Monday, November 2

Happy November!  I hope everyone had a great Halloween weekend.  We have been lucky with the weather!

In Math, we are moving onto Mental Math.  As we are moving from addition and subtraction with regrouping, I would recommend for all to continue to practice both with 3-digit numbers.  The website thatquiz.org provides some good practice.

In Language, we are going to have a lesson this week on sentence ending punctuation.  I am going to encourage them to use a variety of sentence types in their Working with Words sentences.  Also, with Remembrance Day approaching, we will be using some of our language time to read together, and learn the poem In Flanders Fields.

In Science, we will be working in groups to explore things that get added to soil (pesticides, herbicides, fertilizer and salt).  In groups, they will find the pros and cons of each and give their opinion if they should be used.

In Art, we will be looking at one-point perspective and drawing a street scene that will give some depth to it.

Monday, October 26

  Main announcements this week:

• Friday, October 30 - Halloween will be celebrated at school.  Pumpkins will be decorated in the school this week for a fundraiser on Halloween.  You can buy raffle tickets on SchoolCashOnline if interested.  
• As a reminder, our school rules for Halloween costumes include no masks and no weapons.

In Language, we have been working on our Monster Match descriptions.  We will be finalizing the good copies this week, and will have the "game" mid week.  Also, we will have our library visits on Thursday.  Please ensure the children return their books for each Thursday morning library.  

In Language, we will also be having another grammar lesson.  This time we will be looking at punctuation at the end of sentences.

In Math, we are still looking at 3-digit subtraction with regrouping.  This is challenging for many, so continued practice is encouraged!

In Science, we will be looking at composting.

Monday, October 19

Here is an update for the upcoming week!

• there is a book fair for this Thursday-Friday.  Octopus Books will be here for this book fair, and our class will be going to it on Thursday morning.
• The parent council is hosting a Movie Night at our school this Friday at 6:00 pm
• SMY is bringing back our CEFO Pumpkin Raffle! Tickets are on sale now on school cash online only.  1 ticket is $3, 3 tickets are $5, 10 tickets are $10
• In Language, we will be working on describing a "monster" that they will make out of clay on Tuesday.  This will be an opportunity for the class to show their sentence writing using descriptive words.
• In Math, we have been practicing addition with and without regrouping.  This week we will be moving onto subtraction.  A great place to practice is the website thatquiz.org If they go through the Math workspace in Hapara, they will see some practice assignments for them.

Wednesday, October 14

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving weekend!  There are no major announcements this week, but this is what we are doing in some of the school subjects:

• in Math, we are working on regrouping ones, tens and hundreds as we start some 2 and 3 digit addition with regrouping.
• in Language, we are finishing up some descriptive writing this week.  Remember that the class has access to the Hapara workspace where they can always write 10 different sentences (using some descriptive words) with their Working with Words.  If they don't have the word list with them, I post them in the workspace.
• in Science, we are still working within the Soils unit.
• in Gym, we will be starting some early volleyball skills.
• in Health, we have been discussing a "safety topic" each week (for example, last week was about fire safety, so they may have had questions about the fire alarms in your home).
• in Religion, we have been having some discussions about the saints.

Monday, October 5

 One month already done!  Wow, this year is moving along quickly!  Main announcements for this week:

• Thursday morning we have our Thanksgiving liturgy.
• Currently, there is a food drive happening at SMY.  Here is the info:

Monday, September 28

 This weeks announcements:

• A reminder that Wednesday is Orange Shirt Day.  We encourage everyone to wear something orange! This day remembers the legacy of Residential Schools. Please wear any piece of orange clothing to help show our school’s commitment to reconciliation and recognize Every Child Matters.
• A message from our Grade 6 classes: Grade 6 Freezie Fundraiser!  Help support our Grade 6 students as they raise funds for their year end leaving ceremony! Details: 2 Freezies for $5.00  How to Purchase: Available now on SchoolCash Online  Thank you so much for your support in making this a memorable final year for our Grade 6 students!

Monday, September 21

 Just a short note today.  

• Pizza, Subway and Popcorn orders are due this Thursday
• This Friday is our School Photo Day.  Class pictures will be taken later in the year, but this will be the day for individual photos.

