Self-Portraits

Division 5 created a two different portraits this term.

The first was a “half ‘n’ half” portrait where one side was part of a lesson in proportionate sketching, and on the other side, students used symbolism to represent who they are and what they like. After reading What Are Your Words? students added descriptive words to their portraits.

The second self-portrait was inspired by the art of Chuck Close. Students chose poses to represent themselves in a photo, then used weaving, drawing, shading, and painting to finish the portraits. Students used pencil crayon and pen to add texture to their face, hair, and clothing. The background includes alternating patterns, with attention to complementary warm and cool colours.

What Is An Ally?

Our discussions around Pink Shirt Day have centred around what it means to be an ally, and the differences between upstanding and bystanding. Words and actions have power that impact the lives of others in the short and long term. Every day we make powerful choices about how we can use our words and actions to help or harm.

The picture book, A Day With No Words, introduces readers to a boy with autism who uses a tablet to communicate with others. Even though we communicate in different ways, it’s important to acknowledge and include everyone, and to honour our unique traits.

We also watched  video (unfortunately yes, it’s a Burger King ad) about how people respond to bullying.

The next video is a bit nuanced and requires a bit more of a stretch from students–what do you notice about the characters’ voices? What is this video communicating about the long-term impact of our words and actions?

And how does this connect to the demonstration and discussion around this piece of paper?

Camouflage Critters

Division 5 has been learning about how animals have various adaptations to help them sense depending on whether they are nocturnal or diurnal animals, including eye size, ear shape, or sounds they make. We are moving on to learning about how animals adapt to their environments. One of these adaptations is camouflage through patterns and colour. Can you find the camouflaged critters in these photos?

 

Media Balance

Division 5 is beginning to explore digital literacy and citizenship skills. We will be learning how to use technology in helpful ways, about our digital footprints and online privacy, how we interact with others, how to find information safely, and how we can keep a healthy balance between media and non-media in our lives.

The following information is from Common Sense Education, a digital literacy resource I have been using for many years. You can also check out this family activity that can help with discussions around digital balance at home.

From phones and tablets to streaming movies and YouTube, tech and media are everywhere. Kids love easy access to shows, games, and information. Parents and caregivers love that kids can learn on the go (and stay busy when dinner’s cooking). But it’s easy to overdo it when the phone never stops pinging and the next episode plays automatically. Families can keep media and tech use in check by following a few simple practices.

Have a Wonderful Winter Break!

Photo by me 🙂

Wishing everyone a peaceful, relaxing, and joyful winter break, and happy holidays to those who celebrate during this time. I hope you get up to lots of fun, big and small: I look forward to hearing about it when you get back!

See you in 2024 for the next steps in our learning journeys.

❤ Ms. Coutts

Author Visit: Jeff Chiba Stearns

Author, filmmaker, and animator, Jeff Chiba Stearns, visited University Highlands today to talk about his art. We were particularly interested to hear about his newest book, On Being Yukiko, because we have been learning about the internment of Japanese Canadians during World War 2. On Being Yukiko explores Japanese Canadian family history and cultural identity, and how the impacts of displacement and racism echo into the lived experiences of people today. Jeff worked with artist, Lilian Michiko Blakely, to create this story based on her life and experiences growing up as a Japanese Canadian.

Jeff’s drawing style is a self-described blend of Japanese and American styles that he calls “hapanimation.” He has a lot of fun with his drawings, creating mixed creatures with fun blended names. His mixed creatures are a metaphor for his own experience with “mixed” or “hapa”  identity. He showed us some basic drawing strategies, and ways to alter expressions and moods of a character with slight changes to the design. He even did a hapanimation drawing of one of our students!

Students will have an opportunity to buy some of Jeff’s books with an order form going home today. Jeff personalizes each book with a doodle and a message!

 

Hip Hop

They brought the attitude.

Congratulations to Division 5 for an amazing performance last week! You brought the energy and enthusiasm that made your dance entertaining and fun to watch. I hope you had fun, too!

What was your favourite part of our dance?

 

 

 

Visit to the SFU Trottier Observatory

Today Division 5 and 6 walked over to visit the Trottier Observatory at Simon Fraser University. We were introduced to how researchers study space and each student received a star chart for use the next time they’re looking at the night sky.

 

Next we went outside to check out the telescope in the observatory. We learned about how the telescope is used and what it can see. We weren’t able to see anything through the telescope today, though, because there was some cloud cover.

In the courtyard around the observatory, there were some interesting features such as a sun dial, some of the basic elements of the universe, picnic tables with detailed moon phases, and big star charts. They pack a lot into this small area!

Here is a link to the SFU Starry Nights page if you’d like to visit again.

Division 5–what was your favourite part of our visit?

Portfolios of Learning

Students in Division 5 have been gradually developing their computer skills and learning about the educational tech tools such as Teams, Outlook, and the class blog. Today we embarked on using SpacesEDU to communicate self-assessment and reflections on learning. This will become a digital portfolio for each student as we move through the year. The Core Competencies will be the basis for each student reflection, and will be part of the communicating student learning process.

We are still in the early stages of learning how to log in, and what makes a thorough reflection. I previously used WordPress-based digital portfolios, so I, too, am in the learning process of using this new format–we’re all learning together! At the moment we’re sticking to just text posts to keep it simple, but in the future, we hope to add photos, small videos, and/or audio to our posts. Also, right now, only the student, their family, and the teacher should be able to see and comment on each post.

I hope this will be an interesting and engaging way for students to share their voice in their learning journeys.

Click here for some tips on leaving comments for your child.

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