Merry Christmas!

Hello,

Thanks so much to everyone that was able to attend our singing and dancing performances this morning! The kids were very proud to show off their skills.

Before our performances, we were practising and sharing our performances with the other Grade 3 classes.

This afternoon, we made a craft, which I won't describe, in case any students are planning to give their crafts to their parents as a gift.

Finally, we finished up our work on our Christmas-themed Venn Diagrams, tally charts and pictographs. We also had some DPA Just Dance time to end the day.

Any of the spelling or Math work from this week that wasn't finished can be completed over the holidays. Otherwise, the students should be spending time with their families over the holidays, reading each day for at least 15-20 minutes, and if they could share at least one exciting thing they did over the holidays, in a post on Kidblog, that would be great!

Thanks so much for all of the generous gifts and kind notes! I look forward to seeing many of you at the movies next Wednesday!

Merry Christmas!

Mr, Skinner

Tickets and Christmas Cards Heading Home Today

Hello,

All of the students who submitted a written request for movie tickets received them today, inside a Christmas card. Please let me know if you did not receive your tickets, otherwise, I look forward to seeing many of you next Wednesday morning. One student was not here today and I will give him his tickets and card when he returns to school tomorrow. Any students who are not attending the movie, will receive their Christmas card tomorrow as well.

This morning, we continued to work on making our own Venn Diagrams, tally charts and pictographs, based on Christmas-related questions. We will finish this work tomorrow. So far in this unit, I have handed out five activity sheets. If the students complete this work tonight, I will correct it over the holiday. If needed, students can finish this work over the Christmas break and I will correct it when we get back in January.

Next, we had an Advent Liturgy and discussion with all of the Grade 3 students in the learning commons. Then we practised "Can't Stop These Shoes" with Mrs. Zulpo's class.

A final reminder, that if you want to see a great performance by the Grade 3 students, we will be singing "Can't Stop These Shoes" in the learning commons with Mrs. Zulpo's class and dancing to "Jingle Bell Rock" in the gym with all of the Grade Threes this Friday. The performances will begin at 11 a.m. and we hope that many of you can make it.

Lastly, this afternoon, we watched and participated in the news show. Many students showcased their talents, including members of our class who participated with the choir. Everyone involved did a great job.

Also, I wanted to give a heartfelt thanks to everyone who brought in such generous gifts and kind notes. They were not at all necessary, but much appreciated. Thanks so much!

Have a great night!

Mr. Skinner

Christmas Venn Diagrams, Tally Charts and Pictographs

Hello,

This morning, we worked on our Venn diagram, tally chart and pictograph activity sheets, to prepare for an activity we started this afternoon. In groups of 3, we created Christmas-themed questions that we will ask the members of the class tomorrow, then display the responses. One question will be displayed as a Venn Diagram and the other question will be displayed as a tally chart and a pictograph.

The activity sheets for Venn Diagrams and tally charts are to be completed for homework tonight.

In Language, we finished and posted our Bedtime persuasive paragraphs and worked on our spelling sentences. Some students also started writing narrative stories that involve helping Santa when he is in trouble. If the bedtime paragraph was not completed in class, it should be finished for homework.

This afternoon, the Grade One students did a wonderful job of presenting this week's Advent liturgy. A reminder, that if you want to see a great performance by the Grade 3 students, we will be singing "Can't Stop These Shoes" in the learning commons with Mrs. Zulpo's class and dancing to "Jingle Bell Rock" in the gym with all of the Grade Threes this Friday. The performances will begin at 11 a.m. and we hope that many of you can make it.

 I am now off to the movie theatre to make my final purchases. I will be buying 11 more tickets for the shows. It looks like we will have a great turnout for this event next Wednesday! I'm really looking forward to it!

Have a great night.

Mr. Skinner

Movie Update

Hello,

I just got back from Landmark Theatres and they were very helpful.

Based on the written requests I have received so far, I bought the following tickets.

10 tickets for Star Wars at 11 a.m. on Wednesday, December 23, 2015.

