Merry Christmas

Today we had our Christmas celebration. Students enjoyed their game time as well as the probability game Farkle!

Have a safe and happy holidays. Merry Christmas

Christmas Celebration

Tomorrow Mr. S's class will be celebrating a low key Christmas party. During first block we will be playing a probability based game called Farkle and going to the library to do our last book exchange before the holidays. During second block students are invited to bring their own device, board game, or other fun activity. Students are also invited if they wish to wear their PJ's to school. Students may also bring in their own snacks if they wish but snacks must be peanut and nut free as there are students who share the classroom who are extremely allergic to nuts. If there are any questions do not hesitate to contact me at benjamin dot spindler at ocsb dot ca.

The probability of Snow arriving this Christmas is not very high

This last week before the Christmas Break we begin our unit on Data Management and Probability. We are learning about conducting probability experiments to solve a problem and how to use simple percents like 10%, 25% 50% 75% and 100% to describe probabilities.

In Language we continued to find new ways to make connections with what we are reading. We began reading a series of three letters about the organization Nets to Africa which provides nets to places in Africa to protect people against malaria. we have already been making connections between what we have read and our own personal experiences with mosquitoes.

In religion we discussed how Isaiah was a prophet who told the people to turn back from darkness towards God's light. we are reminded during Advent that as we get closer to Christmas, we are closer to the arrival of Jesus the light of the world.

A reminder for those who wish to bring back the signed Gift of Learning letters for those who wish to participate in the program as soon as possible.

Have a great week!

Literature Study

As part of our study of literature, each student will need to do various tasks or jobs to get a better understanding of their chosen text. The following jobs will be completed by the end of every month according to the schedule.

Literature Study Jobs Book 1

Due December 11
Connector: The connector describes how the text connects to his/her own life: (text to self), to other texts (text to text) and to the world around them (text to world)

Due January 5
Illustrator: The illustrator creates a picture, graphic organizer or other visual to illustrate something important from the text. The illustrator also gives a reason for why they chose that visual.

Vocabulary Enricher (at least 3 words or examples of figurative language.): The Vocabulary Enricher identifies and interprets key words and figurative language in the text.

Due January 11
Summarizer: The summarizer provides a clear well organized summary of the text, with a focus on key details, characters, events or timelines.

Due January 18
Literary Luminary(Passage master): The literary luminary selects key passages from the text to read aloud and discusses why those passages are important.

Due January 25
Discussion Director: The discussion director guides the group discussion by posing relevant and interesting questions, and encouraging all members to contribute equally to the discussion.

geometry links

The following website is a good place to go for extra math work. The following links includes what will be on the geometry test Monday.

https://ca.ixl.com/math/grade-6 clikc on geometry topics :y: 2 angle review, measure and classify, y: 3 estimating angle measurments, y: 4 name angles, y: 6 classify quadrilaterals y: 12reflection rotation, translation, y: 26 front, top and side view, y:30 nest of 3 dimensional shapes,

Transformations

This week we begin looking at 3 kinds of transformations of shapes. We will learn how to perform and describe rotations reflections and translations to a shape. We will also look at rotational symmetry and identify how many times a shape can be rotated along lines of symmetry before returning to its starting position.

In Language we begin our literature study. Students have already selected a book and are to complete the Connector job this week. The Connector makes connections between the text they are reading and themselves (text to self), another text( text to text) or the world around them.( text to world). Each week students will complete one or two new jobs. For most jobs it is not necessary that students have completed the book, but they are asked to complete the book by the end of the month. Students are asked to bring their book to class with them each day so that if they finish class work early, they can read their book.

We will also be learning more about making connections through our new literacy unit this week. 

