We’re not too far into our novel, but there has been some talk about anger, violence, protecting a community and healing. The character facing the possibility of jail, Cole, is definitely in favour of avoiding jail. Some characters argue that he must be sent to jail; his violent attack has done serious, permanent damage to another person after all. Others think that banishment should be considered as (at least a temporary) alternative.

Is banishment the right decision for a teen who has been seriously violent, or is banishment for this particular teen a bad idea? For those of you reading Touching Spirit Bear by Ben Mikaelsen, please let us know what you think and why.

Children in in Changzhou, China, line up to form characters ‘2019’ during a performance to welcome the new year. Photograph: VCG/VCG via Getty Images (and The Guardian)

The UK newspaper, The Guardian, hosts a Monday puzzle column by Alex Bellos, and we have been trying out his first set of puzzles for the new year all based on 2019 & its digits. We’ll share some of our solutions, mathematical musings, and some of the questions that these puzzles brought to mind in the comments. Please feel free to add your own.

1) Date jam

(i) Using each of the digits 2, 0, 1 and 9, exactly once, create expressions that equal all of the numbers from 0 to 12. The expressions can include any of the arithmetical symbols +, –, x, ÷ and √, and brackets. [For example, 0 x (2 + 1 + 9) = 0]

(ii) Create expressions using 2, 0, 1 and 9 for all the numbers from 13 to 20. Again each number must be used once and only once in each expression, but as well as the operators mentioned above you can now use concatenation to make two-digit numbers (e.g. 2 and a 0 can concatenate to 20) and exponentiation (meaning that one number can be the power of another, such as 1⁹)

2) Countdown conundrum

Fill the blanks in the following equation, so that it makes arithmetical sense:

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 = 2019

You are allowed to use any of the basic mathematical operations, +, –, x, ÷, and as many brackets as you like. An answer might look something like (10 – 9 + 8) x (7 – 6 – 5)÷(4 + 3 + 2 + 1) = 2019, but not this one since the equation is incorrect.

We had our school winter extravaganza last night. The choir sang. The band played. Families brought food to share. And while all were enjoying the food & friendship, we also made and decorated game boxes so every participating family had a set of games to play together over the Holidays & through the year. It was a great way to spend a December evening.

What is a great game you like to play with people in your family when you have a winter night at home (maybe with some popcorn & hot chocolate or hot apple cidre)?

Our Remembrance wreath turned out quite nicely. Making the origami poppies was a good activity allowing some peaceful reflection and also requiring some focused thought. Looking back on the process, a lot goes into making an origami poppy (or any piece of origami). The folds need to be precise. The steps need to be correct. It can seem like a jumble of creases & geometric shapes until a final step turns that paper square into something recognisable & complete.

If you have made one of these origami poppies, what did you notice along the way? What shapes were created? What helped you make your folds precise? What skills does an origami artist need, and where else might they be helpful? Please leave a reply to share your thoughts & observations.

Remembrance Day gives us plenty to think about every year. We’ve been discussing the centennial of the end of the first World War. We have started to learn some about some individual Canadians who served during that terrible conflict. Some were already familiar to us, like Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae. We also learned for the first time about some indigenous veterans of Canada’s armed forces, including sharpshooter,  Corporal Francis Pegahmagabow.

Thinking about those people, their stories and all the horrors of war make for some pretty serious conversations & thoughts to ponder. It was good to be able to create something that could be part of our act of remembrance. Origami poppies provided a new challenge for our minds & hand while also keeping us connected to the stories and events we have been learning about, balancing our need to remember and learn from the past with our need to look ahead & keep creating the world we want to live in.