November 12-15

Though short, this was a busy week!

In Math, we worked on understanding and manipulating large numbers based on data from the FIFA Women’s World Cup.  We worked in teams again, writing on vertical non-permanent surfaces of windows and white boards, with the goal of communicating our math thinking more clearly.  We had team speakers, writers and inquirers, so that each group member had a specific role to fill.

We practiced serving “feedback sandwiches” (compliment, suggestion, compliment) in editing one another’s writing.  Earlier in the week, I shared my story as an example, and the class offered my suggestions on how to make it more dynamic and interesting.  Today, the class worked on their own stories and assembled “sandwiches” for others if they were finished.  Some students have taken their long drafts of their stories home to work on them this weekend for homework.

In Social, we had a pop quiz on the roles of the different levels of government.  Everyone did very well!

In Science, we assembled and labeled skeletons, and began drawing those of our creatures.  The creatures we have created have the same body systems as humans, but in different shapes and sizes – students must demonstrate understanding of the human body in order to reflect the systems in their imaginary creatures.  If you are looking for a (slightly annoying but very memorable) song to help memorize the names of the bones, check out this fun song:

In our Restorative Justice session on Wednesday, we had a very important discussion on conflict.  We learned an iceberg metaphor for all that we don’t see below the surface of conflict.  Next week, we will revisit this concept to learn more about conflict resolution.

We were very lucky to have a special guest at Glenwood this week, for woodworking sessions.  Caitlin Bilton lead every class through building beautiful bamboo wind chimes!  Huge thanks to our parent volunteers for assisting with the drilling, sanding and assembling.  

In Art today, we began creating group murals inspired by Emily Carr and Group of Seven paintings, and where we live.  We ran out of time to actually begin painting these works, which will become backgrounds for self portraits, but we sketched out plenty of cedar and pine trees, mountains, and water bodies.  More colour to come…