Mrs. Baker's Grade 5 Blog

Friday, June 19th, 2020  It’s hard to believe the school year is almost over.  It seems like just yesterday we were welcoming our students into the classroom. Although no one could have predicted how the school year would end, we must congratulate our students for their resilience and perseverance during this time. As we enter our final week of school, we would like to thank you for a wonderful year and we hope you have a safe and enjoyable summer. Drive By Goodbye This Friday, June 26th, teachers will be stationed on the front lawn of Simons Valley School from 11:00AM - 12:00PM.  We welcome you to drive by with your child to wave goodbye to us for the summer.  Please be considerate of current social distancing guidelines and stay in your vehicle and/or six feet away from anyone outside of your family cohort. We look forward to seeing you then! Food Drive Simons Valley School will be hosting one last food drive of the year to help support our families. The ...

Friday, June 5th The students are continuing to do an amazing job working through the on-line activities and learning that we have been sending out on a daily basis.  We encourage the students to join us for our weekly help sessions if they are struggling with any concepts or just need any questions answered, and it is always great to see everyone on our weekly Friday Classroom Meet! Highlights Math We have been continuing to add and subtract decimals and we had a review check/in on Thursday. For the next 2 weeks we will be doing measurement topics such as area, perimeter, volume and capacity.  Literacy / Social Studies Students are continuing to learn about Canadian History and the various people and events that shaped Canadian History.  Each Monday we are sending out 4 very important Canadian History Topics with activities and writing tasks to go with each topic.  Please encourage your child to read through these topics and tell you how they have impacted ...

Highlights Math Over the past week, students have been learning about decimal place value (tenths, hundreths, and thousandths) and that fractions and decimals are related.  They were asked to order decimals from least to greatest, to match decimals to their equivalent fraction, and to convert decimals to fractions and vice versa.  This week, students will be learning how to add and subtract decimal numbers. Literacy Students were tasked with completing one final book report on their book club book.  In the book report, students were asked to write about the main character and setting of their book, and to provide a brief summary of the plot.  They were also asked to write about their favourite part, and one thing that they would change about the book. They were also asked to rate the book out of 5 stars and give a reason for their rating.  Moving forward, we will start to incorporate literacy into our Social Studies and Science lessons. Science We have ...

Friday, May 8th Highlights Math Over the past week, students have continued to learn about fractions.  We took a closer look at how to compare and order fractions from least to greatest and introduced equivalent fractions.  On Monday, May 11th, we will be posting a full fractions unit review.  Students would benefit from looking back at the pages we have covered before attempting the review.  We will be moving on to decimals next week. Literacy Students continued to read their assigned book club books.  This week, they were given the task of completing one project from five possible choices.  They could recreate a scene from their book using a comic book making program called Pixton, film a video advertisement, create a board game or travel brochure based on their book, or they could have acted as their main character responding to various interview style questions.   We have really enjoyed seeing the work that students are submitting! T...

April 27th - May 1st Checking In Welcome to week 8 of isolation and week 5 of on-line teaching and learning. We hope that you are doing alright and are getting outside to enjoy the sunshine we have been having. This week is Mental Health Awareness Week.  We know that mental health is a real concern as we walk through these difficult days. If your family is struggling, please reach out to us for help. We can reduce work loads or connect you with resources in our community that can provide support. If your family is struggling or looking for support please note upcoming free webinars for parents. Kids Have Stress Too Crisis Survival Skills: Supporting your Child and Teen during Stressful Times Taming Anxiety Gremlins: Avoiding anxiety traps while promoting resilience Mindfulness as an Anxiety Management Tool Emotional Regulation Using Mindfulness To access any of the above webinars please click this link and create an account. https://community.hmhc.ca/sessions/?p=onli...

April 17th We hope that everyone is staying safe, healthy and adjusting to our new normal.  The switch to on-line teaching has had its challenges but it also has given us an opportunity to learn new ways of reaching our students while learning new computer programs.  We have now been on-line for 3 weeks and have been assigning daily assignments in all subjects.  We have had lots of kids checking the Google classroom on a daily basis and completing all assigned work.  But we have noticed that many students are not checking the Stream on a daily basis or turning in work on a regular basis.  We understand that all families are faced with their own challenges around computer sharing, parents working from home and support with assignments.  The teachers are available during the day for emails and we have bi-weekly open chat times that the kids can log on and access us for help.  Please ask your child on a daily basis what assignments they are working on...

