Happy New Year to our Grade 7 students (and our families),
Welcome back to our usual routine! I hope that you had a relaxing Winter Break. A few important reminders for this week:
-Parents and guardians, please fill in the reflection survey (included in the syllabus of the Term 1 report card) at your earliest convenience. You can also access the survey here: Survey for Parents and Guardians
-Our bottle and can drive is fast approaching on January 13th! If you are able, please bring any recyclables to our school’s parking lot to raise funds for our Grade 7 events!
-Please return (signed) report card envelopes as soon as possible
-The weather is taking a turn this week… please dress warmly (coat, boots, socks, etc.)
Hello Grade 7s (and parents, guardians, and families)! As we approach our last few days of 2023 together, please remember:
-Band practice tomorrow has been moved to 9AM. Please wear dark pants/jeans and your Grade 7 hoodie!
-Report cards went home today! Take some time to read and reflect. Please just the envelopes (signed by parent/guardian) ASAP
-Please bring a plastic/fabric bag or tote on Thursday. We will use them to hang up/store any supplies left at school over Winter Break!
This week’s events include: our winter sing-along tomorrow, pancake breakfast on Thursday, and buddy bingo on Thursday. We have some other festive surprises planned as well!
Image description: a hand holding a copy of the picture book Muhammad Ali: A Champion is Born by Gene Barretta
This week, we discussed the importance of considering what goals we might want to achieve in our lives. We read about how Muhammad Ali was inspired to begin his boxing career from an experience he had as a 12 year old child. Despite the mockery, prejudice, and injustice that he faced, Muhammad Ali trained and persevered and achieved so much in his lifetime! He was crowned the heavyweight champion of the world an astonishing 3 times, medaled in the Olympics, and, perhaps most importantly, was known as the “People’s Champion” because of his commitment to speaking out against injustice.
Take a look at the short memorial video, below, commemorating Muhammad Ali’s lifetime:
-any remaining orange consent forms must be returned ASAP! Thank you!
-band tomorrow, please bring your instruments
-treat sale continues on Tuesday! Bring a loonie and buy a treat/support our Grade 7 fundraising!
Another important note: we have our upcoming Grade 7 fundraiser on January 13th. This will be a bottle and can drive. We are looking for Grade 7 students (and parents/guardians) who are able to either volunteer their time, and/or donate recyclables. More information to follow!
Finally, we are in the midst of cold and flu season! Please remember to practice safe and healthy habits, such as frequent handwashing, coughing/sneezing into a tissue, and staying home if you are unwell. I will continue to try and update our blog so that anyone who is absent can stay up-to-date and connected with us!
Have you ever heard of the mysterious disappearance of the Franklin Expedition? This History Mystery involves two ships, sailing from Britain to the Artic of Canada on a search for the Northwest Passage. Despite being well-equipped with food, water, and technology, the ships (and crew) disappeared, and even over 150 years later people still cannot agree on what happened to them!
Check out the trailer, above, for an introduction to this History Mystery, and click the link below for our evidence (so far):
Have you ever read a book and felt like a character was SO similar to you, it was like looking in a mirror? Have you ever felt like a book provided you with a window into someone else’s life and experiences? These are both examples of how representation in media (especially books) is important!
We have been exploring how books can be mirrors and windows, and examining what books in our class library are examples of one or the other (or even both)!
We learned that many people may not see themselves in books and movies. There may not be many characters that share aspects of their identities, such as: culture, ethnicity, life experiences, religion, background, family dynamic, etc. We surveyed our class library to look for ‘gaps’ in our books. We talked about how reading books about people who are different from us can build understanding and empathy.
Today, we read The Proudest Blue by Ibtihaj Muhammad:
In the story, a younger sister tells us all about her older sister’s first day wearing hijab. We talked about how many people from different cultures and religions may wear clothing, regalia, jewelry, or other items as testaments to their beliefs and backgrounds. To learn more about Ibtihaj Muhammad’s life, including her time as an Olympic-medalist in fencing, check out the video below:
Some questions to discuss at home:
Have you ever seen a character that is similar to you (culture, race, religion, personality, background, etc.) in a book, movie, or TV show?
What are some characters you feel connected to? Who are your favourite characters, and why do you like them?
Do you have any clothing, regalia, jewelry, that you wear that represents your culture/faith/identity? Are there certain items that you wear on special days?
Hello Grade 7s (and Grade 7 families)! A few reminders:
-Please make sure to dress for the weather. This means bringing a jacket, appropriate shoes (ex: rain boots), and perhaps a change of socks and/or pants.
-Our Grade 7 Treat Sales begin this week! They will take place on Tuesdays at Lunch. Bring a loonie or toonie to buy a treat, and support our Grade 7 fundraising!
-Orange consent forms for our Gaming Research project should come back ASAP
-Please stay on top of any overdue work (ex: French comics, Over the Garden Wall paragraphs) and reach out to your teachers if you need support
Our class took on our most complicated recipe yet… a fruit crisp! We learned that fruit crisps can be made with a variety of types of fillings, including: strawberries, apples, peaches, mangos, cherries, and more! They are also a very economical and delicious way to use up extra fruit, or even frozen fruit!
The topping of our crisps used rolled oats, flour, sugar, and cinnamon along with melted butter. We measured our ingredients carefully and worked collaboratively to make individual sized desserts.
Most of us were very excited with how our fruit crisps turned out. Please feel free to click the recipe above to try making it at home.
Our Grade 7s have been hard at work learning about early humans with Ms. Ramen in Socials class! We invited a artist in residence to come in and teach us how to sculpt a human skull out of clay. After sculpting, they were fired in the kiln. Then, we glazed the skulls and they will be fired a final time. We can’t wait to see the final product soon!
Some questions we suggest parents/guardians can discuss at home:
What features did you include in your skull model? What species of hominin did you choose to create?
How does your model skull look similar or different from our own (real) skulls?
How old do you imagine your skull is? What conditions was it in (ex: desert, water)?
Ms. Pontalti says that she will try to make it to band today, but she is still feeling quite ill. She wanted me to pass along the message that she misses you all and hopes to be back soon! It is also so important to continue practicing with your instrument at home… you don’t want to loose any progress or forget any of the skills you have learned! Please practice #16, #19, and #26 from your music books.
