Dear Parents: Last fall I booked a field trip to the Shepard Landfill and Materials Recovery Facility. A couple of weeks ago I received an email stating that our tour had to be cancelled. I was told there were no other available dates for the remainder of the school year. Over the Easter holiday I received another email notifying me that a school had cancelled and I could have their date if I wished. I decided to accept the April 13 date even though it was short notice because of the valuable learning opportunities this field trip presents.

Please have a look at the material attached to this letter and sign the permission form attached to allow your son or daughter to attend the field trip. We will need approximately 2 – 3 parent volunteers to assist with supervision and learning activities during the field trip. If you would like to accompany grade 4M and 5/4F on the field trip please send me an email at denis.fortier@cssd.ab.ca, write a note in the agenda or give me a call at 403-500-2015.

lundi le 22 mars, jour 4

Hello everyone. Grade 5s have a short science assignment to complete at home. Please follow the instructions below:

1. Locate your electrical meter.
2. Take a photograph of the electrical meter and have your parents email it to me. Please tell me whose photo it is in the subject line.
3. Read and write the numbers on your meter.
4. Look at your electric bill and compare the bill to the numbers on your meter. What information can you deduce from looking at the meter and the bill? Discuss with your parents how you could lower your electrical bill. Why is it important to try to conserve energy?
lundi le 15 mars, jour 6

Hello everyone, there will be a science quiz on Thursday March 18 for both grade 5 and 4. Grade 4s must review the concepts we have learned on simple machines and grade 5s must review what we have studied on electricity.

dimanche le 7 mars

There will be a test on Call of the Wild on Tuesday, March 9. The test will cover the concepts listed below. Our class will use tomorrow`s ELA period to complete a guided study of the concepts.

I. Vocabulary - Review vocabulary from the novel.

II. Plot - Be able to describe the major events in the novel. .

-Be able to put events in chronological order. .

III. Characters - Describe the protagonist and antagonist and their physical and personal characteristics..

- Who said it? Identify the character who says something. .

- State what others say about a particular character.

IV. Setting: .

-Describe the setting

-Be able to draw a scene from the novel.

V. Personal Response.

vendredi le 19 février, jour 2

Hello everyone. Students should spend some time finishing their goldrush stories this weekend. I have had a chance to sit down and review some of them with some students but not all. It is important to receive this formative feedback because sometimes students need that in order to refine and guide their work.

Students involved in science fair could also spend some time working on their projects. This is not meant to be completed at home but if some students are feeling ambitious that is something they could do this weekend.

Grade 4 students will also be working on their shark assignments next week.

mardi le 9 février, jour 3

Ela Goldrush story assignment

I would like students to have the story completed by Friday, February 19. I distributed and went through the criteria for evaluation today in class. Students will have some time tomorrow to work on their stories as well as some time next week. If possible students should plan to work on their stories this weekend a bit.

mercredi le 3 fév, jour 5

Hello everyone. Grade 4 students will soon begin some project work in French language arts to go with our current novel study of Jonas le Requin Rose. Students will work individually on ONE of the options described below.

1. Jeu de mots (word games)
In this project students will create imaginary names for sea creatures that could possible keep Jonas company. The names must follow the same sequence as the novel’s title; Jonas le Requin Rose. So for example students might like to name a friendly fish Pierre le Poisson. Afterward they must draw a caricature of their creation on a sheet of paper. They will scan the work and then create a photostory presentation of their drawings. 6-10 animal friends are required for this project.

2. La vie de Jonas
In this project students will create a sequel of their novel. They will then create a family tree of several generations of Jonas descendants. The story will be presented in a digital story.

3. Bande Dessinée
In this project students will create a comic strip of the novel. This will be presented in the form of a digital story.

4. Ah, Quelle Émotion
In this project a pair of students will conduct a short research assignment to see what animals bring about powerful emotions in the students at École St. Pius X. They will devise survey questions and collect data to find the answers to their questions. This project allows a pair a students to work together. Only one project of this type will be allowed.

5. The last project will be a research study on a particular species of shark. This could also be a comparative study of a different species of sharks.

Timelines
I will expect students to complete most of this work at school. I am hoping to complete these projects by the end of February.

lundi le 25 janvier, jour 3

Hello everyone. There will be a math test tomorrow for both gade 4 and 5.

As you know our class has been studying Jack London's Call of the Wild. This novel study has been going pretty well and I am pleased with students progress in learning about the Yukon Gold Rush and other historical facts related to the novel.

Students are also busy working on a story or stories about the Gold Rush. We have discussed the elements of a good story. Protagonist, antagonist, setting and plot development. I have told students we will be working on this assignment for a while and students are free to work on it at home if they wish. If they finish their story they may write another or undertake a research project on one of the gold rushes. I will speak more about this in class.

mercredi le 20 janvier, jour 2

Hello everyone. If you have a chance this evening you should have a look at my homepage and check out the story of Patrick Hughes. Hughes is a young man who was born without eyes and who is physically disabled. However he has an amazing musical talent. As I was watching the video I thought of how diverse and amazing the world is.

mardi le 19 janvier, jour 1

Hello everyone there are no assignments to do for tomorrow however grade 4 students who are not busy could look for infomation on sharks. They could do this in a general fashion or they could pick a particular species of shark and create a fact sheet based on their information. This is related to our French novel study. There will likely be some sort of project during this novel so this would give students a head start on the material.

