Skates & Helmets!

Remember Your Skates & Helmets!

Team Johnston, remember that we will be leaving for the rink right after announcements on Monday, Dec. 12th as we will be skating from 9:15 a.m. - 10:15 a.m.  Parents are welcome to help tie skates :)  and are also most welcome to come skating with us.  All skaters need to have helmets (bike helmets are fine too).  Mr. Stobbe does have some helmets available; having said that, lice is going around the school.  Hope to see some of you there!

Christmas Sweaters & Home Reading!

Christmas Sweaters & Home Reading!

Hi Team Johnston!
Thank you for your understanding as we have all been inundated with emails this week in attempts to reschedule and re-reschedule school events!  The important thing is that everyone has been safe!

Please help your child remember to wear/bring an ugly Christmas sweater for the concert that is now taking place Friday, Dec. 9th at 2:10 p.m. in the gym at Carman Elementary.  Many factors were considered in rescheduling the concert as we met as a school team this morning.  We recognize that we can not accommodate all needs and preferences, but have done the best we can given our less than ideal circumstances.  On that note, please know that friends and family are still welcome to attend!

On another note, home reading minutes are due on Monday, Dec. 19th  Students still have time to complete their 500 minutes and hand in their sheets.  I know that I have mentioned this before, but I want to be clear that our Home Reading Celebration is an event that has to be earned.  It is not enough for students to say that they have been reading at home; they have to hand in their home reading sheet (or whatever paper they have been using to keep track).  Those who have been reading will be rewarded!  Those who haven't been reading will have a chance to read during the celebration.

All students will be a part of our class party that will take place at 2 p.m. on the second last day of school before holidays, Wednesday, Dec. 21st.  I will send out a reminder next week to those students who are scheduled to bring food.

All for now!
Coreen

Upcoming Science Test & Halloween Party!

Just a reminder that Monday afternoon we will be having our Halloween party!  Students can bring their own drink if they feel the need.  Again, thanks to those in advance who are bringing food!  It is PJ day at school that day and students have the option of getting dressed in their school-appropriate costume after lunch.

Also, we will be having a science test on "Habitats & Communities" on Wednesday, Nov. 2.  We have been working on a study guide this week to review concepts and are correcting it this afternoon.  Grade 4 is a transition for students in the way that they are introduced to more formal tests such as this.  There are not many tests throughout the year, but your support in encouraging them to approach it positively is appreciated.  Tests are an opportunity for students to "show what they know."  They are not meant to try to trick them, as only concepts that we have studied will be on the test!

Students are also reminded to keep tracking their home reading minutes as there only 7 more weeks until they are due.

I don't know why I feel the need to share, but please know that I am actually not burning the midnight oil when I send out a blog!  I have sent the last few right after school or during the day, but for some reason a notice isn't sent out through email until the wee hours of the night.  Sorry!

Missoula Workshop!

The other day our class participated in a drama workshop run by the two Missoula Directors.  Our workshop was "Creating a Character" in which students had fun putting their creative thinking to use!  A big thank you goes out to a number of local businesses who have sponsored these workshops for our students!  Performances take place Friday night and Saturday afternoon!

Also, just a reminder that I am still missing some papers for our Auto-Biography Homework Support.  We are needing some of this information for Monday for some of our writing activities.  Thanks!

Autobiography Homework Support!

Students came home yesterday with a short assignment for parents that will help give us information for our autobiography project.  I noticed today that a number of students left their sheets in their home school journals and didn't give them to parents!  It may be helpful to ask your child if you haven't seen these papers yet.  They are due by this Friday, Oct. 14th.  Thanks for your help with this!

Blends and Double Letters!

Today during spelling, we noticed that all of our spelling words have blends or double letters.  This may be helpful to remember as they are practising for our spelling test next Friday!

Have a great weekend everyone!

Meeting Baby Lily!

We had an exciting afternoon meeting Baby Lily and her mom "Lish."  Lily is 4 and 1/2 months old and is as cute as ever!  She is very strong as she already sits up and rolls over.  She is quite outgoing and sure captured our attention.  We are looking forward to her next visit at the end of October!

Welcome!

Welcome to our 4J Blog!

I am new to the world of blogging and am giving it a try this year with a blog for our class!  Once you are signed up, you will receive an email when I update this blog with a new post.  I am hoping it will be useful when I need to send out a quick reminder to families or briefly let you know of special happenings in our class.  I recognize that we are inundated with emails and want to respect your email space.  At the same time, it is a quick way of getting messages out in "real time!"

At the end of each month, I will send out a 4J Newsletter.  If your kids are anything like mine, they may not share many details about what they are learning.  Our newsletter will give you more insights as to the academic happenings in our class.

As you can see, communication is important to me.  Please do not hesitate to get in touch with me as you need throughout the year.  My school email is cjohnston@prsdmb.ca and the school's phone number is 204-745-2623.  I will do my best to get back to you as soon as I can!

I am looking forward to working with your child this year!
Sincerely,
Coreen Johnston