopes are saved and re-used to help the environment, so send them back as well.

Math tests will be coming home to sign and return when our photocopier is up and running so the checklist of instructions can be included. Watch for the note in the agenda.

Please keep them in the duotang and review errors with your child. The duotangs are due back by Friday and are a record of both large and small assessments. Please do not lose them and return them ASAP.

Spirit Week is this week!

This week is always a busy one! Our classroom is decorated and ready for Halloween Math and History!
It is SPIRIT WEEK, Halloween, Social Justice Halloween Bake Sale and Progress Reports.

Tomorrow/Monday is PJ Day!
Tuesday- Athletic Day
Wednesday- Crazy Hair day and Bake Sale!
Thursday- Black and Orange Halloween Spirit Day
Friday- Progress Reports and Country Day---Plaid and Jeans...Cowboy hat if you have one.

Photos

School portraits come home tomorrow. Watch for them! Ordering information is included.

Math Test

There will be a math test coming up soon. Please watch the agenda for information and a study guide to help you review the unit.

Field Trip

Our field trip to the Sand Dunes is coming up fast. Please make sure to return both forms by TUESDAY!

Cool new info about it:

https://ottawarewind.com/2016/10/11/ottawas-secret-sand-dunes/

Orange Day tomorrow (Monday)

Tomorrow is wear orange day to remember the struggles of indigenous children in Canada's residential school.

Our class is also running the assembly tomorrow.

Check out the video we made in our video section! It will be uploaded by the end of the week.

Terry Fox Fundraiser

Our class is seeking some donations for our Terry Fox Run for Cancer Research by Friday! We are hoping to follow Terry's dream and have each student bring in a toonie (or more) by the run date this week. Thanks so much if you are able to donate!

Miss.Sturgeon

Student Fees Due

With our upcoming Field Trip, a reminder about student fees!

Student Activity Fees

This year our student fees are $30.  Student fees help cover the costs of our school agendas, activities, athletic programs, class trips and specific curriculum enhancement. Please pay through school cashonline, found on our website.

Attached  is a PDF Visual to show what the activity cost looks like:

HOMEWORK STARTING!

HOMEWORK WILL BE POSTED ON THIS SITE TONIGHT. You can begin to look at it tomorrow. It will be due every Friday.

Info Night

Parent Information night is tomorrow evening at 6pm. There will be two short presentations. Teachers will cover information about their websites, homework, curriculum expectations, routines etc. Our class will be for Miss.Sturgeon (Math, Language) and Mrs. Dessai (Math, Language).

Miss.Sturgeon sent home Class Dojo parent login codes. Each student's is different. You can use the Class Dojo free App and download it our just use the internet for www.classdojo.com and select PARENT.

Welcome!

Welcome to the Grade 4/5 class blog for Miss.Sturgeon's morning class! This is where homework will be posted, as well as photos and classroom news!

Today a newsletter and a question/survey page came home. Please fill in an return as soon as possible.

I am looking forward to a lovely year with the students!

-------------Miss. K. Sturgeon

Mid Summer Wishes

Miss Sturgeon is hoping everyone is enjoying the sunny, warm (too warm) weather and has a chance to have some downtime with friends and family.

Photos

Keep checking our photos section. It was updated again!

Fully Alive

Please note, for the next 2 weeks in religion, we are focusing on Fully Alive, Created Sexual. A paper version of the letter below is coming home tomorrow, in case some parents do not regularly check this site.

Click link here to read full letter/program instead of the excerpt: http://acbo.on.ca/englishdocs/FA.Gd5.Fam.Th3.pdf

Dear Family,

We are ready to begin Theme Three of Fully Alive, our family life program. Because the partnership of home, church, and school is so important, this letter is written to let you know what we talk about in class, and to offer some ideas for your involvement. For more information, please go to www.occb.on.ca.

About Theme Three 

Theme Three of Fully Alive is called “Created Sexual: Male and Female.” God made us male and female, and all of God’s creation is good. In earlier grades, this theme was presented through a continuing story, which emphasized God’s plan for new life as the result of the love of mothers and fathers. In later grades, the message is unchanged, but the approach is more direct. As students enter puberty, they need to know about the changes they will experience, and about the responsibilities of being created male and female and following God’s plan for them. 

