Week 16- December 18-22

Neighbourhood Pancakes and Holiday Celebrations on Thursday
Talent Show on Friday. 

on Thursday

Bring treats to share 

or just wear pajamas,

Bring blankets, stuffies and a mug

There will be hot chocolate and pancakes 

 Crafts and games in the afternoon. 

The holiday is coming up quickly now and the festivities have begun:  holiday lights are up, parades, Santa, angelic carols, advent calendars,  shopping,  menorahs,  early solstice sunsets, travel plans, excitement and sometimes sadness when family is apart or smiles and hugs with joyful reunions. 'Tis a full season. 

This year the timing is a rush! 

Report cards went home on Friday, please make sure to sign and return the envelope. 

As the first letter grade report, this term can leave a big impression. The reports stand as a measure of how well we are doing at tackling the curriculum. We can use it as a measuring stick, a check-in and a chance to celebrate, set goals and recalibrate. 

We are all looking forward to a break and students have been working hard on book projects, our first online research, long division, basketball and introductions en francais. Last week we had a great time making corn chowder (I froze the leftovers, so I hope we can share some more this week), skating (thanks again to the Sucklings!) and Art, decorating and finger knitting. 

This week brings more celebration and wrap-up. 

English
We have finished Wonder and are using the Precept  to be more kind than necessary to decorate our class wall with thank yous and recognition of each other. Kindness takes practice and just gets better. We have some very kind students in our class and lots of friendships to be proud of. 


For writing we have be working on paragraphs and personal stories. This week we will do some editing. 

Math
We have another quiz on long division on Monday. Again, practice is essential. Students have a lot of time during class to work on their assignments and we have been using the Bird's Nest to maximize our learning. Homework is being assigned. Our goal is to move to mastery this week. 

Science
Mixtures and solutions were discussed related to our soup making ingredients and process. Our focus this week is on the complexity of separating mixtures and where we see these action everyday. We will need to wrap up with a cumulative review on Wednesday. 

Health
Food diaries have been happening in concert with nutritional studies this week. 

Growing middle schoolers have strong opinions about FOOD and clear information is a great life asset. Here is a great video on food and the brain from Ted Ed. 

Socials
Using chromebooks, students have been investigating different small French communites in Canada and finding evidence of their economies. We start to do the same with international communities this week. We will investigate different Holiday customs on different continents. 

French 

Students are completing "Me Voici" where they present information about themselves and their preferences, writing and learning several French sentences in French. We will also learn a French carol and compare it to the English Version together with the Grade 6 French Immersion class. 

Dec 11 - 15 - Week 15

Exploratory forms can start coming in at 7:30 a.m. First come, first choice.

It's Christmas Spirit Week!!

Monday Crazy Xmas Hair

Tuesday PJ Day (and skating!!)

Wednesday Music in the Halls all day (by request)

Thursday XMas Colours and Socks

Friday Santa HAT day and photos with the Christmas Dragon

Monday - We are making soup in the morning as a math/health/science mixture project! Our corn chowder recipe is from Sam's Deli - delicious!

Hackergal is meeting in Ms Dvorak's room at lunch this week.

Tuesday - We will be skating after recess and into the lunch hour at SEAPARC. A huge thanks to the Sucklings for providing this a great class opportunity! This is part of our PE program and there is no cost to students. Skate rentals will be provided. 

No skating experience is required, just remember to get up when you fall down! Besides your pajamas for Spirit Week, wear warm socks, pants and (maybe) mittens. We are joining the public skate. If anyone is available to tie skates or inspire new skaters, you are most welcome, send me a note! 

Wednesday   Hackergal and Climate Change talk today! 

Math this week ...

-continuing with division, long divison and partial quotients. Math quiz on Friday. Homework nightly!

English....

-focus on writing paragraphs and beginning a story to publish before the 22nd. 

French...

- continue with "Me voici" poster, Chromebook research on une communate Francophone Canadienne! (Chromebook project - due on Monday)

Science...

