Happy Summer!

It's 9:00am and the halls are quiet. I'm still surprised at how quickly this year has flown by.

As I look around my semi-boxed-up, ready-for-summer-cleaning classroom, it astounds me to think how much learning and growing we did this year together as a team. Through ups and downs, we set goals, celebrated successes, worked hard, had fun, learned and shared some hard lessons, collaborated with our peers, 
shared lots of laughs, set new standards for ourselves, set out on field trip adventures and 
truly grew into our roles as great Knights.

And, because this blog was created for and truly belongs to you, the students, I am signing off by letting your words share what this year has meant to you. Wishing you all the most wonderful summer!

À la prochaine, mes amis!

Mme Careen 😊

*******************************************************************************

I really enjoyed all the friends I made and people I met. All the great teachers (including Mme Careen) that were teaching me all the new things and I learned a lot. - Aidan I.

Mme Careen is a fantastic teacher and every other teacher I had this year was amazing. Field trips/activities were awesome. - Savannah

This year has been amazing so much I could write on this paper I just can't decide what to write at all! All I can say is thank you Mme Careen and everybody for this magnificent year! - Tommy

The highlight of my year was doing all the writing activities that we did in class. - Ellowyn

This year has been one of my best years. I have made some great friends and amazing teachers. I am looking forward for more years at Ness Middle School. - Emily

At lunch, at the very beginning of the year, there was a yearbook sign-up, and there were 3 girls from our class, then me. We needed a partner. So one out of the three friends decided to go with me. That's how I met my best friend. - Jaeda

My favourite memory was when I met Mme for the first time. - Rowen

I like all the fun activities we did like games and field trips. - Alycia

My favourite memories in homeroom was the Science experiments that we did, such as the Bernoulli effect with the water and straws! It was so fun and got everywhere! - Peggy-Lee

The best thing that was fun was the coordinates with the axes. - Declan

My favourite memory in homeroom was when we learned different strategies in Math, I loved doing that because I like to learn different strategies to solve Math problems. - Cameron

My most vivid memory of this year is when our class got to do reader's theatre. - Ben

This year 2017-2018 has been the best school year yet. I want to thank Mme Careen for all that she teaches and does for us. - Sierra

I really enjoyed having Mme Careen as my homeroom teacher. - Dawn

I really enjoyed all the Science experiments that we did. - Taryn

Un de mes souvenirs préférés est quand j'ai rencontré Mme Careen. - Jan

My personal favourite time in Room 208 with Mme Careen was when we were doing our Bernoulli studies, because, when we did a project that required a very critical mind to figure out how it works. - Brady

I will really miss the decorations of this beautiful classroom. Also, one thing I can never forget about this school year is the extra-terrestrial project and presenting those pictures and clay figures. - Lucius

I really loved Mme Careen and the kids as well and learning new things like "rapports, simplifie les fractions, etc..." and I LOVED the field trips! I love being in 6F4. - Alexis

With Mme Careen, you'll NEVER know what she has in-store for you. From reader's theatres to airplay making contests, marshmallow challenges to epic snacks and parties, Mme Careen is one of the best teachers you'll ever have. - Van

The best memory of mine in Mme Careen's class is when we had a paper cup with water then we put a straw in it and held a straw over that straw, then we blew into the straw and water went everywhere. - Tayla

I really liked when we measured the Hindenburg outside in the field, even if it was SUPER hot outside. - Fallon

The best part of the year was when we did Tomatosphere because it can give you a lot of experience with growing plants. - Aiden G.

This year I had the best teacher I've ever had. We do such fun stuff like reader's theatre and I couldn't thank Mme Careen enough. - Taylor

Une chose que j'ai bien aimé et que je vais chérir pour la reste de ma vie est quand nous avons fait notre rassemblement en avant de l'école. J'ai aimé cela parvenue c'était amusant et ça a montré tous ce que nous avons appris ensemble. Merci beaucoup Mme Careen! - Deneige

*****

Field Trip Day and Happy Last Day!

Happy Last Day of School!

What a great day for a field trip! 