Once again at St. Anne our Angel Tree Project is ready to go for this Christmas Season. Every year, families at St. Anne are asked to select an Angel from our tree to purchase a gift for a child who may not otherwise get one. Please write a note in your child’s agenda to let their teacher know to send them to get an angel off the tree.  Their angel will be pink for girls, or blue for boys, and the age of the child will be written on the back. Please purchase a gift for the child and return it to the school by Wednesday, December 9th. Gifts will then be delivered to the students before the Christmas holiday. Thank you in advance for making a child’s Christmas one that they will not forget!

3D Geometry and Independent book study

This past week we have been exploring 3D geometry in various ways. We learned to construct a shape built from cubes using an isometric sketch as well as drawing the isometric sketch of a cube based shape. We have also represented a 3D shape in three perspectives: front, side and top. 

Next week we will begin our independent book review. Students have already chosen a book and are to begin reading it over the weekend. On Monday students will begin one of several tasks that they will have to complete in relation to the book. They may use any book they wish as long as it is an appropriate book for the student's reading level. A good rule for selecting a book that is an appropriate reading level is the five finger rule. Open the book to any page in the middle. For each word the student doesn't know they raise a finger. If at the end of the page 1 finger or fear is raised it is too easy- save that book for vacation reading. If two or three fingers are raised it is just right. If there are four fingers raised it will be a challenging book. If five fingers are raised by the end of the page or before it is too challenging; save that book for later. 

Enjoy the weekend!

3D geometry and writing a brochure

This week marks the first week of Advent as we prepare for the celebration of Jesus at Christmas. As a school we will have a liturgy every week of Advent. Parents are welcome to attend. The dates are on the school website as well as in the important dates sidebar.

This week in Math we are working on displaying a complex 3 dimensional object from a side view, top view and bottom view as well as representing a 3D object on isometric dot paper.

In Language we are completing our self monitoring unit through small reading groups focusing our reading on comprehension and vocabulary building strategies. We will also be designing and making a brochure.

We will also be working on a self directed study of a book of the student's choosing. We will be using the book to further enhance literacy strategies in the classroom.

Geometry

This week we begin our unit on geometry which includes measuring and identifying angles. Students are asked to please bring a protractor everyday this week.


In Language we are finishing up our Anti-bullying "Samaritans on the Digital Road" program. There has been excellent discussion and response from the students regarding online bullying and how to stand up to a bully especially through online and social media experiences. 

  We will also continue our self monitoring reading strategy which helps us be aware of questions as we read and helps us recognize when we "get" a text. We will be ending the unit with writing a brochure. 

This week's writing homework blog post on Blogger is to finish "Thoughts on today's lesson" on cyber bullying which was completed using a website called Blendspace. 

This week Mr. S. will be taking part in an EQAO workshop to receive tips and strategies on how to prepare the class for the EQAO assessment in May.

This week's student blog post

This week's blog task is to reflect on what we have been learning so far through our Samaritans on the Digital Road Project. The blog prompt to respond to is "How can I be a better digital citizen in the online world?"

The blog post will be due by next Wednesday November 25. Students are to post their blog using blogger which can be accessed once they sign into google and select more options until blogger becomes available. They can also go to www.blogger.com and sign in using their google sign in. If there are any issues, they will be addressed tomorrow as we will be doing another activity using blogger in class.

News and events

This week there are a few interesting things that parents may be interested in. Our school clothing wear is available for order. Students, parents and staff can order T-shirts and hoodies with a choice of school logo and the option to personalize the back for an extra cost. Sample sizes are available for trying on in the school's foyer. All orders are made through school cash online.

The second item of note is the St. Anne Christmas Bazaar taking place this Saturday. The Bazaar includes a Santa's workshop, craft vendors and a kids only shopping zone. A flyer will be sent home today with your child with details. We hope to see everyone there.

Samaritans on the Digital Road

Welcome to an exciting week in our Grade 6 class. This week we finish our number sense unit on Adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing. We will be learning about dividing four digit whole numbers by two digit whole numbers Monday and Tuesday and will be reviewing our unit Friday before the test Thursday. Practicing both Xtra Math and Prodigy this week will be helpful to review the key concepts.

