Today, let’s begin with a story.  Yesterday, Selina shared with us that she had read the book Giraffe and Bird.  It is a fiction story about two creatures, living in a habitat, where a challenge arises. The two creatures don’t get along but find a new way to think about the importance of friendship.  The beginning of the story will introduce the characters and you are able to see where and when the story takes place (because of illustrations, the setting is shown). The middle part of the story shares the challenges that these creatures share between each other.  The end of the story has both creatures finding out the true meaning of their relationship and why it is so important for them to value one another.

This story can inspire you with some ideas for your Story Studio build and creative writing.  You are to create a fiction story with a pond habitat theme and 2-3 characters.  The setting (where and when the story takes place) should be shared at the beginning and the characters introduced.  The middle of the story should include the problem that needs solving and the end of the story should solve the problem and lead to a conclusion. Let’s see if that happens in this story.

Here is Giraffe and Bird!  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S6uwCaAaGV4

This story is just one way to consider creatively writing a fiction story piece for your Story Studio Pond Build.

Later today, I will also be sending out an invite to another live science experiment by Mystery Doug. He is excited to answer kids’ questions with the help of astronaut Jessica Meir, who filmed videos for Mystery Doug while she was in space!

Next Tuesday, May 26, we will be having our Math Super Hero Day class meeting.  Come to the meeting dressed as a math super hero.  Some of our classroom posters that inspired your math super hero drawings are posted here.  In the coming days, I will share your September drawings.  The posters will also refresh your memory of some of the math concepts!     Have a wonderful day.  Email or respond to the blog post with your comments if you have any questions or thoughts about the Shape of the WEEKS or your assignments!

We are going to meet and greet today at 10 a.m.  I will be looking forward to seeing you in your favourite athletic wear and hearing about your daily physical activities as well as your calming, mindful moments.  Please arrive with your cameras and microphones off.  Everyone will get an opportunity to share, just as we would during a                Talk About It Community Circle In-Class Meeting.

This week, you will notice that the Shape of the Week says Shape of the WEEKS. Your assignments may require more time to complete.  You may need the two weeks to work on your final story studio build and write, a math project and some READWORKS passages.

With this week only being 4 days, it is important that I give you the time you need to put forth your best effort on these assignments.  Therefore, you will have this weekly shape for 2 weeks.

You may also have heard that there is a movement forward with schools re-opening on Monday, June 1.  I will be visiting the school for meetings and planning before this date.  So, just as you will be learning from home over the next few weeks, I will be learning where our next journey as Division 9 and a Clinton School Community will be taking us.

I look forward to our class meeting today and I will continue to support your learning with further instruction through the daily blog post. All Shape of the Weeks assignments are due by Friday, May 29 and it is expected that these 3 activities will be completed and handed in by everyone.  Much appreciated!

Mrs. E.                   joanne.enchelmaier@burnabyschools.ca

For Figure It Out Friday, try to figure out what your READWORKS reading passages next week may be about. A special guest from the classroom is here to give you a clue!

As mentioned yesterday, Monday is Victoria Day so we will all be enjoying a long weekend holiday.  It could be a good time for you to consider your daily physical activity.  Today is the perfect weather for continuing to get active and challenge yourself with some new skills.  On Tuesday, May 19 at 10 a.m., we are going to share our athletic moments during our class meeting.

You can come to our meeting wearing one of your favourite sports jerseys, tops, athletic wear.  Be prepared to tell us what you have been doing to keep active over the past few months.  Remember, walking in your neighbourhood is being active.  I would like you to also keep in mind that healthy living means you are also taking care of your mental well-being.  When you are active, you are supporting positive mental health but there are other ways to calm worries, fears and influence your self-identity.  So you will also be asked to share something you have been doing to be peaceful and content at home. 

It will be a full class meeting so please arrive with your microphone and camera off.  Just as we did last week, we will be taking turns and sharing our thoughts for Talk About It Tuesday.