After seeing the Astronaut show at the Planetarium, we spent time playing in the Science Gallery! So fun! :)

We had fun exploring all the different exhibits!

We learned SO many things about Winnipeg's history on our walking tour of the Exchange district.

(One of our groups was lucky enough to meet see Mayor Brian Bowman on one our stops!)

When we got back to school, we took a minute to snap a quick foot shot!

Our feet sure did a lot of exploring today! :)

P.S. Our class was divided into two groups for the day, with one group starting in the Exchange and the other group starting at the Manitoba Museum with M. d'Auteuil. We all met up for lunch in Old Market Square before switching activities in the afternoon. Unfortunately, that means I only got photos of half our class... but I do know that the other group also had a great time with both activities and had fun spending the day with M. d'Auteuil, too! :)

*****
Agenda items and Important Dates
1. Check back on our classroom blog for one final post tomorrow!
2. Have a great summer! :)

Extreme Wednesday!

Happy Wednesday!

Two days and counting...

Today in Math we worked in teams of three for the Q-Bitz EXTREME challenge!

The pattens on the EXTREME cubes are very different from the set of cubes we used last week. The images we created were more complex and made our brains think, think, think! Bravo to all!

*****
Agenda items and Important Dates:
1. Félicitations to all students who received awards at this afternoon's Awards Ceremony. We are proud of you!
2. Field trip and last day of school - TOMORROW! - Thursday, June 28
(Please come prepared for the weather - we will be outside for a good part of the day).
3. Report cards - Thursday, June 28 at 3:30.

(If students will be absent on Thursday and you are unable to pick up your report from the office on Friday, please send a self-addressed stamped envelope to the school so that we can send your report card out to you).

Have a great afternoon! :)

Three days and counting...

Happy Tuesday!
What a great morning we had together!

We started our day in Math, playing a new game, "YAHOO." This game lets us practice our multiplication and addition skills while taking a bit of risk. Please ask me about my game strategy and how I did!

After locker break, we were very fortunate to attend the Shakespeare play Twelfth Night, presented by Room 209. The actors did a great job performing their lines and keeping us, the audience, engaged. Bravo!

We ended our morning with a paper airplane activity. We had the option of 1) using one of the six templates Mme Careen had posted on the board or 2) creating our own airplane design, with the goal of seeing which model would fly the furthest.

We had 25 minutes to create, test and make modifications to our airplanes before heading to the gym to fly them! We were all able to create some wonderful flying masterpieces! What a fun way to end the morning!

*****
Agenda items and Important Dates:
1. Awards Ceremony - Wednesday, June 27 at 2:00pm
2. Hand in locks to Mme Schmidt - Wednesday after the awards ceremony
3. Field trip and last day of school - Thursday, June 28
4. Report cards - Thursday, June 28 at 3:30.

(If students will be absent on Thursday and you are unable to pick up your report from the office on Friday, please send a self-addressed stamped envelope to the school so that we can send your report card out to you).

Have a great week! :)

The Final Monday!

Hello, friends of learning! It's the final countdown!
We have a very busy week ahead, full of fun and learning!

Speaking of fun and learning, let's talk a bit about Math and the Semaphore Alphabet!
Today in class, after being introduced to the five different types of angles, we applied our new-found angle knowledge to spell words using our arms... and it is way tricker than we thought!
After watching a couple of short videos about the alphabet, Mme gave each of us a 'cheat sheet' of all the letter positions so we could practice. We each had to choose a 5-6 letter word and 'spell' it out for the class to guess.
We had a fun time trying to figure out each other's words!

*****
Agenda items and Important Dates:
1. Coupe de Monde SuperFinal - Tuesday, June 26 - 2:30-3:30.
*Students will be outside for this activity. Please ensure to bring sunscreen, water, a blanket to sit on, etc. so that you're ready to enjoy the afternoon outside!*
2. Awards Ceremony - Wednesday, June 27 at 2:00pm
3. Hand in locks to Mme Schmidt - Wednesday after the awards ceremony
4. Field trip and last day of school - Thursday, June 28
5. Report cards - Thursday, June 28 at 3:30.

