This month Gilmore has especially focused on diversity and autism. During the morning announcements we have had information given to us about different disabilities which led to good conversation. 

Last week, we read these stories and had a powerful discussion around differences. The first book is about a little girl, Emma who is in a wheelchair and was born with limb difference.  The message in this book is that it is ok to ask respectful questions and wonder why she might have these differences, but it is not ok to judge, whisper or talk behind her back. Here is the link to the first book, please watch it again and discuss what we talked about in class. 

The second book is about a character who has one leg. Kids would ask him why he only had one leg, but the message in the book is that he didn’t have to answer their questions. In the book when asked “what happened to your other leg?”, he replies “what other leg?”.  We talked about if this is even a question he has to answer? kids in the book soon realized that he is able to participate in playing and doing activities just like everyone else and by asking these questions, they were losing play time. The question was unnecessary. 

The farmer delivered our chick eggs to our classroom and we were all very excited. Ask your child where they are keeping warm and growing. Most days we have the opportunity to look through a scope and see the chicks develop. Each day something has changed. Ask your child what they noticed today. In 16 days, we are expecting our chicks to hatch.  Ask your child to make a prediction about how what is growing inside the egg that might have changed  when we observe the eggs next. 

Big Ideas: 

• Living things have life cycles adapted to their environment 

Curriculum Competencies: 

• Observe objects and events in familiar contexts 
• Ask questions about familiar objects and events 
• Make simple predictions about familiar objects and events 
• Make and record observations 
• Transfer and apply learning to new situations 
• Sort and classify data and information using drawings,  pictographs and provided tables 

Content: 

• non-metamorphic life cycles of different organisms 
• similarities and differences between offspring and parent 
• compare observations with predictions through discussion 
• compare observations with those of others 
• communicate observations and ideas using oral or written language and drawing 

Core Competency: Critical Thinking and Reflective Thinking 

• I can ask questions and consider options. I can use my observations, experience, and imagination to draw conclusions and make judgments. 

First Peoples Principles of Learning: Learning is holistic, reflexive, reflective, experiential, and relational. 

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This week, the students of Div. 15 and Div. 16 have been working on describing themselves using the Personal and Social Core Competencies. This is being completed by the students as part of the second term report card.

The Personal and Social competency is the set of abilities that relate to students’ identity in the world, both as individuals and as members of their community and society. Personal and Social competency encompasses what students need to thrive as individuals, to understand and care about themselves and others, and to find and achieve their purposes in the world.

The Personal and Social Core Competency has three interrelated sub-competencies:

Personal Awareness and Responsibility

Personal Awareness and Responsibility involves understanding the connections between personal and social behaviour and well-being; it encourages people to make constructive and ethical decisions and act on them.

Positive Personal and Cultural Identity

Positive Personal and Cultural Identity involves the awareness, understanding, and appreciation of the factors that contribute to a healthy sense of oneself; it includes knowledge of one’s family background, heritage(s), language(s), beliefs, and perspectives in a pluralistic society.

Social Awareness and Responsibility

Social Awareness and Responsibility involves the awareness, understanding, and appreciation of connections among people, including between people and the natural environment. Social Awareness and Responsibility focuses on interacting with others and the natural world in respectful and caring ways.

First, we read the story: “More than Words” by, Roz Maclean

Second, we all brainstormed “I can” statements as a group. Then, the students chose the three “I can” statements that best reflected themselves. Once the students wrote their three statements, we then began working on representations of ourselves using “people” cut-outs, special paper, construction paper, felt, ribbon and other supplies. The students were asked to create how they see themselves on their paper cut-outs. Please discuss the Core Competency “I can” statements with your child and how they chose to represent themselves in their cut-out(s). A photocopy of your child’s “I can” statements will be coming home in their report envelope. We are keeping the originals to display in the gym for our Autism Awareness Month assembly. Thank you for your support with your child’s learning.

With Ms. Paulich, students have been working on creating their own personalized sweaters influence by the book “Yetsa’s Sweater” Wriiten by Sylvia Olsen. (I cannot find a video of the book)

The summary:

“Yetsa and her mother are going to visit her grandmother. Yetsa is wearing her favourite sweater, a traditional Coast Salish garment. It is a little small, but it is special because her grandmother made it and the symbols knitted into it represent her family.
Yetsa, her mother, and her grandmother work to prepare freshly-sheared wool to make new sweaters. Yetsa has a number of special roles to play in the process. During breaks, she enjoys some of her grandma’s delicious fresh bread and blackberry jam. Once the wool is prepared grandma starts knitting a sweater with “Flowers. Whales and waves. Wooly clouds, and blackberries” (32). On last page Yetsa is pictured hugging herself in her new sweater.
This book features a note on “The Cowichan Sweater” at the end.”

Activity:

Yetsa’s sweaters feature symbols about her family and her experiences. Students created their own sweater patterns with symbols that are important to them.

Big Ideas:

• Creative expression develops our unique identity and voice (Art).
• Healthy communities recognize and respect the diversity of individuals (Social Studies).
• People connect to the hearts and minds of others in a variety of places and times through the arts.

