Happy Thursday everyone!
Tomorrow (Friday) morning, all students will be attending a presentation by the Canadian charity LiveDifferent. The presentation will take place in the school gym and will feature the Ontario band FM Reset. The band typically has merchandise for sale after the presentation and students will have a chance to purchase items, if they would like. (Please click on the above links for more information).
I have had the chance to see the LiveDifferent group twice in the past and they deliver a wonderfully powerful, positive message in a way that really connects with the middle school age group.
I know the students will have a great morning!
*****
Agenda items:
1. Section A Calcul mental "Arrondis et ajuste" - Monday, Dec 4.
2. We will be missing our library period tomorrow due to the assembly.
Library has been rescheduled for Monday, December 4, period 4.
3. CFOO presentations - Wednesday, December 6.
4. Report cards going home - Wednesday, December 6.
5. December Scholastic orders - due Friday, December 8.
Thursday, 30 November 2017
Wednesday, 29 November 2017
Wednesday!
Hello friends of learning!
We started our day at the white board this morning, working in randomized groups to solve a tricky task. If you had a 3x3 cube and painted the exterior, then once dry, you separated the cube into its individual blocks, how many blocks would be painted on: 3 sides, 2 sides, 1 side, 0 sides? How would this change with a 4x4 cube?
Also in Math, we continued our work with coordinates, learning how to properly plot coordinate points on a Cartesian plane. Coordinate points are written (x,y) which means we travel horizontally first and vertically second. We will continue working on plotting coordinate points over the coming week. This skill will be a great help to us once we start graphing in Science.
In Français today, we worked with Mme Champagne on a text entitled, "Tout sur les tomates." We are using the reading strategy "les 4 fantastiques" to guide our reading. This is the first time we are using this strategy with a non-fiction text. The steps are the same, but our questions and the way we structure our summary
will change slightly.
We are also happy to report that we have one more germinated tomato seed in Group G, which brings the total up to 8. Group H is still holding strong at 7, with the promise of more seeds germinating soon!
Group G (left) and Group H (right).
*****
Agenda items:
1. CFOO - Wednesday, Dec 6.
2. December Scholastics - Friday, Dec 8.
Tuesday, 28 November 2017
A great Tuesday!
Happy Tuesday, everyone!
We started our day with a story in Math. We listened to Mme Careen read, "Sir Cumference and the Viking's Map" and then, using our own white board with coordinate grids, learned all about the Cartesian Plane
and how to plot coordinates.
In Français, we had our first of three writing sessions for our fall school-wide writing assessment. Using all that we know about being good writers, we had twenty minutes to start our writing piece,
"What is your favourite season. Justify your choice."
We will come back to these texts tomorrow and Friday before handing them in to Mme Careen to read.
In Science, we were excited to see that more our tomato seeds have germinated!
We are now at 7 germinated seeds for each group.
Group G |
Group H |
After completing our tomato observations, we watched a short video about plants and their unique characteristics. This links perfectly with our continued learning about tomatoes.
*****
Agenda items:
1. CFOO - We are back to our first theme, "On recherche." Presentations are next Wednesday, December 6.
2. December Scholastic orders - due Friday, December 8.
Have a great evening! :)
Monday, 27 November 2017
Happy Monday!
Hello friends of learning and welcome to Term 2!
We had a great morning of learning together.
Here are some highlights from the morning:
In Math, Mme handed back our multiples and factors assessments. We celebrated the fact that we are already showing many great problem-solving skills and will be able to further develop our problem-solving abilities over the coming months.
In Français, we watched our first episode of Oniva. Oniva is a fun french show produced by Radio-Canada that explores interesting topics for kids. Watching these episodes will expose us to different French accents and will help us further our oral comprehension abilities.
We had a great morning of learning together.
Here are some highlights from the morning:
In Math, Mme handed back our multiples and factors assessments. We celebrated the fact that we are already showing many great problem-solving skills and will be able to further develop our problem-solving abilities over the coming months.
In Français, we watched our first episode of Oniva. Oniva is a fun french show produced by Radio-Canada that explores interesting topics for kids. Watching these episodes will expose us to different French accents and will help us further our oral comprehension abilities.
Also in Français, we read the book, "What Does Peace Feel Like" and started brain-storming ideas for our peace poems that will have us connecting to our five senses in order to describe what peace is to us.
In Science, we got caught up on our Tomatosphere observations. While we were off having a three-day weekend, our tomatoes continued to grow! Each group now has 5 germinated seeds, with many more promising
to pop up soon!
Group G |
Group H |
*****
Agenda Items:
1. December Scholastic orders - due Friday, December 8.
Thursday, 23 November 2017
We have tomatoes (almost)!
It's an exciting Science day in Room 208! 3 of our tomato seeds have germinated! Hooray!
2 from Group G
1 from Group H
Based on these early observations, Mme Careen asked us to make a prediction as to
what group we think is experimental and which one could be the control group.
Hmmm. We'll find out if we were right in about 30 days!
*****
Agenda items:
1. No school tomorrow!
2. Scholastic orders due Friday, December 8.
3. Overdue library books: Ms. Hines has printed an overdue list and students are encouraged to return their books as soon as possible. I will start posting a library reminder on the blog the day before so that students can remember to bring in their books on library day! Thanks for your help with this!
Have a great weekend! :)
Wednesday, 22 November 2017
Wednesday!
Hello families!
We had a short but productive morning of learning today!
We completed an evaluation of multiples, factors, and prime and composite numbers in Math. We worked very well and were focused for the entire period. Some of us did not have a chance to finish our assessments and will have a chance tomorrow at 12:10 to do so.
