Miriam.Arden

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March 5, 2019
by ardenm
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In the Style of – Art Project

This term, we researched an artistic style based on our interest, and we created our own piece of work in this style. It was wonderful to see the creative juices flow in Division 4. The students explored many different styles from Calvin and Hobbes inspired illustrations to Monet to digital art. Some students created Pokemon sculptures out of clay, and others created detailed animals using complex origami techniques. Many students became well versed in the art of doodling while others journeyed deep into the world of the anime style. It was wonderful to see students take risks, play, and challenge themselves to learn a new art style.

     

December 17, 2018
by ardenm
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Holiday Celebrating

On Friday, my wonderful mother came in and had prepared two holiday activities for our lovely group of students – gingerbread cookie decorating and creating our own wreaths. She was amazed at how friendly and caring the atmosphere is in Div. 4. She commented that our students truly seem to enjoy one another’s company and that everyone was so helpful and empathetic. Here are some pictures of our fun and creative afternoon.

December 13, 2018
by ardenm
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Elf Hats: A sewing adventure

    

At our wonderful music teachers’ request, we decided to create elf hats for our Christmas musical using yellow and green felt and sewing machines. I had hoped to have photographed the process of creating our hats, but teaching thirty children how to pin their hats and use a sewing machine without sewing their fingers did not allow any time for photography. It was wonderful to observe students as they learned this new skill. We worked through the many frustrations that come along with sewing. Students faced many challenges along the way and had to troubleshoot sewing machine issues, holes in their seams, and other issues that cropped up. We persevered (me included), and each student had a moment of pride and glee as they examined their professional looking seams. I saw an incredible amount of co-operation and leadership as students mentored one another in a positive and caring way. No student would be left behind; we were determined to help one another to complete our creations! After sewing our hats, each student personalized their creations with ribbon and elf ears. We wore our hats with pride to our pancake breakfast. With the right mindset – a willingness to make mistakes and pick ourselves back up –  we are more than capable of learning any new skill.

 

December 8, 2018
by ardenm
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Skating

I loved watching you skate today. I saw an incredible amount of growth mindset as you persisted in the face of challenge and continued to get up and try, try, try again. You remained determined and persevered in order to learn this new skill. Not to mention, I loved the way you helped support each other today. I saw so many of you coaching one another, offering your hand to your friends when they wiped out, and sharing kind words of encouragement and support. What a beautiful community that we have created in Div. 4. Here are some pictures of your trip. Thanks again to our wonderful parent drivers who took time out of their busy lives to help us out.

  

 

       

November 30, 2018
by ardenm
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Family History Projects

In Social Studies and Science, we have been zooming out and looking at the history of our universe. In contrast, in Social Studies and Language Arts, we have been zooming in on our family history. Since September, we have been creating scrapbooks that document our family tree, aspects about our culture, family artifacts/recipes, an interview of a family member, a family timeline, a Venn diagram comparing oneself to a relative, a poem or immigration story about our families, and a family mission statement that captures our family’s values and beliefs. My initial hope was that through this project, students could get to know one another more deeply and build connections with their families through conversation about their family’s history, culture, and beliefs. Additionally, another goal of this project was to help students gain a better understanding of their own identities through an exploration of their personal histories.

During the process of working on our projects, students shared incredible, fascinating stories that they discovered about family members through their research. We shared many laughs and gained a deeper understanding of one another through the process.

After completing our projects, we had a little class party to celebrate our learning and share our projects. As we drank hot chocolate and ate cookies, some students shared poems, timelines, family recipes, and anecdotes about their families. Afterwards, we walked around the room and had some time to freely explore one another’s work. This project was a beautiful way to get to know one another on a deeper, more meaningful level. It was an honour and pleasure to delve into each student’s background; the heart and soul that students poured into this project is commendable.

 

 

 

November 30, 2018
by ardenm
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Big History Timeline

In our cross-curricular Social Studies/Science unit, we have been zooming out and looking at the history of the universe. Thus far, we have investigated the events that occurred from the very beginning of time and space (The Big Bang) until the creation of our Earth and solar system (9 billion years). In order to create an understanding of the time between the Big Bang and now, students constructed a timeline to document the major events that happened between then and now. When building our timeline, we decided that 1 meter would represent 1 billion years, 1 centimeter would represent a million years, and 1 millimeter would represent one hundred thousand years.

Each group was given a different period in time and had to illustrate and explain major events on index cards. Students attached their index cards to our 14 meter ribbon. Finally, we worked collaboratively to hang our 14 meter representation of history onto our wall. This project helped us put everything into context and gain a better understanding of the conditions that have slowly led up to our existence. The timeline also showed us the short time frame humans have been on Earth relative to the existence of the universe.

October 22, 2018
by ardenm
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Classroom Contract

In order to feel psychologically safe enough to share our ideas, take risks, and to learn with one another, it is important to create a warm, welcoming, and inclusive classroom environment. To build this kind of environment, a great first step is to collectively decide on a vision for our classroom. A classroom contract is a collaboratively created document which reflects our values and beliefs about how we should treat one another and our environment.

The creation of  our classroom contract was a multi-day process which required lots of deep thinking and reflection about our beliefs and values.

Day 1: Each table group designed a page with ideas related to what an ideal classroom looks like, feels like, and sounds like. Students drew pictures to represent their ideas, and we shared our thinking with one another. Students agreed that in an ideal classroom, everyone should feel cared for, safe, comfortable, accepted, respected, and as though their voice is acknowledged and valued. The class also came to the conclusion that an ideal classroom needs to be clean, orderly, and organized. Furthermore, students discussed that an ideal class should include laughter, collaboration, rich discussion, and active listening.

Day 2: At this point, we discussed which values are necessary in order to create a safe, fun, and collaborative environment. Together, our class made a lengthy master list which included everyone’s perspectives. Next, I gave each student five star stickers.

I instructed, “You have five stars. Place a star next to the 5 values that are most important to you. Which values are of utmost importance in order to create an ideal, inclusive, and fun classroom? ”

After much discussion and debate with one another, we settled on five values: being trustworthy, respectful, clean, safe, and helpful to others. These represent our class’s most deeply held values and beliefs.

Day 3: At this point, we brainstormed with one another: What responsibilities do we have to ourselves and to others in order to make sure that our classroom reflects our core values and beliefs? What are the specific actions that we need to take in order to realize these values? As a class, we synthesized our ideas into our final classroom contract. Div. 4 is committed to taking all actions necessary in order to promote a trustworthy, respectful, clean, safe, and helpful environment.

October 19, 2018
by ardenm
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Welcome to Div 4.

Welcome to Div 4.’s class blog.

We are well into the school year, and I feel a deep sense of gratitude for the incredible classroom community that we have created. Our class has a warm and welcoming atmosphere and each day, I look forward to coming to school. Our class is very inclusive; we welcome and celebrate the unique personalities of all of our classroom members. Each day, I see students helping one another, offering kind words of encouragement, and showing support towards one another. Our conversations to date show that students are deeply thoughtful, curious, and caring.

The purpose of this blog is to showcase what students are working on and learning throughout the school year. Students will also be creating their own blogs in which they will have an opportunity to share their work, reflect on their learning, and show their progress over time.  Over the course of the year, students will explore how to set up their own blogs over the district website. My hope is that this blog will create a place for you to share in your child’s learning journey. I look forward to our communications throughout the year.

Kind Regards,

Ms. Arden