Dear Grade 5 Parents, The GREAT PICK UP Just a reminder to check the Simons Valley School website for designated times of when you can pick up your child’s belongings.  Student last name (A-L) ONLY pick up on Thursday and Student last name (M-Z) Tuesday only. Please only come during your time. Wednesday April 15th is an alternate date only to be used if you are unable to come in this Thursday or upcoming Tuesday. LIBRARY BOOKS and HOME READING BOOKS All SVS library books/home reading books can be returned the day of your pick up. FOOD DRIVE In addition, to the ‘Great Pick Up’, we will also have boxes available for food donations. The Salvation Army Berkshire Citadel Community Church has been at the forefront of supporting many of our SVS families and this is one way we can help replenish their supplies.  They are in need of canned fruit and vegetables but are grateful for any non-perishable items. Be Brave, Be Kind, Stay Positive.

April 3rd Dear Simons Valley Parents/Guardians, Thank you for being the amazing parent group that you are! Your patience and support as we navigate through these uncertain times is so appreciated. Our school mantra has been ‘We are all in this together!’ and truly what matters the most right now, is how we stay connected in uncertain times. Many of you have asked about when you are able to come by the school and gather your child’s belongings as well as returning library books. We would like to offer you the opportunity to come to SVS on Thursday April 9th AM (only) for student last names starting with A-L Tuesday April 14th AM (only) for student last names starting beginning with M-Z ALTERNATE ONLY: Wednesday April 15th Please see the schedule below: IMPORTANT: In accordance with Alberta Health Services and social distancing: · If anyone in your family is ill, please do not come to the school. Student belongings will not leave the school and we can make arr...

Hello Parents, Thank-You for being patient with us as we navigate through this new way of learning and teaching. Please refer to the information below about how we will be moving forward.  For the remainder of the week, we will be working towards getting all of our families connected to Google Classroom.  Curriculum based learning will resume on April 6th. About Google Classroom Google Classroom is a free online platform that allows students, teachers and parents access to classroom lessons, assignments, assessment, resources and more.  Students in grade 5 have been working with Google Drive (docs, slides, forms) for a few years and will continue to use these tools. Google Classroom takes all of these applications and puts them into one place.  Students and parents will have access to their teacher’s Google Classroom either today or tomorrow and all lessons will be distributed through this platform going forward. The video below is a brief overview of Google C...

March 16th - 20th Hello everyone! First and foremost, we miss you! We hope that you and your family are taking the necessary precautions to stay safe during this unprecedented time.   As we continue to look ahead to what teaching and learning will look like for the remainder of the school year, we wanted to provide you with an update of where we were in the curriculum prior to the cancellation, as well as a few online resources we often use in our classroom. Stay safe, and we hope to see you soon! COVID19 Children's Story If you are looking to have a conversation with your child about COVID19, but are having difficulty finding kid friendly resources, please see the link below. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1R6IsnY3OutH-_GNjZUZh9d853zOopUb5/view?usp=sharing Personal Belongings There may be a need for some families to pick up critical personal items such as medication, inhalers, epi-pens, digital devices, etc. from the school before spring break. We are able to f...

Concrete Poems March 9-13th Important Information From Admin: Schools have received information from Calgary Board of Education Communications in regards to gatherings from now until Spring Break. Please note: Events including the school and regular staff population of the school MAY continue. This includes events such as after school clubs, practices etc. Schools with scheduled field trips may still continue at this time. Events that expand to include populations from other schools and/or parents or other community members should be postponed and further information will be provided after March break if they will be rescheduled or cancelled. This includes events such as Parent Teacher Interviews, school athletic competitions, drama/musical performances etc. We have chosen to postpone the following: March 19th and 20th - Parent Teacher Conferences Thank you to all parents who have offered to volunteer for the book fair. We will create a new signup sheet when we reschedule...

March 2nd - March 6th Highlights Poetry Students have been continuing to look at a variety of literary devices including; personification, simile, metaphor, hyperbole, and onomatopoeia.  They started to write their own Haikus which is a 5, 7, 5 syllable poem.  The students were very creative and humorous when writing their own Haikus based around nature. Social Studies In Social Studies, we are continuing our study of the Indigenous Peoples of Canada.  We finished the Plains region of Canada and are now learning about the Northwest Coast Region. Students have learned about the importance of the Land Acknowledgement, the significance of the totem poles, and why Potlatch ceremonies are so important. Science Chemistry has begun!! Our unit started out with a cool experiment or Elephant Toothpaste where we observed how a chemical reaction happened.  We will be looking at the 3 different states of matter on earth as well as touching on the fourth state of matt...

