Reminder! Math Test on Tuesday, October 8th. See this post for all the details!
If you would like to run for Class Rep for Knesset, please let me know by Monday. You may start bringing in posters for our class starting on Monday. Your speech (1 – 2 minutes MAX) must be shown to me by Thursday.
Speeches will be on Friday, October 11, and we will vote that day as well.
Good luck!!
Yesterday I learned about Aseret Yemei Teshuva from Dr. Marcovitz. During the 10 days between Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur, we add a special prayer to our daily prayers to remind us to repent and ask for forgiveness. In order to participate in Aseret Yemei Teshuva in our school, we will be having an AYT Challenge, where we will all try to focus on positive speech and refrain from Lashon Harah for at least one hour each school day.
To start us off this morning, here was our whiteboard message:
Since the students didn’t know who they would be choosing, and they didn’t know about the challenge yet, it started off a bit rocky. Some people made faces or noises of disappointment when they looked at the name on their paper. Some people tried to guess who others had based on their reaction. But after our discussion, they realized that these small gestures, that they may think are silent and invisible to others, can still cause harm. They’ve decided that we should do these Kind Word activities every morning! We can all find AT LEAST three kind things to say to each other every day.
How can you bring the idea of Aseret Yemei Teshuva into your home this week? We’d love to hear your ideas!
We will be having our first Math test on Tuesday, October 8, 2019. Here is the outline for this test.
There are many ways for students to study for this test:
It’s a great idea to focus on the skills that are most challenging first, write down any questions, and check in with me BEFORE the test on Tuesday.
If you have any questions, do not hesitate to ask.
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Today the students continued to learn about their own learning styles and make choices that work with their own preferences and needs. As you may have noticed, the school did not buy student agendas this year. However, that doesn’t mean students aren’t responsible for keeping track of their due dates and assignments. Students who prefer to write their work in a book were given one today, and students who prefer to use their device were introduced to Google Keep. I encourage you to ask them about it and add yourself as a collaborator if you’d like to see the work that has been assigned to them.
In keeping with our new Homework Policy (which you’ll hear more about if you are joining us tonight at the Parent Information sessions) students did receive homework tonight, but it was sent to them via their email, as they are all working on different skills.
I’d love your feedback on how you think this system is working or if you need any support with the tech side of things!
The day has come….we are ALMOST ready to launch our student blogfolios!
Hopefully your child has come home today with a letter outlining why we do student blogfolios, and all the different options of privacy.
In case it got lost on the way home, or was eaten into the depths of the schoolbag, here is a digital version. (blog post continues after the embedded document)
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I want to reiterate that our ultimate goal is to help students learn communication, reflection and digital citizenship skills, including online safety, that will help them throughout their lives. In case you are still unclear of how this could look, here are some live examples to help put it into context.
Public Blogfolio – This student has been blogging since Kindergarten. It’s wonderful to see how her learning has grown and developed over time.
Public Avatar Blogfolio – This student has just begun her blogging journey and has chosen to keep her name and identity private. We are still able to see her growth and interact with her on her journey. Notice how students have learned to respect her privacy by using the alias in the comments as well.
Password Protected Blogfolio – This student has shared her name and is open to leaving some posts public, however when she shares pictures or videos, she has password protected the post. Only those who have been approved by her or her parents are allowed to know the password.
Private Blogfolio – This blog is completely private. Unless you have an Edublogs account and have been granted access to this blog, you will not be able to see the content.
As always, if you have any questions or concerns, I am always available to discuss. If you could please sign and return the permission form by Thursday, that would be greatly appreciated!
I can’t believe we’re already into our third week of school and this is my first post. I take it as a good sign that we’re so busy and engaged in class that there hasn’t been any time for an update!
But that doesn’t mean we haven’t been documenting our learning!
One new addition to our school policy this year is the soft launch of our Bring Your Own Device initiative for grades 4-8. Understandably so, there has been lots of conversation about what this means in terms of screen time for our students. I thought a good first step would be to show you how we’ve been using the devices in grade 5 to help enhance our learning. Technology is being integrated in meaningful ways, not simply for the sake of using a device. While we may have these devices in our classrooms, they are by no means being used ALL the time, and we are pretty deliberate about what they are used for.
First, we’ve made a few additions to our weekly classroom jobs. This summer I read, Who Owns the Learning by Alan November. In this book, he talks about the Digital Learning Farm, and how by giving student’s jobs within the classroom that are integral to the learning, they will take more ownership of their learning and become meaningful contributors to the class culture. This fit in perfectly with the work I, and a cohort of OJCS teachers did, last year with Silvia Tolisano. This matches our own OJCS North Star that We own our own learning. Therefore, three new jobs in our classroom are the researcher, the documenter, and the habit finder. The researcher helps answer our questions in the moment when they come up. I am the first to admit that there is A LOT I don’t know. In our classroom, students are curious and if questions come up we don’t know the answer to…the researcher will find it for us! The documenter captures the learning happening in the room and in the school. They take pictures and videos of important learning. This is great practice for when we launch out Student Blogs (grade 5 students did this last year, if you’d like to read more about it. The habit finder pays special attention to how we are following the 7 habits in our classroom, captures these moments and documents it for us. These will be great examples to share with the whole school at our monthly Rosh Chodesh assemblies.
Let’s see what some of our documenters have captured so far!
We were introduced to EdPuzzle, a place where we can watch videos and answer questions to check for understanding. These “flipped lessons” will most often be watched at home, but we did a quick lesson in class to make sure everyone knew what to do.
We also spent some time practicing our Math critical thinking skills by choosing a question to answer, solving it with our partner, and then documenting our thinking process on Flipgrid. We used the video feature and also the new whiteboard feature to create tutorials. By focusing on what we learned and what we found challenging, we’ll be able to use that learning for next time!
