What happened to the Plastic Bags?

In October, we were collecting plastic bags for a recycling initiative at the school.  The grade four green team put in a lot of time counting many bags, thousands to be exact!

After all was said and done, the bags we collected awarded Bird's Hill School two bird houses!  These bird houses are products from all of these plastic bags.  What a great recycling idea! Thanks to Mrs. Dent Scarcello for giving our school the opportunity to participate!

This recycling initiative has been happening all over Winnipeg.  Check out this article from the Winnipeg Free Press by clicking here.

Christmas concert by Matt

This week at school we had our Christmas concert. It was a medieval theme and we had to wear silly costumes.  There were two songs that grades 1 to 6 had to sing together.  Grade fours sang “Adeamose” and “Masters in this hall.” Our class played the bear dance.  I think our class did very well!

By: Matt

3-2-1 Update by: Nicholas

321 week update

 This week was very busy.

3 things I learned:

I learned how TUSC works when we had our first meeting.

I learned in music how to play spin the bottle recorder.

I learned how to make an ornament card in art.  I made one for my little buddy.

2 things I enjoyed:

I enjoyed playing 10 second tag in gym.

I also enjoyed TUSC because I got to teach the class two new words.

 My goal is to run faster in gym I will practice to reach my goal

By Nicholas

3-2-1 Update by Dobie

3-2-1 update

This weekend was very busy. One thing we did is started watching “the BFG” movie. We started watching the movie at first recess. When we started watching the movie the music was really scary. Another thing we learned is the secret Santa points. The secret Santa points are for fun things. We have to fill in 9 spots to have a special celebration but we won’t know what it is until we get our points. The last thing I did is typed my information about a brown bear. For my brown bear I used my information that I got from computer and books. Then I got all the information I needed and started typing it on computer.

One thing I enjoyed is the brown bear information. I enjoyed the brown bear information because I love typing on the computer. Another thing I enjoyed this week was that we started to watch“The BFG” movie. I enjoyed this movie because I loved “The BFG” book so I think it will be really good.

One thing I need to work on is borrowing when we do 3 or 4 digit subtraction.  I can get better at this by taking my time and going step by step.

by: Dobie

 

To My Students...

I wanted to take a second to say thank you to my students for a great first term.  As I went through each student-led conference it occurred to me that I had about a million positive things to say about you guys.  I hope you were all happy and proud of what you've accomplished this term. I know your parents and I are!  Keep working hard and being kind to each other, you make our classroom a great place to be!

 

3-2-1 Update by Matthew R.

3-2-1 Update Nov 25-28

​This week at school was very awesome because...

​In Science, I put the finishing touches on my platypus shoebox diorama and so far my habitat looks very good. Then I finished my research on platypus population and there are at least 1000 of them still around to this day. After, I started my report on platypuses and I learned that water rats are predators to the platypus.

​In ELA, we learned what a synonym is and it means another word to describe something (Ex. hungry = starving). We started writing about our first term in room 26 and I explained all about the point jar and how when you fill up that jar you get a pyjama day and an extension of outdoor recess. We also finished ‘The BFG’ and it ended when the belliehoppers (Helicopters) carried the 9 giants into a 5000FT hole and the BFG fed them only Snozecumbers (cucumbers). We started a new book called ‘The Best Christmas Pageant Ever’.

        In Art, we learned about perspective, which means the view. We used perspective to create some nice snowman art. We used oil pastels, blue and black construction paper and perspective for this project. 

​This week I enjoyed when we played speed ball and mini hockey. I was goalie and Jessica scored on me, after I scored on Jessica’s team and we tied 1-1.

​I also enjoyed when we got our portfolios ready for student-led conference. We also picked out 2 papers from each subject.

​My 1 goal is to finish my 3-2-1 update faster. I will complete this goal by the 12th of December. 

3-2-1 Update Nov 12-15 By: Bruce

 This week was short but fun. 

Science:

This week we took apart an owl pellet on Friday it was fun. We learned what is in an owl pellet. There`s lots of animal bones.  We did it with a partner my partner was Jaxon. It was very fun. We also learned some more in IBL about our animal. We started making our habitat. We are just starting to make it. We are using a shoe box. All we do is colour the shoe box in the inside and then you start making it look real like you can grab some things like grass, animal toys, stones, etc., etc.

Gym:

We played pac man tag I never got caught. We also learned how to play whiffle ball it`s fun but I`m terrible at it but it’s also very fun. We had a whiffle ball tournament sort of thing I lost the first won the second tied the third. 

