Dear Students and Families,
Welcome to your grade 4 or grade 5 year! I’m happy to be working with you this school year, and I’m looking forward to getting to know everyone. This year, part of my job here at UHE will be as head teacher. So during the times I’m working in the office, Ms. Sam will be teaching in the classroom. Also this fall, we will have a student teacher from SFU, Ms. Gammon, teaching and learning alongside us.
Here are a few things to know as we start off:
Division 5 planned and created chalk mandalas this week. When I came across this giant box of 64 different chalk colours, I KNEW we had to do this project!
Division 5 created art based on the work of Nike Savvas, an Australian contemporary artist. She creates large-scale installations that explore transformations of space through colour, light, movement, and optical effects. Her pieces involve mathematical patterning and 3D objects. Each student created a set of eight plans. Each plan had a mathematical pattern based on the numbers 0 – 15, arranged around a circle. Students carefully chose colour schemes to complement and enhance their patterns.
As you can see below, students achieved varying levels of rhythm and harmony in their creations, depending on adherence to and execution of their planned patterns.
This week Division 5 has been learning lots about the simple machine called “wheel and axle.” On Wednesday we went to Rollerland at the PNE to learn some new skills on rollerskates. We learned how to safely fall, and how to move ourselves forwards and backwards on the rollerskates. There were many falls, but most people managed to keep getting back up and trying again. All that perseverance led to lots of growth throughout our session–I was very proud of our students!
On Monday and Thursday we participated in HUB Cycling workshops on how to enjoy our bikes safely in the community. We went over safety checks for the bike (ABC) and helmet (2V2). Students learned about right of way, hand signals, and some rules of the road. When we got on the bikes on Thursday, students were able to practice what they were learning on “mini-roads” on our school field.
(okay, I’ll stop now with the “wheel” pun now…)
Students have been learning how to find and manipulate images using various settings in Microsoft Word.
They were tasked with creating a composition using 5-6ish images that would represent who they are. They have learned about copyright and creative commons images, how to insert pictures from within Word (using “Online Images,” “Icons,” and uploading from Files), and how to find copyright-safe images using Pixabay. (However, I have a suspicion that they are still developing their understanding of copyright based on some of the images they’ve included!) Students also learned the difference between a regular image and a vector, and students can now create their own vector using the Remove BG website. We focused on how layering images can create a cohesive composition, in addition to manipulating image size, crop, and rotation.
Below is our “digital bulletin board.” Please click on the thumbnail to see the larger size.
As part of our media literacy studies, and in preparation for Earth Day next week, students in Division 5 have been discussing the concept of “greenwashing.”
We examined some political cartoons and advertisements to analyze their messages. We discussed the commentary of the cartoons–reading “between the lines” about the environmental impacts of our society and corporations. The ads were especially interesting to analyze, and students were keen on identifying the different greenwashing strategies used to persuade potential customers to purchase a product or service.
How is greenwashing being used in these ads?
 |
 |
Here are some good tips for spotting greenwashing (from The Sustainable Agency)
Most Mondays students have a chance to explore a variety of hands-on ADST (Applied Design Skills and Technologies) activities. Students work together using critical and creative thinking in their problem solving, and strengthening interpersonal skills through communication. They are always very proud of their creations and eager to share! They’ve been asking me to do a post highlighting what they’ve been working on, so I will be adding to the gallery below as I take more photos. Keep checking back!
Some of the activities include:
Our discussions around Pink Shirt Day have centred around what it means to be an ally, and the differences between upstanding and bystanding. Words and actions have power that impact the lives of others in the short and long term. Every day we make powerful choices about how we can use our words and actions to help or harm.
The picture book, A Day With No Words, introduces readers to a boy with autism who uses a tablet to communicate with others. Even though we communicate in different ways, it’s important to acknowledge and include everyone, and to honour our unique traits.
We also watched video (unfortunately yes, it’s a Burger King ad) about how people respond to bullying.
The next video is a bit nuanced and requires a bit more of a stretch from students–what do you notice about the characters’ voices? What is this video communicating about the long-term impact of our words and actions?
And how does this connect to the demonstration and discussion around this piece of paper?
University Highlands enjoyed having tennis instructors come in to teach us the basics of tennis. We just wrapped up this week. Please enjoys some pictures from our sessions!
© 2025 Ms. Coutts' Class
Theme by Anders Noren — Up ↑