Today students had the unique opportunity of seeing the Olympic Torch as it passed our school. I asked students to write a response from this experience. I used 4 guiding questions to get students to think about the experience. The questions were:

• What does seeing the Olympic Torch mean to you?
• What emotions did you feel as you experienced the event?
• What do you think of the Olympics?
• What is the Olympic spirit?

The main emotion I felt was patriotism. Seeing all the Canadian flags and the signs and cheering spectators made me feel proud to be a Canadian. I appreciate our country and the privelidges and rights I enjoy as a Canadian citizen.

I feel the Olympics are great for what they symbolize. I think it is wonderful that so many countries can come together and participate in sport. Sport and competition unifies the world in a unique way. However, I feel it would be inappropriate to not mention the darker side of the Olympics. The money that is spent, environmental damages and people who are displaced or inconvenienced because of the Games.

To me the Olympic Spirit is trying your best, it is perserverance, it is setting goals and achieving them. The Olympic Spirit is something that lives in all of us, we just have to find a way to release it.

vendredi le 15 janvier, jour 5

Hello everyone. There are no ssignments due Monday but there will be a math quiz on Tuesday and a test on Friday.

In ELA today students had the chance to view and respond to some historical information on the Yukon gold rush. Some students were surprised at the hardships many of the stampeders faced in their quest for gold.

Feel free to have a look at some of the links and videos on the grade 4 ELA page.

mercredi le 13 janvier, jour 3

Hello everyone, there are no assignments due tomorrow. Our class had a pretty productive day today in science. Grade 5 students continued their work studying weather. Today's assignment dealt with wind speed. Students were asked to describe and demonstrate methods of determining wind speed and direction. Today's activity mostly focussed on the description part of the lesson. Students learned about the Beaufort scale, weather vanes and anemometers.

During this time grade 4 students were busy discovering facts on wheels and rollers. They then had to make a comparison between these types of machines. Have a look at the pictures below to see some samples of student work.

mardi le 12 janvier, jour 2

Hello everyone. Happy Epiphany. Today was quite a busy day. In the morning we attended a liturgical celebration to mark Epiphany. We were happy to welcome Fr. Sylvano to our celebration. Mme Ross and the grade 6 class did a fine job.

Students also participated in a French tradition called `galette du roi`. Students worked on various math assignments in the morning. In the afternoon students completed an ELA vocabulary lesson for chapter 1 of Call of the Wild.

Grade 5 students are progressing nicely in their study of the weather. Today we learned about different types of clouds.

There are no assignments due tomorrow however I would like to suggest that students do some reading in French and perhaps browse some of the information in these pages.

lundi le 11 janvier

Hello everyone. I hope everyone is enjoying the break from the cold weather. There are no assignments due tomorrow, however there are some things students could be doing this evening to advance their studies.

In science grade 5 students were working on describing the movements of air masses. They had to describe what happens when large masses of air meet each other. There are several really good videos in both French and English which do a good job explaining the weather concepts we are learning about. They are located on my grade 5 science pages. Students could spend some time this evening reviewing them and writing notes about them.

In grade 4 science students could do a similar activity with the videos I have on their pages.

In grade 4 math today students looked at several strategies they can use to subtract 3 digit numbers in their heads. It would likely help them complete tomorrow's assignment if they reviewed these strategies on pages 62-63.

Our class also had a very interesting discussion of students responses to Alone in the Wilderness.

We started talking about our novel study Call of the Wild and so far the response from students has been good. Have a look at the links at the bottom of this page on Call of the Wild.

jeudi le 7 janvier, 2010

Hello everyone and happy new year. I hope everyone has had a restful and joyous holiday season.

Students are asked to write a response to Alone in the Wilderness which we viewed today. Students should use the reflection questions below to guide their responses.

• Describe the Alaskan landscape.
• Describe the feelings or emotions you get as you are watching the film.
• Describe the weather patterns in the film.
• Why do you suppose Pronneke's work would be considered valuable?
• Could you see yourself undertaking this kind of adventure? Why or why not?
• Can you think of an adventure you could compare this to?
• What personal qualities or talents does a person need to undertake such an adventure.

In ELA, both classes will study Jack London's Call of the Wild. We will begin the novel next week sometime.

In FLA grade 4 students will begin a novel study called Jonas le Requin Rose. This is the story of a young shark who feels he is treated unjustly simply because he is a shark.

Grade 5 students will begin a novel study called Jako Croko. It is about a crocodile who must try to save his skin.

lundi le 21 décembre, jour 2

Hello everyone. There are no assignments due tomorrow however there is an ELA assignment due Wednesday for both grade 4 and 5. Students should be aware of the assignment. I will give some time to work on it tomorrow.

mardi le 8 décembre, jour 5

I would like to invite everyone to click on the E-learning for kids link in the links table at the bottom of this page. This is an amazing website with all sorts of excellent interactive activities for students to engage in. Spending time on these activities is a great way to get your 40-50 minutes of independent study time. Check it out.