We also started reading our first class novel, Wonder, by R.J Palacio. We’ve already had some great discussions about friendship, acceptance and kindness. Even though some of us have already read this book before, we know that books are like gifts (simile alert! We also started talking about literary devices 😉). You can find something new each time you open it!
Finally, today students started watching video feedback from me on their first paragraphs. Using Screencastify, I was able to record myself editing the students’ work, offering tips and suggestions for improvements they could make. This personalized feedback allowed students to focus on the specific skills they are working towards, and make any necessary changes at their own pace. Afterward, one student said she couldn’t believe how helpful it was to be able to have the video open in the corner of the screen, while her document was open as well. She was able to pause the video at appropriate times and edit her work as necessary.
This is just the tip of the iceberg! It’s so exciting to see how much we’ve accomplished in such a short period of time. It’s clear that this is going to be a great year!
We are so excited to be back at school, with such an amazing group of grade 5 students. Some of us are new, some of us have been here before, but altogether, we’re going to be one amazing family!
There are a few things we wanted to point out in this post to start the year off all on the same page, as there have been quite a few new initiatives and policies added this year. Much of this is covered in the Parent Handbook, which you were asked to read, and then sign and return the form to school. If you have not done this yet, please sign it and send it to school with your children ASAP.
Additionally, every grade 5 student must have a lock on their locker this year. If your child does not have a lock yet, please send one in with them this week.
If you have not subscribed to this blog yet, please do so! The blog is where you can come to read about all the exciting things happening in class, see pictures and videos of students in action, and perhaps even participate in some of our conversations! This is also where all the homework will be posted. If you are subscribed, you won’t need to remember to come check the blog, you’ll get an email update each time a teacher posts something new. To subscribe, simply enter your email under the Subscribe By Email heading on the right sidebar.
This year we began our soft launch of the Bring Your Own Device initiative at OJCS. An email about this went out in June, however here is a refresher of some of that information. A soft launch means that IF YOU WANT, and IF YOU HAVE a device already at home, students are encouraged to bring it to school with them. At this time, students are NOT required to bring a device to school, and we have plenty of iPads to lend should someone need one. However, next year, for the 2020/2021 school year, all students in grades 4-8 will be required to have a device, so you may want to start thinking about what the best device will be for your child.
As students become the drivers of their education, making room for them to explore areas of personal interest and document their learning will be essential. With every student having access to their own device, they will be able to personalize the tools that work best for them, organize and keep track of their work at school and at home, and better develop Now Literacies. While we leave the choice of which device your child should bring to you, there are some requirements and suggestions we would like to make.
We do understand that some students may prefer tablets/iPads over laptops. We would like to point out, however, that there are some word-processing functions that do not work as well on a tablet (paragraph formatting, spell-check, etc.) Additionally, some web-based programs, such as Edublogs, lose some of their functions when working on tablets. While all devices meet the minimum system requirements/hardware specifications, the school recommends that students beginning in Grade 6 have a laptop device available to maximize their learning experiences. If you choose to proceed with a tablet, here are the device requirements:
All homework will be posted on the Grade 5 Blog, under the category “Homework”. You simply need to click on this to see any and all homework that has been assigned to the students. We will also be working with students on developing their own systems for tracking their homework, either online or written down.
At the end of last year, teachers and administrators spent time discussing OJCS’s homework philosophy, based on feedback from current research, parents, students and teachers. This resulted in a new Homework Policy, posted to our blog as well.
All teachers, administrators, students and parents at The OJCS are expected to follow our North Stars and 7 Habits. Here are a few helpful links to understand this better.
As always, we are all here to answer any questions, whenever they may come. Looking forward to a fun, exciting year full of learning and growing together.
Warmly,
The Grade 5 Team
I can’t believe we are less than one week away from ending this incredible school year! A few reminders for the next few fun-filled days.
Friday, June 21, 2019
Dress Down Day! Students can wear their own clothing, but must remember to bring in a loonie or toonie if they want to wear non-uniform clothing. It is our Raptors Day, so if you have Raptors clothing, feel free to wear them! We will also be having our infamous Faculty vs Grade 8 Baseball game. Students will be outside watching this game, so they must come to school with a hat and sunscreen so they will not be uncomfortable sitting in the sun.
At 3:05, we will also be having the K-5 Family Kabbalat Shabbat. If you’re available, please join us in the gym for our final Shabbat of the school year, together.
Monday, June 24, 2019
Field trip to House of Commons, the Senate, and Museum of History. If you have not filled in the permission form, please do so. The form can be found below. We will be dropped off by bus at the House of Commons. We will then walk to the Senate for our second tour. Finally, we will be walking over to the museum where we will be having lunch outside.
Students do not need to wear uniforms, but they still need to follow our dress code. We will be walking a lot, so comfortable clothing and shoes are important. Check the weather in advance so we are all prepared!
Students should bring snacks and lunch, especially those who normally get hot lunch on Mondays. Their lunch will be waiting for them when we get back to school, but they will still need to eat while we are out and about.
If students want to take pictures, especially for the purpose of documenting their learning, and as long as we have permission, they may bring phones or small devices to take pictures.
Tuesday, June 25, 2019
We will be cleaning out our lockers, so please bring one or two large, reusable bags.
Wednesday, June 26, 2019
LAST DAY OF SCHOOL! 12:00 pm dismissal.
If you have any questions, please let me know!
Melissa
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We will be having a science quiz on Wednesday June 12, reviewing the respiratory and circulatory systems.
Here’s what you need to know:
Respiratory System:
Circulatory System:
All the information you need is on the sheets in your Science Notebook.
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