Hello Parents!

Today we started our day off with a unit 7 math pretest. Once that was finished, we worked on our Speeches, and I went over a breakdown of the reasons on the whiteboard. (Please look below for a picture of what was discussed). I asked each of the students to write down this example, and then asked them to follow the same layout with their own topic/reasons/examples. Based on the feedback, it appears that the graphic organizer on the whiteboard was successful.

After lunch the students had music, and then gym. Unfortunately, at the end of gym class, there were many incidents regarding bullying/ intolerable behaviours. As a result, Mrs. Smith and Mrs. Hocevar came into our room to talk to the whole class. Based on what happened today, students shared their thoughts, and we all talked about why this is not acceptable. For homework, each student must write a letter, as if they’re writing to someone who is being bullied. They should include things that they would say to them, advice they may have, and just any words to comfort them. They should try to think of the situation from another perspective, and can even include personal stories of something that they have experienced and overcome. The goal of this task if to encourage empathy, respect, integrity, and confidence. Parents, please sign off on these letters once your child is done and you have read over it with them. We will be discussing these letters tomorrow, and I will collect them at the end of the period.

After that, we had an unexpected fire drill, and then went to 2^nd break. We came back to class, I handed out Parent-Teacher Communication forms (please return by Thursday, February 2^nd), and March Break forms. We then packed up and headed to the auditorium for our Awards Ceremony (congratulations to Jarniko, for receiving the January Risk-Taker/ Enthusiasm award- picture below) and monthly house game, and then wrapped up for the day.

 Just a few important notes before I go:

1.       Each student must write a letter, as if they’re writing to someone who is being bullied. They should include things that they would say to them, advice they may have, and just any words to comfort them. They should try to think of the situation from another perspective, and can even include personal stories of something that they have experienced and overcome. The goal of this task if to encourage empathy, respect, integrity, and confidence. Parents, please sign off on these letters once your child is done and you have read over it with them. We will be discussing these letters tomorrow, and I will collect them at the end of the period.

2.       I have sent home a Parent- Teacher Communication form. Please look over it, fill it out, and return to me by Thursday, February 2^nd. I will make arrangements based on a “First come, first serve,” basis.

3.       Speeches: Bring devices and all your work to school. “Forgetting it at home” is not a good excuse. At this point, students should be working on creating a rough plan of their 3 reasons, and then should begin forming their paragraphs. The rough draft for paragraph 1 is due on Thursday!

4.       Spelling Test (Lesson #19) is on Friday! (Words are on the blog!)

5.       Mme. Stella has sent home permission forms for a French trip. Please sign and return these forms and hand in the money as soon as possible, as spaces are limited. These forms are due by Friday, February 10^th. Also, there is a French spelling test on FRIDAY, and Mme. Stella has asked the students to finish their sentence (they can refer to her blog).

6.       Re-registration packages were sent home last month. If you are interested in registering your child at St. Jude’s Academy again next year (and I hope you are!), please be sure to fill out and send back the packages AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. The deadline for these packages will be February 9th, and then after that date, spaces open up to the public. So, please don’t wait until last minute to make these important decisions!

7.       Students should read for at least 30 minutes. We will be starting our new novel study book in the near future, so until then, students should be reading anything of their choice, daily. 

8.       There will be no soccer practice for the boys soccer team until sometime in March. I have yet to get the final details, but I was told it will be postponed until the field condition is suitable and safe enough for practice.

9.       SJA’s Annual Poems and Speeches Competition is quickly approaching! The grade 5 class will be reciting their speeches in front of the grade 6 class, and the winners from that will go on to the schoolwide competition on Friday, February 24^th. The winners from that will go on to face the winners from The Maples on March 1^st. I have sent home the outline, rubric and package, so please take a look at it with your child. Students must come to school prepared (with their research and device), and should always bring all of their notes/ work.

10.   I will be sending out a letter this week, regarding our term communication with parents. I will be making personal phone calls (this weekend!), but if you prefer an email or an in-person meeting, I can make those arrangements too. Also, DRAs (Developmental Reading Assessment) will be sent home next week, so look out for that!

11.   Thursday, February 16^th, we will be celebrating “100 Days of School.”  If you would like to bring in anything that fits the theme of “100,” please let me know!

12.   Lastly, please see below for the After School Dismissal Procedure.

That pretty much sums it up for today. I hope everyone has a wonderful night!

Ms. Ramnarine

Grade 5

St. Jude’s Academy

After School Dismal Procedure

As we work to ensure the safest and most efficient system for student drop off, we would like to send out a few reminders to SJA parents.

• Kiss and Ride runs every day from 3:30 - 3:40pm.  Parents choosing to not participate in the Kiss and Ride program are asked to wait until 3:40 to enter into the school building.
• Parents wishing to sign their child(ren) out early may do so up until 3:20pm.  Parents may enter through the front door to sign out their child(ren).  Any parents entering through the front door before will be asked to wait at the front until their child can be called down via the PA system.  This will help to keep the hallways cleared for dismissal and for Kiss and Ride.
• Parents entering through the front after 3:20 will have to wait until 3:40pm to enter the building.

Thank you for your cooperation in helping to keep our afternoon dismissal as safe and efficient as possible.