3 tickets for the Peanuts Movie at 11:05 a.m. on Wednesday, December 23, 2015.

10 tickets for Alvin and the Chipmunks at 11:15 a.m. on Wednesday, December 23, 2015.

The good news is that I asked the staff to check the availability and there are still lots of seats available in all of the theatres, so I can buy as many tickets as your family needs tomorrow night.

Just send in your written request in your child's agenda, with the movie and number of tickets and I will purchase the the remainder of the tickets tomorrow. Don't worry if you can't commit by tomorrow. You can still join us on the day of the show and I will pay for your child's ticket that day. My only worry is that the tickets might sell out.

Some parents have already sent in the money for the additional tickets ($7 per ticket) and that is much appreciated.

If everyone could send in the payments for the additional tickets by Friday, I will send each family's tickets home, in an envelope, with a Christmas card from me.

Have a wonderful evening.

Mr. Skinner

A Good Response So Far

Hello,

I have received a good response today for the holiday movie trip. So far I have written requests for 10 tickets for Alvin and Chipmunks, 5 tickets for Star Wars and 3 tickets for the Peanuts movie.

I also have requests for 10 more tickets for Star Wars, but those have not been confirmed in writing. I am waiting on confirmation from 9 students regarding their possible attendance and how many tickets are required. If everyone could let me know if they intend to participate and need me to purchase tickets for them it would be much appreciated!

Once I have secured the tickets (hopefully today and tomorrow) I will then ask you to pay me for the additional tickets purchased for each family by the end of the week.

I will be heading to Landmark this afternoon to discuss the options for buying group tickets. Thanks for your participation and cooperation.

In Math today, we started to work on data management, focusing on sorting data and Venn diagrams. The double sided sheet dealing with recording and sorting data is for homework tonight.

In Language, the students worked on Kidblog to post their persuasive paragraph discussing whether students should have set bedtimes. If this was not finished, it needs to be completed tonight, or in class tomorrow morning, at the latest.

This afternoon, we visited the learning commons and learned how to search for and take books out, using the computers. We also practised for Friday's performance, singing "Can't Stop These Shoes" with Mrs. Zulpo's class in the learning commons.

Have a good evening.

Mr. Skinner

Math Measurement and a possible Christmas Holiday Event

Hello,

This morning, the students completed their Math Measurement tests. They worked very hard on this task (12 multiple choice questions and 2 short answer questions). I will return their work within the next few days, for review.

In Language, we worked on our Kidblog posts - after today, each student should have their "Acts of Kindess" and "Gettting to School" persuasive paragraphs completed and posted. If these posts are not finished, they should be completed for homework.

We also listed 10 Christmas-themed words that we find difficult to spell for this week's spelling sentences. This week's words are: Christmas, stockings, presents, reindeer, hot chocolate, calendar, Santa Claus, Advent Candle, ornament and lights, with a bonus word of Hanukkah. The students should also continue their daily reading, for 15-20 minutes each day.

This afternoon we completed our work with the hoppers in Science and continued to discuss our use of forces in the school.

Finally, I had an idea for something I would like to do for the kids, as an early Christmas present, if there is enough interest.

I would like to go to Landmark Theatres for the 11:00 am movie on Wednesday, December 23, 2015, and I would like you to join me!

I will pay for one ticket for each of my students. For supervision purposes, I would ask that each child has an adult with them at the show, either with each child coming with a parent, who will purchase their own ticket; or if you choose to organize a group of kids, one adult supervising the group of students they bring to the theatre.

I am planning on attending "The Force Awakens" but I see that the rating is not yet listed, and not all students will want to see this movie, so I would be happy to purchase tickets for students to watch "The Good Dinosaur", "The Peanuts Movie" or the "Alvin and the Chipmunks" movie.

I understand that it is the holiday season and not everyone will be available to attend. Please let me know, in your child's agenda, if you would be interested in attending.

I will need to know which movie you would like to attend and how many tickets you will need. Then I will go to Landmark after school on Tuesday and ask about the process of buying tickets for a large group in advance.

