Category: Cross-Curricular (Page 1 of 2)

Maple Man

January 23, 2026 / Ms.C / 0 Comments

Today we had a wonderful presentation from a maple syrup farmer who we call “The Maple Man!” We learned a lot about Québécois culture and heritage, and how maple sap is collected and processed to become delicious maple syrup! We got a taste of the very special treat, maple taffy (or tire d’érable en français!)

Carnaval is next week, so today we’ve started wearing the ceinture fléchée. The ceinture fléchée comes from the same roots of the Métis sash (sayncheur flayshii in Michif). In class we’ve been learning about Métis finger weaving, but we’ll take more about that in another post!

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Happy New Year!

January 12, 2026 / Ms.C / 0 Comments

Happy 2026 everyone! Welcome to a new year and a new term. Even though we are already in our fifth month of school, it always feels like a fresh start once we come back in January. In class we talked about the metaphor of a new sheet of paper, or a blanket of fresh snow across the ground, to represent the new year and new term. They hold possibilities and potential to start anew, or to continue your story from the last page.

A Note for Term 1

December 21, 2025 / Ms.C / 0 Comments

In the busy-ness of Friday, I forgot to post this note that usually goes home with printed out reports. But with online reports at Seaforth, it slipped my mind!

Dear Families of Division 7,

Term 1 is always a time of transition and new experiences as we come together as a new class. During this term, we review and learn new expectations and routines and meet new people. It takes time to get to know our new class identity as we have students coming from different classes (and even other schools) in order to compose our new group. Especially for our grade 4 classmates, Term 1 is a very new experience as this is their first time in an intermediate classroom—curriculum changes, more students in our shared space, and increasing independence and expectations. During this Term, all students take time to adjust to these changes. Also, students are working with a variety of staff: Ms. Coutts (new to Seaforth), Ms. Vankadari (also new to Seaforth, and co-teacher while Ms. Coutts does Head Teacher duties), Mr. Brockerville teaches Physical and Health Education, Mr. Clift teaches Music, and the students also see Ms. Bogunovic (also new to Seaforth) for Library. We also share our classroom with Ms. Bola, our Educational Assistant. It’s a busy time with many different people!

While every day feels like a busy day at Seaforth, moving into term 2 usually feels more settled as we are picking up on more of those new routines and expectations. We will use learning tools through Microsoft 365 more often, including Teams, Outlook, and Word. Students have already been learning how to access our class Team to communicate with Ms. Coutts and classmates and to access information. Moving into Term 2, students will continue developing their independence and ownership of their learning. There are many ways to support the overall learning skills of your child and help set them up for success. A few ways to support your child at home are:

review and use the planner as a checklist for monitoring due dates
arrive to school on time in order to begin the day with the rest of the class
invite participation in conversations about the media they watch/read; encourage them to share opinions backed up with why they hold that position
encourage pro-active problem solving before defaulting to asking an adult for the answer; finding their way through a little struggle builds confidence that they are capable!

We look forward to continuing to work with and support your child in their academic, social, and personal development as we move into Term 2. Wishing you all a very restful and warm winter holiday. See you in January.

With Care,
Ms. Coutts and Ms. Vankadari

December 19, 2025 / Ms.C / 0 Comments

Let’s Talk About the Proficiency Scale

December 15, 2025 / Ms.C / 0 Comments

With our first term coming to a close, and report cards just around the corner, I want to talk a bit about assessment and reporting. A quick Google of “proficiency scale bc” showed me these top searches:

This tells me that the adults receiving the report cards are trying to understand the proficiency language in the way that they were assessed (or perceived to be assessed) when they were in school–whether that is percentages or letter grades. I get that: we try to understand things based on our own experiences. So let’s dive into what we’re really talking about in these report cards.

The proficiencies–Emerging, Developing, Proficient, and Extending–represent a snapshot of student learning at a certain point in time. It is not a “category” or a label for the child or their ability. We acknowledge that learning is a process in which we are active participants, and that stretches and struggles are sometimes a part of that process.

One of the major shifts in curriculum (that happened over ten years ago) was the creation of “curricular competencies” which are based in learning skills instead of content. So students’ abilities to question, communicate, think critically and creatively, and contribute to and participate in communities are foundational in their learning practice. So much so that these competencies are called the Core Competencies, upon which students self-assess themselves.

To be clear: the proficiencies do not align with letter grades. They do not align with percentages. Earlier in my career, even when we were using letter grades from grade 4-7, these still did not align with percentages (we had rubrics called “Quick Scales” which outlined the performance standards/expected content).

Here is a proficiency scale explanation in student-friendly language:

Especially for our grade 4 students, the first term is a time of big adjustments: more students in the class, different routines, and a shift in expectations (academic and personal independence) is a lot of adjust to! One of the things we’ve been working on this term is the idea of taking greater accountability for our actions as learners and members of a community. Finding commonalities and ways to get along with a variety of people help us when conflict arises. We are learning to use our planners for our own reference to help us plan for and track due dates and events. Students are learning to receive feedback from peers and teachers, and to integrate it into their next assignments. I would say the “training wheels” are certainly still on, but we are also pushing students to stretch themselves and their burgeoning independence. When I have a room of 30ish students, we have a group plan where students are supported with routines and structures and are expected to leverage those tools with increasing independence, and make choices that contribute to their own learning.

Students in Division 7 are all somewhere along their proficiency journeys, and their attitudes and willingness to stretch themselves will pave their way to continued growth.

Place-Based Connections: Getting to Know the Land

November 25, 2025 / Ms.C / 0 Comments

Last week, Division 7 went to Burnaby Lake. We went for a visit to get to know the animals and plants that we share this land with, and how they change over the seasons. Our purpose was to connect to place through observation. We saw and learned so much! Even for me–who grew up in this area and have spent a lot of time walking around, canoeing in, and visiting the ducks at Burnaby Lake–I learned so much during our visit!