I Enjoyed:

            The thing I enjoyed about Science was seeing the owl pellet. It was fun.  We found some cool animal bones inside the pellet, I almost put together a rodent! Another thing I enjoyed about gym was playing pac man tag. The reason I liked it was I never got tagged and it was just fun in general. 

My Goal:

The thing I want to work on is my French. This is how I can do it I can pay a bit more attention in French. I want to achieve this goal by next year. 

 

Bruce                                                                                  

 

 

 

Dear Canadian Troops

In honour of Remembrance day we wrote a class letter to Canadian Troops.  Together, we wrote our introduction. Then, each student took the time to write a personal message to our troops. 

Dear Canadian Troops,

We are thankful that you are fighting for us.  We are very grateful of your bravery and willingness to fight for peace.  Thanks you for risking your lives for us!

I am so thankful that you're fighting right now. -Arden

You do so much for our country.  Thank you for your bravery and courage. -Katelyn

I'm so thankful for you running into war to protect our country.  Thanks for your bravery.  -Noah

Thank you for fighting for peace for our country.  -Bruce

I am thankful for the peace you gave us.

Thank you for giving Canada peace.  You are so brave.  -Jason

Thank you for making peace for our country.  -Brett

Thank you for fight to make peace.  Thank you for risking your life for us.  -Rowan

I am so thankful that you are out there fighting for peace.  You are so brave and fearless.  Thank you :) -Aria

I am so thankful for you fighting for peace and making peace in our country. -Anna

I'm thankful for you fighting for us.  One thing I'm really thankful for is you willing to fight for peace.  I'm grateful for your bravery.  -Dobie

I'm thankful for you fighting for us.  I am also thankful for your bravery to fight in World War 1 and 2. 

I really hope that you will defend our country.  You are the best :) .  -Sam

Thank you very much for bringing peace to our country.  You are very brave to do that.  -Matthew

Sincerely,

Ms. Dodds' grade four class

We created some nice poppy art as well! 

 

3-2-1 Update by Anna

3-2-1 Update: Nov 4-7

This week at school was a four day week for us.

In Math we learned mental math it was hard for me because I am bad at math. And we did rounding [example] 15 rounds to 20. I like rounding because it’s easier then mental math I like it!   

In science for our IBL project I’m researching zebras.  I learned that zebras have to drink water every day or they could die. I also learned they live in Africa.

In Social Studies our substitute read us a book about poppies.  We learned why poppies are important.

In gym I enjoyed   swamp ball it is so much fun we also had a gest teacher birds and we played angry birds.

On Thursday we had a Remembrance Day assembly I really enjoyed when the grade three choir sang and the grade fours played recorder. It sounded beautiful. In ELA I enjoyed read to someone.  I liked it because I got to read “Amulet” and that’s my favourite book.

One thing I enjoyed outside of school was when I played soccer at the University of Manitoba.  Next time I’m going to be a goalie. 

For my goal this week I’m going to work on math more.  I’m going to practice my rounding.

By: Anna

 

 

Happy (Belated) Halloween!

Happy belated Halloween!  I managed to snap a few photos of some of the great costumes before the chaos of Halloween afternoon ensued!  Enjoy :)
 

The Rounding Rap

It's that time again...we're learning how to round in our classroom!  This rap is fun and it helps the students to easily remember all the steps to rounding. Ask your student to rap for you :)

 

The Rounding Rap!

Find the place value and underline the digit.

Move to the right and circle it, get it?

Zero through four—Stays the same.

Five through nine— Add one is the game.

Now flex your muscles, like a hero.

Digits to the right, change to zero.

All the other digits stay the same.

Yo! You’re a winner in the rounding game!

3-2-1 Update Oct. 24 by: Rowan

3-2-1 update

This week at school was awesome. This is some stuff I learned: when we had a recycling presentation, I learned that glass bottles get melted and get poured underneath the road. Here’s another thing I learned: we did research on owls and I learned that their vision and hearing helps them a lot with their hunting.  It’s fun to learn about owls.  The last thing I learned was: at gym we learned how to bump and serve in volleyball.  I think I’m really good at volleyball.  I really, really like serving in volleyball.

This is something I enjoyed: we did a Thursday sketch.  We did a tiger and it was hard.  But in the end, it looked good.  The last thing I enjoyed was on Thursday after announcements we went to the library to count all the bags.  The people brought a lot of bags in.  We counted two thousand three hundred eighty bags. 

My goal for this week is still to learn to type the proper way and not to search and peck.