In Theme Three we will:

• explore the idea that we do not have bodies, we are bodies; God created us as body/spirit persons. • consider the major systems of the body, and learn that the reproductive system has unique characteristics. • learn about the adult female and male reproductive systems and about human fertility in adult women and men. • discuss the physical changes of puberty, as well as some of the emotional and social changes.
 

Tick Season is here

Since ticks are on the rise in Ottawa and this season they are out full-force, here is a very interesting (and gross) video about how ticks actually bite. Make sure to check yourself and family for ticks after being outside, even in your backyard.

Reminder News (1 in 3 Kanata and Stittsville ticks have Lyme Disease):
https://ottawa.ctvnews.ca/ottawa-researcher-says-1-in-3-ticks-carrying-lyme-disease-in-city-s-west-end-1.3477137

Field Trip Tuesday

   Please make sure the form sent home regarding the Museum field trip is sent back by Tuesday. Parent volunteers (make sure you already have a vulnerable sector form completed) please contact the school (or Miss.Sturgeon at katrina.sturgeon@ocsb.ca) if you are able to come and we will assign you a group. There is no room on the bus for parents, so make arrangements to carpool. You can meet here at the school and drive together.
Thanks!

News this week

Miss. Sturgeon is away sick with a very high fever (105F) from a strep infection that went into her bloodstream. She is hoping to be back Wednesday if the medication works well. Please watch your children for signs of strep.

Facts to know about Strep:
https://healthresearchfunding.org/6-important-facts-strep-throat/

**Please watch for information coming home about our June field trip. We were hoping to go to the Indigenous Day Solstice Pow Wow again this year, but still have not heard back from the organization. Instead, we will be going to the Museum of Nature to look at the plastics in our ocean exhibit, which fits into our eco-awareness projects (such as our class Skip the Straw campaign) and also partners well with our current Endangered Species report writing. **

Dividers Licence Test Friday

Students are working towards their Ontario Dividers Licence. A practice test was sent home on Tuesday. You can review it and practice. The test will follow the same format, a gradual increase from fact families to triple digit (dividend) by single digit (divisor) as per the Grade 5 curriculum. If your child does not have fast/memorized recall of times tables, it is a good time to start so they can reduce fractions and answer problems more efficiently in Grade 6.

A keepsake magnet with your child's photo will be on the dividers licence. It will be presented in class by the principal once they are ready. FUN!!

VIDEO HELP:

Student Survey

Students:
Please fill in this survey if you were absent:

https://ocsb.ca1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_0ihG31eBuFjeYpD?school=St.MartindePorres

Miss. Sturgeon sick

Miss.Sturgeon is still sick with bronchitis/breathing difficulty and a respiratory infection. She went home at lunch today and will be away tomorrow as well.

Homework will be very small. If it is not finished due to it being posted so late, don't worry. Hand it in whenever time allows.

Open House

Thank you to all who came by our open house today. The students had a lot of work on our walls to look at---from poetry and stories, to art and even ongoing science projects. We hope you enjoyed your visit!

School Visit

THIS NOTE CAME HOME TODAY. PLEASE RETURN TOMORROW (TUESDAY) or WEDNESDAY AT THE LATEST.

Sick

Miss. Sturgeon is still sick with bad bronchitis. She will try half day tomorrow and hope to be back Tuesday.

General News

Our student teacher, Miss. Martin (who has been practice teaching our morning classes: language and math) will have her final day on Thursday. She has been teaching for 6 weeks straight in language and math, with a dash of some science and gym.

The classroom Easter Egg hunt scheduled tomorrow will happen when Miss.Sturgeon is feeling better and in class, and not with a supply teacher.

Stay tuned for Education Week events, coming up soon (May 6th to 10th)

Let's Talk Science will be working with the grade 5 students on May 2nd with tasks related to building stable structures and forces acting on bridges.

Father Rick will be listening to any missed Confessions for grade 5 students on April 30th at 1:00pm.

Sick

Miss. Sturgeon is away sick with a very bad cough and no voice. She will try to be back Wednesday afternoon or Thursday.

Yearbook

From our school:

"We are pleased to announce that St. Martin de Porres will have a yearbook once again for the 2018-2019 school year.These yearbooks make a wonderful keepsake for your child's first years in Kindergarten right up to their graduating year in grade 6. Every class and every student will be featured. Tons of activities, dress up days, events and all of our awesome clubs and sports teams. It even has a page for autographs. We were lucky to get an extremely fair and low cost of only $17 per book. You don't want to miss out on this amazing opportunity to have your child's best school memories captured in time.