Monday, September 14

First a quick reminder to ensure that you go through all the forms if you haven’t already.  These can be found on the parent portal.  These include the Responsible Use of Technology form, the Verification Form, and Off-Site Permission.

Also, Pizza, Subway, and Popcorn are now available to order on School Cash Online. The deadline for students and staff to order pizza, subway, and popcorn is Thursday, September 24th.  Late orders cannot be accepted.

In Math, we have continued our patterning unit with our new Jump Math program.  We looked at growing and shrinking patterns.  We have also been looking at a variety of patterns jumping on a number line and looking for the size of the gaps.

In Language this week, we will be looking at a variety of words used to describe colours.  For example, instead of using the word orange, the class was exploring additional ways to describe the shade of that colour (eg. pumpkin orange, apricot, marmalade, merigold).  I will be posting some links on the workspace for the class to explore.  We have also looked at ways to describe the colour (eg. bold, brilliant, deep). 

In Science, we will be exploring Soils this week.  There will be a pair of texts that we will be reading together on Tuesday and Wednesday.

In Visual Art this week, we will be exploring how to use colouring pencils to provide different shading techniques.  This will likely be on Thursday of this week

Week 2

We are certainly chugging along through the first week of school!  Quick note that this Thursday, our school will be hosting an Open House from 3:30 - 5:00.  I will give a short presentation in the classroom around 3:45 and 4:30 about the year.  

This year in Math, our school is working with a new program called Jump Math.  It comes with a practice and assessment book that the work on in the classroom.  Currently we are counting up and down with our hands and a number line..

In Language, you may have seen a yellow duotang go home on Tuesday.  This is for the Working with Words lessons for the week.  The class can practice these words for the week, and they will be quizzed on 10 of them for Friday.  If you are looking for homework for the week, I recommended to the children that they can choose 10 of the words at write them in a proper sentence either in the document in Hapara, or they can write them on paper too!  Last week (and this upcoming week), we worked on our descriptive writing.  We have been looking at the 5 senses and how they can be used to add description in their writing.  We also continued our read aloud of A Dog's Life.  While I read this aloud, I have multiple pause points that I will discuss "tricks" the author uses, get them to predict what may happen next, draw real-life connections and give them basic thoughts that a "good adult reader" thinks about as they are reading a story.  

Finally, in Science class we have started our unit on Soils.  We looked at the parts of soil (tiny rocks, air, water and humus) and designed our title page.  Also, we are finishing up our Lego Portraits.

Welcome!

 Dear Parents,

Welcome to the 2026-2027 school year. It gives me great pleasure to welcome your child into our Grade 3 classroom as we kick off another great year at St. Marguerite d'Youville. On the first day of school, I will be meeting the children in the primary yard. I will be outside by 8:20 am, so if you have any questions, please feel free to ask! It would also be helpful to know how your child will be heading home at the end of the day.  Please note that walkers are picked up at the primary gate.

School is an environment that is fun, exciting and full of many wonderful learning opportunities and challenges. As your child’s teacher, my goal is to help create an environment that focuses on the whole child: mind, body and spirit.

I believe it is very important to have open communication between home and school. Always feel free to contact me at school. I have a blog that you can check regularly for quick information about what is going on in the class and in the school. My blog is located at mrgpope.blogspot.ca which I will try to update once a week.

For homework, the most important thing I can recommend to do on a regular basis is read. 15-20 minutes per night is highly recommended for every student. We also have access to Prodigy Math and Magma Math, websites that will be linked in their Hapara workspace. These are excellent websites to help practice a wide range of math skills (I will be sending the log-ins and passwords in the first weeks of school). Unfinished work may also occasionally find its way home to be completed. Finally, each child will have access to work on in-class writing assignments through Google Docs at home if needed. I will be posting most activities and links on their Hapara Workspace.

Although most school supplies will be provided to your child, here are some items that are beneficial throughout the school year:

• pencils (students will go through 3+ per month)

• eraser

• coloured pencils

• scissors

• highlighter (any colour)

• glue sticks

• pencil case

• pencil sharpener (closed)

• indoor shoes (non-marking soles)

I truly look forward to a great year together.  I know that our journey this year will be full of rewards and challenges as we learn, laugh and grow together.

Mr. Pope