Welcome to November. The month has legitimately flown by and we’re already half way through the month. We’re non-stop here in grade three with exciting things happening every single day. Here’s a quick run through of what we’ve been up to and what you can expect in the weeks ahead.

Important Dates

Monday, November 11^th – Remembrance Day (no school for all students)

Thursday, November 21^st – Parent Teacher Conferences (4:30 – 7:30pm)

Friday, November 22^nd – Parent Teacher Conferences (8:00am – 12:30pm)

**Wednesday, November 27^th – Studio Bell Fieldtrip (all day)

**Fieldtrip forms went home last week for Studio Bell. We are very fortunate to have the cost of this covered for us by Parent Council. Please return the form to school prior to November 27^th.

Language Arts

We have just finished our novel study on “The Dragon’s Egg”! The students loved the story and it sparked some great conversations about cultures, traditions and dragons (of course). Students have also been focusing on creating written responses to picture books, based on important events over the month. We looked at several books surrounding Orange Shirt Day, and students wrote responses to express their thoughts on residential schools. We also read books about thankfulness and wrote responses for Thanksgiving. Currently, we are reading book selections centered around Remembrance Day. Students created “Postcards for Peace”, which will be mailed to veterans in Canada.

Math

We finished up the first half of our Number Concepts unit, and will continue with the second half after winter break. To end our unit, students practiced ordering and comparing numbers and also learned about odd and even numbers.

We will spend the next couple weeks working on our Data Analysis unit, where students will learn to read and interpret a variety of graphs, including bar graphs and pictographs. Students will also learn the process of surveying a group. At the end of the unit, they will create their own survey, using a tally chart to survey their classmates, and display their results in a graph.

A new month also means a new basic facts assessment. This will follow the exact same process as October where students will be given timed basic facts for addition and subtraction. As with last month, they will graph their results and bring them home for you to see.

Science

We are nearing the end of our Rocks and Minerals unit, as students have learned a wealth of knowledge about different rocks and mineral types. We had a lovely visit from a geologist, Mr. Rick, as he taught us EVERYTHING he knows about rocks and minerals. We have also created volcanoes and will get the chance to “explode” them in the next few days. Our next unit of study in Science will be Hearing and Sound, which ties into our fieldtrip to the National Music Center (Studio Bell).

Social Studies

Students have really enjoyed learning all about life in India. They recently did a photo discovery where they were able to carefully study a variety of photos from India, and write down what they thought and wondered about what was happening in each photo. They have also had the chance to carefully explore unique artifacts directly from India, including currency, jewelry, and carvings. This past week, we created beautiful Indian-inspired elephants during our ArtFelt residency. At any time, students are welcome to, and encouraged to, explore the links provided on the Social Studies page for more information.

We’re excited for our upcoming field trip and all the adventures to come. As always, please let me know if you have any questions and I’ll get back to you as soon as possible.

Sincerely,

Daniel Polsky
Grade 3 Teacher | Learning Leader
Fish Creek School | cbe.ab.ca
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