In Français, we listened to the 5 more CFOO presentations. We are certainly a talented bunch! Our next CFOO will be assigned in class next week. Stay tuned!
*****
Agenda items:
1. Incomplete Math assessments - to be completed tomorrow (Thursday) at 12:10.
2. Last chance for goals, inspiration boards and Suresh questions - Thursday at 12:10.
3. Inservice (no school) - Friday.
Have a great afternoon!
We had a short but productive morning of learning today!
We completed an evaluation of multiples, factors, and prime and composite numbers in Math. We worked very well and were focused for the entire period. Some of us did not have a chance to finish our assessments and will have a chance tomorrow at 12:10 to do so.
In Français, we listened to the 5 more CFOO presentations. We are certainly a talented bunch! Our next CFOO will be assigned in class next week. Stay tuned!
*****
Agenda items:
1. Incomplete Math assessments - to be completed tomorrow (Thursday) at 12:10.
2. Last chance for goals, inspiration boards and Suresh questions - Thursday at 12:10.
3. Inservice (no school) - Friday.
Have a great afternoon!
Tuesday, 21 November 2017
A great night of learning!
It was so wonderful to see so many families out at our student-led conferences this evening!
A truly terrific celebration of all the learning we do here at school! :)
Bravo les élèves!
*****
Agenda items:
1. Math assessment - tomorrow (Wednesday)
2. Last chance for goals and "tableaux!"
3. Last day of Term 1 - Thursday.
Have a great evening!
A truly terrific celebration of all the learning we do here at school! :)
Bravo les élèves!
*****
Agenda items:
1. Math assessment - tomorrow (Wednesday)
2. Last chance for goals and "tableaux!"
3. Last day of Term 1 - Thursday.
Have a great evening!
Monday, 20 November 2017
Happy Monday!
Hello families and friends of learning!
As Term 1 winds down, we are busy, busy, busy working hard in class to ensure we continue to produce and
hand in our best work in all three subjects.
This morning in Math, we approached our mental math a little bit differently. After Mme Careen wrote a question on the board, we had five minutes to complete it on our own using one method, and then we had 5 more minutes to meet with a partner to have them teach us their strategy. After reviewing each one, we chose which one we preferred and explained why. We will continue to approach mental math questions this way over the next while until we gain confidence in applying two methods to solve one question on our own.
Also in Math, we made a study checklist for our upcoming assessment on Wednesday.
In Français, we had our third CFOO presentations and we showed that we are a group of creative Knights! Our presentations have improved so much over the past 6 weeks; Mme Careen was very impressed with the high standard we continue to set for ourselves when both preparing and presenting our speeches! Bravo!
Finally, in Science, we started recording our daily observations in our Tomatosphere journals. We will observe and record data daily throughout the next 30 days, and will note: the classroom temperature, the time, how many seeds have germinated and any additional info, such as if we watered the peat pots, removed the greenhouse covers, etc. After we model this process together for the first 15 days, students will be in charge of updating their own observation logs to keep track of all important data (that we will then review and use at the end of the experiment time).
Our daily observation log. |
No germinated seeds, yet! |
*****
Agenda items:
1. Goals and inspiration boards - The written part of our assignment (the goals themselves) are overdue. There are still many students who have not submitted their good copies. Please ensure they are handed in soon! Our last period to work on the inspiration boards will be tomorrow. After that, students will be required to stay in over the noon hour until their work is complete.
Our hope is to have our inspiration boards displayed for your visit tomorrow evening!
2. Speaking of tomorrow, we hope to see you here at the school tomorrow evening for our student-led conferences. Please stop by any time between 4:00-7:30. Looking forward to sharing our learning with you!
3. Math assessment - Wednesday.
4. Last day of Term 1 - Thursday.
Have a great afternoon! :)
Friday, 17 November 2017
To-may-to, To-mah-to!
Happy Friday, everyone!
Today was an exciting day in Room 208. We planted space tomatoes!
We briefly discussed our tomato planting for the Tomatosphere project yesterday, and started our Science class today with THIS VIDEO with astronaut Thomas Pesquet. (We watched it in French today, but the link is for the English version).
As part of a 'blind test,' we planted two types of seeds - one from a control group and another from a group of seeds that have been in space on the I.S.S. We each planted 2 seeds - one from each seed group. The groups this year are "G" and "H" but we don't yet know which letter belongs to what seed group (hence the blind test). After planting our seeds, we placed our peat pots in mini-greenhouses (seedling trays with humidity covers), away from direct sunlight and cold-air drafts in order to provide ideal growing conditions.
We will make daily observations every day for the next 30 days. Our daily observations will include writing the date, the day of the experiment, the time of the observation, the temperature of the class and how many seeds from each group have germinated. It is expected that the seeds will start germinating between days 5 and 7, meaning we should start seeing tiny stems and leaves as early as Wednesday!
Today was an exciting day in Room 208. We planted space tomatoes!
We briefly discussed our tomato planting for the Tomatosphere project yesterday, and started our Science class today with THIS VIDEO with astronaut Thomas Pesquet. (We watched it in French today, but the link is for the English version).
How might someone plant a space tomato?
Here's our planting method:
We will make daily observations every day for the next 30 days. Our daily observations will include writing the date, the day of the experiment, the time of the observation, the temperature of the class and how many seeds from each group have germinated. It is expected that the seeds will start germinating between days 5 and 7, meaning we should start seeing tiny stems and leaves as early as Wednesday!