Hello everyone. There is no homework due tomorrow.

vendredi le 4 décembre

On Monday both classes will have a math quiz. I have posted the following study guides to help students review the material. The best way to prepare for the quiz is to go back and review the material in lesson 1-2-3. The quiz items will be similar to the exercises students have completed in the text.

Students must know, explain, show and understand the following concepts.

Grade 4

• Read and represent 4 digit numbers in several ways including base ten material, place value chart, forme décomposée, and forme symbolique.
• Compare and order numbers.
• Use less than, greater than and equal to symbols.
• Construct and place numbers on a number line.
• Understand and use 3 types of Venn diagrams to sort numbers.
• Use carrol diagrams to sort numbers.
• Solve a variety of problems relating to place value.

• Read and understand numbers up to 1 000 000.
• Use a place value chart to represent numbers.
• Solve a variety of problems involving place value.
• Understand the relationship between CM, M and KM.
• Understand what a million means and use it in context.
• Represent and compare numbers using a place value chart.
• Understand and use forme développée.
• State the value of a specific digit in a number.

Hello everyone, there is some ELA and Math work due Monday. Please see the presentation schedule below for grade 4 social studies presentations.

Math assignment for grade 4; P. 46-48.

ELA grade 4; All the chapter 5-8 work in the duotangs.

Grade 4 Social Studies Presentation Schedule

Monday, December 7: Maria, Pourquoi les montagnes rocheuses sont importantes?
Tueday, December 8: Peter, La formation des rocheuses.
Wednesday, December 9: Ben, Les glaciers.
Thursday, December 10: Cody, Les parcs nationaux.
Friday, December 11: Simone, La géographie des Rocheuses.

Monday, December 14: Quinn, La géographie des rocheuses II
Tuesday, December 15: Gabbie, Les animaux et la végétation.
Wednesday, December 16: McCrory, Le charbon.
Thursday, December 17: Cabri, La qualité de vie

mercredi le 2 décembre, jour 2

Hello everyone, there is no homework due tomorrow. I am looking forward to seeing everyone at the Advent Family Mass.

vendredi le 27 nov, jour 5

Hello everyone there are no assignments due Monday. However many students did not have a chance to complete the math interview activity I described in yesterday's posting. Students should try to talk to parents this weekend about estimation strategies used while shopping.

Grade 4 students have been working on Social Studies projects. I have had a chance to look at the work they have been completing and I have come up with some general feedback for all students. This project is due December 7. There will be some computer time next week to complete the assignment but it would be great if students could spend some time on it this weekend.

Guidelines and Feedback for Social Studies Presentations

• Each page should have a nice big title at the top of the page so that we know what is going on in that page.
• Use pictures carefully. Do not put too many pictures on one page. If the page is too crowded it is difficult to understand it.
• If you are using pictures try not to stretch them out too much because it distorts the picture.
• Make sure you understand all the words and the concepts in your presentation. Someone may ask you a question about your work.
• Be careful about how much information you are putting on one page. It is easy to add another page.
• Be sure to include a title page with the title of your presentation and you name.
• Make sure to tell the class at the beginning of the presentation what questions you will be covering in your presentation. This helps to focus everyone's attention and if they know what is coming they can follow more easily.
• Use maps to show locations.

There is some work due tomorrow. grade 4s have a math assignment due. Both grades must have completed their ELA crossword clues. Please see assignment details below on estimation.

Hello everyone. Please be advised that report cards will go home tomorrow.

Grade 4 and 5 students have been studying place value and developing number sense in maths. As part of this learning students have been learning about estimation strategies. I have given an assignment on estimation. The assignment is to interview the family member who does the grocery shopping for the household.

I would like students to ask about estimation while shopping for groceries. Some of the questions I would like them to discuss are:

1. Is there a budget or a sum of money in mind when the person goes to the store? ( We do not need to know how much exactly)

2. How often do you buy groceries? Once a week, once a month, every couple of weeks etc.?

3. How do you keep track of how much the items you are placing in the cart cost?

4. Do you keep a running total?

5. Do you carry a calculator? do you use a paper and pencil? Do you shop with a list?

6. Do you have any tips or tricks to make sure the items in the cart do not exceed how much money you have to spend?

7. Do you use estimation while you are shopping? How do you estimate?

mardi le 17 nov

Hello everyone. Today students in grade 4 started a new unit in math. This unit concerns the study of numbers. Please have a look at my math pages and speak to your son or daughter about the math topics for this unit. This unit will likely take us to Christmas in math. I have almost completed correcting grade 4 math tests from last week.

Our class spent some time today going through assignments from the past 2 weeks. I was looking specifically at incomplete assignments. I have given reminders to students who have outstanding assignments. It has been a bit tough lately because some students missed school because of illness or travel. Even though students are sick they must still complete the work.

Please have a look at the classroom calendar I have attached to this page. You can view the calendar by clicking on the link in the top left hand corner of this page.

lundi le 16 novembre, jour 2

Hello everyone. Grade 5s did not have a chance to correct the math, lesson 1 activities. So please make sure those are completed for tomorrow.

