Day 9: Feb 14, 2020
Happy Valentine’s Day!!
Diane Mills, OCT
Grade 4 Teacher, L4A
Day 8: Feb 12, 2020
Today we were playing on the Lower School field. It is in a valley beside a river that runs all the way to Lake Ontario. It is called the Don River. One summer just before we returned to school in September, there was a very bad rainstorm and part of our field including a big tree was swallowed up by the river when it overflowed its banks. The tree didn’t fall into the river right away, but slowly the erosion along the shore of the river caused it to fall into the river. Also from the storm the river deposited silt from the bottom of the river onto the field. We weren’t even born when this happened…but our teacher tells us the story because she was teaching at the school then. When we’re at playground we can see the toppled over dead tree in the river. It is hard to believe it was every not there.
So when we were playing today on the field, we saw animal prints in the snow. We didn’t take pictures because they weren’t very clear. We think we saw rabbit tracks, raccoon tracks, maybe a squirrel’s prints or a chipmunks, or a visiting dog’s paw prints, and maybe even a deer’s hoof prints. Someone in the class said moose prints, but moose definitely don’t live near us. Even the fact that we actually sometimes see deer in the valley is pretty amazing considering we aren’t in the country, but in city with lots of businesses, homes, condominiums, and cars and roads around us. I can’t imagine where they hide during the day in a city of nearly 3 million people! This is a picture of the deer visiting us in October in the fall. See how green everything still is and how they are camouflaged and hard to see. No wonder they are so hard to find!
Do you have any animals that live near your school or your home?
Oh, and we also see lots of Canada Geese. They are supposed to migrate south in the winter, but they don’t. We often see them on the river, and our field, and the road! They honk really loudly and poop a lot on our field. They also have very cute baby geese called goslings in the spring. They follow behind their moms and cross the road or go up and down the valley. Oh, and we also have groundhogs…they are kind of cute and fat, but pretty fast runners and live in burrows. Right now they are hibernating, but soon in the spring we will see them and their babies if we’re lucky!
Day 7: Feb 11, 2020
I was very excited to go on our Gr 4 snowboard/ski trips because I learned snowboarding last month in Vermont at a place called Jay Peak where there are huge hills. It was kind of easy to learn because there was so much space and since I was already very good at skiing and skating I got good at snowboarding pretty quickly.
On the way there, we rode on a bus that drove us for a while and it was very, very, very, loud as some kids kept on singing all the way there. When we got to the ski hill called Lakeridge we got ready for snowboarding/skiing.
We put on our special boots, then we put on our snowboards and then we warmed up on the magic carpet which is a moving conveyor belt that took you up a small hill. After we did that a couple times we went on a ski lift. A ski lift is kind of like a bench attached to a metal wire that pulls you up the mountain. When we got to the top we went down the snow hill. It was kind of bumpy, but it was really good.
After we went down like 8 times we went into the chalet to eat lunch. For lunch on the first day my dad forgot to pack a lunch, luckily my friends mom was there so she just bought me a hot dog. After lunch we went back on the slopes. When we were at the end of the lesson our instructor decided to play a game of tag. The way it worked was everyone needed to tag the instructor and if we got him we each got to throw a snowball at him. So on our last run, we went down and tagged him pretty fast, faster than he expected so when we got to the bottom of the hill we each threw a snowball at him. It was really funny.
At the end of each ski day, I was very tired from snowboarding, but it was really fun. Each Tuesday trip to snowboard I got better and better and our instructor took us on different hills/runs and showed us different ways to ride our snowboards down the hills. I am looking forward to our next snowboard/ski trip next year. Wesley
PS/ These are some pictures from today’s beautiful sunny day on the hills. Those are 3 of our teachers who also skied with us. Everyone has to wear helmets when they ski for safety, and goggles or sunglasses to protect their eyes from the glare of the sun on the snow. Do you do any sports where you have to wear helmets? We wear helmets in hockey, skating, football, baseball, rollerblading, skateboarding, and bicycling. Head safety is very important.