Yearbooks are available through school cash online and will be sent home with your child at the end of the year."

https://ocsb.schoolcashonline.com/

You will have until Monday, May 6, 2019 to get one. Hurry, time runs out fast!

If you have any questions or would like to share any pictures, please feel free to email Michelle Jurica at stmdp.yearbook@gmail.com

Bus Cancel Day

School buses and vans are cancelled today due to freezing rain. Material in class will be review work. Please try your Confession Prep page from home.

Reconciliation

Students will be bringing an Examination of Conscience Prep/Helper sheet to guide them with their Confession on Tuesday. Please help your child (if they ask), to prepare their hearts for what they wish to talk about with Father Rick. Some students prefer to have a small list of things carried with them (no names on the page) in case they get nervous as well as holding their Act of Contrition prayer.

Please refer to the helper sheets the students will be bringing home Monday evening. They are also provided in the HOMEWORK section of this blog.

Lenten News

Our OK Clean Water Lenten project is continuing. Please encourage your child to take on household chores or perform acts of kindness in exchange for a small donation to bring to our school. We have a Water is a Treasure box/chest at the front of the room that is slowly filling up. Let's keep it going!

Reconciliation- Father Rick is coming to speak with our class about Confession. Student will have the special opportunity to confess their sins and say their Penance. The dates are Tuesday April 9th and April 23rd at 1:15.

General News

Our student teacher Miss. Martin will be with us for the next six weeks. She will practice teaching Procedural Writing/Reading as well as gym and our Matter unit in Science.

Math will primarily focus on decimals, fractions, division and using what we learn about these topics to word problems and measurement. Although we will also be studying geometry, elements of decimals, fractions and division will continue to be a focus for the rest of the year.

Please take time to review times tables with your child. Students need repetition....reciting them in the car, making them into a song, doing flashcards with a stuffed animal. We will being adding multiplication tables shortly to our homework. In April, there will be weekly Mad Minute quizzes that will focus weekly on specific times tables (such as the 4 and 5 times tables). This is to give students repetition and improve recall speed. Students with fast recognition of their times tables and fact families are much more successful with division and fractions.

Interviews

Several parents were unable to make their interview times tonight or did not return their slips for if they were attending by today. We also had a few parents that thought about it and then decided to ask for an interview after the time to request closed. Therefore, I will hold another evening after March Break. Please watch the website here and the agenda for interview time slips and information.
See you soon,
Thanks!

Katrina Sturgeon

Skating Tomorrow

We have our last skate time tomorrow (10:00am), so don't forget your skates and bike helmet. Miss Sturgeon is sick so the supply taking the students will be Mrs. Weins.

Have fun! Miss.Sturgeon is sad to miss it.

No Homework

There is no homework this week.

Scholastic

We are joining Ms. Natalie Andrews Grade 5 class with their Scholastic orders for the rest of the year. If you are interested, peruse the copy sent home today and order online. Select Natalie Andrews from the teacher menu.

Under the FIRST TIME HERE, click on the orange PARENTS section. Then fill in Province ONTARIO, City of Kanata and keep following the steps!

Here is the fast link to the site in the image below: https://canadaclubs.scholastic.ca/en/home

Interviews

Hello Parents and Guardians! Interview time slots are being sent home tomorrow if you indicated you would like an interview on the report card page. I will be holding them on March 6th and March 7th to accommodate everyone (we have a large class). Please RSVP if you can attend your time and return the bottom slip. If not, we will try and find a time after March Break. Time slots are in ten minute increments, same as Progress Report time.

Skating

SKATING

Don't forget your skates! Tomorrow is our second skating opportunity. If you are able to volunteer your time to tie skates, or come skate with us, please head over to the arena for 10:00am! See you there!

Interview News

Interview time slots will be assigned and sent home on Monday for our March 7th interview evening. Watch for it in the agenda! I will assign for parents who have requested via agenda notes or returning the Report Card form. Thanks!

Tomorrow and Friday

A reminder for upcoming activities:

Tomorrow- Wednesday- Hawaiian Dress Up Day AND special Virtual Reality presentation in the Learning Commons for our class!