Grade 4s have a question and answer assignment on light and shadow due this Friday.

vendredi le 13 novembre, jour 1

Hello everyone, grade 5s have a math assignment due Monday. They must complete lesson 1 activities.

Grade 4s should spend some time on their rocky mountain inquiry activities. I have instructed students to begin thinking about how they will present their information. I have framed the presentations by telling students they will be "teaching" their information to their classmates.

It would be a good idea for students to spend some time on Notebook 10 creating their presentations. I have also encouraged students to make use of the lesson activity toolkit to make their presentations more engaging for their classmates.

If you do not have notebook 10, I would like to encourage students to try to dig a little deeper and to elaborate on their inquiry questions.

jeudi le 12, jour 6

Hello everyone. There is no homework due tomorrow. However, grade 5s have started a new unit in math on natural numbers. They will receive a bit of time tomorrow to complete the first lesson. This unit focusses on place value and number sense. Students practice visualizing and representing larger numbers.

Grade 4s are making progress on their social studies inquiry on the rocky mountains. Tomorrow a parent volunteer will assist us in conducting our research activities. If anyone has any books or magazine about the rocky mountains it would be very helpful if you could send them to school tomorrow for our research activities.

I would also like to take this opportunity to let everyone know that our school is participating in St. Vincent de Paul food hampers. There are 47 items on the list. So each student in our class is asked to bring 3 items for the hamper. Please see your son or daughter's agenda for the items they are responsible for.

mardi le 10 nov, jour 5

Hello everyone there is no homework due Thursday.

If you have not already seen the videos on M. Fortiers homepage, have a look at them.

lundi le 9 nov, jour 4

Hello everyone. There will be a math test tomorrow for both grade 4 and 5.

jeudi le 5 nov, jour 3

Hello everyone. I have postponed the math test to Tuesday, November 10. Students began an art project today using the light and dark technique we learned last week. They will have one more art period to complete the assignment.

Grade 4 students read chapter 2 of the Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe today. This novel study is progressing nicely. Grade 5 students are working in a more independent fashion on their novel study; Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimh.

I would like to encourage students to have a look at some of the Remembrance day videos I put on M. Fortiers homepage.

mardi le 3 nov, jour 1

Hello everyone. I hope everyone is feeling relatively well. There are no assignments due tomorrow.

Students in grade 4 and 5 have been working on their "show what you know" assingment in maths. I plan to have a test on the patterning unit some time next week. If you are behind on this assignment you should try to get some of it completed. A good idea is to show and explain your work to your parents. Talking about mathematical concepts like patterning helps to develop understanding.

In ELA students in grade 4 have finished reading chapter 1 of Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe. Comprehension and reflection activities will be assigned tomorrow.

In French Language Arts both grade 4 and 5 students must complete their sentence writing assignment by Thursday as there is no school on Friday.

mercredi le 28 oct, jour 3

Hello everyone. We have had a pretty busy day today. Students in grades 4 and 5 have begun their novel studies in ELA. Grade 4 students have started to study The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and grade 5s are studying Mrs Frisby and the Rats of Nimh. The readings and related activities will probably take us to the Christmas holidays in ELA.

Grade 4s and 5s completed a math quiz this morning. Please watch for those quizzes coming home to be signed next week. Just so everyone knows I like to send home quizzes, tests and assignments to get signed however I do need those materials back as they provide evidence of learning and I may like to refer to them from time to time as examples or when discussing student work.

Yesterday grade 5 students began an assignment in social studies which examines Canadian identity and what that means for us. We learned about stereotypes and how they affect our self image as Canadians. Click on the grade 5 social studies link on M. Fortiers Homepage and you can view the video we saw. Can you spot the Canadianisms in the video? Are they good examples of Canadian identity or common stereotypes? How do ads such as these affect our identity? Feel free to send me your comments on the video, I would like to hear what everyone thinks of this.

Grade 4 and grade 5 students are still studying their respective topics in science. Watch for new assignments coming next week.

In French language arts I am happy to report that several students have completed their Halloween stories. I was quite pleased with how well students have adapted to using our correction code. There is a sentence writing assignment due Friday. Students must select 10 words from the list they received yesterday and write sentences in the past tense. The sentences must be written in their sentence writing notebook.

vendredi le 23 oct, jour 1

Hello everyone. Grade 4s have a social studies assignment to complete this weekend on the Rocky Mountains. They must make a list in point form of what they know about the Rocky Mountains. They must have at least 10 things on the list. But there is no maximum.

There are no assignments due Tuesday for Grade 5s however they should still spend some time on independent study this weekend.

There is no school on Monday due to Faith Day.

jeudi le 22 oct, jour 5

Hello everyone. Tomorrow will be the last day of swimming class for grade 4 students. Our class has been working hard this week on all sorts of things. Grade 4 students had a social studies quiz yesterday that went fairly well. I am planning to mark the quizzes this weekend sometime along with some of the other assignments students have completed.

This morning students worked on their halloween stories. They will have a little time to continue working tomorrow. I would like to have the rough drafts by tomorrow so that I can correct the writing and get them back to the students so they can complete the final draft.

There will also be a quiz tomorrow on dictionary skills. There is not really anything to study for the quiz. I would like to make sure students know how to use the Robert Junior dictionaries.