(If students will be absent on Thursday and you are unable to pick up your report from the office on Friday, please send a self-addressed stamped envelope to the school so that we can send your report card out to you).

Have a great week! :)

Wednesday, Thursday, Friday!

Hello friends of learning!
It has been a busy week, with lots of learning and lots of action!
Here's a snapshot of what we were up to:

WEDNESDAY
We spent some time outside for Science today!
We started by comparing the shape and size of different frisbees and discussed how that might affect the flight of the disc. We had previously learned that a curved edge/side, such as we see on an airplane or a bird's wing, will force air to flow faster over top than underneath an object, thus creating two different zones of pressure. This difference of pressure is what creates LIFT! (Thanks, Daniel Bernoulli!)

We then undertook the challenge of measuring the length of the Hindenburg so we could really see how large it truly was! Working as a class with access to 12 metre sticks, we started at one end of the school field and measured out 245m! We ended up at the soccer goal right near Centennial Pool! Wow!

We also took some time to take a couple of class pics before calling it a morning.
(Mme Careen was only hit with 2 frisbees in the taking of the picture below!)

THURSDAY
Today in Math completed Round 1 of our Q-Bitz challenge!
Working in teams of three, we had to move quickly to re-created the images on the white board and then get our work checked by Mme Careen in order to win points for our team. The first place team scores 25 points, the second place team scores 20 points and the third place team scores 10 points. After the first three teams are done, the round is done and we move on to a new picture.
Round 2 is coming next week when tackle Q-Bitz Extreme! Wish us luck!

FRIDAY

Our hallway was a busy a place this morning as we did our final locker clean-up of the year. 

Students packed up their extra gear and got it ready to take home for the summer.

Students will keep their locks until Wednesday and hand them in to Mme Schmidt after the awards ceremony.

After we got our lockers cleaned up, we had the chance to use the iPads to watch different video-clips of Francophone music artists. We scanned QR codes to bring us to the video, and then after watching the video, we wrote our opinions of the songs and the video-clip itself.
Please ask me about the music I listened to (and watched) today!
We'll have a chance to watch a few more video-clips as a class on Monday!

****
Agenda items and Important Dates:
1. Permission forms and payment for upcoming field trip - due back ASAP! (deadline: June 22).
2. Congratulations to all students who participated in our school musical, "Law and Order."
You all worked so hard to put on such an amazing show! Bravo!
3. Grade 5 Visit and Homeroom Transition Day - Monday, June 25 p.m. - 1:30 - 2:30
4. Coupe de Monde SuperFinal - Tuesday, June 26 - 2:30-3:30.
*Students will be outside for this activity. Please ensure to bring sunscreen, water, a blanket to sit on, etc. so that you're ready to enjoy the afternoon outside!*
5. Awards Ceremony - Wednesday, June 27 at 2:00pm
(Notification was sent home to award winners today).
6. Hand in locks to Mme Schmidt - Wednesday after the awards ceremony
7. Field trip and last day of school - Thursday, June 28
8. Report cards - Thursday, June 28 at 3:30.

(If students will be absent on Thursday and you are unable to pick up your report from the office on Friday, please send a self-addressed stamped envelope to the school so that we can send your report card out to you).

Have a great weekend! :)

Tuesday!

Happy Tuesday!
In Math this morning we continued our work with perimeter and area, working with our table partners to find the answers to a series of questions. We will practice this concept again tomorrow when we begin to apply it to more challenging forms and word problems.

*****
Agenda items and Important Dates:
1. Permission forms and payment for upcoming field trip - due back ASAP! (deadline: June 22).
2. School Musical - Law and Order: C-Rhyme and Pun-ishment - All students will have a chance to see the afternoon show tomorrow (Wednesday, June 20 at 1:30)!
Additional shows are on Wednesday, June 20 and Thursday, June 21 at 7 pm.
Get your tickets ($3) in the school office today! :)
3. Final locker clean out - Friday, June 22
(Students may start bringing home extra supplies
4. Fun lunch (for those who already pre-ordered) - Friday, June 22
5. Grade 5 Visit and Homeroom Transition Day - Monday, June 25 p.m.
6. Awards Ceremony - Wednesday, June 27 at 2:00pm
(Families of award winners will receive notification later this week).
7. Field trip - Thursday, June 28
8. Report cards - Thursday, June 28 at 3:30.

