Our Social Contract

These are the room expectations as created by the students themselves. We have all 'signed' the contract and agree to follow these expectations together to make sure each day we feel safe, have fun and learn the best we can!

...and we're back!

Hello everyone! Firstly, welcome all new students and parents to 5A! I am very excited for our upcoming year together! There have been some significant changes to our school since June. Our leader Mrs. Zimmerman has moved into the next phase of her life (retirement), while Mr. Scott has accepted the principal position at Laidlaw school. Congratulations to them both! While we will miss them, we are excited for them as they take on these new challenges and opportunities. Our warmest welcome to Mrs. Teresa Rogers (Principal) and Mrs. Andrea Loepp (Vice-Principal) who will be leading our school as we move forward.

Our front office has also seen some change. Mrs. Judy Kent has also chosen to retire (miss you Judy!). New to our office this year we warmly welcome Mrs. Brenda Phipps (Office Secretary) and Mrs. Brenda Boychuk (Assistant Secretary). My teacher partner, Mrs. Lowdon is expecting her first child any minute now, and will be on maternity leave for the upcoming year. Welcome to my new grade five partners Mrs. Stewart and Mrs. Finlay. Both are familiar names and faces to LM and I am sure they will love their transition into the middle-years!

LM (and the middle-years staff) welcomes our new grade six team, Mrs. Kim Corneillee and Mrs. Kate Elliot. We are excited to have you with us! We also send our best wishes to Mrs. Judy Doyle as she enters her retirement years. Looking at her pictures of Rome and Italy, I see that she is off to a pretty good start! And finally, best of luck to Mr. Volk, who has accepted a Vice-Principal position in the Western School Division.

Phew! I know there are a few more 'additions', but we will get to those soon enough. As for 5A, our classroom is almost ready for the upcoming year. Typically, teachers begin to 'come back' into their rooms to clean, plan and prepare a few weeks ahead of time. As well, our custodial staff has been working overtime waxing, painting and cleaning and our school looks fantastic!

Typically as a new year begins, I often receive questions from parents or inquiries regarding their children's learning and development. To best respond, I encourage parents to email me first at maalcock@pembinatrails.ca (notice the extra 'a' in the name). This is simply the fastest, most efficient way. You are more than welcome to leave a voicemail if you choose, either on my service or with the front office. I will return your call(s) as soon as possible.

To keep abreast of what is going on in the classroom, there are a few key ways to stay updated as a parent. Firstly, reading this blog is a good start. Secondly, students in 5A will be writing an agenda message EACH DAY. I expect parents to read and SIGN their child's agenda each night. This helps ensure that parents are aware of the 'day-to-day' work we are doing as well as any expectations (e.g. mental math due tomorrow!). Lastly, as a technology guy, I will be posting periodically the on-goings of 5A to our class Twitter account @5ANews. This is a relatively new endeavor (started last year), that I hope to continue building on.

Once the school year begins, 5A will be spending some time building relationships and getting to know one another. As well, parents can expect many hand-outs/info/forms sent home via students the first week or so. Please take the time to make sure all necessary forms are completed and sent back in due time - this will help all of us here to get off to a good start.

Before I wrap-up, I am thoughtful of a certain commercial that tends to air on the television this time of year for Staples (I believe). The scene depicts two parents singing "It's the most, wonderful time of the year" while shopping for new school supplies, while their kids stand arms-folded and long-faced- clearly they do not share their parents sentiment or joy! A terrific scene! Well, I am convinced that we are going to have a wonderful year together and am looking forward to the challenge.




I have included a Prezi Media presentation that I have created to help introduce everyone to their new teacher which I will walk through with the students on their first day. Take a look if it's something that interests you!


That's it for now. See everyone soon!
Mr. A

...and that's a wrap!

Starting out each new learning year is always an exciting challenge. Finishing a successful learning year always calls for celebration. It has been a wonderful year. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the parents for your support this year. I have really enjoyed teaching your children. As well, thank-you to 5A's wonderful volunteers - Hot Lunch, field-trips, Empty Bowls. These events could not happen without you!

From my family to yours, I wish everyone a wonderful, relaxing (and hopefully warm) summer. I look forward to seeing most of you in the fall!

And that's a wrap!

Mr. A

Update for May!

Hi folks,

Wow! What a busy, but terrific month here at Linden Meadows! We have been 'humming' we are so busy! Much to talk about, so let's get started!

1. Musical

Annie Jr. was a tremendous success! Although grade 5's have always been eligible to try-out, this year we had our largest number of students participating to date! From singing and dancing, to working lights and soundboards, students of all kinds worked together to make this production one of the best in memory! I am so very proud of all the students who took a chance and got involved in something that I think they will never forget! What fun!

2. Empty Bowls

Our hunger project was also a smashing success! Throughout all our activities and learning, the grade 5 classes were able to raise $2506 for Winnipeg Harvest! Simply outstanding! Our school has always been blessed with a 'giving' community, and this recent fundraiser certainly shows that our parents give from the heart! Thank-you to all who worked so hard to make this hunger project such a success!