There will be no classes for students on Monday, October 26 because of Faith Day. Students should spend some time on independent study.

mardi le 20 oct, jour 4

Hello everyone. Grade 4 will have a social studies quiz tomorrow. Use the following as a study guide. Review the material in your duotangs.

• Ce qu’est un récit de création.
• Ce qu’est la Pangée.
• Expliquer le concept to continental drift.
• Identifier Joseph Tyrell et décrire sa contribution au développement d’Alberta.
• Identifier l’Alberta sur une carte.
• Expliquer et donner des exemples d’érosion.
• Décrire les croyances des PN envers les fossiles.
• Décrire comment les fossiles nous aident à comprendre le passé de l’Alberta.
• Localiser Edmonton et Calgary sur la carte d’Alberta.

Hello everyone. Grade 4 studnets should begin reviewing the concepts on Alberta's origins for a quiz on Wednesday. There will also be a French test on dictionary skills for both grade 4 and 5 on Friday.

Today, grade 4 students had their first swimming lessons. Everything went smoothly. Students also began work on a Halloween story. They must create a story map with the basic elements of their story. For example, description in point form of the beginning middle and end, characters, including protagonist and antagonist. (I explained what those terms mean), the setting, and any other details. The story must be in French and it must be written in the past tense. Due date for the story is October 30. 2 typed double spaced pages maximum.

Students did an art project this afternoon. Most students completed it in class. Grade 4 students started math lesson 5, they will have some time to work on it in class tomorrow.

I am planning a science experiment tomorrow for grade 5s involving mixing liquids. I will let you know how it goes.

Report card crunch time is upon us. For the next month or so things may seem a bit busy. Please bear with me during this time. Remember to cap your son or daughter's homework time at 40 minutes for grade 4 and 50 minutes for grade 5.

samedi le 17 oct

Hello everyone. There are no assignments due Monday. However students should still spend some time this weekend reading in French and doing some of the activities on these pages.

Swimming lessons begin next wek for grade 4 sudents. The lessons will run all of next week. Students must remember to bring their bathing suits and towels each day. Mr. M and parent volunteers will accompany all the grade 4s to Foothills pool each morning. Students will return to the school by recess.

Most students have now completed the All About Me project. The books look very good and I am sure they will make a great keepsake.

Grade 4 students should begin reviewing the concepts we have learned in Social Studies on the origins of Alberta. A good place to begin reviewing is the origins of Alberta webpage.

Grade 5 students should also continue to reflect on what it means to be Canadian. We will work on this a bit more next week.

Grade 5 students are also currently working on classroom chemistry. They should continue tofamiliarize themselves with the information on the science webpage.

One last thing....Go Riders!!

mercredi le 14 oct, jour 6

Hello everyone. There is an ELA assignment due tomorrow. The All About Me booklet from ELA. I have noticed that a couple of students have already completed the booklet and they look quite nice. I will be away tomorrow so students who have not quite finished will have some class time to complete individual parts of the booklet. We will compile the booklets in class on Friday. I thought that would be the easiest way to do it. Do not worry about printing papers at home. Our color printer works well and I can print everything from our classroom computer.

Grade 4 students have a social studies assignment due Friday. They should have some class time tomorrow to complete some of it.

Grade 5 students also have an assignment in social studies. The assignment is to explain what it means to be Canadian. We started discussing identity in class today and what that means. We identified different things we felt were unique to Canada and why we identify with those things. Although I have an idea of what I would like students to produce for this assignment I have been purposfully vague because I would like to know what they think it means to "Be Canadian." I have not given students a due date for this work just yet because I would like them to think about this and maybe discuss it at the dinner table.

jeudi le 8 oct, jour 5

Hello everyone. There is nothing due Wednesday. However I would like to remind everyone that our big ELA project All about me is due on the 15th. On Wednesday we will begin printing off the documents and making the book.

Have a happy Thanksgiving!!

mercredi le 7 oct, jour 4

Hello everyone. I would like to remind everyone that there is a math quiz tomorrow for both grades. The grade 4 quiz will cover lesson 1-2 ( we have not yet completed lesson 3) the grade five quiz will cover lesson 1-3.

Grade 4s must also complete their light and shadow assignment. The observations have been completed. They must answer the questions. Grade 4s have had 45 minutes of class time to complete this assignment.

mardi le 6 oct, jour 3

I would like to take this opportunity to revise the grade 5/4 homework policy. In order to promote a healthy balance between school activities and extracurricular activities I would like to suggest that homework time be capped at 40 minutes for grade 4 students and 50 minutes for grade 5 students. This period of time would include the 15 minute daily requirement for reading in French. The other 25 minutes would be spent completing assignments or doing independent study.

I would ask that parents monitor their son or daughter to make sure the time is spent constructively.

So what if my child cannot finish an assignment that is due the next day?

Please write a note in the agenda or send me an email to let me know that every effort was made to complete the work and I will either give the student time to complete it or I will have him or her follow along when the assignment is discussed in class. The assignment can then be completed and submitted later.

Both grade 5 and 4 have a math quiz on Thursday.

There are no assignments due tomorrow.

lundi le 5 oct, jour 2

Hello everyone. I would like students to view the material on the origins of Alberta link which can be accessed from the grade 4 social studies area.

