Dear Grade Four Friends,

We are not able to schedule our Life Cycles introduction gathering/potluck/grill/BBQ-party-thing just yet; Mr. Derick was out with a nasty cold today, and might be out tomorrow too. This weekend is not going to be a good option because many grade four children and their families are not free. Therefore, we are needing to push this off until next week. Once Mr. Derick returns, we will follow up on the Life Cycles Unit introduction gathering/potluck/grill/BBQ-party-thing. This gathering will be held in order for us to celebrate the students' learning and to introduce our next unit, Life Cycles and address any questions and/or concerns you may have. 

Let's have fun together to celebrate learning!!! 

***Please join us at NIS on Thursday, Nov, 20TH at 1:30 for a POETRY RECITAL in the auditorium***

HOMEWORK NOVEMBER, 18TH 2014

Hi Students,

Tonight please read this poem by Mr. Mark, and then give a good critique of the poem. Please apply the two-stars and one-wish strategy to the critique:

Two Stars Please write two things that you liked about the poem.

One Wish Please write one thing that you would do to make it better.

Wishing Well

By: Mark Beaumont, M.Ed

There’s a lovely old town

Of which I’d like to tell

Where not one wears a frown

Because of a well

The town of Amoraville

Its people Amoras

A kind-hearted sort

The friendly Amoras

At Amoraville’s well

The Amoras would join

At Amoraville’s well

Where they’d tossed in a coin

They would sing tender songs

To thank of the well

For providing the wishes

Which made life so swell

The wishing well brought

To each girl and boy

To each mom and dad

A whole lot of joy

All were contented

And gave thanks to the well

For granting the wishes

That made life so swell

The Amoras we careful

Did not wish for a lot

They wished for the things

That some people had not

They wished for the things

Of which people did need

They tossed in their coins

Like the farmers tossed seed

Then The Pincher arrived

That crafty old coot

He went off to search

For Amoraville’s loot

With his eyes peering squinty

And his heart feeling black

In his swift looking suit

And his head out of whack

He would search for a way

To make his life good

And milk from the people

All that he could

And just in the moment

He heard faint sound

The joy from the singing

That came from that town

The Amoras were singing

And singing so sweet

That The Pincher, he jumped

Straight up to his feet

As he ambled along

In search of the sound

When he saw the big crowd

Standing around

The Pincher he said,

“What is that? There? thing?

That sits in the middle

while those people all sing?”

So he moved in real close

And had him some looks

He squinched up his eyes

Like the swankiest crooks

“What is this; what is this?

That these people all sing.

What’s it all for?

And what does it bring?”

And just at that moment

The Pincher he got

The point of the lyrics

From one high pitched tot

The girl was so cute

With the softest girl coo

Singing quite high

As some children do

But The Pincher stole stuff

When no one was looking

And he knew that the well

Was ripe for a snooking

So The Pincher he planned

And his plan would be swell

He’d fill up his bag

With each coin from the well

His plan was quite nasty

Quite nasty indeed

He’d wait until dark

To unleash of his greed

All he would need

Is a rock climber’s set

To lower himself

So the coins he could get

And as the sun set

His eyes flickered with greed

His gear in his hands

He moved in like a steed

To the well with delight

The Pincher he crept

To remove every coin

While the people all slept

In the still of the night

Pincher lowered on down

To the depths of the well

At the bottom of town

And to his delight

Coins were piled so deep

It would take him ten days

In order to reap

To reap every coin

And smuggle away

While making a swift

And clean get away

The last night of removal

Pincher off with his stash

Of Amoraville’s wishes

And ten bags of her cash

Odd things started happening

Amoraville wept

The coins were all taken

While each person slept

The crops were all sick

No one knew what it meant

And the weather was nasty

 So much discontent

And the people grew sad

Came together to sing

Lamenting prosperity

For what it does bring

The Pincher made out

With all of the cash

Bag after bag

He took out the stash

Yes The Pincher, he took

And he caused a great frown

For stealing the wishes

 Straight out of the town

The Pincher took off

But he would surely rebound

He’d give it a year

And return to this town

He’d come back to remove

More bags of the loot

Richer and richer

He turned-up his snoot

The year went by quick

For The Pincher, you see

While Amoraville suffered

And lost of their glee

Because every coin

Was attached to much more

Because every coin

Was a wish at its core

That all of the wishes

Became void on that day

Chaos ensued

The town lost its way

When The Pincher returned

He was shocked by the site

Life was so bad

That it gave him a fright

The crops were all sick

And the people so sad

It seemed to The Pincher

They had lost all they had

The Pincher was tested

And his mind, it did race

He pondered and pondered

What he did to this place

And he thought more and more

‘till he fell fast asleep

Bad dreams took him over

And he started to weep

He wept all night long

That when he awoke

His eyes were all red

His cloths were a-soak

So that Pincher, he said

“I must learn a new way.

I must learn to be kind.

On every last day.

I must learn to make wishes

I must learn to take care

Of myself and the others

And this planet we share.”

So the Pincher he went

To return what he stole

So the Amoras’ fine world

Once again would be whole