EOEP UPDATE! A MESSAGE FROM DR. PHIL BUTTERFIELD: * Please also see attachment in Important Links/Docs for information concerning: What is place based education and why does it matter? Good afternoon Connect parents; During the staff retreat last week, we explored many dimensions of the Experiential and Outdoor Education Program plan. Feedback from across the school community - parents, students, staff, and Board members, has been carefully processed, considered, and factored into the planning process. Among the comments that were often repeated were the desire to maintain strong, positive relationships between teachers and students, maintain the pod structure of specialist teachers, and consider a pilot project that does not add more classes to the school. The Experiential and Outdoor Education Program provides students with opportunities to enrich learning by making meaningful and relevant connections between classroom learning and the community in which we live, work, and play. The EOEP builds on our pre-existing foundation of inquiry, outdoor education, and technology by introducing real world applications of knowledge and skills, while also exploring a sense of each individuals’ place within the community and their development as an extraordinary citizen. The feedback provided by all stakeholders has had a direct and profound impact on the evolution of the EOEP plan. We are now developing a comprehensive plan for EOEP (that will include a new name and acronym) that has addressed the following considerations:
Thank you, Dr. Phil Butterfield 4.1 & 4.2 Humanities, Health & Learning StrategiesThis week in humanities 4.1 and 4.2 students finished up their First Nations research from the textbook and moved deeper into exploring stories! We practiced one together "The Ojibway Creation Story" and then students used our scholastic collection of Trickster Tales to independently work. For each story students are following a template found on Google Docs: Title & Author, Story Summary, Author's Message (including evidence from the story), 2 Reading Strategies, and Connections/Thoughts/Responses. Fourth graders have put together an interactive question wall to use throughout our study! We also worked on our personal spelling lists this week and added our Mastered Lists to Freshgrade... check it out! In Health/Learning Strats, 4.2 learned about the "Thinkables" and how they can be used in different ways to defeat our SuperFlex Unthinkables in challenging moments. We played 3 card games that helped us understand applying strategies in different situations and to remember each SuperFlex character. 4.3 & 4.4 Humanities, Health & Learning StrategiesStudents in 4.3 and 4.4 are also investigating Alberta's history and considering what lessons we can learn from the encounters between indigenous and European peoples in our province. We have been challenging the students to use a variety of resources, both fiction and non, to develop their understanding and to think critically. On Friday we also reaffirmed our historian pledges, thinking more about the attitudes we all want to bring to our historical inquiry. Check out the display showcasing our pledges, and our tipi constructed to symbolize our community values, next time you are in the school! In the coming weeks we will be engaged in a variety of activities to deepen our understanding of perspectives, the history of Alberta, and the lessons we could learn from various indigenous communities. In health we have been continuing to explore the Unthinkables and think critically about our own behaviour and how it affects those around us. Students have been working on an interdisciplinary challenge in Learning Strategies, combining their knowledge of stories and storytelling with their understanding of Light & Shadow. We are excited to see their performances next week! In Other News...Grade 4 students participated in 2 important assemblies this week! On Wednesday we celebrated PINK SHIRT DAY and focused on steps we can take as a community to defeat bullying and stand up for ourselves and others. Students learned about accessing Kids Help Phone, and were inspired by Caleb Hart (a musician and public speaker) to stick together as a community and support each other! Students in 4.1 / 4.2 wrote letters to their future selves about how to be a better friend! On Thursday we had a representative from Right 2 Play come in and talk to us about how we can "do your part" in contributing through play! We learned about opportunities taking place all over the world, and how positive play can impact our lives everyday. Right 2 Play is an organization that uses play to educate and empower children and youth to overcome the effects of poverty, conflict and disease in disadvantaged communities. Check it out! http://www.righttoplay.com/Pages/default.aspx YOU ARE INVITED! Connect Charter School presents "The Audition" a play by Don Zolidis. We are presenting this production as a dessert cafe. Please come out and support the grade 8 and 9 actors and enjoy coffee and dessert. Please feel free to share this information with your friends and family. Just follow the link below to reserve your seats. Hope to see you there! "A new theater teacher is bringing a production of A Chorus Line to the high school. Though the hopefuls range from shy to outrageous, and from diva-like to determined, everyone has a chance to step into the spotlight. A hilarious and heartbreaking look at the madness of auditioning and the actors who brave the process for that perfect part." March 8 and 9th 2017 7:00 PM Shows @Connect Charter School Reserve tickets: http://tinyurl.com/hk5jubh Thank you! Heather Melville 4.2 Welcomes back Tortuga, our class pet turtle! Math & ScienceThis week in Math/Sci, students completed their up cycling projects and reflected on the importance of this creative reuse movement. Below is one example of a project and one student's reflection. Also this week, students began to explore light by challenging previous beliefs regarding how we see objects. Ask the students in grade 4 if they can see an apple in the dark. In mathematics, students continued to represent their mathematical understanding both symbolically and concretely. Students used arrays to represent their understanding of multiplication. Students have demonstrated how multiplication is fast addition of the same group of numbers. Students shared inventive strategies for multiplication equations and the group saw that there is more than one way to solve an equation.. Upcycling reflection by Jaxson But why not just buy a coat hanger?