Here we are planting our tiny tomato seeds! |
There are the 2 official seed pouches and our 2 'greenhouses' that will house our tomato plants over the next 30 days. |
As the experiment continues, we will discuss the need for collecting this type of data as it pertains to humans colonizing Mars. We will also be discussing the Scientific Method and learning how to: write detailed hypotheses, analyze and graph our collected data and represent our findings in well-written conclusions.
At the conclusion of the experiment, we will be submitting out results to Tomatosphere, and at that point we will discover the identities of the seed groups.
Participation in this month-long experiment will not only help Canadian scientists address the question of how we supply space exploration missions with life support requirements, it may also inspire us to pursue studies in Science and Technology as our space scientists and Mars explorers of the future.
Tomatoes, anyone?
*****
Agenda items:
1. CFOO presentations - Monday
2. All Science project revisions - Monday
3. Good copies of our goals were due in class today. Any students who have not yet handed in their goals will be asked to stay in over noon hour on Monday to complete. We will work on finishing our inspiration boards (on the iPads with PicCollage) on Tuesday.
4. Math evaluation on multiples, factors, prime and composite numbers and factor trees has been pushed back to Wednesday. More info to be discussed in class on Monday.
5. Student-led conferences - Tuesday, November 21 from 4:00-7:30. No appointment required; pop by at anytime!
Have a great weekend! :)
At the conclusion of the experiment, we will be submitting out results to Tomatosphere, and at that point we will discover the identities of the seed groups.
Participation in this month-long experiment will not only help Canadian scientists address the question of how we supply space exploration missions with life support requirements, it may also inspire us to pursue studies in Science and Technology as our space scientists and Mars explorers of the future.
Tomatoes, anyone?
*****
Agenda items:
1. CFOO presentations - Monday
2. All Science project revisions - Monday
3. Good copies of our goals were due in class today. Any students who have not yet handed in their goals will be asked to stay in over noon hour on Monday to complete. We will work on finishing our inspiration boards (on the iPads with PicCollage) on Tuesday.
4. Math evaluation on multiples, factors, prime and composite numbers and factor trees has been pushed back to Wednesday. More info to be discussed in class on Monday.
5. Student-led conferences - Tuesday, November 21 from 4:00-7:30. No appointment required; pop by at anytime!
Have a great weekend! :)
Thursday, 16 November 2017
Agenda items - Thursday
Agenda items:
1. Good copies of our goals (written) and our inspiration boards are due at the end the morning tomorrow (Friday). Not quite done? Need more time? Our room will be open over the noon hour for anyone needing a place to work.
2. Scholastic orders - due tomorrow (Friday).
3. CFOO #3 - Presentations on Monday, November 20. (See Tuesday's blog post for more info).
4. Additions/improvements to Science Design Process projects - Monday, November 20.
5. Math evaluation on multiples, factors, prime and composite numbers and factor trees - Tuesday, November 21.
Have a great afternoon! :)
Wednesday, 15 November 2017
Wednesday!
Hello families and friends!
We had a great morning of learning today.
In Math, we continued learning about factor trees. We also completed our first word problem, going through a specific checklist to ensure our work was complete before submitting.
In Français, we had a work period to continue editing and writing the good copies of our goals for the school year. Many of us have now started creating our accompanying inspiration boards using the PicCollage app on the iPads. We reviewed the criteria of what should be included on our inspiration boards together as a group before getting to work. We will have two more work periods this week in order to meet our Friday due date.
In Science, we continued our investigation of the five Kingdoms, focusing on Protista (protiste) and Fungi (mycète). After looking at picture example of each Kingdom, we watch a series of short videos before identifying the main characteristics of each group. Today we learned that Protista are microscopic (with a few exceptions), unicellular, and have a nucleus. We also learned that the examples in the Fungi group are quite varied, ranging from Penicillin and Trichophyton (the fungus causing Athlete's Foot) to mushrooms. We'll learn more about the characteristics of Fungi tomorrow in class.
*****
Agenda items:
1. Good copy and inspiration board for our 2017-18 goals due Friday.
2. CFOO - Monday, November 20.
3. Scholastic orders - due Friday, November 17.
4. Additions/improvements to Science Design Process projects - Monday, November 20.
Have a great afternoon! :)
We had a great morning of learning today.
In Math, we continued learning about factor trees. We also completed our first word problem, going through a specific checklist to ensure our work was complete before submitting.
In Français, we had a work period to continue editing and writing the good copies of our goals for the school year. Many of us have now started creating our accompanying inspiration boards using the PicCollage app on the iPads. We reviewed the criteria of what should be included on our inspiration boards together as a group before getting to work. We will have two more work periods this week in order to meet our Friday due date.
In Science, we continued our investigation of the five Kingdoms, focusing on Protista (protiste) and Fungi (mycète). After looking at picture example of each Kingdom, we watch a series of short videos before identifying the main characteristics of each group. Today we learned that Protista are microscopic (with a few exceptions), unicellular, and have a nucleus. We also learned that the examples in the Fungi group are quite varied, ranging from Penicillin and Trichophyton (the fungus causing Athlete's Foot) to mushrooms. We'll learn more about the characteristics of Fungi tomorrow in class.
*****
Agenda items:
1. Good copy and inspiration board for our 2017-18 goals due Friday.
2. CFOO - Monday, November 20.
3. Scholastic orders - due Friday, November 17.
4. Additions/improvements to Science Design Process projects - Monday, November 20.
Have a great afternoon! :)
Tuesday, 14 November 2017
A few quick announcements.
Happy Tuesday, everyone!
Here are a few important announcements/agenda items for today.
