Holiday

Have a safe and relaxing holiday. And Kids, learn your times tables..... at least
6 x 7 = 42
6 x 8 = 48
6 x 9 = 54

7 x 8 = 56
7 x 9 = 63

these will be on a test when you get back..... Happy Christmas and see you all next year.... Mr. W and Mrs. O

Tuesday December 13: Sub and Making Poinsettia's

Notice:

Dress rehearsal at 10:30 tomorrow

Winter Performance Thursday

I had a sub in today. To start the day the students worked on multiplication tables and charts then wrote about which holiday is better, Halloween or Christmas. The students had to write several paragraphs. The first being a statement of choice followed by one where you describe what is good about the one you do not choose. The next paragraph is why your choice is by far the best. The last paragraph is a summation of your choice. The students had their spelling list to use as vocabulary to come up with ideas and I left a list of Halloween vocabulary as well.

After recess until lunch the students had time in the computer lab where they had to finish up their abc books, their mini book and their winter, First Nations or Explorer Power Point.

After lunch the students read then went with their buddies to the gym to make large poinsettias. The poinsettia's are an annual project by Mrs. Dagg and many of you may remember having your child bring one home when they were in grade one. We will use them to decorate the gym for the performance before they are sent home with the grade one buddies.

Great job on the Poinsettias, see you all tomorrow afternoon.

Monday December 12th

Notice:
School Winter performance on Thursday:
Two shows one in the morning, one in the afternoon.

We began with spelling seasonal and X-mas words. After the pretest the students had to draw a picture which included all the spelling words and label it. One of the students said "but this is fun" nice to know spelling practice can be fun.

In music today the students continued learning about rhythm and working on their songs for the Winter concert on Thursday.

In math we looked at a x-table chart to show the students what they already know or could easily figure out ...basically out of the 100 times tables knowing that 3x5 = 5x3 so 100 becomes 50. The 1, 2, 5 and 10 are all easy and I showed them the 9 times table trick so 40 becomes 14 they have to memorize:
2x4, 2x6, 2x7, 2x8
3x4, 3x6, 3x7, 3x8

4x6, 4x7, 4x8
6 x 7, 6 x 8 and
7 x 8
Have your child drill and drill and drill those 14 times tables.

After lunch those students not in choir listened to and did a one page report on Burl Ives the silky voice of Christmas and winter songs.

In Socials we continued looking at ways First nations people of North America traveled. Last week we looked at the horse and its use on the prairies and today we looked at the Dog Sled and it's importance to the Inuit. Inuit peoples used dog sledding as a means of transportation to trade, hunt, fish, and monitor trap lines in the Canadian Arctic wilderness. As communities and outposts grew, dog sleds were used to deliver mail, supplies, and news.

We ended the day in the gym practicing for play on the stage which is now set up and ready for us to use during the Winter concert on Thursday. Be sure and book the time to come and see you child perform during one of the two performance times on Thursday. I would suggest coming to the early show if you want good seats and to be able to take pictures.

Sorry my camera is out of order so imagine until I rectify the situation.

Tuesday December 6: Mini Books, Socials, P.E.

Notice:

Please bring in Granola bars for our School service project.

Our class brought in the second most sales of the 'Entertainment' booklet so on Friday the parent group is giving our class a bag of chips each for our effort. The first place winners, div 14 won the pizza party.

We began the day finishing our mini books, and starting a new mini book; an ABC book of winter, first nations or explorers. This mini-book like last weeks is being done on the computer so I have to give the students time at school and not dempnd on it being homework.

After recess we read for half an hour, and as we had done a double period of math computation period yesterday we worked on mathimatical thinking with another sudoku lesson. The students were introduced bo 6x6 puzzles, the next step up from the 4x4 sudoku puzzles we have been doing.

After lunch we had a p.e. period with a rousing game of bench ball. After p.e. we returned to the class and watched the last part of the movie 'Spirit' that we started yesterday. We are studying different modes of transportation of the First Nations peoples. This how the horse changed the way plains First nations peoples moved, traveled, hunted and protected their nations. The movie 'Spirit' is a story told from the perspective of a wild Mustang about the West. The taming of the horse is a metaphor for the taming of the West, the First Nations, the buffalo etc.