I will purchase the tickets in advance, then ask you to reimburse me for any adult tickets (or for other children you want to bring as well). I will be buying tickets for morning shows on standard screens, so all tickets will cost $7.00 each.

Again, if it doesn't work out, it's not a problem. I just thought this would be a fun way to get our wonderful group together for a fun event during the holidays.

Have a great evening!

Mr. Skinner

Hour of Code

Hello,

We had an amazing day today! First, the students worked on some programming games for the Hour of Code.

The students used their coding skills to solve games involving Star Wars, Frozen, Minecraft and more. The students are welcome to continue coding, by following the link below.

https://code.org/learn

Next, we worked on our hoppers for Science. The students will be bringing their hoppers home to show their families how they work.

In the gym, we continued to practise our "Jingle Bell Rock" dance and we played "Bucketball". The kids still find it pretty funny to throw a rubber chicken around during a cooperative game.

Finally, we practised "Can't Stop These Shoes" and reviewed the key concepts and answered sample questions for the Measurement unit evaluation on Monday. I will share the information in a Google Doc for the students for their review.

Also, if you're interested in giving your input, the School Board is asking when parents would like to have Christmas holidays next year. The options are:

1) Dec. 17, 2016 - Jan. 1, 2017

2) Dec. 24, 2016 - Jan. 8, 2017

Feel free to fill out the survey below.

http://archive.constantcontact.com/fs106/1101405363414/archive/1123082619181.html

Have a great weekend!

Mr. Skinner

Math Games and Blogging

Hello,

This morning we reviewed the concepts of capacity, mass and temperature. We did some work on the white boards, reviewed questions from our activity sheets and played some games to test our skills.

Tonight, the students are encouraged to review and edit their responses for these activity sheets and to practice their skills by playing the games on the links below (use of an English accent is optional).

Temperature Game

Capacity Game

Mass Game

I will be evaluating the students' understanding of the unit on Monday, so we will be reviewing various measurement tasks from the unit over the next few days.

In Language, it is now official, we are all bloggers! The students were very excited to use Kidblog today and make their first posts. The expectation is that each student will make one post (acts of kindness or persuasive paragraph about getting to school) and one comment. If this was not completed in class, it is to be completed for homework. I will be editing the posts and approving the comments.

In Science, we discussed in groups how forces are either a push or a pull, and then we listed some forces that we use in our daily lives in school. In the gym, we used many forces while playing an exciting game of bucket ball (It's a fun game involving a rubber chicken. I encourage you to ask your child how it is played)!

Have a great night.

Mr. Skinner

An Introduction to Kidblog

Hello,

This morning, we attempted to make our first post on our kidblog. However, we continued to have network problems.

The connection eventually improved, I took them through a tour of the site on the Smartboard and some students were able to make their first posts.

Tonight, the students are invited to click on the link below, explore the site, and make their first post. If any student runs into any difficulty, I will help them log in and post tomorrow morning.

https://kidblog.org/class/mr-skinners-class/login

In Math, we continued to explore problem solving questions involving perimeter and capacity (finding missing values for both) and then we went to the gym to practice our "Jingle Bell Rock" dance with all of the Grade 3 students. All members of our class are doing a great job of picking up the steps.

We will be singing "Can't Stop These Shoes" in the learning commons with Mrs. Zulpo's class and performing to "Jingle Bell Rock in the gym with all of the Grade Threes on Friday, December 18, 2015. The performances will start at 11 am and we hope that many of you can make it.

Can't Stop These Shoes

Jingle Bell Rock

Finally, this afternoon, we exchanged our books in the learning commons and attended the Advent Mass in the gym with Father Shepherd. The students were very respectful and well behaved.

Have a good evening.

Mr. Skinner

Better Late than Never

Hello,

Sorry for the delayed post tonight, but I was doing some marking and preparation at school and we were having network issues, so I could not get online.

So, I'm home now, my daughter is asleep (or at least in bed), and I am ready to post about our day.

This morning, we started our new Science unit with a discussion on Forces. We watched a series of very cool videos that included a tug of war with an elephant and an exploding watermelon.

