Posted in Notices & Updates

WEJ Food Drive – Nov. 23rd-30th

Spring Food Drive postponed - CochraneToday.ca

Dear WEJ Students, Parents & Guardians,

This year W. Erskine Johnston is taking an early, but simple initiative to get into the festive spirit by supporting ‘The Kanata Food Cupboard.’ We will be taking donations of canned foods and non-perishable items the week of November 23rd to the 30th. We will not be accepting cash donations this year.

The most needed items in our area right now according to the Kanata Food Cupboard are:

– Canned Fish & Meat
– Canned Vegetables & Fruit
– Cereal (Whole Grains)
– Dry Pasta (Whole Grain) & Sauce
– Legumes (Canned or Dried)
– Peanut Butter- Rice (brown)
– Canned Stews & Chili
– Baby Diapers
– Baby Food & Formula

Participation is voluntary, however we are hoping to be able to give to the families in need in our area during this difficult time.

Thank you in advance for your support,

WEJ Staff

Posted in Grade 4/5, Notices & Updates

WELCOME TO WEJ – Mon. Oct. 26th

Hello Parents!

I just wanted to let you know that I sent out an email tonight that had the following information in it about our WELCOME TO WEJ night. Please see the information below. If you did not receive this email, please let me know so I can double check the email address that I have on file for you.

Thanks!

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Hello All!

I just wanted to let you know that we are having a “WEJ WELCOMES YOU” night on Monday, October 26th! In the past, we have called this “Meet the Teacher Night” but this year, you will have the chance to meet myself and see around our grade 4/5 class in a Google Meet. I will be sending out the link over the weekend but I will be running the Google Meet from 4:30pm – 5:00pm on Monday, October 26th. If you have any questions that you would like answered at this time, please send me an email at: laura.argue@ocdsb.ca and I will be sure to answer them in the meet. Just a reminder, this is a time to ask about general questions about the class and how it works and not about individual student progress. If you have a question or concern about your child’s individual progress, you can email me and we can set up another time to discuss this.

Please let me know if you have any questions. I am hoping to put together a google slideshow to answer any questions you may have over the weekend and present it during our google meet.

I look forward to seeing and meeting you on Monday after school!

Ms. Laura Argue 🙂

Posted in Grade 4/5, Notices & Updates

Scissors!

Hello all!

I just wanted to let you know that your child needs to have a pair of their own scissors at school this year! I usually have extra pairs that I can lend out but this year students need to have their own pair. Please check in with your child to see if they need a pair. I am hoping that everyone will have a pair by Thursday as we will be using them to cut some of our work and display it in the classroom.

Thanks and please let me know if you have any questions!

Ms. Argue

Posted in Grade 4/5, Notices & Updates

Link to complete the TECHNOLOGY FORM for your child

Hello All!

I just wanted to re-send the link to complete the TECHNOLOGY FORM for your child. It was sent out by our principal and vice-principal a few weeks ago but I am still missing some forms from a few students. If you could fill this out and send it in if you haven’t already done so that would be great!

In class this week, students have been using our class chromebooks to log in to our google classroom and check the answers for the math practice sheets that they are completing in class. In order for students to be able to use a chromebook in class, you need to fill out the the following technology form. Students are also encouraged to bring in their own technology if they would like. I will be telling students what days they need technology ahead of time and Friday will be our first day that they can start to bring it in. We have 12 chromebooks that our class has been given to use and 3 students have SEA computers. We currently have 24 students in our class so if you child has a chromebook or other technology that they are able and allowed to bring in, that would be great!

Thanks and please let me know if you have any questions about this!

Ms. Argue 🙂

 

Use of Technology Form

https://forms.ocdsb.ca/Forms/Use-of-Technology

Posted in Uncategorized

Scholastic & Our Class and School Libraries

Hello all!

Here is a little update on how families can order books through Scholastic this year as well as how our class and school libraries are going to be running this year because of the safety procedures put into place because of COVID. Please let me know if you have any questions!

Scholastic

I just wanted to let you know that our class will have the opportunity to order books from Scholastic this year!

This year, Scholastic has moved to an online viewing and ordering system so you can browse the book flyers online and add the books to your shopping cart from there. I will be sending home a purple sheet with your child tonight that shows you the first page of the new online book flyer with our class code on it. You do need a class code to order books so here it is again:

Ms. Laura Argue – CLASS CODE – RC204434

I have also linked the pages that would be at your child’s reading/grade level for you to have quick access to. Please feel free to shop any grade that you like though!

Grade 3/4

https://editions.mydigitalpublication.com/publication/?m=63079&i=670961&p=12

Grade 4/5

https://editions.mydigitalpublication.com/publication/?m=63079&i=670961&p=14

Graphic Novels

https://editions.mydigitalpublication.com/publication/?m=63079&i=670961&p=16

Dog Man

https://editions.mydigitalpublication.com/publication/?m=63079&i=670961&p=22

Scholastic also has a search tool that you can use to search specific books that you might be looking for! Please let me know if you have any questions.