Here is an example of what a classmate could share:  “Hi Everyone!  I have been spending time learning how to use a hula hoop.  I have a purple and green striped hula hoop that I do tricks with.  I spin it around my waist and then I try to spin it around my legs and my arms.  I can spin the hula hoop around my waist for 1 minute.  When I want to calm my amygdala, I do some weaving and braiding with yarn.  I think about the Acts of Kindness and the braids we made at school.  So I sit calmly at home and braid and weave.  I have made a few little wool mats for coffee mugs.  I made one for my Mom for Mother’s Day!” 

That is just an example and of course, as you did with your Word Collections, you can have your words written down and read them if that makes you feel more comfortable.  If you want to tell us about the athletic top you are wearing, you can do that too.  Just remember that we do have to consider our time and make sure everyone gets to participate so please keep your sharing to a minute in length. 

Evan Lin will appreciate the P.E. theme for Tuesday as he enjoys sports and it will be his birthday on Tuesday.  We will try and have a group sing-along with our birthday songs.  Nils will celebrate his May birthday the following week so we will try to sing at our Tuesday, May 26 Math Super Hero Class Meeting.

Please continue to work on your assignments.  I have had many creative TEAMWORK story studios handed in and they are bringing joy to Ms. Hossack and me.  Thanks for participating in the Measurement activities as well. I did add a challenge of long jump measurement for your DPA, so give it a try today if you have completed all of your assignments.  Enjoy your long weekend and I will see you on Tuesday!  Mrs. E.

On this Think About It Thursday, I am thinking about BC’s official flower.  It is called the Pacific Dogwood and it was chosen as our provinces official floral emblem.  The tree grows to 6-8 metres high and flowers in April and May.  In the autumn, it is known for its cluster of bright red berries.  On one of my walks, near a pond in my neighbourhood, I was fortunate enough to see the blooming Pacific Dogwood.

This coming Monday, is Victoria Day.  It is a public holiday in honour of Queen Victoria’s birthday.  Our provincial capital city is Victoria, named after Queen Victoria.  The Provincial Parliament Buildings are in Victoria and the home of the legislative assembly of British Columbia, led under the leadership of the premier of our Province, John Horgan.

This May long weekend is thought to be the beginning of summer even though the first full day of summer does not arrive until June 21.  Perhaps, as you enjoy this upcoming long weekend, you may see one of the Pacific Dogwood trees.

I will be heading into Clinton School today for the first time since Spring Break.  It will be an interesting visit, especially not having all of you in the classroom.  I may just take down those Shamrocks in the window.

Please continue to hand in your assignments and if I do not get back to you right away with a comment or connection, be patient as I will be back on line to see all of your wonderful story studio paragraphs and measurement assignments.

On Tuesday, May 19, we will have another class meeting at 10 a.m.  The purpose for the meeting will be for you to share what you have been doing for daily physical activity and what you have been doing during your spare time that brings peace and joy to your heart.  I realize that some of you have shared what you have been passionate about over the past few months but it will be nice to hear from everyone in a full class meeting.  I will share an example with you tomorrow on the daily post.

Have a thoughtful Thursday and continue to use the Shape of The Week to guide you with your activities and assignments.

Mrs. E.

I am sending a great big WOW to all of you for such a WOW WONDERFUL class meeting yesterday.  Your hats were creative, unique and I applaud you for your effort.  I appreciated how you were very respectful using responsible digital citizenship behaviour.  You are Word Collectors for sure.  The reasons for your word choices were very personal and I thank you for following in the footsteps of the Word Collector character Jerome.

I also was very curious about the Rock Hyrax.  Thank you Bosco for peaking my interest.  Turns out that the Rock Hyrax is a very social animal living in colonies of up to 80.  How perfect for our theme of TEAMWORK and insect colonies.  We certainly demonstrated a positive TEAMWORK effort yesterday.  WAY TO GO DIVISION 9 TEAM!

Yesterday, I shared that Ms. Hossack was posting Story Studio information and ideas on her blog this week.  She was highlighting some of our Division 9 Story Studio work from last week.  The photos did not pop up on her blog yesterday but Ms. Hossack and I worked as a team and the photos are there today.  I did mention that not all of the Story Studio builds and stories could be shared on her blog posts.  One of the reasons for some not being shared is that our WordPress Blog Sites are public. When Ms. Hossack shares your work, she is only to share your work, not your faces.  I have shared photos on the blog with some of you in the photos but I have also asked permission.  I appreciate your understanding in this matter.  Please check out the Clinton Library Blog and the audio read of The Whale and the Snail.  There’s teamwork in that story!