My project is a utensil coat hanger it looks cool on your wall and it saves the environment. But why not just buy a coat hanger?
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This week in math students began to take a look at mental math strategies for addition and subtraction. Students also began to look at comparing and ordering numbers. Coming down the pipes next week we will have review and then an assessment of place value as well as ordering numbers. Continuing with our Waste and Our World exploration, this week students were challenged to research and design an up cycling project that they will be creating in class next week. Students also applied their knowledge to create a mixed recycling and compost pilot program for the school. This program will start in the grade 4 classrooms, with the hope that we will be able to work out the kinks and then start it in the rest of the school. Students were challenged to examine their lunches and create both a tally chart and graph to display how much of their lunch could be recycled, composted, or had to be thrown in the garbage. In humanities this week, students have continued to think historically and begin thoughtful questioning. We are working on learning more about Alberta's First Nations People through exploring various resources. As we learn about stories and what they can teach us, students viewed "The Drum Calls Softly" as an example of our third type of story, Words & Pictures. We used observations and questioning to brainstorm different categories and deepen our understanding of the First Nations People's 1. Tradition 2. Lifestyle 3. Family 4. The Land 5. Animals 6. Spirituality This week students will take a closer look at how First Nations People lived with the land in our 6 regions. Check your child's google doc to see new work! Upcoming:
- This week is a short week, extending into Family Day. No school Feb. 16th - 20th - Bake Sale @ noon Feb. 13 & 14th supporting Kid's Help Phone - Pink Shirt Day Wednesday Feb. 22nd http://pinkshirtday.ca In humanities this week we have started exploring what being a historian means, and what kind of characteristics historians have! Students in 4.3 and 4.4 have started to create their historian journals and work inside of them exploring connections with the land we previously researched. We started writing some stories about those lands and are excited about the interesting ideas the kids have, and the insight they have shown already in their connections! Students also continued working on their Free Reading Challenges, and are making excellent progress recording their use of our active reading strategies. Students in 4.1 & 4.2 humanities brought in artifacts that represent First Nations people to them. With the incredible variety of artifacts brought in, we turned our room into a museum for a gallery walk. Students were asked to analyze the artifacts by looking closely and try thinking like a historian. We decided that asking questions along the way will deepen our understanding and be an important part of our learning. Students concluded the gallery walk by sharing questions and exploring new ideas that came about in our conversations. Lastly, to kick off our First Nations unit students used an app called Pic Collage to create a cover page for their writing journals! Alongside our First Nations studies, students will be exploring "what is a story?" and "Why might people write or tell stories?" We read "The Book With No Pictures" and watched "The Arrival" as demonstrations of two different types of stories (no words, no pictures). Students brainstormed some pros and cons for each, and next week we will discover another type of story. In grade 4 math/science students continued to practice their basic addition and subtraction facts through quick math games at the beginning of class. Place value continued to be a focus, as students ordered numbers from least to greatest and practiced correctly saying numbers up to the millions.
In science, students calculated how long their lunch would last in landfill and weight the waste our classrooms produced per day. Students also researched and brainstormed ideas to initiate a composting system in the grade four classrooms. |
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June 2017
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