March 12-16 - Last week before Spring Break!

It's hard to believe the time has gone this fast! 
Last week we were busy with our trip to the Legislature, selfies with the Premier :), feeding newly emerged  salmon fry, passing rules in our classroom Parliament, watching and discussing Wadjda -the first film produced in Saudi Arabia, Capturing the Flag on the back field, and mastering triangles and protractors. 

This week....

Science
We will release our energetic salmon fry into Demamiel Creek below the school. Students will be reading and illustrating this stage of life, the changes and physiology of the fish and the enviroment to which the salmon are adapting. We hope to have a brief introduction to the planets.  Five planets have  have been spectacular this week and over Spring Break(planet parade) in the night and early morning sky. In April we will be beginning work in Biology on the endocrine system. 

Socials
We will continue our Parliament debates (debate)and finalize our classroom review of procedures (expectations). The goal is to experience the process we witnessed in the Legislature and, of course, to review classroom expectations. We will be revisiting our country studies to share and compare size, social progress, population, density and GDP (income/capita) wealth(country comparison Google sheet)

English We have been watching a few international films in the last month and are looking at the characters, themes, cultures and comparasions. The focus is on paragraph writing. We will continue with this during the week. Here are some trailers from the films we've seen. 

French

We are working on the calendar and using some of the basic vocabulary we used in our writing. Here is a song for "Les jours de la semaine". 
Il y a sept jours dans la semaine. 

There are seven days in the week. 

Field trip - Tuesday, March 6th
We will be visiting the Legislature to begin our study of government and then take in an IMAX movie to compliment our global studies. Suggested donation of $7 will cover the bus and IMAX costs. The film is on the Pyramids of Egypt. Letters went home on Friday. 

February 26 - March 2nd

Monday is CARNAVAL at Journey. 

Our class has decided to dress in bright rainbow colours, tacky is encouraged. We will be building a float for a parade to Poirier after lunch. After lunch, CARNVAL activities will take place all afternoon. Bring loonies for cupcakes!!

Ms. Stannard will be doing facepainting. 

The students French booklets are due. See previous post for more information. 

A Math Quiz on Ratios and Percents will take place on Wednesday. 

Science experiments need to be written up for Thursday using the scientific process, detailed observations and conclusions. 

In Social Studies: We will have a guest speaker in the class on Thursday from the Speakers Bureau at UVic. Gabriella McBee will present on life and human rights in Latin America, including Brazil, Cuba, Bolivia and Guatemala (where indigenous people make up a large portion of the population). 

This week - February 19 - 23

In Math this week we are working on our fractions and ratios packages. We have finished up to Lesson 3. We worked on Ratios (Lesson 4) and Equivalent Ratios (Lesson 5). We will begin percents this week. Here is a link to the worksheets. wiki space math worksheets download  (scroll to bottom and click arrow for next page for ratios and percents)

In Science we have been working to build water filters. We will continue to 
build this week. 

 

Link to: water filters album

We reviewed for a Science Quiz. There is a QUIZ on Monday, Feb 19.  I have linked to  a copy of the Study Notes here: science quiz notes - solutions

In Socials our country profiles were due January 31^st. These have been marked. The students will be sharing their research with each other in a country fair next week. Students will fill out passports and learn facts about countries as they take a tour of the world. We will also be able to ask questions of a couple of students who have lived in different countries. 

In French we will be finishing our booklets this week.

Students can chose to write about 6 different friends, animals or family.

The sentence structure and vocabulary are the focus.

C’est un chien (It’s  a dog). Elle s'appelle Chloe. (She's called Chloe)

Elle a 2 ans. (She's 2 years old)

Elle aime jouer la  balle. (she likes to play ball)

Elle n’aime pas les chats. (she doesn’t like cats.)

C’est un chat. Il s'appelle Marveau. Il a dix ans. 

Il n’aime pas les chiens. (He doesn’t like dogs). Il adore manger. (He loves to eat!) 

The rough copies look fantastic and the illustrations look great. 

In PE we have begun to play games in volleyball and are learning how to serve and score. Sign up for rugby is underway. The volleyball teams are finishing their games this week. 

Students have finished MUSIC with Mr. Rehman. :( 

They are now doing ART with Ms. Johnston. :) 

Permission letters will go home this week for a March 6th visit to the Legislative Buildings and the IMAX.

THERE IS NO SCHOOL ON FRIDAY FOR THE ProD DAY.

Week 22 - Welcome to February

Maker Space...

Today we had a great time designing, collaborated and refining  prototypes to solve a communication problem.

Students were in mixed groups and had to figure out how to get a message to a friend a block away if they were grounded and had no telephone or technology. Creative, Critical and Collaborative Thinking and Communication were set in action and pulleys, bows, arrows, straw telephones and catapults were built, refined, assessed and presented. Many thanks to all the teachers who coordinated in this neighbourhood activity. 