- hands-on exploration of mixtures in the kitchen

-vocabulary and classification of mixtures

PE and Health...

-food journal, nutrition, skating and basketball, nature and mindfulness
Socials...
-Chromebook research on economies in small French Canadian communities, beginning research on communities on other continents next week. 

December 4 - 8  - Week 14



English - We finish Wonder this week. It's been a great read and the movie is recommended by students for holiday viewing. Creative Book Project due Thursday. 

Writing- In response to our final chapters, students have written some funny anecdotes from different points of view. Focus on PARAGRAPHS and SENTENCES. 

Math - We begin division this week with a quiz on Friday. Students are learning how to use the multiplication table to divide, short division, long division (x,≑, -, ↓) and partial quotient. 

Please watch here for a excellent review and the easy partial quotient method: 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9k1QldHAANY

For the extra challenge and funky math hack methods: 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ykUVcFPpcgg

Science - Solutions and Mixtures: 
New vocabulary: solute, solution, soluble, insoluble, mixture, physical properties

Socials - Using Chromebooks we are beginning a simple research project using Google Classroom. As a joint French project, students are investigating the economy and attractions of French communities across Canada. We will be investigating human rights in communites on other continents.

French- We are learning new vocabulary to talk about our likes and dislikes (animals, food, colours). 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qZnJqTdHlsU

Week Thirteen -

 November 27- December 1

December is almost here! 😅😉😇

Thanks for all those who came to parent-teacher interviews. 

Report Cards are out on Dec. 15. 

Second term starts on Dec. 8th! 

Math Multiplication Quiz on Wednesday
- basic facts
- single digit 
- double digit multiplication
- multiplying with decimals
Students will have worksheets  this week on word problems. 

English reports on Wonder due this Thursday 
(see previous post for descriptions)
Students may borrow  Wonder books, however I am reading the book aloud in class as well. Students have time during reading to work quietly on their projects. 

Next week another creative book project is due. 

Goal this week: Writing good sentences!

In Science we will begin a new unit on Solutions which will lead into some experiments... (and cooking!)

In Socials we will continue our work on Rights and Responsibliites. Students are working on a group poster and will be looking at the Canadian and Universal Charter of Rights and Freedoms. 

In PE we will continue with BASKETBALL. 
In PE we will also complete a food and activity weekly journal and set some goals for the month ahead. We will use this information in PE, Health, Science and French. 

Week Twelve - November 20-24

It's a short week with lots of tying up as report cards are being prepared.

It's great to see so many parents signing up for interviews! I look forward to chatting with you and showing some of your child's work. 


Socials

As an extension of our walk down the creek and observation of the salmon, the students have been preparing for a debate. Each student is working on communication skills and creative thinking.
In assigned groups the students prepare three "pros" (supporting the proposal) and three "cons" (against the proposal). 
The sceanio (fake news) is that a small fish farm is been proposed for the Sooke River.

The groups are Provincial Government, Federal Department of Fisheries,  First Nations, Local fishers, children, environmentalists and  the Project Developer.

Groups presented their ideas and answered questions on their views about the proposed fish farm.


Math

We have continued to work on double digit multiplication, including working with decimals. We will begin order of operations next week. 
Worksheet due Nov. 23

Wonder

We hope to finish reading Wonder by December so have begun to work on Projects as the novel is read daily. Students are welcome to bring the novel home to read and work on projects over the weekend. Projects are due November 30th. 

1)      Vocabulary List. Find definitions and write a sentence for words.

2)      Character Studies. Find 10 words to describe your character and use them to decorate face.

Add 2-3 quotes from Character and a paragraph about the character describing  personality, dreams, fears, comforts, friends and history.

3)      Comprehension Questions. Answer questions from each Part in complete sentences and with examples to support your opinions.

4)      Point of View. There are several different narrators in Wonder. Describe the mood or feeling created by each narrator and how they see Auggie’s life differently. Give 3 examples for each narrator.