In Language and Religion we will be following the Samaritans on the Digital Road program written by teachers from our own school board. The focus of the program takes the message of being a good neighbour and good citizen like the Samaritan in Jesus' parable and helps students understand how this translates to our online activities. We will also take the St Anne pledge to stop bullying to finish off our week on Thursday.

Parent teacher interviews last week were a great opportunity to meet with parents and discuss how we can help our students achieve their best. Some parents were curious about the EQAO assessments as well as the Ontario curriculum so the links have been added to the links and resources section of the blog. Any questions can be addressed through your student's agenda.

Remembering

This week we remember our veterans and the sacrifice of Canadians who saved our country. Our Remembrance Day ceremony will begin Wednesday at 10:30. Wednesday is also parent teacher interview day. I look forward to meeting with parents and discussing your child's progress.

We are also decomposing composite numbers into prime factors and will be multiplying there digit numbers by two digit whole numbers in Math by the end of the week. 

In language we are starting our self monitoring unit which will provide strategies for reading comprehension. We will also hopefully be testing our solar ovens weather permitting. 

Progress reports

Progress reports and popcorn forms have been sent home. Popcorn forms are due tomorrow.

Please bring in any small cardboard boxesor extra aluminum foil to build solar ovens for tomorrow November 5.

Photos and RAZkids

Photo proofs have been sent home with students today. Orders for school pictures are due back by November 9. After the 9th orders will have to be placed on line and a late fee will apply.

RAZ kids is finally up and running. To login to RAZ kids is an excellent reading program that is made available to our school. Students can access the login info by accessing the RAZ kids login document inside their Language folder titled 1LAN-36-1516 which can be found in their OCSB Google Drive. Each student has been given a password that is shared only with them.

Power up Language and Decimals in Math.

This week we are analyzing facts related to energy and electricity using the Power up magazine through the moving up with literacy place program. Students will be learning to analyze a variety of media texts to find facts and learn how to find the facts to follow directions. We will be building solar ovens using cardboard boxes and aluminum foil. We will be starting to build them on Thursday. If parents could donate some extra boxes or aluminum foil for this project that would be very helpful. We will be testing them over the next few weeks on a sunny day outside, weather permitting.

In Math we continue adding and subtracting, this time with decimals. We will have a quiz on adding and subtracting decimals this Friday. We may also begin multiplying and dividing whole numbers by the end of the week.

RAZkids login information will be sent out Tuesday so that we can begin our RAZkids reading program. We will also be switching our writing platform to blogger this week.

Also a reminder that a note went home inviting all family members who are current or past servicemen and servicewomen to attend our Remembrance Day ceremony November 11. Please fill out the from and return it to the school as soon as possible.

Have a great week!

Spirit Week

Spirit week is here and no we are not talking about the spooky halloween kind. PJ day, hat day, Sens day, school colours day and orange and black day are great ways to show our school spirit and support the United Way. Students are asked to bring in a small donation for each day they participate in spirit week.

This week in Math we continue to add and subtract whole and decimal numbers. Making change with money is an introductory activity that students will begin on Tuesday. parents are encouraged to review the skills of making change from denominations of $10 and $20 with their child.

In Language students are writing a descriptive report about cheetahs using the facts gathered from our shared reading book Caring for Cheetahs. Students will be using school provided technology to complete their report.

Wednesday will be the grade 6 field trip to the Museum of Nature. Students arrive at the school as per their regular routine and will be back in time to catch the busses in the afternoon.

Also a reminder that students in Mr. S's Grade 6 class will be getting a pizza lunch this Friday October 30 as a prize for winning the canned food drive by bringing in the most cans. Our class brought in over 300 cans for the Kanata food bank. Great job, everyone!

Spirit week and class news

This week we have been focusing on strategies for adding and subtracting multiple 3 digit numbers and using estimation to check our answer. In Language we started to work on our descriptive report of Cheetahs using a graphic organizer to help us organize our facts.