1. The rough copy of our goals (in Français) is now overdue. We are currently working on editing and publishing our work in class, so it is essential that all rough drafts are now complete. Please ask about my rough copy and how my writing is going. We are hoping to have all written work and the accompanying visual "tableau" completed by Friday of this week.
2. Our 3rd CFOO has now been assigned. Our theme this time is "Créativité." We had one work period today and now it is our responsibility to complete our speeches at home and be prepared to present to the class Monday, November 20.
3. Design Process (Science) projects. Rubrics for our projects were handed back in class today. Mme assessed our work (five different categories) using the same rubric that appeared in our project outline/rough copy. She also made sure to give us written feedback to outline both our successes and our areas of improvement. As leaners that strive for excellence, we do have the option to review our projects and re-do any sections that were either missed or did not meet the criteria outlined in the project itself. We were encouraged to review our rubrics and decide whether re-working the project would be something we would like to do. If we are interested in improving our work, we need to speak to Mme Careen directly so that she can best guide us on what steps to take. All project revisions need to be completed and submitted by Monday, November 20.
4. November Scholastic orders - due Friday, November 17.
5. Coming soon! Our evening of student learning is fast approaching! Please join us Tuesday, November 21 from 4:00-7:30. No need to book an appointment - just stop on by at any time over the evening!
Looking forward to seeing you there! :)
Monday, 13 November 2017
Happy Monday!
After three days of rest, we were ready to get learning this morning at school!
Here's what kept us bust this morning in 208!
In Mathé, we tackled our first 'real' word problem of the year. Working in randomized groups of 2 or 3, we each got our own small white board and pen to do our "first Math thinking" with our teams. Referring to the question Mme Careen projected on the board, we discussed what words were important and what types of strategies we could use to find the answer. There were many key vocabulary words that we needed to understand in order to get started on the question.
After a slow start, many of us were able to come up with more than one answer to the question, finding quick tricks and hints to help us along the way.
Now that we've had collaboration time, we will take our best thinking and transfer our work/answers to paper in class tomorrow.
Also in Math, we began looking at factor trees. Many of us found them a little bit magical! We can take any non-prime number (nombre composé) and break it down into prime factors. The magic? For any given number, it doesn't matter what factors we start with; the end list of prime factors will always be the same! See the picture below (noting the examples 20 and 50) to see what we mean!
In Science, we started learning about MONÈRE (Monera) - one of the five kingdoms of all living things. We learned that Monère are microscopic, single-celled organisms that do not have a nucleus. Bacteria are the main examples of the Monera kingdom and we learned that bacteria have three main shapes: spheres (Streptococcus), spirals (Helicobacter) and rods (E.coli).
In Français, we got straight to work on our goal writing. Many of us spent the class peer-editing with a partner and some of us even started (and finished!) our final copies! Once we have finished our final copies, we will start the next component of our project: the visual inspiration board! We will review the criteria for the inspiration boards on Wednesday, with the goal of having both parts of the project completed by the end of the week. We are excited to share our goals and inspiration boards with you at our conferences coming up next week!
*****
Agenda:
1. Rough copy of goals - Overdue! Please finish ASAP!
2. Mental Math assessment - tomorrow (Tuesday).
3. Mme Champagne was looking for many of us to visit her over noon hour today.... Hopefully you made it there!
4. November Scholastics - due Friday, November, 17.
Here's what kept us bust this morning in 208!
In Mathé, we tackled our first 'real' word problem of the year. Working in randomized groups of 2 or 3, we each got our own small white board and pen to do our "first Math thinking" with our teams. Referring to the question Mme Careen projected on the board, we discussed what words were important and what types of strategies we could use to find the answer. There were many key vocabulary words that we needed to understand in order to get started on the question.
After a slow start, many of us were able to come up with more than one answer to the question, finding quick tricks and hints to help us along the way.
Now that we've had collaboration time, we will take our best thinking and transfer our work/answers to paper in class tomorrow.
Also in Math, we began looking at factor trees. Many of us found them a little bit magical! We can take any non-prime number (nombre composé) and break it down into prime factors. The magic? For any given number, it doesn't matter what factors we start with; the end list of prime factors will always be the same! See the picture below (noting the examples 20 and 50) to see what we mean!
In Science, we started learning about MONÈRE (Monera) - one of the five kingdoms of all living things. We learned that Monère are microscopic, single-celled organisms that do not have a nucleus. Bacteria are the main examples of the Monera kingdom and we learned that bacteria have three main shapes: spheres (Streptococcus), spirals (Helicobacter) and rods (E.coli).
In Français, we got straight to work on our goal writing. Many of us spent the class peer-editing with a partner and some of us even started (and finished!) our final copies! Once we have finished our final copies, we will start the next component of our project: the visual inspiration board! We will review the criteria for the inspiration boards on Wednesday, with the goal of having both parts of the project completed by the end of the week. We are excited to share our goals and inspiration boards with you at our conferences coming up next week!
*****
Agenda:
1. Rough copy of goals - Overdue! Please finish ASAP!
2. Mental Math assessment - tomorrow (Tuesday).
3. Mme Champagne was looking for many of us to visit her over noon hour today.... Hopefully you made it there!
4. November Scholastics - due Friday, November, 17.
Friday, 10 November 2017
Lest We Forget
On Thursday, November 9, we gathered in the school gym for our Remembrance Day ceremony.
We were also joined my many members of our community.
Our ceremony included the Colour Guard, the playing of the Last Post and Lament, listening to our guest speaker Barry Burns, and the laying of our classroom poppy wreaths while the choir sang "May It Be." We also watched a very powerful video, "Just One," saw the Grade 7 drama team present, "La liberté n'est pas libre" and read the poem "In Flander's Fields" together as an entire community.
