Month: January 2013

Penguin Research

We began our enquiry into penguins by creating a ‘KNOW’ (or THINK we know) chart and a ‘WONDER’ (what we want to know) chart.  Please note that ALL ideas are recorded at this point and will be proven – or disproven – by the end of our unit.

We followed up with a visit to the Library to explore the penguin entries in the on-line World Book database via the laptops.  Students have now been put into partnerships and they have chosen the penguin that they want to research in-depth.

Beginning this week the student-partnerships will spend 45 minutes each Tuesday on the laptops doing research on their chosen penguin.  We also have an extensive collection of fact-based books in the classroom and the library.  Students will collect information on their data sheets and then formulate this information into a report format.  These reports will be orally presented to the class at the end of the unit.

Early last week I sent home a letter about the World Book on-line resource, along with how to access the penguin websites which I have attached to my Delicious account – a link on this blogsite.  Feel free to explore the on-line sites at home with your child.  They should be able to tell you the name of their specific penguin – although, these were just chosen at the end of the day on Friday so they may not be totally clear on how to pronounce their penguin’s name yet:)

 

Our JUMP Rope for Heart Event

On Friday, January 11th we had a ‘Kick-Off’ assembly with a representative from the Heart and Stroke Foundation.  Our ‘Heart Hero’ (Derek) made an appearance as well.

At the assembly, students learned how to keep their hearts healthy.

This past Friday (January 18th) we held our JUMP event.  We created a Heart Wall with the red paper hearts – where students had recorded their ideas about keeping healthy – that had been sent home with their pledge forms.  In the afternoon, classes each had a 40 minute block where they met their buddy class in the gym and had a lot of fun jumping rope.   We were very lucky that this year we didn’t have rain!  This meant that we got to enjoy jumping outside of the gym on the basketball court.  Students enjoyed skipping on their own – and with the long ropes, as well.

 

If you haven’t already done so, please return your completed pledge forms – or register your collected fundraising on-line by Wednesday, January 23rd.  Thank you for your support of this very worthy charity.

Pringle Comes to Rosser!!

On Monday, January 14th we were thrilled to receive a very COLD package, delivered by Mrs. Ameixa, which had arrived from the South Pole!!  You can still see some of the wet spots on the brown paper from where the ice melted!

Inside this package was: a novel (Mr. Popper’s Penguins); a letter from Admiral Drake (a character in the novel); a lovely little penguin named Pringle; and a Journal in which the students can write and share their home experiences with Pringle.  This was a very exciting arrival for the students – and the adults in the room, as well!

Pringle, our class penguin, has already made home visits to the homes of: Maya A., Ateeq, Alex, and Justin.  She is currently spending this weekend with Lyka and her family.  When students bring Pringle back to school they share their home (and extra-curricular visits) with the rest of us through their written entries in the Journal.  Pringle has been very busy enjoying a lot of different kinds of foods and activities!

All students are anxiously awaiting their turn taking Pringle home.  When she arrives in your home I am sure your family will be very welcoming.  Enjoy the experience!

 

JUMP Rope for Heart

We are having a Kick-Off Assembly this Friday morning for our annual JUMP Rope for Heart event that we do for the Heart and Stroke Foundation.  The students will be bringing home a packet of information on Friday afternoon which will include: an explanatory letter, a pledge envelope, a booklet, stickers, and a paper heart.

Our JUMP event will happen on the afternoon of Friday, January 18th.  This is an event that the students traditionally enjoy.  We do this as part of our fitness awareness mandate (Daily Physical Activity) as well as being a fundraiser for a very worthy cause.  Please help us in our support of this charity.

 

Happy New Year!

Welcome back to a new ‘calendar’ year in the midst of our current ‘school’ year.  We have six short months remaining together and a lot of great learning left to do.

We are currently exploring the sport of hockey – the floor variety.  Students are learning correct hand positions on the sticks and the fundamentals of the game.  A huge focus of ours is in safe play.  We had a great class discussion yesterday on why we have to be more careful than the ice hockey players do.  I was really impressed with how much the Grade 2’s shared about what they had learned last year!!  Without all the padding and safety equipment (helmets, face guards, mouth guards, etc.) that ice hockey players have, we are more vulnerable to injury and therefore need to exercise more caution.

We have also begun the process for our artistic entries which will be included in a biennial art programme put on by the Burnaby Art Gallery called, Arts Alive.  This event is a great opportunity for our students.  Arts Alive happens every year but alternates between secondary and elementary schools – this year being ours.  Completed art is adjudicated by a jury panel from the Burnaby Art Gallery who come out to the schools.  Pieces of art which are chosen are taken to the BAG to be put on display for the duration of the art show – about one month in the Spring.  All art pieces are photographed for the ‘digital display’ which can be viewed at the art gallery and is also available on-line.

Themes are chosen for each year and the theme for this year is ‘places of memory’.  In preparation for our art production we are exploring the concept of ‘memory’.  I read a picture book by Mem Fox called Wilfrid Gordon MacDonald Partridge.  This story is about a young boy learning about and exploring the idea of what memory is through bits of advice he receives in his quest to help an elderly woman from the ‘old folk’s home’ next to his house regain her ‘lost’ memory.

Students have been thinking about their own family memories.  We have had many discussions about the different kinds of memories – happy, sad, angry, worried, precious.  We will be talking about ‘powerful’ memories later this week.  Students will be choosing a  special, powerful memory about a place they have been to or know well.  The process of developing their final art pieces will be explored through drawings and writings and will then be melded into a final artistic piece in an unusual (surprise) medium for creating pictures.  More information to come – stay tuned!