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Our Classroom Library 

I have brought in my own books from home for students to read in our classroom. These books will remain at school. Our new class system for borrowing books is you get to pick a book on Monday and it is to be returned on Thursday to a bin and it will sit without being touched for Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Some students are finishing their book before the week is over so I am welcoming parents to allow their child to bring in a book from home to read as well. If you have any books at home that your child has outgrown or is not reading anymore and you are looking to get rid of them, please send me an email to see if I could take them and add them to our classroom library!

Our School Library 

Our school library is currently closed due to Covid but our school librarian has sent out a questionnaire to students to fill out so she can begin to pick out books for students to read and will sign them out for them. Stay tuned for more information on the blog about when this will be starting.

Please check at home to see if your child has any library books from last March! I received a list of books that students had signed out from last year (if you were at WEJ) that our librarian is still looking for.

Please let me know if you have any questions!

Ms. Argue 🙂

 

 

Posted in Grade 4/5

Welcome Back!

Welcome to our Grade 4/5 class blog!

I just wanted to welcome everyone back to school this year! I hope everyone had a great summer and enjoyed spending some quality time with their family. This year, I will be teaching Grades 4 and 5 at WEJ! Currently we have 17 Grade 4’s and 6 Grade 5’s. I am very excited to starting teaching and learning new things about all of the students in our class.

Although I may look like this…

…this is what a really look like under my mask!

    

As we venture into this new school year, many things look different. As a school and as a class, we have been learning about and practicing all of the new safety procedures and protocols that have been put in place by our school board. During the first week of school, I have been doing activities in our class to see where your child’s learning is and if any gaps are present due to the online learning we had last spring. I have also been taking the time to assess students physical and mental well being to see how we can make our classroom the best place to learn during these unprecedented times.

This school year we will be using GOOGLE CLASSROOM to post work for students to work on during the school year. It will also be used when a student is absent so they can work on activities at home so they can stay on track with the rest of the class. I will also be using this CLASS BLOG to keep you updated on all of the great learning experiences that your child is experiencing in our class. We will also be using agendas in our class that students will be writing daily reminders or homework in. Our school agendas are due to arrive at our school on Monday, September 28th so please check the blog until then for important information.

If you are a parent/guardian or student from last year who is reading this post, please feel free to unsubscribe to the blog by clicking on the unsubscribe button in the email notification that your received.

I hope everyone has had a great start back at school and I look forward to meeting you all soon!

Thanks!

Ms. Argue 🙂

If you have any questions, please feel free to email me at laura.argue@ocdsb.ca.

Posted in Grade 1, Learn at Home

We did it!

See the source image

We did it! We made it to the end of the school year! I just wanted to take this time to say THANK YOU.

I want to say THANK YOU to the students in 1B who welcomed me into their wonderful class. You wrote a letter back to me and introduced yourself so that we could get to know each other during this time of online learning. I truly appreciate your hard work and for continuing to complete your work at home.

I want to say THANK YOU to Mrs. Nia for making the transition for her students to me so seamless during a very different type of school year than we are used to. These grade 1 students were so lucky to have her as a teacher for almost the whole school year!

I want to say a great big THANK YOU to all of the parents. I would not have been able to teach your child during this “Learn at Home” phase of the school year without you! You supported your child by printing or re-creating work posted on the blog and sitting with your child and helping them complete their work. You also took pictures or scanned your child’s work and emailed it to me so I could provide them feedback. I truly thank you for your dedication and support while learning at home!

This summer, I hope you all have a chance to take a break from online learning and enjoy some more free time with family. I just thought I would share this graphic of fun things that you can do in the summer!

I truly hope we will be returning to WEJ in someway in the Fall and I will get to meet all of my amazing grade 1 students in the hallways or on the school yard. I might even get to teach them again someday but in person!

Thanks again for all your support! From my family to yours, I wanted to wish you all a great summer!

Ms. Argue 🙂

A Note About Our Class Pet

Our caterpillars emerged from their chrysalis’ and are now butterflies! They sure do look different from their old selves! We kept them for a day or two and fed them sugar water and provided them with fresh flowers so they could drink the nectar. We then released them back into nature! Here are a few pictures of the Painted Lady Butterflies on the day that we released them. The reason why they are staying on our hands is because we put sugar water on them and they like to drink it because it is similar to the taste of nectar.

 

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Posted in Notices & Updates

End of Year Message from our Principal and Vice Principal

This message was went out on Friday to Families at WEJ from our Principal and Vice Principal. I have posted it here as well so you can read it.

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Greetings WEJ Families,

We are writing to thank you for all that you have done to make this year as good as it could possibly be! You have been wonderfully supportive partners in learning as we found new ways to work and learn together.