Two Mondays Left!

Happy second-last Monday, friends!
We had a full morning of learning today!

We were lucky to have Mme Page with us again in Math this morning and she guided our learning about Périmètre et Aire. We worked on small white boards at our tables and then at the big white boards in our randomized groups learning about how a set perimeter and a set area do not necessarily mean the same size of square or rectangle. We were also challenged to find the dimensions of a square and a rectangle that each have the same perimeter and area. Please ask me to explain what I learned in Math today! :)

In Science, we finished learning about Bernoulli and had to time to work on our Experience #3 reports.
We also spent time today talking about a paint-sprayer and how Bernoulli's Principle makes it work!

Finally in Français, we took some time to read the newest classroom library books! There were many new, exciting titles just waiting to be read... so we took the time to do so!
Please ask me about what book I chose to read today!

*****
Agenda items:
1. Permission forms and payment for upcoming field trip - due back ASAP! (deadline: June 22).
2. School Musical - Law and Order: C-Rhyme and Pun-ishment - Wednesday, June 20 and Thursday, June 21 at 7 pm. Get your tickets in the school office today! :)
(See school website for details).
3. Final locker clean out - Friday, June 22
4. Fun lunch (for those who already pre-ordered) - Friday, June 22
5. Grade 5 Visit and Homeroom Transition Day - Monday, June 25 p.m.
6. Awards Ceremony - Wednesday, June 27 at 2:00pm
(Families of award winners will receive notification later this week).
7. Field trip - Thursday, June 28
8. Report cards - Thursday, June 28 at 3:30.

Have a great week! :)

A Water Sprayer à la Bernoulli! (And a field trip announcement!)

Hey, hey, hey!
Although we still have two weeks of learning coming up, I suppose we could call today the last official day of Term 3. Hooray! We worked hard all morning, with the goal of showing our best learning of the most recent skills and concepts we've been practicing in class. Bravo, mes amis!

As part of our study of Bernoulli's Principle, we worked in teams of two to create mini water sprayers using a small paper cup, water, two straws and our own powerful breath!

It took a bit of practice, but soon enough, water was spraying EVERYWHERE!
(Pssst... This experiment is very easy to replicate at home! Hopefully we can give it a try at home this weekend!)

And, announcing...

A very exciting FIELD TRIP that we'll be taking the last day of school!
Who: All Grade 6s
What: A field trip!
Where: The Exchange District, Manitoba Museum and Planetarium!
When: Thursday, June 28, 2018
Why: To learn and experience many Grade 6 curriculum concepts first hand! (And to have fun, too!)
The details: Information letters and permission forms were sent home today and are due back by Friday, June 22. The cost of the field trip is $17, payable to the school by cash or cheque. Parent volunteers may be required for the day. If you are available to join us, please let Mme Careen know!

What a great way to end the school year together!
Be sure to get your forms in ASAP! :)

*****
Agenda items:
1. Permission forms and payment for upcoming field trip - due back ASAP! (deadline: June 22).
2. School Musical - Law and Order: C-Rhyme and Pun-ishment - Wednesday, June 20 and Thursday, June 21 at 7 pm. Get your tickets in the school office today! :)
(See school website for details).
3. Final locker clean out - Friday, June 22
4. Grade 5 Visit and Homeroom Transition Day - Monday, June 25 p.m.
5. Field trip - Thursday, June 28
6. Report cards - Thursday, June 28

Have a great weekend! :)

Wednesday!

Hi team!
It was great to have the whole class together again and we certainly worked hard this morning finishing our long checklist of items before the end of Term 3.

A reminder that we will be doing a short Science assessment in class tomorrow morning. The assessment was posted on the white board today for us to review. We also asked Mme to post it on the blog so we could review at home. (Thanks, Mme!)

After our assessment, we will be doing a fun Bernoulli experiment and will also have one last chance to finish off any of the items we have been working on this week. Students who are not able to finish up during class time are welcome to stop by over the lunch hour to ensure they are turning in their best work and finishing Term 3 strong!