This week staff have been raising money through various initiatives for the United Way. Next week we will get the students involved with our first Spirit Week of the year. Students can either bring in a donation every day they participate or bring in a lump sum for the week. The themes for each day are:

Monday: PJ Day

Tuesday: Hat Day

Wednesday: Sens Day

Thursday: School Colour Day

Friday: Black and Orange Day

Our grade 6  class has already won the canned food drive by bringing in the most canned food items for the food bank. Let's show some St Anne Spirit and help out a great cause by wearing our spirit wear. 

Created in the image of God.

This week we began our first theme of our Family Life program Created and Loved by God. We read story about how love can give life to others.  This week's Kidblog post is to pick one of the following quotes and explain what it means and how it demonstrates life-giving love in one well written paragraph. 

"Perfect Love casts out all fear." (1 John 4:18)
"Little children let us not love one another in word or speech but in deed and in truth." (1 John 3:18)
"This is my commandment that you love one another as I have loved you"  (John 15:12)
"To love is to receive a glimpse of heaven." (Karen Sunde)
"Love, and a cough cannot be hid." (George Herbert)
"Love comforteth like sunshine after rain." (William Shakespeare)

In Math we begin reviewing and understanding operations and how to add and subtract three and four digit numbers. A good understanding of place value is essential to help with adding and subtracting of these numbers. There will be a short quiz on Friday for students to demonstrate their understanding of the concepts taught this week. 

Our language lessons continue to focus on analyzing and finding information from non fiction texts. We continue to work with our text Caring for Cheetahs and will learn how to write a report from the information in the text. 

Have a great week and please vote today. Voting information for your polling station and ID required can be found at http://www.elections.ca/home.aspx

Ordering Thousandths

Today we ordered ourselves from least to greatest using thousandths. We wrote down four digits between zero and 9 on a mini whiteboard and then ordered ourselves from least to greatest without talking to each other. Below are some photographs of the results.


Today the Halloween Family Fun night forms were sent home. The proceeds from the family fun night helps offset the cost of the grade 6 graduation as well as the grade 6 year end trip. As such we need grade 6 parent volunteers to help with details such as set up, providing baked goods, supervising the baked goods and ticket tables as well as clean up after the event. It is due to the great work by parent volunteers that has made this event so successful for the past 9 years.  The forms indicating the number of tickets as well as any support you can give are due back next Monday October 19.

Small big and fast

This week we begin our look at analyzing in Language. We will look at how to find and interpret facts in a work of non-fiction. The book we will be reading is called Caring for Cheetahs by Rosanna Hansen. It follows the work of the Cheetah Conservation Fund based in Namibia and raises the issue of animals in captivity. This is the subject of this weeks Kidblog post "should animals be held in captivity?" Students will use facts to express their opinion on the subject.

In Math we now move from the larger millions to the smaller thousandths. We will learn to identify, compare and order decimals up to thousandths. There will be a Quiz on Friday which will give students an opportunity to demonstrate understanding of these place value concepts.

We have also started our new Math software Prodigy which is a Math based role playing game. Students are asked to spend no more than 20 minutes at a time to start with.

We will also be learning about the story of Moses in Religion class and how he became a light to the Israelites. We will also be finishing up our lantern projects that students can bring home.

Have a great week.

Happy Thanksgiving

This week we will be beginning our unit on Number Sense, investigating numbers up to one million. This understanding of place value helps students with mathematical operations as well as rounding and estimating larger numbers. We will also begin learning about representing numbers to thousandths. We will also be beginning a new Math program, Prodigy math which is an interactive math game based on the Ontario curriculum. For those students with existing accounts from previous years they can log on using the class code MPV77Z. Once they log in using their existing account they can click on update and enter the class code then select next then select close. They will now be part of Mr. S`s class. For students who have not yet logged on to Prodigy there will be more instructions in class on Tuesday.