Grade 5s should have already viewed the material on the science chemistry page. They should then make notes on the material.

There will be a math quiz on Thursday, Oct 8. The quiz will cover lessons 1, 2, 3 for both grade 4 and 5.

samedi le 3 oct

Hello everyone. Students must complete the Robert Junior activities for Monday. There was also an art assignment due Friday.

jeudi le 1 oct

Hello everyone. I would like to report that I was quite pleased with the ant expo and how everyone's project turned out.

There is an art assignment due tomorrow. There are also some assignments due Monday. Robert Junior activities and grade 4s have a science assignment due.

I would like to take this opportunity to remind all students that French reading is a daily assignment and should be completed every evening. Please refer to my Home and school reading program page. You can find a link on the grade 4 FLA page.

Hello, our ant expo will take place at 2:10 this afternoon. Feel free to come and see the work we have done on ants.

mardi le 29 septembre, jour 4

Hello everyone. I am happy to announce that all students have now completed their photo stories. Ask your son or daughter if they could show you the file. I have been telling students to save their documents on both their H drive and their memory sticks. Some students are still adjusting to the file management required to do this.

There are no assignments due tomorrow. However there is a math assignment due Thursday for both grade 5 and 4 classes. There is an art assignment due Friday. Of course we are planning our ant expo on Thursday. Students will have time in class tomorrow to work on their displays. Robert Junior activities are due on Monday and All about me is due the 15 of October. Please scroll down a bit to see the expectations for All About Me.

Both grade 4 and grade 5 students should spend time studying the science notes on my science pages.

lundi le 28 sept, jour 3

Hello everyone. There is some work to complete this evening for grade 4 students. They must access and view the Bill Nye science videos on the light and shadow page. Follow the links from M. Fortiers homepage to the ombres et lumiere page. The videos are at the bottom of the page. Students must take notes on the important information. I will be asking to see the notes tomorrow.

Grade five students have a similar activity for science. They must read and view the material on the classroom chemistry page. Follow the link from m. Fortiers homepage. I will also be asking for their notes.

jeudi le 23 sept, jour 6

Hello everyone. Grade 5 students must complete lesson 1 in their math texts. Grade 4 students must also complete their lesson 1 activities. Most students should have completed this work in class today.

Grade 4 students must also read over the ombres et lumières notes on the science page. They should try to spend at least 30 minutes reading over the notes and doing some of the activities on light.

mardi le 22 sept, jour 5

Hello everyone. Today our class took a look at the assignments we have been working on since the beginning of September. We established some due dates and then students got to work. Please have a look at your son or daughters agenda and ask them to show you the due dates.

Expectations for the All About Me booklet

This assignment is English language arts. Students were given this assignment at the beginning of September. We worked on it sporadically in class. Today we went through the assignment and came up with some guidelines for the finished product.

• The all about me assignment must be presented in the form of a booklet. The pages must be standard photccopier or printer paper. 8.5X11.
• The booklet is due October 15
• The inside of the booklet can be completed by hand or on the computer. Some parts of the booklet can be hand drawn and others can be completed on the computer.
• The silhouette could be a drawing or a photo. Try to use the full page.
• The meaning of your name and why your parents chose it could be a paragraph. Try to make the story interesting.
• Autobiography should be 1-2 pages. Double spaced, typed. If you choose to handwrite it make sure to use white paper and use a pen because pencil smudges.
• I used to be... but now I am...Try to come up with ten things. Make a top ten list. Use lots of graphics and make it interesting and creative.
• Poetry cache. Make an acrostic poem and a cinquain. Use 2 separate pages.
• Diary. 5 entries. 5 sentences each. Once again, if you are handwriting use a pen and unlined white paper. Be creative, both in the writing and the layout of the page.
• Family Crest. Invent or use symbols that represent your family and your interests.
• Crystal ball. Make some predictions for your future. Be creative in the page layout and the predictions.
• Me collage. Be creative. You could use the same pictures as your photo story or you could cut out pictures of magazines and then scan them. Use the photo editing features of MS word to work with your pictures. If you are doing this by hand you will have to glue the objects to the page in your booklet.

lundi le 21 sept, jour 4

Hello everyone. Students should spend some time working on their All About Me assignments for ELA. I would like to have these completed by October 1. There will be some class time available for working on this however time is flying.

Students in grade four should also spend some time looking over the information on the origins of Alberta webpage. This information can be found by clicking on the grade four social studies page. Then course outline, then origines d'Alberta.

Students should get familiar with the vocabulary as well as some of the people like Tyrell, Dawson and the First Nations people.

Students also worked on their ant research. Today we discussed how we will present our findings at the ant expo we will hold on October 1. I am strongly encouraging students to use Notebook 10 for their presentations rather than powerpoint. Notebook 10 is more user friendly and has lots of interesting features, like the lesson activity toolkit. If you do not have Notebook 10 and would like to have it on your computer please let me know.

jeudi le 17 sept, jour 3

Hello everyone there is no homework to complete for Monday. However students should spend some time on individual study by reading in French, learning about ants, personal writing and doing Quia activities found on my webpages.

mercredi le 16 sept, jour 2

I would like to take this opportunity to clarify the expectations for the ant research question answering task. I used 6-10 sentences per research question as a general guide. Some questions will not require 6-10 sentences while others can and should be elaborated beyond the established guidelines. Some of the research categories we brainstormed may also require a bit more work than others. So, in short, do not worry too much if you do not have 6-10 sentences for every single question. We will work with what you have and revise expectations as we go along.