******
Agenda items:
1. We will be busy this week in class finishing up a few remaining 'things' before Mme starts writing reports. A reminder to all students that even though the school year is winding down, we still have LOTS of learning left to do and should arrive to class each day ready to learn and try our best! :)
2. Short in-class Science assessment - Thursday
3. June Scholastic orders (last order of the year!) - due Thursday.
*A great time to stock up on books for summer reading!*
4. School Musical - Law and Order: C-Rhyme and Pun-ishment - Wednesday, June 20 and Thursday, June 21 at 7 pm.
(See school website for details).
5. Final locker clean out - Friday, June 22
6. Grade 5 Visit and Homeroom Transition Day - Monday, June 25 p.m.

Track-Meet Tuesday!

Hello everyone!
While our track athletes were away running, jumping and throwing, we were busy at school reading, writing and designing! We also had a chance for some Bill-Nye-ing, too! :)

Looking forward to having the whole team back together tomorrow for another great day of learning!
Have a great afternoon! :)

*****
Agenda items:
1. We will be busy this week in class finishing up a few remaining 'things' before Mme starts writing reports. A reminder to all students that even though the school year is winding down, we still have LOTS of learning left to do and should arrive to class each day ready to learn and try our best! :)
2. Tornado Drill - Wednesday a.m.
3. Short in-class Science assessment - Thursday
4. June Scholastic orders (last order of the year!) - due Thursday.
*A great time to stock up on books for summer reading!*
5. School Musical - Law and Order: C-Rhyme and Pun-ishment - Wednesday, June 20 and Thursday, June 21 at 7 pm.
(See school website for details).
6. Final locker clean out - Friday, June 22
7. Grade 5 Visit and Homeroom Transition Day - Monday, June 25 p.m.

Three Mondays Left!

Happy rainy Monday, learning friends!

We had a jam-packed two periods this morning at school!

After watching two short videos about Bernoulli's Principle and the four forces of flight, we got to work on this month's design process activity: building an "aéronef" - a simple aircraft - with a straw, different types of paper and tape.

After building and testing our first prototype, we recorded how it flew and decided what changes we could make to help it fly better (further). After making and recording the changes, it was time to test again! Our goal was to create four different prototypes and, in the end, decide which one flew the best and explain why.

We will have one more work period tomorrow morning to finish of the testing and assessing of our flying creations! Wish us luck! :)

*****
Agenda items:
1. We will be busy this week in class finishing up a few remaining 'things' before Mme starts writing reports. A reminder to all students that even though the school year is winding down, we still have LOTS of learning left to do and should arrive to class each day ready to learn and try our best! :)
2. Good luck to all Track and Field participants who are off to their meet tomorrow (Tuesday)!
3. Tornado Drill - Wednesday a.m.
4. June Scholastic orders (last order of the year!) - due Thursday.
*A great time to stock up on books for summer reading!*
5. School Musical - Law and Order: C-Rhyme and Pun-ishment - Wednesday, June 20 and Thursday, June 21 at 7 pm.
(See school website for details).
6. Final locker clean out - Friday, June 22
7. Grade 5 Visit and Homeroom Transition Day - Monday, June 25 p.m.

Friday!

Happy Friday!

We had a busy morning of learning today!

In Math, after reviewing some fraction concepts, we completed our final Calcul Mental assessment of the year. We had 20 minutes to answer as many questions (out of 50) as we could. Each of our goals with this assessment will be different, and our success is measured to what we were able to do back in September. 

In Science, we began learning about Bernoulli's Principle and how it relates to flight (as well as every day objects). To help demonstrate how Bernoulli's Principle works, we did two short activities; one with a sheet of paper, and one with a funnel and a pingpong ball. These activities helped us see the differences between high and low pressure zones and how they work together to create lift!

Please ask me what I noticed and what I learned!

To finish the morning, in French, we started writing our Zamboni resumes. We will have one more period to finish these next week. Both our chapter work and our resumes will be used for the assessment of our overall novel comprehension.