In Language we continue to work on our great crepe battle comic which combines our reading strategies with our media literacy. We will also work on procedural writing. 

We are also completing our lantern project for religion. the students enjoyed hammering holes in the cans to let the light shine from inside. Below are some pictures from our loud religion class last Friday!

A reminder to bring in cans for the canned food drive and that this Friday is a PD day. The grade 6 class wishes all families a safe and happy Thanksgiving. 

Supplies

Please ensure that students bring in scissors for tomorrow's building words activity.

Finishing patterning and sequencing

This week we are finishing our patterning unit. We will be exploring equal expressions and how to use variables in equations. We will end the week with our chapter review to get ready for our first Math Assessment Monday.

In Language we continue to improve our sequencing and create a media piece by creating a bitstrip  comic that retells the events of ""The Great Crepe Battle". We will also be examining sequencing in a non-fiction text, "The Art of Juggling".

In Religion we will finish exploring our theme of how God is a light to us and how we can be God's light to others

We had our opening liturgy today, which helped us reflect on the start of the year and helped us to look forward to the year ahead as we continue to "Restore one another in a spirit of gentleness" as per our school board theme.

Library circulation has also started. Students are asked to check out one French book and one English book of their choice and have the option to check out a third book. Since our library day is Friday, books that have been brought home are to be returned Friday so that others can enjoy our excellent collection.

Have a great week.

The great crepe battle and Junglesport

This week we continued our sequencing in Language by performs a dramatic reading of the play "The Great Crepe Battle"  and placing the events of "The Great Crepe Battle" in the order that they happened. We also identified the main plot points and discussed the theme that "A person is better than a machine". Feel free to continue to discuss this topic at home with your child. We will be recreating the main events in a comic strip next week. 

In math we continued our use of pattern rules in a variety of situations and learned how to make use pattern rules involving variables. We also reviewed basic graphing skills and used pattern rules to represent dats in a graph. We are at the mid chapter review for our patterning unit and will be finishing our patterning unit with a test by the end of next week. 

We also participated in Junglesport during second block on Friday. Students climbed a variety of rope course as well as climbed up the wall on various apparati.Even Mr S gave it a go! Below are a few pictures from our time with the excellent instructors from Junglesport.

Thank you to all those who brought in cans to be used for our lantern project for religion. We are still in need of a few more soup or coffee type cans. Pop or other soft drink cans are too thin to be used for this particular project. We have continued to explore the theme of how God can be a light to us and how we can be a light to others. 

Pizza order forms were sent home Thursday. Please ensure that the forms come back with cash or cheque by Tuesday September 29. If there are siblings who are ordering you can write one cheque but please ensure that each individual sibling has a separate order form filled out. 

Have a great first weekend of fall. 

Sequencing and Patterning with variables

This week we are beginning our Literacy unit on sequencing. We are using the Moving Up With Literacy Place program from Scholastic. Today we started our shared reading of the short play The Great Crepe Battle. Students read the parts of the characters and began constructing a plot outline of the main events. We will continue to sequence out the play as we reach its exciting conclusion and answer the question: Is a machine better than a man at making crepes?

In Math we introduced creating pattern rules with variables and simple expressions like n x 6. We will be continuing to use variables to represent patterns as the week goes on. This is one of the more challenging topics in Grade 6 Math but will set them up for future success as they move on to more complex topics in higher grades.

This week we will also be participating in Junglesport an indoor ropes and climbing course. For more information you can click on the link: http://www.junglesport.ca

Thank you to everyone who has brought in a can so far for our lantern project. We would like to have each student bring their empty and clean cans by the end of the week so that we can start our lantern project next week.

Have a great week.

Mr. S.

Permission form and Student Information Verification/email consent form.

Student have received the blue Student Information Verification/email consent form today. This form must be returned by September 18 and will allow the school to send updates to parents via email. They will also receive a permission form to allow students to participate in Junglesport next week in the gym. This form will also need to be returned by this Friday September 18 to allow students to participate in this exciting climbing apparatus. Please let me know through your child's agenda if there are any questions.