Thanks to those of you who have handed in your Measurement Scavenger Hunts and Flight Distances.  Some of you have had such fun with the airplanes.  For your Story Studio, I am attaching an example in case some of you have a hit a roadblock and need to make a detour with your ideas.  Often in the classroom, we would carpool with one another.  Teamwork is important even when we work from a distance. Thank you, Ashlyn, for sharing.

My story studio is about 3 kids playing soccer and they use teamwork to score a goal. The green player is on the opposite team and the pink and blue players are on the same team. As you can see, the blue player is close to the net so he might be able to score. The green player is catching up so the pink player has to make a decision quickly or they won`t win. This relates to teamwork because in order for your team to win, you have to give the ball to another teammate to get it to the net. If there was no teamwork, that team might have lost the game. In conclusion teamwork is important because without it, it may be hard for people to complete tasks. Teamwork is used in a lot of places such as construction sites, grocery stores, restaurants, the government, hospitals and a lot more. Overall, I think that teamwork is a big part of our world. 

Have a WOW Wednesday everyone!  Mrs. E.

We are really going to be able to have a Talk About It Tuesday as we are going to have our first full class meeting today. We will enter the meeting with our Digital Citizenship manners and respect the TEAM meeting expectations.

The weather is also cooperating with us.  With the rain, we will be happy to be cozy together sharing our Word Collector Finds.  If you did not get a chance to make a Word Collector Hat or go on a Mission Possible Word Hunt, please join us in the meeting, say hello and talk about your Meaningful Monday.  No matter where you may be right now with your learning, the most important part of our meeting today is being together.  TEAMWORK!

If you have had a chance to read from our READWORKS passages you will know that every insect has a responsibility in the colonies of the ants, bees and termites.  These insects work together as teams.  Division 9 is very similar.  In our classroom, we all have monitor jobs.  We take turns sharing important messages on the P.A. system.  We demonstrate Clinton Star Behaviour being safe, respectful, responsible and inclusive.  We are all learning digital citizenship and we move together on our learning journey fueling one another and carpooling together.

We value that we acknowledge and thank the Coast Salish Nations of Musqueam, Tsleil-Waututh and Squamish on whose traditional territories we teach, learn and live. We respect that Everything on Earth is alive, Everything on Earth is Connected, Everything on Earth has a purpose and Everything on Earth is to be embraced.

Knowing and learning these important understandings gives us the opportunity to work together in peace and harmony with one another, nature and the bigger community.  TEAMWORK!

Once we end our TEAM meeting today, know that you are not alone.  You have a team of classmates supporting you, you have a team of Clinton Staff encouraging you and you have a team of family members providing you with love and care.

Continue to put forth your best effort to complete your assignments for the week knowing your TEAM is right there with you cheering you on!

Have a terrific Tuesday!  Mrs. E.

You have a Mission!  Today I am sending you off to find some words, my Word Collectors! 

First, you must get your Word Collector Hat!  What?  You don’t have a Word Collector Hat?  Well, please create one!  In order to move forward with your Word Collecting, you must add to a hat you already have or make a fresh new hat for your Word Collecting Mission. Be as unique and as creative as you like with your hat.  You will be encouraged to wear your hat tomorrow for our class meeting.  Your hat should say Word Collector on it! Here is an example of one I just quickly put together.  I won’t be able to wear the Dictionary to our meeting as it is heavy, but you get the idea!

