Oct. 7

 I am excited to post some pictures from our Terry Fox Run!  The kids did so great running for Terry! We ran for about 15 minutes and the students did their best. I heard comments like "Wow, this is so hard. How did Terry do this for hours?" and "I really need to run more to get better at this..".  I think it was a good realization for students how difficult it really was for Terry to do this and what made his accomplishments so extraordinary.

We have been talking a lot about how Terry Fox made such a difference in our world. His dream for each Canadian to donate $1 to cancer opened up conversations and helped make medical advancements for research.   We imagined that we had the chance to actually run side by side with Terry as we helped him finish his run. The class was so engaged in this task and many expressed how "cool" it would be to run with him.  Their ideas are so heartwarming!

In science, we are learning about animals and how we classify animals. So far, we have focused on vertebrates such as mammals, reptiles and fish. Your child should be able to tell you the difference between vertebrates and invertebrates and examples of each.  We have also learned about how characteristics such as feather, fur, or gills are important when classifying animals.  In the next couple of weeks, we will start to learn more about adaptations and compare different life cycles of animals. 

We also welcomed our student teacher this week! Ms. Wolfe joined us on Monday and will be with us everyday until December. We feel so lucky to have her with us and we look forward to learning with her!

Also.. yes to peanuts! Some parents were wondering if they were okay for school and they are. Please have a conversation with your child about washing their hands after they eat peanut snacks. 

I hope everyone has a great long weekend!! Happy Thanksgiving!

Important Upcoming Dates:

Oct. 9 - No School Day

Oct. 12 - No School - Thanksgiving

Oct. 14 - Picture Day

September 30

Welcome to our last day of September!  We have already made it through 1/10 of our school year which is unbelievable to me! Thankfully the weather this month has been incredible which has allowed us to spend lots of time outside and enjoy the beautiful fall colours. 

Thank you to everyone who was able to make it to our Meet the Teacher Night. I know our busy schedules didn't allow everyone to attend so I have attached a link to the presentation for your reference. Please let me know if you have any questions. Meet the Teacher Presentation

This week we have started Identity Time Capsule Box Project.  As a class, we came up with a list of things we think help make up our identity that we want to include in our Identity Time Capsule. Students are using a checklist to help them stay organized, become more independent, and ensure they complete all parts. I love seeing the creativity and individuality that each student brings when creating this Time Capsule. We can't wait to update you on this!

Over the last few days, we have been talking about the importance of Orange Shirt Day and why we honour and recognize this day.  We learned about the story of Phyllis' orange shirt and how this story in the basis for Orange Shirt Day. Her story touched us and if you haven't heard it yet you can access it here: https://www.orangeshirtday.org/

As a class we spent lots of time talking about school and comparing our school experience with that of Phyllis'.  A key question for our class this year has been "How can 1 person make a difference in the world?".  Today we focused on how Phyllis and her story has impacted so many other people and how her actions are making a positive impact in the world. Students reflected on the question: "How did Phyllis make a difference in the world?" . They came up with some incredible answers such as "she was brave to share her story" and "by spreading the message that children are important people too". Thank you for wearing your orange shirts today and helping spread such an important message. 

Don't forget that our annual Terry Fox Run is this Friday.  Please ensure students have comfortable clothing, running shoes and a healthy snack for this day!  If you would like to donate to this cause and help us "Pie" Mr. Faunt and Mr. Belcher, you can donate here:  

http://www.terryfox.ca/KennethDTaylorSchool

Important Upcoming Dates:

Oct. 2 - Terry Fox Run

Oct. 9 - No School Day

Oct. 12 - No School - Thanksgiving

Oct. 14 - Picture Day

Sept 22

 Welcome to a new week!

Over the last week, we have been delving deeper into the idea of identity and sharing what makes us who we are.  We finished a fun school-wide art project called "Behind the Mask" that allowed us to create a self portrait with our mask and then flip down and show our whole faces. We added words that define who we are and help shape our identity.  Check out how great these turned out!!

This week, we will start a box project to share all the things we learned about identity. We will be transforming boxes into a Grade 3 Time Capsule to show the parts of our identity.  Using books as inspiration, we will create a time capsule that represents each of us at the beginning of grade 3. We will store these in the class until June and open them up to see how we have changed! I can't wait to see what they come up with and will share photos as we go!

