Do Unto Otters

Today we read a fantastic story called, 'Do Unto Otters'. It was a great book about being kind and the things we can do to show kindness. We each got to create a Kindness bag where we will receive notes of kindness from our peers. We can also create a note to put into others kindness bags.

I am looking forwards to seeing everyone at Student Led Conferences over the next couple of days!

3 Things We Learned Today:
1."With Miss. Omar we learned some new ways to be kind." O.F.
2. "In Gym we learned a dance called the Bunny Hop." M.M
3. " We did a Writing Sample. It was about a bear and you had to make a funny story about him." C.S.

Reminders:
1. Field study forms for Voiter's Flats went home today. Please return after Spring break.
2. Green Science Home Journals will be handed out at Student Led Conferences.
3. First day back to school is Monday, April 1st.

Have a wonderful break wherever you may be!

Playing at the River

This afternoon we enjoyed some playful inquiry at our Maple Ridge River. Some of us got VERY wet through splashing and watching the water move. However others were intrigued in watching the water flow down the drain. This led to a desire to build several dams across the river to stop the water from filling the drain. We are now reflecting on new questions, theories and observations we have from this experience.
 We were presented with an interesting question today in Math around going to the store and leaving with $6. What could we have bought?


3 Things We Learned Today:
1. "In Science I learned that mud is kind of good to keep water out." O.S.
2. "In Math we got a new math problem and we were trying to figure out how much money Maria spent and what she got at the aquarium store." O.F.
3. "In Science I learned how to explain using pictures and words what happened when I zoomed in." S.M.

Reminders:
1. Tomorrow is a half day. Students will be finished at 12:30pm.
2. We are looking for a volunteer or two to walk with our class to the bridge (crossing the river) near the dog park on Southland Drive. This will extend our learning around water, rivers, etc. Please let me know if you are available. It will most likely be the afternoon of either Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday from about 1:30-3:00pm.

The Maple Ridge River

Today we did some learning at our "Maple Ridge River." Due to the large amount of snow melt we have quite the river along the compound at Maple Ridge. We have been fascinated by the movement of the water. We enjoy watching the water flow and how it moves at different points. Today we looked closely and learned what it means to zoom in on a certain aspect of the river. We found out that by looking closely we can see a lot more things and notice more. Our focus question today was: "What do you notice when you look closely?"

Tomorrow we are heading out to explore and inquire at the 'river' again, however this time we will be stepping into the water for some playful inquiry. This means that you may want to send your child in rainboots, splash/rain pants and some extra socks in case they get wet. We're excited to see what new questions and discoveries emerge through this intentional play.

I'd like to welcome, Miss. Rana Omar, our University of Calgary teacher who will be with us over the next 4 weeks. She has already established a great relationship with the students.

3 Things We Learned Today:
1. "In Science we learned about the question of 'what do you notice when you zoom in? in the Maple Ridge River." C.S.
2. "Today with Mr. C. I learned how to re-program an Ozobot, a.k.a. Scatto, and Mackenzie's went haywire!" M.S.
3. "In Gym we learned how to do a dance called 7 Jumps." S.M.

Reminders:
1. Bring extra socks or clothes in case mine get wet during our Maple Ridge River exploration tomorrow.
2. Fun lunch tomorrow!
3. Student Led Conferences on Thursday from 3:30-7:30 and Friday 8-10am.

The Leighton Centre

We had a fantastic day at the Leighton Centre. Here are 3 things we learned:
1. "At the Leighton Centre we made animals out of wire. I learned you could twist the wire to make a animal." M.M.
2. "I learned at the Leighton Centre that we can use pipe cleaners on our wire animals." L.L.
3. "I learned there were two people named Mr. and Mrs. Leighton. They both really liked painting." C.S.
    "There was a parrot that saved Mrs. Leighton's life." S.M.

Reminders:
1. Fun lunch on Wednesday. It is Little Caesars.
2. Student led Conferences on Thursday beginning at 3:30.
3. No school on Friday. Student led conferences from 8-10am. One to one meetings from 10-12pm.

Undo/Do problems

We have been exploring undo/do problems. You may have noticed a piece of rope in your child's backpack. This was to help us understand and support our thinking. Here's an example of an undo problem. "When I double my number I get 12. What do I need to undo to get back to my beginning number?" Another example is, "When I add 7 to my number I get 15. What do I need to undo to get back to my beginning number?"

3 Things We Learned Today:
1. "In Math we did an undo/do problem." H.A.
2. "In Science we shopped in the iLab for materials to make an insulator for our animal." M.M.
3. In our Science Journals we got a new problem and we had to answer 3 questions. We had to figure out why penguins have wings but they don't fly." J.V.