The assembly was meaningful, powerful and very emotional for many.
At the end of the ceremony, we were asked to go back to our classroom and reflect about the ceremony and what we are thankful for. We chose to have a time of silent reflection, with each of us taking the chance to write down something we are thankful for or something we liked about the ceremony.
Please read our thoughts and reflections, posted below.
- I am very thankful for everything I have, especially my loving family and friends that care for me. We will never forget.
- The people who left home to go to war should be respected. I am thankful for my freedom, so thank you to the soldiers who battled in the wars.
- I'm thankful for being able to chose what I want to be and to do what I want to do. Thankful for my freedom.
- I'm thankful for the soldiers that are fighting for our freedom.
- I liked how [during our school ceremony] a soldier was onstage playing the trumpet instead of us listening to a recording. Lest we forget.
- I have never experienced a more powerful moment than hearing the poem, "In Flander's Fields" read together by an entire school community. We had the chance to share this today because of the sacrifice of many. We will remember them.
- One poppy represents one million lives.
- I'm thankful for the soldiers who fought for our freedom and peace.
- I am very thankful for those who fought for our freedom.
- People who left their families for us, served for us, fought for us and died for us. Think about it. Freedom didn't come free.
- My great great uncle Ernie fought in the war. I am thankful for my family.
- I am thankful for my freedom. I am thankful for being able to live in a country that is not at war. I would like to thank all the soldiers who risked everything for my freedom.
- I'm thankful for our freedom and having a family to care for me.
- Thanks for our freedom, homes and for us to not live in fear. Words cannot describe how thankful I am. It's not fair that you sacrifice yourselves for us. Lest We Forget.
- I am thankful that all these people died for our freedom and they died not knowing their own freedom - just ours.
- I'm thankful that I've been given freedom and will not have it taken away.
- I am very thankful for those who fight.
- I'm thankful for peace in our country.
- Before I start listing down what I'm thankful for, I would like to say; for me, it's very heartbreaking to see how many people sacrificed and gave up their lives for our freedom. Yes, it's very shocking to know that over a million people died in World War I and World War II for us. I'm very thankful for: family, friends, a friendly community, rights, food, water, clothes, a home and of course... freedom and peace!
- I am thankful that we get to live freely now. In remembrance of all the fallen soldiers, along with my 5 great uncles that fought boldly during the war.
- I am thankful for my education.
- I'm thankful for what Canadians did for our country's freedom. Je suis reconnaissant pour la paix de notre pays.
- I am thankful for freedom and everyone who fought for it.
- R.I.P. all 4 of my great great uncles and 2 of my great great aunts that served in WWII. R.I.P. brothers and sisters of the Ferkark family.
- I am very grateful for the soldiers that risked their lives. A lot dies, a lot were injured but they still fought. Listening to the stories reminded me of my grandpa who was in an attacker ship. He worked in the boiler room. Enemies attacked and it sank down, with my grandpa. So, when I hear about soldiers, it reminds me of my grandpa. Sure, I may cry, but I am just very thankful of what they did for our country.
- I cannot imagine the sorrow felt by the families who lost loved ones in the war. Their sacrifice and suffering is the cost for the freedom we have today. Lest We Forget.
We were also joined my many members of our community.
Our ceremony included the Colour Guard, the playing of the Last Post and Lament, listening to our guest speaker Barry Burns, and the laying of our classroom poppy wreaths while the choir sang "May It Be." We also watched a very powerful video, "Just One," saw the Grade 7 drama team present, "La liberté n'est pas libre" and read the poem "In Flander's Fields" together as an entire community.
The assembly was meaningful, powerful and very emotional for many.
At the end of the ceremony, we were asked to go back to our classroom and reflect about the ceremony and what we are thankful for. We chose to have a time of silent reflection, with each of us taking the chance to write down something we are thankful for or something we liked about the ceremony.
Please read our thoughts and reflections, posted below.
http://shop.flagshop.com/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/f/l/flag-decorative-lestweforget-c-bi.gif
- I am very thankful for everything I have, especially my loving family and friends that care for me. We will never forget.
- The people who left home to go to war should be respected. I am thankful for my freedom, so thank you to the soldiers who battled in the wars.
- I'm thankful for being able to chose what I want to be and to do what I want to do. Thankful for my freedom.
- I'm thankful for the soldiers that are fighting for our freedom.
- I liked how [during our school ceremony] a soldier was onstage playing the trumpet instead of us listening to a recording. Lest we forget.
- I have never experienced a more powerful moment than hearing the poem, "In Flander's Fields" read together by an entire school community. We had the chance to share this today because of the sacrifice of many. We will remember them.
- One poppy represents one million lives.
- I'm thankful for the soldiers who fought for our freedom and peace.
- I am very thankful for those who fought for our freedom.
- People who left their families for us, served for us, fought for us and died for us. Think about it. Freedom didn't come free.
- My great great uncle Ernie fought in the war. I am thankful for my family.
- I am thankful for my freedom. I am thankful for being able to live in a country that is not at war. I would like to thank all the soldiers who risked everything for my freedom.
- I'm thankful for our freedom and having a family to care for me.
- Thanks for our freedom, homes and for us to not live in fear. Words cannot describe how thankful I am. It's not fair that you sacrifice yourselves for us. Lest We Forget.
- I am thankful that all these people died for our freedom and they died not knowing their own freedom - just ours.
- I'm thankful that I've been given freedom and will not have it taken away.
- I am very thankful for those who fight.
- I'm thankful for peace in our country.
