December 15, 2025
Important Dates:
· December 15-19: Optional Spirit Days (see below)
· December 19: Final Day of School, (dismissal 12:53), Winter Break Begins
· Monday, January 5: Classes Resume
· Wednesday, January 28: Healthy Hunger
Our Learning:
Mathematics: In math class, we have been focusing on addition and subtraction with regrouping, including decimal place values. This is most applicable with money, with students practicing adding up purchase totals and making change.
To practice addition with larger numbers, students have learned the game Farkle. This is a fun game that can be played at home. All you need are 6 dice.
Easy games to practice multiplication skills are Salute (a game for 3 or more players) and Multiplication War, which can be played with dice or cards. Ask your child how to play at home!
Literacy: Students have been focused on proper paragraph structure. This means that each paragraph has: a topic sentence, a minimum of three detail sentences, and a conclusion to wrap up the paragraph. They demonstrated their skills in their favourite food writing, which they were able to share with you at conferences.
We are now diving in to using descriptive words, and building interesting sentences. Sentences can be details if they follow this format: when, who, what, where, why. We have also begun looking at generating multiple adjectives to describe a noun, which has led us to come up with some really juicy words!
Social Studies: Students have been learning about some Ancient Civilizations. They are currently working on a summative project in which they choose one invention or technology from an ancient civilization to research. Students have been learning how to conduct research on the internet and in books. Next, they will create presentations of their information to share with the class.
Science: We recently finished a unit on matter and waste. Student completed experiments about density. We have cubes that were all the same size, that weight different amounts, to show this concept. Students also determined if objects were less or more dense than water by predicting and then determining if objects would float or sink in water.
Phys. Ed.: We have had some fun with target games that focus on our ability to aim, throw and catch with accuracy.
Health and Wellness: Students have been learning the parts of the brain with Mr. Kowalchuk. They were able to created a 3D representation, as pictured below. Students have also learned about a variety of mental illnesses. Ask your child to share something they have learned.
Art: Students were fortunate to have a group of university students visit our class to teach them two different art projects. They learned about tessellations, in which they translated their initials into 4 quadrants of a grid. Students also learned about symmetry and created a star based on an Indigenous Star Blanket. We have also worked on negative space in our tree art, and value scale with our winter scene art.
Please ask your child to share the process of creating this art with you at home. Can your child spot their art in the picture below?
Thursday, October 2
Tentative Important Dates
- Tuesday, October 14: School Photo Day
- Monday, October 20: No School for Students; Parent/Teacher/Student Conferences 9am-6pm
- Wednesday, October 29: Fun Lunch
Our Learning:
Writing: Students have been working to write complete paragraphs using organization. All paragraphs should follow this pattern:
- Topic Sentence: we are working to make this interesting to engage the reader
- 3 or more details: each detail can be more than one sentence long to fully describe the detail. Each new detail should be connected with a transition word (ex. first, next, then, after, finally)
- Concluding sentence: usually includes a feeling or an opinion while restating the topic
Math: We have been focusing on place value. Students have been writing numbers in standard form, expanded form, written form and putting digits into place value charts to determine the value of each digit. For example, a 2 in the tens place does not mean 2, it represents 20, or 2 tens.
Students have been practice comparing numbers by playing the games Switch, and Nice or Nasty. All you need are a deck of cards for Switch, and 1 die for Nice or Nasty, so these games can be played at home!
Heath and Wellness/Social Students/Art:
Students read the book “One Word for Kids”, which is a picture book in which the character chooses one word to be their mantra, or goal, for the school year. Students then created watercolour name tags with their one word mantra to display in the classroom and reflect on throughout the year.
Students also created a self portrait using 1 word to describe themselves.
The students read the book “The Giving Tree” which is written and illustrated by Metis artist Leah Dorion. Students were inspired by these illustrations to create their own giving tree art using tempera and acrylic paint. See the display below.
Students created graffiti-inspired name tags for the hallway, which is where they will showcase some of their work throughout the year. See the images below.
Friday, September 5
Important Dates:
- Thursday, September 11: Family Food Truck Event, 4:30-6:30pm
- Friday, September 12: Terry Fox Run
- Monday, September 15: All About Me Bags Due
- Monday, September 15: Student Online Registration/Permission Forms Due
- Monday, September 29: No School
- Tuesday, September 30: Truth and Reconciliation Day, No School
- Monday, October 13: Thanksgiving, No School
- Tuesday, October 14: Picture Day
Our Learning:
We have enjoyed getting to know our teachers, classmates, and peers in Grade 4/5C, with some fun outdoor activities to get to know 4/5A and 4/5B classes as well. We have completed team games like "Everyone in the Box" in gym class. We have also completed building competitions like creating a paper tower based on our collective shared interests, and built cup towers without using our hands!
Our literacy time has been spent writing a letter to the teacher to help Mrs. Woods get to know us better. We also created time capsules for our end of the year selves to open and see how much we have grown and changed. These time capsules contain interest pages, as well as measurements of our hands, feet, and height.