Reminders:
1. Please start bringing mini flashlights to school. They need to be at school for the week of April 20th. Please label with
2. We need volunteers for our Voiters Flats trip on April 9th. We will be learning alongside CPAWS. Please email me if you can help out.
3. Wear your red Maple Ridge School shirt on Monday for our field study!

How to solve the problem of the lost insulation?

Today we talked about all the possible negative consequences for animals that may have lost their insulation (fur or blubber). We started to brainstorm ways that humans could create new insulation for a specific animal.

3 Things We Learned Today:
1."In  Math we did Math Energizer called Which One Doesn't Belong? M.S.
2. "In Science  we are learning how to save 3 animals that are in danger by creating a device to save them." L.M. 
3. "Today we had a Theatre Production called The Three Little Pigs. It was about a wolf that went to Swineville to help the 3 little pigs because the climate was changing." D.G.

Reminders:
1. Next Thursday we have our Student Led Conferences. Please come to see what learning I have been doing!
2. Our field study is on Monday to Leighton Centre. Please dress for the weather, and to walk around outside. I will need a non-heatable lunch.

Important Reminders Today!

3 Things We Learned Today:
1. "In Writer's Workshop  we learned how to do a 4 rectangle plan for non-fiction, and what strategic information is." N.G.
2. "In Math we were figuring out what is the connection between addition and subtraction?, and what does the word 'true' in being a Mathematician?" C.S.
3. "In Science we learned about how to help 3 animals because they lost some of their insulation." L.M

Reminders:
1. We need to bring a small flashlight to use at our Spring Gala in April. Over the next month, I need to either bring one from home or purchase a small one. The Dollar Store is a great place to find a small flash light for cheap. Please label with your name so it doesn't get lost. We will keep in a safe place in our classroom until we need it for our performance.
2. Tomorrow is the final day to bring my Green Science Home Journal back to school.
We have not earned a letter yet for our mystery word. We can earn a letter by having everyone bring back their journal.
3. I have not seen home reading from some students in a long time. Please send back to either check in or change.

Our Final Day With Miss. Rebecca

It was great to be back with Room 2 today! I had a fantastic time away engaged in some amazing professional development. Ask your child what was interesting about Miss. Moore's time away. ;)

Today was our final day with Miss. Rebecca. We focused on drawing our animal, however this time we used black marker and white charcoal to create shading. We also practiced sketching to music to help us focus.

In Math we are trying to answer the question: What is the connection between addition and subtraction?

3 Things We Learned Today:
1. "In Science I learn

ed that blubber can be really warm and it can be good for insulation." M.S.
2. "In Math we got a new problem. We learned what is the same to addition and subtraction." L.S. and S.M.
3. 'With our Artist in Residence we learned where we could put white charcoal on our animal to make our animals lighter." K.H.

Reminders:
1. Please return Leighton form.
2. Student Led conferences next Thursday evening. No sign up required. We are excited to share our learning with you! If you would like a private meeting, Friday morning is available. Please email me if you would like to discuss your child's progress on Friday morning.

An Insulation Problem

Today we learned that sometimes animals can come across problems that prevent them from being insulated. We looked at different animals that are facing some of these problems-the coyote (mange), polar bears (melting iceburgs) and grizzly bears (woken up from hibernation early). We talked about what would happen to these animals in the winter time.

How can I solve the problem of animals not being insulated because of things like mange, climate change and melting ice burgs?

Over the next couple of days, students in Room 2 will be doing different activities to help us understand how we can create a device/invention. I'm sure your child will come home excited to share about their learning!

3 Things We Learned Today:
1. "In Math we found out the centipede problem. It was 84. We learned how to work with each other which is also known as collaboration. We collaborated to solve the problem. " C.S.
2. "In Science we learned that coyotes can get a parasite. There fur falls off and they can't eat. They can't survive the cold." O.S.
3. "In Inquiry we were making our Who Was Here clues. Today I learned my animal eats grain. " M.S.

Reminders:
1. Science Home journals due back by Friday.
2. Leighton Centre field study forms due back now.

I will be away until Tuesday. If there's anything urgent you need to speak to me about please feel free to email me as I will still have access to email.

Same and Different

Today we were looking at what is the same and different about certain things from the past. These included: washing, cooking, transportation, and entertainment. Ask me what we learned what was the same and different about washing.

3 Things We Learned Today:
1. "In Writer's Workshop we learned what a poem is. " S.M.
2. "In Writer's Workshop we learned that we are going to make clues about our animal track for Student Led Conferences." O.F.
3. "In Inquiry we did same and different about washing in the past and the present. One thing that is the same is that washing is still for killing germs." C.S.

Reminders:
1. Return Green Home Science Journal. We found out that our mystery word has 10 letters. We will get our first letter if we return all our journals this week.
2. Return Leighton Centre forms.