Thousands of Plastic Bags!!

Today our class helped count the plastic bags that the whole school has been collecting in October.  We counted about 2 500 bags just today, bringing our total over 3000!  Mrs. Dent Scarcello has set up this recycling initiative once again to benefit not only the environment, but also our school.  With the bags that we send to recycle they will produce something that we can use here at the school.  It's win-win!  Keep sending all your plastic bags to school, we're collecting till the end of October!

Classroom Expectations

We worked together in room 26 to brainstorm ways we want to: Be Safe, Be Responsible and Be Respectful in our classroom.

The students came up with unique guidelines they want our class to follow.  Here is our finished poster that is now up in our room:

Great job following expectations so far grade fours!  Keep up the good work!

Autumn Leaves Watercolour

We just finished our autumn art project.  The finished products are now on Artsonia.  Here is a sample of the beautiful paintings from the students:

Check out our Autumn Leaves Watercolour art here.

Cross Country Run

 

Run meet!!! By Aria McIntyre

    On Thursday some of the kids in the school that signed up for run club got to go to the run meet at Birds Hill Park! And my best friends Angela and Sara and I got to go too. When I just got to school (at regular time because on Mondays Wednesdays and Fridays we get to school for run club early) I went to my classroom first and then I went to gym. When I got to the gym I had to get a birds hill t-shirt because I don’t have one.

   When all the kids in grade 3-6 got a shirt we headed outside to go to the buses so we could get there. I thought that we would need 2 or maybe even 3 buses to get all the kids there but it only took 1 bus! When we started driving away it got really loud. But our gym teacher said that when we got to the park that we were really quiet in the bus! Me, Angela and Sara sat together on the bus and started laughing because we thought that that was funny. Then I asked Angela if that was a joke.

   When we got out we walked towards our tarp that we were going to put our backpacks on and got settled there. Soon after, the races began.  Grade 3s raced first and we raced in order all the way up to grade 6.  Some grades had 2 or 3 different races for girls and boys.  Bird’s Hill had a lot of top ten finishes!  We did really well.  When we weren’t racing we got to hang out with our friends and play with gym equipment in the field.  It was a really fun day!

3-2-1 Update by Katelyn

3-2-1 Update   Oct 4 /13

This week at school was busy. In ELA we wrote a little bit about a picture. I wrote a full page. In math we had a mental math power builder. It was pretty hard. In science we talked about forest, desert and coast habitats. We talked about if the main animals left the forest, what would happen to the other animals.  It was pretty easy.

 One thing I enjoyed was the race yesterday for run club.  It was at Bird’s Hill Park. I came in second place for grade four girls.  I also enjoyed the rest of the day because I got to do anything I wanted to do.  I got to throw the football with my friends and play Frisbee.   

One goal I have is to be a better typer. It is easy when you get the hang of it.

By: Katelyn

 

Remembering Terry Fox

The annual Terry Fox Run is always a fantastic day at Bird's Hill.  Today the students in our class watched a video (or two) about Terry Fox's cross country attempt so many years ago.  For as many times as we hear his story, we all agreed just how amazing it is to hear it again.  When trying to put ourselves in Terry's shoes, we weren't sure if we would have the same determination and courage that he showed.  He truly was devoted to his goal. 



The students know a lot about Terry already and learned some new facts today.  We shared our facts and created a web about Terry.

Something that was remarked is that even though he passed away long ago, he still raises huge amounts in donations for cancer research.  He continues to be a hero in so many ways.







 
 Many people consider Terry Fox a hero, but of the everyday type.  We compared Superheroes we all know and love to Terry, an everyday hero who fought just as hard as the crime-fighting characters. Many qualities came up when describing both such as strength and bravery, but I think the students can really see how heroic Terry was. A true everyday, Canadian hero.







We are trying to raise $1.00 per student in Terry's name.  Please donate if you choose!
 

Rewind...Back to the 1st Day of School!

This week it feels as if the school year has just begun again.  We had a shift in classes and I had to say good-bye to my grade 3s and welcome 14 new grade fours into the class.  So, welcome grade fours!  I'm happy to be teaching grade four again!  I was sad to say goodbye to the grade 3s but luckily I still get to see them almost everyday :) 

We've had a fantastic few days getting to know each other.  I am looking forward to a great year with a great group of kids! Now that the beginning of the year craziness is dying down, let's get blogging!

And So It Begins...

