Category: Science

L’éclipse solaire

We watched the solar eclipse (une éclipse solaire) today via NASA’s live Youtube feed.

Here are some facts we already knew:

  • A solar eclipse involves the sun.
  • One should never look directly at the sun, but it’s especially dangerous during an eclipse.
  • There are special glasses one can wear to safely see an eclipse.

Here are some facts we learned:

  • We learned that a solar eclipse is when the moon blocks the sun.
  • We learned of the term “diamond ring effect” (un halo), the visual effect seen around the sun as the moon completely covers the sun.
  • We also learned that the next total solar eclipse, in North America, will be in about 20 years.

Here are some ‘wonder questions’ we now have:

  • We wonder when the first ever solar eclipse happened?
  • We wonder if there’s anything happening to the sun’s surface during a solar eclipse?
  • We wonder what’s the difference between a lunar eclipse and a solar eclipse?

 

Les fleurs

Students are learning to identify parts of flowers. We’ve been searching for spring flowers that grow in our local environment. We’ve been learning new words and how to draw ‘like a scientist’.

Knowing the parts of a flower helped us draw abstract flowers in art recently. Enjoy the beautiful blooms!

On identifie les plantes!

On today’s sortie nature, some students used field guides to try to identify spring flowers near our school. We noted similarities and differences between local wildflowers. We found it easiest to compare petal and leaf shapes.

With a little extra help from the Seek app, we found la jacinthe espagnole (Spanish Bluebell), le lamier jaune (Yellow Archangel), la pâquerette (Common Daisy), and le laurier-cerise (Cherry Laurel).

le lamier jaune (Yellow Archangel)
la jacinthe espagnole (Spanish Bluebell)
la pâquerette (Common Daisy)
le laurier-cerise (Cherry Laurel)

Une visite d’artiste!

Kwakwaka’wakw artist Simon James returned to École Westridge this month to touch up his tableau at our front entrance. Students learned about the carving’s history and significance.

They learned that it was carved from ancient cedar over 1000 years old! They also learned of the 10 animals on artwork and what they each represent. Each animal represents a school value.

Mr. James also spoke of the importance of knowing one’s culture and celebrating it. Students were encouraged to think of their own culture(s). Where do their elders come from?

As a thank you gesture, Division 10 students drew pictures of an animal or plant discussed during his artist talk. One student drew a detail shared about Mr. James education as a carver in his Indigenous community. Finally, when expressing gratitude, could they say ‘thank you’ in their elders’ language(s)?

We recognized that we all share English and French culture via the languages we’re learning every day. However, our classroom is wonderfully diverse with roots spanning not only across the country, but the world.

Le parfum de forêt

Students were asked to create a forest ‘perfume’. We discovered that le cèdre was the most fragrant. Other plants were used, such as clover, lichen, or fir needles. Some even threw in pinecones and dead leaves for an especially earthy smell!

As always, we only collected plants from the forest floor. We’re aiming to not harm living plants. We’re also aiming to not disturb our local ecosystem.

Où on vit

At École Westridge, we’re learning to acknowledge traditional territory. It’s a way to show respect to local First Nations of the Musqueam, Tsleil-Waututh, and Squamish peoples.

Beyond the land acknowledgement we hear before school assemblies, we’re learning of personal connections to the land from older peers. They often share these connections before our morning announcements.

We’ve started to reflect on what we love about the region we live in. Here are some thoughts on what they love about living here. Students used loose parts to communicate their thinking.

Alex appreciates the forests in our region. He knows that we can find two types of trees here – cedar and Douglas fir.
Adelyn appreciates having hummingbirds in our region. She knows that the male can have some red plumage.
Dylan appreciates the trees in our region. He knows that many animals live in them.

Les cèdres

We’re learning that cedar was and continues to be an important tree for local Indigenous peoples.

We noticed there are many cedar trees near our school. On this nature walk, we focused on the branches, noting its flat needles and drooping shape.

When students rubbed its needles, they noted how good cedar smelled!

Some students found a branch from a neighbouring evergreen tree. We observed that the needles were different. They seemed sharper and bushier but were also flat. Its colour was a lighter green.

Beau, pas beau

We continue to explore Dr. Gillian Judson’s walking curriculum. On this nature outing, students were asked to look for ‘beautiful’ and ‘not beautiful’ elements around our school.

Rocks, lichen, and flowers were beautiful to most students; litter wasn’t beautiful. Mushrooms, specifically decaying mushrooms, drew a mixed reaction. Est-ce que c’est beau ou pas beau?

What about invasive species? Can they be beautiful? One student pointed out an invasive ivy plant. He considered it ‘pas beau’ for its damaging effect on our local ecosystem.

We next want to examine our findings and question how all things spotted on our walk may help our environment. Of course, it’s possible that not all of them can!

Ce qui est beau:

 

Ce qui n’est pas beau:

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