Fabulous First Week

Mr. Spindler's Grade 6 class had a fabulous first week of school. We did a few getting to know you activities as well as starting our Math curriculum and began writing a letter to ourselves.

In Math we began working on recognizing and writing a pattern rule based on information in a table of values. We also had some fun doing some math review with our own information such as writing our phone number in expanded form and reviewing terms such as difference, sum and product.

In Language class we interviewed each other and presented a top ten list of facts to know about the interviewee to the class. We also began writing a letter to our future selves which we will receive at the end of the year. We also started our Bump It Up wall which will help us improve our writing.

Mr. Spindler would like to thank all parents for their patience in sorting out the various logins for the websites such as Kidblog, Xtramath and Class Dojo that will help improve student learning. In order to help improve accessibility we will be having a BYOD or bring your own device to school day on Tuesday to make sure that all students have access to these resources. There is no need for parents to be concerned if their child does not have a device that they can bring to school as there will be some school devices available in the classroom on Tuesday to get everyone logged in.

Mr. Spindler is also looking forward to meeting many of the parents at the Welcome Back BBQ on Wednesday.  All students who have paid have received a small slip of paper on Friday indicating the order for the BBQ. This slip of paper is important as families will hand it in to receive their order.

This week we will be working on learning how to edit and create final copies of our letters as well as continue to explore pattern rules using variables.

We have also started our Religion and Family Life program. The theme of this year's Religion program is "You Shall Be By Witnesses" and the symbol for the year is the lantern. Later this month we will be creating our own lanterns in class so we ask students to please bring to school one clean empty can such as a coffee can soup or can with the label removed to create these lanterns.

Mr. Spindler is also looking forward to meeting many of the parents at the Welcome Back BBQ on Wednesday.  All students who have paid have received a small slip of paper on Friday indicating the order for the BBQ. This slip of paper is important as families will hand it in to receive their order.

This week we will be working on learning how to edit and create final copies of our letters as well as continue to explore pattern rules using variables.
Have a great week!

Welcome to Grade 6!

Welcome to Mr. Spindler’s grade 6 Math and Language classroom! Mr. Spindler (also known as Mr. S) will be teaching your child Math,Language and Religion which also includes Family Life.  I am looking forward to working closely with you and getting to know your child. You are your child’s first teacher and together we can help your child meet the Provincial expectations this year. The emphasis is for students is that effort is more important that natural ability in achieving success and that it is a student’s “job” to work hard and try their best. I encourage all students to discuss with their parents what has gone on at school each day. Students are expected to set aside 40-50 minutes for homework every night. Most days students will have kidblog and Raz-Kids work, Prodigy and math fact practice. Homework will be written in their agenda on Mondays. This homework routine is very important as it deepens learning that has happened through the day and promotes good habits for future years. Homework will be posted on the class blog at http://spindlermathandlanguage.blogspot.ca/ under weekly homework so you may check here if your child has misplaced his/her agenda. Homework will be due every Monday.

We will be starting the year with a number of "Getting to know you" activities. In language we will be writing letters to ourselves, learning about using self-monitoring strategies to assist us in understanding what we read, and beginning our spelling program. In math, we will begin the year by investigating number patterns, some basic algebra and integers.

This year, the grade 6's will be using a few websites to help facilitate learning. We will be using Google Apps, Kidblog, Xtramath, Prodigy and a number of other applications to demonstrate our learning. More information and permission forms will be sent home as we begin to use these programs. For now please follow the class blog at http://spindlermathandlanguage.blogspot.ca/

Finally, I would like to invite any parent who is interested in getting involved in our class to contact me at the school. The more the merrier, and extra hands are always welcome. Please check out the class blog for links and resources to help students and parents. Don’t forget to sign up for email alerts so that you can be informed of new content on the blog. I look forward to a great year together.

Sincerely,

Mr. Spindler