Day 6: Feb 10, 2020
Day 5: Feb 7, 2020
Hello,
Day 4: Feb 6, 2020
Hello,
Our names are Nikita and Chiara. We live in Toronto, but Chiara just moved here from Germany, and I have relatives who live in India. We are both 9 years old.
Today was our Spring Festival in front of our parents. We both played Greek children who were being told the story of Theseus and the Minotaur by our parents also played by our classmates. The play was so good and so much fun. We sang Living in the Ancient World, That’s What Friends are For, The Black Sailed Ship, In the Labyrinth and at the end a repeat of Living in the Ancient World. The best part of the play was acting as our characters and singing and the choreography with our friends. After the play we got a special snack: cookies that were delicious. They were chocolate, lemon, and cinnamon.
We had Phys Ed today and we played badminton. Do you play badminton at your school? We play dodgeball too. Isn’t cricket a popular sport in India? We don’t play cricket at school, but instead we play baseball. Toronto’s baseball team is the Toronto Blue Jays. Our school goes to see the Blue Jays play near the end of school in May. They play baseball in the Rogers Centre. It is near the CN Tower and the Ripley’s Aquarium, and kind of close to Scotiabank Arena where the Toronto Maple Leafs play hockey, and The Toronto Raptors play basketball. There are also concerts there like Pink or Ariana Grande.
What kind of music do you like? Classical or Bollywood music? Nikita has done lots of traditional Indian dancing at weddings with her family and cousins.
Do you have any pets? Chiara has a dog named Abayomi. It is a Rhodesian Ridgeback. She also has a baby brother who is 1 yr. old. His name is Santiago. Nikita has no pets and an older brother, Rohan.
Next week we are celebrating Valentine’s Day. Do you what Valentine’s Day is?
From, Nikita and Chiara
Day 3: Feb 5, 2020
Today was a busy day for us because it was the dress rehearsal for our Spring Festival called Theseus and the Minotaur. It is about the Greek mythology story of Theseus and the Minotaur. We are singing and acting the story. Every Grade 4 class in the school will be presenting the play for their parents on Thursday. We have been working on the songs, and words, and actions with our Music teacher since December or maybe even November.
Our show was the first show at 9:30 in the morning, and then the other two classes were at 11:00 and 1:30. We watched all the shows to see how we could maybe improve.
At 9:00 all our class got changed into their costumes. Most of us are wearing robes or dresses to look like the clothing people worn in Ancient Greece.
Our dress rehearsal was pretty good, but some people forgot their lines and had to be prompted and our Music teacher said sometimes we were singing the words with our voices but shouting them. It’s hard to be loud but still singing at the same time. She also told us it’s very hard to do a play the first time in front of an audience. We had classmates who were 3 years old and some who were in Gr 5. We even had our Reading Buddies there. They are Gr 1 kids we read with. We haven’t seen them in a while, so they wrote us postcards and we’re going to write them back. Some of them really miss us.
Do you do plays at your school? At our school we have been doing a play for our parents since we were 3 years old! Do you read with kids from other classes like we do?
Wish us luck tomorrow,
Miss Mills’ Class
Day 2 Feb 4, 2020
Dear Kids,
The past three Tuesdays our class has gone skiing at Lakeridge Ski Resort. We take an hour bus ride from our school to get to the ski hill. We go on a chairlift to get up the hill. A chairlift is like a chair but long and 4 people can sit on it. When you get on the chairlift you raise your hand and grab the bar and pull it down over your lap. To go down the hill you can turn or go straight down the hill and go super fast. My coach’s name is Aaron. Aaron taught me and my group how to do a ski cross. A ski cross is a race with humps of snow. To get ready to ski you need to put on your ski boots, put on your helmet, put on your gloves, and then put on your skis. It is fun to have lunch with your friends you get to talk and eat. After a good day on the hill I feel tired. Do you have a activity like skiing? can you please let me know.
From,
Ethan