To do...Sept. 25

•  Math - complete "Representing numbers #1-3

To do...September 23

•  complete Math work - "Writing numbers in words"

P.A. Day - Friday, Sept. 27

Terry Fox

We have been reviewing how to write a paragraph this week. We practised using what we learned about Terry Fox.

 

Pascal's Triangle - what patterns do you see?

 

Some examples

To do...Sept. 13

•  Identity bag due Monday
• Terry Fox Run - Friday afternoon

To do...Sept. 11

•  Terry Fox note coming home
• "Identity Bag" assignment - please review at home (due on Monday)
• Find out why your name was chosen - is there a story behind it?
• BBQ tickets coming home with students - food can be bought at the event (no cast)

Math Mindset Videos

This week we will begin our Math classes by discussing some important ideas about learning Math:

Mindset & Practice 

The Importance of Struggle

Speed

Patterns

Mistakes

First week of Grade 4

First week of Grade 4 was lots of fun as we began to learn about each and establish our routines for learning. Students should have something to read in class everyday. We discussed some ways we might choose a book.

We have decided that "Portable 2" is not a very exciting name for our building. We looked at some famous buildings and we are thinking about ideas to rename portable 2.

Marshmallow Challenge

 

Welcome Back

Welcome back!

Today is the first day of over one hundred eighty days we are going to spend together.  My greatest hope is this will be a time of great learning and fun together. I recently saw the quote, "I care more about the people my students become than the scores they get on tests." The more time I spend teaching, the more this holds true for me.

This will be my twenty-seventh year of teaching. Man, am I getting old? I first taught at Aurora Heights 20 years ago. I am super excited to be returning to teach at Aurora Heights again. I am really excited to be teaching grade 4 this year. I have heard great things about the students in the junior division.  

Since I will be learning about you, I thought I would share a little bit about me. I was born in Sarnia, but my family moved to Toronto when I was only five. I am the third of four boys (my poor mother). Two passions ruled my childhood, sports and comics. The year I moved to Toronto was the first year the Blue Jays existed. I have been a die-hard fan ever since. I've celebrated the two World Series victories and suffered through some rough seasons. I played baseball in high school, even playing with a couple of eventual major league players. I credit comic books for my reading passion. 

My biggest influence during my teenage years were my experiences at camp. By working at a summer camp, I discovered I wanted to be a teacher and I loved spending time in the great outdoors. Eventually, I even met my wife at camp. My wife and I still spend parts of our summer on canoe trips whenever possible.

This past summer was a busy one for me. My wife and I took a trip to the Baltic Sea, where we visited countries like Sweden, Estonia and Poland.  

A large part of my leisure time is spent playing sports. I play golf during the summer and volleyball during the school year. Coincidentally, I play at Aurora Heights in the evenings.

My big passion all year long is reading. Mr. Kaufman (another new teacher at the Heights) calls my book collection a library! I read about 30 books this summer, including a number of books in preparation for teaching. I hope we will be able to share many great books together. What are your favourite books?

I hope over the next days and weeks I will have the opportunity to get to know all of you better. What is important to you? It looks like a great year ahead.

                                                                                                Sincerely,

                                                                                                T. Congram