Click to enlarge image.

This week, we did some experiential learning as we pretended to be spiders. Well, we were actually scientists doing another experiment. 

First, we asked some questions. Then we formed a hypothesis. Next, we tested our hypothesis and recorded our observations. Finally, we came to a conclusion.

We started with a sugar cube which represented the fly that the spider caught in its web. 

Then we added water to the cup to mimic how a spider “vomits” digestive fluid over the prey (sugar cube = fly) and we carefully and excitedly observed what happened. 

After a few minutes, we noticed that the sugar cube dissolved just like how a fly would after the spider’s digestive fluid liquefied it.

The next step was tasting the delicious fly (or dissolved sugar cube). Some enjoyed their “meal” but others thought it tasted disgusting and were rushing to get water (too sweet!). 

We recorded our observations. Here is an example:

This experiment gave us a good sense of how a spider “eats” its food!

Dear students,

What did you think of our experiment? What was the most interesting part of this experiment or this kind of learning? How did it make you feel? Please ask your parent to help you write your response as a comment on this post. We’d love to hear your thoughts! Thank you.

Sincerely, Ms. Chan & Ms. Cowan

[metaslider id=2812]

We had a lot of fun preparing for Hallowe’en. We learned about the life cycle of pumpkins, talked about the steps to carving a pumpkin, and designed our jack o’lanterns. Our big buddies helped us carve but we cleaned out the pulp and seeds mostly by ourselves!

Today, we started our day in the gym for the whole school parade. So many fantastic costumes! Then children rotated through three stations throughout the day. They listened to a story and then used their creativity to work on some art related to the story.

Our PAC parents were busy all morning popping popcorn for the entire school. Thank you very much for being so generous with your time! We are blessed to have you care so much about our kids at University Highlands.

We hope you had a wonderful evening of Hallowe’en festivities with your friends and family!

Dear students,

What was your favourite part of our pumpkin learning or Hallowe’en festivities at school? What did you appreciate the most? Please ask your parent to help you write a response as a comment on this post. Thank you!

Sincerely, Ms. Chan & Ms. Cowan 

[metaslider id=2765]  Check out our glittery spider webs! Can you spot where the spiders are? 

First, children followed a directed drawing of a spider web. Next, they chose how they wanted to paint their web sections. Then, glue and glitter helped to make our webs pop. Lastly, the spider was added if we wished.

Thank you to the families who supported our Bake Sale fundraiser by donating baked goods and for purchasing the delicious treats for your child. Please read our thank you letter that we wrote together as shared writing.

We also would like to thank Nesters for their donation of pumpkins for every child in the school. They were delivered yesterday. When you visit their store, please feel free to ask your child to thank them for their support. We will be carving the pumpkins tomorrow with our big buddies in the afternoon. 

Without the support of our PAC and parents, many of these events would not be possible. A special thank you to the parents who donated their time and effort to planning and organizing these events. We appreciate you!

Family Reading time will be tomorrow at 8:55 am at our regular time. Please feel free to join us! After our reading time, we will be showing our Wreath of Gratitude video for parents who may not have seen it when it was shared at our last Celebration of Learning. Hope to see you tomorrow morning!