I would like students to hand in their work tomorrow so I can spend some time looking over what has been completed and where revisions need to be made.

Hello everyone. I am happy to report that we are making quite a bit of progress on our ant research project. Students have almost finished answering their research questions. Tomorrow I will collect all the work and correct the writing. Next week students will make the corrections and changes to their answers then the fun part will begin. Each student or group of students must decide how they will share their research. We will discuss ideas such as videos, slideshows, posters and information pamphlets and brochures next week. At the end of the month I am planning an ant expo where we will invite other classes to come and see the work we have done on ants.

Students have some work to complete for tomorrow. Students must complete the verb study for the verb "changer". This verb is tricky because it is conjugated like "manger." It is tricky because an e must be inserted. Here is an example;

je change
tu changes
il change
elle change

nous changeons Notice the e between the g and the o. This is an exception. Although changer is an -er verb it does not follow the pattern.

Students who had their summer photos have started their digital stories. I spent some time in the computer lab this morning with several students and I got them started on Photostory 3. Please look through your summer photo collection for some photos to use and send them to school. You may email them, put them on a CD or a memory stick. The next step will be to narrate the audio portion of the story.

lundi le 14 sept, jour 6

Hello everyone. I hope everyone had a nice weekend with all the wonderful summer weather we had. Students must complete answering their research questions on ants by Wednesday. The answers must be well developed and should be about a paragraph in length for each question. 6-10 sentences per question would probably be good enough. Students can feel free to use the internet to complete the research however all the answers MUST BE written in French. I discourage allowing students to simply use Google. Please direct your son or daughter to use the link at the bottom of M. Fortiers Homepage. It will take you to Ivy's search engines for kids. The sites your child will encounter from that page are a lot friendlier than what students might encounter on Google.

On Wednesday I will conference with the groups and we will see where we are in terms of our research project.

Some students also worked on their summer story project today. Thank you to all the parents and students who sent me their work and photos by email. Please try to go through your summer photo collection and pick out some photos that would make good illustrations to your story. If you do not have many stories you may draw the illustrations on 8.5X11 paper and then bring them to school and I will scan them so we can use them in our digital stories.

I also distributed memory sticks to some students. I have enough for all students. If you have already purchased a memory stick for your son or daughter they may use that one instead. Lanyards for memory sticks must be the breakaway type. I believe you can get them at WalMart.

I will be away tomorrow. Mme Price will be taking my place. I expect all students to be on their best behaviour while I am away.

vendredi le 11 sept, jour 5

Hello everyone. Students must re-write their summer stories including all the corrections I made. Our class uses a correction code to correct writing. We have been working with the correction code for the past 2 weeks to learn it. Students should also select photos from the summer that they would like to use in their photostories. Please feel free to begin sending the photos to school on a memory stick or CD. You can try emailing them to me but if they are too big they may not get through.

If students are feeling ambitious they may type their stories in MS WORD. Make sure to email me the document as an attachment. Just bringing a paper copy is not effective because when students do their photo stories they will need to copy and paste the text. Make sure to save your work.

mercredi le 9 sept, jour 3

Hello everyone. There is no homework assignment due tomorrow however grade 4 students are reminded that there is a field trip tomorrow to Cross Conservation Area. Please click on the field trip information page on M. Fortier's Homepage for more information. The bus will leave at 9:00 AM tomorrow morning for the field trip.

Grade 5 students will not accompany us on the field trip. They will spend the day in the grade five classroom. They will have assignments to complete as the day goes on.

Today grade 4 and 5 students began a writing assignment in French language arts. The assignment is to write a story describing an adventure or trip or event they experienced this summer. It could be a trip or a single day outing spent at the park. Students were instructed to write a story between 1-3 pages double spaced. They had to practice using the past tense in their stories.

This assignment will lead into another assignment. The next assignment will be to create a digital story using photostory 3. Photostory 3 is free software for Windows XP. Our lab computers have Windows XP so this will not be a problem. However, students will require digital images for their stories. I would prefer digital photographs however I will allow students to draw their own illustrations and then we will scan them so they can be used with photostory 3.

So, if you have digital photos from the summer that your son or daughter could use to illustrate their stories that would be great. Please either email them to me or send them to school on a memory stick. Please be advised that my email in box fills up pretty quickly and generally emails that are larger than 10 MB are problematic. The memory stick is probably the best way to get the photos to school.

If you would like to find out more about Photostory 3, google for more information or to download this free very easy to use software.

mardi le 8 sept, jour 2

Hello everyone. There is no homework due for tomorrow. I have sent home a conference summary sheet. Please fill out the sheet and return it with your son or daughter. It is important to send these back BEFORE the oral interviews next week.

vendredi le 4 sept, jour 1

Hello everyone. There will be a quiz on Tuesday on the information in the vocabulary table on the French grammar page. To make things easier I have given students a hardcopy of the vocabulary to study.

jeudi le 3 sept, jour 6

Hello everyone. There is some math due tomorrow. I would like students in both grade 4 and 5 to complete up to page 3 of the assignment ''La rentrée scolaire''. If it is not possible to complete students should do as much as possible. Tomorrow afternoon I will collect all the duotangs and I will correct the work.

