Our class has been busy working on descriptive narrative writing. We have been focussing on adding details, suspense and great hooks to our stories. Today we began designing our Junk Monster characters! Share with a family member your plan for creating your junk monster. Begin to think about the character traits of your monster, as well as special adaptations it might have.

Homework:
- Please bring any recycled material you would like to add to your Junk Monster art sculpture. We will be building our sculptures in class tomorrow.

Reminders: 
- Room 2 and Room 4 are going to Aggie Days at the Stampede grounds on Friday April 8! Off Site Acknowledgement of Risk forms are being sent home today. Please return your signed form by Thursday April 9. We need volunteers to attend this field trip! Please ask your parents if they can volunteer with our class and let Ms. Makowski know as soon as possible.

- April Newsletter and Calendar is being sent home with the youngest student.

Our class began a new novel study, Bridge to Terabithia, by Katherine Paterson. Share with a family member your first impression of this novel. How is it similar or different to other novels we have studied this year? Did the author hook your interest? Why or why not?

In Phys. Ed. our class learned a warm-up: ‘Jumpstart’.   https://vimeo.com/user23434351/review/155326426/4a876be2ca

Try it at home! 

Homework:
Continue to practice your basic facts at home! Try the Factor Tree game on http://nlvm.usu.edu/en/nav/category_g_2_t_1.html. Look for patterns in the equations.

Reminder:
- Grade 4 Program in International Reading Literacy Study notice is being sent home today

Welcome back!  We are moving into the final 3 months of our learning journey.  We will be busy in the next few months focusing on our Social Studies inquiry unit on Identity. Share with a family member the chalk talk we completed in class today on identity. Talk to your family about your identity and what it means to you. We will be working on a personal identity presentation this week. Begin to collect information from your family for this project!

Homework:
Read! Read! Read!  Our Best Character Ever book project, which will focus on characters in fiction, is due on April 29, 2016.  Look for the project criteria and assessment in D2L this week.

Terrific work sharing our learning with the school in our class assembly! Be proud of your leadership and courage.

Have a wonderful Spring Break! Classes resume Tuesday March 29. 

Our class finished our novel study of Underground to Canada. We have been working on a critical thinking response to this powerful book. Share with a family member your written response posted in D2L. What was the main idea of this novel? What can we learn from the characters in the book?

Homework: 
- How did the characters in Underground to Canada show the virtues? We will be sharing our ideas in class tomorrow.

Reminder: 
- Our class assembly is tomorrow morning (March 17) at 11:00! Please remind your families to attend!
- Please return signed Digital Champions Club forms if you are interested in joining. This club is being offered to grade 2, 3 and 4 students.

We have been applying the scientific method to record our plant experiments! Our class designed experiments and created a google doc to collect our information. Share with a family member your google doc. How did you use your five senses when completing your observations? What conclusions did you draw from your data?

Homework: 
Watch the Scientific Method on BrainPOP Junior. Try the quiz! What connections can you make to our experiments in class?

Reminder: 
- Pizza lunch is tomorrow (March 16)
- Room 2 Assembly is March 17 at 11:00. Please invite your families to attend and celebrate our learning!

Our class has been working hard preparing for our assembly! Share with a family member the learning we will be sharing with the school and community. Please invite your families to attend our celebration of learning on March 17 at 11:00!

Homework: 
Play Salute with a family member! What patterns do you notice when we are multiplying numbers?

Reminder: 
- Pizza lunch is Wednesday March 16.
- Room 2 Assembly is Thursday March 17 at 11:00.
- Digital Champions Club is being offered to grade 2, 3 and 4 students! Notice is being sent home today with grade 4 students.

Thank you for an exciting week of learning! Have a wonderful weekend.

We had an exciting day at Telus Spark Science Centre today! Share with a family member the excellent session we did on the water cycle and the engaging dome show presentation on the rain forest. What connections can you make to our field trip today? What new questions do you have? Thank you to School Council and our parent volunteers for this amazing learning opportunity.