- Before I start listing down what I'm thankful for, I would like to say; for me, it's very heartbreaking to see how many people sacrificed and gave up their lives for our freedom. Yes, it's very shocking to know that over a million people died in World War I and World War II for us. I'm very thankful for: family, friends, a friendly community, rights, food, water, clothes, a home and of course... freedom and peace!
- I am thankful that we get to live freely now. In remembrance of all the fallen soldiers, along with my 5 great uncles that fought boldly during the war.
- I am thankful for my education.
- I'm thankful for what Canadians did for our country's freedom. Je suis reconnaissant pour la paix de notre pays.
- I am thankful for freedom and everyone who fought for it.
- R.I.P. all 4 of my great great uncles and 2 of my great great aunts that served in WWII. R.I.P. brothers and sisters of the Ferkark family.
- I am very grateful for the soldiers that risked their lives. A lot dies, a lot were injured but they still fought. Listening to the stories reminded me of my grandpa who was in an attacker ship. He worked in the boiler room. Enemies attacked and it sank down, with my grandpa. So, when I hear about soldiers, it reminds me of my grandpa. Sure, I may cry, but I am just very thankful of what they did for our country.
- I cannot imagine the sorrow felt by the families who lost loved ones in the war. Their sacrifice and suffering is the cost for the freedom we have today. Lest We Forget.
Thursday, 9 November 2017
Thursday!
Happy Thursday, everyone!
Here's a quick look at our morning.
In Mathé, we corrected Section B of our Mental Math strategy, multiplication de la gauche. Now that we have worked through 4 different strategies, our next step in class will be to start applying different strategies to solve the same question. This is also a great time to remind ourselves that working through the mental math questions assigned to us every week is important; the more we practice a strategy, the more we become familiar with it and are able to internalize the steps. Having a range of mental math strategies to recall and apply will help with all the Math concepts we will be learning this year.
Our Science class was very short this morning due to us being called down for our Remembrance Day assembly (please see this separate post). In the time we did have, we did learn that all living things are divided into 5 groups, called Kingdoms (les 5 règnes): Monère, Protiste, Mycète, Plante, Animal. We will start looking at the specific characteristics of each of these groups in class next week.
In Français, we started the class with a short listening activity (this one was pretty silly, all about the names of pets) and ended with writing time for our goals for our "Tableaux d'inspirations." We reviewed the criteria for our writing before getting starting, to make sure we were all on the right track. Each goal should be clearly stated (Mon premier but cette année est...) and then followed with an action plan of how we will achieve that goal
(Je vais accomplir ce but par...). We will start editing and publishing our good copies in class on Monday.
The criteria for our goals |
*****
Agenda items:
1. Ness Knights Clothing Store - closes tomorrow (Friday, November 10). Please see previous posts for info.
2. Rough copies of our goals for Français - due in class on Monday.
3. Mental Math Assessment - Tuesday.
4. November Scholastics - orders due Friday, November 17.
Have a great weekend! :)
Wednesday, 8 November 2017
Wednesday, Wednesday
Happy Wednesday!
We were happy to welcome Mme McKenzie to our class this morning to help us with our special poppy wreath that we will be presenting during our Remembrance Day assembly tomorrow morning.
Mme McKenzie also read us the book Un coquelicot pour se souvenir.
In Science this morning, we continued to look at the characteristics of living things. We worked with our table partners to read and fill in the blanks for an information sheet with facts about living things. We are learning many new vocabulary words with this unit of study and will continue to review, practice and incorporate these words into class discussions in the coming weeks.
We finished our morning with Français, working together as a class to finish the shared write of our "Suresh" summary. We learned that it's ok if our rough copy writing is messy and contains sleeping/grammar mistakes. When we are working at getting our ideas out on to paper, it's important to keep writing so that we don't lose our momentum. If we are unsure of a word or a sentence structure, we can circle or underline that part of the text and then return to it later during our editing process. That's part of what good writers do!
*****
Agenda items:
1. Section B Calcul Mental - tomorrow
2. Donations for poppies - tomorrow
3. Remembrance Day assembly - tomorrow (Thursday) at 10:15am. All welcome.
4. Knights Clothing - online store closes Friday, November 10. Info HERE and HERE.
5. No school Friday.
We were happy to welcome Mme McKenzie to our class this morning to help us with our special poppy wreath that we will be presenting during our Remembrance Day assembly tomorrow morning.
Mme McKenzie also read us the book Un coquelicot pour se souvenir.
In Science this morning, we continued to look at the characteristics of living things. We worked with our table partners to read and fill in the blanks for an information sheet with facts about living things. We are learning many new vocabulary words with this unit of study and will continue to review, practice and incorporate these words into class discussions in the coming weeks.
We finished our morning with Français, working together as a class to finish the shared write of our "Suresh" summary. We learned that it's ok if our rough copy writing is messy and contains sleeping/grammar mistakes. When we are working at getting our ideas out on to paper, it's important to keep writing so that we don't lose our momentum. If we are unsure of a word or a sentence structure, we can circle or underline that part of the text and then return to it later during our editing process. That's part of what good writers do!
*****
Agenda items:
1. Section B Calcul Mental - tomorrow
2. Donations for poppies - tomorrow
3. Remembrance Day assembly - tomorrow (Thursday) at 10:15am. All welcome.
4. Knights Clothing - online store closes Friday, November 10. Info HERE and HERE.
5. No school Friday.
Tuesday, 7 November 2017
Terrific Tuesday!
Hello everyone!
Here's a quick look at what kept us busy this morning in Room 208.