I forgot my camera today so had to use a file picture. Take care and see you tomorrow afternoon.

Monday December 5th

Notice:
Bring in Granola Bars for our community service project.
Friday Spelling Tests went home
School newsletter went home for those who do not get an electronic version

We began the day with spelling and a math evaluation quiz. For spelling last Friday's test were handed back and the students were given the two word lists as a word search. It is another fun way to look at the words and find the pieces. There are lots of words containing the word 'oil' etc. so the students will see the patterns.


The math quiz will help us make math groups and plan our math lessons at the level of the students. Over Christmas I will send home 14 math pages witch I told the students are like a math Advent Calendar. They can do a page of math at their level a day. I would like the students to work on their times tables as we are big on multiplication and division after the Winter break.

After recess the students went to Mrs. Awalt for music where they practiced for the upcoming Winter concert. This was followed by Social Studies where we looked at another important transportation element for the First Nations plains peoples, the Horse. We looked at 3 questions on the horse and First Nations Plains Peoples. 1) How did the horse make hunting easier? 2) How did the horse make moving around easier? 3) How would the horse help in defending the Tribe. 4) How were the horses trained by the plains First Nations. We are watching the movie "Spirit" about a herd of wild horses and creating a t-chart for our video notes that show the similarities and difference between the European and First nations ways of working with and training the Horse.

After Lunch those students not in choir listened to and did a report on Bing Crosby one of the quintessential Christmas song Voices. After choir we continued with the Movie 'Spirit' about the difference between how First Nations and the Military broke and trained the Horse. First nations peoples did not have the metal bits so had to use more humane methods of guiding and training horses. We watched for about 40 minutes then in the last half hour the students were given time to work on their computer projects. Today we spent most of our time working at the desks instead of the computer as I felt they need to focus on written desk work after last week of having high access to the computers


See you all tomorrow... Happy birthday 'D' and thanks for the candy canes.

Friday Dec 2nd:

Notices:
Our school has just begun its annual Granola Bar community service project. So please send in a few granola bars for the school to distribute to a local Food bank.

Winter concert on the 15th during the day so plan accordingly as I do not think there is an evening performance planed as yet.

After the Winter Break four of our students will become lunch monitors. "S" "K" "D" and "Se" will be the first fours too be given the opportunity. Well done students and by the end of the year others will also have an opportunity to serve the school in this important way.

We started the day with our weekly spelling test. The tests were marked but as we did not have time to record the marks the tests were not handed back. They will be returned Monday along with the Pre-test for next weeks words.

We continue to enjoy working with the computers and the Smart board. The students worked on the Socials, Language arts, and Science projects that they have begun. The students are doing an amazing job of mastering the basic use of Power-point and Word. Tracy, who is filling in until the position vacated by Mrs. M, will not be with us much longer as the position was posted and ended today. This means we will have the permanent replacement with us early next week. Thank you Tracy for your time with us working with our students.

For math we continued working on the Sudoku problem solving sheets that we introduced on Tuesday. Many of the students are really taking a liking to Sudoku which is quite approachable with the 4x4 and 6x6 sheets that we are starting on rather than the normal 9x9 found in the newspapers. We talked about some more strategies for solving them and then the students had a page of Sudoku to work on.


After lunch we had buddies where the students helped the buddies write and read and do math. As well some of the students helped paint the train that is part of our yearly school charity granola bar drive. Each year we gather granola bars and distribute them to a local food court.

We ended the week catching up on any unfinished worked followed as usual with a rowdy game of Capture the Flag (Slimmers Island) and were joined by Mr. Edwards grade four five class. Have a great weekend everyone and see you Monday.

"Y" shares a song for her dog.

Life in the Library!