Another school year is officially upon us!  Last week we "baby-stepped" back only having a short week (even shorter for students!). This week, ready or not, we're diving right back into things. I was so excited to meet my 3s and 4s and our first 3 days together were great!  It's always fun getting to know each other and I think they felt the same way about their new classmates. 

Good luck 3s and 4s, I know we'll have a great year!

Field Trip to Stonewall Quarry Park

As Alyssa said in her T.W.A.S. blog post, we had a great time learning about fossils at Stonewall Quarry Park.  Our guide, Sheldon, was fantastic and very knowledgeable.  Here are some photos from our trip!

Stonewall - slideshows

T.W.A.S. by Alyssa S.

T.W.A.S

This week at school we went on our field trip we went to Stonewall Quarry Park.  Our guide, Sheldon, was teaching us all about fossils. First, he taught us about the Ordovician Sea and how it used to be all water there in Stonewall.  He also taught us about the rock cycle and this is how it goes:

 

Oh and igneous, metamorphic and sedimentary aren’t the same.  They’re all formed differently.  On our field trip we learned that limestone makes powder.  They used these building, called kilns, to burn limestone into powder.

At the end of the field trip we got to find fossils.  They were so small that we barely find any! But we did find some.  They were mostly shell fossils and just rocks with bumpy sides on them.  It was a fun day!  And then we got on the bus back to school and still had our recess.

By: Alyssa. S

Rocks and Minerals!

The students were eagerly awaiting the start of our final unit in science, Rocks and Minerals.  They're having fun learning about the different types of rock and how they're formed. 

We have some of our very own "Rock Hounders" in our room.  Rock Hounding is when you look for rocks in the environment.  Of course they all know how to do this safely and to take an adult if they're going a distance.  These rock hounders below shared some found rocks and some rocks that caught their eye in the store!

 Our next field trip is to Stonewall Quarry Park.  There, the students will be Fossil Hunting!  I can't wait to see what we find!

T.W.A.S. by Ariel

This week In school we did ELA. In ELA we did writing. In writing we did a poem called name poem.  It was really cool. Then we did Instagram writing about our Instagram photo a day topics. It was fun. Next we did reading- I love reading. After we did word work. Word work is so fun.

This week in math we did Division. In division we did a math sheet it was easy. Next we did problem solving.  It was hard. Then we did mental math it was hard too. Then we did an equality post-test I think I did well. Then we did equality I like equality.

This week in French we did dans mon  sac a’ lunch  that means what’s  in your lunch. And then we started a paper it was super fun. I really like French. It is fun.

T.W.A.S. by Cole

TWAS

This week at school we had a science test. It was about light. I am pretty sure I got all of it right. It was fun.

In ELA I have been writing my one story. It is called star wars battle of uapa. It is funny and cool.

In math we have been doing division. To be honest with you I'm not really doing well. It is also really hard to do high numbers like 78 and 45. Well, you know.

By Cole      

I love Instagram by Brooke and Taylor T.

I love Instagram

Never take bad pictures

Stay tuned on Instagram

Take a picture and put it on Instagram

Always is awesome

“Grow” is a topic on Instagram

Rocks can be on Instagram

A picture of Oklahoma was put on Instagram after the tornado

Miscellaneous things are put on Instagram  

By Brooke and Taylor T.

Instagram Photo Challenge

 On instagram we do a different theme each day.  Each day has a name beside them. When your name is called you get to take the Ipad and take the picture that your name is on. People are having too much fun on instagram. A lot of schools are doing this challenge. It gets a lot of pictures on the computer. You can look on the computer for more information.

Here is a link to find out more information: eduphotoadaymay

By: Leah     

CBC Manitoba | Falcon Cams

The Falcon Cams are up and running!  Check them out!

CBC Manitoba | Falcon Cams

T.W.A.S. by Haley J.

T.W.A.S.

May 17, 2013

This week at school in ELA we did Instagram writing. We wrote about different topics from the hash tags from Instagram. The topics were Shoes, Rules, Mom and Lunch. We could write a story, an acrostic poem, non- fiction writing, and all about it. I wrote an acrostic poem.

In math we started division. Division is like multiplication and it relates to fractions just like addition is like subtraction. I think that division is pretty easy because I did it last year. In math we also got our fractions test back. I think that I did really well!

In gym we played tag. How we played was first we put on our pinny colour, then when Mrs. Rand said go we would all try to tag someone and if we tagged at the same time then we do rock, paper, scissors. Whoever loses then they have to put on the pinny colour that the person was wearing that tagged us. it was so fun!!!

