February 9th - 11th

We hope you have a wonderful long weekend celebrating family!

We will see your child back at school on Tuesday, February 17th.

What Did Students Do This Week?

This week, students explored the concept of time. Through mini-lessons and hands-on math stations, they practiced reading and setting times on both analog and digital clocks. They also explored a.m. and p.m, as well as telling time with a 24-hour clock.

 Math (Time) Learning Outcomes

• I can look at relationships between seconds, minutes, and hours

• I can tell time using analog and digital clocks

• I can relate minutes past the hour to minutes until the next hour (e.g. It is 6:45 pm or quarter to 7:00 pm) 

• I can describe time of day as a.m. or p.m. within a 12-hour day

• I can express time of day using the 24 hour time

Possible Questions to Ask Your Child

• What is the difference between a.m. and p.m.?

• How many minutes are in an hour? How many seconds are in a minute?

• If it is 4:45 p.m., how else would you say this time?

• What time is it?  (using an analog and digital clock)

• If it is 4:15 a.m, how would you say that in 24-hour time? What about 1:25 p.m.?

 🌍 Science: Exploring the Layers of the Earth

This week in Grade 3, students began learning about Earth’s systems and how the layers of the Earth tell a story about our planet’s past. Students used visual journals to draw, label, and explain the four layers of the Earth, helping them organize their ideas and show their understanding. They also created hands-on plasticine models to build the layers in 3D, giving them a concrete way to see how each layer fits together inside the Earth.

📘 Alberta Grade 3 Science Outcomes

This learning connects to the Earth Systems unit, including:

• Earth’s surface contains layers formed over long periods of time

• The history of Earth’s surface can be explained by examining its layers

• Layers of Earth hold information about the past

 Student Learning Goals: “I Can” Statements

✔️ I can name the layers of the Earth.

✔️ I can describe how the layers fit together.

✔️ I can explain how Earth’s layers tell us about the past.

 Ask Your Child 

• What are the four layers of the Earth?

• Which layer is the hottest?

• How do scientists learn about the Earth’s past?

• What did you use to build your Earth model?

Thank you for your continued support as we explore the world beneath our feet! 🌍

 January 26th - 29th

What Did Students Do This Week

This week, our class spent time celebrating the importance of community. We talked about how a classroom is a place where everyone belongs and helps each other grow. As part of our conversation, we said a heartfelt farewell to a beloved teacher, Mrs. Braun, and we also warmly welcomed a new teacher, Miss Herget, into our grade three community. We are all grateful for the time we had with Mrs. Braun and wish her the best on her next adventure! We will miss her and also look forward to working with Miss Herget.

Students shared their feelings and memories by working together to create a class book for Mrs. Braun. Each child and/or class added a page with kind messages, drawings, and favorite moments. This helped us practice writing skills while also expressing gratitude and appreciation.

We also celebrated by playing community-building games that encouraged teamwork, laughter, and cooperation. These activities reminded us how important positive relationships are in making our classroom a supportive and collaborative place.

It was a meaningful week filled with reflection, kindness, and connection. Our students showed that they understand community is about caring for one another and working together.

Wellness Outcomes

I understand that personal well-being is supported through positive relationships built on communication, collaboration, empathy, and respect.

What Did Students Do This Week

Our Journey to Mars: Reading, Thinking, and Making Connections

Over the past few weeks, the grade threes have been on an exciting learning journey—one that took us all the way to Mars! Through reading, writing, watching, and discussing, students have been strengthening their reading and thinking skills while exploring real-world science and technology.

Our Class Novel: A Rover’s Story by Jasmine Warga

As a class, we began reading A Rover’s Story, a novel told from the point of view of a Mars Rover named Resilience. Students learned how authors use thoughts, feelings, and experiences to help readers connect to a character—even when that character is a machine.

Students recorded their thinking in reading response notebooks, using:

• Pictures
  
  

• Words and key vocabulary
  
  

• Complete sentences

Building Vocabulary

Throughout the novel, students focused on learning and using new vocabulary, especially words connected to space, exploration, and emotions. Students practiced using these words in discussions and in their written responses to better explain their thinking.

Connecting Fiction to Real Life

To deepen our understanding, students watched a video by Mark Rober. The video was about the real Perseverance Rover landing on Mars. This helped students build background knowledge and see how real scientists and engineers explore space.

Making Connections and Inferences

Students compared the fictional story (A Rover’s Story) with the true story of Perseverance. They discussed:

• How the rover in the novel and the real rover were similar
  
  

• How they were different
  
  

• Which parts of the story were realistic and which were imagined
  
  

Students used their background knowledge, asked questions, and made inferences to better understand both texts.

Alberta Grade 3 English Language Arts Outcomes

This learning connects directly to the Alberta Grade 3 English Language Arts Program of Studies, including:

Reading and Viewing

• 2.1 Use Strategies and Cues
  
  

• Use prior knowledge, personal experiences, and connections to make meaning from texts
  
  

• Use questioning and connections to construct meaning
  
  

• 2.2 Respond to Texts
  
  

• Make connections between texts and personal experiences
  
  

• Make connections among texts, ideas, and information from different sources
  
  

• Connect texts to events and ideas in the world
  
  

Writing and Representing

• 2.3 Understand Forms, Elements, and Techniques
  
  

• Organize ideas using pictures, words, and sentences to communicate meaning
  
  

Oral Language

• 1.1 Discover and Explore
  
  

• Share ideas, listen to others, and build understanding through discussion
  
  

Student Learning Goals: “I Can” Statements

Students have been working toward the following Grade 3 learning goals:

✔️ I can make connections between a text and my personal feelings, experiences, or background knowledge.

✔️ I can make connections between different parts of one text or between two texts.

✔️ I can make connections between texts and ideas about past, present, or future world events.

✔️ I can make inferences by making connections.

✔️ I can make inferences by asking questions before, during, and after reading.

Possible Questions to Ask Your Child:

• Summarize what has happened in the story so far.

• What connections did you make to your prior knowledge while reading A Rover’s Story?
  
  

• How is the story similar to the real Perseverance mission?
  
  

• What questions did you ask to help you understand the story better?

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