Mrs. Spreen's Class Blog

September 26, 2014 What an excellent Terry Fox Run/Walk!  A huge thank-you to all organizers and volunteers!  The students completed a short walk because of the rain, but as Mr. Henderson stated, "Terry ran in all kinds of weather.  He didn't let the rain stop him." Well done, RBES students! This week in language arts the students have been introduced to "The Secret Knowledge of Grown-ups" revealed and illustrated by David Wisniewski.  It is a story written to enlighten children to the 'real' reasons parents tell children to do things - not the lies we have been passing along. We have been using the book to guide our vocabulary development and to begin to notice differences in text.  As it is an engaging story, it also helps us to become engaged listeners.  Other lessons from this book will be helping us to develop as writers using mentor text. Math has been a continuation of Patterns. We have discovered many ways to investigate, name and continue

TERRY FOX I do not know of anyone   who has not been touched by cancer in some way - whether personally, through a friend, relative, neighbour or acquaintance.  Since Terry began his first cross Canada run millions of dollars and research hours have been spent trying to figure out the causes and cures for this ravaging disease. It is through continued support for this research that there will come a cure. RBES is doing our part by hosting a Terry Fox Walk/Run on September 26 beginning with an assembly at 10:00 am in the gym.  Shortly after, we will be leaving together to travel our route hoping to make it back to the school for about noon.  Please come with us if you are able. We are asking that students donate a " Toonie for Terry " which will be forwarded to the Alberta branch of the Canadian Cancer Society. Students and staff will be provided with a sticker to name a person for whom they are running. Please talk about this with your child to determine the name of

Hand Bells Are Coming! Hello, all! In music, your child will be playing hand bells.  Mrs. Stanski has asked that the students do not wear shirts with buttons, zippers or sparkles on the front.  She has also asked that all long hair be tied back. These requests are for safety reasons.  Please check your child's clothes before he/she leaves home in the morning. Thanks!

September 12, 2014 Happy Friday! Our first full 5 day week of school is nearly finished.  (The students are in PE as I write this.) This week we have begun our Science unit: Light and Shadows.  We have done a few experiments with flashlights and different objects in our classroom.  We have learned that some objects can emit light and others can reflect it. Our Social Studies classes have led us on a discovery of the cardinal and ordinal directions as well as the provinces and territories of Canada.  We will be having a quiz on the provinces and territories next Thursday.  Hopefully, the students remember to review their notes over the weekend. Math has begun with the Patterns unit.  We have discussed position patterns, number patterns and calendar patterns.  We have also begun to do some work with multiplication facts.  We will need to know our basic facts quickly and easily by the end of grade 4, so please help at home with this skill.  A few good sites that I like are: multip

Thursday, September 11, 2014 Hello!  Our first full week of school is drawing to a close.  Check here tomorrow for an update of what we have accomplished this week! Tuesday, September 2, 2014 We have successfully completed our first full day of school for this year! What a fabulous day!  We had a great presentation from Mary Lambert this afternoon, and the students thoroughly enjoyed it. We have written in the agendas, as this will be our daily communication tool.  Please initial the agenda daily indicating you have read the notes. In the daily section of the agenda, there are 6 icons at the beginning of each row which we have titled as a key for future reference. These will not be identified each week, as it will become common knowledge what each icon means. As well, 4S's Blogspot address (which you must have found!) and my email address were written. I am looking forward to a fantastic year with this dynamic group!