COVID-19 and Us

We hope that you are well.

We wanted to connect with you prior to the end of Spring Break to reassure you that we will be providing an alternative, distance learning plan for our students starting on March 30th. 

In designing these learning activities, we are mindful that our families are diverse and home learning set-ups vary. So, we intend on making a selection of low and high tech. options for our students. 

This being said, we also respect that it will be challenging for some families to direct this learning from home even if it is available. We do not want to add to the stress on our families; please do what you can. 

Above all, guard your health, physical and mental. We care about your kids and we care about you.

All our best,

❤

Your teachers,

Ms Powers and Ms Bridal

This week in Div 3, March 9th to 13th

Dates to note this month and next:

March 9th Sooke Sing OUT at EMCS see Ms Vally's weekly for details
March 11th Online Safety Presentation in the PM (Reminder: no cell phone use at school; our school phone is available to students who need to connect with home)
March 13th Jump Rope for Heart MORNING and BREAK the RULES DAY (PAC fundraiser)
Spring Break March 14th to March 29th
April 9th FUTURE JOURNEY DRAGONS Open House at Journey 6 to 7:30.

*Download the Poirier App for quick updates and the Panther weekly:
https://poirier.appazur.com/help/flyer 

Funwork this week:

Math: We are continuing to work developing the concept of fractions, part versus whole and parts of a set. We will be continuing to build students' number sense looking at how fractions relate to division and, in turn, multiplication. In the Spring, we will do some math fact rehearsal to complement working on bigger numbers; www.multiplication.com is a great source of practice over the break.

Language Arts: We are working on idea generation in writing; this involves brainstorming and drafting story ideas from writing prompts. Our goal is for students to develop one of those ideas into a published story which they will share at our open house in April. We continue to read "Parvana's Journey" and "Sadako", two historical fiction novels. Students are developing their comprehension skills working on double entry journals. They are also developing some perspective on the world; we are very lucky to live in Canada.

Social Studies: Students will be guided through an inquiry into how Natural Resources draw immigration from other parts of the world (eg. pull factors).  We will also be looking at what push factors drive populations away from their homes.

Science: We will be looking at soil in preparation for Spring planting! Did you know that you can test soil PH using a purple cabbage?

Here's to a lot more fun and learning this last week before Spring Break.

Your teachers,
Ms Powers and Ms Bridal

This week in Division 3, March 2nd to 6th

Dates to note:

Fridays in March are DARE/Kids in the Know Lesson Days
March 14th to March 29 Spring BREAK
April 9th GRADE 5 Families and students are welcome to attend a celebration of learning at Journey Middle School from 6 to 7:30; learn about the great things that happen at this dynamic middle school.

Funwork this week:

Math: Students will have their division skills assessed. We will be focusing on fractions over the coming weeks looking at how to divide wholes into parts.

Language Arts: We are developing skills for our annual Literature Circles. Students will be reading novels and books of their choice to discuss and to analyze with groups of their peers across grades 4 and 5. This week we will be practicing how to do double entry journals and group discussions.

Inquiry Skills: We are also developing our inquiry skills, connecting and wondering, investigating and researching, constructing, expressing, and reflecting.  We are hoping to create our own showcase of learning in April that rivals Journey's.

Here's to a great week of learning!

Your teachers,
Ms Powers and Ms Bridal

This week in Division 3, February 24th to February 28th

What shapes our identity? The natural and digital worlds can both play a part, but at the centre is you. Be nice, always, and connect with those who are kind like you!

AND THIS WEEK LET'S CENTRE ON ACTS OF KINDNESS in honour of Pink Shirt Day.

Dates to note in February and March:

February 24 PAC Meeting in the Library (ALL parents are welcome and are a part of PAC)

Friday's in February and March - DARE Days

FEBRUARY 26th PINK SHIRT DAY 

February 25 and 27th Community Connections Career Afternoons

March 14th to March 29th SPRING BREAK

Funwork this week:

Community Connections: We will be meeting community members, learning about their job and what brings them joy.

Social Studies: First Nations' role model Jeff will be sharing Bannock and stories with our class on Monday. We will be asking Jeff to help us answer our inquiry question: How have natural resources shaped the identity of people in this community?