We learned to play the games Pig and Salute in math. See the instructions below to play them at home! All you need is a die (Pig) or a deck of cards (Salute).
Please note that brown bags and instructions were sent home for All About Me Bags. These bags will help us get to know each other better. Please note that these can be brought to school any time next week, with the last date to bring them being Monday, September 15.
We began some unique cartoon self portraits that we will post in the next blog, can't wait for you to see our creativity!
I hope to see and visit with many families at the Family Food Truck Event this coming Thursday, from 4:30-6:30pm.
Welcome to Grade 4/5C with Mrs. Woods
August 28, 2025
Dear Families,
I am eager to meet your children and begin learning and growing together on our Grade 4/5 journey this year. A new school year brings new things to be learned and new friendships to be made. I look forward to an enriching and productive year with you and your child.
My goal for this year is to assist your child to be an independent and responsible learner and thinker, and to guide him or her in responsible decision making. In order to accomplish this goal, students will be expected to make the most of their class time and to always try their best. We will spend a great deal of time collaborating together, and each student will have the opportunity to contribute to the learning of others, as well as their own learning.
If there is anything you would like to share, or if you have questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to contact me. Together, WE make a team! I can be reached by email or phone using the contact info below, and am open to meetings before or after school as needed. I check my email between 8am-5pm Monday-Friday, and do my best to respond within a 24 hour period.
Please read through the following to familiarize both you and your child with key classroom expectations, routines and general things to know.
I look forward to an outstanding year of learning and growing together!
Yours in learning,
Mrs. Ashley Woods
Grade 4/5 Teacher, Glenbrook Elementary School
email: aswoods@cbe.ab.ca phone: 403-777-8320
School and Classroom Information
School Hours and Entry/Dismissal Procedures:
Our first day of school will be Tuesday, September 2.
Regular school hours are:
· Monday – Thursday: 9:15 AM – 3:53 PM, with soft entry beginning at 9:05 AM.
· Friday: 9:15 AM – 12:53 PM, with soft entry beginning at 9:05 AM. On Fridays, students do not have a lunch break, but do have a 15 minute snack/recess break.
Entry and Dismissal will occur outside the blue doors with the ramp on the east side of the building, adjacent to the basketball court. To ensure a smooth start, on the first day of school I will be holding a sign with my name and will guide the students into the classroom.
I kindly ask that you review after-school plans with your child before Tuesday. It is important that they know where to meet, who they are meeting, and how they will be getting home. Clear communication will help ensure that your child feels comfortable and confident. Please share these plans with me either by email or in person at drop-off on the first day of school.
Home/School Communication:
1. Bi-Weekly Blog: I have a teacher page on the Glenbrook School webpage that will be updated bi-weekly, most often on Friday. On this page, you will find announcements for upcoming events and the highlights of what we have been learning at school.
2. Email: The best way to reach me is via email at aswoods@cbe.ab.ca. I check my email Monday-Friday from 8am-5pm. While most announcements will be through the Weekly Blog, if there is an important reminder I will send an email to families, so please ensure your email is up to date.
School Supplies: Students do not need to bring specific school supplies. However, they should come prepared each day with:
- Water bottle
- Healthy snack(s) and lunch
- Backpack
- Both indoor and outdoor shoes, with indoor shoes being left at school and not being worn outside
- Weather-appropriate clothing (hat, sunscreen, rain jacket, rainboots, warm clothes, etc.) as the children will be outside at least twice daily
Personal Mobile Devices (cell phones, tablets, smartwatches, gaming devices, and Bluetooth headphones/earbuds): All devices must remain put away for the entire school day. They should not be used during school hours and should be kept in backpacks or, ideally, at home. As of June 2024, this expectation is supported by ministerial order, and disciplinary steps may be taken if a student does not comply. Thank you for your support in helping us maintain a focused, distraction-free learning environment.
Home Learning: I rarely assign the students home learning tasks. If students do not use their class time wisely, their unfinished work will be sent home to be done at home and returned to school. Occasionally, there may be a project that requires family input. Information about these will be included in the weekly blog posts and I may send a reminder email. If you wish to work with your child at home, they can read and respond to books, or play math games. Ideas and resources for home learning will be posted throughout the via the bi-weekly blog.
Family Volunteers: If you would like to volunteer for a class trip, or to help out in the classroom, please send me an email. I so appreciate volunteers! Please note that all volunteers must have a Police Information Check on file with the school before you may begin volunteering. This process is often easy, but does take a few weeks to complete and be approved.
Belongings: Please LABEL all of your child's belongings (clothing, indoor shoes, outdoor shoes, backpacks, lunch kits, water bottles, etc.) to prevent items being lost.
Water Bottles: Water bottles are permitted and encouraged in our classroom. We have a water fountain available for filling bottles throughout the day. Students are encouraged to take their water bottles home every weekend to be washed. I prefer water bottles with a spout or straw to keep spills to a minimum in our busy classroom.
Birthdays: As birthdays are an important part of most children's lives, each student's birthday, if they so choose, can be celebrated at school. We will sing “Happy Birthday” and ask the student questions about their special day.