First Peoples Principles of Learning: Learning ultimately supports the well-being of the self, the family, the community, the land, the spirits, and the ancestors

Curricular Competencies: Explore personal experience, community, and culture through arts activities

Content:

• Elements of design – line, shape, texture, colour
• Personal and collective responsibility associated with creating, experiencing, or sharing in a safe learning environment

Core Competency: Social Awareness and Responsibility

• I can build relationships and be a thoughtful and supportive friend. I can identify ways my actions and the actions of others affect my community.

Last week we learned about Pink Shirt Day including this year’s theme: “All Kinds of Kindness”. Here we our in our sea of pink! For the past two weeks we have been reading books that focus on the concepts of love and kindness.

On Tuesday, Ms Papapanagiotou read us a book that was perfect for Pink Shirt Day called They’re So Flamboyant, by Michael Genhart and Tony Neal. I am attaching the link so that you can read and discuss it with your child. After we read the book, we designed our own personal flamingos and how we would want to look if we were a flamboyant flamingo. We then worked on writing about whether the students have ever had someone make a judgement about them or someone they know, or whether they have stood up for someone instead. This activity allowed us to reflect on the concept of kindness and what it means to be an inclusive and responsible member in our school community. We were able to connect with one another by sharing our own experiences and discussing what it looks like to stand up for others. (They were put into journals)

On Wednesday, we had a zoom meeting with the author Monique Gray Smith, a Cree writer who lives in Victoria and has written many children’s books. She shared two of her stories for Pink Shirt Day. The first was called, You Hold Me Up and the second was called, When We Are Kind. She talked about the importance of showing others kindness every day of the year. She taught us a word in Cree: tawaw, which means: welcome, there is room for you here! Words to live by! I am attaching a copy of her book You Hold Me Up to share at home.

On Thursday, we heard the true story about how Pink Shirt Day started in Nova Scotia. We then read the story called Pink Is For Boys, by Robb Pearlman and Eda Kaban. Below is the link for this story as well. Please share it at home as a family, to increase understanding of what we have been learning here at school. 

I’m also attaching a picture of us watching the zoom author visit.

Big Ideas:

• Creative expression develops our unique identity and voice (Art).
• Healthy communities recognize and respect the diversity of individuals (Social Studies).

First Peoples Principles of Learning: Learning ultimately supports the well-being of the self, the family, the community, the land, the spirits, and the ancestors

Curricular Competencies: Explore personal experience, community, and culture through arts activities

Content:

• Elements of design – line, shape, texture, colour
• Personal and collective responsibility associated with creating, experiencing, or sharing in a safe learning environment

Core Competency: Social Awareness and Responsibility

• I can build relationships and be a thoughtful and supportive friend. I can identify ways my actions and the actions of others affect my community.

We  began our Ocean Inquiry this week.  In groups of two or three, we have been brainstorming things we know and things we wonder about the Ocean. So far, we have learned about what we as individuals  and as a classroom communities can do to help the Ocean. Eventually, we will be coming up with ways to make a difference for our Oceans and the environment. 

We read the book Ocean Soup by Meeg Pincus. Here is her book to spark some discussion at home. 

We also read the story called The Pout-Pout Fish Cleans Up The Ocean by Deborah Diesen. It is a book about sea creatures who work together to clean up their underwater home. 

  Here is the video we watched today called All The Way To The Ocean. Please share it as a family and discuss some of the ways the students came up with to help our environment.

Curricular Competencies: 

• Engage in problem-solving experiences that are connected to place, story, cultural practices, and perspectives relevant to local First Peoples communities, the local community, and other cultures 
• Demonstrate curiosity and a sense of wonder about the world 
• Experience and interpret the local environment 
• Make simple predictions about familiar objects and events 
• Consider some environmental consequences of their actions 
• Compare observations with those of others 
• Generate and introduce new or refined ideas when problem solving 

Learning Involved: 

• Identifying the importance of caring for our oceans, lakes, rivers and streams 
• Relationships between people and the environment in different communities 

First Peoples Principles of Learning: 

• Learning ultimately supports the well-being of the self, the family, the community, the land, the spirits, and the ancestors 
• Learning is holistic, reflexive, reflective, experiential, and relational 

Core Competencies: 

Thinking – Critical and Reflective Thinking 

• Students think critically to develop ideas. They work with clear purpose and consider the potential uses of their work. They explore possibilities, develop and reflect on processes, monitor progress, and adjust procedures in light of criteria and feedback. 

Communication – Collaboration 

• Students combine their efforts with those of others to effectively accomplish learning and tasks. As members of a group, they appreciate interdependence and cooperation, commit to needed roles and responsibilities, and are conscientious about contributing. 

Personal and Social – Social Awareness and Responsibility 

• Students develop awareness of and take responsibility for their social, physical, and natural environments by working independently and collaboratively for the benefit of others, communities, and the environment. They are aware of the impact of their decisions, actions, and footprint. 

Yesterday, we had a zoom author visit with Ginalina, she is a Canadian singer-songwriter who has written 3 books. Yesterday, she read to us “Blooming Mountain” and sang us a song. She also shared her new music video which was inspired by the book. I couldn’t find a video of a read aloud, but I did of the music video and it is linked below!

Last week, we participated in a Joyful Learning Indigenous art lesson. Here is the bulletin board outside:

We learned the different Coast Salish shapes used in art. Started by practicing the drawing of shapes and then we followed along with a directed drawing of the raven!