Pink Shirt Day February 24th - February 29th Highlights: Poetry Students have been introduced to a variety of literary devices including; personification, simile, metaphor, hyperbole, and onomatopoeia.  They listened to some songs and some also chose their own songs to look at song lyrics which included some of these literary devices. Social Studies In Social Studies, we have begun our study of the Indigenous Peoples of Canada, starting with the Plains region of Canada. Students have learned about the importance of the Land Acknowledgement and the Blackfoot People who call this area home. Science In science, we have completed our weather unit.  The Unit Test was done today and will be handed back next week.  We will be studying severe weather later in the year. Math In Math, we continued learning about measurement.  Students had an opportunity to measure various things around the classroom in meters and centimeters, including the length of the class...

February 18th - February 21st Highlights: Student Teacher s We are happy to welcome back our Grade 5 Student Teachers from the University of Calgary.  Ms. Maxwell, Ms. Trembley, Ms. Miller and Mr. Bernabei will be with us until April 18th. Social Studies We have wrapped up our Amazing Race unit looking at the geographic regions of Canada.  Moving forward, students will be learning about the history of Canada, starting with the six Indigenous cultural groups that habited this land prior to European colonization.  These groups are: the People of the Northwest Coast, the Plains, the Plateau, the Arctic, the Subarctic, and the Eastern Woodlands. Science We are continuing on with our weather unit.  This week we looked at instruments that measure temperature, such as a thermometer and a wind vane.  We made individual wind vanes and took them to several locations around the school to determine the wind direction.  We also took the temperature around t...

Atco Kitchen February 10th  - 14th Highlights Teachers Convention & Family Day Please be advised there is no school this upcoming Thursday (Feb. 13th) and Friday (Feb. 14th) due to Teachers Convention.   As teachers, we look forward to these days to grow our professional practice.  School will resume on Tuesday, February 18th after the Family Day long weekend. The City of Ember This week, students finished reading and listening to The City of Ember.  Students watched the feature film, and are working on their final City of Ember writing assignment. Math Students continue to learn the steps of 3 digit by 1 digit long division.   We will have a quiz next week.  Please see the following links to review the steps: http://www.learnalberta.ca/content/me5l/html/Math5.html     user name LA06 password 4105 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KGMf314LUc0 Social Studies Social quiz next week on Canada’s 6 regions. Students have be...

February 3rd - 7th Highlights In Math,  we have continued to work on long division and have started 3 digit by 1 digit division. Here is a link which your child can use to practice long division. http://www.learnalberta.ca/content/me5l/html/Math5.html    user name LA06 password 4105 In Language Arts, the whole school will be writing a second functional writing piece. Within the next week or so all grade 5 students will have written their second news article.  We have been focusing on punctuation when writing, looking at proper capitalization, commas, and end punctuation.  We are also continuing to work on our ‘Locked Room’ challenges for our Locked Room project.  Thank you to those who have brought in shoeboxes for us to use, for later, when we work at constructing our Locked Room dioramas. We are just finishing up our novel The City of Ember.  We will be watching the movie next week. In Science, we have been looking at the water cycle and...

January 27th - January 31st Highlights Language Arts We have been continuing our Locked Room Challenges for our Locked Room project.  Each group of students will be creating a password protected Powerpoint presentation for their peers to follow, in order to complete each others’ Locked Room. We have also been working on our functional writing skills, practicing writing leads, body paragraphs and ending sentences.  Science We have been studying weather, looking at weather forecasting as well as warm and cold fronts. We will be studying and constructing weather instruments next week. Social Studies We are in the homestretch of the Amazing Race Canada, as students have reached the Cordillera region. The Cordillera as a whole is distinguished by its mountainous landscapes, and it's great variety of climates, soils and vegetation. The Cordillera region includes many steep slopes, natural hazards and a severe climate, that make land use restricted b...

    Happy New Year! January 20th - January 24th Highlights Physical Education Students have been participating in an introductory gymnastics activity called Mission Impossible. During this activity, students attempted to pass various obstacles as they took on the role of secret agents. Locked Room Students continue to create their Locked Room concepts.  We have specifically been looking at creating engaging grade-level challenges.  You can check out some examples below. Math Next week we will be starting a long division.  We encourage you to have your child regularly practice multiplication facts up to 10x10 at home to be successful with this unit.   Please see our “Helpful Links” tab on the side for various resources to help you practice at home. Social Studies This week, students took on the role of a fur trader around the early to mid-1500s as part of the Amazing Race Canada. Many early European settlers came to Canada due to the de...