In Math, we started by correcting Section A of our mental math practice sheet. Our strategy this week is multiplying from the left. We can break bigger numbers into its place values, multiply the parts and then add them together. This strategy will help us as we continue to multiply bigger and bigger numbers. We also spent more time with factors and primer and composite numbers, and began reviewing these concepts (along with multiples) to solidify our understanding.
In Français, we read our second peace-themed book, Regarde par-ci! Regarded par là! Regarde partout! and noticed that this book asked us to call on all of our senses when we think of peace. The characters in the story found peace smelling fresh-baked bread and tasting sweet, crisp apples. They also saw peace looking at the river and felt peace being in the mountains. Mme challenged us to think about when we feel peace in our lives. What daily routines, family traditions and special memories make us feel peace? We will call upon all of these experiences when we begin our peace poem writing early next week.
Finally, in Science, we continued learning about the characteristics of living things. We reviewed that all living things: breathe, eat, grow, are made of cells, reproduce, adapt, require sun (stimuli) and die.
We will continue to explore these ideas in class tomorrow before we move on to the classification of living things and the properties that make each sub group unique.
*****
Agenda items:
1. Section B Calcul Mental - Thursday
2. Remembrance Day Assembly - Thursday at 10:15. All welcome.
* Students will each receive a poppy to wear to the assembly on Thursday. We are asking that all students respectfully consider making a donation for the poppy they receive. Please give as you are able.
Here's a quick look at what kept us busy this morning in Room 208.
In Math, we started by correcting Section A of our mental math practice sheet. Our strategy this week is multiplying from the left. We can break bigger numbers into its place values, multiply the parts and then add them together. This strategy will help us as we continue to multiply bigger and bigger numbers. We also spent more time with factors and primer and composite numbers, and began reviewing these concepts (along with multiples) to solidify our understanding.
In Français, we read our second peace-themed book, Regarde par-ci! Regarded par là! Regarde partout! and noticed that this book asked us to call on all of our senses when we think of peace. The characters in the story found peace smelling fresh-baked bread and tasting sweet, crisp apples. They also saw peace looking at the river and felt peace being in the mountains. Mme challenged us to think about when we feel peace in our lives. What daily routines, family traditions and special memories make us feel peace? We will call upon all of these experiences when we begin our peace poem writing early next week.
Finally, in Science, we continued learning about the characteristics of living things. We reviewed that all living things: breathe, eat, grow, are made of cells, reproduce, adapt, require sun (stimuli) and die.
We will continue to explore these ideas in class tomorrow before we move on to the classification of living things and the properties that make each sub group unique.
*****
Agenda items:
1. Section B Calcul Mental - Thursday
2. Remembrance Day Assembly - Thursday at 10:15. All welcome.
* Students will each receive a poppy to wear to the assembly on Thursday. We are asking that all students respectfully consider making a donation for the poppy they receive. Please give as you are able.
Monday, 6 November 2017
Happy Monday!
It's Monday! After a weekend's rest we were ready to jump back into learning!
In Math, we continue to work with our new mental math strategy, "multiplication par la gauche" (multiplication starting from the left) and with prime and composite numbers.
In Français, we started our class by reading the book, Qu'est-ce due la paix? written by Wallace Edwards. This book introduces a rich vocabulary of how we can describe peace in our lives and includes such beautiful pictures, too.
After reading together, we continued our shared write of the resumé for Suresh. We will finish the resumé this week and then work on editing our writing piece before copying down the final version.
*****
Agenda items:
1. Peak of the Market fundraiser sheets due back TOMORROW! (Tuesday).
2. Section A Calcul Mental - tomorrow
3. Page bleue - Nombres premiers et composés - tomorrow
4. Early dismissal - tomorrow
5. Remembrance Day assembly - Thursday at 10:15 in our school gym. All are welcome to attend.
In Math, we continue to work with our new mental math strategy, "multiplication par la gauche" (multiplication starting from the left) and with prime and composite numbers.
In Français, we started our class by reading the book, Qu'est-ce due la paix? written by Wallace Edwards. This book introduces a rich vocabulary of how we can describe peace in our lives and includes such beautiful pictures, too.
After reading together, we continued our shared write of the resumé for Suresh. We will finish the resumé this week and then work on editing our writing piece before copying down the final version.
*****
Agenda items:
1. Peak of the Market fundraiser sheets due back TOMORROW! (Tuesday).
2. Section A Calcul Mental - tomorrow
3. Page bleue - Nombres premiers et composés - tomorrow
4. Early dismissal - tomorrow
5. Remembrance Day assembly - Thursday at 10:15 in our school gym. All are welcome to attend.
Friday, 3 November 2017
It's Friday!
We had a busy morning of learning today to cap off a busy week!
In Mathé, we worked on factors as well as prime and composite numbers. We learned that "les facteurs" can also be called "les diviseurs." We also tackled our next mental math strategy, which has us decomposing a larger number into its place values in order to multiply. This strategy is a good fit for us right now, as our work with factors is really helping us a build confidence with our basic multiplication facts.
In Français, we continued working with the story, "Suresh, the garçon qui venait de loin." Today we began writing a resumé of the text and discussed how writing a resumé to show our comprehension of an article is different than writing a resumé that we may find on the back of a book to hook in a reader. We will finish the shared write of our Suresh resumé next week in class.
Nearer the end of our morning, Mme McKenzie stopped by to explain an activity that we, as a school, will be doing as we prepare for our upcoming Remembrance Day assembly next week. She shared an article with us that was printed in the Winnipeg Free Press back in 2005 that listed the names of every Manitoban who died during World War II. We were all surprised by how many names there were! Pages and pages of names! Next week in class, we will each choose one name from the list and write it in the centre of a paper poppy. These paper poppies will then be formed into a wreath and carried up to the front go the gym during our assembly next Thursday.
