Cultural Wheel Presentation

Today we were very lucky to see and be part of the Cultural Wheel presentation. We learned a dance to Acadian music that demonstrated partner work. We were able to showcase this dance during the full school assembly. Part of the cultural wheel is about folklore. We listened to a story about a little mouse who went on a journey to see a great mountain. Each quadrant of the gym was divided into the cardinal directions and each direction was given an animal. Throughout the story, each direction and animal was included. We were captivated by his storytelling. At the end we were told that now each of us knows the story and could pass it along to others to keep it going. This is a huge part of folklore. We also learned the red river jig which was a big part of Metis culture. Ask me to show you some of the feet you can do during the jig.

Reminders:
- Please return the humane society form with the $4.00 by Friday
- Sexual health permission forms are due Monday
- Please return My CBE account forms

Important Notices Sent Home

Today we created a rubric to use to help guide us in our animal research projects. We created a list of ideas that would earn marks of either 1, 2, 3 or 4 based on how much information we gather, how organized we are in our research books, how our presentation looks and how we speak and act during our presentation. We found that by doing this rubric, we could see where we would land and push ourselves to achieve a higher mark. For example, lots of us thought we were done the research process until realizing we would only earn and 1 or 2 on the rubric. This allowed us to go back and find more information so we can earn a 3 or 4. Ms. Binks would like students to research at home if needed so that we can move forward with our projects.

In math we continued our work with fractions. We ordered fractions by determining if they would be closer to 0, 1/2 or 1 on a number line. To do this, we looked at the denominator and created a number line or chocolate bar with that many sections. To find the halfway point we divided the denominator by 2. 1 would be the same numerator and denominator. We then plotted our fractions on our number line. Ask me to show you if the following fractions are closer to 0, 1/2 or 1:
a) 5/6, 1/6, 3/6
b) 8/10, 4/10, 1/10

This afternoon Ms. L (our student teacher) gave a presentation on howler monkeys. She has travelled to Belize to study the black howler monkey. She used the same information that we need to during our research in her presentation. We even were able to see videos she took of the monkeys in the rainforest. We had a contest to see who could make the loudest and best howler monkey noise. It was pretty funny!

This afternoon we had 3 notices go home...
The first one is about the Calgary Humane Society presentation that we will be having next week. Please return the bottom half of the form along with the $4.00 by Friday. If you need financial support please contact the office.

We sent home permission forms for our human sexuality course that we will be doing in June. In grade 4, students learn about the physical, emotional and social changes that occur during puberty. Students need to have permission to complete this health course. If you would prefer your child learn this information at home, they will complete curricular activities in a different classroom during the lesson. Please return the form stating whether your child has permission by Monday June 5.

My CBE account forms were sent home with instructions of how to set up the My CBE account for next year. Please make sure that the form you receive has your child's name on it.

Sports Day Monday

Today we continued our animal research. Students will be given 1-2 more periods to gather their information before creating a poster or booklet to present it to the class. Please try and do some research over the weekend if you are feeling behind.

In math today we continued to work with fractions. We worked on representing fractions as parts of a whole. We were given a fraction and had to create a drawing to match it. It is important to remember that the numerator tells us how many pieces we are looking at and the denominator tells us how many pieces in total we have. We also practiced writing out fractions based on drawings.

This afternoon we started learning about the country of Ukraine. We will be doing our Daily 5 activities based around information on Ukraine. Today we had groups working on: mapping, comparing the land of Ukraine to Peru, using a textbook, flags and symbols of the country and looking at the climate. We will continue to study Ukraine for the next week or so.

On Monday May 29th from 10:45 - 11:30 Beddington Heights would like to celebrate Karon Hayes contributions to our school. Come to the school gym to celebrate as students, teachers and parents gather together to say thank you.

As of now, Sports Day is on Monday afternoon. Please make sure that you dress appropriately for the Beach Day theme and that your clothing choices adhere to the school handbook. If students would like to wear sunscreen they need to apply it themselves or before arriving at school.

Sports Day Information

Today we continued our animal research. Some students have very unique animals and are finding it difficult to find all the information they need during class time. Ms. Binks is trying to find more websites and even print off information for us to use, however it may be beneficial to research at home or at the public library if you are having troubles.

In math we continued to work on fractions. We learned about fractions as part of a whole. We designed pictures on a hundred square and had to create fractions based on the number of colored squares we used. We will continue to work on fractions into next week.