Please choose 3 words that you find interesting, love to say, think are silly or you connect with.  Choose whatever words you would like to collect to share with us.  During our class meeting tomorrow, you will be asked to say 2 of your words, share how many syllables are in your words, use your words in a sentence and share why you chose your words.  For example, your word could be “DINOSAUR!”  You would say: “My first word is dinosaur.  Dinosaur has 3 syllables.  My sentence is ‘The large, plant-eating dinosaur lived millions of years ago on the Badlands of Alberta.’  I chose the word dinosaur because I like to go fossil hunting and want to be a paleontologist one day. My second word is …”

I’m asking you to have 3 words ready inc case someone else has collected the same word as you. You can absolutely have all of your information about your 3 words written down and read from your notebook, word cards, journal, note papers.

Below are a few links to remind you of the wonderful Peter Reynolds and his Word Collector Book.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w8jhyId12Qw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kLIKgoz8I4w

I so look forward to our 10 a.m. meeting tomorrow.  Please be patient as we wait for everyone to attend the meeting.  You can access the meeting from the calendar and click JOIN!  You can directly get to the calendar by clicking the calendar icon on the general post page that gives information about our meeting.  Keep your audio and video off.  I will know that you are there.  I will begin the meeting and then ask each of you to share your Word Collector Mission Assignment one at a time.  I can’t wait to see all of your hats.

So get to it!  Create your word collector hats and collect some words.  I will see you tomorrow.

Please look to the Shape of the Week for more information about the academic activities for the rest of the week.  There will be a few reading passages from READWORKS, some Story Studio opportunities and some more measurement fun.

Have a Mission Possible Monday!

Mrs. E.

It has been a very long week and for our grade 2 students they are probably saying “It’s Finally Friday!  We get to participate in our first class meeting.” The grade 3 students did a wonderful job yesterday of being respectful and working through some of the learning challenges we experienced.  We have learned that we won’t be able to see all of us together on the same screen depending on what devices we are using, the internet connections, the number of people using TEAM at the same time….the list goes on.   And that’s O.K.! I have managed to post the meeting on the General Post Page for today so students can access the calendar from there or go to the Sidebar and click on calendar.  Once at the calendar, please press JOIN to join the meeting.  Please turn your microphone/video off to begin with.  There may be a bit of a wait while everyone joins in.

Next week, we will have our first full class meeting and there will be an activity/topic/item I will ask you to share.  This will give a purpose to our meeting for that day.  I will put add the meeting to the calendar today and share more information with you on Monday so you can be ready for the Tuesday, May 12 meeting at 10 a.m.  Tuesday may not work for all but with Victoria Day coming up, Tuesday seems to be the best day to meet so we have some consistency.  Thanks for your understanding.                                 

Once again, thank you so very much for sending photos of your Story Studio, drawings and sentences that support your creations.  You have so many unique items to use from your homes.  The Story Studio work was the only hand-in assignment for this week.  It is important that you hand in or connect with me at least once a week as we move toward to the end of the year.  You will  be receiving a year end assessment report card and it will include your online learning journey.  So please continue to put forth your Division 9 Clinton Star Best Effort. 

A special appreciation is going out to all of your Moms and those that take on a Mom role in your life.  Sunday is Mother’s Day and I am hoping that all the Moms will get some time to rejuvenate and receive love from their family.  Every day we should consider helping one another and sharing kindness but on this Sunday, give a little extra hug and support to your Mom(s)!

Next week we will continue to work with Story Studio, continue to explore our TEAM meeting experience and move forward with our understanding of Measurement.  You will get back into the READWORKS program with 2 stories next week and we will put on our Word Collector Hats and show and share some of our favourite WORDS!

Have a Fantastic Friday, send me your Story Studio assignment and have a Meaningful Mother’s Day this weekend.

Mrs. E.

Today, for Think About It Thursday, I would like you to think about one experience you have appreciated while being at home with your family during this time of online teaching and learning.

When we have our meetings today and tomorrow, I will be asking you to pop in and say hello, share how you are feeling and what has been an interesting highlight of your being at home for a few months.

Please remember to join the meeting with your microphone and video off.  I will then ask you to share your thoughts just as I would if we were in the classroom at the carpet, having a community circle meeting. (Just as we are considerate in our classroom meetings, please be mindful to limit your sharing to no more than a minute). Before I ask any of you to join in our conversation, I will do some sharing, like Mr. Bortolussi does when I am in a virtual staff meeting, and then I will give you an opportunity to share.  I am looking forward to meeting with you today and tomorrow.