6)  Letter writing. Write a series of letters (3 letters each) to one of the characters in the book about what happened and their thoughts and feelings about the events.

7)    Precepts Choose 5 slogans from the book and make a poster. Include quotes from  3 or more  characters and 4 or more scene descriptions of  examples where these precepts were demonstrated in the book. Use examples from your own life as well. 

Week Eleven - Nov 14- 17

Some tests, book project marks and interm reports went home on Friday. Check with your student!

Conference Manager for

November 23rd Parent-Teacher interviews

is open on Thursday. 

This week...
In English: 

We have finished 2 book reports and are working on a third (due Nov 30). 

We continue to listen to Wonder (a few students are reading along). This week we will begin working on vocabulary (and dictionary skills), examine point of view and continue with descriptive characterizations of the many narrators. 

In Writing we have been working from our Halloween stories to find and improve sentences. We will be building a writing profolio this week.

Google Read Write
From Chrome, using their sd62learns.org accounts, students have access to Google Education and its Apps. These include Read-Write, which Mrs. Syme introduced to us this week. Read-Write includes Predictive Text, Translator and, text to speech and Speech to Text. Students will have access to these tools as the work that they do in Google Docs ( and other programs!) for as long as they are enrolled in the Sooke School District. (Yes, until they are are in High school!) These tools help with research, writing, reading,  editing and collaborating with other students. Check out this video for an overview: 

In Math: 

Multiplication continues as we practice basic skills and try out various methods of double digit multiplication (traditional, lattice, box (grid/partial product) method)

Homework assignments will be sent home each day. 

There was not a Math Quiz on Friday. Students are working either from the textbook (challenge) or from worksheets (some review). 

We will complete applied problems this week with word problems. 

In Socials...

Following our Headlines Report (which students handed in last week) and adding to our trip to view Salmon Spawning in Demaniel Creek (below the school), we will be researching and role playing some of the viewpoints and government actors involved in the Fish Farm Debate up Island. 

In Science we wrap up our study of the Nervous System with a couple of experiments and review the scientific method in the process!

In PE we begin basketball...

Here's the lattice method of multiplication which we are learning in class. The students are loving it!

Week Ten: November 6-10

Our howling was fun and the snow has come,  

the week ahead is for getting things done!

Math
Students have completed the times table and we have shared some tricks to help them remember. We move into double digit calculations this week and some word problems. Quiz on Friday.

Here are some videos on double digit multiplication for review.



There are A LOT of fun videos and games online to review times tables! A few minutes a day playing with Multiplication is AWESOME. (We can post them in our Google classroom!)

Become a Multiplication Master!!

English

• The students have begun some pretty fabulous, very imaginative stories about Halloween!
•  We are continuing to read Wonder (which will be in the theatres this month!) and 
• students are finishing up their second (very brief) independent reading report. The report is due on Monday. We will have a bit of class time tomorrow and reports can be submitted on Tuesday. A worksheet was given out last week. 

The report is out of 12 and focusses on story elements. 

• 1. Identify and describe main characters (3)
•  2. Title and Author (1) 
• 3. 4 star rating (1)   
•  4. Favourite Quote (1) 
• 5. Main plot problem and why it's a problem (2) 
• 6.Main plot solution and how it worked (2)  
• 7. A review: reader's rave about the book with descriptive reasons.(2) 

Writing - has become a regular event in the classroom. First drafts have been read. We will use the writing process to polish our work to publication. The goal is to have at least one piece at a publication stage by December. 

As we begin some editing this week, students will continue to write new work and select prize sentences which they like best and troubled sentences which need some care and revision. We will revise just a few sentences as we focus on the mechanics of sentences and punctuation. 






Socials
4 Headlines Summaries due this week!

Since September students have been asked to find headlines from the news, touching on all the continents. 


We are building global awareness and an awareness of global issues as well as learning about the media. This week students need to complete a W5 on 4 articles

• Who is the article about?
• When did it happen?
• Where did this happen?
• What happened? 
• Why is this event important to the world and to me in Sooke?

