How is it already the end of June? It feels like the first week of June was just yesterday!

This week, we read, or rather observed a wordless picture book called Fossil by Bill Thomson. The students were practicing their skills in making logical inferences. When making an inference, you are using clues that the author has given you, as well as accessing your prior knowledge to try and make meaning. The students loved how the story unfolded and found it great fun to pause throughout the book to make an inference. Great conversations and “I wonders” organically flowed from this book. To the students surprise I was able to pass around some real live fossils for them to examine. The connections, the amazement and the curiosity was flowing throughout the classroom.

ADST:

This week’s challenge was to design and create a marble maze using straws and tape. Let the creativity and critical thinking BEGIN! Students had a choice to either work independently or in small groups. Some immediately found the task exciting and an opportunity to be a risk taker, while trying out new things, whereas others quickly discovered that it was not as easy as they anticipated and experienced some frustration. Although some of us may be frustrated with the process of creating and designing, we remember to rely upon our GRIT and perseverance to help us work through those difficulties.

Writing:

We are relying upon our strong Instructional Writing skills to support the younger grades in surviving Mrs. Ralph’s class. Students are focusing on instructional writing as our genre and are encouraged to use clear and specific examples with reasoning, on how to survive the wacky class of Mrs. Ralph!

I hope that everyone has a beautiful and COOL weekend during this heat wave. Looking forward to Monday FUN-day! The students worked together to generate a plan for our last full day together, although I also have a few tricks up my sleeve. Again, I’m savouring these last wonderful moments with your child before the summer break and

spreading their wings to soar off to Grade 3 + 4!

~ Mrs. Ralph

Today when a student finished his work he asked if he could build straws for a quiet activity before moving onto our next activity. Suddenly, when students were finishing up their work, more and more students were going over to the corner to work on straws. Sooner than later the entire class was finished their work and all working together in building this straw tower. Believe it or not, but it was quite quiet, everyone was working together in harmony.

This afternoon we blended ADST and Science together by trying to make a flying saucer and experimenting with different ways to make our saucer aerodynamic.

It was another refreshing afternoon as we got to sneak outside for some sunshine, shade and fresh air!

In writing we revisited Persuasive Writing and were trying to convince my husband and I what to name our baby boy who is due in August. We received quite a few interesting name suggestions. A student may or may not have accurately guessed our son’s name! Stay tuned for an update in August/September for the reveal of baby Ralph’s name!

Happy Monday

~ Mrs. Ralph

Another fun-filled and eventful week in Division 7 is in the books!

A little surprise has gone home with the kiddos today to celebrate all our wonderful, supportive and fun-loving Dads out there! Wishing you all a wonderful Father’s Day this Sunday.

We have loved exploring various genres of poems. This includes Rebus, Lune, Haiku and Acrostic Poems. Ask your author if they can recall each poem’s framework – which poem has a total of 11 lines? Which poem incorporates illustrations? Which poem is structured around the number of syllables?

As mathematicians, we are exploring the world of measurement. We are no longer looking at non-standard measurement or standard measurement using mm or cm, but rather, we are learning to read temperature(s) as well as the capacity of liquids and measuring perimeter (the distance around something).

On Friday in ADST we had a new and exciting challenge, to design and create a kite that could fly in the sky! Our creative thinkers were up to the challenge! Check out some of the marvellous creations below. We worked really hard on showing expected behaviour all day today that we earned some extra outside time, which also served as the perfect time to FLY OUR KITE!

That Friday afternoon feeling – blue sky, sunshine, fresh air and nature, all the perfect ingredients that are good for the soul.

Hard to believe we have one last full week together as Division 7. This time of year is always so bitter sweet. It is tremendously rewarding to reflect on all the growth and learning that has been accomplished together and to see our young learners spread their wings and soar to new heights. However, at the same time goodbyes are always hard to do. We have developed and fostered strong ties in Div 7, so it is not goodbye, but see you soon! I look forward to watching the students of Division 7 grow and flourish here at Parkcrest Elementary. In the meantime I am doing my best to take as many mental pictures as I can to capture these special moments and to get time to slow down so we cherish and appreciate every moment we get to spend together.

Have a beautiful and restful weekend everyone!

~Mrs.Ralph

This week we read The Sun and the Moon by Celestine Aleck. This Indigenous story highlighted the relationship between the sun and the moon and how the stars, sunrise, sunset and solar eclipse were created. There were great questions and wonders that stemmed from this book. Our curiosity led us to discuss what is an eclipse? how often do they occur? when is the next one? To our astonishment we discovered that the next annular solar eclipse is actually happening THIS Thursday! Your curious and eager scientist is very much interested in witnessing the solar eclipse and is determined to get up no matter what time to observe it. Unfortunate news is that it does not appear that the annular solar eclipse will be visible for us on the West Coast this Thursday, however that is GOOD news for you parents as you won’t be up at the crack of dawn!

https://www.asc-csa.gc.ca/eng/astronomy/eclipses/solar-eclipses.asp

After we discussed the different eclipses, we then wondered when the next TOTAL eclipse will occur. Get ready to mark your calendars, the next total eclipse will be… April 8, 2024!!