We were asked to go home this weekend and ask about any of our family members or family friends that may have fought in World War II; we are welcome to honour a family member or a friend with a paper poppy as well.
*****
Agenda items:
1. Questions 1-4, les nombres premiers et composés - Monday.
2. Calcul mental Section A - Tuesday
3. Ask about family and friends who fought in WWII.
4. CFOO #3 - Monday, November 20
(*This has not yet been officially assigned; more details about CFOO #3 to come in class next week).
Have a great weekend! :)
In Mathé, we worked on factors as well as prime and composite numbers. We learned that "les facteurs" can also be called "les diviseurs." We also tackled our next mental math strategy, which has us decomposing a larger number into its place values in order to multiply. This strategy is a good fit for us right now, as our work with factors is really helping us a build confidence with our basic multiplication facts.
In Français, we continued working with the story, "Suresh, the garçon qui venait de loin." Today we began writing a resumé of the text and discussed how writing a resumé to show our comprehension of an article is different than writing a resumé that we may find on the back of a book to hook in a reader. We will finish the shared write of our Suresh resumé next week in class.
Nearer the end of our morning, Mme McKenzie stopped by to explain an activity that we, as a school, will be doing as we prepare for our upcoming Remembrance Day assembly next week. She shared an article with us that was printed in the Winnipeg Free Press back in 2005 that listed the names of every Manitoban who died during World War II. We were all surprised by how many names there were! Pages and pages of names! Next week in class, we will each choose one name from the list and write it in the centre of a paper poppy. These paper poppies will then be formed into a wreath and carried up to the front go the gym during our assembly next Thursday.
We were asked to go home this weekend and ask about any of our family members or family friends that may have fought in World War II; we are welcome to honour a family member or a friend with a paper poppy as well.
*****
Agenda items:
1. Questions 1-4, les nombres premiers et composés - Monday.
2. Calcul mental Section A - Tuesday
3. Ask about family and friends who fought in WWII.
4. CFOO #3 - Monday, November 20
(*This has not yet been officially assigned; more details about CFOO #3 to come in class next week).
Have a great weekend! :)
Thursday, 2 November 2017
CFOO #2!
C'est le jeudi de jumeaux et jumelles!
It's Twin Day Thursday!
We had a great morning of learning together today, with the highlight being all of the great CFOO presentations! This week's presentation theme was "Opinion" and students presented one of 5 categories: "On mange" (favourite restaurant), "On achète" (favourite store), "On clique" (favourite website), "On s'explique" (all about me - my favourite things), "On critique" (a critique on a movie, book, or television show).
One of our goals as a class after our first CFOO presentations was to work on the introduction to our speeches, to better hook the interest of our audience... and did we ever improve! Wow! Mme Careen also noticed how we were using great transition words in our texts and have started presenting with more expression and more confidence. Bravo!
CFOO #3 is coming up Monday, November 20 (theme to be assigned in class soon).
Stay tuned for more info!
*****
Agenda items:
1. Last call for Holiday Card Making Soiree fundraiser!
2. Tomorrow - Meme Day!
Have great evening! :)
Wednesday, 1 November 2017
Moustaches and more!
Happy Mo-vembre learning friends!
We were wearing all sorts of moustaches today to celebrate the first day of November!
In Math, we completed our 3rd mental math assessment using "Doubles" as the strategy. We then learned about prime and composite numbers (les nombres premiers et composés) and completed a special 100-chart to help us identify the prime numbers from 1 -100.
We will keep this chart in our binders and can refer to it whenever we are working with factors and multiples
(and more!).
In Science, we continued our discussion about "les êtres vivants" and have identified 7 main characteristics that all living things have in common. We will continue working with this concept for the rest of the week.
In Français, we finished reading the article, "Suresh, le garçon qui venait de loin" and identified and defined all of the tricky words in the text. We will come back to this article over the coming days to talk about it's meaning and to learn how to write a resumé.
Also, in français, we continued working on our goal writing. We started together as a group to brainstorm good transition words we could use at the beginning of each new paragraph to help our text flow and not be repetitive. We also came up with words we can use to let our readers know that we are concluding our text without having to say "in conclusion." Armed with all of these great words, we set off to write independently for 12 minutes. Writing independently without interruption (pen to paper the entire time) allows our ideas to flow and increases our writing stamina.
At the end of our writing time, many of us finished our rough drafts and have already started to revise our work both independently and with a classmate. We are hoping to have the editing and final copies started by the end of the week, with the goal of publishing our work by the end of next week! Stay tuned!
*****
Agenda items
1. CFOO presentations tomorrow! (Thursday).
2. Twin Day - tomorrow
3. Meme Day - Friday
4. Holiday card making forms - due back as soon as possible
5. Knights Clothing on sale! See previous blog post for more info!
Have a great afternoon! :)
Card-making Fundraiser and Knights Clothing!
TPN, our school's very wonderful parent council, is organizing a fun card-crafting evening, complete with sweet treats! Information was sent home with students last week.
Need an extra copy of the sheet? Click on this link: Card-making form
Ness Knights clothing NOW ON SALE!
Show your school spirit with your very own Ness Knights wardrobe!
Online store is open now until November 10. (Meeting this deadline ensures delivery by Winter Break,
so be sure to load up your stockings with white, green and yellow!)
For more info, click here: Knights Clothing Info 1 and here: Knights Clothing Info 2
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