By Haley J

T.W.A.S. by Braelyn

Twas by Braelyn
 Hey everyone. We were at…. the Winnipeg museum!  We were at the science gallery. Some of us were in the scary mirror thing it's very short in there.

Anyhow we finished watching "The People of the Ice" also for Social Studies. We learned in French about the body parts such as.. Ears, head, hands, teeth, hair and nose. It was super fun!!! 

This week it was like… summer!  IT WAS NICE WHEN WE HAD NICE WEATHER I THOUGHT! It was like hugging a baby. Thanks for reading!

The Manitoba Museum by Taylor P.

On May 8^th 2013 we went to the Manitoba museum. When we got there we went into a room and put our bags, lunch kits and books in the cubbies. Then we went into the planetarium. It was really cool. In the planetarium we learned about light and interesting facts. We also played with some shadows.

After that we went into another room and did some experiments then we built a kaleidoscope. It was really, really cool. After we made them we were playing with them and goofing around with them we even did some of our own experiments with the kaleidoscope then we left the room.

We went to the science gallery after. It was really cool and fun my favourite part of it was the chair. in the chair what you had to do was sit on a chair and pull yourself up there was easy, medium then hard. I love all of them but the hard one was well HARD!!!! (But fun J) we all had a great time at the Manitoba museum we hope we can go back one or two more times.

by Taylor Purcell.

T.W.A.S. by Andrew

T W A S

This week at school we had gym. In gym we had a jungle gym; a jungle gym is when you have different activities. Some of the activities were a climbing frame, ropes, doughnut thing, and other cool things. We also played a basketball game.

Next we had science. In science we did this cool drawing that shows you what types of light you can find inside or outside. My drawing was of police chase. Some types of light were; a street lamp, the tail and headlights of the cars, the police sirens, the sunset, and the sunset reflecting off the ocean.

Next we had social studies. In social studies we watched a video called ‘people of the ice’.  The video was about how the Inuit get around, what they eat, how they hunt, and how they make their clothes.

By: Andrew.

Earth Day

Happy Earth Day!  Today we celebrated Earth Day by considering our environment and ways that we are harming it and discussing ways we can help it.  The grade fours watched videos showing how littering and improper disposal of garbage is causing problems for wildlife and our ocean life.  They were saddened by what they saw and some were a little angry.  Hopefully they will make good choices about recycling and reusing so that the garbage problem becomes a thing of the past!

The students created Earth Day posters on Friday showing a message to help save our planet.  They also spent some time today picking up trash in the field outside.  Thanks to all the grade fours for pitching in today!

We Are Silent

On Thursday some of the grade fours participated in the "We are Silent" campaign created by the Free the Children Organization.  This is a vow of silence to support those children in the world who have no voice. You can check out their link HERE.

Our whole class was silent for one period.  A group of girls in the class donated a dollar to wear a tag and be silent for the WHOLE day!  That must have been tough.  I'm so proud of them for supporting such a great cause.  Way to go girls!

Here are just a few of the girls that participated:

TWAS by Hailey

T.W.A.S

Dear grandma,

This week at school we did lots of stuff.

In ELA we finished “Fourth grade rats. “ We did our good copy of our grocery list with a twist on the computer. We had a spelling test and I got 16\20.we did read to self and read to someone.

In math we did fractions.  In fractions, we did sets and groups. We did a powerbuilder too.  It was awesome. We also practiced our multiplication facts and learned a new game.

In science we learned about translucent and transparent and opaque.  We tested a lot of different materials to see if light could pass through them.  We also learned about shadows and how when the sun is closer, your shadow is bigger.

Hailey 

T.W.A.S. by Morgun

April 12, 2013

TWAS  

GYM: In gym we played 4-corner dodge ball with grade 5.  We Also played a game where have these sticks.  It was fun. Music in music we are playing a song on the instruments. It’s called ding dong it’s a weird song.

 Math in math we are learning the 9 times tables.  We do a lot of math and a lot of power builders, they’re fun. In art we are doing rainstorm silhouette it’s also fun.

Morgun

T.W.A.S. by Carter

                                                                                                            April 5, 2013

This week at school we started “Fourth Grade Rats.”  It’s a weird book and a little silly.  We also started and finished our grocery list writing.  It’ not a real one, you just write about one thing that you like and mine is chips.

We also did experiments in science like why do CDs flash like a rainbow and why doesn’t a mirror do it.  We shone flashlights through lenses and prisms too.

And in gym I played Yoshi it’s a game where you try and get to the other mat before the other gets they whole team there.  And also we might watch the rest of Monsters Inc.

Carter