The Sun and the Moon inspired us to explore the world of poetry. As we played with language we gained awareness for how language works. We attempted to do a black out poetry activity were the students selected an illustration and page from the storybook and explored the various words. The goal was not to select entire sentences, but rather highlight and select key words, string them together with other words to generate a short poem. Students immediately saw the challenge in this activity, it certainly required risk takers and a lot of brain power. Here are some samples below.

From there, we began exploring other forms of poetry. A big hit in the classroom was the creation of Rebus Poems. Rebus poems incorporate the use of drawings and illustrations to convey meaning. Again, as we explored and played with language and different forms of communication, we were able to show an appreciation towards different forms of communication and how one can express themselves. Stay tuned for next week to see what other types of poems we will be discovering and creating.

After exploring the framework of a Rebus Poem, we took a look at Lune Poems. A lune poem consists of exactly 11 words and 3 lines. The first line must consist of 3 words, followed by 5 words and the last line ending again in 3 words. This immediately posed a challenge for the students as they wanted, and or felt that it was needed that they HAD to include one more word here or there. Unfortunately, students were not permitted to do that as it would then not be a Lune Poem. Students were then encouraged to re-read their poem and play around with different configurations with their words to ensure that they were following the poem’s framework structure. After a gradual release of I do, We do, YOU do, the students gained confidence and immediately the poems were flying off the pages. Here are some examples below.

On Wednesday we had the opportunity to participate in a Zoom Arts Umbrella Workshop. This workshop/presentation focused on interactive movements and the expression of drama. We learned a fun new game called Evolution, it is adapted from the original game, Rock, Paper, Scissors. Ask your child about the rules and how to play! (hint: an amoeba, insect, snake, bird, monkey). Have fun playing!

ADST: Applied Designs, Skills + Technology

This week in ADST we are attempting to tackle a new challenge. In groups, we are given exactly 20 raw spaghetti noodles, 1 wingspan worth of tape and 1 large marshmallow. These will be the only materials given, teams must use their tape wisely and sparely as that is the only tape that will be given. Teams must also treat their materials properly and carefully, if you are rough and break your spaghetti noodles you will not be getting them replaced, teams will have to be creative to incorporate the broken noodles. Creating a free-standing structure poses challenges as it must stand without any support, that means no taping to the wall and or taping to the ground. Lastly, the marshmallow must balance on TOP of the structure. Let the fun + challenge BEGIN!

Our objective is to design and construct the tallest free standing structure that can balance the marshmallow on top! Students were immediately keen to get started. However, during our first attempt students quickly realized how easily the tape can become tangled and get stuck to itself if you are not careful. Secondly, teams were quick to discover how delicate and brittle the spaghetti noodles are and that they can break incredibly easily (as you can imagine, this can cause frustration amongst many). Lastly, as tempting as it is to eat (and smell) the marshmallow, you must refrain from eating it. Furthermore, as previously mentioned, the marshmallow must be on top of the structure. Some teams attempted to place the marshmallow in the middle of the structure, if doing so the height of the structure will be measured up to where the marshmallow is and not to the height of the highest spaghetti noodle. Since this is a learning experience and we can build upon our ideas and those ideas of others, as well as draw upon our prior knowledge and experiences, we will attempt this challenge again later again this week (on Friday!).

Our second attempt of the free standing spaghetti tower took place on Friday, check out our successes below! We relied upon both our creative and critical thinking to persevere during this challenging activity.

We are thoroughly enjoying the game of trivia in Social Studies. We were grouped into teams, and when it was each team’s turn they got to select a category and different level of question (i.e., 50, 100, 200, 300 and 400). Students were 110% engaged, eager, competitive and overall INVESTED in their learning. Our Government trivia game was such a hit that there were multiple requests to play again. Looks like Mrs. Ralph has more homework to do tonight and create more trivia questions pertaining to our Government unit.

Have a wonderful rest of your week!