Now to continue with our Shape Of The Week learning: 

It has been brought to my attention that some of the photos I have shared have not appeared on the blog site.  They do appear for me on my Clinton working laptop when I access the blog from the Clinton Website.  If I use my home computer though, I am unable to see some of the images.  I am going to re-post the photos from yesterday of the Story Studio from Ashlyn and the dance photos from Anna. 

I see them.  I hope you do too!

Now for Measurement!

How has that been going?  Have you been having fun with non-standard units of measurement?  I am so glad that we have standard ways of measuring as I have found it very challenging to measure this week with toothpicks, bamboo skewers and wooden chopsticks.  I tried to measure my front house steps and found it quite frustrating using non-standard units of measurement.  The wind kept blowing my toothpicks away, the bamboo skewers gave me a sliver and the chopsticks were rolling here and there.  I did manage to find out that the length of my stairs was almost 26 toothpicks long, 11 bamboo skewers long and almost 8 chopsticks long.  These units of measurement have helped me when considering how tall my bean plants have grown.  I first used a toothpick and when the plant grew taller, I supported it with a skewer and then I moved to a chopstick.  I could see the benefit of using non-standard units of measurement if what I was measuring was not very big.  Anything too long, though, requires too many items and it then becomes difficult to even carry them in order to measure something.  It is much easier to carry a measuring tape. I wonder how your experiences have been?  Keep measuring here, there and everywhere.  Even measure your Story Studio creations or items.  Just play with non-standard units of measurement until we move to using the metric units of measurement next week!  It is very challenging to see my units of measurement on the stairs, but they are there, blowing and rolling around. 

Some emails have been going to JUNK mail. So if you have missed some emails/posts, please check your junk mail.  Interesting Tech Time for sure!

Good Morning!  TEAMS/STORY STUDIO/TALENT on this post.  Make sure your check it all out!

Meetings have been scheduled!  Yay! Tomorrow, Thursday, May 7 at 10:00 a.m., the grade 3 students will have their first Division 9 virtual meeting.  On Friday, May 8 at 10:00 a.m., the grade 2 students will have their first Division 9 virtual meeting. I do understand that you may not be available at those times.  We will continue to work around some of the meeting time challenges.

When you access Office 365 TEAMS, you can look on the calendar and see the date and time of the Division 9 meetings.  You can join the meetings from there or on the day of the meeting a post should show up for you to join the meeting from there.  Please, if you are in grade 2, do not join the grade 3 meeting.  For grade 3’s, you are getting the first meeting time so please respect the grade 2 students and do not join the grade 2 meeting.  Thank you very much.  I know you are all excited to get together.

I also realize that some of the previous information about joining a meeting asked that your blur your background when you turn on your camera.  Depending on the operating system you are accessing to use Office 365, some of you will have the option to blur your camera and some of you will not.  You will all begin the meeting with your audio and video off.  We will go from there.  So no worries if you are unable to blur your camera.

STORY STUDIO!

I know you are enjoying creating with ‘STUFF” that you have in your homes or out in your yards.  Building a story can be so much fun.  Your story can change moment to moment.  Be curious with your own stories.  I am going to attach the Story Studio creation Ashlyn sent to me.  She chose an athletic theme for her creation. I appreciate that she added her drawing and a sentence describing her story creation. Thanks, Ashlyn!                                           

TALENT SHOW!

A few weeks ago, I shared that if you are continuing to pursue a talent that you already have or you are trying new experiences that could lead to a passion of yours, feel free to share them with me and I will post them.  Without a talent show this month, we are unable to appreciate the wonderful talent that Clinton Students, Division 9, has to offer.  Anna has shared with us one of her talents.  A wonderful dance pose.  Good extension, flexibility and extension.  Works perfect with Ashlyn’s Story Studio as well.  Take a look! Thanks, Anna!

Have a Wonderful Wednesday and I look forward to seeing you over the next few days.  Remember, I am learning too so there will possibly be some glitches but as the O.K. Book reminds us, That’s O.K.!