Upcoming... Rights and Responsiblities

Page one from the Journey Code of Conduct. Poster and Video Challenge Ahead. 

Science

We are wrapping up our study of the Nervous System and will be reviewing this week with a Quiz. Some experiments will continue next week .  A study sheet will be compiled in class before the quiz. 

Here's a link to the Bill Nye video we watched last week. 

In French we continued with les coleurs et les numéros. Our emphasis is on conversation with students beginning a labelled poster in the next week and a quick quiz.

If students are interested in practicing more French in a fun format I encourage you to download the Duolingo app for free. Students will need parental permission and an identity so that they can practice and gradually build their skills. WARNING: it's so fun, it's addictive! https://www.duolingo.com/

Upcoming Salmon Project
We will kick off more of our exploration of SALMON as a Natural Resource (Socials) and a series of  Biological Systems (Science) this week through some PLACE-BASED learning with our Aboriginal Teacher, Eva Marten during a walk to Sooke River on Tuesday afternoon. We will be incubating roe in our classroom in the new year. 





And Last, but most importantly, here's some inspiration for creating a fun, positive, supportive, bully-free, accepting classroom. This video has some good thoughts and surprising strategies for dealing with bullies or any negative interactions. Stay strong! 


https://www.facebook.com/JungleVT/videos/1707031749438660/

Also see the resourses at ERASE bullying: 
http://www.erasebullying.ca/index.php

Week Nine -  Oct 30-Nov3
Happy Halloween!

We have a fun week ahead.

PHOTO RETAKE DAY IS ON MONDAY!

Please make sure that your child has all supplies needed for swimming and a simple/limited costume on Halloween day. We will be swimming this week as part of our PE program, on both Tuesday and Friday. 

Also coming up and important is the critical Grade 6 immunizations. Consent letters were sent home 2 weeks ago and need to be returned to the public health nurse next week. She will be at Journey next week. Although some students may feel nervous about this visit, this is the last immunization they receive at school and is a booster. More information is in the letter. Contact the public health nurse for Sooke at VIHA for further information 

English
We continue to read and discuss Wonder.Students have worked hard and done some fabulous book projects which we have just begun to share. We will have time to report on 3 more books of all different genres before Christmas. (Due Nov. 6, Nov 30 and Dec. 8)  Students can complete 2 Short reports, 1 shared report, interviews and another creative project to have another chance to think and write about reading. Regular individual reading is the best way for students to improve in all subject areas, especially writing. Daily reading at school and home is recommended.

We have been writing a Halloween themed story using the writing process and will finish revising and begin publishing this week. 

Math
We have begun multiplication this week, finishing our Multiples package of times tables from 1-12. Practice of these basic facts is fundamental to grade six and will be ongoing with mastery as a goal for all. 
This week we will look at tricks and multiples of 10, 100,1000 and double digits. (eg. 29 X 5)

Science 
We examine experiments and the scientific method explore our brain power. We will have a quiz and a project this month. 

Socials
Newspaper articles and the media are being examined and we will be discussing culture in the context of our experiences during Halloween. 

French
Vocabulaire: 

0  = zéro                  4  = quatre                8  =huit                     12  =douze

1  = un                     5  = cinq                   9  =neuf                   13  =treize

2  = deux                  6  = six                     10  =dix                      14  =quatorze

3  = trois                  7  = sept                  11  =onze                   15  =quinze       16  =seize

Les coleurs: 

Highlights this past week....
The Halloween dance was a blast and well attended by Division 18. Students LOVED playing Mantracker in the forest on Friday. Students received class jobs, we continued our run around the world. 

Our fundraising the week before was an excellent teambuilder and a proud accomplishment (over $113 raised, thank you for your help, bakers and crafters!)
We will be saving half of our funds for class trips and donating the other half to charity (Salmon defenders, Red Cross and mirco-loans all being considered).