November seems to be going out with a whimper but the radio says December is going to come in with an Arctic front. Don't put those snowpants away yet.

• Myles shared a Transformer, Logan showed us a Bey Blade and Carson brought a toy car.
• Report cards came home today. Check for them in folders.
• There are a number of items (lunch containers etc.) on the hallway shelf as well as spoons hanging by the door that came from our classroom. Please take them if they are yours.
• We had milk on Thursday and apples today.
• Ms. Kipp was absent on Thursday so we did not exchange library books.
• Monday Dec. 2 is a Non-Instructional Day so the children will stay home.
• Thursday Dec. 5 (or thereabouts) the December Patterns family project is due.

Go forth and Be Awesome!

Mathematics is the science and language of patterns. Thinking about patterns helps children make sense of mathematics and young children are naturally interested in them. They enjoy patterns in rhymes, chants, songs, poems, and stories, and they experiment with creating patterns, using play materials. They examine patterns in wallpaper, fabric, and geometric designs, and recognize patterns in their lives (e.g., the sequence of daily routines) and in nature (e.g., the cycle of the seasons). When students enter school, they continue to explore patterns in mathematics and in other subject areas. Developing an understanding of patterns and relationships is central to learning mathematics. In the primary grades, students identify, extend, and create a variety of patterns, using objects, actions, sounds, pictures, letters, and numbers. Through experiences in exploring and discussing patterns, young students begin to make conjectures and generalizations about mathematical relationships. Team Awesome has been using a variety of materials while exploring patterning activities  and having a great time doing it-  its almost like a party but with math!

Miss Duquette has been sponsoring a skipping club for intermediate students at lunch time since September and tomorrow the students will perform for two judges and hopefully be chosen to be the demo team for Jump Rope For Heart. If chosen, the club will travel to other schools in the district to exhibit their skipping mastery. The skipping team wanted to perform for the school before the tryouts tomorrow and so we enjoyed their performance in the gym this afternoon. Team Awesome saw some great skipping tricks, performed by students in our school who are only a few years older than them. Their enthusiasm for skipping was kindled and more than a few crazy and imaginative skipping stories and tricks were shared afterwards. I hope they retain this enthusiasm through to gr. 3, when they will be old enough to join Miss Duquette at lunch times.

Kaden came in to class this morning and one of the first things he did was check on his science inquiry project. And he was surprised and excited to discover that a few of his seeds had sprouted over the weekend (and to be totally honest, I was just as surprised as he was). The other students gathered around and poked at the sprouts in amazement and Kaden once again explained what he had done to help them grow which inspired a few of the others to follow suit and begin to try spouting their own seeds. At this time Kaden has decided to just leave the sprouts in water and see what happens so that is what we will do. The other two projects used a larger number of the tiny black sunflower seeds and after a few minutes of immersion in the water, the students noticed a small ribbon of purple sinking to the bottom of the container. Another hour and the water in each was a dark purple colour. The students were intrigued and through careful observation they inferred that the colour was coming from the small black seeds. At this time they are not sure why this is happening and it might warrant further investigation if the children are interested.

Unfortunately there have been a couple of suspected cases of Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease in Mrs. Farber's class that became apparent over the weekend. A number of her students visited our classroom on Thursday for the afternoon so it is possible that Team Awesome has been exposed to the virus. There was a blog post about symptoms and how to treat it earlier in November and if you missed the blog, or have forgotten the symptoms, you can get more information here. We will continue to be diligent about hand washing and increased surface cleaning by custodians has been requested. Please keep an eye on your child for symptoms. Fingers crossed Team Awesome stays healthy.

Are you looking forward to the weekend as much as I am? We had a busy busy week and Team Awesome is ready for a few days of down time.

• Happy birthday Jude!
• Beth shared a princess badge, Iszaac showed us a toy zamboni, Tayja had a purple Halloween bucket and Beni shared a transformer.
• Family Projects (Dec. Patterns) went home and are due around Dec. 5.
• Magazine subscriptions are due Monday Nov. 25 in the office.
• Winter boots go on the top shelf so the custodian can mop up the snow/water in the halls (repeatedly).
  
• December book orders are due Nov. 28 so that if there are any gift books they will be received before the holiday break. Let me know if you would like me to give you the books directly rather than sending them home with your child.
• Student Council will be selling paper mustaches Friday Nov. 29 for .25 as a fundraiser for Movember
  Go forth and Be Awesome!
  

The journey toward scientific literacy begins with instilling a sense of wonder and sparking students' natural curiosity. Inquiry means that students are handling science; they are manipulating it, working it into new shapes and formats, integrating it into every corner of their world, and playing with it. Inquiry implies that children are in control of an important part of their own learning where they can manipulate ideas to increase understanding. As students learn to think through the designs and developments of their own inquiry, they also develop a sense of self-responsibility that transcends all subject areas. Team Awesome has been encouraged to ask questions and decide where they want to take some of our learning. Many of our pumpkin investigations arose out of their questions and suggestions surrounding pumpkins. From the jars of aerobic and anaerobic pumpkin the children became interested in how and why things rot and we began to experiment with some of their ideas. Every time we revisit our experiments their thinking changes and they have new questions that take us in different directions. Because they have a vested interest in their learning they return to the science table repeatedly to see what is happening and make new theories and hypotheses and suggestions.
Today Kaden began his own inquiry project during free choice time. He had opened a sunflower seed to see what was inside it and then decided he wanted to help it grow. We had discussed what seeds needed to grow earlier in the fall and he filled up the sink with cold water and dropped in the sunflower kernel because he knew it would need water. But he wasn't sure exactly how much or how long to leave it. We chatted about what other things the seed would need to grow and he decided it would be too cold outside and the ground too hard to plant the seed. So Kaden resolved to just soak the seed in some water overnight and see what happened to it- maybe it would still grow. When he put the container on the science table he noticed that there were other seeds there and thought he might like to see what would happen to them if he put them in the water with the lonely sunflower kernel. He added a few (but not a chestnut because they are too big) and then counted them. He had an uneven amount and determined that there should be three of each. He added a few of some and took out a few of others, counting repeatedly. During this whole process a number of other children noticed what Kaden was doing and joined him, asking questions and making suggestions which Kaden evaluated and either acted upon or decided weren't suitable for his project. Kaden was engaged the entire time- exploring, reflecting, and improving on ideas of his own and others, articulating, testing, evaluating, refining or revising his theories about the world, and constructing knowledge.
I can't wait to see where Team Awesome's curiosity takes us next!

It has been a crazy busy week! Not only did we get our first snowfall and the weather turned nasty cold but we also had the Sort It Out presentation and three of the Kamloops Blazers come to visit. We went outside for recess today but stayed in for lunch and had an extended free choice time for the afternoon. Lack of outside physical activity can sometimes make for cranky kids and a difficult end to the day but the children were great this afternoon. There were no disagreements and everyone played well together. We ended the day with a video of the book Skippyjon Jones in the Doghouse.