We started the morning on the Smart Board! One great advantage of teaching the class in the Library is we have lots of fabulous resources around us. Today's Language Arts lesson was on rhyming poetry. The students read some poems on the smart board and filled out a chart.They were so excited to share words because everyone wanted a turn on the board. The activity after the lesson was to write a poem. They are due next Wednesday.After working on our Poetry skills, we worked on our performing skills with "The Friends For Life Program". Todays lesson focused on ways of geting along with each other and being aware of our emotions. The students were given a sheet with emotions on it and then had to write a scenario and then act it out in groups of three. I believe we have some future actors in the group!
Mrs. Wilson taught the class how to search for library books on the computers and we had some silent reading time after taking out Library books. They are due next Thursday!
We continued our Social Studies lesson from yesteday on the Smart Board. They chose four explorers and made a power point about them. After they were finished, they created a trading card for each Explorer. Each card should have a picture and a list of facts.

Watch out Pokemon, Explorer cards will be the next popular thing! Great work today everyone, I will see you next week.

Music class video learning Winter Concert song with Sign Language

Monday November 28: Spelling, Sudoku and Music

Monday morning saw the dismantling of our classroom in real time with the removal of our windows and the flooring. The good news is we will be in the computer lab for at least two weeks. The other good news is there may be hardwood floors under our cheap linoleum.


We began the week with our weekly spelling words. The words are listed at the right as well the pretest was marked and sent home along with the list of spelling words on a slip of paper. As well each week there is a single double sided worksheet to go along with the spelling words. There is a little time to work on this sheet in class but the main idea is that the students will take it home to work on.
One of the big bonus's of being in the library/computer lab is we get lots of time using the smart board and the computer for our lessons. We began our new mini-book on the computer using Microsoft Word. Our topic is a week with a mythical or magical creature.

After recess the students went to music where they are preparing songs for our Winter concert. In the picture the students are signing along with one of the songs. Very cool thing to learn as we have a deaf student in the school.


For Math I introduced the students to simple 4x4 sudoku. Sudoku involves mathematical thinking and organization of information in a fun but complex game. Sudoku is a game that the students, if the learn the patterns, can play and use to keep their minds sharp their whole life.
Mrs. M has gone and has been replaced by Tracy who will be with us until the position is posted and filled through the hiring process used by the district. Welcome Tracy and we look forward to working with you.
Be sure to check out the pictures at the right side for yesterday... I will be away Tuesday and Mrs. O will be in for me.

Friday November 25th: Moving class, Reports, Triangular Kites and Buddies

Notice:
Craft Fair in the Gym this Weekend check it out.


Lots of new pictures of our kite project and buddies are posted in our photo library.

Our temporary Class

We began the day setting ourselves up in the library/computer lab/ smart board area. Our class is having our windows and floors replaced as they are as old as the building itself. It appears we will be out of our room for about a week. It will be a great time for us to do projects with a greater technology focus. After we were settled in out temp classroom we began with our regular spelling test which was marked, recorded and sent home.

After recess we talked about endangered vs extinct animals and in keeping with the Science unit started by Mrs. O, the first tech project will have them working on a traditional project using the computer which they will then branch into a super electronic version. We talked about plagiarism and how to make information their own. The students began by researching an endangered or recently extinct animal and moving bits of information off the Internet in one sentence or less packets into Microsoft Word.




We had an early lunch as our class was one of two classes in the school that was chosen for a Science/Math Kite making activity by students from Camosun collage. The activity began about 11:30 and we worked on them through the regular lunch time until about 1:30. The activity was fun and quite challenging for many as it involved lots of tying of small knots. In the end, however, almost all of the students were successful in making their kite. We did not have time to fly them today as we were off to buddies with Mrs. Dagg's class. In buddies the students worked on math addition with their little buddies. Mrs. Dagg has a counting system she uses that helps the students conceptualize the written numbers with the abstract concept of the number. I think it was good for some of my students as well as the grade one's.




With the last 30 min of the day we said good-bye to Mrs. M who has been in the class working with many of our students on math, language arts or whatever other help they needed. She is well liked, talented, positive and cheerful and has helped many of the students in a very patient and supportive way. Mrs. M. is going to James Bay Elementary into a permanent position so, although we will miss her, we wish her well at her new assignment. Thank you Mrs. M. for everything and the treats...




See you all Monday, hope you manage to fly those kites in the storms they are promising this weekend.