Scholastic book orders

I have distributed the Scholastic fliers in our class. The French flier, Club de lecture, is offering the Robert Junior dictionary for 25.99. This is a very worthwhile investment for HOME use. Even if you have a French language dictionary at home it is still worth it to get this one because it is designed specifically for elementary school students and it is identical to the dictionaries we have in our class. It is important to note that there is a difference between French dictionaries and French/English dictionaries.

I would like orders by Monday, September 14. I will only accept cheques for the orders. All cheques should be made out to Scholastic. There are a couple of reasons for only accepting cheques.

1. Security
2. I know for certain the purchase has been approved by parents.
3. I can send all the cheques rather than having to write a personal cheque.

mercredi le 2 sept, jour 5

Hello everyone. Grade 4s have a French language arts assignment due tomorrow. Grade 4 students must complete exercises 1-10 in their Robert Junior duotangs. They will need a Robert Junior dictionary to complete this assignment. I have allowed students to bring the dictionary home this evening to complete the work. Dictionaries must be returned tomorrow. Please have a look at the assignment and encourage your son or daughter to tell you about their work.

Grade 5s also have a Robert Junior assignment. They must complete exercise 1 and 2. Students are allowed to bring the dictionaries home as long as they are returned.

Students have been making progress in our French language arts review. We have been practicing conjugating verbs and writing sentences in the past tense. Students should be able to conjugate the verb "aimer" in the present, passé composé, imparfait and futur proche tenses. Please feel free to ask your son or daughter to complete this task.

I have also sent home some documents regarding the grade 4 field trip on September 10. Please have a look at the updated field trip webpage from M. Fortier's homepage.

mardi le 1 sept, jour 4

Hello everyone. Today has been a busy day in our class. We have been working on reviewing and learning grammatical and writing concepts in French Language Arts. Today we learned how to conjugate verbs. These concepts are essential to writing good sentences. Students reviewed the present, passé composé, imparfait and futur proche tenses. As well as the impératif. We also touched on some of the vocabulary we use in our study of French writing such as infinitif, participe passé, conjuguer, pronom personnel, etc. I would like to encourage students to spend some time this evening looking over the vocabulary table on the French grammar webpage. The more students review these concepts the easier they will be in class.

Some students have experienced frustration with having to redo some of their work. I have reminded all students that a bit of frustration is normal until the routines and expectations of the new school year are clear. Sometimes it may be necessary to work through a bit of adversity to get ahead. I am available at all times to help students complete assignments or if they are having trouble with something.

lundi le 31 août, jour 3

Hello everyone. If you have not already done so please have a look at the grade 4 FLA homepage. There are links to other QUIA webpages there as well as a description of the Home and School Reading Program our class will follow this year. Please have a look at this page. I have explained the reading program and informed the class that they are required to do 15 minutes of French reading each day. It is a great idea to have your son or daughter read aloud to you even if you may not understand French. It helps students to work on their pronunciation. You can also help with reading comprehension by asking questions about the text or story.

There will be a volunteer orientation for all people intending to be volunteers at our school. The orientation will be September 9, from 9:00-10:00 AM. I am also planning a field trip on September 10, so if you intend to join us please plan to attend the orientation. The field trip is for grade 4 students and will take place at Cross Conservation Area. There will be more information posted on my field trip page in the next day or two.

vendredi le 28 août

Hello everyone. Our second day in grade 5/4 has gone well. Today students began examining Le Robert Junior, our main dictionary resource for our class. Students began completing exercises to help them acquire dictionary skills. We also made writing folders to hold our writings. I have noticed some students having difficulties with speaking French in class. I have reminded all students of this very important expectation. Please remind your son or daughter to speak French at all times in class.

There is no official homework assignment due this weekend however it would be a great idea for students to spend some time browsing the grade four FLA pages and to do some of the French activities and games on those pages. Any comments or suggestions are welcome. Finally, I would appreciate it if all parents could send me a quick email so that I have all of your email addresses in my contacts. My email address is denis.fortier@cssd.ab.ca or you can simply click on the email link in the top right hand corner of this page.

Thank you and have a good weekend.

jeudi le 27 août

Hello everyone. Well, the ship is afloat. I hope everyone had a great first day back to school. I was very happy to see all the shiny, happy people this morning ready for another year at École St. Pius X.

The day got off to a good start. After the morning announcements and a bit of time to get reacquainted our class sorted and put away all of the school supplies. We had some time to discuss things like keeping track of belongings, where to store things and the importance of taking care of our things. We related these things to our CCC values.

After lunch we went through the student handbook at the front of the agenda and I distributed all the paperwork which your son or daughter should be bringing home this afternoon.

Please try to find time this evening to go through the student handbook with your son or daughter. Please remember to sign the handbook where indicated and please complete the paperwork as soon as possible.