Week of May 15, 2026

 

Looking Back:

Literacy:

Novel Study:  

Ask your child what our main characters learned this week in our class novel, The Boy at the Back of the Class.

Reading/Writing:

Students continued working on their circle stories and began creating digital versions using a program called Book Creator. There is a link to Book Creator in Google Classroom, where you can view the progress your child has made on their book so far.

Students have been very excited to personalize their stories and bring their ideas to life through illustrations and writing. This week, we also learned about dialogue and practised including character conversations in our stories.

Next week, students will continue editing and revising their work, and we are hoping to print their finished books to share with classmates and buddy classes.

Art:

We began learning about a new artist this week, Georges Seurat. Students were introduced to the art technique of pointillism and started an artist appreciation assignment inspired by his work. I have shared the specific artwork we are studying at the top of the page so you can explore it together at home. We will continue our study of Seurat and pointillism over the next week.

Math:

Students wrapped up our algebra unit this week and began an exciting new unit on fractions! We explored how fractions represent parts of a whole and learned important vocabulary such as numerator and denominator.

Two fraction pages were sent home this week: one where students represented their names as fractions, and another for practising how to identify fractions. Ask your child to explain what the numerator and denominator tell us in a fraction!

We also began comparing fractions and noticed that some fractions can represent the same amount. For example, students discovered that 2/4 is equivalent to 1/2. It has been wonderful to see students using visual models and mathematical discussions to deepen their understanding of fractions.

Science:

Students had a great time completing a “Who Eats Who?” art activity, which was sent home this week. We also took our food chain game outdoors to the Princess and Pirate Park in the community. Through the game, students explored how living things depend on one another and learned why protecting producers is essential for keeping a food chain healthy and balanced.

The students were highly engaged and enjoyed learning through movement and play. We are hoping to continue visiting the park about once a week to extend this learning experience. Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns.

Social Studies:

We continue to work on budgeting for our community projects. Students have created rough drafts of their plans and are carefully calculating the costs of each service and material to ensure they have included everything needed while staying within their budget. This process has encouraged thoughtful planning, problem solving, and real world math skills. We are hoping to begin building our projects next week.

Over the next two weeks, our swimming lessons will take up a larger portion of our school day, which means there will be a little less classroom time available for our regular academic activities. Because of this, you may notice fewer updates or examples of student work on the blog during this time. Thank you for your understanding, as students enjoy this valuable learning experience.

Looking Ahead:

For swimming lessons, please have your child wear their swimsuit underneath their regular clothes when they come to school. Please also send a small reusable bag labelled with their name containing a towel, underwear to change into after swimming, and any other needed items. Students will bring this small bag to and from the pool each day, so please send it to school with them each morning.

If you have a glass jar at home, think of a small jam jar or a small mason jar similar to what is shown below.  I do not need a lid, just the jar.  If you do not mind, I am looking for donations to the classroom for a small planting project.  Your child will take one home after we plant our items.  

MTS Reminders - May 11 - 15, 2026

Moving and New Address If you have moved or are planning to move over the summer months, please notify the school as soon as possible with your new address. For students attending a new CBE school for the fall please ensure the school knows and Transfer Forms have been completed. Late Arrivals We have had an increased number of late arrivals in the mornings. When students are late, it disrupts their class and the learning that is underway. Coming late to school is also a difficult transition for the late student - it can be stressful for them. When students arrive late at the front door, in the office, we do our best to greet students with a smile and an adult to walk them to class when we have administration available. In the event that your child needs to arrive late to school, we would ask that only the student enters the building. Adults do not need to come into the office to check their child in. This is especially important first thing in the morning when there is a high volume of traffic in the office. For your convenience, we have relaxed/soft entry every morning at 7:50 am. We recommend trying to arrive anytime between 7:50 - 8:00 am so that your child has time to settle in class before starting their day of learning. Grade team teachers will always be at designated grade entry/exit doors at this time to welcome students into the school. Please remember that there is no teacher supervision on the playground during soft entry or after school at dismissal time. Fun Lunch The next Fun Lunch will be held on Wednesday May 27. 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. Food Support Did you know that the Breakfast Club of Canada has shared research demonstrating that 40% of Alberta’s children experience food insecurity?  This means that 4 out of 10 children do not have access to food when they are hungry.  If your family is experiencing challenges with providing food for your children you can find help at Brown Bagging Calgary.  Complete this form for support and they can deliver lunches to McKenzie Towne School for your children. https://go.bb4ck.org/l/858913/2024-01-15/38fdbw You can also find out more information on their website https://bb4ck.org/ Brown Bagging for Calgary's Kids MTS Yearbooks To order go to: https://ybpay.lifetouch.ca/ Use Yearbook ID code: 10614126 Regular Pricing: $34  Last day to order:  May 18, 2025 If you have any pictures from any school events (ie, first day of school, Terry Fox Run, Halloween) that you would like to share with the Yearbook Committee, please click on the link below. Once you log in, please enter this code. ADD-PICTURES-TO-YEARBOOK-26 YEARBOOK PICTURES Upcoming Dates FRIDAY                                    Non-Instructional Day - NO SCHOOL May 18                                     Victoria Day - NO SCHOOL May 19-21                                Grade 3 and 4 Swimming Lessons at YMCA Seton May 26-28                                Grade 3 and 4 Swimming lessons at YMCA Seton May 27                                     Fun Lunch - Subway June 8-15                                 Grade 3 and 4 - Alien In-Line Skating June 17                                    Fun Lunch - Coco Brooks June 25                                    Sports Day - Wear your Red & White for Canada Day!! June 26                                    Last Day of School