Thanks to all our families who came and picked up their children’s belongings. We actually had 91% of the bags picked up! The remaining items will be stored at WEJ until school resumes in the fall.

We were excited to share our Leaving Ceremony video with all our grade 6 families this week. We hope that our grade 6 students enjoyed watching it with their families, seeing pictures of their friends and reading their thoughts on their time at WEJ.

We know that the fall is an uncertain time for all of us. The Board, Ministry of Education and Public Health will work together to create a plan for the OCDSB and individual schools. We will not know until sometime in August what our return to learning model will look like. We do know that the Ministry has indicated that parents will be surveyed and asked if you are planning to send your child to school or keep them in an at-home learning model. As we find out information in August, the Board will keep you informed and we will write with any additional updates that will help you to prepare for the fall.

The Ministry of Education has also recently announced that we will be implementing a new math curriculum starting in the fall. Our staff will begin their work to examine the new elements (e.g. mindsets and financial literacy). We will share information about the curriculum in future correspondence.

We hope that you and your family have a fabulous and healthy summer. We wish our departing families the very best as they move to their next schools and really look forward to working with our returning students and families in September.

All the best,

Colleen Irvin (Principal) and Sean Davidson (Vice Principal)

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Posted in Grade 1, Learn at Home

Learn at Home – Week of June 22nd

Hello Everyone!

See the source image

We made it! It is officially the last week of school. I wanted to say thank you to all of the students and parents that I have gotten to know over the last few weeks during this “Learn at Home” phase of the school year. I really appreciate how you all have been so supportive of myself and helping your child throughout this phase of the school year. I truly look forward to meeting your child in person hopefully back at WEJ this coming Fall.

Here are a few important things you need to know for this week:

Report Cards 

You will have access to your child’s report card online on Wednesday, June 25th, 2020. Your child’s report card is based on the 6 week period that they were at school which was from the beginning of February until right before the March break. If your child participated in the “Learn at Home” phase of the school year, there will be a comment about their participation on their report card as well. More details to follow in the next few days on how to access your child’s report card online.

Tish Chapman Award 

Every year at WEJ, the Tish Chapman Award is given to one student in each class who is an outstanding citizen. The student who receives this award is someone who consistently demonstrates the characteristics of an outstanding citizen in our school community – someone who is responsible, perseveres, is respectful, helpful and always kind to others. The Tish Chapman Award for 1B goes to….Ocelia! Congratulations Ocelia on being recognized for your outstanding citizenship in our class!

Work for the Week of June 22nd 2020

For our last week of learning at home, students will get a chance to complete some fun activities to remember their school year and look ahead to the summer months. Students will also get a chance to complete some review sheets in math.

LANGUAGE ARTS

Reading

Students can continue to practice reading any books that they have at home. Students can also continue to read on Raz-Kids or on EPIC. You can read to your child and they can read to you daily with whatever books you have in your home or with whatever online reading program you and your child enjoy. If I could recommend anything to do this summer with your child it would be to read!

Writing

Students can reflect on their school year by completing this end of the year Memory Book! If you complete the last page of the booklet called “A Letter to the Next School of Fish” please share it with me and I will share it with the new students coming into the class next year!

End of Year Memory Booklet

Students can think ahead to what they might want to do this summer! They can create a bucket list of all of the things they might want to do and then check them off as you go throughout the summer.

Summer Bucket List

As a BONUS, students can attempt to put the following summer related words into alphabetical order.

Summer ABC Order

Here is a fun Summer themed word search to complete if you want!

Summer Wordsearch

MATH

Here are some sheets that students can complete as a review from concepts they have learned throughout the school year.

Grade 1 – Tens and Ones Review

Grade 1 – Math Review

OUR CLASS PET

The painted lady caterpillars are still in their chrysalis’ so I will keep you updated on any changes! They should begin to emerge out of their chrysalis’ and enter the world as a butterfly soon so I will let you know when that begins. Stay tuned!

FRENCH – From Mme. Sullivan

Bonjour tout le monde!

Congratulations on making it through to the end of the year. You have all worked very hard and you should be proud of yourselves for continuing the work at home program. I encourage everyone to review some of the activities and the videos over the summer so you are ready for the fall.

Your last activity for the year is a Madlib. If you’ve never done one it’s basically making a funny story. At the top of the page is a list of numbers, each one is asking you to think of an adjective, noun, verb etc. Please fill in this first page BEFORE looking at the second page. The more creative your answers, the funnier your story will be. Once you’ve filled in all the numbers with an appropriate word, go down to the second page and copy the number one word into the blank with the number one at the end. Keep matching up the blanks with the words you wrote until all the blanks are filled in. Then read your story, and laugh!

Mad Lib petit chat

Have a great summer and we’ll see you all in September, one way or another.

Mme Sullivan

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I hope you all have a great last week of learning!

Ms. Argue 🙂