~ Mrs. Ralph

Based on the most recent news from the past weekend’s tragedy of the findings at the residential school in Kamloops, BC, we had a meaningful and insightful conversation discussing part of our country’s history. Many of us recognized the significance of residential schools and the impact that it had upon Indigenous culture, communities and families. Although the history surrounding residential schools is difficult to think about and hear, we discussed the importance of not shying away from something that makes us sad, as this is part of Canada’s story and it is a truth that needs to be discussed and reflected upon. Ask your inquisitive citizen about the three stories that were read, Not My Girl, When We Were Alone, and When I was Eight, what did we take away from these stories? What were the teachings of these books? In conjunction to the stories, students selected an illustration that they connected to. We took on the perspective of a young Indigenous child, at the age of 8, which is the age of many in our classroom, and reflected upon how we think many students would have felt. For example, in Indigenous culture, long hair represented strength and pride. Once children arrived to at the residential schools, many children had their hair cut off. Furthermore, children were forbidden to speak their native language and were forced to learn and only speak English. As students took upon their new perspective, they shared their thoughts and feelings on what many children may have experienced emotional.

In two of the written pieces above, you can see the students’ reflection on the negative impact that residential schools had. For example, one student reflected upon what it may feel like if they were forced to learn English and forbidden to speak their native language,  “I would be heartbroken if my language was taken away from me. It is a sign that I am proud of my culture! It would make me feel so distant from my family. It would be like I wasn’t me anymore, and I love myself so it would break my heart!” Another student reflected upon what it may have felt like having their long hair cut off, “I do not like it if my hair was cut short. I would feel mad and sad.”

How would you feel forgetting your spoken language that you speak with your family? If reunited with your loved ones, how would it feel to no longer be able to communicate with your family? How would it feel to no longer recognize or enjoy the food you once loved, your once favourite foods are now unrecognizable and no longer enjoyable? Would you feel like a stranger? Would you feel disconnected and an outsider? Could you ever feel whole as a family again? 

Below is a link to one of the Indigenous picture books that we read that highlighted a little girl’s experience at a residential school, and the grit and determination that she had within herself to persevere and rely upon her inner strength to make it through such a difficult time in her life.

Here is another link to an Indigenous story that we listened to. How did you feel after hearing this story. What is a take away that you have from this book?

As Artists this week we combined our artistic and written skills to reflect upon our DNA. As Scientists, many of us recognized the word DNA, as the tiny molecules that make each of us unique individuals. This week I put a spin on DNA and had us reflect on our DNA as our own and unique Dreams, Needs + Abilities. Dreams are important to have, they are goals that we can set for ourselves, we can have both short-term and long-term dreams in our life. As we reflected upon our needs, we thought about something that we need in our lives (we discussed the importance for our needs for survival, but what is something else you may need to feel safe, to feel loved, to get through each day?). Our abilities reflect what we are capable of doing. Seen below was our first step, painting our backgrounds for our portraits. Keep reading and you will find some examples of our finished product that we completed by the end of the week. I hope you and your families continue to discuss your DNAs – what are your dreams, needs and abilities. For example, I dream of one day travelling to Greece and exploring the world with my children. I need a goodnight hug and bedtime story with my son before he goes to bed each night. I have the ability to take risks and try hard things, like going skydiving!

In Science we continue to investigate the states of Matter through exploratory experiments. On Thursday, we were introduced to the following ingredients:

1/2 cup of milk

1tsp of vanilla

1tb of sugar

1 small zip lock bag

1 large galloon zip lock bag

4 cups of ice cubes

The ingredients were mixed together in a small ziplock bag. This small ziplock bag was then placed in a larger ziplock bag that contained 4 cups of ice cubes and 1/2 cup of salt. We wrapped the bag of ice in a tea towel to protect our hands from the cold while we took turns shaking the bag vigorously.

Ask your young scientist what occurred next. At the start of our exploratory lab our small ziplock bag continued a liquid – it had a fixed volume, but not a fixed shape. After 6 minutes, we unwrapped the ice cube bag to discover that our liquid had turned into…  ICE CREAM! As seen in the photos below we were THRILLED with the results. Why and how did our liquid change states of matter into a solid? What are characteristics of a solid that lead us to this conclusion?

Our hallway now has a splash of colour with our story map kites. Our story maps served as our graphic organizer where we collected our brainstormed ideas for our original story. This includes identifying our characters, setting, problem and solution. Once our story map kites were complete we moved onto our stories, from there we moved onto the editing stage. Seen below you can find our editing checklist that all our authors referred to in order to ensure that their finished writing displayed their best efforts.

3, 2, 1 EDIT IT! 

• Fix 3 spelling words
• Replace 2 words to become triple scoop words
• Upper case letters to start each sentence
• Period at the end of each sentence
• Rewrite 1 sentence to become even better!

In P.E. we have begun another unit, BADMINTON! The students were thrilled with the new skills that they were learning and it took a lot of persuasion on my end for us to exit the gym as they were all having such a great time!

Have a restful + beautiful ‘long’ weekend. Enjoy your Monday off! I will see everyone bright + early Tuesday morning.

Take care ~ Mrs.Ralph