Language Arts/ Social and Personal Competencies: We will continue working on our Digital Citizenship unit. Students will be asked to reflect on their own media choices using guidelines set out by www.commonsense.org. We will be reading Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes, another piece of historical fiction, to complement My Name is Parvana. These novels allow students to indirectly experience the lives of other children living very different realities. How does our environment shape our identity? 

Math: We are continuing to explore division of numbers to 100 and we are working with larger numbers using the partial quotient strategy. For those of us who learned division differently (Long Division or Bust), here is a video by Khan explaining how the system works. The partial quotient method makes students think about working with the full value of the number which cements number sense. Long Division is another method that is taught after students can show that they understand values into the 1000's.

Here is to a great week of learning and fun!

Your teachers,

Ms Bridal and Ms Powers

This week in Division 3, February 18th to 21st

What is digital citizenship?

Dates to note in February and March:

February 19th Tennis Anyone?
February 20th Mental Health Presentation for Grade 4/5 classes
February 24 PAC Meeting in the Library (ALL parents are welcome and are a part of PAC)
February 25 and 27th Community Connections Career Afternoons
March 14th to March 29th SPRING BREAK

Please share this gentle reminder with your kids: There seems to be some students who are unsure or forgetting about the rules around cell phones. So for clarity: students are not allowed to use cell phones at school. This rule also applies to Journey Middle School. If students bring cell phones to school, they need to be secured in a backpack. Lisa Stone, our front desk clerk, allows students to use our phones to call home, if and when needed. Thanks for your support.

Funwork this week:

Language Arts/ Health/Social Studies/ Social and Personal Competencies: We will be starting a Digital Citizenship unit this week. We will be using a variety of resources, but commonsense.org is a stand-out. Here is a link to it: https://www.commonsense.org/education/digital-citizenship This site offers advice for both educators and parents teaching and raising kids in this complicated digital age. Here is a link to their media and app review page for parents: https://www.commonsensemedia.org/  The goal of this unit is to develop critical and reflective thinking skills around the use of the digital medium to prevent cyber bullying and to develop a positive sense of self.

Math: We are continuing to investigate division facts using arrays and real-life "sharing" problems (or opportunities, if you are the sharing type :-)

Art: Self Portrait and identity will be the theme as we explore who we are and who we want to be in real and digital spaces.

Assessments:

Math POPS have been posted to Freshgrade. If your child's is missing, it is because we are still in progress because of absences. We are hoping to have all of them up by the end of the week.

PE POPS will be up on Freshgrade by Wednesday as we couldn't make time for them last week. Check out the photos of our Tennis sessions to see the skills that your kids are developing in that workshop.

Here is to a great week in Division 3.

Your teachers,
Ms Bridal and Ms Powers

This week in Division 3, February 10th to 14th

Dates to remember:
February 10th - Victoria Field Trip (The Bug Zoo and the Victoria Film Festival) If you have not sent in permission, please email us stating that you approve of us taking your child via school bus to the Bug Zoo and the Victoria Film Festival. Thank you!

February 13th - PAC Run Red and White Dance in the Gym ***PAC is calling out for parent volunteers.
February 14th - Pro D Day No school for students/ teachers are learning
February 17th - Family Day Holiday
February 25th and 27th 1:00 to 2:45 pm Career Afternoons ( We are looking for people who would be willing to share what they do for a living, their passion in life, to inspire our students to think about their own strengths and interests; thank you to those of you who have already reached out)

Funwork this week:

Math: We will be looking at fractions using arrays as a jump off point. Arrays are visual way to show multiplication (counting by groups of numbers)  and they also can be used to show the relationship between fractions and division in a more concrete way. Ms Bridal went to a coding pro d in Nanaimo over the weekend and she is full of new coding activities to teach the kids.

Language Arts: We will continue to work on developing our proofreading and editing skills by reviewing grammar conventions. To practice, we will be writing summary paragraphs about our trip tomorrow. Readers Theatre groups are performing their scripts.

Science and Social Studies: We will be working on our inquiry question:

How have natural resources shaped and continue to shape the identity of British Columbia's communities (eg. Sooke) ?

Assessments this week (POP = Point of Progress):

Math POP - coding, patterns, multiples (multiplication)

Physical Education POP - movement and manipulation (Basketball); physical and mental health strategies

Here is to a great week of learning!