3. Year-End

Yes, we are nearing the end of our year together. Wow. It always amazes me how quickly it comes. We have had a very successful year, filled with learning, challenges and fun! A few items that will be coming up:

Victoria Day - No school May 19th
Grade 4-6 Track Meet (VW School) - May 15th (all day)
Report Cards - No school June 13th (Report Card Writing Day)
School Carnival - June 19th

In class:

Math: We have successfully finished our unit on fractions, decimals and percent! Students in 5A are now working on calculating perimeter, area and volume. Our work with multiplication arrays earlier this year has really been helpful implementing formulas when making calculations!

ELA: Students continue to maintain a weekly effort with their word work activities, but have also started a new writing project called "My Story". Students have been learning about the different elements of fiction in order to plan and write their own stories! A good start!


Family Life: Students have completed 3/5 curricular units (gender stereotypes, puberty and reproduction). Our look at HIV/AIDS and "Decision-Making Strategies" will complete our family life investigations for this year. Expect a unit test in this area soon, so please watch agendas!

That's it for now! Hope everyone is enjoying our now, warmer weather (finally)! Here's to an awesome finish!

Mr. A

Petroglyph Art!

Heading Towards March Break....

Hi folks!



Remember when...?

As our wonderful winter weather continues, it may seem difficult to imagine Spring, but it is right around the corner (or so I'm told). I'm sure I speak for all of us when I say it will be a most welcomed change! It has been an exceptional winter that has kept us inside for the better part of three months! Despite notable challenges, we have managed to accomplish much in 5A! As we settle in for March there is still much more to come before we break (March 31st - April 4th). So here is a snapshot of what is going on in our classroom:

Winnipeg Harvest/Empty Bowls Hunger Project

Our recent field-trip to Winnipeg Harvest officially kicked-off this year's Empty Bowl's Hunger Project. Students are beginning to learn about poverty and hunger and how it impacts people directly in our own communities. Best yet, students are seeing how they can make a change and contribute to putting food into the bellies of those in need. Students toured the warehouse, asked questions and saw first-hand how Winnipeg Harvest works and operates. We also spend some (fun) time sorting pallets of onions and potatoes! A terrific experience for all! Thank-you to Mrs. Janice Wheeler for being our tour guide and helping us through our morning! Also thank-you to Mrs. Bellows and Mrs. Plemel for volunteering their time to join us.  Please keep an eye on your child's agenda and any informational handouts that may come your way as we continue to ramp up this most important project! FYI - our culminating 'dinner' has been scheduled for May 8th (4:30pm to 6pm). Please come and join us in our celebration!


School Musical


Tuesday, April 15th. 7pm (open to the public)
Wednesday, April 16th. 1pm and 7pm (open to the public)


Every second year Linden Meadows puts on a musical. This year, students from grades 5-8 will be presenting the musical "Annie". This is a large production which involves many students, teachers and staff. From actors to lighting technicians, make-up and costumes, many, many hands come together in what is always an amazing production. Special thanks to Doug Farough and Greg Swintak for heading-up this exceptional project!

 

Tri-Conferences/Report Cards

Our recent round of tri-conferences last month were a strong success! I always enjoy meeting and discussing student learning and development! Thank-you to parents for coming out to support your child at this time. With this being said, we are staring down our second formal report card coming out this month.

Please note, that there well be no school on Friday, March 14th as I will be using this time to craft your child's report. Completed reports will be sent home before month's end. As always, if you have any questions or concerns about any facet of your child's education, please do not hesitate to contact me. As I always say, we don't have to wait for a tri-conference to meet and talk!

In the classroom...

MATH: We have just finished a formal multiplication unit. This was a rather large endeavor that has been our main focus since Christmas. As we move forward, we will be learning about fractions, decimals and percent. Our multiplication work however, is not finished. We continue to work each week building our automaticity with our math facts to 81, as well as a variety of mental math strategies to help us make accurate computations mentally (and with confidence)!

ELA: Our weekly Word Work activities continue to roll! This is a new, but excellent program that several teaching staff have adopted this year to help teach vocabulary and spelling. Students do not rely on rote memory when constructing written work, rather are learning to identify patterns and relationships between letters and predict meaning (and spelling) when approaching new, challenging words! Awesome stuff!

We have also moved into a more formal writing unit for this term (and next). Students are learning to take ownership of their writing and are constructing personal narratives that focus on their experiences directly. As we move forward in this area, students will be learning about constructing their own stories once we have established the different elements of fiction and their purpose when writing fictional stories.

SOCIAL STUDIES: Students have really started to 'dig in' with our work on early European explorers. Constructing maps, timelines and putting ourselves 'into the shoes of an early explorer' as they set out looking into an unknown world. I always enjoy teaching this unit as students often for the very first time, get some initial sense of how Canada came to be how it is!

SCIENCE: Tracking daily weather conditions and seasonal norms has been fairly interesting this term when considering the winter that we continue to experience!
I am curious to see how our comparative 'graphs' turn out when we formally compare predicted conditions vs. actual, as well as seasonal norms! Students have also been learning about weather, the water cycle, how we measure the different conditions and cloud formations. Although in our initial stages, the students' have been building their own weather instruments which I hope ( I hope) to try out in the real world -- weather permitting of course!


That's it for now! Looking forward to a great month of learning!
Mr. A