*****

Agenda items:

1. Scholastic orders due June 14.

2. A longer list of important dates coming up between now and the end of June will be posted early next week.

Have great weekend! :)

Thursday

Hi everyone!
We had a great morning of learning today!

In Math, we continued working on fractions. Working either independently or with our table partners (and referring to our Math journals if needed), we completed a series of questions all touching on the different aspects of the work we have done so far with fractions, including: finding equivalent fractions, reducing fractions, working with decimals, fractions and percents, and finding improper fractions and mixed number fractions.
Some students were able to work through the questions quite quickly, while others were able to tackle some of the questions and have now identified the different areas they should be reviewing to further their understanding. We will review "areas of concern" again in class tomorrow before moving on to our next concept. Any students who would like to work through the questions/concepts with more one-on-one support are welcome to pop by at 12:15 tomorrow at lunch!

P.S. Visiting previous posts on this blog to access the numerous video links posted can also be a great way to review concepts at home! Try HERE, HERE, and HERE to get started!

*****
Agenda items:
1. Cumulative Mental Math assessment - tomorrow (Friday).
2. June Scholastic orders - due Thursday, June 14.

Have a great afternoon! :)

Global Running Day!

Happy Global Running Day!

After starting our day with Math (more improper fractions!) and Science (learning about the four forces of flight), we took a walk in our community, as a class, to celebrate Global Running Day!

Here we are getting ready for our walk!

Here we are being oh-so-silly! :)

Once back from our walk, we finished our morning together with Français... and we finished reading the last chapter of our Zamboni novel! Now that we've finished reading and studying the book, we will work on writing resumes and short, one-sentence book reviews to finish of our unit. (I know reading about hockey this time of year seems a bit out-of-season, but it seems as though the end of our book study will coincide nicely with the end of the NHL season, too!)

*****
Agenda items:
1. Final mental math assessment - Friday, June 8. [Students can't really prepare too much in advance for this, but are welcome to review the strategies covered this year if they feel that will help them be more confident Friday morning. (Sheets should be in their binders)].

Have a great afternoon! :)

Thinking fractions!

Hi everyone!

Were our Math brains ever busy thinking today!

Working in randomized groups at the white boards, we created different Math expressions involving fractions by placing the digits 1-9 into the given blank squares. We worked with proper fractions, improper fractions and mixed numbers. This activity gave us the chance to review and explain many different concepts involving fractions, including: equivalent fractions, ordering fractions, and how to convert improper fractions to mixed numbers (and vice versa).

There were many great discussions amongst the students as they worked together. It was great to hear how well they could explain the reasoning behind their solutions.

Bravo!

*****

Agenda items:

1. Fraction practice - See yesterday's post for video/game links.
2. Global Running Day! - tomorrow (Wednesday). Carve out some time to be active!
(For more info, visit: https://globalrunningday.org).

Four Mondays Left!

Happy Monday, learning friends!
It's hard to believe that June is already here!
The year might be winding down, but we still have a lot of learning left to do.
Here's what we were up to this morning:

In Math, we continue to work with proper fractions and mixed numbers. We are learning different methods of how to convert one form to another. Below are links to three videos that we used as teaching tools in class and that we can re-watch if we are still unsure about certain concepts.

MATH ANTICS - MIXED NUMBERS

LES NOMBRES FRACTIONNAIRES

MIXED NUMBERS AND IMPROPER FRACTIONS

Playing this Math game can also help:

Fresh Baked Fractions

In Science, we continue to look at the 4 four forces of flight. We have already learned about lift (la portance) and gravity (la pesanteur) and will continue exploring the remaining two forces in class tomorrow.

Today in Français we finished our evaluations for our Reader's Theatre groups and had some additional work time to complete our reading comprehension, Céline Dion... quelle chanteuse "amour"veilleuse that we started in class on Friday. While some of us were able to finish in class or over the noon hour today, many of us have opted to take our work home with us to finish this evening. Please note that the reading comprehension assignments are due back, completed, TOMORROW. (Thank you for your support with this, families!)

*****
Agenda items:
1. Céline Dion reading comprehesion - due tomorrow (Tuesday)
2. Fraction practice - visit links posted above to review!