In Science we have started our year with our Weather Watch unit. We have been looking at and predicting the daily temperature, learning about the water cycle, and examining different types of clouds. 

We will be making our own weather instruments, and heading out into the schoolyard to test them out, but there are a few miscellaneous items that we are asking students to bring in to class if they happen to have access to them at home. When we went through the list as a class, we had a few tentative volunteers, so I will include a list of the items we need, along with the potential students who said they may have this sort of thing at home.

Weather instrument materials: 

• Balloons  Eduardo 
• Compass  Hannah 
• Mirrors - larger than a make-up mirror; approximately 5" x 7"  Marit  & _______
• Protractor  Jon 
• Ping Pong Ball  Marit 
• Wire Clothing Hanger  Karen 
• Clipboards (2)  Bryn 
• Shoelace  Marit 
• Thermometer (2) ________ & ________
• Exacto Knife ________
• 2 Litre Juice Bottle (ie. Tropicana Juice Container)  Zac 

If anyone knows that they have any of these items at home, please let Miss Cooke know, and send them in to school as soon as possible. Thank you! 

After writing our mapping review quiz on Monday this week, we began our Grade 5 curriculum with what we call a KWL chart about Canada. We brainstormed What We Know and What We Want to Know about Canada; throughout the school year we will fill in the What We've Learned portion. The students came up with some thoughtful questions for us to consider as we begin to study about the land, histories, and stories of Canada. 

Weekend Update and Terry Fox

Good morning everyone!

We had an incredible time at the Terry Fox run on Friday, walking and running around Citadel to honor Terry while raising money for cancer research through the Terry Fox Foundation. The weather was beautiful, so it was really great to be able to get outside and enjoy the sunshine!
Although we have now finished our run, we will still be doing fundraising for the Terry Fox Foundation for another week. From September 26th-30th, students will be able to wear a hat in class if they donate $1 per day to the Terry Fox foundation, or $4 for the whole week. In addition to the daily in class incentives, each student has received a pledge form in order to raise money for the Terry Fox Foundation. If you are interested in collecting donations via the pledge forms, they are due back to school on Friday, September 30th. 

Friday in class, we learned some details about Terry Fox, and the Marathon of Hope. We discussed why he ran, and began writing a letter addressed to either Terry, or to one of his family members, sharing our individual opinions and interpretations of the marathon that he ran.

5C will be having a Social Studies quiz on mapping review that we have been working on for the past couple weeks. Though the quiz was originally scheduled for Friday September 23rd, but has been switched to Monday the 26th, in order to give students the weekend to review. Each student should have a review sheet that they may use as a guide to help them study for the quiz. 

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Today, students were working on writing similes in Language Arts class, as we began learning about figures of speech. A simile is described as a comparison between two different things, using "like" or "as". 

Some student examples include:
My hair is as hazel as a chestnut - Elle
My dress is as purple as a beautiful plum - Bryn
My lips are as pink as a wild rose - Hannah
My hair is dark brown as a boreal forest log - Logan 
My pants are as blue as the ocean - Malcolm
My eyes are as brown as chocolate - Jurnee



In Social Studies we practiced mapping and reviewed material from previous years. We labelled a map of the world and identified all 7 continents and 4 oceans. 
In addition, we learned that the word "hemisphere" breaks down into the prefix 'hemi' meaning 'half,' and the root word 'sphere' which refers to the shape of the Earth. As students have learned in grades 3 and 4, the Equator is an invisible line which divides the Northern and Southern hemispheres; and the Prime Meridian is an invisible line that divides the Eastern and Western hemispheres. 

Students were given class time to work on both of these worksheets, and anything that was unfinished will be due tomorrow. 


On Tuesday, September 20th, students will be bringing home field trip forms which entail the information for our Terry Fox run, which will be taking place on the afternoon of Friday, September 23rd. 
Don't forget, our Terry Fox run theme is NEON colours. 
Keep up the good work with that fundraising! Our goal as a school is to raise $2000 for the Terry Fox Foundation. 

Looking at Whole Numbers with Base Ten Blocks

Today during math class, the students of 5C were using base ten blocks to model various numbers and gain a better understanding of place value. They were asked to show how they could represent 10,000 units, and some of our students really took it to the new heights!

ATCO Blue Flame Kitchen Field Trip 

On September 7th, the students of 5C had the opportunity to enter a professional kitchen and learn some valuable skills to help them to create their own meals that are both nutritious and delicious! 

We made a fruit dip, a veggie dip, some healthy muffins, and an absolutely delicious baked mac and cheese. 

We managed to get a couple snapshots of the students at work!

I trust that everyone is having a wonderful & relaxing weekend! 
With our Terry Fox run coming up on Friday, September 23rd, we have some exciting incentives in the coming weeks to encourage the students of Saint Brigid to raise money for the Terry Fox Foundation. With a daily donation, students will be able to listen to music in class, chew gum in school, or wear a hat inside the school. Below, I have listed the applicable dates that applies to each fundraising incentive. 

Week 1: Sept 12-15 (no school for kids on Friday) – listen to music in class $1 a day or $4 for the week

Week 2: Sept 19 – 23 – chew gum in school $1 a day or $4 for the week

Week 3: Sept 26 – 30 – wear a hat in school $1 a day or $4 for the week

In addition to the in-school fundraising, each student will receive a fundraising pledge form on Monday September 12th to bring home & begin raising funds individually. As a school community, our goal at Saint Brigid is to raise $2000 by the end of the month, and we will all have the chance to do our part in the fight against cancer! 

This past week we began our social studies curriculum by brainstorming symbols of Canada, which will be the overarching focus throughout the grade 5 school year. Here is an image of the many symbols that the students of 5C came up with.

In preparation for our field trip with ATCO Blue Flame Kitchen tomorrow morning, we brainstormed as a class the elements of a healthy lifestyle. Some ideas that the students came up with included:

• eating well 
• nutritional foods
• vegetables
• limited junk food intake
• eating at the right time of day
• treat your body with respect
• drink a lot of water
• take your vitamins
• daily multivitamin
• vitamin C
• vitamin D
• vitamin B12
• fish oil
• go to bed early
• exercise
• work out
• stretch your muscles
• go for a walk
• this reduces stress

It is important to understand that in order for us to live a healthy lifestyle, we must have a balance of these elements. It is not enough to just eat healthy; we also must drink water, take vitamins, exercise, and get enough sleep for our bodies to be healthy. 

With this in mind, we are very excited to head out on our field trip tomorrow & learn how to create healthy meals for ourselves in the Blue Flame Kitchen!

Welcome students and parents to our 5C class blog!

In addition to using email as a main form of communication, I will also be posting class updates and occasional assignments to this blog, for access to students and parents!
If you are ever absent from class, be sure to keep updated with the blog to see what you have missed.


 
To get us started off on the right foot, we went over daily routines with the class, which I have attached here.

This week we have started working on a small art project in which students traced their hands & decorated the manila paper with some strengths/qualities/likes. 

We will display these hands on a bulletin board in the classroom when they are complete.