Pumpkin Day

What an exciting day we had! To start, everyone became a pumpkin in my patch and each person had to convince me not to pick them. There were so many persuasive techniques applied I almost didn't know how to choose (or who not to choose!). In the end, I was most persuaded by Sagni's letter. Just wait until you hear it tomorrow! Next, we did lots of math with our donated pumpkins (estimation, measurement, etc!). The students all dove right into those pumpkins to get those seeds! Awesome! Between this, our haunted house house story and indoor recess - we had quite a day! Hope you had a great Halloween night! Remember not to eat too much candy and to brush your teeth!

PS DON'T FORGET IT'S PICTURE DAY TOMORROW!  RETAKES & CLASS PHOTO

Halloween Awesome

Trick or treating with young children

Not sure what I loved the most. The anticipation to get the candy, the running from one house to the next or having them go to the door, say Trick or Treat and leave without their candy prompting the homeowners to run after them. Trick or Treat? Awesome!

Propeller Dance!

Today the grade 5s and 6s were treated to a  special performance by a very special dance troop. Propeller Dance is an Ottawa based integrated dance-company that helps break down the myths and stereotypes about disabilities and the arts and explores issues of social diversity and collaboration.   For more info about the company, you can check out their website:    Propeller Dance 

Yesterday's awesome

Glitter
Makes everything look just a little bit more festive and special! AWESOME!

Today's awesome 

Dance
Fun to do -  Fun to watch.  AWESOME!

PS  Don't forget to wear your costumes tomorrow and bring in a can (or 10!) to support our We Scare Hunger campaign!

Busy, busy week!

Wow!  This week is going to fly by with all of the activities we have planned.  Here is a little rundown of what's going on:

Tuesday:  Kindergarten special helpers & Catholic Graduate Expectations Awards
Wednesday: Propeller dance presentation
Thursday:  Happy Halloween!  Don't forget to wear your costumes (safe and appropriate for school).  We will be having a fun-filled pumpkin day. Friday: Photo retakes and class picture.

All week:  We Scare Hunger campaign!  Don't forget to bring in lots of food to help those in our community who are less fortunate than we are.

Here are my (somewhat late) awesomes:

Friday's awesome

Movie Theatre Popcorn
Freshly popped with real butter, truly a taste sensation in your mouth. Eating this could even make the dullest movie enjoyable. So take a seat, watch those previews and enjoy every bite ofAWESOME!

Today's awesome

Hot chocolate from an arena
Mmmm...  Hot chocolate from the arena.  Not sure why it tastes so good, just happy it does. Awesome!

We Scare Hunger

Our morning started out with many of the grade 6 teachers wearing capes.  Why you ask?  Because we are super heros and you can be one too!

It takes a real hero to stand up to hunger.  Everyday, millions around the world go hungry, even in our own backyard.  This Halloween, our St. Emily’s community, led by our heroic grade 6 students, will help stop hunger before it strikes.

We Scare Hunger, is “Free the Children’s” annual campaign to mobilize youth around local hunger issues. This initiative helps remind us that we can all play a part in helping the more than 900,000 Canadians who rely on their local food banks every month.

From October 28th to November 4th, we will be collecting canned food items and non-perishable food items that will be donated to the Barrhaven food cupboard.  

Sometimes changing the world needs to start at home.

Today's awesome

Superheros

Who wouldn't want to wear a cape and a mask?  Awesome!

French Presentations

I have been so impressed with your French presentations over the past few weeks.  We have seen everything from Science experiments, to magic tricks, to sports, to historical events, etc.  We have even been able to answer some of the questions about biodiversity that we had through your presentations!

After each presentation, we take the time to do some peer feedback as we look for the positives (shine on!), and room for improvement (green to grow).  This helps each student create goals for their future presentations.  Before the next presentation begins, the students are reminded of these goals.  So far, I must say I was wowed by how you have applied the feedback (some have slowed down their speaking, others have made more eye contact, etc.). Keep up the super work!

As a class, we decided that a presentation every two weeks was excessive, so we have changed the presentation to every month instead.  Quality over quantity :)  Everyone has been assigned a week (this week is week 3). To see the schedule, look at the French Presentation schedule tab.

It is so great that you are working independently at home on a topic of your choice, I am learning so many new things!  I just can't wait to see the next round of presentations!      

Mme Charles

PS  Here are my awesomes

Monday's awesome
Finishing a load of laundry

Laundry.  My arch nemesis.  We have not, nor will we ever be friends.  It is a job that is both thankless and never, ever, ever complete.  Yet, I cannot ignore the feeling of self-satisfaction that arises when I finish a load and put it away.  I may grumble, but in the end, there truly is nothing better than putting on some warm PJs or smelling those fresh towels.  Awesome!

Tuesday's awesome
Finding something you were missing

Debit card, thou debit card, wherefore art thou debit card?  How is it possible that one small card can cause such a commotion when it goes missing?  No matter, as the missing item has been located (thanks to the best husband ever!).  What once was lost, now is found?  Awesome!      

Today's awesome
Laughing so hard you get tears in your eyes

So maybe you cracked a joke that only you think was funny.  Who cares?  At least you appreciate your own sense of humour!  Awesome!

