Week of June 12, 2026

Looking Back:

Literacy:

We have finally finished reading our novel, The Boy at the Back of the Class! Ask your child to tell you about the story and summarize it using the Somebody, Wanted, But, So, Then retelling strategy that we have been practicing throughout the year.

You might also ask them what surprised them, what made the biggest impact on them, or what important lessons they learned from the story. We had many thoughtful discussions while reading, and this is a great opportunity for your child to share their learning with you.

As part of our study of myths, students will explore how fictional texts can be grouped into different sub-genres, with a special focus on myths. We recently watched Hercules and examined the story of a legendary hero, including how Hercules is portrayed as a demigod. Next, we will watch Moana and Brave as we continue our exploration of myth-inspired stories. Please let me know if you have any concerns about watching these shows.

As myth detectives, students will compare the journeys of these heroes and heroines, looking for common elements such as courage, challenges, quests, supernatural influences, and important life lessons. Through engaging discussions and comparison activities, students will investigate how these stories connect to the characteristics of myths and legends while also reflecting the cultures and values they represent. This fun exploration will help students build a deeper understanding of what makes a story a myth and why these stories continue to be told and enjoyed today. 

Math:

We have wrapped up our Fractions unit, and students completed a quiz in Google Classroom to demonstrate their learning. We are now beginning our Statistics and Probability unit, in which students will learn to collect, organize, represent, and interpret data. In Grade 3, this often means lots of opportunities to create and analyze graphs!

To make our learning more engaging and meaningful, we are planning a week of hands-on data collection activities. Students have helped generate many of the questions we will investigate, and we are excited to turn our classroom into a team of young statisticians. Each day, students will bring an item or participate in an activity connected to a survey question. We will collect data, create graphs, look for patterns, and discuss what our data tells us.

Here is our plan for next week:

Monday: Favourite Animal
Students may bring a stuffed animal, toy, or photo representing their favourite animal. We will use the data to create and analyze graphs.

Tuesday: Favourite Ice Cream Topping
Students will make ice cream in a bag and may bring a small amount of their favourite topping from home to enjoy with their ice cream (we will be making as a class). We will graph our class's favourite toppings.

Wednesday: Favourite Sport or Activity
Students may wear a jersey, bring a medal, or share a photo that represents their favourite sport, dance activity, or hobby. We will collect and graph the results.

Thursday: Favourite Pancake Topping
Students will help make butter and use the resulting buttermilk to make pancakes. They can enjoy the butter we make and/or bring a favourite topping from home. We will survey and graph our topping choices.

Friday: Favourite Book Genre
Students are invited to bring a favourite book that represents a genre they enjoy reading. We will use our data to explore reading preferences across the class.

We are looking forward to a week of learning that combines mathematics, discussion, and a little bit of fun. Through these activities, students will see how data collection and graphing can help us answer questions and learn more about the world around us.

Science:

This week, we continued our science learning by exploring food chains in a variety of ecosystems, including the Arctic, wetlands, deserts, grasslands, and forests. Students researched how plants and animals depend on one another for survival and learned about the roles of producers and consumers within food chains. We also continued caring for our classroom plants while learning about the different parts of a plant and their functions. Students completed a labelled plant diagram and a reading comprehension activity to strengthen their understanding. Building on this learning, we further investigated photosynthesis through videos, Google Slides activities, discussions, and comprehension questions, discovering how plants use sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide to make their own food and support life on Earth.

Social Studies:

Students are nearing the completion of their Social Studies community projects. Over the past several weeks, they have worked hard to design and build their own communities, carefully considering the needs of the people who live there. Roads have been constructed, buildings and homes have been placed, and students have incorporated parks, provincial buildings, and various services provided by the provincial government (Ms. Olson and I). As they put the finishing touches on their projects, students are reflecting on how communities are planned and how different services work together to support citizens. We are excited to see the final results, and projects should be coming home toward the end of next week.

Buddies:

On Wednesday, students had the opportunity to explore GarageBand with their kindergarten buddies. They enjoyed collaborating, experimenting with different sounds, and sharing their creativity through music. Unfortunately, we were unable to meet with our Grade 1 buddy class on Friday due to our inline skating session, but we look forward to connecting with them again soon.

Looking Ahead:

Library Books Due

All library books are now due back at school. Please take a few minutes to check around your home, bookshelves, bedrooms, backpacks, and vehicles for any books that may have been overlooked. Returning all library materials helps ensure that everyone can continue to enjoy our school library collection. Thank you for your help!

Inline Skting:

Inline skating will resume next week. Our proposed skating schedule is as follows:

• Monday, June 15: 9:20–10:25 a.m.

Math Graphing Days (see the Math section for more details)

• Monday: Bring a stuffed animal, toy, or photo of your favourite animal.
• Tuesday: Bring a small amount of your favourite ice cream topping.
• Wednesday: Dress to represent your favourite sport or activity (jersey, dance attire, team shirt, etc.), or bring a photo or medal to share.
• Thursday: Bring your favourite pancake topping.
• Friday: Bring a favourite book from home to share and help us explore different book genres.

MTS Reminders - June 8-12, 2026

Alien Inline Skating Grade 3, 4 and EES - June 8-15 As part of our Physical Education program, students will be participating in inline skating activities.  Please ensure your child brings a CSA-approved bike helmet on their scheduled skating day. For safety reasons, all students are required to wear a helmet while on the inline skating. If your child does not have a helmet available, one will be provided by Alien Inline for use during the skating session. Thank you for helping us keep all students safe and prepared for this activity. Alien Inline Schedule.pdf  Bus Registration for 2026-27 School Year Transportation Registration is now available through your CBE Account. Families must register each year if they require busing for their student. Families must register by Sunday, June 14, 2026 for students to be added to routes for the start of the next school year. CBE will accept registrations after the deadline; however, students are added to the closest existing bus stop with available space. Processing times for registrations submitted after the June 14 deadline will be delayed. Confirmed routes are posted in August. For those who register after the June 14 deadline, it may take until mid-October before your child is able to ride the bus. Transportation can be cancelled with no financial impact by submitting the cancellation form by Sept. 30, 2026. Fees will be added to accounts in October 2026. Fun Lunch The last Fun Lunch for the school year will be held on Wednesday June 17. 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 Upcoming Dates June 8-15                           Grade 3 and 4 - Alien In-Line Skating June 15 - 19                        Math graphing days - see above June 17                               Fun Lunch - Coco Brooks June 25                               Sports Day - Wear your Red & White for Team Canada!! June 26                               Last Day of School