This afternoon we watched the division 1 dress rehearsal. Some of our favourite performances were Land of the Silver Birch, Spiderman and the dance moves at the end of the concert. Have fun to those of you coming to the concert tonight!

An important letter was sent home today regarding changes in school times for the 2017/2018 school year.

Here is a message from Mr. Sadowsky about Sports Day:

Our sports day this year is on Monday May 29th from 12:30-2:30. We will have regular classes leading up to lunch.

Our theme this year is Beach Party! I have chosen activities that fit with the pe curriculum but follow a beach party theme. There will be a few stations that involve water with the intention of a little water fun but not to soak any of the students. All stations are completely voluntary and if you wish your child not to participate in the water activities please let them know to avoid these stations. All stations are run by a teacher with other teachers and EA's floating throughout the stations to provide assistance. We ask that if you wish to dress to the beach theme that you stick with the school dress code as outlined in the Beddington Heights school handbook found on the school homepage.

Hats, sunglasses and water are highly encouraged. Sunscreen is also reccomended but must be administered by the student themselves or by a parent beforehand. 

We will finish our sports day with the traditional races followed by freezies provided by our parent council before dismissal. 

We do have an alternate date of June 2nd should the weather not cooperate. 

Please direct any questions or concerns to Mr. Sadowsky.

Spring Concert Tonight

Tonight is our spring concert! Doors to the school open at 6pm and the concert starts at 6:30pm. Students can come to Ms. Gaspar's classroom (room 18) when they arrive at the school. Students will need to be picked up by a parent at the end of the concert.
See you tonight!

Spring Concert Tomorrow

This morning we finished our final roadblocks for Amazing Race Peru. The winners of the race will be announced later in the week. We will be starting to look at Ukraine this week.

In math today we started talking about fractions. Fractions are the parts of something that has been divided into equal parts. We learned that the top number in a fraction is called the numerator and tells us how many pieces of the whole we are looking at or focusing on. The bottom number is called the denominator and tells us the total amount of pieces we have. We represented fractions today as parts of a set. We drew objects and shaded in different amounts. We then wrote fractions for the shaded and non-shaded parts of the set. We will be continuing to work on fractions in the upcoming week.

In science today we started our animal research. Every student has now chosen an animal that lives in either Peru (or the Amazon), Ukraine, Tunisia and India. We started looking at websites to help us find information on the animal's:
- habitat
- appearance
- diet
- adaptations
- life cycle
- communication
- status (endangered, at risk, safe)

Here are some websites that you can look at to help you:
National Geographic
Animal Fact Guide
Kids Biology
Kids Planet

A notice was sent home today letting parents know that lunch will be eaten by all students at the same time tomorrow and Thursday due to the concert set up in the gym. Weather permitting, all students will eat outside and be out for the entire hour of lunch. Please make sure you are dressed appropriately.

Our Spring Concert is tomorrow! Doors to the school open at 6pm and the concert begins at 6:30pm. Students can come to the classroom, which is where they will stay until parents pick them up after the concert. We ask out of respect to all performers, that parents stay for the duration of the concert.

Animal Research

Today in math we started a new topic by completing an activity. We were split into groups of either 2, 3, 4 or 5 people and given a paper circle and paper rectangle. We then were given the task of splitting the shape by folding, drawing or cutting into sections so that each person in the group would have an equal piece. For the groups of 2 and 4 people it wasn't very difficult because they just folded or cut the shape into halves. The people in the group of 3 or 5 had to measure with a ruler and do lots of trial and error to make sure there were equal pieces. Do you have an idea about what topic we will be looking at in math?

In science we watched a Wild Kratts video about rainforest animals. Afterwards, we discussed what would go into planning an episode of the show. We decided that a lot of research into a specific animal would need to take place, as well as proper permits and cameras. We will be starting our own animal research projects about an animal that lives in one of these 4 countries:
1) India
2) Peru
3) Ukraine
4) Tunisia

Students will have an opportunity to choose an animal and research it. Students will then have a choice of creating a poster to present to the class or to create a power suit based on their animal and design an episode of Wild Kratts.

In social today we had our very last roadblock. 2 teams were u-turned and had to complete the roadblock without any chance of moving forward in the race. Tomorrow we will have our final showdown in the race that will be worth 12 points!

