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Jumping at recess with the support of the Grade 7 Leadership Group. A pile of Fun!  A big thank you from Div. 6.

The weather was perfect and Div. 6 had an amazing time.  I wanted to thank the parents who walked with us and helped with supervision.  I could not do it without you!  I also wanted to thank the children of Div. 6 who showed such great care for each other, the environment, and the salmon fry; following all the rules and procedures that I laid out for them this week.  You were amazing, kids!

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Today we spent about 40 minutes doing an external examination of the salmon.  From looking for nostrils to noticing the lateral line and the scales, who knew the exterior of a salmon could be so interesting.  Did you know that salmon have the same number of scales when they are fry (the stage that they are currently at in our tanks) as they do in their adult stage?  Did you know that scales will regrow if lost and that scales have rings like a tree?  You can count their age by looking at the bands of rings on them.

Then we moved on to an internal dissection.  It was super interesting.  From finding out if our salmon was male or female, to finding out the size of his brain.

Along the way, we used a graphic of the human body and compared the salmon’s anatomy to ours.  We asked questions such as: why is the heart located near the lungs?  What are the ‘lungs’ of a fish?  In the salmon, where do you expect the heart to be? What part of the human body is most like fish scales? What is the importance of slime?  Do fish have ears?  What a fun day!

Parents of Div. 6,

On Friday, April 22nd at 1:10, rain or shine, we will leave the school to walk to Beecher Creek Park to release our salmon fry.  We invite any parent who wishes to walk with us to join us.  The walk is part city walk and part nature trail and takes around 25 minutes to complete (one way).  Please ensure that your child has appropriate footwear and outerwear for this walk.  If they wish to bring a water bottle or any extra clothing, I would advise them to take their backpacks.  The release does not take a lot of time, but if the weather cooperates, I will give the students a chance to play at the park before returning to school. 

To the best of my abilities, I will take a photo of your child releasing their salmon.  The photo will be placed in their blogfolios within two weeks.  We will return to school on time, or earlier, for regular pick-up at 3:02.  

If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to email me,

Mrs. Marto

Parents of Div. 6,

• On Thursday, we have our 2^nd annual PAC Easter Egg Hunt.  The event will go forward rain or shine. Please ensure that your child has appropriate clothing for the weather.   Many thanks to the PAC for organizing this wonderful event for our students.
• As part of the Art Starts Program, the students, who will be watching Squamish Story Videos throughout this week, will have an opportunity to take part in a Question and Answer session with artist Kung Jaadee
• And, finally, in class, we will be watching Peter Rabbit the movie and doing a small arts and craft project.  I will provide a small treat that they can have during the viewing of the movie.  Parents, please do not send treats for this event as there will not be enough time to quarantine the treats. Less is often more appreciated and better for their health as well.

Early Spring and Easter well wishes,

Mrs. Marto

Please see the instructions below:

Hello Parents,

In Social Studies we are learning about why stories are so important to indigenous people.  We have spoken of the importance of the Elders who hold the responsibility of telling these stories as accurately and carefully as when the story was first told to them.

As an extension, we are also learning about Oral History and how the collection of these stories gives voice to those who often don’t have a lot of representation in typical history books.   Children’s voices can often be lost because their experiences are rarely documented in writing.  The students were charmed by the idea of Children’s History.

So….   Homework….

I have asked the students to do a simple timeline of their life, with your help (they should have brought home a long strip of paper).  The example above is helpful and a good guide but lacks some soul.  It would be good if your child included what is in the example, but also included 2-3 other moments that were meaningful to them.  You can add dates in the form of, “When I was 3, I moved to Canada”.    Please do not make the timelines too long as the students will be turning them into an oral story to be shared in a small group and I am hoping they can do that without reading off their paper.  This is a “rough copy” type of document.  It should be in chronological order and neat enough to read, but no other frills.  

Thank you for your support, as always,

Mrs. Marto

Parents,

As you know, we’ve been going ‘deep’ into our ocean theme.  This term, we have focused on Ocean Zones, Ecosystems, and Biodiversity.  We have also begun to look at the damage brought on by oil spills. Upon our return, we’ll be delving further into the ecosystems, looking closely at marine pollution and indigenous perspectives on sustainability.

As luck would have it, Metrotown-Metropolis currently has an exhibit exploring this very issue.  If you happen to be at the mall this holiday,  stop by to check it out.

Happy Spring Break (a little in advance),

Mrs. Marto

Parents,

Every year, I publish a post similar to this one.  It is perhaps one of the most important posts because it highlights a big step in your child’s journey in being able to give voice to their learning and to share their learning through the blogfolios.

Our Blogfolios have been quiet as of late because the students have been working hard to learn how to create their own blogfolio posts.  Technology being what it is, it has not been easy and we have encountered many challenges, but we have persevered. I am still also doing teacher posts as well.  You will see them start to come out as we now approach the end of the term and many assignments and assessments are being completed.

As part of the Core Competencies (B.C. Curriculum), your children are learning to acquire the technological skills to communicate with you about their learning through their blogfolios.  Communicating encompasses the set of abilities that people use to exchange information, experiences, and ideas.

*Please be forgiving of our mistakes.  While we try not to send posts that aren’t ready, it is easy for posts to get sent out while they are still in progress.  The Word Press format is a complex system.  As well, teacher comments or student comments may be added at a later date and student comments represent how they write at this stage in their learning.  You will see some spelling mistakes and missed capitals and punctuation.  I mostly edit for appropriate content. You may find that you are pinged a few times for the same post as it is updated.

Mrs. Marto

Dear Div. 6 Parents,

Our class will be celebrating Valentine’s Day on Monday with some special activities.  If you are intending to send a treat (not required), please remember that as part of Covid Protocols, we require that it be individually wrapped and that it be at school by this Friday so that I can ‘quarantine’ the treats before handing them out.

If your child is handing out Valentine Cards, please remember that we have 20 students in our class.  Please make sure that each child in the class receives a card so that no one feels left out.  Your child is bringing home a list of our classroom names today (in their planner).  As a time-saver, you may wish to only write “from: your child’s name”.  You do not have to write individual names on each card, but I did provide the names in the case that you wish to address the cards with their first names.

Final reminders:

-Math quizzes went home last Friday, please have the students correct their work and get them back to me signed by the parents

A Happy Valentine’s Day in advance,

Mrs. Marto