Week of November 21, 2025

 

Looking Back:

We enjoyed spending our day at Heritage Park!  Hopefully, your child shared their experiences with you.  Here are some pictures of our experiences there!

Literacy:

Phonics:

Students continue to solidify their understanding of vowel teams and have been practicing recognizing the need when writing. 

Novel Study:
We continued reading Ollie’s Odyssey and the adventures of Billy and Ollie.  This week, Billy and Ollie explained their "illegals" (rules) in their home.  Crossing the street without an adult is "highly illegal", for example.  Students then related the text to themselves by sharing some of their rules in their homes.  They then tried to imagine or understand the reason why their parents would have these rules.  They wrote some of their rules and explained why these rules are important to follow.

Writing:

We completed a writing assessment that will be shared during conferences. Students were given a picture prompt and asked to write a story based on what they imagined was happening in the image. To prepare, we examined the picture together and discussed the different elements we noticed. Students then brainstormed ideas using a see, think, and wonder approach. The following day, they used their ideas to write their stories.

We began our new opinion writing unit this week. To help students understand what an opinion is, we explored how everyone can feel differently about the same thing. I introduced a silly meme of the day and asked students if they thought it was funny. Then we moved on to sharing a reason why. Soon they were giving three reasons to explain their thinking. This playful start will help us move into our focused opinion writing work over the next few weeks.

Math:

We began reviewing our addition and subtraction strategies this week. Our main focus was on using base ten blocks and fact families to build strong number sense. Students then practised regrouping by drawing base ten blocks to help them visualize the steps. This visual work will support a smooth transition to the standard algorithm as we move forward. Our unit is fairly short, and students are expected to come in with a solid understanding of regrouping from grade 2, as grade 3 simply adds a few more place values. Any extra practice at home will help reinforce these important foundational skills and boost your child’s confidence.

Science:

In science, we moved on to the next layer of the earth and have begun exploring fossils. To introduce this topic, students played a game in the Google Classroom, which they are welcome to continue at home if they would like. We also did some dinosaur research to build background knowledge. Students have now started creating two to three dinosaur trading cards. Each card will include the dinosaur’s size, habitat, diet, the region it lived in, and a few fun facts about their chosen dinosaurs.

Social Studies:

In social studies, we are learning about the six regions of Alberta. Students have been locating each region on a map and researching five key features for all six regions. We will continue this research over the next few days.

Students also enjoyed making connections to our learning about treaties and the relationships between Indigenous peoples and settlers during our field trip to Heritage Park. They were able to see how the land and regions of Alberta changed over time as Indigenous peoples shared their knowledge of living with the land and climate, while settlers contributed their understanding of building communities. These observations helped students deepen their understanding of how Alberta became the province we know today.

Art:

Students shared some ideas for a few art projects that we hope to do over the next few weeks.  Today we practiced blending colours to make a beautiful sky background for some winter trees in the winter.  We look forward to being able to share both our remembrance day poppy art and our winter trees with you during conferences next week.

Looking Ahead:

For one of our upcoming art projects, the students would love to use some empty toilet paper rolls and, if you happen to have any, a few paint pens. Thank you so much for supporting our little classroom projects. Your help makes our creative ideas possible!

Below is some information about the book fair. If you choose to send money to the school for a book, please do so on Thursday.  Our time to purchase books will be at 9:15 - 9:30 that morning.  Alternatively, you can wait for the evening during conferences.

MTS Reminders - Wednesday November 19

Parent/Teacher Conferences If your student is in Mrs. Thomson's class, please log into your CBE Account now to book your Parent Teacher Conference for either tonight or tomorrow evening. All other conference bookings will open this Saturday November 22. There are no kindergarten classes on either Thursday the 27 or Friday the 28. There is no school for students in grades 1-4 on Friday, November 28 due to conferences.  Instructions: In order to book a conference please use your MyCBE account https://sis.cbe.ab.ca/public/home.html. Here are instructions for how to register for a conference https://support.cbe.ab.ca/mycbe-powerschool-school-conferences.  Please contact the office if you require support.   These conferences are an opportunity to meet your child’s teacher and to provide teachers with information about your child that is important. Teachers will inform you on how your child is adapting to and settling into the new school year as well as with an academic update based on the information they have gathered since September. In addition, you will be able to review and sign IPP's and Behaviour Support Plans if applicable. Please note that due to labour action, the assessment data gathered is not as robust as usual at this time of year.  However, please be assured that your child’s teacher knows them well and has significant insights into their academic, personal and social needs.  All teachers are looking forward to meeting with you at the conferences. Grade One Winter Concert- Save the Date This year our Music teacher, Mrs. Darr, has had a minimal amount of time to work with and prepare students for a winter concert due to labour action during the 3 weeks in October. Therefore, this year we will be offering only a grade one winter concert performance on Wednesday, December 11 at 1:30 in the West side of the school, in the open area. Please note that the concert will not take place in the gym. All grade one classes will be performing. The concert will be approximately one half hour in length. Families are invited to attend. After the concert, should parents choose to do so, they may pick up their students in their classroom for home time. Students who are not picked up will be dismissed at the usual time of 2:30, following normal dismissal protocols at that time ( busing, day care, or arranged meeting spots outside with caregivers or parents) We are planning for a spring concert for our grades 2/3 classes as well as our traditional Kindergarten and grade 4 farewell assemblies in June. Book Fair McKenzie Towne School is excited to announce that we will be hosting an Owl’s Nest Book Fair during the week of November 24th! Students will have the opportunity to browse and purchase books during school hours throughout the week. Families are also invited to join us for our Family Shopping Events: Thursday, November 27th — 3:30 PM to 7:30 PM Friday, November 28th — 8:00 AM to 12:00 PM If you have any questions, please contact Mrs. McLean at tlmclean@cbe.ab.ca. We can’t wait to share the joy of reading with our McKenzie Towne community! Lost and Found With the colder temperatures, please make sure to send hats and gloves with your student each day. Just a reminder to please label all of your child's outdoor clothing to ensure it is returned to them. Fun Lunch The next Fun Lunch will be held on Wednesday November 26. Fun Lunch is only for grades 1-4 and our EES students.  Go to healthyhunger.ca Log into you existing account or create a new one. Add your child’s information in the “add child” box – name, province, city, school, grade and class. All Fun Lunches will then populate – select the order now button! Please make sure to send a morning snack with your child on Fun Lunch Days. Orders must be placed by the Friday before the day. ** Mrs. Thomson and Mrs. Pynn's classes have been cancelled due to a field trip on November 26. Upcoming Dates Tomorrow                                Heritage Park Field Trip - Coleman & Olson's Classes November 25                          Confluence Historic Site Field Trip - Penford, Janisse & Massy's Classes November 26                          Confluence Historic Site Field Trip - Thomson & Pynn's Classes November 26                          Fun Lunch - Subway November 27                          Heritage Park Field Trip - Kruger & Wickenheiser's Classes November 27                          NO SCHOOL for KINDERGARTEN due to Parent/Teacher Conferences November 27 & 28                  Parent/Teacher Conferences November 28                          NO SCHOOL December 3                             Heritage Park Field Trip - Bossenberry's Class December 8                             Picture Retakes December 11                           Grade 1 Winter Concert - 1:30pm December 17                           Fun Lunch - Coco Brooks December 22 - January 2        Winter Break - NO SCHOOL