One full week into it!

Our first week was great! The students are settling into the routines nicely, and through various team building activities and quality time together inside and outside the classroom, Division 1 students have become familiar with expectations and have started to form new friendships. The students of Division 1 are always trying to base their interactions with others on the principle of the "Golden Rule": Treat others the way you want to be treated. It is simple and effective and ALWAYS works:) Parents, please take a few minutes and ask yur son or daughter about this "rule" and how it applies to their life.

In Math we started to look at some of the learning outcomes from Grade 5 and reviewed some key concepts. A few students still need to become more proficient in recalling the basic facts / multiplication times table. This will be a very important skill to carry forward and it will help them to be successful in Math in the future. Some students also need to review cross multiplication and long division. Our first Math unit will focus on whole number operations, including adding of multiple-digit numbers, and multiplying and dividing of of two-digit numbers. We also wrote our first Spelling Test on Friday and most students did very well and it is quite clear that they have taken the time to study their spelling words throughout the week. Way to go!.
We have an unusual high ratio of boys to girls in our class (20 boys and 10 girls!), which leads me to believe that it might be a good idea to emphasize the daily physical activity this year. As part of our "Division 1 Running Club" I am very committed to have students run or walk at least 15 minutes a day, all year around! We will record our progress on our running card, chart it in the classroom and hopefully challenge Mr. Craig's class! Here is an interesting article about how Physical Exercise May Strengthen Children's Ability To Pay Attention.

Important forms and documents have been sent home this week; please make sure to return the signed forms ASAP.