Forsyth Road News and Assignments

Dear Parents and Adults at Home,

We are beginning a mathematics unit on measurement. The students will explore the relationship among the side lengths, the perimeter and the area of a rectangle. They will develop formulas for perimeter of a rectangle, a parellelogram, and a regular polygon. They will also develop a formula for the area of a rectangle.

In this unit, your child will:
Develop and use rules to find the perimeters of polygons.
Develop and use rules to find the area of a rectangle.
Design and draw a rectangle, given its perimeter of area.

Here is an activity you can do at home:
Have your child measure the perimeter of a variety of different figures. For example, your child can find the perimeter of the cover of a book, the top of the kitchen table, and so on. Ask your child to record the perimeter using more than one metric unit (for example, centimetres and metres).

Please see further details below. Any students having difficulty with any of the mathematical concepts are encouraged to seek help. I am available after school from 2:30-3:15.

Week Two: Number the Stars by Lois Lowry. Our in-class discussions have been interesting. The students are starting to get the hang of the blogging component.
The reading schedule for Number the Stars is as follows:

January 24-30
Thursday night: Chapters 9 and 10
Friday through Sunday night: Chapters 11 and 12
Monday night: Chapters 13 and 14
Tuesday night: Chapters 15 and 16
Wednesday night: Chapter 17 and Afterword

The students may read ahead if they choose.

Students are continuing to collect story ideas in their Writer's Journal.

In Social Studies, we began a short unit investigating the culture of Japan. When it comes to culture, it is almost the opposite of Canada. Instead of many cultures, Japanese people have one strong cultural tradition that is hundreds of years old.

This Past Week's Homework Assignments
Read at least 20 minutes each evening
Health and Reading Log update
Handwriting pp. 74-78
Next Friday's ID test will be on Bugs p. 9 and European countries 7-12 in the Study Guide (Students receive a bonus mark on each of their tests if they have their tests signed by a parent and returned)
Math - Perimeter and Area: pp. 212, 213, 216, 217, 220, 221
We are continuing a blog discussion of the book, Number the Stars. Follow the link under the title Blogs: Classroom Blog on our classroom website linktoschool.blogspot.com . Many of the activities that we will be doing can be found on our website, under the title Novel Studies: Number the Stars.

Website of the Week: GetNetWise

Keeping children safe on the Internet is everyone's job.
Parents need to stay in close touch with their kids as they explore the Internet.

http://kids.getnetwise.org/safetyguide/

Don't forget to check out my website at linktoschool.blogspot.com . It has many links to other great educational sites and safe, kid-appropriate search engines.

Important Dates in 2008

January 29 Celebration Assembly @ 9:00 am
January 30 Divisions 1, 2, 3 and 14 - Skating at the North Surrey Rec Centre
January 30 Pizza Day
February 15 Pro-D #4 (Focus Day) - No School
February 21 Cultural Event - Chinese Acrobats @ 10:45 am
February 25 Celebration Assembly @ 1:00 pm
February 29 Divisions 1, 2, 3 and 14 - Swimming at the North Surrey Rec Centre:1-2:45pm
March 12 Report Cards go home
March 13 Early Dismissal @ 1:30 pm for Parent and Teacher Conferences
March 14 Last day of class before Spring Break
March 26 First day of class after Spring Break
March 27 Celebration Assembly @ 9:00 am
April 21 Cultural Event - Comaigri VniDansi @ 1:00 pm
April 23 Interim Reports go home
April 29 Celebration Assembly @ 9:00 am
May 2 Pro-D #5 - District-wide - No School
May 19 Victoria Day - No School
May 28 Celebration Assembly @ 9:00 am
June 20 Celebration Assembly @ 1:00 pm
June 23 Year End Assembly @ 10:30 am
June 24 Sports Day
June 25 Grade 7 Graduation @ 10:30, Final Report Cards sent home.
Last day of school for students, early dismissal @ 1:30 pm
June 26 Pro-D #6 - No school


If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to phone or email me.

Sincerely,

Michael Link
Forsyth Road Elementary
10730 139 Street
Surrey BC V3T 5L4
Phone: 604-588-8394
mikewilliamlink@gmail.com