Goodbye and thank you

Today your child met their new teacher, Mr. Murphy. I have no doubt that he will be caring and patient and be an incredible new teacher to each of your children. He instantly connected to the students and over lunch, many of them coloured him pictures and made him things. This shows the impact he was able to make so quickly. Please take some time to welcome him! 

Today was the last day for me in Grade 3 and at Ken Taylor School. I feel so blessed to have worked with each child in this class and each has taught me something new.  The students in this class are so kind and loving and I will never forget how each of them has made me feel special and loved. 

Teaching in a pandemic was a whole new learning curve, but I couldn't have asked for a better class to learn this with. Through this pandemic, students have shown me and each other what kindness and friendship are and how to care for each other. They have shown patience and optimism when many of us feel quite the opposite of this. Because of this, I loved coming to school each day and seeing all their faces (well the top half of their faces...).  I laughed more than ever this year and this is because of the joy that each child brought to learning. 

I also want to say thank you to all the families for your kindness and support. The little emails and kind words have made what could be a really difficult and stressful year an incredible year. Although we couldn't see each other in person, I felt connected to each family. Thank you for being so kind and wonderful. 

I would love to keep in touch with you through the year and even in years to come. Send me a quick note and let me know how you are all doing. I hope to continue to connect even in small ways with the class and tell them all about my new adventures and learning. 

Thank you again for being so amazing!

Mrs. Jordan

Jan 27

There have been a lot of questions about Valentine's Day! With it being such a unique year we have adapted how we will do Valentine's Day. We know the importance of honouring the day and recognizing friendship and for this reason, we will still allow students to exchange cards.  Here is what you need to know for the exchange:

1. You do not have to hand out cards but if you do, please make sure everyone gets one

2. You can find the names of each student in our Google Classroom under "People"

3. No candy, food etc

4. All cards must be at school by Feb. 5 in order for them to quarantine in the class. 

5. Students will hand them out on Feb 10 (Feb. 11, 12 are non-instructional days for Teacher's Convention)

Today your child should have come home with a model of the layer's of Earth. We have been learning about the different rocks, how they are formed and what the rock cycle is. The layer of the earth are key to understanding that, so today we watched a short SciShow video: Earth's Layers.  Then we reviewed each earth and drew a diagram of the earth in our visual journals. Finally - we used plasticine to actually make a mini-version of these layers. They were thrilled when I cut them open and they could see all the layers. The classroom was buzzing with excitement and they loved comparing theirs with their peers!

In math, we have been working with both 2 and 3 digit numbers using the expanded form method of addition. For some students, this method makes sense and really works for others, they are having a difficult time wrapping their mind around it. It is only one of many strategies we will introduce. Have your child try to show you how this strategy works - I can promise it will be quite different from the way you learned math ;)

This strategy is helpful because it allows students to connect to what they know about the value of the number and expanded form. It also allows them to break each number up and doesn't involve any "carrying". 

Please check back tomorrow for a message from me as tomorrow will be my last day with students at Ken Taylor School. 💜

January 19

 We are so happy to be back at school in person and have been busy catching up with each other and learning new things. 

In math, we have been strengthening our understanding of our multiplication strategies and the times tables through games, open-ended math problems and even art! We have also been working on building our fluency and speed of our times tables by saying them aloud and using our math journals to help us record the times tables up to 5x5. Check out our beautiful art flowers that bring some joy, colour and hopes of spring to our class!

We have also used the book, One is a Snail to apply our knowledge of problem solving, multiplication and addition. We were introduced to different creatures we might see at the beach. We focused on the number of feet they had (I know... a funny concept) and put different combinations of feet together to make the total number of 30 feet or 10 feet depending on each child's preference and confidence level. There were endless combinations but here are few that we came up with.

If you have time, ask your child their times tables as you are driving, eating dinner or even out for a walk! The more exposure and practice they have, the more fluent and confident they will become. 

In science, we continue to learn about how the rocks can change from one rock to another with the rock cycle. We created some personal anchor charts and did a whole class Reader's Theatre to help us really understand this process. Some questions you could ask your child are:

• what are the 3 types of rocks?
• How does ______(sedimentary, igneous, metamorphic) change into another rock?
• What is erosion?
• What does magma do to a rock
• Describe the rock cycle 

We will be moving into looking at the properties of rocks and how their formation influences their properties. 

As you know by now, I have accepted a new position with the Calgary Board of Education as an ELL Strategist. This means that my last day with our class will be on January 28th. This was a very difficult decision to make as I have such a connection to this class, but this opportunity provides me with a unique learning experience and allows me to connect with children all over the city. I know that this learning will make me a better teacher. This transition is not easy for the students or families, but I will work to make this as easy as I can for everyone and please know I am only an email away if you need something :)

Important Upcoming Dates

• January 28 - Mrs. Jordan's Last Day
• January 29 - No School - Professional Development Day