Friday Fun!

Hope everyone is enjoying the weekend despite the rain, although I think the rain is lovely given how dry our summer was. Since I am originally from Alaska, I enjoy the cold and wet! So, today, I broke out my new boots and wool hat!

Speaking of rain…please make sure your child gets some rain boots or a change of shoes. It can be a good idea so they can change after outside breaks. Otherwise, our portable area will become a big mess during the day.

Friday was an energetic day full of activity! First, we reviewed the digestive system. I had asked each child to think about the journey of a cheerio through their digestive system as part of Thursday night’s homework. In the morning, everyone worked in small groups to show me their understanding of digestion. By showing, I mean that they were given 15 minutes to prepare a quick dramatic skit, using their bodies and words, to show the journey of the cheerio. Afterwards, each group presented to the class, and we discussed their understandings or any details that could be added along the way.

Then, we began working on a two-part art project. It is important students gain a sense of the elements and principles of art, and our focus at the moment is LINE. We also had opportunities to discuss COLOUR as a review of art they may have had in the past. We are each making a nine-panel display that will be made up of different pieces we created on Friday. Students chose either all warm or cool colours for the activity and completed six stations designed to experiment with different media and line: 1. Find a quote and write it in handwriting on black rectangular paper using chalk, 2. Use oil pastels to make a lined pattern, 3. Cut paper of all different types into lines and glue it in a pattern on another rectangular sheet, 4. Paint large swirls using acrylic paint, 5. Make black circle pattern prints using cups and black acrylic paint, and 6. Make interesting lines on paper using chalk and then smear it using fingers or tissue. Using our math and measurement skills, we will be taking these papers and cutting them to make a larger display of evenly spaced squares. Our classroom is quickly taking shape with the decoration provided by student work!

After recess, we had a math assessment. The students in MACC 4/5 have all come to the class with differing levels of math, and it is important I know exactly where to begin or where curriculum may need to be reviewed. To this end, both Mr. Rodgers in the MACC 6/7 class and I have been using some short math assessments. These are not for marks and are only for the purposes of ensuring I am focusing my efforts in the right place! If the math assessment for the current grade level is passed, I will ask students to take the next levels, taking note of where improvement or review is needed.

Many students have strong computational math skills; however, understanding math vocabulary or using applied math in problem solving is more challenging. We will focus on both computational and applied learning, while trying to find common project work that can be done by all students at varying levels. While sometimes students will need some independent math to learn new skills at their specific level, my hope is that we will all be able to work together on project work that can involve everyone’s level of math strength. It will take time to investigate strengths and areas to focus on together, as I explained to the students.

After lunch, students had MUSIC! They have music on Thursdays and Fridays directly after lunch. On Thursdays, it is with Ms. Hetrick, and on Fridays, it is with Mr. Wilson. The two music teachers will both be working together closely to provide a dynamic music program.

On Fridays, we will often have OPEN CHOICE TIME. This time will be sometimes dedicated to open, community-building time, during which students will have a choice of many different activities to do with partners or by themselves. As the year progresses, this time will also be our SPECIAL PROJECT time, during which students will be working on an independent, more self-directed passion project. This Friday, students were involved in active games of chess and Blokus (Ms. DeTerra enjoyed Blokus, too, as it is a fun tetris-like math game!), drawing in small groups, working on some marble mazes constructed with materials in the classroom, putting together a human anatomy 3D model, reading, writing, or working on experiments from our Body Stations Packet. It was also Max’s birthday, so thank you Max for bringing in cupcakes for everyone! Happy Birthday!

HOMEWORK and IMPORTANT NEWS:

• Read the article on the respiratory system from the Body Systems packet and finish labeling that system (many have this done already.) Be able to explain how the respiratory system works for Monday.
• Read 20 minutes and continue Reading Around the World.
• Look over the yellow student verification form sent home, and if there are errors, please send back to school with corrections. A large packet was sent out on Friday from the school with forms that need to be completed and returned.
• Terry Fox is on Sept. 30th at 2:00 PM, and starting next week, the school will begin collecting donations toward the Terry Fox Foundation for cancer research. The suggested donation is to send at least a loonie.
• I sent out Scholastic Orders, but if your child didn’t take one, I have more copies in the classroom. Orders for this month are due at the end of next week.
• The parent information night for MACC has had to be changed once again due to the Carnival and also in response to parent concerns about attending. We apologize for the inconvenience. I will put a separate post regarding this, but it will now be on October 8th at 6:00 PM. That said, please stop by during my office hours or ask to make an appointment if you need any clarification or explanation of how I do things in class.

Have a great weekend!