We have been growing our confidence and joy in reading and at the same time building our stamina in  Read to Self . We have set a goal to read for 20 minutes independently and have reached 18 of our 20 minutes. I am so proud of each student and the dedication to building stamina.  We will reach our goal soon!! We are now learning more about the second part of Daily 5: Work on Writing.  We are really excited to start writing letters, comics, or other writing of our choice during this time. We will share some of this writing with you on our blog and Google Classroom!

Don't forget that Thursday is our Meet the Teacher. There will be two sessions on Microsoft Teams: 6:00 - 6:30 (+ 15 minutes for questions) and 7:00 - 7:30 (+15 minutes for questions). These sessions will be the exact same so there is no need to attend both. I will also attach the Powerpoint to our blog next week for your reference. This is not a formal conference night but instead an information session about our class, grade 3, and new health measures we have in place.  You can click these links and join through a web browser on your device. You should have received an email from me today with more information so please check your inbox!

We also have the Terry Fox Run coming up soon: Friday, Oct. 2! Although it will look different, we will still honor Terry's wishes and legacy. This year is the 40th Anniversary of Terry Fox’s Marathon of Hope and is proud to be continuing the legacy of one of our greatest heroes. Please join us and support this wonderful cause by donating to:  http://www.terryfox.ca/KennethDTaylorSchool. Together, we can all make a difference! #terryfoxschoolruns @terryfoxfoundation. All donations will be going through the above link. We are not asking students to bring in money this year and there will not be an assembly. Online donations will continue up until October 5^th.

 We are hoping to raise $2,000 this year. If that goal is reached Mr. Faunt and Mr. Belcher will put a pie in their own faces because they love to eat pie. Students will be able to watch this virtually through a link. Let’s see if we can make their dream to eat pie come true. 

Have a great rest of your week! See you Thursday!

Important Upcoming Dates:

Sept. 24 - Virtual Meet the Teacher Night. 

Sept. 25 - No School

Sept. 30 - Orange Shirt Day. Learn more about it here: https://www.orangeshirtday.org/

Oct. 2 - Terry Fox Run

Oct. 9 - No School Day

Oct. 12 - No School - Thanksgiving

Oct. 14 - Picture Day

Welcome

Welcome to our classroom blog! 

Welcome to our Grade 3 blog! We are happy you found this page as we will use this regularly through the year to show our learning and communicate about important events and activities in the school.

We are really excited about this Grade 3 year! The first two weeks have been a great success and full of learning.  We have started the year by reading a daily read aloud called Boy Called Bat. It is a book that helps students see the differences in each of us and how these differences can be helpful and sometimes challenging.  It gives students a different perspective on how people react or view situations, allowing them to grow both empathy and understanding. 

In math, we have been reviewing our number sense to 100 to ensure we are feeling confident in our knowledge before we move up to numbers to 1000.  We have been noticing patterns in 100s charts and reviewing how these patterns can help us add and subtract easier.  We have also been playing solitaire games and dice games to work on our basic facts.  Have your child teach you these games! You can also check out three digital games in Google Classrooms to work on these skills. Lastly in math, we have been challenging our brain and working on developing a growth mindset through some open-ended math problems including the "Triangle Problem".  Maybe you can try this at home?

Yesterday, we celebrated Dot Day! Many of us wore dots but more importantly we had some time to read the story "The Dot" by Peter Reynolds.  On the website, Dot Day is described as: 

a global celebration of creativity, courage and collaboration"The Dot is the story of a caring teacher who dares a doubting student to trust in her own abilities by being brave enough to “make her mark”. What begins with a small dot on a piece of paper becomes a breakthrough in confidence and courage, igniting a journey of self-discovery and sharing, which has gone on to inspire countless children and adults around the globe.

We created our own dots and mark on the world by making patterns and choosing colours that reflect our individuality. We have them hanging in our classroom as a reminder to keep trying, believe in ourselves, and know that each of us can change the world for the better. This ties in well with our inquiry on "Identity'! Each of our dots is different, just like each of us!  

We also read the story "Chrysanthemum, which is about a girl who learns about her name. You can listen to it here!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7fkR7X4SevE

This led us to a conversation about their own names - what our names mean, who named us, and how our names contribute to our identity! Students are able to access a Google Doc in our Google Classroom that they can do with you. Go to: Classwork -> Social Studies -> My Name. I hope this is a fun and interesting activity for both kids and parents! All of their log in information is on the bright yellow card that was sent home today. 

If you can't access this document, please email me and I will problem solve or send home a paper copy for you:)

Important Items:

• Virtual Meet the Teacher: Sept. 24... More info to come!
• Complete My Name page with your child by Monday