Reminders:
- Fun lunch orders due tomorrow
- No school for students on Friday or Monday

Pillars of Care assembly tomorrow

This morning we had a special performance from the band students from SJAM. It was really cool to see some students who used to go to Beddington performing. Some of our favourite songs they played were:

- the theme from Jurassic Park

- Happy from Despicable Me

- Brown eyed girl

We continued our work around area and perimeter today. Students can to measure the sides of shapes to determine perimeter, draw shapes based on a specific area or perimeter, identify area by counting square centimeters and order the value of areas. We will be moving on to a new concept in math this week.

We continued to read our novel today. Edward is starting to develop more emotions. He was discovered in the ocean after a huge storm came and forced him up toward the surface. He was rescued by a fisherman in his net. The fisherman took Edward home to his wife who then decided Edward should be named Susanna. The fisherman's wife made new dresses and outfits for Susanna and placed Susanna in a highchair everyday while she baked. Edward started to become fond of his new family until their daughter came. She was very rough with Edward and decided to throw him away.

In social today we learned about music and dance in Peru. We learned about a few instruments that are made and used in traditional music as well as 3 dances that are performed. Dance is taken very seriously in Peru and often the choreography relates to war, love, agriculture or hunting.

The Pillars of Care assembly is tomorrow at 1pm. Parents are invited to join. The 4 winners are bringing home a sheet outlining what award they are being given.

Reminders:

- Library tomorrow

- Fun lunch orders are due on Thursday

- No school for students on Friday or Monday

- Spring Concert is next Wednesday

Important Letter Sent Home

Today we continued to test our bridges. Each student was given the opportunity to measure the span of their bridge, demonstrate any special features, hear compliments and questions about the appearance and then measure how much weight their bridge could hold. We first started with rocks. If the bridge could hold up to 4 rocks, students could choose to continue with textbooks. Some bridges held up to 14 textbooks! After textbooks were used, students then had the choice to stand on their bridge to see if it could hold their weight. Some students invited Ms. Binks to stand on their bridge. If that worked then they had the opportunity for the celebrity bridge stander (Mr. Sadowsky) to come stand on their bridge. We had quite a few bridges that he could stand on!! Ms. Binks had us reflect on how our bridge did during the weight test. She would like to look at our bridges once more and then will be sending them home next week. We decided not to test the weight underneath the bridges because it was too difficult to find weights to do so that could fit and hang.

We started a new novel this week called "The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane". So far we have been introduced to a rabbit named Edward Tulane who is made out of china. He is about 3 feet tall from the top of his ears to the bottom of his feet. He belongs to a girl named Abilene who loves him very much and dresses him in fancy silk suits, leather shoes and unique hats. Edward does not love Abilene and does not show much interest in her life. We are mapping the character traits of Edward as the story develops to see if he goes through changes. Today in the novel, Abilene's family was traveling to England on a ship and Edward was accidentally thrown overboard. He sank to the bottom of the ocean and felt his first ever emotion...afraid.

A letter was sent home today from Ms. Hayes. She will be leaving Beddington Heights to become the principal of Penbrooke Meadows School. We are all very excited for Ms. Hayes but will miss her a lot at Beddington.

Reminders:
- Pillars of Care assembly is next Tuesday
- Fun lunch orders are due on Thursday
- May long weekend is next week starting on Friday

Bridge Testing

This week in math we have learned about area and perimeter. Area is the amount of space within the boundary of a shape. To figure out the area you can count how many squares are in the shape or if you have a shape like a rectangle or square you can use the formula: width x length
Perimeter is the distance around the outside of a shape. To find perimeter, you add up the length of all of the sides. If you have a shape where there are numerous sides with the same measurement, you can use multiplication. We will continue working on area and perimeter next week.

We continued amazing race Peru this week by focusing on the Inca people, Machu Picchu, clothing worn in mountain, city and rainforest communities and popular food that is eaten. We are hoping to have a few more roadblocks and then our final event to wrap of the race next week.

We started testing our bridges today. Students could earn points based on the span of their bridge, if they had any special features, the overall appearance of the bridge and how much weight it could hold on top. Students placed their bridge between 2 desks so it was lifted off of the ground. Then they placed rocks on top of their bridge. If their bridge held this weight, they could continue with textbooks. A few students can bridges that held 14 textbooks and then their own body weight. One bridge could even hold Ms. Binks! It was amazing to see how shapes and materials could make a bridge so strong.