Our park leaders led us through several different activities, and we stopped to observe surprise guests on our visit (a woodpecker, a muskrat, and a stinky mushroom!).

Stream Cologne

Did you know that the way salmon find their way back to their particular stream is by scent? They navigate back from the ocean with a kind of “magnet” in their heads, but they find their specific stream through the mixture of scents from that specific place. Students looked around the ground near the stream to collect bits of plants and soil to mush together to smell. We had a good time mixing our potions and comparing scents.

Observing Water Fowl

Students were given visual guides about the various winged wonders that alight on Burnaby Lake. We spent a long time playing a version of eye-spy with the birds. We learned that some of them stay year round, some are visitors from further north, and some will head south for even warmer weather. The wood ducks were a big hit! We also observed many gulls and crows feeding on the carcasses of salmon who have spawned and are now giving back to the waterways that once gave them life. We didn’t see any bears, who also feed on these fish, but we did note that there is no feeding birds seed right now since that will also attract bears as they prepare for the winter months.

Plant Identification

Students learned about some local plants and how to identify them. They played a running game where they got a card with clues about the plant, had to locate and tag the plant, and then race back to our leader for confirmation they identified the plant correctly and to get a new card. So fun! Check out the gallery for the different plants we identified. Some change through the seasons, but still have identifiable characteristics. Keep an eye out for these on your next walk!

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Owls & Fungi

We had a very special experience to see and feel the silent wings and fierce talons that make owls efficient predators. It was interesting to compare and contrast how loud a goose feather is when flapped versus an owl wing. Geese don’t have to be stealthy, and they have waterproofing features on their feathers, but owls need to be silent to be effective birds of prey. Their talons are very sharp, too! I wouldn’t want to be on the receiving end of those razor sharp claws! We got to look at an owl skull, and we observed that the owl’s eyes sit in bony sockets to maintain their shape. Because of that, they cannot move their eyes, and that’s why their heads can rotate 270 degrees.

We also explored some of the fungi that grow out of logs, trees, and the ground. Because these structures are very delicate, we used small mirrors to observe the underside of mushroom caps. Seeing what kind of underside they had helped us identify what kind of fungus it was according to the identification sheet. We even saw that some fungi glow on the underside when a black light is shone on them. I wonder why they do that? What do you think?

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Putting It All Together

Our guide brought out a big box with different bags in it. Each bag had a few items that connected with each other in some way that we’d talked about on our tour. As we observed and passed around the items, students inferred about what the connections could be. Sharing ideas helped spark thinking in others, and everyone could help build on the connections.

We had a really great afternoon exploring, observing, and learning more about the plants and animals with whom we share this land. I hope that students came away with increased understanding of the connectedness of this place, and compassion for all the living things here. Thank you very much to our parent volunteers for joining us, also.

Community, Communication, Collaboration, & Curiosity

October 14, 2025 / Ms.C / 0 Comments

Students work together to fold newspaper strips to weave together into “situpon mats.”

Have you ever built a LEGO set with a friend, solved a tricky puzzle as a team, or helped someone understand a math problem? That’s what working and learning together is all about, and it’s one of the most powerful ways to grow, have fun, and succeed! In our classroom, collaboration is more than just a helpful skill; it’s a key part of how students grow, succeed, and enjoy learning. When learners work together, they build not only knowledge but also important life skills like communication, empathy, and teamwork.

Exploring mathematical concepts: students discuss sorting attributes for 3- and 4-digit numbers, using strings for a Venn diagram

When we work together, we share ideas, help each other, and learn from one another. Everyone has different strengths: some people are great at writing, others at drawing, and some at solving problems. When we combine our talents, we can do incredible things. It’s also important that we learn to work with a variety of people in our classroom. While we won’t necessarily be “BFFs” with every person in our classroom, it’s important we take the time to get to know others and build bonds of trust and respect. Working together means listening, being kind, and respecting each other’s ideas. Even if we don’t always agree, we can learn to see things from different points of view. That’s how we grow as learners and as people.

Learning is often deeper and more meaningful when it happens through conversation. Students who explain their thinking to peers reinforce their own understanding, and those who listen gain new perspectives. This kind of shared learning helps build a classroom culture where curiosity and questions are welcomed.

All of these “soft skills” are more of what I would call foundational skills. In the BC curriculum, these are referred to as “Core Competencies,” which students self-assess for each term. You can read more about Core Competencies here.

Here are some tips for fostering communication, community, and curiosity at home:

1. Ask Open-Ended Questions
Instead of yes/no questions, try questions that invite children to explain their thinking and reflect on their learning.

“What was something new you discovered today?”
“Can you teach me how you did that?”

2. Encourage “Think Alouds”
When your child is working on homework or solving a problem, encourage them to talk through their thought process. This helps them organize their ideas and often leads to deeper understanding.

3. Celebrate Curiosity
If your child asks a question — even a tricky one — explore the answer together. Look things up, talk about possibilities, and show that asking questions is a great way to learn. Help them find the answers instead of just giving them the answers.

4. Share Your Own Thinking
Model how you solve problems or make decisions. For example, while cooking, you might say, “I’m doubling this recipe, so I need to figure out how much flour to use.” This shows that thinking and learning happen all the time.

5. Create Space for Discussion
Set aside time during meals or bedtime for relaxed conversations about the day. These moments are perfect for sharing ideas, asking questions, and connecting through learning.

Scholastic Book Orders

October 2, 2025 / Ms.C / 0 Comments

Do you enjoy buying your own books? Check out the Scholastic Book Club for titles you might be interested in.