Math - fractions
We have continued to work with fractions and will have a final quiz next Wednesday on equivalent, converting and ordering improper and mixed fractions and  on ratios. 
Here is a website for those seeking extra help. 

http://mathies.ca/activities.html

English and Socials
Country research projects on Chromebooks were due this week and most have been handed in. Students will begin sharing and comparing their projects over the new 2 weeks, visiting "other countries and examining some of their similarities and differences. 

 A cool new website to compare international lifestyles is Dollar Street, which houses a database of photographs household items from around the worlds, classified by income level. See the fascinating TED talk and connect to the website below. 

Dollar Street

We have alevins!

This was on Monday. We now have only 5 eggs unhatched. 

145 Coho Demaniel Creek salmon. 

How do we protect wild salmon?

In PE we had the first of our 2 Brazilian Capeoria Workshops! All Grade Sixes participated and learned a bit of the history of Capeoria. Check out the video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z8xxgFpK-NM

Our next and final workshop will be this Friday. Students are being marked on participation.

On Tuesday we will be working with Ms. St. Jean's class in the gym to continue to develop our Volleyball skills. We have learned  positioning to receive the ball, how to communicate with teammates and passing the ball. We will begin to set and bump the ball on Tuesday. 

Gym Strip is required and is part of the PE mark. 



In Math we have begun work on Fractions. 

This week we will be covering Equivalent Fractions, Ordering and Comparing Fractions and Coverting Improper Fractions to Mixed Numbers and Mixed Numbers to Improper Fractions. Multiplication and division facts need to be mastered to work with Fractions effectively. Practice, Practice, Practice. There will be homework going home nightly and help available at lunch and recess. 

In socials we are beginning to learn more about Human Rights through short stories and Videos. Students are making posters on Global Issues. 

https://vimeo.com/220864937

We are also working to complete our Country Projects on Chromebooks this Tuesday afternoon. Country Projects will work on Google Slides in the final version. 

These are big projects which cover non-fiction reading comprehension, research skills, technological skills with Google Docs, Google and Google Slides and Critical Thinking Competencies. 

Welcome back to all. We've had a quiet but busy week 

recapping, 
reviewing, 
rearranging, 

starting new projects 
and setting goals for 2018.

January 15-19 - Week 18

Math - 
Last week students worked on problem solving strategies and order of operations. 

BEDMAS:   
1)brackets, 2)multiplication/division, 3)addition/subtraction


This week we will begin a new unit on fractions, percents and ratios. 

A Math review quiz will be given on Friday.

English - Students have been writing resolutions and goals for 2018. We will also be working on Journals and Projects, improving sentences and paragraphs through  mini-lessons, editing and the writing process.

Chromebooks- Finishing up our French Communities project from December, we are using Chromebooks and Google Slides to research and present a country project profile.

Here is a link on how to work with Google Slides (similar to Power Point).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ioog1IyDuRE


Students have continued to work on their French communities projects, these were due last week. Results were submitted via Google as comments in student work. Google documents can be accessed at home via Chrome. 

Details on the country design criteria will be posted here and in our Google Classroom. 

Self-Design Project - Many students began an independent  self-design group project which we will work on throughout the term. Students will plan, develop, research, evaluate and develop a prototype or draft of their project which they will share with the class, then revise and improve. Some students are working to develop a

Science-
We are finishing up our work with solutions and have used our new concepts to prepare a mixture/habitat for our salmon roe. Our water filter and pump is both flitering and adding oxygen to the water which is the solute where our salmon will live. 

We now have an operating DFO licensed salmon incubator in our classroom!

Salmon Study-
Using Big Ideas from Science on mixtures and solutions and continuing with our studies of Biological endocrine systems we will raise and study salmon in their egg and alevin stages. 

In Socials, we will be learning about salmon management and the levels of government which make the laws to protect our wild salmon. 
We are also learning about the geography, economy and human rights of different countries through our country projects. 

French - 
students are learning to describe family members and their likes and dislikes. We will be learning to ask and answer questions about likes, dislikes and families. 

PE -
It is volleyball season- the nets are up! Grade 6 teams have begun practicing on Monday mornings and after school on Wednesday. 
We are developing skills and practicing ball skills and teamwork.

Thanks to Journey PAC, we are able to participate in Capeoria workshops on the next two Fridays. This is a Brazilian martial art, developed by slaved in self-defence, and includes dance, music, gymnastics and defensive moves. And it's a fun workout! 

Students need to wear loose clothing on Fridays and JOIN IN!!

Finally, we've had 2 mindfulness sessions in the mornings to focus and settle. 

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.