Your teachers,

Ms Bridal and Ms Powers

Welcome to February, Division 3

(We will ignore the fact that the artist didn't capitalize February!)
Dates to remember:

February 3rd to 6th - Book Fair
February 10th - Victoria Field Trip (The Bug Zoo and the Victoria Film Festival - permission form going home on Feb. 3rd)
February 13th - PAC Run Dance in the Gym ***Volunteers are needed
February 14th - Pro D Day No School
February 17th - Family Day Holiday
February 25th and 27th 1:00 to 2:45 pm Career Afternoons ( We are looking for people who would be willing to share what they do for a living, their passion in life, to inspire our students to think about their own strengths and interests; thank you to those of you who have already reached out)

Funwork:

Math - We will be looking at multiplication in terms of arrays and area models. Real world examples include looking at how arrays are represented in grocery stores.

Language Arts- We will be learning how to use proofreading symbols to peer edit; we will review capitalization and end punctuation grammar points before applying that knowledge to proofing peer writing. Students are continuing to work on their group reader's theatre productions.

Science/Social Studies - Students will continue to develop their understanding of natural resources in BC. We will be focusing on the mining industry this week (Does anyone gold pan in our classroom community?)

Here's to a great week of learning in Division 3.

Your Teachers, Ms Bridal and Ms Powers

This last week of January in Division 3

Dates and Reminders:

January 28th TENNIS Wednesdays start
January 29 to 31st - Literacy Week
First Week of February - BOOK FAIR
February 14 Pro D Day - No classes
February 17 Family Day - No classes
February 25th and 27th Career Expo Afternoon (Do you have an interesting career that you would like to share with students? We are opening our students' eyes to the possibilities out there. Contact Ms Bridal if you would like to share)

Funwork this week:

Math: We are becoming familiar with multiples and their patterns. Families can extend this conversation by looking for items that are counted in multiples; for example, items in a grocery store like toilet paper, in the garden like petals on a flower, or on a vehicle like wheels etc. Math is everywhere.

Language Arts: We will be selecting scripts to read in our theatre seating groups. Students will be working on reading fluently and with emotion. Students will also be working on the writing process: drafting, proofreading, editing, and refining their writing. The 6 traits of writing will be a focus:


French: Carnaval de Quebec and using cognates, words that sound like English, as well as non verbal language to navigate a second language, in this case, French.

Social Studies and Science: The cross curricular inquiry question that we will be investigating is: How have natural resources shaped and continue to shape the economy and identity of British Columbia's communities (eg. Sooke)? We will be doing a project on this to be presented at our April open house.

Assessments:
We completed a Science POP and it is available to view on Freshgrade.

Here's to a great week of learning.

Your teachers,
Ms Powers and Ms Bridal

This week in Division 3, January 20th to 24th

Dates to note in January:

January 23rd 12:30 Lunch Time Fire Drill (in case you are doing pick ups and drop offs at this time)
January 24th Crazy Hair and Socks Day (We are aiming to have all our students participate because it is FUN)
January 24th Whole School Assembly on Growth Mindset and GRIT!
January 28th to 30th Literacy Days at Poirier

Funwork this week:

Language Arts: We are continuing with our Readers Theatre theme. After reviewing the basic building blocks of sentences, parts of speech, we are now focusing on building paragraphs to summarize information. We will be writing regularly to develop this skill; the goal is improvement, so we will be establishing a baseline writing sample to measure our growth as individuals.

Math: Skip counting or using multiples is our focus. Lessons and links can be found under Math on the right hand side of this blog. For those of you who like your kids to do additional practice at home, here is a link to Khan Academy, an excellent site for Math support and practice.

Social Studies/Science: We will continue to investigate these key terms: natural resources, renewable versus non renewable resources, primary versus secondary industries. We will be focusing on resources and industries specific to Sooke and B.C.

French: We will continue to learn about Carnaval de Quebec (without snow to help us imagine how it is) and tune our ears to the French language.

Art: We are going to be painting a forest of Emily Carr-style trees.

Wild-wise will be presenting information on how to live alongside wild animals this week, an important lesson for us all in Sooke.

Here's to a great week with your amazing kids.

