Tomorrow is Family Literacy Day and we have 2 special events happening at Cathcart.  First is a Book Swap which our class will visit at 12:45 – 1:00.  Tickets were given for gently used books brought in and donated earlier in the week.  Second is the visit of author Janet Wilson, who will be giving presentations all during the day.  Our class will attend one from 2:00 to 3:00 in the last block.  It will be interesting to hear what she has to tell us about her career as a writer.

Today in math we talked about the relationships between different units of measurement for length.  Everyone was watching for patterns as we changed cm into mm, m into cm, m into km, and so on.  

In Science we learned about how our body breathes and used our lung models to demonstrate exhaling and inhaling.  We finished most of the Social Studies puppets and will finish researching our provinces/territories during computer time tomorrow.  In Language Arts, we finished a storydrama about First Nations children in the early 1900′s and how they had to go to residential schools.  Then we watched a brief video about schools in India and thought about how they compared to our own Cathcart School.

It’s been a busy week, and it’s nearly over!

Nobody will return tomorrow from a week with a student and go home with a new friend.

Tomorrow is the last day to bring in gently used books for our book swap on Friday.  They can be exchanged for tickets in the gym lobby before 9:00 a.m. or at first nutrition break and recess. 

We will also have another puppet-making Social Studies class tomorrow so if you didn’t bring in a sock on Monday, please do so tomorrow.  Those who are finished will continue to research their province/territory.

Today we talked about millimetres, centimetres, decimetres, and metres in math.  We got started on a scavenger hunt to find objects that we estimate are certain lengths.  We can use our baby finger’s width to estimate 1 cm, the width of our hand is about 1 dm, and one large step is about 1 metre.  Tomorrow we will finish the hunt and talk about how those measurements relate to each other.

In Science we finished the digestive system and saw the mush in the bags we started on Friday.  The vinegar in the cup with the chalk was totally gone, but the chalk left a lot of yellow residue on the bottom of the cup.  This illustrated the chemical action in the stomach to digest food and the squeezing of the bags of food and water simulated the muscle action.  Together the chemicals and muscles help the body to digest food.  Then we constructed model lungs using straws, balloons, and plastic bottles.  We will learn more about lungs and the respiratory system in the next Science class.

In the gym, we practiced shooting basketballs.  We started close to the baskets and then moved further back as our accuracy improved.

Today we started our Measurement strand in Math and reviewed the units covered last year.  We also made puppets for our Social Studies.  Students who forgot socks to make puppets may bring them in on Wednesday for another construction session. 

Tomorrow is the first day to bring in gently used books for our Book Swap on Friday’s Family Literacy Day.  Check your shelves for books you don’t want any more!

For Monday, please bring in a sock to make your Canadian animal puppet.  Also some students were not finished their math from this week and need to hand it in on Monday. Science Sound and Light notes are also due back completed for Monday.

We heard that Nobody read with a JK student during the week and enjoyed reading with its host student.  It went home for a new week’s visit today and will return next Friday (Family Literacy Day).

In Math we wrapped up our Data Management unit reviewing Mean, Median, and Mode and both classes had a worksheet to complete which will be marked.

In Science, we learned about the Digestive System and saw how our stomachs use chemicals and muscles to digest the food we eat.  We just got started with an animated trip through the digestive system and here’s the site if you want to try it at home:  http://kitses.com/animation/swfs/digestion.swf .  Most students are happy knowing that we can’t see the disgusting mush inside our tummies!

Friday is a Pizza Day and students are encouraged to wear something showing their Super Hero to earn points for their colour team.  “Nobody” will be returning from its first visit and will go home with a new friend for another week.  We will hear a brief summary of its first visit from the host student.

Today in math we learned about the “mean” or average of a group of data.  We went back to our height measurements taken earlier in the week to see whether boys or girls are usually taller in our class.  The mode and median told us that the girls were usually taller, but today, the mean supported evidence that the boys are usually taller!  We reviewed all three concepts using two websites:  one using building heights  and a second using cool robots.  The second site offers reading about the three concepts as well as an on-line quiz.  There was also a worksheet on calculating the mean which is to be completed for homework.  Any worksheets from this week are to be finished and handed in tomorrow.

A reminder to please bring in a sock for your Social Studies animal puppet on Monday.  If any parents would like to come and help with our glue guns, we will be working on them starting at 2:00 p.m.

A science sheet on cell division is to be completed for tomorrow.  Our Human Body unit began on Tuesday.

I hope to see all our Cathcart SuperHeroes out tomorrow!

A newsletter and hand-out about our book swap next week was sent home today.  Please read both carefully for important dates. 

Students have been assigned a research project for our Provinces and  Territories unit.  They are to choose an animal from their province/territory and bring in a sock next Monday so we can make sock puppets.  These will be used in the presentation of their project.  Extra decorations for their puppet may be brought in.  I have googly eyes, pipe cleaners, and pompoms.  I can also provide yarn.

We started a new science unit on the Human Body today.  There is a homework sheet on cell division.  Students are also asked to collect interesting facts about the body and bring them in to share.

Friday is Pizza Day with the theme, Super Heroes.

What are superstitions?  Test your knowledge in this quiz!

In Math we wrote our first names as many times as we could in 2 minutes.  Then we put the data into a stem-and-leaf plot.  We were able to calculate the range of the data (largest value – least value) and there were 3 modes (numbers that appear the most). You can watch a video to see how a short stem-and-leaf plot is made at here.

In Science we discussed some technologies that use sound and light.  We then had to think in role as differing characters about the value of some of those technologies.  For example, a home-owner with a large yard liked using a noisy lawnmower, while his neighbour who is a police officer working nights had difficulty sleeping because of the same machine. Students tried hard to compromise to a solution.

“Nobody” went home for the first time and we’ll hear all about its adventure next Friday.  Grade 5′s will have their second and final visit with the Health nurse Monday morning.  Mme Verville’s Grade 4′s will come to our class to finish a Growth and Development unit.  Have a great weekend!

Letters were sent home today about the “Who Is Nobody?” program in which we are participating.  There is one form that needs to be signed and returned before the Nobody doll can be taken home.  Here is the website to check out for the program details:  http://www.whoisnobody.com/ .  I want to stress that this activity does not have to be a fund-raiser but can be an act of kindness for a family member or friend.  It can be as big or small as your child feels comfortable with.  Today we heard a story about child labour in Pakistan and how one young man, Craig Kielburger started the Free The Children Adopt-A-Village Campaign to encourage children to help other children around the world. 

Tomorrow is library and computer lab day.  Remember to bring in books that you took home! 

The whole school is working on a 5-point volume scale to reduce the noise and confusion in the hall and classrooms.  The scale is as follows:  1 = silence, 2 = whisper, 3 = talking, 4 = outside voice (appropriate for the playground/gym), and 5 = emergency.  Our class has been using the scale for several months, so we’re setting a good example already!

Watch out, tomorrow is Friday the 13th!

Welcome back to a new year! 

We met Nobody today who is going to be sent home for one week with each child as part of a character-building project.  More information will come home later in the week.

In science we looked at a lot of Optical Illusions.  You can check them out at http://kids.niehs.nih.gov/games/illusions/index.htm .  Your eyes will be tired after!

Another year nearly gone!  I wish all of you a very happy and safe Christmas and holiday.  Thank you so much for all the generous gifts.  I will need to do a lot of walking so work off all the chocolate!  But I do love it (both chocolate and walking with Bailey and Laura).

See you next year on January 9, 2012!