Weekly Update - November 6

What a lovely week at TRS! We had a great start to the month by enjoying the nice weather outside. If you have any donations for the Veteran's food bank, please send them next week.  

Highlights of the Week: 

• ELAL –  
• Writing – Students started and finished a creative story based on their cryptids giving them opportunity to demonstrate the skills we have been working on for the past few weeks.  
• Reading – We are on week 1 reading goals for our novel study. Some students will benefit from taking their book home over fall break to catch up.  
• Math – Students continued their unit of Integers by learning how to add and subtract negative and positive numbers. They learned rules for different types of equations and used number lines and counters to represent their understanding.  
• Science –
• Grade 5 – We reviewed buoyancy this week. Students made conclusions about their lab from last week and reevaluated their previous predictions. Students also looked at traditional flight technologies such as bows and arrows, spears, and slingshots. Students had the opportunity to build and explore some of these technologies. 
• Grade 6 – Students continued to work on external and internal forces. They learned about Newton’s Third Law where every action has an equal and opposite reaction. To demonstrate this, they created small cotton ball pinball springs out of paper. Students also learned about elasticity and plasticity in objects.  
• Social – 
• Grade 5 – Students continued to explore the map of Egypt by planning one of their own. Next week, they will put their plans into action in the form of a lego map.  
• Grade 6 – Using a brochure format, students took notes and learned about democracy in the birthplace of democracy, Athens. Hey will be completing their brochures next week.  

How you can support at home: 

• Homework – Math homework on adding and subtracting integers and practice of writing dialogue (tentative depending on how much our classes have completed are at the end of this week) 
• Math – work on basic facts for addition and subtraction and on plotting coordinates on a grid 
• ELAL – review the three techniques for suspense building (magic of three, word referents, and story questions). Please try to bring in materials for cryptid building next week if possible. 

Important Dates:  

• Photo Re-take Day – Nov 10 
• Remembrance Day Assembly – Nov 10 (doors open at 10:45 am) 
• Fall Break (No School) – Nov 11-13 
• Swimming – Nov 16-19 
• Parent-Teacher Conferences – Nov 19-20 
• Healthy Hunger Booster Juice – Nov 19 
• Non-Instructional Day (No School) – Nov 27 
• Winter Concert – Dec 10 
• Last day of classes – Dec 18 
• Winter Break – Dec 19-Jan 3 
• School Resumes – Jan 4  

Reminders:

• Veteran’s Food Drive – we are participating in the Veteran’s Food Drive and are asking families to bring in non-perishable items if able. 

Learning Intention of the Week – Suspenseful Cryptid Comics 

Over the past few weeks, students have been exploring the world of cryptids! They began by creating their own original cryptid and using figurative language to bring their creature to life through descriptive writing. 

Next, students explored how authors and illustrators build suspense in comic storytelling. They experimented with three different suspense techniques and drafted a comic for each one. After exploring the different approaches, students chose their favourite comic to develop into a final black-and-white ink illustration. 

Weekly Update - October 30

Happy Halloween Terrace Road! What a fun ending to the week with the school dance and our Halloween Parade.  

Highlights of the Week: 

• ELAL – Students continued to work through suspense building this week. They created comics to show their understanding of each technique using their cryptid as the main character.  
• Math – Students were introduced to positive and negative integers through number lines, counters, and real-world scenarios. Students practiced representing and comparing integers. Next week students will be adding and subtracting integers using the strategies previously discussed. 
• Science –  
• Grade 5 – We reviewed the forces of flight this week. Students also explored buoyancy. They did a lab where they had to make floating devices out of tinfoil and clay. Students then tested how much they could hold. 
• Grade 6 – Students reviewed external forces this week and were introduced to internal forces through some hands-on activities.  
• Social --  
• Grade 5 – While creating a 10 meter number line, students learned how long-ago ancient civilizations existed and continued to explore how time is recorded. They then learned why and where people settled in Egypt and will be continuing this learning next week with a project.  
• Grade 6 – Students explored the four pillars of democracy and began exploring the different building in Ancient Athens.  

How you can support at home: 

• Homework – ELAL homework for reading a prompt and creating a creative story that builds suspense using any of the three strategies we worked on this week. 
• Math – work on representing and ordering integers using number lines or pictoral counters, 
• ELAL – review the three techniques for suspense building (magic of three, word referents, and story questions).    

Important Dates:  

• School Council – Nov 5 
• Photo Re-take Day – Nov 10 
• Remembrance Day Assembly – Nov 10 (doors open at 10:45 am) 
• Fall Break – Nov 11-13 
• Swimming – Nov 19-20 
• Parent-Teacher Conferences – Nov 19-20 
• Healthy Hunger Booster Juice – Nov 19 
• Non-Instructional Day – Nov 27 
• Winter Concert – Dec 10 

Reminders:  

Learning Intention of the Week – Science (Forces) 

Grade 5 – Buoyancy 

Students explored how forces affect the movement of objects and how buoyancy allows objects to float. They investigated how shape and design influence an object's ability to float and carry a load. 

Grade 6 – Internal and External Forces 

Students reviewed external forces and explored how internal and external forces act on objects, including how forces can cause objects to change shape, move or remain stable.