Friday- PJ Day, Outdoor Play Day and special BOOK FAIR in the afternoon. ALL BOOKS 25 cents! Buy them and take them! No special orders etc.

Interviews

Due to the fact that half the class wished to have interviews with Miss.Sturgeon, a notice will come home with an assigned time slot--- same as the Progress Report interviews. Interviews will be in 10 minute time slots on Thursday, March 7th. Please watch for your assigned time in the agenda on a coloured sheet of paper. If you cannot make the time slot, please send a note. Thanks!

School is closed tomorrow

Our school is closed tomorrow due to the storm.

News article with some good ideas: https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/how-to-survive-a-snowpocalypse-in-ottawa-a-comprehensive-guide

Keep an Eye on the News

Please watch the news about school tomorrow. The weather looks pretty horrible. There is even a small chance of school closure. Be safe and stay out off the roads if you can. Check our school site for information.

Costume Week/Spirit Week!

This week is full of Valentines, Luv2Groove Dance and Costumes!

Monday- Crazy Hair Day  (AND A MATH TEST!)
Tuesday- Twin Day---+ Luv2Groove Dancing Lesson 10:50am
Wednesday- Hawaiian/Tropical Day (and it looks like a snowstorm in our forecast)
Thursday- Red/White/Pink Valentines Colours-- + Valentine Card Exchange 11:15am 
Friday- PD Day

Math Test Date Change

Upon looking at the weekly calendar, we will have to move the Math Test study guide and hence, the math test. Monday is skating, Tuesday I am at an info session in the morning (I don't leave study guides for supply teachers), and Wednesday our student teacher is visiting and would like to finish her media literacy lesson. We will have to send the guide Thursday and have our graphing test the following week on Monday February 11th. 

Skating Monday

Our class skate time is 10:00am on Monday. If you checked that you were able to volunteer, please come out to the arena. We always need as much help as we can get tying up skates and helping out new skaters.

Please note, there is already a freezing rain warning for Monday according to the weather forecast. If there is a bus cancel day, our class will not be skating, as all extra events are cancelled.

Hope to see you Monday! Don't forget a bike helmet, mitts and your skates!

Graphing Unit Test

There will be a short graphing unit test next week. A study guide will come home on Tuesday (Monday we have skating in the way), the test will be on Friday, February 8th. Studying will be the only homework next week.

Our new math unit is a focus on Measurement (length, area, perimeter).

Valentines---Thinking Ahead

Several students asked how many students we have so they can buy Valentine cards. We have steadily been increasing our class size and even had a new student today. Our total now is 33 students in the morning. We will not exchange cards in the afternoon, so all day students do not need to bring another set etc. Hope this helps. I can send a list of first names if you wish to personalize cards, but please request this in the agenda. It is simpler to just sign your child's name on the cards and leave names blank.

Measuring and Science!

Love these videos:

Heat Fixed

    Our classroom is cozy and warm again. Our heat is working. Our snow day today had 8 students and we worked on story writing, review and did some work on an afternoon art project.
    Stay safe on the roads, as we are apparently getting more snow and freezing rain tonight. No new material is covered on snow days, so please do not worry your child will need to catch up with peers if they did not make it to class.

Heat Unreliable

Our classroom temperature was cold today (14 degrees). Since it is so cold outside and our heat seems to have a hard time keeping up, please send your child with layers and sweaters in case it is just as cold tomorrow! We wore our jackets most of the day today.

Happy New Year

Hello, and welcome back from the holidays! We have a lot coming up over the next few months, including skating starting the first week of February and a pop quiz about graphing this week! I hope everyone had a lovely Christmas break and got to spend time with friends and family.

Our math tests will be coming home tomorrow. Please sign them and return by Thursday. I am sending them in a duotang so they do not get wrinkled or lost. Look for it tomorrow!

Please drive safely in the bad weather tomorrow morning. Watch for bus cancelations and icy sidewalks.

The next month:
Math focus on graphing AND mean, median and mode. Then decimals, multiplication and measurement (cm, mm, meters and conversions)

Language Focus- Working on summarizing skills, retelling fiction (Somebody Wanted But So Then strategy) as well as writing a logical Narrative story. We will also work on reviewing how to write a proper paragraph (topic sentence, supporting facts...)