Homework:
Please continue to read a novel for our next Best Book Project! We will be discussing this project in class soon.

Reminder:
- Sports Club is today (March 10) from 3:15 to 3:45.

Our class has been working on our narrative writing skills! We have been discussing what makes an excellent piece of narrative writing. Explain to a family member the importance of thinking of our reader when we are writing and our class writing goals. What goal did you set for your narrative writing? Why did you choose this goal? What strategies are helping you achieve this goal?

Homework: 
Change this story beginning so it has an interesting hook:
"Hi, my name is Kate. This is the story of how I was chased in the desert by a coyote."
What type of hook did you use?

Reminder: 
- Our Telus Spark field trip is tomorrow! Our bus leaves at 9:00, please arrive to school on time. Remember to bring a healthy snack, water bottle and a bag lunch.
- Last day for pizza orders is tomorrow (Thursday March 10).
- CBE Transportation Services information

Our class has been busy preparing for our assembly on March 17! We have been researching interesting facts about the environment, recycling, waste and energy sources. Share with a family member the interesting Did You Know fact you will be sharing in our class iMovie. What are some ways that individuals, our class, our school and community can help protect the environment?

Homework: 
- Play Race to Zero subtraction with a family member.

Reminder:
- Telus Spark field trip is Thursday March 10.
- Sports Club is Thursday March 10.
- School Council is tonight (Tuesday March 8) at 6:30. Please invite your parents to attend!
- Last day for pizza orders is Thursday March 10.

Our class has been working on our subtracting strategies in Math! We have been solving problems using regrouping, thinking of addition, and the zero zapper. Explain to a family member how each of these strategies work. What other strategies do you use for subtraction? How are these strategies similar to addition?

Homework: 
Try solving the Difference Sudoku puzzle:
http://nrich.maths.org/5798

Reminder: 
- Our class is going to Telus Spark for a field trip on March 10! Please remember to return your signed Acknowledgment of Risk as soon as possible.

Thank you for another wonderful week of learning! Excellent job reading with a buddy class for DEAR today. Be proud of your leadership.

Our class has been continuing our novel study of Underground to Canada by Barbara Smucker. Share with a family member what has happened in our story. What challenges have Julilly and Liza experienced in the novel? How was the author kept you interested in the novel? We will be discussing these ideas in class tomorrow.

Homework: 
Take the Recycle It Quiz:
http://www.westtorrens.sa.gov.au/WTORWebFile/Recycle_it/WTC-Quiz.html

Reminder: 
- Please return your signed Telus Spark Acknowledgement of Risk forms to school as soon as possible.
- Swimming evaluations are being sent home today.

Our class has been working on making excellent observations in our Plant Experiments! Share with a family member the observations you made for this experiment in the google doc your group created. How have your plants changed in this experiment? Was your hypothesis correct?

Homework: 
Play Race to Zero subtraction with a family member!

Reminder: 
- Please remember to return your signed Telus Spark Acknowledgement of Risk forms as soon as possible.
- Sports Club is tomorrow (March 3) from 3:15 to 3:45.

Our class has begun narrative writing! Share with a family member the ideas our class had for what makes an excellent story. What are examples of excellent stories you have read? How did the author keep you interested in the story? Think of a writing goal you have when writing stories. What strategies will help you achieve this goal? We will be sharing your ideas in class tomorrow.

Homework: 
Go to the National Library of Virtual Manipulatives to practice your Base Blocks Subtraction:
http://nlvm.usu.edu/en/nav/category_g_2_t_1.html

Reminders: 
- Our school will be participating in DEAR all week!
- Sports Club is Thursday March 3 from 3:15 to 3:45.
- Our class is going to Telus Spark for a field trip on Thursday March 10! Acknowledgement of Risk forms are being sent home today. Please return signed by Friday March 4.