Mystery Science - Forces

In Math, we worked with partners to solve a series of perimeter questions involving rectangles and irregular shapes.

In Language, we tried to take our list of acts of kindness and add detail to them, explaining how our acts helped other people. Our goal was to type these pieces on Google Drive, for use on Kidblog, but we ran into problems with our network issues, so the students were asked to add these details to their original lists in their journals.

Finally, some students got started on this week's spelling sentences. This week's words are:

won't
new
then
except
knew
usually
especially
probably
friendly
myself

Have a great night.

Mr. Skinner

A Message from the Kingdom Club

Good morning. I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend.

I will be doing my regular blog post later in the day, but first, I wanted to share a message from the Kingdom Club:

Once again at St. Anne our Angel Tree Project is ready to go for this Christmas Season. Every year, families at St. Anne are asked to select an Angel from our tree to purchase a gift for a child who may not otherwise get one. Please write a note in your child’s agenda to let their teacher know to send them to get an angel off the tree.  Their angel will be pink for girls, or blue for boys, and the age of the child will be written on the back. Please purchase a gift for the child and return it to the school by Wednesday, December 9th. Gifts will then be delivered to the students before the Christmas holiday. Thank you in advance for making a child’s Christmas one that they will not forget!

Great Discussions

Hello,

At long last, we had our final Science structure centre visits and discussions. The students were very engaged and asked some great questions. We had an informative discussion as a class afterwards that took most of the morning. To end our morning, we had a quick practice of "Can't Stop These Shoes." I was impressed to see that some of the students already had the words memorized.

In Math, we finished our work on perimeter and explored the relationships between units of measurement, when it comes to capacity (ml and L) and weight (g and kg). The students should continue to work on these tasks at home tonight. The perimeter and mass sheets are to be completed for homework.

In Language, the students had an opportunity to work on the tasks due tomorrow (acts of kindness, spelling sentences and overdue reading responses) and ask me for some help and feedback in order to improve their work.

Have a good evening.

Mr. Skinner

Learning Our Dance

Hello,

This morning, we started to learn our dance for "Jingle Bell Rock" in gym class. We will be performing the dance and singing "Can't Stop These Shoes" on the last day before the Christmas holidays and we will be inviting parents to attend.

Jingle Bell Rock

In Math, we worked with partners to create rectangles and other interesting polygons on chart paper and calculated their perimeters. Tomorrow we will challenge others to calculate the perimeters of our shapes.

In Language, we finished up our work on our getting to school persuasive paragraphs and continued to improve our answers for our reading response questions. Everyone should now have the answers for "Two Chains" and the "Inline Skating Lesson" completed, as well as the persuasive paragraphs. If they are not finished, they should be worked on for homework. The spelling sentences and the 10 acts of kindness in their journals needs to be finished for Friday.

Finally, in Science, we finished up our work structures. The students completed their written descriptions of their structures and will now be participating in some very interesting centre presentations and discussions in the morning, as pairs will take turns presenting their work and exploring the ideas of others at their centres.

Also, the school photos are being sent home today. I hope you enjoy them. Everyone looks great!

Have a good night.

Mr. Skinner

Wonderful Singers

Hello,

This morning we finished reviewing our comparisons of cm, m and km, as well as calculating perimeter. We had some great discussions and cleared up a few misunderstandings. Now, we will be looking at capacity and temperature.

In Language, we continued to work on our reading responses, outlining all the parts needed in a response and highlighting those parts in their answers. For homework, the students can work on this week's spelling sentences and write down their ten acts of kindness in their journals.

In Science, we put the finishing touches on our structures. Some of the groups needed a little more time to organize their thinking, so we will have our group discussion tomorrow. At the end of the day, we also exchanged our books in the Learning Commons.

Finally, we worked very well as a group, sitting quietly during our lockdown practice, and showing great enthusiasm while practising our "Can't Stop These Shoes" song. I was very proud of the students' ability to work together to successfully complete these tasks.

Have a great day.

Mr. Skinner