Reminders:
- Carnival tonight
- Book orders are due tomorrow

Bridges due Monday

Just a friendly reminder that bridges need to be brought to school on Monday. We will begin testing on Monday. Students were told today how there should be no excuses that their bridge is not complete as they have had over one week to complete and told everyday if they need materials to speak with Ms. Binks.

Reminders:
- Bridges due Monday
- Library Tuesday
- Important notice sent home today

Peruvian Celebrations

Today we learned about different festivals and celebrations in Peru. Although there are many we focused on 4. They are:

• Carnival: 
• takes place in February
• people dance around a yunza tree that is decorated with fruit and gifts
• people take turns trying to chop down the tree and the last couple who is successful has to plant the tree next year
• people throw water at each other
• there are lots of parades
• Sun Festival (Inti Raymi)
• takes place in June in Cusco
• celebrates Winter Solstice
• ceremony reenacted by Peruvian people
• celebration has Sapa Inca (ruler) who gives a speech to the crowd
• Star of the Snow Festival
• takes place in the Andes region
• celebrates the snow from glaciers and the stars that signify the beginning of the harvest season
• men dressed as Ukukus (half men half bear) bring a block of ice from the glacier to share with the community as it was believed the melted water has healing powers
• Feast of Corpus Christi
• occurs in June
• incorporates Roman Catholic faith
• festival represents 15 saints who come to a cathedral to visit the body of Christ
• people come to the plaza in front of the Cathedral to see the saints and then visit and try and solve problems in their communities

In buddies today we learned about the holiday happening tomorrow called Cinco de Mayo. We helped our buddies make floral headbands. If we had time we could make our own.

Please make sure that you are wearing proper outdoor shoes to school that are suitable for outside phys ed. Lots of students have been coming in sandals, flip flops or rain boots. Mr. Sadowsky has asked for safety that runners are worn. Students are able to bring hats, sunglasses and sunscreen to apply to help with being outside.

Reminders:

- Bridges are due on Monday. If you need supplies please ask Ms. Binks

Division Test tomorrow

Today we continued to practice our long division skills. Lots of students are still having difficulty remembering and following the proper steps to solve a question. The steps are as follows:
1) Divide
2) Multiply
3) Subtract
4) Bring down
5) Repeat

Here is the math antics video we watched when we first started looking at long division: Long Division

Try working through these questions for extra practice tonight:
1) 5684 / 7
2) 31752/ 9
3) 333 / 3
4) 568 / 2
5) 9345 / 5

We will be having a division test tomorrow that will include some long division questions. Please make sure you practice tonight!

In social studies we learned about the ancient people of Peru called the Inca. The Inca are a group of Natives who came to Peru more than 12,000 years ago from North America. They became farmers, tamed wild animals and built their cities and roads from stone. One of the most famous Inca cities is a place called Machu Picchu. This means "old peak" or "old mountain" in the Inca language. Tomorrow we will be completing a road block based on what we learned.

We had a fire drill practice this afternoon. Students did a great job safely exiting the building.

Reminders:
- Division test tomorrow
- Fun lunch is on Thursday
- Bridges are due Monday. If you need any supplies please speak to Ms. Binks

Outdoor Gym

Today we watched a video about some of the most interesting bridges that have been built. Some of the bridges we saw were in mountains, across canyons and in rainforests. Some were built in the 17th and 18th centuries and still standing!! One of the most interesting bridges were ones that were made out of the roots of trees by indigenous people. After seeing all of the unique ideas, we sketched our own bridges that could be used by animals, people or vehicles. We had to decide what the purpose of our bridge would be, the materials it was made out of and where in the world it would be built. Ask me about my design.

Today we had outdoor phys ed. We will be outside for phys ed for the rest of the year as long as the weather is nice! Please make sure you have suitable shoes for outside as well as hats and sunglasses (if you would like to wear them) and water bottles. Students may bring or wear sunscreen or bug spray however teachers are unable to help apply or supply both.

Just a reminder that we will begin testing bridges next Monday. Hopefully you have started to build your bridge! Remember if you need supplies please talk to Ms. Binks asap

Reminders:
- Library tomorrow. Please return your books
- Fun lunch Thursday
- Bridges due next Monday May 8