The Merkley Monitor
November 2008
Greetings
I was pleased to see so many parents at Open House on Thursday, October 2nd and at our classroom play on Thursday, October 30th. I consider myself fortunate to teach in a community where parents are concerned about their children’s education and are committed to helping them.
The students had a busy and productive October. They have well-established routines and are displaying a positive attitude towards learning. We celebrated Thanksgiving with a variety of edible “rocks” and Hallowe’en with a classroom play and party. The Grade Fives worked hard on their in-class social studies project and mock election. On Thursday, October 16th we had a guest speaker from the Alzheimer’s Society come into our class to speak about Alzheimer’s. The Grade Five students had an opportunity to go on two field trips – on Thursday, October 2nd they went to Sydenham Public School to listen to a talk about Little Women for Little Women in Afghanistan. On Thursday, October 16th they went to The Agnes Etherington Art Centre to view photographs by the Canadian photographer, Edward Burtinsky.
Welcome
We welcome Miss Jenny Lee into our classroom for four weeks starting on November 29th. She is a teacher candidate from the Faculty of Education at Queen’s University and we are lucky to have her completing her second teaching practicum with us.
Thank You
We would like to thank Mrs. Lea Westlake, Eli’s Mom, and Mrs. Tracey Stinson for coming into our class to help the students sew their cloth bags. We would also like to thank the parents who supplied the treats for our Hallowe’en party. Many thanks to all the families who supported our school’s Penny Drive for The United Way Campaign and helped our class raise $30.27!
Citizenship and Personal Achievement
Each month we recognize student achievement during an assembly. This month we would like to congratulate Shawna for being an outstanding Recycling volunteer, Ashley for being our lead role in our classroom play, Josephina for being an outstanding classroom citizen, and Aydan for excelling on our Rocks and Mineral Science unit.
Communication
I plan on sending home The Merkley Monitor at the beginning of each month. Some parents have indicated that they are willing to help us cut down on paper by having me forward this newsletter via the school’s web site or to you directly at your own e-mail address. If interested, please contact me at the above merkleym@limestone.on.ca.
Participation
Congratulations to Eli and Mariana for their fine performances at the LDSB Fort Henry Meet, on Tuesday, October 14th. A special congratulations goes to Mariana who placed 10th overall in her division.
Congratulations too to all the Grade Five candidates that ran for class president. A special congratulations goes to Joshua H. who won the mock election.
Please encourage your child to participate in the activities that happen at Central!!
Language Arts
Students are reminded that Tuesdays we have a library book exchange period. They are reminded to keep a record of the pages that they read at home and to write a short reflection for each book that they read.
In November we will be working on using “Visualizing” to help comprehension strategies. When talking with your child remind them that good listeners visualize what they are being told, and that good readers visualize the passage that they are reading, to check for comprehension.
During November we will be reviewing the use of apostrophes. “Apostrophes” will be one of the reporting categories for Current Events during November.
Poem of the Month
Our poem for November, In Flanders Fields, is attached to this newsletter. We will be presenting this poem as a choral reading presentation at the Remembrance Day Assembly on Tuesday, November 11th.
Mathematics
In November the Grade Five students will finish a unit on Geometry and start a unit on Decimals.
In Geometry the students will investigate the characteristics of different figures, and explore relationships between vertices (corners), side length, and angle measurement of these figures. In this unit, your child will:
• Sort and name polygons by sides and angles
• Measure, name, and construct angles
• Construct triangles, given side and angle measures
• Identify and construct nets of solids
In the Decimal Unit the students will:
• use estimation when solving problems involving the multiplication and division of whole numbers to help judge the reasonableness of a solution
• solve problems involving the addition, subtraction and multiplication of whole numbers
• add and subtract decimal numbers to hundredths
• represent compare and order fractional amount with like denominator including proper and improper fractions and mixed numbers
• demonstrate and explain equivalent representations of a decimal number
• divide three-digit whole numbers by one-digit whole numbers
• divide decimal numbers by 10 and 100
Music
In Music the students will complete a unit on the knowledge of musical elements.
In Grade Four, students are expected to:
• Recognize that the treble clef defines the names of the lines and spaces on the staff
• Recognize that specific pitches may be represented by notes place on a staff
• Identify whole notes, half-notes, quarter notes, and eighth -notes and their corresponding rests in 4/4 time
• Demonstrate their understanding of beat through conduction a piece in 4/4 time, using the standard conduction pattern
In Grade Five, students are expected to:
• Interpret correctly whole notes, half-notes, quarter-notes, and eighth-notes, and the corresponding rests in 4/4 time
• Conduct in 4/4 and 2/4 time, using standard conducting patterns
• Demonstrate understanding of the meaning of the sharp, flat, and natural symbols
Science
In November we start units in the Energy and Control strand. In Grade 4 this unit focuses on Light and Sound Energy. In Grade 5 this unit focuses on Properties of Changing Matter and Conservation of Energy.
Toward the end of this unit in December the Grade Four students will be completing an in-class science project. To make their musical instrument they will need to bring in some materials from home. Look for more information later in the month.
Upcoming Events
On Wednesday, November 19th our class will be going to the Kingston Area Recycling Centre. That afternoon we have a fire safety presentation. On Wednesday, November 26th our class will be going to see the play Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat at LCVI. Notices for these trips will go home closer to the dates of the trips.
Requests
As winter approaches, I would like to recommend that all articles of clothing that students wear are labelled clearly and that you encourage your children to bring home all hats, mitts, and scarves on a nightly basis.
Physical Education and Human Growth
In Health, the students will complete a unit on Substance Use and Abuse. In Grade Four this unit concentrates on the harmful substances found in tobacco. The students are expected to be able to describe the short- and long-term effects of first and second hand smoke, and identify the advantages of being smoke-free.
In Grade Five this strand concentrates on the short- and long-term effects of alcohol use and abuse. The students will be taught to recognize factors that can influence the decision to drink alcohol and techniques to deal with peer pressure in situations pertaining to substance use and abuse.
During November we will be working on age appropriate volleyball skills and volleyball type games.
Steps to Respect
According to recent research, bullying is an aggressive type of repeated behaviour that should be actively discouraged by parents and teachers alike. Without question, bullying inflicts a great deal of pain on its victims. Steps to Respect is a bullying prevention program that the students will be covering throughout the course of the year. The primary goal of this program is to help create a safe, caring, respectful learning environment in which bullying is not tolerated. In each newsletter I will include updates and ideas to help you empower your children when they come face to face with a bully.
“Talk to your child about which adults at school and at home could help them if bullying happens. Discuss what they might tell an adult when they report bullying. Assure them that adults will try to help.”
Snacks
Students are reminded to bring healthy snacks and use recyclable containers. We appreciate your assistance in helping your child understand what “sometimes” snacks are, and to save them, if they have them, for afternoon snack.
If you have any concerns about your child’s progress or information to supplement curriculum, please feel free to contact me at school by phone (613-546-9454) or e-mail (merkleym@limestone.on.ca)
Margaret Merkley
In Flanders Fields
In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe;
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, tho poppies grow
In Flanders fields.
By John McCrae
