Swimming
Please remember that we are swimming tomorrow morning. See email for chaperone names.
Homework
- Your child should be reading in French for 10 minutes every night.
- Practice times tables. There will be a small quiz this Friday to see how everyone is coming along.
Our last Science topic this year will be Plants. Being new-ish to Grade 3, this is my first time teaching this unit to young ones so my goal is to pass along my own love of plants, as I fumble my way through the curriculum.
This past Monday we were studying the names of plant parts and I thought it would be more interesting to work with real plants. So I purchased living pansies from the grocery store. My thought was to "dissect" the roots, stem, leaves, & petals, and tape these parts to a piece of paper. I decided to reconsider after being faced with: "But Madame, we will be killing the plants!" True indeed. So instead we cut a flower/stem/leaf from the plant, taped it to a piece of paper, and drew the roots. Yes, we still killed part of the plant, but at least this way those who wanted got to bring the plant home. Instructions were to give the roots more space prior to putting the plants in the ground.
Today we looked at the role of bees as pollinators, as well as learning the names of flower parts in French. We will learn about the life cycle of plants, look at seeds, and grow some of our own. Just for kicks, on Tuesday I germinated seeds from a 2 year-old 8-bean soup mix. I placed a handful of beans/seeds into a baggie, added a bit of water and let them soak overnight. The next day I drained the water, and now moisten the beans twice a day. To my surprise, this morning some of the seeds had grown shoots. This would be a good experiment to try at home too.
Friendship Thursdays
Mmes Henry, MacMillan and myself have decided to spend some time on Thursday afternoons to split our students into 3 mixed groups, with a goal to have students get to know new students and practice making new friends. We will be starting this tomorrow afternoon by splitting into our groups and practicing how to ask questions.
Visiting Performances
We were delighted with 2 performances this past week. On Friday, French Immersion students watched "Mathieu Mathématiques" performed by BC's only French theatre troupe: "Théâtre de la Seizième". And today grade 3-5 students watched a one-man mime and drama performance. Both productions were very well received and touched on elements of imagination, making friends and bullying.
Willows Performances
Speaking of performances, you should have received a green newsletter to order tickets to our upcoming musical later this month. Please return ASAP.
Track
We will be starting our track season at Willows next week. Mrs. Ireton and myself will be working with Grade 3s on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons from 3 to 4pm. This is grade 3s' first experience with track so we try to keep it simple and fun: running games, learning how to start & run through the finish line, as well as passing the baton. If your child is interested, please ask him/her to pick-up a registration form at the office. We could use parent help for simple tasks during practices, so please don't be shy about approaching us during practices.
Merci!
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