Your teachers,
Ms Bridal and Ms Powers

This week in Division 3, January 13th to 17th

Weather closures are announced on the district's webpage, twitter and facebook account as well as on local news programs. If it is not safe to travel to school on your road, please don't. Your safety is important. It looks like there is the possibility of snow this week so stay tuned.

Dates to note in January:

Tomorrow - Orders for "Be Kind" pink shirts due; cheques are payable to the Ecole Poirier PAC
Tomorrow - Blood drive in our school from noon on, so the gym will be closed; families and friends are welcome to donate.
Tomorrow - PAC meeting after school; all parents are welcome to join in
January 17th - PAC Hot Lunch - order online

Funwork this week:

Language Arts: We are continuing to work with reader's theatre scripts to build fluency but also to have some dramatic fun. Students will be working in pre-selected groups to choose a picture book or novel to re-write into a short reader's theatre. We will post these to Freshgrade when they are ready for presentation.

Math - We are continuing to look at time as a way to practice using operations and fractions/decimal fractions. You may want to calculate how many days, hours, minutes, seconds, that you have been alive like the kids have; you can use this site to check your math. This leads to questions like how many more days have I been alive than you have etc? Towards the end of the week we will look at repeated addition, skip counting, as a lead into multiplication.

Social Studies and Science - We will be looking at Canadian natural resources over the next month. This includes looking into the stories of Canadians who located and used them as well as looking at potential resources for the future which is very topical. Students will be doing a Wonder Hour to develop their inquiry skills.

P.E. - We are learning basketball, a sport that was invented in Canada. The school is also hosting extracurricular basketball practices and games.

French - We will be reading one picture book in French a week as well as looking at Carnaval de Quebec. This is to tune the students' ear to French and to familiarize them with the rich French Canadian culture in our country.

Here's to a great week of learning.

The power is going out...got to post this NOW.

Your teachers,
Ms Bridal and Ms Powers

This first week of 2020 in Division 3

Dates to note in January and February:

Jan. 6, Monday                             School is back (remember to bring your rain gear)

Jan. 17, Friday                              Fire Drill

Feb. 3-7                                       Book Fair here

Feb. 14, Friday                             Professional Development Day -No school for students

Feb. 17, Monday                          Family Day -No School

Funwork this week:

Math: We will be doing some review in the first week revisiting adding and subtracting larger numbers. Then, we will be looking at repeated addition, the precursor to multiplication.

Language Arts: We will review basic sentence structure. Then, we will be focusing on how to use punctuation to vary sentences and to feature dialogue in writing. Students will continue reading The Breadwinner. 

Science: We will be concluding our unit on solutions and solubility.

French: Christmas may be over, but Quebecers celebrate Carnaval du Quebec. We will be learning about this tradition and the language around it.

Art: We will look at Emily Carr and use her technique as inspiration to create a forest of trees for the classroom.

Here's to a great week back,

Your teachers, 

Ms Bridal and Ms Powers

Happy Holidays Division 3 Families and Students!

This last week of 2019 in Division 3

Div 3 families and students, here is your weekly update.

Dates to note:

December 17th Jingle Way Sing-a-long in the Gym from 10:50 to 11:30 (Families welcome)
December 20th Mug Exchange (Students exchange mugs and share in hot-chocolate holiday cheer)
WINTER BREAK December 21st to January 5th (Back to school on Monday, January 6th)

Funwork:

Science 
Students have investigated and will present individual and group experiments around the topic of solutions and solubility. This will happen Tuesday morning and Wednesday; the work will reinforce scientific inquiry skills that the students are developing.

Language Arts 
Reading: Students will finish "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" this week. They will be comparing the novel with the 1971 musical screenplay on Thursday and Friday. Students are also using CAFE strategies to read "The Breadwinner" which they will continue reading after the break.
Writing: Students are working on using adverbs in sentences to describe actions. This practice will include rearranging sentences so that they start with an adverb (eg. Suddenly, the students understood why they could start a sentence with suddenly).

Math
The hour of code is over, but our experiences with code will continue in the new year and extend to robotics. For those of you who have asked, the link to coding activities can be found here.
This week we will be doing consumer math using addition and subtraction of dollar amounts with cents (decimal fractions) as well as some festive figuring.

And so much more fun is happening this last week of 2019 because that is what learning is.

Yours

Ms Bridal and Ms Powers