Dia de los Muertos Art

This week we started looking at different celebrations around Halloween. We watched a movie called The Halloween Tree which was about 4 friends who magically travelled around the world and through time to learn about the meaning of Halloween. We learned that in ancient Egypt, people would put out offerings outside of their homes for the ghosts of their ancestors. The ghosts would move from house to house. We noted how this is similar to trick or treating. Egyptians also ate special meals with their ancestors who may have been deceased for years! We also learned interesting facts about mummies. The kids in the movie also went to Mexico and participated in Dia de los Muertos which means the Day of the Dead. This is a celebration that honours people who have lost their lives. In the movie we saw lots of children dressed up like skeletons and eating skeleton candy. We also learned about the meaning behind where witches and monsters come from. Today we started an art project based on the Dia de los Muertos skeletons. We are going to be using only paper to create bright and colorful skeletons. We should be finishing this art project tomorrow.

Today we reviewed addition using 2 strategies: traditional algorithm and left to right.
For traditional algorithm you need to stack numbers on top of each other. You need to make sure that the digits that are worth the same (for example ones, tens, hundreds, thousands) are stacked. With traditional algorithm you always start right to left or start with the ones and move left. You can use your basic addition skills to help you! For example: 5311 + 2068 you would do:
         5311
         2068
     +______
        7379

For left to right you need to make sure you know the value of each digit. You can then move left to right with your adding. It is a little more work but can often be more helpful with adding, especially when we are regrouping or carrying over. For example for 5311 + 2068 you would do:
5000 + 2000 = 7000
300 + 0 = 300
10 + 60 = 70
1 + 8 = 9
7000 + 300 + 70 + 9 = 7379

Students took their basic addition sheets home today. Please make sure that you are reviewing basic facts at home with either games or questions to make sure that students continue to increase accuracy and speed. Ms. Binks will post some good websites and games later on.

We watched a video on an animal today with a special skill that relates to hearing and sound. This animal is small, has large ears and uses echo location to help it see and locate food and predators. It has wings that are made out of thin, bony fingers and stretched out skin. It can be seen at night. It hears higher frequencies of sounds than humans. Do you know what animal this is?

Reminders:
- Friday is early dismissal
- We are having our Pillars of Care assembly on Friday from 8:15 - 9:00. Some students are receiving awards
- There were 2 forms sent home today with information about the Halloween Dance and Casino volunteers
- We have had some students at school with lice. All students received an important information sheet about lice. It was sent home with the youngest student or only student who attends BHS.