Week of May 16th

We had a lovely week with lots of variety of activities. To start our new Science unit, testing designs and materials, we used a stem challenge to see if we could discover what type of bridges we could create that would be the strongest using one piece of paper. After many attempts, we performed tests to compare the different bridge designs and determine which one could support the most weight. Our second challenge using an index card was determining which shape, an arch or a square is most robust and holds the most mass. Finally, on our community walk, we took the time to look at the bridge on MacDonald avenue and sketch it. Many students observed the use of many beams and triangles in the structure and concluded that a triangle must be solid and help make the bridge more secure.



Sketches from our journal as we closely observed our trees on our community walk as they slowly get their leaves and blossoms. 



In literacy, we have returned our attention to story writing. Our task was to create a story from an everyday problem. Over a few weeks, we have been reading lots of stories and creating a story plot line to represent the different parts of the story. We have noticed that every good story does not have the character solve a problem right away; instead, they will make many attempts to solve the problem before success. We have also been paying close attention to story endings and have realized that good stories don't just use "the end" to bring closure. A strong ending that makes sense brings a sense of closure to the reader and ties up all of the loose ends in a story while indicating what the character's future looks like now that the problem has been resolved. 

In math this week, the grade 3's continued to build on their knowledge of money. They discovered the easiest way to create value using the least amount of coins. They also learned how to calculate the difference between the amount paid and the cost of items. 

Ms. Yasin's math group spent their time counting and adding money this week! Students showed their understanding of Canadian money by using the correct vocabulary for coins. The class focused on representing a value of cents in multiple ways! Students were then challenged to show these sums using a particular amount of coins, for example "Show me 45 cents using only 3 coins"! Students further applied their learning to real life situations that involve counting money and seeing if a person has enough money for a given cost of an object. A helpful hint from the lessons is to look at the picture on a coin to determine what its value is!



On Thursday, the entire school had the opportunity to join Frisbee Rob and learn all about the art of frisbee throwing. In addition, he was able to teach the students lots of tricks and techniques to through a frisbee while sharing with us the importance of perseverance when working hard towards a goal. 






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