Autumn's Wedding

On Friday, the students tried to figure out how much money Autumn will have in her wedding fund depending on how old she is when she gets married (did I mention she's not getting married until she is at least 23?!). Since I was away, I am anxious to see how you solved this patterning problem. 

Hope everyone had a restful weekend!  Mme

Here are the rest of last week's awesomes:

Thursday's awesome:

Sharing a laugh with a friend
They say laughter is the best medicine and I must say I wholeheartedly agree. I love when things are not only funny in the moment, but when you can think about it days later and still have a it bring a smile upon your face. Can't help but think that's AWESOME!

Friday's awesome: 

Dancing in the car
Admit it, everyone does it. Your favourite song of the moment comes on and you can't help it. The beat takes over and next thing you know people driving by are staring at you strangely. Who cares?! I say, turn up that dial and crank up the awesome!

Patterning Rules!

For the past couple of days, we have been looking at patterns and trying to determine the recursive and explicit pattern rules.  I know it may not always be easy, but believe me when I say that being able to do this will help you out a lot next year!  Don't worry if you are still confused, we are going to keep working on it!

Tuesday's awesome

Being told you're a pretty good momma

I know I will never win the prize for World's Best Mother (let's face it, I couldn't even crack the top 1 000 000), in fact some days it feels as though I may even be a candidate for the worst.  That's why being told by my three year old (and I quote) that I am "a pretty good momma" comes as high praise indeed.  Who needs an award anyway?  Awesome!

Today's awesome

Patterns

They are all around us. They can be found in nature, math, language, art, etc. They allow us to predict what's coming and solve problems quickly and effectively.

Awesome! Awesome! Awesome!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving!  I hope you enjoyed some special time with your family over this long weekend.  We are all truly blessed and have much to be thankful for.  As such, this week's blog homework asks you to reflect on your life and name the top three things that you are thankful for.  I look forward to reading your posts and I am anxious to see you all again tomorrow!

Mme

Here are some overdue awesomes (thank goodness there are no late fees!);

Tuesday's Awesome

Quotes

I just love quotes! They can be funny, sad, inspirational, thought-provoking, etc. One of my favourites:

Sing like nobody is listening,

Live like's it's Heaven on Earth,

Work like you don't need money,

Love like you've never been hurt,

And dance like no one is watching.

My other favourite quote: Awesome!

Wednesday's Awesome:
Random Act of Kindness day

How cool is it that there is a day that celebrates random acts of kindness?  In honour of this day, I paid for the person behind me at Tim Horton's.  Making a stranger's day just because you can?  Awesome!    
 
Thursday's Awesome:
Public Libraries

A library is truly a magical place. You can get lost in the bookshelves, find that novel you've been wanting to read, escape into another world by cracking open a book right there and then.
And all this for free... Awesome!

Friday's Awesome:

Pizza & movies

Peanut butter and jelly.  Cookies and milk.  Pizza & movies.  If ever two things were destined to be together, surely it is these.  Regardless of the pizza, and regardless of the movie (in this case Barbie Mariposa and the Fairy Princess) nothing else quite compares.  Awesome!    

Today's Awesome: 

Baby Giggles

Best.  Sound.  Ever.
AWESOME!

A mink, a fink, a skating rink

This morning we started discussing parts of speech and today was all about nouns.  Proper, common, plural, singular, concrete and abstract; they truly are all around us!  Without them, sentences just wouldn't be the same! 

Today's awesome 

Garlic cheese bread

Okay, so garlic bread in and of itself is pretty fantastic.  Add some cheese and your taste buds will be on cloud nine!  Awesome!

Busy weeks!

Sorry for the lack of posts lately!  It was a crazy week for me.  We are gearing up for two short weeks, but they will be jam packed!  This week we start our patterning unit, and we will also be talking about parts of speech and recount writing.  In French, we will continue to discuss biodiversity and Canada's trading partners.  I am looking forward to seeing more of your presentations (which are fabulous by the way!) and we will hopefully get a chance to finish our op art.  Hope you had a chance to relax over the weekend!  Looking forward to seeing you all!

I am so behind on my awesomes! Here they are:

Monday's awesome: 

DecimalsI know they sometimes seem like unnecessary numbers that follow a whole, but really where would we be without them??? They are so useful - we use them when we buy things, when we pump gas in our car, when measuring, etc. In fact, without them, I couldn't say that decimals are .1% cool and 99.9%....Awesome!

Tuesday's awesome:

Saying I love you

It is incredible to me that 3 little words can hold so much power. Often times, we forget to tell those who mean the most to us just how much we love them. Take every opportunity you can to let people know how much they mean to you, whether it be your mother, your father, your sister, your brother, your grandparents, your friends, etc. We never know what tomorrow will bring. Never missing a chance to say I love you? Awesome!
Wednesday's awesome:

Getting new books
Two big huge boxes filled with 50 new adventures.  Our class library just got a lot bigger! Awesome!

Thursday's awesome:

Mr. Sketch markers

They are colourful and smell fantastic. You can't help but smile when you use them! AWESOME!

Friday's awesome:

Fridays
Need I say more? AWESOME!