Wednesday Afternoon: Chickens, Music and Catchup

As the computer lab is down for this week while new windows are being installed so, instead of going to the computer lab, for the first period in the afternoon we stayed in the class and took part in a school wide activity sponsored by 'Veterinarians Without Borders." Their project is to provide a live chicken for poor families in villages in Laos. For every chicken a student in our school draws, a live chicken is given to a needy family in Laos. As 'C' said, "Our drawings magically come to life." I liked that image and the class really seemed to enjoy the idea and working on a worthy cause.

Second period in the afternoon the students went to Mrs. Awalt for Music. Her classes are always fun and inspirational and I hope many students make music a life long learning goal and skill.

Last period the students worked on catching up and finishing off assignments that were handed out yesterday and last week.

Great afternoon everyone. See you Friday morning when our class is being moved to the computer lab for a week while the School District replaces our old windows and floor. We may have to spend a week in the computer lab and library... sounds like a great 21 century way to spend a week in school. I am looking forward to starting some very exciting computer based learning and projects while we have the opportunity. Be sure and drop in on us when we are in our temp classroom in the lab if you can.

Tuesday November 22: Scrambled Spelling, Kayaks and Arts reach

We started the week with our weekly spelling words. Instead of dictating the words I gave them the words in scrambled form.

With these scrambled words the last two letters of the word are in the correct order. (rohn et = hornet) After the students had been trying to unscramble the words for awhile we talked about how in English there can only be two consonants before a vowel in needed and if there are three letters there is probably a consonant a vowel then a consonant. We also talked about how spelling words follow patterns for example most of the easy word list is focused on the ai or ay words. The scrambled words allowed the students to think about how words are constructed. I am not sure if they figured out the analytical approach yet so we will have to try this another time.

The scrambled words are:

hosrt niromng rpoch tenvinor rohnet reofst oprt tcodor robfid rotch tosrm poexrt droer nartodo otsry ronth gorfot cotafry fosnartrm robit norcer coerrd nosrt perort

(short morning porch inventor hornet forest port doctor forbid torch storm export order tornado story north forgot factory transform orbit corner record snort report)

ital iamd iajl yda aMy arin aimn iasl ayh rya iwat biat dia sya yla ima pian pial apy ywa

(tail maid jail day May rain main sail hay ray wait bait aid say lay aim pain pail pay way)

After spelling we watched a video on YouTube showing part of the 1922 film on the life of the Inuit focused specifically on the family of Nanook, entitled "Nanook of the North". Go to

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cob7rVk02dA to watch the amazing kayak scene from the movie.

For the next few weeks we are exploring the different means of transportation used by different First Nations people around Canada. We watched video's of the Inuit, how to navigate and control a kayak and worked on the kayak one page report.

After lunch we were one of two classes chosen by "Arts Reach" to take part in a special art program in the gym. We worked with painting one half of a sheet of paper, folding it together to see what design emerged and then added detail and embellishments with oil pastel. Many of the designs turned out interesting and nothing like we planned.

After "Art Reach" we returned to the class and had silent reading for half an hour until the end of the day. See you all tomorrow afternoon.

Friday November 18: Spelling, Masks, Parents, Buddies and Gym

Notice:
No school Monday for Students, Teachers are at workshops.

Those students who achieved all right, one wrong or two wrong. Well done!

We started the day with the weekly spelling test. 'Y' and 'N' dictated the words, and did the corrections.

After spelling we talked about the the different ways masks are used today. In sports, by Knights of old, as burial masks in Egypt and Asia, in Japanese theater and for ceremony and healing by the First nations peoples in our region. After recess be began a mask project where the students had to make a raven, eagle or a thunder-bird mask using tissue paper to create the feathers. The students were focused and engaged with making these masks so it kept them busy from recess until lunch.


After lunch many of our students went to Buddies. They worked on math, making small books, reading and coloring. I uploaded lots of pictures of the students with those little buddies to the flickr account that can be accessed from the Photo Gallery on the upper right side of the blog.

'A' and her little buddy

'Y' and her little buddy working on math.

'N' works on her math with Mrs. Colley

Many parents helped out with the parent fundraiser Food-4-Fun. 'J's' mom came to our class to help her daughter hand out the food.





After Buddies we had a rousing game of bench ball to finish off the day.


Have a great weekend everyone... see you Tuesday.