Science Assessment

Yesterday the students completed an assessment of their learning during our unit on liquids and solids. They had 80 minutes to complete the assessment and were allowed to refer to their Science duo tang as well as to all classroom resources. Today your child will bring home his/her test. Please sign it and return it to school.
Thank you.

Unfinished work.

As report cards loom ever closer, you may notice your child bringing home unfinished work. I am encouraging students to do so in order to improve their final mark. It is rather tricky to give a grade to a student who has not completed assignments! If your child does bring home unfinished work, please begin by congratulating him or her for the diligence and perseverance it took to get to that point!

A word about study habits.

This week's spelling/grammar test left a little to be desired. While I realize that the year is almost over, the weather is improving, and students are becoming excited for the summer holidays, it is equally important that students take their homework assignments seriously. This week, I stopped the spelling test halfway through as it became clear that more than half the class had not studied for it. Most students failed the test. Conversely, the two students who studied every night, received full marks. Each and every student in the class is capable of achieving an A if they apply themselves fully to the task assigned.
I apologize for the rant, however report cards are due to be written soon and poor performance in homework assignments will affect grades. I'm sure that we would all like to see our Grade 2 stars reach their full potential.
With that, I wish everyone a very happy weekend!

Dictée - vendredi le 31 mai

parce que           - because (with a space between parce and que!)

et                       - and

est                     - is

j'ai dit                - I said (there's a t at the end!)

mais                  - but

je mets              - I put

il ressemble à    - he / it looks like... (we don't say "Il regarde comme" EVER!)

dans                  - in (there's an s on the end!)

il peut                - he can

beaucoup          - many

This list contains words that are often misspelled in class. They are not new to the students, however words like et and est; as well as mais and mets are frequently confused. The challenge this week to learn when to use which one!

Collecting small-ish rocks!

Hello everyone - today I'm going to let the students know that we are going to think about the kinds of animals we want to attract to our new garden. They are going to paint rocks depicting these animals and we will then decorate our garden with these rock animals! Rocks should be smooth and not too big - have your child think about the kinds of animals they might see outside at Clairlea (more likely squirrels, chipmunks, ladybugs and butterflies than a giraffe!). If each student could bring in one or two rocks, that would be great! Size-wise, I would suggest no bigger than a tennis ball please.
Have a wonderful weekend!

Notre beau jardin !

Nous avons passé une belle heure dehors pendant laquelle notre classe et la classe de Madame Trott ont planté deux petits jardins. C'était très amusant et nous avons hâte de voir les fleurs qui vont bourgeonner bientôt !  En plus, on espère voir plus d'insectes et d'animaux ! On verra !

Heritage and clothing

We started our unit on heritage by reading "Whoever You Are" by Mem Fox. We learned that while we may all have different clothing, looks, cultures, and celebrations, we are all really the same. Enjoy looking at the students' work! I love it!

La Dictée pour vendredi le 24 mai.

Once again, we are reviewing correct conjugation of verbs. This time we are looking at Etre and Avoir in the imperfect tense. The test will be conducted in the same way as two weeks ago. Study hard!


AVOIR                                                                          ETRE
j'avais                                                                         j'étais
tu avais                                                                       tu étais
il/elle/on avait                                                          il/elle/on était
nous avions                                                                nous étions
vous aviez                                                                  vous étiez
ils/elles avaient                                                        ils/elles étaient

Fun experiment if you choose to do it...

In learning about the properties of liquids and solids, the students decided it would be fun to try to make a boat (basically an object or a group of objects) that floats in their bathtub. Students are invited to bring in their creations on Tuesday May 21st so we can test them out! Amusez-vous!

Social Studies Project

Earlier this week, your child brought home a project outline for our final task in Social Studies.  

Each child has been assigned a country and must research 3 celebrations & traditions in that country.  This project will be done mostly at home, although students are free to use library time to sign out books on their country, or search the Internet during our computer period.  Chances are the bulk of the research will be done with family members helping on the Internet.

Please ensure that your child writes his/her own descriptions, even though you may help to explain them.  This will be a collaborative project between you and your child but the final poster should be done exclusively by your child.

I am attaching below a sample picture of a level 3 (B) poster.  There's plenty of time to ask questions; I am happy to help along the way!  The project is due on June 3rd.

La dictée – le vendredi 17 mai

une roue         a wheel

un foulard      a scarf

la poubelle     the garbage           

des jouets       toys

lourd              heavy            

j’ai joué          I played

court              short                          

elle a trouvé   she found

un sourire      a smile           

nous écoutons   we listen

Grammar test - May 10th

In lieu of a dictée next Friday, the students will have a grammar test on the verbs "être & avoir" in the present tense.  This will not be a dictation.  Students will need to conjugate the verb in the present tense - they will be prompted by the personal pronoun. 

For example:

(AVOIR)  nous  _______________

(ÊTRE)  elle _____________

The table below should be reviewed in advance of the test. 
Bon travail!

LES VERBES AU PRÉSENT
ÊTRE	AVOIR
Je suis	J’ai
Tu es	Tu as
Il est	Il a
Elle est	Elle a
On est	On a
Nous sommes	Nous avons
Vous êtes	Vous avez
Elles sont	Elles ont
Ils sont	Ils ont